After a bromantic meet-cute with three grizzled veteran musketeers, the young fighter and his new gang journey entertainingly through palace intrigue with some excellent stunts
There’s not a lot of roistering going on in the cinema right now, but here’s a film which amusingly roisters its heart out. Despite some updated touches – including an LGBT character-shift and a modern-style assassination attempt – this new version in two parts of Alexandre Dumas’s 1844 classic The Three Musketeers is a distinctly old-fashioned entertainment, and entertainment is never easy. A high-gloss French costume movie, it will have devotees of the Netflix talent-agency sitcom Call My Agent! wondering which of that show’s characters are representing which star; it appears to split its two feature-episodes in roughly the place that Richard Lester and screenwriter George Macdonald Fraser divided their Three and Four Musketeers in the 1970s.
Here is part one, and François Civil stars as D’Artagnan,...
There’s not a lot of roistering going on in the cinema right now, but here’s a film which amusingly roisters its heart out. Despite some updated touches – including an LGBT character-shift and a modern-style assassination attempt – this new version in two parts of Alexandre Dumas’s 1844 classic The Three Musketeers is a distinctly old-fashioned entertainment, and entertainment is never easy. A high-gloss French costume movie, it will have devotees of the Netflix talent-agency sitcom Call My Agent! wondering which of that show’s characters are representing which star; it appears to split its two feature-episodes in roughly the place that Richard Lester and screenwriter George Macdonald Fraser divided their Three and Four Musketeers in the 1970s.
Here is part one, and François Civil stars as D’Artagnan,...
- 4/20/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The Curtis Brown Group has taken over representation for Iain Banks’ literary estate, including book to film rights.
Curtis Brown’s Luke Speed will act as the literary estate’s dedicated agent for film and TV adaptation and has already unveiled his first deal, for the author’s 1999 thriller “The Business,” which is being adapted for television by Stigma Films (“Yesterday”). Previously, the estate’s book to film rights were handled by Sayle Screen.
Curtis Brown will also take over book rights from the Mic Cheetham Agency and translation rights from the Marsh Agency.
Becky Brown at Curtis Brown Heritage will now handle book rights and Alexander Cochran at Curtis Brown’s sister agency, C&w, will handle the translation rights.
Scottish born-Banks wrote under two names in two different genres: literary fictions (as Iain Banks) and science fiction (as Iain M. Banks). The former sits alongside authors such as...
Curtis Brown’s Luke Speed will act as the literary estate’s dedicated agent for film and TV adaptation and has already unveiled his first deal, for the author’s 1999 thriller “The Business,” which is being adapted for television by Stigma Films (“Yesterday”). Previously, the estate’s book to film rights were handled by Sayle Screen.
Curtis Brown will also take over book rights from the Mic Cheetham Agency and translation rights from the Marsh Agency.
Becky Brown at Curtis Brown Heritage will now handle book rights and Alexander Cochran at Curtis Brown’s sister agency, C&w, will handle the translation rights.
Scottish born-Banks wrote under two names in two different genres: literary fictions (as Iain Banks) and science fiction (as Iain M. Banks). The former sits alongside authors such as...
- 10/14/2021
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Last week in this space, we started discussing the latest volume in DC’s Tpb re-issue of my Suicide Squad series. The book is called The Phoenix Gambit, which also was the name of the first arc.
Today we’re pushing on with the stand-alone story, Dark Matters, which also serves as the re-vamped and more detailed origin of George “Digger” Harkness, aka Captain Boomerang. Boomerbutt, as he became known in the Squad, was not originally one of my picks for the team; editor Robert Greenberger urged him on me. I thought Boomerang was pretty silly looking with an even sillier gimmick, but he was a prime member of the Flash’s Rogues’ Gallery. The Flash group wasn’t using the Rogues at that point so he became available to us.
I decided to model Boomerang after George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman character in his series of historical novels. Flashman remains a cad,...
Today we’re pushing on with the stand-alone story, Dark Matters, which also serves as the re-vamped and more detailed origin of George “Digger” Harkness, aka Captain Boomerang. Boomerbutt, as he became known in the Squad, was not originally one of my picks for the team; editor Robert Greenberger urged him on me. I thought Boomerang was pretty silly looking with an even sillier gimmick, but he was a prime member of the Flash’s Rogues’ Gallery. The Flash group wasn’t using the Rogues at that point so he became available to us.
I decided to model Boomerang after George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman character in his series of historical novels. Flashman remains a cad,...
- 4/30/2017
- by John Ostrander
- Comicmix.com
Recently I watched Richard Lester's Royal Flash (1975), starring Malcolm McDowell, for the first time. Adapted by author George MacDonald Fraser from his own novel, it's a broad and sprightly comic adventure that I thoroughly enjoyed. To be frank, I only purchased Twilight Time's Blu-ray, available since 2013, because it was on sale. I had no memory of the film's U.S. theatrical release in the fall of 1975 and didn't recall any raves about it, either. Also, I've never read any of the acclaimed books by Fraser, a popular series that placed the disreputable Harry Flashman in the center of meticulously researched historical adventures. But I saw and thoroughly enjoyed The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, first during their theatrical releases and then again...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 2/17/2017
- Screen Anarchy
Octopussy
Directed by John Glen
Written by George Macdonald Fraser, Richard Maibaum, and Michael G. Wilson
United Kingdom, 1983
1983 presented a unique challenge for the Bond franchise. For the first time since Ursula Andress strolled out of the water, there were going to be two Bond films in theatres in the same year. As if that wasn’t enough, Never Say Never Again was also going to see Sean Connery, the first man to ever play Bond and who had handed the reigns off to the current incarnation, reprise the role once again, pitting the two men most known for playing Bond, Connery and Roger Moore (George Lazenby’s one-time outing as the agent notwithstanding) against each other. It is against these conditions that Octopussy was made, with the necessity of having to prove itself anew. Fortunately, the movie delivers on several fronts, making for a thrilling film, albeit one with a curious third act.
Directed by John Glen
Written by George Macdonald Fraser, Richard Maibaum, and Michael G. Wilson
United Kingdom, 1983
1983 presented a unique challenge for the Bond franchise. For the first time since Ursula Andress strolled out of the water, there were going to be two Bond films in theatres in the same year. As if that wasn’t enough, Never Say Never Again was also going to see Sean Connery, the first man to ever play Bond and who had handed the reigns off to the current incarnation, reprise the role once again, pitting the two men most known for playing Bond, Connery and Roger Moore (George Lazenby’s one-time outing as the agent notwithstanding) against each other. It is against these conditions that Octopussy was made, with the necessity of having to prove itself anew. Fortunately, the movie delivers on several fronts, making for a thrilling film, albeit one with a curious third act.
- 11/5/2015
- by Deepayan Sengupta
- SoundOnSight
Variety has learned Fox is developing a movie based on George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman book series, and Ridley Scott will produce the film through his Scott Free banner along with Chernin Entertainment. Sir Harry Paget Flashman first appeared in the 1857 Thomas Hughes novel Tom Brown's School Days, and the first Flashman book was published in 1969. The Flashman character is described as an antihero and a coward who runs away at the first sign of danger, but he somehow...
- 3/6/2015
- by Jesse Giroux
- JoBlo.com
A film version of Flashman is in the works at 20th Century Fox.
The Victorian character was created for Tom Brown's Schooldays, before author George MacDonald Fraser continued the adventures of the bully as Sir Harry Flashman - a cowardly soldier.
Variety reports that the studio is in the process of developing the feature with Ridley Scott's Scott Free and Peter Chernin's Chernin Entertainment.
The book series ran as 11 novels and one short story collection between 1969 and 2005.
Fraser himself was also a script writer, working on screenplays for The Three Musketeers, Octopussy and Red Sonja.
Flashman was previously seen on screen played by Malcolm McDowell in Royal Flash.
The Victorian character was created for Tom Brown's Schooldays, before author George MacDonald Fraser continued the adventures of the bully as Sir Harry Flashman - a cowardly soldier.
Variety reports that the studio is in the process of developing the feature with Ridley Scott's Scott Free and Peter Chernin's Chernin Entertainment.
The book series ran as 11 novels and one short story collection between 1969 and 2005.
Fraser himself was also a script writer, working on screenplays for The Three Musketeers, Octopussy and Red Sonja.
Flashman was previously seen on screen played by Malcolm McDowell in Royal Flash.
- 3/5/2015
- Digital Spy
20th Century Fox, Scott Free and Chernin Entertainment are developing "Flashman," an 1830s-set film based on George MacDonald Fraser's period novels.
Fraser published a dozen books, starting in 1969, featuring Sir Harry Paget Flashman. The character is described as an antihero who often runs from danger but usually winds up being acclaimed as a hero.
Ridley Scott and Peter Chernin will produce. Malcolm McDowell played a previous on-screen version of the character in 1975's "Royal Flash".
Source: Variety...
Fraser published a dozen books, starting in 1969, featuring Sir Harry Paget Flashman. The character is described as an antihero who often runs from danger but usually winds up being acclaimed as a hero.
Ridley Scott and Peter Chernin will produce. Malcolm McDowell played a previous on-screen version of the character in 1975's "Royal Flash".
Source: Variety...
- 3/5/2015
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
The cad to end all cads, Sir Harry Paget Flashman, has already stepped once from the pages of George MacDonald Fraser’s work and on to the screen, in the shape of Malcolm McDowell in 1975’s Royal Flash. Ridley Scott thinks the character can still work in movies, as he’s teaming up with 20th Century Fox to develop a film around him.Flashman, who originally appeared in Thomas Hughes’ 1857 novel Tom Brown’s School Days was spun by Fraser into a lucrative series of 11 novels and a collection of short stories that together form The Flashman Papers. Alhough Flash himself was fictional, he rubbed shoulders (and occasionally other things) with many real-life historical people in the books, as his adventures take him through a variety of notable events including the Charge Of The Light Brigade and the Crimean War. Despite his cowardly tendencies and capacity for self-preservation, he’s a capable,...
- 3/5/2015
- EmpireOnline
Red Sonja & Mystique Cosplayers: Maitland Ward & Grip Goddess In the times of sword and sorcery, amazonian Red Sonja avenges her sister's death and deposes an evil queen. With box-office superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger ("Eraser," "True Lies") and Golden Globe-winner Sandahl Bergman ("Conan the Barbarian"). Actors: Brigitte Nielsen, Ernie Reyes Jr., Pat Roach, Paul L. Smith, Sandahl Bergman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger Director: Richard Fleischer * Screenwriters: Clive Exton & George MacDonald Fraser...
- 10/3/2014
- ComicBookMovie.com
Richard Lester’s directing career has had a rather tortured epilogue. His last completed film was the dreadful, unloved Return of The Musketeers (1989), during the making of which his long-time friend and troupe-member Roy Kinnear died after a freak accident. To add insult to injury, the Comic-Con crowd has been burning Lester in effigy ever since Richard Donner’s cut of Superman II was released in 2006. Donner had been fired as director of the 1980 sequel half way through filming and Lester was hired to finish the job. Since the release of the Donner cut, expressing a preference for the original, jokier version is rather like suggesting that Cesar Romero was a better Joker than Heath Ledger.
I do wonder sometimes whether the fanboys realise what an important, highly influential and iconoclastic director they’re dismissing when they’re kicking sand into Lester’s face. Martin Scorsese would certainly correct them (sternly,...
I do wonder sometimes whether the fanboys realise what an important, highly influential and iconoclastic director they’re dismissing when they’re kicking sand into Lester’s face. Martin Scorsese would certainly correct them (sternly,...
- 7/8/2014
- by Cai Ross
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Blu-ray Release Date: Dec. 10, 2013
Price: Blu-ray $Tba
Studio: Twilight Time
Malcolm McDowell is Harry Flashman in 1975's Royal Flash.
The 1975 British comedy-adventure film Royal Flash, adapted by George MacDonald Fraser from his novel (the second in the popular 12-book series, The Flashman Papers), offers a tale about that energetic cad, Harry Flashman (Malcolm McDowell, A Clockwork Orange), taking reluctant if opportunistic part in 19th-century history.
In the movie, Flashman is drawn into a plot to impersonate a prince engineered by the fearsome Otto von Bismarck (Oliver Reed, Tommy) and must utilize all his wily talents to emerge unscathed.
Directed by Richard Lester (A Hard Day’s Night, Petulia), the film also stars Alan Bates (Women in Love), Florinda Balkan, Britt Ekland, Joss Ackland (The House that Dripped Blood) and a young Bob Hoskins (Made in Dagenham) in one of his earliest film roles (albeit, a small one).
As supplier Twilight...
Price: Blu-ray $Tba
Studio: Twilight Time
Malcolm McDowell is Harry Flashman in 1975's Royal Flash.
The 1975 British comedy-adventure film Royal Flash, adapted by George MacDonald Fraser from his novel (the second in the popular 12-book series, The Flashman Papers), offers a tale about that energetic cad, Harry Flashman (Malcolm McDowell, A Clockwork Orange), taking reluctant if opportunistic part in 19th-century history.
In the movie, Flashman is drawn into a plot to impersonate a prince engineered by the fearsome Otto von Bismarck (Oliver Reed, Tommy) and must utilize all his wily talents to emerge unscathed.
Directed by Richard Lester (A Hard Day’s Night, Petulia), the film also stars Alan Bates (Women in Love), Florinda Balkan, Britt Ekland, Joss Ackland (The House that Dripped Blood) and a young Bob Hoskins (Made in Dagenham) in one of his earliest film roles (albeit, a small one).
As supplier Twilight...
- 9/12/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Django Unchained | Broadchurch | Royal Flash | Motel Hell | Gone In 60 Seconds
Django Unchained
The thing that must annoy Tarantino's detractors more than anything else is that he's usually right. Here, he makes an overlong, bloody, talky movie in a genre no one touches these days (the western). Then he goes and scores the biggest hit of his career with it.
Set in the antebellum American south, Jamie Foxx's slave Django is freed by Christoph Waltz's cheerful and charming bounty-hunting ex-dentist Dr King Schultz. They team up to find Django's wife and rescue her from plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio, clearly enjoying a rare villainous role) and his devious house slave Stephen (an utterly terrifying Samuel L Jackson). Tarantino is far too much of a chatterbox to let so much as a few seconds go by without dialogue (westerns usually have a lot of space). No matter, he...
Django Unchained
The thing that must annoy Tarantino's detractors more than anything else is that he's usually right. Here, he makes an overlong, bloody, talky movie in a genre no one touches these days (the western). Then he goes and scores the biggest hit of his career with it.
Set in the antebellum American south, Jamie Foxx's slave Django is freed by Christoph Waltz's cheerful and charming bounty-hunting ex-dentist Dr King Schultz. They team up to find Django's wife and rescue her from plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio, clearly enjoying a rare villainous role) and his devious house slave Stephen (an utterly terrifying Samuel L Jackson). Tarantino is far too much of a chatterbox to let so much as a few seconds go by without dialogue (westerns usually have a lot of space). No matter, he...
- 5/18/2013
- by Phelim O'Neill
- The Guardian - Film News
Octopussy
Directed by John Glen
Written by George Macdonald Fraser, Richard Maibaum, and Michael G. Wilson
United Kingdom, 1983
1983 presented a unique challenge for the Bond franchise. For the first time since Ursula Andress strolled out of the water, there were going to be two Bond films in theatres in the same year. As if that wasn’t enough, Never Say Never Again was also going to see Sean Connery, the first man to ever play Bond and who had handed the reigns off to the current incarnation, reprise the role once again, pitting the two men most known for playing Bond, Connery and Roger Moore (George Lazenby’s one-time outing as the agent notwithstanding) against each other. It is against these conditions that Octopussy was made, with the necessity of having to prove itself anew. Fortunately, the movie delivers on several fronts, making for a thrilling film, albeit one with a curious third act.
Directed by John Glen
Written by George Macdonald Fraser, Richard Maibaum, and Michael G. Wilson
United Kingdom, 1983
1983 presented a unique challenge for the Bond franchise. For the first time since Ursula Andress strolled out of the water, there were going to be two Bond films in theatres in the same year. As if that wasn’t enough, Never Say Never Again was also going to see Sean Connery, the first man to ever play Bond and who had handed the reigns off to the current incarnation, reprise the role once again, pitting the two men most known for playing Bond, Connery and Roger Moore (George Lazenby’s one-time outing as the agent notwithstanding) against each other. It is against these conditions that Octopussy was made, with the necessity of having to prove itself anew. Fortunately, the movie delivers on several fronts, making for a thrilling film, albeit one with a curious third act.
- 11/27/2012
- by Deepayan Sengupta
- SoundOnSight
For moviegoers growing up in the last 20-30 years, big is the new normal. I’m talking about those big-budget, over-produced, effects/action-packed extravaganzas that are as expected and routine an arrival as a commuter bus, and never more so than during the summer months. Come a rise in temperatures, there’s an almost ceaseless parade of these megabuck behemoths through multiplexes starting in May and continuing until the kids go back to school, one rolling out almost every week.
Consider these May-August releases and their eye-popping price tags:
5/4: Marvel’s The Avengers — $220 million
5/11: Dark Shadows — $150 million
5/18: Battleship — $209 million
5/25: Men in Black 3 — $250 million
6/8: Prometheus — $120-130 million
7/3: The Amazing Spider-Man — $220 million
7/20: The Dark Knight Rises — $250 million
7/31: Total Recall — $200 million
8/5: The Expendables 2 — $100 million
For those of you who haven’t been keeping count, that’s a little over $1.7 billion in productions...
Consider these May-August releases and their eye-popping price tags:
5/4: Marvel’s The Avengers — $220 million
5/11: Dark Shadows — $150 million
5/18: Battleship — $209 million
5/25: Men in Black 3 — $250 million
6/8: Prometheus — $120-130 million
7/3: The Amazing Spider-Man — $220 million
7/20: The Dark Knight Rises — $250 million
7/31: Total Recall — $200 million
8/5: The Expendables 2 — $100 million
For those of you who haven’t been keeping count, that’s a little over $1.7 billion in productions...
- 6/29/2012
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
To mark the 50th Anniversary of one of the most successful movie franchises of all time and with filming almost complete on James Bond’s 23rd official outing in Skyfall due for release later this year, I have been tasked with taking a retrospective look at the films that turned author Ian Fleming’s creation into one of the most recognised and iconic characters in film history.
For Octopussy, the thirteenth official James Bond film, 1983 proved to be rather unlucky. After a lengthy court battle with the co-writer of Thunderball, Kevin McClory, Albert R. Broccoli’s Eon Productions had lost the right to use Bond’s nemesis Blofeld and his organisation Spectre in any of their films. McClory had been trying since 1974 to get his own rival Bond film made but due to a lack of financial backing and legal action from United Artists and the Fleming Trustees his project...
For Octopussy, the thirteenth official James Bond film, 1983 proved to be rather unlucky. After a lengthy court battle with the co-writer of Thunderball, Kevin McClory, Albert R. Broccoli’s Eon Productions had lost the right to use Bond’s nemesis Blofeld and his organisation Spectre in any of their films. McClory had been trying since 1974 to get his own rival Bond film made but due to a lack of financial backing and legal action from United Artists and the Fleming Trustees his project...
- 5/15/2012
- by Chris Wright
- Obsessed with Film
Plus: Do any films get the history right? How many angels can dance on a pinhead?
Which British town is furthest from the sea?
The distance from the sea depends how you define "sea". Here in Ilford, tidewater – the River Roding – is just a mile away, but we are 34 miles by rail from Southend-on-Sea, the nearest resort. However, that is an estuary resort, shown by the wide expanse of glorious mud. The nearest good, sandy, seaside beach is Clacton-on-Sea, 63 miles by train.
Towns and cities in the West Midlands conurbation are likely to be furthest from the sea. Though Birmingham is only about 40 miles from tidewater (at Gloucester), the nearest resort is at least twice as far.
Residents of my hometown of Kington, Herefordshire, considered their nearest resort to be Aberystwyth, 60 miles away. This did not stop them contributing generously to lifeboat appeals, and supporting two fried fish shops.
Roger Backhouse,...
Which British town is furthest from the sea?
The distance from the sea depends how you define "sea". Here in Ilford, tidewater – the River Roding – is just a mile away, but we are 34 miles by rail from Southend-on-Sea, the nearest resort. However, that is an estuary resort, shown by the wide expanse of glorious mud. The nearest good, sandy, seaside beach is Clacton-on-Sea, 63 miles by train.
Towns and cities in the West Midlands conurbation are likely to be furthest from the sea. Though Birmingham is only about 40 miles from tidewater (at Gloucester), the nearest resort is at least twice as far.
Residents of my hometown of Kington, Herefordshire, considered their nearest resort to be Aberystwyth, 60 miles away. This did not stop them contributing generously to lifeboat appeals, and supporting two fried fish shops.
Roger Backhouse,...
- 4/25/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
And there's more bastardisation of the classics to come: Pride And Prejudice And Zombies anyone?
"From the classic novel by Alexandre Dumas," read the credits for the umpteenth version of The Three Musketeers. What they really mean is "about a million miles from the classic novel by Alexandre Dumas."
This time around – and I think we're on the 22nd remake now – they've steampunked it, gussying it up with much retro-futuristic silliness and cheap-looking CGI, anachronistic weaponry and ordnance, by-the-numbers action-heroics, and a sky teeming with armadas of heavily armoured hot-air balloons reminiscent of Zeppelins. And all this, mind, a century before the Montgolfier brothers ever hoisted themselves aloft, so expect your time frames and tenses to be concertinaed as your credulity is stretched to its breaking point. Fans of the still effervescent Dick Lester/George MacDonald Fraser adaptations of the early-70s will be forgiven for looking at the cast of the remake and going,...
"From the classic novel by Alexandre Dumas," read the credits for the umpteenth version of The Three Musketeers. What they really mean is "about a million miles from the classic novel by Alexandre Dumas."
This time around – and I think we're on the 22nd remake now – they've steampunked it, gussying it up with much retro-futuristic silliness and cheap-looking CGI, anachronistic weaponry and ordnance, by-the-numbers action-heroics, and a sky teeming with armadas of heavily armoured hot-air balloons reminiscent of Zeppelins. And all this, mind, a century before the Montgolfier brothers ever hoisted themselves aloft, so expect your time frames and tenses to be concertinaed as your credulity is stretched to its breaking point. Fans of the still effervescent Dick Lester/George MacDonald Fraser adaptations of the early-70s will be forgiven for looking at the cast of the remake and going,...
- 10/7/2011
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
Rather shamelessly packaged to fool you into thinking these are in some way tied-in to the new Paul W.S. Anderson version, this duo of 70s classics have been released onto pin-sharp Blu-ray for the very first time. Enjoy some of the richest production values and costume design that 70s cinema had to offer – all as you’ve never seen it before (even on the big screen, I’d wager) as Blu-rays, here and here.
These are a truly odd and unique pair of films. They were produced by the father-and-son team of Alexander and Ilya Salkind who decided (very much as they did with their later Superman franchise) to produce both films back-to-back. This doesn’t seem especially unusual these days, but it was revolutionary back in the early seventies! The Three Musketeers finishes with a teaser trailer for the following year’s The Four Musketeers and the only other...
These are a truly odd and unique pair of films. They were produced by the father-and-son team of Alexander and Ilya Salkind who decided (very much as they did with their later Superman franchise) to produce both films back-to-back. This doesn’t seem especially unusual these days, but it was revolutionary back in the early seventies! The Three Musketeers finishes with a teaser trailer for the following year’s The Four Musketeers and the only other...
- 10/4/2011
- by John Ashbrook
- Obsessed with Film
There is an ambition among the best of films – and the best of filmmakers – for the work to carry the same dramatic heft and dignity, be treated with the same respect and appreciation as a fine work of literature. Think of the best works of Welles and Lean, of Kubrick and Coppola. Citizen Kane has all the density and texture and period flavor of Booth Tarkington’s The Magnificent Ambersons (which, probably not coincidentally, served as the basis for Welles’ second feature). Coppola’s Godfather saga achieved a majesty and resonance Mario Puzo’s popular but lurid novel never did.
So, who better, during this award season, to talk about that ever-more-rare literary quality in filmmaking than someone who makes his living by his literary qualities?
A debuting TV series may compete in a given season against possibly 100 other shows; a newly-released movie will be scored against several hundred other...
So, who better, during this award season, to talk about that ever-more-rare literary quality in filmmaking than someone who makes his living by his literary qualities?
A debuting TV series may compete in a given season against possibly 100 other shows; a newly-released movie will be scored against several hundred other...
- 2/14/2011
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
Sixty boxes of notes and photographs cover 40-year career of director who worked with Beatles and on Superman films
Richard Lester – the movie director who helped give the Beatles big screen success in the 1960s before finding more fame with The Three Musketeers and Superman franchises – has donated his archive to the nation.
The BFI National Archive yesterday announced that it had acquired more than 60 boxes of letters, scripts, notes, receipts and photographs covering Lester's 40 year career in the TV and movie business.
Highlights include early drafts for the film A Hard Day's Night – then simply called The Beatles – and letters from stars such as Audrey Hepburn, Charlton Heston, Raquel Welch and Spike Milligan.
Lester, now aged 78, has had a long association with the BFI, standing in for Jean-Luc Godard when he failed to turn up for the first John Player lecture in 1968. "The organisation has always been very helpful to me in different ways,...
Richard Lester – the movie director who helped give the Beatles big screen success in the 1960s before finding more fame with The Three Musketeers and Superman franchises – has donated his archive to the nation.
The BFI National Archive yesterday announced that it had acquired more than 60 boxes of letters, scripts, notes, receipts and photographs covering Lester's 40 year career in the TV and movie business.
Highlights include early drafts for the film A Hard Day's Night – then simply called The Beatles – and letters from stars such as Audrey Hepburn, Charlton Heston, Raquel Welch and Spike Milligan.
Lester, now aged 78, has had a long association with the BFI, standing in for Jean-Luc Godard when he failed to turn up for the first John Player lecture in 1968. "The organisation has always been very helpful to me in different ways,...
- 8/22/2010
- by Mark Brown
- The Guardian - Film News
While the idea of ceasing the overall usage of adapting stories, classic or otherwise, into feature films is laughable, there are those stories that just should not be touched again. Whether they have been done so many times that it seems trivial to adapt onto the silver screen or an adaptation has come along that so definitely captures the essence of the story, there are those classic stories that should simply be left alone. Certainly, there are those stories that we will have left off this list, and some of you may think some of these classic stories deserve another go in the feature film realm. For now, and in honor of Robert Zemeckis’ adaptation of A Christmas Carol, we give you our 10 classic stories that should Not be adapted ever again.
10. Macbeth
Adapted Roughly 35 Times
MacBeth is perhaps one of the best Shakespeare stories and also one of the most difficult to adapt successfully,...
10. Macbeth
Adapted Roughly 35 Times
MacBeth is perhaps one of the best Shakespeare stories and also one of the most difficult to adapt successfully,...
- 11/3/2009
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
I guess he'll die another way, to paraphrase Madonna's lousy theme song for the 20th Bond movie. Bond's survival of baroque death traps has been mocked on screen all the way back to 1965, when the noted character actor Robert Easton had the following line as a fruity-accented Bond type in The Loved One: "I think it could be dicey if he decides to use the giant squid." There was a giant octopus in the novel of Dr. No, though no villain ever actually employed sharks with laser helmets as in the Austin Powers films. However, there had been a planned robot shark in the kinda-non canonical Bond adventure Never Say Never Again. Our hero has dealt with seven especially exotic murder weapons over the years:
1. Death by giant yo-yo: Octopussy (1983) Resting after an exhausting shag with Maud Adams, Commander Bond (Roger Moore) is awakened by the sudden arrival in...
1. Death by giant yo-yo: Octopussy (1983) Resting after an exhausting shag with Maud Adams, Commander Bond (Roger Moore) is awakened by the sudden arrival in...
- 11/13/2008
- by Richard von Busack
- Cinematical
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