If you’re like us here at Reel Action, you probably love martial arts movies. And if you love martial arts movies, chances are, you are a fan of Mark Dacascos. And if you’re a fan of Mark Dacascos, then you probably know the movie, Only the Strong. Only the Strong is the best Jean-Claude Van Damme movie that Van Damme never starred in. In fact, if you look at the director’s filmography, he had a successful collaboration streak with Jcvd that led to Only the Strong. However, the movie actually fares better without him, because it features a star-making turn by the unanimously perceived underrated martial arts actor Mark Dacascos. Add in the teacher-savior plot and an introduction to a unique brand of martial art and you have an incredibly fun way to spend 90 minutes. We talk Only the Strong on this entry of Reel Action.
The...
The...
- 3/10/2024
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
Actor Denzel Washington and director Spike Lee announced they are joining forces once more, the first time in 18 years, for a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 crime thriller “High and Low.” The duo have collaborated four times previously, on “Mo’ Better Blues,” “Malcolm X,” “He Got Game,” and, most recently, “Inside Man.”
“High and Low” was originally based on the novel “King’s Ransom” by the prolific American author Ed McBain. McBain was a nom de plume for Evan Hunter, who also wrote “The Blackboard Jungle” (adapted to a popular film with a significant early turn by Sidney Poitier) and was a co-screenwriter of Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.”
The original “High and Low” starred Toshiro Mifune as an executive who faces a moral crisis during a pivotal moment of his career—just as he had intended to move a vast amount of his personal wealth for business reasons, his son...
“High and Low” was originally based on the novel “King’s Ransom” by the prolific American author Ed McBain. McBain was a nom de plume for Evan Hunter, who also wrote “The Blackboard Jungle” (adapted to a popular film with a significant early turn by Sidney Poitier) and was a co-screenwriter of Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.”
The original “High and Low” starred Toshiro Mifune as an executive who faces a moral crisis during a pivotal moment of his career—just as he had intended to move a vast amount of his personal wealth for business reasons, his son...
- 2/9/2024
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
It’s hard to believe, but the concept of the teenager is younger than film as a medium. According to historians, American culture first began thinking of the period of 13 to 19 as a specific bridge between childhood and adulthood in the 1940s, in part due to marketing executives looking to define people in that age range as a new demographic. And shortly afterwards, that demographic became ubiquitous on TV and films.
The first teen films began popping up in earnest during the 1950s, with landmark titles like “The Wild One,” “Blackboard Jungle,” and the enduringly iconic “Rebel Without a Cause.” Each film featured a bonafide screen legend — Marlon Brando in “The Wild One,” Sidney Poitier in “Blackboard Jungle,” and James Dean in his most iconic role in “Rebel Without a Cause” — and established films that took the emotional turmoil of teen life seriously as a vibrant subgenre. Since then, teens...
The first teen films began popping up in earnest during the 1950s, with landmark titles like “The Wild One,” “Blackboard Jungle,” and the enduringly iconic “Rebel Without a Cause.” Each film featured a bonafide screen legend — Marlon Brando in “The Wild One,” Sidney Poitier in “Blackboard Jungle,” and James Dean in his most iconic role in “Rebel Without a Cause” — and established films that took the emotional turmoil of teen life seriously as a vibrant subgenre. Since then, teens...
- 1/17/2024
- by Wilson Chapman and Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Ringo Starr fell in love with rock n’ roll at a young age. Growing up in Liverpool during the 1940s and 1950s, there wasn’t too much exposure to rock music, but some rock came to the U.K. from Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry. However, Ringo Starr said it was one movie and its effect on the audience that made him want to pursue a career in rock n’ roll.
Ringo Starr loved rock music after a riot broke out during the movie ‘Rock Around the Clock’
Starr had a difficult childhood due to multiple illnesses. His first illness occurred at six years old when he contracted peritonitis after having an appendectomy. This led to Starr being in a coma for several days and missing a school year. His second illness was in 1953, when he contracted tuberculosis, leading to a two-year stay in a sanitorium.
While Starr missed several school years,...
Ringo Starr loved rock music after a riot broke out during the movie ‘Rock Around the Clock’
Starr had a difficult childhood due to multiple illnesses. His first illness occurred at six years old when he contracted peritonitis after having an appendectomy. This led to Starr being in a coma for several days and missing a school year. His second illness was in 1953, when he contracted tuberculosis, leading to a two-year stay in a sanitorium.
While Starr missed several school years,...
- 7/30/2023
- by Ross Tanenbaum
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
In his gritty ’55 flick Blackboard Jungle, director Richard Brooks introduced a wide audience to Sidney Poitier, the harsh world of inner-city schools...and a genre of music called "rock ‘n’ roll."Host Rico Gagliano tells the story of Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock"—cinema's first rock needle drop—with the help of music detective and author Jim Dawson, film writer Anna Ariadne Knight, and actor Peter Ford...the Hollywood kid who may have accidentally started the rock-n-roll era.Listen to episode 5 below or wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsStitcherSpotifyGoogle PodcastsMore...
- 5/3/2023
- MUBI
The star with the gorgeous calypso voice was also a naturally passionate actor who appeared in heists, colonial confrontations – and even the last love triangle on Earth
In the middle of the 20th century, Harry Belafonte was at the dizzying high point of his stunning multi-hyphenate celebrity: this handsome, athletic, Caribbean-American star with a gorgeous calypso singing voice was at the top of his game in music, movies and politics. He was the million-selling artist whose easy and sensuous musical stylings and lighter-skinned image made him acceptable to white audiences. But this didn’t stop him having a fierce screen presence and an even fiercer commitment to civil rights. He was the friend and comrade of Paul Robeson and Martin Luther King Jr – and his crossover success, incidentally, never stopped him being subject to the ugliest kind of bigotry from racists who saw his fame as a kind of infiltration.
In the middle of the 20th century, Harry Belafonte was at the dizzying high point of his stunning multi-hyphenate celebrity: this handsome, athletic, Caribbean-American star with a gorgeous calypso singing voice was at the top of his game in music, movies and politics. He was the million-selling artist whose easy and sensuous musical stylings and lighter-skinned image made him acceptable to white audiences. But this didn’t stop him having a fierce screen presence and an even fiercer commitment to civil rights. He was the friend and comrade of Paul Robeson and Martin Luther King Jr – and his crossover success, incidentally, never stopped him being subject to the ugliest kind of bigotry from racists who saw his fame as a kind of infiltration.
- 4/25/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
After the release of his 1960 masterpiece “Psycho,” Alfred Hitchcock received an irate letter from someone saying his daughter refused to take a bath after seeing Henri Clouzot’s 1955 thriller “Les Diaboliques,” which features a horrifying murder in a bathtub. And now she wouldn’t take a shower because of “Psycho.” What was he to do? Hitchcock wrote back the fuming father in his typical succinct and macabre style telling him to “send her to the dry cleaners.”
Undoubtedly, he received a lot of angry missives who saw his next film, “The Birds,” which celebrates the 60th anniversary of its release on March 28. In what is considered the Master of Suspense’s only horror film, “The Birds” finds feathered friends on the attack for no apparent reason. Let’s face it, six decades later if you see a large flock of birds gathering on a school’s jungle gym or malevolently peering down from trees,...
Undoubtedly, he received a lot of angry missives who saw his next film, “The Birds,” which celebrates the 60th anniversary of its release on March 28. In what is considered the Master of Suspense’s only horror film, “The Birds” finds feathered friends on the attack for no apparent reason. Let’s face it, six decades later if you see a large flock of birds gathering on a school’s jungle gym or malevolently peering down from trees,...
- 3/28/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Long before “Stranger Things” led to the rediscovery of “Running Up That Hill” and “The Last of Us” brought audiences back to a “Long Long Time” ago, cinema has hinged on famous needle drops throughout history.
Now, distributor and streaming platform Mubi’s award-winning audio-documentary series “Mubi Podcast” tunes into the best needle drops throughout film. Titled “Needle on the Record,” Season 3 dives into the unifying power of movie music and tells the stories behind some of cinema’s most renowned “needle drops,” defined as moments where filmmakers deployed pre-existing music instead of an original score. The third season premieres March 30, with new episodes releasing every Thursday.
Podcast host Rico Gagliano discusses famed needle drops with Noel Hogan of The Cranberries, Richard Kelly (“Donnie Darko”), Jena Malone (“The Hunger Games“), and iconic music supervisor Randall Poster (“The Wolf of Wall Street”), among other interviewees.
Per the official synopsis of the season,...
Now, distributor and streaming platform Mubi’s award-winning audio-documentary series “Mubi Podcast” tunes into the best needle drops throughout film. Titled “Needle on the Record,” Season 3 dives into the unifying power of movie music and tells the stories behind some of cinema’s most renowned “needle drops,” defined as moments where filmmakers deployed pre-existing music instead of an original score. The third season premieres March 30, with new episodes releasing every Thursday.
Podcast host Rico Gagliano discusses famed needle drops with Noel Hogan of The Cranberries, Richard Kelly (“Donnie Darko”), Jena Malone (“The Hunger Games“), and iconic music supervisor Randall Poster (“The Wolf of Wall Street”), among other interviewees.
Per the official synopsis of the season,...
- 3/16/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Franco Zeffirelli apprenticed to Luchino Visconti, stage directed operas and directed several movie hits, the biggest of which was this exuberant, attractive Shakespeare adaptation, filmed like an opera with sumptuous sets and sunswept Italian locations. The novelty for 1968 was casting the Bard’s star-crossed young lovers with actual teenagers. Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting are attractive kids directed to give spirited performances; the critics may have had mixed reactions but the public received the film well. If memory serves, Criterion’s new remaster looks better than Paramount’s original release prints.
Romeo and Juliet
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1171
1968 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 138 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date February 14, 2023 / 39.95
Starring: Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey, John McEnery, Milo O’Shea, Pat Heywood, Robert Stephens, Michael York, Bruce Robinson, Paul Hardwick, Natasha Parry, Antonio Pierfederici, Esmeralda Ruspoli, Roberto Bisacco, Roy Holder, Keith Skinner, Dyson Lovell, Richard Warwick, Laurence Olivier.
Cinematography: Pasquelino De...
Romeo and Juliet
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1171
1968 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 138 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date February 14, 2023 / 39.95
Starring: Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey, John McEnery, Milo O’Shea, Pat Heywood, Robert Stephens, Michael York, Bruce Robinson, Paul Hardwick, Natasha Parry, Antonio Pierfederici, Esmeralda Ruspoli, Roberto Bisacco, Roy Holder, Keith Skinner, Dyson Lovell, Richard Warwick, Laurence Olivier.
Cinematography: Pasquelino De...
- 2/21/2023
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Sundance 2023: ‘Radical’ directed by Christopher ZallaChristopher Zalla returns to Sundance (‘Padre Nuestro’, U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize 2007) thanks to one of Hollywood’s most innovative producers, Ben Odell and Eugenio Derbez, the top star of Mexico. Their company 3Pas has consistenly created entertainment for the Latinx community in new ways and now this powerfully inspiring story about a teacher deserves to be put to the test to see how it stands with a public along side with education classics as ‘Blackboard Jungle’, ‘Goodbye Mr. Chipps’, ‘Dead Poets’ Society’ and ‘To Sir With Love’. And yes, ‘Stand and Deliver’ as well, Edward James Olmos’ breakthrough and best film.
Director Christopher Zalla. Courtesy of Sundance Institute, photo by Erynne Dowe
With Mr. Zalla in Sundance is Mexican Superstar Eugenio Derbez, who appeared at Sundance in 2021 as Bernardo in Sian Heder’s Coda, top prize winner at Sundance and winner of three Oscars including Best Picture. InCoda he played an inspirational high school music teacher, and in Radical he is again such a teacher.
Every student in K -12 should be given the opportunity to see this film on the educational non-theatrical circuit as well as theatrical and streaming platforms. This is the film that will inspire children to become teachers like Sergio Juarez as played with all his heart by Eugenio Derbez, Mexico’s top comedian and movie star. The discovery of the joy of learning for the children on Matamorros, Mexico, a place where kids live in a world where they can’t be kids, was based upon a true story.
Eugenio Derbez — Co-Founder, 3Pas Studio — Lead Actor & Producer, Radical speaking at Illuminative’s Indigenous House, courtesy of the social justice organization IllumiNative, a Native woman-led racial and social justice organization dedicated to challenging the narrative about Native peoples:
“I started as a comedian in television. When I made the transition to cinema, I always tried to bring joy into each of my movies. Even though it’s drama, it’s part of our brand. I have a production company called Tripas Studios. Tripas means guts, so when you do everything with your guts, you can make all the decisions with your guts. When we are looking for a project, we always look for the three H’s: Humanity, Humor, and Heart. We need at least two of these elements to be in the movie. But I always need to put in some humor. Even though ‘Radical’ is a drama and a really sad and true story, you’re going to laugh a couple of times because humor makes everything easy. When you show me drama and a true story, I put in a little bit of joy, so you can digest the information much better.”
Eugenio Derbez at the Illuinative panel. Photo Credit: INDÍGENA for IllumiNative
[When asked what he wanted viewers to take away from Radical] “I want to celebrate education. I think education is the base for future generations. I feel that right now education, not just in my country, but worldwide, has been the same for the last 200 years. The same kind of structure, it’s twisted, we’re teaching kids to obey, sit down, shut up, do this, do that, memorize this. We’re teaching them to obey, we’re teaching them to memorize and we need to teach them how to learn.”
Radical shines a light on the incredible potential children can manifest when an innovative teacher empowers them to think for themselves. The Wired article by Joshua Davis (also a producer here) explains it is based on the life of teacher Sergio Juárez Correa, who with his students was the subject of a 2013 Wired magazine cover story titled A Radical Way of Unleashing a Generation of Geniuses. The article details Juárez’ rather incredible story as an unorthodox teacher in a poor Mexican border town called Matamoros. It is a forgotten poor city with little hope for its kids, particularly in the elementary school, where he uses a teaching method he stumbled upon seeing a Ted Talks video in which the students lead the curriculum in learning what they want to learn, not what officials dictate through testing and other methods.
Eugenio Derbez conducting a class on the solar system. Courtesy o Sundance Institut
After establishing the To Sir, with Love nature of this school and who the kids in the sixth-grade class are, we meet Sergio. He has turned over all the desks in his classroom and tries to convince the incredulous students to come aboard these “lifeboats” in the make-believe ocean for the kind of off-the-wall lesson they have never encountered before.
As we learn to know the students: Paloma (the nascent shining star Jennifer Trejo), who aspires to be a rocket scientist (That is true and her story is more incredible), Nico, Lupe and others surrounded by cartel culture and bullies, their fates take shape.
Derbez never has been better than in this film, one that’s for sale and, if there is any justice, will be picked up immediately by a distributor looking for a feel-good true story with real potential to make a difference. It co-stars Daniel Haddad, Jennifer Trejo, Mia Fernanda Solis and Danilo Guardiola.
Radical was produced by 3Pas Studios (Derbez’s label run by Benjamin Odell), in association with Epic Magazine and The Lift, and financed by TelevisaUnivision/ViX.
The film is seeking worldwide distribution in all territories, save Mexico. Andrew Herwitz of The Film Sales Company is representing the film.
Eugenio Derbez. Courtesy of Sundance Institute photo by Mateo Londono
“Three Steps” says Ben Odell, co-founder of 3Pas (as in 3Pas, Tripas or tripe, or Guts as Eugenio decribes them), when explaining to me the meanng of the pun. 3Pas in Spanish means three steps, but is also a play on words, something Mexicans like a lot. Personally, I too love tripas y menudo. Delicioso!
Ben and Tripas also won the 2007 Grand Jury Prize Winner at Sundance with the art house Spanish language thriller, Padre Nuestro. IFC changed the title to Sangre de mi sangre for its U.S. release. It also played at New Directors/ New Films at Museum of Modern Art in New York in the Spring of 2007, received two Independent Spirit Awards nominations, for Best First Feature (for which Odell was nominated) and Best Screenplay.
Ben is sure that his producing partner Eugene will go way beyond his current core Latinx market “He is so lovable to watch. He has a magic about him that is undeniable and transcends language and culture.”
When Ben and Eugenio decided to go together they knew it was The-One-Time-In-a-Career-To-Capitalize moment. It happened while Eugenio was making his breakout film Instructions not Included. They formed 3Pas to focus on brand-building based upon Eugenio’s popularity. They planned to go beyond his own work, in English and Spanish. 3Pas Studios signed a first-look deal with Pantelion in August 2014. Neither Eugenio nor Ben had any idea Instructions not Included would be so big. It was released in 2013 by Pantelion and grossed $44.5 million, making it the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S. It grossed another $55 million overseas making it the number one Spanish language movie in the world.
Before I met Ben, I always pictured him as my other friend whose last name is Odell, a slight and wiry, dark haired type. How surprised I was to see this big, handsome blond who exuded warmth and a good-willed wit and storytelling skill. Love at first sight! And I am sure I am not the only one who is smitten with him. I wish I could convey his spirit, humor and strength as he recounted his life and career(s) to me in the hour we spent together in his new spacious, airy and bright Santa Monica office where Ben Shalom-Martinez was the third person in the new company, manning a phone system not yet working.
I told Ben I had read his mini bio in IMDb, and it made me want to know how he had gotten into the Latinx side of the business. I expected him to reveal that, in fact, and in spite of his name, he was Latino.
One year out of college, Ben said,
“I worked in editing with the Maysles Brothers. I was a P.A. on the first film John Turturro directed called “Mac”, and I was a reader for Art Linson. And that was my degree in Liberal Arts in Film. I wanted to be a screenwriter but I didn’t feel I had enough life experience. A family friend offered me a job in commercial production in Colombia. It was 1992 and my dad said: “if you love all things Latino, go learn Spanish and become an expert in the Latino market. It’s going to need people that understand it. No one was really talking about its importance then but that piece of advice changed my life. I moved to Colombia to learn Spanish and start what would be a life long journey in all things Latino, from U.S. Latino to Latin America. It’s not a single market but there is a connectivity between all of it.”
Ben grew up in Pennsylvania and when he was six years old, neighbors, who had old friends from Colombia, did an exchange of one of their children with a Colombian child. “My father ended up basically adopting that child for the year he lived with our neighbors and from that grew a friendship with this Colombian family.”
When he was 12 years old the whole Colombian family moved to Philadelphia. “I wanted them to adopt me. They were crazy, emotional, passionate, loving. It was a warmth and lust for life I hadn’t really experienced in suburban white America. And then I realized there was a whole country full of them.” At 15 he went with a friend to Colombia and loved it.
His father eventually married someone from that family. So Ben’s connection to Colombia, if not to all of Latin America was very organic. Colombia is not part of the “U.S. Latino market” per se, but Colombia and the rest of Latin America share certain characteristics and commonalities — views on life and death, family, spirituality — that end up working their way into storytelling that are shared throughout the U.S. Latino market and Latin America along with a larger emotional scale in the tone of their storytelling.
Odell lived in Colombia from 1992 to 2000. He also worked as a freelance journalist before becoming a Spanish language television writer and screenwriter there.
When he was in Colombia working in commercials, he met Tom Quinn, a journalist Iiving there for 25 years, working for Time Magazine and running an English language rag called The Colombian Post. In his youth, Tom had run with the likes of Hunter S. Thompson. He had lots of adventures and lots of stories of those days.
Ben asked Tom what was the most compelling story they could make into a movie that wasn’t about narcotrafficking, and Tom said one word: “Emeralds.” Colombia supplies 60% of the world’s emeralds. The mines in the Emerald Zone have strong drug laundering connections as well, as one might guess. The land is leased by the government to the three or four mining companies and they control everything with no supervision by the government.
Ben thought this was a great story to develop into a movie, and so he went back to New York to the contacts he had made including an exec at Tribeca Films. “They all said the same thing, great story but you are not a writer. Go write the script and then we’ll talk.” Ben returned to Colombia to do research.
In the meanwhile he began writing for Colombian TV. He had never written a feature film script, nor did he speak Spanish. He had, however, taken a course in feature film screenwriting with Robert McKee. And he had a girlfriend who was bilingual. He knew about Colombian TV and he saw the potential for legitimizing the story first as a TV show and then making it into a feature later.
Tom Quinn was very well known in Colombia as he was the Time News correspondent there at a moment when the magazine had a lot of power; the drug wars were one of its most consistent cover stories. They pitched it to Rti TV, and structured it like The Fugitive.
There is a drug, called burandanga, scientifically known as Scopolamine. It comes from a plant that grows wild in Colombia. The drugged one loses control of his or her will. Ben once heard a story about a man in a bar who wakes up in jail accused of a murder he can’t remember. This became the basis of the story. The lead goes into the Emerald Zone and drugged by burundanga, he kills one on the wrong side in a war going on there. He wakes up with no recollection and a full on civil war going on around him. He can’t get out of the Emerald Zone until he finds the man who drugged him. The title of this series that Tom and he pitched and in 1998 created was Fuego verde, like the 1954 Hollywood movie, Green Fire starring Grace Kelly and Stewart Grainger.
As a television writer, he eventually created and wrote over 300 hours of Spanish-language narrative television including Fuego Verde — the first-ever action series. It was one of the highest rated series on Colombian television. He also co-wrote the Colombian political satire feature film, Golpe de estadio, which was nominated for Spain’s Academy Award, the Goya in 1999, and was Colombia’s nomination to the Oscar in 2000. It is still one of the highest grossing Colombian films of all time.
In the film, Golpe de estadio, (Golpe de Estado means “Coup d’état”but it also could mean “Coup de Stadium”), an oil company has set up a camp for geological research in a small village in Colombia that has been named New Texas. It becomes the target of the guerrillas who are constantly clashing with police in the area. The confrontation is put on hold however during the TV transmission of the world Cup qualifiers.
For more about this and Ben, read my blog from several years ago here.
In summary, Tripas has created a feel-good story that has great potential to make a difference and is available for distribution.
EducationMexicoFilm FestivalsInternational FilmFemale Empowerment...
Director Christopher Zalla. Courtesy of Sundance Institute, photo by Erynne Dowe
With Mr. Zalla in Sundance is Mexican Superstar Eugenio Derbez, who appeared at Sundance in 2021 as Bernardo in Sian Heder’s Coda, top prize winner at Sundance and winner of three Oscars including Best Picture. InCoda he played an inspirational high school music teacher, and in Radical he is again such a teacher.
Every student in K -12 should be given the opportunity to see this film on the educational non-theatrical circuit as well as theatrical and streaming platforms. This is the film that will inspire children to become teachers like Sergio Juarez as played with all his heart by Eugenio Derbez, Mexico’s top comedian and movie star. The discovery of the joy of learning for the children on Matamorros, Mexico, a place where kids live in a world where they can’t be kids, was based upon a true story.
Eugenio Derbez — Co-Founder, 3Pas Studio — Lead Actor & Producer, Radical speaking at Illuminative’s Indigenous House, courtesy of the social justice organization IllumiNative, a Native woman-led racial and social justice organization dedicated to challenging the narrative about Native peoples:
“I started as a comedian in television. When I made the transition to cinema, I always tried to bring joy into each of my movies. Even though it’s drama, it’s part of our brand. I have a production company called Tripas Studios. Tripas means guts, so when you do everything with your guts, you can make all the decisions with your guts. When we are looking for a project, we always look for the three H’s: Humanity, Humor, and Heart. We need at least two of these elements to be in the movie. But I always need to put in some humor. Even though ‘Radical’ is a drama and a really sad and true story, you’re going to laugh a couple of times because humor makes everything easy. When you show me drama and a true story, I put in a little bit of joy, so you can digest the information much better.”
Eugenio Derbez at the Illuinative panel. Photo Credit: INDÍGENA for IllumiNative
[When asked what he wanted viewers to take away from Radical] “I want to celebrate education. I think education is the base for future generations. I feel that right now education, not just in my country, but worldwide, has been the same for the last 200 years. The same kind of structure, it’s twisted, we’re teaching kids to obey, sit down, shut up, do this, do that, memorize this. We’re teaching them to obey, we’re teaching them to memorize and we need to teach them how to learn.”
Radical shines a light on the incredible potential children can manifest when an innovative teacher empowers them to think for themselves. The Wired article by Joshua Davis (also a producer here) explains it is based on the life of teacher Sergio Juárez Correa, who with his students was the subject of a 2013 Wired magazine cover story titled A Radical Way of Unleashing a Generation of Geniuses. The article details Juárez’ rather incredible story as an unorthodox teacher in a poor Mexican border town called Matamoros. It is a forgotten poor city with little hope for its kids, particularly in the elementary school, where he uses a teaching method he stumbled upon seeing a Ted Talks video in which the students lead the curriculum in learning what they want to learn, not what officials dictate through testing and other methods.
Eugenio Derbez conducting a class on the solar system. Courtesy o Sundance Institut
After establishing the To Sir, with Love nature of this school and who the kids in the sixth-grade class are, we meet Sergio. He has turned over all the desks in his classroom and tries to convince the incredulous students to come aboard these “lifeboats” in the make-believe ocean for the kind of off-the-wall lesson they have never encountered before.
As we learn to know the students: Paloma (the nascent shining star Jennifer Trejo), who aspires to be a rocket scientist (That is true and her story is more incredible), Nico, Lupe and others surrounded by cartel culture and bullies, their fates take shape.
Derbez never has been better than in this film, one that’s for sale and, if there is any justice, will be picked up immediately by a distributor looking for a feel-good true story with real potential to make a difference. It co-stars Daniel Haddad, Jennifer Trejo, Mia Fernanda Solis and Danilo Guardiola.
Radical was produced by 3Pas Studios (Derbez’s label run by Benjamin Odell), in association with Epic Magazine and The Lift, and financed by TelevisaUnivision/ViX.
The film is seeking worldwide distribution in all territories, save Mexico. Andrew Herwitz of The Film Sales Company is representing the film.
Eugenio Derbez. Courtesy of Sundance Institute photo by Mateo Londono
“Three Steps” says Ben Odell, co-founder of 3Pas (as in 3Pas, Tripas or tripe, or Guts as Eugenio decribes them), when explaining to me the meanng of the pun. 3Pas in Spanish means three steps, but is also a play on words, something Mexicans like a lot. Personally, I too love tripas y menudo. Delicioso!
Ben and Tripas also won the 2007 Grand Jury Prize Winner at Sundance with the art house Spanish language thriller, Padre Nuestro. IFC changed the title to Sangre de mi sangre for its U.S. release. It also played at New Directors/ New Films at Museum of Modern Art in New York in the Spring of 2007, received two Independent Spirit Awards nominations, for Best First Feature (for which Odell was nominated) and Best Screenplay.
Ben is sure that his producing partner Eugene will go way beyond his current core Latinx market “He is so lovable to watch. He has a magic about him that is undeniable and transcends language and culture.”
When Ben and Eugenio decided to go together they knew it was The-One-Time-In-a-Career-To-Capitalize moment. It happened while Eugenio was making his breakout film Instructions not Included. They formed 3Pas to focus on brand-building based upon Eugenio’s popularity. They planned to go beyond his own work, in English and Spanish. 3Pas Studios signed a first-look deal with Pantelion in August 2014. Neither Eugenio nor Ben had any idea Instructions not Included would be so big. It was released in 2013 by Pantelion and grossed $44.5 million, making it the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S. It grossed another $55 million overseas making it the number one Spanish language movie in the world.
Before I met Ben, I always pictured him as my other friend whose last name is Odell, a slight and wiry, dark haired type. How surprised I was to see this big, handsome blond who exuded warmth and a good-willed wit and storytelling skill. Love at first sight! And I am sure I am not the only one who is smitten with him. I wish I could convey his spirit, humor and strength as he recounted his life and career(s) to me in the hour we spent together in his new spacious, airy and bright Santa Monica office where Ben Shalom-Martinez was the third person in the new company, manning a phone system not yet working.
I told Ben I had read his mini bio in IMDb, and it made me want to know how he had gotten into the Latinx side of the business. I expected him to reveal that, in fact, and in spite of his name, he was Latino.
One year out of college, Ben said,
“I worked in editing with the Maysles Brothers. I was a P.A. on the first film John Turturro directed called “Mac”, and I was a reader for Art Linson. And that was my degree in Liberal Arts in Film. I wanted to be a screenwriter but I didn’t feel I had enough life experience. A family friend offered me a job in commercial production in Colombia. It was 1992 and my dad said: “if you love all things Latino, go learn Spanish and become an expert in the Latino market. It’s going to need people that understand it. No one was really talking about its importance then but that piece of advice changed my life. I moved to Colombia to learn Spanish and start what would be a life long journey in all things Latino, from U.S. Latino to Latin America. It’s not a single market but there is a connectivity between all of it.”
Ben grew up in Pennsylvania and when he was six years old, neighbors, who had old friends from Colombia, did an exchange of one of their children with a Colombian child. “My father ended up basically adopting that child for the year he lived with our neighbors and from that grew a friendship with this Colombian family.”
When he was 12 years old the whole Colombian family moved to Philadelphia. “I wanted them to adopt me. They were crazy, emotional, passionate, loving. It was a warmth and lust for life I hadn’t really experienced in suburban white America. And then I realized there was a whole country full of them.” At 15 he went with a friend to Colombia and loved it.
His father eventually married someone from that family. So Ben’s connection to Colombia, if not to all of Latin America was very organic. Colombia is not part of the “U.S. Latino market” per se, but Colombia and the rest of Latin America share certain characteristics and commonalities — views on life and death, family, spirituality — that end up working their way into storytelling that are shared throughout the U.S. Latino market and Latin America along with a larger emotional scale in the tone of their storytelling.
Odell lived in Colombia from 1992 to 2000. He also worked as a freelance journalist before becoming a Spanish language television writer and screenwriter there.
When he was in Colombia working in commercials, he met Tom Quinn, a journalist Iiving there for 25 years, working for Time Magazine and running an English language rag called The Colombian Post. In his youth, Tom had run with the likes of Hunter S. Thompson. He had lots of adventures and lots of stories of those days.
Ben asked Tom what was the most compelling story they could make into a movie that wasn’t about narcotrafficking, and Tom said one word: “Emeralds.” Colombia supplies 60% of the world’s emeralds. The mines in the Emerald Zone have strong drug laundering connections as well, as one might guess. The land is leased by the government to the three or four mining companies and they control everything with no supervision by the government.
Ben thought this was a great story to develop into a movie, and so he went back to New York to the contacts he had made including an exec at Tribeca Films. “They all said the same thing, great story but you are not a writer. Go write the script and then we’ll talk.” Ben returned to Colombia to do research.
In the meanwhile he began writing for Colombian TV. He had never written a feature film script, nor did he speak Spanish. He had, however, taken a course in feature film screenwriting with Robert McKee. And he had a girlfriend who was bilingual. He knew about Colombian TV and he saw the potential for legitimizing the story first as a TV show and then making it into a feature later.
Tom Quinn was very well known in Colombia as he was the Time News correspondent there at a moment when the magazine had a lot of power; the drug wars were one of its most consistent cover stories. They pitched it to Rti TV, and structured it like The Fugitive.
There is a drug, called burandanga, scientifically known as Scopolamine. It comes from a plant that grows wild in Colombia. The drugged one loses control of his or her will. Ben once heard a story about a man in a bar who wakes up in jail accused of a murder he can’t remember. This became the basis of the story. The lead goes into the Emerald Zone and drugged by burundanga, he kills one on the wrong side in a war going on there. He wakes up with no recollection and a full on civil war going on around him. He can’t get out of the Emerald Zone until he finds the man who drugged him. The title of this series that Tom and he pitched and in 1998 created was Fuego verde, like the 1954 Hollywood movie, Green Fire starring Grace Kelly and Stewart Grainger.
As a television writer, he eventually created and wrote over 300 hours of Spanish-language narrative television including Fuego Verde — the first-ever action series. It was one of the highest rated series on Colombian television. He also co-wrote the Colombian political satire feature film, Golpe de estadio, which was nominated for Spain’s Academy Award, the Goya in 1999, and was Colombia’s nomination to the Oscar in 2000. It is still one of the highest grossing Colombian films of all time.
In the film, Golpe de estadio, (Golpe de Estado means “Coup d’état”but it also could mean “Coup de Stadium”), an oil company has set up a camp for geological research in a small village in Colombia that has been named New Texas. It becomes the target of the guerrillas who are constantly clashing with police in the area. The confrontation is put on hold however during the TV transmission of the world Cup qualifiers.
For more about this and Ben, read my blog from several years ago here.
In summary, Tripas has created a feel-good story that has great potential to make a difference and is available for distribution.
EducationMexicoFilm FestivalsInternational FilmFemale Empowerment...
- 2/11/2023
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
The great acting legend Sidney Poitier died in January at age 94. He did not live to see the thrilling new documentary on his life and career, Sidney, which had its world premiere Saturday night at the Toronto Film Festival. However, it had its blessing, and that of his family, for a film that has been percolating and in development and then production for five years. And although Poitier himself didn’t get to see the finished work, everyone else will beginning on September 23 when it begins streaming on Apple TV+ and playing in selected theaters.
With Oprah Winfrey on board as a producer (with Derik Murray) and Reginald Hudlin as director, Poitier gets an extraordinarily comprehensive and wide-ranging look at his life told in linear fashion and narrated by himself through the use of eight hours of interview footage done in 2012 with Winfrey, as well as other archival interviews. This...
With Oprah Winfrey on board as a producer (with Derik Murray) and Reginald Hudlin as director, Poitier gets an extraordinarily comprehensive and wide-ranging look at his life told in linear fashion and narrated by himself through the use of eight hours of interview footage done in 2012 with Winfrey, as well as other archival interviews. This...
- 9/11/2022
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
“It’s not easy being the first when you have to represent the entire race,” Spike Lee explains during the first official trailer for Reginald Hudlin’s Sidney, the Apple TV+ documentary chronicling the life and legacy of filmmaker and activist Sidney Poitier. Out Sept. 23, the film uses archival footage and candid interviews to strikingly capture Poitier’s positioning as an essential cultural thread between Hollywood and the civil rights movement.
Poiter, who died this year at age 94, blazed a trail followed by generations of Black actors and filmmakers, having...
Poiter, who died this year at age 94, blazed a trail followed by generations of Black actors and filmmakers, having...
- 8/16/2022
- by Larisha Paul
- Rollingstone.com
A Hollywood legend is getting his due.
On Tuesday, Apple TV+ debuted the first trailer for the new documentary “Sidney”, about the life of actor Sidney Poitier.
Read More: Halle Berry Remembers Being ‘Rendered Speechless’ Meeting Sidney Poitier In Powerful Tribute
Produced by Oprah Winfrey and directed by Reginald Hudlin “this revealing documentary honours the legendary Sidney Poitier and his legacy as an iconic actor, filmmaker and activist at the centre of Hollywood and the Civil Rights Movement.”
Along with interviews with Poitier recorded before his death earlier this year, the film also features interviews with Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Robert Redford, Lenny Kravitz, Barbra Streisand, Spike Lee and many more.
Photo: Apple TV+
Read More: Sidney Poitier’s Family Holding Private Memorial For The Late Actor Due To The Pandemic
The Bahamian-American actor rose to prominence in the ’50s and ’60s, becoming the first Black actor to win Best...
On Tuesday, Apple TV+ debuted the first trailer for the new documentary “Sidney”, about the life of actor Sidney Poitier.
Read More: Halle Berry Remembers Being ‘Rendered Speechless’ Meeting Sidney Poitier In Powerful Tribute
Produced by Oprah Winfrey and directed by Reginald Hudlin “this revealing documentary honours the legendary Sidney Poitier and his legacy as an iconic actor, filmmaker and activist at the centre of Hollywood and the Civil Rights Movement.”
Along with interviews with Poitier recorded before his death earlier this year, the film also features interviews with Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Robert Redford, Lenny Kravitz, Barbra Streisand, Spike Lee and many more.
Photo: Apple TV+
Read More: Sidney Poitier’s Family Holding Private Memorial For The Late Actor Due To The Pandemic
The Bahamian-American actor rose to prominence in the ’50s and ’60s, becoming the first Black actor to win Best...
- 8/16/2022
- by Corey Atad
- ET Canada
Nabil Ayouch’s grittily authentic tale of a rapper turned teacher helping his students find their creative voices is a class act
The Arabic title of Franco-Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch’s empowering hip-hop fable translates loosely as “rise your voice”, while in France, where the film competed for the Cannes Palme d’Or, it’s known as Haut et fort – “high and loud”. Both monikers perfectly capture the vibrant spirit of this stirring street musical, described by its creator as arising out of “the desire to make a film to give voice to young people”. On one level it’s a patchwork of popular cinematic tropes, combining the strength-through-music themes of films as diverse as 8 Mile and School of Rock with the inspirational classroom formats of everything from Blackboard Jungle to Dead Poets Society. But there’s also a strong whiff of the discursive politics of Ken Loach’s Land and Freedom,...
The Arabic title of Franco-Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch’s empowering hip-hop fable translates loosely as “rise your voice”, while in France, where the film competed for the Cannes Palme d’Or, it’s known as Haut et fort – “high and loud”. Both monikers perfectly capture the vibrant spirit of this stirring street musical, described by its creator as arising out of “the desire to make a film to give voice to young people”. On one level it’s a patchwork of popular cinematic tropes, combining the strength-through-music themes of films as diverse as 8 Mile and School of Rock with the inspirational classroom formats of everything from Blackboard Jungle to Dead Poets Society. But there’s also a strong whiff of the discursive politics of Ken Loach’s Land and Freedom,...
- 5/1/2022
- by Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
- The Guardian - Film News
Updated with latest: Networks are marshaling to set programming this month in tribute of Sidney Poitier, the groundbreaking and Oscar-winning actor and civil rights activist who died last week at age 94.
OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network will feature special programming this Sunday that includes the iconic actor’s 2000 and 2007 appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show and an airing of his 1967 film To Sir, With Love. The network also said that it will air the 2015 special Oprah Winfrey Presents: Legends Who Paved the Way featuring Poitier at a gala honoring “some of the legendary men and extraordinary women of the civil rights movement who made history.”
To Sir, With Love and the Oprah Winfrey Show episodes will be available beginning Sunday on the WatchOWN app, the network said.
TCM said today that it will roll out 12 Poitier movies in a marathon programming block Saturday and Sunday, February 19-20. February 20 will mark what...
OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network will feature special programming this Sunday that includes the iconic actor’s 2000 and 2007 appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show and an airing of his 1967 film To Sir, With Love. The network also said that it will air the 2015 special Oprah Winfrey Presents: Legends Who Paved the Way featuring Poitier at a gala honoring “some of the legendary men and extraordinary women of the civil rights movement who made history.”
To Sir, With Love and the Oprah Winfrey Show episodes will be available beginning Sunday on the WatchOWN app, the network said.
TCM said today that it will roll out 12 Poitier movies in a marathon programming block Saturday and Sunday, February 19-20. February 20 will mark what...
- 1/13/2022
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Sidney Poitier, who died at age 94 last week, was a leading man in many ways: teaching the teacher in The Blackboard Jungle, learning from students in To Sir, With Love, and schooling the public on historic achievement with each part he took, from the slender threads to the defiant ones. One of Poitier’s greatest roles is as a costar, not only taking second billing to Richard Widmark in The Bedford Incident (1965), but to the premise of the movie itself: World War III in the Atomic Age. It may sound like a sci-fi setup, but the science was not fiction.
Poitier, who won the Best Actor Oscar in 1964 for Lilies of the Field, plays magazine reporter Ben Munceford in The Bedford Incident. The Cold War thriller isn’t as well-known as Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb or Sidney Lumet’s Fail-Safe,...
Poitier, who won the Best Actor Oscar in 1964 for Lilies of the Field, plays magazine reporter Ben Munceford in The Bedford Incident. The Cold War thriller isn’t as well-known as Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb or Sidney Lumet’s Fail-Safe,...
- 1/11/2022
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Chicago – With the passing of actor Sidney Poitier at the age of 94 on January 6th, 2022, another lion of the cinema – who represented succinctly an era of the movies – has left the mortal coil. HollywoodChicago.com presents the following appreciation through three film essays in retrospect by Patrick McDonald, Spike Walters and Jon Lennon Espino.
Although Poitier represented American blacks in his early career, often cast as the dignified presence among the bigotry floating around him, his early life was in the Bahamas. He moved to Miami at age 15 (he was born in Miami while his Bahamian parents sold produce there) and after serving in the Army during World War II, he joined the American Negro Theater in New York City.
Poster Art: ‘Lilies of the Field’ (1963), Featuring Oscar Best Actor Sidney Poitier
Photo credit: HBO Max (VOD)
After working in theater, he made his major film debut in 1950 with the incendiary “No Way Out.
Although Poitier represented American blacks in his early career, often cast as the dignified presence among the bigotry floating around him, his early life was in the Bahamas. He moved to Miami at age 15 (he was born in Miami while his Bahamian parents sold produce there) and after serving in the Army during World War II, he joined the American Negro Theater in New York City.
Poster Art: ‘Lilies of the Field’ (1963), Featuring Oscar Best Actor Sidney Poitier
Photo credit: HBO Max (VOD)
After working in theater, he made his major film debut in 1950 with the incendiary “No Way Out.
- 1/10/2022
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
“Sidney Poitier was the epitome of Black Dignity, Black beauty, Black pride and Black power” by “N.Y. Times” Charles M. Blow Sidney Poitier family issues statement on his death: “he is our guiding light.” “Sidney L. Poitier Kbe, February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022, R.I.P. Sidney Poitier was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and ambassador. In 1964, he was the first black person and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received two Academy Award nominations, ten Golden Globes nominations, two Primetime Emmy Awards nominations, six BAFTA nominations, eight Laurel nominations, and one Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) nomination. Poitier’s entire family lived in the Bahamas, then still a British colony, but he was born unexpectedly in Miami while they were visiting for the weekend, which automatically granted him U.S. citizenship. He grew up in the Bahamas, but moved to Miami at age 15, and to...
- 1/8/2022
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
Over the holidays, TCM showed one of my favorite movies of all time, 1967’s “To Sir With Love. “ It stars Sidney Poitier as Mark Thackeray from British Guyana who takes a job as a teacher in the East End of London filled rowdy Cockney students who have little interest in their curriculum. Sir, as his class calls him, realizes that what these teens need is a course in how to make a life for themselves in the world outside a classroom.
Eventually, his pupils realize that he has their best interests at heart and they celebrate at a dance before his flock flies off into real world . Seeing a sexy and sweaty Poitier cut a rug by doing the Pony and the Jerk with Judy Geeson’s flirtatious student was just like receiving an extra surprise gift under my tree.
Little did I know that this silver screen legend, who...
Eventually, his pupils realize that he has their best interests at heart and they celebrate at a dance before his flock flies off into real world . Seeing a sexy and sweaty Poitier cut a rug by doing the Pony and the Jerk with Judy Geeson’s flirtatious student was just like receiving an extra surprise gift under my tree.
Little did I know that this silver screen legend, who...
- 1/8/2022
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
Sir Sidney Poitier, the first Black man to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, has died at age 94.
Bahamas Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell confirmed the actor’s passing, saying, “We’ve lost a great a Bahamian and I’ve lost a personal friend.” (A native of Cat Island in the Bahamas, Poitier at one time served as a Bahamian ambassador to Japan and Unesco.)...
Bahamas Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell confirmed the actor’s passing, saying, “We’ve lost a great a Bahamian and I’ve lost a personal friend.” (A native of Cat Island in the Bahamas, Poitier at one time served as a Bahamian ambassador to Japan and Unesco.)...
- 1/7/2022
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
Sidney Poitier, the trailblazing and iconic Black actor, director, civil rights activist and humanitarian, has died, the Bahamian Minister of Foreign Affairs announced Friday.
Details of his death were not immediately available.
The first Black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor — for 1964’s Lilies of the Field — Poitier was towering figure in Hollywood and beyond, starring in such classics as A Raisin in the Sun, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, In the Heat of the Night and To Sir With Love, to name a select few, while taking on a global profile for his unceasing calls for civil rights, racial equality and human dignity.
Offscreen, Poitier’s work and support for civil rights in the 1960s put him at the forefront of the movement and made him one of its most prominent public faces. He attended, along with his lifelong friend Harry Belafonte, the 1963 March on Washington,...
Details of his death were not immediately available.
The first Black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor — for 1964’s Lilies of the Field — Poitier was towering figure in Hollywood and beyond, starring in such classics as A Raisin in the Sun, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, In the Heat of the Night and To Sir With Love, to name a select few, while taking on a global profile for his unceasing calls for civil rights, racial equality and human dignity.
Offscreen, Poitier’s work and support for civil rights in the 1960s put him at the forefront of the movement and made him one of its most prominent public faces. He attended, along with his lifelong friend Harry Belafonte, the 1963 March on Washington,...
- 1/7/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s a very musical episode! Director and Tfh Guru, Allan Arkush, returns to talk about his favorite rock and roll movies with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
No Nukes (1980)
Amazing Grace (2018) – Dennis Cozzalio’s Oscar nominee reactions
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Get Crazy (1983) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1979) – Eli Roth’s trailer commentary
Blackboard Jungle (1955) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Rock, Rock, Rock! (1956) – Jesus Treviño’s trailer commentary
Mister Rock And Roll (1957)
Go, Johnny, Go! (1959) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Hail Hail Rock And Roll! (1987) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
The Girl Can’t Help It (1956) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary
Hellzapoppin’ (1941)
Innerspace (1987) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Almost Famous (2000) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Wayne’s World (1992)
The Graduate (1967) – Neil Labute’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Scorpio Rising...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
No Nukes (1980)
Amazing Grace (2018) – Dennis Cozzalio’s Oscar nominee reactions
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Get Crazy (1983) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1979) – Eli Roth’s trailer commentary
Blackboard Jungle (1955) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Rock, Rock, Rock! (1956) – Jesus Treviño’s trailer commentary
Mister Rock And Roll (1957)
Go, Johnny, Go! (1959) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Hail Hail Rock And Roll! (1987) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
The Girl Can’t Help It (1956) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary
Hellzapoppin’ (1941)
Innerspace (1987) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Almost Famous (2000) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Wayne’s World (1992)
The Graduate (1967) – Neil Labute’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Scorpio Rising...
- 12/7/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
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
Yes, sometimes a producer could earn ‘auteur’ status making B pictures. A name that’s never going to be uttered in the same breath as Val Lewton is Sam Katzman, who for the 1950s settled into a profitable tenure making Columbia program pictures. They pretty much stayed in the category of ‘obvious junk’ yet include a number of endearing favorites. And Katzman deserved to slip through the pearly gates just for helping get Ray Harryhausen’s feature career into motion. Besides their minimal production outlay, Katzman’s horror/sci fi attractions have one strange thing in common: they don’t carry Columbia torch Lady logos. Part One of this review takes on two of the four features in Arrow’s gorgeously appointed boxed set; reviewer Charlie Largent will follow with a review of the second pair of creature features.
Cold War Creatures: Four Films from Sam Katzman
Part 1: Zombies of Mora Tau...
Cold War Creatures: Four Films from Sam Katzman
Part 1: Zombies of Mora Tau...
- 9/11/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The Notebook Primer introduces readers to some of the most important figures, films, genres, and movements in film history.Velvet Goldmine (1998)Todd Haynes’ Velvet Goldmine (1998) opens with a confession that swiftly becomes a command: “Although what you are about to see is a work of fiction, it should nevertheless be played at maximum volume.” Those words, mischievously repurposed from Martin Scorsese’s concert film The Last Waltz (1978), herald one of the great pop music fantasias: a cinema à clef that reimagines ’70s glam rock in an alternate dimension, where fictional versions of David Bowie, Iggy Pop and others perform a parallel version of history as we know it. Embracing the period’s mutable personae and camp energies, the film evokes the spirit of its patron saint, Oscar Wilde—depicted as the original pop star, descended to Earth from outer space—treating “art as the supreme reality and life as a mere mode of fiction,...
- 8/12/2021
- MUBI
John Erman, an Emmy-winning director-producer who helmed multiple episodes of such classic TV series as Star Trek, M*A*S*H and Peyton Place along with Part 2 of Roots and much of its sequel miniseries Roots: The Next Generations, has died. He was 85.
His friend, Charles Silver of SMS Talent, told Deadline that Erman died June 25 in New York City after a brief illness.
Born on August 3, 1935, in Chicago, Erman began his show business career as an actor, including an unbilled role in 1955’s Blackboard Jungle before working extensively as a casting director. His first job in that role was with Jim Lister at Republic Studios in New York, and Erman would go on to work with numerous Hollywood legends in this capacity, from Marlon Brando, Henry Fonda and Olivia de Havilland to Woody Allen, Angela Lansbury and Ann-Margret — with whom he’d have a long-running working relationship.
He got his first shot...
His friend, Charles Silver of SMS Talent, told Deadline that Erman died June 25 in New York City after a brief illness.
Born on August 3, 1935, in Chicago, Erman began his show business career as an actor, including an unbilled role in 1955’s Blackboard Jungle before working extensively as a casting director. His first job in that role was with Jim Lister at Republic Studios in New York, and Erman would go on to work with numerous Hollywood legends in this capacity, from Marlon Brando, Henry Fonda and Olivia de Havilland to Woody Allen, Angela Lansbury and Ann-Margret — with whom he’d have a long-running working relationship.
He got his first shot...
- 6/29/2021
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
This year, Sparks celebrate half a century as America’s ultimate cult band — a group with a discography marginally less daunting to newcomers than Frank Zappa’s. None of the nearly two-dozen studio records they’ve released since ditching the admittedly terrible name Halfnelson sound alike (are they glam? pop? prog? new-wave? orchestral rock? synth-rock? rock-rock?), and their perfidious genre-hopping has hopelessly stunted the Southern California group’s popularity in their home country. One moment, founders Ron and Russell Mael sound like Roxy Music if Brian Eno tried on Bryan Ferry...
- 6/17/2021
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
In a time of ancient gods, warlords, and kings, a land in turmoil cried out for a hero. But they got a Potsie. Hello sunshine, goodbye rain. Xena: The Warrior Princess, in its second season, was already at the forefront of progressive heroics, and its star Lucy Lawless embodied the power of the feminine mystique. Xena was forged in the heat of battle, with the power, passion, and courage to change the world. And she had many gifts. Anson Williams, who originated the role of Warren “Potsie” Weber on the network TV hit Happy Days, helped wrap a pivotal episode, “Remember Nothing.”
Xena: The Warrior Princess is a spin-off of the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, but Xena and Gabrielle (Renee O’Connor) are no Laverne and Shirley. Xena was a guest character on three episodes of Hercules in an arc which was supposed to leave her dead. But...
Xena: The Warrior Princess is a spin-off of the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, but Xena and Gabrielle (Renee O’Connor) are no Laverne and Shirley. Xena was a guest character on three episodes of Hercules in an arc which was supposed to leave her dead. But...
- 6/5/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
James Drury, best known for starring in the long-running Western series “The Virginian,” died Monday of natural causes. He was 85.
His assistant, Karen Lindsey, posted the news on Facebook: “It is with immense sadness that I let you all know that James Drury, our beloved Virginian and dear friend passed away this morning of natural causes, Monday, April 6, 2020. He will be missed so much. It is beyond words. Memorial service to be determined later.”
Drury was born April 18, 1934 in New York City. During his childhood, the family made multiple trips to the family ranch in Oregon, where he developed a love for horses and the outdoor life. He first appeared on stage at the age of 8 when he played King Herod in a children’s Christmas play. He made his professional acting debut at the age of 12 in a touring company of “Life With Father.”
Drury was trained as an...
His assistant, Karen Lindsey, posted the news on Facebook: “It is with immense sadness that I let you all know that James Drury, our beloved Virginian and dear friend passed away this morning of natural causes, Monday, April 6, 2020. He will be missed so much. It is beyond words. Memorial service to be determined later.”
Drury was born April 18, 1934 in New York City. During his childhood, the family made multiple trips to the family ranch in Oregon, where he developed a love for horses and the outdoor life. He first appeared on stage at the age of 8 when he played King Herod in a children’s Christmas play. He made his professional acting debut at the age of 12 in a touring company of “Life With Father.”
Drury was trained as an...
- 4/6/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
“Kinder der Eisigen Dunkelheit!” If those words don’t give you a chill, you may be one of ‘The Damned.’ Joseph Losey’s fascinatingly morbid reflection on atomic terror was too much for England in 1961, wasn’t released in the U.S. for four full years, and then only after being shorn of nine minutes of footage. An ‘impossible’ Cold War scenario puts military authority on the same moral plane as delinquent street thugs. Losey transplants his subversive sensibility to England, and the result is one of the top political sci-fi tales of all time.
These are the Damned
Blu-ray
Explosive Media GmbH
1961 / B&w / 2:35 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date June 13, 2019 /Sie Sind Verdammt / Available from Amazon.de
Starring: Macdonald Carey, Shirley Anne Field, Viveca Lindfors, Alexander Knox, Oliver Reed, Walter Gotell, James Villiers, Tom Kempinski, Kenneth Cope, Brian Oulton, Rachel Clay, Caroline Sheldon, Rebecca Dignam, Siobhan Taylor, Nicholas Clay.
Cinematography:...
These are the Damned
Blu-ray
Explosive Media GmbH
1961 / B&w / 2:35 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date June 13, 2019 /Sie Sind Verdammt / Available from Amazon.de
Starring: Macdonald Carey, Shirley Anne Field, Viveca Lindfors, Alexander Knox, Oliver Reed, Walter Gotell, James Villiers, Tom Kempinski, Kenneth Cope, Brian Oulton, Rachel Clay, Caroline Sheldon, Rebecca Dignam, Siobhan Taylor, Nicholas Clay.
Cinematography:...
- 7/6/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“People: repent ” intones Lee “Scratch” Perry to begin what might be his gazillionth LP, Rainford — and his signature spacey West Indian storefront-preacher steez feels perfectly-suited to a cultural moment defined both by widespread institutional criminality and high-grade legal weed. As a founding father of dub reggae and arguably its greatest first-gen practitioner, Perry is by definition an architect of modern pop, rock, r&b, Edm and hip-hop sonics. His most legendary productions date to the ‘70s, and remain timeless: the Congos’ Heart of the Congos, Junior Murvin’s Police and Thieves,...
- 5/31/2019
- by Will Hermes
- Rollingstone.com
In its earliest days, rock got a boost from the movies, starting with 1955’s Blackboard Jungle. Now, in an era when guitar-based music has moved pretty far from the center of the culture, the movies just can’t quit the genre. In the wake of Bohemian Rhapsody, more and more rock-themed films are heading theaters and streaming services, from the Mötley Crüe story in The Dirt on Netflix to May 31st’s Elton John biopic to August 14th’s tale of a British-Pakistani Springsteen fan, Blinded by the Light. In...
- 4/15/2019
- by Brian Hiatt
- Rollingstone.com
10 Essential Sidney Poitier Movies, From ‘Blackboard Jungle’ to ‘To Sir, With Love’ (Photos)
“No Way Outâ€. (1950)
In his big-screen debut, Sidney Poitier makes a memorable impression as a pioneering African American physician who runs afoul of a racist thug (Richard Widmark) whose brother died in his care.
“Blackboard Jungleâ€. (1955)Â
In this melodrama, the first Hollywood feature to include rock songs, Glenn Ford plays a new teacher at a troubled inner-city school where Poitier is music-loving rebel.
“The Defiant Onesâ€. (1958)
Poitier starred opposite Tony Curtis in Stanley Kramer’s Oscar-winning drama about two escaped convicts who — since they are still chained together — reluctantly agree to cooperate despite their differences.
“A Raisin in the Sunâ€. (1961)
Reunited with much of the cast of the 1960 Broadway production of Lorraine Hansberry’s play, Poitier plays the ambitious young Chicago man squabbling with his family over how best to spend their late father’s insurance money.
“Lilies of the Fieldâ€. (1963)
Poitier plays a former G.I. who agrees to...
In his big-screen debut, Sidney Poitier makes a memorable impression as a pioneering African American physician who runs afoul of a racist thug (Richard Widmark) whose brother died in his care.
“Blackboard Jungleâ€. (1955)Â
In this melodrama, the first Hollywood feature to include rock songs, Glenn Ford plays a new teacher at a troubled inner-city school where Poitier is music-loving rebel.
“The Defiant Onesâ€. (1958)
Poitier starred opposite Tony Curtis in Stanley Kramer’s Oscar-winning drama about two escaped convicts who — since they are still chained together — reluctantly agree to cooperate despite their differences.
“A Raisin in the Sunâ€. (1961)
Reunited with much of the cast of the 1960 Broadway production of Lorraine Hansberry’s play, Poitier plays the ambitious young Chicago man squabbling with his family over how best to spend their late father’s insurance money.
“Lilies of the Fieldâ€. (1963)
Poitier plays a former G.I. who agrees to...
- 2/20/2019
- by Thom Geier
- The Wrap
A clutch of film buffs and staff writers at my favorite newspaper, the Washington Post, devoted considerable time, thought and space to a weekend article challenging 1939’s claim to the title of “Best Movie Year Ever.” Prompted by the number of critics appending “great” to 2018, the Post decided to look back and single out the greatest years in film, and after a brainstorming session, its writers settled on 1939 and six subsequent years — 1946, 1955, 1974, 1982, 1999, and 2007 — and assigned a sponsor to each one.
It was a cute idea and a fool’s errand if anyone’s ever been sent on one. It also produced fun reading, even if 1939 need not worry about its place in film history. There were unique reasons for 1939 (and ‘40 and ‘41) turning out so many enduring movies.
Hollywood had been recently and grudgingly unionized, giving directors in particular more power over their studio assignments. The country was in a dark mood,...
It was a cute idea and a fool’s errand if anyone’s ever been sent on one. It also produced fun reading, even if 1939 need not worry about its place in film history. There were unique reasons for 1939 (and ‘40 and ‘41) turning out so many enduring movies.
Hollywood had been recently and grudgingly unionized, giving directors in particular more power over their studio assignments. The country was in a dark mood,...
- 12/31/2018
- by Jack Mathews
- Gold Derby
Lee “Scratch” Perry, the eccentric elder statesman of dub reggae, will celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Upsetters’ Blackboard Jungle Dub LP with a tour this fall. He will be accompanied by his backing band, Subatomic Sound System. The tour runs from October 12th through the 31st and focuses on the West and East Coasts. Tickets are already on sale for the show billed as “the world’s first dub album live for the first time.”
When the LP came out in 1973, a few short years after the first Upsetters...
When the LP came out in 1973, a few short years after the first Upsetters...
- 10/11/2018
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
Paul Mazursky’s affectionate memoir of the New York bohemian life circa 1953 has a feel for the milieu and an honest appraisal of the kooky culture therein: artists, actors, users, takers, sweethearts, neurotics and phonies. Lenny Baker’s main character may have an amorous relationship with his girlfriend Ellen Greene, but his strongest connection is with his overbearing mother, played to perfection by Shelley Winters. She was a Best Supporting Actress nominee for The Poseidon Adventure but not for this? Honestly.
Next Stop, Greenwich Village
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1976 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 111 min. / Street Date May 22, 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Lenny Baker, Shelley Winters, Ellen Greene, Lois Smith, Christopher Walken, Dori Brenner, Antonio Fargas, Lou Jacobi.
Cinematography: Arthur Ornitz
Film Editor: Richard Halsey
Original music: Bill Conti
Production Designer: Phil Rosenberg
Produced by Paul Mazursky and Tony Ray
Written and Directed by Paul Mazursky
Fans of Paul...
Next Stop, Greenwich Village
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1976 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 111 min. / Street Date May 22, 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Lenny Baker, Shelley Winters, Ellen Greene, Lois Smith, Christopher Walken, Dori Brenner, Antonio Fargas, Lou Jacobi.
Cinematography: Arthur Ornitz
Film Editor: Richard Halsey
Original music: Bill Conti
Production Designer: Phil Rosenberg
Produced by Paul Mazursky and Tony Ray
Written and Directed by Paul Mazursky
Fans of Paul...
- 6/5/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The decade that invented teenagers and giant radioactive lizards also gave birth to the melodramas of Douglas Sirk, the wry satires of Billy Wilder and saw Hitchcock at his finest
The 1950s: the decade that invented teenagers and giant radioactive lizard monsters. And it’s hard to say which wreaked more destruction.
The 50s saw the rise of the rebel antihero, epitomised by Marlon Brando and James Dean, poster-children for mumbly, misunderstood kids everywhere. Hollywood woke up to the youth market – something that would have far-reaching consequences – dipping its toe into teen culture with Rock Around the Clock and Blackboard Jungle. Teen audiences showed their enthusiasm by spontaneous outbreaks of rioting and cinema-trashing.
The 1950s: the decade that invented teenagers and giant radioactive lizard monsters. And it’s hard to say which wreaked more destruction.
The 50s saw the rise of the rebel antihero, epitomised by Marlon Brando and James Dean, poster-children for mumbly, misunderstood kids everywhere. Hollywood woke up to the youth market – something that would have far-reaching consequences – dipping its toe into teen culture with Rock Around the Clock and Blackboard Jungle. Teen audiences showed their enthusiasm by spontaneous outbreaks of rioting and cinema-trashing.
- 4/5/2018
- by Wendy Ide
- The Guardian - Film News
It’s not easy to land a Best Director Oscar nomination — even for a white man. Of the hundreds of filmmakers recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in nine decades, just 10 have been African American or women — which is why 2018 nominees Jordan Peele and Greta Gerwig are so rare. Not one black Best Director has won since John Singleton became the first nominee with “Boyz in the Hood” in 1991. Kathryn Bigelow is the only woman to ever take home a gold statue, for 2009’s “The Hurt Locker.” The only Asian director asked to accept top honors is Ang Lee, who prevailed for both “Brokeback Mountain” and “Life of Pi.”
Many great filmmakers have been nominated for their work outside of directing, including Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, Sam Peckinpah, and Rob Reiner, but have never been invited to the Best Director party at all. Still more picked...
Many great filmmakers have been nominated for their work outside of directing, including Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, Sam Peckinpah, and Rob Reiner, but have never been invited to the Best Director party at all. Still more picked...
- 2/9/2018
- by Anne Thompson, Jenna Marotta, Michael Nordine, William Earl, Kate Erbland and David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Chris Cummins Jan 19, 2018
Riverdale introduces some dramatic new twists in its latest season 2 episode. Spoilers ahead in our review...
This review contains spoilers.
See related Hard Sun episode 2 review Hard Sun episode 1 review 28 British TV dramas to watch in 2018
2.10 The Blackboard Jungle
As this week opens, Pops puts away the holiday decorations in preparation for the downright Westerosian long winter that lies ahead as Jughead gravely informs us that Riverdale has become "one of those towns" where only bad things seem to happen. But with the Black Hood seemingly vanquished, things have returned back to normal. After all, Archie is done playing junior crimefighter and is writing songs again, even thinking about starting a band. What could possibly go wrong?
I mean besides our ginger hero being more-or-less blackmailed by an FBI agent into reporting on the activities of his girlfriend's family; a budding civil war at Riverdale High; Cheryl's...
Riverdale introduces some dramatic new twists in its latest season 2 episode. Spoilers ahead in our review...
This review contains spoilers.
See related Hard Sun episode 2 review Hard Sun episode 1 review 28 British TV dramas to watch in 2018
2.10 The Blackboard Jungle
As this week opens, Pops puts away the holiday decorations in preparation for the downright Westerosian long winter that lies ahead as Jughead gravely informs us that Riverdale has become "one of those towns" where only bad things seem to happen. But with the Black Hood seemingly vanquished, things have returned back to normal. After all, Archie is done playing junior crimefighter and is writing songs again, even thinking about starting a band. What could possibly go wrong?
I mean besides our ginger hero being more-or-less blackmailed by an FBI agent into reporting on the activities of his girlfriend's family; a budding civil war at Riverdale High; Cheryl's...
- 1/19/2018
- Den of Geek
Action star Paul Mormando (Bound By Debt) is gearing up for his next film, to be Directed by Iconic New York Director John Gallagher (The Deli,Street Hunter). The film titled " The Last Hero is being described as The Warriors meets BlackBoard Jungle. The Last Hero is an action packed revenge movie with an emphasis on star Paul Mormando's world class martial arts skills coupled with John Gallagher's prodigious directorial talents. Joined by a strong cast that includes Artie Pasquale (Sopranos), Shing Ka (Revenge Of The Green Dragons) and the ever talented Lucie Pohl ( Sarah Q, Red Dwarf) Filming is scheduled to begin in Early 2018....
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 7/31/2017
- Screen Anarchy
“Here is the screen’s most shocking exposé, of the ‘Baby-Facers’ just taking their first stumbling steps down Sin Street U.S.A.!” Robert Altman’s first feature film is far too good to be described as any but an expert step toward an impressive career. But he had to deal with a young actor who drove him up the wall, Tom Laughlin.
The Delinquents
Blu-ray
Olive Films
1957 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 72 min. / Street Date March 21, 2017 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98
Starring: Tom Laughlin, Peter Miller, Richard Bakalyan, Rosemary Howard, Helen Hawley, Leonard Belove, Lotus Corelli, James Lantz, Christine Altman, George Mason Kuhn, Pat Stedman, Norman Zands, James Leria, Julia Lee, Lou Lombardo.
Cinematography: Charles Paddock
Film Editor: Helene Turner
Second Unit Director: Reza Badiyi
Produced, Written and Directed by Robert Altman
The hoods of tomorrow! The gun molls of the future!
Ah, the glorious Juvenile Delinquency film, or J.D. Epic,...
The Delinquents
Blu-ray
Olive Films
1957 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 72 min. / Street Date March 21, 2017 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98
Starring: Tom Laughlin, Peter Miller, Richard Bakalyan, Rosemary Howard, Helen Hawley, Leonard Belove, Lotus Corelli, James Lantz, Christine Altman, George Mason Kuhn, Pat Stedman, Norman Zands, James Leria, Julia Lee, Lou Lombardo.
Cinematography: Charles Paddock
Film Editor: Helene Turner
Second Unit Director: Reza Badiyi
Produced, Written and Directed by Robert Altman
The hoods of tomorrow! The gun molls of the future!
Ah, the glorious Juvenile Delinquency film, or J.D. Epic,...
- 4/18/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Robert Altman was making a living as an industrial filmmaker in Kansas City, Missouri when an opportunity arose that would change his life — and the history of American movies — forever. It was the mid-1950s and juvenile delinquent movies like The Blackboard Jungle and Rebel Without a Cause were burning up the box office, so the son of a movie theater chain owner approached Altman with idea of producing his own teen film. Altman banged out a script in three or four days, and on a budget of $60,000 shot his first feature, The Delinquents, in two weeks with […]...
- 3/31/2017
- by Jim Hemphill
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Laemmle’s Royal Theatre in Los Angeles will be presenting a 50th anniversary screening of Richard Brook’s 1967 film In Cold Blood, based upon the novel of the same name by Truman Capote. The 134-minute film, which stars John Forsythe, Robert Blake and Scott Wilson, will be screened on Wednesday, March 22, 2017 at 7:00 pm.
Please Note: At press time, Actor Scott Wilson is scheduled to appear in person for a discussion about the film following the screening.
From the press release:
Part of our Anniversary Classics series. For details, visit: laemmle.com/ac.
In Cold Blood (1967)
50th Anniversary Screening
Wednesday, March 22, at 7 Pm at the Royal Theatre
Followed by a Q & A with Actor Scott Wilson
In Cold Blood, the film version of Truman Capote’s immensely popular true crime novel, was nominated for four top Oscars in 1967. Richard Brooks received two nominations, for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay,...
Please Note: At press time, Actor Scott Wilson is scheduled to appear in person for a discussion about the film following the screening.
From the press release:
Part of our Anniversary Classics series. For details, visit: laemmle.com/ac.
In Cold Blood (1967)
50th Anniversary Screening
Wednesday, March 22, at 7 Pm at the Royal Theatre
Followed by a Q & A with Actor Scott Wilson
In Cold Blood, the film version of Truman Capote’s immensely popular true crime novel, was nominated for four top Oscars in 1967. Richard Brooks received two nominations, for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay,...
- 3/19/2017
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
The Breakfast Club, Rushmore, The Princess Bride and legendary punk documentary The Decline of Western Civilization are among the 25 films that have been inducted into the National Film Registry, the Library of Congress announced Wednesday.
Disney's The Lion King, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds are also in the Class of 2016's inductees in the registry, which showcases "the range and diversity of American film heritage to increase awareness for its preservation."
The oldest film to be inducted in the Class of 2016 is 1903's Life of an American Fireman,...
Disney's The Lion King, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds are also in the Class of 2016's inductees in the registry, which showcases "the range and diversity of American film heritage to increase awareness for its preservation."
The oldest film to be inducted in the Class of 2016 is 1903's Life of an American Fireman,...
- 12/14/2016
- Rollingstone.com
25 movies have been added to the National Film Registry, bringing the total number of cinematic works officially recognized by the Library of Congress to 700. Among the new additions are “The Birds,” “The Lion King,” “Point Blank” and “Rushmore” — the first of Wes Anderson’s films to be included.
In order to be so honored, a film must be at least 10 years old and deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the National Film Preservation Board. Full list below.
Read More: ‘Ghostbusters,’ ‘L.A. Confidential,’ ‘Shawshank Redemption,’ ‘Top Gun’ & More Enter The National Film Registry
“The Atomic Cafe” (1982)
“Ball of Fire” (1941)
“The Beau Brummels” (1928)
“The Birds” (1963)
“Blackboard Jungle” (1955)
“The Breakfast Club” (1985)
“The Decline of Western Civilization” (1981)
“East of Eden” (1955)
“Funny Girl” (1968)
“Life of an American Fireman” (1903)
“The Lion King” (1994)
“Lost Horizon” (1937)
“Musketeers of Pig Alley” (1912)
Read More: ‘Symbiopsychotaxiplasm,’ ‘Portrait of Jason,’ ‘Imitation of Life’ Among New Additions to National Film Registry...
In order to be so honored, a film must be at least 10 years old and deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the National Film Preservation Board. Full list below.
Read More: ‘Ghostbusters,’ ‘L.A. Confidential,’ ‘Shawshank Redemption,’ ‘Top Gun’ & More Enter The National Film Registry
“The Atomic Cafe” (1982)
“Ball of Fire” (1941)
“The Beau Brummels” (1928)
“The Birds” (1963)
“Blackboard Jungle” (1955)
“The Breakfast Club” (1985)
“The Decline of Western Civilization” (1981)
“East of Eden” (1955)
“Funny Girl” (1968)
“Life of an American Fireman” (1903)
“The Lion King” (1994)
“Lost Horizon” (1937)
“Musketeers of Pig Alley” (1912)
Read More: ‘Symbiopsychotaxiplasm,’ ‘Portrait of Jason,’ ‘Imitation of Life’ Among New Additions to National Film Registry...
- 12/14/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
On Oct. 27, 1955, Warner Bros. released a teenage drama, Rebel Without a Cause, just a month after star James Dean's untimely death in an automobile accident. The film would go on to earn three Oscar nominations at the 28th Academy Awards, including the first for young actress Natalie Wood. The Hollywood Reporter's original review is below.
The exhibitor can expect this story of juvenile delinquency to capture the Blackboard Jungle type of audience and be a real money picture. It contains some extraordinarily good acting by the late James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo (who is ...
The exhibitor can expect this story of juvenile delinquency to capture the Blackboard Jungle type of audience and be a real money picture. It contains some extraordinarily good acting by the late James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo (who is ...
- 10/27/2016
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
On Oct. 27, 1955, Warner Bros. released a teenage drama, Rebel Without a Cause, just a month after star James Dean's untimely death in an automobile accident. The film would go on to earn three Oscar nominations at the 28th Academy Awards, including the first for young actress Natalie Wood. The Hollywood Reporter's original review is below.
The exhibitor can expect this story of juvenile delinquency to capture the Blackboard Jungle type of audience and be a real money picture. It contains some extraordinarily good acting by the late James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo (who is ...
The exhibitor can expect this story of juvenile delinquency to capture the Blackboard Jungle type of audience and be a real money picture. It contains some extraordinarily good acting by the late James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo (who is ...
- 10/27/2016
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Hey NYC, here's an opportunity to see a selection of Sidney Poitier's film's on the big screen - especially if you've never had the pleasure. This year marks the 89th birthday (celebrated on February 20th) of a man, a legend who I'm sure needs absolutely no introduction on this website, who overcame decades of stereotypical Hollywood portrayals of black people, and would build a career that would see him become an instrumental figure in the evolution of roles for black actors on screen. From his feature-film debut in 1950 in ''No Way Out,'' starring as a doctor with a sense of justice, to the streetwise student in "The Blackboard Jungle,''...
- 4/7/2016
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Hey NYC, here's an opportunity to see a selection of Sidney Poitier's film's on the big screen - especially if you've never had the pleasure. This year marks the 89th birthday (celebrated on February 20th) of a man, a legend who I'm sure needs absolutely no introduction on this website, who overcame decades of stereotypical Hollywood portrayals of blacks, and would build a career that would see him become an instrumental figure in the evolution of roles for black actors on screen. From his feature-film debut in 1950 in ''No Way Out,'' starring as a doctor with a sense of justice, to the streetwise student in "The Blackboard Jungle,'' the...
- 3/14/2016
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Jim Knipfel Mar 15, 2019
Forbidden Planet is still dazzling and subversive, and an influence on most major space opera science fiction.
Despite the sudden and unexpected explosion in the popularity of science fiction films in the early 1950s, a number of major studios were resistant to the trend, considering the genre to be B-film fodder at best, and at worst childish gutter trash that was beneath them. When it became apparent just how much money could be made with sci-fi, however, most eventually relented. One neat trick that was used to justify taking the dive while preserving a bit of pride and self-respect was to produce lavish, big budget Technicolor adaptations of established sci-fi literary classics. As a result we ended up with George Pal’s versions of War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, and Philip Wylie’s When Worlds Collide. Let Pal toss in his trademark heavy-handed Christian subtext,...
Forbidden Planet is still dazzling and subversive, and an influence on most major space opera science fiction.
Despite the sudden and unexpected explosion in the popularity of science fiction films in the early 1950s, a number of major studios were resistant to the trend, considering the genre to be B-film fodder at best, and at worst childish gutter trash that was beneath them. When it became apparent just how much money could be made with sci-fi, however, most eventually relented. One neat trick that was used to justify taking the dive while preserving a bit of pride and self-respect was to produce lavish, big budget Technicolor adaptations of established sci-fi literary classics. As a result we ended up with George Pal’s versions of War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, and Philip Wylie’s When Worlds Collide. Let Pal toss in his trademark heavy-handed Christian subtext,...
- 3/8/2016
- Den of Geek
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.