Harry Lime in "The Third Man" is one of cinema's greatest villains and certainly not the kind of person you'd want to spend much time with in real life. He's a sociopathic black marketeer whose cynical line in diluted penicillin causes untold suffering and death to his many child victims. Yet, played with typical charm and devilment by Orson Welles, he is simply irresistible. Even on repeat viewing with full knowledge of his heinous activities, it's impossible not to be captivated by him from the moment he first appears in a doorway with an incorrigible smirk spread across that big moon of a face.
Lime is onscreen for less than 10 minutes but he may be Welles' greatest performance as an actor, tapping into the elusive enigma of the multi-faceted artist and self-proclaimed charlatan. After leaving the U.S. for self-imposed exile in Europe in 1947, he took the role for money,...
Lime is onscreen for less than 10 minutes but he may be Welles' greatest performance as an actor, tapping into the elusive enigma of the multi-faceted artist and self-proclaimed charlatan. After leaving the U.S. for self-imposed exile in Europe in 1947, he took the role for money,...
- 2/12/2023
- by Lee Adams
- Slash Film
We haven't heard from Jack Nicholson in a while, which is a shame because it feels like he might be the last of a kind. The three-time Oscar winner has defied categorization throughout his 60-plus-year career, shifting through various public images much like the varied characters he so deftly portrayed. As author Dennis McDougal described him in his book "Five Easy Decades," Nicholson is "a cipher who appears absolutely frank and open for all the world to see, yet remains soberly resolute, brooding, cagily reflective, and manipulative." In other words, a bit of a contradiction.
However, one thing that's plain is the actor's commitment to his craft. In 1986 when the New York Times' Ron Rosenbaum visited him at his Hollywood home, Nicholson was in the midst of a Strasbergian exercise, singing to "diagnose his instrument." This was something learned from what Rosenbaum termed his years spent, "Devotedly go[ing] from acting...
However, one thing that's plain is the actor's commitment to his craft. In 1986 when the New York Times' Ron Rosenbaum visited him at his Hollywood home, Nicholson was in the midst of a Strasbergian exercise, singing to "diagnose his instrument." This was something learned from what Rosenbaum termed his years spent, "Devotedly go[ing] from acting...
- 1/12/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
Jack Nicholson isn't around much these days. Content to let the age of the superhero blockbuster play out without him, the celebrated actor has retreated from the spotlight for the last decade. But prior to that, he built an enviable career that elevated him to legendary status in Hollywood. And while he naturally commands a sense of respect and awe for his prolific career, the three-time Oscar winner has tried his best to stay committed to the work and play down being treated like "Medusa or the Lincoln Memorial" when on set.
In fact, Nicholson has always been a highly intelligent and capable actor, studying his craft with the eagerness of what the New York Times called an "excitable acting-theory enthusiast who is capable of great earnestness on the subject." Back in his younger years, the actor would even "devotedly go from acting teacher to acting teacher seeking truth the...
In fact, Nicholson has always been a highly intelligent and capable actor, studying his craft with the eagerness of what the New York Times called an "excitable acting-theory enthusiast who is capable of great earnestness on the subject." Back in his younger years, the actor would even "devotedly go from acting teacher to acting teacher seeking truth the...
- 12/25/2022
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
Jack Nicholson is missing in action. The star's last acting role was the 2010 rom com "How Do You Know," and aside from showing up in news stories about his personal life, he's seemingly done with the whole acting thing.
Since his last role, he's been heard to remark that his apparent retirement is down to the fact that he only wants to do "films that move people," and that he has a feeling that "maybe people in their twenties and thirties don't actually want to be moved anymore." In the age of the MCU and the general franchizification of movies, Nicholson seems to think that people want to see "more bombs" and "more explosions" and he's made clear he'll "never do that type of movie."
That all seems slightly at odds with his general reputation as a roguish trickster who can go from playing the murderous Jack in "The Shining,...
Since his last role, he's been heard to remark that his apparent retirement is down to the fact that he only wants to do "films that move people," and that he has a feeling that "maybe people in their twenties and thirties don't actually want to be moved anymore." In the age of the MCU and the general franchizification of movies, Nicholson seems to think that people want to see "more bombs" and "more explosions" and he's made clear he'll "never do that type of movie."
That all seems slightly at odds with his general reputation as a roguish trickster who can go from playing the murderous Jack in "The Shining,...
- 11/19/2022
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
This weekend, Johnny Depp rages into multiplexes as the famous and feared gangster Whitey Bulger in "Black Mass." But no kingpin gets to the top without a little help, and for the Boston crime lord, that came in the shape of Kevin Weeks, played all too briefly in the film by Jesse Plemons. And while it's easy to get romantic about mob life, this fascinating podcast with the real Weeks is a great listen about the inner workings of the life. Read More: Review: Gangster Tale 'Black Mass' Starring Johnny Depp Doesn't Go Deep Enough Ron Rosenbaum of Holding Court, who has known Weeks for decades, got Bulger's right-hand man on the phone to talk about the community of South Boston and his time running with Whitey. Weeks is an open book, answering questions about the various stories and legends that flew around, and what it was like to live during the era.
- 9/18/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Filmmaker editor Scott Macaulay interviews kogonada, "the somewhat mysterious, Nashville-based film essayist whose works have scored hundreds of thousands of views on Vimeo and other platforms." Among his subjects: Robert Bresson and Stanley Kubrick. Tonight, he'll be presenting work on Steven Soderbergh and Yasujiro Ozu. Also in today's news roundup: James Lattimer on Eric Rohmer's Love in the Afternoon and Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin, Jeff Reichert on Martin Scorsese's Italianamerican, Ron Rosenbaum on Al Pacino and more. Plus remembering George Sluizer (The Vanishing) and German screenwriter Wolfgang Held. » - David Hudson...
- 9/22/2014
- Fandor: Keyframe
Filmmaker editor Scott Macaulay interviews kogonada, "the somewhat mysterious, Nashville-based film essayist whose works have scored hundreds of thousands of views on Vimeo and other platforms." Among his subjects: Robert Bresson and Stanley Kubrick. Tonight, he'll be presenting work on Steven Soderbergh and Yasujiro Ozu. Also in today's news roundup: James Lattimer on Eric Rohmer's Love in the Afternoon and Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin, Jeff Reichert on Martin Scorsese's Italianamerican, Ron Rosenbaum on Al Pacino and more. Plus remembering George Sluizer (The Vanishing) and German screenwriter Wolfgang Held. » - David Hudson...
- 9/22/2014
- Keyframe
Kids, you may not believe this, but some of us are old enough to remember when you used to have to connect to the Internet via 56k dial-up modems. Or that AOL was once the most popular Internet service provider, so popular that everyone recognized the cheerful "You've Got Mail" alert that sounded when you signed on. Or that the "You've Got Mail" greeting was a promise that there was something exciting waiting for you in your e-mail inbox, not just spam ads for Canadian Viagra. Don't believe us? There's a historical document you should check out, aptly titled, "You've Got Mail."
It's been just 15 years since Nora Ephron's romantic comedy opened (December 18, 1998), but it seems like eons ago, not just because the Internet has evolved so much since then, but because we've all watched the unwitting romance between Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) and Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) -- business rivals by day,...
It's been just 15 years since Nora Ephron's romantic comedy opened (December 18, 1998), but it seems like eons ago, not just because the Internet has evolved so much since then, but because we've all watched the unwitting romance between Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) and Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) -- business rivals by day,...
- 12/18/2013
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
Chicago – Richard Linklater’s “Slacker” is one of the most important films of the ’90s. Appearing at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival, this incredibly low-budget piece of work helped launch the indie film movement of the decade, teaching people that anyone could make a movie. Shot on 16Mm for less than $25k, “Slacker” ushered in an era of Diy filmmaking. Kevin Smith has said that “Clerks” wouldn’t exist without it. And the ironic thing is that you can now watch one of the most influential low-budget films on the high-definition format of Blu-ray, courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
The Criterion Blu-ray for “Slacker” not only includes a new, restored, high-definition transfer of the low-definition film but an amazing amount of special features, perhaps more than any on a Criterion Blu-ray this year. It features other works by Linklater, including “It’s Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books” and “Woodshock,...
Rating: 4.0/5.0
The Criterion Blu-ray for “Slacker” not only includes a new, restored, high-definition transfer of the low-definition film but an amazing amount of special features, perhaps more than any on a Criterion Blu-ray this year. It features other works by Linklater, including “It’s Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books” and “Woodshock,...
- 10/11/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Benjamin Franklin spent his mornings naked. Patricia Highsmith ate only bacon and eggs. Marcel Proust breakfasted on opium and croissants. The path to greatness is paved with a thousand tiny rituals (and a fair bit of substance abuse) – but six key rules emerge
One morning this summer, I got up at first light – I'd left the blinds open the night before – then drank a strong cup of coffee, sat near-naked by an open window for an hour, worked all morning, then had a martini with lunch. I took a long afternoon walk, and for the rest of the week experimented with never working for more than three hours at a stretch.
This was all in an effort to adopt the rituals of some great artists and thinkers: the rising-at-dawn bit came from Ernest Hemingway, who was up at around 5.30am, even if he'd been drinking the night before; the strong coffee was borrowed from Beethoven,...
One morning this summer, I got up at first light – I'd left the blinds open the night before – then drank a strong cup of coffee, sat near-naked by an open window for an hour, worked all morning, then had a martini with lunch. I took a long afternoon walk, and for the rest of the week experimented with never working for more than three hours at a stretch.
This was all in an effort to adopt the rituals of some great artists and thinkers: the rising-at-dawn bit came from Ernest Hemingway, who was up at around 5.30am, even if he'd been drinking the night before; the strong coffee was borrowed from Beethoven,...
- 10/5/2013
- by Oliver Burkeman
- The Guardian - Film News
Johnny Carson
"Black Swan" and "Hitchcock" scribe John McLaughlin will pen a biopic film adaptation of Bill Zehme's book "Carson The Magnificent" about late night talk show host Johnny Carson.
Zehme was the only journalist Carson spoke to after his retirement in 1992. McLaughlin is re-teaming with "Hitchcock" producer Tom Thayer not the project which will be shopped around to buyers after the holidays. [Source: Business Insider]
Machiavelli, The Prince
39 Films and Satine Film are teaming to produce the $6-13 million biopic "Machiavelli, The Prince" which Federico and Alessandro Di Nuzzo have scripted.
The English-language production follows the Machiavelli's torture and expulsion from Florence, his exile to the countryside, friendship with the god-daughter of the King of France, and authorship of "The Prince" as a recapitulation on his life. [Source: Variety]
Poison Kitchen
British author Philip Kerr will pen the screenplay for "The Poison Kitchen," the Robert Schwentke-directed film adaptation of a chapter from...
"Black Swan" and "Hitchcock" scribe John McLaughlin will pen a biopic film adaptation of Bill Zehme's book "Carson The Magnificent" about late night talk show host Johnny Carson.
Zehme was the only journalist Carson spoke to after his retirement in 1992. McLaughlin is re-teaming with "Hitchcock" producer Tom Thayer not the project which will be shopped around to buyers after the holidays. [Source: Business Insider]
Machiavelli, The Prince
39 Films and Satine Film are teaming to produce the $6-13 million biopic "Machiavelli, The Prince" which Federico and Alessandro Di Nuzzo have scripted.
The English-language production follows the Machiavelli's torture and expulsion from Florence, his exile to the countryside, friendship with the god-daughter of the King of France, and authorship of "The Prince" as a recapitulation on his life. [Source: Variety]
Poison Kitchen
British author Philip Kerr will pen the screenplay for "The Poison Kitchen," the Robert Schwentke-directed film adaptation of a chapter from...
- 11/14/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
According to Deadline Hollywood, the best-selling author Philip Kerr will take a stab at detailing the rise of the Nazi party in 1920s Germany for The Poison Kitchen, a movie being directed by Robert Schwentke (Red, Flightplan). His pedigree as a writer of detective stories set in that tumultuous time certainly qualifies him for the project, but it will also be his first screenplay so it will be interesting to see him transition his skills to a new format. The film will be drawn from the Ron Rosenbaum book “Explaining Hitler” and will pit the growing National Socialist party led by Adolf Hitler against journalists at the “Munich Post” who trash the group as thugs and criminals. You’ll never guess who wins. The world should never stop making movies about WWII and the Nazis. As long as more people can learn about their atrocities and more of us can be reminded of the modern danger they...
- 11/14/2012
- by Cole Abaius
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
It is no surprise that World War II is one of the most popular cinematic subjects. It is almost without a doubt that the socio-political implications of such a hard fought and rampant struggle have made it the most pivotal era in the 20th century. The domination from a fanatical and evil opponent makes it perfect fodder for tales of heroic sacrifices to maintain the common good.
There are great movies that take place during the war and the exceptional “Downfall” which examines the final days of Nazism. But, now there is the promise that there will be a chronicling of the rise of the Nazi Party.
Phillip Kerr will write the cinematic treatment, “The Poison Kitchen,” which will be set in the 1920s as journalists tell of how the Party came to political fruition. Kerr, a British novelist, has a handle on the subject. As his web site (phillipkerr.
There are great movies that take place during the war and the exceptional “Downfall” which examines the final days of Nazism. But, now there is the promise that there will be a chronicling of the rise of the Nazi Party.
Phillip Kerr will write the cinematic treatment, “The Poison Kitchen,” which will be set in the 1920s as journalists tell of how the Party came to political fruition. Kerr, a British novelist, has a handle on the subject. As his web site (phillipkerr.
- 11/14/2012
- by Ruben Gonzalez
- LRMonline.com
British author Philip Kerr has come on board to write the screenplay of Constantin Film's "The Poison Kitchen," based on the chapter of the same name from Ron Rosenbaum's best-selling book "Explaining Hitler." Set in 1920s Munich, the story chronicles the rise of the Nazi Party through the eyes of the journalists at The Munich Post, who published anti-Nazi articles and tried to expose them as organized criminals. The journalists got under the Nazis' skin so deeply that Hitler referred to them as "The Poison Kitchen" for cooking up lies about him. Kerr's...
- 11/13/2012
- by Liza Foreman
- The Wrap
British author Philip Kerr has been tapped to pen the screenplay to The Poison Kitchen for Constantin Film. Kerr is known for his thriller novels set in early 20th century Germany (March Violets, The Pale Criminal) as well as the creator of the popular kids book series Children of the Lamp. His knowledge of German history was a strong suit in nabbing the gig as Kitchen is based on a chapter in Ron Rosenbaum’s best-selling 1998 book Explaining Hitler. Set in 1920’s Munich, Germany, the story tells of the rise of Nazism seen by journalists who tried to expose
read more...
read more...
- 11/13/2012
- by Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
British author Philip Kerr has come on board to script The Poison Kitchen for Constantin Film. Robert Schwentke is already attached to direct the film, which is based on a chapter from the 1998 Ron Rosenbaum book Explaining Hitler, and chronicles the rise of the Nazi Party in the 1920s as told through the eyes of journalists at The Munich Post. That paper published articles against the Nazis and tried to expose them as organized criminals. The journalists so got under the Nazis’ skin that Hitler referred to them as “The Poison Kitchen” for cooking up lies about him. Kerr’s work includes the Bernie Gunther thriller novels, which include March Violets, The Pale Criminal and A German Requiem, as well as many children’s books penned under the name P.B. Kerr. Constantin’s Robert Kulzer and Margo Klewans will produce and Martin Moszkowicz will be exec producer on the movie.
- 11/13/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING JR.
- Deadline
Eight noir novels to help fill your endless summer with a sense of overwhelming dread and paranoia.
Okay, so I’m the professor who wakes up three weeks before the end of the semester and hits everybody over the head with a pile of mandatory reading assignments that everybody has to crowbar in between midnight finals cram sessions and kegstands, but you know, only if they hope to make it out with a passing grade.
My list isn’t filled with breezy bicycle rides through rural Tuscany. Not a happy ending in the bunch. But let’s face it, unless you live in the fourteen square-block section of SoCal that stayed in the mid-sixties to upper seventies range this summer, you’re hiding in your goddamn house waiting for that flaming orb in the sky to duck under the horizon once and for all.
So here are eight books to...
Okay, so I’m the professor who wakes up three weeks before the end of the semester and hits everybody over the head with a pile of mandatory reading assignments that everybody has to crowbar in between midnight finals cram sessions and kegstands, but you know, only if they hope to make it out with a passing grade.
My list isn’t filled with breezy bicycle rides through rural Tuscany. Not a happy ending in the bunch. But let’s face it, unless you live in the fourteen square-block section of SoCal that stayed in the mid-sixties to upper seventies range this summer, you’re hiding in your goddamn house waiting for that flaming orb in the sky to duck under the horizon once and for all.
So here are eight books to...
- 7/22/2012
- by Josh Converse
- Boomtron
Since January 27, Geoff Manaugh of the widely acclaimed Bldgblog has been hosting Breaking Out and Breaking In: A Distributed Film Fest of Prison Breaks and Bank Heists, "an exploration of the use and misuse of space in prison escapes and bank heists, where architecture is the obstacle between you and what you're looking for." The idea is to have anyone and everyone watch the films, wherever we may be, and then discuss them at Bldgblog: "It's a 'distributed' film fest; there is no central venue, just a curated list of films and a list of days on which to watch them. There's no set time, no geographic exclusion, and no limit to the food breaks or repeated scenes you might require. And it all leads up to a public discussion at Studio-x NYC on Tuesday, April 24." Discussions opened so far: Renoir's Grand Illusion (1937), Bresson's A Man Escaped (1956), John Sturges...
- 2/27/2012
- MUBI
"Roland Emmerich's Anonymous is a well-polished cowpat that will confuse and bore those who know nothing about Shakespeare and incense those who know almost anything," declares David Edelstein in New York. The film begins with Derek Jacobi announcing on a contemporary Broadway stage that the plays we attribute to Shakespeare are, in fact, the work of "Edward de Vere, seventeenth Earl of Oxford, who could not, by virtue of his rank, have anything to do with the theater and so handed over his masterworks — many of which were not performed until well after his death — to a boobish actor named Will Shakespeare, who incidentally was the one who stabbed Christopher Marlowe in the eye. Less improbably, De Vere screwed Queen Elizabeth, as well as (accidentally) his own mum…. Apart from its ineptitude, Anonymous is peculiarly beside the point. Shakespeare's succession of masterpieces, near masterpieces, and thrilling misses is a...
- 10/27/2011
- MUBI
Ever wonder what happened to those who opposed Adolf Hitler before he took power in Germany? Director Robert Schwentke (Red, Flightplan) may soon have an answer for you. He'll be directing an adaptation of the book "Explaining Hitler," by Ron Rosenbaum. More specifically the film will cover a chapter called "The Poison Kitchen," and it will cover the story of a newspaper called Muncher Post, how it opposed Hitler's Nazi party from the beginning, and what happened to the publication once the evil dictator finally assumed power. Adaptation duties will fall to Matthew Sand, whose only completed film so far is, um, Ninja Assassin. One can only assume that Mr. Sand is a lot more intelligent than that film would indicate. According to The Hollywood Reporter...
Read More...
Read More...
- 8/12/2011
- by Movies.com
- Movies.com - Celebrity Gossip
Ever wonder what happened to those who opposed Adolf Hitler before he took power in Germany? Director Robert Schwentke (Red, Flightplan) may soon have an answer for you. He'll be directing an adaptation of the book "Explaining Hitler," by Ron Rosenbaum. More specifically the film will cover a chapter called "The Poison Kitchen," and it will cover the story of a newspaper called Muncher Post, how it opposed Hitler's Nazi party from the beginning, and what happened to the publication once the evil dictator finally assumed power. Adaptation duties will fall to Matthew Sand, whose only completed film so far is, um, Ninja Assassin. One can only assume that Mr. Sand is a lot more intelligent than that film would indicate. According to The Hollywood Reporter...
Read More...
Read More...
- 8/12/2011
- by Movies.com
- Movies.com
As Japan's nuclear crisis grows, a new book by Ron Rosenbaum reminds us that nuclear war is a very scary and real prospect. Nathaniel Rich on why we should be worried-and how semantics have put us in danger.
There is something perversely gratifying about Ron Rosenbaum's pessimism on the question of nuclear war. Yes, he writes, a nuclear bomb will again be detonated in an act of war. The only uncertainty is whether it will happen within a couple of decades or before his book appears in paperback.
Related story on The Daily Beast: Who's Killing Iran's Scientists?
The pessimism of How the End Begins: The Road to a Nuclear World War III is refreshing because over the last 20 years the public discussion of nuclear warfare has diminished in candor and volume in almost exact correlation to the likelihood that a nuclear Armageddon will occur. Pakistan and North Korea have now detonated bombs.
There is something perversely gratifying about Ron Rosenbaum's pessimism on the question of nuclear war. Yes, he writes, a nuclear bomb will again be detonated in an act of war. The only uncertainty is whether it will happen within a couple of decades or before his book appears in paperback.
Related story on The Daily Beast: Who's Killing Iran's Scientists?
The pessimism of How the End Begins: The Road to a Nuclear World War III is refreshing because over the last 20 years the public discussion of nuclear warfare has diminished in candor and volume in almost exact correlation to the likelihood that a nuclear Armageddon will occur. Pakistan and North Korea have now detonated bombs.
- 3/15/2011
- by Nathaniel Rich
- The Daily Beast
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.