Rolling Thunder is one of my favorite films. I’m not just saying that because it is next month’s Late Nite Grindhouse screening, it includes almost everything I loved in 70’s cinema. It is a vigilante story, a character study, a road movie and a great, justifying finale. It doesn’t hurt that it feels, at times, an echo of co-writer, Paul Schrader’s previous work, Taxi Driver (which is definitely in my top 5 of my favorite films).
The film has had a release history that was troubled. Rolling Thunder was to be released by 20th Century Fox but after it showed as a sneak 2nd feature in a double bill with the third Dirty Harry film, The Enforcer, the crowd reacted violently towards some of the studio heads in the audience. This infamous screening took place in San Jose where the majority of the crowd was latino and...
The film has had a release history that was troubled. Rolling Thunder was to be released by 20th Century Fox but after it showed as a sneak 2nd feature in a double bill with the third Dirty Harry film, The Enforcer, the crowd reacted violently towards some of the studio heads in the audience. This infamous screening took place in San Jose where the majority of the crowd was latino and...
- 3/30/2016
- by Andy Triefenbach
- Destroy the Brain
It’s definitely been a week for good-byes.
My daughters and I spent the weekend in the beautiful, still somewhat quaint small town of Auburn, California, helping to lay to rest and celebrate the life of my dear aunt Mary Pascuzzi, my fraternal grandmother’s sister, who was the centered matriarch of her own family and a stabilizing force for all of us in her extended family as well. She, and my grandmother, were big fans of classic-era American movies and enthusiastically encouraged my interest, just one reason why they’re both held dear in my heart and in my memory. And being Italian, they both had more than a casual interest in The Godfather when it came out in 1972. I remember my aunt Mary talking to me about having seen it and wondering, me at the ripe old age of 12, if I’d had a chance to go yet.
My daughters and I spent the weekend in the beautiful, still somewhat quaint small town of Auburn, California, helping to lay to rest and celebrate the life of my dear aunt Mary Pascuzzi, my fraternal grandmother’s sister, who was the centered matriarch of her own family and a stabilizing force for all of us in her extended family as well. She, and my grandmother, were big fans of classic-era American movies and enthusiastically encouraged my interest, just one reason why they’re both held dear in my heart and in my memory. And being Italian, they both had more than a casual interest in The Godfather when it came out in 1972. I remember my aunt Mary talking to me about having seen it and wondering, me at the ripe old age of 12, if I’d had a chance to go yet.
- 7/23/2015
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
Alex Rocco, a veteran character actor most famous for starring in Hollywood classic "The Godfather," has died. He was 79.
Rocco's daughter, Jennifer Rocco, revealed the actor's passing in a series of Facebook posts, writing that her father passed away on July 18 after a long, private battle with cancer. Jennifer Rocco thanked his fans for their support, writing, "I know he is watching over us."
Alex Rocco's prolific career spanned decades, but the actor became synonymous with "The Godfather," the 1972 Oscar-winning film in which he played casino owner Moe Greene. In a 2012 interview with The A.V. Club, Rocco said that that role was "without a doubt, my biggest ticket anywhere. I mean that literally."
Rocco parlayed that fame into a lengthy, eclectic resume in both film and television. He starred most recently on Starz series "Magic City," "Episodes," and "Maron," and also appeared on shows including "The Simpsons," "The Facts of Life,...
Rocco's daughter, Jennifer Rocco, revealed the actor's passing in a series of Facebook posts, writing that her father passed away on July 18 after a long, private battle with cancer. Jennifer Rocco thanked his fans for their support, writing, "I know he is watching over us."
Alex Rocco's prolific career spanned decades, but the actor became synonymous with "The Godfather," the 1972 Oscar-winning film in which he played casino owner Moe Greene. In a 2012 interview with The A.V. Club, Rocco said that that role was "without a doubt, my biggest ticket anywhere. I mean that literally."
Rocco parlayed that fame into a lengthy, eclectic resume in both film and television. He starred most recently on Starz series "Magic City," "Episodes," and "Maron," and also appeared on shows including "The Simpsons," "The Facts of Life,...
- 7/20/2015
- by Katie Roberts
- Moviefone
Coffy/Foxy Brown/Friday Foster
Coffy and Foxy Brown written and directed by Jack Hill
Friday Foster written by Orville H. Hampton, directed by Arthur Marks
USA, 1973/1974/1975
Olive Films recently released several Blaxploitation titles on Blu-ray for the first time, all on the same day. This included the Fred Williamson-starring Hammer, from 1972, as well as three Pam Grier films: Coffy (1973), Foxy Brown (1974), and Friday Foster (1975). Hammer isn’t a particular favorite, but these latter three were most welcome, especially Coffy, which is quite possibly the greatest of all Blaxploitation features, even better than the more popular Shaft (1971) and Super Fly (1972). As much as anything, these three releases are notable for showcasing Grier at her finest during a period of immensely enjoyable work and exceptional productivity—15 films from her minor debut in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) to Friday Foster. Around these films, she also starred in several other...
Coffy and Foxy Brown written and directed by Jack Hill
Friday Foster written by Orville H. Hampton, directed by Arthur Marks
USA, 1973/1974/1975
Olive Films recently released several Blaxploitation titles on Blu-ray for the first time, all on the same day. This included the Fred Williamson-starring Hammer, from 1972, as well as three Pam Grier films: Coffy (1973), Foxy Brown (1974), and Friday Foster (1975). Hammer isn’t a particular favorite, but these latter three were most welcome, especially Coffy, which is quite possibly the greatest of all Blaxploitation features, even better than the more popular Shaft (1971) and Super Fly (1972). As much as anything, these three releases are notable for showcasing Grier at her finest during a period of immensely enjoyable work and exceptional productivity—15 films from her minor debut in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) to Friday Foster. Around these films, she also starred in several other...
- 6/21/2015
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
Above: Pipe Dreams (1976).
While searching for something to post on Movie Poster of the Day on Christmas Eve, I took a look at the poster for Bob Clark’s A Christmas Story, which I hadn’t paid much attention to before. On closer inspection I recognized it as a pretty perfect pastiche of Norman Rockwell, with its meticulous depiction of a domestic scene in medias res, and down to its details like its circular frame within a frame, its white background, and the parallel black lines mimicking the Saturday Evening Post masthead.
The association with, or subversion of, America’s favorite purveyor of whimsical Americana makes perfect sense in light of the poster’s tagline about the "Original, Traditional, One-Hundred-Percent, Red-Blooded, Two-Fisted, All-American Christmas” and the artist, Robert Tanenbaum, even took his parody a step further by signing his illustration in the style of Rockwell’s trademark stenciled signature.
Once...
While searching for something to post on Movie Poster of the Day on Christmas Eve, I took a look at the poster for Bob Clark’s A Christmas Story, which I hadn’t paid much attention to before. On closer inspection I recognized it as a pretty perfect pastiche of Norman Rockwell, with its meticulous depiction of a domestic scene in medias res, and down to its details like its circular frame within a frame, its white background, and the parallel black lines mimicking the Saturday Evening Post masthead.
The association with, or subversion of, America’s favorite purveyor of whimsical Americana makes perfect sense in light of the poster’s tagline about the "Original, Traditional, One-Hundred-Percent, Red-Blooded, Two-Fisted, All-American Christmas” and the artist, Robert Tanenbaum, even took his parody a step further by signing his illustration in the style of Rockwell’s trademark stenciled signature.
Once...
- 12/29/2014
- by Adrian Curry
- MUBI
After all the debates, controversies, and stereotype accusations have cleared, looking back on Blaxploitation cinema today it’s easy to see healthy portions of the crime and action genres. Using these genres and the struggles of the black community, these films were created for those that wanted to see African American characters on the big screen not taking shit from the man, “getting over”, and–above all else—being the heroes in movies. In the documentary Baad Asssss Cinema, Samuel L. Jackson gives his take on the heroes of Blaxploitation: “We were tired of seeing the righteous black man. And all of a sudden we had guys who were…us. Or guys who did the things we wanted those guys to do.”
The unsung supporting players in these films that backed Fred Williamson and Pam Grier and many other stars were people acting and making a living off of it.
The unsung supporting players in these films that backed Fred Williamson and Pam Grier and many other stars were people acting and making a living off of it.
- 12/4/2012
- by Gregory Day
- SoundOnSight
Here.s some sad new for fans of 70.s Blaxpolitation.
From the Los Angeles Times:
” Vonetta McGee, an actress whose big-screen heyday during the blaxploitation era of the 1970s included leading roles in “Blacula” and “Shaft in Africa,” has died. She was 65. McGee died Friday at a hospital in Berkeley after experiencing cardiac arrest and being on life support for two days, said family spokeswoman Kelley Nayo. McGee was described as “one of the busiest and most beautiful black actresses” by Times movie reviewer Kevin Thomas in 1972, the year she appeared opposite Fred Williamson in the black action movie “Hammer,” and had starring roles in the crime-drama “Melinda” and the horror film “Blacula.”She went on to appear with Richard Roundtree in “Shaft in Africa” (1973), and co-starred with Max Julien in “Thomasine & Bushrod” (1974).”
Ms McGee did not like the term .Blaxpolitation. but starred in many of those films including, besides the ones mentioned above,...
From the Los Angeles Times:
” Vonetta McGee, an actress whose big-screen heyday during the blaxploitation era of the 1970s included leading roles in “Blacula” and “Shaft in Africa,” has died. She was 65. McGee died Friday at a hospital in Berkeley after experiencing cardiac arrest and being on life support for two days, said family spokeswoman Kelley Nayo. McGee was described as “one of the busiest and most beautiful black actresses” by Times movie reviewer Kevin Thomas in 1972, the year she appeared opposite Fred Williamson in the black action movie “Hammer,” and had starring roles in the crime-drama “Melinda” and the horror film “Blacula.”She went on to appear with Richard Roundtree in “Shaft in Africa” (1973), and co-starred with Max Julien in “Thomasine & Bushrod” (1974).”
Ms McGee did not like the term .Blaxpolitation. but starred in many of those films including, besides the ones mentioned above,...
- 7/16/2010
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
She appeared alongside Clint Eastwood in 'The Eiger Sanction' and in many blaxploitation films.
By Kara Warner
Vonetta McGee
Photo: Los Angeles Times
Actress Vonetta McGee, best known for her leading roles in the blaxploitation films "Blacula," "Hammer" and "Shaft in Africa," has died at age 65. The Los Angeles Times reports that McGee died Friday (July 9) after being admitted to a Berkeley, California, hospital for cardiac arrest, for which she was put on life support for two days.
Born Lawrence Vonetta McGee in San Francisco on January 14, 1945, she caught the acting bug while attending college and landed her first film role in the 1968 spaghetti western "The Great Silence." Times movie reviewer Kevin Thomas called McGee "one of the busiest and most beautiful black actresses" in 1972, the year "Hammer" and "Blacula" were released. She later appeared alongside Clint Eastwood in the action-thriller "The Eiger Sanction." Other film credits include "The Lost Man,...
By Kara Warner
Vonetta McGee
Photo: Los Angeles Times
Actress Vonetta McGee, best known for her leading roles in the blaxploitation films "Blacula," "Hammer" and "Shaft in Africa," has died at age 65. The Los Angeles Times reports that McGee died Friday (July 9) after being admitted to a Berkeley, California, hospital for cardiac arrest, for which she was put on life support for two days.
Born Lawrence Vonetta McGee in San Francisco on January 14, 1945, she caught the acting bug while attending college and landed her first film role in the 1968 spaghetti western "The Great Silence." Times movie reviewer Kevin Thomas called McGee "one of the busiest and most beautiful black actresses" in 1972, the year "Hammer" and "Blacula" were released. She later appeared alongside Clint Eastwood in the action-thriller "The Eiger Sanction." Other film credits include "The Lost Man,...
- 7/15/2010
- MTV Music News
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