Anthony Asquith’s 1928 film to get a new score from John Altman.
The BFI London Film Festival (Oct 7-18) has announced that its Archive Gala will be a new restoration of Anthony Asquith’s Shooting Stars.
The restoration by the BFI National Archive will receive its world premiere on Oct 16 with a new live score by John Altman, the BAFTA and Emmy award-winning composer whose work includes Titanic and Goldeneye. The score has been written for a 12 piece ensemble playing multiple instruments.
Shooting Stars, first released in 1928, was Asquith’s first film as co-director and scriptwriter and is a drama set behind the scenes at a film studio.
Annette Benson (Mae Feather) and Brian Aherne (Julian Gordon) play two mis-matched, married stars and Donald Calthrop (Andy Wilkes) a Chaplin-esque star at the same studio, with whom Mae becomes romantically involved.
Chili Bouchier, Britain’s first sex symbol of the silent era, plays a key role...
The BFI London Film Festival (Oct 7-18) has announced that its Archive Gala will be a new restoration of Anthony Asquith’s Shooting Stars.
The restoration by the BFI National Archive will receive its world premiere on Oct 16 with a new live score by John Altman, the BAFTA and Emmy award-winning composer whose work includes Titanic and Goldeneye. The score has been written for a 12 piece ensemble playing multiple instruments.
Shooting Stars, first released in 1928, was Asquith’s first film as co-director and scriptwriter and is a drama set behind the scenes at a film studio.
Annette Benson (Mae Feather) and Brian Aherne (Julian Gordon) play two mis-matched, married stars and Donald Calthrop (Andy Wilkes) a Chaplin-esque star at the same studio, with whom Mae becomes romantically involved.
Chili Bouchier, Britain’s first sex symbol of the silent era, plays a key role...
- 8/20/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
There are a bunch of large-scale British pictures of the late silent era, like E.A. Dupont's Moulin Rouge and Piccadilly, and they all have dazzling surfaces but don't quite captivate as melodrama. It can seem as if the popular conception that British silent cinema consisted of Hitchcock standing alone and portly in a cultural wasteland is kind of true. But Anthony Asquith's A Cottage on Dartmoor (1929), which channels German expressionist lighting, composition and intensity, is an honorable exception: it's actually more Germanic than any of Hitchcock's films (even including The Pleasure Garden, which he shot in Germany).
Underground (1928), which was Asquith's very first feature, is not quite as good as that, but I'd wanted to see it for ages and was very glad I did: it's available, beautifully restored, from the BFI.
The movie wears its Germanic aspects more lightly than Cottage, with some giddy-making angles and sharp...
Underground (1928), which was Asquith's very first feature, is not quite as good as that, but I'd wanted to see it for ages and was very glad I did: it's available, beautifully restored, from the BFI.
The movie wears its Germanic aspects more lightly than Cottage, with some giddy-making angles and sharp...
- 8/22/2013
- by David Cairns
- MUBI
(Anthony Asquith, 1929; BFI, PG)
Educated at Winchester and Oxford, lifelong socialist, closet gay, son of a Liberal prime minister, Anthony Asquith (1902-1968) is a currently undervalued film-maker whose career began in the silent era when he studied American cinema in Hollywood and German expressionism in Berlin. The British character in its various forms fascinated him, especially the middle classes, and he found an important collaborator in Terence Rattigan. Their association lasted from 1937 to the mid-1960s, resulting in numerous crucial works, including the wartime morale-booster The Way to the Stars and that masterpiece of stiff-upper-lip repression, The Browning Version.
Just before the coming of sound Asquith made two silent classics, A Cottage on Dartmoor and Underground that put his rival Hitchcock into the shade in the way it absorbed foreign influences and experimented with new styles. Underground is an exhilarating celebration of modern city life as embodied by the London underground system,...
Educated at Winchester and Oxford, lifelong socialist, closet gay, son of a Liberal prime minister, Anthony Asquith (1902-1968) is a currently undervalued film-maker whose career began in the silent era when he studied American cinema in Hollywood and German expressionism in Berlin. The British character in its various forms fascinated him, especially the middle classes, and he found an important collaborator in Terence Rattigan. Their association lasted from 1937 to the mid-1960s, resulting in numerous crucial works, including the wartime morale-booster The Way to the Stars and that masterpiece of stiff-upper-lip repression, The Browning Version.
Just before the coming of sound Asquith made two silent classics, A Cottage on Dartmoor and Underground that put his rival Hitchcock into the shade in the way it absorbed foreign influences and experimented with new styles. Underground is an exhilarating celebration of modern city life as embodied by the London underground system,...
- 7/2/2013
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
★★★★☆ In 1928, at the tender age of just 28 years, British director Anthony Asquith was already a driven and passionate filmmaker - exactly what he brought to his early silent, Underground (1928). This tale, whilst saturated in its own time, carries a modern note, as underground carriages bustle with nosey travellers leaning over each others shoulders to read their neighbour's newspaper, or young men eye up the ladies. Amidst the hustle of daily commutes we find a pair of lovebirds in the form of mild-mannered Bill (Brian Aherne) who works as an underground porter and shop worker Nell (Elissa Landi).
The pair's fledgling love is thrown into disarray by the brash Burt (Cyril McLaglen), who also has eyes for the working class blonde bombshell. Power station worker Burt, with his rough manners and penchant for drink, hatches a plan with former lover Kate (Norah Baring), that climaxes in a tremendous, Bond-style chase sequence.
The pair's fledgling love is thrown into disarray by the brash Burt (Cyril McLaglen), who also has eyes for the working class blonde bombshell. Power station worker Burt, with his rough manners and penchant for drink, hatches a plan with former lover Kate (Norah Baring), that climaxes in a tremendous, Bond-style chase sequence.
- 6/17/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
What my followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ saw today: • Yeah, cuz what fantasy! It's not like real women are strong or anything, so why would a writer feel moved to *invent* strong women? “Why do you write strong female characters?” • Cool! The Hobbit's amazing transformations • It's amazing how terrified our culture is of women who refuse to be ashamed of their bodies... The Audacity of Lena Dunham, And Her Admirable Commitment To Making Us Look At Her Naked [This was posted at the Facebook page of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists.] • And we should be surprised by this why...? Congressional Offices Continue to Illegally Download Movies and TV Shows • Check out this movie clip, 85 years old, set in the London Underground... Underground: watch a clip from Anthony Asquith's thriller set on London's tube - video • Love. This is a scene I would love to see. • Bigelow rightly reminds us that the mere depiction of a Bad Thing is not necessarily endorsement.
- 1/16/2013
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Superbly restored and equipped with an admirable new score by Neil Brand, Anthony Asquith's 1929 movie is a minor masterpiece. It provides us with a fascinating picture of the London underground system (everyone wearing hats, everyone smoking) while telling the simple tale of a womanising power station employee and a shy, gentlemanly tube official, both pursuing a department stores salesgirl played by the beautiful Italian-born Elissa Landi.
Much influenced by French and German movie-makers, Underground is a witty, highly imaginative piece of film-making by a director now largely regarded as an efficient craftsman, his best-known films being collaborations with Terence Rattigan. But in her 1931 book Cinema, my Observer predecessor, CA Lejeune, regarded Asquith and Hitchcock as the only two British directors of any consequence, and Asquith the more distinguished of the two. "Asquith lags behind Hitchcock in craftsmanship, comes very close to him in picture sense and passes him in fervency and conviction of thought,...
Much influenced by French and German movie-makers, Underground is a witty, highly imaginative piece of film-making by a director now largely regarded as an efficient craftsman, his best-known films being collaborations with Terence Rattigan. But in her 1931 book Cinema, my Observer predecessor, CA Lejeune, regarded Asquith and Hitchcock as the only two British directors of any consequence, and Asquith the more distinguished of the two. "Asquith lags behind Hitchcock in craftsmanship, comes very close to him in picture sense and passes him in fervency and conviction of thought,...
- 1/13/2013
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Les Misérables | Gangster Squad | American Mary | What Richard Did | Midnight Son | Jiro Dreams Of Sushi | The Lookout | May I Kill U? | Underground
Les Misérables (12A)
(Tom Hooper, 2012, UK) Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne. 158 mins
The King's Speech director plus the globally adored musical: it's a match made in commercial heaven, a third-hand version of a 19th-century French saga, and the most epic celebrity karaoke session ever filmed. The fact that it's entirely sung, "live" on set, supposedly communicates more "emotion", but this is already oversaturated with so much melodramatic incident, the effect is numbing.
Gangster Squad (15)
(Ruben Fleischer, 2013, Us) Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin. 113 mins
Brolin's under-the-radar police squad guns for Penn's La mobsters in this exuberantly violent, but disappointingly straightforward 1940s thriller, derived more from modern videogames than vintage film noirs. Action definitely speaks louder than words here.
American Mary (18)
(Jen & Sylvia Soska,...
Les Misérables (12A)
(Tom Hooper, 2012, UK) Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne. 158 mins
The King's Speech director plus the globally adored musical: it's a match made in commercial heaven, a third-hand version of a 19th-century French saga, and the most epic celebrity karaoke session ever filmed. The fact that it's entirely sung, "live" on set, supposedly communicates more "emotion", but this is already oversaturated with so much melodramatic incident, the effect is numbing.
Gangster Squad (15)
(Ruben Fleischer, 2013, Us) Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin. 113 mins
Brolin's under-the-radar police squad guns for Penn's La mobsters in this exuberantly violent, but disappointingly straightforward 1940s thriller, derived more from modern videogames than vintage film noirs. Action definitely speaks louder than words here.
American Mary (18)
(Jen & Sylvia Soska,...
- 1/12/2013
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
This restored silent from 1928 is terrific – and the exotic and futurist London locations are a treat
Anthony Asquith's 1928 black-and-white silent, Underground, restored three years ago with a great new score by Neil Brand, is now on general release, and it's terrific: an elegantly crafted melodrama with exotic and futurist London locations, and echoes of Lang and Hitchcock. Norah Baring is fascinating as the wronged woman, Kate, given to strange Ocd mannerisms and sightless staring: a performance to compare with Kathleen Byron in Powell's Black Narcissus. Two men fall in love with the same woman – demure shopworker Nell (Elissa Landi) – whom they see on the London Underground. Bill (Brian Aherne) is a decent chap who works on the Tube, but Bert (Cyril McLaglen) is a rougher, moodier sort, who is prepared to exploit his ex-girlfriend Kate in a plot to destroy Bill's chances. This love triangle evolves into a quadrangle,...
Anthony Asquith's 1928 black-and-white silent, Underground, restored three years ago with a great new score by Neil Brand, is now on general release, and it's terrific: an elegantly crafted melodrama with exotic and futurist London locations, and echoes of Lang and Hitchcock. Norah Baring is fascinating as the wronged woman, Kate, given to strange Ocd mannerisms and sightless staring: a performance to compare with Kathleen Byron in Powell's Black Narcissus. Two men fall in love with the same woman – demure shopworker Nell (Elissa Landi) – whom they see on the London Underground. Bill (Brian Aherne) is a decent chap who works on the Tube, but Bert (Cyril McLaglen) is a rougher, moodier sort, who is prepared to exploit his ex-girlfriend Kate in a plot to destroy Bill's chances. This love triangle evolves into a quadrangle,...
- 1/11/2013
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Catch up with the last seven days in the world of film
The big story
The film world went awards crazy this week, aided no doubt by the Academy awards' committee craftily bringing forward the announcement of their nominations to today – probably to spike the guns of the Golden Globes, who hold their results ceremony on Sunday. Whatever the machinations, that meant a glut of fevered speculation and analysis as the Bafta nominations yesterday were immediately followed by the Oscar nods. The full lists obviously skew in favour of national cultural interests – but one thing looks clear: 2013 is going to be the year that properly commercially successful films are also going to scoop the awards, in stark contrast to recent practice.
Lincoln, Les Miserables, Argo and Django Unchained look to be leading the pack, with Life of Pi bobbing pluckily in their wake. (Pause to bow your head for The Master,...
The big story
The film world went awards crazy this week, aided no doubt by the Academy awards' committee craftily bringing forward the announcement of their nominations to today – probably to spike the guns of the Golden Globes, who hold their results ceremony on Sunday. Whatever the machinations, that meant a glut of fevered speculation and analysis as the Bafta nominations yesterday were immediately followed by the Oscar nods. The full lists obviously skew in favour of national cultural interests – but one thing looks clear: 2013 is going to be the year that properly commercially successful films are also going to scoop the awards, in stark contrast to recent practice.
Lincoln, Les Miserables, Argo and Django Unchained look to be leading the pack, with Life of Pi bobbing pluckily in their wake. (Pause to bow your head for The Master,...
- 1/10/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
From Bond to Bourne to hairy monsters and sub-humans, cinema has always loved the tube
The freshest image of the tube in moviegoers' memories is not an encouraging one: a train crashing through the walls of an underground chamber and crumpling into a heap right where James Bond should have been standing. Luckily (and implausibly), the train in Skyfall was empty: although Javier Bardem was a villain, he had at least checked the schedules to cause minimum disruption to the service.
The cinematic possibilities of the tube are as myriad as its destinations. It's a great place for action and chases (The Bourne Ultimatum and Patriot Games got there before Skyfall). It's a realm of concealment, strangeness and subterranean nightmares, but it's a refuge, too. For film-makers, the tube is also very convenient: not only does it boast controllable light and a steady climate, it can also provide a mirror image of the city above.
The freshest image of the tube in moviegoers' memories is not an encouraging one: a train crashing through the walls of an underground chamber and crumpling into a heap right where James Bond should have been standing. Luckily (and implausibly), the train in Skyfall was empty: although Javier Bardem was a villain, he had at least checked the schedules to cause minimum disruption to the service.
The cinematic possibilities of the tube are as myriad as its destinations. It's a great place for action and chases (The Bourne Ultimatum and Patriot Games got there before Skyfall). It's a realm of concealment, strangeness and subterranean nightmares, but it's a refuge, too. For film-makers, the tube is also very convenient: not only does it boast controllable light and a steady climate, it can also provide a mirror image of the city above.
- 1/9/2013
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Anthony Asquith's 1928 classic is a time capsule depiction of London's tube network, as well as a brilliant expressionist-influenced thriller
Reading this on mobile? Click here to watch video
Anthony Asquith's Underground (1928) is part thriller, part time capsule: a riveting film from one of the silent era's most ambitious British directors, and an intriguing portrait of 1920s London. In particular, the manners and motifs of the capital's tube system are seen just as they were 85 years ago. Re-released in cinemas this month to tie in with the 150th anniversary of the tube, Underground speaks not just to silent movie buffs but to the quiet public transport geek inside every commuting Londoner.
The underground in Underground is more than a metaphor for the repressed passions of four "ordinary workaday people", it is integral to the plot, and its shadowy locations set the film's tone. From their arrival in 1895, films about...
Reading this on mobile? Click here to watch video
Anthony Asquith's Underground (1928) is part thriller, part time capsule: a riveting film from one of the silent era's most ambitious British directors, and an intriguing portrait of 1920s London. In particular, the manners and motifs of the capital's tube system are seen just as they were 85 years ago. Re-released in cinemas this month to tie in with the 150th anniversary of the tube, Underground speaks not just to silent movie buffs but to the quiet public transport geek inside every commuting Londoner.
The underground in Underground is more than a metaphor for the repressed passions of four "ordinary workaday people", it is integral to the plot, and its shadowy locations set the film's tone. From their arrival in 1895, films about...
- 1/8/2013
- by Pamela Hutchinson
- The Guardian - Film News
The BFI restoration team has given new life to The First Born, a silent film co-written by Hitchcock's wife, Alma Reville
Why don't we know more about our own silent film history? Is it a lack of interest or a lack of pride? Last month it was announced that a few reels of film by respected British director Graham Cutts had been found in an archive in New Zealand. But while the story was reported widely, it was as a "lost Hitchcock" discovery. It's true that Hitchcock worked on The White Shadow (1923) as a young man, but by overstating his influence we risk casting his peers into oblivion.
The Archive Gala strand of the London film festival was conceived for just such a purpose: to give the floor to some forgotten figures from our cinematic history, while recognising the work of the BFI restoration team. Two years ago, it was...
Why don't we know more about our own silent film history? Is it a lack of interest or a lack of pride? Last month it was announced that a few reels of film by respected British director Graham Cutts had been found in an archive in New Zealand. But while the story was reported widely, it was as a "lost Hitchcock" discovery. It's true that Hitchcock worked on The White Shadow (1923) as a young man, but by overstating his influence we risk casting his peers into oblivion.
The Archive Gala strand of the London film festival was conceived for just such a purpose: to give the floor to some forgotten figures from our cinematic history, while recognising the work of the BFI restoration team. Two years ago, it was...
- 9/22/2011
- by Pamela Hutchinson
- The Guardian - Film News
Last night, the programme for the 53rd British Film Institute London Film Festival was released which runs from the 14th - 29th October. The line-up looks fantastic.... with 'Fantastic' being the operative word as Fantastic Mr. Fox will be having it's world premiere at the event along with 14 others.
Here's the opening statement on the press release and head over to BFI's website for more info. You can also join their Facebook group here.
"Opening Night film, Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox, is one of the Festival's 15 world premieres and will be presented by the director and cast members including Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman and Helen McCrory. Other films celebrating their world premieres include Sam Taylor-Wood's Closing Night Gala Nowhere Boy and the Festival's first ever Archive Gala, the BFI's new restoration of Anthony Asquith's Underground, with live music accompaniment by the Prima Vista Social Club,...
Here's the opening statement on the press release and head over to BFI's website for more info. You can also join their Facebook group here.
"Opening Night film, Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox, is one of the Festival's 15 world premieres and will be presented by the director and cast members including Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman and Helen McCrory. Other films celebrating their world premieres include Sam Taylor-Wood's Closing Night Gala Nowhere Boy and the Festival's first ever Archive Gala, the BFI's new restoration of Anthony Asquith's Underground, with live music accompaniment by the Prima Vista Social Club,...
- 9/10/2009
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
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