BY LEE PFEIFFER

In an interesting article for Vanity Fair, Cari Beauchamp explores a fascinating aspect of old Hollywood that most movie fans aren't aware of. It concerns the Hollywood Studio Club, a boarding house with style that was specifically designed to provide a safe haven for young women who had immigrated to Hollywood in the hope of finding stardom. From the earliest days of the motion picture industry, studio executives acted as sexual predators. They held all the cards in their hands. If a fresh, innocent beauty really wanted some good career breaks, they soon learned what the price was. In the silent era, Mary Pickford became the premiere champion of establishing a house where numerous young women could rent a shared room with the knowledge men would not be able to exploit them, at least in their living quarters. Pickford lobbied influential studio executives as well as notorious moralist Will Hays, the film industry czar who would impose draconian censorship standards on the entire industry that would last for decades, to support the concept. She got these powerful men to donate large sums of money to build a more upscale residence for the young women, which would become known as the Hollywood Studio Club. It was not without irony that much of the funding came from lecherous men who were known to sexually exploit women once they set foot outside of their "safe haven". Nevertheless, the concept lasted until the 1970s, by which time reticence to follow the strict rules inside the Club diminished the ranks of young women who were prospective boarders. The place closed in 1975 but left a lasting legacy as an early home to the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Rita Moreno, Nancy Kwan, Kim Novak, Barbara Rush, Barbara Eden and many other actresses who found solace within the walls of the Hollywood Studio Club.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE.

Shout! Factory has released a 40th anniversary steelbook edition of "Rock 'N' Roll High School". Here is the official press release:

Los Angeles, CA – Gabba hey! It’s been 40 years since we first saw Riff Randall and the Ramones take the halls of Rock ’N’ Roll High School. To celebrate this punk rock anniversary Shout! Factory is releasing Rock ‘N’ Roll High School (40th Anniversary Edition Steelbook). Special features include a new 4K scan from the original camera negative, and a new feature-length documentary titled “Class Of ’79: 40 Years Of Rock ‘N’ Roll High School” – featuring Interviews with director/story writer Allan Arkush, co-director/story writer Joe Dante, actress P.J. Soles, screenwriter Richard Whitley, screenwriter Russ Dvonch, cinematographer Dean Cundey, editor Larry Bock, and more.

With explosive musical performances from the Ramones, the outrageous candor of teenage angst and nostalgic reverie of a counterculture rock movement, Rock ’N’ Roll High School has captured the hearts of many generations.

Executive produced by Roger Corman and directed by Allan Arkush (Heroes), Rock ’N’ Roll High School boasts performances by the Ramones and stars P.J. Soles (Halloween) in the lead role of Riff Randell, Vince Van Patten (Hell Night), Clint Howard (Grand Theft Auto), Dey Young (Spaceballs), Mary Woronov (Death Race 2000), Dick Miller (Piranha) and Paul Bartel (Hollywood Boulevard).

Based on Arkush’s own high school fantasy, the 1979 cult film takes place at Vince Lombardi High School — the wildest, most rockin’ high school around! That is, until a thug of a principal, Miss Togar, comes along and tries to make the school a totalitarian state. With the help of the Ramones, the students of Vince Lombardi battle Miss Togar's iron-fisted rule and take their battle to a truly rockin’ conclusion!

Rock ’N’ Roll High School quickly developed a devoted following after its release in 1979 and became a mainstay of the midnight movie cult circuit. As with films like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, audience members began to dress up like the cast and the Ramones for screenings.

Arkush, a self-described “unabashed rock ’n’ roll fanatic,” chose the Ramones to star as the film’s musical heroes, as he felt they epitomized pure rock ’n’ roll. As Arkush remembers, “We staged a live, marathon show at the Roxy Theatre that consisted of 22 hours of nonstop Ramones,” and the tireless quartet also wrote two songs for the film: “I Want You Around” and “Rock ’N’ Roll School.” The Ramones were fans of Corman as well. Johnny Ramone said in an interview at the time, “When we found out Roger Corman was behind the picture, we said, sure, we’ll do it because we knew he had a reputation and we knew he made good movies.”

Rock ‘N’ Roll High School (40th Anniversary Edition Steelbook) Bonus Features

NEW 4K Scan From The Original Camera Negative

NEW “Class Of ’79: 40 Years Of Rock ‘N’ Roll High School” – Featuring Interviews With Director/Story Writer Allan Arkush, Co-Director/Story Writer Joe Dante, Actress P.J. Soles, Screenwriter Richard Whitley, Screenwriter Russ Dvonch, Cinematographer Dean Cundey, Editor Larry Bock, And More!

Audio Commentary With Allan Arkush, Mike Finnell And Richard Whitley

Audio Commentary With Allan Arkush And Actors P.J. Soles And Clint Howard

Audio Commentary With Richard Whitley And Russ Dvonch

Audio Commentary With Executive Producer Roger Corman And Actress Dey Young

“Back To School: A Retrospective” With Interviews From Allan Arkush, Executive Producer Roger Corman And More

“Staying After Class”: An Interview With Actors P.J. Soles, Vincent Van Patten And Dey Young

Interview With Roger Corman Conducted By Leonard Maltin

Interview With Allan Arkush Including A Look At Rare, Behind-The-Scenes Stills

Audio Outtakes From The Roxy

Original Radio Ads And TV Spot

Theatrical Trailer

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON

BY JOHN M. WHALEN 

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood there was a writer who was something of a living legend. Between 1955 and 1975, screenwriter Stirling Silliphant wrote hundreds of television scripts and over his lifetime of 78 years, was credited by the Writers Guild with 200 movie scripts. He created and wrote over 150 teleplays just for “Route 66,” and “Naked City,” alone – two TV series that are considered arguably among the best written television dramas of this or any time. In a 1963 article, Time magazine quoted a producer who said that Stirling Silliphant was “almost inhuman . . . a writing machine . . . the fingers of God.” He was not only prolific, he was good. He won an Academy Award for adapting “In the Heat of the Night” (1967), starring Sidney Poitier; was one of the creative forces behind the production and writing of the Shaft movies; gave Bruce Lee his first role in an American feature film (“Marlowe” 1969); wrote the classic disaster movies “The Poseidon Adventure (1972),” and “The Towering Inferno” (1974); turned to novel writing; and eventually expatriated to Thailand, where he said he felt a spiritual connection, and eventually died. But by that time—and such is the fate of the writer in Tinseltown—he had almost become a forgotten man.

Silliphant’s early writing had a distinctive quality. He wrote stories that used to be described as the kind that “hit you where you live.” When he was writing at his best, his created characters that had a strong impact on you and his dialogue was a powerful mixture of poetry and gritty realism. The same year he wrote “The Poseidon Adventure,” he was hired to adapt “The New Centurions” (1972) from a novel by Joseph Wambaugh. In an interview, Silliphant said by that time he wrote this script his whole approach to screenwriting had changed. He dropped the poetry and wrote more realistic dialogue. He said he used to write paragraphs of almost novelistic description. But when he wrote “The New Centurions,” when describing a room in one scene he used just one word: shitty.

“The New Centurions” follows five years in the lives of three Los Angeles cops, starting with their days in the academy and ending with a grim finish for one of them. Stacy Keach plays Roy, a married man serving on the force while he attends law school. He and his wife Dorothy (Jane Alexander) are looking forward to the day he can quit being a cop and become a lawyer. Gus (Scott Wilson) is a less complicated man; all he wants in life is “to be a good cop.” But his aspirations get tossed in a trash can when he accidentally shoots the owner of a dry cleaners, mistaking him for one of the perps robbing the place. The third recruit, Sergio (Eric Estrada) is a Latino, a former gang member, who has risen from the ghetto, and faces a challenge when riots break out in his old neighborhood.

But towering above these three, is Sgt. Andy Kilvinski (George C. Scott), a seasoned veteran who serves not only as a mentor to the new recruits but is also a kind of spiritual force holding the whole precinct together. Everything is done according to “Kilvinski’s law,” which could be summed up as follows: “If a guy comes at you with his fists, use your night stick,” Kilvinski tells Roy. “If he come at you with a knife, use your gun. Cancel his ticket right then and there.”

On night shift Kilvinski reveals his secret for keeping hookers off the streets. Instead of arresting and booking them, he picks them up in a paddy wagon, buys them some vodka and milk, and lets them get drunk while he drives them around listening to the wild tales they have to tell about their latest tricks. “It’s illegal as hell,” Kilvinski says, “but nobody’s hurt and it saves a lot of paperwork and time spent in court rooms.”

(Above: Lyon appeared in a provocative ad campaign for "Lolita" that promised more eroticism than the actual film contained.) 

 BY LEE PFEIFFER

Sue Lyon, who briefly took Hollywood by storm as the teenage vixen in Stanley Kubrick's 1962 screen adaptation of the controversial Nabokov novel, has passed away after a long illness at age 73. Lyon was 14 years old when Kubrick cast her as the seductive object of middle-aged Humbert Humbert's (James Mason) sexual desire. The provocative nature of the novel deemed it to be unfilmable but Kubrick succeeded, albeit after making some key concessions to censors. Lyon's career saw her cast in another role as a teenage seductress in John Huston's 1964 film version of Tennessee Williams' "The Night of the Ignuana", this time with Richard Burton as a much older, defrocked clergyman who is tempted by her charms. However, stardom didn't follow despite her being cast in a key role in John Ford's final film "Seven Women". She also played a wayward teen in the 1967 Frank Sinatra hit, "Tony Rome" and starred with George C. Scott in "The Flim Flam Man" the same year. She appeared in numerous TV show episodes as a guest star before retiring from acting in 1980. Her personal life was tumultuous. She had been married five times, once to a convicted murderer (in 1973). Lyon blamed the bad press she received from her choice of a husband (the ceremony was performed in prison) for derailing her career. For New York Times obituary and rare 1962 filmed interview with Sue Lyon,  click here.

“HITCHCOCK AND HUMOR: MODES OF COMEDY IN TWELVE DEFINING FILMS” by Wes D. Gehring

(McFarland; ISBN 978-1-4766-7356-1 print; 978-1-4766-3621-4 e-book; $39.95 retail)

“THE MASTER OF DARK COMEDY”

By Raymond Benson

Just about anything with film historian and media writer Wes D. Gehring’s name on it will be of quality. A professor of telecommunications at Ball State University in Indiana and author of the regular column “The Reel World” in USA Today magazine, Gehring has distinguished himself as an expert on comedy—especially as it has been utilized in the cinema.

Among Gehring’s several books that explore humor in film are tomes on Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, Leo McCarey, Laurel and Hardy, Carole Lombard, W. C. Fields, and Frank Capra, as well as topical studies on dark comedy and screwball comedy.

Now comes Hitchcock and Humor, which evaluates the notion that the filmmaker who earned the moniker “The Master of Suspense,” is also “The Master of Dark Comedy.” Gehring makes his case by examining the humor in several of the early British pictures (Blackmail; The Man Who Knew Too Much; The 39 Steps; Secret Agent; and The Lady Vanishes), and several of the Hollywood delights (Mr. and Mrs. Smith; Shadow of a Doubt; Rope; Strangers on a Train; Rear Window; The Trouble with Harry; and North by Northwest). There is also an epilogue with brief comments on Psycho, which could very well be, as Gehring acknowledges, the most obvious example of dark humor that Hitchcock presented to an unsuspecting audience.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith, of course, is one of the filmmaker’s few blatant comedies. The picture starred Carole Lombard, about whom the author has previously written, and Gehring spends the chapter dissecting the actress’ importance to this wacky romantic comedy. A general public, however, might not immediately grasp the subtle humor displayed in the other titles, although film students and Hitchcock aficionados would surely already be aware of it. Consider this—while The 39 Steps is a riveting thriller about a wronged man on the run, it also has the hallmarks of a screwball comedy once Robert Donat meets and is handcuffed to Madeleine Carroll. The two characters are a mismatched couple thrown together by circumstances beyond their control, are initially at odds, and slowly gain affection for each other. Rope is full of gallows humor as the two killers (played by John Dall and Farley Granger) host a dinner party with the guests sitting around the “table” that is really a coffin holding their victim.

 

(The above trailer for North by Northwest amply illustrates Hitchcock's ability to blend thrills and humor.) 

As with most publications from McFarland, the book takes a scholarly approach—there is little in the way of illustrations (there are a few) and is mostly dense text (290 pages). While Hitchcock and Humor is intended for the more serious devotees of cinema and Alfred Hitchcock himself, the book is quite readable and entertaining.

BY DOUG OSWALD

Nicolas Cage and Sean Young take on a South American drug cartel in “Fire Birds,” available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber. Cage is a hot-shot U.S. Army Apache helicopter pilot at odds with his combat instructor pilot played by Tommy Lee Jones. He’s also dealing with the loss of his comrades on a recent drug enforcement mission in South America. They were shot down by a mercenary helicopter pilot working for the cartel named Eric Stoller (played by Bert Rhine). Cage is also trying to rekindle romance with a woman from his past, a helicopter pilot named Billie played by Sean Young. If you like helicopters, romance and scenes of air combat, this is the movie for you.

Jones is Chief Warrant Officer Brad Little, married father and newly assigned to train an elite group of Apache helicopter pilots for an air combat mission to take out a South American drug cartel. Cage is Jake Preston, newly assigned to train with Little who discovers a woman from his past is also at Fort Mitchel. Young is Billie Lee Guthrie, a scout helicopter pilot keeping Jake at arm’s length in response to Jake’s attempts to get her attention. Jake insists on cutting in and dancing with Billie at a local bar which results in a fight, further alienating Billie. Jake is a skilled pilot and the accompanying cocky attitude works against his attempts at romance with Billie. Dale Dye is on board as the commanding officer, Colonel A.K. McNeil, and J.A. Preston is General Olcott who orders the mission to take down the drug cartel.

Practicing in an Apache flight simulator which resembles an elaborate first person video game complete with moving compartment and wrap-around video monitors, Jake meets every challenge placed before him by Little as Jake repeats, “I am the greatest!” throughout the exercise and finishes with, “All gone! Bye-bye!” after destroying every enemy in his path. According to the audio commentary, Cage improvised much of his over-the-top performance and it works in developing Jake as the cocky pilot who then needs to be humbled and retrained to meet his nemesis, the mercenary Scorpion helicopter pilot Stoller. Jake screws up on a night training mission by nearly crashing his Apache and is grounded. It turns out he’s left eye dominant and has trouble accepting data from his right eye when connected to the night vision and combat data. He asks Little for help and he agrees stating, “You remind me of me 20 years ago.” This “softening” of Jake endears him to Billie and they renew their relationship as a Phil Collins love ballad fills the soundtrack.

Operation Fire Bird begins as soon as the training is completed. The team is assembled by Colonel McNeal and they are forward deployed to a base in South America in the Catamarca Desert. No country is ever named so we can only guess, but the Catamarca Desert is located in Argentina. Several aerial combat battles ensue between the drug cartel and the Apaches including the final inevitable confrontation between Jake and Stoller. The helicopter battle scenes were filmed using a combination of Army helicopters and models and the results are very exciting. This is the pre-CGI era and the models are mixed in with the real deal to great effect.

The three leads give fine performances in what is an otherwise predictable movie plot. Reviews at the time of release referred to “Fire Birds” as “Top Gun” with helicopters. Viewers of this movie will be pleasantly surprised at how good the movie is on the technical side and for that I can forgive the similarities to almost every military movie before it with combat, romance and swaggering military tropes.

The film is directed by David Green, probably best known for “Buster” with Phil Collins as Ronald Christopher "Buster" Edwards who was one of the thieves involved in "The Great Train Robbery" of 1963 in England. No wonder Collins provides two songs for “Fire Birds.” Green appears to be an odd choice as the director of a military action movie, but he acquits himself very well indeed. It also doesn’t hurt to have the cooperation of the Department of Defense, United States Army and Arizona National Guard. The use of several military locations, including filming at Ft. Hood, Texas, and the Army National Guard Aviation Training Site in Marana, Arizona, add value to the movie.

Released by TouchStone Pictures in 1990, the movie flies in at 86 minutes of non-stop helicopter combat action and romance. It all looks and sounds great, aided by the locations and top notch model and aerial work. Extras on the Blu-ray disc include an informative audio commentary by the director and trailers for this and other Kino Lorber releases. Recommended for fans of military action movies.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON

“HITCH FINDING HIS WAY”

By Raymond Benson

While there are many DVD collections (and VHS anthologies before that) of the early British material directed by Alfred Hitchcock in the 1920s and most of the 1930s, there are very few that contain decent transfers. The silent films, until recently, all existed in extremely poor quality, as so did most of the British sound pictures. Companies like The Criterion Collection and Kino Lorber have begun to finally restore these classics in high definition Blu-ray. (There is a long-held belief that these titles are in the public domain, but this is false.)

The new 2-disk Kino Lorber set, British International Pictures Collection, contains a handful of these early movies—The Ring (1927), The Farmer’s Wife (1928), Champagne (1928), The Manxman (1929), and the only sound feature in the bunch, The Skin Game (1931). They all display Hitch finding his way, exploring the possibilities of the medium, and trying to find his directorial “voice.” He was not yet the “Master of Suspense,” even though he had made one silent masterpiece thriller, The Lodger (1927), that kick-started his career. He did not yet have the clout to pick and choose his projects, so he directed whatever the studio assigned him. Too often, the titles were melodramas that bore little resemblance to the kinds of things Hitchcock would make once he had established his nickname.

The good news is that mostly these are beautifully restored transfers that look better than any previous iteration this reviewer has ever seen. In fact, the silent pictures look remarkable—Kino has done a splendid job in the presentation. (Oddly, the later title, The Skin Game, doesn’t look as good as the earlier ones, but it’s still more watchable than previous versions.)

The bad news is that none of these titles are stellar entries in Hitchcock’s oeuvre. In fact, only Hitchcock completists will get much out of this set, as admirably put together as it is.

The Ring is unique in that Hitchcock himself is credited with writing the screenplay—the only time in his entire filmography in which this is the case. Apparently, Hitch was a boxing fan and wrote the story about a love triangle between two fighters and the girl for whom they both have the hots. Hitchcock told François Truffaut in their famous interview that he considered The Ring to be the second “true” Hitchcock movie (after The Lodger). Personally, this reviewer finds it to be overly long, melodramatic, and slow.

The Farmer’s Wife is one of Hitchcock’s few comedies—a romantic comedy, to boot. It’s about a middle-aged farmer who becomes a widower and then sets about finding a new wife. Every woman he asks rejects him, until he realizes that his housekeeper will do just fine. (Believe it or not, that’s not a spoiler.) Again, the film is too lengthy and moves too slowly to be a comedy. Certainly not in the upper pantheon of Hitchcock classics.

Champagne is worse. Also billed as a “comedy,” it’s about a young woman from a wealthy family who is reckless and chases after a fellow who seemingly doesn’t want her. The woman’s father falsely declares bankruptcy to pull in her spending reins, but to no avail. In the end, the poor schmuck she was after ends up by her side after all (again, not a spoiler!).

The Manxman is so dreary and lifeless that it’s almost impossible to think that such a great filmmaker as Alfred Hitchcock made it. It’s another love triangle story in which the “Manxman” (a citizen of the Isle of Wight) goes away to find fame and fortune in Africa, leaving his beloved under the watchful gaze of his best friend. You can guess what happens between the beloved and the friend. Again—too long and too slow. Thank goodness Hitchcock rebounded from this with his first talkie, Blackmail, and proved that he really could direct a movie.

The Skin Game was Hitch’s fourth sound picture. It’s not terrible, but it’s not particularly good. It’s about two families of different social classes feuding over land. The richer family learns something scandalous about the daughter of the less-richer family and threatens blackmail. Edmund Gwenn (who starred in more than one Hitchcock title) is effective as the indignant head of the less-wealthy household. Of all the films in this collection, The Skin Game is the most interesting, and it’s not because it’s a talkie. There is some real drama going on, it’s just that there’s a lot of “melo-” to it.

Along with the superb high definition transfers, there are audio commentaries by film historian Farran Smith Nehme on Champagne and The Manxman, and by Nick Pinkerton on The Ring. New lovely scores accompany the silents—by Meg Morley (The Ring), Jon Mirsalis (The Farmer’s Wife), Ben Model (Champagne), and Andrew Earle Simpson (The Manxman). Finally, the only supplements are two audio excerpts from the Hitchcock/Truffaut interview related to the films in question.

Despite the so-so quality of the films themselves, the British International Pictures Collection does present outstanding editions of these early Alfred Hitchcock features—certainly worthwhile for any student and aficionado of the master during a crucial learning period of his profession.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON

Director Sergei Bondarchuk's 1970 epic "Waterloo" is rarely discussed and even more rarely screened today. However, in issue #46 of Cinema Retro, we delve into the massive logistics of bringing this epic historical event to the big screen in a production that starred Rod Steiger as Napoleon and Christopher Plummer as Wellington. The film was only made possible because the Soviet Union provided many thousands of military personnel to serve as extras in the magnificently- filmed battle sequences, the scope of which seemed to equal that of the real battle. Incidentally, the North American market has never enjoyed a DVD or Blu-ray release of this title. We hope this is rectified in the near future.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

The 1965 Universal thriller "Mirage" boasts a screenplay by Peter Stone, who excelled in writing witty action films with exotic plots and characters. Stone was coming off the great success of "Charade" for the studio and adopted the strategy of using one-word titles for "Mirage" and a follow-up film, "Arabesque". For "Mirage", Stone, who was a frequent collaborator with director Stanley Donen, had another seasoned film industry veteran, Edward Dmytryk in the director's chair. The film is arguably Stone's most disturbing film in terms of its basic premise, which was adapted from Howard Fast's novel "Fallen Angel", though the credits falsely indicate the book was written by Walter Ericson, which was a nom-de-plume Fast used because he had been blacklisted at the time he wrote the book. Of the story, the less said, the better, 'lest the viewer gets tipped off to the mind-numbing number of twists and turns.

Gregory Peck was plays David Stillwell, a New York City "cost accountant" who goes about his work in a Manhattan high rise office building. The film is only seconds into the plot when we witness a blackout in the building. As Stillwell and countless others stumble around in the darkness, emotions range from concern to opportunism, as a woman suggests he join a group she is quickly assembling to hold an orgy in the dark. When Stillwell gets to the street, the police are present and investigating the apparent suicide of a noted humanitarian, Charles Calvin (Walter Abel), who has plunged to his death from his office window amidst the chaos. Although Stillwell doesn't know the man, the incident will play a significant role in the story. Stillwell encounters some puzzling reactions to his interactions with people he knows well, in that they don't seem to recognize him. He soon comes to believe that he is suffering from a severe form of amnesia but can't explain why. Things get murkier when he is approached by Sheila (Diane Baker, well-cast in a role that Tippi Hedren and Leslie Caron had originally been considered for.) The elegant Sheila informs Stillwell that they were lovers until he jilted her. That's all just for starters in a scenario that would seem appropriate for a "Twilight Zone" episode. Adding to Stillwell's woes is the realization that he is being stalked by two mysterious hit men (Jack Weston and George Kennedy). He seeks psychiatric help but the doctor (Robert H. Harris) tells him that his psychological problems can't possibly be due to amnesia because Stillwell realizes he can't account for key aspects of his life over a period of two years, which the doctor says is not likely with known forms of the affliction.Stillwell finds himself in increasing danger, unable to trust anyone, as he tries to piece together the puzzle of his life over the last two years. There are clues that a "Mr. Big"- like unseen character known cryptically as "The Major" is orchestrating a deadly conspiracy but Stillwell can't understand his place in it.

Director Dymytryk ratchets up the suspense as Stillwell finds himself in the Hitchcockian position of being a protagonist who is caught up in a web of deadly intrigue that he can't possibly explain. Peck is excellent as the reluctant hero and he and Baker have genuine chemistry, with the viewer unsure as to Sheila's motives and allegiances. Walter Matthau (who, along with George Kennedy, appeared in "Charade") has a showy role as a middle-aged amateur private detective and there are welcome appearances by Leif Erickson, Kevin McCarthy and Anne Seymour. Adding to the viewing pleasure is the crisp B&W cinematography of Joseph MacDonald and a fine score by Quincy Jones. Though much of the film was shot at Universal Studios in Hollywood, there are an abundance of welcome on-location scenes filmed in Manhattan.

The Kino Lorber special edition features a commentary track by film historians Steve Mitchell, Nathaniel Thompson and Howard S. Berger that moves at a fast clip and proves to be very informative  and entertaining. Mitchell, who once lived in New York, provides some interesting insights into the various Gotham locations seen in the film. The trio also point out some interesting analogies to John Frankenheimer's "The Manchurian Candidate", though I would also offer that there are additional similarities in style and tone to Frankenheimer's unnerving 1966 film "Seconds". In that film, Rock Hudson played a man who takes a deadly gamble by intentionally living a life that he knows is a lie. In "Mirage", Gregory Peck is a man who is unwillingly courting death by living a life he knows is a lie. There is also a recently filmed interview with Diane Baker, looking as glamorous as ever. She provides some engaging anecdotes about working on the film, saying she adored Gregory Peck but felt a bit uneasy about their apparent age difference. She also discusses working with Alfred Hitchcock on "Marnie". Rounding out the special features are trailer and still photo galleries. Highly recommended.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON

BY LEE PFEIFFER

French model-turned actress Claudine Auger has passed away at age 78. Auger was France's entry in the Miss World contest at age 17 in 1958. She later entered the movie profession and caught the eye of James Bond producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman when they were casting the female lead for the fourth 007 blockbuster "Thunderball" starring Sean Connery in 1965. Auger wasn't their first choice, as Faye Dunaway, Julie Christie and Raquel Welch had been considered, but for different reasons, did not end up playing the pivotal role. In the film, Auger played Domino, the mistress of Spectre villain Emilio Largo, played by Adolfo Celi. Domino seems content with the life of luxury afforded her by Largo but upon being seduced by James Bond, she courageously risks her life to help him thwart Spectre's nuclear threat to Miami Beach. Although Auger could speak fluent English, like several of the early Bond film actresses, she was dubbed in the final cut of the film. Despite the phenomenal worldwide success of "Thunderball", major stardom did not follow for Auger, although she continued to appear in films and television, mostly in Europe. In 1966, "Thunderball" director Terence Young cast her in a major Hollywood film, the WWII spy thriller "Triple Cross" starring Christopher Plummer and Yul Brynner. She also appeared in the 1971 Italian cult hit "The Black Belly of the Tarantula" with Giancarlo Giannini, who she would later star with in the comedy "Lovers and Liars". Auger continued to act until the late 1990s. Married twice, she is survived by a daughter with her late husband Peter Brent, who passed away in 2008. Auger tended to avoid the spotlight and did not participate in most of the retrospective James Bond events and documentaries made over the years since the release of "Thunderball". For more, click here.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

The character of Billy Jack, played by Tom Laughlin, was introduced in the 1967 biker movie "The Born Losers". In the 1971 film "Billy Jack", Laughlin's reappeared as the martial arts expert who defended the downtrodden while spouting progressive values. The film flopped badly at the boxoffice but Laughlin and his wife (and co-star) Delores Taylor secured the rights to the film and re-released it in 1974 with a creative advertising and distribution campaign. The movie struck boxoffice gold and paved the way for a 1975 sequel, "The Trial of Billy Jack". Young people responded to the liberal-leaning film, as it was released while the Watergate scandal and the resignation of President Richard Nixon were still foremost in the minds of the American public. It seemed natural that Laughlin would make another film in the series. "Billy Jack Goes to Washington", a modern remake of Frank Capra's "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", was to be released in 1976 but production delays ensued and the film received a only a few theatrical test screenings in April, 1977 and a three-week "pre-release" run in the Milwaukee area in November of that year. Poor word-of-mouth and critical notices dissuaded studios from offering distribution deals and the movie faded into oblivion. Writing in the Washington Post, columnist John Kelly explores some other obstacles the Laughlins had to contend with: namely barriers that were in place at the time that made it difficult to film politically-oriented movies in Washington, D.C. Laughlin would later become a political gadfly and espoused many different conspiracy theories demonizing big government and big business. But John Kelly posits that in the case of "Billy Jack Goes to Washington", Laughlin may indeed have been victimized by an effort to make life difficult for him in terms of filming on location. Kelly says other politically-themed  movies of the era met the same fate, resulting in the formation of the Office of Motion Picture and Television Development, which was designed to be more accommodating to filmmakers. That aside, the primary reason for the film's fate appears to be the opinion in the industry that the series had simply run out of steam.

To read the article, click here.

In an insightful article for the Hollywood Reporter, writer David Weiner revisits the production of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", which hit theaters 40 years ago this month. The film had a mixed reception from "Trek" fans and critics but the story behind the movie is a fascinating one. The article features extensive comments from William Shatner and visual effects wizard Douglas Trumbull who was dragooned into reluctantly saving the production when the special effects proved problematic. Director Robert Wise was an Oscar winner but he found that the new technologies called for him to step aside and let Trumbull conceive and direct the complex special effects-laden sequences. The result was a film that, although not the blockbuster Paramount had anticipated, proved profitable enough to launch more "Trek" films on the big screen. Click here to read the story.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Kino Lorber has released a Blu-ray edition of the little-remembered 1954 "B" movie thriller "Highway Dragnet". Despite it's modest production values, the film is a textbook example of how efficiently films in this genre were made and how much action and plot devices can be worked into a movie with an abbreviated running time (70 minutes, in this case.)  Young Roger Corman wrote the story upon which the screenplay was based and also served as one of the producers. That's about the only aspect of the film that one could point out in terms of separating "Highway Dragnet" from countless other crime dramas shot in a similar style. That isn't meant as a criticism. We're rediscovering how cleverly made so many of these micro-budget flicks were and this one is one of the better examples. The film opens with a brief segment in Las Vegas. Richard Conte is Jim Henry, who has just returned from the conflict in Korea and is now looking to enjoy civilian life. He's on his way back to his family home in the Salton Sea area in California when his pit stop at a Vegas casino results in a tense encounter with an abrasive blonde at the bar. The two publicly quarrel and Jim leaves the premises. The next day he is on a desert highway hitchhiking when cops pull up and arrest him. Turns out the sassy dame was found strangled in her bed and Jim is the prime suspect. He has an alibi that he was out with a friend all night but due to some convoluted plot reasons, the tale can't be easily substantiated. Jim resists the arresting officers, steals one of their guns and makes a getaway in the squad car. A full dragnet is in place when he ditches the police car when he comes across two stranded women who are trying to fix their broken-down car. Jim jumps to the rescue and gets the vehicle working, but also insists on traveling with them, as it gives him cover from the police. His new companions are Mrs. Cummings (Joan Bennett), a fashion photographer and her model Susan Willis (Wanda Hendrix). The women are en route to photo shoot at a local desert resort hotel. When they arrive there, they learn that Jim is wanted for murder. He takes off with them into the desert where the car breaks down and they are at the mercy of the relentless sun. Mrs. Cummings is determined to kill Jim if she has the opportunity but Susan, who is clearly enamored of the ex-serviceman, argues that she thinks he is innocent. The cat and mouse game continues as Jim desperately tries to make it back to his family home, where the man who can exonerate him is supposed to be waiting.

"Highway Dragnetl" is a fun romp, especially if you like the old style of crime movies in which the hero is nonplussed by events and seems to have Bondian abilities to escape every trap. Richard Conte makes a good, stalwart hero and his female co-stars are equally impressive. The climax of the film, shot on location amid flooded homes in the Salton Sea area, is quite atmospheric and impressive, even if the resolution of the crime is bit thin and far-fetched when it comes to revealing the real murderer. Director Nathan Juran wisely eschews studio-bound shots in favor of capitalizing on the desert locations and they add considerably to the quality of the production. "HighwayDragmetl" isn't a film noir classic but it's well-made and thoroughly enjoyable. Recommended, especially since you'll only need 70 minutes to experience it.

The Kino Lorber Blu-ray offers a pristine transfer and a trailer gallery of other "B" crime movies available from the company.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON

BY LEE PFEIFFER

The Warner Archive has released the 1964 Civil War comedy Advance to the Rear on DVD. The b&w film would certainly have been destined to the bottom of double bills had it not been for its impressive cast: Glenn Ford, Stella Stevens, Melvyn Douglas, Jim Backus and Joan Blondell among them. They must have all seen potential in the script that was not realized on screen. The movie, directed by the usually reliable George Marshall, is a low-budget quickie that has little to recommend aside from its charismatic cast. The story takes place in the early days of the Civil War. Colonel Brackenbury (Melvyn Douglas) is a bumbling martinet, despite having graduated from West Point. He simply wants to sit the war out in as easy a fashion as possible. However, his more assertive second-in-command, Capt. Heath (Glenn Ford), heroically captures some confederate soldiers. This upsets the mutually agreed upon stalemate between both sides and increases the hostilities. An errant horse results in the Union troops going into full retreat (which seems to be a clear inspiration for a plot device seen in the opening credits of the TV series "F Troop".) As punishment, Blackenbury is demoted and is put in charge of a misfit brigade of con men and idiots. The company is sent far away from the war to police a normally quiet Indian reservation. However, they inadvertently become part of a major mission to prevent confederate spies from hijacking a shipment of Union gold that is going through the territory. The bulk of the problem falls to Heath to cope with, as his men are blunderers and his commanding officer is lazy and cowardly.  

The film ambles from one slapstick routine to another until the results are wearying. How many times can one be amused by seeing cavalrymen terrified of the notion of getting on a horse? Stella Stevens is present as a confederate spy masquerading as a hooker in the employ of madam Joan Blondell (who seemed to have a monopoly on the role of madam in every film made during this period). Stevens has little to do but inevitably - and predictably- fall in love with the man she is targeting for information, Capt. Heath. One of the few points of interest in this bland comedy is the extensive usage of the famed riverboat that had been a mainstay on the MGM back lot since the film of Showboat. The boat had been worked into everything the studio did, from sitcoms to spy series. It's good to see this vintage vessel given some extensive screen time.

Advance to the Rear does have a rather amusing performance by Melvyn Douglas, who won the Oscar that year for supporting actor for his superb work in the previous year's Hud. This movie was sandwiched between that classic and another great comedy, The Americanization of Emily. Thankfully, Advance to the Rear was all but ignored. The film also benefits from a sterling supporting cast that includes Andrew Prine, Jim Backus and Alan Hale Jr. (For TV trivia buffs, the latter two actors would go on to star together in Gilligan's Island.) However, the uninspired screenplay and cheap production values undermine the actors at every turn. There is the heartwarming sight of Stella Stevens prancing about in a bustier, but one can't help ponder what the film would have amounted to if it had a better script. Still, it's good that the Warner Archive is making such low-rung titles available. At a minimum, they afford retro movie fans the opportunity to relish great stars affording them some modest viewing pleasures.

The only bonus is the theatrical trailer.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM THE CINEMA RETRO MOVIE STORE

For our money, Irwin Allen's 1974 blockbuster "The Towering Inferno" is the best disaster movie ever- and this trailer shows why.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

It is curious that so few major films have depicted the Spanish Civil War, given the fact that it was one of the most significant conflicts of the 20th century. The war began in 1936 and ended in 1939, the same year WWII would erupt. The consequences of the Spanish Civil War were enormous. A coup had been launched against the government and was headed by influential generals, one of whom was Francisco Franco. Tens of thousands of foreigners traveled to Spain to fight with whatever side represented their values. Adolf Hitler backed the revolutionaries and supplied critical weaponry and air power to ensure their victory. (By doing so, he gained valuable combat experience for his forces, knowing they would be used later in the year to invade Poland.) The outcome of the war was significant to the world. Franco emerged as the strongman leader of Spain and would retain power until his death in 1975. By having an ally in Spain, Hitler could count on not having to deal with a military threat when he sought domination over much of Europe. The end of the Civil War saw countless thousands from the losing side frantically immigrate to neighboring France, 'lest they suffer the fate of so many others who died in genocidal executions. 

In 1964, acclaimed director Fred Zinnemann ("High Noon", "From Here to Eternity") adapted fellow filmmaker Emeric Pressburger's novel "Killing a Mouse on Sunday" to the screen as "Behold a Pale Horse" (the title has biblical implications.) The movie opens with some documentary footage of the Spanish Civil War, though the brief narration does little to provide facts or context to those who were not familiar with the history of the conflict.  Manuel Artiguez (Gregory Peck) is a fighter who finds himself on the losing side. He grudgingly crosses the border into France. The story then advances to the late 1950s. Artiguez is living in miserable exile in a dank apartment in a tiny border town.  We are introduced to Vinolas (Anthony Quinn), a powerful and corrupt police commissioner across the border in Spain who has established his own fiefdom where he rules with an iron fist. Vinolas has only one blot on his record: his failure over the last twenty years to capture or kill Artiguez, who periodically sneaks into Spain to commit acts of sabotage and violence. Thus, he has established himself as a legend among friend and foe alike. When Vinolas discovers that Artguez's beloved elderly mother (Mildred Dunnock) is terminally ill, he has her placed in a hospital under guard, presuming that Artiguez will have to make a daring attempt to see her on her death bed. However, his mother gives a young priest, Francisco (Omar Sharif), a letter to deliver to him in France warning him that it is a trap and to stay away. Much of the middle section of the film traces Francisco's determined mission to discover Artiguez's whereabouts and deliver him the letter. He leaves it in the care of a child who idolizes Artiguez and the boy destroys the letter so that Artiguez will not be tempted to make the journey. Tension builds when the ill-tempered Artiguez tries to discern whether the letter really existed and he eventually tracks the priest to Lourdes, where he is making a pilgrimage. However, no one can dissuade Artiguez from taking up the challenge of somehow seeing his dying mother, even if the quest costs him his life.

 

Actor Danny Aiello has passed away at age 86 following a brief illness. Aiello didn't start acting until age 34 but when he did, he became a reliable and popular character actor. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing", playing the owner of a pizza parlor trying to navigate boiling racial tensions in the neighborhood. He also had a memorable role in Norman Jewison's "Moonstruck". Other films include "The Godfather Part II", "The Front", "The Purple Rose of Cairo", "Radio Days" (the latter three with Woody Allen), "Fingers", "Fort Apache the Bronx", "The Cemetary Club", "Ready to Wear", "The Professional", "Once Upon a Time in America" and "Prince of the City". Although Aiello worked with some of the most legendary directors, his one regret was not having been cast in a Martin Scorsese film. For more click here.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Squeezed in between the seemingly endless barrage of cinematic "tent pole" action and super hero franchises and tasteless comedies are some exquisite smaller films that traditionally get overlooked. One film that deserves plenty of accolades and a wide audience is director Francois GIrard's "The Song of Names", a Canadian production that is being released by Sony Classics. I first saw the film at the Sony screening room in New York City in September  and was completely absorbed and moved by it from the opening frames. It's always a danger that a critic, in trying champion a film, might reveal too many details and thus compromise the impact of the movie for potential viewers. "The Song of Names" is one such film. Based on the novel by Norman Lebrecht, the script by the estimable Jeffrey Caine is steeped in religious dogma but it is not a film that is primarily about a religion, in this case Judaism. Rather, the religious component provides the catalyst for what is an intriguing mystery that begins in 1951 and extends into the mid-1980s.

The story opens with Martin Simmonds (Tim Roth), a middle-aged man in London, who has been haunted since the 1951 inexplicable disappearance of Dovidl Rappaport, who he grew up with and considers to be his brother in every sense. The story switches back in time to 1939, with Nazi Germany gearing for a possible invasion of Poland on the basis of a false justification. A Jewish family from Poland arrives in London and pleads with Gilbert Simmonds (Stanley Townsend), a respected music publisher, to act as mentor for their young son Dovidl (Luke Doyle), who is described to Gilbert as a musical prodigy. His family wants to ensure that his genius is nurtured in a safe place, which Poland most decidedly is not. Gilbert has reservations, but agrees, thus bringing stress into his household, particularly for his own nine-year old son Martin (played at this time by Misha Handley), who understandably rebels at having a rival for his parent's attention sharing a bedroom with him. The story chronicles the abrasive relation between the two boys as they gradually warm to each other and become brothers in every practical way. Gilbert's attentions to Dovidl's talents have yielded dividends and he is becoming known as a master violinist. When war breaks out, Dovidl is uncertain as to the fate of his family, who returned to besieged Poland and the human catastrophes that would follow. This will form the basis of a separate mystery that plays a crucial aspect in the events that will unfold over the course of the story.

After the war, Gilbert continues to nurture Dovidl's extraordinary talents on the violin. In 1951, he decides the now 21-year old prodigy (played now by Jonah Hauer-King) deserves a high profile showcase for his talents. He uses all of his financial resources to stage a much-publicized concert at a prestigious London concert hall to serve as Dovidl's formal debut before the city's most influential citizens. However, on the evening of the big event, Dovidl does not show up, leaving both Gilbert and Martin (now played by Gerran Howell) perplexed and panicked. The debacle costs Gilbert his entire fortune as well as his revered reputation and he dies shortly thereafter a heartbroken man. Martin, too, is scarred for life. Why did Dovidl not appear? The question continues to haunt him over the coming decades to the point that he becomes obsessed with finding the answers, despite the strain it places on his relationship with his tolerant but long-suffering wife, Helen (Catherine McCormack.) He embarks on a years-long international odyssey to discover Dovidl's fate, spurred on by intriguing rumors that he has been seen alive. I won't say much more about the mystery other than Martin locates and focuses his attention on a man (Clive Owen) who is a member of the Hasidic community who may actually be Dovidl.

Ordinarily, I'm not fond of the recent trend in movies to stray from relating the plot through a linear timeline. All too often, jumping back and forth in time can lead the viewer to become confused and at times it can appear to be gimmicky. But screenwriter Jeffrey Caine manages to thread the needle successfully, as does director Girard, who has the obstacle of having Martin and Dovidl each played by three different actors at different stages of the character's lives. What emerges is a compelling and highly moving story with major components involving the Blitz of London and the Treblinka death camp in Poland (where the producers were granted extraordinary access to shoot a moving scene at the Treblinka memorial). The sweep of the film is impressive (it was shot in England, Hungary, Poland and Canada) and production designer Francois Seguin deserves great credit for transporting the viewer to various locations and time periods in a very convincing manner by reflecting the respective time periods in a thoroughly convincing manner. The title of the film derives from a religious song that commemorates the name of every known victim who died at Trebilinka. It's a fictitious invention but heeds closely to the Jewish tradition of remembering through song. The scene in which a central character performs a solo violin performance set to the singing of the victims' names may well move you to tears. In reality, the song was an original creation of composer Howard Shore, whose work in this film deserves an Oscar nomination. All too often today, studios consider the contributions of composers to be rather perfunctory components of films. Shore reminds us of how crucial musical composition is the emotional resonance of any movie. The performances are all superb, with Roth and Owen delivering their best work in many years and the actors who portray their younger incarnations are also outstanding. Director Francois Girard, who specializes in films about music as well as directs operas and musical stage productions, is in top form here, deftly weaving a tale of mystery, loss and the human condition as it applies to two men who are haunted by the past. 

It took nine years to bring this remarkable story to the screen. Kudos to producer Robert Lantos for succeeding in doing so. The film opens in New York and L.A. on Christmas Day and will have a staggered expansion to other theaters on January 3 and January 24. Seek it out...my guess is that you will find it a very rewarding experience.

BY HANK REINEKE

The best moments of John Lemont’s giant-ape movie Konga (1961) come courtesy via the manic performance of the great Michael Gough. As the maddest of all crazed botanists, Gough’s deranged Charles Decker is exactly what we B-movie enthusiasts want in our mad scientist – he’s nothing if not completely batty and bonkers. The actor was presumably a favorite of producer Herman Cohen, the Yank film executive utilizing Gough’s services in such British thrillers as Horrors of the Black Museum (1959), Konga, and The Black Zoo (1963). The aforementioned trio of shockers are not, for all of their intermittent charms, representative of Cohen’s best (read “schlockiest”) work. But they’re OK.

In association with A.I.P. in the U.S., Cohen had already given us a number of iconic Silver-Age horror and sci-fi B-movie classics with I Was a Teenage Frankenstein and I Was a Teenage Werewolf (both 1957). While Konga is not among Cohen’s better efforts, the film certainly never falls short of being dependably wacky and memorable in its unspooling. If you are the forgiving type who enjoys this sort of entertainment, there’s still a lot of fun to be had. That is as long as you’re willing to compromise your personal integrities and to shut down both your critical and mental faculties for ninety-minutes or so.

In Konga, Michael Gough plays Charles Decker, a preeminent British botanist and lecturer at London’s prestigious Essex College. While on expedition in Africa, Decker’s biplane goes missing somewhere over Uganda, the aerial crash killing the pilot upon impact. Decker somehow has managed to bail out of the plane in the seconds preceding the crash. He even – quite improbably - has the wits about him to parachute to safety while cradling a cumbersome 16mm film camera. The scientist is found broken and dazed in the jungle brush by a chimpanzee named Konga. The simian kindly leads him to the guardianship and protection of the Baganda’s, described here as a primitive, mystical tribe distantly related to the Bantu. While this preamble sounds very much like an exciting jump start to the film, we’re – disappointingly - not privy to witnessing any of it as it unfolds. The preceding action is all explained to us second-hand during a cost-saving recount delivered during one of Decker’s classroom sessions.

Though the scientific community presumed Decker had perished in the Ugandan crash, the scientist actually used his time in the jungle studiously. Over the course of a year, he carefully absorbed the methodologies of the tribal witchdoctor who mastered the mysteries of both serum-induced hypnotism and of the insectivorous plant life that grew abundantly in the region. When Decker finally returns with great fanfare to London, he’s consumed by the belief that there’s an as-of-yet-unexplored evolutionary link between plant and human life. The more sober Dean of Essex College disagrees and demands that Decker stop embarrassing the institution with such witchdoctor-inspired nonsense.

With a grudge, Decker is about to prove his skeptics wrong. He converts his backyard greenhouse into a monstrous habitat for flesh-eating plants. (There’s actually more of Roger Corman’s The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) than King Kong on display here in Konga). The botanist is assisted by his amorous if sexually frustrated assistant Margaret (Margo Johns). She is tasked to see that the environment of the glass-enclosed building is kept at exactly ninety-degrees with the appropriate amount of humidity and moisture maintained. This is to best replicate the steamy Ugandan climate so that his carnivorous plants can bloom healthfully.

Though Margaret has been a faithful “secretary, lab assistant, and housekeeper” to Dr. Decker – even having kept up his basement laboratory in the year-long absence when he was presumed dead – he seems little interested in having her as a paramour or wife. “There’s very little room for sentiment in the life of a scientist,” he tells her with a cold sniff. While we have already been clued that Decker is a driven, uncompromising and humorless loner, he nonetheless demonstrates little reserve in his creepy pursuit of Sandra (Claire Gordon), one of his comely teenage students at Essex. This romance goes unrequited as well. Then again, it really had no chance to blossom… especially following Decker’s clumsy attempt to sexually assault the girl amidst his monstrous garden of flesh-eating plants. It would be fair to presume Decker’s teaching career would surely not have survived the scrutiny and retribution of the present #metoo movement.

But this is now and that was then. While this is a fun popcorn-munching movie and a personal guilty pleasure to many, few would argue it’s a work of cinematic art. Even among devotees of this already odd “Giant Ape” genre, Konga is often the subject of winking, good-natured ridicule. Attending a matinee double-bill of Konga and Master of the World upon its release in 1962, New York Times critic Eugene Archer noted the assembled audience of ten-year-olds, “greeted Konga with misplaced guffaws,” while according the Vincent Price film “a smattering of applause.”

Ennio Morricone: Master of the Soundtrack, Hardcover: by Maurizio Baroni, 368 pages, Publisher: Gingko Press; 01 edition (31 Oct. 2019), Language: English, ISBN-10: 3943330338, ISBN-13: 978-3943330335

BY DARREN ALLISON, Cinema Retro Soundtrack Editor

Whilst Maurizio Baroni’s book on Maestro Ennio Morricone might not be the first to be released in 2019, it is certainly a serious contender as the most rewarding. Comparing Baroni’s book with the summer release of Alessandro De Rosa’s Ennio Morricone: In His Own Words, is arguably a little unfair. Both books are very different in terms of context. De Rosa’s book is a more methodical study of Morricone’s compositional style, his non-film music and other composers. In essence it is written more in a biographical style.

However, Master of the Soundtrack is laid out in a very simplistic way and with the main focus (for the first time) centring on Morricone’s discography. Baroni’s book consists of two basic halves. The first half features a great deal of written articles and interviews from the likes of famous admirers, directors and critics. Among the contributors are: John Carpenter, Quentin Tarantino, Sir Christopher Frayling, Edda Dell’Orso, Dario Argento, John Boorman and a great deal more. Most of the written pieces have previously been published but nevertheless work perfectly when gathered together and set out among this single bound volume. Trying to track down various articles and interviews on Morricone is seldom an easy task, but Baroni is a fan first and foremost, and as a result, provided all of the practical legwork and strenuous digging on our behalf. From a fan’s perspective, all that is required is for us is to sit back, read and reap the rewards. The written articles make up for the first thirty or so pages and make the book very easy to navigate.

The second phase of the book (pages 31-332) are split into decades and is a lavish compendium of Morricone’s catalogue of work. Each of the chapter’s opening pages introduces a complete year-by-year discography of Morricone’s film and television soundtrack releases along with their associated directors. It is here where you first begin to digest the sheer sense of enormity and proficiency in regards to the composer’s vast body of work. From here on, Baroni’s book shifts into top gear with page upon page of beautifully illustrated covers consisting of albums, EPs and 45s – all of which have been collated from various regions of the globe.

All of the images are supported by captions providing either background information and/or fascinating related titbits. The editors have also refused to scrimp when it comes to reproducing these splendid images. There are no postage stamp sized illustrations here. Instead you will find half page images often with two more covers occupying the other half page. The illustrations have clearly not been hurried, the attention to detail is first rate and it is obvious that whoever was responsible for this task has taken the time to lovingly restore each and every record sleeve. It not only stands out, but also makes all the difference. It simply elevates this book into a whole new level of quality. Add to this the occasional full page of original sheet music or cue sheets and it pretty much confirms we are in the comforting realms of Morricone bliss.

Ennio Morricone: Master of the Soundtrack is not an inexpensive book, but admirers of the Italian composer will simply love it, as would any serious collector of soundtrack music. One could argue that you are paying by the poundage when it comes to this heavyweight beast of a book. However, rest assured, upon its arrival, you may also find a counter argument – in that it’s actually worth every single ounce.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON UK 

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON USA

REVIEW: "THE BOUNTY MAN" (1972) STARRING CLINT WALKER AND MARGOT KIDDER; KINO LORBER DVD RELEASE

"ABBOTT AND COSTELLO: THE COMPLETE UNIVERSAL PICTURES COLLECTION" BLU-RAY SET FROM SHOUT! FACTORY

REVIEW: "THE GIANT BEHEMOTH" (1959); WARNER ARCHIVE BLU-RAY RELEASE

REVIEW: "BANK SHOT" (1974) STARRING GEORGE C. SCOTT; KINO LORBER BLU-RAY RELEASE

CINEMA RETRO SEASON 16 IS HERE! TIME TO SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW.

"THE ANNE BANCROFT COLLECTION" RELEASED BY SHOUT! FACTORY

"NO TIME TO DIE" OFFICIAL TRAILER IS RELEASED

SCORSESE'S "THE KING OF COMEDY" (1982): REDISCOVERING A CLASSIC

"NO TIME TO DIE" CHARACTER POSTERS RELEASED

REVIEW: "THE MAGIC SWORD" (1961) STARRING BASIL RATHBONE AND GARY LOCKWOOD; KINO LORBER BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION

"NO TIME TO DIE" JAMES BOND PROMO IS UNVEILED

REVIEW: "ANGEL UNCHAINED" (1970) STARRING DON STROUD; SCORPION BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION

DVD REVIEW: "RETURN OF THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES" (1981) STARRING BUDDY EBSEN, NANCY KULP, WERNER KLEMPERER, IMOGENE COCA AND DONNA DOUGLAS