Cordon bleu is the warmest color in Tràn Anh Hùng’s long but surprisingly light soufflé of a movie The Pot-au-Feu (renamed The Taste of Things ahead of its U.S. release), a highly watchable Aga saga that’s so artful, charming and non-boat-rockingly old-school that it might make you wonder, even in a non-ironic way, what Lasse Hallström has been up to lately. In Cannes Film Festivals gone by, it could arguably have provoked the bidding war of the fortnight, given the track record of such foodie faves as Le Grand Bouffe, Babette’s Feast and Eat Drink Man Woman, which also debuted on the Croisette. But that’s faint praise for a story that, although it’s almost all about fillings, trimmings and toppings, doesn’t seem to have that much content or, more importantly, depth.
Set in late-19th century France, The Pot Au Feu is loosely based...
Set in late-19th century France, The Pot Au Feu is loosely based...
- 5/25/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Our first episode back in the studio! Robert Weide discusses a few of his favorite movies with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (2010)
Mother Night (1996)
Woody Allen: A Documentary (2011)
Mort Sahl: The Loyal Opposition (1989)
Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth (1998)
Marx Brothers in a Nutshell (1982)
W.C. Fields: Straight Up (1986)
Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time (2021)
It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Mary Poppins (1964)
The French Connection (1971) – Dennis Lehane’s trailer commentary, Mark Pellington’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
The Magnificent Seven (1960) – Jesus Treviño’s trailer commentary
The Godfather (1972) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
The Exorcist (1973) – Oren Peli’s trailer commentary
Patton (1970) – Rod Lurie’s trailer commentary
Mash (1970)
Short Cuts (1993) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Lenny...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (2010)
Mother Night (1996)
Woody Allen: A Documentary (2011)
Mort Sahl: The Loyal Opposition (1989)
Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth (1998)
Marx Brothers in a Nutshell (1982)
W.C. Fields: Straight Up (1986)
Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time (2021)
It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Mary Poppins (1964)
The French Connection (1971) – Dennis Lehane’s trailer commentary, Mark Pellington’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
The Magnificent Seven (1960) – Jesus Treviño’s trailer commentary
The Godfather (1972) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
The Exorcist (1973) – Oren Peli’s trailer commentary
Patton (1970) – Rod Lurie’s trailer commentary
Mash (1970)
Short Cuts (1993) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Lenny...
- 11/30/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
The November 12, 1958 edition of The Village Voice featured the first installment of the column “Movie Journal” by Jonas Mekas.
“Movie Journal” would become what the Underground Film Journal would argue was the most significant organizing tool of avant-garde cinema created by Jonas, even more so than the Film-makers’ Cooperative and the Anthology Film Archives he helped found. But what was the column like before it gained such notoriety?
Well, we don’t have to guess. The book collection Movie Journal doesn’t start reprinting Jonas’s columns until 1959, but the entire archives of the Voice are online.
As a weekly publication, the Voice only published twelve “Movie Journal” columns in 1958. The Underground Film Journal has read all twelve and extracted what films Jonas reviewed each week; as well as made notes of significant avant-garde film happenings.
Jonas reviewed only a few avant-garde films those first two months, including Maya Deren...
“Movie Journal” would become what the Underground Film Journal would argue was the most significant organizing tool of avant-garde cinema created by Jonas, even more so than the Film-makers’ Cooperative and the Anthology Film Archives he helped found. But what was the column like before it gained such notoriety?
Well, we don’t have to guess. The book collection Movie Journal doesn’t start reprinting Jonas’s columns until 1959, but the entire archives of the Voice are online.
As a weekly publication, the Voice only published twelve “Movie Journal” columns in 1958. The Underground Film Journal has read all twelve and extracted what films Jonas reviewed each week; as well as made notes of significant avant-garde film happenings.
Jonas reviewed only a few avant-garde films those first two months, including Maya Deren...
- 11/28/2021
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
“Oh, Nicky, you’re driving me crazy. This case is serious and all you do is fuddle around and guzzle cider.”
William Powell and Myrna Loy in The Thin Man Goes Home (1944) will be available on Blu-ray November 23rd from Warner Archive
William Powell and Myrna Loy reunite as amateur sleuths Nick and Nora Charles in this penultimate 5th entry to the beloved, long-running series of mystery comedies that began a decade earlier. Outlaws come and go in Nick and Nora’s lives. Now it’s time to meet the in-laws. The debonair sleuths leave little Nicky Jr. at boarding school, grab Asta and head to Nick’s boyhood home of Sycamore Springs. Of course, wherever they go, murder has a way of showing up on the doorstep – a point proven in delightful classic. Nick can show off his gumshoe talents for his parents (Harry Davenport and Lucile Watson) when an artist is killed.
William Powell and Myrna Loy in The Thin Man Goes Home (1944) will be available on Blu-ray November 23rd from Warner Archive
William Powell and Myrna Loy reunite as amateur sleuths Nick and Nora Charles in this penultimate 5th entry to the beloved, long-running series of mystery comedies that began a decade earlier. Outlaws come and go in Nick and Nora’s lives. Now it’s time to meet the in-laws. The debonair sleuths leave little Nicky Jr. at boarding school, grab Asta and head to Nick’s boyhood home of Sycamore Springs. Of course, wherever they go, murder has a way of showing up on the doorstep – a point proven in delightful classic. Nick can show off his gumshoe talents for his parents (Harry Davenport and Lucile Watson) when an artist is killed.
- 11/18/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Kino Lorber has released three Barbara Stanwyck films in a boxed set collection. Here is the official announcement:
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
This collection feature three classic films starring screen legend Barbara Stanwyck:
Internes Can’T Take Money (1937) – Young Dr. James Kildare, interning at a clinic, falls for his patient Janet Haley. The feeling is mutual, but Janet has a secret she will not divulge: She’s the widow of a bank robber who hid their daughter before he died and she is desperately trying to find the little girl. She will use anyone—including Dr. Kildare—to get her child back. The doctor’s association with gangster Hanlon, whose injuries Kildare secretly patched up, and Janet’s connection with gangster Innes (Stanley Ridges, Black Friday), who’s helping her find her daughter, bring it all to a rousing head filled with action, suspense and the unexpected!
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
This collection feature three classic films starring screen legend Barbara Stanwyck:
Internes Can’T Take Money (1937) – Young Dr. James Kildare, interning at a clinic, falls for his patient Janet Haley. The feeling is mutual, but Janet has a secret she will not divulge: She’s the widow of a bank robber who hid their daughter before he died and she is desperately trying to find the little girl. She will use anyone—including Dr. Kildare—to get her child back. The doctor’s association with gangster Hanlon, whose injuries Kildare secretly patched up, and Janet’s connection with gangster Innes (Stanley Ridges, Black Friday), who’s helping her find her daughter, bring it all to a rousing head filled with action, suspense and the unexpected!
- 8/12/2020
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
This can’t-lose comedy is ace writer-director Billy Wilder’s first solo directing credit; he and writing partner Charles Brackett concoct a side-splitting crowdpleaser guaranteed to secure his Hollywood future. Ginger Rogers was never more adept, playing a fake 11 year-old in a farce that’s both code-iffy and censor proof; Ray Milland shines as well with the limitlessly clever and witty screenplay. And look out for Diana Lynn, the terrific teenage comedienne that Wilder found before Preston Sturges did.
The Major and the Minor
Blu-ray
Arrow Academy
1942 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 100 min. / Street Date September 24, 2019 / Available from Arrow Video / 39.95
Starring: Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, Diana Lynn, Rita Johnson, Robert Benchley.
Cinematography: Leo Tover
Film Editor: Doane Harrison
Original Music: Robert Emmett Dolan
Written by Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder from a story and a play by Fanny Kilbourne, Edward Childs Carpenter
Produced by Arthur Hornblow, Jr.
Directed by Billy Wilder
Paramount...
The Major and the Minor
Blu-ray
Arrow Academy
1942 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 100 min. / Street Date September 24, 2019 / Available from Arrow Video / 39.95
Starring: Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, Diana Lynn, Rita Johnson, Robert Benchley.
Cinematography: Leo Tover
Film Editor: Doane Harrison
Original Music: Robert Emmett Dolan
Written by Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder from a story and a play by Fanny Kilbourne, Edward Childs Carpenter
Produced by Arthur Hornblow, Jr.
Directed by Billy Wilder
Paramount...
- 9/28/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
It makes sense that screenwriter and playwright Neil Simon, who pretty much defined American humor on stage, screen and TV for several decades until his death 2018 at the age of 91, knew how to turn humiliation, heartache, opposites-attract relationships, adultery, marital tensions, likable losers, glib nostalgia and modern insecurities into red, white and blue hilarity. What else would you expect from a Jewish boy from the Bronx who was born on the Fourth of July in 1927, right before the Great Depression?
SEEMel Brooks movies: 12 greatest films ranked worst to best
With parents whose marriage he would kindly describe as being “tempestuous,” Doc, as he was called, sought out books by such humorists as Mark Twain, Robert Benchley, George S. Kaufman and S.J. Perelman in order to bury his own troubles while picking up hints on how to use words to incite laughter. His work often paired humor with an undercurrent of pathos,...
SEEMel Brooks movies: 12 greatest films ranked worst to best
With parents whose marriage he would kindly describe as being “tempestuous,” Doc, as he was called, sought out books by such humorists as Mark Twain, Robert Benchley, George S. Kaufman and S.J. Perelman in order to bury his own troubles while picking up hints on how to use words to incite laughter. His work often paired humor with an undercurrent of pathos,...
- 7/4/2019
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
It makes sense that screenwriter and playwright Neil Simon, who pretty much defined American humor on stage, screen and TV for several decades until his death 2018 at the age of 91, knew how to turn humiliation, heartache, opposites-attract relationships, adultery, marital tensions, likable losers, glib nostalgia and modern insecurities into red, white and blue hilarity. What else would you expect from a Jewish boy from the Bronx who was born on the Fourth of July in 1927, right before the Great Depression?
With parents whose marriage he would kindly describe as being “tempestuous,” Doc, as he was called, sought out books by such humorists as Mark Twain, Robert Benchley, George S. Kaufman and S.J. Perelman in order to bury his own troubles while picking up hints on how to use words to incite laughter. His work often paired humor with an undercurrent of pathos, intertwining chuckles with tears. In the ‘50s, he...
With parents whose marriage he would kindly describe as being “tempestuous,” Doc, as he was called, sought out books by such humorists as Mark Twain, Robert Benchley, George S. Kaufman and S.J. Perelman in order to bury his own troubles while picking up hints on how to use words to incite laughter. His work often paired humor with an undercurrent of pathos, intertwining chuckles with tears. In the ‘50s, he...
- 7/3/2019
- by Susan Wloszczyna, Misty Holland and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
A list of Manhattan's greatest gatherings of wits would have to include the 1970s Saturday Night Live writers room; the late-1950s meetings between Mike Nichols and Elaine May; and the 1920s Algonquin Round Table. The last was a group of sharp-tongued literati that included Dorothy Parker, Alexander Woollcott, George S. Kaufman (who co-wrote You Can't Take It With You and several Marx Bros. movies) and Robert Benchley.
Beginning in 1919, the "Vicious Circle," as they dubbed themselves, met daily for lunch at the Algonquin Hotel on West 44th Street. They were portrayed in Alan Rudolph's 1994 film,...
Beginning in 1919, the "Vicious Circle," as they dubbed themselves, met daily for lunch at the Algonquin Hotel on West 44th Street. They were portrayed in Alan Rudolph's 1994 film,...
A list of Manhattan's greatest gatherings of wits would have to include the 1970s Saturday Night Live writers room; the late-1950s meetings between Mike Nichols and Elaine May; and the 1920s Algonquin Round Table. The last was a group of sharp-tongued literati that included Dorothy Parker, Alexander Woollcott, George S. Kaufman (who co-wrote You Can't Take It With You and several Marx Bros. movies) and Robert Benchley.
Beginning in 1919, the "Vicious Circle," as they dubbed themselves, met daily for lunch at the Algonquin Hotel on West 44th Street. They were portrayed in Alan Rudolph's 1994 film,...
Beginning in 1919, the "Vicious Circle," as they dubbed themselves, met daily for lunch at the Algonquin Hotel on West 44th Street. They were portrayed in Alan Rudolph's 1994 film,...
Gil Schwartz, CBS’ long-serving head of corporate communications, is set to retire as of Nov. 1 after more than 20 years with the company.
Schwartz’s departure marks another transition for the company that is in the midst of a massive corporate shakeup following the forced resignation of CEO Leslie Moonves on Sept. 9.
Schwartz has been well-liked among many journalists for his quick wit, colorful personality and the fact that he has moonlighted for years as a columnist and author under the pen name Stanley Bing. Schwartz noted the changes under way at CBS in the memo sent to CBS staffers on Thursday morning.
“As fans of arcane SEC filings have noted, I had the option of stepping away early this past summer, but given the exigencies of corporate life at that juncture, I elected to stay in place for a while. Now seems like a much more appropriate time to move on,...
Schwartz’s departure marks another transition for the company that is in the midst of a massive corporate shakeup following the forced resignation of CEO Leslie Moonves on Sept. 9.
Schwartz has been well-liked among many journalists for his quick wit, colorful personality and the fact that he has moonlighted for years as a columnist and author under the pen name Stanley Bing. Schwartz noted the changes under way at CBS in the memo sent to CBS staffers on Thursday morning.
“As fans of arcane SEC filings have noted, I had the option of stepping away early this past summer, but given the exigencies of corporate life at that juncture, I elected to stay in place for a while. Now seems like a much more appropriate time to move on,...
- 9/27/2018
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
“Am I decent?” They said that Ginger Rogers gave Fred Astaire sex appeal, but the teaming of Astaire and Rita Hayworth is something else. Columbia’s 1941 release is a weak service comedy until the dancing starts, at which point it becomes one of the better musicals of the year – and the breakout vehicle for Ms. Hayworth.
You’ll Never Get Rich
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1941 / B&W/ 1:37 flat full frame / 89 min. / Street Date April 18, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Robert Benchley, John Hubbard,
Osa Massen, Frieda Inescort, Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams, Cliff Nazarro.
Cinematography: Philip Tannura
Art Direction: Lionel Banks
Film Editor: Otto Meyer
Original Music: Cole Porter
Written by Michael Fessier, Ernest Pagano
Produced by Samuel Bischoff
Produced and Directed by Sidney Lanfield
Freed from his Rko contract in 1939, Fred Astaire never signed another long-term deal. He instead jumped from studio to...
You’ll Never Get Rich
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1941 / B&W/ 1:37 flat full frame / 89 min. / Street Date April 18, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Robert Benchley, John Hubbard,
Osa Massen, Frieda Inescort, Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams, Cliff Nazarro.
Cinematography: Philip Tannura
Art Direction: Lionel Banks
Film Editor: Otto Meyer
Original Music: Cole Porter
Written by Michael Fessier, Ernest Pagano
Produced by Samuel Bischoff
Produced and Directed by Sidney Lanfield
Freed from his Rko contract in 1939, Fred Astaire never signed another long-term deal. He instead jumped from studio to...
- 4/29/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The 1930s – more films about women, more films about working life. And often the two overlapped. You watch a film made today, it’s brutally clear that the people who made it rarely have to be anywhere In the ‘30s, at the height of the studio system, the entire creative force behind a picture worked 9-5 on the studio lot, just like anyone else. They had a workplace. And while many made a great deal more money than the characters they were depicting, they knew what it was to hold a job. That mindset, that constant awareness of money and office work and routine, bleeds into the pictures of the period.
Take a film like Rafter Romance, which played at TCM Classic Film Festival Friday morning. Ginger Rogers and Norman Foster star as two broke strangers living in the same apartment building (and they say people knew their neighbors back...
Take a film like Rafter Romance, which played at TCM Classic Film Festival Friday morning. Ginger Rogers and Norman Foster star as two broke strangers living in the same apartment building (and they say people knew their neighbors back...
- 4/12/2017
- by Scott Nye
- CriterionCast
‘The Witch Queen’ in The Last Witch Hunter.
The Witch: I’m not a witch, I’m not a witch!
Sir Bedevere: But you are dressed as one!
The Witch: *They* dressed me up like this!
Crowd: We didn’t! We didn’t…
The Witch: And this isn’t my nose. It’s a false one.
Sir Bedevere: [lifts up her false nose] Well?
Peasant 1: Well, we did do the nose.
Sir Bedevere: The nose?
Peasant 1: And the hat, but she is a witch!
Crowd: Yeah! Burn her! Burn her!
– Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Throughout history, witches have always gotten a bad rap. The Salem Witch Trials proved that.
Things didn’t improve with the birth of cinema. Filmmakers have had a magical time telling the tales of sorcery, magical powers and witchcraft.
Good or bad, funny or downright scary, their stories have fascinated moviegoers and these burnt offerings show no signs of slowing down.
The Witch: I’m not a witch, I’m not a witch!
Sir Bedevere: But you are dressed as one!
The Witch: *They* dressed me up like this!
Crowd: We didn’t! We didn’t…
The Witch: And this isn’t my nose. It’s a false one.
Sir Bedevere: [lifts up her false nose] Well?
Peasant 1: Well, we did do the nose.
Sir Bedevere: The nose?
Peasant 1: And the hat, but she is a witch!
Crowd: Yeah! Burn her! Burn her!
– Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Throughout history, witches have always gotten a bad rap. The Salem Witch Trials proved that.
Things didn’t improve with the birth of cinema. Filmmakers have had a magical time telling the tales of sorcery, magical powers and witchcraft.
Good or bad, funny or downright scary, their stories have fascinated moviegoers and these burnt offerings show no signs of slowing down.
- 10/20/2015
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Ken Russell spent most of his days regarding his first theatrical feature, French Dressing, as a disaster. Certainly it did his career prospects no good at the time. Then he caught it on late night TV in the nineties, and said to himself, "This is a masterpiece!"He might have been right, though the film's effect is so indefinable that its success or failure on its own terms, whatever they might be, is hard to be certain of. But it's sufficiently unlike anything else to qualify for some kind of place of honor in the sub-sub-genre of British seaside psychotronic cinema.The starting point was kind of charming and straightforward: a run-down coastal resort tries to vie with Cannes by launching a film fest and inviting the latest Gallic sex kitten sensation. The producer probably imagined something a bit like a Carry On film, whereas Russell hoped to take things into Jacques Tati territory.
- 10/8/2015
- by David Cairns
- MUBI
Billy Wilder directed Sunset Blvd. with Gloria Swanson and William Holden. Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett movies Below is a list of movies on which Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder worked together as screenwriters, including efforts for which they did not receive screen credit. The Wilder-Brackett screenwriting partnership lasted from 1938 to 1949. During that time, they shared two Academy Awards for their work on The Lost Weekend (1945) and, with D.M. Marshman Jr., Sunset Blvd. (1950). More detailed information further below. Post-split years Billy Wilder would later join forces with screenwriter I.A.L. Diamond in movies such as the classic comedy Some Like It Hot (1959), the Best Picture Oscar winner The Apartment (1960), and One Two Three (1961), notable as James Cagney's last film (until a brief comeback in Milos Forman's Ragtime two decades later). Although some of these movies were quite well received, Wilder's later efforts – which also included The Seven Year Itch...
- 9/16/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Groucho Marx in 'Duck Soup.' Groucho Marx movies: 'Duck Soup,' 'The Story of Mankind' and romancing Margaret Dumont on TCM Grouch Marx, the bespectacled, (painted) mustached, cigar-chomping Marx brother, is Turner Classic Movies' “Summer Under the Stars” star today, Aug. 14, '15. Marx Brothers fans will be delighted, as TCM is presenting no less than 11 of their comedies, in addition to a brotherly reunion in the 1957 all-star fantasy The Story of Mankind. Non-Marx Brothers fans should be delighted as well – as long as they're fans of Kay Francis, Thelma Todd, Ann Miller, Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Allan Jones, affectionate, long-tongued giraffes, and/or that great, scene-stealing dowager, Margaret Dumont. Right now, TCM is showing Robert Florey and Joseph Santley's The Cocoanuts (1929), an early talkie notable as the first movie featuring the four Marx Brothers – Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo. Based on their hit Broadway...
- 8/14/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Fred Astaire ca. 1935. Fred Astaire movies: Dancing in the dark, on the ceiling on TCM Aug. 5, '15, is Fred Astaire Day on Turner Classic Movies, as TCM continues with its “Summer Under the Stars” series. Just don't expect any rare Astaire movies, as the actor-singer-dancer's star vehicles – mostly Rko or MGM productions – have been TCM staples since the early days of the cable channel in the mid-'90s. True, Fred Astaire was also featured in smaller, lesser-known fare like Byron Chudnow's The Amazing Dobermans (1976) and Yves Boisset's The Purple Taxi / Un taxi mauve (1977), but neither one can be found on the TCM schedule. (See TCM's Fred Astaire movie schedule further below.) Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals Some fans never tire of watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing together. With these particular fans in mind, TCM is showing – for the nth time – nine Astaire-Rogers musicals of the '30s,...
- 8/5/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Cinema Retro Lee Pfeiffer recently moderated a book signing event for authors Robert Crane and Christopher Fryer in relation to their new release "Bob Crane: Sex, Celebrity and My Father's Unsolved Murder", which has been published by the University Press of Kentucky. The event was held at The Coffee House Club, a legendary 100 year-old private venue for the arts in New York that has boasted such illustrious members as Sir Winston Churchill, Robert Benchley, Basil Rathbone and Henry Fonda. The book details the impact that the murder of "Hogan's Heroes" star Bob Crane had on his family, specifically his son Robert, who was in his early twenties when the grisly crime occurred in 1979. Bob Crane had risen to fame playing avuncular, sharp-witted "guy next door" types. He was also a highly talented musician who enjoyed moonlighting as an acclaimed drummer. In private life, he was a very complex man.
- 5/8/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
With its title reminiscent of that very old standard “It Had to Be You,” the new musical It Shoulda Been You sounds like a retread even before it starts. The impression does not abate once you get a whiff of the plot, which recalls dozens of moldy domestic comedies. Watching it, I at various times thought of Take Her, She’s Mine; Mary, Mary; Norman, Is That You?; and the Forest Hills bridezilla section of Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite. Those plays, part of a genre that flourished in the 1950s and 1960s, were mostly throwbacks already. With their generation-gap humor and culture-clash antics, their mixed marriages and children gone amok, they harked back at least as far as 1922, to the enormous hit Abie’s Irish Rose, which Robert Benchley described even then as having “the comic spirit of 1876.”A musical in that antique vein would seem to be a nonstarter now.
- 4/15/2015
- by Jesse Green
- Vulture
This Sunday, I’m pleased to be part of a new series of Walt Disney presentations on Turner Classic Movies. I’ll be joining Ben Mankiewicz to introduce a full evening of Disney treats, including the classic Silly Symphonies short Santa’s Workshop (1932) and two other wintry cartoons, the wonderful behind-the-scenes feature The Reluctant Dragon (1941) featuring Robert Benchley, my boyhood favorite Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1955), the Oscar-winning True Life Adventure The Vanishing Prairie (1954), and another film I’ve always liked, Third Man on the Mountain (1959) starring James MacArthur, Michael Rennie, Janet Munro, and Herbert Lom, followed by Perilous Assignment, an...
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[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]...
- 12/20/2014
- by Leonard Maltin
- Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
As previously reported by my HitFix colleagues, 2014’s fall festivals represent something of a battle royale for various heavyweight Oscar hopefuls. The oldest fest in the big four, venerable Venice, is up against younger North American counterparts Toronto, Telluride and New York in the perennial fight to deliver a truly memorable Competition. Which films will be left standing once the critics have had their way with them? Contenders hoping to emerge victorious from La Biennale’s royal rumble include Alejandro González Iñárritu’s opening nighter "Birdman" starring Michael Keaton, David Gordon Green’s Al Pacino vehicle "Manglehorn" and Andrew Garfield vs Michael Shannon in Ramin Bahrani’s real estate showdown "99 Homes." As far as awards season goes, for me the big hitter to beat from Cannes is "Foxcatcher," an extraordinary and illuminating piece of filmmaking from Bennett Miller, a director I’ve not been personally persuaded by before now. In the documentary category,...
- 8/21/2014
- by Catherine Bray
- Hitfix
Sony
It’s been said that bad things don’t happen to writers; it’s all just used as material. Whoever said that had obviously never spent a day in the life of a journalist.
One of the first things we learn when we hoist ourselves into the newsroom is to swallow our feelings. Every word you throw out there is judged: first by the editor, and then everyone else in the world. That’s one pretty big stage.
There’s the things you were never taught in university: like the torture of breaking news coming in the moment you’re about to go for coffee, or public meetings running the same length of time as a day on Mercury. Working set “hours” is now a fictional concept, and your wages stretch just enough to survive on ramen noodles and wine.
Being a journo is wonderful though, there’s no doubt about that.
It’s been said that bad things don’t happen to writers; it’s all just used as material. Whoever said that had obviously never spent a day in the life of a journalist.
One of the first things we learn when we hoist ourselves into the newsroom is to swallow our feelings. Every word you throw out there is judged: first by the editor, and then everyone else in the world. That’s one pretty big stage.
There’s the things you were never taught in university: like the torture of breaking news coming in the moment you’re about to go for coffee, or public meetings running the same length of time as a day on Mercury. Working set “hours” is now a fictional concept, and your wages stretch just enough to survive on ramen noodles and wine.
Being a journo is wonderful though, there’s no doubt about that.
- 4/30/2014
- by Nina Cresswell
- Obsessed with Film
A former vaudevillian, the great comedian Fred Allen found his fame in radio but was unable to navigate a suitable transition to TV (“Television is a medium,” he once observed, “because it is neither rare nor well done.”). He made a few casual appearances in movies but only once, in 1945, did he take full advantage of that particular medium.
That film, one of the “lost” trailers featured in our Great Global Trailer Search, was, until its recent home video revival, very nearly a lost film in itself. More’s the pity because It’s in the Bag, Allen’s sole starring vehicle, is an overlooked comic gem.
A surreal-screwball farce fueled by Allen’s perpetually perplexed sad sack persona and out-of-left-field set pieces (like a nightmarish trip to the movies that predicts the vertiginous pitfalls of a crowded Imax theater), It’s in the Bag recalls the anything goes Paramount...
That film, one of the “lost” trailers featured in our Great Global Trailer Search, was, until its recent home video revival, very nearly a lost film in itself. More’s the pity because It’s in the Bag, Allen’s sole starring vehicle, is an overlooked comic gem.
A surreal-screwball farce fueled by Allen’s perpetually perplexed sad sack persona and out-of-left-field set pieces (like a nightmarish trip to the movies that predicts the vertiginous pitfalls of a crowded Imax theater), It’s in the Bag recalls the anything goes Paramount...
- 3/8/2014
- by TFH Team
- Trailers from Hell
Cinema history has a few great double-up years: 12-month periods in which a classic filmmaker had not one but two great films. Mel Brooks may be the most notorious, releasing two of the best comedies of all time in 1974 (“Blazing Saddles” & “Young Frankenstein”) and Steven Spielberg has arguably done it a few times, inarguably in 1993 (“Jurassic Park” & “Schindler’s List”) and he would double-up again in 2002 (“Minority Report” & “Catch Me If You Can”) and 2011 (“Tintin” & “War Horse”).
One of the most-often forgotten double-up years was Alfred Hitchcock’s first year as an American filmmaker — 1940, which saw the premiere of “Rebecca” in April and “Foreign Correspondent” in August. The former has been a Criterion inductee for years and the latter joins the most important club in Blu-ray/DVD history this week in a finely-transferred and wonderfully accompanied release.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
“Rebecca” has the higher historical pedigree, largely because it’s less dry...
One of the most-often forgotten double-up years was Alfred Hitchcock’s first year as an American filmmaker — 1940, which saw the premiere of “Rebecca” in April and “Foreign Correspondent” in August. The former has been a Criterion inductee for years and the latter joins the most important club in Blu-ray/DVD history this week in a finely-transferred and wonderfully accompanied release.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
“Rebecca” has the higher historical pedigree, largely because it’s less dry...
- 2/16/2014
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Special Event!
First Screenings In 80 Years Of “Hello, Pop!,”
1933 Color Stooges Short Discovered In Australia, Plus Other Amazing Archival Discoveries
At Film Forum, September 29 & 30
“Lost… Now Found,” a program of archival discoveries highlighted by Hello Pop! (1933), a Technicolor musical short starring the Three Stooges that was long thought lost, will screen at Film Forum on Sunday, September 29 at 3:00 and Monday, September 30 at 3:00 and 6:30.
Following an MGM vault fire in 1967, in which its negative and all existing prints were thought to have been destroyed, the two-reel backstage musical Hello, Pop!, starring Ted Healy “and his Stooges” Moe, Larry and Curly, was long considered the sole lost Three Stooges short.
But in December 2012, The Vitaphone Project, a group devoted to restoring early sound vaudeville and music shorts, was contacted by an Australian film collector in possession of a two-strip Technicolor nitrate print rescued from a landfill. The Project’s...
First Screenings In 80 Years Of “Hello, Pop!,”
1933 Color Stooges Short Discovered In Australia, Plus Other Amazing Archival Discoveries
At Film Forum, September 29 & 30
“Lost… Now Found,” a program of archival discoveries highlighted by Hello Pop! (1933), a Technicolor musical short starring the Three Stooges that was long thought lost, will screen at Film Forum on Sunday, September 29 at 3:00 and Monday, September 30 at 3:00 and 6:30.
Following an MGM vault fire in 1967, in which its negative and all existing prints were thought to have been destroyed, the two-reel backstage musical Hello, Pop!, starring Ted Healy “and his Stooges” Moe, Larry and Curly, was long considered the sole lost Three Stooges short.
But in December 2012, The Vitaphone Project, a group devoted to restoring early sound vaudeville and music shorts, was contacted by an Australian film collector in possession of a two-strip Technicolor nitrate print rescued from a landfill. The Project’s...
- 9/17/2013
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Hattie McDaniel as Mammy in ‘Gone with the Wind’: TCM schedule on August 20, 2013 (photo: Vivien Leigh and Hattie McDaniel in ‘Gone with the Wind’) See previous post: “Hattie McDaniel: Oscar Winner Makes History.” 3:00 Am Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943). Director: David Butler. Cast: Joan Leslie, Dennis Morgan, Eddie Cantor, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Errol Flynn, John Garfield, Ida Lupino, Ann Sheridan, Dinah Shore, Alexis Smith, Jack Carson, Alan Hale, George Tobias, Edward Everett Horton, S.Z. Sakall, Hattie McDaniel, Ruth Donnelly, Don Wilson, Spike Jones, Henry Armetta, Leah Baird, Willie Best, Monte Blue, James Burke, David Butler, Stanley Clements, William Desmond, Ralph Dunn, Frank Faylen, James Flavin, Creighton Hale, Sam Harris, Paul Harvey, Mark Hellinger, Brandon Hurst, Charles Irwin, Noble Johnson, Mike Mazurki, Fred Kelsey, Frank Mayo, Joyce Reynolds, Mary Treen, Doodles Weaver. Bw-127 mins. 5:15 Am Janie (1944). Director: Michael Curtiz. Cast: Joyce Reynolds, Robert Hutton,...
- 8/21/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
A marketing survey has revealed that Warner Brothers is considering starting their own online movie streaming service that would compete directly with companies like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu Plus.
Warner Brothers is considering launching an online streaming service to compete with providers like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus. Called Warner Archive Streaming, the service would primarily offer classic movies, cartoons, and TV shows from its extensive catalog, rather than new releases. If successful, the service could catapult Warner Brothers as a major player in the booming online video streaming business.
Details of the plan emerged after Warner recently asked their consumers to participate in an online survey about the service. According to a source with intimate knowledge of the survey, Warner measured interest in a streaming service that would offer many of its older titles not readily available on DVD or Blu-ray. Warner currently has a program called Warner Archive,...
Warner Brothers is considering launching an online streaming service to compete with providers like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus. Called Warner Archive Streaming, the service would primarily offer classic movies, cartoons, and TV shows from its extensive catalog, rather than new releases. If successful, the service could catapult Warner Brothers as a major player in the booming online video streaming business.
Details of the plan emerged after Warner recently asked their consumers to participate in an online survey about the service. According to a source with intimate knowledge of the survey, Warner measured interest in a streaming service that would offer many of its older titles not readily available on DVD or Blu-ray. Warner currently has a program called Warner Archive,...
- 4/22/2012
- by feeds@themoviepool.com (Victor Medina)
- Cinelinx
I’ve been collecting the condensed Super-8 Sound editions of movies for about 15 years now and am always thrilled when some odd title pops up for sale that I had no idea was ever released in the format. The Beast Must Die, The Klansman, and To The Devil A Daughter are a few of the titles that never appeared in the Castle Films (or any other) catalog, but I’ve managed to unearth, released on some obscure film labels (often in Europe – Grizzly, Star Crash, Hard Times, and Mandigo are other oddball titles I’ve found dubbed into German). I host the monthly Super-8 Movie Madness show at The Way Out Club here in St. Louis the first Tuesday of every month where I show about 14 of these films from my vast collection. The hard-drinking crowd of movie buffs always appreciates films with the cheesiest aesthetics and there are few movies cheesier than Astro Zombies.
- 10/18/2011
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Boo(zy): An Evening of Spirits and Storytelling
Bohemian Archaeology Productions
The art of the live storytelling monologue -- comic, dramatic, or otherwise -- has a long and mostly forgotten tradition: one of Ruth Draper, Anna Russell, Robert Benchley, and long before in Vaudeville. It survives in various permutations of contemporary stand-up. The basic and unembellished version recently received a lively resuscitation with Boo(zy) at the DR2 Theater in two pre-Halloween (the "boo" of the title) performances (October 29 and 30).
read more...
Bohemian Archaeology Productions
The art of the live storytelling monologue -- comic, dramatic, or otherwise -- has a long and mostly forgotten tradition: one of Ruth Draper, Anna Russell, Robert Benchley, and long before in Vaudeville. It survives in various permutations of contemporary stand-up. The basic and unembellished version recently received a lively resuscitation with Boo(zy) at the DR2 Theater in two pre-Halloween (the "boo" of the title) performances (October 29 and 30).
read more...
- 11/10/2010
- by Jay Reisberg
- www.culturecatch.com
American actor known for his role as Danno in the television series Hawaii Five-o
One actor in his time plays many parts, so it is a mixed blessing for a performer to be forever associated with one role and one catchphrase. James MacArthur, who has died aged 72, was instantly identified with Detective Danny "Danno" Williams in the long-running television series Hawaii Five-o (1968-79), in which he was habitually told "Book 'em, Danno" by his superior officer, Detective Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord), after villains had been captured.
From the outset, MacArthur could not escape being reminded that he was the son of celebrated parents. His mother, Helen Hayes, always flagged as "the first lady of the theatre", had a long career on stage, in television and films, winning two Oscars 40 years apart, and his father, Charles MacArthur, co-wrote and co-directed several films with Ben Hecht, one of which, The Scoundrel (1935), won a screenplay Oscar,...
One actor in his time plays many parts, so it is a mixed blessing for a performer to be forever associated with one role and one catchphrase. James MacArthur, who has died aged 72, was instantly identified with Detective Danny "Danno" Williams in the long-running television series Hawaii Five-o (1968-79), in which he was habitually told "Book 'em, Danno" by his superior officer, Detective Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord), after villains had been captured.
From the outset, MacArthur could not escape being reminded that he was the son of celebrated parents. His mother, Helen Hayes, always flagged as "the first lady of the theatre", had a long career on stage, in television and films, winning two Oscars 40 years apart, and his father, Charles MacArthur, co-wrote and co-directed several films with Ben Hecht, one of which, The Scoundrel (1935), won a screenplay Oscar,...
- 10/31/2010
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Fred Weekend Shopping Guide - your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…
(Please support Fred by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)
Like Citizen Kane and Casablanca, the original King Kong (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$34.98 Srp) is one of the many gems in the Warner Bros. library. While we don’t have our high definition Kane yet, the restoration and mastering done on this new Kong is simply breathtaking, and give me high hopes for their treatment of Welles’ legendary flick. Bonus features on this new edition include an audio commentary,...
(Please support Fred by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)
Like Citizen Kane and Casablanca, the original King Kong (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$34.98 Srp) is one of the many gems in the Warner Bros. library. While we don’t have our high definition Kane yet, the restoration and mastering done on this new Kong is simply breathtaking, and give me high hopes for their treatment of Welles’ legendary flick. Bonus features on this new edition include an audio commentary,...
- 10/1/2010
- by UncaScroogeMcD
Super-8 Charles Bronson Movie Madness at the Way Out Club will be held next Tuesday, July 6th from 8pm to Midnight. This will be a major movie event! Super-8 Movie Madness is going to honor the career of Hollywood’s greatest star and we’ll be making history again for as far as I’m aware this is the first Super-8 Charles Bronson festival… like… ever! I will be covering the walls of the Way Out Club with dozens of massive Charles Bronson movie posters and will be displaying busts, figures, and model kits of Charles Bronson all from my personal collection. And best of all, there will be these awesome Super-8 Charles Bronson Movie Madness T-Shirts for sale for only ten bucks!
If you’re not familiar with the madness, here’s a brief rundown: Remember (before video tapes) the Super-8 films they used to sell in the 1950’s...
If you’re not familiar with the madness, here’s a brief rundown: Remember (before video tapes) the Super-8 films they used to sell in the 1950’s...
- 6/29/2010
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Chicago – Turner Classic Movies continues their collection of some of their greatest films in four-movie sets, three of which were recently released and distributed by Warner Brothers Home Video under the label “Turner Classic Movies: Greatest Classic Films Collection” with sub-labels of “Romance,” “Marx Brothers,” and “Sci-Fi Classics”.
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0
The gigantic partnership that has released dozens of classic films in themed groups continues a series that serves to satisfy both serious film buffs and casual fans who may just be starting to build a library of classic films.
The latest three installments in the “Greatest Classic Films Collections” features a set timed well to Valentine’s Day and two collections of classics that never grow old.
TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Romance was released by Warner Brothers Home Video on February 2nd, 2010.
Photo credit: Warner Brothers
The “Romance” edition of the “TCM Greatest Classic Films Collections” features timeless stars like Natalie Wood,...
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0
The gigantic partnership that has released dozens of classic films in themed groups continues a series that serves to satisfy both serious film buffs and casual fans who may just be starting to build a library of classic films.
The latest three installments in the “Greatest Classic Films Collections” features a set timed well to Valentine’s Day and two collections of classics that never grow old.
TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Romance was released by Warner Brothers Home Video on February 2nd, 2010.
Photo credit: Warner Brothers
The “Romance” edition of the “TCM Greatest Classic Films Collections” features timeless stars like Natalie Wood,...
- 2/17/2010
- by BrianTT
- HollywoodChicago.com
(S03E12) "That's the thing about secrets, Hank. They have a funny way of coming out." - Mia Cross
If last night's episode was the first episode of Californication you have ever seen, it might have left you more than a little confused. Your friends who gab about it around the office water cooler have always been telling you how its the raucous and dirty sitcom of the decade, a show that takes the wit of Robert Benchley and combines it with the out-of-control plot of those Spring Break party movies that used to play late at night on the USA Network.
You're tired of feeling like you're missing out on something awesome, so you finally decide to tune in and instead what you find is a rather heavy and deep emotional look at the effects of a life spent partying, boozing and philandering.
Continue reading Review: Californication - Mia...
If last night's episode was the first episode of Californication you have ever seen, it might have left you more than a little confused. Your friends who gab about it around the office water cooler have always been telling you how its the raucous and dirty sitcom of the decade, a show that takes the wit of Robert Benchley and combines it with the out-of-control plot of those Spring Break party movies that used to play late at night on the USA Network.
You're tired of feeling like you're missing out on something awesome, so you finally decide to tune in and instead what you find is a rather heavy and deep emotional look at the effects of a life spent partying, boozing and philandering.
Continue reading Review: Californication - Mia...
- 12/14/2009
- by Danny Gallagher
- Aol TV.
Garrison Keillor at the Moth Ball. From PatrickMcMullan.com. New York City publishing held something akin to the World Series of book parties last week. To the frenzied tune of The Nutcracker’s Russian Dance, it went something like this: Monday marked the 90th anniversary of the Algonquin Roundtable, with a party to match. A panel (including New York gossips Paula Froelich and Michael Musto and Grey Gardens director Albert Maysles) bantered about reality stars and stardom—not exactly the stuff of Dorothy Parker and Robert Benchley, but the modern-day iteration was plenty funny and charming. The same night, over the river and through the hoods, the National Book Foundation honored its “Five Under 35” at the Powerhouse Arena in Dumbo (according to the foundation’s Web site, the location is “a nod to Brooklyn’s status as the literary epicenter of New York City”). Sharing their work were five we-think-it’s-journalistically-appropriate-to-call-very-good-looking young authors: Ceridwen Dovey,...
- 11/24/2009
- Vanity Fair
by Vadim Rizov
Visiting a friend in Omaha this past weekend, I saw The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. at the lovely Film Streams theater. I'd never seen the one-and-only Dr. Seuss-scripted 1953 classic, and the spangly print certainly didn't disappoint. Mostly, though, it got me thinking about everything that's wrong with Where the Wild Things Are. Both are sui generis translations of maverick beloved children's authors to the screen in ways that could be "scary" or "inappropriate" for children. And there the similarities end.
Even among surreal, culty kid's films (Return to Oz is my favorite, but Babe: Pig in the City and Pee-Wee's Big Adventure come to mind as well), The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. is singular. A source of dismay for Dr. Seuss (who compared the reviews to an on-set accident where all the children vomited at once) and a financial calamity (losing over $1 million), this weirdest of...
Visiting a friend in Omaha this past weekend, I saw The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. at the lovely Film Streams theater. I'd never seen the one-and-only Dr. Seuss-scripted 1953 classic, and the spangly print certainly didn't disappoint. Mostly, though, it got me thinking about everything that's wrong with Where the Wild Things Are. Both are sui generis translations of maverick beloved children's authors to the screen in ways that could be "scary" or "inappropriate" for children. And there the similarities end.
Even among surreal, culty kid's films (Return to Oz is my favorite, but Babe: Pig in the City and Pee-Wee's Big Adventure come to mind as well), The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. is singular. A source of dismay for Dr. Seuss (who compared the reviews to an on-set accident where all the children vomited at once) and a financial calamity (losing over $1 million), this weirdest of...
- 10/21/2009
- GreenCine Daily
They call themselves the Fempire: Oscar-winning Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody, Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist scribe Lorene Scafaria, What Happens in Vegas writer Dana Fox, and playwright-turned-screenwriter Liz Meriwether, a newcomer. An article in Sunday's New York Times makes the point that while they're all young (between 27 and 32), stylish, and attractive, these four friends aren't making it big in Hollywood because of their feminine wiles.
Then again, the article appeared in the Fashion & Style section and makes constant references to the womens' physical appearances and clothing choices. But that sort of thing should have nothing to do with it! The Times swears! They're just successful screenwriters who happen to be women -- and the Times just happens to want to keep mentioning what they look like!
I don't know if this is pre-feminism, post-feminism, or something else. I'm not a woman, so I think I'm not allowed to talk about that kind of thing anyway.
Then again, the article appeared in the Fashion & Style section and makes constant references to the womens' physical appearances and clothing choices. But that sort of thing should have nothing to do with it! The Times swears! They're just successful screenwriters who happen to be women -- and the Times just happens to want to keep mentioning what they look like!
I don't know if this is pre-feminism, post-feminism, or something else. I'm not a woman, so I think I'm not allowed to talk about that kind of thing anyway.
- 3/25/2009
- by Eric D. Snider
- Cinematical
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