Quentin Tarantino considered many actors for Django Unchained before landing on Jamie Foxx. Idris Elba was reportedly in the running for the role as well. But Tarantino axed the actor from the casting process early.
Quentin Tarantino confirmed that Idris Elba was briefly in the running for ‘Django Unchained’ Quentin Tarantino | Franco Origlia/Getty Images
Tarantino considered a list of some of Hollywood’s top stars for his action feature Django Unchained. He initially had Will Smith in mind for the part, but Smith turned the role down, opening it up for other stars to secure. The Wire alum Elba had a brief opportunity to appear in the Tarantino flick. But Tarantino shot the actor down early since he was British.
“Yeah, Idris is British and this is an American story. I think a problem with a lot of movies that deal with this issue is they cast British actors...
Quentin Tarantino confirmed that Idris Elba was briefly in the running for ‘Django Unchained’ Quentin Tarantino | Franco Origlia/Getty Images
Tarantino considered a list of some of Hollywood’s top stars for his action feature Django Unchained. He initially had Will Smith in mind for the part, but Smith turned the role down, opening it up for other stars to secure. The Wire alum Elba had a brief opportunity to appear in the Tarantino flick. But Tarantino shot the actor down early since he was British.
“Yeah, Idris is British and this is an American story. I think a problem with a lot of movies that deal with this issue is they cast British actors...
- 7/7/2023
- by Antonio Stallings
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Paul Schrader’s new film “Master Gardener” wraps up his loose trilogy that began with “First Reformed” and “The Card Counter” via a fittingly controversial bang, as the film stars Joel Edgerton as a former white supremacist who hides from his past by working as a gardener on a large estate. Critics have pointed out that the unapologetic film is not for everyone — and Schrader has gleefully used his press tour to remind everyone that he doesn’t really care what they think.
The film premiered at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival, where Schrader received a Golden Lion for his lifetime achievements in the film industry. But in a new interview with Vanity Fair, Schrader revealed that the film missed out on the opportunity to bow at a different festival due to concerns about the sensitive subject matter.
“Cameron Bailey, who runs the Toronto Film Festival, had issues with it.
The film premiered at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival, where Schrader received a Golden Lion for his lifetime achievements in the film industry. But in a new interview with Vanity Fair, Schrader revealed that the film missed out on the opportunity to bow at a different festival due to concerns about the sensitive subject matter.
“Cameron Bailey, who runs the Toronto Film Festival, had issues with it.
- 5/20/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Ben Masters, best known for his portrayal of Julian Crane on NBC’s Passions from 1999 to 2008, died Wednesday in Palm Springs, Calif. He was 75.
According to his representatives, Masters battled dementia for several years, with Covid listed as his official cause of death.
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Prior to his starring role on Passions, Masters appeared on a number of hit TV series, including Touched by an Angel...
According to his representatives, Masters battled dementia for several years, with Covid listed as his official cause of death.
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Prior to his starring role on Passions, Masters appeared on a number of hit TV series, including Touched by an Angel...
- 1/11/2023
- by Andy Swift
- TVLine.com
Perry King has been hard-working actor for 50 years. Recently, he made his directorial debut with the feature The Divide, which he also stars in. King always dreamt of directing his own movie, and he directed The Divide with skill and honesty outside of the Hollywood system. His own Californian cattle ranch in El Dorado County served as a backdrop. The Divide, a good-natured, neo-Western, tells the strory of Jack, a rancher suffering from the onset of dementia. The feature was shot entirely in black-and-white, evoking Perry King’s favorite frontier dramas from his favorite classic Hollywood directors.
Perry King has been an acting legend since making his film debut as Billy Pilgrim’s son Robert in George Roy Hill’s remarkable Slaughterhouse-five in 1972. For the next decade, Perry starred in one memorable film after another: The Possession Of Joel Delaney (1972), The Lords Of Flatbush (1974), Mandingo (1974), The Wild Party (1975), Lipstick, Andy...
Perry King has been an acting legend since making his film debut as Billy Pilgrim’s son Robert in George Roy Hill’s remarkable Slaughterhouse-five in 1972. For the next decade, Perry starred in one memorable film after another: The Possession Of Joel Delaney (1972), The Lords Of Flatbush (1974), Mandingo (1974), The Wild Party (1975), Lipstick, Andy...
- 4/23/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Writer, producer, director Lee Daniels discusses some of his favorite films with Josh & Joe.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Infested (2002)
Shadowboxer (2005)
The United States Vs. Billie Holiday (2021)
A Star Is Born (1937)
Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
Lady Sings The Blues (1972)
Island In The Sun (1957)
Carmen Jones (1954)
Claudine (1974)
Mandingo (1975)
Drum (1976)
Caligula (1979)
Gloria (1980)
The Exorcist (1973)
Abby (1974)
Blacula (1972)
Scream Blacula Scream (1973)
Cabaret (1972)
Lenny (1974)
Sounder (1972)
All That Jazz (1979)
I Am A Camera (1955)
Travels With My Aunt (1972)
The Emigrants (1971)
Star 80 (1983)
Harold And Maude (1971)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Pickup On South Street (1953)
In The Mood For Love (2000)
Leave Her To Heaven (1945)
Laura (1944)
Dragonwyck (1946)
The Baron of Arizona (1950)
His Kind of Woman (1951)
Explorers (1985)
Innerspace (1987)
Jack Reacher (2012)
Them (1954)
Revenge of the Creature (1955)
Tarantula! (1955)
Coogan’s Bluff (1968)
Going In Style (1979)
Going In Style (2017)
Judas And The Black Messiah (2021)
Stroszek (1977)
Fitzcarraldo (1982)
Land of Silence and Darkness (1971)
Cave Of Forgotten Dreams...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Infested (2002)
Shadowboxer (2005)
The United States Vs. Billie Holiday (2021)
A Star Is Born (1937)
Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
Lady Sings The Blues (1972)
Island In The Sun (1957)
Carmen Jones (1954)
Claudine (1974)
Mandingo (1975)
Drum (1976)
Caligula (1979)
Gloria (1980)
The Exorcist (1973)
Abby (1974)
Blacula (1972)
Scream Blacula Scream (1973)
Cabaret (1972)
Lenny (1974)
Sounder (1972)
All That Jazz (1979)
I Am A Camera (1955)
Travels With My Aunt (1972)
The Emigrants (1971)
Star 80 (1983)
Harold And Maude (1971)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Pickup On South Street (1953)
In The Mood For Love (2000)
Leave Her To Heaven (1945)
Laura (1944)
Dragonwyck (1946)
The Baron of Arizona (1950)
His Kind of Woman (1951)
Explorers (1985)
Innerspace (1987)
Jack Reacher (2012)
Them (1954)
Revenge of the Creature (1955)
Tarantula! (1955)
Coogan’s Bluff (1968)
Going In Style (1979)
Going In Style (2017)
Judas And The Black Messiah (2021)
Stroszek (1977)
Fitzcarraldo (1982)
Land of Silence and Darkness (1971)
Cave Of Forgotten Dreams...
- 3/2/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
It’s now widely accepted that despite being a beloved classic, “Gone With the Wind” needs an explanation of its context when it’s screened on TV or in theaters. HBO Max says it will eventually restore the Oscar-winning film to the service, but with “context and framing.” It’s a start, but Hollywood’s vaults are filled with movies that could benefit from an explainer or disclaimer about outdated depictions of race, sexuality, disabilities and more.
The films most often cited as racist, of course, are “Birth of a Nation” and “Song of the South.” But the range of problematic films is wide, including “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (Mickey Rooney’s stereotyped role as a Japanese man is appalling), “West Side Story” (Puerto Ricans are shown almost only as gang members) and 1975’s slave-owner drama “Mandingo” (jaw-dropping and apparently aimed at the KKK demographic).
All films should be viewed with a critical eye,...
The films most often cited as racist, of course, are “Birth of a Nation” and “Song of the South.” But the range of problematic films is wide, including “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (Mickey Rooney’s stereotyped role as a Japanese man is appalling), “West Side Story” (Puerto Ricans are shown almost only as gang members) and 1975’s slave-owner drama “Mandingo” (jaw-dropping and apparently aimed at the KKK demographic).
All films should be viewed with a critical eye,...
- 6/17/2020
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Known for his work in a wide array of film genres, Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Richard H. Kline died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 91.
Kline was known for his work for the 1967 movie musical Camelot starring Vanessa Redgrave and Richard Harris. He received his first Academy Award nomination for the Joshua Logan-directed film and earned his second nomination for the 1976 remake of King Kong starring Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange.
Born on Nov. 15, 1926, Kline was born into a family of cinematographers which included his father, Benjamin H. Kline, and two uncles, Sol Halperin and Philip Rosen. He had an affinity for surfing, but followed the cinematographer legacy of his family and got his start at Columbia Pictures as a slate boy in 1943 when working on the musical Cover Girl. He went on to serve in the Navy but returned to become a first assistant cameraman.
Throughout his 40 year career, Kline...
Kline was known for his work for the 1967 movie musical Camelot starring Vanessa Redgrave and Richard Harris. He received his first Academy Award nomination for the Joshua Logan-directed film and earned his second nomination for the 1976 remake of King Kong starring Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange.
Born on Nov. 15, 1926, Kline was born into a family of cinematographers which included his father, Benjamin H. Kline, and two uncles, Sol Halperin and Philip Rosen. He had an affinity for surfing, but followed the cinematographer legacy of his family and got his start at Columbia Pictures as a slate boy in 1943 when working on the musical Cover Girl. He went on to serve in the Navy but returned to become a first assistant cameraman.
Throughout his 40 year career, Kline...
- 8/9/2018
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Richard H. Kline, the two-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer who shot such films as Camelot, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Body Heat and the 1976 remake of King Kong, has died. He was 91.
Kline died of natural causes on Tuesday in Los Angeles, his daughter Rija Kline Zucker told The Hollywood Reporter.
Kline collaborated with director Robert Wise on The Andromeda Strain (1971) and Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and partnered with Richard Fleischer on The Boston Strangler (1968), Soylent Green (1973), The Don Is Dead (1973), Mr. Majestyk (1974) and Mandingo (1975).
He worked on more than 40 features ...
Kline died of natural causes on Tuesday in Los Angeles, his daughter Rija Kline Zucker told The Hollywood Reporter.
Kline collaborated with director Robert Wise on The Andromeda Strain (1971) and Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and partnered with Richard Fleischer on The Boston Strangler (1968), Soylent Green (1973), The Don Is Dead (1973), Mr. Majestyk (1974) and Mandingo (1975).
He worked on more than 40 features ...
Richard H. Kline, the two-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer who shot such films as Camelot, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Body Heat and the 1976 remake of King Kong, has died. He was 91.
Kline died of natural causes on Tuesday in Los Angeles, his daughter Rija Kline Zucker told The Hollywood Reporter.
Kline collaborated with director Robert Wise on The Andromeda Strain (1971) and Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and partnered with Richard Fleischer on The Boston Strangler (1968), Soylent Green (1973), The Don Is Dead (1973), Mr. Majestyk (1974) and Mandingo (1975).
He worked on more than 40 features ...
Kline died of natural causes on Tuesday in Los Angeles, his daughter Rija Kline Zucker told The Hollywood Reporter.
Kline collaborated with director Robert Wise on The Andromeda Strain (1971) and Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and partnered with Richard Fleischer on The Boston Strangler (1968), Soylent Green (1973), The Don Is Dead (1973), Mr. Majestyk (1974) and Mandingo (1975).
He worked on more than 40 features ...
While he maintained a curiously uneven track record throughout his five decades as a director, Richard Fleischer’s career was speckled with as many underrated gems as camp misfires, which perhaps explains why he’s probably best remembered today for the latter portion of his career, which included the B-grade bombast of Soylent Green (1973) and a couple mid-80s Schwarzenegger vehicles (Conan the Destroyer; Red Sonja). Worse, he was also responsible for that 1980 revamp of The Jazz Singer, a shameless franchise entry with Amityville 3D (1983), and the cringey distinction of adapting Ken Onstott’s controversial Mandingo (1975). Still, he’s an Oscar… Read the rest
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- 4/3/2018
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
“All the films in this book share an air of disreputability… I have tried to avoid using the word art about the movies in this book, not just because I didn’t want to inflate my claims for them, but because the word is used far too often to shut down discussion rather than open it up. If something has been acclaimed as art, it’s not just beyond criticism but often seen as above the mere mortals for whom its presumably been made. It’s a sealed artifact that offers no way in. It is as much a lie to claim we can be moved only by what has been given the imprimatur of art as it would be to deny that there are, in these scruffy movies, the very things we expect from art: avenues into human emotion and psychology, or into the character and texture of the time the films were made,...
- 8/6/2017
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
Charles Bronson plays a real-life Mafiosi in a period picture with a fine script, some good performances and a production so sloppy that the whole thing could be called The Anachronism Papers. Joseph Wiseman and Lino Ventura bring additional tough-guy star-power, and Bronson actually commits himself to the role — quite a change of pace for one of his later pictures.
The Valachi Papers
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1972 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 125 min. / Street Date June 13, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Charles Bronson, Lino Ventura, Jill Ireland, Walter Chiari, Joseph Wiseman, Gerald S. O’Loughlin, Amedeo Nazzari, Fausto Tozzi, Pupella Maggio, Angelo Infanti, Guido Leontini.
Cinematography: Aldo Tonti
Film Editor: Johnny Dwyre, Monica Finzi
Original Music: Riz Ortolani, Armando Trovajoli
Written by Stephen Geller from the novel by Peter Maas
Produced by Dino De Laurentiis, Roger Duchet
Directed by Terence Young
In 2001 I received the plum assignment of editing a...
The Valachi Papers
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1972 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 125 min. / Street Date June 13, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring: Charles Bronson, Lino Ventura, Jill Ireland, Walter Chiari, Joseph Wiseman, Gerald S. O’Loughlin, Amedeo Nazzari, Fausto Tozzi, Pupella Maggio, Angelo Infanti, Guido Leontini.
Cinematography: Aldo Tonti
Film Editor: Johnny Dwyre, Monica Finzi
Original Music: Riz Ortolani, Armando Trovajoli
Written by Stephen Geller from the novel by Peter Maas
Produced by Dino De Laurentiis, Roger Duchet
Directed by Terence Young
In 2001 I received the plum assignment of editing a...
- 7/15/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The United States is “my country, right or wrong,” of course, and I consider myself a patriotic person, but I’ve never felt that patriotism meant blind fealty to the idea of America’s rightful dominance over global politics or culture, and certainly not to its alleged preferred status on God’s short list of favored nations, or that allegiance to said country was a license to justify or rationalize every instance of misguided, foolish, narrow-minded domestic or foreign policy.
In 2012, when this piece was first posted, it seemed like a good moment to throw the country’s history and contradictions into some sort of quick relief, and the most expedient way of doing that for me was to look at the way the United States (and the philosophies at its core) were reflected in the movies, and not just the ones which approached the country head-on as a subject.
In 2012, when this piece was first posted, it seemed like a good moment to throw the country’s history and contradictions into some sort of quick relief, and the most expedient way of doing that for me was to look at the way the United States (and the philosophies at its core) were reflected in the movies, and not just the ones which approached the country head-on as a subject.
- 7/2/2017
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
Well, as I said last fall when "Send Me" was announced during its Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign: who in their right mind would want to do that (go back in time to the days of slavery)? Personally, I say No Way. That is, of course, unless I could be like Django and take out a whole bunch of white Southern slave owners (or just like Ken Norton in "Mandingo" with Susan George. Just kidding...Maybe...) Created by playwright, screenwriter and actor Steve Harper, and starring Tracie Thoms, Gabrielle Carteris, Nelsan Ellis, Jerrika Hinton, Jasika Nicole, and Carlease Burke, and shot earlier this year in and around Los Angeles, "Send Me" follows a black woman...
- 8/11/2015
- by Sergio
- ShadowAndAct
The United States is “my country, right or wrong,” of course, and I consider myself a patriotic person, but I’ve never felt that patriotism meant blind fealty to the idea of America’s rightful dominance over global politics or culture, and certainly not to its alleged preferred status on God’s short list of favored nations, or that allegiance to said country was a license to justify or rationalize every instance of misguided, foolish, narrow-minded domestic or foreign policy.
And now more than ever we seem to be living in a country poised at the edge of some sort of transition, with all the attendant tension and conflict and intense conviction that can be expected on either side of the chasm that prevents us from a true state of national togetherness. Just last week we celebrated a Supreme Court decision that finally offered legality (and legal protection) to the...
And now more than ever we seem to be living in a country poised at the edge of some sort of transition, with all the attendant tension and conflict and intense conviction that can be expected on either side of the chasm that prevents us from a true state of national togetherness. Just last week we celebrated a Supreme Court decision that finally offered legality (and legal protection) to the...
- 7/2/2015
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
April 14th Blu-ray & DVD Releases Include The Babadook, Class of 1984, Long Weekend, Tales of Terror
The second week of April is a big one for horror fans, as one of the most buzzed-about indie genre films of 2014—The Babadook—is finally coming home this Tuesday courtesy of Scream Factory and IFC Midnight. There are also a multitude of classic cult titles arriving in high-def on April 14th as well, including Long Weekend, Tales of Terror, the sequels to both The Toxic Avenger and Class of Nuke ’Em High, and Class of 1984.
Several new titles are also being released this week including Jinn, Roadside, and Echoes, and 20th Century Fox is unleashing their terror-filled sequel, The Woman in Black 2 Angel of Death, on both Blu-ray and DVD.
The Babadook (Scream Factory/IFC Midnight, Deluxe Edition Blu-ray & DVD)
Amelia (AFI Award winner Essie Davis, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, The Slap) is a single mother plagued by the violent death of her husband.
Several new titles are also being released this week including Jinn, Roadside, and Echoes, and 20th Century Fox is unleashing their terror-filled sequel, The Woman in Black 2 Angel of Death, on both Blu-ray and DVD.
The Babadook (Scream Factory/IFC Midnight, Deluxe Edition Blu-ray & DVD)
Amelia (AFI Award winner Essie Davis, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, The Slap) is a single mother plagued by the violent death of her husband.
- 4/14/2015
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
When someone says they're "surviving high school," it can usually be considered an exaggeration, but when it comes to the teachers and students of Lincoln High, there's a literal truth in the phrase. Sinister students stalk the school's halls and don't hesitate to teach their own warped lessons to teachers after the bell rings in Mark L. Lester's Class of 1984. Scream Factory is releasing the early ’80s thriller in a Collector's Edition Blu-ray on April 14th, and we've been provided with two copies to give away to a couple of lucky Daily Dead readers.
"Synopsis: The teachers at Lincoln High have a very dangerous problem… their students!
Andrew Norris (Perry King, Lipstick, Mandingo), an idealistic and naive music teacher, has moved into a new community with his pregnant wife, Diane (Merrie Lynn Ross, General Hospital), only to find his new job is an academic abyss. Appalled by the crime-infested school,...
"Synopsis: The teachers at Lincoln High have a very dangerous problem… their students!
Andrew Norris (Perry King, Lipstick, Mandingo), an idealistic and naive music teacher, has moved into a new community with his pregnant wife, Diane (Merrie Lynn Ross, General Hospital), only to find his new job is an academic abyss. Appalled by the crime-infested school,...
- 4/10/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Detention doesn't solve problems in Class of 1984. The atrocious actions of the unruly students call for a far more intense form of discipline that Mr. Norris is pushed to dish out in the early ’80s thriller from Mark L. Lester. Soon, you can experience Class of 1984’s extracurricular revenge like never before, as Scream Factory's Collector's Edition Blu-ray of the film comes out on April 14th. Ahead of its release, we have the trailer and two clips from the Blu-ray, giving us a look at a young Michael J. Fox and a gun-wielding Roddy McDowall.
"Synopsis: The teachers at Lincoln High have a very dangerous problem… their students!
Andrew Norris (Perry King, Lipstick, Mandingo), an idealistic and naive music teacher, has moved into a new community with his pregnant wife, Diane (Merrie Lynn Ross, General Hospital), only to find his new job is an academic abyss. Appalled by the crime-infested school,...
"Synopsis: The teachers at Lincoln High have a very dangerous problem… their students!
Andrew Norris (Perry King, Lipstick, Mandingo), an idealistic and naive music teacher, has moved into a new community with his pregnant wife, Diane (Merrie Lynn Ross, General Hospital), only to find his new job is an academic abyss. Appalled by the crime-infested school,...
- 4/9/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Mandingo, a 1975 movie based on the best-selling period potboiler by Kyle Onstott about sexual shenanigans between masters and slaves on the Falconhurst slave-breeding plantation, was savaged by critics who saw it as nothing but degrading, big-budget exploitation. Roger Ebert called it “racist trash”, a “piece of manure”, and “excruciating to sit through”. Mandingo certainly had it all; brutal violence, interracial sex, rape, infanticide, lynchings, and abundant nudity including full-frontal shots of it’s male star, boxer Ken Norton. But of course it was a huge hit and inspired a brief run of “slaverysploitation” films such as Passion Plantation (1975 aka Black Emmanuelle, White Emmanuelle ) and the cleverly titled Mandiga (1976). Mandingo was overwrought melodrama to be sure, but it’s a model of subtlety compared to its official sequel, the more lascivious Drum, a mean-spirited trash epic from 1976 that would never fly in today’s politically correct climate. Despite its spaghetti western trappings,...
- 12/12/2014
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
To recall the cinema of Charles Bronson, one can’t get far without referencing his sterling epoch in 1970s era American film, a period eclipsed mightily by the star’s work with director Michael Winner. Kino Lorber resurrects one of the star’s lesser remembered titles, Mr. Majestyk, a 1974 action flick written by the great Elmore Leonard and directed by the illustrious Richard Fleischer, known for a varied career that included a penchant for true crime related titles (Compulsion; The Boston Strangler; 10 Rillington Place), and famed adaptations of pulpy novels, like Soylent Green and the infamous Mandingo. Unfortunately, Fleisher’s title opened one week prior to the juggernaut known as Death Wish back in July of 1974, and has perhaps been unfairly overshadowed ever since.
Bronson stars as Vince Majestyk, a humble melon farmer whose only desire is to harvest his crop of watermelons. A Vietnam veteran, Majestyk steps to in...
Bronson stars as Vince Majestyk, a humble melon farmer whose only desire is to harvest his crop of watermelons. A Vietnam veteran, Majestyk steps to in...
- 8/12/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Has 'slavery' finally arrived as a 'safe' subject for major motion picture production? If so, why now?
The ordeal of Solomon Northup, a literate, skilled free man of colour from New York who was kidnapped in Washington, D.C., and sold as a slave in the deep south state of Louisiana, is the focus of the 2013 film 12 Years a Slave, directed by Steve McQueen and based on Northup’s 1853 published autobiographical account. The film, which actually is a remake of Gordon Park’s 1984 television movie, Solomon Northrop’s Odyssey, is a masterful depiction of antebellum southern slave life and, like Haile Gerima’s 1993 brilliant Sankofa, Stan Lathan’s 1982 A House Divided: Denmark Vesey’s Rebellion and his 1987 Uncle Tom’s Cabin, along with the indomitable classic TV miniseries Roots of 1977, and Jonathan Demme’s Beloved (1998), 12 Years a Slave represents a decided evolution of African American slave narration presented on celluloid.
The ordeal of Solomon Northup, a literate, skilled free man of colour from New York who was kidnapped in Washington, D.C., and sold as a slave in the deep south state of Louisiana, is the focus of the 2013 film 12 Years a Slave, directed by Steve McQueen and based on Northup’s 1853 published autobiographical account. The film, which actually is a remake of Gordon Park’s 1984 television movie, Solomon Northrop’s Odyssey, is a masterful depiction of antebellum southern slave life and, like Haile Gerima’s 1993 brilliant Sankofa, Stan Lathan’s 1982 A House Divided: Denmark Vesey’s Rebellion and his 1987 Uncle Tom’s Cabin, along with the indomitable classic TV miniseries Roots of 1977, and Jonathan Demme’s Beloved (1998), 12 Years a Slave represents a decided evolution of African American slave narration presented on celluloid.
- 1/8/2014
- by Prof. Brenda Stevenson
- Pure Movies
The third part of his 'bodily fluids triptych' is an antidote to Hollywood's aversion to addressing slavery, but there is a whole dimension of charisma, approachability and likability missing from McQueen's work
12 Years A Slave is easily the most impressive movie that Steve McQueen has made yet, but that doesn't necessarily mean I like or admire it any more than I did his first two features. They were the first two panels in what I think of as his Precious Bodily Fluids Triptych: Hunger was all about shit, Shame was semen, and 12 Years A Slave is about blood and sweat. I really hope the next one isn't about brain matter.
Let me clarify: there are things in 12 Years A Slave that warrant the highest admiration and respect. Simply by virtue of showing, in graphic and unsparing detail, the hitherto insufficiently explored horrors of slavery, McQueen and his team have stepped...
12 Years A Slave is easily the most impressive movie that Steve McQueen has made yet, but that doesn't necessarily mean I like or admire it any more than I did his first two features. They were the first two panels in what I think of as his Precious Bodily Fluids Triptych: Hunger was all about shit, Shame was semen, and 12 Years A Slave is about blood and sweat. I really hope the next one isn't about brain matter.
Let me clarify: there are things in 12 Years A Slave that warrant the highest admiration and respect. Simply by virtue of showing, in graphic and unsparing detail, the hitherto insufficiently explored horrors of slavery, McQueen and his team have stepped...
- 1/6/2014
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
Title: 12 Years a Slave Fox Searchlight Pictures Director: Steve McQueen Screenwriter: John Ridley, based on Solomon Northrup’s book Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Garret Dillahunt, Paul Giamatti, Brad Pitt Screened at: Paris Theater, NYC, 10/15/13 Opens: October 18, 2013 If you’re looking for a movie on a serious subject with a great deal of wit and irony, you couldn’t do better than to go with Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained.” For more of an exploitation tone, Richard Fleischer’s 1975 movie “Mandingo” about a man who trains a slave to be a bare-knuckle fighter is your best bet. For a TV serial, of course there’s “Roots,” Marvin [ Read More ]
The post 12 Years a Slave Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post 12 Years a Slave Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 10/16/2013
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
So sad. Ken, the former heavyweight champion who famously broke Muhammad Ali’s jaw passed away on Sept. 18 at the age of 70.
Ken Norton passed away in Arizona after a long career and a battle with declining health after suffering several strokes.
Ken Norton Dies At 70
Ken died on Sept. 18 in a care facility in Arizona after battling a long list of health issues throughout his life, like strokes, a heart attack, cancer, broken bones and a speech impediment from a crash crash in 1986 due to brain injury. He truly was a fighter and battled until the end at the age of 70, survived by 3 children from two marriages and his wife.
Muhammad Ali‘s former business manager Gene Kilroy was saddened of the news, and that Ken is “in heaven now with all the great fighters,” wanting to hear that conversation.”
Ken Norton: Former Heavyweight Champion
Ken broke Muhammad...
Ken Norton passed away in Arizona after a long career and a battle with declining health after suffering several strokes.
Ken Norton Dies At 70
Ken died on Sept. 18 in a care facility in Arizona after battling a long list of health issues throughout his life, like strokes, a heart attack, cancer, broken bones and a speech impediment from a crash crash in 1986 due to brain injury. He truly was a fighter and battled until the end at the age of 70, survived by 3 children from two marriages and his wife.
Muhammad Ali‘s former business manager Gene Kilroy was saddened of the news, and that Ken is “in heaven now with all the great fighters,” wanting to hear that conversation.”
Ken Norton: Former Heavyweight Champion
Ken broke Muhammad...
- 9/19/2013
- by Ivy Jacobson
- HollywoodLife
Drum, the title character in the 1976 slaverysploitation hit Drum, was that perfect specimen of slave that neither man nor women could keep their hands off. He was played by Ken Norton, a former world champion heavyweight boxer who had also played Drum’s father Mede in the film’s predecessor Mandingo. Norton had a brooding, massive presence and no doubt high hopes for a film career, but he was no actor and his awkward readings and blank stare stood in stark contrast to the scenery-chewing of his Mandingo and Drum co-stars (James Mason, Warren Oates, Pam Grier – did he have a chance?). Norton (who once broke Muhammad Ali’s jaw) was reportedly a contender for the role of Apollo Creed in Rocky but, though he did appear in a handful of subsequent films, Mandingo and Drum were his first and last shots at big-screen stardom. Norton was in St. Louis...
- 9/19/2013
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Django Unchained; Trouble With the Curve; Vehicle 19; A Dark Truth
Quentin Tarantino is a lot of things, but concise isn't one of them. Buried inside the sprawling 165 minutes of Django Unchained (2012, Sony, 18), there's a very decent two-hour retro-ploitation romp struggling to escape the indulgence of Hollywood's most under-edited auteur. On the plus side, we have knife-sharp central performances from Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz as (respectively) the recently freed titular slave and sharpshooting "dentist" Dr King Schultz, on a mission to rescue Django's wife from the slimy clutches of Leonardo DiCaprio's Calvin Candie.
The real jaw-dropper, however, is a brilliantly counterintuitive turn from Samuel L Jackson as Candie's insanely loyal house-servant, Stephen, a terrifying portrait of head-turned devotion that offers the film's most potentially radical element. It's here that whatever rude "politics" this possesses (including the usual fetishisation of the "N word") has gnarly bite. Elsewhere, it's more fan-boyish fare,...
Quentin Tarantino is a lot of things, but concise isn't one of them. Buried inside the sprawling 165 minutes of Django Unchained (2012, Sony, 18), there's a very decent two-hour retro-ploitation romp struggling to escape the indulgence of Hollywood's most under-edited auteur. On the plus side, we have knife-sharp central performances from Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz as (respectively) the recently freed titular slave and sharpshooting "dentist" Dr King Schultz, on a mission to rescue Django's wife from the slimy clutches of Leonardo DiCaprio's Calvin Candie.
The real jaw-dropper, however, is a brilliantly counterintuitive turn from Samuel L Jackson as Candie's insanely loyal house-servant, Stephen, a terrifying portrait of head-turned devotion that offers the film's most potentially radical element. It's here that whatever rude "politics" this possesses (including the usual fetishisation of the "N word") has gnarly bite. Elsewhere, it's more fan-boyish fare,...
- 5/18/2013
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
(This article contains some minor spoilers for Django Unchained and be warned that most of the clips included are Nsfw)
Like many of Tarantino’s previous films Django Unchained is filled to the brim with film references. Below I’ve attempted to guide you through some of these references and links to other films.
I’ve only seen the film once at a screening and am sure that given the opportunity to sit down with the film on Blu-ray I will undoubtedly find even more, so the following is in no way definitive but hopefully provides some answers to for those wondering what Tarantino was referencing in Django Unchained. Also, most importantly, hopefully it will lead you to check out some of the films in question.
The most obvious film reference in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained is right there in the title. Django was a 1966 ‘spaghetti western’ directed by...
Like many of Tarantino’s previous films Django Unchained is filled to the brim with film references. Below I’ve attempted to guide you through some of these references and links to other films.
I’ve only seen the film once at a screening and am sure that given the opportunity to sit down with the film on Blu-ray I will undoubtedly find even more, so the following is in no way definitive but hopefully provides some answers to for those wondering what Tarantino was referencing in Django Unchained. Also, most importantly, hopefully it will lead you to check out some of the films in question.
The most obvious film reference in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained is right there in the title. Django was a 1966 ‘spaghetti western’ directed by...
- 1/18/2013
- by Craig Skinner
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Quentin Tarantino's new movie is a reminder of Hollywood's failure to properly grapple with slavery. In fact, all the intelligent movies come from the exploitation sector, says John Patterson
Can you name a single great mainstream American movie about slavery? I don't mean Birth Of A Nation or Gone With The Wind, both of which more or less endorse the Peculiar Institution; or Amistad or Beloved, which are adequate on the facts but no one's idea of great movies. I mean a great American movie possessed of an understanding of the full extent of slavery, its bottomless obscenity and violence.
No, I didn't think so. I'm not yet sure if Django Unchained, with Jamie Foxx as Nat Turner by way of Black Zorro, is actually a great American movie (though I haven't enjoyed a Tarantino movie this much since Jackie Brown), but it does not stint in its determination...
Can you name a single great mainstream American movie about slavery? I don't mean Birth Of A Nation or Gone With The Wind, both of which more or less endorse the Peculiar Institution; or Amistad or Beloved, which are adequate on the facts but no one's idea of great movies. I mean a great American movie possessed of an understanding of the full extent of slavery, its bottomless obscenity and violence.
No, I didn't think so. I'm not yet sure if Django Unchained, with Jamie Foxx as Nat Turner by way of Black Zorro, is actually a great American movie (though I haven't enjoyed a Tarantino movie this much since Jackie Brown), but it does not stint in its determination...
- 1/14/2013
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
We know that Quentin Tarantino, armed with his prodigious and encyclopedic knowledge of movies and TV, likes to quote pop culture in his films. So, what are the references in Django Unchained (which is reviewed here by David Edelstein)? Here’s what we’ve found. Holler below in the comments if you've identified any that we missed.Australian accents: Tarantino’s Australian accent as an employee of the LeQuint-Dickey Mining Company is probably meant as a shout-out to the Ozploitation films the writer-director likes so much, but we also have a crazy alternate theory: It might also be a nod to James Mason’s famously awful southern accent in the infamous Mandingo (see under: Mandingo Circuit) — an accent so bad it actually sounds Australian.Bell, Zoe: One of the trackers is played by Bell, the stuntwoman who had a lead role in Tarantino’s Death Proof. She’s not exactly recognizable,...
- 12/27/2012
- by Bilge Ebiri
- Vulture
December is Tarantino Month here at Sos, and in the week leading up our January month-long theme of westerns, I thought it would be best to whip up an article spotlighting some films that influenced Tarantino’s long awaited take on the western, Django Unchained. For my money, all of the films listed below are essential viewing for fans of Django Unchained. I’ll be diving deeper into these films come January, but in the meantime, this should hopefully whet your appetite. Enjoy!
Note: I’m not including any Sergio Leone Spaghetti westerns as they should be essential viewing for anyone, regardless if you like or dislike Tarantino’s film.
****
Django
Directed by Sergio Corbucci
Written by Bruco Corbucci and Sergio Corbucci
1966, Italy / Spain
The most obvious influence for Django Unchained was of course critic-turned-director Sergio Corbucci’s 1966 masterpiece Django. The film features the Belgian actor Franco Nero playing the...
Note: I’m not including any Sergio Leone Spaghetti westerns as they should be essential viewing for anyone, regardless if you like or dislike Tarantino’s film.
****
Django
Directed by Sergio Corbucci
Written by Bruco Corbucci and Sergio Corbucci
1966, Italy / Spain
The most obvious influence for Django Unchained was of course critic-turned-director Sergio Corbucci’s 1966 masterpiece Django. The film features the Belgian actor Franco Nero playing the...
- 12/26/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
One of the most gruesome scenes in Quentin Tarantino's new blaxploitation western "Django Unchained" involves blackhearted plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) presiding over a Roman-style bare-handed battle to the death between his hulking champion slave Samson (Jordon Michael Corbin) and a much less fortunate slave opponent.
After all the eye gauging and head hammering was through, we wondered if this betting "sport," known within the movie as "Mandingo Fighting," was based on true accounts of pre-Civil War Mississippi or if Tarantino made it up out of whole cloth.
This is, after all, the same Tarantino who let Eli Roth machine gun Hitler in the face for "Inglourious Basterds," so the level of historical accuracy is about on par with what we'd expect from a guy who didn't graduate from high school. That's not meant as a dig on the auteur, of course, as the man has perhaps one...
After all the eye gauging and head hammering was through, we wondered if this betting "sport," known within the movie as "Mandingo Fighting," was based on true accounts of pre-Civil War Mississippi or if Tarantino made it up out of whole cloth.
This is, after all, the same Tarantino who let Eli Roth machine gun Hitler in the face for "Inglourious Basterds," so the level of historical accuracy is about on par with what we'd expect from a guy who didn't graduate from high school. That's not meant as a dig on the auteur, of course, as the man has perhaps one...
- 12/25/2012
- by Max Evry
- NextMovie
Quentin Tarantino's brutal revenge western is a thrilling return to form with inspired performances from Christoph Waltz, Jamie Foxx and Samuel L Jackson
Quentin Tarantino's brilliant and brutal revenge western is a wildly exciting return to form: a thrilling adventure in genre and style climaxing in a bizarre and nightmarish scenario in a slave plantation in 1858. The movie is managed with Tarantino's superb provocation and audacity, with a whiplash of cruelty and swagger of scorn. It is superbly acted by Christoph Waltz, Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Leonardo DiCaprio and, particularly, Samuel L Jackson, who creates a masterpiece with his chilling character Stephen, the grey, stooping servant-elder to DiCaprio's unspeakable slave-owner Calvin Candie.
Just to make liberals everywhere uneasy, Tarantino and Jackson make Stephen the biggest, nastiest "Uncle Tom" ever: utterly loyal to his white master, and severe in his management of the below-stairs race in the Big House.
Quentin Tarantino's brilliant and brutal revenge western is a wildly exciting return to form: a thrilling adventure in genre and style climaxing in a bizarre and nightmarish scenario in a slave plantation in 1858. The movie is managed with Tarantino's superb provocation and audacity, with a whiplash of cruelty and swagger of scorn. It is superbly acted by Christoph Waltz, Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Leonardo DiCaprio and, particularly, Samuel L Jackson, who creates a masterpiece with his chilling character Stephen, the grey, stooping servant-elder to DiCaprio's unspeakable slave-owner Calvin Candie.
Just to make liberals everywhere uneasy, Tarantino and Jackson make Stephen the biggest, nastiest "Uncle Tom" ever: utterly loyal to his white master, and severe in his management of the below-stairs race in the Big House.
- 12/13/2012
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
This is one of my favorite World War II films. Tora! Tora! Tora! was also one of the few Hollywood productions that took any time to examine the Japanese side of the Pearl Harbor bombing that instigated Us involvement in the war in the Pacific. This film was a huge undertaking, and as such, Fox loaded some big talent into the project.The film had two credited directors, Richard Fleischer (Soylent Green, Mandingo, 10 Rillington Place) for the American side of the story, and Kinji Fukasaku (Battle Royale, Battles Without Honor and Humanity, Cops Vs Thugs) & Toshio Masuda. These are just the three who made it to the end, initially the idea was to get the master, Akira Kurosawa, to direct the Japanese sequences, however,...
- 9/9/2011
- Screen Anarchy
Three new clips from the Blu-ray of the original Sam Peckinpah classic Straw Dogs have arrived, and we've got all of 'em right here waiting for you to feast upon! Dig it!
From the Press Release:
How far will one man go to protect his wife and his home? One of the grittiest and most controversial thrillers of all time and banned in the United Kingdom for over 18 years, Straw Dogs debuts on Blu-ray Disc September 6th from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Released in celebration of the film’s 40th Anniversary and in anticipation of the upcoming theatrical remake, this violent and suspenseful tale from legendary director Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch, The Getaway) stars two-time Academy Award® winner Dustin Hoffman* (The Graduate, Little Fockers) and Susan George (Mandingo, The House Where Evil Dwells).
To escape the Vietnam-era chaos in the U.S., American mathematician David Sumner (Hoffman) moves with his British wife,...
From the Press Release:
How far will one man go to protect his wife and his home? One of the grittiest and most controversial thrillers of all time and banned in the United Kingdom for over 18 years, Straw Dogs debuts on Blu-ray Disc September 6th from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Released in celebration of the film’s 40th Anniversary and in anticipation of the upcoming theatrical remake, this violent and suspenseful tale from legendary director Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch, The Getaway) stars two-time Academy Award® winner Dustin Hoffman* (The Graduate, Little Fockers) and Susan George (Mandingo, The House Where Evil Dwells).
To escape the Vietnam-era chaos in the U.S., American mathematician David Sumner (Hoffman) moves with his British wife,...
- 9/6/2011
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs has to be one of my favorite films to discuss. It one of few films that has such a strong, emotional scene – which I don’t want to give away. I love Hoffman in this flick and I’m happy to announce that Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is putting it out unrated on Blu-Ray just in time to check it out before Rod Lurie’s remake. Read beyond the break for the full details!
From the Press Release:
How far will one man go to protect his wife and his home? One of the grittiest and controversial thrillers of all-time and banned in the United Kingdom for over 18 years, Straw Dogs debuts on Blu-ray Disc September 6 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Released in celebration of the film’s 40th Anniversary and in anticipation of the upcoming theatrical remake, this violent and suspenseful tale...
From the Press Release:
How far will one man go to protect his wife and his home? One of the grittiest and controversial thrillers of all-time and banned in the United Kingdom for over 18 years, Straw Dogs debuts on Blu-ray Disc September 6 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Released in celebration of the film’s 40th Anniversary and in anticipation of the upcoming theatrical remake, this violent and suspenseful tale...
- 8/17/2011
- by Andy Triefenbach
- Destroy the Brain
If you want to see a movie about race relations in the Deep South, adapted from a best-selling novel, you might be tempted to head out to a theater this weekend and see The Help, a well-meaning and well-performed comedy / drama that should play very well for mainstream audiences. Or, you could lock the doors, draw the curtains, and slide 1975's Mandingo into your DVD player. Improbably starring James Mason -- who reportedly needed the money for his alimony payments -- as a sickly plantation owner, Perry King as his son with a taste for comely slave "wenches," Susan George as his sex-mad wife, and boxer Ken Norton as the highly-prized breeder slave Mede, Mandingo is "racist trash," according to Roger Ebert in...
- 8/13/2011
- Screen Anarchy
Never mind the remake (for now)! The official specs and artwork for the original Sam Peckinpah classic Straw Dogs are here, and we've got the whole enchilada waiting for you to feast upon! Dig it!
From the Press Release: How far will one man go to protect his wife and his home? One of the grittiest and most controversial thrillers of all time and banned in the United Kingdom for over 18 years, Straw Dogs debuts on Blu-ray Disc September 6th from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Released in celebration of the film’s 40th Anniversary and in anticipation of the upcoming theatrical remake, this violent and suspenseful tale from legendary director Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch, The Getaway) stars two-time Academy Award® winner Dustin Hoffman* (The Graduate, Little Fockers) and Susan George (Mandingo, The House Where Evil Dwells).
To escape the Vietnam-era chaos in the U.S., American mathematician David Sumner...
From the Press Release: How far will one man go to protect his wife and his home? One of the grittiest and most controversial thrillers of all time and banned in the United Kingdom for over 18 years, Straw Dogs debuts on Blu-ray Disc September 6th from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Released in celebration of the film’s 40th Anniversary and in anticipation of the upcoming theatrical remake, this violent and suspenseful tale from legendary director Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch, The Getaway) stars two-time Academy Award® winner Dustin Hoffman* (The Graduate, Little Fockers) and Susan George (Mandingo, The House Where Evil Dwells).
To escape the Vietnam-era chaos in the U.S., American mathematician David Sumner...
- 8/12/2011
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
So, we heard last week that the 7th movie from the legendary writer/director Quentin Tarantino will be Django Unchained, a Sergio Leone/Sergio Corbucci style Spaghetti Western homage that will tackle 19th century American black slavery head-on and without much sugar-coating. The movie would be centered around Django, a black slave who becomes gunslinger when freed by a German bounty hunter who takes our title character under his wing, shows him the ropes of contract killing, then helps Django find his enslaved wife who is under the control of an evil plantation owner.
Having now read the majority of the screenplay for Django Unchained (and apologies if this piece is a little incoherent, I’m knackered!), I can confirm that is the basic plot for which will mostly be a two character piece but having read the final drafts for Death Proof, Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds at roughly...
Having now read the majority of the screenplay for Django Unchained (and apologies if this piece is a little incoherent, I’m knackered!), I can confirm that is the basic plot for which will mostly be a two character piece but having read the final drafts for Death Proof, Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds at roughly...
- 5/4/2011
- by Matt Holmes
- Obsessed with Film
Dino De Laurentiis, the prolific Italian film producer and entrepreneur, died Wednesday at his home in Beverly Hills, CA. He was 91.
Mr. De Laurentiis is best known for his career-defining work on many central films of the Italian New Wave in the late 1940s and 50s including the international success “Bitter Rice” (1949), and two of Frederico Fellini’s seminal works, “La Strada” (1954) and “Nights of Cabiria” (1957). His lengthy and impressive career, however, began well before that magical period and extended long after with films like David Lynch’s 1986 masterpiece, “Blue Velvet” among his finest achievements.
And though De Laurentiis managed to attach himself to many of cinema’s classics, the savvy businessman in him never shied away from pure fluff and entertainment like Sergio Corbucci’s “Goliath and the Vampires” (1961), Roger Vadim’s “Barbarella” (1968) and Richard Fleischer’s “Mandingo” (1975).
“A producer is not just a bookkeeper, or a banker, or a background.
Mr. De Laurentiis is best known for his career-defining work on many central films of the Italian New Wave in the late 1940s and 50s including the international success “Bitter Rice” (1949), and two of Frederico Fellini’s seminal works, “La Strada” (1954) and “Nights of Cabiria” (1957). His lengthy and impressive career, however, began well before that magical period and extended long after with films like David Lynch’s 1986 masterpiece, “Blue Velvet” among his finest achievements.
And though De Laurentiis managed to attach himself to many of cinema’s classics, the savvy businessman in him never shied away from pure fluff and entertainment like Sergio Corbucci’s “Goliath and the Vampires” (1961), Roger Vadim’s “Barbarella” (1968) and Richard Fleischer’s “Mandingo” (1975).
“A producer is not just a bookkeeper, or a banker, or a background.
- 11/12/2010
- by Eric M. Armstrong
- The Moving Arts Journal
Dino De Laurentiis, whose remarkable career spanned from the glory days of post-war Italian cinema through relatively recent Hollywood blockbusters, has died at age 91. De Laurentiis' work was perhaps the most diverse of all producers, ranging from the early Fellini classics such as La Strada to film adaptations of the Hannibal Lecter thrillers. A bold visonary, De Laurentiis had many high profile hits and flops and he came close to losing his fortune through ill-advised business ventures that had nothing to do with the film industry. However, his losing streak never lasted long and he retained his status as one of the industry's most revered names. Among his films: Death Wish, King Kong (1976), Red Dragon, Nights of Cabiria, Manhunter, Ulysses, Barbarella, Mandingo, Blue Velvet and The Shootist. Click here for NY Times obituary...
- 11/11/2010
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
When I was a kid, I devoured the kitschy fun of producer Dino De Laurentiis' films such as the 1976 "King Kong" remake. His name got branded in my feeble mind. When you see his "Dino De Laurentiis Presents" before a trailer, you know that film would be fun!
So the death of the Oscar-winning Italian film producer saddened me. The Italian media was reporting that Laurentiis, who gave the world nearly 500 films including "La Strada," "Serpico," and "Three Days of the Condor" died in Los Angeles. He was 91.
Here's a lengthy but absolutely wonderful snap shot of Laurentiis' life written by John Gallagher from film reference:
One of the most colorful, prolific, and successful producers in the contemporary motion picture business, Dino De Laurentiis has proven his entrepreneurial skills time and again, growing from an independent Italian producer into an international conglomerate. His product, from low-budget neorealist works to multimillion dollar spectacles,...
So the death of the Oscar-winning Italian film producer saddened me. The Italian media was reporting that Laurentiis, who gave the world nearly 500 films including "La Strada," "Serpico," and "Three Days of the Condor" died in Los Angeles. He was 91.
Here's a lengthy but absolutely wonderful snap shot of Laurentiis' life written by John Gallagher from film reference:
One of the most colorful, prolific, and successful producers in the contemporary motion picture business, Dino De Laurentiis has proven his entrepreneurial skills time and again, growing from an independent Italian producer into an international conglomerate. His product, from low-budget neorealist works to multimillion dollar spectacles,...
- 11/11/2010
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
The colourful, eccentric and never less than ostentatious Italian film producer and entrepreneur Dino De Laurentiis passed away at his Beverly Hills home yesterday. He was 91.
After producing his first features in the 1940's and teaming with producer Carlo Ponti on several prestigious Italian films in the 1950's, De Laurentiis turned his attention to what would become his trademark - ambitious, expensive and epic scale international co-productions more concerned with being popular entertainment than critically lauded.
Two studio complexes he built, one in Italy and later one in North Carolina, were both forced to close due to tough economic times and various famous flops he produced. Nevertheless with 166 films under his belt, De Laurentiis will long be remembered for many defining works.
Amongst his earlier credits were Federico Fellini's "La Strada" and "Nights of Cabiria", Roger Vadim’s “Barbarella”, Mario Camerini's "Ulysses", King Vidor's "War and Peace".
Moving to the U.
After producing his first features in the 1940's and teaming with producer Carlo Ponti on several prestigious Italian films in the 1950's, De Laurentiis turned his attention to what would become his trademark - ambitious, expensive and epic scale international co-productions more concerned with being popular entertainment than critically lauded.
Two studio complexes he built, one in Italy and later one in North Carolina, were both forced to close due to tough economic times and various famous flops he produced. Nevertheless with 166 films under his belt, De Laurentiis will long be remembered for many defining works.
Amongst his earlier credits were Federico Fellini's "La Strada" and "Nights of Cabiria", Roger Vadim’s “Barbarella”, Mario Camerini's "Ulysses", King Vidor's "War and Peace".
Moving to the U.
- 11/11/2010
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Mandingo, a 1975 movie based on the best-selling period potboiler by Kyle Onstott about sexual shenanigans between masters and slaves on the Falconhurst slave-breeding plantation, was savaged by critics who saw it as nothing but degrading, big-budget exploitation. Roger Ebert called it “racist trash”, a “piece of manure”, and “excruciating to sit through” and Mandingo certainly had it all; brutal violence, interracial sex, rape, infanticide, lynchings, and abundant nudity including full-frontal shots of it’s male star, boxer Ken Norton. But of course it was a huge hit and inspired a brief run of “slaverysploitation” films such as Passion Plantation (1975 aka Black Emmanuelle, White Emmanuelle ) and the cleverly titled Mandiga (1976). Mandingo was overwrought melodrama to be sure, but it’s a model of subtlety compared to its official sequel, the more lascivious Drum, a mean-spirited trash epic from 1976 that would never fly in today’s politically correct climate. Despite it’s...
- 12/23/2009
- by Tom
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Considering that Richard Fleischer's 1955 film Violent Saturday made small-town America look like a roiling cesspit, it's unsurprising that his 1975 feature Mandingo, set on a slave plantation in the Deep South, is a sordid wallow in antebellum depravity. Like the crumbling mansion at its center, Mandingo is a rotting remnant of the old South's glory days: It's Gone With The Wind gone rancid. Plantation owner James Mason puts on the airs of a courtly gentleman, but he's a brutal, superstitious creature at heart. Early on, he's convinced that the best cure for his persistent "rheumatis" is to sleep with his feet pressed against a naked slave child, allowing the foul humors to drain into the boy's stomach. Intent on securing the future of his name, Mason is eager to marry off his son, Perry King, who shows more interest in deflowering female slaves than wooing white women. King...
- 6/25/2008
- by Sam Adams
- avclub.com
Director Richard Fleischer, a prolific filmmaker who helmed such movies as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Fantastic Voyage, and Soylent Green, died Saturday of natural causes in Los Angeles; he was 89. The son of pioneering animator Max Fleischer (one of the men behind famed characters Betty Boop and Popeye), Richard joined RKO's New York branch in the early 40s as a writer and producer for the studio's Flicker Flashbacks series and won an Oscar for the documentary Design for Death. By the end of the decade was ensconced in Hollywood, directing a number of low-budget noir thrillers, one of his most famous being the train-set The Narrow Margin, one of the first films to use a handheld camera and filmed in only 13 days; it was later remade in the 90s. In 1954, Fleischer got his big break courtesy of Walt Disney (his father's rival), who tapped him to direct the big-screen adaptation of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea starring Kirk Douglas and James Mason. Disney's first entire live-action movie made in the United States, it became one of the studio's most famous and well-known films, inspiring attractions at Disney's theme parks that utilized versions of the Nautilus submarine and the famed battle with a giant squid. Fleischer's career was marked by forays into numerous genres, with some of his more notable movies being The Vikings (1958), Fantastic Voyage (1966), The Boston Strangler (1968), Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), Soylent Green (1973), and the Neil Diamond version of The Jazz Singer (1980). He also directed some of Hollywood's most well-known flops, including the Oscar-nominated musical Doctor Dolittle, the biopic Che! and the slave drama Mandingo. Throughout the 80s, Fleischer worked on a number of modern-day B movies, including cult faves Conan the Destroyer (starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Grace Jones) and Red Sonja. He is survived by his wife, Mary, three children and five grandchildren. --Prepared by IMDb staff...
- 3/24/2006
- WENN
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