BY LEE PFEIFFER

Director Robert Altman was widely admired for choosing his film projects based on personal passion for the subject matter, regardless of whether the production had any apparent boxoffice appeal. That artistic side of Altman is to the fore with his 1987 screen adaptation of the stage farce "Beyond Therapy", a title that might well have been applied to the people who financed this misguided production. The decision to bring the play to the screen was bizarre to begin with, as it had flopped both off-Broadway and on the Great White Way itself. When a stage-produced turkey dies, the burial is witnessed by only the relatively few people who had the misfortune of attending the performances. (The infamous "Moose Murders" only affected the opening night audience, as it closed the minute the curtain dropped.) With Altman's screen adaptation of "Beyond Therapy", the flaws in the original work became magnified through a theatrical and video release that saw the pain inflicted on an exponentially larger audience, despite the fact that the movie was itself a bomb.

 "Beyond Therapy" is set in New York City but was filmed in Paris, where Altman had taken up residence for a time. The film opens in a French restaurant where Bruce (Jeff Goldblum) and Prudence (Julie Hagerty) have a disastrous first date, with Prudence having responded to Bruce's ad in a personals section of a magazine. Turns out he's a psychological basket case who brings Prudence a rose but never gets around to ordering food or drinks. He speaks frankly about her physical attributes and then tells her that he is a bisexual who ls living with his jealous lover Bob (Christopher Guest). Prudence is no prize, either. She's erratic, over-stimulated and, like Bruce, is undergoing psychiatric therapy. Perhaps if the story stuck to this eccentric couple, a reasonably funny plot line might have emerged but an abundance of other oddball characters are introduced. Tom Conti plays Prudence's sex-crazed psychiatrist who prides himself on seducing his patients. Glenda Jackson is another shrink who is having anonymous sexual encounters with him while at the same time is suffering from mental problems herself that result in her taking the couch in the presence of the patients she is supposed to be analyzing. Christopher Guest's Bob is flamboyantly gay and more than a little perturbed by Bruce's dalliance with Prudence, and he's also in a troubled relationship with his Lady MacBeth-like mother, played by Genevieve Page. All of these characters have intertwining relationships that are played out in the style of a French bedroom farce. The problem is that French bedroom farces must be as light as air in terms of pacing, while Altman's film goes down like a three-week old baguette. Eccentric big city urbane types are generally the domain of Woody Allen, whose romantic comedies tend to be very good because the characters and dialogue are believable. Not so here. Altman encourages his cast to chew the scenery at every turn and it can be said that this is one of those rare films in which very talented people come across very badly at every turn.  

Robert Altman, like any director, had his share of flops. He was said to disdain "Beyond Therapy" but if he wanted to assign blame, he needed to only look in the mirror, as he co-wrote the screenplay with the play's author Christopher Durang. Happily, the film's was largely ignored, grossing less than $800,000 worldwide. Altman rebounded occasionally and enjoyed two highly acclaimed films before his death in 2006: "The Player" (1992) and "Gosford Park" (2001). His legacy is assured as a great American filmmaker, "Beyond Therapy" not withstanding.

The Blu-ray from Scorpion is perfectly fine with a crisp, nice transfer. The only extras are the original trailer and a gallery of "B" sex comedies also available from the company.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

In 1934, the American film industry initiated a system of self-censorship known as the Hays Code. Eager to avoid an office of government film censorship from being established, the movie studios put in place their own draconian rules when it came to presenting adult content such as sex and violence on the big screen. Ironically, these restrictions were generally every bit as suppressive as any government agency might have applied. Over the course of the code's thirty year run, its impact was lessened as society became more liberalized. However, many great literary works that were brought to the screen were watered-down in an attempt to protect adult viewers from such shocking realities as premarital sex and the existence of homosexuality. The straw that broke the camel's back occurred when Jack Warner refused to make substantial cuts to the 1966 release of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", telling the code enforcers to, in essence, stuff it. Grateful movie-goers made what essentially an art house film in to a monster boxoffice hit. The code was doomed and would soon be replaced by the ratings system.

It may come as a surprise to readers to learn that despite the dreaded restrictions compelled by the code, industrious exploitation film producers found ways to bring nudity to the big screen in the 1930s through a number of cheaply produced movies. These basically fell into two categories: movies with narrative plots and fictitious characters and documentaries that purported to extol the health benefits of a nudist lifestyle. In fact, nudism was becoming quite the rage during this era, with over 300 nudist camps opening in America, attracting an estimated 300,000 members. The fad was, in part, influenced by European interest in the health benefits of nudity. German cinema of the era was far more liberal about presenting nudity on screen, and it was often integrated into the German penchant for movies that centered on love stories that often involved physical fitness as a main ingredient.  In order to get around the Hays Code, the U.S. nudist films had to scrupulously avoid any hint of sexual contact. Only good, wholesome activities could be depicted and the hottest the action might get would be a quick kiss or hug between a couple.

Kino Lorber, in association with Something Weird,  has released a fascinating Blu-ray featuring two of the more prominent nudist films of the era. First up is "Unashamed: A Romance", released in 1938. This is a drama starring people with little or no experience in the film industry. Rae Kidd (her only screen credit) plays Rae Lane, a secretary who is not so secretly carrying a torch for her boss Robert Lawton (Robert Stanley). Rae's unrequited love for Robert causes her to seek medical attention. Her doctor explains that because she is of mixed race (never defined exactly), she will never be regarded as a "catch" by most men. (Yes, folks, this was mainstream thinking back in 1938). Nonetheless, she convinces Robert, who is a hypochondriac, to join her at a nudist camp where she is a member, on the basis of the belief at the time that nudism was not only good for the psyche but also for a person's physical health. The ploy seems to work and before long she and Robert are romantically involved and engaging in hiking and sporting activities including volley ball, a requisite for any film set in a nudist colony. However, when a runaway aristocrat, Barbara Pound (Lucille Shearer) arrives at the camp to seek solitude from the public, Robert is immediately smitten and cruelly ignores Rae's heartbreak. The final scenes of the film trace Rae's efforts to adjust to having been dumped by her lover and we can't help but feel it was caused in part by his desire to be with a woman who wasn't "tainted" by mixed race heritage.

The film is interesting on several levels but for a fuller understanding, listen to the excellent commentary track by film historian Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, who provides informative insights into the birth of the nudist film movement as well as this movie's shocking, downbeat ending and a tragic twist that is presented in such a subtle manner that you might otherwise have overlooked it. I should also point out that the film is very creatively photographed by George Sergeant, though this movie appears to be his only cinematic credit.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

In the 1970s and 1980s, Israeli producers Yoram Globus and Menahem Golan took Hollywood by storm by unleashing a tidal wave of low-budget exploitation films that were superbly marketed and which made their Cannon Films company the toast of the town. The fare was generally for undiscriminating viewers who were willing to plunk down their money to see movies about breakdancing, sexual slapstick and over-the-top action movies. They made a feature film star out of the charisma-free Chuck Norris and revived Charles Bronson's career after the major studios had pronounced him to be past his sell date. The glory days of Cannon were relatively short-lived as movie fans sought more sophisticated fare. Still, it must be said that occasionally, Cannon did try to move out its comfort zone by producing respectable, mainstream films, one of which was "Runaway Train" in 1985. The movie starred Jon Voight as Oscar "Manny" Manheim, a convicted bank robber and incorrigible inmate imprisoned at a remote penitentiary in Alaska. He's become an idol to his fellow inmates because of his obstinate refusal to conform the draconian rules set in place by the sadistic warden Rankin (John P. Ryan), who tries to break Manny's will be having him chained up within his cell for a period of months. Manny has used legal appeals to force this practice to be stopped and when he prevails in court, the prisoners rejoice, much to Rankin's disgust. Manny isn't content with his temporary victory, however, and soon plots an audacious plan to escape. He ends up allowing a younger inmate, Buck (Eric Roberts), to join him only because he has suffered a severe hand injury and might need Buck's assistance. That doesn't preclude him from constantly insulting and harassing the younger man.

The film follows the convicts' successful escape only to find them facing the harsh winter weather with only a modicum of supplies and clothing. They end up boarding an express freight train with a plan to hitch a ride to wherever the final stop is. Things go awry quickly, however, when the train careens into another locomotive and suffers significant damage. Worse, Manny and Buck are stranded in a freight car and unable to access the engine where they suspect the engineer must have been disabled or died. Their fears are warranted, as the engineer has died from a heart attack. The train is out of control and is blazing along at an unsafe speed. Much of the action concentrates on the men's desperate attempts to access the front of the train and slow it down. They later discover there is one other person on board, a railroad worker named Sara (Rebecca De Mornay), who makes her way to their car and informs them of the dire situation they are all in. If they can't stop the train, it will inevitably crash, killing them all.

Director Andrey Konchalovsky ratchets up the suspense and thankfully the script avoids any cliched sexual interaction between Manny, Buck and Sara, probably because even the horniest guy would find it hard to conjure up erotic thoughts while spiraling toward his doom. Sara proves to be invaluable in assisting the men in making death-defying attempts to access the engine by crawling about outside the train. However, the sheer speed of the vehicle, along with the piercing cold, precludes them from being successful. The action is inter-cut with sequences set in a control room as railroad technicians frantically attempt to utilize "fool proof" safety measures to stop the train, only to find they are uniformly failing. Meanwhile, Rankin is determined to take charge himself. Humiliated by the convicts' escape, he has a helicopter fly him over the train and lower him down so he can confront Manny and settle the score.

"Runaway Train" is a superior prison escape drama, though there are elements that are a bit over-the-top. When the prisoners initially escape, they are submerged in water and, despite the viewer being told earlier that the temperature outside is 30 below zero, they persevere, when, in reality, they would be dead within minutes. It is also distracting that Buck's hair remains carefully coiffed through all this and he looks like he just stepped out of Beverly Hills salon. Additionally, the mano a mano scenario of Rankin make a death-defying landing atop the train is an element that would be more appropriate for Rambo or James Bond film. Nevertheless, when the two antagonists do come face-to-face, the cliches vanish and lead to a poignant and memorable final scene that is refreshingly free of violence.

There's plenty of reasons to recommend the film, not the least of which are the incredible stunt work brilliantly filmed by cinematographer Alan Hume. The performances are all first-rate but the movie belongs to Jon Voight, who is terrific as the very flawed protagonist. The film received very positive reviews but bombed at the boxoffice perhaps because discriminating moviegoers might have been wary of the Cannon connection, whereas Cannon's prime audience might have considered it too lacking in schlock. Disappointingly, the movie's failure seemed to result in Voight losing future opportunities as an "above-the-title" leading man, though he has continued to work constantly in supporting roles in feature films and in television, always providing fine performances.

The Kino Lorber DVD provides a fine transfer but we hope the movie is slated for a much-deserved Blu-ray upgrade from the company. (UK-based Arrow Films did release a Region 2 Blu-ray edition and reader Matt Bowes advises that a limited edition U.S. Blu-ray from Twilight Time has sold out.). The DVD contains the original trailer and trailers for other similarly-themed KL releases.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

The British Film Institute (BFI) deserves praise for continuing to invest in restorations of worthy, but largely forgotten, British films from bygone eras. Case in point: the 1953 crime drama "Cosh Boy" (absurdly re-titled "The Slasher" for American release in order to make it appear to be a "B" horror movie.) Incidentally, a "cosh" is old British slang for a blackjack used by thugs to strike victims over the head. The low-budget B&W production is typical of the film output in post-WWII Britain. Britain was on the winning side but after initial jubilation the reality of living in an almost bankrupt nation set in. Rationing was strict, much of the country was in ruins and crime and juvenile delinquency began to rise. "The Slasher", co-written and directed by Lewis Gilbert, touches on these problems by examining how the delinquency problem was exacerbated in part by the loss of so many fathers during the war. This left suddenly single mothers having to cope with raising families on their own and facing severe financial hardships. The screenplay centers on these challenges through a micro-view of how it affects one family and one neighborhood. Roy (James Kenny) is a bad apple. He looks like Leslie Howard but has the personality of James Cagney's "The Public Enemy". The 16 year-old is the ringleader of a local group of delinquents who prey on the elderly and commit petty crimes to keep their wallets full. Roy is ostensibly being raised by his widowed mother Elsie (Betty Ann Davies) and her live-in mother (Hermione Baddely) but it's really Roy who is running the show. He is cruel and dismissive to his mother and grandmother but can turn on the charm when he needs to because he senses that his mom is actually an enabler who wills herself to believe every ridiculous explanation he gives for his run-ins with the law.

Roy's best mate is Alfie (Ian Whittaker), a dim-witted, wimpy character who seems to have a good heart but who is nonetheless unable to resist following Roy's demands that he join him in committing crimes. Roy makes sure that, to the extent possible, his gang members assume disproportionate risks compared to himself. He is a true sociopath: ruthless, selfish but at able to appear to be likable and sympathetic when it suits his needs. When Roy sets eyes on Alfie's 16 year-old sister, Rene (Joan Collins), he has his gang beat and hospitalize her boyfriend, leaving him free to seduce her, an act that will come back to haunt him later. When Roy is arrested for a crime, the judge goes lenient on him and sentences him to probation and tells him he should frequent the neighborhood youth center to ensure he stays out of trouble. Roy follows the advice, but uses the center as a meeting place to plan future crimes with his fellow thugs. It is there that he is intrigued by the possibility to pull off a big score by planning to rob the boxoffice receipts from a local major wrestling event. (The script takes a decidedly conservative "spare the rod and spoil the child" viewpoint in terms of dispensing justice to juvenile offenders.) 

The movie caused some controversy in the UK and is said to be the first film released with an "X" certificate. It certainly is bitingly realistic compared to many other films from the era. The main character has no redeeming qualities and there are frank depictions of vicious crimes and the consequences of unplanned pregnancies in an era in which that would make for devastating personal and social consequences. As director, Lewis Gilbert's work is quite admirable, with nary a wasted frame of film. The seeds of his future success as a major director are sown here and he derives an outstanding performance from James Kenny in the lead role. Kenny is quite remarkable, his disarming angelic looks alternating with his character's vicious and unpredictable tendencies. In viewing the film, I couldn't help but wonder why fortune didn't smile on his career in the way that it did for Richard Attenborough, who vaulted to stardom during the same era also playing a teenage thug in "Brighton Rock". Everyone else in the film is also impressive, with Betty Ann Davies and Hermione Beddedly especially good as the women who have the misfortune of trying to raise young Roy. Baddely's character is not the enabler her daughter is and is wise to Roy's true nature. Joan Collins is very effective as the vulnerable teenage girl who Roy uses and abuses. Robert Ayres appears late in the film as Elsie's new beau, which causes Roy to rebel even further, as he is understandably threatened by having a streetwise older man in the house who could exact some discipline on him.

"Cosh Boy" is a depressing film, to be sure, but a very worthy one. Kino Lorber has imported the BFI restoration for their Blu-ray release the transfer is literally stunning, making the stark B&W cinematography Jack Asher look very impressive indeed. The only extras are trailers of other KL releases (though not for the main feature) and an alternate title sequence from the American release of "The Slasher". (The film has no slashing at all other than a brief scene in which Roy threatens someone with a razor.) This is British "B" filmmaking at its best. Highly recommended.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

In the 1997 comedy "Gone Fishin", Joe Pesci and Danny Glover were reunited on screen following their appearances in two sequels to "Lethal Weapon" (they would appear in a third sequel the following year.) Disney had high hopes for the family comedy but production problems plagued the film from the beginning. The original director, Oscar winner John G. Avildsen filmed for the first two weeks before he was fired by the studio and replaced by Christopher Cain. The script had been kicking around for quite some time as Disney approached various other actors to top-line before settling on Pesci and Glover. During production, a stunt went awry and resulted in the death of stuntwoman Janet Wilder as well as injuries to her team members, husband Scott and father-in-law Glenn. Disney then shelved the finished production for almost a year before transferring distribution to their Hollywood Pictures branch. The film had gone significantly over budget, coming in at at astounding $53 million-  a significant sum in those days for a modest comedy. (In comparison, the budget for the action blockbuster "GoldenEye", filmed only a year before "Gone Fishin'", was $60 million.)

The story centers on two life-long friends, Newark, New Jersey natives Joe Waters (Pesci) and Gus Green (Glover) who are good-natured but dim-witted family men who are still trying to live down a boyhood act of carelessness when the dispensing of a single cigar ignited a nearby chemical plant. Every year, the hard-working blue collar guys look forward to their annual fishing trip. This year, they intend to travel from New Jersey to southern Florida where they can take in the sights of the Everglades. Things get off to a rocky start when a charismatic con-man and wanted murderer,  Dekker Massey (Nick Bramble) steals Joe's beloved relic of a car, leaving them stranded with their boat, which they begin to push down the highway. They are rescued by two young women (Rosanna Arquette and Lynn Whitfield, both under-used in the film), who coincidentally are pursuing Massey for swindling them. However, once Joe and Gus part company with the ladies, more misadventures follow until they are captured and threatened with death by Massey. They narrowly escape and the film climaxes with an elaborate chase involving air boats, cars and a helicopter.

"Gone Fishin'" is comedy distinguished only by the fact that it isn't even slightly funny. A film that is filled with sight gags requires a director with a light touch, but Christopher Cain only provides a lead foot. If a director of a slapstick comedy can't derive laughs from two idiots trapped in a cave with a menacing alligator, you've got a real problem. In fairness, one can sympathize with his plight. It is never ideal to be a director who is employed because a colleague was fired and there is no worse environment than a film set on which an accidental death has occurred. The real culprits are screenwriters Jill Mazursky Cody and J. J. Abrams (yes, that J.J. Abrams), who dreamed up a relentlessly unfunny, far-fetched scenario. Even the chemistry between Pesci and Glover is compromised by their character's annoying habit of constantly addressing each other by name. Virtually every sentence they speak to each other includes the monotonous repetition of hearing them use each other's first name. Glover supposedly confessed to doing the film simply for a quick paycheck. It isn't known what Pesci thought of the end result but let's just say he went into self-imposed retirement and made only a few more film appearances for the next two decades before thankfully reemerging with his superb performance in "The Irishman".  "Gone Fishin'" does have some impressive chase scenes in the Everglades but by then the damage is done. The film's entire gross never reached $20 million, making it a legitimate boxoffice bomb. Not helping matters was the fact that critics were unrestrained in their condemnation of the movie. If a fish rots from the head down, so does this movie about fishing, populated by notable  people who should have known better. Fortunately, most of them did enough fine work that the movie didn't damage their careers, though it's doubtful that current day icon J.J. Abrams wants this high on the list of career accomplishments.

The Kino Lorber Blu-ray transfer looks great but whether you will ever be inspired to sample it depends on your penchant for indulging in masochism. The release contains the original trailer and trailers for other comedies.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

When "Billy Bathgate" went into production for Disney's Touchstone Pictures division, word-of-mouth was that filming was not going well. Today, such rumors would spread immediately but in the pre-internet age, information was largely confined to industry insiders and avid movie buffs who read the trade papers. The rumors were true. The project started out on a promising note, with noted playwright Tom Stoppard adapting E.L. Doctorow's source novel for the screen. Dustin Hoffman would star and the film would reunite him with director Robert Benton. The two men had both won Oscars for the 1979 Best Picture winner "Kramer vs. Kramer". What could go wrong? Turns out, plenty. The esteemed Doctorow let it be known that he felt Stoppard's screenplay didn't capture the essence of his novel and he distanced himself from the film even before production had wrapped. Hoffman and Benton didn't have a sentimental journey on the set, either, with the dreaded "artistic differences" emerging. Disney executives micro-managed aspects of the movie and insisted that a new ending be filmed at great expense, only to have the final cut revert to the original ending. The budget ultimately ballooned to $48 million (before marketing costs were even incurred), an extravagant amount in 1991. When the film opened, it was a major flop with both critics and audiences. There were occasional good reviews for individual contributors but in the aggregate, the movie's international grosses barely exceeded $15 million. Yet, as we've pointed out so many times in the pages of Cinema Retro, the fact that a film died at the boxoffice doesn't necessarily mean that it is an artistic failure and "Billy Bathgate" does have plenty of impressive aspects.

The film opens during the Depression in New York City with a disturbing scenario. A gangster named Bo Weinberg (Bruce Willis) is awaiting a terrible fate. He's on a boat heading into the waters off Manhattan, his hands tied to a chair and his feet encased in cement. Turns out he is the right-hand man to notorious gangster Dutch Schultz (Hoffman), who has found evidence that Bo has double-crossed him. Schultz delights in psychologically torturing Bo before adding insult to injury by forcing his girlfriend Drew Preston (Nicole Kidman) into a bedroom with her to be forced into sex acts. The entire scene plays out before the wide-eyed Billy Bathgate (Loren Dean), an up-and-coming teenager in Schultz's organization and someone who knows and likes Bo very much. But he knows that he will suffer the same fate if he takes pity on Bo. The scene switches into flashback mode. Billy, like most of his friends, is staring into an unpromising future of backbreaking work and impoverished living conditions. Aside from being charismatic and street-wise, he boasts a modest talent for juggling and performing slight-of-hand tricks. A chance encounter with notorious gangster Dutch Schultz allows him to demonstrate his juggling skills, much to Schultz's amusement (he hands Billy a $20 tip.) Encouraged by the opportunity, Billy finds a way to gain access to Schultz's offices, masquerading as a staffer who does janitorial duties. Schultz admires his moxie and offers him a legitimate job. Billy soon recognizes that Schultz has a dual personality. He can be funny, loyal and generous with his underlings, but he is also a sociopath who on a whim can turn into a violent killer. Billy knows that the only way to stay alive is to practice unquestioning fealty to Schultz. That discipline is hard to maintain when Drew, who has stayed on as Schultz's mistress, seduces Billy, leaving him to walk a fine line between indulging in his obsession for Drew and risking having his own feet placed in cement. As Schultz's crime empire begins to collapse due to increased federal investigations and indictments, the gangster becomes even more erratic, posing a threat to Billy and every one around him.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

The character of Billy Jack, played by Tom Laughlin, was introduced in the 1967 biker movie "The Born Losers". In the 1971 film "Billy Jack", Laughlin's reappeared as the martial arts expert who defended the downtrodden while spouting progressive values. The film flopped badly at the boxoffice but Laughlin and his wife (and co-star) Delores Taylor secured the rights to the film and re-released it in 1974 with a creative advertising and distribution campaign. The movie struck boxoffice gold and paved the way for a 1975 sequel, "The Trial of Billy Jack". Young people responded to the liberal-leaning film, as it was released while the Watergate scandal and the resignation of President Richard Nixon were still foremost in the minds of the American public. It seemed natural that Laughlin would make another film in the series. "Billy Jack Goes to Washington", a modern remake of Frank Capra's "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", was to be released in 1976 but production delays ensued and the film received a only a few theatrical test screenings in April, 1977 and a three-week "pre-release" run in the Milwaukee area in November of that year. Poor word-of-mouth and critical notices dissuaded studios from offering distribution deals and the movie faded into oblivion. Writing in the Washington Post, columnist John Kelly explores some other obstacles the Laughlins had to contend with: namely barriers that were in place at the time that made it difficult to film politically-oriented movies in Washington, D.C. Laughlin would later become a political gadfly and espoused many different conspiracy theories demonizing big government and big business. But John Kelly posits that in the case of "Billy Jack Goes to Washington", Laughlin may indeed have been victimized by an effort to make life difficult for him in terms of filming on location. Kelly says other politically-themed  movies of the era met the same fate, resulting in the formation of the Office of Motion Picture and Television Development, which was designed to be more accommodating to filmmakers. That aside, the primary reason for the film's fate appears to be the opinion in the industry that the series had simply run out of steam.

To read the article, click here.

Not coming to a theater near you: the original "Planet of the Apes".

BY LEE PFEIFFER

It's no secret to retro movie lovers that Disney has long denied theatrical screenings of most of their older films. The theory is that some classic gems will generate more interest (and revenue) if they are periodically reissued with great fanfare to commemorate a movie's anniversary. That mostly pertains to a handful of animated movies but doesn't explain why the studio's vast catalog of live-action films are routinely denied exhibition on the big screen. Now the situation appears to be exponentially worse with Disney's acquisition of Fox and its classic movie catalog. In an extensive piece on the web site Vulture, writer Matt Zoller Seitz presents a grim situation facing art house and revival cinemas: Disney is cherry-picking where and how some of the most beloved Fox classics of all time will be screened. The scattershot strategy defies easy explanation but the theory is that theaters that show first run movies will not be allowed to show retro Fox movies in the same venue. Disney has remained mum on the issue but theater owners are quite concerned because the interest in seeing older films on the big screen is quite extensive and such revivals are crucial to many smaller theater's survival. What is Disney's overall motive? It is theorized that the studio wants to maximize as many screens as possible in first-run theaters in order to minimize exhibition space for films of rival studios. There are exceptions. Theaters and film festivals that play exclusively older fare will apparently still be able to access the Fox catalog. However, many theaters can only continue to exist by playing a mixture of contemporary and classic fare. Disney now owns most of the major blockbuster film franchises (agent 007 remains a notable holdout) and last year the studio's films accounted for a staggering 40% of the North American boxoffice. Suppressing screenings of cinematic classics will only increase concerns that the house of Mickey Mouse is misusing its power and the unintended consequences might include threatening the survival of some theaters.

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Evans (right) with Robert Shaw on the set of "Black Sunday" in 1977.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Robert Evans has passed away at age 89. The former actor-turned-studio head had a long, dramatic career that saw him appointed to run Paramount Pictures at the tender age of 36 when the studio was bleeding red ink. Under Evans' management, the studio rebounded, releasing such classics as "Chinatown", "Rosemary's Baby", "The Odd Couple", "True Grit" and, most notably, "The Godfather". Even Evan's non-blockbusters became cult classics. Among them: "Harold and Maude" and "The Italian Job". Other hits brought to the screen by Evans include "Marathon Man" and "Black Sunday". His tumultuous private life was the stuff of Hollywood lore including his seven marriages. (His marriage to Ali MacGraw ended in scandal when she dropped him in favor of Steve McQueen, who she was co-starring with in "The Getaway".) Evans' producing career started modestly when he bought the screen rights to the crime thriller "The Detective" by Roderick Thorp. He successfully brought it to the screen in an acclaimed 1968 film starring Frank Sinatra. Evans' autobiography, "The Kid Stays in the Picture" was made into a critically-acclaimed documentary. Not everyone was smitten by his charisma, however, and he gained his share of enemies. It was said that Blake Edwards' scathing Hollywood comedy "S.O.B." was a broadside at Evans in the persona of Robert Vaughn, who portrayed a macho studio head with a secret penchant for dressing in women's lingerie. The satirical portrayal stemmed from a feud between the two men that occurred when Evans forced Edwards to make major cuts to his 1970 big budget musical "Darling Lili" that bombed at the boxoffice. Edwards always blamed Evans for the film's failure. But Evans enjoyed wide respect for his professional accomplishments even among those who weren't fond of his sizable ego. For more about his life and career, click here.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Once upon a time, there was what is now considered to be a Golden Age of film criticism. Serving in that capacity was a well-regarded career and the standards were generally high. In the pre-internet age, when newspapers and magazines were in their heyday, readers voraciously followed the most influential film critics, whose endorsements of a film could elevate its popularity. Conversely, of course, a negative review might spell death at the boxoffice. Some of the more prominent critics were regarded as snooty and too upper crust to connect with the average reader. The ascension of critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel through their highly influential “At the Movies” syndicated TV series changed all of that. They were film scholars, to be sure, but they reviewed movies in a populist manner, often defending films that most critics chose to ignore or denounce. With the advent of the internet, today anyone can proclaim themselves to be a film critic. You just need a blog and- Presto!- you are a film critic. Of course, today’s definition of the profession encompasses the good, the bad and the ugly. Simply having an enthusiasm for movies doesn’t make one prolific in analyzing them.

One of the best of the “old world” film critics was British writer Philip French, who began writing film reviews in the early 1950s and went on to be a long-time contributor to The Times and The Observer. He passed away in 2015, still practicing his profession. French’s family has compiled a book of some of his most relevant and important reviews and published them under the title of “Notes from the Dream House: Selected Film Reviews 1963-2013”. The book, published by Carcanet Press, sets the right tone beginning with the cover, an illustration by Charles Addams of  the "Uncle Fester" character laughing at a movie that has everyone else in the audience sobbing. Like most of the major critics who came of age when French did, he displays an encyclopedic knowledge of the films and talents he passes judgment on. He also falls into the same trap as many of his peers by assuming the reader is well-versed in sometimes obscure names and film titles. However, he never comes across as pretentious and his prose is often wistful and amusing. It is interesting to read his observations about films that became famous or infamous and French also revisits certain movies for re-evaluation many years after their initial release. We find he championed obscure titles such as “Two Land Blacktop” and dared to defend such boxoffice disasters as Michael Cimino’s “Heaven’s Gate” and Hugh Hudson’s “Revolultion” (good for him!). He appreciates Attenborough’s “A Bridge Too Far” while most critics were immune to its many qualities. He devotes a very long review to extolling the merits of the 1999 Bond adventure “The World is Not Enough”. He also doesn’t have any sacred cows: despite being an admirer of Kubrick, he rightly points out that “The Shining” is “a polished, low-key horror picture of a rather conventional kind… we never became involved either intellectually or viscerally with the characters…Our pants flutter occasionally, but the film comes nowhere near scaring them off us.” In a 1982 re-evaluation of Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in the West”, he makes a mea culpa and admits that, upon seeing the film in its initial release in 1969, he did not recognize its greatness. He decried Robert Downey Jr.’s interpretation of Sherlock Holmes as a contemporary action hero and was an early admirer of John Boorman’s “Point Blank”, which some critics simply denounced because of its violent content.

Breezing through the book is a delight. You can randomly drop in anywhere and read the reviews that appeal to you. But it should be noted that French’s observations are worth reading even if they pertain to film titles that don’t particularly interest you. His wry wit and poignant analysis make this book a “must” for retro movie lovers.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

By the time Burt Reynolds finally starred in the 1972 classic "Deliverance", he had been paying his dues in Hollywood for many years with varying degrees of success on television. His feature films, however, were strictly "B" grade. Saul David, who produced a 1970 film starring Reynolds titled "Skullduggery", bemoaned at the time that he should have been a major movie star but bad luck seemed to always interfere. Reynolds wisely cultivated an image as a hip, towel-snapping wiseguy through appearing on seemingly every American game and chat show. His appearances on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" merited "must-see TV" status. Ironically, "Deliverance" entirely abandoned this popular image of Reynolds and afforded him a dramatic role that he fulfilled with excellent results. But the success of the film made Reynolds anxious to prove he could sustain his boxoffice clout without the help of a strong co-star, in the case of of "Deliverance", Jon Voight. Reynolds chose wisely for his follow-up feature. "White Lightning" was developed under the working title "McClusky". The role of a hunky, charismatic southern good ol' boy fit Reynolds like a glove because it allowed him to incorporate his penchant for performing stunts with his flippant, wise-cracking TV persona.

Filmed in Arkansas, the movie finds Reynolds as "Gator" McClusky, a man doing prison time for running illegal moonshine. Gator still has another year to spend on the prison farm when he gets word that his younger brother has been murdered. (We see the scene play out over the opening credits in which two young men are brutally drowned in a swamp by the local sheriff, J.C. Connors (Ned Beatty) and his deputy.) Enraged and spoiling for revenge, Gator accepts a deal to work undercover for federal agents to expose Connors as the local Huey Long-type power broker in Bogan County. Indeed, the seemingly affable, understated Connors runs the entire county like a personal fiefdom, using extortion, shakedowns and outright murder to ensure his stature. He also gets a piece of the action from the very moonshiners he's supposed to prosecute. Gator feels uncomfortable working as a snitch but it's the only way to find out why his brother was killed and to bring Connors to justice. Using his considerable charm and his background as a guy from a small rural community, he finds himself quickly working for a moonshine ring headed by Big Bear (R.G. Armstrong), who is brutal in retribution against anyone who crosses him. Gator is assigned to deliver moonshine with a partner, Roy Boone (Bo Hopkins). They spend a lot of time together and become fast friends, even though Roy's hot-to-trot girlfriend Lou (Jennifer Billingsley) succeeds in seducing Gator, thus endangering his mission when Roy gets wind of the deception. When Gator learns the reason why his brother and his friend were murdered, he becomes even more vengeful, leading to a spectacular car chase involving Connors and his corrupt deputies. 

"White Lightning" was directed by Joseph Sargent, who was primarily known for his work in television. He fulfills the requirements of the film quite well, though the spectacular car chases and jaw-dropping action scenes were largely the work of legendary stutman/coordinator Hal Needham, who would go on to work on many films with Reynolds. The film is consistently lively but it also has moments of poignancy and drama. The supporting cast is terrific with Ned Beatty of "Deliverance" reuniting with Reynolds with good results. Beatty underplays the sense of menace attributable to his character. He also plays up his status as a pillar of the community, tossing off barbs about how hippies and big city liberals threaten "our values" and-worst of all- encourage "our coloreds to vote!". Meanwhile, he is heading up a vast criminal enterprise. Jennifer Billingsley is wonderful as the lovable air-headed seductress who will jump into bed with a man if there's a prospect of getting a new dress out of the bargain. There are also fine turns by Bo Hopkins, R.G. Armstrong and Diane Ladd (whose name in the opening and closing credits is misspelled as "Lad". Ouch!) The movie turned out to be a big hit for United Artists, aided in part by striking ad campaigns with the same weapon-as-phallic symbol design employed for Richard Roundtree's "Shaft's Big Score" the previous year coupled with another poster showing Reynolds behind the wheel of a speeding car. Sex and speed became hallmarks for promoting a Reynolds action movie.

Kino Lorber has reissued their 2019 Blu-ray edition, which is first-rate in all aspects, with a fine transfer and a 2014 interview with Burt Reynolds, who looks back fondly on the importance the movie had on proving he could be top-billed in a hit movie. The film initiated his association with rural-based comedies and action films and three years later, a successful sequel ("Gator") would be released. Reynolds also drops the interesting fact that this was to be Steven Spielberg's first feature film. However, Reynolds says the young TV director got cold feet about his ability to film on so many difficult locations, given that his background was largely working in studios. Reynolds praises his co-star Ned Beatty and reminds everyone that "White Lightning" was only his second film, having made his screen debut in "Deliverance".  He is also very complimentary towards Jennifer Billingsley and regrets that she never became a big star. Reynolds also discusses Hal Needham's zealousness for performing dangerous stunts and relates how one key scene in which a car shoots out over water to land on a moving barge almost went disastrously wrong. He says the film has a realistic atmosphere because of the screenplay by William W. Norton, who adapted many aspects of his own hard scrabble life. The only negative note Reynolds sounds is about Diane Ladd, who he cryptically says he did not like working with, although he doesn't go into detail as to why.The set includes a new feature not available on the previous Blu-ray release: a commentary track by film historian collaborators Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson. As far as commentary tracks are concerned, the duo are always terrific and this outing is no exception. Their easy-going, laid-back and humorous style is appropriate for the tone of the film. They go into great detail about aspects of the and cast. I hadn't realized until listening to the track how on-the-mark they are in assessing Ned Beatty as an actor whose physical appearance varied dramatically depending upon the type of story he was cast in. Indeed, they are correct. The evil good ol' boy corrupt sheriff of "White Lightning" is light years away from the fish-out-water rape victim of "Deliverance" or the demagogic TV executive of "Network". The track is good enough to merit upgrading to this version of the Blu-ray even if you have the previous release.

The Blu-ray also includes the original trailer, which was very effective in playing up Reynolds' emerging star power. Highly recommended.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

Once upon a time a highly successful film director named Blake Edwards teamed with his very popular actress wife to make a big budget Paramount musical called "Darling Lili". Released in 1970, the WWI-era movie was a major flop. Edwards blamed studio head Robert Evans for having made significant cuts to the final version of the film, though Paramount maintained that the film's budget had gone out of control and they had to exercise their right to salvage it through whatever means necessary. Several years later, Edwards had a contentious relationship with MGM that  was exacerbated by the studio altering his final cuts of "The Carey Treatment" and "Wild Rovers". Hell hath no fury like a director scorned, especially a director who was not lacking in self-esteem. Ultimately, Edwards sought his revenge with the release of his notorious 1981 madcap comedy "S.O.B."  The movie is a take-down of the film industry, presenting an ugly picture of Hollywood as a place populated by crooks, shnooks, disreputable studio brass and disloyal hangers-on all willing to sell their souls to advance their careers. Doubtless, Edwards was done wrong by certain studio executives but by all accounts, he wasn't "Mr. Popularity" either. Edwards had fractious working relationships with many people including Peter Sellers, with whom he made several successful "Pink Panther" films despite the fact the men came to loath one another. I was having lunch with a former studio big wig in 2010 when I informed him that the news just broke that Edwards had died. His response: "It's a shame it took so long." Ouch! 

Edwards was indeed multi-talented. He was capable of directing successful dramas ("Days of Wine and Roses") and the occasional thriller ("Experiment in Terror") but his niche was comedy and for a period of years he produced some great successes including "Operation Petticoat" and "Breakfast at Tiffanys" as well as the best-received Inspector Clouseau films ("A Shot in the Dark" and "The Pink Panther".) By the 1970s, however, his films were under-performing. In 1975, more out of necessity than sentimentality, he and Peter Sellers returned to the "Pink Panther" franchise and scored three more hits. "S.O.B." was his most personal film, however, and allowed him to figuratively put his considerable list of enemies in his cross-hairs. Edwards wrote, produced and directed the film which boasted an impressive all-star cast, including Julie Andrews, who would break new ground in her career by famously baring her breasts (thus causing Johnny Carson to quip to Andrews that he was thankful to see that "the hills were still alive!")

The film begins with a comical suicide attempt by once-esteemed film director Felix Farmer (Richard Mulligan), who can't cope with the demise of his career due to the catastrophic boxoffice returns on "Night Wind", his mega-budget family musical starring his wife Sally Miles (Julie Andrews). Felix bungles the attempt which will become a running gag throughout the film as fate keeps preventing him from taking his own life. Now suffering from a mental illness, Felix is convinced that he has heard advice from God about how to salvage his film and career. He approaches the Machiavellian studio chief David Blackman (Robert Vaughn, whose character is supposedly based on Robert Evans.) Felix offers to reimburse the studio for their investment in the musical so that he can own all the rights and reshoot it as a pornographic production complete with the songs intact, only with an S&M take. Blackman jumps at the chance to redeem his own reputation and agrees, but Sally is a tough sell. Her entire career has been built on playing sweet, innocent characters, much as Andrews's career was defined in the early days. She is appalled at Felix's mental state and the fact that he hocked their entire net worth to pull off this madcap scheme. She turns to the film's original director, Tim Culley (William Holden) for advice and he and their mutual friend, quack physician Irving Finegarten (Robert Preston) for counsel. They both convince her the daffy scheme might work and would prove to be a good career move. With Sally reluctantly immersing herself into a sex-filled musical, word around Hollywood gets out that Felix might actually be creating a potential blockbuster. This causes Blackman to renege on the deal. Felix now goes entirely off the deep end and "kidnaps" the reels of his completed film in order to thwart Blackman from exploiting him.

Movies that present Hollywood as a soulless climate are as old as the film industry itself but "S.O.B." is in a class of its own in this regard. There are no sympathetic characters. As Felix devolves into complete madness, his family, confidantes and friends all conspire to take advantage of him for their own selfish purposes. Edwards presents a Devil's Playground of cheating lovers, emotionless sex and untrustworthy partners. It was a parlor game back in the day to guess which real-life personalities were being portrayed on screen. For example, there was little doubt that Shelly Winters' obnoxious talent agent was based on the much-feared Sue Mengers. Loretta Swit, playing the film's most grating character, seems to be a compilation of every gossip columnist who Edwards grew to loathe. Other well-known stars are also used to good effect including Larry Hagman, Robert Webber, Robert Loggia, Marisa Berenson, Stuart Margolin and Craig Stevens. Ostensibly, the star is Richard Mulligan, who gives a very spirited performance that is ultimately undone by Edwards having him cross over into theater of the absurd. Because of the large cast, most of the actors don't get much screen time but those who do resonate very well especially Andrews, Holden, Preston, Webber and Vaughn. The latter has a show-stopping scene that almost rivals the unveiling of Andrews' prized bosoms when it is revealed that his character of the macho studio executive has a passion for making love to his mistress (Berenson) while he is attired in female lingerie.

"S.O.B." is genuinely funny but, as previously stated, Edwards goes overboard into silliness especially in the last third of the film. Until then the events that we witnessed have been mostly plausible but Edwards goes over the top and resorts to almost slapstick as well as introducing some characters such as a manic Asian chef and an Indian guru (played respectively by Benson Fong and Larry Storch) who would be far more at home in a Pink Panther movie. Still, it remains a biting satire that is mostly quite enjoyable- and it's all accompanied by a score from Edwards' frequent collaborator, Henry Mancini.

The Warner Archive Blu-ray looks gorgeous and contains the original trailer.

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In 1984, the comedy jungle adventure "Romancing the Stone" became a major boxoffice hit thanks in no part to its trio of popular stars: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito. Not surprisingly, the studio immediately planned a sequel: "The Jewel of the Nile". This time, however, the stars were not aligned for Douglas, who was also producing. Trouble started in pre-production when Turner said she wouldn't do the film because of deficiencies in the script. Douglas had to exercise a contractual clause to force her to join the production in Morocco- not a good omen for the beginning of an expensive film. Then a tragic accident killed numerous members of the crew, followed by widespread illness on location. Douglas recalled the miserable experience recently, as presented in Deadline. (Click here to read.) Still, the sequel grossed more than "Romancing the Stone" and Douglas and Turner put aside their differences to go on to co-star in the battle of the sexes big screen hit, "The War of the Roses" with DeVito directing.

Writing in Variety, Joe Leydon outlines ten key retro films that feature in Quentin Tarantino's ode to 1969, "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood". As one might expect from the director, the films range from boxoffice hits ("Valley of the Dolls", "Easy Rider", "The Wrecking Crew")  to obscure titles the average viewer will not be familiar with ("Fort Dobbs", "Model Shop"). Click here to read. 

(Fonda and Dennis Hopper in "Easy Rider") 

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Peter Fonda, the actor, screenwriter, producer and director, has died at age 79 from lung cancer. His family represented one of America's most legendary acting dynasties. His father was Henry Fonda, his sister Jane Fonda and he was the father of actress Bridget Fonda. He and Jane had a fractured relationship with their father that ultimately saw them reconcile in Henry's later years. Their mother committed suicide when they were very young and they were initially told she had died of a heart attack. Peter almost died as a teenager when he accidentally shot himself in the stomach. He and Jane both found success as actors, following in their father's footsteps. Peter's early films found him in supporting roles but his breakthrough role as a leading man came in Roger Corman's 1966 biker film "The Wild Angels", which was made on a shoestring budget but ended up being a high grossing hit. He had another cult hit for Corman the following year with the drug-themed drama "The Trip". Fonda's position as an icon of Sixties pop culture was cemented with the 1969 release of "Easy Rider", which he co-wrote with Dennis Hopper (who also directed the film) and Terry Southern. Fonda produced the movie on a budget of less than $400,000 and sold the distribution rights to Columbia. The movie revolutionized international filmmaking and went on to staggering grosses and great acclaim, although Fonda and Hopper would have a personal falling out relating to the movie.

An iconic image of Fonda in Roger Corman's 1966 film "The Wild Angels".

In the years after "Easy Rider", Fonda had a checkered career. He directed and starred in the 1971 revisionist western "The Hired Hand" which was a boxoffice flop but which went on to become an acclaimed cult movie, similar to Thomas McGuane's 1975 movie "92 in the Shade" in which Fonda also starred. He dropped out of acting and filmmaking for extended periods of time before gaining an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in the 1997 film "Ulee's Gold". Fonda had been back in the news in recent months in relation to the 50th anniversary of "Easy Rider". He was scheduled to introduce the film at a high profile screening of the movie this September at Radio City Music Hall. For more click here.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

The year 1969 was an extraordinarily good one for movies. In addition to some of the best major studio releases of all time, the year also saw some innovative independent films. Among the most consequential was "Putney Swope", directed by Robert Downey (now known as Robert Downey Sr. to differentiate him from his offspring, the popular leading man.)  Downey is an unapologetic liberal who thrived during the counter-culture revolution of the late 1960s. "Putney Swope" seemed to be the kind of avante garde filmmaking that would never see a wide release. The film was shot almost entirely in black-and-white during a period in which the format had been deemed uncommercial for years. He also  took some broadside shots at the sacred cows of American capitalism.The movie was saved from oblivion by the owner of the Cinema V theater chain who was enthusiastic about the script and Downey's disregard for conventional opinions. Because Cinema V owned enough theaters to give the film a wide release, it ensured that the critics and public would at least be aware of its existence. No one foresaw that the film would become a highly acclaimed commercial hit. In the process, the film's poster depicting a white hand giving the middle finger salute (with a black woman symbolizing the offending digit) became a iconic image. The cast was largely unknown at the time but some of actors went on to varying degrees of fame (Allen Garfield, Allan Arbus, Antonio Fargas, Stan Gottlieb.) 

The film opens with a striking scene in which a helicopter lands in New York City. A man who appears to be an uncouth biker-type emerges carrying a briefcase and he's met by a senior executive from an advertising firm. At a board meeting, the man who arrived by helicopter informs the executives that the beer they are marketing is worthless and that beer itself is only loved by men with sexual inadequacies. He then promptly departs. This is only the beginning of a very strange journey. Soon, the hapless ad men are squabbling over whether to heed the advice or not. Then the megalomaniac who owns the agency arrives to address them, only to keel over and drop dead on the conference table. Top executives immediately rifle through his pockets and rob him of any valuables before voting on who should be the next chairman. Through an unintended fluke, the choice proves to be Putney Swope (Arnold Johnson), a middle-aged token African-American who relishes now being in charge of an agency that symbolizes hypocrisy and greed. Swope loses no time in making sweeping changes in accordance with bringing about social reforms. He fires most of the white workers and replaces them with an eclectic group of black executives, none of whom seem remotely qualified for the tasks at hand. Swope renames the business as  the Truth & Soul Agency and launches outrageous ad campaigns that are designed to offend everyone. In ads for an airline, female flight attendants are depicted dancing topless and sexually assaulting male customers. In a sweetly filmed commercial, a young interracial couple sing romantically about dry-humping. Ironically, the strategies work and Truth & Soul is making millions from clients who consider Putney to be a messiah of advertising. Soon, he's living the high life, espousing socialist/communist rhetoric and even dressing like Fidel Castro. However, Putney becomes aware of the fact that even his hand-chosen minority employees are not immune from greed and corruption. At home, his new diva-like wife takes pleasure in abusing their white servant girl.  What's the message behind all this? Who knows. Perhaps Downey is simply trying to say that capitalism corrupts across racial lines. In any event, the film ends on a bizarre, cynical note. Oh, and did I mention the casting of little people as the corrupt and perpetually horny President of the United States and First Lady who host group sex encounters?

"Putney Swope" is a brazen and entertaining film even though the script is erratic and scattershot. Much of it is tame by today's standards but the film pushed the envelope back in 1969. (I don't believe it was ever formally given a rating but it was considered to be "Adults Only" fare by most theaters.)  Much of the credit for the movie's unique look must go to cinematographer Gerald Cotts, who had never shot a feature film before. He gets some striking shots and, to emphasize the impact of Putney's offensive TV commercials, these are the only scenes that are shown in color. The performances are uniformly amusing and Arnold Johnson makes for a compelling protagonist even though Downey ended up dubbing his voice with his own, ostensibly because he said Johnson couldn't remember his lines. Some of the gags fall flat and the film as a whole is a mixed bag but there is no denying that it represents the epitome of American independent filmmaking from this era.

Hauer in his iconic role as Batty in "Blade Runner".

BY LEE PFEIFFER

International film star Rutger Hauer has died at age 75 in his native Netherlands after what has been called "a short illness". Hauer had run away from home at age 15 and joined the merchant marines before turning his attention to acting. He gained stardom in the Netherlands in the 1960s through a TV series titled "Floris". He gravitated to feature films where his good looks and assertive personality made him a popular attraction. His first major hit in European cinema was the acclaimed 1973 film "Turkish Delight". Hauer, who frequently collaborated with director Paul Verhoeven, made a mark in Hollywood playing a memorable villain in the 1981 thriller "Nighthawks" starring Sylvester Stallone. In 1982, he landed his most iconic role as the villain Batty in director Ridley Scott's sci-fi classic "Blade Runner". The film was a critical and boxoffice disappointment but over the decades it has become widely beloved and acclaimed by movie fans. In 1986, he scored again with film-goers as the titular character in "The Hitcher" in which he gave a chilling performance as a charismatic psychopathic killer.  He landed another plum role in 1988 with the film "The Legend of the Holy Drinker", playing a ne'er do well character. His performance was widely acclaimed. Hauer was also a popular presence in major TV movies including "Escape from Sobibor" and "Fatherland", which earned him Golden Globe nominations. In recent years, Hauer appeared in his share of "B" movies and TV productions but he never suffered the greatest fear of actors: being out of work for extended periods. Rutger Hauer never went out of style. For more click here.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

The James Bond film "Licence to Kill" opened in the summer of 1989. Although it was a hit worldwide, American grosses were anemic- at least by James Bond standards. The film marked Timothy Dalton's second and final appearance as 007 as the movie opened against a number of blockbuster films that saw it wither by comparison in terms of boxoffice. Critics were also largely unimpressed with the new, realistic tone of a revenge plot and a grim James Bond in a fairly humorless story. But some of us knew we were seeing something exciting an innovative here. Roger Moore had a very successful run over a twelve year period but even he admitted he went a film too far, bowing out after the goofy "A View to a Kill" in 1985. Dalton took over the reigns with "The Living Daylights" in 1987. Fans and critics seemed relieved to have a more realistic portrayal of Bond on the big screen. "Licence to Kill" dared to upset the formula completely, paving the way for Daniel Craig's somber version of Bond that premiered to wide acclaim in 2006. "Licence" is the Rodney Dangerfield of Bond movies: it don't get no respect. Many Bond fans loathe it but perhaps a critical reassessment is underway. The film is far from perfect and there are some loose ends that could have been improved, but Dalton is terrific, as is Robert Davi as his nemesis, Sanchez. It's also director John Glen's most assured achievement in the Bond canon. Writing in the Hollywood Reporter, Phil Pirrello provides a thoughtful and positive article about the film's ultimate impact on the franchise, albeit it the innovations were deemed to be unacceptable at the time. Click here to read.

Zeffirelli directing Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey on the set of the 1968 production of "Romeo and Juliet".

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Franco Zeffirelli, the acclaimed Italian director of opulent films and operas, has died at age 96. Zeffirelli's passion for cinema and opera led him to often find ways to combine the two into his works. As the Hollywood Reporter points out, his operas were often cinematic in staging and his films were sometimes presented in an operatic manner. Zeffirelli's most notable cinematic work was his dynamic presentation of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" in 1968. Previous versions were scoffed at for casting actors who were too old in the titular roles but Zeffirelli cast real-life teenagers Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting and his screenplay presented their love affair in a manner that took advantage of the screen industry's new sexual freedoms. Zeffirelli received an Oscar nomination for Best Director. The previous year, Zeffirelli had directed Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in a lively screen version of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew". He returned to the Bard's classics in 1990 with his screen version of "Hamlet" that raised eyebrows with his casting of Mel Gibson in the title role. However, the film and Gibson received favorable reviews. Not all of Zeffirelli's mainstream films were successful, however, with his 1979 remake of "The Champ" and the movie "First Love" among his boxoffice disappointments.

For more about Zeffirelli's remarkable career in film and opera, click here.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Twilight Time has released the 1965 WWII espionage thriller "Morituri" as a region-free, limited edition (3,000 units) Blu-ray edition. The film represents yet another gem from Marlon Brando's "lost decade" of  films that were bookended by the massive failure of "Mutiny on the Bounty" in 1962 and his triumphant starring role in "The Godfather" ten years later. During those years, Brando's films were largely disparaged by critics and ignored by his former fans. Ironically, many of these productions were very good indeed and Brando often gave some of the most intriguing performances of his career. "Morituri" paired Brando with Yul Brynner, another Hollywood legend with a penchant for being difficult to work with. Brynner was known for making demands of producers that rivaled that of the King of Siam while Brando engaged in a penchant for making last minute changes to the script that often put him at odds with the cast and crew. Such was the case on this film, which is a moody, B&W production that is by necessity claustrophobic in nature as virtually all of the action takes place aboard a ship. The film opens with Robert Crain (Brando) being paid a visit by a British Intelligence office, Colonel Statter (Trevor Howard, who reconciled with Brando after griping about his work habits on "Mutiny on the Bounty"). Crain is posing as a Swiss national and living out the war in India,  leading a carefree life of leisure. He also happens to be a munitions expert and Statter reveals that the Brits are aware that Crain is actually living under an assumed name, having deserted the German SS a couple of years before. He offers Crain a proposition: agree to go on a possible suicide mission or be placed in the hands of German forces who are eager to have him in custody in return for the release of a high-profile British prisoner. Crain's mission is to pose as an SS man and board a German freighter that is carrying a precious load of valuable raw materials to occupied France. The Allies want to capture the goods or at least destroy them before they can reach the Germans. Crain is to try to somehow disable the explosive devices hidden within the ship that are designed to scuttle the craft in the event of capture, thus allowing the Allies to intercept the vessel and take the cargo. Left with a Hobson's Choice, Crain reluctantly agrees.

The captain of the freighter is Mueller (Brynner), a career sailor whose reputation has been tarnished due to a scandal. The German high command have given him another chance for redemption by ordering him to deliver the goods to France by navigating through waters that are filled with Allied submarines on the prowl. Mueller considers himself to be a loyal German (his son is an esteemed naval captain) but he balks at the brutality of the Nazi regime. Thinking Crain is actually an SS officer, he takes an immediate dislike to him and suspects he is there to spy on his movements for the German brass. Crain immediately sets out to disable the scuttling systems on the ship but finding the hidden boxes proves to be an arduous and dangerous task. Meanwhile, an unexpected boarding by two German naval officers results in their expressing skepticism about Crain's real identity. With his mission and life in mortal danger, Crain attempts to rally disaffected crew members to take control of the ship in alliance with some American prisoners who are also being transported.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Probably no genre illustrates the rapid advance of cinematic screen freedoms than the biker movie. The genre debuted in 1953 with Marlon Brando in "The Wild One". The film, which chronicled the virtual takeover of a small California town by a wild motorcycle gang, was considered extremely controversial at the time. The biker film remained largely dormant until the release of Roger Corman's "The Wild Angels" in 1966, which became a surprising boxoffice and media sensation. Only a year or two before, teenage audiences were being fed a steady diet of white bread rock 'n roll films that bore little resemblance to real life. Suddenly, the biker film blatantly presented raging hormones, gang wars, drug use and group sex without apology. Young people patronized these films in droves. With social constraints falling by the minute, the biker films- cheaply made as they were- spoke to the emerging generation that would be defined by hippies, drop-outs and protesters. Suddenly, Elvis movies seemed like entertainment for their parents and grandparents.  With the success of "The Wild Angels", imitators galore sprang onto drive-in movie screens across America. The biker films were like any other genre in that some of the entries were poorly done efforts designed to reap a few fast bucks at the box-office, while others had a certain crude efficiency about them. Such a film was "The Glory Stompers", one of the better entries in the biker movie genre. Made in 1967, the film was released by (surprise!) American International, which reaped king's ransoms by producing low-budget exploitation movies. Make no mistake, "The Glory Stompers" is indeed an exploitation movie with little redeeming value beyond it's interesting cast. Dennis Hopper, in full psycho mode, top-lines as Chino, the leader of a brutal biker gang known as The Black Souls. After being dissed by members of the rival Glory Stompers gang, Chino and his posse track down a Glory Stomper, Darryl (Jody McCrea) who is with his gorgeous blonde girlfriend Chris (Chris Noel). Chris is badgering Darryl to leave the biker lifestyle and do something meaningful with his life. They are interrupted by the arrival of the Black Souls, who beat Darryl mercilessly. Believing him to be dead, Chino orders the gang to kidnap Chris to prevent her from filing murder charges against them. Chino advises the group that they will transport her by bike several hundred miles into Mexico, where he has arranged to sell her into white slavery. Unbeknownst to them, however, Darryl recovers from his wounds and immediately sets out to rescue Chris. Along the way he meets a former fellow Glory Stomper, Smiley (former Tarzan star Jock Mahoney), who agrees to join the rescue effort. The eventually pick up one other ally and his girlfriend and head into Mexico in hot pursuit of the Black Souls.

The film features a good deal of padding with extended shots of the bikers cruising down highways or navigating over sandy desert roads. There's also a good deal of footage devoted to sexploitaiton, with topless biker women riding rampant through drug-fueled orgies and the requisite cat right between jealous biker "mamas". This was pretty shocking stuff back in the day and gives the movie a relatively contemporary feel (even though today's Hell's Angels are primarily known for organizing charity fund raisers.)  The cast is rather interesting and it's apparent that Hopper's presence in films like this clearly gave him street cred when he decided to make "Easy Rider". Chris Noel is quite stunning as the kidnap victim who must use psychology to avoid frequent attempts by her captors to rape her. She's also a good actress who brings a degree of dignity to the otherwise sordid on-goings. Jock Mahoney is the grizzled biker veteran who puts loyalty above his personal safety and it's refreshing to see him wearing attire that goes beyond a loin cloth. Jody McRae, son of Joel McRae, is a bland but efficient hero. The supporting cast includes ubiquitous screen villain Robert Tessier and future music industry phenomenon Casey Kassem (!), who co-produced the movie. The direction by Anthony M. Lanza is uninspired but efficient and the cinematography by Mario Tosi (billed here as Mario Tossi) is surprisingly impressive, which explains why he became a top name in "A"-grade studio productions. The rock music tracks, produced by Mike Curb, are awful. Curb was a Boy Wonder at the time, producing memorable music scores for American International films such as "The Wild Angels" and "Wild in the Streets". Here, he's clearly slacking. Curb composed the score with Davie Allan but the duo insert jaunty, upbeat tunes during moments that call for suspense-laden tracks. Nevertheless, the film remains consistently entertaining and stands as one of the better entries in this genre. 

MGM has released "The Glory Stompers" as a burn-to-order DVD. Despite some initial artifacts present in the opening sequence, the print is crisp and clean. There are no bonus extras.

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Here's a rare one from the archives: Roger Moore horsing around in New Orleans in 1972 as filming began on "Live and Let Die", Moore's first James Bond movie. The film ushered in a new era in the franchise following Sean Connery and George Lazenby in the role. Concerns that Moore might not "click" with audiences were quickly forgotten when the boxoffice returns indicated moviegoers were very happy with Moore. He would make six more Bond films before retiring as 007 after "A View to a Kill" in 1985.

By Lee Pfeiffer 

In between filming the James Bond blockbusters The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker, Roger Moore starred in a largely unheralded action adventure film that afforded him one of the best roles of his career. The movie was released internationally as North Sea Hijack but was retitled "ffolkes" in the all-important U.S. market. The title referred to the character Moore played, an eccentric crank who operates a Navy Seal-like team of daredevils who are periodically enlisted by the British government to combat terrorists. ffolkes may be a cute title for a movie hero but it lead to disappointing boxoffice returns in America, where audiences found it to be rather confusing: "What the hell is a ffolkes?" Nevertheless, this is a crackling good action flick, deftly directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, who was on a roll at the time with The Wild Geese, The Sea Wolves and this film, all of which, not coincidentally, starred Roger Moore.  

The film opens with ffolkes drilling his team of men in a relentless scuba-diving training sessions and casually tossing live grenades into the water as an incentive for them to complete their task within the allotted time. ffolkes is perpetually grouchy. He hates women (the result of growing up in an all-female household), a clever nod to show us that this character may be a man of action, but he's the antithesis of 007. (The script also makes a fleeting mention of the fact that ffolkes' disdain for the fairer sex is also partly due to a failed marriage, 'lest any of Moore's fans might suspect he's playing a gay man of action.) ffolkes also enjoys a more-than-occasional drink and is perpetually in the presence of a bottle of Scotch that he totes everywhere. He also hates smoking (another inside joke, as Moore was an obsessive cigar smoker at the time in real life) but has an obsession with cats. He lives in an old but imposing home on a lake, presumably in northern England or Scotland (though these scenes were actually filmed in Ireland, with interiors filmed at Pinewood Studios in Britain.), where he is comfortable eschewing the company of anyone but his team and his kitties. Topping off his eccentricities, ffolkes does his deep thinking while engaged in the art of crocheting. He's an interesting character and Moore has a field day playing him in some delightfully funny scenes in which he lambastes his men, traveling companions on a train, and lastly, top MPs and British naval brass. 

Moore rehearsing a scene on location in Ireland.

The story quickly kicks into gear when a team of sophisticated criminals hijack a cargo ship that is en route to bring supplies to the two biggest oil rigs in the North Sea. The group is led by the mastermind Kramer (Anthony Perkins), who orders his men to attach mines to both of the oil rigs before taking control of the larger of the two complexes. The gang demands that a 25 million pound ransom be paid to them by the British government or they will blow up both rigs, causing incalculable damage to the world economy, not to mention the environmental disaster that would ensue. The British Prime Minister (Faith Brook, exploiting the new era of Thatcher quite amusingly) reluctantly follows the advise of her military command to use ffolkes and his small team to outwit the bad guys. ffolkes accepts the mission on the proviso that he gives all the orders. He enlists a British admiral (very well played by James Mason) and an oil company executive (Moore's old real life pal and former Felix Leiter, David Hedison) as part of the high risk plot to be held hostage on the oil rig while ffolkes and his men engineer an ingenious plot to save the day. To say any more would spoil the fun. Suffice it to say that the screenplay refreshingly makes the seemingly superhuman ffolkes all-to-human by showing him making some mistakes in judgment that have costly consequences. Most of the laughs comes from Moore verbally sparring with the female PM and anyone else who might foolishly think they can contribute in any meaningful way to his master plan. The supporting cast is very good with Perkins' sarcastic and ruthless villain a scene-stealer, Michael Parks as his top henchman and old stalwart Jack Watson, virtually unrecognizable as the Norwegian sea captain whose vessel is hijacked. It all moves at a brisk pace by director McLaglen and the flick's old style editing and cinematography is downright refreshing in this era of overblown action movies.

The DVD is devoid of extras and has plenty of grain indicating that this fine, but overlooked movie is deserving of a Blu-ray upgrade. (Reader Gerhard Gallian advises that a no-frills Blu-ray is currently available in Germany.)

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David Picker and his wife Sandy at a book party for release of his memoirs in Beverly Hills, 2013. (Photo copyright Cinema Retro, all rights reserved.)

BY LEE PFEIFFER

David V. Picker, whose tenure at major film studios and as an independent producer, made him a legend in the film industry, has died from colon cancer in New York at age 87. The Picker family lived and breathed movies and in the 1950s they ran United Artists under the leadership of Arthur Krim. Under Krim and the Pickers, UA entered a "Golden Age" of achievements. David, who was named head of production at an early age, showed an uncanny ability to attract top talent and produce films that were popular and critical successes. He was ultimately named President and COO of the company. During his tenure, UA brought to the screen films that were diverse in content including "West Side Story", "The Magnificent Seven", "The Great Escape", "In the Heat of the Night", "Judgment at Nuremberg", "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and many others. He also thought outside the box by green-lighting "Midnight Cowboy", making it the only "X-rated" movie to win a Best Picture Oscar. He also backed director Bernardo Bertolucci's controversial film "Last Tango in Paris" and developed a gradual distribution roll-out that used the movie's notoriety as a marketing took, making the film a sensation. When he heard about a director named Sergio Leone having great success with the European Western "A Fistful of Dollars", Picker ignored conventional wisdom and struck a deal to release the film in English-language markets. The Leone trilogy of films with Clint Eastwood made both men international celebrities and went on to become acclaimed as classics despite their modest production values. Picker also struck a long term production deal with Woody Allen, resulting in many highly acclaimed films.

Picker also saw early potential in the Beatles before they became household names internationally. He arranged a multiple picture deal and hired young director Richard Lester to helm "A Hard Day's Night". The film became a sensation. Perhaps his greatest success was arranging a deal with James Bond producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman to bring Ian Fleming's 007 novels to the big screen after Columbia passed on the opportunity. Picker foresaw the potential of a long-term franchise but later admitted no one could have foreseen it thriving after a half-century. It was Picker who arguably salvaged the Bond franchise after Sean Connery retired from the role after his fifth Bond film, "You Only Live Twice" in 1967. Unknown actor George Lazenby took over the role for "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" but he, too, quit, leaving the franchise in disarray. American actor John Gavin was signed for the role for "Diamonds are Forever" but Picker had second thoughts about his viability to play Bond. He arranged to meet Connery for a game of golf in Spain and convinced him to return for one more Bond movie, agreeing to the highest salary ever paid to an actor. The film's success proved there was still a major market for James Bond and allowed Connery's successor Roger Moore to thrive in the role of 007.

Picker left UA in the 1970s and became an independent producer. One of his great successes was Bob Fosse's 1974 film "Lenny". He also produced the acclaimed comedy "Smile" and the disaster thriller "Juggernaut". At various times he was wooed back to take top level positions at various studios including Paramount, Columbia and Lorimar. He oversaw some major successes as well as flops but his low-key personality didn't often mix well with the hyper-activity in the New Hollywood. Ultimately, he returned to independent producing and brought Steve Martin to the big screen with the enormous hit "The Jerk". Picker also served for a time as President of Hallmark Entertainment Productions.

Picker, who was a modest and reserved figure in an industry strewn with big egos, rarely gave interviews but he was a contributor to Cinema Retro, enlightening readers with behind the scenes stories pertaining to specific films. He told us that during his days at United Artists, he and his fellow production executives were conscious of the fact that the company had been founded by actors: Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. Thus, it became the corporate philosophy to not interfere with a director or producer once a movie had been given the green light. The first time the UA brass often saw any of the film was when it was completed and screened. There were exceptions when a production was deemed to be in trouble and over-budget. Picker admitted he made a mistake when he greenlit director George Stevens' biblical epic "The Greatest Story Ever Told" largely on the basis that he had grown up idolizing the filmmaker. The movie proved to be a boxoffice disaster and the studio only recovered because of the success of "Help!" and "Thunderball". Picker had also given the go-ahead for the big budget adaptation of James Michener's "Hawaii". When the budget started hitting the stratosphere, Picker went to the location and personally cut out the last half of the script in an attempt to salvage what became a boxoffice disaster. He also had to inform director/star John Wayne that he had to trim considerable footage from the roadshow presentations of "The Alamo" when the film went into wide release in order to ensure profitability. Wayne complied without complaint but when the same situation arose with Stanley Kramer's "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", it resulted in bad feelings between the two men. Picker always claimed that although the film is beloved by many, he couldn't stand to watch it because it brought back so many negative memories of feuding with Kramer.

Picker had been involved in politics throughout his adult life along with other prominent members of his family who promoted liberal candidates and causes. His uncle Arnold was  named in the first spot on President Nixon's notorious "secret" list of personal enemies. In a note below Arnold's name, Nixon indicated that the resources of the federal government should also be considered to be used  illegally against David Picker and United Artists as a corporation. Picker said that when the list became public in the midst of the Watergate scandal, he hung it on his wall with pride.

Picker was arguably the last major studio head from a Golden Age of Hollywood film production. His 2013 memoir "Musts, Maybes and Nevers" is an essential read for anyone who likes classic movies. Cinema Retro is grateful for his friendship and contributions to our magazine and we extend our sincere condolences to his wife Sandy and the entire Picker family.

Joe Dante's "Trailers from Hell" web site presents contemporary film editor Mark Goldblatt's tribute to the 1969 James Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". Goldblatt provides an insightful and very appreciative analysis of the film and correctly points out that, contrary to popular belief, George Lazenby's only Bond film was indeed a boxoffice success.

Robert Vaughn and Paul Newman in the 1974 blockbuster "The Towering Inferno", nominated for Best Picture.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Movie fans have complained for many years that the Academy is increasingly focusing on nominating art house movies at the expense of blockbusters in the Best Picture Oscar category. The Washington Post investigates whether this is myth or reality and comes down on the side of the latter, providing charts and inflation-adjusted calculations to show that more than ever the Best Picture winners are generally not among the most popular with the public. But should they be? The Oscars are not supposed to be a popularity contest, though someone should tell the Academy that, given their botched lead up for plans for this year's telecast. Should a film get the Best Picture Oscar simply because it is a huge boxoffice success? The Academy was aware of its members honoring smaller art house films and in 2009 made the controversial decision to expand the nominations for Best Picture from five to up to ten. Purists said this was just a disingenuous way to include populist fare without really having to actually vote for it. But Oscar may be getting a raw deal. In the past, the Academy gave Best Picture Oscars to such popular successes as "The Greatest Show on Earth" and "Around the World in 80 Days" and nominated such blockbusters as "Jaws", "E.T.", "Star Wars" and "The Towering Inferno" even when the Best Picture category was relegated to only five films. Click here to read the article and form your own opinion.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Kino Lober is releasing a number of value-priced Blu-ray double features with similarly-themed films. Among them is the combo of "Betsy's Wedding" and "Holy Matrimony". The first movie is a 1990 release starring and directed by Alan Alda, who had directed three previous feature films. Anyone who has been involved in planning a wedding knows that the old adage "The more the merrier!" rings hollow. In fact, the logistics of planning a wedding can become increasingly complicated and frustrating in direct correlation with the number of well-meaning people who decide to involve themselves. There's always the risk that the betrothed couple will be overwhelmed by logistics and that the wedding plans are catered to please everyone but them. Such is the case in "Betsy's Wedding". Alda is cast as Eddie Hopper, a successful real estate speculator who invests money in building homes that he hopes to sell for a quick profit. Lately, however, his instincts have been troublesome and his latest venture is proving to be a white elephant that is draining his savings. At the same time, his youngest daughter Betsy (Molly Ringwald) and her boyfriend Jake (Dylan Walsh) announce they intend to get married. Both are left-wing progressives who are also social activists who disdain blatant displays of wealth. They want a low-key civil ceremony with only a handful of guests. However, Eddie and his wife Lola (Madeline Kahn) argue that a much grander, traditional wedding is called for so as not to offend family members. Their resistance worn down, Betsy and Jake reluctant concede, which opens a Pandora's Box of bad luck for all involved. Eddie can't afford to put on the wedding he has lobbied for so he turns to his brother-in-law Oscar (Joe Pesci), a slimy business "tycoon" who, in reality, is also short of cash. Since he can't find the money to lend Eddie for the wedding, he introduces him to a local mob boss, Georgie (Burt Young), who puts up the funds but then integrates himself into Eddie's life and plans for the wedding. A parallel story line centers on Eddie and Lola's other daughter Connie (Ally Sheedy), a New York City police officer who is stuck in a perpetual mode of depression, shying away from people and bruised by the fact that her younger sister will marry before she does. She is elevated from the blues by Georgie's bodyguard Stevie Dee (Anthony Lapaglia), a slick mobster who sounds like Rocky Balboa on steroids but who curiously speaks to everyone with excessive politeness. Has is obsessed with Connie and slowly but surely succeeds in wooing her into coming out of her shell. As the wedding date nears, the pressure mounts on everyone. Eddie's business dealings with George almost get him assassinated in an attempted mob hit, Betsy and Jake are barely on speaking terms and on the wedding day and a torrential rain storm threatens to collapse the large tent structure the reception is being held in. Eddie receives solace from imaginary conversations with his dear, departed father (Joey Bishop). 

"Besty's Wedding" was not well-received by critics or audiences back in the day and proved to be the final feature film to date directed by Alan Alda. Yet, I found it to be consistently funny and Alda excels as both actor and director, milking maximum laughs from an inspired cast. The scene-stealer is Lapaglia, one of the few cast members to receive kudos from reviewers. His sensitive tough guy routine is both amusing and endearing. The film isn't hilarious at any point but it's never less than entertaining, as you might imagine any movie that teams Joe Pesci and Burt Young would be.

"Holy Matrimony" was unceremoniously dumped by Disney into a handful of theaters in 1994 before being relegated to home video. It's total theatrical gross in North America was about $700,000. As with "Betsy's Wedding", it was directed by a popular actor, in this case Leonard Nimoy. Ironically, just as "Betsy's Wedding" represented Alda's last direction (to date) of a feature film, so too did "Holy Matrimony" mark Nimoy's last directorial effort on the big screen. The premise is hardly original, centering on a protagonist who seeks shelter in a religious community to evade pursuers. This plot device dates back to the 1940s with John Wayne in "Angel and the Badman" and its unacknowledged 1984 remake "Witness". Here we find Patricia Arquette as Havana, a sultry young woman from the other side of the tracks who is fed up with being exploited by performing provocative routines at a carnival tent located in a fairgrounds. She is paid a miserly wage by the owner who she comes to resent. She and her equally impoverished boyfriend Peter (Tate Donovan) rob the owner and flee in their car, but not before being identified. With the police searching for them, they cross into Canada and take refuge in an Amish-like religious colony where Peter was raised before leaving for the outside world. They pretend to want to immerse themselves in the rustic lifestyle but Havana's coarse nature and foul mouth make the elders suspicious of their motives. Peter hides the cache of stolen loot but before he can divulge its location to Havana, he is killed in an automobile accident. The colony elders view this as a way to get rid of Havana by informing her that customs dictate that she must marry Peter's brother, in this case twelve year-old Ezekiel (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). However, Havana- who needs to stay until she can locate the stash of hidden money- agrees to the arrangement, much to the shock of all involved- especially young Ezekiel who is appalled at having to be married at such a young age. The film deftly handles the possible distasteful elements of this reverse "Lolita" situation by making it clear that both husband and wife sleep in separate rooms. The one funny sex gag involves Ezekiel trying to impress his friends that he is satisfying his new wife only to have the scenario backfire much to his embarrassment when it is revealed he is actually in the bedroom alone.

Much of what follows is predictable. As with all movie plots in which the male and female protagonists start off hating each other, there is no doubt that Havana and Ezekiel will grow to respect and like each other, with Havana acting more like a big sister than a wife. Once the money is located, Havana is told to accompany Ezekiel back to the States to return the loot to its rightful owner. What follows is a road trip in which the two share plenty of personal thoughts and have to avoid a corrupt FBI agent (John Schuck), who is hot on their trail, determined to steal the money for himself. The story climaxes back at the state fair where Havana originally worked. She's now determined to return the stolen money, all the while trying to evade the police and the FBI guy who are hot on her trail. Director Nimoy capably blends both sentiment and comedy during the course of the film, though the movie's main attributes are the performances by Arquette and especially young Gordon-Levitt who shows star power even at this early stage of his career. There is also a very fine performance by Armin-Mueller Stahl as the elder of the religious community. Refreshingly, the film doesn't mock or humiliate the members of the religious colony. Rather, it is "fish-out-of-water" Havana who bears the brunt of most of the humor. While "Holy Matrimony" is nothing very special, it does seem to have suffered an undeserved fate by being released to only a small number of theaters. It is certainly on par with most mid-range comedies but apparently Disney felt it had very little boxoffice appeal.

The Kino Lorber Blu-ray combo features very fine transfers of both films and includes their original trailers. Recommended.

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Finney with Audrey Hepburn in Stanley Donen's "Two for the Road".

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Albert Finney, who rose to fame and acclaim as one of Britain's generation of actors known as "Angry Young Men", has died at age 82. A chest infection was cited as cause of death. Finney was among an exciting new generation of British actors who burst upon the scene in the 1950s and 1960s, reaping critical praise for their realistic portrayals often of troubled men who were being constrained by socio-economic conditions that afflicted the lower income class in post-War Britain. His star-making role came in director Karl Reisz's "kitchen sink" classic, the 1960 film "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning" which reflected the frustrations of the working class. Finney called upon his real life experiences growing up in Northwest England under somewhat spartan living conditions.

As a newly-minted star, he screen tested for director David Lean for the title role of "Lawrence of Arabia" but Finney didn't want to sign a five picture deal with the film's producer Sam Speigel. Peter O'Toole took the role and became a major name in international cinema. Finney was somewhat opaque compared to other young actors that emerged in the UK in the 1960s. He wasn't the publicity seeker that Richard Burton was, nor was he the hard-drinking, towel snapping joker Richard Harris was. He was thought by some critics to have not achieved his full promise on stage or screen, despite having been nominated for five Oscars and thirteen BAFTAs. (He won two of the latter.) Finney was a remote figure in a publicity-hungry industry. He rarely gave interviews and was often cynical about the shallowness of fame. He refused to attend any of the ceremonies at which he was nominated. Perhaps his best-loved role was in "Tom Jones", the 1963 screen adaptation of Henry Fielding's bawdy comedic novel. Yet, Finney's work on the big screen was spotty. He didn't work very frequently and sometimes chose projects that were not especially successful at the boxoffice. His more prominent films include "Murder on the Orient Express", "Erin Brockovich", "Two for the Road", "The Victors", "Scrooge", "Wolfen", "Shoot the Moon", "Annie", "Traffic", "The Bourne Ultimatum" and "The Bourne Legacy". He was off screen for a number of years while he waged a successful battle against cancer. His final role was a memorable one: as Kincade, the grumpy old farmer and boyhood friend of James Bond in the 2012 blockbuster "Skyfall". For more click here.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

In my review of Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release of the 1979 disaster film "Meteor",  I observed that the disaster movie genre had peaked with the release of Irwin Allen's "The Towering Inferno" in 1974. Yet, that didn't stop studios from beating a dead horse in an attempt to squeeze some more juice out of the tried-and-true formula of gathering an all-star cast, then figuring out ways to drown, bury or incinerate the characters portrayed on screen. One of the more obscure attempts to keep the disaster film cycle relevant was "Avalanche", a movie produced by Roger Corman and directed  and scripted by one of his proteges, Corey Allen, who would go on to establish a respectable career as a director of major television shows. When you approach a Corman production, you tend to give some special dispensation for certain cinematic sins that you wouldn't accord more mainstream productions. Corman, who happily embraces his legendary status as a man who made major profits from films with minor budgets, knew how to stretch the soup in the cinematic sense. Rarely armed with ample production funds, Corman cut corners whenever possible but still managed to retain a certain elegance to his productions. In 1978, he jumped on the fading disaster movie bandwagon with "Avalanche".  He hired Rock Hudson as the leading man because Hudson, at this point in his career, realized that he was no longer a hot commodity as a boxoffice draw in feature films (although he did successfully transition to a popular presence on television.) Corman also cast Mia Farrow and respected supporting actor Robert Forster for additional name recognition. He secured permission to film at a major ski resort in Durango, Colorado and out-sourced the special effects work to a company called Excelsior! 

The film follows the general formula of the disaster film genre in that the victims-to-be are gathered for a major social occasion, unaware that nature is working overtime to thwart their fun. Rock Hudson plays David Shelby, an arrogant developer who has invested his life savings to build a vacation paradise in the Rocky Mountains. He has disdain for local environmentalists who have warned him that his destruction of an an abundance of trees on his massive property has removed a natural barrier to the inevitable avalanches that will occur.  Shelby is preoccupied with his grand opening festivities and is simultaneously trying to woo back his ex-wife Caroline (Mia Farrow), who is attending as his guest. He's also busy trying to entertain his sassy, wise-cracking mother,  Florence (Jeanette Nolan), who is being shepherded around the resort by David's major domo Henry McDade (Steve Franken in a rare dramatic role.) Meanwhile, local environmental activist and nature photographer Nick Thorne (Robert Forster) becomes increasingly concerned about the massive buildup of snow on the mountain peaks that are directly in line with the resort. He attempts to alleviate some of the danger by strategically using a snow cannon to set off controlled mini avalanches. Intermingled with all of this are the expected subplots involving minor characters who are set up to be inevitable victims. Barry Primus is a TV sports announcer who is broadcasting from the grand opening and who must contend with the fact that his estranged wife Tina (Cathey Paine) is on premises and rubbing his nose in it by blatantly carrying on an affair with egotistical super star skier Bruce Scott (Rick Moses). Scott, in turn, is rubbing Tina's nose in it by blatantly sleeping with another woman, thus causing Tina to go ballistic and consider suicide. Meanwhile, David Shelby finds time to unwind by spending some quality time in a hot tub with with his naked secretary (thus allowing Roger Corman to slip in a bit of T&A). Although the story seems set up to have the disastrous avalanche occur during the opening night festivities, screenwriter Allen throws the audience a curve ball by avoiding that cliche and saving the action for the following afternoon when, amid a particularly vicious snow mobile race, a small plane piloted by one of Shelby's employees encounters bad weather and slams into a nearby mountain, thus triggering the avalanche. This is where the movie progresses beyond cliches and becomes unexpectedly enjoyable. All of the standard disaster movie shtick is present, as both lovable and loathsome characters meet predictable fates, but the film's limited production resources somehow work in its favor. We're well aware that we're watching a Corman production but somehow the inventiveness that is required to carry it all off is quite admirable. Certain plot points are introduced and inexplicably abandoned including an insinuation that Shelby has bribed local political officials to overlook his clear violation of environmental protection rules in order to build his resort. This was one of Rock Hudson's final films as an "above the title" leading man. He's grayer and a bit paunchier than we'd seen him during his heyday, but he still had star power to spare and made for a dashing leading man, whether its skinny dipping in the hot tub or personally leading rescue parties in acts of derring doo to extricate victims of the tragedy. The film's showpiece sequence is a climactic scene in which Shelby must rescue Caroline, who is dangling from wrecked bridge above a ravine.  It's well-directed and genuinely suspenseful. 

It' easy to pick apart a film like "Avalanche", as it squarely fits into the "guilty pleasure" category. However, the film does a lot with very little as opposed to other misfires in this genre that did very little with a lot (aka "The Swarm"). The Kino Lorber Blu-ray edition features the original trailer and a "making of" featurette in which Roger Corman extols the virtues of the film. He admits the effects were rather shoddy and recalls his outrage when he discovered the SFX company had added "red snow". Corman hit the roof and it was changed to a bluish substance that he admits still looks pretty phony.  Robert Forster recalls that the "snow" was actually little pieces of plastic that were strewn by the hundreds of thousands over the scenic landscape. He remembers his dismay at the realization that none of these bits were biodegradable and many must still be contaminating the landscape of the Durango ski resort where the movie was filmed. Corman makes the claim that the film was actually a major financial success. He says his budget was only $1.7 million and that a TV sale for $2 million netted him an immediate $300,000 profit. The tale sounds a bit fanciful because it seems hard to believe that even in 1978 you could make a movie like this with three relatively big names for only $1.7 million. (Other sources give unsubstantiated estimates of the budget at around $6 million, which seems more plausible.) "Avalanche" is not near the top of the heap of disaster movies but it certainly doesn't rank at the bottom of the pack, either. The Kino Lorber release has an impressive transfer and the inclusion of those bonus extras make this title highly recommended for fans of this genre. 

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This ad appeared in Boxoffice magazine in April 1968 extolling the longevity of Fox's three big roadshow presentations. For the unenlightened, "roadshow" films were big budget productions that played in grand movie palaces in select cities. It could often be many months before these films came to neighborhood theaters nationwide. What is remarkable about this ad is that it illustrates that even after such films went "wide" to hundreds of other theaters, people still paid top dollar to enjoy seeing them in the roadshow presentations. Consider that "The Sound of Music" opened in 1965 and "The Sand Pebbles" and "The Bible" both opened in 1966. Yet, years later, the roadshow venues were still showing these films. Today, even blockbuster movies aren't in theaters very long because so much of the profit comes from a quick turnaround onto video and streaming services. However, in those days when movie theaters provided the only forum in which to see favorite blockbusters, fans would patronize theaters to see them repeatedly. This afforded them the opportunity to see the movies in their original versions, as studios often cut considerable footage when releasing them to local theaters.

Click here to order Cinema Retro's Movie Classics edition devoted to Roadshow movies of the 1960s.

A long time ago in our own galaxy, independent movie theaters prided themselves on creating unique promotional stunts, as evidenced from these photos from a March 1968 issue of Boxoffice magazine. In the parlance of the era, theater owners were "taking it to the streets" in order to drum up awareness of their latest showings. Sometimes models were employed and on other occasions, hapless theater employees were subjected to participating in rather bizarre and comical publicity stunts. These two photos show a model on the streets passing out leaflets to seemingly unimpressed passersby for the Joan Crawford thriller "Berserk!" and a mannequin dressed as Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name for "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." Those were the days!

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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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.

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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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.

Bertolucci on location for "Last Tango in Paris" with Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider in 1972.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Bernardo Bertolucci, the acclaimed Italian director, has died in Rome at age 77. The cause of death was not immediately revealed. Bertolucci won an Oscar for his direction of the 1987 film "The Last Emperor" and also received acclaim for his earlier films that included "The Spider's Stratagem" and "The Conformist". A left-wing Marxist through much of his life, Bertolucci also directed the 1976 epic "1900" which was steeped in political overtones. His most famous and notorious film was "Last Tango in Paris" (1972), which was non-political but highly controversial. It's graphic sexual content was the cause of international controversy and resulted in Bertolucci being charged with obscenity in his native Italy. The film starred Marlon Brando in the tale of a depressed, middle-aged American ex-pat who indulges in a series of anonymous sexual encounters with a teenage Parisian girl (Maria Schneider.) The movie was highly praised in some quarters while being denounced as pretentious pornography in others. Largely on the strength of Brando's powerful performance, the movie was an international boxoffice smash despite the fact that it was basically fare for art house cinemas. Both Brando and Bertolucci received Oscar nominations for the film. Bertolucci also directed the 1979 drama "Luna" which was also controversial for its overtones of an incestuous relationship between a mother and her teenage son. He would go on to also direct "The Sheltering Sky", "The Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man". "The Sheltering Sky", "Stealing Beauty". "The Dreamers" and "Me and You". For New York Times coverage, click here.

RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST FROM THE CINEMA RETRO ARCHIVES

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Even astute fans of retro cinematic classics may be unfamiliar with Billy Wilder's 1951 gem "Ace in the Hole". The film was a boxoffice flop in its American release back in the day but over the decades it has become regarded as a genuine classic and one of the best movies of its era. Kirk Douglas, in one of the truly great performances of his career, is cast as Chuck Tatum, a once-lauded reporter for a major New York newspaper, who finds his career on the skids. His cynical nature, overbearing personality and weakness for liquor has resulted in him being displaced to New Mexico, where- out of desperation- he convinces the editor of an Albuquerque paper to give him a job. Within hours, Tatum is bored by the sleepy atmosphere and passive nature of his co-workers, most of whom have no ambition beyond reporting minor stories of local interest. Things change radically when Tatum stumbles onto a crisis in the desert that could make for a compelling story. Leo Minosa (Richard Benedict) is the owner of a cafe located on a remote road who finds himself trapped in a cave after venturing inside to look for ancient Indian artifacts. Tatum sees that rescue plans for the man are rather poorly staged by the local deputy sheriff (Gene Evans). He enters the cave at great danger to himself and makes a connection with Leo, whose legs and midsection are buried under debris. Tatum is able to communicate with him from a small opening in a dirt mound and he assures Leo that he will get food, water and cigars while he organizes a rescue team. Grateful, Leo looks upon Tatum as his guardian angel. However, it becomes clear that Tatum is using his relationship with Leo for his own selfish purposes. He sees the potential as one of those "child stuck in a well" scenarios that tends to galvanize the entire nation. By personally taking charge of the rescue effort, Tatum makes himself a national hero overnight, as hundreds of people stream to the remote location and erect a tent city in order to be on the scene when Leo is eventually saved. Tatum, fully aware of American's eagerness to embrace the bizarre elements of any story, also plays up the notion that Leo is the victim of an ancient Indian curse for prowling around sacred tribal grounds.

Tatum has some disturbing factors to contend with, however. The primary problem is dealing with Leo's bombshell, self-centered wife Lorraine (Jan Sterling in a terrific performance). She was already looking to get out of a boring marriage with a boring man and decides to leave town during Leo's moment of crisis. Tatum uses a combination of charm and threats to convince her that staying put and playing the role of loyal wife would be in everyone's benefit. His prediction comes true in the financial sense, as the Minosa's cash-starved cafe begins to burst at the seams with visitors due to its proximity to the cave. Ironically, Leo's life-threatening predicament is finally bringing him the financial success that has eluded him. While Tatum becomes obsessed with manipulating the crisis, he also finds that his dispatches from the scene and his exclusive access to Leo have put him back in demand as a writer. He bypasses his own employer to sell updates to his ex-boss in New York at extortionist rates. He also has a hot/cold relationship with Lorraine, who clearly has a submissive sexual aspect to her moody demeanor. She's excited when Tatum mistreats her, though it's never made clear if their relationship goes beyond the flirtation stage. Tatum gets some disturbing news when he learns that the rescue team can use an expedited method to rescue Leo. Not wanting to kill the goose who laid the golden egg, Tatum manipulates the corrupt local sheriff (Roy Teal) into ordering a more labored method of rescue, even though it will result in a delay of days before reaching the victim. The decision has startling consequences for all involved. To say any more would negate the surprising turn of events depicted in the film. Suffice it to say, the intensity of the story continues to build throughout, making "Ace in the Hole" a truly mesmerizing cinematic experience.  

Criterion has released "Ace in the Hole" as a dual format Blu-ray/DVD. The quality, as one might expect, is up to the company's superb standards. The package is loaded with fascinating extras including a rare extended interview with Billy Wilder at the American Film Institute in 1986. In it, Wilder talks about "Ace in the Hole" and other aspects of his career. The film was an early directorial effort for him and the first movie he produced, following his career as one of the industry's most in-demand filmmakers. By his own admission, "Ace in the Hole" was a major source of frustration for him. The movie was ignored by American critics and audiences and even re-titled "The Big Carnival". In the post-WWII era, it was probably deemed far too cynical for U.S. audiences. In fact, the "hero" of the film is a cad, the leading lady is a self-obsessed phony and the local law officials are corrupt. Except for a few minor characters, there is no one in the film with a truly moral center. Wilder says he took heart from the fact that the movie was quite successful in its European release. The set also contains a 1988 interview with Kirk Douglas, who discusses the film and his respect for Wilder in a very informative segment. Most impressive is the inclusion of "Portrait of a 60% Perfect Man", a 1980 documentary by French film critic Michel Clement in which Wilder gives extraordinary access to his private life. We see him at home and at the office with long-time collaborator, I.A.L. Diamond as they laze around trying to come up with ideas for future projects. Wilder comes across as a symbol of Hollywood's bygone Golden Age. Speaking in a thick Austrian accent with his ever-present stogie at hand, Wilder regales the viewer with insights about his family's escape from the Nazi occupation and his unlikely meteoric rise up the film industry's food chain. Almost from the beginning he was a hot property and would remain a revered director, producer and writer throughout his entire career. The set also includes a vintage audio interview with another Wilder collaborator, screenwriter Walter Newman and an insightful and creatively designed "newspaper" with essays by critic Molly Haskell and filmmaker Guy Maddin. Director Spike Lee provides a brief video "afterword" in which he extols the virtues of the film and also shows off a cool original lobby card that he treasures because it is signed by both Wilder and Douglas. Topping off the "extras" is a truly excellent audio commentary track by film scholar Neil Sinyard, who provides so many interesting background observations about the film that it will open any viewer's eyes to the latent meanings of certain sequences and images. Even if you consider audio commentaries to be dry and academic, I do urge you to give this one a listen. It's first rate throughout. 

In summary, this is a first rate presentation of one of the most unfairly neglected American film classics; one that in recent years is finally getting the acclaim that it should have received on its initial release. Criterion has surpassed even its usual high standards. 

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

Mel Gibson has announced that he will co-write and direct a remake of Sam Peckinpah's controversial 1969 Western classic "The Wild Bunch". We can hear retro movie lovers around the globe shout "Oh, no!" But Gibson, who is enjoying a career renaissance since making some drunken, racist rants years ago, has a knack for making hit films out of seemingly unpromising ideas. He won the Oscar for Best Director for "Braveheart" and turned "The Passion of the Christ" and "Apocalypto" into surprise boxoffice hits. Still, tampering with Peckinpah's revisionist Western, which is better regarded today than it was at the time of its release, will be seen as treading on dangerous ground. No details are known at this time, as Gibson is working on a WWII film, "Destroyer" after which he is to commence work on "The Wild Bunch".  Gibson's co-scripter Bryan Bagby,  has a slim list of credits on IMDB. This much is known- Warner Bros., which released the original film, has been eager to remake the movie for many years. Gibson expressed interest in the project as early as 2009. One thing is sure: Gibson won't be able to improve on the original so the best that can be hoped for is that he turns out a credible effort that stands on its own merits. Hopefully, the remake will be set in the old West and not updated as an urban crime thriller. If you're dreading the remake anyway, you might take heart in the fact that Warner Bros. hinted many years ago that a remake of "Bullitt" was in the works but it never materialized. For more click here.

Sidney Poitier with his Best Actor Oscar for "Lilies of the Field" in 1964.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced they are "postponing" their controversial new category to honor achievements in "popular" films...whatever that means. The announcement met with a tidal wave of criticism from A.M.P.A.S. members and movie fans in general who accused the organization of simply trying to goose up sagging ratings for the Oscar telecasts by including more coverage of boxoffice blockbusters. Our guess is that this idea will never see the light of day. Sorry, "Ant Man" fans, but you may not get to see the next installment bring home Oscar gold. For more click here.

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Cinema Retro proudly announces its annual Movie Classics special edition for 2018: Roadshow Epics of the '60s! This is an 80-page special that provides in-depth coverage of the making of five memorable epic films:

Mutiny on the Bounty

Lawrence of Arabia

The Fall of the Roman Empire

The Greatest Story Ever Told

Khartoum

The behind-the-scenes struggles to bring these monumental productions to the screen often equaled the events depicted in the screenplays. Indeed, all but Lawrence of Arabia proved to be boxoffice failures (or disasters). However, Cinema Retro provides compelling evidence that all of them were superbly filmed and provided many grand, memorable moments. This special edition provides fascinating insights into the often seemingly insurmountable challenges directors, writers, producers and actors had to overcome in order to bring the films to completion. These are the kind of movies we think of when we hear it said "They don't make 'em like that anymore!". This special Movie Classics issue is packed with hundreds of rare production stills and on-set photos, as well as rare international advertising and publicity materials.

As with all Cinema Retro issues, this is a limited edition so order now and don't miss out!

(This Movie Classics special edition is not part of the subscription plan. It must be ordered separately.)

ALL PRICES INCLUDE POSTAGE.

Note: This issue is now sold out in the USA. American customers can order it by using "Rest of the World" option below.

UK: MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS

MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS £10.50 GBP

EUROPE: MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS

MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS £13.95 GBP

REST OF WORLD: MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS

MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS $29.95 USD

BY LEE PFEIFFER

MVD has released director Albert Pyun's 1997 thriller "Blast" as a Blu-ray edition. If you've never heard of the film, most of its cast members or director Pyun, you're not alone. But Pyun has a long-standing and enthusiastic fan base that credits him for being a pioneer in launching the cyborg sci-fi genre in the 1980s. His fans admire him for churning out independent films often under trying circumstances and very limited budgets. Despite having a few surprise hits at the boxoffice, Pyun has often been associated with films that were terminated or unreleased due to financing problems. Still, like the ultimate trooper, he continued to persevere and even today, while battling some significant health problems, Pyun remains determined to be a player in the indie film market. "Blast" enjoyed its "premiere" on home video, something that has apparently enhanced its reputation among enthusiasts for "direct to video" fare ("DTV" for those in the know...). While most movie lovers used to avoid DTV product on the assumption that it was deemed to be too bad to merit a theatrical marketing campaign, these fans enjoy making silk purses from sow's ears and claim that many underrated films have suffered the DTV syndrome. They are probably right, but "Blast" isn't one of them. The film was made when audiences were still obsessed with the blue collar working man hero generally played by the likes of Stallone, Willis, Van Damme and occasionally Schwarzenegger. The "grunt and punch" aspect of these heroes relegated them to limited dialogue, save for the precious "tag line" they will inevitably mutter in the course of the film in the hope that it will become the next "Make my day"-like catchphrase with the public.

"Blast" is set at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics games. The American women's swim team enters the pool area to practice even as the President of the United States and other world leaders arrive in the city for the opening of the games. Just as the women's swim team arrives, the complex is taken over by terrorists led by Omodo (Andrew Divoff) and his band of fanatical followers who have posed as workers for the Olympic organization. The terrified female swimmers under the guidance of their coach Diane Colton (Kimberly Warren) are verbally abused and one of the women is shot to death as a sign to the authorities that the terrorists mean business. Omodo is well-known to international authorities and is wanted by police throughout the world. Seems that Omodo's ego is bruised because his last two terrorist actions have fizzled even though they left behind a string of dead bodies. He is determined to regain his reputation by ensuring the Olympics operation is a  success. (Apparently, when terrorists get together at their annual picnic, no one wants to be the butt of colleagues' jokes.) The terrorists quickly kill off any guards and begin operating the complex's security system, thus giving them views of any police attempts to enter the building, which they have made into a fortress by mining the entrances with bombs. Omodo's demands from the authorities must have been fairly mundane because minutes after he issued them, I forgot what they were. In any event, the only person in the complex left to combat the terrorists is Jack Bryant (Linden Ashby), a one-time Olympic star who has seen his life fall apart due to his own demons. He's now working in the building as a janitor. Omodo and his men can occasionally see him on the vast networks of security cameras but Bryant is a savvy guy and learns how to keep on the move and pick off the terrorists one-by-one. (Like most janitors, Bryant is also a world-class martial arts expert). For some melodramatic elements, we learn that Bryant and Diane had once been married but he lost her when his life went into a downward spiral. With the authorities virtually helpless, it's up to Bryant to thwart the terrorists...although he has a an ally in the Atlanta Police Department: Leo ((Rutger Hauer), a wheelchair-bound, eccentric detective who is an old nemesis of Omodo and who manages to provide Bryant with some helpful tips. 

"Blast" is a storehouse of every action movie cliche from films of this era but it's not as bad as you might think. Director Pyun does the best he can to disguise the movie's limited budget (virtually all of it is shot in one location with a few exterior shots tossed in to break the monotony). Pyun keeps the action moving at a brisk clip and avoids at least a couple of anticipated cliches from coming to pass. However, the sheer monotony of seeing Bryant and the bad guys chase each other up and down very similar-looking hallways and staircases quickly grows wearying. The cast performs gamely, with Linden Ashby suitably hunky and capable of delivering the film's obligatory "tag line": "I'm coming to get you!!!!" Andrew Divoff brings some Bond villain-like qualities to his role but he's undermined by Pyun insisting that he imitate every vocal mannerism of Arnold Schwarzenegger imaginable. The gimmick proves to be distracting, though Divoff has a few standout moments. The musical score by Anthony Riparetti starts out well but becomes grating because it seems to consist of a constant repetition of the same few notes. The film is occasionally suspenseful and exciting but Pyun goes off the rails during the climax which sees a knock-down fight to the death between Bryant and Omodo that incorporates some ridiculous elements including a bomb explosion that is so poorly rendered that it looks like a frame from a Road Runner cartoon was utilized. Also puzzling are the brief appearances of Rutger Hauer as a potentially intriguing character but the role is drastically under-written.

MVD has released "Blast" as a nice-looking Blu-ray edition as part of their "Marquee Collection". The box art features a cringe-inducing rip-off of the main poster art for "Die Hard" including an exploding skyscraper, even though there are no skyscrapers in "Blast", exploding or otherwise. There is a bonus trailer gallery of other similarly-themed titles from MVD, although the trailer for Jean-Claude Van Damme's "Lionheart" looks like a poor VHS transfer.  

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Real-life husband and wife Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland made numerous films together. Among them: "Breakout", a 1975 film that was shot quickly in order to capitalize on Bronson's soaring popularity with "Death Wish". The crime thriller was lambasted by critics but performed very well indeed at the boxoffice. Click here for review. 

BY LEE PFEIFFER

The James Bond films may represent the longest-running movie series produced by the same company, but ol' 007 doesn't hold a candle to the longevity of Sherlock Holmes as a big screen hero. Holmes has been a cinematic staple since the silent era and though his popularity has soared and waned over the decades, he has remained a presence in popular culture throughout the world. In recent years, younger people have embraced Holmes as a hero thanks to hip, updated interpretations of the character on television and the big screen. However, there were long periods in which Holmes had disappeared from motion pictures. The films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce were enormously popular from their first appearance in 1939 through their final cinematic adventure in 1946. Holmes and Watson would not re-emerge on the big screen again until Hammer Films produced the first color Holmes movie, "The Hound of the Baskervilles" in 1959. The plan was to launch a Holmes series for the studio starring Peter Cushing and Andre Morrell. Although the film is very well regarded today, it was not a financial success and the series never materialized. The next major studio release of a Holmes adventure was "A Study in Terror", which has been released on Blu-ray by Mill Creek. The movie starred John Neville as Holmes and Donald Houston as Watson- and both of them performed admirably in the handsomely-mounted 1965 production. The concept of Holmes facing off against Jack the Ripper has been done numerous times to date both in literature and on the screen, but "A Study in Terror" was the first Holmes property to exploit the duel-of-wits between the fictional detective and the real-life serial killer.

"A Study in Terror" has the look and feel of a Hammer Studios film of the period and one expects Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee to pop up somewhere along the line, but we must console ourselves with a very fine cast of character actors, each of whom is used well thanks to the intelligently-written screenplay by Donald and Derek Ford and the assured direction of James Hill, who would go on to direct "Born Free".  Among the standout appearances: John Fraser, Barbara Windsor, Adrienne Corri,  Anthony Quayle as a seemingly devoted surgeon who might just be the killer, Georgia Brown as a beer hall singer, Peter Carsten as a shady pub owner, Robert Morley as Mycroft Holmes- and keep an eye out for young Judi Dench. Frank Finlay appears as Inspector Lestrade, but his role is frustratingly underwritten. The film has a lush production design that masks the fact that virtually all of it is shot in the studio, with the exception of some exteriors of stately mansions, and the score by John Scott is appropriately atmospheric.  The story opens with the horrendous murders of prostitutes in the Whitechapel district of London, a seedy place in the Victorian era where pollution was often so bad that one could barely see across the street, a factor that aided Jack the Ripper in escaping justice for his crimes. When police can't solve the string of murders, Holmes and Watson take up the cause and, as one might expect, the list of suspects includes a number of red herrings. This was the first Holmes movie to benefit from the new-found screen liberties. Thus, there is a blatant sexual element that would have been unthinkable a decade before. In addition to plenty of heaving bosoms and boisterous bar girls, there is also more violence and gruesome elements than had ever been seen previously in a Holmes feature film. It also features Holmes and Watson demonstrating their prowess with fisticuffs.  As with most Holmes mysteries, the fewer details divulged, the better the element of surprise for viewers. Suffice it to say that the story moves at a brisk pace and that Neville and Watson both give spirited performances that should have led to sequels. Alas, "A Study in Terror" was not a boxoffice hit. The lack of marquee names along with a preposterous marketing campaign that emulated the "Batman" TV series (referring to Holmes as "The Original Caped Crusader!") seemed to ensure that the film would not be a popular success. However, that doesn't dilute its many qualities. The Mill Creek Blu-ray has an excellent transfer that does justice to the rich color schemes and fine set designs. Unfortunately, there are no bonus extras. Do we recommend it? The answer should be elementary: of course.

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

Like Marlon Brando, director John Huston was often considered to be a has-been during much of the 1960s into the early 1970s. He worked steadily, but- like Brando- it was assumed his glory days were behind him simply because most of his films during this period didn't generate sparks at the boxoffice. (The success of his 1975 film The Man Who Would Be King would temporarily restore his luster.) His acting career got a boost from his great performance in Chinatown, but even some of his directorial flops look far better today than they did at the time of their theatrical release. One major disappointment, artistically as well as financially, was the seemingly sure-fire hit The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, made in 1972 and starring Paul Newman fairly fresh from his triumph in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The movie is a whimsical tale that is nevertheless loaded with violence and gallows humor (literally). The story is (very) loosely based on the real Roy Bean, an outlaw who became a self-appointed judge who called himself the "only law West of the Pecos" at a time when parts of Texas were a no-man's land of thieves, murderers and swindlers. Bean became known as a hard-ass judge who dispensed lethal justice. In reality, he only sentenced two men to be hanged and one managed to escape. Nevertheless, his colorful background provides screenwriter John Milius with plenty of imaginative fodder for fictitious encounters and incidents. We first meet Bean when he ambles into a remote outpost where he is robbed and beaten mercilessly by the denizens. He returns shortly thereafter and single-handed kills them all, thus instantly making him a local legend among the peasants who live in the area. Bean becomes obsessed with studying the law and showing mercy on the poorest elements of society. He even takes a lover, a young Hispanic woman (Victoria Principal, in her screen debut). Bean appoints himself as a "judge" despite not having any legal authority to do so. He enlists a group of slovenly "deputies" to dispense justice in his courtroom, which is the bar in which he was robbed. Before long, Bean is holding kangaroo trials and routinely lynching anyone who incurs his wrath. Despite this, he gains a reputation for being fair and defending the defenseless.  He adopts a bear and the movie presents some amusing sequences of Bean and his friends interacting with this over-sized "pet". The film traces his experiences over a period of years as the remote outpost becomes a bustling town. Bean is gradually sidelined as a force of influence. The death of his young wife during the birth of their daughter depresses him further and he rides off into oblivion. Twenty years later he returns to find that oil has been discovered on his property and that the corrupt mayor (Roddy McDowall) is using legally questionable methods to displace Bean's 20 year old daughter (Jacqueline Bisset) so he can control the oil on her land. Bean's reappearance causes a sensation as he rounds up his motley, aging group of former deputies to help his daughter fight for her rights. A fairly spectacular battle climaxes the film.

Bean offers many pleasures, not the least of which is a terrific supporting cast that includes cameos by Anthony Perkins, Tab Hunter (surprisingly good in an off-beat role), Anthony Zerbe, Stacy Keach (wonderful as a crazed, albino gunslinger), Ava Gardner as the legendary Lily Langtree, the object of Bean's romantic obsession even though he never meets her, and John Huston himself in an amusing appearance as Grizzly Adams. There are also plenty of familiar faces in the supporting cast including Ned Beatty, Bill McKinney (reunited from Deliverance with happier results) Richard Farnsworth and stuntmen Dean Smith and Neil Summers. The attempt to capitalize on the success of Butch Cassidy is fairly apparent, as evidenced by a fairly sappy love song and romantic montage that is obviously meant to emulate the famed Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head sequence from the former film. Nevertheless, Bean is a consistently enjoyable, rousing Western that probably plays much better today, when we can realize just how special acting ensembles like this truly are. Maurice Jarre's fine score adds immeasurably to the the enjoyment of the experience. 

The Warner Archive has released the film as fine-looking Blu-ray. The only bonus extra is the amusing original trailer. 

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BY LEE PFEIFFER

My only memory of "Swashbuckler" was seeing it for the first time when it was already in release for a year. The occasion was that this was an in-flight movie on my first trip to Europe in the summer of 1977. In those ancient times, films were still shown on 16mm projectors on pull-down screens in the main cabin. I remember being unimpressed with the film but the distraction of the  (then) free liquor service might have affected my opinion. As Cinema Retro's latest issue features coverage of the 1977 film "The Deep" starring Robert Shaw, I decided to revisit "Swashbuckler" largely because it also stars the estimable Shaw, who never gave a bad performance. I found my opinion of the pirate tale had improved considerably since the first viewing. It's a raucous, old-fashioned yarn that perhaps too earnestly tries to recapture the vim and vigor of those old screen adventures that would star Errol Flynn or young Burt Lancaster. Ably directed by James Goldstone, who takes full advantage of the lush Mexican locations (representing old Jamaica), the film opens in the court of Lord Durant (Peter Boyle), the corrupt British governor of Jamaica who rules the island like a tyrant. When honest nobleman Sir James Durant (Bernard Behrens) runs afoul of him, Durant has him arrested and imprisoned to await execution of a death sentence. He also commands that Durant's wife (Louisa Horton) and daughter Jane (Genevieve Bujold) be evicted from the family estate and forced to live in a tenement. Durant's main nemesis is the pirate Ned Lynch (Robert Shaw), who- along with his merry men- acts as a sort of Robin Hood, stealing from the corrupt rich and dispensing much of their fortunes to the poor. Predictably, Jane has an encounter with Ned and professes to loathe him, but as these things inevitably play out, we know the two are attracted to each other. After much griping and fighting that literally includes a duel between Jane and Ned, she implores him to come to the aid of her father, who is facing imminent execution. Ned and his men launch a full-throttle attack on Durant and- if you haven't guessed it- save the day.

"Swashbuckler" is undistinguished on most levels except for the fact that it is exciting and lives up to its title by including an abundance of terrific sword fights. Kudos to all the actors, who performed these extended and exhausting duels with great professionalism, including Bujold, whose slight build must have certainly posed an obstacle in filming these scenes. The supporting cast includes some esteemed names including Geoffrey Holder (in full "Live and Let Die" Baron Samedi mode) and Beau Bridges as a bumbling British army officer appropriately named Major Folly. The action is impressively filmed by cinematographer Philip H. Lathrop and it's all set to a lively score by John Addison. Shaw seems to be having the time of his life in what must have been a physically taxing role for him. Although the stuntmen are in abundance, it's quite clear he did many of his own action scenes. (Shaw says in the production featurette on the DVD that the film was more physically challenging than "Jaws"). Bujold does well as the gutsy young woman who defies sexual stereotypes and Peter Boyle is a great deal of fun as the evil Durant, even if he is miscast as a British nobleman. James Earl Jones has a prominent role as Ned Lynch's right-hand pirate. "Swashbuckler" wasn't designed to win awards or become a boxoffice blockbuster. It represents the kind of modest production that was designed to entertain and make a quick profit in an era before every release represented a major financial risk for the studio.

The Universal DVD features a very nice transfer and some welcome extras including an interesting original production featurette about the making of the film, cast and crew biographies and production notes and the original trailer. Recommended.

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Cinema Retro proudly announces its annual Movie Classics special edition for 2018: Roadshow Epics of the '60s! This is an 80-page special that provides in-depth coverage of the making of five memorable epic films:

Mutiny on the Bounty

Lawrence of Arabia

The Fall of the Roman Empire

The Greatest Story Ever Told

Khartoum

The behind-the-scenes struggles to bring these monumental productions to the screen often equaled the events depicted in the screenplays. Indeed, all but Lawrence of Arabia proved to be boxoffice failures (or disasters). However, Cinema Retro provides compelling evidence that all of them were superbly filmed and provided many grand, memorable moments. This special edition provides fascinating insights into the often seemingly insurmountable challenges directors, writers, producers and actors had to overcome in order to bring the films to completion. These are the kind of movies we think of when we hear it said "They don't make 'em like that anymore!". This special Movie Classics issue is packed with hundreds of rare production stills and on-set photos, as well as rare international advertising and publicity materials.

As with all Cinema Retro issues, this is a limited edition so pre-order now to reserve your copy!

(This Movie Classics special edition is not part of the subscription plan. It must be ordered separately.)

ALL PRICES INCLUDE POSTAGE.

USA/CANADA: MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS

MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS $19.95 USD

UK: MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS

MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS £10.50 GBP

EUROPE: MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS

MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS £13.95 GBP

REST OF WORLD: MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS

MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS $29.95 USD

BY LEE PFEIFFER

For years, John Travolta pursued his dream of portraying the late New York crime boss John Gotti in a high profile biopic. The long, torturous road to the big screen took seven years before the film was finally released. Travolta had been brought on early due to his star power and passion for the project but despite the actor's extraordinary and often creative ways of publicizing the film, it has fallen flat at the boxoffice. The Hollywood Reporter attributes this to almost universally poor critic's reviews, although audience surveys indicate that those who have seen it viewed the film favorably. The production had to cope with inexperienced producers and patchy financing agreements before filming was completed in 2016. Lionsgate, the studio behind the theatrical distribution, got cold feet about releasing the movie, thus leading to further complications as alternate partnerships and financing had to be found to secure the theatrical engagements. For the story, click here.

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Following his break-out performance as Superman in the 1978 blockbuster, Christopher Reeve deftly avoided being typecast in the role despite appearing in several sequels. However, his non-Superman flicks were a decidedly mixed bag. Virtually none of them were successful at the boxoffice at the time of their initial release, although Somewhere in Time found a loyal cult audience over the years and  Deathtrap seems more entertaining now than it did in 1982. Reeve proved to be a good, if unremarkable actor, who had an affable screen presence and the kind of handsome features and physique that recalled the more traditional Hollywood leading men of days gone by. (Think Rock Hudson). However, Reeve's scattershot record of choosing film projects prevented him from fully capitalizing on his potential. There were too many boxoffice bombs along the way and Reeve sometimes returned to his first love, live theater, to continue to grow as an artist. One of Reeve's least-known films, The Aviator, has been released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber. The movie was based on the novel by Ernest K. Gann, who specialized in aerial adventure stories. (He wrote the novel and screenplay for John Wayne's smash hit The High and the Mighty.) The film opens intriguingly at a military air base in WWI. Reeve is Edgar Anscombe, a cocky pilot who is training a novice on his first flight when things go wrong. The trainee panics and the plane crashes, leaving the student pilot dead and Anscombe suffering from severe burns. The plot then jumps ahead by a decade. Anscombe is now a bitter and introverted man still haunted by his wartime experiences, especially the deadly training accident that he feels responsible for. He's now working for Moravia (Jack Warden), the owner of a small air fleet that delivers mail from Nevade across the western states. In order to supplement the company's meager profits, Moravia sometimes accepts a passenger to accompany the pilots on their route. Along comes Tillie Hansen (Rosanna Arquette), a perky but troubled 17 year-old whose father (Sam Wanamaker) finds her to be incorrigible. Against Tillie's wishes, he decides to send her to a strict, disciplinarian aunt in order to teach her social and personal values. Anscombe immediately resents having to take Tillie along on his next flight. He snubs her overtures at friendliness and makes it clear that he wants no part of socially interacting with her. However, while in flight over a remote mountain region, their plane develops a problem with the fuel line, forcing them to crash land. Both Anscombe and Tillie emerge unscathed but their trials and tribulations are just beginning. Anscombe admits he went off course to take a short-cut, making it unlikely that rescue parties will find them. Additionally, they lack shelter and food and are menaced by a pack of hungry wolves. All they have for a weapon is a pistol with a few rounds of ammunition. 

Once the survivalist aspect of "The Aviator" kicks in, the film should soar beyond the bland opening scenes that predictably thrust the viewer into yet another one of those scenarios in which the leading man and leading lady bicker and kvetch at each other. However, director George Miller (not the same director George Miller of the Mad Max movies, unfortunately) establishes a leaden pace that makes The Aviator resemble a TV movie. You're practically waiting for the commercials with that omnipresent, creepy guy hawking My Pillow to pop up any minute. The film lumbers through some moments of crisis that don't pack much suspense. Dopey Tillie wants to smoke a cigarette and ends up burning down the wreckage of the plane the stranded couple had been using for shelter. Anscombe manages to kill some game for much-needed sustenance only to have it ripped from him by wolves. The couple decides they must try to make the arduous climb down the mountain to find help. In the film's only unexpected twist, Anscombe comes across a remote cabin only to find its eccentric inhabitant won't help him and threatens him with a gun. Reeve makes for a bland, boring hero in the under-written role of Anscombe and Arquette grates on the viewer like nails on a blackboard with her ditzy Valley Girl-like interpretation of a liberated young woman from the 1920s. The last, inexcusable cliche the screenplay thrusts up us finds the once-bickering Anscombe and Tillie now falling in love.

The Aviator does have some aspects to commend. Jack Warden, Sam Wanakmaker and Scott Wilson manage to outshine the leading actors and put some much-needed realism and empathy into their roles, although Tyne Daly is largely wasted in a minor role. There is a suitably old-fashioned score by the estimable Dominic Frontiere and the film boasts some impressive camerawork by David Connell. The film was shot entirely in Yugoslavia but it must be said that the locations convincingly resemble the American northwest. The Kino Lorber Blu-ray features the usually excellent transfer we've come to expect from the company and an original trailer is included. The Aviator isn't a terrible movie, just an unnecessary one that unfortunately helped contribute to the likeable Christopher Reeve's less-than-inspired career choices.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON

NOW SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!

Cinema Retro proudly announces its annual Movie Classics special edition for 2018: Roadshow Epics of the '60s! This is an 80-page special that provides in-depth coverage of the making of five memorable epic films:

Mutiny on the Bounty

Lawrence of Arabia

The Fall of the Roman Empire

The Greatest Story Ever Told

Khartoum

The behind-the-scenes struggles to bring these monumental productions to the screen often equaled the events depicted in the screenplays. Indeed, all but Lawrence of Arabia proved to be boxoffice failures (or disasters). However, Cinema Retro provides compelling evidence that all of them were superbly filmed and provided many grand, memorable moments. This special edition provides fascinating insights into the often seemingly insurmountable challenges directors, writers, producers and actors had to overcome in order to bring the films to completion. These are the kind of movies we think of when we hear it said "They don't make 'em like that anymore!". This special Movie Classics issue is packed with hundreds of rare production stills and on-set photos, as well as rare international advertising and publicity materials.

As with all Cinema Retro issues, this is a limited edition so order now!

(This Movie Classics special edition is not part of the subscription plan. It must be ordered separately.)

ALL PRICES INCLUDE POSTAGE.

USA/CANADA: MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS

MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS $19.95 USD

UK: MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS

MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS £10.50 GBP

EUROPE: MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS

MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS £13.95 GBP

REST OF WORLD: MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS

MOVIE CLASSICS EPICS $29.95 USD

BY LEE PFEIFFER

I have a weakness for any movie starring John Wayne- even the bad ones. If you can find something of merit in "The Conqueror", in which the Duke played Genghis Khan, then you've really crossed the Rubicon. "A Man Betrayed", made during Wayne's tenure with "B" movie studio Republic, has been released on Blu-ray by Olive Films. It isn't one of those aforementioned bad Wayne movies, but it's no more than a minor entry in his career.  Wayne had been toiling in the film industry since the silent era. His first big break came with the starring role in Raoul Walsh's massive western epic "The Big Trail", which was released in 1930. However, the film was released during the Great Depression and bombed at the boxoffice. For the next nine years, Wayne was starring in quickie westerns that were termed "One Day Wonders". John Ford came to his rescue by casting Wayne as the male lead in his 1939 classic "Stagecoach". It elevated Wayne to star status but he didn't fully capitalize on the opportunities that "Stagecoach" seemed to afford him. He slogged through starring roles in largely undistinguished productions for many years, interrupted by a few more ambitious productions (Ford's "The Long Voyage Home" and "They Were Expendable"  and DeMille's "Reap the Wild Wind"). It wouldn't be until the late 1940s that the plum roles finally came his way and Wayne was seen as something more than "B" actor. "A Man Betrayed", released in 1941, fits comfortably into the bulk of Wayne's work during this period of his career. It's a low-budget affair, unremarkable in every respect, but still reasonably entertaining.

The film opens in an unnamed city at a scandalous nightclub called Club Inferno, where all sorts of notorious practices take place. (The sign advertises "30 Girls and 29 Costumes!"). Inside, staff members dress as the Devil and exotic dance numbers take place amidst overt gambling. In the first scene, a young man stumbles outside the club and is seemingly electrocuted during a torrential rainstorm when the lamp post he is leaning on is struck by lightning. A closer examination, however, proves he had been shot. Shortly thereafter, we're introduced to Lynn Hollister (Wayne), an affable small town attorney who comes to the city to investigate the death of the young man, who was a close friend of his. In short order he arrives at the home of Tom Cameron (Edward Ellis), a local rich widower who lives in a mansion and who owns the Club Inferno (though is rarely seen there.) Turns out Cameron is the local crime kingpin who controls the political machine and employs an army of thugs and assassins to do his bidding. He presents an affable personality and pretends to cooperate with Lynn's investigation. Lynn meets cute with Cameron's daughter Sabra (Frances Dee), a frisky, witty beauty who takes to him immediately. Before long, Lynn is staying in the guest room and he and Sabra are a couple. Cameron tries to use the relationship to manipulate Lynn but the more Lynn probes into the murder, the more convinced he is that Cameron directly or indirectly was responsible. Cameron is about to run for re-election to political office and like all crooked elected officials, is impatient for Lynn to wrap up his investigation. However, Lynn has uncovered massive evidence of voter fraud with indigent men being paid to vote numerous times for the "right" candidates. As he gets closer to the truth he is also physically threatened by Cameron's thugs. All of this sounds very dramatic but, in fact, "A Man Betrayed" is actually a romantic comedy, with the exception of the dramatic murder scene. Director John H. Auer (who had directed another, unrelated film with the same title a few years before) keeps the mood light and pace fast and gets fine performances from Edward Ellis and Frances Dee, the latter especially good as the spoiled rich girl who learns the father she has idolized is, in fact, a crook. As for Wayne, he was somewhat victimized by studios who wanted to squeeze him into contemporary romances in the hopes he would emerge as the next Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart or Gary Cooper. But at this period in his career, Wayne looked like a fish out of water in such productions. He gamely goes through the motions but he appears to be a bit uncomfortable without a horse and saddle. As he matured, he got better, as evidenced by his fine work in "The Quiet Man" , his war-based films and his late career detective movies "McQ" and "Brannigan".

"A Man Betrayed" is fairly entertaining even by today's standards. It's a hoot seeing Frances Dee sporting the over-the-top high fashions of 1941 and there is a cryptic reference to the war in Europe months before anyone realized America would soon be part of it. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the film is the early teaming between Wayne and Ward Bond, who would become close friends and occasional co-stars. Bond is cast against type as a mentally-challenged violent thug who has a knock-down brawl with the Duke. The resolution of the murder and corruption scandals are wrapped up in a rather absurd ending that seems to have been developed to ensure that audiences left the theaters smiling.(Incidentally, the film was also later released under the title "Wheel of Fortune" and was marketed as "Citadel of Crime" in the UK.)

The Olive Films Blu-ray is unremarkable. The transfer is reasonably good but the film lacks any bonus extras.

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