Cinema Retro
Entries from May 2011
A screenplay written by Mario Puzo, but never produced as a film, will be adapted into a new Godfather novel, this one a prequel that gives more insight into the rise of young Vito Corleone as a New York crime kingpin. Author Edward Falco will adapt the screenplay into book form. Publication date is June 2012. For more click here
In a piece for the New York Times, Terrance Rafferty analyzes the "Beach Movies" of the 1960s and recalls why they had such broad appeal, despite their sheer awfulness. Click here to read
Author and Cinema Retro contributor Howard Hughes has a new book on the market and it should be of special interest to anyone who loves retro Italian cinema. Here are the details:
CINEMA ITALIANO: THE COMPLETE GUIDE FROM CLASSICS TO CULT
Uncovering a treasure trove of Italian films from The Leopard to Puma Man
Italian filmmakers have created some of the most magical and
moving, violent and controversial films in world cinema. During its
twentieth-century heyday, Italy's film industry was second only to
Hollywood as a popular film factory, exporting cinematic dreams
worldwide. With international finance and multinational stars, Italian
filmmakers tackled myriad genres with equal gusto and in inimitable
style. Cinema Italiano is the first book to discuss comprehensively both
Italian 'popular' and 'arthouse' cinema of this golden age.
Appraising over 400 movies, Cinema Italiano
unearths the best of Italian cinema. Dario Argento's 'gialli' thrillers
and Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns are explored alongside the best
films of Luchino Visconti, Federico Fellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini and
Michelangelo Antonioni. Chapters discuss the rise and fall of genres
such as mythological epics, gothic horrors, science-fiction, spy films,
WWII movies, costume adventures, zombie films, swashbucklers, political
cinema, spaghetti westerns and 'poliziotteschi' crime films. The book
also traces the directorial careers and key films of such luminaries as
Mario Bava, Sergio Corbucci, Francesco Rosi, Lucio Fulci, Duccio
Tessari, Enzo G. Castellari, Bernardo Bertolucci and Gillo Pontecorvo.
An essential guide for DVD and video collectors and aficionados alike,
it is illustrated throughout with rare stills and international posters
from this revered era in world cinema.
Films include: La dolce vita, Hercules Conquers Atlantis, The
Leopard, The Horrible Secret of Dr Hichcock, Contempt, The Gospel
According to St Matthew, Castle of Blood, Fists in the Pocket, Django,
Battle of Algiers, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Blowup, Diabolik, The
Bird with the Crystal Plumage, The Conformist, They Call Me Trinity,
Violent City, The Marseilles Connection, Illustrious Corpses, Suspiria,
The Big Silence, The Mask of Satan, Maciste in Hell, Blood and Black
Lace, Hercules Against the Moon Men, The Last Man on Earth, The Wild,
Wild Planet, Special Mission Lady Chaplin, Django Kill!, Fellini
Satyricon, Deep Red, Sons of Thunder, Tentacles, The Inglorious
Bastards, Zombie Flesh Eaters, Puma Man, 1990: Bronx Warriors,
8½, Once Upon a Time in the West, L'Avventura, Black Sabbath,
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, Amarcord, Two Women, Planet
of the Vampires, Death in Venice, Starcrash, Salvatore Giuliano,
Hercules Unchained, Kill, Baby...Kill! AVAILABLE NOW IN THE UK FROM AMAZON. CLICK HERE AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER IN THE US FROM AMAZON. CLICK HERE
Famed film critic Leonard Maltin warns of the old saying "Be careful what you wish for- you just may get it!" when it comes to the movie industry's embracement of digital projection. While the digital systems do guarantee virtually perfect pictures, Maltin warns that smaller theaters are being driven out of business because they can't afford the huge investment in digital projection equipment. If he's right, you can say goodbye to small, independent theaters as well as screenings in under-funded museums. The studios, however, are thrilled with digital because it greatly reduces their costs for making prints and the cumbersome process of delivering large reels to theaters. Click here for more
Quentin Tarantino has unveiled some details about his next film, which will be titled Django Unchained,an homage to Italian director Sergio Corbucci, who directed the Sergio Leone-style original Western Django, which inspired a number of knock-offs. Tarantino said he was also inspired by Japanese director Takashi Miike's Western of recent vintage, Sukiyaki Western Django. The film will star German actor Christoph Waltz, who won an Oscar for his performance in Tarantino's last movie, Inglourious Basterds. In the new film, Waltz's character teams with a former slave to battle an evil plantation owner. Tarantino also confirmed that a new chapter of the Kill Bill is the works. For more click here
Call it "Licence to Shill". Sony is launching an all-out campaign to elicit a record number of product placements for the next James Bond film, due for release in November 2012. The producers had down-played such tie-ins in recent years due to criticism that the Bond franchise was become a virtual commercials for the product placements. Sony hopes to offset up to $45 million of the production budget through the commercial partnerships. The Bond franchise has long benefited from such tie-ins, extending back to the early days of the series. However, some fans fear that the products might be pretentiously placed within the film and distract from the storyline. For more click here
Arthur Laurents, the cantankerous but brilliant writer, producer and director, has died at age 93. Among his greatest successes were the "books" or stories he wrote for the classic Broadway productions of Gypsy and West Side Story. Laurents remained active in the Broadway community, bringing revivals of both plays to the stage in recent years and updating them to make it possible for modern audiences to better relate to the storylines. Laurents was a progressive who used his talents to denounce prejudice and political witch hunts. His play Home of the Brave was turned into one of the first successful movies to deal with issues of prejudice in the U.S. military. His 1973 smash hit movie romance The Way We Were also had a backdrop set against the McCarthy hearings. Laurents' stage musical I Can Get It For You Wholesale provided a teenaged Barbra Streisand with a star-making role. Among Laurents' other major successes: the screenplays for Anastasia and Alfred Hitchcock's Rope. For more click here
Actor Jackie Cooper has died at age 88. Cooper gained fame as a child star working for Hal Roach in the Our Gang comedy shorts. He later frequently starred in feature films with Wallace Beery, including the original screen version of The Champ. At age 9 in 1931, he was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in Skippy. Cooper was one of the select few child actors who successfully maintained his acting career into adulthood. In the 1950s he starred in two popular TV series, The People's Choice and Hennessey. Cooper had a late career boost when he played newspaper editor Perry White in the Warner Brothers Superman movies. Click here for more
Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Severin Films:
LOS ANGELES, CA, April x, 201 – Severin Films today announced an agreement with the estate of Larry Gold, Sr. to handle all future production and marketing for Intervision Picture Corporation. The arrangement commences with the 5/10 release of 1983’s SLEDGEHAMMER, notorious as the first shot-on-tape ‘slasher’ thriller for the then-exploding home video market. Gold, a pioneer of ‘70s film distribution and ‘80s genre VHS, died in March following a massive coronary at his home in Thailand. Severin’s Evan Husney will supervise all production and marketing for the label. Intervision product will continue to be distributed in the United States by CAV Distributing Corporation.
Intervision was reactivated in January 2011 with the DVD releases of recent Goya Award Winner Jess Franco’s 1973 rarity SINISTER EYES OF DR. ORLOFF and his acclaimed 2010 ‘audio-visual experience’ PAULA-PAULA. The 5/10 release of SLEDGEHAMMER marks the return of director David A. Prior’s bizarre video shocker, which was celebrated as part of Los Angeles’ Cinefamily ‘Homemade Horror’ series and will be screened on street-date at Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse. Future Intervision releases include the 1989 ‘Canuxploitaion’ oddity THINGS and 1993’s disturbing THE SECRET LIFE: JEFFREY DAHMER.
“Either by way of budget constraints or warped vision,†says Intervision marketing director Evan Husney, “each release will represent a piece of a cinematic underbelly from a universe all its own. Buried in obscurity and ripe for reintroduction, the films in Intervision's new cult canon assure top-shelf bizarro derangement, gonzo action, transcendental fever dreams and beyond.â€
“From the days of plastic clamshell VHS through the rise of Blu-ray, Intervision has been dedicated to everything fascinating and extraordinary about obscure genre works,†says Carl Daft, co-founder and CEO of Severin Films. “We are proud to carry on this commitment to rare and unique genre films under the Intervision banner, as well as its new website launching soon at www.IntervisionPictureCorp.com.â€
Severin Films, founded in 2006 with offices in Los Angeles and London, has been called “well on its way to becoming the greatest indie label of all time†by BlogCritics.org. Their DVD and Blu-ray releases include Alejandro Jodorowsky’s SANTA SANGRE, Jess Franco’s MACUMBA SEXUAL and BLOODY MOON, Walerian Borowczyk’s IMMORAL WOMEN, the unrated Director’s Cut of Just Jaeckin’s GWENDOLINE, Richard Stanley’s restored HARDWARE, Enzo Castellari’s original INGLORIOUS BASTARDS, Oscar®-nominee Patrice Leconte’s THE HAIRDRESSER’S HUSBAND, Don Sharp’s PSYCHOMANIA and Roman Polanski’s WHAT? Severin’s upcoming HD restorations include Ted Post’s THE BABY, Eugenio MartÃn’s HORROR EXPRESS and Peter Duffell’s THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD. The company’s theatrical releases include BIRDEMIC, DEVOLVED, and the forthcoming horror anthology THE THEATRE BIZARRE.
Cary Grant's daughter Jennifer Grant has written a new book about life with her legendary father. The 45 year old part time actress is the product of Grant's marriage to actress Dyan Cannon, which ended in divorce. Unlike many books written by bitter children of Hollywood legends, Jennifer Grant's celebrates her relationship with her father, who she adored. She recalls that Grant retired from acting primarily to be there for her. She remembers the difficulties they had trying to obtain any privacy at all. The solution: Cary brought her to remote dude ranches where the "wow" factor of his stardom was kept low-key. For more click here
Click here to order the book Good Stuff: A Reminiscence of My Father, Cary Grant discounted from Amazon
Curb Your Enthusiasm star and Seinfeld co-creator has been signed to play the role of Mother Mengele in the long-delayed,but now soon-to-shoot big screen Three Stooges feature film. By virtue of David's character's name- obviously inspired by the notorious Dr. Josef Mengele, the mass-murdering "physician" at Auschwitz- this treatment of the comedy legends seems certain to be pushing the envelope in terms of taste. Look for more than just three guys getting their heads caught in vises. Click here for more
Paramount has informed Will Ferrell that it will not finance his long-planned sequel to his hit 2004 comedy Anchorman, a spoof of the American TV news business. Ferrell had planned to star in a stage version of the story,then transform it into a film. Ferrell probably hasn't helped change the minds of studio suits after calling them "idiots" for informing him they don't believe a sequel to the film is merited.Ferrell remains quite popular with audiences but is not a sure-fire box-office draw, as evidenced by the fact that a number of his films have under-performed against studio expectations. Paramount obviously thinks that the Anchorman gag can't be sustained throughout another film so many years after the original was released. For more click here
Actress and former Playboy Playmate Yvette Vickers has been found dead in her Beverly Hills home. She was 82 years old. Vickers had kept to herself so neighbors did not notice her absence until a year after she apparently died of natural causes. A neighbor broke into her home after noticing signs of neglect on the property and discovered her body, which was so badly decomposed she was unrecognizable. Vickers gained her primary fame from the 1958 B science fiction classic Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. Her image from the movie poster as the titular character became an iconic part of American pop culture. Stardom didn't follow, however, although Vickers did continue to work in small parts in feature films and on TV. Click here for more
By Lee Pfeiffer
A little-known supporting actor named Wes DeSoto has finally achieved fame - but not in the way he desired. The FBI has raided DeSoto's apartment and seized evidence that they claim proves he was the first person to upload the Oscar-winning film The King's Speech to the notorious web site Pirate Bay. The FBI says DeSoto, a member of the Screen Actors Guild, uploaded the film in January, before it had been commercially available to consumers. Members of the various guilds relating to the motion picture industry routinely receive DVD screeners for purposes of voting for year-end movie awards. All members are given strict warnings that they could be prosecuted if the DVDs are traced to any form of piracy. Nevertheless, inevitably someone gets careless and lends a DVD to the wrong person, or perhaps seeks to anonymously upload the video themselves to a pirate web site. As a member of the Writer's Guild of America, I received DVDs from Paramount of The Fighter and True Grit before they even hit theaters. However, I received warnings that made it clear I could do the kind of time that was depicted in Papillon if the DVDs were linked to any form of piracy. Studios warn recipients that if they are too nervous to maintain security over these DVD screeners, they should destroy them, as they are ultimately held responsible for their safe-keeping. In the case of DeSoto, the FBI was able to trace him as the alleged source because each guild member's DVDs have codes embedded in them that are unique to that member. DeSoto claims he has no affiliation with pirate sites and says the FBI investigation is much ado about nothing. For more click here
By Lee Pfeiffer
Last Saturday, the Loew's Jersey City movie theater presented Thing-Fest. Contrary to what you may think, this wasn't a tribute to the famed disembodied hand from The Addams Family. Rather, it was a double feature consisting of Howard Hawks' original 1956 science fiction classic The Thing From Another World along with John Carpenter's 1982 remake, The Thing. Hundreds of fans descended on the legendary movie palace that has been restored to its former glory thanks to many years of work by dedicated volunteers. I only attended the evening screening of the Carpenter movie, having never seen it before on the big screen. Suffice it to say, it was worth the effort. Universal provided a very good print of the movie and its widescreen attributes were accentuated by the excellent sound system in the Loew's, which made every sound effect resonate through the cavernous theater. The impact was made all the more impressive by Ennnio Morricone's heart-pounding score. Carpenter's reinterpretation of the Hawks film is a work of brilliance, but much credit must go to the special effects team for their amazing creations of the monster alien that morphs into the physical form of its victims. There is literally nothing that comes close to these achievements in today's CGI-packed sci-fi films. Although the audience was reverent and well-behaved, it was clear that the theater was packed with Thing fanatics, some of whom could not help but shout out key lines of dialogue at the precise moment the actors spoke the words.
A nice surprise was the appearance of actor Thomas Waites, who played "Windows", one of the ill-fated members of the Antarctic research team who meets a gruesome fate, courtesy of The Thing. Waites introduced the film, then appeared after the screening to engage in a Q&A with audience members. One interesting anecdote he told related to an almost disastrous bus ride the key cast members took to the remote Alaskan filming location. The bus became engulfed in white-out conditions due to a fast moving blizzard, causing the vehicle to hang precariously off an embankment. Keeping in spirit to his role as the film's heroic leading man, Kurt Russell took the lead and gingerly instructed his fellow actors as to how to slowly crawl off the bus without causing it to tumble over. (Shades of the original Italian Job!) Waites also graciously sat behind a "Thingfest" table in the theater's magnificent lobby and signed photos for a seemingly endless stream of fans. Adding to the unexpected pleasures was an impressive display of Thing memorabilia set up by collector Joe Hart, who traveled all the way from Canada to attend. Hart, who runs the excellent web site Outpost31.com, which is devoted to the Carpenter film, proved to have an impressive collection that boasted many toys, prop replicas and rare international movie posters.
Despite being almost 30 years old, John Carpenter's film remains a many splendored Thing.
(All photos copyright Cinema Retro. All rights reserved)
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Continue reading "CINEMA RETRO COVERS "THING-FEST" AT LOEW'S JERSEY CITY"
Life magazine recently unearthed some fascinating photos that were shot in 1960 when the Rat Pack was filming Oceans Eleven in Las Vegas. There are some terrific shots of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. behind the scenes on the film and in the casinos. Click here to view.
Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford combine star power in one of the most off-beat action films ever. Cowboys & Aliens, based on a graphic novel, has Craig and Ford as warring men of the old West who combine forces to combat an alien invasion. Sound weird? Yes, but considering the fact that all alien invasion movies are the realm of science fiction, there's no reason why they must always be set in the present day or the future. If you can suspend enough belief to the degree that aliens would choose Bayonne, New Jersey as their primary base for invasion, as in the 2005 version of War of the Worlds, why not go totally over the top and imagine that they also took on cowboys? The film combines some considerable talents including red-hot director Jon Favreau and producers Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. The trailer for the film has been released and it's weird beyond belief, starting off as a traditonal Western then morphing into epic battles with alien spaceships. Click here to watch
Acclaimed actor Ray Winstone reveals he's involved with bringing a follow up to The Long Good Friday to the screen. The original 1980 crime classic involves the falling empire of a British crime kingpin. The film starred Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren and a young Pierce Brosnan. Winstone says the film is too good to remake, so the new project will attempt to carry on the story and the legacy of its characters. Click here for more and to view the original trailer.
Click here to order the DVD from Amazon
By Lee Pfeiffer
Elizabeth Taylor had been married so often, as the old joke goes, she had rice marks on her face. She'd been wed eight times to seven men (Richard Burton walked the aisle twice with her). It was Taylor's last husband, blue collar worker Larry Fortensky that raised eyebrows, however. The odd couple met in a rehab center. Fortensky, who was a construction worker, was a beefy, good looking guy twenty years years younger than La Liz. While May/December romances are all the norm when the man is older, the public still frowned on women taking up with younger men - at least in the "pre-cougar" era. The couple married in 1991 and the union lasted five years before the seemingly inevitable divorce. Fortensky, who has faced health and financial problems in the ensuing years, has kept mum about his relationship with Liz, but is now talking. He says he's speaking out to defend himself against rumors that he was always a gold-digger. He is adamant that he and Liz were in love and that, despite their divorce, they continued to have great affection for one another. Click here for more
Some big names from classic TV shows will be joining together for the new big screen comedy Excuse Me, now shooting in Manhattan. Among them: Man From U.N.C.L.E. Robert Vaughn, Seinfeld alumni Jerry Stiller and Wayne Knight, and talk show legend Dick Cavett. Also in the cast: Christopher Lloyd. For more click here
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