Actor James Caan has passed away at age 82. No cause of death has been announced as of this writing. Caan's long career began on in stage productions and he eventually moved into making guest star appearances in prominent television programs in the 1960s before graduating into feature films. The Bronx native specialized in playing street-wise tough guys. In the 1964 thriller "Lady in Cage", he led a group of housebreaking young punks in terrorizing Olivia De Havilland as a woman who was trapped inside an elevator. Caan sometimes landed a leading role in films such as Robert Altman's "Countdown" and in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Rain People", both of which co-starred Robert Duvall. He scored good notices in director Howard Hawks' "El Dorado" playing a gunslinger with bad aim to comedic effect opposite John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. He earned an Emmy nomination for his leading role in the highly rated TV movie "Brian's Song" and his career moved into high gear when Coppola was casting "The Godfather" in 1971. Originally, Caan was slated to play the role of Michael Corleone and fellow up-and-comer Al Pacino was auditioned to play the hot-headed Sonny Corleone, but wiser heads prevailed and the roles were reversed. Both actors received Oscar nominations and major stardom would follow. Caan's character was killed in the first "Godfather" film but he made a pivotal cameo in the final scene of "The Godfather Part II" in a flashback sequence. During the 1970s, Caan was a bankable leading man, appearing in major diverse films such as "Cinderella Liberty", "The Gambler", "Freebie and the Bean", "Rollerball", "Funny Lady", "A Bridge Too Far" and "Chapter Two".
In the 1980s, the good roles and his boxoffice appeal diminished somewhat, despite a high profile leading role in director Michael Mann's "Thief". He starred in and directed "Hide in Plain Sight", a domestic drama that won good notices but did not score at the boxoffice. He also had a hit in the 1990 screen adaptation of Stephen King's thriller "Misery" but many of his roles were relegated to lower-budget productions and supporting roles and cameos. His talents were introduced to a new generation with his role as Will Ferrell's father in the 2003 comedy "Elf", which is now considered to be a Christmas classic. He returned to TV to star in the series "Vegas" and it was a success, running four seasons. Caan was back in the news quite a bit earlier this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of "The Godfather". He is the father of actor Scott Caan and once made a guest appearance on his son's hit series "Hawaii Five-0". Caan occasionally expressed frustration that the good roles were often being denied him in his later years, but in fact, his legacy is intact as a highly respected actor who could excel at playing diverse characters in equally diverse films.
Austrian label Cineploit celebrate their 10th
anniversary year with the release of two new albums - whilst expanding their
ever-swelling catalogue of titles. It’s always pleasurable to hear their latest
work, so often produced in the style of exploitive, retro euro scores of the
1970s and 80s.
As Cineploit explains, “Morlock's 'The
Outcasts' (Cine 25), is a sophomore album of cosmic explorations by synthesist
and drummer Andrew Prestidge (Zoltan, Warning, The Osiris Club). It’s a
deceptively accessible fusion of post-punk, electro-pop, Moog drones and
Italian prog soundtracks. Blending melody and experimentation into a shifting
patchwork of retro-futuristic splendour, these seemingly contradictory elements
battle it out in a dream landscape of the ancient and the alien.”
The influences on the record are vast and
varied. As a long-time fan of electronic music, Andrew Prestidge’s compositions
can invoke anyone from Tubeway Army to The BBC Radiophonic Workshop or perhaps
John Carpenter to more abrasive acts such as Killing Joke, The Chameleons or
Cardiacs. And there are even shades of Queen’s Flash Gordon echoing from within
this latest work.
In contrast to Morlock’s 2019 debut release,
'Ancient Paths', rhythm and riffs are brought to the fore throughout the course
of these seven epic tunes. In cinematic terms, it’s more like experiencing a
widescreen version of the band and a more collaborative production. The
recording took place in London's celebrated Holy Mountain studios in the spring
of 2021.The final mixes were done in
Switzerland by Misha Hering (Memnon SA), who also co-writes and adds
synthesisers to a number of tracks. The production veers between the pastoral
and the urban, from the roots of the Earth to the measureless depths of outer
space, all of which amounts to a highly enjoyable and hypnotic trip!
As usual, Cineploit offer a nice range of
formats including a 180g marbled coloured Vinyl and CD Set (250), a 180g Black
Vinyl and CD Set (150) and finally a CD only in mini Gatefold Sleeve (400).
After the ‘Kosmonauter’ (Cine 24) album, a
trippy journey which explored distant galaxies, Pan/Scan this time penetrates
deep into the inner realms of the human mind with their latest work , ‘A Far Distant
Corner of Nothing Special’ (Cine 26).While the musical style serves as a continuation of the previous album,
here the listener is lulled into a compellingly hypnotic sound-environment. The
record tells the story of secret telekinetic experiments for the purpose of
creating a new form of "power", conducted in dark laboratories deep
under the surface of the earth. A human mind, captured within a state of
permanent tension and relaxation, finally unleashes its full potential,
bringing not only the desired success of the experiments but also the opening
of a gate to a new world. But what awaits us all on the other side?
A wide range of formats include a 180g
marbled coloured Vinyl and CD Set (250), a 180g Black Vinyl and CD Set (150)
and again, a CD only in mini gatefold sleeve (400).
Both of the CDs offer excellent audio
quality and are released on 15th July 2022.