Pacino in an iconic role as Scarface.

Oscar winner Al Pacino is the latest major star to move into the realm of streaming TV series. He will star in Amazon's 10-episode series "The Hunt", a thriller set in 1977 in New York City that centers on the search for murderous ex-Nazis, a premise that seems to call to mind elements of the 1976 classic "Marathon Man". Pacino has won two Emmys for previous work in television but this marks the first time he has committed to starring in a series. The show will be produced by director Jordan Peele. For more click here.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Broadway legend Carol Channing has passed away from natural causes at age 97. To call her inimitable would be a misstatement as Ms. Channing was one of the most impersonated stars of all time. With her shocking white hairdo, expansive smile and gravelly voice, she endeared audiences and inspired careers for countless entertainers on the drag queen circuit. Channing became a Broadway star in 1949 with "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and later became inextricably linked to the title role in the 1964 Broadway smash "Hello, Dolly!", for which she received the Tony Award. She was frustrated however, when she was not cast in the film versions of either musical, losing the roles to Marilyn Monroe and Barbra Streisand respectively. Ms. Channing also starred in her own television variety series in the 1960s. Surprisingly, she appeared in only a handful of feature films. She earned a Golden Globe and a Best Supporting Actress nomination for the 1967 movie musical "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and was among the all star cast in director Otto Preminger's bizarre 1968 comedy flop "Skidoo". Seemingly ageless, Channing performed on stage for decades often in revivals or road productions of "Hello, Dolly!" in which she starred over 4500 times. For more click here.

Variety is reporting that Martin Scorsese is deeply involved in creating a new documentary about Bob Dylan titled "Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese". The Oscar-winning director had previously released "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan" which covered the iconic folk singer's controversial embrace of the electronic sound he adopted in the 1960s. The new film will cover Dylan's acclaimed 1975-76 Rolling Thunder tour, that featured an eclectic group of artists performing in a largely unscripted format. Dylan, who rarely gives interviews, is said to have provided one for Scorsese to use in the new documentary, which is still shrouded in mystery. Netflix will be producing the project. For more click here.

RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST FROM THE CINEMA RETRO ARCHIVES

BY LEE PFEIFFER

It may seem hard to believe in an era in which every personality on screen seems to be wearing a cape and tights but there are some intelligent films still being made for discriminating, mature viewers. The problem is that you often have to search to find them. Case in point: "The Lady in the Van", a 2015 British comedy/drama that found its intended audience but was relegated largely to the art house circuits in big cities. The movie is about as off-beat as you can imagine in terms of the central premise but we are told that it is mostly based on fact. Alex Jennings plays the film's real-life British playwright Alan Bennett, on whose experience the screenplay is based. Jennings was an aspiring playwright in 1974 when he moved to a relatively upscale neighborhood in London's Camden Town section. Bennett was enjoying some success with a show on the West End and was leading a fairly comfortable existence, though - at least in the film- he was frustrated by the fact that he no significant other. As a gay man, his unease was understandable- until 1969 homosexuality was a felony crime in Britain. Coming out of the closet was not something most gay people felt comfortable doing. The film presents Bennett creating his own live-in companion- an imaginary alter-ego with whom he trades barbs and discusses problems ranging from writers block to everyday household chores. His life takes an unexpected turn when a homeless woman arrives on his street driving a barely operable old van. She identifies herself as Mary Shepherd and is about as lovable as a tarantula. Mary becomes the talk of the posh neighborhood, moving her van occasionally to park in front of various houses. Some of the locals are kindly to her while others clearly disdain her, but all of them tolerate her presence and gets used to her. Mary keeps her "alternate side of the street" lifestyle going for several years. The van is her abode and she defends it with pride. She accepts handouts from neighbors but her prickly nature never results in her uttering the words "Thank you". Alan, like most of the locals, regards her with a bit of frustration as well as fascination. When a parking ordinance forces her van off the street, Alan offers his driveway as a place she can park "temporarily". You know how these things go. Before long, Mary has not only established the driveway as a permanent residence but is also making various demands on Alan to allow more privileges. Slowly, the months turn into years and both become accustomed to the bizarre living arrangements.(Mary never enters his home and the resulting effect on her hygiene is played for laughs).  The two have a sometimes uneasy relationship but the gentle, meek Alan begins to care about her more than he will even admit to his alter-ego. He is wracked by guilt because his own aging mother is slowly deteriorating both mentally and physically and he feels guilty about having to have her committed to a nursing home. He uses Mary has her proxy so that an act of kindness towards her might help Alan alleviate some of his guilt about his mother. 

Ultimately Alan's relationship turns to caregiver. Some of Mary's demands are reasonable (jury-rigging wires from his house so she can watch TV in her van) while others are too extravagant to comply with (constructing a tent so she can indulge in more hoarding of useless objects.) He also learns what the viewer has known from the opening, shocking frames: that Mary is hiding a terrible secret and lives in constant fear of being arrested. She, too, is wracked by guilt because she once killed a motorcyclist in an accident and fled the scene. We also learn that she is being blackmailed by an eyewitness (Jim Broadbent) to the event. Gradually, Alan sees her as a source of material for a writing project. He tracks down her only living relative, a brother who is somewhat estranged from her. He relates some remarkable details about her once-promising life and how it all went wrong when she sacrificed a musical career in order to join a convent. (The Catholic Church and religion play key roles in her life.)  Nothing overly dramatic takes place in the leisurely-paced story but there is something remarkable the fact that Alan Bennett allowed this eccentric woman to spend a full 15 years residing in his driveway until her death in 1989.

Bennett published a journal about the experience titled "The Lady in the Van". In 1999, he adapted it into a play starring Maggie Smith. It was a major hit, running over 900 performances on the West End.  The play's director, Nicholas Hynter, is a frequent collaborator of Bennett's, having worked with him on adapting Bennett's plays "The History Boys" and "The Madness of King George" for the screen. In 2015 they finally brought "The Lady in the Van" to the screen as well with Maggie Smith reprising the title role. Smith was now of an age where she could be even more convincing as the elderly eccentric and Bennett  ensured that the movie was shot in the very house in Camden Town where the actual events took place. For all its charming aspects and the fact that the production presents two extraordinary performances by Smith and Alex Jennings, the end result is a mixed bag that you expect to move you in a more emotional way than it actually does. This is largely because Smith's character remains crusty, self-centered and pretty much an ingrate throughout. In the film's final moments, which details her death, Bennett and Hytner do manage to convey a softening of her persona in the final moments of her life but they then attempt to make her more lovable with an ill-advised funeral sequence in which we see the ghost of Miss Shepherd assuring us that she has found happiness in Eternity. The scene smacks of being a well-intentioned gimmick and seems somewhat out of place with the rest of the film.  Jennings, known primarily as a stage actor, gives a marvelous performance as Bennett and manages the considerable achievement of not being overshadowed by the great Dame Maggie. The film starts off rather weakly but becomes more engrossing and satisfying if you stick with it. This is largely due to Bennett slowly unveiling key details about Miss Shepherd's challenges in life and the fact that she missed out on a promising musical career. Although Smith is very amusing in the comedic sequences, she is even more impressive in these dark, dramatic scenes. The end result is a mixed bag. The film is to be commended for presenting that rarest of screen experiences nowadays: an intelligent story aimed at adult audiences who seek fine performances and dialogue rather than mindless explosions. There are uneven and unsatisfying patches throughout but the performances alone merit it for recommended viewing.

Sony has released an impressive special edition Blu-ray of "The Lady in the Van". There are numerous featurettes including extensive interviews with Maggie Smith, Alan Bennett, Alex Jennings and Nicholas Hytner that give some interesting perspectives on the long history of the real life events that inspired the play and film. There is also a director's commentary with Hytner and some deleted scenes, some of which clearly show that Miss Shepherd is actually nt only extremely eccentric but is also  suffering from dementia, as evidenced by her belief that she can be elected Prime Minister.  

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The web site Curbed provides an informative guide to 15 classic movie theaters in Los Angeles, each of which is distinguished not only by its design but also by an eclectic schedule of programming that any retro movie lover will appreciate. Click here to read.

By Lee Pfeiffer

If you think extremist talk radio is a relatively new phenomenon, the release of the 1970 film WUSA on DVD by Olive Films shows just how far back the not-so-grand tradition goes. The notion of reaching out to the fringe elements of society is well-documented here, with Paul Newman as a down-and-out musician with some broadcasting experience who sells his soul by taking a job as a DJ on right wing extremist radio station WUSA in New Orleans. Newman knows he's being used as a pawn for white supremicist tycoon Pat Hingle, but willingly accepts the fame and fortune that he receives when his star begins to rise - despite personally despising the words he reads on the air. In between playing cornporn patriotic ballads, Newman's character, known as Rheinhardt, spouts incendiary rhetoric designed to empower racists who want to combat expansion of the welfare state. Along the way, he hooks up with sexy-as-hell Joanne Woodward, playing an equally down-and-out woman whose fortunes have declined so badly that she is rejected when she applies to be a stripper. If the film seems especially harsh on the right wing fringe, liberals aren't spared, either. Anthony Perkins plays a stereotypical do-gooder, a true believer that LBJ's war on poverty would result in the establishment of his Great Society. What he fails to realize is that he, too, is being used as a dupe by community leaders who are secretly being paid off by WUSA management. Thus, both the forces of right and left collaborate to ensure inertia among opportunities for the impoverished.

Bloom with Clint Eastwood in "High Plains Drifter".

Veteran actress Verna Bloom has died at age 80. Bloom made her screen debut as the female lead in Haskell Wexler's acclaimed 1969 film "Medium Cool". Her performance gained her much traction in the film industry and she went on to star opposite Clint Eastwood in "High Plains Drifter" and "Honkytonk Man". She also memorably appeared in director John Landis's "National Lampoon's Animal House" playing the dean's wife who had a penchant for bedding college students. Her other film credits include "Badge 373", "The Hired Hand", "The Last Temptation of Christ" and the Frank Sinatra TV movie "Pickup on Cherry Street". Click here for more.

The YouTube channel Stanley & Us is devoted to the works and life of Stanley Kubrick. Here they present an interview that was done years ago with the late, esteemed British film critic and historian Alexander Walker, a friend of Kubrick's, who reflects on the fractious relationship Kubrick had with the volatile but ingenious Peter Sellers. While Walker downplays the extent of the disputes they had on the set of "Dr. Strangelove", he does provide some interesting insights into their work together.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

It's arguable that Orson Welles's "The Other Side of the Wind" was the most famous unseen film of all time. However, with it's recent release there seems to be little doubt that "The Day the Clown Cried" can take the title. Jerry Lewis went into production in 1972 on the Holocaust drama only to immediately run into a tidal wave of problems ranging from unreliable funding sources to complex copyright disputes. Lewis finished the film but the elements were scattered to, well, the other side of the wind as various investors and stake-holders in the production all claimed their pound of flesh. The end result: there apparently isn't a complete version of the movie anywhere, though substantial portions ended up in Lewis's possession and he cobbled together something akin to a final cut. Very few people were shown the movie and response ranged from underwhelming to appalling. Lewis at various times indicated he wanted the movie to be seen if the legal problems could  be resolved but at one point seemed to change his mind, saying he didn't want it shown because he was ashamed of the poor workmanship on the production. New York Times writer Peter Tonguette looks at the current status of the legendary, unseen work. Click here to read.

The 2019 BAFTA nominations have been revealed. Click here for complete list from the Hollywood Reporter.

Once again TCM has created a hauntingly beautiful video tribute to the artists from the film world who passed away in 2018. Inevitably, we find ourselves shocked that some names from the past had left us without getting any attention or fanfare. You will probably be surprised, as well. It's always sobering to recognize how many irreplaceable talents have left us in any given year and 2018 was no exception. The TCM tributes are truly wonderful and makes one wonder why the Academy can't expand their memorial segment on the Oscars broadcast to include the wealth of talents that are represented here. Inevitably, the Oscars tribute, while sensitively done, causes controversy because of the prominent names who are not deemed worthy of mention, including people who were once nominated for Academy Awards. Thanks, TCM, for doing it right.

The mega-budget Waterworld laid a gigantic egg at the boxoffice when it was released in 1995. However, as with many commercial failures, there is considerable interest in the production even today, as evidenced by the ambitious release of a special edition Blu-ray through Arrow Films. Here is their official press release:

The most expensive film ever made at the time of its release, Waterworld has thrilled audiences through the years with its awe-inspiring action scenes, gargantuan maritime sets and ground-breaking special effects. A definitive post-apocalypse blockbuster, Waterworld stars Kevin Costner (The Untouchables) as The Mariner - a mutant trader, adrift in a dystopian future where Earth is submerged under water and humankind struggles to survive on boats and in ramshackle floating cities. The Mariner becomes embroiled with the Smokers, a gang of pirates who, led by villainous leader Deacon (Dennis Hopper, Blue Velvet), are seeking Enola (Tina Majorino, Napoleon Dynamite), a girl with a map to the mythical realm of "Dryland" tattooed on her back. Famous for both its epic scale and the controversy that swirled around its production, Waterworld is a key cult film of the 1990s, and an essential entry into the subgenre of ecologically-minded blockbusters. Presented here in an exclusive new restoration, in three different cuts, and with a wealth of extra material, this high-water mark of high-concept Hollywood can now be enjoyed as never before.

Bonus Materials

New restoration from a 4K scan of the original negative by Arrow Films, presenting the film in three cuts

Original 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 stereo audio options

Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

Six collector’s postcards

Double-sided fold-out poster

Limited edition 60-page perfect-bound book featuring new writing on the film by David J. Moore and Daniel Griffith, archival articles and original reviews

Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Paul Shipper

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the original theatrical cut

Maelstrom: The Odyssey of Waterworld, an all-new, feature-length making-of documentary including extensive cast and crew interviews and behind the scenes footage

Original archival featurette capturing the film's production

Global Warnings, film critic Glenn Kenny explores the subgenre of ecologically aware Hollywood blockbusters

Production and promotional stills gallery

Visual effects stills gallery

Original trailers and TV spots

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the extended US TV cut, which runs over 40 minutes longer than the theatrical cut

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the extended European “Ulysses” cut, which includes censored shots and dialogue

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RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST FROM THE CINEMA RETRO ARCHIVES

“BLOOD AND PRESTIGE”

By Raymond Benson

(Portions of this review are reprinted from the article “Playboy Goes to Hollywood,” by the same author, which appeared in Cinema Retro, Volume 2, Issue #5, 2006.)

The Criterion Collection has seen fit to release on Blu-ray and DVD (separate packaging) Roman Polanski’s striking film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, originally released in 1971. Not very well received at first, the picture’s reputation has grown over the years such that it is now arguably considered the definitive version of the “Scottish play” on celluloid (although Akira Kurosawa’s 1957 Throne of Blood is certainly a contender). Gritty, realistic, and violent, Polanski’s vision is dark and troubling—as the story is meant to be.

It’s possible that some of the negative press it received in 1971 was due to the fact that it was the first major motion picture produced by Playboy Productions, with Hugh M. Hefner serving as executive producer, while Playboy executive Victor Lownes II served as assistant executive producer (Andrew Braunsberg, a close friend of Polanski’s, was credited as producer). The film came about as a result of the friendship between Polanski and Lownes. The director had been recovering from the tremendous amount of grief he had suffered after the murder of his wife Sharon Tate at the hands of the Manson family in 1969—he needed something that would help purge himself of the ugly and violent images in his head and heart. Shakespeare’s controversial and bloody play seemed to be the right vehicle. (Some say the play is unlucky—there are still theatre people who refuse to refer to it by name.)

Indeed, making the film was something of a catharsis for Polanski—there were a few occasions in which he unwittingly referred to the lead actress as “Sharon.” Adapted by renowned playwright and critic Kenneth Tynan, Polanski’s Macbeth became a poster child for the handful of ultra-violent pictures to be released in 1971—the same year as A Clockwork Orange, Dirty Harry, and Straw Dogs. The blood flows freely in Macbeth—a decapitation is even presented most realistically—but to focus solely on the film’s violence does not do it justice. The film is a remarkably faithful adaptation of the play.

“Corporate was initially against the idea,” Hugh Hefner said in a 2006 interview for Cinema Retro. “It was not a very commercial undertaking, and I knew it wouldn’t make any money. Victor made a strong case to do it and I agreed with him. It was more of a prestige thing for Playboy. Playboy and Shakespeare? Who would have thought?”

The film was made in Scotland, of course, and featured mostly unknown but highly talented stage actors—Jon Finch as Macbeth, Francesca Annis as Lady Macbeth, Nicholas Selby as Duncan, Stephen Chase as Malcolm, Martin Shaw as Banquo, and Terence Bayler as Macduff. At one point during production, Polanski ran over schedule and over budget, causing the insurance backers to drop the guarantee. Hefner had to fly to London, take stock of the situation, and personally guarantee the completion of the film with Playboy Productions’ money.

Back home in the States, Hefner viewed the dailies at the Playboy Mansion. Hefner remembered, “For my birthday that year, the cast—on film—suddenly stopped the action of a scene and began singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me.”

The film did receive a number of very positive reviews and a few awards, too—it won Best Picture from the National Board of Review and won a BAFTA for Costume Design. “Of course, as I predicted, it didn’t make any money,” Hefner said. “In fact, it lost money. But we didn’t really care. It was a good picture and I’m proud of it. I believe since its release the film has gone into the black.”

Criterion’s new 4K digital restoration, approved by Polanski, with 3.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is assuredly the best possible presentation of this remarkable film. The dreary Scottish landscapes are gorgeous in their own way, and you can feel the mud and slop in every scene. Extras include a new documentary featuring interviews with Polanski, Braunsberg, Lownes, and actors Annis and Shaw; a 1971 documentary featuring rare footage of the cast and crew at work; an interview with Kenneth Tynan from a 1971 episode of The Dick Cavett Show; and a segment from the 1972 British TV series Aquarius featuring Polanski and theatre director Peter Coe. Critic Terrence Rafferty’s essay in the booklet rounds out this exceptional package from The Criterion Collection.

Grab it! Just don’t ever pronounce the name of the play aloud!

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Cinema Retro's latest season began with issue #43, which has shipped to subscribers in the UK and Europe. Generally, it ships from our North American office to all other worldwide subscribers sometime in mid-January. However, some complications concerning the shipping industry in the UK has caused a two-week delivery delay across the board that has affected all exporters using this service. The factors were industry-related and outside of our control. We now expect delivery of issue #43 to the USA office of Cinema Retro sometime around January 30th. The issue will be sent out to subscribers immediately. The UK shipping industry delay also affects some back issues of Cinema Retro that are due in the same shipment. This primarily affects orders for the Movie Classics Sergio Leone  and Roadshow Epics issues which are currently sold out in the USA. You can place orders for these issues but they won't be available for shipment until late January. We appreciate your patience. Meanwhile, you can subscribe or renew for season 15 by clicking here.

Shirley Jackson's famed ghost story novel "The Haunting of Hill House" was originally made into an MGM film by director Robert Wise in 1963 Jan de Bont's 1999 remake was poorly received and most recently, there is a hit Netflix series inspired by Jackson's book. However, for pure brilliance, Wise's interpretation of the story still stands as a masterpiece of the horror film genre in which ambiguity and unexplained events prove to be more chilling than most films that employ over-the-top special effects. For all of respect accorded the film today, it was not particularly well-received by critics when it originally opened. One of the more positive and insightful reviews was written by James Powers for The Hollywood Reporter. Click here to read.

The web site Looper provides some video evidence of mega-budget cinematic misfires that caused their studios and/or production companies to fold. With the benefit of hindsight, we can all say "What were they thinking???" but at the time these were deemed to be "can't miss" blockbusters.

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra will screen "The Empire Strikes Back" at the Count Basie Theatre and State Theatre in Red Bank and New Brunswick, New Jersey on January4-6. Click here to check the performance dates for each venue.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

At the time of its release in 1962 critics treated director J. Lee Thompson's "Taras Bulba" as just another action epic. Well, back in those days, every week seemed to see the release of a worthwhile action epic. However, retro movie fans have long held this film in a place of honor. It has an intelligent script, fine performances and sequences that are truly magnificent in their scope- all set to the legendary Franz Waxman's superb, Oscar-nominated score. The film is unusual on many levels beginning with the period of history it covers: the battles between the Cossacks and Poles for control of the Ukraine Steppes in the early 16th century. When the film opens, the Cossacks are fighting with the Poles to thwart an invading Turkish army. However, the Poles double-cross their allies after victory has been achieved, slaughtering many of the Cossacks, whom they fear will be a future threat. The mantle of Cossack leadership falls to the courageous warrior Taras Bulba, who vows revenge against Poland no matter how long it takes. The Cossacks spend many years rebuilding their strength. During this time, Bulba fathers two sons: Andrei (Tony Curtis) and Ostap (Perry Lopez), both of whom do instill him with pride for adapting the rough-and-tumble ways of the Cossack warriors. When tensions ease with the Polish government, Taras instructs his sons to attend university in Kiev, ostensibly to get an education. In reality, he wants them to study Polish customs and habits, all the better to serve in the forthcoming war against them that he is planning. While in Kiev, the boys suffer the indignities of ridicule, beatings and hazings. (There is an amusing, if unintended,homo erotic aspect to some of these scenes, with sweaty, shirtless men whipping each other.)  Andrei finds it's all worthwhile when he catches a glimpse of Natalia Dubrov (Christine Kaufmann), a beautiful young Polish girl who is from an influential family. Against all odds, he manages to catch her eye and ingratiate himself to her. The would-be lovers find ways to secretly meet to carry out their forbidden romance. (The notion of a Polish noblewoman carrying on a love affair with a crude Cossack warrior may seem far-fetched, but if the Cossack is Tony Curtis, I guess anything is possible.) When Andrei's interest in Natalia is discovered by her brother, a sword fight ensues in which Ostap mortally wounds the Polish army officer. The brothers escape back to the Steppes and the arms of their mother and father but Andrei still pines away for his lost love. Taras rallies the various Cossack tribes to join him in an assault on a city held by Poles. After a vicious battle, he bottles up his enemies inside the walls of the town and begins to starve them out. However, Andrei learns that Natalia is within the city and when plague breaks out, he makes an ill-fated decision to attempt to rescue her. This leads to the film's dramatic and very emotional climactic seen between Taras and Andrei.

"Taras Bulba" has been released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber Studio Classics. The transfer is outstanding and is so clear that some of the film's technical weaknesses appear more prominent than they probably did on the big screen. The scenes within Kiev are clearly achieved through the use of studio sets and matte paintings. Some scenes have a noticeable graininess to them and in certain cavalry charges, you might observe horsemen moving at sped up motion in the manner of the Keystone Cops. Nevertheless, this is an epic film indeed when it comes to the action sequences. One scene in particular is literally thrilling: the joining of the Cossack warriors on the open plain, all galloping at high speed to Franz Waxman's addictive musical score. The performances are also first-rate with Brynner giving a larger-than-life interpretation of Bulba in  manner that no other actor of this era could achieve. Tony Curtis once again overcomes a New York accent (as he did in "The Vikings") and somehow appears completely credible. (An interesting footnote: Bulba's right hand man Shilo is played by Brynner's "Magnificent Seven" co-star Brad Dexter.)  Christine Kaufmann was only 16 years old at the time of filming and the on-screen love affair with Tony Curtis replicated itself in real life: they began dating on the set and ended up getting married, though they divorced in 1968. 

The Blu-ray disc includes an original trailer that absurdly proclaims, in the typical hyperbole of the day, that the film should be added to the list of "Wonders of the World"! Not quite. But say this for "Taras Bulba": it represents the kind of first rate action adventure epic of which it is often said "They sure as hell don't make 'em like that anymore."

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

Andrew V. McLaglen was almost predestined to be a movie director. The son of the legendary character actor Victor McLaglen, Andrew came of age on movie sets. His father often appeared in John Ford Westerns and Andrew developed a passion for the genre. He ultimately gained a foothold in the television industry during the late 1950s and early 1960s when TV Westerns were all the rage. He proved himself to be a capable and reliable director and eventually moved on to feature films. McLaglen scored a major hit with the rollicking Western comedy "McLintock!" starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in 1963.  Two years later, he teamed with James Stewart for the poignant Civil War drama "Shenandoah". The film was a big success with both critics and at the boxoffice. Thus, Universal, the studio that released "Shenandoah", hoped to capitalize on the film's success and re-teamed McLaglen and Stewart for a Western, "The Rare Breed". Adding to the reunion aspect of the production, it co-starred Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith. O'Hara had co-starred with Stewart in the 1962 comedy "Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation" and Keith was O'Hara's leading man in the Disney classic "The Parent Trap". Got all that? The script by Ric Hardman takes an unusual aspect of the Old West for its central plot line. Martha Price (O'Hara) and her daughter Hilary (Juliet Mills) have arrived in Texas from their home in England. They are bringing with them their prized Hereford bull, a breed not known in America. Their hope is to sell the animal at auction so that cross breeding American cows will eventually result in superior stock. The prim and proper upper-crust British ladies have endured a tragedy that isn't depicted on screen: the death of Martha's husband on the ship en route to America, although they seem fairly unperturbed, as they only fleetingly reference the dearly departed in the course of what follows. The Hereford is mocked by the cattle barons because it lacks the signature horns of traditional Texas steers. In a convoluted plot device,  a smarmy rich man (David Brian) with an obsession for seducing Martha,  bids on the Hereford to impress her. When his awkward attempts to bed her fail, somehow another unseen buyer steps forward and the beast must be transported to him via the efforts of a wrangler named Burnett (James Stewart). At this point, the story becomes difficult to follow. Suffice it to say that Burnett agrees to escort Martha, Hilary and their prized bull to the far-off destination to conclude the deal. Along the way, they are ambushed by Simons (Jack Elam), a greedy crook who causes a stampede of another cattle herd being escorted by Burnett's friend Jamie (Don Galloway.) In the resulting chaos, Simons intends to steal the Hereford as well as the money Martha has been paid to deliver the bull. If all of this sounds confusing, watching it unfurl on screen makes the plot even more fragmented when Martha accuses Burnett of also trying to swindle her. Ultimately, they all wind up at the outpost of the new owner, Bowen (Brian Keith), a Scottish eccentric who runs his own cattle empire and sees the possibility of crossbreeding the Hereford with his own herd.

PARTY 'TIL YOU CRY U.N.C.L.E!  

BY LEE PFEIFFER

If movie fans recall the 1983 sci-fi thriller "Brainstorm" at all, it's generally as a footnote in history. The movie marked the final screen appearance of Natalie Wood, whose mysterious and controversial death still remains hotly debated. Director Douglas Trumbulll, a special effects master, had introduced the concept of virtual reality many years before the concept would become real. He also assembled an impressive cast that, in addition to Wood, included three Oscar winning actors: Cliff Robertson, Christopher Walken and Louise Fletcher. Things were proceeding very well and expectations were high for the MGM production. Trumbull's incredible special effects concepts were generating a good deal of buzz. However, with Wood's tragic death days before filming was to be completed, MGM got cold feet and tried to shut the production down in order to get reimbursed for all costs to date through Lloyds of London. Trumbull boldly resisted and tried to prove to MGM that the film was quite salvageable since Wood had completed all her major scenes. Just a bit of rewriting and tweaking would save the production. The studio resisted but Trumbull prevailed and the movie was released in 1983 to anemic reviews and weak boxoffice. However, in an excellent, in-depth article for Popular Mechanics, writers Ryan D'Agostino and Eleanor Hildebrandt provide the little-known back story to this troubled movie and interview Trumbull and Fletcher about their experiences. The bottom line: this underappreciated movie was extremely prescient about the technologies that would soon dominate our world. Click here to read.

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Director Guy Hamilton accepting the Cinema Retro Lifetime Achievement Award, 2008. (Photo copyright Mark Mawston, all rights reserved.)

In this BBC article from February, 2017, director Guy Hamilton's suspense-packed adventures in WWII are recounted, though the late filmmaker was loathe to discuss his wartime experiences. Hamilton, who died in April, 2016,  was in the Royal Navy, landed some secret agents on a beach in occupied France, only to find that his escape route had vanished when the ship that brought them departed suddenly. Hamilton joined the agents in evading German troops and managed to make contact with members of the Resistance, who housed the men at risk to their own lives. The amazing story rivals anything seen in the four James Bond films that Hamilton would go on to direct.

Click here to read.

Kudos to everyone at Kino Lorber for bringing about this vitally important set. Here is the official press release:

New York, NY -- November 13, 2018 -- Kino Classics is proud to announce the Blu-ray and DVD release of Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers, a monumental 6-disc collection, curated by Shelley Stamp (author of Lois Weber in Early Hollywood) and executive produced by Illeana Douglas, celebrating the ground-breaking early female directors of American cinema who helped shape the language of film.

Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers will become available on Blu-ray and DVD November 20, 2018, with a SRP of $99.95 for the Blu-ray and $79.95 for the DVD. The films in this collection are accompanied by music scores composed by Renee C. Baker, The Berklee Silent Film Orchestra, Makia Matsumura, Maud Nelissen, Dana Reason, Aleksandra Vrebalov, and others. Special Features include an 80-page booklet with essays and photos, eight short documentaries featuring Interviews with historians and archivists, and audio commentaries for select films.

Funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign, Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers continues the legacy begun by Pioneers of African-American Cinema, equally ambitious in scale, and every bit as historically significant. Presented in association with the Library of Congress (and drawing from the collections of other world-renowned film archives), Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers is the largest commercially-released video collection of films by women directors, focusing on American films made between 1911 and 1929 -- a crucial chapter of our cultural history.

Featuring 2K and 4K restorations of more than 50 films, including features, shorts and fragments, this collection includes more than 25 hours of material, not only showcasing the work of these under-appreciated filmmakers, but also illuminating the gradual changes in how women directors were perceived (and treated) by the Hollywood establishment. Included are films by such pioneering filmmakers as Ruth Ann Baldwin ('49-'17), Grace Cunard (The Purple Mask), Dorothy Davenport (Linda, The Red Kimona), Alice Guy-Blaché (Algie the Miner, The Little Rangers, Matrimony's Speed Limit, The Ocean Waif), Zora Neale Hurston (ethnographic films), Cleo Madison (Eleanor's Catch), Frances Marion (The Song of Love), Alla Nazimova (Salome), Mabel Normand (Caught in a Cabaret, Mabel's Blunder), Ida May Park (Bread), Nell Shipman (Back to God's Country), Lois Weber (Hypocrites, Suspense, Scandal, Where Are My Children?), Elsie Jane Wilson (The Dream Lady), Marion E. Wong (The Curse of Quon Gwon), and many more.

By showcasing the ambitious, inventive films from the golden age of women directors, we can get a sense of what was lost by the marginalization of women to "support roles" within the film industry.

"The names Alice Guy-Blaché, Lois Weber, Dorothy Davenport Reid, and other significant female directors deserve to have their names celebrated next to DeMille's, and Griffith's as the early pioneers of Hollywood," said Illeana Douglas. "Just as these woman told powerful stories to raise awareness and educate, we must do the same! I am honored to be a part of Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers, so that these films, and filmmakers, can be put in the pantheon of cinema where they belong."

"Women played an extraordinary role in early filmmaking, but this history has been largely forgotten," said Shelley Stamp, author of Lois Weber in Early Hollywood. "I'm so thrilled that these films have been restored and re-scored so that contemporary audiences will have a chance to see what female filmmakers were up to 100 years ago."

In the early decades of cinema, some of the most innovative and celebrated filmmakers in America were women. Alice Guy-Blaché helped establish the basics of cinematic language, while others boldly continued its development: slapstick queen Mabel Normand (who taught Charlie Chaplin the craft of directing), action star Grace Cunard, and LGBTQ icon Alla Nazimova. Unafraid of controversy, filmmakers such as Lois Weber and Dorothy Davenport Reid tackled explosive issues such as birth control, abortion, and prostitution. This crucial chapter of film history comes alive through the presentation of a wide assortment of films, carefully curated, meticulously restored in 2K and 4K from archival sources, and presented with new musical scores.

Feast your eyes on the outstanding American release trailer for Sergio Leone's 1966 masterpiece "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach- although composer Ennio Morricone deserves co-star billing for his legendary score. 

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Twilight Time has released the 1969 British anti-war comedy/drama "The Virgin Soldiers" as a limited edition (3,000 units) Blu-ray. Adapted from  the 1966 novel by Leslie Thomas,who based the tale on his personal experiences while serving in Malaya in the early 1950s when British troops were called into action to quell political unrest and violent uprisings. The film has been compared to Robert Altman's "M*A*S*H" which was released the following year and which focused on American forces serving in the Korean War. Both films were riding the wave of anti-Vietnam War protests and their geographical locations could easily be swapped for those in Vietnam. Additionally, the two movies both have a similar tone in that they mix a cynical, comedic view of life in the military with morbid scenes that display the carnage of the conflicts. In "M*A*S*H" the human toll of war is confined to scenes in the operating room where over-stressed surgical teams try to save the lives of those who were badly wounded. In "The Virgin Soldiers", the horrors of war come late in the film with a surprise attack by insurgents on a train carrying soldiers to an location where they were supposed to enjoy some leave time. But there are major differences in the way the story lines are presented. The Altman film dealt primarily with the antics of a trio of wiseguy anti-Establishment types while "The Virgin Soldiers" chronicles the personal experiences of a private, Brigg (Hywel Bennett) and a young civilian woman, Phillipa Raskin (Lynn Redgrave), who is forced to live on a military base where her father (Nigel Patrick) serves as the R.S.M. Most of the screen time is devoted to the Brigg character as he tries to get through his obligatory stint in National Service unscathed. The film presents the usual scattershot collection of men in the regiment as an eclectic bunch ranging from cowards to unlikely heroes. There is even an openly gay couple, which defies credibility since homosexuality in British society was considered to be a criminal act at the time.

The early part of the movie depicts the young soldiers as untested, naive and afraid of actually going into combat- all perfectly human concerns. They are also bored on the base due to lack of female companionship and are desperate for sex with any available woman. Amidst an atmosphere in which his fellow soldiers brag about their sexual conquests, Brigg nervously tries to arrange losing his virginity while posing as an experienced lady's man. He tries to satiate his sexual desires with a local hooker, Juicy Lucy (winningly played by Tsai Chin), whose heart of gold extends to giving credit on account to any soldier who suffers impotence from performance anxiety. The unit's sergeant, Driscoll (Nigel Davenport), instills military discipline in his charges while also acting as a father figure, recognizing that these frightened young men are far away from home and are facing a conflict in an exotic land that they don't even understand. A parallel plot centers on the miserable existence of Philippa whose father is a strutting misogynist and comically inept figure. Her mother (played by Redgrave's real-life mum Rachel Kempson) is a dippy eccentric whose primary focus seems to be on the well-being of her pet goldfish. Phillipa is much-desired by every soldier on the base, given the lack of females in their vicinity. They view her as a sultry woman of the world when, in fact, she, too, is also a virgin, much to the consternation of her father, who constantly derides her for not yet having taken up with a man. He even chides her by telling her that the local gossip speculates she might be a lesbian. Phillipa is emotionally alone in the world in a location she can't relate to and doesn't want to be in, much like the young recruits on the base. She refuses to be a temporary bed mate for soldiers who are moving on.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Any retro movie lover would be forgiven for thinking there would be a multitude of pleasures in The Great Scout and Cathouse Thursday, a 1976 Western comedy top-lining such considerable talents as Lee Marvin, Oliver Reed, Robert Culp, Kay Lenz, Elizabeth Ashley, Sylvia Miles and the always watchable Strother Martin. Sadly, the film is a complete misfire with nary a true guffaw to be found throughout. The movie is directed by Don Taylor, who helmed some fairly good films including Escape From the Planet of the Apes, Damien: Omen II and The Final Countdown. However, comedy is not Taylor's strong suit, as evidenced by the over-the-top elements of the movie. The quasi plot finds Marvin as Sam Longwood, an eccentric plainsman who is partnered with Indian Joe Knox (Oliver Reed) and  Billy (Strother Martin) in an attempt to track down their former partner Jack Colby (Robert Culp) who fled with the haul the gold hoarde the four men had discovered years before. Colby has used the stolen loot to establish himself as a respectable politician. Sam, Joe and Billy concoct a scheme whereby they will blackmail Colby into returning their share of the money by kidnapping his wife Nancy Sue (Elizabeth Ashley), a loud-mouthed and obnoxious woman who has had romantic ties to Sam in the past. For reasons far too labored to go into, the trio of men are also accompanied by a seventeen year-old prosititute named Thursday (Kay Lenz) who is seeking to escape the clutches of her former madam (Sylvia Miles).

The film has boundless energy but the non-screenplay leads the characters to dead-ends. Taylor inserts numerous slapstick comedy bits that bring out the worst in Marvin, as he goes into his over-acting mode routinely. Most embarrassing is the bizarre casting of Reed as a Native American. Cursed by having to wear a mop-haired wig and grunting "Me Tarzan, You Jane"-style dialogue, Reed does the most harm to the image of the Indian since the massacre at Wounded Knee. The film lurches from extended fistfights to boring chase sequences, all designed to mask over the fact that the script is a bland, pasted together conconction. There is also a jaunty musical score by John Cameron that is played almost non-stop, causing you to keep the remote on "mute" mode. The only people to emerge relatively unscathed are Lenz, Culp and Martin, who provided whatever wit and charm the film boasts. On paper, the project probably looked promising, but in terms of any genuine laughs...well, they went that-a-way.

Kino Lorber has released the film on Blu-ray with a good transfer and an abundance of trailers (including one for this movie) that prove to be far more entertaining than the main feature. 

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

Racial tensions are flaring in the deep South. White supremacists are marching with members of the Klan, as progressive counter-protestors face off against them amidst a media frenzy. Confederate banners are proudly waved opposite those displaying the American flag. You would be forgiven for thinking this scenario describes the USA in the year 2018 but in actuality it's the setting for the 1996 political thriller "The Chamber", based on the novel by John Grisham. Like other Grisham cinematic tales, it's a complex story of eccentric characters, some laudable, others villainous, and its decked out with an atmosphere of Southern fried hatred. The film opens in Mississippi in 1967 when a Jewish civil rights lawyer makes the fatal mistake of taking his two young sons to work with him on the very day the Klan has placed a time bomb in his office. The resulting blast kills the boys and injures the father, who later commits suicide, leaving his widow (Millie Perkins) to cope with a lifetime of unspeakable sorrow. The story then cuts to the present day (1996) where we find Adam Hall (Chris O'Donnell),  a bright, dedicated young lawyer, determined to intervene on behalf of the man who was convicted of the hate crime and who is now about to be executed after many years of exhausted appeals while on Death Row. The culprit is Sam Cayhall (Gene Hackman) and he is Adam's grandfather, though the young man has never met him. This introduces the first problem with the screenplay by the usually estimable William Goldman: we are never really clear about why Adam is so dedicated to savING the life of a grandfather he has never met. He is clearly haunted by the fact that his own father committed suicide when Adam was a child, presumably out of the overwhelming shame of being Sam Cayhall's son. Adam's motives are left murky, especially when there is no doubt that Sam did plant the deadly device in the lawyer's office. Is Adam grasping at straws in trying to reclaim some dignity for his family's name or is he on to something more intriguing? Because this is a Grisham tale, our hero does turn detective and learns that Sam had at least one co-conspirator, a local white supremacist (Raymond J. Barry) who was never on law enforcement's radar. Turns out he is actually Sam's brother and has been living under an assumed name. In a dramatic meeting, Sam's brother implores him not to spill the beans and to continue to cover for him until he is executed a few days later in the gas chamber. Sam responds with a verbal onslaught against his brother, screaming out that the plan was never to kill anyone. If that's the case, why is Sam willing to go to his death to continue to cover up for his slime bag brother? The question is left ambiguous. 

There's a lot of legal maneuvering as Adam exhausts the options available to save Sam, who he has met and formed a bond with. Behind Sam's exterior of hatred and racism we learn there is a deep-thinking, intelligent man who is more nuanced than one might think when it comes to race relations. This warm, fuzzy side of the character doesn't ring true and seems to be a plot contrivance to make the audience sympathize with his plight. Helping matters is the fine performance by Gene Hackman, which goes a long way to making Sam accessible from an emotional standpoint even if his conversion is unconvincing. (After all, he still had willingly carried out a terrorist action in the name of racism.) The supporting cast includes Faye Dunaway as Sam's estranged and long-suffering daughter who saw him murder a black man when she was a child. She's now living the life of a Southern belle and is not too happy with being outed as Sam's offspring. The script does allow for father and daughter to have a somber reunion in prison and it's one of the few scenes that works credibly in the film. (It's also enjoyable to see Hackman and Dunaway reunited for the first time since "Bonnie and Clyde" 29 years earlier.) Lela Rochon is tossed into the mix in an under-written role as a young African American attorney who is being manipulated by the Mississippi governor (David Marshall Grant, playing the role like Snidely Whiplash) to befriend Adam in order to find out what legal strategies he is employing. The implication is that the Governor and other top officials have a lot to fear if Sam is not executed on schedule, but these factors are left frustratingly murky.

BY TIM MCGLYNN

“Life’s a banquet, and most sons of bitches are starving to death!”

The Warner Archive has just released the Blu-ray version of Mame, 1974’s film version of the hit Broadway show. The musical itself was based on the play Auntie Mame starring Rosalind Russell, also a film and also available from the Warner Archive.

On paper, this movie had “hit” written all over it with Mame’s Broadway director Gene Saks on board along with Bea Arthur (Saks’ wife) and Jane Connell reprising their stage roles. The popular score by Jerry Herman was augmented with a new song, Loving You. Phillip H. Lathrop was the cinematographer, Onna White staged the production numbers and veteran composer/arranger Fred Werner supervised the music.

The casting of the title role created controversy at the time as the star of the Broadway version of Mame, Angela Lansbury, was overlooked in favor of television and film legend Lucille Ball. It was decided at the time that Ms. Ball would draw a larger audience as film musicals had been sputtering at the box office. Previous efforts such as Paint Your Wagon, Hello Dolly and Lost Horizon had been financial disasters, and the studio wanted to stack the deck in favor of Mame breaking this trend.

Lucille Ball had never been known as a singer and at age 63 she may have not been as nimble on her feet as she was in earlier musicals. One just has to remember her taming the cat dancers with a whip in MGM’s Ziegfield Follies in 1946. Ms. Ball’s performance as Mame Dennis is still enjoyable and, if anything, is somewhat restrained. Scenes involving a comic foxhunt with Mame riding sidesaddle and a disastrous stage debut could have turned into Lucy Ricardo style slapstick, but were wisely held in check by director Saks. Ms. Ball conveyed warmth, strength and gentle humor in her performance as the eccentric, but lovable aunt.

The story follows the young and recently orphaned Patrick Dennis being sent to New York to live with his only living relative: his father’s sister Mame, a free-spirited bachelorette socialite. Mame instantly takes a liking to her nephew and vows to show him all the culture and unconventional personalities of Manhattan during the late 1920s. Her friends include a stage actress of dubious talent, the headmaster of a Bohemian nudist school, a less- than- successful stockbroker and a loyal houseboy.

Mame’s escapades with Patrick are made aware to his guardian, a conservative bank president, who sends the child to boarding school. Despite this setback, Auntie Mame remains the main influence on her nephew’s upbringing, and the story tracks their relationship through Patrick reaching adulthood and his preparations to marry. Along the way Mame encounters the stock crash of 1929, employment in customer service, marriage to a Southern aristocrat and a sudden tragedy. Her one constant through everything is her loving relationship with young Patrick.

A fantastic supporting cast includes Bea Arthur as actress Vera Charles, Jane Connell as Patrick’s nanny Agnes Gooch, Robert Preston as Mame’s love interest Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside, George Chiang as the houseboy Ito, Joyce Van Patten as Southern belle Sally Cato, Bruce Davison as the adult Patrick and John McGiver as Mr. Babcock, Patrick’s guardian.

Musical highlights include the beautifully staged title number sung by Robert Preston, a touching duet, My Best Girl, between Mame and Patrick, the hilariously wicked Bosom Buddies, where Mame and Vera confirm their lifelong friendship and a genuine holiday moment with the charming We Need a Little Christmas.

The script by Paul Zindel does drag a bit in the second act as adult Patrick contemplates marriage. There is an awkward jump as one wedding is called off and another takes place. Zindel does include many of the one-liners that made the stage version so humorous. Chiang, the houseboy answers a call from Mame’s financial adviser asking “he wants to know what to do with your stocks before he jumps out the window.” Vera enters the room after an all-night binge and declares: “Somebody has been sleeping in my dress!”

This ad culled from the New York Times Archive shows quite a disparity in the films that Columbia Pictures was promoting for the holiday season in 1967: the Oscar-winning "A Man for All Seasons" (which had been in release since the previous year!) along with the third guilty pleasure Dean Martin Matt Helm flick "The Ambushers". Those were the days, indeed. 

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

Kevin Costner stars in and directs the triumphant cinematic masterpiece Dances with Wolves, based on the novel by Michael Blake. Available November 13th, 2018 from Shout! Factory, this breathtaking three-disc Steelbook Collector’s Edition includes the original theatrical cut for the first time on Blu-ray, an extended cut of the film and an entire disc of bonus features. 

Winner of seven Academy Awards®, including Best Directing and Best Picture, this modern classic tells the story of Lt. Dunbar (Costner), a Civil War hero who befriends a tribe of Native Americans while stationed at a desolate outpost on the frontier. What follows is a series of unforgettable moments — from Dunbar’s tender scenes with Stands With A Fist (Mary McDonnell), to the thrilling, action-packed buffalo hunt. Experience the excitement, emotion and sweeping beauty of this cinematic treasure as never before on Blu-ray!

Dances with Wolves Bonus Features

Disc One: Theatrical Cut

Disc Two: Extended Cut

·        Audio Commentary with actor/producer/director Kevin Costner and producer Jim Wilson

·        Audio Commentary with director of photography Dean Semler and editor Neil Travis

Disc Three: Bonus Features

·        A Day in the Life on the Western Frontier

·        The Original Making of Dances with Wolves

·        The Creation of an Epic - A Retrospective Documentary

·        Music Video

·        Five Vignettes (Second Wind, Confederate March and Music, Getting the Point, Burying the Hatchet, Animatronic Buffalo)

·        TV Spots

·        Theatrical Trailer

·        Poster and Photo Galleries

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

Actress, producer and director Penny Marshall has died at age 75 from complications with diabetes. In addition to starring in the iconic 1970s sitcom "Laverne and Shirley", Marshall was a trailblazer as a female director who broke barriers by helming big studio productions that became major boxoffice hits. Among them: "Big", "A League of Their Own" and "Awakenings". Comedy played a major element in Marshall's life. Her career was jump-started when she was cast as Oscar Madison's secretary in "The Odd Couple" television series. She and Cindy Williams introduced the characters of Laverne and Shirley on the "Happy Days" TV series. The lovable but unsophisticated blue collar ladies became so popular that a spin-off series was created for them to star in. The show proved to be a ratings smash, running for eight seasons. It was the brainchild of Marshall's brother Gary Marshall, who was a major force in the entertainment industry. Marshall gradually fulfilled her dream of becoming a director at a time when doors were largely closed to females who wanted to enter the profession. However, she proved she could bring in big budget productions on time and her direction was instrumental in making them major boxoffice hits. Marshall was once married to Rob Reiner, himself an actor and director who had become popular on an iconic 1970s sitcom, "All in the Family". For more on her life and career, click here.

"The Duke is London. God Save the Queen!" So read the tag line on the film posters for John Wayne's detective thriller "Brannigan". Released in 1975, the fish-out-of-water tale finds the Duke traveling across "the pond" to extradite a prisoner back to Chicago. Needless to say, there are complications. This photo shows Wayne on location for a key scene in Piccadilly Circus in 1974. Note the marquees for the stage production of "Oh, Calcutta!" and the Robert Redford/Mia Farrow screen version of "The Great Gatsby". Peeking out from behind the traffic light is a poster for "The Sting".

The AV Club sets its sights on misguided and largely failed efforts to reboot initially popular film franchises. In general, the article illustrates how a franchise can be diminished when its continued without artistic passion but merely for the purpose of creating artificial enthusiasm through aggressive marketing. Among the celluloid victims: Ghostbusters, Robin Hood, the Terminator, Superman and Jack Ryan. Click here to read.

BY JOHN M. WHALEN 

How you’ll feel about MGM’s “The Last Hunt” (1956), a grim depiction of the decimation of the buffalo herds out west in the 1880s, depends on how you feel about actually seeing buffalo shot down before your eyes while the cameras rolled. Writer/director Richard Brooks wanted the film to be a searing indictment of the men who ravaged the western frontier, especially those who made their living hunting bison. For the sake of authenticity, he and producer Dore Schary went out on location to Custer National Park, South Dakota, where they still have a small herd of buffalo. They got some spectacular footage of the buffalo stampeding over the Black Hills and had government permission to film during the annual “thinning of the herd,” when sharpshooters are invited to kill a limited number of buffs to keep them from overpopulating. As a result. there are scenes in “The Last Hunt” in which we see buffalo hunters Charlie Gilson (Robert Taylor) and Sandy McKenzie (Stewart Granger) shooting down a dozen or more of the majestic beasts as they sit peacefully unaware by a watering hole. It is isn’t a reenactment. It’s real and it’s disturbing to watch.

But that was Brooks’ intent. He wanted to show how greed and hatred of the Indian brought the buffalo to near extinction. Buffalo hides not only brought the hunters a good price but in their minds a dead buffalo meant less meat for the Indians. Brooks personifies these attitudes most vividly in the psychopathic Charlie Gilson. He is a man who hates everything, especially buffalo and Indians. He gets a real kick out of killing, too. He says it makes him feel alive. Taylor is convincing as a truly bad man, although his performance is somewhat one-dimensional. In most of the scenes, he’s either drunk and surly or just plain mean and surly.

On the other hand, McKenzie is a gentler soul who only agrees to go on the hunt when his small herd of cattle is wiped out by a buffalo stampede. He has no animosity against Native Americans and keeps telling Charlie he needs to chill out. Granger gives a good performance as a nice guy, but he’s almost too nice to be believable. Also in the hunting party are Lloyd Nolan as Woodfoot, a skinner with a peg leg and Russ Tamblyn as Jimmy, a redheaded half-breed, whom Charlie can barely tolerate. Woodfoot could have been an Ahab-type character with a grudge against buffalo for losing his leg, but he’s more philosophical than that. He’s seen a lot. He explains Charlie’s hatred for Indians to Jimmy by showing how much alike they are. He says Charlie eats without a fork, just like an Indian, he’s free with his women just like an Indian, he even blows his nose in his fingers like an Indian. “But you see, Charlie don’t like himself very much,” Woodfoot says, “so it’s only natural he’d hate Indians.”

The four men manage an uneasy coexistence until their pack mules are stolen one night by a small band of roving Indians. Sandy and Woodfoot are willing to let it go, but Charlie rides off after them with blood in his eye. He tracks them down, kills them and wounds an Indian Girl (Debra Paget) traveling with a small boy. He brings the girl and boy back to camp and beds down with her, much to Sandy’s dislike. Charlie gets drunk and mistreats the girl, while Sandy seethes, but remains silent. Sandy and the Indian girl begin to get closer, however, when Charlie’s not around or just passed out and tension slowly builds.

Things come to a head when Sandy hesitates to shoot a white buffalo because he knows it has religious significance to the Indians. Charlie has no such qualms. He knows the hide will bring a price of $2,000. He kills it and now both the Indian girl and the white buffalo hide become the sources of conflict that eventually leads to a violent and chilling climax.

“The Last Hunt” is an interesting film made by an interesting director. Like some of Richard Brooks’ other films, such as “In Cold Blood” and “Bite the Bullet,” it’s hard-hitting, almost merciless, in its portrayal of the darkness that lies just below the thin veneer of civilization. It could have been a classic, but it has become a victim of the era in which it was made. It’s not likely that any major studio today would release a film showing the deliberate killing of live animals, no matter what the reason. For one thing PETA would make life miserable for the film makers, and today’s audiences would most likely condemn it as well. The casting of Debra Paget as the unnamed “Indian Girl” is another strike against it. The casting was not Richard Brooks’ fault. Movie studios in 1956 never cast Native Americans in major roles. Indian characters were usually played by Mexican actors like Delores Del Rio or Gilbert Roland. Paget does a great job, but it’s a false note in a film that tries so hard to be authentic.

But the biggest problems with “The Last Hunt” is its slow pace. The film focuses too much on the five main characters bogged down in their own personal conflicts. It takes forever for McKenzie to finally have his fill of Charlie’s constant bullying and mean-tempered treatment of the woman and the half-breed. He’s too mild-mannered and when the final showdown does happen it’s a long, drawn out affair that lacks suspense.

Director Peter Jackson has long been a historical expert on WWI and to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of "The War to End all Wars", he has debuted a remarkable feature film, "They Shall Not Grow Old". In collaboration with Britain's Imperial War Museum, Jackson converted elements of 100 hours of silent film footage of the conflict into a vibrant new production that brings the war alive so that modern audiences can relate to the anonymous soldiers in a new, personal way- especially knowing that many of them would be casualties of the war. The movie will be shown in U.S. movie theaters on December 17 and December 27. For New York Times story about the making of the film, click here. For theaters showing the movie, click here.

“IT WAS SOMETHING ELSE, ALL RIGHT!”

By Raymond Benson

The tag-line on the theatrical poster for Brewster McCloud, Robert Altman’s 1970 black comedy, proclaimed, “Something Else from the Director of M*A*S*H.”

It was something else, all right.

M*A*S*H, of course, was a surprise hit earlier in the year, catapulting Altman into the A-List in Hollywood. The picture was an irreverent commentary on the Vietnam War (although the story takes place during the Korean War). It radically bucked the system in terms of the sound recording and overlapping dialogue, and it initiated the director’s penchant for using an ensemble cast and an improvisatory, free-for-all sensibility. This was a new kind of cinema, an entry in what film historians call New Hollywood.

Released for Christmas the same year, Brewster McCloud was Altman’s anticipated follow-up. Most critics and audiences felt it was very different from M*A*S*H—a zanier, loosely-plotted ramshackle of a film that was considered weird and unlike anything seen before. In retrospect, however, and especially considering Altman’s further career of making large, unconventional and improvisatory ensemble pictures, Brewster seems very much in keeping with the auteur’s stylistic and thematic traits that populated nearly all his movies.

Brewster is the story of a young man (played by Bud Cort) who lives in a secluded area of the recently-built Houston Astrodome, and he is building a wing-apparatus that will enable him to fly. He’s encouraged and protected by a beautiful guardian angel (fallen, perhaps?) named Louise (Sally Kellerman), but Brewster is infatuated with a pretty Astrodome tour guide, Suzanne (Shelley Duvall, in her debut film role). Meanwhile, there are serial killings going on around Houston being investigated by hotshot detective Frank Shaft (Michael Murphy). The common “fingerprint” in the murders is that each victim is covered in bird droppings. On top of these proceedings are classroom scenes in which a very odd “Lecturer” (Rene Auberjonois) instructs us about ornithology as he slowly becomes birdlike himself throughout the film.

That is indeed an eccentric premise for a movie, and Robert Altman excels with it. Make no mistake—this is an inventive, funny, bewildering, and fascinating picture. I consider it to be one of Altman’s best films, one that solidified not only his haphazard way of shooting a movie, but his use of a repertory company of actors (many of the cast from M*A*S*H appear here, along with newcomers who would continue to work with the director in the future, such as Duvall).

Speaking of the cast, they all play colorful characters right out of a modern urban fairytale on acid. Even Margaret Hamilton, the famed Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz shows up wearing ruby slippers. The performances are excellent, especially that of Duvall, Murphy, and good old John Schuck, who plays a traffic cop caught up in Shaft’s investigation (Schuck was the “Painless” dentist in M*A*S*H and worked with Altman several more times).

Warner Archive has upgraded their previously-released DVD version of the film to a region-free Blu-ray in 1080p High Definition with DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono. There is a lot of grain present in the darker scenes, but that is to be expected with the film stock from this era. There are no supplements other than the theatrical trailer.

If you’re an Altman fan, or can appreciate wacky, trippy comedies that smoothly slip into theatre of the absurd, then Brewster McCloud is for you. Frankly, this “something else” is a gem.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

Actress and director Sondra Locke has died at age 74. She passed away in November but for reasons unknown, her death wasn't reported until six weeks later. Locke first gained attention in the film industry when she received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for the 1968 film "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter". She worked steadily in films and television in supporting roles until 1976 when she co-starred with Clint Eastwood in "The Outlaw Josey Wales". The film formed the basis of a long-time working and personal relationship between Locke and Eastwood. They would go on to co-star in five more films together but their relationship was an increasingly tumultuous one, complicated by the fact that although Locke was living with Eastwood, she was married to another man in what she described as a platonic marriage. Ultimately, the couple's personal troubles resulted in their breakup and a high profile palimony suit against Eastwood by Locke. It all became fodder for the gossip columns with Locke publicly accusing Eastwood of mistreating her both emotionally and financially and claiming he pressured her into getting two abortions. The palimony suit was eventually settled when Eastwood arranged for Locke to get a deal at Warner Brothers to direct and act in films she would develop. However, this, too, resulted in lawsuit when Locke claimed that the one feature released under the deal, the 1986 film "Ratboy", was virtually buried by the studio, which never gave the green light to any of her other projects. Locke filed suit accusing Eastwood of concocting a phony production deal with Warner Brothers that was designed to ensure that none of her films went into production. After a high profile trial in which Eastwood was compelled to give testimony, he made an undisclosed financial settlement with Locke. Although Locke claimed to take satisfaction from a woman prevailing over one of the industry's most powerful men, her career never recuperated, though she did present her side of the story in her autobiography titled "The Good, the Bad and the Very Ugly". In recent years, she had been battling bone and breast cancer. The official cause of death was cardiac arrest related to the illnesses. For more click here.

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

Universal City, California, November 1, 2018 – Five of some of the most timeless holiday films come together on Blu-ray™ and DVD in The Original Christmas Specials Collection: Deluxe Edition available now from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Featuring all-new bonus features and unforgettable characters, experience these five classic holiday specials with your whole family.

‘Tis the season to enjoy the timeless holiday classics in The Original Christmas Specials Collection: Deluxe Edition featuring 5 unforgettable stories.  Produced by the legendary Rankin/Bass, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town and The Little Drummer Boy feature iconic Animagic™ stop-motion animation and Frosty the Snowman and Cricket on the Hearth are beautifully illustrated. Starring the voice talents of Fred Astaire, Jimmy Durante, Mickey Rooney, Danny Thomas, Burl Ives and many more, these favorites also feature some of the most beloved songs of the season and are sure to entertain audiences of all ages for generations to come!

The Original Christmas Specials Collection: Deluxe Edition includes Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), Frosty the Snowman (1969), Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (1970), The Little Drummer Boy (1968), Cricket on the Hearth (1967). Along with The Original Christmas Specials Collection: Deluxe Edition, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town are also available in individual new Deluxe Editions on Blu-RayTM and DVD.

BONUS FEATURES:

·        The Animagic World of Rankin/Bass: An all-new documentary celebrating the legacy of the holiday specials created by Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass including interviews with filmmakers and historians.

·        Restoring the Puppets of Rudolph: Discover how the puppets from the beloved special were restored.

·        Reimagining Rudolph in 4D: A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the new Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer attraction film.

·        Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Attraction Film: A short stop-motion film originally created for a Rudolph 4D experience.

·        T.E.A.M. Rudolph and the Reindeer Games: A video storybook including the untold story of the Reindeer Games

·        Frosty the Snowman Original Pencil Test

·        Commentaries on Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town

·        And much more!

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“YOUNG REBEL WITH A MOVIE CAMERA”

By Raymond Benson

Arrow has released an interesting time capsule of a boxed set that features early work by director Brian De Palma and starring a very young Robert De Niro before either of them were significant names in the motion picture industry. The films are The Wedding Party (made in 1963, released in 1969), Greetings (1968), and Hi, Mom! (1970).

De Palma had embarked on a film career in the very early 1960s when he was a student at various institutions. While at Sarah Lawrence College in New York, he collaborated with then-theatre-professor Wilford Leach (who went on to become a major stage director, designer, and writer) and Cynthia Munroe (who provided much of the script and funding) to make a feature entitled The Wedding Party. Most accounts (including IMDb) state that the movie was made in 1963; however, an essay by Brad Stevens in the accompanying Blu-ray booklet claims that the film was shot in 1964-65. It was eventually copyrighted in 1966, but wasn’t released until 1969, after the moderate success of De Palma’s first mainstream (of sorts) picture, Greetings (released a year earlier in ‘68).

The most interesting thing going for The Wedding Party is that it also sports the movie debut of De Niro, as well as Jill Clayburgh, William Finley, and Jennifer Salt (although De Niro’s name is misspelled in the credits as “Denero”—go figure). It’s one odd little movie, very low-budget, shot in black and white, and in a style reminiscent of early silent comedies (although it has sound). In a supplemental featurette, critic and filmmaker Howard S. Berger cites Richard Lester’s The Running, Jumping, and Standing Still Film (1959) as an influence, and one can see that. There is speeded-up footage in which characters run around, jump, fall, and drive cars in a comic, Keystone Cops fashion. There is also a French New Wave feel in that the picture is full of radical jump cuts. De Niro’s character, Cecil, is really a supporting role/groomsman to protagonist Charlie (Charles Pfluger), the groom of the titular event, and Josephine (Clayburgh), the bride. William Finley, who went on to star in other De Palma pictures, particularly Phantom of the Paradise, is another groomsman. The Wedding Party is a black comedy about the hypocritical rites of a wedding and the familial events leading up to it. There’s a laugh or two.

Greetings was another black comedy made in collaboration with co-writer/producer Charles Hirsch as the kind of pseudo-underground, low-budget, counterculture art film that budding filmmakers were creating to appeal to the college crowd in the late 60s (movies like Bob Rafelson’s Head or some of Roger Corman’s hippie-biker pictures come to mind). De Niro shares protagonist status with Gerrit Graham and Jonathan Warden as Jon, Lloyd, and Paul, respectively. Each young man is rebelling against society in some way. Paul wants to avoid the draft (so his pals help him be “gay”); Lloyd is obsessed with the Kennedy assassination and seeks to uncover its secrets; and Jon wants to be a pornographer. The picture is shot in a similar vein as was Wedding Party, albeit in color this time, with even more uncompromising editing. This time it’s got the whole late-60s pop thing going for it—shock-value subject matter, political commentary, drugs, violence, and sex. In fact, the latter component earned Greetings the distinction of being the first American mainstream movie to be officially given the “X” rating by the newly-established MPAA (it has since been re-rated “R”).

According to Hirsch, Greetings got mixed reviews but did good business, especially in New York, where it played well at art houses. It was decided that a sequel was in order, originally called Son of Greetings, but the title was eventually changed to Hi, Mom! Released in 1970, Mom almost received an “X” rating, but De Palma deleted part of a scene to get an “R.”

Hi, Mom! is yet another black comedy, and this one’s particularly subversive. It focuses solely on De Niro’s character, Jon, who has returned to New York after serving in Vietnam. Now he’s radicalized and wants to make a statement to the world. Hirsch calls the character “Taxi Driver Light,” and one can see a glimpse of Travis Bickle here in De Niro’s Jon. This time, Jon continues his venture into smut-making (with the help of pornographer Allen Garfield, continuing a role he started in Greetings) by filming across the street into people’s apartment windows, Rear Window-style. He falls for one of the victims of his voyeurism, Judy (Jennifer Salt). Most notable in the picture is a disturbing black and white sequence in which an off-off-Broadway troupe of black actors perform a show entitled “Baby, Be Black,” in which white audience members are forced to participate in the show, put on blackface, eat soul food, and then be terrorized by the actors (who are painted in whiteface). Not sure how this sequence would play for a modern audience! Look for early appearances by Charles Durning (credited as Charles Durnham) and Paul Bartel.

Arrow has done a top-notch job with these cinematic oddities. The High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations with original English mono audio (uncompressed LPCM) look and sound surprisingly good. There are optional English subtitles. Supplements are plentiful. There’s a new audio commentary on Greetings by Glenn Kenny, author of Robert De Niro: Anatomy of an Actor; a new appreciation of De Palma’s and De Niro’s collaborations by critic and filmmaker Howard S. Berger; new interviews with Charles Hirsch; the pressbook for Greetings; the theatrical trailer for Hi, Mom!; reversible sleeves on the two jewel cases with commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin; and booklets featuring pieces on the films by Brad Stevens, Chris Dumas, and Christina Newland, and an archival interview with De Palma and Hirsch.

All three films are curiosities, certainly fare for film historians and serious enthusiasts of De Palma and De Niro. For others, the trio will be considered very strange pieces of cinema that merely reflect the times in which they were made.

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“THE CIRCUS OF HUMILIATION”

By Raymond Benson

The Criterion Collection has upgraded to Blu-ray their earlier DVD release of Ingmar Bergman’s 1953 feature, Sawdust and Tinsel (titled The Naked Night when the picture was first released theatrically in the U.S.). The visual quality has improved with a new 2K digital restoration that looks razor sharp with gorgeous contrasting black and white imagery, and it comes with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack.

Sawdust was a major step forward in the evolution of Bergman’s filmography, although it was not well-received by Swedish audiences at the time of release. It was most likely deemed too disturbing for what appeared to be a movie about a traveling circus. Note that this was before Bergman’s international breakthrough, which would occur a couple of years later with Smiles of a Summer Night. At the time of Sawdust and Tinsel, Bergman was mostly known just in his native country and at the various film festivals around the world where his work had been submitted.

The first several pictures in Bergman’s oeuvre, especially in the late 1940s, were often melodramatic tales of entanglement, lost love, betrayal, and working-class misfits struggling to enrich their lives. It wasn’t until Summer Interlude, in 1951, that a singular stylistic and thematic voice emerged that can now be identified as Bergman-esque. Earlier in 1953, Summer with Monika was released, and that caused something of a sensation with its frank portrayal of what the U.S. distributor called “The Story of a Bad Girl.” That one made a star out of Harriet Andersson, who would work on several other pictures with Bergman over the next four decades.

Sawdust and Tinsel was a very different picture from Monika. Taking place in the early 1900s, the story concerns a poor, shoddy traveling circus that barely supports itself. It is run by Albert (Åke Grönberg), a middle-aged man who left his wife and sons in a small town in order to be a ringmaster. His mistress, Anne (Harriet Andersson), is the bareback rider, younger and yearning for something better. Frost the Clown (Anders Ek) and his wife Alma (Gudrun Brost), who has an act with a sickly bear, are oddballs and constant thorns in Albert’s side. When the circus sets up near the town where Albert’s family lives, he decides to go for a visit. First, though, the troupe must borrow costumes from the local theater run by creepy manager Sjuberg (played by Bergman stalwart Gunnar Björnstrand). There, Anne meets the mysterious actor, Frans (Hasse Ekman), who seduces her away from Albert.

Doesn’t sound like a good time at the cinema? Hogwash. This is a fascinating and haunting battle of the sexes—a typical Bergman theme—but the carnival milieu is so unique to the director that Sawdust and Tinsel is immediately visually striking with its dreamlike photography (it was the first collaboration between Bergman and longtime cinematographer Sven Nykvist), its colorful and eccentric characters, and its moody and often threatening ambiance.

At the story’s core is a treatise on how human beings react to humiliation. The opening scene, in which Frost must rescue his wife from the taunting of the Swedish military performing exercises near the beach, is a nightmarish, nearly silent mime show of anguish and terror (and the facial contortions that Ek’s Frost makes are worth a study in skin elasticity!). The meat of the picture is how the ultimate shattering of both Albert’s and Anne’s dreams force them to re-examine their lots in life.

It’s all powerful stuff.

Supplements on the disk include an audio commentary from 2007 by Bergman scholar Peter Cowie, a video introduction from 2003 by Bergman himself, and an essay in the booklet by critic John Simon.

NOTE: For those of you looking for the sold-out boxed set retrospective of Bergman’s career that was released in November, Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema, new copies will be available February 26, 2019.

“BEFORE #METOO THERE WAS…THE APARTMENT”

By Raymond Benson

One wonders if Billy Wilder’s magnificent comedy-drama, The Apartment, could be made today in the age of #MeToo. Probably not, despite its brilliant script, exceptional cast and performances, perfect direction, and its positive message against sexual harassment in the workplace.

Even so, in some circles The Apartment was considered controversial upon its release in 1960. Hollis Alpert in the Saturday Review called it a “dirty fairy tale.” Then again, The Apartment was coming off the heels of the hugely successful and popular Some Like it Hot, which the more-Puritan side of America may have called illicit and tawdry, too. Or perhaps co-writer and director Wilder was simply good at telling grown-up tales for adults within the context of a rapidly-maturing culture that was on the verge of a decade known for its freedom of expression. The 1960s was an explosion in breaking taboos—in all the arts, as well as in politics, civil rights, and sexual mores. It was the decade of revolution, protest, and the Pill.

Matthew Weiner was most assuredly influenced by The Apartment to create his groundbreaking television series, Mad Men, which also spotlighted sexual harassment in corporate America in the 1960s. The executives of Mad Men’s Manhattan advertising firm often behaved like their counterparts in the New York insurance company that is at the center of The Apartment. To think that Wilder did it first, and at the beginning of the actual decade in question, is a kind of eerie premonition.

In the film, written by Wilder and his relatively new (since 1957) scribe partner, I.A.L. Diamond, several executives at the firm take advantage of schlemiel C. C. “Bud” Baxter (a career-defining performance for Jack Lemmon) by borrowing the underling’s Upper West Side apartment for extramarital affairs, often with women from the office. Baxter hopes for a promotion out of the deal. One of the bosses, Jeff Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray, playing against type once again for Wilder) wants the apartment for a liaison with Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine, in a career-making performance), who is a lowly elevator operator at the firm. The problem is that Bud is sweet on Fran himself.

It’s a screwball comedy, a love story, a treatise on gender politics, and a cynical take on American morality, all done with Billy Wilder’s singular flare for caustic wit and irony. Oscar voters thought it was special, too, for the picture walked away with the statues for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, as well as Art/Set Direction (black and white) and Editing. Lemmon and MacLaine were nominated in the leading acting categories, as was Jack Kruschen (who plays an initially bewildered—and then helpful—neighbor) for Supporting Actor.

Arrow’s Blu-ray release is a marvel. The brand new 4K restoration looks astonishingly sharp and crystal clear, an absolute perfect representation of the film. It comes with an uncompressed PCM mono soundtrack, with an optional 5.1 remix in lossless DTS-HD Master Audio. There’s an audio commentary by film producer and historian Bruce Block.

Unlike previous home video releases, this Arrow release contains loads of supplements. The Key to the Apartment is a wonderful and concise introduction to the movie by film historian Philip Kemp, who also provides selected scene commentary throughout the picture. The Flawed Couple is a new video piece by filmmaker David Cairns on the unique collaboration between Wilder and Lemmon. Hope Holiday, who plays one of Bud’s bar pickups, is featured in a short interview with anecdotes about the making of the movie. Of interest to budding screenwriters is an archival interview with Wilder for the WGA Oral Histories program on how he writes a script. Also included are previously-released documentaries from 2007, Inside the Apartment, a making-of featurette, and Magic Time: The Art of Jack Lemmon—but now presented in high definition. A reverse sleeve on the jewel case presents the original artwork for the film poster and newly commissioned artwork by Ignatius Fitzpatrick.

Arrow Academy is rapidly becoming one of the great classic film restorers on Blu-ray. The Apartment is a testament to its quality-control. Billy Wilder’s masterpiece (one of several!) is also a work of genius that, considering today’s sexual politics, still stands the test of time.

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BY TIM MCGLYNN

The Warner Archive has just released the 1951 RKO science-fiction classic The Thing From Another World on Blu-ray and it is a definite improvement over the current DVD edition.

Howard Hawks produced this tight 87-minute thriller from a script by Charles Lederer and the original story Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell. Lederer removed the shape shifter aspects of the alien visitor and dialed back the paranoia that John Carpenter explored in his graphic 1982 remake. Here, the scientists who discovered the crashed remains of a flying saucer under the ice near the North Pole are shocked to find the remains of an extra-terrestrial. After returning to the base camp with their frozen visitor, an accident allows the creature to thaw and wreak havoc upon the researchers and the Air Force team sent to assist.

The creature, played by James Arness, needs blood to survive and reproduce, and two members of the crew are found hung upside down with their throats slit. Kenneth Tobey leads the team of soldiers and scientists, now isolated due to a storm, in a desperate battle to subdue the alien before they are all killed.

The strong supporting cast includes Robert Cornthwaite, Margaret Sheridan, Dewey Martin, Douglas Spencer and in a rare on-screen appearance, voiceover master Paul Frees. The pace is fast and furious with not a scene or line of dialogue wasted in this chilling story of do-or-die survival against a seemingly undefeatable foe. The monster, compared by the scientists to a form of plant-life, is unaffected by bullets and demonstrates it has the ability to reproduce itself after a sled dog attack severs its arm. A spectacular sequence features an attempt to incinerate the creature by dousing it with kerosene and setting it ablaze. What follows is a thrilling action set that critic Roger Ebert admitted scared him to death as a youth. Director James Cameron, in the sci-fi documentary Watch the Skies, noted it as the first full body burn in a Hollywood movie and marveled that “the entire scene was lit by the guy on fire.”

Controversy followed the completion of The Thing as to who actually helmed the film. Direction is credited to Christian Nyby, but many critics claim that the film is very close to producer Hawks in style and execution. Subsequent interviews with several cast members reveal that even the actors weren’t sure who was in charge.

Hawks and Nyby were clever in never showing an extended close up of Arness as the Thing, thus keeping him more mysterious and anonymous. Later interviews revealed that Hawks was never satisfied with the look of the creature and actor Arness was somewhat embarrassed by the costume and make-up effects. The story comes to an electrifying conclusion that asks the world, in the midst of numerous real-life UFO sightings across the country, to “watch the skies.”

The technicians at Warner Archive have done a masterful job at rescuing this favorite classic from the ravages of time. The new disc was created from a 1080p high-definition master in 1.37 preserving Russell Harlan’s claustrophobic framing and his beautiful black and white photography. All scratches, dirt, pops and instances of flicker have been removed. The contrast is sharp and the blacks are rich with fantastic detail now revealed in every scene. What might have been stock footage of the Air Force plane landing at the North Pole is crisp and appears to be second-unit work specifically for this film. Several sequences that were inserted back into the original print, such as the “close the door” scene with General Fogarty, are nearly as clear as the rest of the film. Watch for the scene where we first meet Dr. Carrington and notice that the elements on the periodic table above his head may be clearly read.

The mono sound is very crisp and makes it easier to follow the rapid-fire dialogue, which was a hallmark of Hawks’ productions. The humorous romantic exchanges between Tobey and Sheridan are especially helped by this sonic enhancement. The re-mastered soundtrack also allows us to fully appreciate the growling brass and eerie theremin tonalities from Dimitri Tiomkin’s score. The opening credits might remind you of Tiomkin’s themes during the graveyard scene in It’s a Wonderful Life, which was made at RKO six year prior to this film.

The Warner Archive Blu-ray release of The Thing from Another World is an occasion where it is definitely worth the cost of upgrading from the DVD, although the only bonus extras are a couple of trailers. This is a film that John Carpenter, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and James Cameron all cite as a major inspiration for their own works. This new print shimmers and would make a worthy addition to your home library.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

Universal has released the 1967 Don Knotts comedy "The Reluctant Astronaut" as a Blu-ray release. The film was Knotts's second feature film for the studio following the surprise success of "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken". This time Universal raised the production budget, thus allowing director Edward Montagne to shoot on location at both the Johnson and Kennedy Space Centers. Knotts again recreates what is essentially his Emmy-winning portrayal of Deputy Barney Fife from "The Andy Griffith Show", complete with that character's requisite "salt-and-pepper" suit. When we first see his character, Roy Fleming, he's a 35 year-old nervous type whose "career" is playing an astronaut on a rocket ship ride in a children's amusement park. He still lives at home with his doting mother (Jeanette Nolan) and his overbearing father, Buck (Arthur O'Connell), who keeps bragging about his heroics in WWI and instills military discipline in the household. ("Well, he was a corporal, and you know how bossy they could be!" explains Roy's mom.) Buck wants his son to live up to his own self-proclaimed achievements in the Great War and without Roy's knowledge, sends in an application to NASA under his son's name. The goal is to get Roy into the astronaut training program. When an acceptance letter to report to NASA arrives in the mail, Roy goes into panic mode at the prospect of being an astronaut. He's suffered from a fear of heights since childhood and he reminds his mother that he can't even bring himself to get on the step stool to reach the marmalade jar. Attempts to share his fears with his father fall on deaf ears as Buck is a big-mouthed blowhard who immediately starts bragging to the entire town about his son's achievement. Soon, Roy is the reluctant guest at a party in which he is already cited as a local hero. Not wanting to humiliate himself or his father- not to mention local girl Ellie (Joan Freeman), who is trying to impress- Roy leaves for the NASA training center. (An amusing, on-going gag finds Roy pretending to board planes but secretly slipping away so he can take a safer mode of transportation: a Greyhound bus.)

Once he reports to NASA, Roy is both relieved and bemused by the fact that he has not been accepted for astronaut training but, in fact, is a janitor-in-training. When his father and his friends make a surprise visit to the facility, Roy tries to cover up his shame by dressing as an astronaut and demonstrating a new rocket sled with predictably disastrous results. Upon being fired and unmasked as a fraud, he returns to his hometown in shame, leaving his father heartbroken. However, this familiar dilemma in all of Knotts's feature films is resolved in predictable fashion by fate allowing him a chance to redeem himself. NASA learns that the Soviets are about to demonstrate the effectiveness of their new automated space capsule by launching a dentist who has no experience with astronaut training. NASA is eager to beat them to the punch and decides to ask Roy to volunteer. The scenes of the panic-stricken nerd trying to cope with space travel are among the funniest bits in the film. Naturally, a disaster occurs and Roy saves the day by summoning hidden courage that even he didn't know he possessed. 

"The Reluctant Astronaut"  doesn't have the cult following that "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" has built but it's equally good and at times laugh-out-loud funny thanks to Knotts' comedic genius and an inspired supporting cast that includes Leslie Nielsen (still trapped in pre- "Airplane" mode when studios didn't realize his comic potential), Arthur O'Connell, Jesse White, Jeanette Nolan, Frank McGrath and Paul Hartman. There are other familiar elements of the Knotts feature films: a good script by Everett Greenbaum and Jim Fritzell (head writers of "The Andy Griffith Show") and fine direction by Knotts's frequent collaborator, Edward Montagne. Naturally, there's also a zippy and amusing score by Vic Mizzy.

Universal has once again provided a terrific Blu-ray transfer with eye-popping colors. Not to sound like an ingrate, but I feel compelled to repeat my only criticism of these Knotts releases, which is their complete lack of bonus materials, especially since the DVD editions contained the original trailers which are easily available for the Blu-ray releases. However, even if you have the DVD editions in your library, the quality of the Blu-rays releases merits upgrading if you're a true Knotts fan.

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BY TIM MCGLYNN

“You probably think I’m beautiful, but I’m not.”

Super model Tina Cassidy (Kathryn Witt) visits Hollywood plastic surgeon Larry Roberts with a specific list of tiny imperfections that need to be corrected at the request of Reston Industries, a producer of glossy television commercials. Dr. Roberts becomes curious when he realizes that several of his recent patients have had the same type of list.

What follows is a science fiction/police procedural that involves the murder of these same models. The police become suspicious when it is discovered that all the victims were patients of Dr. Roberts

Director/Writer Michael Crichton once again makes predictions based on emerging technologies. His first feature film, Westworld (1973), pioneered the use of digitized imagery to present the point of view of Yul Brynner’s android gunslinger.

In Looker, we have actors being converted to computerized images that may be manipulated through animation. These digital actors communicate subliminal messages that cue the audience to respond favorably to the product. Once these models are scanned by the L.O.O.K.E.R. (Light Ocular-Oriented Kinetic Emotive Responses) program, there’s no need for humans to create commercials. And if the process works so well at convincing television viewers to buy, why not use it to manipulate a national election and allow a corporate-friendly Senator to be elected President?

In one effective scene, Tina returns to her home to visit with her parents and finds that they can’t take their eyes away from a comedy show they are watching. Mom and Dad have been drawn in by L.O.O.K.E.R.

Reston Industries is also preparing the L.O.O.K.E.R. technology for military applications with a gun that renders an enemy immobile for several minutes leaving no memory of the event. A henchman hired to kill Dr. Roberts employs the weapon to almost humorous effect as he taunts his victim.

A good thriller requires a great cast and director Crichton chose wisely with Albert Finney as the mild mannered surgeon Dr. Roberts. One might wonder if this character was at all inspired by the Beatles’ song of the same name. Also on hand are James Coburn as sleazy corporate head John Reston, Susan Dey as model Cindy Fairmont, the always beautiful Leigh-Taylor Young as marketing director Jennifer Long and Dorian Heywood as Lieutenant Masters.

Most people may be aware of this film only from its claustrophobic pan and scan showings on pay cable during the 80s and 90s. The Warner Archive’s’widescreen Blu-ray provides a beautifully restored edition of Looker in all its Panavision glory. The stereo sound is properly re-mastered and showcases the music score by Barry De Vorzon, who created a terrific techno-thriller soundtrack that avoided the cheese factor and aged well. And then there’s that title song, performed by Sue Saad, that will definitely earworm its way into your head for days.

This new Blu-ray version of Looker will propel you back to the 80s in style and comfort.  Bonus features are the original trailer, an informative introduction by Michael Creighton and a deleted scene that was included in the TV broadcast of the film. Another great addition to the Warner Archive library.

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“MISTLETOE AND MOVIES”

By Raymond Benson

Another handsome, beautifully-illustrated, and affordable entry in Turner Classic Movies’ series of books on film history, genres, and trivia, comes just in time for the holidays. Christmas in the Movies—30 Classics to Celebrate the Season offers a selection of excellent choices in chronological order. Author Arnold, a film historian and TCM commentator, provides enough background, offscreen anecdotes, and justification for his picks to satisfy the most critical movie buff.

Christmas in the Movies manages to tick all the obvious suspects (Holiday Inn; It’s a Wonderful Life; Miracle on 34^th Street, White Christmas; A Christmas Story; The Nightmare Before Christmas), but Arnold also throws a spotlight on some lesser-known gems such as Remember the Night (1940), with a screenplay by Preston Sturges—although I’d haggle that the Sturges’-helmed piece, Christmas in July (also 1940) might be a better option. Other worthy entries include The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942), 3 Godfathers (1948—yes, a John Ford western!), The Lion in Winter (1968—Christmas in medieval England with Henry II and Eleanor!), Gremlins (1984), and Die Hard (1988—yes, this action flick is certainly a Christmas movie!).

It is particularly gratifying that Arnold chose the 1951 Scrooge (released as A Christmas Carol in the U.S.) with Alistair Sim in the titular role. Arnold is quite correct that this is the definitive adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale, as there have been “far too many to count.”

Each film’s discussion ends with a “Holiday Moment” sidebar. Here, Arnold highlights a specific bit from the picture that epitomizes the selection as one of the great Christmas movies. For example, the Holiday Moment from Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) is Judy Garland’s iconic rendering of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Arnold provides the lyrics of the song the way Garland sang it, juxtaposed with the original lyrics, which were oddly much darker and cynical.

Any book or list that deems to choose a finite number of movies to represent a specific genre or theme will invariably incite calls of “But what about ___?” Perhaps one neglected title that brings out the Christmas spirit for James Bond fans is the 1969 On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, which had a Christmas song (“Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?”), Christmas morning at Blofeld’s hideaway, and 007’s proposal to his future bride on Christmas Eve!

That minor quibble aside, Christmas in the Movies is comprehensive, informative, and fun. It might well be the perfect gift this season for the movie lover in your family!

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“A STOLEN MASTERPIECE”

By Raymond Benson

In a fascinating interview supplement contained on this amazing new release by The Criterion Collection, film historian Joseph McBride calls The Magnificent Ambersons one of the great Hollywood tragedies in that the film we got from writer/director Orson Welles was not the one he intended. It is widely known that RKO Radio, the studio behind the production, deleted forty-three minutes from Welles’ final cut, reshot the ending, and released the film their way—all against Welles’ wishes—and then promptly destroyed the cut footage so that the movie could never be reconstructed.

The Magnificent Ambersons is a stolen masterpiece.

That said, the film is still a great movie. In fact, it earned Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Agnes Moorehead), Best Cinematography (Black & White, by Stanley Cortez), and Best Art/Interior Set Decoration (Black & White).

Ambersons, based on Booth Tarkington’s 1918 novel (Welles claims that Tarkington was a “friend” of his father’s), the picture was the director’s follow-up to Citizen Kane. Once again featuring some of the Mercury Players (Joseph Cotten, Ray Collins, and Moorehead) and new casting choices (Dolores Costello, Tim Holt, Anne Baxter), the production of Ambersons went well, with the picture going only a little over budget. Welles delivered a 148-minute cut—and then Pearl Harbor happened. Welles was appointed by Nelson Rockefeller to be a goodwill ambassador to Latin America so that he could attempt to persuade South American countries from entering the war on the Axis side.

Welles dutifully went to Brazil and started shooting a film (It’s All True, another picture sabotaged by RKO) and was essentially unavailable to receive notes and requests from RKO regarding Ambersons. RKO, unhappy with the film, then took it upon themselves to change it to suit their needs, and there was nothing Welles could do about it. The picture released in July 1942 was 88-minutes in length.

Would a Magnificent Ambersons that is an hour longer be a better film than it already is? We can only assume. For one thing, the ending was drastically different. Welles’ version was cynical, dark, and ironic. Given the wartime climate, RKO wanted a more upbeat ending—never mind that it really doesn’t make sense that the characters suddenly change entire attitudes they have held throughout the film. Never mind that the final half-hour of the movie feels choppy, rushed, and out-of-rhythm from the first hour. The 88-minute version is what we have and must live with.

It should be stated again—The Magnificent Ambersons is still a great picture.

The story concerns the wealthy Amberson family in the early 1900s Indianapolis. Beautiful Isabel Amberson (Costello) marries Wilbur Minafer (Don Dillaway) instead of Eugene Morgan (Cotten), but she regrets it… and she and Morgan carry torches for each other for the remainder of their days. Enter Isabel and Wilbur’s bratty son, George (Holt), who terrorizes the town with his bad manners, arrogance, and boorishness. Things get complicated when he begins to woo Morgan’s daughter Lucy (Baxter) and at the same time insult and humiliate her father. All the while, Wilbur’s sister Fanny (Moorehead) also carries unrequited love for Morgan and inserts herself into the already-touchy situation.

Ultimately, Ambersons is about the downfall of a respected and wealthy family to that thing called Progress—namely, the invention and proliferation of the automobile and other industrial evolutions. Welles makes an ecological statement with the picture (back in 1942!) which is something else RKO was unhappy with, seeing that American industries had to ramp up to support the war effort.

Criterion’s new 4K digital restoration looks marvelous, and it contains two separate audio commentaries with scholars Robert L. Carringer and James Naremore, and critic Jonathan Rosenbaum.

The packaging is first-rate. The numerous and excellent supplements alone make the product a 5-star purchase. Especially interesting and informative are the new interviews with (previously mentioned) McBride and one with film historian Simon Callow. Both men relate different insights into the history of the production and the editing debacle. Director Welles appears on a 1970 segment of The Dick Cavett Show (along with second guest Jack Lemmon) for an often-hilarious and always-entertaining half-hour discussion. New video essays on the cinematography and Bernard Herrmann’s uncredited score (that was also chopped up with RKO’s editing), by Francois Thomas and Christopher Husted, respectively, are a welcome addition.

Also included is the silent version of Ambersons, originally called Pampered Youth (1925), and re-edited for the U.K. as Two to One (1927). If that wasn’t enough, we get two Mercury Theatre radio plays: the 1939 adaptation by Welles of Ambersons (with Welles playing the role of George), and a 1938 adaptation of Seventeen, another Booth Tarkington creation. There’s more, such as audio interviews with Welles by Peter Bogdanovich and at an AFI symposium, and the theatrical trailer. The booklet comes in a stapled “manuscript” that resembles a typed screenplay. It contains essays by authors and critics (Molly Haskell, Luc Sante, Geoffrey O’Brien, Farran Smith Nehme, and Jonathan Lethem), and excerpts from a Welles memoir.

The Magnificent Ambersons, even in its sadly truncated form, further illustrates the genius that was Orson Welles. This Criterion release is a must-have.

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There's plenty to celebrate this time of year and at least one event isn't related to the holidays: it's the launch of Cinema Retro's 15th season. Thanks to our loyal readers, the world's most unique film magazine is entering another exciting year with every issue packed with the kind of coverage of classic cinema that you've come to expect. The season launches with issue #43 which ships shortly in the UK and Europe and in early/mid-January in North America and the rest of the world. So start the New Year off the right way by subscribing or renewing today and get all three issues for the year 2019. (Issue #44 will ship in April/May and issue #45 ships in September/October.)  Don't forget, a subscription to Cinema Retro makes the perfect holiday gift for that movie lover in your life, so you can forget re-gifting the velvet painting of dogs playing poker and sign up that special someone today for a full season of great reading in print format.

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Cinema Retro has received the following announcement:

Just in time for the holidays, McFarland publications has released John Farkis’s latest book The Making of Tombstone: Behind the Scenes of the Classic Modern Western. Which is only appropriate as Disney/Buena Vista premiered this film on December 25, 1993, 25 years ago this month. While other books have been written about Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and the O.K. Corral, this is the only book written solely about the making of that iconic film. With numerous behind-the-scene photos and interviews from over 140 cast and crew members, stuntmen, extras, wranglers and Buckaroos, this book is a virtual day-by-day summarization of how the film was made. Starring Kurt Russell, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, Sam Elliott, Dana Delany, Bill Paxton, and Val Kilmer in his Oscar-deserved role of Doc Holliday, Tombstone is the story of Wyatt Earp, his brothers, Holliday, the Clantons and McLaurys, and their tumultuous relationship, cumulating in the historic gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and subsequent Vendetta ride.

Farkis details the stormy creation of the project, from script development, financing and casting, to site location and construction. Along the way, he also explores Kevin Costner’s Wyatt Earp, which at the time, was in direct production competition with Tombstone. In fact, Costner was screenwriter/director Kevin Jarre’s first choice for the role of Wyatt. Known for his screenplay of Glory (1989), Jarre was replaced early in filming by action-director George Cosmatos. While extremely proud of their work on the film, virtually everyone associated with the project said it was an extremely tough, miserable experience. And Farkis details the trials and tribulations in exquisite detail. With access to numerous script iterations, call-sheets, daily production reports and internal communications, he unpacks the story behind the story. Photographs supplied by cast and crew members serve to enhance this experience. Not only does he explain the film’s concept and production, he also describes the historical tale, from the founding of Tombstone, to the conclusion of Earp’s Vendetta ride. And, he adds a postscript appendix of the film’s recent 25th anniversary celebration.

Released on Monday, November26, this book can currently be purchased through McFarland, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and numerous other sites. If one wishes to have a personalized autographed copy, they can be ordered directly from the author. Jkfarkis@earthlink.net.

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Relive the moving moment at the 1996 Academy Awards at which Kirk Douglas received an honorary (and well-deserved) Oscar, presented by Steven Spielberg. Though compromised by the effects of a stroke, the screen legend looked as handsome as ever and was gracious in his acceptance of the award.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Criterion has released a dual format Blu-ray/DVD edition of director Michael Mann's 1981 crime thriller Thief starring James Caan. It's a highly impressive film on many levels, especially when one considers this was Mann's big screen feature debut. He had previously directed the acclaimed 1979 TV movie The Jericho Mile, which was set in Folsom Prison. Mann was inspired by his interaction with the world of convicts and wrote the screenplay for Thief, which is credited as being based on author Frank Hohimer's novel The Home Invaders, but he maintains virtually none of the source material ended up on screen. The story centers on Frank (James Caan), a bitter man with a troubled past. As a child he was raised in state-run homes before being sent to jail for a petty crime. Inside prison, he committed violent acts in order to defend himself but this only resulted in lengthier jail terms. By the time he has been released, he has spent half of his life behind bars. While in jail, Frank befriended Okla (Willie Nelson), a older man and master thief who is doing a life sentence. He becomes Frank's mentor and father figure and teaches him the tools of the trade. When Frank is finally released, he becomes a master at his craft, which is pulling off seemingly impossible heists of cash and diamonds. Before long, he has become a legend in his field. As a cover, Frank runs a major used car dealership and a small bar. However, he realizes that his luck will certainly run out at some point and he is determined to retire after making a few more high end scores. He works with a small team consisting of two confederates (James Belushi, Willam LaValley) who are also pros in gaining access to seemingly impenetrable vaults. The headstrong Frank wants to also settle down and raise a family. He makes an awkward introduction to Jessie (Tuesday Weld), an equally head strong, down-on-her luck character who nevertheless becomes smitten by him and ends up marrying him. The couple face frustration, however, when their attempts to adopt a baby are thwarted by Frank's criminal record. Frank is ultimately approached by Leo (Robert Prosky), a local crime lord who entices him to stop working independently and pull off a high profile heist for a fortune in diamonds. Frank rejects the offer but eventually he relents, though he is reluctant to work with a new partner. Leo has managed to break through Frank's cynicism by showering him with praise the benefits of his influence, which include arranging for Frank  and Jessie to illegally adopt the baby they want so desperately. The lure of being able to retire after this one huge score leads Frank to go against his better judgment and he agrees to work for Leo on this one big job. The diamonds are located in a vault so secure that it would seem to be better suited for Fort Knox.  In order to break in, Frank and his team must use highly sophisticated drills and other equipment that would rival the top gear used by any branch of the military. On the verge of realizing his greatest score, however, things go terribly wrong on any number of levels. Frank, seeing his world crumble around him, goes on a violent rampage of destruction and self-destruction.

Thief is a highly stylized movie that moves at a rapid clip and features one of James Caan's strongest performances. The problem, however, is that the character of Frank is so obnoxious, he is difficult to relate to. Peckinpah, Scorsese and Coppola always had a knack for making disreputable characters seem appealing, but Frank is nasty, arrogant and self-centered. This is certainly realistic, given the bitter feelings he has toward society, but the viewer never warms to him in any meaningful way. He is only sympathetic because the people he deals with are so much worse. Nevertheless, Thief is a crackling good yarn that boasts some fine performances especially by Tuesday Weld and character actor Robert Prosky, who is brilliant in a scene-stealing role. Willie Nelson's screen time is very limited but he makes effective use of his two scenes. The film features superb cinematography by Donald E. Thorin, who made his debut here as Director of Cinematography. His night sequences on the rain-slicked streets of Chicago evoke visions of neon-lit nightmare. The film features an electronic score by Tangerine Dream, the band that provided the music for Willliam Friedkin's Sorcerer. Strangely, their score for that films holds up well but their work in Thief comes across as a bit monotonous and dated. The film's ultra-violent conclusion is exciting but rather cliched with Frank turning into yet another pissed off screen hero who decides to take down all of his enemies in an orgy of shootouts and destruction. (I know it sounds petty but I can never accept such sequences when they are set in urban neighborhoods in which no one ever seems to call the police even as houses explode and machine gun fire is sprayed all over the place.). The film excels, however, in the break-in sequences which are superbly directed and feature camerawork that make the crime scene look like an attraction from Disney World, with fireworks-like sparks filling the air. 

The Criterion Blu-ray transfer is superb on every level.  Extras, which are carried over to the DVD, include a commentary track by Michael Mann and James Caan that was recorded in 1995. There are also fresh video interviews with both men that are rather candid. (Caan, who has worked consistently through his career, modestly says "I was rather popular at one time" in reference to his work on the film. Mann says he is still debating in his mind whether he regrets using Tangerine Dream's score) There is also an interview with Johannes Schmoelling of the band, who discusses working with Mann to create the score. An original trailer is included as is a nicely illustrated booklet with an informative essay by film critic Nick James. 

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