(Welcome to Did They Get It Right?, a series where we look at Oscars categories from yesteryear and examine whether the Academy's winners stand the test of time.)
Making a movie is hard. A shocking statement, I know. When you direct a film, you are utilizing a tremendous amount of your time and energy to devote to a project that more often than not takes years of your life. So, when a director releases two films in the same year, I'm always impressed that they had the bandwidth to turn these films around so quickly. The rarest of the rare, though, is when the director gets nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Director for multiple films within the same year.
The first was at the 2nd ceremony, when Frank Lloyd received three of the seven nominations for "Drag," "Weary River," and "The Divine Lady," for which he won. The...
Making a movie is hard. A shocking statement, I know. When you direct a film, you are utilizing a tremendous amount of your time and energy to devote to a project that more often than not takes years of your life. So, when a director releases two films in the same year, I'm always impressed that they had the bandwidth to turn these films around so quickly. The rarest of the rare, though, is when the director gets nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Director for multiple films within the same year.
The first was at the 2nd ceremony, when Frank Lloyd received three of the seven nominations for "Drag," "Weary River," and "The Divine Lady," for which he won. The...
- 10/29/2023
- by Mike Shutt
- Slash Film
Song and dance man or gangster? Few stars of Hollywood’s Golden Era could claim they were equally well known for two such diverse genres. Yet, the legendary James Cagney worked hard to be able to make such a claim.
He was born on July 17, 1899, in New York City. His family was poor, and Cagney was sickly as a child. While growing up in a rough neighborhood, he learned a variety of skills, including tap dancing, street fighting, baseball and boxing. When he was 19, his father died, and he took odd jobs to help support his mother and siblings. On a whim, he auditioned for a role of a chorus girl in a local production. Although he had never had professional training, he landed the role and learned the dances from watching the other performers – and it never bothered him to dress as a girl and perform. Despite his mother...
He was born on July 17, 1899, in New York City. His family was poor, and Cagney was sickly as a child. While growing up in a rough neighborhood, he learned a variety of skills, including tap dancing, street fighting, baseball and boxing. When he was 19, his father died, and he took odd jobs to help support his mother and siblings. On a whim, he auditioned for a role of a chorus girl in a local production. Although he had never had professional training, he landed the role and learned the dances from watching the other performers – and it never bothered him to dress as a girl and perform. Despite his mother...
- 7/15/2023
- by Susan Pennington, Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
No WWE star has ever been nominated for an Emmy Award for their work within the company, but Paul Heyman wants to change that with Roman Reigns.
Heyman has been working with Reigns as his “special counsel” (and now “wise man”) since Reigns debuted his Tribal Chief persona back in 2020. As Heyman sees it, Reigns’ work since then puts him in the same league as actors like Bryan Cranston or James Gandolfini in that he has crafted a “layered, nuanced persona.”
“I will honestly state that I’ll put Roman Reigns and his portrayal of the Tribal Chief up against anybody right now in how he has approached a reality-based character of the top star of the industry,” Heyman tells Variety. “And the fact that he’s not recognized by the people that are there to reward such performances with an award, to me, is disconcerting.”
If the phrase “the...
Heyman has been working with Reigns as his “special counsel” (and now “wise man”) since Reigns debuted his Tribal Chief persona back in 2020. As Heyman sees it, Reigns’ work since then puts him in the same league as actors like Bryan Cranston or James Gandolfini in that he has crafted a “layered, nuanced persona.”
“I will honestly state that I’ll put Roman Reigns and his portrayal of the Tribal Chief up against anybody right now in how he has approached a reality-based character of the top star of the industry,” Heyman tells Variety. “And the fact that he’s not recognized by the people that are there to reward such performances with an award, to me, is disconcerting.”
If the phrase “the...
- 2/10/2023
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
"Batman: The Animated Series" may be a wholly original take on the Dark Knight but it's also indebted to numerous inspirations. Show co-creators Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski, along with writer Paul Dini, were keen to draw on not just the best of Batman's history, but cultural history in general. The goal was to produce a show that, as Dini told Syfy, depicted "a dark world, a world where crime really exists on every level." That approach would often cause them to run afoul of the Fox censors, who weren't enthusiastic about the show's mature tone. After all, this was a Fox Kids cartoon.
Thankfully, the team behind "Batman: Tas" were adept at navigating their way through the treacherous waters of Standards and Practices, maintaining their mature vision despite frequent pushback. And that extended beyond the usual stuff that gets censors riled up, such as violence or edgy language. The...
Thankfully, the team behind "Batman: Tas" were adept at navigating their way through the treacherous waters of Standards and Practices, maintaining their mature vision despite frequent pushback. And that extended beyond the usual stuff that gets censors riled up, such as violence or edgy language. The...
- 2/9/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
Alan Copeland, the songwriter, Grammy-winning arranger and ultra-smooth vocalist known for his many years with The Modernaires and performances on Your Hit Parade and The Red Skelton Hour, has died. He was 96.
Copeland died Dec. 28 in an assisted living facility in Sonora, California, his friend Bob Lehmann told The Hollywood Reporter.
As recently as this fall, Copeland was still singing and playing keyboards in a quartet called Now You Hazz Jazz. “It was his dream to play in a small group until the last curtain, that’s how he termed it,” said Lehmann, the drummer.
Copeland wrote or co-wrote songs including “Make Love to Me” — Jo Stafford’s version made it to No. 1 on the Billboard chart in 1954 — “Too Young to Know,” “High Society,” “This Must Be the Place, “Darling, Darling, Darling” and “While the Vesper Bells Were Ringing.”
After taking arranging lessons from Henry Mancini, he arranged vocals for...
Copeland died Dec. 28 in an assisted living facility in Sonora, California, his friend Bob Lehmann told The Hollywood Reporter.
As recently as this fall, Copeland was still singing and playing keyboards in a quartet called Now You Hazz Jazz. “It was his dream to play in a small group until the last curtain, that’s how he termed it,” said Lehmann, the drummer.
Copeland wrote or co-wrote songs including “Make Love to Me” — Jo Stafford’s version made it to No. 1 on the Billboard chart in 1954 — “Too Young to Know,” “High Society,” “This Must Be the Place, “Darling, Darling, Darling” and “While the Vesper Bells Were Ringing.”
After taking arranging lessons from Henry Mancini, he arranged vocals for...
- 1/7/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Michael Curtiz’s flashy and splashy wartime morale booster began as a pre-Pearl Harbor show of support of our Canadian friends’ contribution to the war effort. A vehicle for James Cagney, its script is a trifle about bush pilots competing for a woman and then showing The Right Stuff when it comes time to join up to fight. Cagney’s ‘bad boy’ act is always good, but what slays us now are the stunning Technicolor images filmed in and over the vast Canadian forest country with its endless crystal clear lakes. The aerial work in 3-Strip Technicolor is breathtaking, especially in this full new digital restoration.
Captains of the Clouds
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1942 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 113 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date March 22, 2022 / 21.99
Starring: James Cagney, Dennis Morgan, Brenda Marshall, Alan Hale, George Tobias, Reginald Gardiner, Air Marshal W.A. Bishop, Reginald Denny, Russell Arms, Paul Cavanagh, Clem Bevans,...
Captains of the Clouds
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1942 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 113 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date March 22, 2022 / 21.99
Starring: James Cagney, Dennis Morgan, Brenda Marshall, Alan Hale, George Tobias, Reginald Gardiner, Air Marshal W.A. Bishop, Reginald Denny, Russell Arms, Paul Cavanagh, Clem Bevans,...
- 3/29/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The 40th anniversary screening of Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” at the upcoming TCM Film Festival will be a full-blown reunion.
The Turner Classic Movies Film Festival announced on Wednesday that actors Drew Barrymore and Henry Thomas are confirmed to appear alongside Spielberg and producer Kathleen Kennedy at the screening, which will be held on the opening night of the festival on April 21.
In keeping with this year’s festival theme “All Together Now: Back to the Big Screen,” director Michael Schultz and stars Glynn Turman, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Garrett Morris, and Steven Williams will introduce their seminal coming-of-age dramedy “Cooley High” (1975), about a group of teens in Chicago preparing for life after high school. In addition, stars Kevin Bacon, Paul Reiser, Steve Guttenberg and Tim Daly will celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Diner” (1982).
The festival runs from April 21 through April 24 in Hollywood, with TCM Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz...
The Turner Classic Movies Film Festival announced on Wednesday that actors Drew Barrymore and Henry Thomas are confirmed to appear alongside Spielberg and producer Kathleen Kennedy at the screening, which will be held on the opening night of the festival on April 21.
In keeping with this year’s festival theme “All Together Now: Back to the Big Screen,” director Michael Schultz and stars Glynn Turman, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Garrett Morris, and Steven Williams will introduce their seminal coming-of-age dramedy “Cooley High” (1975), about a group of teens in Chicago preparing for life after high school. In addition, stars Kevin Bacon, Paul Reiser, Steve Guttenberg and Tim Daly will celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Diner” (1982).
The festival runs from April 21 through April 24 in Hollywood, with TCM Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz...
- 3/23/2022
- by Adam Chitwood
- The Wrap
Gangster movies date back to at least 1912 with D.W. Griffith's "The Musketeers of Pig Alley." The genre really took shape in the 1930s with movies such as "Little Caesar" and "The Public Enemy" (both from 1931) about ruthless Chicago outlaws. James Cagney's turn in 1938's "Angels with Dirty Faces" is another seminal entry.
These early gangster flicks are must-sees for film buffs but don't make this particular list. Cagney's mannered delivery is iconic, but the period style of these classic films makes them tough to recommend in earnest to busy people with limited recreational screen time.
Marlon Brando's performance in "On The Waterfront" in 1954 was...
The post The 20 Best Gangster Movie Characters Ranked appeared first on /Film.
These early gangster flicks are must-sees for film buffs but don't make this particular list. Cagney's mannered delivery is iconic, but the period style of these classic films makes them tough to recommend in earnest to busy people with limited recreational screen time.
Marlon Brando's performance in "On The Waterfront" in 1954 was...
The post The 20 Best Gangster Movie Characters Ranked appeared first on /Film.
- 3/23/2022
- by Gino Orlandini
- Slash Film
Angels With Dirty Faces
Blu ray
Warner Archive
1938/ B&w / 1.33:1 / 97 Minutes
Starring James Cagney, Pat O’Brien, Ann Sheridan, The Dead End Kids
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Released on a Thanksgiving weekend in 1938, Angels With Dirty Faces was a holiday treat with an unexpected punch; it could have been just another morality play dressed up in gangster drag but James Cagney’s powerhouse performance puts it in a class by itself. Cagney plays a rags-to-riches mobster named Rocky Sullivan, a charismatic cock of the walk who treats the tenement sidewalks like a Broadway stage. Long before his scandalous celebrity made headlines, Sullivan and best friend Jerry Connolly were teenaged partners in penny-ante crime until a botched train-yard robbery sealed their fates—Jerry escaped but the usually nimble Rocky was, for once, too slow. While Sullivan cooled his heels in reform school, Jerry went to church and stayed there—now...
Blu ray
Warner Archive
1938/ B&w / 1.33:1 / 97 Minutes
Starring James Cagney, Pat O’Brien, Ann Sheridan, The Dead End Kids
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Released on a Thanksgiving weekend in 1938, Angels With Dirty Faces was a holiday treat with an unexpected punch; it could have been just another morality play dressed up in gangster drag but James Cagney’s powerhouse performance puts it in a class by itself. Cagney plays a rags-to-riches mobster named Rocky Sullivan, a charismatic cock of the walk who treats the tenement sidewalks like a Broadway stage. Long before his scandalous celebrity made headlines, Sullivan and best friend Jerry Connolly were teenaged partners in penny-ante crime until a botched train-yard robbery sealed their fates—Jerry escaped but the usually nimble Rocky was, for once, too slow. While Sullivan cooled his heels in reform school, Jerry went to church and stayed there—now...
- 2/1/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
“Look, I know you’re a smart lawyer – very smart – but don’t get smart with me.”
James Cagney and Pat O’Brien in Angels With Dirty Faces (1938) will be available on Blu-ray December 12th from Warner Archive
It’s back and looking better than ever! The acclaimed Warner Bros. gangster classic which paired off-screen pals James Cagney and Pat O’Brien for the sixth time in this timeless and unforgettable film. Cagney’s Rocky Sullivan is a charismatic ghetto tough whose underworld rise makes him a hero to a gang of slum punks. O’Brien is Father Connolly, the boyhood chum-turned-priest who vows to end Rocky’s influence. Other top talents join them including Humphrey Bogart as a scheming lawyer, Ann Sheridan (in her first major leading-lady role) as Rocky’s hard-edged girlfriend and the Dead End Kids as worshipful street urchins, all ably directed by the great Michael Curtiz...
James Cagney and Pat O’Brien in Angels With Dirty Faces (1938) will be available on Blu-ray December 12th from Warner Archive
It’s back and looking better than ever! The acclaimed Warner Bros. gangster classic which paired off-screen pals James Cagney and Pat O’Brien for the sixth time in this timeless and unforgettable film. Cagney’s Rocky Sullivan is a charismatic ghetto tough whose underworld rise makes him a hero to a gang of slum punks. O’Brien is Father Connolly, the boyhood chum-turned-priest who vows to end Rocky’s influence. Other top talents join them including Humphrey Bogart as a scheming lawyer, Ann Sheridan (in her first major leading-lady role) as Rocky’s hard-edged girlfriend and the Dead End Kids as worshipful street urchins, all ably directed by the great Michael Curtiz...
- 11/22/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Directors can be considered a longshots until they begin showing up on multiple nomination lineups at various award shows. Ridley Scott, a four-time Academy Award nominee, is one of the greatest living filmmakers to never win an Oscar, despite one of his films taking home the best picture prize. However, with two distinct features this year — “House of Gucci” and “The Last Duel” — Scott’s industry clout and overdue narrative could bring him to one historic nomination (or possibly two?).
Scott will turn 84 on Nov. 30, and if he manages to be nominated for director, he’ll surpass John Huston as the oldest nominee in the category’s history. Huston was 79 when he was nominated for “Prizzi’s Honor” (1985). No filmmaker has ever been nominated in their 80s, though this conversation is sure to come back up next year for Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
A respected veteran in Hollywood,...
Scott will turn 84 on Nov. 30, and if he manages to be nominated for director, he’ll surpass John Huston as the oldest nominee in the category’s history. Huston was 79 when he was nominated for “Prizzi’s Honor” (1985). No filmmaker has ever been nominated in their 80s, though this conversation is sure to come back up next year for Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
A respected veteran in Hollywood,...
- 11/10/2021
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Patrick Swayze and Rob Lowe star in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 movie that comes crashing back on screen
Like a rock’n’roll power chord, Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 teen gangs melodrama The Outsiders comes crashing back on screen, in a longer “complete novel” cut. It is a movie with the heartfelt old-fashioned urgency of a Hollywood film from much further back, with the Brat Pack in this film the equivalent of the Dead End Kids who made Angels With Dirty Faces in the 1930s. And The Outsiders feels very different from the companion-piece Rumble Fish that Coppola made afterwards with much of the same cast, co-written again with novelist Se Hinton.
In Tulsa, Oklahoma in the early 1960s, there are two gangs, the greasers and the socs – derived from “socials”, the posher, Wasp kids whose parents can afford to join social clubs. There is a not-so-hidden racism in the...
Like a rock’n’roll power chord, Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 teen gangs melodrama The Outsiders comes crashing back on screen, in a longer “complete novel” cut. It is a movie with the heartfelt old-fashioned urgency of a Hollywood film from much further back, with the Brat Pack in this film the equivalent of the Dead End Kids who made Angels With Dirty Faces in the 1930s. And The Outsiders feels very different from the companion-piece Rumble Fish that Coppola made afterwards with much of the same cast, co-written again with novelist Se Hinton.
In Tulsa, Oklahoma in the early 1960s, there are two gangs, the greasers and the socs – derived from “socials”, the posher, Wasp kids whose parents can afford to join social clubs. There is a not-so-hidden racism in the...
- 10/14/2021
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
It’s hard to walk in an old gangster’s shoes, even if they are patent leather, but it helps if you have the Og’s custom tailored, classic wide collar mustard-yellow coat. Front-buttoned, with wool blend material, soft inner viscose lining, long sleeves, and open hem cuffs, it is stylish and smart, though not blood resistant. Billy Magnussen is too young for gray wingtips in his hair, but he’s just the right age to flip from one mob player to another. In The Many Saints of Newark, the prequel to David Chase’s influential TV series The Sopranos, Magnussen plays a young Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri, a fan favorite played almost inimitably by Tony Sirico.
Sirico was a real mobster before he went into acting, even did a semester in prison. He brought a street-wise authenticity into the role, which is now lodged in Sopranos fans’ consciousness like a...
Sirico was a real mobster before he went into acting, even did a semester in prison. He brought a street-wise authenticity into the role, which is now lodged in Sopranos fans’ consciousness like a...
- 10/3/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
When I first walked out of The Many Saints of Newark, my initial reaction was to call it a B-movie. What I didn’t say at the time, however, was how much I love B-movies. While I saw the flaws in the film and couldn’t wholly endorse it to cinemagoers spoiled by the perfection of The Godfather, Goodfellas, and New Jack City, I can wholeheartedly recommend it to people like me. Those who appreciate the low-budget gangster movies sometimes because of their warts. A majority of fans of The Sopranos will have the same reaction: Meh, The Many Saints of Newark could have been better. So when’s it playing next? I plan to see it again, more than once, on the big screen.
In one of the film’s quieter moments, the Soprano family is gathered around a TV set, watching the classic Key Largo (1948). The specific scene...
In one of the film’s quieter moments, the Soprano family is gathered around a TV set, watching the classic Key Largo (1948). The specific scene...
- 10/2/2021
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Celebrating the release of his new memoir, multi-hyphenate Steven Van Zandt joins hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante to discuss a few of his favorite movies.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Elevator To The Gallows (1958) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Breathless (1960) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)
The Fisher King (1991)
Tony Rome (1967)
Lady In Cement (1968)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
The Killer (1989)
True Romance (1993)
True Lies (1994)
Get Shorty (1995) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Point Blank (1967) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Catch Us If You Can a.k.a. Sweet Memories (1965)
Double Trouble (1967)
Performance (1970) – Mark Goldblatt’s trailer commentary
The Driver (1978)
A Hard Day’s Night (1964) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Tfh’s Don’t Knock The Rock piece
Help! (1965) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s review
Blue Collar (1978) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Elevator To The Gallows (1958) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Breathless (1960) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)
The Fisher King (1991)
Tony Rome (1967)
Lady In Cement (1968)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
The Killer (1989)
True Romance (1993)
True Lies (1994)
Get Shorty (1995) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Point Blank (1967) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Catch Us If You Can a.k.a. Sweet Memories (1965)
Double Trouble (1967)
Performance (1970) – Mark Goldblatt’s trailer commentary
The Driver (1978)
A Hard Day’s Night (1964) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Tfh’s Don’t Knock The Rock piece
Help! (1965) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s review
Blue Collar (1978) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s...
- 9/28/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
This article contains Once Upon a Time in America spoilers.
The Godfather is a great movie, possibly the best ever made. Its sequel, The Godfather, Part II, often follows it in the pantheon of classic cinema, some critics even believe it is the better film. Robert Evans, head of production at Paramount in the early 1970s, wanted The Godfather to be directed by an Italian American. Francis Ford Coppola was very much a last resort. The studio’s first choice was Sergio Leone, but he was getting ready to make his own gangster epic, Once Upon a Time in America. Though less known, it is equally magnificent.
Robert De Niro, as David “Noodles” Aaronson, and James Woods, as Maximillian “Max” Bercovicz, make up a dream gangster film pairing in Once Upon a Time in America, on par with late 1930s audiences seeing Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney team for The Roaring Twenties...
The Godfather is a great movie, possibly the best ever made. Its sequel, The Godfather, Part II, often follows it in the pantheon of classic cinema, some critics even believe it is the better film. Robert Evans, head of production at Paramount in the early 1970s, wanted The Godfather to be directed by an Italian American. Francis Ford Coppola was very much a last resort. The studio’s first choice was Sergio Leone, but he was getting ready to make his own gangster epic, Once Upon a Time in America. Though less known, it is equally magnificent.
Robert De Niro, as David “Noodles” Aaronson, and James Woods, as Maximillian “Max” Bercovicz, make up a dream gangster film pairing in Once Upon a Time in America, on par with late 1930s audiences seeing Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney team for The Roaring Twenties...
- 9/7/2021
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Angels with Filthy Souls may not be an actual flick, but the faux film noir is as iconic as the 1990 movie in which it appears.
Giving Home Alone one of its most popular lines — “Keep the change, you filthy animal” — the gangster picture that helped Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) pull off a few ruses paid homage to an actual film, Angels with Dirty Faces, which was released Nov. 26, 1938.
To celebrate the probable anniversary of the faux classic, Home Alone cinematographer Julio Macat details how Angels with Filthy Souls was created — a job so well done, even stars noted they believed ...
Giving Home Alone one of its most popular lines — “Keep the change, you filthy animal” — the gangster picture that helped Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) pull off a few ruses paid homage to an actual film, Angels with Dirty Faces, which was released Nov. 26, 1938.
To celebrate the probable anniversary of the faux classic, Home Alone cinematographer Julio Macat details how Angels with Filthy Souls was created — a job so well done, even stars noted they believed ...
- 11/23/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Angels with Filthy Souls may not be an actual flick, but the faux film noir is as iconic as the 1990 movie in which it appears.
Giving Home Alone one of its most popular lines — “Keep the change, you filthy animal” — the gangster picture that helped Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) pull off a few ruses paid homage to an actual film, Angels with Dirty Faces, which was released Nov. 26, 1938.
To celebrate the probable anniversary of the faux classic, Home Alone cinematographer Julio Macat details how Angels with Filthy Souls was created — a job so well done, even stars noted they believed ...
Giving Home Alone one of its most popular lines — “Keep the change, you filthy animal” — the gangster picture that helped Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) pull off a few ruses paid homage to an actual film, Angels with Dirty Faces, which was released Nov. 26, 1938.
To celebrate the probable anniversary of the faux classic, Home Alone cinematographer Julio Macat details how Angels with Filthy Souls was created — a job so well done, even stars noted they believed ...
- 11/23/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Over 70 items of Madonna memorabilia are currently up for auction, including costumes, demo cassette tapes and, most famously, a handwritten apology letter from Tupac Shakur that was sent to Madge a year before his death. The auction, hosted by Madonna’s former art advisor Darlene Lutz and the auction house Gotta Have Rock & Roll, comes despite a two–year battle with Madonna herself, who told a judge that her celebrity “does not obviate my right to maintain my privacy.” Madonna’s injunction was overturned by an appeals court last month.
- 7/24/2019
- by Claire Shaffer
- Rollingstone.com
Song and dance man or gangster? Few stars of Hollywood’s Golden Era could claim they were equally well known for two such diverse genres. Yet, the legendary James Cagney worked hard to be able to make such a claim.
He was born on July 17, 1899, in New York City. His family was poor, and Cagney was sickly as a child. While growing up in a rough neighborhood, he learned a variety of skills, including tap dancing, street fighting, baseball and boxing. When he was 19, his father died, and he took odd jobs to help support his mother and siblings. On a whim, he auditioned for a role of a chorus girl in a local production. Although he had never had professional training, he landed the role and learned the dances from watching the other performers – and it never bothered him to dress as a girl and perform. Despite his mother...
He was born on July 17, 1899, in New York City. His family was poor, and Cagney was sickly as a child. While growing up in a rough neighborhood, he learned a variety of skills, including tap dancing, street fighting, baseball and boxing. When he was 19, his father died, and he took odd jobs to help support his mother and siblings. On a whim, he auditioned for a role of a chorus girl in a local production. Although he had never had professional training, he landed the role and learned the dances from watching the other performers – and it never bothered him to dress as a girl and perform. Despite his mother...
- 7/17/2019
- by Susan Pennington and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Matthew Byrd May 15, 2019
Detective Pikachu is one big Pokemon easter egg, but here are some of the most clever references you might have missed.
This Detective Pikachu article contains spoilers. You can read our spoiler-free review of the film here.
You're forgiven if you thought that Detective Pikachu was just one big joke when it was first announced, but now that the movie is finally here, we can confirm that Detective Pikachu is much more than a questionable cash-in on one of the biggest video game franchises of all-time.
Yes, Detective Pikachu is a solid standalone movie, but it best serves as a tribute to the wonderful world of Pokemon as well as the fans who helped turn a little Game Boy game into a phenomenon the likes of which nobody had ever quite seen before. Detective Pikachu is a visual feast that will overwhelm even the most hardcore of...
Detective Pikachu is one big Pokemon easter egg, but here are some of the most clever references you might have missed.
This Detective Pikachu article contains spoilers. You can read our spoiler-free review of the film here.
You're forgiven if you thought that Detective Pikachu was just one big joke when it was first announced, but now that the movie is finally here, we can confirm that Detective Pikachu is much more than a questionable cash-in on one of the biggest video game franchises of all-time.
Yes, Detective Pikachu is a solid standalone movie, but it best serves as a tribute to the wonderful world of Pokemon as well as the fans who helped turn a little Game Boy game into a phenomenon the likes of which nobody had ever quite seen before. Detective Pikachu is a visual feast that will overwhelm even the most hardcore of...
- 5/9/2019
- Den of Geek
“El Chicano” opens deep in the heart of East Los Angeles — or East Los, if you’re local — as a group of Latinx kids watches an act of vigilante justice in their neighborhood. A masked figure frightens off most of the gang members by making the sound of a cucuy — a boogyman — and striking his target with a deadly Aztec sword before disappearing into the night.
Twenty years later, it’s still in their memories. Diego has grown up to become a handsome Lapd cop with a promising career ahead of him. His superior, Captain Gomez (George Lopez), seems especially fond of Diego and tries to help him get a leg up on solving a few career-making cases. Diego’s boyhood friend now goes by the name of Shotgun and has since gotten wrapped up with the Mexican cartel. It’s the same doomed path that claimed Diego’s twin brother,...
Twenty years later, it’s still in their memories. Diego has grown up to become a handsome Lapd cop with a promising career ahead of him. His superior, Captain Gomez (George Lopez), seems especially fond of Diego and tries to help him get a leg up on solving a few career-making cases. Diego’s boyhood friend now goes by the name of Shotgun and has since gotten wrapped up with the Mexican cartel. It’s the same doomed path that claimed Diego’s twin brother,...
- 5/3/2019
- by Monica Castillo
- The Wrap
“Keep the change, ya filthy animal.”
It’s the sarcastic final line of an iconic scene, etched into the minds of countless “Home Alone” fans as a classic and quotable moment in a movie full of them.
And yet, when fans actually go to search for “Angels With Filthy Souls,” the Depression-era gangster flick that Kevin McAllister (Macaulay Culkin) pops into his Vcr while he’s, you remember, home alone, they’re hit with the sudden realization: the film never actually existed.
Also Read: 'Home Alone' 25th Anniversary: Daniel Stern Talks Macaulay Culkin, Painful Stunts and Never Seeing the Sequel
Instead, the movie-within-a-movie was created specifically for “Home Alone.” The 80-second clip was shot inside an abandoned high school in early 1990, at the beginning of the movie’s production, as Vanity Fair reported in 2015. Venetian blinds were added to give the scene its signature film noir touch.
The...
It’s the sarcastic final line of an iconic scene, etched into the minds of countless “Home Alone” fans as a classic and quotable moment in a movie full of them.
And yet, when fans actually go to search for “Angels With Filthy Souls,” the Depression-era gangster flick that Kevin McAllister (Macaulay Culkin) pops into his Vcr while he’s, you remember, home alone, they’re hit with the sudden realization: the film never actually existed.
Also Read: 'Home Alone' 25th Anniversary: Daniel Stern Talks Macaulay Culkin, Painful Stunts and Never Seeing the Sequel
Instead, the movie-within-a-movie was created specifically for “Home Alone.” The 80-second clip was shot inside an abandoned high school in early 1990, at the beginning of the movie’s production, as Vanity Fair reported in 2015. Venetian blinds were added to give the scene its signature film noir touch.
The...
- 12/27/2018
- by Sean Burch
- The Wrap
Chris Evans is one of many people who spent Christmas shocked after discovering the old movie featured in Chris Columbus’ 1990 holiday classic “Home Alone” is not a real movie, but a fake one created just for the Macaulay Culkin-starring comedy. Seth Rogen went viral on Twitter after posting, “My entire childhood, I thought the old timey movie that Kevin watches in Home Alone (Angels With Filthy Souls) was actually an old movie.”
Rogen’s post caused a chain reaction of celebrities and fans realizing for the first time the classic film is not real. Evans’ reaction, “It’S Not???,” earned 22,000 re-tweets and over 175,000 likes. The black-and-white movie is featured during a pivotal scene where Kevin McCallister scares off the burglar Marv (Daniel Stern) by playing threatening dialogue from the film to confuse Marv so he mistakes it for a real person inside the house.
Of course, the movie being fake isn’t breaking news.
Rogen’s post caused a chain reaction of celebrities and fans realizing for the first time the classic film is not real. Evans’ reaction, “It’S Not???,” earned 22,000 re-tweets and over 175,000 likes. The black-and-white movie is featured during a pivotal scene where Kevin McCallister scares off the burglar Marv (Daniel Stern) by playing threatening dialogue from the film to confuse Marv so he mistakes it for a real person inside the house.
Of course, the movie being fake isn’t breaking news.
- 12/26/2018
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Author: Dave Roper
With Actors, Directors, Actresses and Screenwriters under our collective belt and Cinematographers still to come, we presently turn our eye towards Composers, whose music lends so much to the films they work on.
As with the other lists, credit is given for not merely one or two sterling scores, but rather a consistently excellent body of work with specific stand-out films. To be blunt, this is a trickier prospect than it at first appears. Just because a film is terrific or well-loved doesn’t necessarily mean that the score is itself a standout. We begin with perhaps the most obvious and celebrated film composer of them all…..
John Williams – Star Wars
Goodness me. The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, Earthquake, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Long Goodbye, Catch Me If You Can, Star Wars, Close Encounters, Star Wars, Superman, Et, Born on the Fourth of July,...
With Actors, Directors, Actresses and Screenwriters under our collective belt and Cinematographers still to come, we presently turn our eye towards Composers, whose music lends so much to the films they work on.
As with the other lists, credit is given for not merely one or two sterling scores, but rather a consistently excellent body of work with specific stand-out films. To be blunt, this is a trickier prospect than it at first appears. Just because a film is terrific or well-loved doesn’t necessarily mean that the score is itself a standout. We begin with perhaps the most obvious and celebrated film composer of them all…..
John Williams – Star Wars
Goodness me. The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, Earthquake, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Long Goodbye, Catch Me If You Can, Star Wars, Close Encounters, Star Wars, Superman, Et, Born on the Fourth of July,...
- 5/10/2017
- by Dave Roper
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Christian movies: Starring Nicolas Cage, the widely panned 2014 apocalyptic thriller 'Left Behind' was a box office bomb – unlike (relatively) recent popular 'faith movies' such as 'Heaven Is for Real,' 'Son of God' and 'War Room.' A thought on the New Christian American Cinema: Tired of the blatant propaganda found in 'mainstream' Christian movies Two films that might be called “Christian movies” opened last week, and I decided that I wouldn't watch them, write about them, or review them – at least directly. I'm not even going to mention their titles here because I don't promote propaganda films, and that's what this recent advent of Christian movies has become: propaganda. After all, since nearly all American cinema is Christian cinema, the New Christian American Cinema is in fact pure propaganda – not cinema. Worse yet, it bores me. So, here's the thing about what we've come to call...
- 4/14/2017
- by Tim Cogshell
- Alt Film Guide
Ben Affleck's latest directorial effort, the mob story Live by Night, is coming to blu-ray in March with a handful of bonus features for movie fans to dive into. Come inside to learn more about the upcoming launch!
Warner Bros. has announced that Live by Night is coming to your home entertainment space via blu-ray on March 21, 2017. If you want it earlier, you'll be able to snag it digitally on March 7th:
What you put out into this world will always come back to you, but it never comes back how you predict. Witness the price of the American Dream when “Live By Night” arrives onto Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD. Oscar® winner Ben Affleck (“Argo”) directed and stars in “Live By Night.”
“Live By Night” will be available on Blu-ray for $29.98 on March 21, and includes the film in high definition on Blu-ray disc and a digital version of...
Warner Bros. has announced that Live by Night is coming to your home entertainment space via blu-ray on March 21, 2017. If you want it earlier, you'll be able to snag it digitally on March 7th:
What you put out into this world will always come back to you, but it never comes back how you predict. Witness the price of the American Dream when “Live By Night” arrives onto Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD. Oscar® winner Ben Affleck (“Argo”) directed and stars in “Live By Night.”
“Live By Night” will be available on Blu-ray for $29.98 on March 21, and includes the film in high definition on Blu-ray disc and a digital version of...
- 2/16/2017
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Jordan Maison)
- Cinelinx
Boss Man: Interview with the director and star of Live by Night, Ben AffleckBoss Man: Interview with the director and star of Live by Night, Ben AffleckBob Strauss - Cineplex Magazine1/12/2017 10:01:00 Am
Back in the day, Warner Bros. was known for making tough crime movies and the roster of stars — Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, George Raft — who headlined them.
Things have changed a lot in Hollywood since the old contract-player days. However, if there’s any talent who’s identified with a particular studio at the moment, it’s Ben Affleck.
The square-jawed, 44-year-old Bostonian produced, directed and starred in Warner Bros.’ last Best Picture Oscar winner, Argo. He’s also made The Town and The Accountant for the company in the past few years. And Affleck not only plays the most important character, Batman/Bruce Wayne, in Warner’s latest round of DC Comics-based movies,...
Back in the day, Warner Bros. was known for making tough crime movies and the roster of stars — Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, George Raft — who headlined them.
Things have changed a lot in Hollywood since the old contract-player days. However, if there’s any talent who’s identified with a particular studio at the moment, it’s Ben Affleck.
The square-jawed, 44-year-old Bostonian produced, directed and starred in Warner Bros.’ last Best Picture Oscar winner, Argo. He’s also made The Town and The Accountant for the company in the past few years. And Affleck not only plays the most important character, Batman/Bruce Wayne, in Warner’s latest round of DC Comics-based movies,...
- 1/12/2017
- by Bob Strauss - Cineplex Magazine
- Cineplex
The actual events of the war may be receding into the vagueness of folk memory, but we still can’t get enough of them on screen
Related: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie: a marriage that started – and ended – on screen
Like the second world war itself, the second world war movie is an ocean of stories: global, universal, all-encompassing. As a genre unto itself, it is the same age as the post-Stagecoach western and the post-Angels With Dirty Faces gangster movie, and as varied and multifaceted as either.
Continue reading...
Related: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie: a marriage that started – and ended – on screen
Like the second world war itself, the second world war movie is an ocean of stories: global, universal, all-encompassing. As a genre unto itself, it is the same age as the post-Stagecoach western and the post-Angels With Dirty Faces gangster movie, and as varied and multifaceted as either.
Continue reading...
- 11/18/2016
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
Pat O'Brien movies on TCM: 'The Front Page,' 'Oil for the Lamps of China' Remember Pat O'Brien? In case you don't, you're not alone despite the fact that O'Brien was featured – in both large and small roles – in about 100 films, from the dawn of the sound era to 1981. That in addition to nearly 50 television appearances, from the early '50s to the early '80s. Never a top star or a critics' favorite, O'Brien was nevertheless one of the busiest Hollywood leading men – and second leads – of the 1930s. In that decade alone, mostly at Warner Bros., he was seen in nearly 60 films, from Bs (Hell's House, The Final Edition) to classics (American Madness, Angels with Dirty Faces). Turner Classic Movies is showing nine of those today, Nov. 11, '15, in honor of what would have been the Milwaukee-born O'Brien's 116th birthday. Pat O'Brien and James Cagney Spencer Tracy had Katharine Hepburn.
- 11/11/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Sure, you’ve seen a bevy of his films—everything from “Casablanca” to “Mildred Pierce” to “Angels With Dirty Faces” and “The Adventures Of Robin Hood”—but what do you really know about Hungarian American director Michael Curtiz? He is, indeed, perhaps the greatest director you’ve never heard of and you’ve unknowingly gone on for years captivated by Erroll Flynn, James Cagney, and Humphrey Bogart without taking a second to learn about the man behind the camera. Read More: Watch: 35-Minute Documentary 'Casablanca: An Unlikely Classic' With Steven Spielberg, William Friedkin, More In this terrific 37-minute short documentary, Gary Leva explores what we don’t know about Curtiz, who made over 160 (!!) films in his brilliant, decade-spanning career. From humble beginnings in 1888, Curtiz worked his way up in show business, starting out as an actor and eventually making films in his native Austria-Hungary and Berlin. Curtiz’s work in America is unparalleled.
- 10/16/2015
- by Samantha Vacca
- The Playlist
Howard Hughes movies (photo: Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes in 'The Aviator') Turner Classic Movies will be showing the Howard Hughes-produced, John Farrow-directed, Baja California-set gangster drama His Kind of Woman, starring Robert Mitchum, Hughes discovery Jane Russell, and Vincent Price, at 3 a.m. Pt / 6 a.m. Et on Saturday, November 8, 2014. Hughes produced a couple of dozen movies. (More on that below.) But what about "Howard Hughes movies"? Or rather, movies -- whether big-screen or made-for-television efforts -- featuring the visionary, eccentric, hypochondriac, compulsive-obsessive, all-American billionaire as a character? Besides Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays a dashing if somewhat unbalanced Hughes in Martin Scorsese's 2004 Best Picture Academy Award-nominated The Aviator, other actors who have played Howard Hughes on film include the following: Tommy Lee Jones in William A. Graham's television movie The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977), with Lee Purcell as silent film star Billie Dove, Tovah Feldshuh as Katharine Hepburn,...
- 11/6/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Cagney, Bogey, Guns, Booze & Dames – The Roaring Twenties Screens at Webster University Friday Night
The Roaring Twenties screens this Friday night, October 17th at 7:30 at Webster University’s Winifred Moore Auditorium
The Roaring Twenties is at heart a swansong to a decade and one of the greatest of all gangster flicks. James Cagney and Raoul Walsh, the star and director team behind 1949’s masterpiece White Heat teamed up here for the first time. Cagney’s trademark persona is expertly captured by Walsh’s camera, and the story ties in all the classic gangster film elements including love, business, gunfights, rivalry and the male ego. The plot follows three Wwi veterans; one of which becomes a lawyer, another a bootlegger and the third (Cagney) the owner of a Taxi firm. The latter finds a lucrative business, which involves him brewing and selling alcohol, which was illegal at the time under the prohibition act.
James Cagney is definitely the star of The Roaring Twenties, but...
The Roaring Twenties is at heart a swansong to a decade and one of the greatest of all gangster flicks. James Cagney and Raoul Walsh, the star and director team behind 1949’s masterpiece White Heat teamed up here for the first time. Cagney’s trademark persona is expertly captured by Walsh’s camera, and the story ties in all the classic gangster film elements including love, business, gunfights, rivalry and the male ego. The plot follows three Wwi veterans; one of which becomes a lawyer, another a bootlegger and the third (Cagney) the owner of a Taxi firm. The latter finds a lucrative business, which involves him brewing and selling alcohol, which was illegal at the time under the prohibition act.
James Cagney is definitely the star of The Roaring Twenties, but...
- 10/15/2014
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Brendan Gleeson, John Michael McDonagh, Kelly Reilly and Chris O'Dowd on Calvary at the Explorers Club: "I can't go on. I'll go on" Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
After Kelly Reilly came three Calvary men - John Michael McDonagh, Brendan Gleeson and Chris O'Dowd. With McDonagh, I voyage through his many literary references, from Samuel Beckett to Herman Melville, from Albert Camus to James Joyce, and from Philip K. Dick to David Gates' Jernigan. James Cagney's Shanghai Lil with Busby Berkeley's choreography in Footlight Parade reveals Angels With Dirty Faces as another influence.
Peggy Siegal used her magic to snare O'Dowd, who is starring with James Franco on Broadway in John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men with Leighton Meester and Jim Norton, directed by Anna D. Shapiro. Joyce Carol Oates, who sat next to me during lunch, elegantly sums up Calvary.
Kelly Reilly as Fiona, reading H.P. Lovecraft...
After Kelly Reilly came three Calvary men - John Michael McDonagh, Brendan Gleeson and Chris O'Dowd. With McDonagh, I voyage through his many literary references, from Samuel Beckett to Herman Melville, from Albert Camus to James Joyce, and from Philip K. Dick to David Gates' Jernigan. James Cagney's Shanghai Lil with Busby Berkeley's choreography in Footlight Parade reveals Angels With Dirty Faces as another influence.
Peggy Siegal used her magic to snare O'Dowd, who is starring with James Franco on Broadway in John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men with Leighton Meester and Jim Norton, directed by Anna D. Shapiro. Joyce Carol Oates, who sat next to me during lunch, elegantly sums up Calvary.
Kelly Reilly as Fiona, reading H.P. Lovecraft...
- 7/26/2014
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Part of the list provides a few Best Picture nominees, a number of Oscar winners, and a childhood favorite that still pops up now and again. In reality, this list could be half-full of music documentaries, but for that reason, I stayed away from them. Plus, I did my best to include only films that really are musicals in every sense of the word. Plenty of films have lots of musical components, but only true musicals have performances in the film that truly drive the story forward. The songs in movie musicals have a purpose, if there could be a true definition.
courtesy of ew.com
40. Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980)
Directed by Michael Apted
Signature Song: “Coal Miner’s Daughter”
Michael Apted certainly has a dicey filmography, this probably being his best: a biographical piece featuring a breakout adult role from Sissy Spacek, winning her the Oscar for Best Actress.
courtesy of ew.com
40. Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980)
Directed by Michael Apted
Signature Song: “Coal Miner’s Daughter”
Michael Apted certainly has a dicey filmography, this probably being his best: a biographical piece featuring a breakout adult role from Sissy Spacek, winning her the Oscar for Best Actress.
- 5/5/2014
- by Joshua Gaul
- SoundOnSight
By Mark Pinkert
Contributor
…
If David O. Russell gets nominated for Best Director this year, he will have accomplished something that Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Alfred Hitchcock, Francis Ford Coppola and many other great directors have not–that is, to earn three Best Director nominations in the span of only four years. In fact, only eleven other directors have been on comparable hot streaks in Academy Award history, and only one of those streaks (by Clint Eastwood) has occurred after 1960. (See below for reference.)
This is not a comparison of overall quality or career prolificity (not many can bout with Scorsese, Allen, Hitchcock and Coppola in those categories), but merely a tribute to Russell’s ultra-concentrated efforts in the past four years and a recognition of the difficulty of this feat. It’s also a relevant because it might shed some light on previous Oscar trends and on what we...
Contributor
…
If David O. Russell gets nominated for Best Director this year, he will have accomplished something that Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Alfred Hitchcock, Francis Ford Coppola and many other great directors have not–that is, to earn three Best Director nominations in the span of only four years. In fact, only eleven other directors have been on comparable hot streaks in Academy Award history, and only one of those streaks (by Clint Eastwood) has occurred after 1960. (See below for reference.)
This is not a comparison of overall quality or career prolificity (not many can bout with Scorsese, Allen, Hitchcock and Coppola in those categories), but merely a tribute to Russell’s ultra-concentrated efforts in the past four years and a recognition of the difficulty of this feat. It’s also a relevant because it might shed some light on previous Oscar trends and on what we...
- 12/31/2013
- by Mark Pinkert
- Scott Feinberg
Stephen Frears's film about an Irish woman, played by Judi Dench, who is trying to trace the child that was taken from her reveals the sins and the secret strength of the religion
• Video interview: Steve Coogan and Martin Sixsmith on Philomena
• The film reviewed in the Guardian, the Observer & on video
As the world's biggest, oldest, most influential and perhaps most colourful institution of any kind, the Catholic church has surely merited more attention than cinema has accorded it. Angels & Demons and Habemus Papam gave a hint of the possibilities, and that somewhat minor branch of pastoral activity, exorcism, has been more than adequately explored. Otherwise, we've had saintly but boring priests such as those of The Bells of St Mary's and Angels with Dirty Faces or absurdly delightful nuns like those in The Sound of Music and The Nun's Story.
In part, the prevalence of such sympathetic...
• Video interview: Steve Coogan and Martin Sixsmith on Philomena
• The film reviewed in the Guardian, the Observer & on video
As the world's biggest, oldest, most influential and perhaps most colourful institution of any kind, the Catholic church has surely merited more attention than cinema has accorded it. Angels & Demons and Habemus Papam gave a hint of the possibilities, and that somewhat minor branch of pastoral activity, exorcism, has been more than adequately explored. Otherwise, we've had saintly but boring priests such as those of The Bells of St Mary's and Angels with Dirty Faces or absurdly delightful nuns like those in The Sound of Music and The Nun's Story.
In part, the prevalence of such sympathetic...
- 11/4/2013
- by David Cox
- The Guardian - Film News
If there’s a power couple in Defiance, it is the Tarrs, Datak and Stahma. Will we be seeing them continue to gain advantages or will we be seeing a shakeup? Tony Curran and Jaime Murray took some time to speak with the media recently, including SciFiMafia.com, giving us some insight into their characters, and a few hints of what’s to come.
They were clearly enjoying chatting with each other as much as with all of us. Now make sure to imagine them saying these things in their native accents – Tony Curran is Scottish, Jaime Murray is English – to get the true sense of it:
SciFiMafia.com: Hi, thanks so much for being on the call today. I was already a big fan of the work of each of you so I’m so glad you’ve been given such great parts in Defiance. And I’ve got...
They were clearly enjoying chatting with each other as much as with all of us. Now make sure to imagine them saying these things in their native accents – Tony Curran is Scottish, Jaime Murray is English – to get the true sense of it:
SciFiMafia.com: Hi, thanks so much for being on the call today. I was already a big fan of the work of each of you so I’m so glad you’ve been given such great parts in Defiance. And I’ve got...
- 5/20/2013
- by Erin Willard
- ScifiMafia
I was able to watch quite a bit this week, finally finishing the last of Pierre Etaix's films -- As Long as You've Got Your Health and Land of Milk and Honey -- on Criterion's recent Blu-ray release, though I must admit, Land of Milk and Honey did nothing for me and it was the only one of the five features on the release I didn't finish, while I did watch all three of the included shorts. Also, the night after watching The Great Gatsby, I returned to the twenties with the 1939 James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart film The Roaring Twenties. While the title may suggest a shoot 'em up gangster flick, it does have those elements, but it was much slower than I expected, which isn't to say it was bad, simply it wasn't what I was necessarily craving at that moment. I'm sure I'll return to it,...
- 5/12/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Oscar winners Olivia de Havilland and Luise Rainer among movie stars of the 1930s still alive With the passing of Deanna Durbin this past April, only a handful of movie stars of the 1930s remain on Planet Earth. Below is a (I believe) full list of surviving Hollywood "movie stars of the 1930s," in addition to a handful of secondary players, chiefly those who achieved stardom in the ensuing decade. Note: There’s only one male performer on the list — and curiously, four of the five child actresses listed below were born in April. (Please scroll down to check out the list of Oscar winners at the 75th Academy Awards, held on March 23, 2003, as seen in the picture above. Click on the photo to enlarge it. © A.M.P.A.S.) Two-time Oscar winner and London resident Luise Rainer (The Great Ziegfeld, The Good Earth, The Great Waltz), 103 last January...
- 5/7/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
In old Hollywood films, you rarely come across a bad Catholic. Picture Bing Crosby as the kind-hearted Father O'Malley trying to have a school saved from closing down in The Bells of St Mary's (1945) or Pat O'Brien as the priest striving to keep kids away from crime – and his old friend James Cagney's bad example – in Angels With Dirty Faces (1938.)...
- 2/11/2013
- The Independent - Film
In old Hollywood films, you rarely come across a bad Catholic. Picture Bing Crosby as the kind-hearted Father O'Malley trying to have a school saved from closing down in The Bells of St Mary's (1945) or Pat O'Brien as the priest striving to keep kids away from crime – and his old friend James Cagney's bad example – in Angels With Dirty Faces (1938.)...
- 2/8/2013
- The Independent - Film
Whether you think of Warner Bros. as the studio that gave you talking pictures, Bugs Bunny, Bogart, or Batman, you have to acknowledge the studio's place at the forefront of Hollywood history. Indeed, it'll be hard to avoid acknowledging it this year, as the studio will be spending 2013 celebrating its 90th birthday. The celebration kicks off with the release of two massive boxed sets of 50-plus discs each, both entitled the "Best of Warner Bros." -- a 100-film set of DVDs and a 50-film set of Blu-rays. Both sets encompass the studio's milestones of the entire sound film era, which Warners itself kicked off in 1927 with the release of "The Jazz Singer." (The sets go all the way up to the 2010 classic-to-be "Inception.") As familiar as these movies are, there's still plenty you may not know about the legendary movie studio, from who the actual Warner Brothers were, to the stars the studio minted,...
- 1/28/2013
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
Sundance Film Festival kicks off out in Park City today, bringing some of the year’s most anticipated independent films to the big screen. Following shortly after will be the Berlinale next month, and SXSW in March, which has just debuted a very promising initial line-up. And now the first big film festival on our shores, the Glasgow Film Festival, has announced its line-up, and it is absolutely exceptional.
Opening the events on Valentine’s Day next month will be Régis Roinsard’s Populaire, starring Romain Duris, Déborah François, and Bérénice Bejo, getting its UK premiere.
And closing the festival will be Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing, the great writer-director’s contemporary adaptation of the classic Shakespeare play. Similarly seeing its UK premiere, the film stars an ensemble that will please all Whedon fans, led by Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof, with fine support from Fran Kranz, Clark Gregg,...
Opening the events on Valentine’s Day next month will be Régis Roinsard’s Populaire, starring Romain Duris, Déborah François, and Bérénice Bejo, getting its UK premiere.
And closing the festival will be Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing, the great writer-director’s contemporary adaptation of the classic Shakespeare play. Similarly seeing its UK premiere, the film stars an ensemble that will please all Whedon fans, led by Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof, with fine support from Fran Kranz, Clark Gregg,...
- 1/17/2013
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
At the risk of stating the obvious and redundant, there are a lot of directors out there and so this series could merrily run for years, but in the interests of avoiding modern-centricity (yes, it’s a word. I know it is because I thought of it just now) let’s tuck into the resumé of Howard Hawks, who covered an astonishing amount of ground during his 44-year career, not only navigating the stylistic transition to sound, but moving from genre to genre while still delivering some of the best-regarded films of those genres.
Crime films, screwball comedies, westerns, melodrama – a truly versatile director who has left a CV peppered with bona fide classics. If you’re not sure, let me show you…………..
1. His Girl Friday
We have to start here. Not necessarily because it is his best film (though if it is not, it cannot be far off) but...
Crime films, screwball comedies, westerns, melodrama – a truly versatile director who has left a CV peppered with bona fide classics. If you’re not sure, let me show you…………..
1. His Girl Friday
We have to start here. Not necessarily because it is his best film (though if it is not, it cannot be far off) but...
- 1/15/2013
- by Dave Roper
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Our daily countdown continues, with part seven out of 30, in our list of the 300 Greatest Films Ever Made. These are numbers 240-231.
240) The Guns Of Navarone (1961) J. Lee Thompson USA
239) The Life & Death Of Col. Blimp (1943) Michael Powell British
238) Mon Oncle (1958) Jacques Tati French
237) The Lord of the Rings 2: The Two Towers (2002) Peter Jackson USA
236) Roman Holiday (1953) William Wyler USA
235) Angels With Dirty Faces (1938) Michael Curtiz USA
234) Mister Roberts (1955) John Ford USA
233) Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1932) Reuben Mamoulian USA
232) No County For Old Men (2007) Joel & Ethan Cohen USA
231) Freaks (1932) Todd Browning USA
Numbers 230-221 coming next.
film cultureClassicslist300...
240) The Guns Of Navarone (1961) J. Lee Thompson USA
239) The Life & Death Of Col. Blimp (1943) Michael Powell British
238) Mon Oncle (1958) Jacques Tati French
237) The Lord of the Rings 2: The Two Towers (2002) Peter Jackson USA
236) Roman Holiday (1953) William Wyler USA
235) Angels With Dirty Faces (1938) Michael Curtiz USA
234) Mister Roberts (1955) John Ford USA
233) Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1932) Reuben Mamoulian USA
232) No County For Old Men (2007) Joel & Ethan Cohen USA
231) Freaks (1932) Todd Browning USA
Numbers 230-221 coming next.
film cultureClassicslist300...
- 1/8/2013
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Rob Young)
- Cinelinx
The fans are in the seats, the fields have been lined in white and the players are ready for some football action. Can’t you smell it in the air? The early days of Fall are here and we’re in the thick of the hallowed football time of year – high school, college and NFL. Wamg is counting down our 35 favorite football films you need to see before the kickoff of pigskin season. It’s never too early or too late to talk the sport loved by fans everywhere. Many of these true stories can be found on DVD, Blu-ray and Video On Demand. Let us know in the comments section below how you would have ranked your favorite football movies or if we left any on the sidelines.
1. Rudy
“You’re 5 foot nothin’, 100 and nothin’, and you have barely a speck of athletic ability. And you hung in there...
1. Rudy
“You’re 5 foot nothin’, 100 and nothin’, and you have barely a speck of athletic ability. And you hung in there...
- 9/10/2012
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Jessica Chastain plays a burlesque dancer in Lawless
Born in California, Jessica Chastain trained at the Juilliard school in New York and made her name in theatre before her film career. In 2011, her performance in The Tree of Life brought widespread attention and since then she has been a striking presence in The Help, Take Shelter, The Debt and Coriolanus.
In Lawless, you play Maggie, a femme fatale, with a mysterious past. What attracted you to the role?
I love the relationship between Maggie and Forrest. Maggie is a woman who is very used to being around men – she was a burlesque dancer – and she's probably been hurt by a lot of men, physically and emotionally. When she shows up at this little town, she's an oddity for the brothers and especially Forrest. He's used to violence but not being around women. So she becomes almost the aggressor in the relationship,...
Born in California, Jessica Chastain trained at the Juilliard school in New York and made her name in theatre before her film career. In 2011, her performance in The Tree of Life brought widespread attention and since then she has been a striking presence in The Help, Take Shelter, The Debt and Coriolanus.
In Lawless, you play Maggie, a femme fatale, with a mysterious past. What attracted you to the role?
I love the relationship between Maggie and Forrest. Maggie is a woman who is very used to being around men – she was a burlesque dancer – and she's probably been hurt by a lot of men, physically and emotionally. When she shows up at this little town, she's an oddity for the brothers and especially Forrest. He's used to violence but not being around women. So she becomes almost the aggressor in the relationship,...
- 8/25/2012
- by Killian Fox
- The Guardian - Film News
Warner Bros are about to embark on a resurgence of the period gangster movie, the genre that the studio was built on in the 30′s and 40′s. The playground that James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson played in so regularly and to so much success with classic movies like “White Heat” and “Angels With Dirty Faces” among dozens of others.
They have several scripts in development right now for tommy gunn filled rat-a-tat-tat movies, including one intriguing prospect of a movie trilogy about the life of the notorious Al Capone that would star Tom Hardy for Harry Potter director David Yates. But that movie, as well as others they are plotting, will probably be dependent on the success of their first period gangster out of the blocks, “Gangster Squad”.
The forthcoming movie is based on Paul Lieberman’s series of articles in the L.A. Times some years...
They have several scripts in development right now for tommy gunn filled rat-a-tat-tat movies, including one intriguing prospect of a movie trilogy about the life of the notorious Al Capone that would star Tom Hardy for Harry Potter director David Yates. But that movie, as well as others they are plotting, will probably be dependent on the success of their first period gangster out of the blocks, “Gangster Squad”.
The forthcoming movie is based on Paul Lieberman’s series of articles in the L.A. Times some years...
- 5/10/2012
- by Matt Holmes
- Obsessed with Film
With the arrival of the auteur theory, filmmakers like Michael Curtiz no longer get as much sway among the current generation of directors. Curtiz (born Kertész Kaminer Manó in Hungary in 1886), was a journeyman, a man who flourished in the studio system after being picked out by Jack Warner for his Austrian Biblical epic "Moon of Israel" in 1924. He stayed at the studio for nearly 20 years, taking on whatever he was assigned at a terrifyingly prolific rate -- he made over 100 Hollywood movies up to "The Comancheros" in 1961. And some of them are terrible, as you might expect.
But Curtiz was also responsible for some of the greatest films of the era, and those who diminish his abilities (including the director himself, who once said "Who cares about character? I make it go so fast nobody notices") are ignoring his enormous skill behind the camera, and his undeniable capacity for...
But Curtiz was also responsible for some of the greatest films of the era, and those who diminish his abilities (including the director himself, who once said "Who cares about character? I make it go so fast nobody notices") are ignoring his enormous skill behind the camera, and his undeniable capacity for...
- 4/10/2012
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
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