Enjoy this episode of "The Saint" starring Roger Moore, originally aired in 1963 and presented by Shout! Factory. You'll see some familiar faces in the cast: Dawn Addams, Neil McCallum, Michael Bates and Angus Lennie (who appeared in "The Great Escape" the same year) among them. This episode, "The Fellow Traveler", was the second episode of Season 2. Check out Shout!FactoryTV.com for more classic shows and movies. To watch the film using the "full screen" option, click here)
Cinema Retro has received the following press release:
First 4K Ultra HD in the Paramount Presents Line Debuts May 17, 2022 with New and Legacy Bonus Content
One
of the greatest Westerns in cinematic history arrives for the first
time ever on 4K Ultra HD with High Dynamic Range (HDR) as part of the
Paramount Presents line when THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE debuts May 17, 2022 from Paramount Home Entertainment.
Four-time Academy Award®-winning*
director John Ford brought together an all-star cast for what is
considered by many critics to be a quintessential—and yet
pioneering—Western late in his storied career. Starring James Stewart
and John Wayne (together for the first time), alongside Vera Miles, Lee
Marvin, John Carradine and Lee Van Cleef, THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE
tells the engrossing story of a senator (Stewart), his old friend
(Wayne), and a despicable outlaw called Liberty Valance (Marvin).
THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCEwas
selected in 2007 for preservation in the United States National Film
Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically,
or aesthetically significant.” Adapted from a short story by Dorothy
M. Johnson, the screenplay by James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck
gave us the often-quoted line “When the legend becomes fact, print the
legend.”
Meticulously remastered in stunning 4K Ultra HD for its 60th anniversary this year, THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE
is presented in collectible packaging featuring a foldout image of the
film’s original theatrical poster and an interior spread with key movie
moments. The release also includes access to a Digital copy of the film
and a Blu-ray Disc™ with a new Filmmaker Focus featuring film historian
Leonard Maltin discussing John Ford, the film, and its legacy. The
Blu-ray™ also includes legacy bonus content as detailed below:
·Filmmaker Focus - Leonard Maltin on The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance—NEW!
Feature commentary
by filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich, along with his archival recordings with
John Ford and James Stewart
Selected scene commentary
with introduction by Dan Ford, along with his archival recordings with
John Ford, James Stewart and Lee
Marvin
The Size Of Legends, The Soul Of Myth
Chapter 1: Changing Of The Guard
Chapter 2: The Irascible Poet
Chapter 3: The Hero Doesn't Win, The Winner Isn't Heroic
Chapter 4: Most Things Happen By Accident
Chapter 5: The Great Protector
Chapter 6: Spotlight - Lee Marvin
Chapter 7: Print The Legend
Original Theatrical Trailer
About Paramount Presents
This
collectible line spans celebrated classics to film-lover favorites,
each from the studio’s renowned library. Every Paramount Presents
release features never-before-seen bonus content and exclusive
collectible packaging. Additional titles available in the Paramount
Presents collection on Blu-ray include: Fatal Attraction, King Creole, To Catch a Thief, Flashdance, Days of Thunder, Pretty In Pink, Airplane!, Ghost, Roman Holiday, The Haunting, The Golden Child, Trading Places, The Court Jester, Love Story, Elizabethtown, The Greatest Show on Earth, Mommie Dearest,Last Train From Gun Hill, 48 HRS., Another 48 HRS., Almost Famous, A Place in the Sun, Nashville, Bugsy Malone, Breakdown,The Sheik, Vanilla Sky, Ragtime, Harold and Maude and Ordinary People.
Warner Archive has released a Blu-ray edition of the 1966 thriller Eye of the Devil. The MGM movie, directed by J. Lee Thompson, is one of the last major B&W studio releases. The film had a troubled production history. The female lead had been Kim Novak, but when she was injured during filming, Deborah Kerr took over and had to reshoot all of her scenes - a costly and troublesome process. However, this meant that Kerr was reunited with her Separate Tables co-star David Niven (the pair would be seen on screen again the following year in Casino Royale). Eye of the Devil is an atmospheric thriller with supernatural overtones. Niven plays the heir to a massive French vineyard, though he keeps his distance from the massive rural chateau, preferring to be with wife Kerr and their two young children in an urban setting. An emissary from the vineyard summons him back to the chateau, presumably because the harvest is failing, but Niven's emotional turmoil indicates that there are other factors dictating why he is reluctant to return. When Kerr and the children show up, things deteriorate quickly. Kerr finds the locals to be frightened and unfriendly. Inside the chateau, the staff and Niven appear to be collaborating on hiding information from her. Additionally, a strange brother and sister team (Sharon Tate in her first major role and David Hemmings) are an omnipresent and threatening presence. Kerr ultimate suspects that the presence of a local priest (Donald Pleasence) is inciting people to dabble in witchcraft and the black mass. All of this leads to the prequisite sequences in which a helpless woman is tempted to poke about dark castle corridors and crypts to find the facts.
The film is disturbing from minute one, largely because it is devoid of any humor whatsoever. Every minute exudes a sense of menace. The cinematography adds greatly to the tension and the cast is highly watchable, even if no one attempts to hide their full-throated British accents while playing French characters. (The exteriors were shot in France, the interiors were filmed at MGM's Borehamwood Studios). The movie is consistently engrossing, even if it never reaches the level one might expect, given the sterling cast. Tate makes a significant visual impression, but it should be noted that her immaculate British accent was dubbed. The new region-free Blu-ray release does justice to the crisp B&W photography with a fine transfer. One quibble: Turner Classic Movies often shows an original production featurette from the film. One wishes it was included with this release, which features only the trailer as a supplement. However, spending any time with Niven and Kerr is time well-spent.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM THE CINEMA RETRO MOVIE STORE
Cinema
Retro has received the following press release from Paramount:
Paramount Pictures Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Francis Ford Coppala's Cinematic Masterpiece
HOLLYWOOD,
Calif. – March 1, 2022 — In celebration of the 50th anniversary of
Francis Ford Coppola’s Academy Award®-winning* masterworkThe Godfather, Paramount Pictures will be releasing all three films
in the epic trilogy on 4K Ultra HD for the first time ever on March 22, 2022,
with all the films having been meticulously restored under the direction of
Coppola.
“I
am very proud of The Godfather, which certainly defined the first third
of my creative life,” said Francis Ford Coppola. “With this 50th
anniversary tribute, I’m especially proud Mario Puzo’s THE GODFATHER, Coda:
The Death of Michael Corleone is included, as it captures Mario and my original
vision in definitively concluding our epic trilogy. It’s also gratifying to
celebrate this milestone with Paramount alongside the wonderful fans who’ve
loved it for decades, younger generations who still find it relevant today, and
those who will discover it for the first time.”
Coppola’s
masterful film adaptation of Mario Puzo’s novel chronicles the rise and fall of
the Corleone family and the film trilogy is rightfully viewed as one of the
greatest in cinematic history. In preparation for the 50th
anniversary of the first film’s original release on March 24, 1972, Paramount
and Coppola’s production company American Zoetrope undertook a painstaking
restoration of all three films over the course of three years. Every
effort was made to create the finest possible presentation for today’s
audiences who can watch the films using technology that has advanced
dramatically since 2007 when the last restoration was completed by eminent film
historian and preservationist Robert Harris. Using that work as a blueprint,
the team spent thousands of hours to ensure that every frame was evaluated to
create the most pristine presentation while remaining true to the original look
and feel of the films.
The
monumental effort included the following:
Over
300 cartons of film were scrutinized to find the best possible resolution
for every frame of all three films.
Over
4,000 hours were spent repairing film stains, tears, and other anomalies
in the negatives.
Over
1,000 hours were spent on rigorous color correction to ensure the high
dynamic range tools were respectful of the original vision of Coppola and
cinematographer Gordon Willis.
In
addition to the 5.1 audio approved by Walter Murch in 2007, the original
mono tracks on The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II have been restored.
All
work was overseen by Coppola.
“We
felt privileged to restore these films and a little in awe every day we worked
on them,” said Andrea Kalas, senior vice president, Paramount Archives.
“We were able to witness first-hand how the brilliant cinematography, score,
production design, costume design, editing, performances, and, of course,
screenwriting and direction became famously more than the sum of their
parts. It was our commitment to honor all of the filmmakers’ exceptional
work.”
Newly
restored and remastered in Dolby Vision, all three films in the landmark
trilogy will be released together with HDR-10 on 4K Ultra HD Digital and 4K
Ultra HD Blu-ray™ for the first time ever. The 4K Ultra HD
Blu-ray set will include The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II,
and Coppola’s recently re-edited version of the final film, Mario Puzo’s THE
GODFATHER, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone. The disc set includes
legacy commentaries by Coppola, as well as access to Digital copies of The
Godfather, The Godfather: Part II and Mario Puzo’s THE GODFATHER, Coda:
The Death of Michael Corleone.
In
addition to the widely available 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray set, a 4K Ultra HD Limited
Collector’s Edition will also be released in deluxe packaging and includes a
hardcover coffee table book featuring stunning photographs, as well as portrait
art prints on archival paper. Both 4K Ultra HD sets include new bonus
content including an introduction to The Godfather by Coppola, a
featurette about the preservation process, photos by acclaimed photographer
Steve Schapiro, home movie footage, and comparisons of the new restoration to
earlier versions of the films. A full list of new and legacy bonus
content follows:
NEW
BONUS CONTENT:
·
Introduction to The Godfather by Francis Ford Coppola
·
Full Circle: Preserving The Godfather—Paramount Pictures
archivists detail the incredible restoration process with archival footage
showing the evolution of the film through various home entertainment
incarnations as picture and audio technologies make quantum leaps over the
decades.
·
Capturing the Corleones: Through the Lens of Photographer Steve Schapiro—
In this reflective and frank discussion, special photographer Steve Schapiro
shares his unique perspective and cherished memories as a witness to the making
of this seminal film. Commentary on curated archival images makes for a
fascinating, never-before-seen addition to the production’s history.
·
The Godfather: Home Movies— An assortment of 8mm home movie
footage shot in 1971 offers a candid glimpse into the production of The
Godfather. Shot on location at the Norton family estate on Staten
Island’s Emerson Hill, this is the first time it’s been made available to the
public.
·
Restoration Comparisons— Before and after highlights showcase extensive
picture quality improvements to The Godfather.
LEGACY
BONUS CONTENT:
The Masterpiece
That Almost Wasn’t
Godfather World
Emulsional
Rescue—Revealing The Godfather
…when the
shooting stopped
The Godfather on the Red Carpet
Four Short Films
on The Godfather
oThe
Godfather vs. The Godfather: Part II
oCannoli
oRiffing
on the Riffing
oClemenza
·The
Family Tree
·Crime
Organization Chart
·Connie
and Carlo’s Wedding Album
·2008
Credits
·Behind
the Scenes
oA Look
Inside
oOn
Location
oFrancis
Ford Coppola’s Notebook
oMusic
of The Godfather
§Nino
Rota
§Carmine
Coppola
oCoppola
& Puzo on Screenwriting
oGordon
Willis on Cinematography
oStoryboards
– The Godfather: Part II
oStoryboards
– The Godfather: Part III
oThe
Godfather Behind the Scenes 1971
·Additional
Scenes
·Galleries
·Trailers
·Acclaim
& Response
·Additional
Material
·The
Filmmakers
·The
Godfather: Part III—newly
remastered and restored versions of the original theatrical cut and Coppola’s
1991 cut (note: these are exclusive to the 4K Ultra HD Collections)
Newly
restored and remastered versions of The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II, and
Mario Puzo’s THE GODFATHER, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone will
also be available together on Blu-ray™ with access to Digital copies
and the new and legacy bonus content detailed above.
Few actors had the screen and stage presence of Yul Brynner. There
never was an actor quite like him and there hasn't been since. Like most
thespians, Brynner had his share of good movies as well as those that
fell considerably short of their potential. Nevertheless, the man never
gave a false performance. He came across as supremely self-confidant
even when he must have suspected the material he was given proved to be
far below his considerable talents. Much of his self-confidence seemed
to stem from an inflated ego. Robert Vaughn once told me that when
Brynner arrived on the set of "The Magnificent Seven" in Mexico, he was
still firmly in the King of Siam mode that had seen him win an Oscar.
Vaughn said he carried himself as though he were real life royalty at
all times. You didn't chat with him casually. Rather, he would grant you
an audience. As Brynner's stature as a top boxoffice attraction began
to wane, he returned over and over again to his signature role in stage
productions of "The King and I" and found his mojo and star power were
still very much intact when it came to touring in front of live
audiences. His exotic look and manner of speaking were invariably
intoxicating. Given Brynner's enduring legacy as a Hollywood icon it's
rather surprising to remember that he had very few major hits. "The King
and I" in 1956 was his star-making vehicle and his role in "The Ten
Commandments", released the same year, helped build on his success.
However, with the exception of the surprise success of "The Magnificent
Seven" in 1960, Brynner proved to be more of a reliable on screen
attraction than a powerhouse draw in the way that John Wayne, Cary Grant
and Burt Lancaster were regarded. For most of Brynner's screen career,
he top-lined in major studio releases that were relatively modest in
terms of production budgets. Since this was during an era in which a
decent profit for a film made it a success, Brynner remained popular for
many years. By the 1970s, however, his clout had diminished
considerably. He would have only one memorable big screen success during
the decade- his brilliant appearance as the murderous robot in
"Westworld" (1974). He would concentrate primarily on stage work until
his death in 1985.
"Invitation to a Gunfighter" is the kind of mid-range vehicle that
defined most of Brynner's career in Hollywood. Released in 1964 by
Stanley Kramer's production company, the film is a perfect showcase for
Brynner in that it lacked any rival star power and afforded him a
smorgasbord of scene-stealing opportunities. The story opens in the
wake of the Confederate surrender that marked the end of the Civil War.
Matt Weaver (George Segal), a veteran of the Confederate army, is making
an arduous journey home to his Texas ranch on foot through the desert.
When the exhausted man finally reaches the small town he calls home, he
gets a rude welcome. His ranch is now occupied by another man who claims
he bought the deed from the township. Matt soon learns that he is
despised by the locals because he is the only man to have served in the Southern army. He is notified by the town's political kingpin, Sam
Brewster (Pat Hingle), that a technicality has been used to seize
ownership of his ranch. He also advises him to move on out of town
because he is no longer welcome there. Matt, however, is not about to be
cheated. He confronts the new owner of his house and is forced to shoot
him dead in self-defense. Brewster manipulates the facts and accuses
Matt of being a murderer. Matt takes possession of his ranch and uses
firepower to hold off the townspeople. He is surreptitiously visited by
his former lover Ruth (Janice Rule), who admits that she could no longer
bear waiting for him to return from the war. She reluctantly married
Crane Adams (Clifford David), a local Union war veteran who lost an arm
in the conflict. Since then, Crane has become an alcoholic with a
violent temper and his relationship to Ruth has devolved into a loveless
marriage of convenience.
Unable to lure Matt from his besieged homestead, Brewster takes the
step of announcing to the town council that he will hire a gunslinger to
kill him. Coincidentally, a man with the exotic name of Jules Gaspard
d'Estaing overhears the offer. He is just passing through on a
stagecoach ride but is immediately intrigued. d'Estaing convinces
Brewster that he is a master gunfighter and demonstrates his prowess
with a pistol. Brewster hires him on the spot but d'Estaing is in no
hurry to carry out the mission. Instead, he sees the townspeople for
what they are: cowardly hypocrites and delights in humiliating Brewster
in front of them. d'Estaing is an intimidating presence to the
townspeople. They can't pinpoint his ethnicity and know nothing of his
background. He dresses immaculately, speaks fluent French, plays the
harpsichord and chain smokes Churchill cigars (though I wonder what
they called them in this era before Churchill was born.) Ever
provocative to his hosts, he stirs the pot even further by moving into
the house of Crane and Ruth Adams. Predictably, it isn't long before
Ruth is entranced by this larger-than-life man of mystery who dresses
like a dandy and is highly cultured- the very opposite of her own
husband and Matt. Tensions rise as Crane correctly suspects a romance
may be brewing. d'Estaing insists he intends to carry out his mission to
kill Matt, despite Ruth's protests, but he later makes it clear to her
that he intends to manipulate the situation so that Matt is spared and
Brewster is dragged down in disgrace.
The film, directed with admirable if unremarkable competence by
Richard Wilson, is a slow-moving, talky affair that leads to some
intelligent discussions about race relations and the horrors of bigotry.
(This was, after all, a production financed by Stanley Kramer, who
never heeded the old adage, "Leave the messages to Western Union!").
What saves the movie from devolving into a completely pedantic affair is
the charisma of Yul Brynner. It also helps that he is playing an
interesting character with a mysterious background and the revelations
he makes to Ruth about his life only make him even more intriguing. This
is a "thinking man's" western that touches on social issues as well as
the desperate plight of women in the old West, when their survival often
saw them entering dreadful marriages simply for financial security and
protection. Brynner gets fine support from Janice Rule and rising star
George Segal and Pat Hingle plays the town's pompous boss with
appropriate, sneering superficial charm.
"Invitation to a Gunfighter" is by no means a classic but it does
afford viewers to spend some time with Yul Brynner and that is always
time well-spent.
The film is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER KINO LORBER BLU-RAY FROM AMAZON
Cinema Retro continues covering films that are not currently available on home video in the U.S. or U.K.
BY BRIAN HANNAN
"Sanctuary" is an
overheated melodrama that stands as a classic example of Hollywood’s offensive
attitudes to women. Nobel prize-winning author William Faulkner could hardly
blame the movies for sensationalising his misogynistic source material since,
if anything, the movie took a softer line.The story is told primarily in flashback as headstrong southern belle
Temple Drake (Lee Remick) attempts to mitigate the death sentence passed on her
maid Nancy (Odetta). Given that such appeals are directed at Drake’s Governor
father (Howard St John), and that the maid has been condemned for murdering
Drake’s infant child, that’s a whole lot of story to swallow.
Worse is
to follow. Drake takes up with Prohibition bootlegger Candy Man (Yves Montand)
after being raped by him and thereafter appears happy to live with him in a New
Orleans brothel - the “sanctuary,” no irony intended, of the title - despite
him slapping her around. The film steers clear of turning her into the
prostitute of the original book, but pretty much sets up the notion that high
class women will fall for a low-class tough guy whose virility is demonstrated
by his brutality. In other words a “real man” rather than the dilettantes she
has previously rejected.
After the
Candy Man dies, Drake returns home and marries wealthy suitor Gowan Stevens
(Bradford Dillman) who blames himself, rightly, for Drake falling into the
clutches of the gangster in the first place. But a past threatening to engulf
her precipitates the infanticide.
Faulkner
was a Hollywood insider, adapting Sanctuary for The Story of Temple Drake
(1933) and earning high praise for his work on Bogart vehicle To Have and
Have Not (1944) and The Big Sleep (1946). The success of The
Tarnished Angels (1957) starring Rock Hudson, The Long, Hot Summer
(1958) with Paul Newman and The Sound and the Fury (1959) headlined by
Yul Brynner had sent his cachet rocketing. But all three were directed by
Americans – Douglas Sirk and Martin Ritt – who had a distinctive visual style
and an ear for what made melodrama work.
Sanctuary had been handed to British
director Tony Richardson (Look Back in Anger, 1959) and he didn’t quite
understand how to make the best of the difficult project. So while Lee Remick
manages to suggest both strength and fragility, and makes her character’s
wanton despair believable, Yves Montand is miscast and Bradford Dillman fails
to convince even though portraying a weak character. Too many of the smaller
roles appear as cliches. And it’s hard to believe the maid’s motivation in
turning murderer.
What was
acceptable steamy melodrama in the 1930s fails to click three decades on.
Faulkner’s thesis that high-falutin’ women want a man to master them and
furthermore will fall in love with their rapist seems to lack any understanding
of the female mind and will not appeal to the modern sensibility any more than
it did on release. Lee Remick is what holds the picture together, in part
because she plays so well the role of a woman embracing degradation, and
refusing – no matter how insane the idea appears – to let go of the man she
believes is the love of her life. It’s not Fifty Shades of Grey, but
it’s not that far off that kind of fantasy figure, and given the success of
that book, it’s entirely possible there is a market for what Faulkner has to
peddle.
Despite my criticisms of "Sanctuary", it still
deserves to be available on home video for retro movie lovers to form
their own opinions.
(Although "Sanctuary" is not available on home video, it can be streamed as a public domain title on YouTube.)
It isn't often that you might expect to read the word "delightful" in
a review of a Charles Bronson movie but "From Noon Till Three" is just
that: a delightful 1976 send-up of the traditional Western genre. In
fact it seems like this was the year in which numerous revisionist
Westerns were released. They included "Buffalo Bill and the Indians",
"The Outlaw Josey Wales", "The Missouri Breaks" and John Wayne's final
film, "The Shootist". By 1976 Charles Bronson was an established screen
presence for about two decades.He was a familiar face to American
movie-goers who liked his work as a supporting actor but it was the
European market that elevated him to star status. Bronson finally began
to get top-billing in Westerns and action films and became reasonably
popular in America. But it was the 1974 release of his smash hit "Death
Wish" that saw him soar to the level of superstar. The film was a mixed
blessing. Bronson made some good films in the following years but
eventually succumbed to the lure of a quick pay check, cranking out
low-end urban crime movies that were often as absurd as they were
over-the-top. "From Noon Till Three" allows Bronson and his real life
wife and frequent co-star Jill Ireland a rare opportunity to flex their
comedic muscles, which they do impressively.
Bronson plays Graham Dorsey, a member of small time gang of bandits
who are riding into a one-horse town to rob the bank. The film's opening
is quite eerie as the bandits become unnerved when they discover there
isn't a single living soul anywhere in the town. This sets in motion a
"Twilight Zone"-like beginning that is quickly explained as a nightmare
Dorsey is suffering, but is nonetheless quite effective for grabbing
the viewer's attention. When the gang nears the actual town, Dorsey's
horse goes lame and must be shot. He rides double with another bandit
until they reach the opulent mansion house of Amanda (Jill Irleand), an
attractive widow who resides in the countryside with only a maid and
servant as companions. When the bandits arrive on her doorstep, she is
home alone and is understandably filled with anxiety being in the
company of the men, who demand she give them a horse. She lies and says
she doesn't have one- and Dorsey validates her story, opting to stay
behind at the house while the robbery takes place. He finds Amanda very
desirable but none-the-less acts like a gentleman- though as her tough
facade fades, she becomes susceptible to his charm. Dorsey claims he
suffers from incurable impotence, a ploy that works when Amanda finally
volunteers to "cure" him. This results in the pair spending several
heavenly hours together enjoying sexual adventures and falling in love.
When word reaches Amanda that Dorsey's fellow bandits have been
captured, she implores him to try to save them from hanging. Dorsey
pretends to ride to their rescue, but instead bushwhacks a traveling con
man and adopts his identity. The other man is mistaken for Dorsey and
shot dead by a posse. Dorsey is ironically arrested because the man he
is impersonating is also wanted by the law. Got all that? Things get
really complicated when Dorsey spends a year in prison, studying
(ironically) how to be a banker. He intends to return to Amanda and live
their dream of moving to Boston, where he can get a job as a bank
manager. When he returns to the woman he has been obsessing over for the
last year, the reception he receives from her is something less than
welcoming. Seems that since she believed Dorsey was dead, she set about
memorializing him in a memoir titled "From Noon Till Three", a
scandalous record of the hours in which they made love and fell in love.
In the book, Amanda relates tall tales about Dorsey's crime exploits
that he had previously bragged about...and she takes a bit of
intentional creative license by describing him as an elegant, dashing
man when, in fact, he looks like what he is: a saddle tramp. To say much
more would spoil the fun. Suffice it to say that the film really kicks
into gear when Dorsey discovers that Amanda's memoir has become an
international sensation and she is idolized worldwide by both men and
women. She doesn't have much incentive to now admit that Dorsey is not
only alive and well but also falls considerable short of the handsome
hunk the world has come to imagine.
"From Noon Till Three" is stylishly directed by Frank D. Gilroy and its
based upon his novel of the same name. Gilroy had the magic touch in
terms of bringing out the best in both Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland,
both of whom rarely had an opportunity to demonstrate their flair for
light comedy and they are both terrific. Gilroy, who also penned the
screenplay, took advantage of a new era of cynicism in major films and
"From Noon Till Three" proved to be far ahead of its time in predicting
how the general public can be bamboozled into believing urban legends if
they are marketed creatively enough. (Coincidentally, Paddy Chayefsky's
"Network", released the same year, took an equally cynical view of the
current day TV news industry.) The movie is a wealth of small
pleasures and unexpected plot turns and boasts a fine score by Elmer
Bernstein and impressive camerawork by Lucien Ballard, not to mention an
impressive mansion house set by Robert Clatworthy. I don't want to
overstate the merits of the film but I do want to point out that even if
you're not a Bronson fan you should give this one a try.
"From Noon Till Three" is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
Click here to order Kino Lorber DVD edition from Amazon
Peter Cushing, André
Morell, Yvonne Mitchell, Donald Pleasence in a new restoration of
Nigel Kneale’s 1954
adaptation of the George Orwell classic
Cinema Retro has received the following press release from the BFI:
BFI
Blu-ray/DVD, iTunes and Amazon Prime release on 11 April 2022
George Orwell’s enduring dystopian
masterpiece is brought vividly to life in this celebrated BBC production.
Adapted by Nigel Kneale (The Quatermass Experiment), NINETEEN
EIGHTY-FOUR (directed byRudolf Cartier) broke new ground for
television drama when first broadcast in 1954. On 11 April, tying in with a
Nigel Kneale season at BFI Southbank, the BFI brings this classic production to
Blu-ray and DVD in a Dual Format Edition, and to DTO via iTunes and Amazon
Prime. Experience Orwell’s haunting vision of a society dominated by relentless
tyranny and the subversion of truth – a world in which Big Brother is always
watching you.
Featuring
a stunning central performance from Peter Cushing (The Curse of
Frankenstein, Star Wars) as the doomed Winston Smith, this small-screen
landmark has been newly restored by the BFI using original film materials from
the BBC Archive and the BFI National Archive. Numerous extras include a newly
recorded audio commentary by television historian Jon Dear, host of Nigel
Kneale podcast Bergcast, with Toby Hadoke and Andy Murray, and a newly
filmed conversation between the BFI’s Dick Fiddy and historian Oliver Wake, on
the myths that have grown up around the production in the last 60-odd years.
NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR is released
alongside the BFI Southbank centenary celebration of screenwriter Nigel
Kneale. A season, NIGHTMARES AND DAYDREAMS, runs throughout April in
partnership with Picturehouse to commemorate Kneale’s contribution to British
television. His adult drama and tense thrillers with a sci-fi or horror slant
went on to influence the likes of John Carpenter, Stephen King and Ben
Wheatley. Often enthralling and terrifying, Kneale’s visionary work showing on
the big screen includes the restored version of NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR. The
screening, on Monday 4 April at 6.30pm in NFT1 will be followed by a
panel discussion. Other titles screening in the season include FIRST MEN IN THE
MOON, QUARTERMASS AND THE PIT, THE YEAR OF THE SEX OLYMPICS and THE WOMAN IN
BLACK and there will be a special table reading of OUT OF THE UNKNOWN: THE
CHOPPER, as part of the BFI’s Missing Believed Wiped programme.
Picturehouse Crouch End will be hosting a day-long
event on Saturday 23 April featuring expert panellists and members of cast and
crew looking at Kneale’s film and TV work and his influence and legacy. Events
include a live reading of ‘lost’ 1942 radio play YOU MUST LISTEN, and
screenings of several of Kneale classics, including THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT:
CONTACT HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED, THE STONE TAPE, AGAINST THE CROWD: MURRAIN and
LATE NIGHT STORY: THE PHOTOGRAPH.
Special features
Presented in High Definition and Standard Definition
Newly recorded audio commentary on Nineteen
Eighty-Four by television historian Jon Dear, host of Nigel Kneale
podcast Bergcast, with Toby Hadoke and Andy Murray
Late Night Line-Up (BBC, 1965, 23 mins): members of the cast and crew look
back on the controversies surrounding this adaptation of Orwell’s classic
The Ministry of Truth (2022, 24 mins): in conversation
with the BFI’s Dick Fiddy, television historian Oliver Wake dispels some
of the myths that have grown up around the groundbreaking drama over the
course of the past half century
Nigel Kneale: Into the Unknown (2022, 72 mins): writer, actor and
stand-up comedian Toby Hadoke and Nigel Kneale biographer and programmer
Andy Murray try to unpick who Kneale was, what he did and why his work
still matters today
Gallery of rare images from the BBC Archives
Original script (downloadable PDF)
Newly commissioned sleeve artwork
by Matt Needle
·
** First pressing only** Illustrated booklet with essays by Oliver Wake and
David Ryan; credits and notes on the special features.
Product details
RRP: £19.99 / Cat. no. BFIB1445 / 12
UK / 1954 / black and white / 113 mins
/ English language, with optional subtitles for the Deaf and partial hearing /
original aspect ratio 1.33:1 // BD50: 1080p/50i, 25fps, mono audio
(48kHz/24-bit) / DVD9: PAL, 25fps, Dolby Digital 1.0 mono audio (24kHz/16-bit)
Russian Roulette (originally titled Kill Kosygin!) starts out promisingly enough but ultimately ends up being unsatisfying and misguided. Produced
by Elliott Kastner, who was an old hand at making good, populist
entertainment, the production was shot entirely in Vancouver. George
Segal plays a renegade cop (were there any other kind in the 1970s?) who
has been suspended from the local police force for various infractions.
Suddenly, he is recruited by Canadian secret intelligence to help
thwart a reputed plot to assassinate Soviet Premier Kosygin, who is due
to arrive in a matter of days for a high profile conference. Segal
learns that he is being set up in an elaborate and confusing plot that
involves traitorous KGB agents who want to kill their own premier in
order to prevent him from initiating an era of detente with the West.
Their plan involves kidnapping a local dissident (Val Avery), drugging
him and using him as a human bomb who will be dropped on Kosygin's
limousine from a helicopter! (I'm not making this up.) Along the way,
Segal finds he's being set up as a dupe and is framed for murder. The
entire tired affair ends in a race against time with Segal going
mano-a-mano with a KGB killer on the roof of a landmark hotel that
Kosygin is en route to (the only sequence that affords the slightest
hint of suspense). Absurdly, Kosygin's motorcade is permitted to
continue racing to the hotel despite the fact that hundreds of people
are watching a running gun battle taking place on the roof.
The
film was directed by Lou Lombardo, who made a name for himself as an
editor of great talent after supervising the cutting of The Wild Bunch. As
director, he keeps the action flowing but the plot absurdities soon
distract from some otherwise interesting angles and performances. The
fine supporting cast includes Gordon Jackson, Denholm Elliott, Nigel
Stock and Louise Fletcher, but their characters are rather boring. The
film also throws in Christina Raines for sex appeal but she comes across
as the dullest leading lady in memory, barely registering much emotion
even when finding a dead body in her bathroom. (Although most of us
would find such a development a bit disturbing, Lombardo cuts to a scene
of Segal and Raines enjoying a spot of breakfast tea- while the man's
body remains on the bathroom floor.) Segal is always enjoyable to watch
and his wiseguy persona is in full bloom here, but the production is
amateurish on all levels considering the talent involved. Maybeeveryone
involved just wanted a paid getaway and had a desire to visit
Vancouver. (It should be mentioned that director Lombardo was said to be
battling drinking problems during production and that the finale of the
film - the only truly effective scene- was directed by Anthony Squire,
who did not receive screen credit.)
The film is currently streaming on Shout! Factory TV. The app and subscription for this service are also available through Amazon Prime video.
Mill Creek Entertainment is releasing "Magnum P.I: The Complete Series" on Blu-ray. The set contains 30 discs, so if you're a fan, you'd better add another shelf to your video library. Here are the details:
"Buckle up
and take a ride with Magnum, P.I. in all 8 seasons of the iconic series that
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Hawaii with television's most beloved and charismatic private investigator
(Emmy® Award winner Tom Selleck) as he tackles baffling mysteries and tracks
down the bad guys with the help of T.C. (Roger E. Mosley), Rick (Larry Manetti)
and Higgins (John Hillerman) plus his four-legged pals, Apollo and Zeus.
Packed with
non-stop adventure and featuring iconic guest stars, Magnum P.I. is an
unforgettable thrill-ride. Own the legacy today!"