On Friday nights, IndieWire After Dark takes a feature-length beat to honor fringe cinema in the streaming age.
First, the spoiler-free pitch for one editor’s midnight movie pick — something weird and wonderful from any age of film that deserves our memorializing.
Then, the spoiler-filled aftermath as experienced by the unwitting editor attacked by this week’s recommendation.
The Pitch: A Midnight Movie for the Love of a Woman
The cinematic understanding of romance is on the run. It’s a sad topic ahead of Valentine’s Day, I know. But the big romantic gestures and sweeping professions of love that once characterized the rom-com genre are now about as welcome in real life as TikTok therapists are welcome on the big screen. Add a family counselor to your next “Clueless” viewing and you just won’t see Paul Rudd the same way; try planting one on your step-sister at...
First, the spoiler-free pitch for one editor’s midnight movie pick — something weird and wonderful from any age of film that deserves our memorializing.
Then, the spoiler-filled aftermath as experienced by the unwitting editor attacked by this week’s recommendation.
The Pitch: A Midnight Movie for the Love of a Woman
The cinematic understanding of romance is on the run. It’s a sad topic ahead of Valentine’s Day, I know. But the big romantic gestures and sweeping professions of love that once characterized the rom-com genre are now about as welcome in real life as TikTok therapists are welcome on the big screen. Add a family counselor to your next “Clueless” viewing and you just won’t see Paul Rudd the same way; try planting one on your step-sister at...
- 2/10/2024
- by Alison Foreman and Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Justin Simien directed Haunted Mansion for Disney based on the theme park’s attraction of the same name. The filmmaker is now opening up about another Disneyland attraction he would like to adapt into a film and it’s Michael Jackson’s Captain Eo.
“Captain Eo, let’s go,” Simien told Screen Rant during Comic-Con. “Listen, I know it is out of commission, okay? I know that’s not technically a ride, but I am ready. I need some singing and I need some dancing and I need some jerry curl juice in outer space immediately.”
Captain Eo was 3D science fiction short film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and it starred Jackson. George Lucas, Rusty Lemorande and Coppola wrote the script of the short that also starred Anjelica Huston and Dick Shawn.
The film tells the story of Captain Eo, played by Jackson, who is on a mission to...
“Captain Eo, let’s go,” Simien told Screen Rant during Comic-Con. “Listen, I know it is out of commission, okay? I know that’s not technically a ride, but I am ready. I need some singing and I need some dancing and I need some jerry curl juice in outer space immediately.”
Captain Eo was 3D science fiction short film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and it starred Jackson. George Lucas, Rusty Lemorande and Coppola wrote the script of the short that also starred Anjelica Huston and Dick Shawn.
The film tells the story of Captain Eo, played by Jackson, who is on a mission to...
- 8/5/2023
- by Armando Tinoco
- Deadline Film + TV
Noreen Nash, a starlet of the 1940s and ’50s who appeared in such notable films as The Southerner, Giant and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold, has died. She was 99.
Nash died Tuesday of natural causes at her home in Beverly Hills, her oldest son, Lee Siegel Jr., told The Hollywood Reporter.
Nash worked on about two dozen features during her two-decade career, including several “B” pictures like Phantom From Space (1953), where she portrayed an abducted scientist in a movie shot at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
The blue-eyed, dark-haired Nash also starred as the wife of an owner of a Palm Springs tennis club on the CBS summer replacement series The Charles Farrell Show — it stood in for I Love Lucy in 1956 — and appeared on episodes of Hopalong Cassidy, The Abbott and Costello Show, My Little Margie, Dragnet and 77 Sunset Strip.
Nash played the...
Nash died Tuesday of natural causes at her home in Beverly Hills, her oldest son, Lee Siegel Jr., told The Hollywood Reporter.
Nash worked on about two dozen features during her two-decade career, including several “B” pictures like Phantom From Space (1953), where she portrayed an abducted scientist in a movie shot at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
The blue-eyed, dark-haired Nash also starred as the wife of an owner of a Palm Springs tennis club on the CBS summer replacement series The Charles Farrell Show — it stood in for I Love Lucy in 1956 — and appeared on episodes of Hopalong Cassidy, The Abbott and Costello Show, My Little Margie, Dragnet and 77 Sunset Strip.
Nash played the...
- 6/8/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Paul Coker Jr., whose character and production designs for the classic Rankin/Bass stop-motion and animated holiday specials and his many years as one of Mad magazine’s “Usual Gang Of Idiots” endeared him to generations of fans, died following a brief illness at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on July 23. He was 93.
His death was confirmed to Deadline by his stepdaughter Lee Smithson Burd. “Paul was lucid and had his remarkable sense of humor until the end,” Smithson Burd said.
Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery
Coker’s contributions to the production and character design of the Rankin/Bass specials helped create some of the most indelible holiday images of the last half-century. As either a character designer or production designer, Coker lent his talents to such Christmas and Easter specials as Cricket on the Hearth (1967), Frosty the Snowman (1969), Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (1970), Here Comes Peter Cottontail...
His death was confirmed to Deadline by his stepdaughter Lee Smithson Burd. “Paul was lucid and had his remarkable sense of humor until the end,” Smithson Burd said.
Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery
Coker’s contributions to the production and character design of the Rankin/Bass specials helped create some of the most indelible holiday images of the last half-century. As either a character designer or production designer, Coker lent his talents to such Christmas and Easter specials as Cricket on the Hearth (1967), Frosty the Snowman (1969), Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (1970), Here Comes Peter Cottontail...
- 7/29/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
I started my new essay film, It’s a Zabriskie, Zabriskie, Zabriskie, Zabriskie Point, with an attractive if patently absurd proposition. I was convinced that one could seamlessly edit together Antonioni’s Zabriskie Point with Stanley Kramer’s It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Imagine situating Daria Halprin, Mark Frechette, and their “dirty hippie” friends in California desert landscapes next to Milton Berle, Ethel Merman, Jonathan Winters, Buddy Hackett, Mickey Rooney, and the rest of that legendary cast.
One narrative universe, with just a little editing room hocus-pocus!
There are lots of highlights, but to whet your appetite: University radical Mark Frechette flies his stolen aircraft right past the one piloted by Mickey Rooney and Buddy Hackett as they spin out of control. Daria Halprin ignores a hitchhiking Jonathan Winters. Milton Berle leaps right into a cascade of amorous sand-covered bodies. Spencer Tracy and Daria Halprin in a torrid extramarital affair.
One narrative universe, with just a little editing room hocus-pocus!
There are lots of highlights, but to whet your appetite: University radical Mark Frechette flies his stolen aircraft right past the one piloted by Mickey Rooney and Buddy Hackett as they spin out of control. Daria Halprin ignores a hitchhiking Jonathan Winters. Milton Berle leaps right into a cascade of amorous sand-covered bodies. Spencer Tracy and Daria Halprin in a torrid extramarital affair.
- 7/7/2022
- by Daniel Kremer
- Trailers from Hell
George Shapiro, producer and longtime manager of Jerry Seinfeld, Carl Reiner, Andy Kaufman and other comedy stars, died May 26 at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 91.
Shapiro was co-founder and partner in Shapiro/West Associates, the prosperous talent management banner that helped assemble the mammoth NBC hit “Seinfeld” and numerous projects for Andy Kaufman. More recently, Shapiro served as executive producer of the Crackle/Netflix series “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” hosted by Seinfeld.
A vivacious personality, Shapiro was known for his long relationships with clients and for his infectious enthusiasm for the business of entertainment. “Shapiro’s love of laughter and reverence for those who inspire it helped him build a career in comedy as an unabashed supporter of comic performers and comedy writers,” Shapiro’s family stated.
Danny De Vito, who co-starred with Andy Kaufman in the influential 1978-1983 sitcom “Taxi,” recalled Shapiro’s presence during the...
Shapiro was co-founder and partner in Shapiro/West Associates, the prosperous talent management banner that helped assemble the mammoth NBC hit “Seinfeld” and numerous projects for Andy Kaufman. More recently, Shapiro served as executive producer of the Crackle/Netflix series “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” hosted by Seinfeld.
A vivacious personality, Shapiro was known for his long relationships with clients and for his infectious enthusiasm for the business of entertainment. “Shapiro’s love of laughter and reverence for those who inspire it helped him build a career in comedy as an unabashed supporter of comic performers and comedy writers,” Shapiro’s family stated.
Danny De Vito, who co-starred with Andy Kaufman in the influential 1978-1983 sitcom “Taxi,” recalled Shapiro’s presence during the...
- 5/28/2022
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
George Shapiro, the deeply respected talent manager, producer and co-founder of Shapiro/West & Associates, died Thursday evening of natural causes at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 91.
Along with his partner and childhood friend Howard West, Shapiro was personal manager to comedy greats Jerry Seinfeld, Andy Kaufman and Carl Reiner, among others. He and West would go on to executive produce Seinfeld, one of the top comedy series of all time.
Born in New York, Shapiro spent summers during his teenage years as a lifeguard at the Tamiment Resort in the Poconos, where he met performers like Dick Shawn, Pat Carroll and Carol Burnett, singer Barbara Cook, and choreographer Herb Ross. That’s when he also got to know talent agents.
“These guys came up … I didn’t even know what an agent was, but they came to see the show, to talk to the girls, talk to the comedians,...
Along with his partner and childhood friend Howard West, Shapiro was personal manager to comedy greats Jerry Seinfeld, Andy Kaufman and Carl Reiner, among others. He and West would go on to executive produce Seinfeld, one of the top comedy series of all time.
Born in New York, Shapiro spent summers during his teenage years as a lifeguard at the Tamiment Resort in the Poconos, where he met performers like Dick Shawn, Pat Carroll and Carol Burnett, singer Barbara Cook, and choreographer Herb Ross. That’s when he also got to know talent agents.
“These guys came up … I didn’t even know what an agent was, but they came to see the show, to talk to the girls, talk to the comedians,...
- 5/28/2022
- by Lynette Rice
- Deadline Film + TV
The Producers
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1967 / 1.85:1 / 88 min.
Starring Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder
Cinematography by Joseph Coffey
Directed by Mel Brooks
At his most unrestrained, Mel Brooks would have made Voltaire blush. Would such uninhibited comedy survive under the gaze of today’s self-appointed blacklisters? The answer can be found in the success of that very uninhibited Amazon darling—not to mention Academy-approved—Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. Starring Sacha Baron Cohen, the film documents the latest diplomatic outreach of Kazakhstan’s most enthusiastic xenophobe, Borat Sagdiyev. For the past twenty five years Cohen has sicced this deeply racist, anti-Semitic, and somehow weirdly lovable doofus on civilization’s bad actors up to and including bottom-feeder extraordinaire, Donald Trump. Cohen infiltrated much of Maga-world for Borat’s latest adventure which was highlighted by a full-body impersonation of Trump (in a Coppertone-colored skin suit), and a hotel room encounter with the slimy Rudolph Giuliani at his most slithery.
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1967 / 1.85:1 / 88 min.
Starring Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder
Cinematography by Joseph Coffey
Directed by Mel Brooks
At his most unrestrained, Mel Brooks would have made Voltaire blush. Would such uninhibited comedy survive under the gaze of today’s self-appointed blacklisters? The answer can be found in the success of that very uninhibited Amazon darling—not to mention Academy-approved—Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. Starring Sacha Baron Cohen, the film documents the latest diplomatic outreach of Kazakhstan’s most enthusiastic xenophobe, Borat Sagdiyev. For the past twenty five years Cohen has sicced this deeply racist, anti-Semitic, and somehow weirdly lovable doofus on civilization’s bad actors up to and including bottom-feeder extraordinaire, Donald Trump. Cohen infiltrated much of Maga-world for Borat’s latest adventure which was highlighted by a full-body impersonation of Trump (in a Coppertone-colored skin suit), and a hotel room encounter with the slimy Rudolph Giuliani at his most slithery.
- 5/18/2021
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Exclusive: The last thing we needed to hear as the box office and exhibition are rebounding from the pandemic was a piece of bad news, but word spread like wildfire in distribution and exhibition circles Monday that the Arclight Cinemas and Pacific Theatres won’t be reopening. The chain, owned by Decurion, has issued a statement — read it below.
Last week, I was hearing that the chain was shooting for a Memorial Day weekend reopening with A Quiet Place Part II and Cruella. Now those hopes look dashed, and at an unfortunate time because it’s expected that Los Angeles County could have movie theaters operating at 100% capacity by then — well before California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s June 15 wide-open order.
Decurion’s crown jewel is the Hollywood Arclight multiplex on Sunset Boulevard and its 58-year old Cinerama Dome, which made a big cameo in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a...
Last week, I was hearing that the chain was shooting for a Memorial Day weekend reopening with A Quiet Place Part II and Cruella. Now those hopes look dashed, and at an unfortunate time because it’s expected that Los Angeles County could have movie theaters operating at 100% capacity by then — well before California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s June 15 wide-open order.
Decurion’s crown jewel is the Hollywood Arclight multiplex on Sunset Boulevard and its 58-year old Cinerama Dome, which made a big cameo in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a...
- 4/13/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
The Flop That Wasn't
By Raymond Benson
Most folks today may be familiar with The Producers, the Broadway musical comedy that ran for years, toured around the globe, and elicited laughter and joy for audiences of all ages. There are likely less people today who have experienced the original 1967 film upon which the successful musical is based. For decades, though, the movie was all we had.
In the mid-sixties, Mel Brooks was a successful television writer, having worked on hilarious comedies with Sid Caesar, among other works, and later the co-creator of Get Smart. Brooks then came up with what was first intended to be a novel, then a play, and finally a screenplay called Springtime for Hitler—an outrageous satire lampooning the Nazis. The Hollywood producers to whom Brooks pitched the piece were appalled. No audience would accept a “comedyâ€. about Hitler.
The Flop That Wasn't
By Raymond Benson
Most folks today may be familiar with The Producers, the Broadway musical comedy that ran for years, toured around the globe, and elicited laughter and joy for audiences of all ages. There are likely less people today who have experienced the original 1967 film upon which the successful musical is based. For decades, though, the movie was all we had.
In the mid-sixties, Mel Brooks was a successful television writer, having worked on hilarious comedies with Sid Caesar, among other works, and later the co-creator of Get Smart. Brooks then came up with what was first intended to be a novel, then a play, and finally a screenplay called Springtime for Hitler—an outrageous satire lampooning the Nazis. The Hollywood producers to whom Brooks pitched the piece were appalled. No audience would accept a “comedyâ€. about Hitler.
- 3/10/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
The director of Palmer helps us kick off our new season by walking us through some of his favorite movies.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Bloodhounds Of Broadway (1989)
Salvador (1986)
True Believer (1989)
Palmer (2021)
Wonder Wheel (2017)
A Face In The Crowd (1957)
On The Waterfront (1954)
No Time For Sergeants (1958)
The Confidence Man (2018)
Lolita (1962)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
The Ghost Of Peter Sellers (2018)
The Marrying Man (1991)
The Ruling Class (1972)
The Krays (1990)
Let Him Have It (1991)
The Changeling (1980)
On The Border (1998)
Murder By Decree (1979)
Bigger Than Life (1956)
The Night of the Iguana (1964)
Fat City (1972)
Angel (1984)
Animal House (1978)
My Science Project (1985)
Lucía (1968)
Paper Moon (1973)
Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
The Great McGinty (1940)
I Married A Witch (1942)
Do The Right Thing (1989)
Raging Bull (1980)
Once Upon A Time In America (1984)
The Rider (2017)
The Mustang (2019)
Nomadland (2020)
Murmur of the Heart (1971)
Sweet Smell Of Success (1957)
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Conversation (1974)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part III (1990)
The Magnificent Ambersons...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Bloodhounds Of Broadway (1989)
Salvador (1986)
True Believer (1989)
Palmer (2021)
Wonder Wheel (2017)
A Face In The Crowd (1957)
On The Waterfront (1954)
No Time For Sergeants (1958)
The Confidence Man (2018)
Lolita (1962)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
The Ghost Of Peter Sellers (2018)
The Marrying Man (1991)
The Ruling Class (1972)
The Krays (1990)
Let Him Have It (1991)
The Changeling (1980)
On The Border (1998)
Murder By Decree (1979)
Bigger Than Life (1956)
The Night of the Iguana (1964)
Fat City (1972)
Angel (1984)
Animal House (1978)
My Science Project (1985)
Lucía (1968)
Paper Moon (1973)
Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
The Great McGinty (1940)
I Married A Witch (1942)
Do The Right Thing (1989)
Raging Bull (1980)
Once Upon A Time In America (1984)
The Rider (2017)
The Mustang (2019)
Nomadland (2020)
Murmur of the Heart (1971)
Sweet Smell Of Success (1957)
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Conversation (1974)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part III (1990)
The Magnificent Ambersons...
- 2/2/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
This CinemaScope musical remake of 1939’s The Women is highly watchable, especially in this flawless digital remaster. The actresses that bare their claws, compete for husbands and just plain cat-fight are a choice batch, with favorites from the ’50s the ’40s the ’30s — plus a few wildflowers that bloomed cinematically for only a few years (Dolores Gray) and one that somehow managed immortality (Joan Collins). It’s highly watchable despite, or maybe because of, its criminally outdated recipe for marital bliss. Did women really go for this fantasy — did anybody ever really live like this?
The Opposite Sex
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1956 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 116 min. / Street Date October 27, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: June Allyson, Joan Collins, Dolores Gray, Ann Sheridan, Ann Miller, Leslie Nielsen, Jeff Richards, Agnes Moorehead, Charlotte Greenwood, Joan Blondell, Sam Levene, Alice Pearce, Barbara Jo Allen, Sandy Descher, Carolyn Jones, Jerry Antes, Harry James, Art Mooney,...
The Opposite Sex
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1956 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 116 min. / Street Date October 27, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: June Allyson, Joan Collins, Dolores Gray, Ann Sheridan, Ann Miller, Leslie Nielsen, Jeff Richards, Agnes Moorehead, Charlotte Greenwood, Joan Blondell, Sam Levene, Alice Pearce, Barbara Jo Allen, Sandy Descher, Carolyn Jones, Jerry Antes, Harry James, Art Mooney,...
- 10/20/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
What can one say about a comedy that just limps along, even when an attractive cast does fine work every step of the way? Even the bit parts are creatively cast in this odd romp infected with a really bad case of The Cutes. Natalie Wood is at her best, but in service of dumb gags: let’s blow bubble gum bubbles! The result so upset Natalie that she ditched her studio contract. The roster of engaging talent includes Peter Falk (in suave leading man mode!), Dick Shawn (less grating than usual), Lila Kedrova & Lou Jacobi (showing real style), Jonathan Winters (wasted) and, of all people, Ian Bannen as Natalie Wood’s uncomprehending husband. Bannen is so good, he drags a real laugh or two from the material. The show has been beautifully remastered.
Penelope
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date January 26, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Natalie Wood,...
Penelope
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date January 26, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Natalie Wood,...
- 1/25/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
"We've got to find the worst play ever written!" Studiocanal UK has debuted a short new trailer for a 4K restoration re-release of Mel Brooks' original comedy classic The Producers, which first hit cinemas in 1968. They're celebrating the film's 50th anniversary, and putting it back in theaters for one day only this August (in the UK). There's no Us plans yet, but we expect to hear something soon. Brooks' The Producers is about two producers who decide to make a flop Broadway show since it will make them more money than a hit. They go on to produce the hilarious show Springtime for Hitler. Gene Wilder stars in the film, along with Zero Mostel as his producer cohort, with Kenneth Mars, Dick Shawn, Lorenzo St. DuBois, Lee Meredith, Estelle Winwood, Christopher Hewett, and Andreas Voutsinas. Jawohl! This is a major comedy classic and a film that everyone should have seen by now anyway.
- 6/15/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
We are in the throngs of springtime so it can only mean one thing: it’s time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of movie history’s funniest–and controversial–cult comedies turned classics, The Producers. Returning to nationwide movie theaters for two days only, Sunday, June 3, and Wednesday, June 6 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. (local time), Fathom Events, Turner Classic Movies and Rialto Pictures are bringing back the Mel Brooks‘ comedy masterpiece in a brand-new 4K restoration (at select theaters) so that moviegoers can properly laugh, groan, and laugh again at washed up Broadway producer Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) and his neurotic accountant Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder) as they attempt and epically fail at cashing in on a seemingly surefire flop: a musical extravaganza singing the praises of the Third Reich.
The shock-inducing, rib-tickling Springtime for Hitler becomes an unexpected and unfortunate smash hit, and...
The shock-inducing, rib-tickling Springtime for Hitler becomes an unexpected and unfortunate smash hit, and...
- 5/14/2018
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
‘The Producers’ Turns 50: Mel Brooks Explains Why His Subversive Comedy Is Still Relevant — TCM Fest
Without “The Producers,” there might never have been “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein,” and “Spaceballs.” And yet Mel Brooks’ movie debut (which earned him the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay) was the most original work of his career, combining subversive humor with a tender bromance between Zero Mostel’s Max Bialystock and Gene Wilder’s Leo Bloom. This was no genre bender, but it was a cultural assault on fascism and complacency, and it was ahead of its time in elevating the Lgbt artistic community.
In honor of its 50th anniversary, “The Producers” opens the TCM Classic Film Festival Thursday night at the Chinese Theater IMAX in Hollywood with a digital 4k restoration courtesy by Studiocanal. For the 91-year-old Brooks, the cult favorite-turned comedy classic was a miracle that launched his celebrated film career as writer-director.
“It was very simple: You can make more money with a flop than with a hit,...
In honor of its 50th anniversary, “The Producers” opens the TCM Classic Film Festival Thursday night at the Chinese Theater IMAX in Hollywood with a digital 4k restoration courtesy by Studiocanal. For the 91-year-old Brooks, the cult favorite-turned comedy classic was a miracle that launched his celebrated film career as writer-director.
“It was very simple: You can make more money with a flop than with a hit,...
- 4/25/2018
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Back in the 1960s, the line between TV and movie stars was never more clearly defined, with actors from television seldom being able to make it on the big screen while film actors turned their noses up at the small screen. Don Knotts, however, was an exception, not only dreaming of movie stardom, but actually achieving it. In some ways, that's pretty surprising when you consider just how successful he was as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show. He played the character with the understanding that series star Andy Griffith only intended to stay with it for five years, giving himself a deadline of sorts by which he needed to parlay that show's success into something bigger. Andy ended up changing his mind because of financial incentives thrown his way, while Don didn't, having been offered a five-film deal with Univeral. He chose to leave the show,...
- 4/23/2018
- by Ed Gross
- Closer Weekly
MaryAnn’s quick take… Audacious, outrageous, bleakly funny. Not since Charlie Chaplin sent up Hitler and invited us to laugh at terrible reality has there been a movie like this. I’m “biast” (pro): love Armando Iannucci’s work
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
I have not read the source material
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Presenting… Monty Python’s production of George Orwell’s 1984. Or damn close to it. So The Death of Stalin is akin to Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, then? Well, sort of. (I definitely scribbled “Brazil” in my notes while watching.) But Brazil was fiction; clearly inspired by actual totalitarian regimes, but entirely fictional. Stalin, however, is based on terrible reality. Perhaps not since Charlie Chaplin’s 1940 satire The Great Dictator has a filmmaker taken on such awful personalities and events and attempted to make us laugh about it all.
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
I have not read the source material
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Presenting… Monty Python’s production of George Orwell’s 1984. Or damn close to it. So The Death of Stalin is akin to Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, then? Well, sort of. (I definitely scribbled “Brazil” in my notes while watching.) But Brazil was fiction; clearly inspired by actual totalitarian regimes, but entirely fictional. Stalin, however, is based on terrible reality. Perhaps not since Charlie Chaplin’s 1940 satire The Great Dictator has a filmmaker taken on such awful personalities and events and attempted to make us laugh about it all.
- 10/25/2017
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Stars: Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Ethel Merman, Jimmy Durante, Buddy Hackett, Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn, Phil Silvers, Terry-Thomas, Jonathan Winters | Written by William Rose, Tania Rose | Directed by Stanley Kramer
If you are a fan of comedy films, you’ll already know that It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is one of the greatest ones ever brought to the silver screen. Including most of the biggest names in comedy, it quite simply is a film that could never happen again. Now the Criterion Collection release has come to the UK and it is well worth buying.
When Smiler Grogan (Jimmy Durante) has a high-speed crash, a group of drivers who come to his aid find him close to death. Before he literally kicks the bucket, he shares with them the location of a $350,000 treasure, leading to a frantic race to be first to the prize. One thing they...
If you are a fan of comedy films, you’ll already know that It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is one of the greatest ones ever brought to the silver screen. Including most of the biggest names in comedy, it quite simply is a film that could never happen again. Now the Criterion Collection release has come to the UK and it is well worth buying.
When Smiler Grogan (Jimmy Durante) has a high-speed crash, a group of drivers who come to his aid find him close to death. Before he literally kicks the bucket, he shares with them the location of a $350,000 treasure, leading to a frantic race to be first to the prize. One thing they...
- 9/7/2017
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
Comedy is very subjective but a great comedy will stand the test of time and continue to make generation after generation laugh. Some people like their humor dry, while some like it shocking and offensive. Whatever your taste, good humor will always be out there. Here are 20 great comedies that will no doubt continue to be appreciated in the future.
20. Fargo: The Cohen Brothers funniest black comedy may not be for everyone's taste, because it is quite violent. However, underneath all that is a droll observation on the human condition, highlighted by a winning performance from Frances McDormand as a very likeable and very pregnant police chief. Her character police chief Marge Gunderson is kind, clever and compassionate. She’s a much more admirable role model than all the recent ‘badass female’ clichés we’ve been inundated with lately. Another standout here is William H. Macy as a two-bit schemer who's plan utterly backfires.
20. Fargo: The Cohen Brothers funniest black comedy may not be for everyone's taste, because it is quite violent. However, underneath all that is a droll observation on the human condition, highlighted by a winning performance from Frances McDormand as a very likeable and very pregnant police chief. Her character police chief Marge Gunderson is kind, clever and compassionate. She’s a much more admirable role model than all the recent ‘badass female’ clichés we’ve been inundated with lately. Another standout here is William H. Macy as a two-bit schemer who's plan utterly backfires.
- 9/24/2016
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Rob Young)
- Cinelinx
David’s Quick Take for the tl;dr Media Consumer:
A brash, vulgar, wildly energetic and shamelessly provocative comedy romp that launched Mel Brooks as a film director, Gene Wilder as a popular comic actor, and grossly expanded the latitude extended to comedians in cinema, establishing radically poor taste as an acceptable marketing strategy in mainstream entertainment. Though The Producers is fondly remembered, massively influential and boasts some truly unforgettable sequences of inspired lunacy, too much time is dedicated to histrionic leering, shouting and shrieking episodes that don’t deliver enough in terms of wit to earn my enthusiastic endorsement overall. The story line is pretty familiar – a rambunctious Broadway showman conspires with a neurotic accountant to bilk investors in an offensive production, only to see their plan foiled when the play becomes an unexpected hit. The premise is clever and offers a broad platform for unbridled zaniness. A lot...
A brash, vulgar, wildly energetic and shamelessly provocative comedy romp that launched Mel Brooks as a film director, Gene Wilder as a popular comic actor, and grossly expanded the latitude extended to comedians in cinema, establishing radically poor taste as an acceptable marketing strategy in mainstream entertainment. Though The Producers is fondly remembered, massively influential and boasts some truly unforgettable sequences of inspired lunacy, too much time is dedicated to histrionic leering, shouting and shrieking episodes that don’t deliver enough in terms of wit to earn my enthusiastic endorsement overall. The story line is pretty familiar – a rambunctious Broadway showman conspires with a neurotic accountant to bilk investors in an offensive production, only to see their plan foiled when the play becomes an unexpected hit. The premise is clever and offers a broad platform for unbridled zaniness. A lot...
- 4/10/2016
- by David Blakeslee
- CriterionCast
Jean Simmons is the original frustrated Mad Housewife who runs away from a 'dream marriage' in search of something more fulfilling. Uncompromising, adult, and making use of an interesting cast. Plus, the soundtrack uses Michel Legrand's incomparable song "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" The Happy Ending Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1969 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 112 min. / Ship Date January 19, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Jean Simmons, John Forsythe, Shirley Jones, Teresa Wright, Nanette Fabray, Bobby Darin, Kathy Fields, Tina Louise, Dick Shawn, Lloyd Bridges, Karen Steele, Erin Moran. Cinematography Conrad Hall Original Music Michel Legrand, lyrics Alan & Marilyn Bergman Produced, Written and Directed by Richard Brooks
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
I looked at some of the poster artwork for The Happy Ending, and yes indeed, one of the main styles is indeed like the cover of this disc -- a photo of a rusty garbage...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
I looked at some of the poster artwork for The Happy Ending, and yes indeed, one of the main styles is indeed like the cover of this disc -- a photo of a rusty garbage...
- 2/13/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Teresa Wright ca. 1945. Teresa Wright movies on TCM: 'The Little Foxes,' 'The Pride of the Yankees' Pretty, talented Teresa Wright made a relatively small number of movies: 28 in all, over the course of more than half a century. Most of her films have already been shown on Turner Classic Movies, so it's more than a little disappointing that TCM will not be presenting Teresa Wright rarities such as The Imperfect Lady and The Trouble with Women – two 1947 releases co-starring Ray Milland – on Aug. 4, '15, a "Summer Under the Stars" day dedicated to the only performer to date to have been shortlisted for Academy Awards for their first three film roles. TCM's Teresa Wright day would also have benefited from a presentation of The Search for Bridey Murphy (1956), an unusual entry – parapsychology, reincarnation – in the Wright movie canon and/or Roseland (1977), a little-remembered entry in James Ivory's canon.
- 8/4/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
One of the great things about having friends who are film nerds is that you end up having a lot of phone calls about nothing urgent. You end up talking about alternate theories and dream casting and things that might have been. I've got some other things I'll be posting tonight that speak to that, but first up, let's just play a little bit. The conversation I was having with Scott Weinberg today was about the way I find casting shortsighted in movies sometimes. In particular, I love comedians who push themselves, and Scott's article about Robin Williams (it would have been his birthday today, something that makes me unspeakably sad this year) focused on some of his left-of-center choices as an actor. Scott's fond of "Insomnia," where Williams gives some really good creepy, something that doesn't surprise me at all. Of course Williams was effective at playing dark and dangerous.
- 7/22/2015
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
Teresa Wright: Later years (See preceding post: "Teresa Wright: From Marlon Brando to Matt Damon.") Teresa Wright and Robert Anderson were divorced in 1978. They would remain friends in the ensuing years.[1] Wright spent most of the last decade of her life in Connecticut, making only sporadic public appearances. In 1998, she could be seen with her grandson, film producer Jonah Smith, at New York's Yankee Stadium, where she threw the ceremonial first pitch.[2] Wright also became involved in the Greater New York chapter of the Als Association. (The Pride of the Yankees subject, Lou Gehrig, died of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in 1941.) The week she turned 82 in October 2000, Wright attended the 20th anniversary celebration of Somewhere in Time, where she posed for pictures with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. In March 2003, she was a guest at the 75th Academy Awards, in the segment showcasing Oscar-winning actors of the past. Two years later,...
- 3/15/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
For the week of February 10th, your horror and sci-fi home entertainment choices are practically boundless, as we’ve got a bevy of great films being released (something that might be helpful for those of you still in search for a gift for your Valentine). Scream Factory is pulling double-duty with both of their dual Blu-ray releases, Love at First Bite/Once Bitten and Vampire’s Kiss/High Spirits, and the cult classic Nekromantik 2 is getting a high def upgrade as well.
Other notable titles to look forward to this Tuesday include Nightcrawler, Predestination, Fear Clinic, Z Nation: Season One and the Criterion release for the classic thriller Don’t Look Now.
Love at First Bite/Once Bitten (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
Love At First Bite: George Hamilton is possibly the tannest vampire in screen history in 1979’s Love at First Bite. When Count Dracula (Hamilton) is forced...
Other notable titles to look forward to this Tuesday include Nightcrawler, Predestination, Fear Clinic, Z Nation: Season One and the Criterion release for the classic thriller Don’t Look Now.
Love at First Bite/Once Bitten (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
Love At First Bite: George Hamilton is possibly the tannest vampire in screen history in 1979’s Love at First Bite. When Count Dracula (Hamilton) is forced...
- 2/10/2015
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Love can be complicated, especially when a relationship has supernatural elements. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, Scream Factory is about to release two Blu-ray double features that celebrate love in various forms: the obsessive nature of Nicolas Cage’s Peter Loew in Vampire’s Kiss, the ghost/human coupling in High Spirits, the desperate seeking of companionship in Love at First Bite, and the wide-eyed puppy love of Jim Carrey’s Mark Kendall in Once Bitten.
These double bill Blu-rays are due out from Scream Factory on February 10th, and we have a batch of clips and trailers from the films that tease the pleasures and pains of paranormal romance and supernatural seduction.
High Spirits: “Daryl Hannah, Peter O’Toole, Steve Guttenberg, Beverly D’Angelo, Jennifer Tilly, Peter Gallagher and Liam Neeson star in this hilariously haunting comedy! When a castle-turned-hotel owned by Peter Plunkett (O...
These double bill Blu-rays are due out from Scream Factory on February 10th, and we have a batch of clips and trailers from the films that tease the pleasures and pains of paranormal romance and supernatural seduction.
High Spirits: “Daryl Hannah, Peter O’Toole, Steve Guttenberg, Beverly D’Angelo, Jennifer Tilly, Peter Gallagher and Liam Neeson star in this hilariously haunting comedy! When a castle-turned-hotel owned by Peter Plunkett (O...
- 2/5/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Cast
Captain T. G. Culpeper Spencer Tracy J. Russell Finch Milton Berle Melville Crump Sid Caesar Benjy Benjamin Buddy Hackett Mrs. Marcus Ethel Merman Ding Bell Mickey Rooney Sylvester Marcus Dick Shawn Otto Meyer Phil Silvers J. Algernon Hawthorne Terry-Thomas Lennie Pike Jonathan Winters Monica Crump Edie Adams Emeline Finch Dorothy Provine Cabdriver Eddie “Rochester” Anderson Tyler Fitzgerald Jim Backus Man driving in the desert Jack Benny Union official Joe E. Brown Biplane pilot Ben Blue Police sergeant Alan Carney Detective Chick Chandler Mrs. Halliburton Barrie Chase Mayor Lloyd Corrigan Police chief William Demarest Sheriff of Crocket County Andy Devine Ginger Culpeper (voice) Selma Diamond Cabdriver Peter Falk Detective Normal Fell Colonel Wilberforce Paul Ford Deputy sheriff Stan Freberg Billie Sue Culpeper (voice) Louise Glenn Cabdriver Leo Gorcey Fire chief Sterling Holloway Mr. Dinckler Edward Everett Horton Irwin Marvin Kaplan Jimmy the Cook Buster Keaton Nervous motorist Don Knotts Airport...
Captain T. G. Culpeper Spencer Tracy J. Russell Finch Milton Berle Melville Crump Sid Caesar Benjy Benjamin Buddy Hackett Mrs. Marcus Ethel Merman Ding Bell Mickey Rooney Sylvester Marcus Dick Shawn Otto Meyer Phil Silvers J. Algernon Hawthorne Terry-Thomas Lennie Pike Jonathan Winters Monica Crump Edie Adams Emeline Finch Dorothy Provine Cabdriver Eddie “Rochester” Anderson Tyler Fitzgerald Jim Backus Man driving in the desert Jack Benny Union official Joe E. Brown Biplane pilot Ben Blue Police sergeant Alan Carney Detective Chick Chandler Mrs. Halliburton Barrie Chase Mayor Lloyd Corrigan Police chief William Demarest Sheriff of Crocket County Andy Devine Ginger Culpeper (voice) Selma Diamond Cabdriver Peter Falk Detective Normal Fell Colonel Wilberforce Paul Ford Deputy sheriff Stan Freberg Billie Sue Culpeper (voice) Louise Glenn Cabdriver Leo Gorcey Fire chief Sterling Holloway Mr. Dinckler Edward Everett Horton Irwin Marvin Kaplan Jimmy the Cook Buster Keaton Nervous motorist Don Knotts Airport...
- 1/22/2015
- by Sam Moffitt
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Article by Sam Moffitt
It’s tough to say goodbye to Sid Caesar. I’ve been pondering what I can possibly say about a comedy legend who has been around as long as I can remember and contributed so much to comedy, mostly on television but also many times in motion pictures.
Firstly Sid Caesar was in on the ground floor of television, his earliest programs done live in 1949 before the video switch board had even been invented. In those earliest shows the director was on the stage telling the floor managers which cameras and mikes to hook or unhook to the coax and audio cables! Consider that just for a moment!
Caesar’s wonderful book Caesar’s Hours: My Life in Comedy, with Love and Laughter, co written with Eddie Friedfeld tells all about Sid Caesar’s years in show business and the legendary live variety shows; Your Show of Shows...
It’s tough to say goodbye to Sid Caesar. I’ve been pondering what I can possibly say about a comedy legend who has been around as long as I can remember and contributed so much to comedy, mostly on television but also many times in motion pictures.
Firstly Sid Caesar was in on the ground floor of television, his earliest programs done live in 1949 before the video switch board had even been invented. In those earliest shows the director was on the stage telling the floor managers which cameras and mikes to hook or unhook to the coax and audio cables! Consider that just for a moment!
Caesar’s wonderful book Caesar’s Hours: My Life in Comedy, with Love and Laughter, co written with Eddie Friedfeld tells all about Sid Caesar’s years in show business and the legendary live variety shows; Your Show of Shows...
- 3/31/2014
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
Hollywood Goes "Mad"
By Raymond Benson
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, the 1963 classic epic comedy directed by Stanley Kramer, is one of those Hollywood train wrecks that you can’t help but like. It’s a one-of-a-kind all-star extravaganza featuring some of the biggest names of mostly 1950s and early 1960s comedy (and a good number of them were known primarily as television actor/comics rather than big screen performers). The United Artists release was one of a current trend of movie star ensemble film in which the producers attempt to throw in as many big names as possible (e.g. Exodus, Judgment at Nuremberg, The Longest Day). As Kramer himself states in a reunion extra that appears on Criterion’s new Blu-ray/DVD combo set, “It would be impossible to make today,” due to the salaries stars demand now.
Hollywood Goes "Mad"
By Raymond Benson
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, the 1963 classic epic comedy directed by Stanley Kramer, is one of those Hollywood train wrecks that you can’t help but like. It’s a one-of-a-kind all-star extravaganza featuring some of the biggest names of mostly 1950s and early 1960s comedy (and a good number of them were known primarily as television actor/comics rather than big screen performers). The United Artists release was one of a current trend of movie star ensemble film in which the producers attempt to throw in as many big names as possible (e.g. Exodus, Judgment at Nuremberg, The Longest Day). As Kramer himself states in a reunion extra that appears on Criterion’s new Blu-ray/DVD combo set, “It would be impossible to make today,” due to the salaries stars demand now.
- 1/18/2014
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Jan. 21, 2014
Price: Blu-ray/DVD Combo $49.99
Studio: Criterion
The comedy legends of yesteryear come together for It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
Stanley Kramer followed his Oscar-winning Judgment at Nuremberg with the much-loved 1963 comedy spectacular It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Concerning about a group of strangers fighting tooth and nail over buried treasure, the film is the most grandly harebrained movie ever made, featuring a pileup of slapstick and borscht-belt-y one-liners performed by a nonpareil cast, including Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Ethel Merman, Dick Shawn, Mickey Rooney, Spencer Tracy, Jonathan Winters, and a boatload of other playing-to-the-rafters comedy legends.
For sheer scale of silliness, Kramer’s wildly uncharacteristic film is unlike any other, an exhilarating epic of tomfoolery.
Criterion’s release features a new high-definition digital transfer of a 197-minute extended version of the film, reconstructed and restored by Robert A. Harris...
Price: Blu-ray/DVD Combo $49.99
Studio: Criterion
The comedy legends of yesteryear come together for It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
Stanley Kramer followed his Oscar-winning Judgment at Nuremberg with the much-loved 1963 comedy spectacular It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Concerning about a group of strangers fighting tooth and nail over buried treasure, the film is the most grandly harebrained movie ever made, featuring a pileup of slapstick and borscht-belt-y one-liners performed by a nonpareil cast, including Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Ethel Merman, Dick Shawn, Mickey Rooney, Spencer Tracy, Jonathan Winters, and a boatload of other playing-to-the-rafters comedy legends.
For sheer scale of silliness, Kramer’s wildly uncharacteristic film is unlike any other, an exhilarating epic of tomfoolery.
Criterion’s release features a new high-definition digital transfer of a 197-minute extended version of the film, reconstructed and restored by Robert A. Harris...
- 10/23/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Shirley Jones Movies: Innocent virgins and sex workers galore (photo: Shirley Jones and Burt Lancaster in ‘Elmer Gantry’) (See previous post: “Shirley Jones: From Book to Movies.”) I haven’t watched The Cheyenne Social Club (1970), a comedy Western directed by Gene Kelly, and starring 62-year-old James Stewart as a cowpoke who inherits an establishment that turns out to be a popular house of prostitution. Henry Fonda plays Stewart’s partner. And I’m sure Shirley Jones, as one of the sex workers, looks lovely in the film. Hopefully, director Kelly gave this likable, talented actress the chance to do more than just stand around looking pretty. But then again … For all purposes, The Cheyenne Social Club ended Shirley Jones’ film stardom; that same year she turned to TV and The Partridge Family. Jones would return to films only nine years later, as one of several stars (among them Michael Caine,...
- 8/28/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Produced and distributed by Mvd Entertainment Group, in association with Ediad Productions,"Here's Edie: The Edie Adams Television Collection", available November 19, 2013, is a new four DVD box set, featuring 12 Hours of the early 1960's TV series "Here's Edie" and "The Edie Adams Show".
Performances include classic Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Stan Getz, Andre Previn, Sammy Davis, Jr., Bobby Darin, Johnny Mathis, Nancy Wilson, Buddy Hackett, Bob Hope, Dick Shawn, Rowan & Martin, Peter Falk, Sir Michael Redgrave, Zsa Zsa Gabor and a whole lot more :
"...more than 50 years after it premiered on the ABC network, the variety shows 'Here's Edie' and 'The Edie Adams Show' are set for release on DVD and digital formats, the first time either series has been seen in any format since its original broadcast more than a half century ago.
"The 'wow' factor of this box set resides in the eclectic guest stars Edie Adams...
Performances include classic Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Stan Getz, Andre Previn, Sammy Davis, Jr., Bobby Darin, Johnny Mathis, Nancy Wilson, Buddy Hackett, Bob Hope, Dick Shawn, Rowan & Martin, Peter Falk, Sir Michael Redgrave, Zsa Zsa Gabor and a whole lot more :
"...more than 50 years after it premiered on the ABC network, the variety shows 'Here's Edie' and 'The Edie Adams Show' are set for release on DVD and digital formats, the first time either series has been seen in any format since its original broadcast more than a half century ago.
"The 'wow' factor of this box set resides in the eclectic guest stars Edie Adams...
- 8/6/2013
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
The 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival continues to expand, with newly added appearances by legendary stars at screenings of some of their most memorable films, including Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Mickey Rooney, Jonathan Winters, Marvin Kaplan, Barrie Chase, Polly Bergen,Coleen Gray, Theodore Bikel and Norman Lloyd, as well as producer Stanley Rubin, Clara Bow biographer David Stenn, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) film collections manager Katie Trainor and director Nicholas Ray’s widow, Susan Ray. In addition, TCM’s Essentials Jr. host and Saturday Night Live star Bill Hader will present screenings of Shane (1953) and The Ladykillers(1955).
And The Film Forum’s Bruce Goldstein will present a special screening of Frank Capra’s The Donovan Affair (1929), complete with live voice actors and sound effects to replace the film’s long-lost soundtrack.Mel Brooks is slated to talk about his comedy The Twelve Chairs (1970). Carl Reiner, Mickey Rooney, Jonathan Winters, Marvin Kaplan...
And The Film Forum’s Bruce Goldstein will present a special screening of Frank Capra’s The Donovan Affair (1929), complete with live voice actors and sound effects to replace the film’s long-lost soundtrack.Mel Brooks is slated to talk about his comedy The Twelve Chairs (1970). Carl Reiner, Mickey Rooney, Jonathan Winters, Marvin Kaplan...
- 3/13/2013
- by Melissa Thompson
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
While New Yorkers have plenty of opportunity to see classic films on the big screen, you'll be hard pressed to find a lineup as front to back awesome as the Film Society Of Lincoln Center's "15 For 15: Celebrating Rialto Pictures."
The series honors the reknowned arthouse distribution shingle founded in 1997 that has brought some of the best known (and previously unknown) classics of cinema to American audiences. And the selection here by programmers Scott Foundas, Eric Di Bernardo and Adrienne Halpern represents the breadth and scope of the films Rialto has put their stamp on, ranging from the French New Wave ("Breathless") to film noir ("Rififi") to comedy ("Billy Liar") and more. There is something here for everybody and with the series kicking off tonight, we've got a special prize for some lucky readers.
Courtesy of Film Society Of Lincoln Center, we've got a copy of the excellent Rialto DVD...
The series honors the reknowned arthouse distribution shingle founded in 1997 that has brought some of the best known (and previously unknown) classics of cinema to American audiences. And the selection here by programmers Scott Foundas, Eric Di Bernardo and Adrienne Halpern represents the breadth and scope of the films Rialto has put their stamp on, ranging from the French New Wave ("Breathless") to film noir ("Rififi") to comedy ("Billy Liar") and more. There is something here for everybody and with the series kicking off tonight, we've got a special prize for some lucky readers.
Courtesy of Film Society Of Lincoln Center, we've got a copy of the excellent Rialto DVD...
- 3/19/2012
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Yes, he really does go where no man has gone before because he goes his own way, and that's quite wonderful.
William Shatner's one-man show, "Shatner's World we just live in it ..." opened Thursday night (Feb. 16) at The Music Box. It's great fun, and this is from someone who was not a bona fide Trekkie.
Clearly many in the theater were, and cheered as soon as the familiar strains of the theme song filled the theater. What Shatner very ably does, with "Star Trek" and other earlier TV gigs, stage work and movies, is give the audience his perspective on himself.
To do a one-person show about one's life, one must have lived; think about how thrilling memoirs from teenagers are. And at 80, Shatner has lived a terrific life. He opens with "Star Trek" memories, which makes sense because he knows that he will always be remembered as Captain James Tiberius Kirk.
William Shatner's one-man show, "Shatner's World we just live in it ..." opened Thursday night (Feb. 16) at The Music Box. It's great fun, and this is from someone who was not a bona fide Trekkie.
Clearly many in the theater were, and cheered as soon as the familiar strains of the theme song filled the theater. What Shatner very ably does, with "Star Trek" and other earlier TV gigs, stage work and movies, is give the audience his perspective on himself.
To do a one-person show about one's life, one must have lived; think about how thrilling memoirs from teenagers are. And at 80, Shatner has lived a terrific life. He opens with "Star Trek" memories, which makes sense because he knows that he will always be remembered as Captain James Tiberius Kirk.
- 2/17/2012
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
This week’s pick is the classic Blake Edwards 1966 comedy What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? which stars legendary comedian Dick Shawn of The Producers (Captain Lionel Cash), James Coburn Cross of Iron (Lt. Christian), Aldo Ray Men in War (Sgt. Rizzo), Sergio Fantoni Von Ryan’s Express (Captain Oppo), Harry Morgan T.V.s M*A*S*H* [...]...
- 7/25/2011
- by Douglas Barnett
- The Flickcast
It wouldn't have been Springtime for Hitler without Kenneth Mars. The veteran film and TV character actor, who played a Führer-feting playwright in The Producers, died Saturday at his home in Granada Hills, Calif. He was 75 and had suffered from pancreatic cancer. Mars, a native of Chicago, started acting in the early 1960s, lending his voice to The Jetsons before going on to bit roles in Gunsmoke and Car 54, Where Are You? But in 1968, Mel Brooks cast Mars in The Producers as batty auteur Franz Liebkind, who ultimately can't handle the smashing success of the musical Springtime for Hitler, in which leading man Lorenzo St. DuBois (Dick Shawn) plays Adolf Hitler as fabulously gay. It's a...
- 2/16/2011
- E! Online
By Robert W. Welkos
HollywoodNews.com: For decades, underworld boss Meyer Lansky kept mob secrets so explosive that if the truth ever came out it would alter American history. Now his little-known daughter, who kept her own Code of Silence over the years about her father’s activities, is drawing back the dark veil of the mob’s influence at the highest reaches of government and world events.
Sandi Lansky Lombardo, now 72 and living in an undisclosed location in Florida, carried on the mob tradition of silence to protect her late father and family all the while knowing revealing details about President Nixon’s threat to withhold the sale of fighter jets to Israel because Lansky refused to cut Nixon in on a casino deal; Lansky and Charles “Lucky” Luciano’s plot to assassinate Hitler and Mussolini; and, legendary singer Frank Sinatra hiding out in the basement of a Catholic...
HollywoodNews.com: For decades, underworld boss Meyer Lansky kept mob secrets so explosive that if the truth ever came out it would alter American history. Now his little-known daughter, who kept her own Code of Silence over the years about her father’s activities, is drawing back the dark veil of the mob’s influence at the highest reaches of government and world events.
Sandi Lansky Lombardo, now 72 and living in an undisclosed location in Florida, carried on the mob tradition of silence to protect her late father and family all the while knowing revealing details about President Nixon’s threat to withhold the sale of fighter jets to Israel because Lansky refused to cut Nixon in on a casino deal; Lansky and Charles “Lucky” Luciano’s plot to assassinate Hitler and Mussolini; and, legendary singer Frank Sinatra hiding out in the basement of a Catholic...
- 5/21/2010
- by Robert W. Welkos
- Hollywoodnews.com
The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Fred Weekend Shopping Guide - your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…
(Please support Fred by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)
Sadly, you don’t get the 3-D experience of their recent theatrical re-release, but the high definition versions of Toy Story & Toy Story 2 (Walt Disney, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$39.99 Srp each) are still an eye-popping treat that look and sound really, really good on your massive HDTV. Many of the bonus features are ported over from the most recent DVD special editions, including audio commentaries, featurettes,...
(Please support Fred by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)
Sadly, you don’t get the 3-D experience of their recent theatrical re-release, but the high definition versions of Toy Story & Toy Story 2 (Walt Disney, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$39.99 Srp each) are still an eye-popping treat that look and sound really, really good on your massive HDTV. Many of the bonus features are ported over from the most recent DVD special editions, including audio commentaries, featurettes,...
- 3/26/2010
- by UncaScroogeMcD
Funny movies make us laugh, that’s a no-brainer. But, what happens when you get a movie with Lots of funny people in it? Chances are, if it’s done well, you get an exponentially funnier movie. It’s like asking someone if they’d like a scoop of ice cream, or if they’d like three scoops of ice cream with hot fudge, caramel, whipped topping, nuts, sprinkles (gotta have sprinkles) and a cherry on top… it’s an easy decision. That’s sort of like asking someone if they want to see Mike Judge’s new comedy Extract, which opens nationwide in theaters this Friday. This should be an easy decision as well. So, we Movie Geeks decided to reflect on these movies and “extract” a list of our Top Ten Best Ensemble Comedies.
10. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
One of the most quotable, most intelligently ridiculous films of all time,...
10. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
One of the most quotable, most intelligently ridiculous films of all time,...
- 9/1/2009
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Here are a few words on Michael Jackson from Diane Fredel-Weis, a Los Angeles-based writer. Diane worked on the marketing for Jackson’s “Captain Eo,” a 3-D sci-fi short featured as an attraction at Disney theme parks. The film was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, produced by George Lucas and starred Jackson alongside Anjelica Huston and Dick Shawn. Diane, who met the late pop star while working on “Eo,” was kind enough to detail some of her experiences for MTV readers.
by Diane Fredel-Weis
When I walked onto the Culver City soundstage of “Captain Eo” in early 1986, it was a thrill on many levels. The sets were mind-blowing. Dark, complex, coiled metal environments. Actors walking around in alien costumes. Dozens of people busy with the production. And of course, the star of the film, Michael Jackson, was there.
I was on an assignment for Walt Disney World marketing to watch...
by Diane Fredel-Weis
When I walked onto the Culver City soundstage of “Captain Eo” in early 1986, it was a thrill on many levels. The sets were mind-blowing. Dark, complex, coiled metal environments. Actors walking around in alien costumes. Dozens of people busy with the production. And of course, the star of the film, Michael Jackson, was there.
I was on an assignment for Walt Disney World marketing to watch...
- 6/29/2009
- by MTV Movies Team
- MTV Movies Blog
A sad day indeed. Michael Jackson wore many hats over the course of his long career. He was an international superstar, and he leveraged that status to dip his toes into anything that interested him. In the world of film, Jackson enjoyed unparalleled access. He worked with luminaries, artists and auteurs who shaped the course of the medium as strongly as the pop star himself did in the music world.
Jackson was a pop cultural icon and his touch will forever be felt in all facets of entertainment. Here are just a few of the stars he hitched to in film during his long and storied career.
Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet is a director’s director. He gave us classics like “12 Angry Men,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “The Network,” “Serpico” and the modern-day masterpiece “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.” He also gave us “The Wiz,” a playful recasting of...
Jackson was a pop cultural icon and his touch will forever be felt in all facets of entertainment. Here are just a few of the stars he hitched to in film during his long and storied career.
Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet is a director’s director. He gave us classics like “12 Angry Men,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “The Network,” “Serpico” and the modern-day masterpiece “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.” He also gave us “The Wiz,” a playful recasting of...
- 6/26/2009
- by Adam Rosenberg
- MTV Movies Blog
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