Two
of the West’s most legendary figures search for the demon buffalo that
haunts them both! They called him Wild Bill Hickok (Charles Bronson,
Breakheart Pass). The Prince of Pistoleers. A frontier adventurer and
killer of men. Now, in his last years, he is an old gunfighter plagued
by fears and driven by a need to make peace with himself. The white
buffalo is his constant nightmare. He must find the fabled beast and
destroy it…before it destroys him. He was Crazy Horse (Will Sampson, One
Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest). The greatest of all Sioux chiefs. A
warrior of dignity and pride. Now, as a father who searches for the
legendary albino buffalo so that the spirit of his dead child can go to
heaven, he will stop at nothing to obtain the sacred white pelt. J. Lee
Thompson (The Guns of Navarone, Cape Fear, Murphy’s Law) directs this
heart-stopping, one-of-a-kind western with a brilliant supporting cast
that includes Jack Warden (Billy Two Hats), Clint Walker (More Dead Than
Alive), Slim Pickens (Blazing Saddles), Stuart Whitman (The
Comancheros), John Carradine (Stagecoach) and Kim Novak (Vertigo).
Product Extras :
Brand New HD Master - From a 2K Scan of the 35mm Interpositive
NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Paul Talbot, the author of the BRONSON'S LOOSE! Books
Cinema Retro has received the following press announcement:
FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF, in
all of its brilliant glory, arrives for the first time on 4K Ultra HD digital
and disc August 1, 2023 from Paramount Home Entertainment.
Writer/director John Hughes’ seminal comedy about a high
school student’s wild adventures in the Windy City during a single, magnificent
day off continues to be enjoyed, quoted, and revered. The enduring
classic captures the uproarious antics of Ferris and his friends as they relish
the freedom of being not quite grown up.
This remastered 4K Ultra HD release features Dolby
Vision™ and HDR-10, as well as Dolby Atmos® audio for a wonderfully immersive
and liberating experience*. The release also includes John Hughes’
original director’s commentary, which has not been available on disc since the
first DVD release in 1999, along with access to a digital copy of the film and
the following legacy bonus content:
Commentary with Director John
Hughes
Getting the Class Together: The Cast of Ferris Bueller's
Day Off
The Making of Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Who is Ferris Bueller?
The World According to Ben Stein
Vintage Ferris Bueller: The Lost Tapes
Matthew Broderick stars as the delightfully charming
Ferris who, with his girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara) and best bud Cameron (Alan
Ruck), ditches school to enjoy one perfect day as a kid with no
responsibilities. In 2014, FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF was added to the
Library of Congress’ National Film Registry, which serves as a compendium of
films that have been judged to be culturally, aesthetically or historically
important.
*Dolby Atmos enabled devices are also required to
experience Dolby Atmos at home. To experience Dolby Vision on 4K Ultra HD
Blu-ray Disc, a Dolby Vision enabled TV is required with a Dolby Vision enabled
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player.
*Dolby Atmos enabled devices
are also required to experience Dolby Atmos at home. To experience Dolby Vision
on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc, a Dolby Vision enabled TV is required with a Dolby
Vision enabled 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player.
These
days, filmmaker Joseph Losey doesn’t get the acclaim he deserves. An American
who showed great talent in Hollywood in the early 1940s and was well on his way
to a lucrative and respectable career, got sidelined by HUAC—the House
Un-American Activities Committee. Because Losey had ties with the early
Communist Party in the U.S., he, along with many, many other artists working in
Tinsel Town, was blacklisted. He fled his native country to the United Kingdom,
where he remained until his death. Losey made films in England and France, many
of which are admired films noir. In the 1960s and beyond he moved toward
making provocative art films, working with writers such as Harold Pinter and
generally pushing the envelope in the cinema.
The
Servant (1963)
is one of those art films that Losey made, and it was his first collaboration
with playwright Pinter (they did three pictures together). Based on a 1948
novella by Robin Maugham, The Servant is also one of Pinter’s first
attempts at screenwriting. Pinter had been enjoying some success in the theatre
since the late 1950s but was still not yet a fully established theatrical
superstar at that time (this would occur a couple of years later). His own
adaptation of his play, The Caretaker, was also made in 1963. Pinter
took Maugham’s novella and re-tooled it to emphasize the class warfare that is
going on in the subtext of the story, as well as adding what can only be
described as the Pinter’s Theatre of Menace—a sense of subtle, unnerving threat
that exists in most all of his work.
The
story is about a wealthy international real estate developer, Tony (James Fox,
in a debut role), a bachelor who hires a manservant, Hugo Barrett (Dirk
Bogarde). They get along splendidly at first, although Tony’s girlfriend, Susan
(Wendy Craig), senses something off about Barrett and wants Tony to get rid of
him. Tony refuses. Barrett one day convinces Tony to hire his sister, Vera
(Sarah Miles), to be a maid. Vera seduces Tony one night when Barrett is away.
But then one day Tony and Susan come home to the flat and find Vera and Barrett
in bed together. Turns out they’re not brother and sister at all. And then the
tale takes a sharp left turn into nightmare territory as relationships change
and power dynamics are reversed. To reveal more would spoil the creepiness of
what happens next.
The
Servant is
a powerful, disturbing film. The crowning touch is the superb, unsettling
performance by Bogarde, who won the BAFTA award that year for Best Actor (the
film was nominated for Best Picture). The movie was ignored by the Oscars, but
Pinter did win the award for Best Screenplay by the New York Film Critics
Circle. Today, the movie resides at #22 on the BFI Top 100 British Films of the
20th Century list.
Losey’s
perceptive direction masterfully uses mise-en-scène in a carefully
staged sense of place that is claustrophobic and austere. He treats the
theatre-of-the-absurd goings-on with absolute sincerity and realism… a perfect
approach to Pinter’s exceptional dialogue and the mood established by the piece.
The
Servant is
very much an adult film, something that couldn’t have been made in America in
1963, and it’s a bit surprising that Britain’s censors weren’t all over it. But,
then again, everything lies in the subtext. What you don’t see on screen can’t
be censored, can it? The film is a brilliant display of shocking subject matter
done in an ordinary, matter-of-fact presentation.
The
Criterion Collection’s new Blu-ray release features a new 4K digital
restoration with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack. It shows off the striking
black and white cinematography by Douglas Slocombe, a longtime British DP who later
won three Academy Awards (including one for Raiders of the Lost Ark).
Supplements
include a new, interesting overview of Joseph Losey’s career by film critic
Imogen Sara Smith; a rare audio interview with Losey from 1976; a revealing
1996 interview with Harold Pinter; vintage interviews with actors Dirk Bogarde,
Sarah Miles, James Fox, and Wendy Craig; and the theatrical trailer. The
enclosed booklet contains an essay by author Colm Tóibín.
The Servant is for fans of Joseph Losey, Harold Pinter, and, especially,
Dirk Bogarde, who owns this motion picture. His portrayal of Hugo
Barrett surely upends the old adage that ‘you can’t get good help these days.’
Cinema Retro has received the following notification from Bondstars.com:
In this 70th year of the literary James Bond,
we are celebrating the written legacy of all things 007 at Pinewood Studios
with a very special event on October 29th in association with Ian Fleming
Publications.
The day will kick-off with morning coffee in
the John Barry Theatre and terrace – which faces the new ‘Sean Connery Stage’ –
followed by the first ever UK cinema screening of the original 1954 version of
Casino Royale, plus an exclusive and never-before-seen filmed interview with
Jimmy Bond himself, actor Barry Nelson discussing the production.
We’ll continue in the theatre …
With readings of extracts from books by Bond
actors throughout, as we introduce: Jon Turner to discuss his mentor Richard
Chopping’s designs for Fleming’s James Bond books and archive (which he
curates) as well as Ian Fleming biographer Andrew Lycett will discussing all
things Ian Fleming.
David Lowbridge-Ellis will then host
interviews and discussions with continuity authors Raymond Benson, Charlie
Higson, 00-series author Kim Sherwood, Young Bond author Steve Cole and
(pending filming commitments) Anthony Horowitz.
Lunch will follow and then we’ll move into
the Pinewood Picture Gallery for book signings, mingling, informal chat, some
memorabilia tables and a talk about Pinewood filming locations by author Dave
Worrall on the garden patio, before afternoon tea brings the day to a close.
There’ll also be a 24- page exclusive
commemorative souvenir brochure included.
The cost per ticket will be around £175.00 (excluding
a non-refundable booking fee if you pay by debit \ credit card).
Glenda Jackson, the esteemed British actress who later launched a successful political career, has passed away at age 87 at her home in London. Jackson rose from working in live theater to making her mark in British films in the 1960s and 1970s. She won two Best Actress Oscars over the course of three years for "Women in Love" and "A Touch of Class". In the interim, she was also nominated for "Sunday, Bloody Sunday". She later won praise for her work in television, most notably in the acclaimed productions of "The Patricia Neal Story" and "Elizabeth R." Jackson later left acting to concentrate on a career in politics, becoming an MP under Tony Blair's New Labour movement in the late 1990s, though she would later have a public falling out with Blair over his support for the U.S.-led war against Iraq. After leaving politics in 2015, she resumed her acting career. She had recently completed a film with Michael Caine. For more, click here. -Lee Pfeiffer
The fifteenth annual New York City Independent Film
Festival was held during the week of June 4 through 11 at Manhattan’s
Producer’s Club on West 44th Street, a few blocks west of Times
Square.The week-long festival would
host the screenings of over two hundred indie films. Co-Directors John Anderson and Bob Sarles' absorbing and
authoritatively assembled music doc Born
in Chicago, screened on the festival’s final day, doesn’t pretend to serve
as the definitive nor most academically-minded treatise on the history of blues
music in America.Such studies as the seven-episode
PBS series The Blues (2003) had
already touched lightly on many aspects of multi-layered history of the blues
in America.This film’s primary interest
lies elsewhere.
The state of Mississippi, the birthplace of the blues and
home of some of the music’s greatest practitioners is, of course, referenced
early on in Born in Chicago.But the fertile musical and agricultural area
surrounding the Mississippi Delta region serves merely as the pregnant preface of
what’s to come.There’s no mention that
I can recall of the high-end music of band leader W.C. Handy, the
self-proclaimed “Father of the Blues,” or of Ma Rainy, “Mother of the Blues” or
even of such a master figure as songster Charley Patton, the acknowledged progenitor
of the rough and tumble country blues.
Alan Lomax’s 1941-1942 Library of Congress recordings of one
McKinley Morganfield (soon to be rechristened as “Muddy Waters”) down on
Stovall’s Plantation near Clarksdale, MS is briefly referenced in Born in Chicago, but only in
passing.The film recalls Waters as merely
one of the many immigrant blues singers who, among non-musical travelers and those
feeling racism and economic hardship, would abandon Mississippi - and neighboring
states - to seek employment in Chicago’s burgeoning meat-packing and steel industries.
The blues singers arriving in the Windy City would often perform
for pocket change on Chicago’s fabled Maxwell Street, and there’s a bit of
historic film footage included in the film to document it.But ultimately Born in Chicago assumes that a knowledgeable blues aficionado is already
conversant with the complex reasons that Chicago would birth the raw and
immeasurably emotive electric blues.Born in Chicago soon time-jumps from a
basic introductory primer to a particular moment in history – a period roughly
encompassing 1964 through 1970 - when public interest in the blues music would peculiarly
shift along color lines.
Though the blues was created by black artists for a
primarily black audience, by the mid-1960s it was lovingly embraced by a cabal
of young, white and often gifted musicians. In some sense these mostly suburban
youngsters were oddballs.Not only were
they complete outsiders to African-American life and musical culture, but estranged
from even their own middle-class heritages.The best of them were determined to apprentice with the real-deal blues masters
whose recordings they had painstakingly studied and cherished.
Such Chicago blues artists as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf
(aka Chester Burnett), and Little Walter Jacobs were at their musical – if not money-earning
career peaks – in the 1950s.Though
Chicago boasted any number of record labels pressing 78 rpm discs of the talent
grinding their music out almost nightly in such saloons as Pepper’s Lounge, Silvio’s,
Smitty’s Corner, Big John’s, the Blue Flame Lounge, and Frost’s Corner, it was
Chess Records that emerged the most important and iconic.Though label co-founder Leonard Chess appears
in an archive footage interview alongside his son Marshall, Born in Chicago wisely chooses not to revisit
the company’s backstory.That’s a tale
already told in several docs as well as in Darnell Martin’s ill-disguised
Chess-mirror fiction-feature Cadillac
Records (2008).
There’s lots of archival footage threaded throughout Born in Chicago.Some of the film’s moodiest and most intimate
saloon environ images come courtesy of several reels of silent B-roll 8mm color
footage shot by drummer Sam Lay and his wife.Lay is an important figure here due to his key role in the blues tradition’s
transition: he not only worked the South Side taverns with nearly all the blues
giants but was also a founding member (along with bassist Jerome Arnold) in the
inter-racial Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
Though not a concert film by any means – all performances
featured in Born in Chicago are
offered in truncated form - there are extended clips of Muddy Waters and Howlin’
Wolf to offer insight into the power of their stage presence and hypnotic
powers.This inclusion is not
unreasonable as the two singers were the figurehead totems of the Chicago blues
scene of the 1950s.Muddy and Wolf were
also among the most generous and least suspicious of interlopers. They were
appreciative of the enthusiasm and interest of these young, white blues
revivalists and allowed them to share the stage and showcase their talents.
Of course, Muddy and Wolf didn’t singularly or together
create the Chicago blues scene.During
the course of Born in Chicago we’re briefly
introduced to a number of the first and second wave Chicago’s bluesmen, as well
as the iconic sidemen who helped create the sound: Otis Spann, Yank Rachel,
Robert Lockwood, Willie Dixon, Junior Wells, Sonny Boy Williamson, Otis Rush,
Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin, Magic Sam, Walter and Big Walter “Shakey” Horton all pass
through the film in either image or musical snippet, all honorably referenced as
“engines” of the scene.
Though the blues was derived partly from African musical traditions,
the blues as the world knows it today was birthed in the area of the
Mississippi Delta.Chicago blues was, at
the very beginning anyway, mostly an electric, highly amplified extension of
that earlier homegrown music, improvised out-of-necessity to cut through the
din of celebratory patrons gathered inside cramped and sweaty neighborhood
taverns.
The 1950s was the decade Chicago’s blues scene was at its
creative peak.The musicians who arrived
in Chicago during the great migration from the southern U.S. quickly bonded to
a natural audience.They were warmly
embraced by audiences that were once – and now again - neighbors.The musicians and their fans shared similar customs,
life experiences and musical interests, and such familiarity allowed Chicago’s
blues scene to thrive during the 1950s.
But by the early 1960s, the musical tastes of black
audiences began to shift, particularly among younger listeners.This group held no bonding memories or immediate
connections to blues or rustic southern musical culture.The rhythm-and-blues and soul of Sam Cooke,
Jackie Wilson, and James Brown was in emergence and such artists were now the most
favored of black audiences.It wasn’t
long until the Motown and Stax labels would supplant Chess as the recording
mecca for black artists.
But just as black interest in blues was seemingly on the wane,
there was a sudden curious interest in the art by young, rebellious and hip
Midwestern middle-class whites.Their
passion for the music was often ignited by their discovery of late-night
broadcasts of blues and old-school R&B found on the far ends of their radio
dials.Many of these disciples – which would
include such 1960’s blues and rock luminaries as Barry Goldberg, Michael Bloomfield,
Nick Gravenites, Paul Butterfield, Corky Siegel, Harvey Mandel, Charlie Musselwhite,
Elvin Bishop, Steve Miller and Bob Dylan – are all featured in Born in Chicago.It could be argued they were actually re-born in Chicago.
In any case, this is the time period under analysis in Born in Chicago.Liberal and open-minded students attending (or
merely hanging on the fringes) of the University of Chicago – the campus itself
nestled within the city’s Southside – played a role in the blossoming blues
revival.Through the interventions of on-campus
folk music clubs Chicago U. would stage not only small folk-music gatherings
but several important folk music festivals – several showcasing such blues artists
as Willie Dixon, Memphis Slim, Big Joe Williams and blind street singer Arvella
Gray. This new interest in folk-blues
music brought many students and scene hanger-on’s to Chicago’s pawn shops in
search of guitars and friends and subsequent musical fellow travelers.
The most dedicated – and talented of these musicians –
would reverse “integrate” these black-only Southside blues taverns - often under
the suspicious and unwelcome gaze of black patrons in attendance.But both Muddy and Wolf and their respective
band members would embrace such musicians as guitarist Michael Bloomfield and blues
harpist Paul Butterfield et.al. once they realized these searching white
youngsters – many demonstrating superlative musical talent – were looking to absorb,
as best they could, the essence and emotional comport of the blues.
Lee
Marvin is an American soldier suspected of aiding the enemy during the Korean
War in “Sergeant Ryker” released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber. Shortly after the
release of the “The Dirty Dozen” in 1967, Universal saw fit to repackage a two-part
1964 Kraft Suspense Theatre courtroom drama “The Case Against Paul Ryker” and
release it as feature film in theaters. As can be seen from the art reproduced
on the Blu-ray cover, Universal was selling the release as an action-packed
military movie not unlike “The Dirty Dozen” which was a big hit for MGM. Marvin
also won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for 1965’s “Cat Ballou,” and became an in
demand A-list star in a series of popular movies that followed. “The Dirty
Dozen” pushed him into superstar status and one can hardly blame Universal for cashing
in by repurposing the two-part TV episode as a theatrical release.
The
production follows the trial of Sergeant Paul Ryker in 1951 during the Korean
War. Ryker’s just been found guilty of treason and is sentenced to death for
collaborating with the Chinese. He returned to his unit with the fantastic
story of being sent on a secret mission behind enemy lines to gather
information. The problem is the general who allegedly sent him on the mission
died while Ryker was gone and a mysterious letter left by the general was never
found. What follows are attempts by his wife and defense attorney to gather
evidence after being granted a retrial. Most of the “action” is limited to
Ryker’s jail cell in Tokyo and consists mostly of courtroom drama and in a
flashback the one action scene involving his wife and lawyer.
Marvin,
no stranger to portraying military characters, served in the Marine Corps
during WWII and was wounded during the Battle of Saipan in 1944. He’s very good
here as Ryker and there are a couple of scenes when Marvin is about to jump out
of the screen going from calm to crazy and back again in a matter of seconds. Marvin
died way too young at age 63 leaving many memorable classic movies in his list
of credits.
The
production also features top notch performances from Bradford Dillman as
Captain David Young, Ryker’s defense attorney, Peter Graves as Major Frank
Whittaker, the prosecutor, and Vera Miles as Ann Ryker, the estranged wife of
Sergeant Ryker. The cast also features a fine cast of character actors who will
be familiar to anyone who watched broadcast TV and movies in the 60s and 70s
including Lloyd Nolan, Murray Hamilton and Norman Fell to name just a few.
Buzz
Kulik, a veteran television director with a few feature films to his credit,
directed the original “Kraft Suspense Theatre” two-part episodes which was
originally broadcast on October 10th and October 17th of 1964. Kraft Theatre
lasted for two seasons from 1964 to 1966 spanning 59 episodes, filmed at
Universal Studios and broadcast on NBC. Interestingly, a spinoff series
released by ITV titled “Court Martial” featured Dillman and Graves in their
“Ryker” roles as military lawyers and it ran for 26 episodes from 1965 to 1966
with the setting changed from the Korean War to WWII Europe.
The
1968 movie release does not fulfill the promise made on the poster art: “Lee Marvin
Explodes into action as Sergeant Ryker.” We do see plenty of Ryker getting
angry while sitting in his jail cell and in the courtroom. The bulk of the action
consists of his lawyer and his wife riding in a Jeep and attacked by the enemy
in Korea as they search for evidence in Ryker’s case. The movie, which clocks
in at 85 minutes, would be easy to dismiss as a theatrical release, but it plays
rather well on the small screen. The Blu-ray looks and sounds terrific and a nice
surprise for me was the score by John Williams.
Extras
include the trailer for this and other Kino Lorber releases. Also included is a
fascinating audio commentary by film historian and filmmaker Daniel Kremer who
details the history of made-for-television productions which were released
theatrically. The Blu-ray is worth the purchase for the audio commentary alone.
What would have been nice is the option to watch the made for television
version, but I’m happy to see this version on Blu-ray. Highly recommended.
Actor Treat Williams, the ruggedly handsome star of feature films and television, has died from injuries incurred in an accident while he was riding a motorcycle. The incident, which is still under investigation, occurred in rural Vermont, where Williams had resided in recent years. An SUV had apparently crossed the road in front of Williams, who was unable to avoid a collision. Williams was 71 years-old. He had gained prominence in the film industry in the late 1970s by scoring the leading role in director Milos Forman's 1979 screen adaptation of the Broadway sensation "Hair". In 1981, he won praise for his starring role in Sidney Lumet's true-life crime film "Prince of the City". Other major films included "Deep Rising", "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead" and "Hollywood Ending". He later starred in the hit TV series "Everwood". For more, click here.
“Noir Bar” by Eddie Muller (Running Press)228 Pages, Illustrated (B&Wand color);
Hardback. ISBN: 9780762480623
If you’re a fan of all things related to Film Noir,
you’re probably quite familiar with Eddie Muller, who is known as the Noir
Czar. Muller’s passion for the genre is well-known and his influence in keeping
Noir in vogue is widespread. He founded the Film Noir Foundation in 2005,
through which he hosts popular film festivals. He’s also a regular host on
Turner Classic Movies’ presentations of Noir movies, always nattily attired and
giving viewers tips on how dress in real Noir style. He’s also a
prolific author who we interviewed about his landmark book “Dark City”, which
is the seminal book on the subject. One would think he’s covered every
conceivable angle in regard to analyzing the genre but he’s pulled another
rabbit out of his hat with the release of “Noir Bar”, an infectious and clever
advisory about how to properly prepare cocktails inspired by Noir films. Thus,
we have recipes related to specific film titles including The Asphalt
Jungle, The Big Sleep (the original, of course!) and more obscure gems such
as Decoy.As the press release
points out, “Rita Hayworth is toasted with a Sailor
Beware, an original concoction which, like the film that inspired it, The Lady from Shanghai, is unique,
complex, and packs a wallop.”But
there’s more…much more. In addition to enticing close-ups of the concoctions,
there is an abundance of superb B&W stills and colourful movie posters.
It’s the stuff that dreams are made of…and also hangovers. Highly recommended
even for teatotallers.
(Photo:TCM)
Sample recipe:
BLACK
MANHATTAN INSPIRED BY SIDE STREET
What could be more appropriate to this
film than a Black Manhattan, a noir twist on the most classic of whiskey-based
cocktails?
COUPE GLASS, chilled
MIXING GLASS, strained
2 ounces rye whiskey
1 ounce Averna amaro
Dash Angostura bitters
Dash orange bitters
Garnish Luxardo Maraschino cherries
NOTES: I garnish this with at least
two cherries on a cocktail skewer. Since you can’t see the cherries in the
drink, rest the skewer on the lip of the glass. Getting Luxardo cherries on a
skewer takes finesse; you don’t want the sticky syrup on your fingers. Use a
barspoon to fish up a cherry, hold it against the inside lip of the jar, and
gently pierce the fruit, using the spoon to push it to the middle of the
skewer. Repeat with one or two more cherries. Wipe the excess off the skewer
with a napkin before setting it across the glass.
In this episode of Film 101, we're tracing the evolution of this particular set piece. Join us as we look at what Bullitt (1986), The French Connection (1971), and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) have to say about the characters behind the wheel.
Jackie Gleason never sat down for many in-depth interviews. This classic segment from a 1984 segment of "60 Minutes" was an exception. Interviewed by Morley Safer, Gleason is larger than life in every way: physically, habitually and in terms of his wit, as he chain smokes in his natural environment: a bar.
Here is the original 1975 trailer for Stanley Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon", widely acclaimed by critics as one of his best films. Although highly acclaimed, it wasn't financially successful at the time due to the extravagant production costs. Some critics griped that it was too slow moving, but that's the beauty of the production. Most of the critical establishment hailed the film, some calling it a masterpiece. In the comments section, a viewer notes that the trailer contains some differences from the final release version. This is probably true, as trailers must be released long before the finished film and Kubrick was known to make changes in his films almost up to the moment of release.
Finally!
Chaplin fans can rejoice that The Criterion Collection has at last released the
long-awaited missing entry in their run of excellent Blu-ray and DVD
editions of the filmmake's feature films. For a while it appeared that The
Circus, one of the auteur's best and certainly, arguably, his funniest
picture, was forgotten, as it's been a few years since Criterion's last Chaplin
release. Now, here it is. (The only features that remain to be given the
Criterion treatment are A Woman of Paris from 1923, which didn't star
Chaplin, and A King in New York, from 1957, his last starring vehicle. A
Countess from Hong Kong, from 1967, perhaps doesn't count.)
The
Circus was
made just as Hollywood was beginning the transition from silents to talkies.
There were still plenty of silent pictures being produced in 1928, and the move
to sound wouldn't be seriously completed until 1930 (or, in some rural areas of
the country, 1931!). Ironically, Chaplin chose to make an additional silent
comedy in 1931, City Lights, and a semi-silent movie, Modern Times,
in 1936!
Charlie
is The Tramp, of course. Broke and penniless, he wanders near a traveling
circus and, while eluding the police who mistakenly suspect him of being a
pickpocket, accidentally finds himself in the Big Top ring in front of an
audience. They find his antics hilarious, and the cruel and greedy proprietor/ringmaster
(Al Ernest Garcia) hires him on the spot, mainly to take advantage of him. The
Tramp does not realize he's funny and how much he's worth! Then there's the
bareback rider (Merna Kennedy), with whom Charlie falls in love. He sets out to
protect her from the abuse inflicted by the boss.
That's
the story in a nutshell, but it's the collection of hilarious set pieces that
make this film a classic. The opening pickpocket/sideshow/fun house sequence is
inventive and clever. Charlie's introduction into the circus, and especially his
unwitting messing up of the magician's act, provides belly laughs. But the real
stroke of brilliance is the climax of the movie, when Charlie attempts a
tightrope act and is beleaguered by a group of monkeys that have gotten loose. One
of these primates, an impish cutie named Josephine, appeared in many movies of
the period. How her trainer got her to bite Charlie's nose without hurting him
is a marvel.
It's
interesting to note that The Circus practically disappeared for decades
until Chaplin dug it out again in the 1960s to provide the original score and
title song, restore the feature, and re-release it. It had a reputation of
being a lesser work, mainly because it had been made during a painful time in
Chaplin's personal life and he may have suppressed it. The truth is that the
film is underrated -terribly so. It's one of the genius's masterworks.
Criterion's
new 4K digital restoration of the 1969 re-release version (the only one we can
get, I presume) is beautifully presented with an uncompressed monaural
soundtrack. Chaplin's own original score, complete with a vocal title song
("Swing Little Girl", sung by Chaplin himself) sounds terrific. A new audio
commentary by Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance accompanies the feature.
Supplements
abound. New to the Criterion edition include a fascinating interview with
Chaplin's son Eugene (complete with home movies); a wonderful and eye-opening examination
of the visual effects and production design of the film with film scholar Craig
Barron ("In the Service of the Story"); footage of 1969 interviews on Chaplin's
Swiss estate; an audio interview from 1998 with musical associate Eric James; and
newly discovered outtakes of the Tramp and the Bareback Rider. There is also a nearly
half-hour documentary from 2003, "Chaplin Today: The Circus", that provides
insight into the troubled production; unused sequences with a new score by
Timothy Brock and related outtakes; excerpts from the recording session of "Swing Little Girl"; footage from the 1928 Hollywood premiere with appearances
by many celebrities; and re-release trailers. The package booklet sports an
essay by critic Pamela Hutchinson.
The
Circus demands
to be reevaluated and cherished as a treasure from one of cinema's most
important creative artists. This one's a must.
Here's a clip from director John Sturges 1974 crime thriller, "McQ", representing the only time the legendary director worked with the legendary John Wayne. At least they produced a top-notch action film.
By the year 1972, the esteemed Billy Wilder was licking his wounds
over the boxoffice debacle that was "The Private Life of Sherlock
Holmes". Wilder's revisionist depiction of the legendary sleuth is
precisely what Holmes fan clamor for today, but to a generation that
defined the depiction of Holmes and Watson by the low-budget film series
starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, there was little enthusiasm to
see an all-too human Holmes with all-too-human failings. Wilder blamed
the poor reception for the film on the fact that the studio had
overridden his objections and made major cuts to the movie. Years ago,
some of the missing footage was discovered and the altered film was
accepted favorably by reviewers and retro movie lovers. Still, at the
time, Wilder was not used to suffering the humiliation of public
rejection of one of his movies. After all, he had given us classics such
as "Some Like It Hot", "The Apartment", "Sabrina", "Double Indemnity"
and "Stalag 17". Wilder was eager to return to his comedic roots and for
his next film, "Avanti!" and he enlisted long-time collaborator Jack
Lemmon to star and his esteemed writing partner I.A.L. Diamond to
co-author the script with him. The stars seemed be aligned for another
Wilder comedy hit, but it didn't work out that way, to put it mildly.
"Avanti!" was another critical and commercial failure and this time it really hurt.
Henceforth, the few films Wilder would direct would all be bombs,
marking an inglorious end to an otherwise glorious career. Yet,
"Avanti!" deserved a better fate. It's certainly Wilder in an inspired
mode even if the inspiration came from a flop Broadway comedy production
that he and Diamond kept the basic plot premise of but otherwise
rewrote.
Wilder and Lemmon had enjoyed such audience-pleasing hits as "Some
Like It Hot", "The Apartment", "Irma La Douce" and "The Fortune Cookie".
Lemmon is well-cast as Wendell Armbruster, Jr., the son of a titan of
American industry who has just died in an automobile accident in Italy
where he went every year for a month-long personal sabbatical to cleanse
his body and soul. Wendell is already in a state of nervous panic when
we first see him on board the flight to Italy. He has just a few days to
arrange to bring his father's body back to Washington, D.C. where a
high profile televised funeral will take place with the President and
other world dignitaries in attendance. (It's never explained why the
Armbruster family self-imposed such a tight deadline for retrieving the
body and staging the funeral.) Wendell idolized his father as the symbol
of American family values and conservative political doctrine; a robust
Republican who socialized with Henry Kissinger and who was devoted to
Wendell's mother. Upon arrival in the quaint coastal town where his
father died at his favorite small hotel, Wendell is greeted by the
manager, Carlo Carlucci (Clive Revill), an unflappable local "Mr.
Fix-It" with a penchant for reassuring words and an ability to move
mountains to carry out impossible tasks. However, Wendell is in for a
shock when he meets Pamela Piggott (Juliet Mills), a working class girl
from East London whose mother also died in the same car crash as Wendell Sr.
Turns out the two were lovers who met for the past ten years at the
hotel, where they were adored local legends. Thus begins a madcap farce
in which Wendell has to deal with the emotional revelation that his
father was an adulterer while at the same time keeping family members
and the public in the dark about the scandal. Pamela has a different
attitude. Unlike Wendell, she knew of the affair long ago and assures
Wendell that the two were madly in love and could fulfill their
fantasies through their annual reunion. Wendell also learns that his
ultra conservative father would join his lover for daily nude swim.
If the conventional wisdom in Hollywood is that comedies must run
under two hours, Wilder was happy to ignore it. "Avanti!" clocks in at
144 minutes. It's as though he was celebrating the leisurely Italian
lifestyle depicted in the film, a lifestyle that can be both
simultaneously maddening and idyllic. Do we have to tell you that
Wendell and Pamela lock horns only to become lovers themselves, even
going so far as to replicate the dear departed's daily nude swim in the
best-remembered scene from the movie? Despite the lengthy running time,
the film is never boring and the performances are all top-notch with
both Lemmon and Mills in fine form. However, the scene-stealer is Clive
Revill in a remarkably funny performance. You'll swear you're watching
an Italian actor instead of a native New Zealander who made his mark in
British film and stage productions. The movie is peppered with some
genuine Italian character actors, as Wendell becomes embroiled with a
local group of poverty-row mobsters. Wilder and Diamond also mix in an
amusing murder and blackmail plot. There is a late appearance by the
marvelous Edward Andrews as a U.S. State Department official who arrives
to resolve Wendell's problem of getting his father's body back home in
time for the funeral. For all the laughs, however, there is a poignancy
to the story, as Wendell learns to love and admire Pamela, who has
initially disparages because of her "weight problem." This is an
uncomfortable aspect of the movie not only because Juliet Mills most
decidedly did not have a "weight problem", but she endures (as women did
during this era) constant barbs and insults and even makes
self-deprecating jokes about her non-existent girth.
"Avanti!"
may not be classic Wilder, but it's very good Wilder and that's enough
to merit a "highly recommended" designation.The film is currently streaming on Screenpix, which is available to Amazon Prime subscribers for an additional fee of $2.99 a month.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER KINO LORBER BLU-RAY FROM AMAZON
Iconic DC Super Hero Film Being Released as a Multimedia Living
Movie Experience from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Eluvio
Includes 4K UHD Feature Film and Special Features, Interactive
Themed Navigation, Explorable Image Galleries, Discoverable Digital Easter
Eggs, and more!
Burbank, CA, June 5, 2023 – Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, in
partnership with content blockchain pioneer Eluvio,
announced today the next installment of the WB Movieverse with the iconic DC
Super Hero film Superman Web3 Movie Experience, available for
preview at https://web3.wb.com and opening for purchase on June 9.
The release of Superman Web3 Movie Experience
follows the 2022 first-of-its-kind Web3 entertainment offering The Lord of
the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition) Web3 Movie
Experience.
Superman Web3 Movie Experience is a multimedia NFT
for fans to own and to engage with the 1978 Richard Donner film in an exciting
way. Through dynamic menu options based on iconic locations from the film,
owners can watch the film in 4K UHD on desktop, mobile, tablet or TV, access
special features, view image galleries and artist renderings by notable DC
artists, discover digital easter eggs, as well as sell the experience in a
community marketplace.
The
Superman Web3 Movie Experience will be offered in standard
and premium editions:
Standard edition ($30 for 1 week from
8:00AM ET on June 9 to 7:59AM ET on June 16) includes an interactive
location-based navigation menu, Superman: The Movie Theatrical Version,
previously released special features and an image gallery featuring stills and
behind the scenes galleries.
Premium edition ($100 for 24 hours
from 8:00AM ET on June 9 to 7:59AM ET on June 10) includes 3 different
variations available for purchase separately, Truth, Justice, and Hope, each
featuring an illustration of Christopher Reeves’ Superman from one of three DC
artists - Ivan Reiss, Ben Oliver, or Bill Sienkiewicz. Each variation includes
an interactive and explorable location-based navigation menu and 3 versions of
the feature film – Superman: The Movie Theatrical Version; Superman:
The Movie Expanded Director’s Cut; and Superman: The Movie Extended
TV Edition - along with previously-released special features, and image
galleries featuring costume and detail images from the Warner Bros. Archive and
stills and behind the scenes galleries.
The Superman Web3 Movie
Experience will include a free voucher code for a DC3Super Power Pack: Series
Superman from
the DC NFT
Marketplace,
offering 3 randomly selected Superman comics with rarities from
Common to Legendary. These packs are time-gated, open edition drops, limited to
one per account. There will be new themed packs launching every few weeks, so
stay tuned for updates.
Early
access to all editions of the Superman Web3 Movie Experience will
be available to DC Bat Cowl NFT holders at 8:00AM ET on June 8, to DC3 holders
at 11:00AM ET on June 8, and to The Lord of the Rings Web3 Movie
Experience holders at 2:00PM ET on June 8.
“For fans of this beloved and iconic film, Superman: The
Movie is being released as an exclusive Web3 film and immersive digital
collectible for the first time,” said Michelle Munson, CEO and co-founder of
Eluvio. “As part of the WB Movieverse, consumers can easily watch, collect, and
sell their film Web3 Movie Experiences on the blockchain, in the Movieverse
marketplace. For Warner Bros., and the broader industry, Eluvio is honored to
back this novel digital sell-through experience for 4K films and premium video
assets – all streamed from and backed by secure blockchain access and ownership
on the Eluvio Content Fabric.”
TheSuperman Web3 Movie Experience will drop to the public on June 9,
exclusively at https://web3.wb.com and will be
available for purchase by credit card or crypto currency.
To
participate in this novel experience, fans can create a secure, easy-to-use
media wallet that acts as a digital vault and enables consumers to stream and
purchase content via credit cards or crypto wallets.TheSuperman Web3 Movie Experience is powered by Eluvio,
pioneers of Web3 innovation throughout the media and entertainment industry.
The Eluvio Content Blockchain provides a high-performance, simple-to-use, and
cost-effective Web3 platform built for content. It
enables Web3 native media experiences, allowing publishers and fans to directly
enjoy and monetize shows, films, concerts, digital albums, digital
collectibles, interactive and metaverse experiences, and more. Content
creators, and their communities, benefit from a significantly more
carbon-efficient and high-performance alternative to traditional platforms for
content streaming, distribution, and storage, including 4K streaming,
ticketing, NFT minting, and trading of premium content.Notably, in this experience,
the core digital assets along with derivative NFTs are all on the blockchain,
not just the token (NFT) itself. Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment and
fans enjoy blockchain-backed access control and content rights enforcement,
scalable attestation of ownership, smart contracts that enable distributed
royalties, and content experiences that can even evolve over time.
Eluvio’s
Content Blockchain also provides a breakthrough in carbon-footprint efficiency
in the ways it manages media and uses blockchain technology, and on-chain
content ownership. Through a novel compositional and just-in-time protocol, the
Eluvio Content Blockchain does not make digital file copies and significantly
reduces the network storage and usage requirements as compared to traditional
streaming and content distribution systems. It also uses an eco-friendly
“proof-of-authority” consensus, which avoids the high energy consumption used
in computational “proof-of-work” blockchains.
About Warner Bros. Home
Entertainment
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) distributes the
award-winning movies, television, animation, and digital content produced by
Warner Bros. Discovery to the homes and screens of millions through physical
Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD retail sales and digital transactions on major streaming,
video-on-demand cable, satellite, digital, and mobile channels. WBHE
is part of Warner Bros. Discovery Content Sales, one of the world’s
largest distributors of entertainment programming.
About Eluvio, Inc.
Eluvio (https://eluv.io)
is the content blockchain for the creator economy. The Eluvio Content Fabric is
a utility blockchain network for owner-controlled storage, distribution, and
monetization of digital content at scale. It provides live and file-based
content publishing, transcoding, packaging, sequencing, and dynamic and static
distribution, and minting of derivative NFTs for all ranges of content
experiences. Examples of companies and creators whose content blockchain
initiatives have been powered by Eluvio include FOX Entertainment, Globo, MGM
Studios, Microsoft, SONY Pictures, Telstra, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment,
WWE, The Masked Singer, Dolly Parton, Black Eyed Peas, Rita Ora,
independent filmmakers, and many others. Eluvio is led by Emmy
Award-winning technologists, Michelle Munson and Serban Simu,
founders and inventors of Aspera, a pioneer in digital video transport
technology, and a core team of innovators. Based in Berkeley, California,
Eluvio has received numerous industry awards including the prestigious
Engineering Excellence Award by the Hollywood Professional Association and
recognized with 11 US patents. Follow Eluvio at @EluvioInc or on
LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/eluv-io.
CELEBRATE
100 YEARS OF WARNER BROS. WITH TWO CLASSIC FILMS
EAST OF EDEN AND RIO BRAVO
WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 4K RESOLUTION WITH
HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR)
PURCHASE THEM ON 4K ULTRA HD DISC AND DIGITALLY AUGUST 1
Burbank, Calif., May 30, 2023 – As part of the
year-long centennial celebration for the 100th anniversary of Warner
Bros. Studio, two iconic classics from the Warner Bros. library – East of
EdenandRio Bravo- will be available for
purchase on 4K Ultra HD Disc and Digital August 1.
East of Eden, directed by Academy Award
winner Elia Kazan and starring James Dean, and Rio Bravo, directed
by Honorary Academy Award winner Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne, will be
available to purchase on Ultra HD Blu-ray™Disc from
online and in-store at major retailers and available for purchase Digitally
from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu and more.
Working in partnership with The Film Foundation, both films were
restored and remastered by Warner Bros. Post Production Creative Services:
Motion Picture Imaging and Post Production Sound. Since its launch
by Martin Scorsese in 1990, The Film Foundation has restored more
than 900 movies.
The Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc will include each feature film in 4K
with HDR and a Digital version of the feature film.
Ultra HD Blu-ray showcases 4K resolution with High Dynamic Range
(HDR) and a wider color spectrum, offering consumers brighter, deeper, more
lifelike colors for a home entertainment viewing experience like never before.
For the complete 4K Ultra HD experience with HDR, a 4K Ultra HD TV
with HDR, an Ultra HD Blu-ray player and a high-speed HDMI (category 2) cable
are required.
About the Films:
East of Eden
In the Salinas Valley in and around World War I, Cal Trask feels
he must compete against overwhelming odds with his brother Aron for the love of
their father Adam. Carl is frustrated at every turn, from his reaction to the
war, to how to get ahead in business and in life, to how to relate to his
estranged mother.
The 1955 period drama is directed by Elia Kazan from a
screenplay by Paul Osborn and based on the 1952 John Steinbeck novel of the
same name. The film stars James Dean, Julie Harris, Raymond Massey, Burl
Ives, Richard Davalos, and Jo Van Fleet.
East of Eden was nominated for 3 Academy
Awards with Van Fleet winning for Best Supporting Actress. East of
Eden was named one of the 400 best American films of all time by the American Film
Institute. In 2016, the film was selected
for preservation in the United States National Film
Registry by the Library of
Congress as being "culturally,
historically, or aesthetically significant".
Rio Bravo
A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a
disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail
the brother of the local bad guy.
The 1959 American Western film is directed by Howard
Hawks. The screenplay is by Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett and is based on
the short story “Rio Bravo” by B.H. McCampbell. The film stars John Wayne, Dean
Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan, and Ward Bond.
In 2014, Rio Bravo was selected for preservation in
the United States National Film
Registry by the Library of
Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically
significant.”
Ultra HD Blu-ray Elements
East
of EdenUltra HD Blu-ray contains the following previously released
special features:
Commentary by Richard Schickel
Rio BravoUltra HD
Blu-ray contains the following previously released special features:
Anna May Wong has been commemorated with a three-film box set from Kino Lorber. Wong was a popular presence on the silver screen in an era in which most Asian screen characters were played by non-Asians. Here is the breakdown of information about the the Blu-ray set that coincidentally features Anthony Quinn in all three movies.
This collection features three Hollywood classics from
the 1930s starring screen icon Anna May Wong.
DANGEROUS TO KNOW
(1938)
Screen legend Anna
May Wong (Picadilly) reprises her acclaimed Broadway role in this romantic
crime drama from the pen of Edgar Wallace (Chamber of Horrors). Racketeer Steve
Recka (Akim Tamiroff, The General Died at Dawn) rules his town and the sultry,
silk-gowned Madam Lan Ying (Wong) with an iron hand. But when he falls for the
enchanting Margaret Van Kase (Gail Patrick, Death Takes a Holiday), a socialite
not impressed by his power nor his wealth, he makes frantic efforts to win her
and turns his back on the loyal Lan Ying. Dangerous to Know comes elegantly
directed by Robert Florey (The Crooked Way) with the sparkling supporting cast
of Lloyd Nolan (Portrait in Black), Harvey Stephens (The Cheat), Roscoe Karns
(Night After Night), Porter Hall (Murder, He Says), Hedda Hopper (Little Man,
What Now?), Ellen Drew (If I Were King) and Anthony Quinn (The Ghost Breakers).
ISLAND OF LOST MEN
(1939) – Screen legend Anna May Wong (Daughter of Shanghai) clashes with J.
Carrol Naish (Sahara) in this rousing remake of 1933’s Carole Lombard/Charles
Laughton starrer White Woman. Cabaret singer Kim Ling (Wong), the daughter of a
Chinese general who has been accused of absconding with government funds,
arrives in the Straits Settlements. There she meets Gregory Prin (Naish), a
half-caste gunrunner and head of a jungle empire where he treats the Malaysians
ruthlessly. She agrees to accompany him in search of her father, as she has
several reasons to believe Prin is responsible for the general’s disappearance.
Directed by Kurt Neumann (The Secret of the Blue Room, The Fly) and co-starring
Anthony Quinn (Road to Singapore), Eric Blore (Road to Zanzibar), Broderick
Crawford (Seven Sinners) and Ernest Truex (His Girl Friday), Island of Lost Men
is a torrid mix of thrills, mystery and adventure.
KING OF CHINATOWN
(1939) – Screen legend Anna May Wong (Shanghai Express) co-stars with the “czar
of a city of sin,” Akim Tamiroff (Desire), in the ripping crime yarn King of
Chinatown. Violence and death stalk the Chinese faction of a big American city,
but one man, Dr. Chang Ling (Sidney Toler, Shadows Over Chinatown), and his
daughter, Dr. Mary Ling (Wong), defy the gangsters who are responsible, and,
against terrific odds, bring peace to their oppressed neighbors. Wong gives a
powerful and pioneering performance as a respected surgeon faced with a
shocking moral dilemma. Directed by Nick Grinde (Million Dollar Legs), shot by
Leo Tover (The Day the Earth Stood Still) and featuring J. Carrol Naish (Beau
Geste), Philip Ahn (China), Anthony Quinn (The Last Train from Madrid),
Bernadene Hayes (Dick Tracy’s Dilemma) and Roscoe Karns (It Happened One
Night).
Product Extras :
Brand New 4K and 2K Masters
NEW Audio Commentary for DANGEROUS TO KNOW by Film Historian Samm Deighan
NEW Audio Commentary for ISLAND OF LOST MEN by Entertainment Journalist/Author
Bryan Reesman and Max Evry
NEW Audio Commentary for KING OF CHINATOWN by Film Historian David Del Valle
and Archivist/Film Historian Stan Shaffer
King of Chinatown Theatrical Trailer (Nitrate Restoration in 4K)
If you haven't seen the news about the new "Superman" 4K boxed set, here is the Warner Bros. press release:
CELEBRATE 100 YEARS OF WARNER BROS. WITH ONE OF
FILM’S MOST ICONIC CHARACTERS - SUPERMAN
SUPERMAN
1978 – 1987 5-FILM COLLECTION FEATURING
SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE, SUPERMAN II, SUPERMAN II: THE
RICHARD DONNER CUT, SUPERMAN III, AND SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR
PEACE WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME AS A REMASTERED COLLECTION IN 4K
RESOLUTION WITH HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR)
PURCHASE THE COLLECTION ON
4K ULTRA HD COMBO PACK AND DIGITALLY
As part of the year-long
centennial celebration for the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros.
Studio, five films featuring the iconic DC Super Hero Superman – Superman:
The Movie,Superman II, Superman II: The Richard Donner
Cut, Superman III, and Superman IV- will
be available for purchase in a five-film collection on 4K Ultra HD Disc and
Digital on April 18.
Based on the DC character created by
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the Superman films star Christopher
Reeve as the legendary “Man of Steel.”
On April 18, the Superman 1978 – 1987 5-Film
Collectionwill be available to purchase on Ultra HD
Blu-ray™ Disc from online and in-store at major retailers
and available for purchase Digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google
Play, Vudu and more.
The
Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Packs will include an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc with the
feature films in 4K with HDR, a Blu-ray disc with the feature films and special
features in HD, and a Digital version of each film.
Ultra
HD Blu-ray showcases 4K resolution with High Dynamic Range (HDR) and a wider
color spectrum, offering consumers brighter, deeper, more lifelike colors for a
home entertainment viewing experience like never before.
For
the complete 4K Ultra HD experience with HDR, a 4K Ultra HD TV with HDR, an
Ultra HD Blu-ray player and a high-speed HDMI (category 2) cable are required.
The issue has just been mailed to all subscribers.
Highlights of issue #56 include:
Simon Lewis and Dave Worrall go behind the scenes of "A Bridge Too Far" in an 18-page "Film in Focus"- don't miss Dave's special report based on his experiences on the set!
Nicholas Anez explores the two versions of "The Cincinnati Kid" starring Steve McQueen.
John P. Harty revisits the trials and tribulations of bringing "55 Days at Peking" to the big screen.
Lee Pfeiffer revisits the infamous bomb "The Legend of the Lone Ranger"..was it really that bad?
Brian Davidson celebrates the sexy but-short-lived stewardess-ploitation films.
Tim Greaves recalls how Sophia Loren made a splash in her first Hollywood film, Boy on a Dolphin.
In an era in which movies were defined by super cool heroes, none were cooler than Richard Roundtree as John Shaft, seen here bantering with Charles Cioffi, who should have been carried over to the sequels. They had great rapport defined by mutual ball-busting humor.
Burt Reynolds was a movie star who became a
“Hollywood Legend” the hard way—he earned it. He started out in small roles on
TV in the 50s and 60s, went to Europe and made some spaghetti westerns, just
like his pal Clint Eastwood. He had his own TV series (“Hawk” and “Dan August”)
and gained stardom on the big screen after playing Lewis, one of the four guys
in “Deliverance,” who run into bad luck at the hands of some good ol’ boys in
the Tennessee backwoods. He became a superstar with the release of “Smokey and
the Bandit” (1977), which he starred in with Sally Field and Jackie Gleason.
His career ended with “The Last Movie Star,” (2017), where he basically played
himself, a faded legend, who still manages to hold onto his dignity. He was
about to play a small role in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time . . . in
Hollywood (2019)” but died in 2018before filming began.
His career had a lot of peaks and valleys. “Heat”
(1986), now available on Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber, while an entertaining movie
with Reynolds at his charismatic best, was definitely not one of the peaks.
Considering it was written by Oscar-winning writer William Goldman, (“All the
President’s Men” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,”) and directed by
Dick Richards (“Farewell My Lovely”), it should have been a lot better than it
is. Reynolds plays Nick Escalante (also known as “Mex”), a Las Vegas bodyguard
who dreams of one day leaving the rat race in the States and going to Venice,
Italy to enjoy La Dolce Vita. Hmmm. That sort of reminds me of another guy
William Goldman wrote about once, only he wanted to go to Bolivia. Anyway as
“Heat” begins, Mex takes on a couple of jobs that he probably should have known
better than to accept. One has him protecting a nerdy dude by the name of Cyrus
Kinnick (Peter McNichol), who thinks he needs a bodyguard in case he wins big
at the casino. Mex doesn’t last long on the job when he discovers Kinnick’s
idea of big winnings is $50, and he quits. The other is a call for help from
Holly (Karen Young) a Vegas hooker, an old friend of his, who was beaten and
raped in a casino hotel room by three guys. She asks him to help her get
revenge.
Mex (you probably couldn’t use that nickname
today) finds out the rapist is a punk Mafioso by the name of Danny DeMarco
(Neill Barry), who has two musclebound bodyguards of his own. Mex never carries
a gun, but he’s known for being an expert with anything that has a sharp
cutting edge. He pays them a visit and takes all three of them down with
nothing more than the sharp edge of two credit cards and a few flying kicks, a-la
Bruce Lee. He calls Holly up from the lobby and she takes a pair of scissors
out of her purse and leaves Danny with a little souvenir on his private parts.
She finds $20,000 that Danny had flashed around to tease Mex with earlier and
offers half to him. He turns it down and tells her to leave town. It turns out
Danny is connected to a local Mafia boss by the name of “Baby.”
Holly leaves town but manages to get 10 grand to
him, which becomes a plot device that reveals that Mex has a gambling addiction
problem. He takes the money, turns it into $100,000 at the Blackjack table run
by a dealer named Cassie (Diana Scarwid), and ends up losing it all. So now we
know why Mex has trouble paying the airfare to Venice. Kinnick shows up again
and asks if he can just hang out with him so he can learn how to be a cool
tough guy like him. Sounds dumb, doesn’t it? It is. Somehow, even though
there’s a meeting with “Baby,” and later an action setpiece with Danny and some
new goons he’s hired, the story loses momentum.
Part
of the problem is Goldman’s script, which is all over the place, with enough
story elements for at least two different movies. Or maybe they planned to spin
it off into a TV series. But the biggest problem with “Heat” is what was
happening behind the scenes during production. “Heat” was originally to be
helmed by Robert Altman. That deal fell through, so they brought in Dick
Richards to direct and for some reason Richards and Reynolds didn’t get along.
It got so bad that a fight erupted and Reynolds punched Richards in the face.
Richards left the picture after directing only 13 percent of it and sued
Reynolds. “That punch cost me half a million,” Reynolds said. Television
director Jerry Jameson was brought in to finish the picture without receiving a
credit.
It’s
too bad in a way that Altman didn’t take the job after all. Goldman’s
screenplay, with all the various story ideas bouncing around in it, would
probably have been right up Altman’s alley. He might have come up with
something on the order of his earlier hits “The Long Goodbye” (1973) or
“California Split” (1974).
Kino
Lorber presents “Heat” in its original 1.78:1 aspect ratio in a very clean
1920x1080p transfer. A rollicking audio commentary is provided by action film
historians Brandon Bentley and Mike Leeder. The disc also contains previews of
a number of Burt Reynolds films available from Kino Lorber. In case you’re
wondering if Mex ever get to Venice… I’ll never tell. But, if he did, let’s
hope he made out better than that other guy did in Bolivia. Recommended primarily for Burt Reynolds fans.
Cesare Mori grew up in an orphanage in the 1870s but
rose to power and influence through the military, then the police, and finally
as a Prefect in Mussolini’s Fascist Party. He was dispatched to Palermo in
Sicily in the mid-1920s with the specific task of destroying the power and
influence of the Mafia, who held a vicious and all-controlling stranglehold on
the island. The Mafia were responsible for hundreds of brutal murders every
year, bribed officials, and were a prime reason why so many lived in poverty.
Mori was a man on a mission, and would stop at nothing to break this criminal
organisation. He was extraordinarily successful. His reasoning was that it was
not enough to simply arrest people: The citizens of Sicily had to see that the
authorities could help them and that they no longer needed the Mafia for
protection.
Following his promotion to the senate, where
ultimately he fell afoul of Mussolini
after expressing concern over Italy’s relationship with Hitler, he wrote his
memoirs about the role he played in breaking the Mafia, and it was this that
inspired the 1977 production of The Iron
Prefect, starring Giuliano Gemma in the title role. Gemma was well-known to
audiences thanks to his role in such Spaghetti Westerns as A Pistol for Ringo (1965, Duccio Tessari) and Day of Anger (Tonino Valerii, 1967) and he would even appear in
Dario Argento’s Tenebrae a few years
later in 1982. Despite being around twenty years younger than the actual Mori,
he creates a believable, authoritative character, and one can see why the
Sicilian police were willing to follow his sometimes-unorthodox methods. The
film features Claudia Cardinale in a supporting role as the struggling mother
of a young boy whose father was an influential leader of the Mafia, but having
had enough, she wants to try and secure a better life for the boy away from
Sicily. It was ably directed on location by Pasquale Squitieri, who was himself
no stranger to the Western, and had also made other films about organised crime
and the Mafia, including Camorra
(1972) and The Climber (1975).
It’s an easy comparison to make, but one can’t help
but think of the Sicilian section of The
Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972), and this film makes an excellent
companion piece to that: Sicily is hot, dry and crumbling, where peasants are
armed with shotguns and the authorities are powerless to do anything about the
criminal gangs who brazenly murder entire families to maintain control, until Cesare
Mori arrives of course. The Iron Prefect
has been restored in 2K from the original negative and is available here from
new boutique label Radiance Films with new and archival extras. As Squitieri
and Gemma are sadly no longer with us, an archival interview with them both
recorded in 2009 provides fascinating insight, and there is also a new
interview with Squitieri’s biographer Domenico Monetti. My favourite bonus
feature here is an appreciation of Giulliano Gemma by writer, director and
western fan Alex Cox who goes into detail and brings wit and style to the piece.
If Alex Cox, host of the important Moviedrome
series of film screenings on British television in the late nineties, could
shoot videos like this for all of Radiance’s releases, I for one would be very
happy. The limited edition of The Iron
Prefect comes with a booklet featuring new writing by Italian cinema expert
Guido Bonsaver and an original article on the real-life Cesare Mori and his
Mafia raid as depicted within the film.
This is another excellent release from Radiance, who
have rapidly become a popular and collectible label with an eclectic mix of
world classic and cult cinema. Cinema
Retro recently interviewed founder Francesco Simeoni about the label. You can read it here.
You can order The Iron Prefect direct from Radiance by clicking here.
Actor George Maharis, who co-starred with Martin Milner in the classic 1960s TV series "Route 66", passed away last week. He was 94 years old. Maharis had a multifaceted career, starring on TV, stage and motion pictures. He also found some success as a singer in the 1960s. Maharis,a native of Queens, New York, studied at the Actors Studio and became a popular presence on American television, guest starring on many hit shows. His popular role on "Route 66" ended before the third season had concluded. It was said that the producers of "Route 66" released him from the show
because of suspected homosexuality in an era that was intolerant towards
gays in the film industry, though other variations of his departure
centered on his health and his desire to leave TV for motion pictures. He parlayed his popularity on TV into modest stardom on the big screen. Among his films: "Exodus", "Sylvia", "The Satan Bug" and "The Happening". Maharis was not without controversy. In 1967, he was arrested for engaging in "lewd conduct". He appeared nude in "Playgirl" magazine in 1973.The following year, he was arrested on charges of soliciting sex. The case was widely reported in the media and arguably had a negative impact on Maharis's career.
Maharis, who was of Greek heritage, boasted the kind of good looks that made him a heart throb at the height of his career. His last screen credit was the suspense thriller "Doppelganger" in 1993, after which he retired from show business. For more about his career, click here.
Josh
Agle, better known as “Shag” has made a name for himself creating Mid-Century,
Tiki-inspired art that has become quite popular with collectors. He has
previously mined the cinematic landscapes of Star Wars, Planet of the Apes, GodzillaThe Addams Family and Batman, creating stylized fine art prints,
many of which sold out. Now he’s finally
turned his talents to James Bond, releasing “Bambi & Thumper”, a Diamonds
Are Forever-inspired print at his Las Vegas store on May 27th.
The
work was, of course suggested by the 1971 Connery classic – “I first saw Diamonds
Are Forever as a kid and the scene where two beautiful bodyguards beat up
James Bond in a futuristic home is something that made a lasting impression on
me,” the artist explained in a recent email to his followers.The story gets even better, as Agle wrote “Many
years later I got to stay in that supervillain lair, the Elrod House in Palm
Springs and I blasted the soundtrack to Diamonds Are Forever… how could
it not inspire a painting?”
(Mark Cerulli with wife Sandra Carvalho with Shag at a recent print-release party at his gallery in Palm Springs, CA. Photo: Mark Cerulli.)
If
your licensed troubleshooting takes you to Palm Springs, Shag’s unique store is
worth a visit.The artist frequently
hosts print release parties where he chats with guests and is happy to sign his
work – which also includes Tiki Mugs, small prints, kitschy lamps and clocks, books,
beach towels, even socks! He also has a
store in The Palms Casino Resort in Vegas – a location both Bond and Shady Tree
would feel at home at.
“Bambi
& Thumper” will be for sale on the SHAG website (shagstore.com)
starting Sunday, May 28th, available framed and unframed. With a print run of only 200, hop in your Moon
Buggy to grab one!
These images were culled from the pages of the New York Times' February 6, 1969 edition. What a time it was, with so many eclectic films playing simulataneouosly. Enjoy this trip down memory lane.
It's easy to look back on the Blaxploitation film craze of the 1970s
as a short-lived period that spawned some cinematic guilty pleasures.
However, time has been kind to the genre and if retro movie buffs view
some of the films that emerged during this era they will undoubtedly
find more artistry at work than was originally realized. Case in point:
"Truck Turner", a 1974 action flick released at the height of the
Blaxploitation phenomenon. I had never seen the film prior to its
release on the new Blu-ray special edition from Kino Lorber Studio
Classics. It's a violent, brutal film filled with ugly characters and
"heroes" who deserve that moniker only because they aren't quite as
abhorrent as the cutthroat antagonists they face. Yet, there is
something special about "Truck Turner". Amid the carnage and frequent,
extended action sequences, there is real talent at work here. Most of it
belongs to Jonathan Kaplan, the director who had recently emerged as
yet another promising protege of Roger Corman. In fact, Kaplan had just
recently completed filming another Blaxploitation film, "The Slams" with
Jim Brown, before being drafted into "Truck Turner". The idea of a
white, Jewish guy directing a Blaxploitation film may seem weird today
but at the time, most of the creative forces behind these movies were
white guys, an indication of just how few opportunities existed in
Hollywood for black filmmakers in the 1970s. The movies were also
largely financed by white studio executives who benefited the most
financially. Yet, it cannot be denied that the genre went a long way in
opening doors for a lot of talented black actors and musicians, who
often provided the scores for the films. Until the release of "Shaft" in
1971 (which was directed by a black filmmaker, Gordon Parks),
most of the action roles for black characters seemed to be hanging on
the durable shoulders of Sidney Poitier, Jim Brown, Harry Belafonte and
the great character actor Woody Strode. Suddenly, there were a great
number of opportunities for black actors and actresses to display their
talents on screen. The vehicles in which they toiled were often
low-budget potboilers, but it did increase their visibility and name
recognition. More importantly, black action characters became
commonplace henceforth.
"Truck Turner" has emerged as a genuine cult movie in the decades
since its initial release. The movie's oddball appeal begins with the
casting of the titular character, who is played by legendary soul
musician Isaac Hayes in his screen debut. While Laurence Olivier
probably never lost sleep over Hayes's decision to enter the movie
business, his casting was a stroke of genius on the part of the
executives at American International Pictures, which specialized in
exploitation films for the grindhouse and drive-in audiences. Hayes had
recently won the Academy Award for his funky "Theme From 'Shaft'" and
had an imposing and super-cool physical presence. He also proved to be a
natural in front of the camera. His emotional range was limited but he
exuded an arrogance and self-confidence that the role required. Turner
is a skip tracer/bounty hunter employed by a bail bond agency in the
slum area of Los Angeles. A stunning opening shot finds literally dozens
of such agency dotting the urban landscape- an indication of how out of
control crime was in the city during this period. Turner and his
partner Jerry (Alan Weeks) agree to take on an assignment to track down a
local notorious pimp and crime kingpin named 'Gator' Johnson (Paul
Harris), who has skipped bail, thus leaving the agency's owner Nate
Dinwiddle (Sam Laws) on the hook for the money. Turner and Jerry pursue
'Gator' in one of those requisite high octane car chases that were
seemingly mandatory in 70s action movies. This one is quite spectacular
and features some dazzling stunt driving. 'Gator' is ultimately killed
by Turner and this leads to the main plot, which concerns his lover,
Dorinda (Nichelle Nichols). She was 'Gator's partner in a lucrative
prostitution business. The two pimped out beautiful young women who they
keep as virtual prisoners on a large estate. Dorinda is the Captain
Bligh of madams, routinely abusing her stable of girls and demeaning
them at every opportunity. She is enraged by Turner's slaying of 'Gator'
and offers a bounty for his murder: half of her stake in the
prostitution ring. The offer draws more than a few professional
assassins to her doorstep, all of whom promise they can kill Turner.
However, the only one who seems to have the ability to do so is Harvard
Blue (Yaphet Kotto), a soft-spoken but vicious crime boss who would like
nothing more than to make easy money from a major pimping operation.
With a small army of assassins, he sets out to make good on his promise
to kill Turner.
Like most action movies of this genre, the plot points are
predictable. As with Charles Bronson's character in the "Death Wish"
films, virtually every person who befriends Turner comes to great
misfortune. This kind of predictable emotional manipulation is par for
the course when you're watching 70s crime films and doesn't overshadow
the fact that there is a great deal of style evident in "Truck Turner".
The dialogue is saucy and witty. For example, Dorinda describes one of
her "girls" as "Kentucky Fried Chicken" because "she's finger-lickin'
good!" and another as "Turnpike" because "you have to pay to get on and
pay to get off." If you think that's politically incorrect, consider
that every other line of dialogue has somebody calling somebody else a
nigger. Then there's the character of Truck Turner, who - like his
fellow cinematic tough ass crime fighters of the era ranging from Dirty
Harry to 'Popeye' Doyle to John Wayne's McQ- seems oblivious to the
fact that he is endangering an abundance of innocent people in his
obsession to get the bad guys. Turner engages in carjacking and
threatens the lives of people who he feels aren't cooperating fast
enough. He also has a sensitive side, though, as we see in his scenes
with the love of his life, Annie (Annazette Chase). She's recently
completed a jail term and only wants to settle down with Turner to live a
quiet, normal lifestyle. Good luck. When the contract is put out on
Turner, she becomes a potential victim and is terrorized by Harvard Blue
and his gang. The film concludes with some terrific action sequences,
the best of which has Hayes and Kotto going mano-a-mano inside the
corridors of a hospital. They chase and spray bullets at each other amid
terrified patients in wheelchairs and on gurneys and in one scene,
carry the shoot out into an operating room with doctors in the midst of
working on a patient! The finale, which centers on Kotto's last scene
in the movie, is shot with such style that it almost approaches being
(dare I use the term?) poetic. The supporting cast is first rate with
Alan Weeks scoring strongly as Robin to Turner's Batman. Annazette Chase
is excellent as the ever-patient object of Turner's desire and, of
course, Kotto is terrific, as usual, managing to steal scenes in his own
unique, low-key way. The most enjoyable performance comes from Nichelle
Nichols, who is 180 degrees from her "Star Trek" role. As the ultimate
villainess, she seems to be having a blast insulting and threatening
everyone in her line of vision. Her final confrontation with Turner
makes for a memorable screen moment, to say the least.
The Kino Lorber Blu-ray is up to the company's usual high standards
in all respects. Old Truck never looked better on screen and there are
some welcome bonus materials. Director Kaplan provides a witty and
highly informative audio commentary, relating how American International
was more interested in the soundtrack album they would be able to
market than the film itself. (Hayes provides the impressive score for
the film, including some "Shaft"-like themes.). He also said that he was
originally drawn to the project because he was told the film would star
either Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine or Robert Mitchum! Nevertheless, he
speaks with great affection for Hayes and his colleagues and points out
various character actors his used in the film including the ubiquitous
Dick Miller, James Millhollin, Scatman Crothers and even Matthew Beard,
who played "Stymie" in the Our Gang comedies. Another welcome bonus is
director Joe Dante,obviously an admirer of the film, in discussion at a
2008 screening of "Truck Turner" at the New Beverly Cinema in L.A. He's
joined by director Kaplan and stuntman Bob Minor. The reaction of the
audience indicates this film enjoys a loyal following. There is also a
segment from Dante's popular "Trailers From Hell" web site that features
director Ernest Dickerson introducing and narrating the original
trailer for the film. The trailer is also included in the Blu-ray, as
well as a double feature radio spot ad for "Truck Turner" and Pam Grier
as "Foxy Brown". In all, an irresistible release for all retro movie
lovers.
HAROLD RAMIS’ ROAD TRIP COMEDY FILM STARRING CHEVY CHASE AND
BEVERLY D’ANGELO WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 4K RESOLUTION WITH
HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR)
Own it on 4K Ultra HD and Digital on June 27
Burbank, Calif., May 10, 2023 – National Lampoon’s Vacation,
directed by Harold Ramis and starring Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo as Clark
and Ellen Griswold, will be released on Ultra HD Blu-ray and Digital
on June 27. As Warner Bros celebrates its 100thanniversary, this film is highlighted as a studio gem on
its 40thanniversary.
The 1983 classic comedy film from Warner Bros. Pictures was
written by John Hughes and was based on his short story “Vacation ’58 which
appeared in the publication “National Lampoon.” The film was produced by
Matty Simmons and also stars Imogene Coca, Randy Quaid, John Candy, Anthony Michael
Hall, Dana Barron, and Christie Brinkley in her acting debut. National
Lampoon’s Vacation also features special appearances by Eddie Bracken,
Brian-Doyle Murray, James Keach, and Eugene Levy.
Ultra HD* showcases 4K resolution
with High Dynamic Range (HDR) and a wider color spectrum, offering consumers
brighter, deeper, more lifelike colors for a home entertainment viewing
experience like never before.
National Lampoon’s Vacationwill be
available on Ultra HD Blu-ray for $33.99 SRP and includes an Ultra HD
Blu-ray disc with the feature film in 4K with HDR and a Digital download of the
film. Fans can also own National Lampoon’s Vacationin 4K
Ultra HD via purchase from select digital retailers beginning on June
27.
About
the Film:
Everything
is planned, packed – and about to go hilariously wrong. The Griswolds are going
on vacation. In the driver’s seat is Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase), an Everyman
eager to share the open road and the wonders of family togetherness. Myriad
mishaps, crude kin (Randy Quaid), encounters with a temptress (Christie
Brinkley), financial woes, Aunt Edna (Imogene Coca) on the roof, one security
guard (John Candy) and 2,460 miles later, it’s a wonder the Griswolds are
together. There’s never been a family vacation like it. Except maybe yours. And
that helps explain why National Lampoon’s Vacation remains so
popular… and so very funny.
Ultra HD Blu-ray Elements
National Lampoon’s VacationUltra HD
Blu-ray contains the following previously released special features:
·Commentary
with Chevy Chase, Randy Quaid, Matty Simmons, Harold Ramis, Anthony Michael
Hall, and Dana Barron (98 Minutes)
DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION ELEMENTS
On June 27, National Lampoon’s Vacation 4K UHDwill
be available to own for streaming and download to watch anywhere in high
definition and standard definition on favorite devices from select digital
retailers and will be made available digitally on Video On Demand services from
cable and satellite providers, and on select gaming consoles.
In
honor of Al Pacino’s 83rd birthday this past April, Cinema Retro
looks at the new double-disc Kino Lorber 4K Ultra High Definition and standard Blu-ray
release of Sidney Lumet’s 1973 police drama Serpico, a film that is based
upon the real-life exploits of retired New York Police Detective Frank Serpico.
Serpico is an early entry in Mr. Pacino’s film roles and also one of his
most riveting. He got his start in feature films by playing a potential suitor
to Patty Duke at a party in Fred Coe’s Me, Natalie (1969) and then
played the lead opposite Kitty Winn in Jerry Schatzberg’s The Panic in
Needle Park (1971), a cautionary tale of heroin addicts in New York City.
Following his transformation from a discharged military soldier into
cold-blooded family head Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s The
Godfather (1972), he reteamed with Mr. Schatzberg for the heartbreaking Scarecrow
(1973) -opposite Gene Hackman- as Lionel Delbuchi, a man who attempts to right
past wrongs with his ex-wife. In Serpico, Mr. Pacino’s fifth film, he
teams with veteran director Sidney Lumet to portray the real-life police
detective who not only uncovers corruption in the ranks but takes the
department to task for accountability and change.
Serpico begins at the end and is told in
flashback leading right up to the start of the film when our hero is shot in
the face by a small caliber pistol. Mr. Pacino gives a powerful and deeply
nuanced performance of a man who knows right from wrong but feels trapped
withing the workings of the police department and needs to proceed cautiously.
As Serpico is rushed to the hospital and is met by Police Chief Sidney Green
(John Randolph), the full weight of all he has been through shows on his face,
his circumstance taking him back, in flashback, to his graduation from the
police academy. In his early days, Serpico is an idealistic and happy young man
who eschews donning the police department’s standard-issue plainclothes accoutrements
in favor of dressing like a civilian to improve the relationship between police
and the community. A burglary attempt nearly proves fatal when responding
officers open fire on him in his unrecognizable getup. He meets and courts Leslie
(Cornelia Sharpe), a ballerina, and her acquaintances back away when they learn
of his profession. Their romance suffers, as does his superior’s (James Tolkan)
perception of him.
Serpico
comes face to face with police corruption and initially treads lightly as officers
he works with take money from criminals to look the other way. From their
behavior, it is just another day at the office. When he attempts to report this
to his superiors, he is laughed off. Future busts with other officers results
in him being offered his “take” which he refuses to the shock and dismay of his
peers, especially Tom Keough (Jack Kehoe) who wants the gravy train to continue
and does his best to ingratiate himself and warns Serpico to comply and not to
go against the others. He begins to wonder who is worse: the rapists and
robbers or his fellow officers?
Serpico
entrusts the aid of an associate, Blair (Tony Roberts), who knows the right
people. They go straight to the mayor’s office, but the initial meeting leads
to more disappointment as the case is tabled, making life miserable for both
Serpico and his new girlfriend who loves him and desperately wants children
with him, but she eventually terminates their relationship. He then takes on a
mobster, an unrecognizable Richard Foronjy who would appear opposite Mr. Pacino
in Brian DePalma’s Carlito’s Way twenty years later in another
elliptical narrative wherein the lead is shot and the story is told through
flashback. The arrest and confrontation is Mr. Pacino at his most explosive in
the film, his fury directed at both the mobster but more at his fellow officers
who joke around with this man who was previously jailed for killing another
police officer. Things take a dangerous turn when he goes outside of the
department to report the corruption and brings his findings to the New York
Times. Serpico finds himself transferred to a terrible neighborhood busting
drug addicts, leading him to the near fatal shot to the face, after which he
testifies before the Knapp Commission regarding the corruption.
Serpico opened in New York City on Wednesday,
December 5, 1973, almost three years shy of the actual murder attempt in
Williamsburg. It was Mr. Pacino’s first time working with producer Martin
Bregman and he would collaborate over the next twenty years on Sidney Lumet’s Dog
Dag Afternoon (1975), Brian DePalma’s Scarface (1983), Harold
Becker’s Sea of Love (1989), and Brian DePalma’s aforementioned Carlito’s
Way (1993). Serpico’s mother is played by actress Mildred Clinton. I have
only seen her in one other film, Alfred Sole’s Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)
wherein she played Mrs. Tredoni. She is deeply affecting in her small but
significant role. The remaining cast is a smorgasbord of players you will
recognize from the terrific roster of New York character actors that includes
Tracey Walter, Tom Signorelli, Kenneth McMillian, Tony LoBianco, Judd Hirsch, Sam
Coppola, Sully Boyar, F. Murray Abraham, M. Emmet Walsh, and Sal Corollo. Cornelia
Sharpe, who was producer Bregman’s girlfriend at the time (later his wife), is
given less screen time than she deserves. She went on to play the role of Nancy
Stillman in Peter Collinson’s 1974 film Open Season, a bizarre film that
has never seen the light of day on home video in the United States (but is
finally available to download on Vudu) reportedly because producer Bregman
wanted it keep out of circulation, but that’s another story.
Serpico is an example of the great New York
1970s filmmaking style that I miss so much, and the film is an authentic
product of its time. There is no way to fake 1970’s New York convincingly today.
There are too many details to capture, although HBO’s The Deuce did an
admirable job of it.
The
new Kino Lorber release of the film contains the following extras:
Disc
One: 4k Ultra High Definition (UHD)
The
first disc is a triple-layered pressing of the film in 4K UHD with the film
image scanned from the original camera negative and color-corrected.
Exclusive
to this release is an audio commentary by film historians Howard S. Berger,
Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson. This is an extremely informative and
entertaining piece, including a discussion of great New York filmmakers (think Woody
Allen, Spike Lee, and Sidney Lumet). John G. Avildsen, who would go on to
direct Rocky for United Artists and win the Best Director Oscar, was the
original director, and he did not see eye-to-eye with producer Martin Bregman
and Dino De Laurentiis, leading to his dismissal. The film was edited by the
late great Dede Allen, who would also work with Mr. Lumet on Dog Day
Afternoon (1975, one of her greatest accomplishments) and The Wiz
(1979). Filmed on a low budget, scheduling was challenging as Paramount also
needed Mr. Pacino to return for The Godfather Part II.
Disc
Two: Standard Blu-ray
In
addition to the new transfer and running audio commentary, there are the
following extras:
Sidney
Lumet: Cineaste New York
– this piece runs 30:24 and is ported over from the special edition Studio
Canal standard Blu-ray release from 2010. Mr. Lumet, in a 2005 interview, talks
about his time growing up in New York City during the Depression; the changing
nature of what the city has to offer; how safe the city was at the time of the
interview; how he uses very little violence in his films; shooting on location
in the city, and how his characters relate to their environment.
Looking
for Al Pacino –
this piece runs 30:38 and is also ported over from the special edition Studio
Canal Blu-ray. It includes onscreen interviews with directors Jerry Schatzberg,
Michael Radford, and Jack Garfein, who all speak very highly of Mr. Pacino and
his method of acting.
Serpico
Reel to Reel – this
piece runs 09:58 and is ported over from the Paramount DVD from 2002 and
includes onscreen interviews with Martin Bregman and Sidney Lumet and how the
film came together once they were all onboard.
Inside
Serpico – this piece runs
12:55 and is also ported over from the Paramount DVD and focuses on the
astonishing way that the film was made. It began shooting in July 1973, was
shot in reverse continuity, edited during principal photography, and premiered
five months later. Absolutely unreal for a film of this caliber.
Serpico:
Favorite Moments – this
piece runs 2:37 and is also ported over from the Paramount DVD. Mr. Bregman
talks about his favorite scene, which comes near the film’s end when Serpico
refuses his gold shield. Mr. Lumet’s favorite scene is at the Hell’s Gate
Bridge when Serpico unleashes on his superior about going to outside investigative
agencies.
Photo
Gallery with Commentary by Director Sidney Lumet (4:24) is also from the Paramount DVD.
It focuses on Mr. Lumet’s desire to have no music in the film, something that
Mr. De Laurentiis completely disagreed with. Mikis Theodorakis was then
contracted to write a theme for the film that appears sporadically throughout
the film but is never overpowering.
The
following trailers are also included: Serpico, Michael Winner’s Death
Wish (1974), John Schlesinger’s Marathon Man (1976), Michael
Cimino’s Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974), Richard T. Heffron’s Newman’s
Law (1974), Peter Hyams’s Busting (1974), Stuart Rosenberg’s The
Laughing Policeman (1973), Sidney Lumet’s 12 Angry Men (1957),
Sidney Lumet’s The Group (1966), and Sidney Lumet’s A Stranger Among
Us (1992).
"Ralph Vaughan Williams, 49th Parallel - The Complete Music Written for the Film"
Ralph Vaughan Williams composed in a wide
variety of genres, and film music became a significant part of his output in
the latter decades of a long and distinguished career. He viewed film scores as
more than just ephemera, seeking to “intensify the spirit of the whole” in
wartime productions such as “49th Parallel” (CDLX7405).
Dutton Epoch presents the world premiere
recording of the complete score. “49th Parallel” (aka “The Invaders”) has
been constructed from the original manuscripts by Martin Yates in 2022. This
new recording by The BBC Concert Orchestra is conducted by Martin Yates and
offers a soaring re-birth it has long deserved.
It all began in 1940 when conductor Muir
Mathieson approached Ralph Vaughan Williams about writing the score for this
film. The movie was part of the government’s wartime policy to use cinema to
rally up the support from the nation. The patriotic Vaughan Williams was only
too happy to oblige, and the score became his first of eleven for film.
Originally, The London Symphony Orchestra, (conducted by Mathieson and George
Stratton), were used to record Vaughan Williams’ music for the production.
The music, of course, remains a stirring and
remarkable achievement. The Prelude is the first piece of music heard in the
film, and has remained perhaps the most popular piece from the score. The marrying
of strings and brass set up the score perfectly as a repeated theme which is
peppered throughout the soundtrack - but is delivered in its full glory within
the Prelude. Vaughan Williams’ provides a rich and varied score, which makes
good use of timpani rolls, bold brass and a variety of comforting woodwind.
“49th Parallel” is, and will quite
probably remain, a quintessentially British classic. It has the ability to be
both uplifting and emotionally charged. As one who has attended the odd concert
of Vaughan Williams music, I can honestly say that there is almost a collective
intake of breath amongst the audience once they are alerted to the opening
chords of “49th Parallel” – and there’s not many pieces of music which
command that degree of attention and general awe.
Spread over 23 tracks, the production team of
Neil Varley, Emma Syrus and Executive producer Michael J Dutton have delivered
perhaps the most comprehensive edition of Williams’ masterful score. The CD is
also boosted by a super 12-page booklet which features detailed notes and
photos – all of which is edited by Oliver Lomax. As with any of the Dutton SACD
Hybrid Multi-Channel CD’s, all tracks are also available in stereo and playable
on any standard CD player.
Charles Gerhardt National Philharmonic
Orchestra – “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Star Wars”
In recent years, Vocalion
have been instrumental in the remastered reissues of the highly enjoyable Charles
Gerhardt albums of the Seventies, most of which were released on the RCA Read
Seal label, a quality and highly respected label back in the day. Vocalion have chosen wisely in picking up and renewing
these titles, often popular with budding young soundtrack collectors, they also
retain a nostalgic, childhood charm and many original LPs can still be found in
various collections. Vocalion’s latest offering in their SACD Hybrid series is
the wonderful 1978 album “Charles Gerhardt National Philharmonic Orchestra –
Close Encounters of the Third Kind And Star Wars” (CDLK4642).
Recorded in London’s Kingsway Hall on December
23, 1977, the album proved to be a very popular with fans of both films and
were quite happy to welcome this piece of vinyl to sit alongside their original
John Williams LPs. Some 45 years on from that original release, Vocalion’s Michael
J. Dutton has remastered and remixed the recording in quadraphonic form from
the original analogue tapes, and it’s a glorious piece of work.
I initially wondered if this particular
release would be worth the upgrade. I still own the RCA Red Seal CD (RCD 13650)
from 1983, and despite its gathering years, I always maintained the view that
it still sounded rather good. However, popping this newly polished edition into
the CD drawer, it soon became apparent that there was in fact a world of
difference. The audio is much more expansive and completely envelopes you with
a newly found level of richness, clarity and warmth. The CD sticks to its
original sequencing of 6 tracks from “Star Wars” (totalling some 33 minutes)
and is followed by the “Close Encounters” suite at 21-minutes. It’s great that Vocalion have again stuck to the original album art, a
feature that collectors certainly respect and goes a long way in cementing
their memories of enjoyment and nostalgia. The 8-page booklet contains Charles
Gerhardt’s original (and quite extensive) liner notes and is illustrated nicely
throughout.
“Charles Gerhardt’s Close Encounters of the
Third Kind and Star Wars” is an impressive release and well worth the upgrade
if quality ranks high on your list of priorities. Vocalion seem to have a
reliable knack of delivering on quality and they appear to do it with a
justified sense of pride – long may it continue.
Legendary singer and actress Tina Turner has passed away at age 83. No details revealed yet other than she died at her home in Switzerland following a long illness. Turner had an occasional association with movies, playing the female lead in the 1985 film "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" and recording the hit song "We Don't Need Another Hero" that was featured in the film. She also sang the title song for the 1995 James Bond blockbuster "GoldenEye". For more, click here
"Author's Corner":
Cinema Retro invites authors to contribute a first-hand account of how they
were inspired to write their book. Our guest contributor today is Julian
Schlossberg, author of "Try Not to Hold It Against Me: A Producer's
Life" (Beaufort Books). (Click
here for Cinema Retro's review of the book.)
A producer had better be working on several things at the
same time. As they say, throw a bunch of spaghetti against the wall and
hope that some of it sticks. But in 2021, with the pandemic raging, nothing was
sticking. I felt the need to put all my projects on hold. So what is a producer
to do with all of that free time and energy? He looks back. He
shares stories. Prior to that, whenever I would share some anecdote
related to my sixty years in show business, I was often asked “are you
writing a book?” I had always answered truthfully that I was too
busy. Well, now, with the pandemic, busy, I wasn’t. So I sat down and
wrote just one chapter. It was a story I had told for years and that had
made my wife Merryn laugh, even though she had heard me tell it countless
times. I then wrote another. And another. I would read each new
chapter to Merryn and two women who are my frequent collaborators and, have
become, like sisters to me, Marlo Thomas and Elaine May. These three
women were very important to my process. Eventually Elaine would
contribute the foreword to my book.
The past started flooding back and I found myself
downloading incidents I had forgotten. The more I wrote, the more I
began to realize that I had many reasons for bring my story to the page. In
looking back, I wanted to transport readers of my generation back to a time
that will never come again. I wanted to share my experiences with a younger
generation that might enjoy reading about a totally different world that once
existed. This was a time when there was only three television
networks. A time when people still dressed up to go to the movies
(especially if it was a musical!). A time when I thought I could do anything,
because I was still young and inexperienced enough to have not considered the
alternative.
(Photo: Julian Schlossberg).
Beyond the nostalgia, I knew that I wanted my story to entertain, and perhaps,
even inspire. Having produced movies, television and theater, I wanted to
write about my personal experiences working in all three mediums. I would
recount in some detail how a play, a movie and a television show is produced
from the ground up. I would share my experiences learning the trade from
the ground up, and recall my collaborations, encounters and, in some cases,
friendships with the likes of Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli, Shirley
MacLaine, Bruce Springsteen, Elia Kazan, Sid Caesar, Orson Welles, Al
Pacino, Burt Reynolds, Lillian Hellman, Bette Davis, Alfred Hitchcock, Jack
Nicholson, Bob Hope, Ethan Coen, George Burns, Sid Caesar, Steve Allen,
Larry Gelbart and many others.
Just writing such a list humbles me, and looking back, I am still amazed by my
unexpected trajectory. When I was just starting out, I drove a taxi for a
living. To keep alert while picking up late night fares, I would listen
to comedy legends on the radio; talents like Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Woody
Allen and Alan Arkin. I dreamed that I might one day meet them and tell them
how much I admired their talent. The fact that I ended up producing for
them, to this day, boggles my mind.
But before I became a producer, my first showbiz job was working at the ABC-TV
network. There, I decided to learn all I could about the entertainment
business. I didn’t have a medical, accounting or law degree. But I
knew knowledge was power, and if I could attain knowledge perhaps I could
attain some power. So I became my own kind of hyphenate. I was a TV
network executive—motion picture syndicator—V.P. of a theater chain— V.P. of a
major film studio—owner of a production and film distribution company.
And after that, my list of hyphenated job titles grew to include
producer—director—radio host—TV host—co-owner of a record company—talent
manager—producer representative—lecturer-teacher.
And, now, finally, I can say that I’m an author too. Who would have thought
that the cabbie from the Bronx would one day author a memoir titled Try
Not To Hold It Against Me – A Producer’s Life? Who’d have thought that
anyone would want to read it? Certainly not me. But with the book having
sold out on Amazon within days of its initial release, and a second printing on
order, I guess people are reading. I’m awe-struck and I couldn’t be more
pleased or grateful.
(Photo: Julian Schlossberg).
Since this is a cinema site, I’ll close with a memory that I include in the new
book. I describe my experience of working, distantly, with Martin
Scorsese and Federico Fellini. I close that particular chapter with this
recollection: “It meant a lot to me to present a Fellini film with
Scorsese. I was proud to be associated with both of them. But I
also knew how to answer the question often posed in elementary school tests,
‘which one doesn’t belong’.”
I suppose, despite my 60 years in
the business, I will always see myself as the kid from the Bronx who
wanted to get into show business …but try not to hold it against me.
(PR contact for Julian Schlossberg: Brett Oberman at
Keith Sherman & Associates: brett@ksa-pr.com)
Cinema Retro has received the following press release:
On May 30th Rain Man, the
winner of four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay
(Ronald Bass and Barry Morrow), Best Actor (Dustin Hoffman)
and Best Director (Barry Levinson), makes its 4K Ultra HD format debut
with a new restoration (a just completed 4K high definition 16-Bit Scan of the
original camera negative) approved by Levinson and presented in its original
1.85:1 Aspect Ratio in Dolby Vision / HDR.
Rain Man stars Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise as estranged brothers
on a road trip unlike any other across America. Charlie Babbitt (Cruise) has
been given the news that his recently deceased father has left his entire
fortune to his autistic brother Raymond (Hoffman), who he did not know existed.
In a crass bid to grab some, if not all of the inheritance, Charlie abducts
Raymond and what begins as a money-making scheme for Charlie turns into a
journey of discovery between brothers who are worlds apart.
The two-disc 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
35th Anniversary Edition is packed with supplemental material including three
audio commentaries (one with director Barry Levinson, one with co-writer Barry
Morrow and a third with co-writer Ronald Bass). Along with the commentaries,
there are several making of / behind the scenes featurettes including: The
Journey of Rain Man featurette, Lifting the Fog: A Look at the Mysteries
of Autism featurette, a deleted scene, and the original theatrical trailer.
To pre-order titles, visit the Imprint web site. All prices are in Australian dollars. Use a currency converter to see the price in your local currency.
I have often been asked why
did I choose to write a book about The Dirty Dozen. Well, the short answer is
that it’s always been a favorite film, very popular, and no one has ever
thought to do it before, to my knowledge. How it came about is a more involved
answer concerning my current agent, Lee Sobel. After my previous agent, Michael
Hamilburg passed away, I was left in free fall until Lee contacted me. I
checked him out and decided to take him up on his offer of representation. In
short order we came up with a new book idea, he goaded me into a proposal, and
the next thing I knew, we got a publisher's offer!
Following my initial
conversation with Lee Sobel, I began the research by rereading and notating the
original novel, as well as Googling info on the internet before agreeing to
create the proposal, all of which took place in January 2021 and continued
until I turned in the manuscript nine months later. From that moment on I was
researching and writing the book continuously, even though I had to maintain a
day job to pay my bills. Thank God my girlfriend was willing to help out
financially when my advance ran out. A freelance author’s lot is not an easy
one.
(Author E.M. "Mick" Nathanson (center) visits the chateau set and poses with director Robert Aldrich (left) and actor Lee Marvin (right. Photo: Dwayne Epstein.)
Because of the extremely short
timetable, the publisher gave me — the aforementioned nine months to research
and write —I had to hit the ground running, very fast. Fortunately, I had a lot
of unused research about the film from my biography of Lee Marvin that I could
use which helped immensely. Also, a friend of mine, Beverly Gray, who also writes
non-fiction about filmmaking, had recently written a book on the making of The
Graduate (1967) entitled Seduced by Mrs. Robinson, which I was able to use as a
sort of template. Even better than that, when I told Beverly what I was working
on, she told me she had interviewed The Dirty Dozen’s original author, E. M.
Nathanson, but it had never been published. In one of the most gracious acts of
kindness I’ve ever experienced, she gave me the interview on a CD which proved
invaluable to my research as Nathanson passed away in 2016. Can’t thank Beverly
enough!
Most days began with me
checking my sources, answering or sending out e-mail inquiries, and going over
what I had written, and what was not yet written. Coffee was of course
required, a local jazz station on the radio in the background and eventually
playing the soundtrack to The Dirty Dozen as the day wore on. I was also
wracked by the constant fear of not being able to finish in time but it was
often allayed by the discovery of a new source of information. My favorite
example was discovering the film’s producer, Ken Hyman, still alive at the age
of 92 and sharp as a tack when it came to his memory of the film. Finding him
was not easy but once I did, I like to joke, how come there aren’t any famous
Jewish detectives?
(Photo: Barbara Troeller)
I quickly discovered that
there are many facts and misinformation about the film and its production that
are still circulating out there that I was most enthusiastic to correct with
proven facts & stats or simply dispel out of hand. Where does one begin?
The story of 12 convicts ordered to kill Nazis on a secret mission during WWII
has always been thought of to be true. The inclusion of filmmaker Russ Meyer in the film’s genesis was also a revelation. What cast members, especially
lead actor Lee Marvin, really thought of the film was great to disprove despite
misinformation to the contrary. As I said, way too many amazing facts to narrow
down to just one. Gotta read the book to find them all out! As a lifelong fan
of the film, I was amazed at the number of differences between the novel and
the film that was provided by such exclusive sources as producer Hyman, cast
members Bob Phillips (Cpl. Morgan), Donald Sutherland (Vernon Pinkley), Dora
Reisser (German Officer's Girl), Colin Maitland (Seth Sawyer), and more. I also
spoke with the adult children of many of the film’s participants such as
Valerie Walker, Lisa and Cheyney Ryan, Caine Carruthers, Michael Nathanson, and
Christopher Marvin, among others. It also helps to have access to the Margaret
Herrick Library at The Motion Picture Academy. Not to brag but my extensive
personal library collection of motion picture history was also a key factor in
discovering the film’s amazing history.
(Actor Lee Marvin (left) and producer Ken Hyman (right) practice the tick fighting skills explained by former Marine self-defense instructor Bob Phillips (center). Photo: Dwayne Epstein).
When I turned in the
manuscript I was expecting to deal with a lot of edits or deletions from the
editor assigned to the book. Much to my surprise, there were none at all. It
was simply accepted and the proofs were sent to me for my approval. Pretty
amazing. As my agent, Lee Sobel messaged me when he read the opening of the
book: “I just read the opening of your book and it’s fantastic. I’m running
around dealing with my kids so I’m not sure when I get to read more but that’s
a sensational opening to the book. You did what all book openings of this kind
should do in my opinion which is to whet the appetite for things to come and
lay out your mission statement if you will. Bravo! It is nice and tight too, no
wonder he didn’t do any editing.” The end result of such diligent hard work is
now available online and in bookstores everywhere.
With the passing of Jim Brown, it seems appropriate to revisit his show-stopping final scene in the 1967 classic "The Dirty Dozen" that incorporated his athletic skills into his final act of cinematic heroics in the film.
(Brown in the 1967 blockbuster "The Dirty Dozen". Photo: Cinema Retro Archives.)
By Lee Pfeiffer
Jim Brown, one of America's most legendary athletes and an iconic film star, has passed away at age 87. No cause of death has been announced as of this writing. Brown was an American sensation on the football field during his nine seasons as a fullback with the Cleveland Browns. When he left sports, he transcended into a successful acting career in the mid-1960s. It was a time when bankable Black stars were few in number. Brown was immediately accepted by movie audiences of all races and backgrounds. He exuded the kind of tough, dignified characters that resonated with film audiences in movies such as "Rio Conchos", "The Dirty Dozen", "Ice Station Zebra" and "Dark of the Sun " (aka "The Mercenaries"). In the 1969 Western, he and Raquel Welch caused a sensation (and a scandal in some quarters) with their steamy interracial love scenes in the Western "100 Rifles", a film that boasted an ad campaign that seemed specifically designed to cause racists sleepless nights. Brown benefited from the so-called Blaxploitation film craze of the 1970s that was initiated by the success of director Gordon Parks' 1971 film "Shaft", although like his colleague Sidney Poitier, he refused to play characters that were exploitive or undignified. Both men recognized they were symbols for a new generation of young Black people and-like it or not-they were also role models, even if Brown occasionally played a charismatic character on the other side of the law.
Brown and Raquel Welch in "100 Rifles" on the cover of Cinema Retro issue #4.)
By the 1980s, Brown's status as a leading man began to diminish but he never went out of style. He began to appear in supporting roles in films made by a young generation of directors such as Tim Burton and Spike Lee. Brown's success didn't prevent him from enduring some messy periods in his personal life, mostly concerning his interactions with women. He once opted to spend months in jail rather than settle a domestic misdemeanor charge with his wife. Brown prided himself on his role as an activist for civil rights. In 1988, he founded an organization dedicated to keeping young people away from the lure of street gangs.
Jim Brown had a low-key persona onscreen but there is no overstating his achievements in real life.
Where
does a book begin? In my case, with Cleopatra
it came when my dear late mother found out that Elizabeth Taylor had been
recently seen in the pub in South East London where we used to go to celebrate
family occasions.
This
would have been in 1963/64, when the very idea of a screen goddess, a genuine film
star, a bona-fide legend likeElizabeth Taylor would inhabit the same
universe as us!
Thirty
years later and I am Film Editor of Vox,
a monthly UK music and film magazine. I wrote a feature for the 30th
anniversary of Cleopatra, and tried
pitching it as a BBC radio documentary. So over the years I accrued a filing
cabinet drawer and shelf full of material about that legendary 1963 film.
Few
of the film’s stars survived into the 21st century, so I had to rely
on cuttings, biographies and film histories. As you might expect for a film on
the scale of Cleopatra, that in
itself was quite a challenge. But the more I dipped into it the more amazed I
became: stars signed up for 10 weeks hanging round for 18 months in Rome. The
battles Darryl F. Zanuck fought to gain control of 20th Century Fox.
The Burton family’s determination to keep Richard’s marriage together…
I
suspect that my inspiration for a book was based on Steven Bach and Julie
Salamon’s books on Heavens Gate and Bonfire Of The Vanities – brilliant
books about terrible films. And for all its grandeur, Cleopatrais a terrible
film. But what a story in how it made it to the cinema screen.
It
was a five year journey: 20th Century Fox were keen to cash-in on
the success of MGMs Ben-Hur, and so dusted
down a 1917 script about the Queen of the Nile. It was intended as a $2,000,000
vehicle for Fox contract player Joan Collins with a 64-day shoot.
The
fact that the Theda Bara Cleo was a
silent film didn’t seem to worry the studio unduly. Five years later, and at a budget twenty times the original estimate, Cleopatra premiered.
Elizabeth
Taylor accounted for $1,000,000 of that budget, the first star to ask for – and
get! – that legendary seven figure sum. There was no finished script, but the
UK offered generous tax breaks, so Fox decided to construct a massive set of
the ancient port of Alexandria at Pinewood Studios. Shooting began in September
1961, the beginning of the English autumn. Some days it rained so heavily you
couldn’t see the other side of the set. Other days it was so cold, vapour was
coming out of the extras’ mouths. The imported pine tress had to be constantly
replaced because of the wind. The enormous sea tank containing a million
gallons was overflowing because of the rain.
The
original cast of Peter Finch (Caesar) and Stephen Boyd (Marc Antony) had to
quit due to existing commitments. The sky remained grey and gloomy.Trying to conjure up Mediterranean grandeur
was proving problematic. Ancient Alexandria in rural Buckinghamshire suddenly
seemed not such a good idea.
Eventually,
after two months the decision was made to pull the plug on the UK shoot. Eight
minutes of film ended up in the finished film, at a cost of nearly $8,000,000.
The question was: to write off such a sum (half of what Ben-Hur cost!) Or get a new director, script and stars and relocate
to begin filming again in Rome. At least in Italy you could be guaranteed good
weather, besides, what else could possibly go wrong?
As
Cinema Retro readers will know it all
went horribly wrong. Once in Rome, Cleopatra was far removed from the
Hollywood studio. In those pre-fax, email and text days, it was a cumbersome
business to arrange phone calls and telexes. The story of the romance between
Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor was only one of the factors whichdelayed the production of Cleopatra. Poor writer/director Joseph L. Mankiewicz was shooting
by day and writing the script by night. His original vision for the film was
two films, but the studio wanted something – anything – out to cash in on the Burton/ Taylor romance.
On
its release, Cleopatra was the most
successful film of 1963, but it took years to claw back its costs, and 20th
Century Fox was only saved by a modest little musical, The Sound Of Music, which came in at a sixth the cost of Cleopatra!
Like
many, I was of an age to be beguiled by the big-screen releases of the early
1960s. It's a cliché, but with only two UK black & white TV channels,
colour was a big deal. Especially in all its Todd-AO, stereophonic majesty. I’d
already lapped upThe Alamo,
Barabbas, King Of Kings, Ben-Hur, El Cid, How the West Was Won, The Guns of
Navarone, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Lawrence of Arabia, PT109, The Longest
Day, Mutiny on the Bounty, Spartacus, and Taras Bulba. Then came The Great Escape, Fall Of The Roman Empire,
55 Days At Peking, 633 Squadron… The glory days.
Finally seeing Cleopatra was a disappointment. It has spectacle, but
is somehow just not… spectacular. And
beware the Ides of March, because once Rex Harrison is gone, the film dips. Over
the years when I began reviewing and writing about films professionally, I kept
coming back to Cleopatra. How could
they have got it so wrong? And didn’t
they learn from their mistakes? Obviously not as flops like Dr Dolittle, Star! and Hello Dolly were overtaken by the likes
of The Graduate, Bonnie & Clyde, Easy
Rider…
You’d
think by now, the studios would have learned from their mistakes, but no, only
last year Warners announced that they’d written off their $100,00,000 Cat Woman. There is something rather
magnificent in the folly of Cleopatra.
But it is a hard watch. Far more enjoyable was The VIPs, made to cash-in
on the infamy of the Burtons.
For
those of a certain age, those epic films were emblematic. They were school
holiday treats at the London Astoria, the Dominion, the Metropole… Souvenir
brochures and Kia-Ora in hand as we sat open-mouthed as the screen was filled
with thousands and thousands of costumed extras, besieging the Alamo or Peking.
Even rewatching them on CD or Blu-Ray, the scale of those productions is jaw
dropping – and those were all humans occupying those Roman forums and besieged
cities, not generated by a computer. And here’s
a thought… a profile of that maverick producer Samuel L. Bronston is long
overdue.
Cleopatra all
but finished the career of J.L. Mankiewicz, it took the studio to the cleaners,
and was a body blow from which the old Hollywood never really recovered. It is
hard to be fond of it as a film, but what happened offscreen gave me a
fantastic opportunity to recall those extravagant days. When even a film as
flawed as Cleopatra was made on a
scale which had to be witnessed with an audience. At a cinema near you…
There is little left to marvel at in
the Marvel Comic Universe.
There just aren’t stars like Burton and Taylor today. For all its manifold flaws,
there is something compelling about the legend of Cleopatra. Not so much in the finished film, but my memories of
cinema-going when a film like that was an event.For all its follies, a film like Cleopatra could almost be said to end an
era of cinematic innocence. My research into what went on off the screen, and
what it took to get it into cinemas was fascinating. They have done it with The Godfather, so maybe a TV series
about the making of Cleopatra. Now that would make a great movie.
Photo: Courtesy of Patrick Humphries.
"Cleopatra & The Undoing Of
Hollywood" is published by The History Press, £20.00, ISBN 9781803990187
Here is a 60 second radio spot commercial promoting director Terence Young's 1972 screen adaptation of the bestselling book "The Valachi Papers" starring Charles Bronson.
Although it’s not
necessarily thought of as initiating the cycle of late 70s and then 1980s teenage
sex comedies, The Graduate, from Embassy Pictures in 1967, is clearly an
inspiration for the later films about awkward virginal guys caught up in
farcical narratives of dream, drive, and desire. The success of The Graduate
enabled its production company head, impresario Joseph Levine, to broker a
merger of Embassy with Avco, and it was the newly named Avco-Embassy that about
a decade after The Graduate brought out the virgin teenage guy comedy, The
Chicken Chronicles. From the same year (1977), The Van, a broad
farce about a guy who revamps his van as a love-machine likewise suggests the
first glimpses of a trend, one that got its fullest recognition soon after in
the wildly successful Animal House from the following year, along with
later iterations like Porky’s (1981) and its sequels, all produced by
Melvin Simon who also was the producer of The Chicken Chronicles.
Ironically, although The
Graduate has a stronger reputation in cinema history as a serious work of
social-cultural engagement within the fervent and foment of the 1960s, it’s
actually the raunchy low-class gross-out virgin-comedies that come after it
that engage in any manner with the politics of the time. To be sure, the ups
and downs of Benjamin’s relationships in The Graduate address in their
own manner the claims of the Sixties to show that “the personal is the
political” (especially for young women like Elaine Robinson, so mistreated by
Benjamin when he first takes her out on a date), but one would be hard-pressed
to find much direct reference to the times (we see some hippies as mere
background when Benjamin and Elaine go out on that date).
In contrast, Animal House
takes on the jockeying for power in the contemporary college system while Porky’s
addresses redneck racism in the South. And from a very early scene where we
hear tough news about the times on the car radio of protagonist Dave Kessler
(Steve Guttenberg), The Chicken Chronicles, set in 1969 and continually referencing
the war in Vietnam, keeps bringing the real politics of the day into its
seemingly personalized story of one guy’s quest for sexual fulfillment. Most
poignant is a moment where one of Dave’s co-workers at the fried chicken outlet
he works at (hence, the film’s title) learns that her brother has died in Nam.
An African-American woman, she had enjoyed a lively moment of dancing with her
team, and she is a figure that we, and the white employees and boss, admire.
Her last moment in the film comes when the take-out’s boss (Phil Silvers, the
classic comedian) tells her to go home so she can mourn properly. A cut shows
her waiting at a bus stop when Dave comes by in his car and offers her a lift:
she demurs (is she worried about a white guy being seen driving her into her
neighborhood?) and he drives off and we see her get on the bus and exit
off-screen, out of the film.
No other scene in The
Chicken Chronicles is like this one in its explicit and quite non-comedic
acknowledgement of the times. But many other scenes are like it in their very
fleetingness. In fact, it is probably misleading to insist too much on any
consistent desire of the film to offer social commentary. Like the later broad
and buffoonish sex comedies, The Chicken Chronicles operates by a sort
of scattergun approach, taking on any and all topics, large and small, relevant
or irreverent, and jumping here and there to random new scenes for the sake of
immediate effect. While there’s an overall narrative thrust (pun not intended
although noted!) – the goal of the protagonist to lose his virginity – the film
is a deliberate hodgepodge, hoping that whatever’s onscreen at the moment will
work at the moment. Whether this or that scene works depends then on individual
taste: for instance, if you like to see stuck-up kids get theirs by falling
into the suburban pool, that will be your moment of hilarity; if you like hints
of relevance, there are enough of those in the film to keep you going. It’s
noteworthy that while few mainstream critics reviewed The Chicken Chronicles
– and the rare ones that did didn’t like it much – one thing these
commentators did single out as intriguing was the fact that Dave Kessler’s
parents are unseen in the film and communicate with him only by speakers dotted
throughout their house (a contrast to the very different generational
alienation of The Graduate where the problem for Benjamin Braddock is
that his parents are too visible, too fatuous in their overbearing advice).
Ironically, the scattershot
approach of The Chicken Chronicles is (no doubt, unintentionally) echoed
in its commentary track, by cult film historians Lee Gambin and Emma Westwood,
which is itself frenetic and all over the place. (Curiously, Westwood is not
listed on the Blu-ray back cover.) At one point, the commentators even have to
remind themselves to talk about the film at hand, as they go off on all sorts
of tangents (for example, that the director had an interest in documentary
leads to a digression about cinema verité maverick D.A. Pennebaker while a
mispronunciation of “chutzpah” occasions discussion of Jewishness in film). While
the commentary track talks of the actors (especially Phil Silvers), it does so
by going at length into their filmography or videography, and the film
frequently gets left behind. Luckily, one of the few moments where the
commentators actually converse about the film unspooling before them has to do
with the multiracial and multiethnic nature of the casting, an important aspect
of the film’s random attention to politics (in this case, a politics of
identity). The commentary track is one of the only special features on the
Blu-Ray, along with a trailer.
To the extent that, like
other examples from teen sex cinema, The Chicken Chronicles targets an
audience that would come increasingly to appreciate the raucous non-coherence
of individual moments around the central narrative premise, the film, and now
its Blu-ray release, probably work best for its projected target audience. To
state an obvious truism, if you like this sort of thing, you’ll like this early
example of it.
Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Film Chest.
The film noir genre, which became a staple for movie fans
during its heyday in the 1940’s & 50’s, was based on a tough and gritty
environment and revolved around those who lived it. It was raw, without much
margin for how things went down or who would end up surviving the fallout.Films
stylized with elements of film noir have surfaced over the years and perhaps
one of the best is the Mickey Spillane stories of Mike Hammer, which offered a
more contemporary version of the format.Mike Hammer, Private Eye brings us to
the late ‘90’s.
Stacy Keach plays the wiser, tougher, more sarcastic and
blunt-worded private eye who offers a salute to the early years with his felt
fedora. A bevy of beautiful women still abound in his world, and over-the-top
measures with the use of his fists, wits, and savvy tenacity against deceptive
enemies are the norm. Still, there is a balance, with Keach managing his
character that’s both serious and, at times, more lighthearted with some campy
humor.
This 26-episode series (along with the original trailer and episode
synopses) includes a new sexy blonde secretary (Velda) played by Shannon Whirry
and the introduction of a sidekick (Nick Farrell) played by Shane Conrad. Kent
Williams returns with a strong portrayal of Deputy Mayor Barry Lawerence and
Peter Jason plays Hammer’s closely aligned police captain, Skip Gleason.Stacy
Keach has spent a career making Mike Hammer his own character, and without question,
he has succeeded. Private Eye (1997-1998) is a fast-paced, no nonsense Hammer
series that will delight the many fans of Mickey Spillane’s character and again
prove that STACY KEACH IS MIKE HAMMER!
This Kino Lorber 4K Restoration Blu ray of Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame is likely as
good as we’re going to get.Universal
Studio’s official 1923 program heralded Hunchback
as Hugo’s “Mighty Epic of a Mighty Epoch” and, truth be told, director Wallace Worsley’s
film never delivers less than promised. It is, above all, a spectacle. In August of
1922 when announced Universal-Jewel was to begin lensing the film, newspapers
reported it had been Lon Chaney’s “life’s ambition” to bring Hugo’s tale – and
the story of the novel’s titular tortured soul Quasimodo - to the big screen.
Chaney’s Hunchback
would not be the first cinematic adaptation of the famed 1831 novel.Esmeralda,
a ten-minute long French adaptation was brought to the screen as early as in
1905. Albert Capellani’s 1911 French
silent (Notre-Dame de Paris) would also
precede the Universal version, but that film too was a modest production running
a mere twenty-six minutes in length.The
first feature length-effort was Fox’s romantic The Darling of Paris (1917) featuring silent-screen-siren Theda
Bara.A British version of 1922 preceded
Chaney’s by only a year – though, again, only as a short of some thirteen
minutes.All but the 1911 version are
now presumed lost.
If Universal was not the first to bring the epic to the screen,
producer and studio co-founder Carl Laemmle promised a production unmatched in size
and scope.Universal would front a
budget of some $1,250,000, bringing in some 2800 artisans to work on the film’s
massive sets.The centerpiece was to be
the cathedral of Notre Dame, built practically to scale.Universal promised, “The cathedral at Notre Dame is an exact replica in every infinite
detail of the cathedral as it looked in 1482, an extraordinary feat and an
archeologic, historical and technical triumph.”
Such an ambitious project was going to require an
ambitious production team.In October of
1922, gossips whispered the studio was “anxious to have D.W. Griffith direct” Hunchback.On the surface, Griffith would seem a natural
choice.He had, after all, helmed such
pictures as Birth of a Nation (1915)
and Intolerance (1916), both showcase
spectacles of large scale and huge casts.In the end, Universal would announce, January 1923, that Worsley would
direct – with assists by “ten assistant directors and twenty-eight field
captains.”Worsley and Chaney already
had a good working relationship: the two having already combined their talents
on The Penalty, The Ace of Heartsand The
Blind Bargain. This new collaboration would spend six months in pre-production
and one year in filming.
Everything was crafted bigger-than-life. The make-up
appliances for Quasimodo, the film’s monstrous bell-ringer, were painstakingly crafted
by Chaney in a series of three-and-a-half hour sessions.The September 1923 issue of Pictures and Picturegoer magazine
enthused Chaney had promised “something even more startling than usual in the
way of make-up.” Alongside that of Erik, The
Phantom of the Opera (1925), the twisted and feral Quasimodo remains the
most iconic example of Chaney’s make-up artistry.
Biographer Michael F. Blake’s Lon Chaney: The Man Behind the Thousand Faces (Vestal Press, 1990)
and A Thousand Faces: Lon Chaney’s Unique
Artistry in Motion Pictures (Vestal Press, 1995) remain the two most
essential reference books on the man and his films, but they weren’t the first.There were earlier “serious” circulating books
on the actor:Robert G. Anderson’s Faces, Forms Films: The Artistry of Lon
Chaney (1971) came first, N.L.
Ross’s Lon Chaney: Master Craftsman of
Make Believe following more than a decade later. That said, Blake’s sister
volumes remain the most reliable and error free sources of Chaney marginalia.Blake occasionally proffers stern judgements,
some fair and some maybe not so, on preceding Chaney biographers, but all books
mentioned above are worthwhile reads and contain excellent bibliographies.
Blake opens his 1995 study with the declaration “Lon
Chaney was not a “horror actor.”Though this is essentially true, Blake – who contributes
seven pages of booklet notes to this new Kino Blu – sighs the actor’s association
with the horror genre is terribly overblown.He argues this mistaken union was due to the actor’s famous ghastly
make-up creations.It’s doubtful the
audience of eleven and twelve year-olds who sought out these cheap newsprint monster
movie magazines of the 1950s and ‘60s had actually ever saw a Lon Chaney silent film.But the reproduced published stills would fire imaginations, giving
Chaney Sr. instant cult status as a “horror film” icon. At the very least, I think
it’s fair to say that the genre mags were instrumental in keeping Chaney’s
legend alive at a time when few other outlets were interested.
It was that way for me at least.I’m not sure when I first learned the name “Lon
Chaney.”But it was likely through
photographs or an article in the pages of Famous
Monsters of Filmland magazine.I had
become obsessed with Famous Monsters when
chancing upon a used copy of their May 1967 issue at a school “white elephant”
sale.The magazine sent me scouring the
listings in TV Guide in search of the
films I was first introduced to in the pages of “FM.”It was through Famous Monsters I was first introduced to silent films – many of which
I find even today to be as fascinating as any talkie.
In trying to learn about silent films, I discovered
Daniel Blum’s A Pictorial History of the
Silent Screen (1974) at my local library.It was an oversize hardcover held in the reference section.Since I couldn’t bring it home to read at leisure,
I spent hours in the library looking through the hundreds – maybe thousands of
stills – reproduced therein.My
knowledge of and interest in film history really began there.While combing through the pages for Chaney info
(there wasn’t a lot, if I recall), I discovered Chaplin, Keaton, Pearl White,
Fatty Arbuckle, the Keystone Cops and hundreds of others.
It was around this time I also managed to catch Robert
Youngson’s affectionate silent-era doc Days
of Thrills and Laughter on television.As with Blum’s book, I don’t believe Chaney, again to my great disappointment,
was even mentioned in the doc.Youngson’s
emphasis was mostly on the slapstick comedy of Charlie Chaplin, “Fatty”
Arbuckle,” Snub Pollard and Ben Turpin.Though
a rare, brief clip of Boris Karloff in King
of the Congo (1929) further fueled my interest in early cinema, Chaney –
frustratingly – would remain a man of mystery.
Knowing what I know now, the notoriously private and
reclusive actor – non-ceremoniously interred following his passing, age forty-seven,
in a Glendale sepulcher – would have likely preferred it that way.At age nine I finally had the opportunity to catch
Chaney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame
on WNET-13, Manhattan’s PBS-TV affiliate.Hunchback was the last title to
be featured on the network’s “The Silent Years” series (each segment introduced
by Orson Welles) in September of 1971.
OK, I apologize. I have digressed. I will also confess
it’s taken me quite some time to finally getting around to view this Kino issue
of Hunchback. I was gifted a copy
back in the autumn of 2021 but chose to put the Blu-ray aside – for the time
being, anyway.I had already planned to
attend a genuine film element screening of Hunchback
at a local cinema that October, one complete with live organ
accompaniment.That night, sadly, proved
to be a projection booth disaster.The
theater ran the last two reels in reverse so inter-titles appeared Cyrillic and
completely unreadable.God bless Ben
Model, the silent film historian/organist accompanying the program.He calmly and expertly navigated through this
maelstrom with amazing poise and finesse, salvaging what would have been
otherwise a completely disastrous evening.
There’s no point in discussing here the plot of Worsley’s
The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It’s a
more-or-less faithful rendering of the Hugo novel.This is a century old film, one I find as
entertaining today as it was a hundred years ago.Yes, the acting often is – as was the order
of the day – visually exaggerated and overly emotive, but the story remains a
compelling one.The scenario really
revolves around Esmeralda, the soft-hearted street dancer, and not the tragic
Quasimodo.To his credit, Chaney – though
top-billed – recognizes this and admirably serves as an essential member of the
ensemble, not as the film’s principal player.
This Kino release has been cobbled together from the best
existing prints available, so there are temperature and tinting changes from
section to section.But it’s a beautiful
4K restoration and while surviving element damage is not totally absent, the
film looks remarkable all things considered.This edition also features a lively and original musical score.This new soundtrack is composed and performed
by Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum and Laura Karpman, both Julliard-trained artists and
the previous recipients of Grammy and Emmy Award nominations/victories.
Over this millennium, The
Hunchback of Notre Dame has been re-made on any number of occasions.The best recalled of these are RKO’s 1939
version featuring Charles Laughton or the French-Italian 1956 version featuring
Anthony Quinn and Gina Lollobrigida.Folks of my generation might better recall these two post-Chaney re-tellings,
especially if they have little interest in silent cinema.Younger folks were likely first introduced to
the tale via Disney’s 1996 animated musical adaptation – a film whose cartoon
Quasimodo most resembled Laughton’s pitiful, less grotesque caricature.Having said that, Chaney’s Quasimodo, despite
age, will forever remain the most iconic.
A few notes on this generous bonus materials supplied on
this set.Included is a vintage, silent Life in Hollywood newsreel that features
a birds-eye view of the massive Universal City lot, described on an inter-title
card as “the strangest city in the world.”Once on soil, we watch as a procession of Universal’s silent-era stars
and starlets’ parade out of a studio canteen.Most of these names are now sadly lost to the memory of all but a small cabal
of film historians.The newsreel,
running approximately eight and a half minutes in length features a small clip
of Chaney – sans costume and make-up - demonstrating a bit of acrobatics on the
exterior of the Notre Dame structure.
The set also features a thirteen-minute silent reel of
“Mabel and Bill Dumphy’s Visit with Hazel and Lon.”This is sourced from 16mm footage shot during
the couple’s visits with Chaney, his wife Hazel, and their wire-haired terrier
Sandy, at rest during the family’s residencies in Soboba Hot Springs and
Saratoga.The Soboba footage is
primarily interesting in its moody capture of the former’s Riverside County
hamlet’s Spanish mission-styled architecture and terraced landscapes.There’s not much Chaney in the Soboba
footage, aside from Lon looking out pensively over the hillside, or playfully
tugging at Sandy the dog’s tail in another.
The Saratoga footage documents additional glimpses of the
Chaneys at home.We watch as Chaney and
guests mill about a backyard garden, the reclusive actor letting down his guarded
reserve.We watch as Lon playfully
wrestles a giggling Hazel on the lawn or smoking and drinking with friends.The latter clip is of interest due to the recognizable
presence of Lon’s son, Creighton (strategically “re-christened” Lon Chaney Jr. following
his father’s passing), smiling as he too puffs away on a cigarette in the
background.The set also features an
audio-commentary track by Farran Smith Nehme, a film historian and critic whose
work has appeared in such publications as Film
Comment, The Wall Street Journal, Village Voice and New York Post.The set
rounds off with a generous gallery/slideshow of publicity materials and
production stills.
One hundred years following the date of its production,
Worsley’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame
admittedly puts the “retro” in Cinema
Retro.But despite the film’s age,
its heart still beats soundly.Anyone
interested in film history should visit this film at least once in their
lifetime, and this Kino Blu-ray might just be the best conduit for one to do
just that.
An
old saying is that drama is easy, but comedy is hard. When comedy works, it is
nothing short of a miracle. When it fails, it is a thundering disappointment. On
New Year’s Eve in 1976, I attended a party at my mother’s aunt’s house. While the adults were ringing in the New Year in the small
and cramped basement, I was on the first floor watching a television airing of
Stanley Kramer’s It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. It was the first time
I had ever heard of and seen this madcap, star-studded extravaganza that pits a
Who’s Who of top-notch comedians in a quest to locate a suitcase containing
$350,000.00, the equivalent of roughly $3.5 million dollars today. To say that
I loved it would have been an understatement. To make a film on that scale with
that number of people and actually make it hilarious is other worldly. I immediately
became a fan of most of the cast, particularly Jonathan Winters in his role as Pike,
the driver of the moving van who must get to Yuma, AZ and will stop at nothing
to get his hands on $350,000.00 located under a “big ‘W’”.
James Frawley’s The Big Bus is a comedy
that took its maiden voyage theatrically on Wednesday, June 23, 1976,
nationwide. As a send-up of disaster films that made their rounds at the box
office during the 1970s, it is a film similarly pitting an all-star cast in an inane
situation that should be laugh out loud hilarious but falls a bit short in this
department. The premise concerns a nuclear-powered bus designed to be driven
from New York to Denver in record time while an iron lung-encased oil magnate
(Jose Ferrer), in cahoots with a group of oil sheikhs, plot to sabotage the bus
to protect their financial interests. They manage to take both the driver and
co-driver out of commission with a bomb, necessitating their replacements with
Dan Torrance (Joseph Bologna), a vilified former bus driver who crashed a
previous bus and was accused of eating all the passengers to survive, and his
narcoleptic co-driver “Shoulders” (John Beck), so named as he cannot keep the
bus off the highway shoulder and in his own lane. Along for the ride are Kitty
Baxter (Stockard Channing) as Dan’s former flame; Ned Beatty as one of the
remote radio navigators; Ruth Gordon as a passenger who tells it like she sees
it; Sally Kellerman and Richard Mulligan as a couple about to be divorced who
cannot seem to keep their hands off each other (the bit is initially humorous
but wears out its welcome); Lynn Redgrave as a staid fashion designer; a crazed
Bob Dishy as a veterinarian; Richard B. Shull as a man whose time on planet
Earth is coming to a close, and so on. The bus is even outfitted with an onboard swimming pool, if you can believe that such a
thing would fit. For those of you unlucky enough to recall, in February
1979 NBC-TV launched an ill-fated television series as their answer to ABC-TV’s
The Love Boat. Titled Supertrain, the most expensive television
series ever produced up to that time, it was (surprise!) a nuclear-powered
transcontinental New York to Los Angeles souped up ride that housed a swimming
pool, a movie theater, a disco(!), and a cast of characters so bland one wonders
how this train ever left the station. The pilot episode, directed by Dan
Curtis, was an interminable two hours, with a catchy theme that I dug at the
age of ten and was composed by Robert Cobert. Both shows were conceived of by
Fred Silverman at different points in his career.
Bus made its television network premiere
on Saturday, May 24, 1980 at the unorthodox time of 09:30 pm. The film runs 88
minutes, and while being placed in a 90-minute time slot, a good amount of
footage must have been excised to accommodate commercials. Bus may have
played out much funnier at the time of its release as a fair number of jokes
are topical, though the 2001 theme accompanying the rollout of the
titular vehicle is still very much in the minds of filmgoers decades later. The
gags are amusing but are light-years away from what it could (and should) have
been. An admirable attempt at humor, Bus cannot hold a candle to the
absurdist wrongdoings of the stewardesses and passengers of 1980’s Airplane!
Apparently, the Zucker Brothers, the brains behind Airplane!, worked on Bus
as well. Bus can be viewed as the appetizer, with Airplane!
served up as the main course – and dessert, to boot.
Kino
Lorber has released the film on a beautifully transferred Blu-ray. I love this
company and they do not disappoint. There is a feature-length commentary by
film historians Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson which is more fun to
listen to than actually watching the film – at least for me. They discuss the
location shooting and give short bios of the cast members as they appear
onscreen, while also engaging in anecdotes about the big disaster films of the
period. It is always a pleasure to listen to them.
The
film’s trademark comedic key poster art was illustrated by the late great
cartoonist Jack Davis, who also drew the key art for the aforementioned MadWorld. It appears on the Blu-ray cardboard sleeve and the Blu-ray cover
art in a slightly truncated and altered version to fit the dimensions and still
be discernible.
Oscar-winning
composer David Shire, who also scored The Taking of Pelham 123 (1973), The
Conversation (1974), and All the President’s Men (1976), may seem
like an unorthodox choice to score such material, but he makes the most of it
with a rambunctious score that made its way to compact disc (remember those?)
in 2011 via Film Score Monthly.
Rounding
out the Blu-ray are a selection of trailers from the showcased title, John
Schlesinger’s Honky Tonk Freeway (1981), Richard Fleischer’s Million
Dollar Mystery (1987), Gus Trikonis’s Take This Job and Shove It
(1981), Marty Feldman’s In God We Trust (1980), Michael Apted’s Continental
Divide (1981), Joel Schumacher’s D.C. Cab (1983), and Neal Israel’s Moving
Violations (1985).
When
asked to name a Pre-Code melodrama starring Charles Laughton as a sadistic
megalomaniac in a tropical setting, most movie enthusiasts are likely to cite
“The Island of Lost Souls.”As H.G.
Wells’ Dr. Moreau, who turns animals into humans through appalling surgery in
his “house of pain,” Laughton’s performance in the 1932 Paramount film remains
a classic of horror cinema.“White
Woman,” which followed from the same studio in 1933, isn’t nearly as well
remembered or as outrageous.Still, it
provided another delicious role for Laughton and offers wonderful insight into
the tactics used by Hollywood in the Pre-Code era to exploit audiences’ demand
for lurid escapism, while skirting the watchful eye of censors.The film, based on a stage play and directed
by Stuart Walker, is available as a Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics,
from a new 2K master.
Laughton’s
character, Horace H. Prin, is a predatory merchant who holds a monopoly on
trade in the hinterlands of Malaya, then a British colony.In town he encounters Judith Denning (Carole
Lombard), a young woman shunned by her fellow expatriates.Already the subject of salacious rumours, she
learns that she’s about to be deported as an undesirable after going a step too
far, performing torch songs in a “native cafe.”The stiff-necked governor is unmoved by Judith’s plea that she’s broke
and has nowhere else to go.Judith
attracts Prin’s attention and he offers her an escape to “something better” by
accompanying him to his remote outpost.There, he promises, she’ll live in style.
Once
she accepts his proposal, she realizes she’d have been better off taking her
chances with deportation.Horace
exploits the tribes with whom he trades, holds his employees in virtual slave
labor, and once he has Judith in his control, he treats her with biting
scorn.One of his clerks, David Von Elst
(Kent Taylor), a disgraced military officer, falls in love with Judith, and she
with him.Horace enjoys watching them
squirm with no hope of escaping his domination.The two are trapped because the river is the only feasible way out of
the jungle.Prin owns the only boats,
and headhunting tribesmen lurk along the trail by land.When David is banished upriver to one of
Horace’s warehouses, Judith’s troubles come to a head.A new employee arrives, Ballister (Charles
Bickford), a roughneck who doesn’t bother to hide his intention to make time
with Judith:“I’ve watched those sweet
eyes of yours . . . and other things,” he tells her.“C’mon baby, what do you say?”Prin takes note but he’s more curious than
anything else.How far will Ballister
press his crude advances, given that he doesn’t fear Prin, Prin doesn’t fear
him, and Judith treats both men with icy contempt?
In
2023, when it takes a lot to create a sex scandal worthy of attention, the
backstory of “White Woman” appears more quaint than shocking.The cafe that draws the governor’s
displeasure is about as raucous as your neighbourhood Applebee’s, its Chinese,
East Indian, and dissolute European clientele apparently more interested in
chatting among themselves than ogling the gorgeous blonde who plays the piano
and sings on stage.Judith might as well
be performing Billy Joel tunes at a piano bar in Iowa City.But this was about as far as the filmmakers
could push the envelope in those days of restrictive erotic and racial
conventions.A franker explanation for
the fuss and bother—that the hapless Judith is actually a prostitute who hangs
out at the cafe to solicit sex from men of color—would have been a non-starter
even in the Pre-Code era.
Things
liven up whenever Laughton appears as the chortling, smirking, and preening
Prin, wearing a cheap tropical suit, a straw boater, Jheri curls,a bushy, bristly moustache, and an East End
London accent.Prin is one of Laughton’s
great grotesque characters, a monster shaped by a terrible start in life.“You ‘aven’t spent any part of your childhood
in the slums, ‘ave you?” he asks Judith.“Well, I ‘ave.”Thanks to his
early lessons in class prejudice, he luxuriates in his ability, via wealth and
influence, to intimidate the “bloomin’ snobs” who run the colonial
government.The same passive-aggressive
rage fuels his treatment of Judith, whom he exploits, isolates, and emotionally
abuses.Inferentially, she is a surrogate
for all of the beautiful women who spurned him when he was young and poor.That she refuses to act the victim only
intensifies his abuse.If critics
haven’t explored this facet of the picture as a feminist statement years before
modern feminism emerged, they should.
The
Kino Lorber Blu-ray greatly improves on the movie’s previous home video
release, a 2014 manufactured-on-demand DVD in the Universal Vault Series.As a special feature, the KL edition includes
informative audio commentary by director and film professor Allan Arkush and
film historian Daniel Kremer.It’s
difficult to argue with their criticism of Stuart Walker’s static,
unimaginative blocking of scenes, but in fairness, most movies adapted from
stage productions in the early days of talkies suffered from the same
shortcoming.Walker showed a little more
flair in 1935’s “Werewolf of London.”
The
Kino Lorber Studio Classics’ Blu-ray edition of “White Woman” can be ordered
HERE from Amazon.
(Fred Blosser is the author of "Sons of Ringo: The Great Spaghetti Western Heroes". Click here to order from Amazon)
I reviewed the Universal print-on-demand DVD of “The
Mississippi Gambler” (1953) for Cinema Retro eight years ago. I didn’t give the
film, starring Tyrone Power, Julia Adams, and Piper Laurie, very high marks.
Now Kino Lorber has released it anew on Blu-Ray. Aside from an audio commentary
by film historian Toby Roan, and better color because it’s Blu-Ray, it’s
basically the same experience. I can’t think of much new to say about it, so
here’s some of what I wrote back when, along with some final thoughts on the
current state of the home video market.
Here’s the original review I wrote 8 years ago:
I watched The Mississippi Gambler (1953) DVD from Universal
while recovering from a root canal, hoping a good rousing Tyrone Power flick
and three fingers of Kentucky bourbon, would cure my pain. Boy, was I wrong.
Watching this slow, soap opera-ish movie, with a cast of characters that belong
in an old Carol Burnett Show sketch, was like having the root canal all over
again. Admittedly, the Technicolor was good, and Julie Adams was great (which
she always was) but the script by Seton Miller was a complete turnoff with one
of the worst endings I've ever seen. The characters were mostly boring and
despicable. The plot was ham-fisted melodrama served with a mint julep.
Direction by Rudolph Mate’ was lethargic and unimaginative.
Basically, it's one of those stories about four people
all in love with the wrong person. But Miller added some very weird touches to
the familiar story line. Piper Laurie plays Angelique Dureau, a snooty,
neurotic iceberg who is way too close to her brother Laurent (John Baer) for
comfort. She uses him as a shield against intimacy with any other man, as
Tyrone Power, playing the titular gambler Mark Fallon, explains to her. For no
comprehensible reason at all, other than the plot demands it, Fallon falls
madly in love with her. Why? She's a pouty, petulant, porcelain imitation of a
woman.
Her brother, Laurent, is a miserable weasel, a man with
no honor and thus a perfect foil for the upright and honorable Fallon, who is
not only good with a deck of cards, he's also the son of one of New York's
finest fencing masters. (Zorro rides again!). The three of them meet on a
Mississippi riverboat named The Sultana. Pardon a digression while I note that
this was the same paddle boat on which Yancy Derringer, a few years later,
would ply his poker skills in the CBS television series starring Jock Mahoney.
Fallon's goal is to run an honest gambling table and
eventually open his own casino. He teams up with Kansas John Polly (John
McIntyre), a seasoned veteran of many a three card Monty game. In a game of
poker, Laurent loses his sister's diamond necklace to Fallon. Fallon tries to
give it back to her later, but she pretends she told her brother to wager it.
In the next scene she confronts the weasel and cries, "How could you do it
without asking me?" This obviously gets the star-crossed- lovers off on the
wrong foot. Fallon wins big that night but he and Polly barely escape being
killed by a gang of crooked gamblers and have to jump off the boat when the
captain gets near the riverbank. They walk to New Orleans, after losing all
their winnings in the river. But they have a good laugh about it.
At about the second act mark,enter Julie Adams (billed
here as "Julia Adams") as Ann Conant. She's the member of another
weird brother/sister duo. Her brother, Julian (Dennis Weaver, believe it or
not, with a sort of New York high society accent) sits down to play with
Fallon, saying he heard he played an honest game. He quickly loses every cent
he brought with him, then goes out on deck and shoots himself. The Captain and
Fallon discover he has a sister on board, and Fallon feels responsible and
wants to help her. She says he must have gambled away the money his company
gave him to take to New Orleans. Fallon, noble fellow that he is, lies and says
no he gave that money to the captain for safe keeping. He takes Ann to New
Orleans where and sets her up in a hotel. It complicates his plans to romance
Angelique but what's a story without complications.?
Meantime in New Orleans he runs into fencing expert
Edmund Dureau (Paul Cavanaugh) and guess what? He turns out to be Angelique and
Laurent's father! Of course, he invites Fallon to his home where he meets them
again. In one of the lamest scenes in the whole film, when they have a moment
alone, he tells her that he knows he and she are in love with each other and
always will be. "I could have you thrown out of this house for speaking to
me like that,” she exhorts. He replies, "You don't have to run me out. I'm
leaving tomorrow." And he adds: "You’re not ready for marriage. And
you won't be until the day you come to me." She calls him an egotistical
cad. And here's the punchline. "Yes", Fallon says, "I suppose it
sounds that way. But it's the only way a woman can be truly happy with a
man".
What? Did women in the 50’s really buy this tripe? Can
you imagine George Clooney trying that line on Catherine Zeta-Jones, or
Catherine Heigel? He'd get his ass kicked. I won't go on with any more of the
plot, but you can be sure it involves some fencing and a duel with pistols at
the Dueling Oaks. Funny thing about Power's fencing scene with Paul Cavanaugh.
Both men wore fencing masks through the entire scene, which makes me wonder if
either one did any of the fancy sword work, even though Power was in reality a
very good fencer. In another fight scene between Fallon and Laurent on the riverboat,
it is so obviously two badly matched stuntmen carrying the action. Power was
only 39 when he filmed “The Mississippi Gambler,” but he looked older and a bit
tired. Maybe he wanted to take it easy. He'd made many great films by then but
would only live five more years. He'd make seven more films in that time, all
better than “The Mississippi Gambler,” including “The Sun Also Rises,” and
“King of the Khyber Rifles.”
Nevertheless “The Mississippi Gambler” was a big
financial success. Lucky for Power, because his wife, Linda Christian divorced
him after losing out to Piper Laurie for the part of Angelique. She never
forgave Power for not getting her the part, and also, allegedly, for having an
affair with Anita Ekberg, who played an uncredited part as a maid of honor at
Angelique's wedding to another of her suitors.
. . . So that’s the review I wrote 8 years ago. The new
Blu-ray release, as noted earlier, contains nothing new except a commentary by
Toby Roan. Frankly, even Roan’s commentary doesn’t warrant spending the money
for the new edition. His comments merely consist of providing biographical info
on each and every actor, no matter how insignificant his role. Oh, look, here’s
John McIntyre. He was a regular on the Naked City TV series. There’s Paul Cavanaugh,
he was in a Tarzan movie. And that’s Guy Williams who played Zorro on TV. And
on and on and on. I turned the commentary off after half an hour.
The home video market is disappearing before our eyes.
Streaming has become the consumer’s first choice for watching movies at home.
Go into Target or Best Buy and what used to be row after row of DVDs for sale
has shrunk down to a few shelves, hidden behind the flat screen TV display
area. If companies like Kino Lorber hope to stay in business they have to
provide extras that aren’t available through the streaming platforms to make it
worth their while. So any of these commentary tracks are very welcome, even if
this one falls short.
When it comes to Kino Lorber’s “The Mississippi Gambler,”
as I said in the original write up, I'd rather put on a Yancy Derringer DVD and
watch him at the poker table with Pahoo Ka Te Wah standing behind him with his
shotgun hidden under his poncho, ready for action as the Sultana winds its way
down the Big Muddy. Rollin’ down the river.
Kino Lorber has released a Blu-ray edition of the little-remembered
1970 romantic comedy "How Do I Love Thee?" The film's primary
distinction is the interesting teaming of Jackie Gleason and Maureen
O'Hara. By this point in his career, Gleason was a force of nature in
the American entertainment business. When his variety show went off the
air, CBS couldn't induce him to do another series so the network
actually paid him not to work for any other network. When you get paid a
fortune not to work, you know you're doing something right.
Gleason had settled in Miami Beach in the early 1960s as one of the
demands he made of CBS in return for doing his variety show. The
location offered what Gleason liked most: sun, golf, plenty of drinking
establishments and no shortage of beautiful young women. Gleason's
impact on elevating Miami Beach's popularity was notable. It was widely
believed that the city's rebirth as a hip destination as opposed to a
retirement destination was due in part to Gleason referring to Miami
Beach as "The sun and fun capital of the world!". Gleason, like his
contemporary Dean Martin, had long ago tired of working very hard. If
you wanted him, the mountain had to come to Mohammed, so to speak. Thus,
it's no coincidence that "How Do I Love Thee?" was filmed in Miami
Beach, thereby ensuring Gleason prime opportunities for maximizing his
play time and minimizing his work before the cameras. (Gleason had a
photographic memory and famously refused to rehearse very much, often to
the consternation of his co-stars).
The film focuses on the character of Tom Waltz (Rick Lenz), a
twenty-something professor who is rising up the ladder at his
university. He's a got a nice house and a beautiful wife, Marion
(Rosemary Forsyth) but when we first meet him, he's filled with anxiety.
Seems that while visiting the "miracle" site of Lourdes in France, his
father Walt (Jackie Gleason) has suffered a major health crisis. Tom's
mother Elsie (Maureen O'Hara) implores Tom to race over to France and
visit his father, who seems to be dying. Tom wants to go but Marion
reminds him of the lifetime of contentious situations he has endured
with his father and tells him that this is just another method of Walt
trying to gain attention. Indeed, as we see through a series of
flashbacks, Walt is a real handful. He owns his own moving company but
still has to break his back loading and lifting furniture all day long.
He has a pretty fractious relationship with Elsie, largely due to her
strong religious convictions that conflict with his atheism. As young
boy, Tom witnessed a lot of fighting in the household. When he
accompanied his dad on jobs, he discovered that his father is not the
devoted family man he thought he was- especially when he witnesses Walt
trying to seduce a ditzy social activist and amateur photographer
(Shelly Winters in typical over-the-top Shelly Winters mode) who is one
of his clients. Walt is similar in nature to Willy Lohman of "Death of a
Salesman" in that both men are past their prime but working harder than
ever to provide for their family. Walt is a good man, but he's subject
to self-imposed crises generally related to his short temper, drinking
habits and flirtatious nature. Ultimately, Tom opts to take the trip to
Lourdes, even though Marion is threatening to divorce him over his
decision. The majority of the tale is told in flashbacks that present
some moderately amusing situations and some poignant dramatic scenes as
well. There's also a good dose of sexual humor, typical for comedies of
the era that were capitalizing on new-found screen freedoms.The
direction by old pro Michael Gordon ("Pillow Talk") is fine but the
screenplay, based on a novel by Peter De Vries, punts in the final
scenes, tossing in an improbable extended joke about cars going amiss on
their way to a funeral and a feel-good ending that wraps everything up
quickly in a style more befitting a sitcom episode of the era. Still,
the performances are fun with Lenz and Forsyth quite good as the young
couple and Gleason and O'Hara registering some genuine chemistry on
screen.
The Blu-ray transfer is generally fine but around the 80-minute mark
some speckling and artifacts appear during the final reel, although it
isn't distracting enough to bother the average viewer. The bonus extras
don't include the trailer for the feature film but do present trailers
for other KL comedy releases including "Avanti!", "The Russians are
Coming! The Russians are Coming!" and " The Adventure of Sherlock
Holmes' Smarter Brother".
Enjoy this vintage documentary, "Steve McQueen: Man on the Edge", narrated by his friend James Coburn, with whom he starred in "The Magnificent Seven" and "The Great Escape". (To watch in full screen mode, click on "Watch on YouTube".)
Now available from Imprint, the Australia-based video label. (The Blu-ray set is region-free.) Since these limited edition titles tend to sell out quickly, we suggest you order ASAP.
Essential
Film Noir: Collection 4 includes five acclaimed and much sought after classics: Rope of Sand
(1949), Appointment with Danger (1950), The Enforcer (1951), Beware, My Lovely
(1952) & Jennifer (1953).
Limited 4 Disc Hardbox
edition with unique artwork on the first 1500 copies.
Rope of Sand (1949) - Imprint Collection #210
After a two-year
hiatus, Mike Davis (Burt Lancaster) returns to the same African city where he
was tortured and left for dead at the hands of a sadistic Police Commandant
(Paul Henreid). Originally innocent of all charges, Mike is back to claim the
diamonds he had supposedly stolen two years ago. He enlists the help of an
alcoholic stranger (Peter Lorre) and the doctor (Sam Jaffe), who had helped him
back to health. The diamond syndicate head (Claude Rains) recruits a nightclub
temptress Suzanne Renaud (Corinne Calvet) to seduce and betray Mike as an
alternate to brute force.
This suspense-noir
classic was directed by William Dieterle (Dark City).
Starring Burt
Lancaster, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, Paul Henreid & Sam Jaffe.
Special
Features and Technical Specs:
1080p
High-definition presentation on Blu-ray from a 2021 4K scan
NEW Audio
commentary by film historian Samm Deighan
NEW Interview
with film professor Jose Arroyo
Trailer
Original
Aspect Ratio 1.37:1
Audio English
LPCM 2.0 Mono
Optional
English HOH subtitles
Appointment with Danger (1950) - Imprint Collection #211
Postal Inspector Al
Goddard (Alan Ladd) is assigned to investigate the murder of a fellow officer.
The only witness to the crime is Sister Augustine (Phyllis Calvert), who
identifies the photograph of one of the assailants. This leads Goddard to a
seedy hotel where he learns that the assailant is a member of a gang headed by
Earl Boettiger (Paul Stewart), and he soon discovers that the gang is planning
a million dollar mail robbery. This classic film noir also features the stars
of Dragnet, Jack Webb and Harry Morgan, as Stewart's Henchmen.
This was Alan
Ladd's final Film Noir and was directed by Lewis Allen (The Uninvited).
Starring Paul
Stewart, Alan Ladd, Phyllis Calvert, Jan Sterling & Jack Webb.
Special
Features and Technical Specs:
1080p
High-definition presentation on Blu-ray from a 2021 4K scan
NEW Audio
commentary with professor and film scholar Jason Ney
NEW Interview
with Film Noir specialist Frank Krutnik
NEW Video
featurette on director Lewis Allen
Trailer
Original
Aspect Ratio 1.33:1
Audio English
LPCM 2.0 Mono
Optional
English HOH subtitles
The Enforcer (1951) - Imprint Collection #212
Humphrey Bogart (The
Maltese Falcon) is in fine form as a crusading District Attorney out to
convict the head of a vicious murder-for-hire ring. But when his star witness
is killed, Bogart must race against time to find the evidence he needs to bring
down the mob boss. Told in a series of flashbacks, this tense, tough-as-nails
crime thriller on the cutting edge of film noir was based on actual Murder,
Inc. Trials.
Stylishly directed
by Bretagne Windust (June Bride) with un-credited help from Raoul Walsh
(Pursued) and beautifully shot by the great Robert Burks (North by Northwest).
Starring Humphrey
Bogart, Zero Mostel, Ted de Corsia & Everett Sloane.
Special
Features and Technical Specs:
1080p
High-definition presentation on Blu-ray from a 2021 4K scan
NEW Audio commentary
by noir expert and Film Noir Foundation board member Alan K. Rode
Original
aspect ratio 1.37:1
Audio English
LPCM 2.0 Mono
Optional
English subtitles
Beware, My Lovely (1952) - Imprint Collection #213
Helen Gordon (Ida
Lupino) hires Howard Wilton (Robert Ryan) as a handyman to do chores around her
house. She doesn't know what she's let herself in for. Insecure and paranoid,
Wilton thinks everyone, including Helen, is against him. He suffers from memory
lapses and extreme mood swings. She's soon a prisoner in her own house after
Wilton locks the doors and tears out the telephone. His mood swings from
violence to complacency but after Helen gets a message to the police via a
telephone repairman, she finds he is still in the house. ...Beware, My Lovely.
Starring Robert
Ryan, Ida Lupino, Taylor Holmes & Barbara Whiting.
Premier Blu-ray
release worldwide.
Special
Features and Technical Specs:
1080p
High-definition presentation on Blu-ray from a 2021 4K scan
NEW Audio
commentary with professor and film scholar Jason Ney
NEW Interview
with author and programmer Pamela Hutchinson
Original
Aspect Ratio 1.37:1
Audio English
LPCM 2.0 Mono
Optional
English HOH subtitles
Jennifer (1953) - Imprint Collection #213
Agnes Langsley (Ida
Lupino) gets a job, through Jim Hollis (Howard Duff), as caretaker of an old
and vacated estate. The owner's cousin, Jennifer, was the last occupant and
mysteriously disappeared. Agnes soon begins to believe that Jennifer was
murdered and that Jim, whom she has fallen in love with, is responsible.
Starring Ida
Lupino, Howard Duff & Robert Nichols.
Premier Blu-ray
release worldwide.
Special
Features and Technical Specs:
1080p
High-definition presentation on Blu-ray from a 2021 4K scan
Original
Aspect Ratio 1.37:1
Audio English
LPCM 2.0 Mono
Optional
English HOH subtitles
Any pre-order titles will be dispatched in the week
leading up to its aforementioned release date. Special features and artwork are
subject to change.
Enjoy James Coburn's star-making scene from John Sturges' 1960 classic "The Magnificent Seven". His unfortunate nemesis is Robert J. Wilke. The film cemented Coburn as the epitome of the screen hero who was short on words and long on action.
Writer Olivia Rutigliano knows a thing or two about Sherlock Holmes and she's put that knowledge to good use in this article that ranks the best, worst and strangest portrayals of the master detective on screens large and small. This isn't the usual slapped together, meaningless list created to serve as click bait. Rutigliano provides insightful background information on every conceivable portrayal of Holmes and includes stories in which the main character merely thinks he is Holmes. She also includes animated and animal portrayals of Holmes. Chances are you won't have heard of many of the more obscure international inclusions, which makes them even more interesting to read about. Click Hereto do so.
