Turner Classic Movies will sponsor a 75th anniversary musical tribute to 20th Century Fox at the Hollywood Bowl on September 5. David Newman will conduct the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in celebrating the great film scores of the studio along with clips from the respective films. Robert Osborne hosts. Click here for ticket info

Lucky metro movie lovers who live near N. Vandergrift, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh) will be getting virtually no sleep on the evenings of September 10-11. The Riverside Drive-In will be hosting a Monster-Rama film festival with 35mm showings of films rarely seen on the big screen, including several Hammer horror classic. Check out this line-up:

September 10:

The Comedy of Terrors

The Oblong Box

The Witchmaker

The Incredible Melting Man

September 11:

Frankenstein Created Woman

Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell

The Blood on Satan's Claw

Dr. Terror's House of Horrors

You also have the option to camp out overnight at the drive-in (if you dare!) There will also be an abundance of vintage trailers, cartoons and shorts shown each night. For info click here

 

The Film Society of Lincoln Center presents five films in one day directed by the late John Hughes, who seems to have become the John Ford of the Gen Xers. We'd go, but we're still recuperating from the five Planet of the Apes films-in-one-day festival we experienced in 1974. Click here for ticket info

Cinema Retro has received the following event schedule from A.M.P.A.S.

Lost and Found: “Upstream”

Wednesday, September 1, 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater

The U.S. “re-premiere” of the long-lost 1927 John Ford silent film that was recently discovered in the New Zealand Film Archive and preserved by the Academy Film Archive.

8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

All seating is unreserved.

General Admission – $5
Students with a valid ID – $3
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

3D Rarities: From 1900 and Beyond

Tuesday, September 7, 7:30 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater

A show highlighting archival rediscoveries of early 3D filmmaking, including rare works by the Lumière brothers, Georges Méliès, the Disney Studios and others, presented by internationally recognized film historian Serge Bromberg of Lobster Films, Paris.

1313 Vine Street
Hollywood, CA 90028
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
All seating is unreserved.

General Admission – $5
Students with a valid ID – $3
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

Oscar Noir Encore: “The Maltese Falcon”

Monday, September 13, 7 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater

An encore screening of the first film in the Academy’s popular series of 1940s noir classics nominated for Academy Awards in the writing categories. Cartoons and shorts at 7 p.m.; feature presentation at 7:30 p.m.

8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
All seating is unreserved.

General Admission – $5
Students with a valid ID – $3
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

2010-2011 Contemporary Documentaries Series

Wednesdays, September 22 – November 17, 7 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater

A showcase of feature-length and short documentaries from 2009, including Oscar winner “The Cove” as well as “Valentino The Last Emperor,” “Garbage Dreams,” “Capitalism: A Love Story” and many others.

1313 Vine Street
Hollywood, CA 90028
Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
All seating is unreserved.

Admission is free.
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

A Centennial Salute to Alex North with a screening of “The Misfits”

Friday, September 24, 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater

A screening of “The Misfits” caps off a celebration of the memorable music of 15-time Oscar nominee Alex North (1910-1991), who composed the scores for such films as “A Streetcar Named Desire,” “Death of a Salesman,” “Spartacus” and “Cleopatra.”
8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

All seating is unreserved.

General Admission – $5
Students with a valid ID – $3
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

An Evening with Blake Edwards  

Thursday, September 30, 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater

An onstage conversation with the director of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “The Pink Panther,” “The Great Race,” “10” and “Victor/Victoria,” followed by a screening of Edwards’s 1981 Hollywood satire “S.O.B.” 

8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

All seating is unreserved.

General Admission – $5
Students with a valid ID – $3
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

Exhibitions:

Up From the Vault: 85 Years of Treasures from the Warner Bros. Photo Lab

September 16 – December 12 in the Academy’s Grand Lobby Gallery

A free exhibition of photography from the Warner Bros. Photo Lab featuring more than 150 images of iconic stars from the last nine decades, including glamour portraits, ad art, publicity photos, behind-the-scenes shots and scene stills.

8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Tuesday – Friday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday: Noon to 6 p.m.
Closed Mondays. Admission is free.
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

Ingmar Bergman: Truth and Lies

September 16 – December 12 in the Academy’s Fourth Floor Gallery

The world premiere of a free exhibition delving into the central themes and motifs of nine-time Oscar nominee Ingmar Bergman’s body of work, organized in cooperation with the Deutsche Kinemathek in Berlin.

8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Tuesday – Friday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday: Noon to 6 p.m.
Closed Mondays.  Admission is free.
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

A Thief Catcher (Keystone, 1914), featuring a previously unknown performance by silent comedy star Charlie Chaplin, will have its west coast re-premiere during the 46th annual Cinecon Classic Film Festival at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood California over Labor Day Weekend, September 2-6, 2010

Chaplin is officially credited with appearing in thirty-five films during his year at Keystone in 1914, but he claimed in various interviews that he had also played bit roles as a cop and a barber while at the studio--but he did not name the films, and although there has been some speculation about the possibility of additional Chaplin-Keystone appearances, none has turned up until now. Film collector Paul Gierucki found a 16mm film print in a trunk at a Taylor, Michigan, antique store last year. "I could tell it was a Keystone comedy, so I haggled and got it for $100," says Gierucki, but he didn't get around to looking at the print for several months. When he did put it on a projector this past March, he was astonished when Chaplin appeared as a cop about six minutes into the film for an extended two-minute cameo. "My heart stopped," Gierucki recalls. "I recognized him immediately."

Starring Keystone's famed comic villains Ford Sterling and Mack Swain, with support from Edgar Kennedy, A Thief Catcher was in production between January 5-26, 1914, soon after Chaplin arrived at the Keystone studio, and it represents the second or third screen role for the soon-to-be world famous comedy star.

A Thief Catcher is one of nearly forty rare and unusual films to be screened during the five-day Cinecon film festival, and will be shown on Saturday afternoon during a themed film preservation segment of the program. Other titles scheduled include Harold Lloyd's campus comedy The Freshman (1925); The King of Burlesque (1936) starring Alice Faye and Warner Baxter; The Sea Wolf (1930) the last film of screen star Milton Sills before his untimely death at age 48; Tennessee's Pardner (1916) with "eternal flapper" Fannie Ward; and Cadet Girl (1941) a pre WW II romp starring tragic pinup girl Carole Landis.

In addition to the film screenings, Cinecon offers a movie memorabilia and collectibles show during the festival at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, 1755 North Highland Avenue in Hollywood.

Oscar-nominated actor Don Murray will receive the Cinecon Career Achievement Award at a celebrity-studded banquet on Sunday evening, September 5th. Murray is well-known to moviegoers for his leading roles in such big screen classics as Bus Stop, Advise and Consent, Baby The Rain Must Fall, Shake Hands With the Devil, From Hell to Texas, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and Peggy Sue Got Married; and has also won fans with numerous TV characterizations in series like Knott's Landing, The Outcasts and How The West Was Won, as well as numerous made-for-TV features. He has also worked behind the scenes as a screenwriter, producer (The Hoodlum Priest) and director (The Cross and the Switchblade).

Michele Lee, star of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, The Comic, and numerous other movies, TV programs and Broadway shows will present Don Murray's Career Achievement Award. Michele played Murray's husband through the first seasons of the long-running CBS series Knots Landing.

Previous Cinecon Career Achievement Award honorees include Celeste Holm, Luise Rainer, Roger Corman, Jackie Cooper, Rose Marie, Mickey Rooney, Diane Baker, Rhonda Fleming, Ray Harryhausen and Jane Russell. Through its 45 year history other Cinecon honorees include such Hollywood legends as Colleen Moore, Myrna Loy, Hal Roach, Burgess Meredith, Alice Faye, Jean Simmons, Fayard Nicholas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Eleanor Powell, Ruby Keeler and directors Robert Wise, Delbert Mann, and Vincent Sherman and Budd Boetticher.

For more details and registration information visit the Cinecon Classic Film Festival web site at http://www.cinecon.org

 

The Film Forum in New York City has launched a major 3-D film festival, showcasing popular vintage movies shot in the process, as well as some long-unseen gems and cult movies. The festival runs through August 26. Click here to read New York Times report about the festival.

 

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

Wuthering Heights,  performed by the Minnesota Opera Company.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Wuthering Heights was considered by Bernard Herrmann himself as the masterwork of his life. He was intensely protective of the piece, which took him several years to complete. Hermann did not allow any cuts or revisions, which kept the opera from being performed until after his death. Herrmann's music, in whatever form, is distinct and memorable and his opera is no exception. Noted film expert Bruce Crawford will discuss Bernard Herrmann's life and career, from CBS Radio to Carnegie Hall to Hollywood, and his lasting impact on our culture. Click here to purchase tickets 

 

Park Circus, the British film distributor, has sent Cinema Retro the following press release:

In celebration of its 40th Anniversary, Bob Rafelson's seminal portrait of a disaffected America -Five Easy Pieces - has been extensively restored by Sony Pictures. The film will open from 13 August at BFI Southbank, Filmhouse Edinburgh, Irish Film Institute, Ritzy Brixton, Tyneside Cinema Newcastle and key cities on brand new 35mm prints and in Digital Cinema format.

 

Last month, film historian Bruce Crawford held a special 35th anniversary screening of Jaws in Omaha, Nebraska. Among those attending were screenwriter Carl Gottlieb and Clarence Hupka, a survivor of the U.S.S. Indianapolis, the legendary and tragic ship that was sunk in the final days of WWII- only to have many of its crew killed by sharks. The incident was memorably woven into the film as the inspiration for Quint's obsession with shark hunting. Click here for photos of the event

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from the British Film Institute. Continue to second page for full schedule of films to be shown.

Nino Rota is considered one of the greatest composers of all time. From composing the music for The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974) to the scores for The Taming of the Shrew (1967) and La Dolce Vita (1960), BFI Southbank presents a selection of his films throughout the month of September as well as a Nationwide Release of the newly restored film The Leopard Il Gattopardo (1963). Nino Rota was one of the most successful of all film composers: prolific, esteemed and honoured. Best known internationally for his work with Federico Fellini, Francis Ford Coppola, Luchino Visconti and Franco Zeffirelli, he scored around 160 films, in France, Britain, the USA and USSR, as well as melodramas, comedies and genre films at the heart of popular Italian cinema. Steeped in classical music (he was Director of the Bari Conservatory of Music for most of his life), he drew also on a vast range of popular, traditional, jazz and folk styles for his scores. Producers sought him because he was quick and reliable. Directors wanted him because he had an ability to adapt himself to their sensibilities: brilliant and elusive for Fellini in films such as 8½  Otto e mezzo (1963), serious and intellectual for films like Visconti’s White Nights Le notti bianche (1957), witty and sentimental/nostalgic for Renato Castellani in È primavera Spring Is Here (1949) and so on.His music is touching, catchy and affecting, and yet it is also restrained, uncommitted, every emotion always tinged with another. He is able – and supremely with Fellini and Coppola – to convey a dizzying complexity of feeling and point-of-view with nonchalance, charm and no fuss. His music is full of affection and tenderness towards the world of the film, bringing us close, very close; and yet it remains ironic, rueful, creating a very particular place from which to watch and listen.

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from A.M.P.A.S. regarding events taking place in their L.A. locations:

Oscar Noir: 1940s Writing Nominees from Hollywood’s Dark Side

Mondays at 7 p.m., through August 30, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater

A screening series of film noir classics from the 1940s that were nominated for Academy Awards in the writing categories, with a contemporary screenwriter on hand to introduce each screening. In August: “Body and Soul,” “Crossfire,” “A Double Life,” “Kiss of Death” and “White Heat.”  Individual tickets are $5 for general admission and $3 for students with a valid ID.
Samuel Goldwyn Theater
8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
All seating is unreserved.

(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

Out of This World: The Science of Space Movies

Thursday, August 5, 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater

A fun and educational night using physics concepts to analyze famous scenes from such films as “Apollo 13,” “Contact” and “Star Trek,” with some of the films’ creative teams on hand to explain how scenes were actually created.

Samuel Goldwyn Theater
8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

All seating is unreserved.

General Admission – $5
Students with a valid ID – $3
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

“Woman in the Moon” (1929)

Friday, August 6, 7 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater

A special screening of Fritz Lang’s silent epic “Woman in the Moon,” which has been cited as one of the most influential science fiction films of its time. Presented as part of the Academy’s three-night program “Out of This World: The Science of Space Movies.”

Linwood Dunn Theater
1313 Vine Street
Hollywood, CA 90028
Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
All seating is unreserved.

General Admission – $5
Students with a valid ID – $3
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

The Marc Davis Celebration of Animation: Voices of Character

Thursday, August 19, 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater

Voice artists, animators and casting executives discuss the unique talents of artists who perform the voices of animated characters.

Samuel Goldwyn Theater
8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

All seating is unreserved.

General Admission – $5
Students with a valid ID – $3
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

Short Films Directed by Chuck Jones

Friday, August 20, 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater

A special screening of all nine animated Oscar-nominated and winning shorts directed by Chuck Jones: “For Scent-Imental Reasons,” “The Dot and the Line,” “Mouse Wreckers,” “Beep Prepared,” the documentary short “So Much for So Little” and four more classics.

Samuel Goldwyn Theater
8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

All seating is unreserved.

General Admission – $5
Students with a valid ID – $3
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

Chuck Jones: An Animator’s Life From A to Z-Z-Z-Z
Open through August 22 in the Academy’s Grand Lobby Gallery

Final weeks! An exhibition of the work of Oscar winner and master humorist Chuck Jones, representing his short animated films, features and TV specials, including “What’s Opera, Doc?,” “Elmer’s Candid Camera,” “Beep Prepared,” “Duck Amuck” and many others. Free admission.

The Academy’s Grand Lobby Gallery
8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Tuesday – Friday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday: Noon to 6 p.m.
Closed Mondays.
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

The Fantastical Worlds of Ray Harryhausen

Open through August 22 in the Academy’s Fourth Floor Gallery

Final weeks! An exhibition showcasing the work of stop-motion animation and visual effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen (“It Came from beneath the Sea,” “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad,” “Jason and the Argonauts,” “One Million Years B.C.,” “Clash of the Titans”). Free admission.

The Academy’s Fourth Floor Gallery
8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Tuesday – Friday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday: Noon to 6 p.m.
Closed Mondays.
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

Lost and Found: “Upstream”

Wednesday, September 1, 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater

The U.S. re-premiere of “Upstream,” a long-lost 1927 John Ford silent film that was recently discovered in the New Zealand Film Archive. Presented with live musical accompaniment by Michael Mortilla.

Samuel Goldwyn Theater
8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

All seating is unreserved.

General Admission – $5
Students with a valid ID – $3
(310) 247-3600
www.oscars.org

 

The annual Comic-Con in San Diego has become a "must" for movie studios looking to promote their forthcoming action movies. The event draws many thousands of comic and film enthusiasts including those lovable eccentrics who love to mug for the cameras. Click here for the Huffington Post's slide show from the event.

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

Pop Culture thrives for three days in Hunt Valley, Maryland. Van Williams, television's Green Hornet and Roy Thinnes, star of The Invaders, will be making appearances at the fifth annual Mid Atlantic Nostalgia Convention on September 23-25. This will be Thinnes' first public autographing for fans of X-Files, Dark Shadows and The Invaders. In an obvious promotional tie-in with the up-coming Green Hornet motion picture, Van Williams will be making his first appearance in 15 years. Others attending: Mark Goddard of Lost in Space, Dawn Wells from Gilligan's Island, Ed Nelson of Peyton Place, and Hollywood screen legend Marsha Hunt. There will be seminars, presentations, vendors, museum displays, the original Black Beauty from the 1966 television series (not a reproduction) will be on display, and a drive-in theater outside the hotel on Friday night. For details, click here

Sir Sean Connery was in an unusually sentimental and jovial mood when he introduced a screening of John Huston's 1975 classic The Man Who Would Be King at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Adding to the delight was his reunion with actor Saeed Jaffrey, who gave such a wonderful portrayal of Billy Fish in the film. Click here to watch

Cinema Retro's Matthew Field is covering the action at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Here is his first report:

The 64^th Edinburgh International Film Festival kicked off Wednesday night and CINEMA RETRO were there on the red carpet. The film chosen for the opening gala was Sylvain Chomet’s The Illusionist - an animated feature by Academy Award® nominated filmmaker Sylvain Chomet - which was made and set predominantly in the Scottish capital.

Arrivals at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre, a venue used for the first time by EIFF, were greeted by the eight-piece Horndog Brass Band which entertained the huge crowds that lined Nicolson Street. The biggest star of the night was none other than Sir Sean Connery  - one of the festival’s patrons. He entertained the crowds and happily signed autographs for fans. He later entertained the paps with a dance outside the after party in Bristo Square!

Click here for video of Connery dancing with the band.

 

By Lee Pfeiffer

Legendary entertainer Bob Hope left his papers to the Library of Congress and his heirs have participated in a major new exhibition there that will run for ten years. The exhibit centers on the influence of pop culture on American politics, but Hope's papers will be the major focal point. Hope began needling U.S. presidents beginning with FDR and extended through George W. Bush. Although a conservative, Hope took pains to never isolate any part of his audience. He good-naturedly bashed presidents of both parties, earning his place as America's most centrist comedian. During the height of the Vietnam War, it appeared that Hope's gentle style would become obsolete, but he survived the era of hippies and continued to thrive in the era of yuppies. His middle-of-the-road stance on politics earned him the respect of liberals and conservatives alike, an achievement that seems all the more amazing during today's era of hate-filled, divisive political debate. For more on the exhibit click here

 

Director Mike Nichols was the honoree at a star-packed tribute held by the American Film Institute on Thursday. As was the custom, the program appeared to be more a Friar's Club roast than a staid tribute to the acclaimed director. Robin Williams chided Nichols about his penchant for having total control over his projects by saying, " "it's rumored that you even had final cut at your own circumcision." For more click here

 

Cinema Retro and T.W.I.N.E. Tours recently conducted the Movie Magic Tour of British film locations. Thanks to all who joined us on an unforgettable journey through film history. Participants from the United States, UK, Canada and Australia got to experience a once-in-a-lifetime tour that included a Q&A with Sir Roger Moore; attending Fanfest, the largest gathering of James Bond actors ever staged; an exclusive tour of Portmeirion, the fabled Wales location of The Village from the classic TV series The Prisoner, a screening of MGM's How the West Was Won in original Cinerama format and a very special event relating to the classic 1963 horror film The Haunting. Not only did the group get to stay at the luxurious Ettington Park manor house where exteriors for the movie were shot, but we also invited the film's star Richard Johnson to join us as a surprise guest. Richard delighted attendees by helping to host a candlelight screening of the film and managed to summon the courage to spend the night in what is reputed to be England's most legendary haunted house! A full report will be posted as soon as the jet lag from our whirlwind adventure fades and there will be coverage in issue #18 of Cinema Retro. 

On April 1, Cinema Retro held a screening of Sidney Lumet's 1964 Cold War classic Fail Safe at the legendary Players club in New York City. Editor-in-chief Lee Pfeiffer interviewed actor Fritz Weaver, who made his feature film debut in the movie. Weaver recalled that Lumet gave his leading actors the choice of what role they wanted to play. He chose the cold, calculating political scientist, but Walter Matthau had already taken that role. Weaver then chose to play the tightly-wound colonel who cracks under the pressure of trying to prevent a nuclear holocaust. He later learned that Matthau had wished he had played that role, so both men ended up playing the part the other actor actually would have preferred.

The Newseum, the museum dedicated to the history of American journalism,has opened a major Elvis Presley exhibition that will run through February 2011. Follows the King through his controversial early days when his sexually suggestive moves outraged parents and delighted teens, through the 1970s including his legendary meeting with President Richard M. Nixon at the White House. Many personal mementos of Elvis will be displayed, including some never before seen by the public. The tribute to Elvis includes a film produced by the Newseum that is projected on a 90 foot wall. For more info click here

The Lost Dominion Film Collective will be hosting a 70mm film festival in Canada on September 24-26, 2010. Films to be screened include Lawrence of Arabia, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The screenings will take place at the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec. For details click here

Joyce Randolph is interviewed by ABC Radio film critic Bill Diehl at the Players club.

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On Thursday March 4, Cinema Retro hosted a tribute to actress Joyce Randolph at the legendary Players club in New York City. Joyce is the last living cast members of the classic 1950s sitcom The Honeymooners, in which she starred with Jackie Gleason, Art Carney and Audrey Meadows. The show began as a sketch on Gleason's variety program in the early 1950s before expanding to a half hour sitcom.The series centered on the trials and tribulations of Brooklyn bus driver Ralph Kramden (Gleason) and his long-suffering wife Alice (Meadows), who must patiently endure his crackpot get-rich-quick schemes as well as his tendency to engage in temperamental outbursts. Art Carney played Ralph's best friend and upstairs neighbor, a dim-witted by lovable sewer worker named Ed Norton. Joyce Randolph was Norton's wife Trixie.Gleason resisted the cliche of giving the Kramden's children, the absence of which allowed the scripts to center on the comedic talents of the four principals.

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Despite being a major success, Gleason- who exercised dictatorial control over his TV shows - decided to end the series after just one season because he was concerned he couldn't maintain the high quality of the scripts. Although only 39 episodes of the weekly series were ever produced, you'd be hard-pressed to find an American of any background who hasn't grown up quoting dialogue from these classic shows. Joyce attended the club's monthly cocktail party and posed for countless photos. Although world-famous celebrities are regulars at the club, Joyce seems to have brought out the rare fan instinct in members. Following dinner, Cinema Retro Editor-in-Chief got plenty of laughs when he donned the traditional uniform of Ralph Kramden's lodge, The Raccoons (complete with coonskin Davy Crockett hat) and introduced Joyce to the stage, where she kept the audience laughing consistently with her anecdotes. Following this, two episodes of the series were shown on the big screen and most people were astonished at how little Joyce has changed over the ensuing years. At the end of this very special evening, Pfeiffer embraced Joyce and belted out Gleason's signature line that closed many episodes of The Honeymooners: "Baby, you're the greatest!"

Continue reading for ABC Radio's film critic Bill Diehl's take on the evening.

Whatever you thought about the Oscar ceremonies, here's an angle that is sure to unite all movie fans: the Huffington Post's photo essay on which actresses displayed their cleavage best. Check here to see the contenders.

By Todd Garbarini

The French Connection  was screened Friday evening at the Walter Reade Theater in New York in a beautiful 35mm print.  Part of a series of films that won Oscars and were filmed in the Big Apple, the series continues on Saturday with screenings of Klute, The Subject Was Roses (Ulu Grosbard in person), Kramer Vs. Kramer (Stanley Jaffe in person), and Raging Bull.  Sunday will see screenings of The Godfather and Annie Hall.   

Film director William Friedkin was on hand following the screening of his 1971 film to entertain the audience with anecdotes and answer questions about what went on behind the scenes.  Joining the Oscar-winning director onstage was former New York City Police Detective Salvatore “Sonny” Grosso who, with his former partner Eddie Egan, helped break the actual 1961 French Connection case upon which the film is based, and who played the role of Klein in the film.  Film director Stanley Donen was also there to see the film, and made some eloquent comments about how much he loved it. 

Mr. Friedkin discussed how he met the film’s producer, Philip D’Antoni, in a steam room on the Paramount lot and, encouraged to read the Robin Moore book that became the basis for the film, remarked how he did not like how the book read.  However, when he met Egan and Grosso in real life, he decided to base the film around them, their partnership, and their police work which managed to break what was the largest heroin smuggling operation up to that point.  He also went on to say that the film was made for $1.8M, and laughed about how he tried to get Jimmy Breslin and Peter Boyle to play the character forever immortalized by Gene Hackman.  When asked about the film’s signature car chase, Mr. Friedkin wowed the audience by revealing that none of it was storyboarded. 

The French Connection is now available on Blu-ray.  When I asked Mr. Friedkin about the Blu-ray releases of The Exorcist and Sorcerer, he replied that the former is due in October, and the latter is currently in the works. 

(Photos: Cinema Retro's Todd Garbarini with William Friedkin and Sonny Grosso) 

A major new exhibition that showcases Elvis Presley's influence on fashion has opened at Graceland. Many of the King's personal costumes are on display.  Click here for more info

As we informed you previously, Cinerama expert Dave Strohmaier will be unveiling a digital restoration of the long-unseen 1958 travel documentary Windjammer at this years Widescreen Weekend at the Bradford Film Festival in England. The screening will take place on Saturday, March 27. Now Dave is giving us a sneak preview of the original trailer, which segues from flat format to 3-panel Cinerama. It only whets our appetite to see the entire film. If you haven't been to the Widescreen Weekend festival, you don't know what you're missing! To view the trailer click here. For more on the screening at Bradford click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

Just because the BAFTA awards was the social event of the season in London doesn't mean British ex-pats were willing to let their countrymen have a monopoly on partying. On Sunday night, members of BAFTA's American east coast contingency gathered to watch a simulcast of the awards show. The venue was a strange one for people from a nation that is generally immune to the joys of baseball: Mickey Mantle's restaurant on Central Park South, founded by the late New York Yankees legend. Indeed, it was not a love of baseball that led BAFTA officials to rent the venue for the second year in a row. Rather, it was the abundance of TV screens strategically placed around the restaurant that affords virtually every diner a prime viewing spot. I was the guest of Lisa Harrison of BBC America, and a member of BAFTA's east coast office. Thus, I had to 'suffer' being the only male at a table of charming British ladies, each of whom had some very interesting takes on how they wanted the awards to turn out. Understandably, they were rooting for the home team and were pleased when a British film won a significant award.

Although the show's host Jonathan Ross is largely unknown to Americans, he's an iconic figure on British TV (imagine someone with the clout of Jay Leno and David Letterman). Ross's monologue was not as razor-sharp as we might have expected, but the refreshing thing about the BAFTA telecast is that it is actually about the films and filmmakers, not the comedic timing of the host. I also like the fact that there is virtually no padding to the ceremonies. Ross did a good job of moving the show forward at a rapid pace, with nary a second wasted. The acceptance speeches were all dignified and classy and the awards themselves were generally regarded by the New York contingent as well-deserved. (Interestingly, it seemed virtually no one was cheering for Avatar to win any major award except for the category of special effects. This led me to believe I am not alone in my view that the film is supremely over-rated.) The choices of director Kathryn Bigelow and The Hurt Locker as the top winners gained cheers from the crowd.

It was an historic occasion when the stars of West Side Story were reunited at the Hollywood Show, L.A's premiere event for autograph seekers and movie memorabilia collectors. Among those attending were three stars of the Oscar-winning musical: Russ Tamblyn and Supporting Actor/Actress winners George Chakiris and Rita Moreno. Click here for the official web site and sign up for announcements about future shows.(Photos all copyright Graham Hill/Cinema Retro)

UPDATED: We have been advised that guests previously announced came from a page relating to last year's show that was still appearing on the event web site. The following information relates to the 2010 show. 

This year's Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention will take place in Hunt Valley, Maryland on September 23-25. Guests include Dawn Wells, Mark Goddard, Will Hutchins and Ed Nelson. There will be seminars on The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (hosted by Cinema Retro reader Bill Parisho), The Green Hornet, Nancy Drew and the restoration of classic movies. For info click here

The age of the glamorous movie premiere may be dead in Hollywood, but it lives on in England. In fact, nobody does premieres better than the Brits, as anyone who has attended a 007 grand opening can attest. Leicester Square becomes a magical place, with thousands of enthused, but well-behaved fans gathered to cheer the stars and filmmakers as they walk down the red carpet - and the after-parties are even better! The new Sherlock Holmes film just premiered at the Empire Theatre in the Square. Click here for photo coverage.

By Lee Pfeiffer

On December 10, Food for Thought Productions staged another of their memorable events at The Players, the legendary arts club at Gramercy Park in New York City. A talented group of actors gathered to pay tribute to the late, great Rod Serling. The event offered a reading by Serling's daughter Anne in which she poignantly and touchingly recalls what life was like growing up with a father who was regarded as one of the entertainment industry's great talents. Anne Serling told a story similar to that of other children of celebrities: to her, he was just "dad" - a funny, gentle man who would amuse his family with humorous antics - and who had such sentiment for his roots that he made an annual pilgrimage to visit the modest home he grew up in at Binghamton, New York.  During a Q&A with the audience, Anne shed some light on Serling's work and personality. In response to my question about how he felt about Night Gallery, his 1970s horror anthology series, Anne indicated that her father quickly became disgruntled with the series because NBC offered him only limited influence over the stories and productions. She said that, with the exception of a few episodes, the experience left him frustrated. 

Cirque du Soleil has announced that it will stage an official celebration of Elvis Presley's life and career. For details about Viva Elvis,click here

In 2007, Cinema Retro contributing writer Raymond Benson (and author of twenty-one published books, including James Bond continuation novels) teamed up with Chicago’s Daily Herald film critic Dann Gire to create “Dann and Raymond’s Movie Club,” a live cinema history program that has become a big draw at Chicagoland suburban libraries.  

Benson met Gire, who is also founder and president of the Chicago Film Critics Association, around fifteen years ago at the home of mutual James Bond fan Doug Redenius and have been friends ever since.  One day they happened to note how they each had similar interests—especially in film—and decided to try and “do something together.”  After talking with Susan Gibberman, Head of Reader Services at the Schaumburg Township District Library in Schaumburg, Illinois, they struck a deal to present the Movie Club on the first Thursday of every month (excluding the summer).  Using a Siskel and Ebert format, the pair cover a topic with history, anecdotes, jokes, and clips from their representative favorites.  For example, one night they might talk about political films such as The Birth of a Nation, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Dr. Strangelove, and JFK.  Audience participation is encouraged, and the two hour program proved to be immensely entertaining.  Dann and Raymond’s Movie Club quickly became the most popular adult program at the Schaumburg library (the largest suburban library in Illinois).  They are now in their third season in Schaumburg.  The Arlington Heights Memorial Library hired the duo in 2008, so they now present their show there on the second Thursday of every month.  

For anyone in the Chicagoland area who is interested in attending Dann and Raymond’s Movie Club (admission is free), the schedule is always posted on the Appearances page of Benson’s website, www.raymondbenson.com, and on the Dann and Raymond’s Movie Club page on Facebook.

Cinema Retro contributor Graham Hill recently snapped some stars from our favorite films and TV series at the Hollywood Collector's Show. Click here for information on the next star-packed event in February 2010.

By Hank Reineke

In similar fashion to the spectral forces that compelled Richard Dreyfuss to the base of Devil’s Tower in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, each July I’m similarly drawn to Phoenixville, Pennsylvania to celebrate the Colonial Theatre’s annual Blobfest.  As some of you may remember, the Colonial found itself under attack in the closing reel of the classic sci-fi film The Blob (Paramount, 1958) and today, more than fifty years on, the theater remains under siege.  With roots in the local community (the film was shot in and around Phoenixville, Downington, and Chester Springs, PA), The Blob remains, without doubt, the uncontested star of the weekend’s ghoulish activities.  But the gelatinous creature generously shares his annual turn in the spotlight with fellow ne’er-do-well monsters of galactic and science-gone-awry origin.  Though I enjoy Citizen Kane as much as the next guy, Blobfest is more my kind of cinematic event and I’m grateful that there are still movie-houses that offer repertory programming beyond the usual mélange of classics sanctioned by the American Film Institute.  Though born in the shadow of the Empire State Building, my yearly return to comparatively rural Phoenixville feels something of a homecoming.  Coming of age in the 1960s and early 1970s, a too great percentage of my Saturday nights were misspent in front of the family television watching ghoulish broadcasts of Chiller Theatre on WPIX and Creature Features on WNEW out of New York City.  Similarly, weeknights, weekends, and recesses were reserved for study of the gloomy stills featured in the pages of Famous Monsters of Filmland - and, when you could find it on the newsstand, the far less celebrated Monster Times. 

By Mike Thomas

The recent A.M.P.A.S. screening of Harold and Maude in Los Angeles proved to be one of those completely unforgettable evenings for anyone fortunate enough to be in attendance. It was a night of intense drama as we entered, for it was taking place just hours after the announcement of the death of Michael Jackson, and a day after the thunderbolt announcement of the Academy’s decision to expand the Best Picture nominations to ten, a practice that had been abandoned in 1943. But most of all it was the beginning of a tribute to the late, great Hal Ashby, a director who, along with Robert Altman, typified the the best of American cinema in the 1970s and “Harold and Maude” may well be the best-loved film of his remarkable, but too brief career. But let us start at the beginning.

Like many, I got into “Harold & Maude” through its music. While listening to Radio Station KGB in San Diego, the announcer played a great Cat Stevens song called, “Maybe You’re Right“ and announced that the song, along with several other Cat Stevens songs were among the many joys to be sampled in a wonderfully eccentric film of forbidden love called “Harold & Maude,” playing at the leading revival house in town, the Ken Theatre. Any movie with a Cat Stevens score sounded pretty good to me and the DJs gushing endorsement clinched the deal, I caught it the very next night. As it turned out, “Maybe You’re Right” wasn’t in the film but there were a host of other the Catman’s tunes running through the it, and unlike the cynically placed pop songs injected in a film today for marketing purposes, these songs were woven into its fabric— it was impossible to imagine "Harold & Maude" without “Trouble,” or “Don’t be Shy,” or “If You Want to SIng Out, Sing Out.” The movie  had come and gone like a shooting star a few months earlier but had left a trail of goodwill in its wake, and as I watched it that night in the ratty, torn seats of the Ken, it was one of those epoch-defining films that summarized the best of that era - a zest for life over death, a celebration of one person’s individuality over mob conformity, an anti-war sentiment that virtually every film at the time embraced, and a rejection of the mindless consumerism that would soon be the legacy of the Me Generation 1980s, just a few years away. But most of all, “Harold and Maude,” was a celebration of love, in all its pain and glorious redemption, and it remains one of the grandest expressions of the healing power of that scary emotion ever put on celluloid.

The film had made an immediate impact on me, and a year later when the occasion arose for me to make my first student film, I wrote a script that was a tip of the hat to “H&M” wherein an alienated philosophy student  who reads Camus’ famous dictum in “The Myth of Sisyphus” that the only philosophical question is whether or not kill oneself decides to end it by jumping off the nearby cliffs overlooking the Pacific. Just as he is about to hurl himself off the precipice a beautiful woman calls to him to help her photograph the sunset. He looks down at the water and then at the girl and figures he can jump later. He snaps the picture of the young maiden, and she invites him back to her apartment. After leaving the next morning, full of love for life, he realizes as he approaches his car that he has left his glasses at her apartment. He turns to go back and get them and gets run over by a truck. OK, so “Harold and Maude” it wasn’t, but it does provide a clue to the film’s huge impact upon my delicate sensibilities. But as the counterculture faded and disco gave way to big-haired British synth bands and angry hip-hop gangsta acts, I relegated “Harold and Maude” to those quaint 70s relics that were best left back with tie-dyed T-shirts and patched Levis and the oeuvre of Seals & Crofts or the Captain and Tennille. I hadn’t seen the film since that night in 1972, and because it was such a perfect film-going experience, so tied to the time, I was afraid that maybe it wouldn’t hold up after those cold intervening years, or maybe I was afraid that I had been so changed by time that I would no longer be open  to the film’s magic. There was certainly an electricity in the air as I walked into the Academy foyer.

The first person I saw was Haskell Wexler, a friend since 1982 when he was a guest in a film series I was running at the San Diego Museum of Art. Then I chanced upon   fellow San Diego expatriate Cameron Crowe,  Curtis Hanson, Variety critic Todd McCarthy, Academy director Bruce Davis and the lovely Diablo Cody who chatted about her upcoming film, “Jennifer’s Body,” a horror film, a genre that she confessed no longer held the same attraction for her it  once did: “I think I’ve got that out of my system.” Jon Voight said he was looking  forward to discussing working with Ashby on the panel.

As the lights dimmed, Academy president Sid Ganis took the occasion to note the passing of the King of Pop, Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon (it is amazing, how the old “it always comes in 3s” folklore does seem to come true), and then the lights went down and out stepped Cat Stevens, now known as Yusuf, to perform the two original songs, “Don’t be Shy” and “If You Want to Sing Out,” from the movie. It was one of the most remarkable performances I’ve ever witnessed, so simple and unadorned, yet riveting in its power and intensity and as dramatic an opening to the evening as one who hope for.

Following that was a panel discussion moderated by Cameron Crowe that was comprised of Judd Apatow, Diablo Cody, Peter Bart, Seth Rogen, Peter Bart, Haskell Wexler and Jon Voight. It was enjoyable, but the problem was that when there are so many people on a panel, time only permitted the briefest of answers and only Bart, Wexler and Voight actually worked with Ashby, so there wasn’t the opportunity to really delve into the man at length. But the unspoken question that hung in the air was - how would the film hold up? The answer - it played like gangbusters.

Instead of being some precious hippie relic from a distant, tie-dyed past, “Harold and Maude” seems even more astonishing now than it did then. In an age of “Transformers,” to see a studio film like this seems like a miracle. And one of my favorite moments - there are so many - was the brief shot of the concentration camp tatoo on Maude’s arm. Blink and you miss it, Ashby practically throws it away, but  by making the audience work and pay attention, when you catch it, it adds such a tremendous emotional subtext to film, a layer revealed only to fellow initiates. It is a kind of cinematic subtlety that has vanished along with bell bottoms and floral ties. 

By Mike Thomas

By Todd Garbarini

A studio error turned out to be a blessing in disguise in March when the Loews Theatre in Jersey City, NJ requested a 35mm print of Lewis Allen’s The Uninvited (1944) and instead was erroneously shipped a print of Charles Guard’s 2009 film of the same name (the film bears no relation other than titular to it’s 65 year-old predecessor, but it is rather a remake of the 2003 Asian film A Tale of Two Sisters).  It turned out that there were no known 35mm prints of the film, though this scribe swears that the Film Forum in New York City showed it years ago.  The mix-up turned out to be fortuitous as Universal created a new print of the film and it was screened Saturday night. Credit must be given to Paul Ginsburg, Vice President of NBC Universal Distribution, for ordering the new print struck (interestingly, the film is a Paramount Picture). The film was due to begin at 6:00 pm but was delayed for 25 minutes due to the unanticipated and overwhelming number of people in attendance, the main floor filled almost to 70% capacity.  This was a revelation to behold, and I overheard more than a few whispered comments on the ticket line remarking how nice it was to see the large turnout of people for this film which was on a double bill with Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940).  The lobby sported a table with rare promotional items, such a magazines and lobby cards, used in the original exhibitions of these films.  Once The Uninvited began, the audience applauded at the quality of the new print which was virtually flawless.  Having seen films like this on old 16mm reruns on television over 25 years ago, it is a reminder that films even of this age can look as though they were just made. The Uninvited stars a debonair Reginald Alfred Truscott-Jones, better known to audiences as the less tongue-tie-inducing Ray Milland, in a ghost story about a young woman who is drawn to her deceased mother’s Winward mansion estate. Though it cannot hold a candle (sorry, couldn’t resist!) to Jack Clayton’s The Innocents (1961) or Robert Wise’s The Haunting (1963) for psychological thrills, The Uninvited, while a bit too talky and a lot less cinematic than one would have hoped, still holds up as a nice little ghost story that isn’t afraid to play it straight.  At a time when summer box office now means over-the-top, special-effects laden adventures, it’s a relief to see that movie-goers of all ages are willing to come see films like this on the big screen.

By Lee Pfeiffer

The Film Society of Lincoln Center's week long tribute to Steve McQueen concluded last night with a big screen showing of Bullitt. Sadly, director Peter Yates, who was scheduled to introduce the film, was sidelined by an illness. However, party-hearty New Yorkers didn't let that interfere with enjoying the cocktail party held in his honor prior to the screening. The print provided was in very good condition and the audience responded with the enthusiasm of seeing the movie for the first time. It did occur to me, however, that given what a cash cow Bullitt has been for Warner Brothers since 1968, that it hasn't merited a full restoration. Let's hope the studio does justice to this film by making this a priority. Kudos to the Film Society for a job well done and an exciting week of superb entertainment. 

By Lee Pfeiffer

On Saturday May 23, actor Robert Vaughn appeared at The Film Society of Lincoln Center's tribute to Steve McQueen, introducing a screening of John Sturges' 1960 classic The Magnificent Seven. Hundreds of classic movie lovers gave Vaughn an enthusiastic greeting, as he reflected on the making of the film in his introduction. He quipped that he got the gig by default because he's the last remaining member of the legendary "Seven". Vaughn recalled how Sturges cast him after seeing the 27 year-old actor's Oscar-nominated performance in The Young Philadelphians.Sturges then asked him if he knew a "Gary Cooper-type" to play the part of Britt, the knife-thrower. Vaughn instantly recommended his college buddy James Coburn, who was then destitute and living in New York. Coburn had to borrow the plane fare from his parents to meet with Sturges, but he and Vaughn  remained lifelong friends - and Coburn was always grateful that Vaughn jump-started his big screen career. Vaughn said he recently ran into the other major surviving cast member, Eli Wallach, who played the bandit leader Calvera. The two remembered an amusing aspect of the filming: the presence on the set of a well-known Mexican film director who was employed to do translating to the crew and supporting actors. He said the man's career had only been marginally impacted by the fact that, after a Mexican film critic gave a pan review to one of his films, he killed the critic! Vaughn said that, even from an actor's standpoint, that reaction was a bit extreme for a critic. Following the introduction, Vaughn sat next to Neile McQueen, Steve's first wife, to view the movie on the big screen for the first time since 1960. The print was the best I have seen on a theater screen and the appreciative audience applauded at virtually every name on the opening credits. (You know you are in a sophisticated crowd when composer Elmer Bernstein's name gets as much applause as the stars!).

By Lee Pfeiffer

It was a very special opening night of The Film Society of Lincoln Center's week-long tribute to the films and career of Steve McQueen. Fox provided a stunning, newly restored 35mm print of director Robert Wise's 1966 epic The Sand Pebbles, which garnered McQueen his only Oscar nomination. Experiencing the film on the big screen with a superb sound system proved to be a wonderful experience - because if you haven't seen The Sand Pebbles in a theater, you haven't seen it at all. The evening kicked off with an introduction by Candice Bergen, who related that she was a rather nervous 19 year-old in the largely all-male company of heavyweights. She recalled how filming on Taiwan for many months was an arduous - and simultaneously boring - experience. In 1965, the island was largely devoid of any modern conveniences and newspapers and telephones were almost impossible to find. While the men had each other to pal around with, Bergen was largely left on her own - except for times when McQueen would take her on impromptu, wild motorcycle rides. She said the iconic star would often zip off on his cycle, causing director Wise to worry whether he would ever see him again. She said that it was more pleasurable filming back at the Fox Ranch in California, where the massive set for the China Light mission was constructed for the climactic sequence. She said she still remains impressed by the work of the production design team. Ms. Bergen also said that director Wise was very politically-oriented and that the film was an intentional metaphor for the on-going Vietnam conflict.

In honour of what would have been Sergio Leone’s 80^th birthday, Sir Christopher Frayling, the late director’s internationally acclaimed biographer, hosted a celebration of the legenary filmmaker’s work at the Italian Cultural Institute in London on Wednesday evening.

Sir Christopher, who has penned the foreword to Dave Worrall and Lee Pfeiffer’s upcoming book ‘The Westerns of Clint Eastwood’, invited Dave, along with Cinema Retro contributors, and authors in their own right, Matthew Field and Howard Hughes, and photographer Mark Mawston to this private tribute.

Posters from Sergio Leone’s movies adorned the walls, providing a fitting backdrop to the evening, which began with a talk on Leone’s career by Frayling (illustrated with a slideshow) followed by an on-stage interview with famed Italian director Dario Argento, who collaborated with Leone on the screenplay for Once Upon A Time in the West.

After an entertaining Q&A with an audience that included actor Robert Rietty (who did voice-over work for Leone) and production designer Sir Ken Adam, the guests were treated to a live performance of music from Leone’s movies by Paolo Castelluccia. His arrangements were amazing, especially as he and his partner were limited to the use of a piano, keyboards and trumpet, the highlight being from Once Upon A Time in America, which had the 150+ audience captivated.

 

By Lee Pfeiffer

In recent years, New Jersey has become Seventh Heaven for classic movie lovers, with numerous old-time theaters giving first class presentations of great films. April 29 saw a special screening of Stanley Kramer's 1963 comedy classic It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World at the Cedar Lane Theaters in Teaneck, New Jersey. Droves of fans came from far and wide to attend the show. A very nice 35mm print was screened to the delight of one and all. Theater owner Nelson Page is no stranger to movie fans. He's been sponsoring his program of Big Screen Classics for years and providing yeoman showmanship in the process. At the Cedar Lane, audiences were treated to a wonderful pre-show old time organ recital that included the film's main theme. The theater is also a treasure trove of old-time vestiges of an era when going to a movie theater was something special. There's a vintage theater box-office inside the theater lobby, as well as some eye-catching original movie posters. For Mad World, Paul Scrabo, one of the world's great experts on the film and the man who was instrumental in putting together the tribute documentary released by MGM Home Video in the 1990s, displayed rare posters and original artwork from the film. Scrabo also introduced the film and provided some fascinating insights into the behind-the-scenes stories. Scrabo also astutely pointed out that, while some people find the film to be overblown and unfunny, the criticism that the actors are overshadowed by the stunts is completely untrue. He correctly informed the audience that the script allows each of the many actors to play a fully developed character and lets their unique comedic abilities shine.Scrabo also said that many of the stars of the film were primarily known to audiences through black-and-white TV series. Thus, the opportunity to see all these legendary comics on the wide screen and in color was quite a thrill in 1963. The fact that the film has such a loyal and enthusiastic following after all these decades is all the proof you need that Stanley Kramer succeeded in his vision of creating a comedy that is a true classic.

Click here to visit Paul Scrabo's website which has extensive coverage of Mad World.

Click here for more information on the Big Screen Classics series.

Continue reading for more photos from the event.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Last Friday, I attended the special screening of The Lion in Winter at the Loews Theatre, the classic movie palace in Jersey City, New Jersey. Not only did I want to see the highly acclaimed film on the big screen for the first time, but the event also allowed me to meet with my old friend, Anthony Harvey who directed the 1968 classic. It had been a few years since I had seen Tony, who I first met when I was writing the Sony DVD documentary on the making of Dr. Strangelove. Tony had been Stanley Kubrick's editor on that film as well as Lolita and it was Kubrick himself who persuaded Tony to try his hand at directing. I was pleased to see Tony looking as fit as ever - though his modesty, in an industry dominated by towering egos,  continues to amaze me. As the doors were opened, he said he suspected only a handful of people would turn up. He was shocked to find hundreds in attendance, and prior to the screening, Tony was accorded rock star treatment by classic movie buffs who asked him to autograph their programs. It should be noted that there are no longer any 35mm prints of this classic movie in good enough condition to make it through a projector. This one remaining archival print was made available to the Loews by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Prior to the film, Tony was interviewed at length by author and film historian Foster Hirsch, who is among the best when it comes to asking intelligent questions of his subject. Tony said that he had only one minor independent film to his credit (the little-seen Dutchman) when he was tapped to direct The Lion in Winter. He confessed that initially, it was a bit nerve-wracking to consider he would suddenly be in charge of such a big-budget movie, as well as directing acting royalty like Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn.However, he quickly realized that if he was to enjoy the respect of the cast and crew, he would have to be a decisive and strong figure on the set. His first challenge was to find suitable locations, a feat that would see the production filming in England, Ireland and France. Tony was resolved to accurately recreate the conditions of King Henry II's reign in the 12 century - and found the coldest, least hospitable castle imagineable. He improvised certain aspects of the filming by putting an abundance of animals in the midst of the set without forewarning the actors. Thus, cast members had to negotiate around running chickens and dogs. There was method to the madness as research showed this to be an accurate representation of the king's court of that era. 

(Photo: Sylvan Whittingham Mason/ www.sylvanmason.com)

Lee Pfeiffer reports on Cinema Retro's fourth and final day at the festival.

Although the film festival was to conclude the following day with widescreen showings of The Electric Horseman and Year of the Dragon, this would be the last day Dave Worrall and I could attend. As such, we had to devote a good deal of time to business meetings and schmoozing with friends and colleagues. However, in the morning we attended Cineramacana, a fun potpourri of weird short films, odd reels and (inexplicably) a trailer for Yentl which only serves to remind us that middle-aged Barbra Streisand posing as a teenage boy was the least convincing casting since Duke Wayne played Ghengis Khan in The Conqueror. Oy vey! Couldn't someone have stopped this ludicrous vanity piece from going into production? This segment of the festival also presented a lovely nature film sans narration that was produced on a budget of fifty pounds! That's probably what gets budgeted every day on Brad Pitt's hair mousse. There was also a bizarre but oddly hypnotic film that was comprised entirely of every page of various international editions of the Bible photographed at high speed and projected over the course of four minutes. (And you thought you had a lot of extra time on your hands!)

This was followed by the museum's artistic director Tony Earnshaw's outstanding tribute to Richard Burton. Titled Lion of the Welsh, Earnshaw gave a highly personalized overview of the great actor's life, confessing he was his boyhood idol since seeing him in The Wild Geese. Earnshaw did not stint on criticizing Burton for often trashing his own talent in search of a fast paycheck and the next drink, but also reminded us of the incredible work he did on screen and on stage. As Earnshaw pointed out, Burton was only 58 years-old when he died and was doing fine work again, as evidenced by his final performance in 1984. That the Academy never recognized his talents with an Oscar remains a blight on Hollywood history. Earnshaw's tribute was followed by a 70mm screening of Becket, but this proved a disappointment because the only print available (from the Czech Republic) was mostly red and devoid of color. This didn't compromise the outstanding dialogue and performances, but - having seen the fully restored 35mm version in New York last year- it was too painful to see the film's deteroriated 70mm version and we opted to leave early. We didn't attend the screening of Carousel, but the latter got high marks from those who did see the restored print in its original CinemaScope 55 format. 

We returned in the evening for the screening of Khartoum, one of the great underrated epics of the 1960s. Fortunately, this was a magnificent, fully restored print. As I had only seen it on the "big screen" at a drive-in theater as a kid (on a double bill with the hillbilly hit Forty Acre Feud!), I was especially thrilled to view it under these conditions. Prior to the screening, I had given projectionist Duncan McGregor a rare original production featurette that no one seemed to have seen before. It detailed the horse stunts done in the film. Duncan opted to project it on the big screen and it made for an interesting feature prior to the main event. The screening of Khartoum was sponsored by film historian Tom March, who earned kudos from one and all for his generosity. The print itself was terrific, even if the studio placed the intermission in the wrong place! The film holds up very well indeed, and I believe this to be Charlton Heston's finest work on screen. For us, it was a fitting end to a wonderful weekend - one filled with more laughs than most people probably experience in a year. As for Bradford and Cinema Retro - well, as someone once said, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." We'll be back next year- and we hope many of you will join us.

Lee Pfeiffer reports on the Bradford International Film Festival -Day 3

Today's events began at 10:00 AM with a crowd gathering in the Pictureville Cinema for Cinerama Ventures, a festival of documentaries hosted by Dave Strohmaier and Randy Gitsch, producers of the acclaimed documentary Cinerama Adventure. The presentation included new featurettes about the making of How the West Was Won that were frustratingly dropped from the recent deluxe DVD release. One documentary looked at the film's return engagement in the 1990s at the Arclight Hollywood Cinerama Theatre and featured moving interviews with attendees who spoke about how much the film meant to them. Another fascinating documentary centered on the film's legendary run at the small Neon Theatre in Dayton, Ohio. The theater was specially fixed to conform with Cinerama projection standards and How the West Was Won was intended to run for a matter of weeks...instead it ran for years, as fans descended on the theater from all over the world. The documentary centered on the efforts of projectionist John Harvey who personally ran every performance of the movie at the theater during its run. In doing so, Harvey - who had also reconstructed a Cinerama print from diverse reels from various sources - managed to perform duties that originally required five men to handle the complex Cinerama projection system. The documentary was funny, informal and, in the end, very touching as it examined how one man's dream of keeping Cinerama alive has paid dividends in the ensuing years. There was also a terrific documentary in which Cinerama fan Tom March visited the main locations of How the West Was Won and photographed them as they are today. The images were brilliantly overlayed on film clips from the original movie. Sadly, Warner Home Video did not include this featurette on the recent DVD release.

A true highlight of the morning's presentations was the surprise unveiling by Dave and Randy of a reel of film from the long-missing feature Russian Adventure. The film was a bizarre attempt by the Soviets to emulate the American 3-strip Cinerama process. It was ultimately released in the USA in 1966 with narration by Bing Crosby! Perhaps due to Cold War tensions at the time, not even Der Bingle could persuade audiences to attend the showings and the film ultimately lost more than $15 million. It was thought to be missing for decades but, acting on a tip, Dave Strohmaier found the complete feature stored in a trailer in Los Angeles. As he prepared to remove it, a local artist challenged him, saying he had permission to spray paint the reels and dangle them from the ceiling of his art exhibition. Using innovative Sherlockian thinking, Dave said that the film represented a "Hazmat" situation because the stock was highly flammable and that the artist was risking interfering with public safety. Humiliated and chastized, the artist stood silently as Dave loaded the last known print of this film into a pickup truck, thus ensuring it's preserved for future generations. Seeing the sample reel was a treat for all in the audience. Forget the fact that the travelogue was little more than a ludicrous Soviet propaganda film that implied the average Russian was living it up by taking drives in the country in their sports cars. (Both sports cars in the country were probably requisitioned for this film.) It offered a fascinating time capsule of a bygone era - and left the audience hungry for more. Dave and Randy are looking into what the next steps will be in terms of preserving and exhibiting the print, which has suffered from the dreaded "vinegar syndrome" that ultimately destroys film.

Following this presentation, came the main event: the big screen premiere of Warner Brothers' new digitally remastered version of How the West Was Won. This was the same master that was used for the recent DVD release. The film had to be especially formatted on the Cinerama screen because the dimensions didn't exactly conform. However, miracle worker projectionist Duncan McGregor managed this feat with a bare minimal amount of cropping. As the famed overture of Alfred Newman's magnificent score resonated through the audience, the anticipation built steadily. When the curtains parted, the MGM lion roared as the famous main title theme thundered through the theater. The digital version was stunning - and benefited from the fact that the "join lines" had been painstakingly eliminated. I found this was a welcome development, though Cinerama purists might argue that anything other than the original presentation is a bastardization. However, if there were complaints from the audience, they were not obvious. Everyone was thrilled to see the film looking better than ever. Kudos to Warner Home Video for making the substantial investment in preserving an American classic. From an artistic standpoint, this is brilliant filmmaking - taking a sweeping, epic tale and personalizing it through the eyes of the members of one family. I was also reminded of how diminished today's star system is. With 24 Hollywood legends in How the West Was Won, one can only ponder how a remake of the film could feature even a fraction of such personalities. Adam Sandler would probably be cast as General Grant.

The next main event was an afternoon presentation of Fox's 1966 epic The Bible...In the Beginning. I have only seen bits and pieces of the film over the years and was eagerly awaiting the opportunity to view the recently restored print. However, it was explained that - unbelievably- Fox made a poor print from the restored elements and oversaturated the Adam and Eve opening sequence, which was considered quite erotic in its day. It was hoped that a corrected print had been sent, but after a few minutes, it became obvious that Fox had sent the problematic print. Indeed, the magnificent cinematography in this opening reel made it look like you were glimpsing images in an inkwell, with every nighttime sequence virtually indistinguishable. There were other problems, as well - namely, the quality of the movie itself. Although both Dave Worrall and I find the holy books that the major religions are based on to be as believable and inspiring as Dr. Seuss books, we were prepared to view the film objectively. After all, we have admiration for such religious-based films as Ben-Hur and The Greatest Story Ever Told. However, The Bible shapes up as a massive ego trip by John Huston, who directs, narrates (as the voice of God, no less) and stars as Noah. The film quickly lapses into ham-handed acting, laughable narration (with God talking to Adam like a schoolmaster chastising an unruly pupil) and cornball dialogue that would have been the envy of Ed Wood. I confess that I became very amused by the fact that there are people in this world who literally believe the cause of our woes is the fact that a guy and his girlfriend ate a golden apple offered to them by a serpent -and these are some of the same people who still complain that the old Batman TV series was too "over-the-top"! However, even the unintentional laughs generated by The Bible couldn't convince us to sit through more than the first half hour. Life itself is just too precious to have given another two hours to reviewing the film. As I wrote of The Silver Chalice, "You may not have been an atheist going into the theater, but you probably emerged as one."

The evening offered a well-received presentation of West Side Story, but by this point, our weary arses needed a break so it was off to dinner, the pub (for another late night) and looking forward to Sunday's highly-anticipated big screen showing of Khartoum.

(Click here to visit Dave Strohmaier's definitive Cinerama history web site)