Under the non de plume John Le Carre, David Cornwall penned a series of best-selling spy novels including “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold,” “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” ‘The Little Drummer Girl’’ and “The Russia House,” that are cerebral, unadorned, gritty. The antitheist of Ian Fleming’s suave James Bond. In fact, his most popular character George Smiley just blended into the crowd: “Obscurity was his nature, as well as his profession,” Cornwall described him in “A Murder of Quality.” “The byways of espionage are not populated by the brash and colorful adventure of fiction. A man who, like Smiley, had lived and worked for years among his country’s enemies learns only one prayer; that he may never, never be noticed. Assimilation is his highest aim.”
Before his death at the age of 89 in in December, 2020, Cornwall sat down for a rare interview with award-winning documentarian Errol Morris...
Before his death at the age of 89 in in December, 2020, Cornwall sat down for a rare interview with award-winning documentarian Errol Morris...
- 10/23/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto, best known for her version of the bossa nova classic “The Girl from Ipanema,” has died at the age of 83.
Sofia Gilberto, the artist’s granddaughter, shared the news on Instagram. “I’m here to bring you the sad news that my grandmother became a star today, and is next to my grandfather João Gilberto,” Sofia wrote. “She was a pioneer and the best. At the age of 22, she gave voice to the English version of ‘Girl from Ipanema’ and gained international fame.”
New York-based guitarist Paul Ricci, who collaborated with Gilberto, also confirmed the news on Facebook, saying he had been asked to post it by Gilberto’s son Marcelo. “She was an important part of All that is Brazilian music in the world and she changed many lives with her energy,” Ricci wrote.
Born March 29th, 1940 in the Brazilian state of Bahia, Astrud Weinert...
Sofia Gilberto, the artist’s granddaughter, shared the news on Instagram. “I’m here to bring you the sad news that my grandmother became a star today, and is next to my grandfather João Gilberto,” Sofia wrote. “She was a pioneer and the best. At the age of 22, she gave voice to the English version of ‘Girl from Ipanema’ and gained international fame.”
New York-based guitarist Paul Ricci, who collaborated with Gilberto, also confirmed the news on Facebook, saying he had been asked to post it by Gilberto’s son Marcelo. “She was an important part of All that is Brazilian music in the world and she changed many lives with her energy,” Ricci wrote.
Born March 29th, 1940 in the Brazilian state of Bahia, Astrud Weinert...
- 6/6/2023
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Music
By Lee Pfeiffer
"The Deadly Affair", directed by Sidney Lumet, is the 1967 film based on John Le Carre's 1961 novel "Call for the Dead". Le Carre was riding high during the Bond-inspired Bond phenomenon of the 1960s. Unlike the surrealistic world of 007, Le Carre's books formed the basis for gritty and gloomy espionage stories that were steeped in realism and cynicism. The film adaptation of Le Carre's "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" had been released the previous year to great acclaim. Lumet, who made "The Deadly Affair" for his own production company, rounded up top flight British talent including screenwriter Paul Dehn, who had written the film adaptation of "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" and co-wrote the screenplay for "Goldfinger".
As with all Le Carre film adaptations, the plot is complex to the point of being confusing. There are many intriguing characters of dubious allegiance to one another,...
"The Deadly Affair", directed by Sidney Lumet, is the 1967 film based on John Le Carre's 1961 novel "Call for the Dead". Le Carre was riding high during the Bond-inspired Bond phenomenon of the 1960s. Unlike the surrealistic world of 007, Le Carre's books formed the basis for gritty and gloomy espionage stories that were steeped in realism and cynicism. The film adaptation of Le Carre's "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" had been released the previous year to great acclaim. Lumet, who made "The Deadly Affair" for his own production company, rounded up top flight British talent including screenwriter Paul Dehn, who had written the film adaptation of "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" and co-wrote the screenplay for "Goldfinger".
As with all Le Carre film adaptations, the plot is complex to the point of being confusing. There are many intriguing characters of dubious allegiance to one another,...
- 4/7/2022
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Set during the weeks following the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall, “Damascus Cover” is, in the strictest sense of the term, a period piece. But Daniel Zelik Berk’s low-key drama actually plays like a throwback to an earlier era — specifically, the mid-to-late 1960s, the heyday of Cold War thrillers in which grim, unglamorous and very un-Bondian secret agents dodged bullets and endured betrayals while playing spy games for mortal stakes. Indeed, this film may have a slight nostalgic appeal for anyone who fondly recalls such ‘60s cloak-and-dagger fare as “Funeral in Berlin” (which “Damascus Cover” periodically recalls), “The Quiller Memorandum” and “The Deadly Affair.” Unfortunately, Berk’s movie is too plodding and predictable to generate anything more than a modest level of suspense; worse, it lacks enough excitement to qualify even as instantly forgettable popcorn entertainment.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers makes a game attempt to be a dour and determined spy guy as Ari Ben-Sion,...
Jonathan Rhys Meyers makes a game attempt to be a dour and determined spy guy as Ari Ben-Sion,...
- 7/20/2018
- by Joe Leydon
- Variety Film + TV
The Bond franchise which has been with us so long, has become so deeply entrenched in popular culture, that we often forget what it was that first distinguished the Bonds a half-century ago. Skyfall might be one of the best of the Bonds, and even, arguably, one of the best big-budget big-action flicks to come along in quite a while, but it’s not alone. The annual box office is – and has been, for quite some time – dominated by big, action-packed blockbusters of one sort of another. The Bonds aren’t even the only action-driven spy flicks (Mr. James Bond, I’d like you to meet Mr. Jason Bourne and Mr. Ethan Hunt).
That’s not to take anything away from the superb entertainment Skyfall is, or the sentimentally treasured place the Bonds hold. It’s only to say that where there was once just the one, there are now many.
That’s not to take anything away from the superb entertainment Skyfall is, or the sentimentally treasured place the Bonds hold. It’s only to say that where there was once just the one, there are now many.
- 10/26/2015
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
(*My apologies for this coming so long after Sound on Sight’s celebration of 50 years of James Bond, but I’ve been swamped with end-of-semester work and only just now managed to finish this. Hope you all still find this of interest.)
As a coda to the Sos’s James Bond salute, there’s still a point I think deserves to be made.
The Bond franchise which has been with us so long, has become so deeply entrenched in popular culture, that we often forget what it was that first distinguished the Bonds a half-century ago. Skyfall might be one of the best of the Bonds, and even, arguably, one of the best big-budget big-action flicks to come along in quite a while, but it’s not alone. The annual box office is – and has been, for quite some time – dominated by big, action-packed blockbusters of one sort of another.
As a coda to the Sos’s James Bond salute, there’s still a point I think deserves to be made.
The Bond franchise which has been with us so long, has become so deeply entrenched in popular culture, that we often forget what it was that first distinguished the Bonds a half-century ago. Skyfall might be one of the best of the Bonds, and even, arguably, one of the best big-budget big-action flicks to come along in quite a while, but it’s not alone. The annual box office is – and has been, for quite some time – dominated by big, action-packed blockbusters of one sort of another.
- 12/20/2012
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
It has been a year since Sidney Lumet passed away on April 9, 2011. Here is our retrospective on the legendary filmmaker to honor his memory. Originally published April 15, 2011.
Almost a week after the fact, we, like everyone that loves film, are still mourning the passing of the great American master Sidney Lumet, one of the true titans of cinema.
Lumet was never fancy. He never needed to be, as a master of blocking, economic camera movements and framing that empowered the emotion and or exact punctuation of a particular scene. First and foremost, as you’ve likely heard ad nauseum -- but hell, it’s true -- Lumet was a storyteller, and one that preferred his beloved New York to soundstages (though let's not romanticize it too much, he did his fair share of work on studio film sets too as most TV journeyman and early studio filmmakers did).
His directing career stretched well over 50 years,...
Almost a week after the fact, we, like everyone that loves film, are still mourning the passing of the great American master Sidney Lumet, one of the true titans of cinema.
Lumet was never fancy. He never needed to be, as a master of blocking, economic camera movements and framing that empowered the emotion and or exact punctuation of a particular scene. First and foremost, as you’ve likely heard ad nauseum -- but hell, it’s true -- Lumet was a storyteller, and one that preferred his beloved New York to soundstages (though let's not romanticize it too much, he did his fair share of work on studio film sets too as most TV journeyman and early studio filmmakers did).
His directing career stretched well over 50 years,...
- 4/9/2012
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
Above: Image from Maurice Binder's title sequence for Diamonds Are Forever (1971).
Sleep Little Lush
This follow-up to the previous soundtrack mix, Hyper Sleep, is very much the same animal: a chance gathering of mesmerizing music tracks, carefully arranged to focus on the interstitial character of film music—its ability to distill into hallucinatory moments, the most sensual or emotional qualities of a film’s nature, and amplify these sensations to increase their temporal impact. With this idea of music as intoxicant in mind, the passing this year of John Barry was a loss of one of the great “perfumers” of film composing (for more on music as perfume, see Daniel Kasman’s “Herrmann’s Perfume”). The beautiful themes that Barry scored for the world of 007 that open this collection set the spell for a kaleidoscopic (largely) 60s and 70s sample of some of the best film music written by Ennio Morricone,...
Sleep Little Lush
This follow-up to the previous soundtrack mix, Hyper Sleep, is very much the same animal: a chance gathering of mesmerizing music tracks, carefully arranged to focus on the interstitial character of film music—its ability to distill into hallucinatory moments, the most sensual or emotional qualities of a film’s nature, and amplify these sensations to increase their temporal impact. With this idea of music as intoxicant in mind, the passing this year of John Barry was a loss of one of the great “perfumers” of film composing (for more on music as perfume, see Daniel Kasman’s “Herrmann’s Perfume”). The beautiful themes that Barry scored for the world of 007 that open this collection set the spell for a kaleidoscopic (largely) 60s and 70s sample of some of the best film music written by Ennio Morricone,...
- 12/26/2011
- MUBI
… and John Patterson should know. He's spent the summer watching John Le Carré adaptations
To while away the time until the release of Tomas Alfredson's remake of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, I've spent a happy summer immersing myself in John Le Carré's back catalogue. It hardly feels like work at all.
Few novelists manage to see three of their novels filmed within a span of five years. It happened to Le Carré after The Spy Who Came In From The Cold became a worldwide bestseller in 1963, and Martin Ritt's classic 1965 film adaptation, with Richard Burton and Claire Bloom (Rupert Davies as Smiley), offered a bleak and morally complex alternative to the James Bond ethos.
The Deadly Affair, Sidney Lumet's adaptation of Call For The Dead appeared in 1966. James Mason plays Smiley (renamed Charles Dobbs) with the same bespectacled, hang-dog mien he wore in Georgy Girl the same year,...
To while away the time until the release of Tomas Alfredson's remake of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, I've spent a happy summer immersing myself in John Le Carré's back catalogue. It hardly feels like work at all.
Few novelists manage to see three of their novels filmed within a span of five years. It happened to Le Carré after The Spy Who Came In From The Cold became a worldwide bestseller in 1963, and Martin Ritt's classic 1965 film adaptation, with Richard Burton and Claire Bloom (Rupert Davies as Smiley), offered a bleak and morally complex alternative to the James Bond ethos.
The Deadly Affair, Sidney Lumet's adaptation of Call For The Dead appeared in 1966. James Mason plays Smiley (renamed Charles Dobbs) with the same bespectacled, hang-dog mien he wore in Georgy Girl the same year,...
- 9/9/2011
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
Well it looks like another John le Carré novel is about to be adapted into a feature film. In 1965, Martin Ritt directed the first film adaptation of a John le Carré novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. In 1966, Sidney Lumet directed The Deadly Affair. In 1969, Frank Pierson directed The Looking Glass War. In 1984, George Roy Hill directed The Little Drummer Girl. In 1990, Fred Schepisi directed The Russia House. In 2001, John Boorman directed The Tailor of Panama. In 2005, Fernando Meirelles directed The Constant Gardener, and just last year it was announced that Peter Morgan and John le Carré were writing a cinematic adaptation of the novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
Now according to THR, director Anton Corbijn (The American) will bring us the ninth adaptation. Corbijn has signed on to direct A Most Wanted Man from a screenplay by Andrew Bovell (Edge of Darkness). The tale is loosely...
- 6/20/2011
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Only days ago "The Deadly Affair" arrived at my doorstep, yet another of Sidney Lumet's films I had never seen before since having been born two-thirds of the way into the director's legendary career, it's always been a game of catch-up. Then again, it was that way for most in his field, even if they were contemporaries.
After passing away far too soon at the age of 86, Lumet leaves behind a half-century-long career that will no doubt be scrutinized for being inconsistent, a richly ironic assessment given that in person and on film, he was known as a straight shooter, and perhaps one of the only filmmakers who could say their final film ("Before the Devil Knows You're Dead") was as vital and strong as their first ("12 Angry Men"). However, that certainly isn't the only reason why Lumet was a rarity.
In a world full of auteurs, Lumet was a collaborator,...
After passing away far too soon at the age of 86, Lumet leaves behind a half-century-long career that will no doubt be scrutinized for being inconsistent, a richly ironic assessment given that in person and on film, he was known as a straight shooter, and perhaps one of the only filmmakers who could say their final film ("Before the Devil Knows You're Dead") was as vital and strong as their first ("12 Angry Men"). However, that certainly isn't the only reason why Lumet was a rarity.
In a world full of auteurs, Lumet was a collaborator,...
- 4/14/2011
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
Prolific film director with a reputation for exploring social and moral issues
Sidney Lumet, who has died aged 86, achieved critical and commercial success with his first film, 12 Angry Men (1957), which established his credentials as a liberal director who was sympathetic to actors, loved words and worked quickly. For the bulk of his career, he averaged a film a year, earning four Oscar nominations along the way for best director, for 12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Network (1976) and The Verdict (1982).
It is arguable that, had he not been so prolific, Lumet's critical reputation would have been greater. Certainly, for every worthwhile film there was a dud, and occasionally a disaster, to match it. But Lumet loved to direct and he was greatly esteemed by the many actors – notably Al Pacino and Sean Connery – with whom he established a lasting rapport.
The majority of his films were shot not in Hollywood, but in and around New York.
Sidney Lumet, who has died aged 86, achieved critical and commercial success with his first film, 12 Angry Men (1957), which established his credentials as a liberal director who was sympathetic to actors, loved words and worked quickly. For the bulk of his career, he averaged a film a year, earning four Oscar nominations along the way for best director, for 12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Network (1976) and The Verdict (1982).
It is arguable that, had he not been so prolific, Lumet's critical reputation would have been greater. Certainly, for every worthwhile film there was a dud, and occasionally a disaster, to match it. But Lumet loved to direct and he was greatly esteemed by the many actors – notably Al Pacino and Sean Connery – with whom he established a lasting rapport.
The majority of his films were shot not in Hollywood, but in and around New York.
- 4/10/2011
- by Brian Baxter
- The Guardian - Film News
Sidney Lumet, the gifted director of crime and punishment morality tales set in New York, died earlier today of Lymphona. He was 86 years old. Out of the legends we’ve lost these past four weeks (of which have been all too frequent), for me personally this is the hardest to swallow. He was a director I felt connected with, whose movies I shared a bond with, and I can’t believe I won’t get to see him make another.
Most directors get worse with age, even those who dominated the film scene at their peak but it never really happened with Sidney Lumet. Ok – so there was a bit of downtime in the 90′s but unlike John Carpenter or many other former greats, he picked it back up in the 00′s and finished his career on a high. He was a rarity in the business that he never suffered...
Most directors get worse with age, even those who dominated the film scene at their peak but it never really happened with Sidney Lumet. Ok – so there was a bit of downtime in the 90′s but unlike John Carpenter or many other former greats, he picked it back up in the 00′s and finished his career on a high. He was a rarity in the business that he never suffered...
- 4/9/2011
- by Matt Holmes
- Obsessed with Film
To celebrate its 20th Anniversary, it appears as though the Tiff Cinematheque is set to pull out all the stops.
According to Criterion, the Tiff, formerly known as the Cinematheque Ontario, will be bringing out a rather superb and cartoonishly awesome summer schedule, that will include films ranging from Kurosawa pieces, to films from Pier Paolo Pasolini. Other films include a month long series dedicated to James Mason, Eric Rohmer’s Six Moral Tales, a tribute to Robin Wood, and most interesting, a retrospective on the works of one Catherine Breillat.
Personally, while the Kurosawa, Pasolini, and Rohmer collections sound amazing, the Breillat series is ultimately the collective that I am most interested in. Ranging from films like the brilliant Fat Girl, to the superb and underrated Anatomy of Hell, these are some of the most interesting and under seen pieces of cinema of recent memory, and are more than...
According to Criterion, the Tiff, formerly known as the Cinematheque Ontario, will be bringing out a rather superb and cartoonishly awesome summer schedule, that will include films ranging from Kurosawa pieces, to films from Pier Paolo Pasolini. Other films include a month long series dedicated to James Mason, Eric Rohmer’s Six Moral Tales, a tribute to Robin Wood, and most interesting, a retrospective on the works of one Catherine Breillat.
Personally, while the Kurosawa, Pasolini, and Rohmer collections sound amazing, the Breillat series is ultimately the collective that I am most interested in. Ranging from films like the brilliant Fat Girl, to the superb and underrated Anatomy of Hell, these are some of the most interesting and under seen pieces of cinema of recent memory, and are more than...
- 5/26/2010
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
Redgrave with James Mason in her greatest success, Georgy Girl.
Lynn Redgrave, of the Redgrave acting dynasty, died on May 2 at age 67. She had recently been battling breast cancer. Redgrave made her screen debut in a bit role in the Oscar winning 1963 film Tom Jones, directed by her brother-in-law Tony Richardson. She scored her best leading role three years later as the frumpy title character in the classic British film Georgy Girl, for which she received a Best Actress Oscar nomination. By her own account, however, Redgrave's career paled in comparison with her sister Vanessa's and her father Michael Redgrave's. She continued to act over the decades, occasionally scoring good reviews for supporting performances but never fully capitalized on her early success. Her other films include The Deadly Affair and Smashing Time. For more click here...
Lynn Redgrave, of the Redgrave acting dynasty, died on May 2 at age 67. She had recently been battling breast cancer. Redgrave made her screen debut in a bit role in the Oscar winning 1963 film Tom Jones, directed by her brother-in-law Tony Richardson. She scored her best leading role three years later as the frumpy title character in the classic British film Georgy Girl, for which she received a Best Actress Oscar nomination. By her own account, however, Redgrave's career paled in comparison with her sister Vanessa's and her father Michael Redgrave's. She continued to act over the decades, occasionally scoring good reviews for supporting performances but never fully capitalized on her early success. Her other films include The Deadly Affair and Smashing Time. For more click here...
- 5/5/2010
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Lynn Redgrave, who shot to international fame for her performance as a free-spirited bird in 1966's "Georgy Girl," died Sunday at her home in Connecticut after a battle with breast cancer. She was 67.
Redgrave's turn as a chubby, childlike Londoner pursued by her father's middle-aged boss (James Mason) won her an Oscar nomination for best actress and the New York Film Critics Circle Award. She garnered another Academy Award nomination for supporting actress in "Gods and Monsters" (1998), playing a testy housekeeper.
Redgrave hailed from a venerable theatrical family. She was the younger sister of actress Vanessa Redgrave and actor Corin Redgrave and the daughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson.
Her death comes a year after her niece Natasha Richardson died from head injuries sustained in a skiing accident and just a month after the death of Corin. Redgrave was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2002, had a mastectomy in January 2003 and underwent chemotherapy.
Redgrave's turn as a chubby, childlike Londoner pursued by her father's middle-aged boss (James Mason) won her an Oscar nomination for best actress and the New York Film Critics Circle Award. She garnered another Academy Award nomination for supporting actress in "Gods and Monsters" (1998), playing a testy housekeeper.
Redgrave hailed from a venerable theatrical family. She was the younger sister of actress Vanessa Redgrave and actor Corin Redgrave and the daughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson.
Her death comes a year after her niece Natasha Richardson died from head injuries sustained in a skiing accident and just a month after the death of Corin. Redgrave was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2002, had a mastectomy in January 2003 and underwent chemotherapy.
- 5/3/2010
- by By Duane Bygre
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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