Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
“Geek Love”
By Raymond Benson
One of the more unique entries in the film noir movement of the 1940s and 50s is the 1947 melodrama, Nightmare Alley. Based on a novel by William Lindsay Gresham, the picture was made only because Tyrone Power expressed the desire to star in it after reading the grim tale of a carnival barker who rises to the top of the charlatan world, only to ultimately fall hard to rock bottom.
While classified as film noir, the picture has little of the usual trappings of the movement. There is no central crime in the story, there are no cynical detectives, and one can argue that there are no femmes fatale. It is only in the visual presentation that one can consider Nightmare Alley an item of film noir—the high contrast black and white photography, the heavy light and shadows,...
“Geek Love”
By Raymond Benson
One of the more unique entries in the film noir movement of the 1940s and 50s is the 1947 melodrama, Nightmare Alley. Based on a novel by William Lindsay Gresham, the picture was made only because Tyrone Power expressed the desire to star in it after reading the grim tale of a carnival barker who rises to the top of the charlatan world, only to ultimately fall hard to rock bottom.
While classified as film noir, the picture has little of the usual trappings of the movement. There is no central crime in the story, there are no cynical detectives, and one can argue that there are no femmes fatale. It is only in the visual presentation that one can consider Nightmare Alley an item of film noir—the high contrast black and white photography, the heavy light and shadows,...
- 5/4/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
We all have holiday traditions. Growing up in Western Pennsylvania, then Central Ohio, then Western Pennsylvania again, we had more than a few Christmas ones. Every Christmas morning, we weren’t allowed to open a single present until my father finished his coffee. And he took his time. When he finally gulped down the last swallow, we were still required to open present at a time. None of this chaotic ripping into boxes and bags simultaneously while no one paid any attention to anything anyone else opened. We all watched each other one-by-one open a gift, thank the giver, and look to the next person in the circle to take his or her turn.
Outside of those Christmas Day traditions, we had one Christmas Eve tradition that was never, ever, Ever under consideration for alteration. Every year, we’d go to church for the 45-60 minute evening service (in our second stint in Pennsylvania,...
Outside of those Christmas Day traditions, we had one Christmas Eve tradition that was never, ever, Ever under consideration for alteration. Every year, we’d go to church for the 45-60 minute evening service (in our second stint in Pennsylvania,...
- 11/22/2014
- by Joshua Gaul
- SoundOnSight
Michael Winner was among the stars who were not honoured at last night's Academy Awards (February 24).
The late Death Wish director - who died last month aged 77 - did not feature in the ceremony's annual In Memoriam tribute.
New York Times reporter Michael Cieply has claimed that snubs may occur if the family of a deceased filmmaker or actor does not campaign for the inclusion as much as others.
Cieply said that "there's no shortage of input from out there in the community", adding that the full list of the deceased is expanded on the Oscars website.
Dallas actor Larry Hagman, actress Phyllis Diller and actor Robin Sachs were also among the stars not featured in the tribute, which saw Barbra Streisand perform 'The Way We Were'.
Cieply also quotes late Mash actor Harry Morgan's son Charley talk about his father's snub at the tribute in 2012.
He...
The late Death Wish director - who died last month aged 77 - did not feature in the ceremony's annual In Memoriam tribute.
New York Times reporter Michael Cieply has claimed that snubs may occur if the family of a deceased filmmaker or actor does not campaign for the inclusion as much as others.
Cieply said that "there's no shortage of input from out there in the community", adding that the full list of the deceased is expanded on the Oscars website.
Dallas actor Larry Hagman, actress Phyllis Diller and actor Robin Sachs were also among the stars not featured in the tribute, which saw Barbra Streisand perform 'The Way We Were'.
Cieply also quotes late Mash actor Harry Morgan's son Charley talk about his father's snub at the tribute in 2012.
He...
- 2/25/2013
- Digital Spy
Academy awards In Memoriam section fails to include British film director despite his prolific Hollywood career
The Oscars snubbed British film director Michael Winner as – surprisingly – he failed to be acknowledged in the 85th Academy Awards' traditional In Memoriam section.
Winner, who died just over a month ago, was responsible for a major Hollywood hit, Death Wish, starring Charles Bronson, which was one of the most successful films of 1974.
But, while the Academy honoured the likes of Ernest Borgnine and Tony Scott, as well as cult talents such as Chris Marker, Tonino Guerra and Erland Josephson, no place was found for Winner.
Arguably Winner's most productive years were the string of films he made in the 60s in the UK, including The Jokers and I'll Never Forget What's'isname. The success of the war picture Hannibal Brooks saw him picked up by the Hollywood studios and a series of films with major stars,...
The Oscars snubbed British film director Michael Winner as – surprisingly – he failed to be acknowledged in the 85th Academy Awards' traditional In Memoriam section.
Winner, who died just over a month ago, was responsible for a major Hollywood hit, Death Wish, starring Charles Bronson, which was one of the most successful films of 1974.
But, while the Academy honoured the likes of Ernest Borgnine and Tony Scott, as well as cult talents such as Chris Marker, Tonino Guerra and Erland Josephson, no place was found for Winner.
Arguably Winner's most productive years were the string of films he made in the 60s in the UK, including The Jokers and I'll Never Forget What's'isname. The success of the war picture Hannibal Brooks saw him picked up by the Hollywood studios and a series of films with major stars,...
- 2/25/2013
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Some may have thought that British movie director Michael Winner died years ago. He stopped making films in the ‘90s and even wrote his own joke obituary which was picked up on by some media and taken seriously. Winner continued to live in London and found a new career as a film critic with the long-running “Winner’s Dinners” column in the Sunday UK Times newspaper. Winner is remembered in the film industry as well as the restaurant scene for his abrasive personality,
He directed Charles Bronson in six films including three, The Mechanic, Death Wish, and Death 3, that landed in my Top Ten Tuesday: The Best of Charles Bronson list from July 2010 http://wearemoviegeeks.com/2010/06/top-ten-tuesday-charles-bronson/). His other Bronson collaborations were Death Wish 2, Chato’S Land, and The Stone Killer. Death Wish was a monstrous hit for both the star and director, yet in his autobiography Winner Takes All...
He directed Charles Bronson in six films including three, The Mechanic, Death Wish, and Death 3, that landed in my Top Ten Tuesday: The Best of Charles Bronson list from July 2010 http://wearemoviegeeks.com/2010/06/top-ten-tuesday-charles-bronson/). His other Bronson collaborations were Death Wish 2, Chato’S Land, and The Stone Killer. Death Wish was a monstrous hit for both the star and director, yet in his autobiography Winner Takes All...
- 1/29/2013
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Flamboyant film director, best known for Death Wish, and later an outspoken restaurant critic and bon vivant
Michael Winner, who has died aged 77, supplied interviewers with a list of more than 30 films he had directed, not always including the early travelogue This Is Belgium (1956), mostly shot in East Grinstead. But his enduring work was himself – a bravura creation of movies, television, journalism, the law courts and a catchphrase, ''Calm down, dear", from an exasperating series of television commercials.
He was born in London, the only child of George and Helen Winner, who were of Russian and Polish extraction respectively. His builder father made enough money propping up blitzed houses to invest in London property. The profits funded his wife's gambling, which, her son complained, so distracted "Mumsie" that he was never paid due attention. She left him in the bedroom with the mink coats of guests who came to his...
Michael Winner, who has died aged 77, supplied interviewers with a list of more than 30 films he had directed, not always including the early travelogue This Is Belgium (1956), mostly shot in East Grinstead. But his enduring work was himself – a bravura creation of movies, television, journalism, the law courts and a catchphrase, ''Calm down, dear", from an exasperating series of television commercials.
He was born in London, the only child of George and Helen Winner, who were of Russian and Polish extraction respectively. His builder father made enough money propping up blitzed houses to invest in London property. The profits funded his wife's gambling, which, her son complained, so distracted "Mumsie" that he was never paid due attention. She left him in the bedroom with the mink coats of guests who came to his...
- 1/22/2013
- by Veronica Horwell
- The Guardian - Film News
Earlier this month David R. Ellis passed away while preparing to shoot his next film in South Africa and now this week it appears that we've lost another well-liked genre filmmaker. British director Michael Winner has reportedly died at his home in Kensington, west London, after a long battle with liver cancer. Winner was probably best known for his work with Charles Bronson including the first three Death Wish films and The Mechanic (which was recently remade with Jason Statham). He was also a well-known personality outside of the film industry, acting as a restaurant critic for the Sunday Times and also starring in a series of commercials for insurance company esure. He was 77 years old. Winner's career as a director spanned almost four decades, starting with the crime thriller Shoot to Kill and the comedy Some Like it Cool before moving on to a series of Oliver Reed comedies.
- 1/21/2013
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
Michael Winner, director of the Death Wish movie series and A Chorus of Disapproval, who later found fame as a restaurant critic, has died at the age of 77.
Michael Winner, bon viveur, restaurant critic and arguably one of the best known British film-makers of the 20th century has died at the age of 77. "A light has gone out of my life," his wife Geraldine Lynton-Edwards said. "Michael was a wonderful man, brilliant, funny and generous."
Winner had been in ill health for a number of years and almost died after contracting a bacterial infection while holidaying on Barbados in January 2007.
Born to a wealthy family in north London, Winner cut his teeth at the BBC before making his debut as a writer-director with the 1960 crime thriller Shoot to Kill. His freewheeling 1964 sex comedy The System established him as a key chronicler of swinging 60s London and gave rise to a...
Michael Winner, bon viveur, restaurant critic and arguably one of the best known British film-makers of the 20th century has died at the age of 77. "A light has gone out of my life," his wife Geraldine Lynton-Edwards said. "Michael was a wonderful man, brilliant, funny and generous."
Winner had been in ill health for a number of years and almost died after contracting a bacterial infection while holidaying on Barbados in January 2007.
Born to a wealthy family in north London, Winner cut his teeth at the BBC before making his debut as a writer-director with the 1960 crime thriller Shoot to Kill. His freewheeling 1964 sex comedy The System established him as a key chronicler of swinging 60s London and gave rise to a...
- 1/21/2013
- by Xan Brooks
- The Guardian - Film News
British film director and producer Michael Winner has died aged 77, according to his wife Geraldine, who released a statement paying tribute to her husband:
“Michael was a wonderful man, brilliant, funny and generous.
“A light has gone out in my life.”
Winner, who directed films on both sides of the Atlantic, including Death Wish and The Big Sleep, had been ill for some time, and had said last summer that he had been given 18 months to live.
He displayed a love of film early on, particularly in writing, and began his career as a journalist and film critic before joining Motion Pictures Limited and releasing his first feature film – Shoot To Kill – in 1960. He started with a slant towards satire, but moved into more commercial material – particularly in the Death Wish series – later.
In a career that spanned five decades, Winner worked with talents as bright as Oliver Reed, Burt Lancaster,...
“Michael was a wonderful man, brilliant, funny and generous.
“A light has gone out in my life.”
Winner, who directed films on both sides of the Atlantic, including Death Wish and The Big Sleep, had been ill for some time, and had said last summer that he had been given 18 months to live.
He displayed a love of film early on, particularly in writing, and began his career as a journalist and film critic before joining Motion Pictures Limited and releasing his first feature film – Shoot To Kill – in 1960. He started with a slant towards satire, but moved into more commercial material – particularly in the Death Wish series – later.
In a career that spanned five decades, Winner worked with talents as bright as Oliver Reed, Burt Lancaster,...
- 1/21/2013
- by Simon Gallagher
- Obsessed with Film
Despite what people say, there are very few truly distinctive characters in cinema, few individuals who remain true to their artistic vision throughout their careers. Love him or loathe him, Michael Winner was such a man. He died today at the age of 77 following a long battle with liver problems. "A light has gone out in my life," said his wife Geraldine.
Perhaps best known for his work with Charles Bronson and the Death Wish series they made together, Winner also worked with Robert Mitchum on noir remake The Big Sleep and shot a total of 35 features over the course of his career. Often outspoken, he developed a second career as a newspaper columnist which made his natural warmth and humour visible to audiences that had previously only associated him with violence. His natural home was the thriller but he also experimented with horror, scoring a hit with The...
Perhaps best known for his work with Charles Bronson and the Death Wish series they made together, Winner also worked with Robert Mitchum on noir remake The Big Sleep and shot a total of 35 features over the course of his career. Often outspoken, he developed a second career as a newspaper columnist which made his natural warmth and humour visible to audiences that had previously only associated him with violence. His natural home was the thriller but he also experimented with horror, scoring a hit with The...
- 1/21/2013
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Simon Fisher Turner was an actor, a punk rocker and a pop singer before he found his true calling as a composer of experimental soundtracks
He has had a 40-year career spanning music and film. But for millions, Simon Fisher Turner is an artist encountered only unconsciously, via a BBC 1 channel ident. His soundtrack of piano and voice accompanying a helicopter flying over the sea to land on Bishop's Rock lighthouse has featured heavily in the broadcaster's schedule since 2008. Yet if its ubiquity seems to taunt the relative obscurity of the composer, the aquatic element, at least, seems to be in keeping with his tastes. "I love being by the sea and around water," says Turner, who was brought up in Cornwall by an archaeologist mother and submariner father. It was while away with Hms Otter that Captain Turner bought his son a tape recorder and started a fascination with field recordings that still abides.
He has had a 40-year career spanning music and film. But for millions, Simon Fisher Turner is an artist encountered only unconsciously, via a BBC 1 channel ident. His soundtrack of piano and voice accompanying a helicopter flying over the sea to land on Bishop's Rock lighthouse has featured heavily in the broadcaster's schedule since 2008. Yet if its ubiquity seems to taunt the relative obscurity of the composer, the aquatic element, at least, seems to be in keeping with his tastes. "I love being by the sea and around water," says Turner, who was brought up in Cornwall by an archaeologist mother and submariner father. It was while away with Hms Otter that Captain Turner bought his son a tape recorder and started a fascination with field recordings that still abides.
- 11/18/2011
- by Luke Turner
- The Guardian - Film News
Producer Elliott Kastner has died at age 80. Known for his humorous personality and penchant for off-color jokes, Kastner was a larger-than-life character. Although born in America, he made England his home through much of his career and maintained an office at Pinewood Studios until the end of his life. Kastner moved from the music industry into film production with his first credit as producer on the 1965 film Bus Riley's Back in Town. He was one of the first producers to secure independent financing for his films, then sell the distribution rights to major studios. Kastner had many high profile films to his credit including Harper with Paul Newman, The Missouri Breaks and The Nightcomers- both with Marlon Brando, and perhaps most notably the 1969 MGM WWII film Where Eagles Dare...
- 7/1/2010
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Todd in his most acclaimed role, as star of The Dam Busters.
The distinguished British actor Richard Todd has passed away at age 90. Todd was a real-life war hero, being among the first paratroopers to enter France on the eve of the Normandy invasion. Todd later starred in two major films recreating the historic event: D-Day, The Sixth of June and The Longest Day. He also starred in the acclaimed WWII adventure The Dam Busters. His eclectic post war career included an eight year stint performing on Britain's West End in the play The Business of Murder and launching a successful dairy business. Among his other films were starring opposite Ronald Reagan in The Hasty Heart (for which he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar), The Long and the Short and the Tall (aka Jungle Fighters), Never Let Go in which he starred opposite Peter Sellers, The Hellions, Operation Crossbow...
The distinguished British actor Richard Todd has passed away at age 90. Todd was a real-life war hero, being among the first paratroopers to enter France on the eve of the Normandy invasion. Todd later starred in two major films recreating the historic event: D-Day, The Sixth of June and The Longest Day. He also starred in the acclaimed WWII adventure The Dam Busters. His eclectic post war career included an eight year stint performing on Britain's West End in the play The Business of Murder and launching a successful dairy business. Among his other films were starring opposite Ronald Reagan in The Hasty Heart (for which he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar), The Long and the Short and the Tall (aka Jungle Fighters), Never Let Go in which he starred opposite Peter Sellers, The Hellions, Operation Crossbow...
- 12/5/2009
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
DVD Playhouse—July 2009
By
Allen Gardner
Do The Right Thing: 20th Anniversary Edition (Universal) Spike Lee’s groundbreaking fable about race relations in an ethnically mixed Brooklyn neighborhood during a sweltering New York summer remains as potent, timely and prescient as it was in 1989. Lee is among the cast, which also includes John Turturro, Danny Aiello, Samuel L. Jackson, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and Rosie Perez (to name a few), that provide the tableaux-like framework for this stunning work. Criminally ignored by Oscar (it wasn't even nominated for Best Picture, but did garner nods for Supporting Actor Danny Aiello and Lee’s screenplay), it endures as a timeless classic. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Lee, Ernest Dickerson, Wynn Thomas, Joie Lee; Documentary; Deleted and extended scenes; Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround.
Coraline (Universal) A young girl moves into an old Victorian house with her parents...
By
Allen Gardner
Do The Right Thing: 20th Anniversary Edition (Universal) Spike Lee’s groundbreaking fable about race relations in an ethnically mixed Brooklyn neighborhood during a sweltering New York summer remains as potent, timely and prescient as it was in 1989. Lee is among the cast, which also includes John Turturro, Danny Aiello, Samuel L. Jackson, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and Rosie Perez (to name a few), that provide the tableaux-like framework for this stunning work. Criminally ignored by Oscar (it wasn't even nominated for Best Picture, but did garner nods for Supporting Actor Danny Aiello and Lee’s screenplay), it endures as a timeless classic. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Lee, Ernest Dickerson, Wynn Thomas, Joie Lee; Documentary; Deleted and extended scenes; Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround.
Coraline (Universal) A young girl moves into an old Victorian house with her parents...
- 7/14/2009
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
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.