When screenwriter A.I. Bezzerides was asked about the complex layers of meaning running through his adaptation of Mickey Spillane‘s classic crime novel “Kiss Me Deadly,” he denied having any conscious intention of exploring the post-wwii anxieties that gave the film its jittery core. “People ask me about the hidden meanings in the script,” he told an interviewer. “About the A-bomb, about McCarthyism, what does the poetry mean, and so on. And I can only say that I didn’t think about it when I wrote it . . . I was having fun.” Bezzerides may have been just “having fun,” but in the process, he and director Robert Aldrich crafted one of the greatest noirs of all time, an apocalyptic detective story that looks into the heart of 1950s America and sees annihilation.
It’s one of several stone-cold masterpieces written by the novelist-turned-screenwriter, whose work is being properly acknowledged by the...
It’s one of several stone-cold masterpieces written by the novelist-turned-screenwriter, whose work is being properly acknowledged by the...
- 4/16/2024
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.
Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.
Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies,...
Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.
Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies,...
- 4/9/2024
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
One of the most distinct characteristics of the new Apple TV+ series “Sugar” is the way it cuts scenes from classic Hollywood films into its present day story of detective John Sugar (Colin Farrell). While the technique is novel, if not experimental, the connections being made are clear: Sugar is a cinephile obsessed with old Hollywood movies, while creator Mark Protosevich’s neo-noir series is steeped in the tropes of these 1940s and 50s black and white films.
The connections are so strong, and the intercutting works so well, the real surprise is that the cinephile Protosevich didn’t script them.
“It was all done after the fact, so I had no idea until I saw it how many [and] which clips [they used],” Farrell told IndieWire, adding he was pleasantly surprised to see himself juxtaposed with some of his all-time favorite films, like “Sunset Boulevard.” “It’s a really fun alignment for me,...
The connections are so strong, and the intercutting works so well, the real surprise is that the cinephile Protosevich didn’t script them.
“It was all done after the fact, so I had no idea until I saw it how many [and] which clips [they used],” Farrell told IndieWire, adding he was pleasantly surprised to see himself juxtaposed with some of his all-time favorite films, like “Sunset Boulevard.” “It’s a really fun alignment for me,...
- 4/7/2024
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
John Carpenter has been teasing big news for a couple weeks now and all has been revealed this morning. Carpenter is back with Lost Themes IV: Noir from Sacred Bones Records!
Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.
John Carpenter called the first Lost Themes album “a soundtrack for the movies in your mind.”
From John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies, Lost Themes IV: Noir is set for release on May 3 via Sacred Bones Records. The album pays tribute to Noir cinema!
In conjunction with the announcement, they’ve shared a music video for the album’s first single, “My Name Is Death”, a miniature noir film directed by Ambar Navarro,...
Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.
John Carpenter called the first Lost Themes album “a soundtrack for the movies in your mind.”
From John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies, Lost Themes IV: Noir is set for release on May 3 via Sacred Bones Records. The album pays tribute to Noir cinema!
In conjunction with the announcement, they’ve shared a music video for the album’s first single, “My Name Is Death”, a miniature noir film directed by Ambar Navarro,...
- 3/6/2024
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Directed by and co-written with collaborator and husband, Ethan Coen, filmmaker and editor Tricia Cooke’ Drive Away Dolls finds her doing sapphic donuts around classic movies like Kiss Me Deadly and even a little North By Northwest. As Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) decide to take a trip to Tallahassee, they’re dogged by inept criminals seeking a package and suitcase in the back trunk of the car the pair have rented. If the road trip movie and film noir have long been exercises to explore the American psyche and the landscape’s possible […]
The post “I Want All The Lesbian Experiences I Can See On Film”: Tricia Cooke on Drive-Away Dolls first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “I Want All The Lesbian Experiences I Can See On Film”: Tricia Cooke on Drive-Away Dolls first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 2/27/2024
- by Kyle Turner
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Directed by and co-written with collaborator and husband, Ethan Coen, filmmaker and editor Tricia Cooke’ Drive Away Dolls finds her doing sapphic donuts around classic movies like Kiss Me Deadly and even a little North By Northwest. As Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) decide to take a trip to Tallahassee, they’re dogged by inept criminals seeking a package and suitcase in the back trunk of the car the pair have rented. If the road trip movie and film noir have long been exercises to explore the American psyche and the landscape’s possible […]
The post “I Want All The Lesbian Experiences I Can See On Film”: Tricia Cooke on Drive-Away Dolls first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “I Want All The Lesbian Experiences I Can See On Film”: Tricia Cooke on Drive-Away Dolls first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 2/27/2024
- by Kyle Turner
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
“Drive-Away Dolls” is an audacious lesbian road movie inspired by such Kings of the Bs as John Waters and Russ Meyer. Two young women (Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan) rent a drive-away car without knowing there’s cargo in the trunk that could get them in big trouble with a gang of criminals. Sure enough, thugs are soon chasing them down America’s highways.
Luckily, just about every man in the movie is a bumbling idiot. And not everyone keeps their head.
“Drive-Away Dolls” is the definition of ribald. These girls are as randy and on the make as any of their “Porky’s” counterparts. The movie wears no pretensions. It’s not going up for Oscars. It’s coming out in February, for Chrissakes!
To help promote the movie, filmmakers Ethan Coen — who accepted the Best Picture Oscar for “No Country for Old Men” back in 2008 with his usual creative partner,...
Luckily, just about every man in the movie is a bumbling idiot. And not everyone keeps their head.
“Drive-Away Dolls” is the definition of ribald. These girls are as randy and on the make as any of their “Porky’s” counterparts. The movie wears no pretensions. It’s not going up for Oscars. It’s coming out in February, for Chrissakes!
To help promote the movie, filmmakers Ethan Coen — who accepted the Best Picture Oscar for “No Country for Old Men” back in 2008 with his usual creative partner,...
- 2/23/2024
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Geraldine Viswanathan and Margaret Qualley in ‘Drive-Away Dolls’ (Photo Credit: Wilson Webb / Working Title / Focus Features)
Spouses Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke’s Drive-Away Dolls is a crazy and twisted mix of blackmail, murder, and sexually adventurous lesbians, with a healthy sprinkling of “Wtf is going on” humor. There’s literally nothing out of bounds in Coen and Cooke’s screwball comedy/buddy road trip adventure that wears its R-rating like a lusty badge of honor.
The year’s 1999 and lesbian BFFs are ready for a change of scenery. Jamie, who prefers sampling multiple sexual partners even while in a committed relationship, is coming off a bad breakup with her police officer girlfriend (Beanie Feldstein). Which is as good an excuse as any to embark on a road trip. And the sexually repressed, introverted Marian wants to make the trip from Philadelphia to Tallahassee for a little birdwatching.
What could...
Spouses Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke’s Drive-Away Dolls is a crazy and twisted mix of blackmail, murder, and sexually adventurous lesbians, with a healthy sprinkling of “Wtf is going on” humor. There’s literally nothing out of bounds in Coen and Cooke’s screwball comedy/buddy road trip adventure that wears its R-rating like a lusty badge of honor.
The year’s 1999 and lesbian BFFs are ready for a change of scenery. Jamie, who prefers sampling multiple sexual partners even while in a committed relationship, is coming off a bad breakup with her police officer girlfriend (Beanie Feldstein). Which is as good an excuse as any to embark on a road trip. And the sexually repressed, introverted Marian wants to make the trip from Philadelphia to Tallahassee for a little birdwatching.
What could...
- 2/22/2024
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
The Coen brothers broke up four years ago, and it has taken them a while to come out with solo albums that define their identities. In 2021, Joel Coen directed “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” which was a dazzling black-and-white pastiche of a Shakespeare drama. It was well-done but felt like a one-off, a decision by Coen to serve the material. One year later, Ethan Coen came out with “Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind,” a small-scale rock ‘n’ roll documentary that he made during the pandemic; it was a YouTube clip job, and on those terms expertly crafted — but even after Jerry Lee died (five months after the film’s Cannes premiere), it was never released.
Now, though, we finally have a Coen movie in which one of the brothers puts his solo stamp on filmmaking. “Drive-Away Dolls,” directed by Ethan Coen, is a crime-speckled road-trip joyride about two innocent young women — innocent of illegal activity,...
Now, though, we finally have a Coen movie in which one of the brothers puts his solo stamp on filmmaking. “Drive-Away Dolls,” directed by Ethan Coen, is a crime-speckled road-trip joyride about two innocent young women — innocent of illegal activity,...
- 2/21/2024
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Director Ethan Coen – collaborating with wife Tricia Cooke instead of brother Joel – delivers a disposable but not entirely unentertaining lesbian-centered crime caper comedy in Drive-Away Dolls. With its raunchy sex and vivid violence, the film is more an affectionate tribute to hard R drive-in B movies that more resembles something from the mind of Russ Meyer than anything resembling smart, Oscar-y movies like the Coen Brothers’ No Country For Old Men, Big Lebowski, Barton Fink, Fargo, Blood Simple etc.
Drive-Away Dolls definitely retains the quirkiness of the Coen brand, but key inspirations this time were Meyers’ Motorpsycho, Bad Girls Go To Hell and even something really good like ’50s noir Kiss Me Deadly, with which it shares some plot details.
But “plot” doesn’t really matter much here. Coen and Cooke throw everything against the wall to see what sticks. If it makes narrative sense, it likely is an accident.
Drive-Away Dolls definitely retains the quirkiness of the Coen brand, but key inspirations this time were Meyers’ Motorpsycho, Bad Girls Go To Hell and even something really good like ’50s noir Kiss Me Deadly, with which it shares some plot details.
But “plot” doesn’t really matter much here. Coen and Cooke throw everything against the wall to see what sticks. If it makes narrative sense, it likely is an accident.
- 2/21/2024
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Ethan Coen’s Drive-Away Dolls certainly pulls from the aesthetic and narrative party bags of noir and road movies. It even indulges the pleasures of high lesbian camp as two friends are drawn into a government-connected conspiracy. But to call it pastiche, a term that could be handily affixed to any number of films by the Coen brothers, is inadequate here given the rollicking, casual, intimate nature of Drive-Away Dolls’s relationship to its generic forebearers. In the classic queer punk tradition of Bruce Labruce, John Waters, and Gregg Araki, Coen’s film knows when to pay homage and when to move to its own rhythm.
In its curious way, the film’s formulation of sameness and difference—conveyed through the way that it invokes everything from Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! to Kiss Me Deadly, as well as through the yin and yang of fuckgirl Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and the...
In its curious way, the film’s formulation of sameness and difference—conveyed through the way that it invokes everything from Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! to Kiss Me Deadly, as well as through the yin and yang of fuckgirl Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and the...
- 2/21/2024
- by Kyle Turner
- Slant Magazine
The London tabloid world has traditionally been a sort of journalism Bizarro World, where entrapment is standard practice and news is manufactured on a profit-driven whim, often at the expense of innocent victims. For two decades, Mazher Mahmood strode over this ethics-starved world like a corrupt colossus, enabled by his employers, chiefly News of the World, to destroy lives as an “undercover reporter.”
Mahmood, dubbed “The Fake Sheikh” for the disguise he used to ensnare many of his unwitting targets, once gathered up a large group of illegal immigrants, delivered them to the police,...
Mahmood, dubbed “The Fake Sheikh” for the disguise he used to ensnare many of his unwitting targets, once gathered up a large group of illegal immigrants, delivered them to the police,...
- 9/25/2023
- by Chris Vognar
- Rollingstone.com
Cars, it’s often been observed, offer a sort of contradiction of motion: They allow us to move around while sitting still. It only makes sense, then, that the movies have for so long been attracted to the allure of the automobile, for surely the appeal of the cinema lies in its capacity to take us from the comfort of the theater or living room to adventures around the world. The greatest car movies—movies about cars, largely set in cars, or otherwise significantly concerned with them—understand that our affection for our vehicles has as much to do with the possible freedoms they promise as the routines they let us uphold. Cars drive us to and from work every day, keeping our lives precisely ordered. But they also suggest escape: We’re always aware, faintly, that we could drive away from it all at any moment, out and off...
- 8/23/2023
- by Calum Marsh
- Slant Magazine
Brutal and violent, Mike Hammer is a no-holds-barred private investigator created by Mickey Spillane and featured in novels, movies, TV shows, comics, and more. Mike Hammer is set to return to the big screen as Skydance has acquired the rights to the franchise and is planning to develop a movie based on the iconic character.
No writers, directors, or actors attached to the new Mike Hammer movie at this time, which is hardly a surprise given the ongoing WGA and SAG strikes. The rights to the character have been in dispute for quite some time. Mickey Spillane died in 2006, just one month after the death of his manager. The manager’s estate tried to claim ownership of Mike Hammer, but following years in court, those rights reverted to Spillane’s estate.
Starting with the novel I, the Jury, Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer novels have sold over 250 million copies worldwide.
No writers, directors, or actors attached to the new Mike Hammer movie at this time, which is hardly a surprise given the ongoing WGA and SAG strikes. The rights to the character have been in dispute for quite some time. Mickey Spillane died in 2006, just one month after the death of his manager. The manager’s estate tried to claim ownership of Mike Hammer, but following years in court, those rights reverted to Spillane’s estate.
Starting with the novel I, the Jury, Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer novels have sold over 250 million copies worldwide.
- 8/3/2023
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
Skydance has acquired rights to Mickey Spillane’s and Max Allan Collins’ Mike Hammer franchise with plans to develop and produce the bestselling book series as a feature film based on the iconic character. No writers, directors or actors are attached at this time.
Entertainment 360 joins as a producer with Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger producing with Guymon Casady producing for Entertainment 360. Benjamin Forkner and Ken F. Levin will also produce. Collins will executive produce, with Jane Spillane serving as co-producer. Carin Sage will oversee the project for Skydance.
Hammer is the protagonist of a series of hardboiled detective novels, starting with I, the Jury published in 1947, becoming one of the most popular figures of the genre.
With more than 250 million copies of Mike Hammer books sold globally, it is often recognized as the most popular American mystery/thriller series of all time. Hammer is...
Entertainment 360 joins as a producer with Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger producing with Guymon Casady producing for Entertainment 360. Benjamin Forkner and Ken F. Levin will also produce. Collins will executive produce, with Jane Spillane serving as co-producer. Carin Sage will oversee the project for Skydance.
Hammer is the protagonist of a series of hardboiled detective novels, starting with I, the Jury published in 1947, becoming one of the most popular figures of the genre.
With more than 250 million copies of Mike Hammer books sold globally, it is often recognized as the most popular American mystery/thriller series of all time. Hammer is...
- 8/2/2023
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Ahead of Christopher Nolan’s biopic of ‘father of the atomic bomb’ J Robert Oppenheimer, in cinemas next week, we explore the bomb’s legacy on film, from Hiroshima Mon Amour to Dr Strangelove
Two new documentaries available to stream this week are riding the wave of anticipation for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, out in cinemas next Friday. Lest Nolan’s Cillian Murphy-starring biopic of atomic bomb creator J Robert Oppenheimer not serve the facts diligently enough, then Oppenheimer: The Real Story (from 17 July) and To End All War: Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb (Now TV) are on hand to fill in any gaps. They join a long line of documentaries on the subject and its adjacent concerns; the surprise is that it’s taken this long for Oppenheimer himself to be the protagonist of a major Hollywood drama.
But the legacy of the atom bomb, from its development...
Two new documentaries available to stream this week are riding the wave of anticipation for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, out in cinemas next Friday. Lest Nolan’s Cillian Murphy-starring biopic of atomic bomb creator J Robert Oppenheimer not serve the facts diligently enough, then Oppenheimer: The Real Story (from 17 July) and To End All War: Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb (Now TV) are on hand to fill in any gaps. They join a long line of documentaries on the subject and its adjacent concerns; the surprise is that it’s taken this long for Oppenheimer himself to be the protagonist of a major Hollywood drama.
But the legacy of the atom bomb, from its development...
- 7/16/2023
- by Guy Lodge
- The Guardian - Film News
Billy Idol has announced an expanded reissue of his 1982 self-titled debut album, out July 28th.
The reissue arrives a month before Idol embarks on his North American tour, which kicks off August 27th in Vancouver, with tickets available here. The run will most certainly see the rock legend performing songs from his debut, including his massive hit “White Wedding.”
The expanded reissue will be available in a 2-cd physical format and features the original 10-song tracklist and a previously unreleased extended 12-minute Clubland remix of “White Wedding” on the first disc. A previously unreleased 15-song concert, recorded at The Roxy in West Hollywood in 1982, is included on the second disc. A standard single LP repressing of the original album will also be available along with a bundled lithograph.
Following his stint as frontman of Generation X, Idol became a bonafide star upon the release of his solo debut. His sophomore effort,...
The reissue arrives a month before Idol embarks on his North American tour, which kicks off August 27th in Vancouver, with tickets available here. The run will most certainly see the rock legend performing songs from his debut, including his massive hit “White Wedding.”
The expanded reissue will be available in a 2-cd physical format and features the original 10-song tracklist and a previously unreleased extended 12-minute Clubland remix of “White Wedding” on the first disc. A previously unreleased 15-song concert, recorded at The Roxy in West Hollywood in 1982, is included on the second disc. A standard single LP repressing of the original album will also be available along with a bundled lithograph.
Following his stint as frontman of Generation X, Idol became a bonafide star upon the release of his solo debut. His sophomore effort,...
- 6/21/2023
- by Jon Hadusek
- Consequence - Music
This Mickey Spillane noir tale has its good points: star Anthony Quinn gives a solid ‘tough guy’ performance, sizing up a quartet of thrill-crazy Spillane dames that promise no end of trouble. The surprisingly clever script dares to exploit the gimmicks of both amnesia and plastic surgery — without insulting our intelligence. Peggie Castle is our new favorite in the glamour sweepstakes, and Gene Evans, Charles Coburn, Mary Ellen Kay, Shawn Smith, Barry Kelley, Jay Adler and Bruno VeSota co-star. And remember: ‘Evil to Him who Evil Thinks.’
The Long Wait 4K
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1954 / B&w / 1:75 widescreen / 94 min. / Street Date March 21, 2023 / Available from ClassicFlix / 39.99
Starring: Anthony Quinn, Charles Coburn, Gene Evans, Peggie Castle, Mary Ellen Kay, Shawn Smith, Dolores Donlon, Barry Kelley, James Millican, Bruno VeSota, Jay Adler, John Damler, Frank Marlowe, Paul Dubov.
Cinematography: Franz Planer
Art Director: Boris Leven
Film Editor: Ronald Sinclair
Editorial Supervisor Otto Ludwig...
The Long Wait 4K
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1954 / B&w / 1:75 widescreen / 94 min. / Street Date March 21, 2023 / Available from ClassicFlix / 39.99
Starring: Anthony Quinn, Charles Coburn, Gene Evans, Peggie Castle, Mary Ellen Kay, Shawn Smith, Dolores Donlon, Barry Kelley, James Millican, Bruno VeSota, Jay Adler, John Damler, Frank Marlowe, Paul Dubov.
Cinematography: Franz Planer
Art Director: Boris Leven
Film Editor: Ronald Sinclair
Editorial Supervisor Otto Ludwig...
- 3/14/2023
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This Riverdale review contains spoilers.
Riverdale Season 6 Episode 14
“Welcome to the sad superhero club…”
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a…shirtless Archie Andrews! With its latest installment, Riverdale‘s current superhero saga proved that it isn’t afraid to liberally borrow tried and true superhero tropes in order to advance the storyline of Archie’s mighty crusaders squaring off against the increasingly diabolical (and somewhat annoyingly impervious) Percival Pickens. As a lifelong Archie Comicsfanatic, I’ll admit that it is a bit jarring to hear these characters namecheck their DC characters, but it is all in service to the grand storyline here…not to mention corporate synergy. (Warner Bros owns DC Comics and half of The CW itself).
So quicker than you can say “Berlantiverse,” this latest episode had Archie and Jughead browsing the latter’s comic collection when they stumble upon the idea that...
Riverdale Season 6 Episode 14
“Welcome to the sad superhero club…”
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a…shirtless Archie Andrews! With its latest installment, Riverdale‘s current superhero saga proved that it isn’t afraid to liberally borrow tried and true superhero tropes in order to advance the storyline of Archie’s mighty crusaders squaring off against the increasingly diabolical (and somewhat annoyingly impervious) Percival Pickens. As a lifelong Archie Comicsfanatic, I’ll admit that it is a bit jarring to hear these characters namecheck their DC characters, but it is all in service to the grand storyline here…not to mention corporate synergy. (Warner Bros owns DC Comics and half of The CW itself).
So quicker than you can say “Berlantiverse,” this latest episode had Archie and Jughead browsing the latter’s comic collection when they stumble upon the idea that...
- 5/16/2022
- by Chris Cummins
- Den of Geek
Now up for grabs in Region A, it’s the Robert Aldrich movie that wins over all that see it. The epitome of Men In Peril adventures, the tale of 14 random oil men marooned in the Sahara is brutal yet optimistic about human cooperation — please, the world needs more of that right now. James Stewart is at his best, stretching his hard-bitten loner persona and tapping into his flying experience. Also with an English-language-best performance from Hardy Krüger. The male group dynamics are absorbing and the suspense powerful — especially when seen cold. No spoilers here!
The Flight of the Phoenix
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1116
1965 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 142 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date March 22, 2022 / 39.95
Starring: James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Krüger, Ernest Borgnine, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser, Christian Marquand, Dan Duryea, George Kennedy, Gabriele Tinti, Alex Montoya, Peter Bravos, William Aldrich, Barrie Chase.
Cinematography: Joseph Biroc...
The Flight of the Phoenix
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1116
1965 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 142 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date March 22, 2022 / 39.95
Starring: James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Krüger, Ernest Borgnine, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser, Christian Marquand, Dan Duryea, George Kennedy, Gabriele Tinti, Alex Montoya, Peter Bravos, William Aldrich, Barrie Chase.
Cinematography: Joseph Biroc...
- 3/19/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Searchlight’s “Nightmare Alley” takes place mostly in 1939-41, but its sensibility is contemporary. It’s a time-capsule movie: If future generations want to know what life was like in the 21st century, tell them to see this film.
“Nightmare,” written by Guillermo Del Toro (who directs) and Kim Morgan, depicts a world of liars and charlatans who manipulate the truth to gain wealth and/or power. And the general public is surprisingly gullible. As Lilith (Cate Blanchett) says to Stan (Bradley Cooper), “You don’t fool people, Stan, they fool themselves.”
Del Toro tells Variety, “We are in a moment of great anxiety, post-discourse, post-truth, almost as if we, as a society, are going through a psychotic episode. Everybody curates the reality of the world, every piece of information, to fit their own ‘truth. And I mean everybody; this is not about a particular person or party. This is...
“Nightmare,” written by Guillermo Del Toro (who directs) and Kim Morgan, depicts a world of liars and charlatans who manipulate the truth to gain wealth and/or power. And the general public is surprisingly gullible. As Lilith (Cate Blanchett) says to Stan (Bradley Cooper), “You don’t fool people, Stan, they fool themselves.”
Del Toro tells Variety, “We are in a moment of great anxiety, post-discourse, post-truth, almost as if we, as a society, are going through a psychotic episode. Everybody curates the reality of the world, every piece of information, to fit their own ‘truth. And I mean everybody; this is not about a particular person or party. This is...
- 1/27/2022
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Let’s shout our approval of this foursome of vintage noirs, all of which have been scarce since Eddie Muller was old enough to rob candy stores. Three Paramounts and one Universal give us four notable directors and a gallery of attractive stars, including a swoon-worthy array of actresses: Marta Toren, Loretta Young, Susan Hayward, Gail Russell, Frances Farmer and Marina Berti. The selection includes one of the key ‘just prior to the official style’ titles, a thriller with supernatural overtones, a ‘woman in jeopardy’ story and a gangster tale reportedly inspired by Lucky Luciano.
Kino Noir Times Four
Blu-ray
Among the Living, Night Has a Thousand Eyes, The Accused, Deported
Kl Studio Classics
1941-1950 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / Street Date November 16, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / Separate Purchases / 24.95 each
Starring: Albert Dekker, Susan Hayward; Edward G. Robinson, Gail Russell; Loretta Young, Robert Cummings, Wendell Corey; Jeff Chandler, Marta Toren.
Directed by Stuart Heisler,...
Kino Noir Times Four
Blu-ray
Among the Living, Night Has a Thousand Eyes, The Accused, Deported
Kl Studio Classics
1941-1950 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / Street Date November 16, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / Separate Purchases / 24.95 each
Starring: Albert Dekker, Susan Hayward; Edward G. Robinson, Gail Russell; Loretta Young, Robert Cummings, Wendell Corey; Jeff Chandler, Marta Toren.
Directed by Stuart Heisler,...
- 11/27/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
A clever twist elevates this cynical but conventional crime thriller to another level – even if it comes late in the day
From Kiss Me Deadly to Repo Man to Pulp Fiction, the suitcase/car boot with mysterious contents has a distinct lineage in Los Angeles-set cinema. Perhaps a cipher for the city’s legendary transience and elusive promises, another one shows up in this snarky low-budget crime thriller in the hands of Charlotte (Sophie Dalah). She does a runner with it from the house of an ex-boyfriend, instructing her ride-share driver Russell (Aj Bowen) to sit outside and keep the motor running.
This is just the first stop. Russell, in a white Porsche that is all that remains of his payout from prematurely selling his share of a successful app, is needled by the pretty, insouciant Australian he picks up. Initially flirtatious, Charlotte enjoys pushing the middle-aged man’s buttons.
From Kiss Me Deadly to Repo Man to Pulp Fiction, the suitcase/car boot with mysterious contents has a distinct lineage in Los Angeles-set cinema. Perhaps a cipher for the city’s legendary transience and elusive promises, another one shows up in this snarky low-budget crime thriller in the hands of Charlotte (Sophie Dalah). She does a runner with it from the house of an ex-boyfriend, instructing her ride-share driver Russell (Aj Bowen) to sit outside and keep the motor running.
This is just the first stop. Russell, in a white Porsche that is all that remains of his payout from prematurely selling his share of a successful app, is needled by the pretty, insouciant Australian he picks up. Initially flirtatious, Charlotte enjoys pushing the middle-aged man’s buttons.
- 10/5/2021
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
Celebrating the release of his new memoir, multi-hyphenate Steven Van Zandt joins hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante to discuss a few of his favorite movies.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Elevator To The Gallows (1958) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Breathless (1960) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)
The Fisher King (1991)
Tony Rome (1967)
Lady In Cement (1968)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
The Killer (1989)
True Romance (1993)
True Lies (1994)
Get Shorty (1995) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Point Blank (1967) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Catch Us If You Can a.k.a. Sweet Memories (1965)
Double Trouble (1967)
Performance (1970) – Mark Goldblatt’s trailer commentary
The Driver (1978)
A Hard Day’s Night (1964) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Tfh’s Don’t Knock The Rock piece
Help! (1965) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s review
Blue Collar (1978) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Elevator To The Gallows (1958) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Breathless (1960) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)
The Fisher King (1991)
Tony Rome (1967)
Lady In Cement (1968)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
The Killer (1989)
True Romance (1993)
True Lies (1994)
Get Shorty (1995) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Point Blank (1967) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Catch Us If You Can a.k.a. Sweet Memories (1965)
Double Trouble (1967)
Performance (1970) – Mark Goldblatt’s trailer commentary
The Driver (1978)
A Hard Day’s Night (1964) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Tfh’s Don’t Knock The Rock piece
Help! (1965) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s review
Blue Collar (1978) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s...
- 9/28/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
At long last, Paul Thomas Anderson is ready to share the first look of his new film with the world—well, not the entire world yet. His Phantom Thread follow-up, which had a production title of Soggy Bottom, now has a fresh new name and a trailer that is making the rounds at repertory cinemas from London to LA.
Premiering in front of screenings of American Graffiti and Beavis and Butt-Head Do America at London’s The Prince Charles Cinema, the 35mm trailer then screened last night at LA’s New Beverly between the double feature of Kiss Me Deadly and Repo Man as well as at the American Cinematheque’s Loz Feliz 3 before a screening of Strangers on a Train and at the Aero before Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!.
The title was revealed to be Licorice Pizza, which references the record store chain founded in Southern...
Premiering in front of screenings of American Graffiti and Beavis and Butt-Head Do America at London’s The Prince Charles Cinema, the 35mm trailer then screened last night at LA’s New Beverly between the double feature of Kiss Me Deadly and Repo Man as well as at the American Cinematheque’s Loz Feliz 3 before a screening of Strangers on a Train and at the Aero before Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!.
The title was revealed to be Licorice Pizza, which references the record store chain founded in Southern...
- 9/10/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Stars: Aj Bowen, Sophie Dalah, Scott Poythress | Written by Meghan Leon | Directed by Meghan Leon, Brad Baruh
Russell is a rideshare driver with a Porsche. That’s about all he has left after his career and marriage fell apart. So when Charlotte (Sophie Dalah; Satanic) starts offering him large amounts of cash to cancel his plans and drive her around the city, and not log it in his app, he agrees. She comes running out of her first stop with a small box, and her ex in hot pursuit. But that’s just a taste of what’s to come. When they accidentally hit a pedestrian Charlotte convinces him not to call the police, she can help him get rid of the body. When the body steals the Porche and drives off into the night, that’s when it really gets weird.
Set against the backdrop of Christmas in Los Angeles,...
Russell is a rideshare driver with a Porsche. That’s about all he has left after his career and marriage fell apart. So when Charlotte (Sophie Dalah; Satanic) starts offering him large amounts of cash to cancel his plans and drive her around the city, and not log it in his app, he agrees. She comes running out of her first stop with a small box, and her ex in hot pursuit. But that’s just a taste of what’s to come. When they accidentally hit a pedestrian Charlotte convinces him not to call the police, she can help him get rid of the body. When the body steals the Porche and drives off into the night, that’s when it really gets weird.
Set against the backdrop of Christmas in Los Angeles,...
- 8/26/2021
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
Everyone is having such a blast in “No Sudden Moves” that it’s hard to realize how minimal of an impression it leaves until it’s over. Steven Soderbergh’s lighthearted crime caper offers the kind of fast-and-loose ensemble material that he spins out in his sleep, and with a robust cast on the same wavelength, “No Sudden Move” makes its sense of play infectious.
Set in Detroit circa 1954, “No Sudden Move” was shot during the pandemic and has the speedy quality of a production that doesn’t want to waste any time. It’s so fun to watch the exploits of two-bit criminals Ronald (Benicio Del Toro) and Curt (Don Cheadle) as they attempt to take control of a hired gig on their own terms that, even as the movie devolves into an ineffectual shaggy-dog story shoehorned into a baffling and abrupt real-life backdrop, it remains
Leave it to...
Set in Detroit circa 1954, “No Sudden Move” was shot during the pandemic and has the speedy quality of a production that doesn’t want to waste any time. It’s so fun to watch the exploits of two-bit criminals Ronald (Benicio Del Toro) and Curt (Don Cheadle) as they attempt to take control of a hired gig on their own terms that, even as the movie devolves into an ineffectual shaggy-dog story shoehorned into a baffling and abrupt real-life backdrop, it remains
Leave it to...
- 6/19/2021
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
The memories of movie fans are papered with the work of the remarkably prolific producer Edward Small, ranging from such sophisticated fare as Witness for the Prosecution to boomer favorites like Jack The Giant Killer and It! The Terror From Beyond Space. In 1953 Small produced Wicked Woman, a memorably sleazy but amusingly self-aware noir out of the Jim Thompson playbook. Directed by Russell Rouse (The Oscar), the film stars Richard Egan as a small-town barkeep and perennial femme fatale Beverly Michaels as the sexy drifter who has his number. Co-starring Percy Helton, the high-pitched gnome from so many other essential noirs including Kiss Me Deadly and Criss Cross.
The post Wicked Woman appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post Wicked Woman appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 6/9/2021
- by TFH Team
- Trailers from Hell
Cloris Leachman, who would have turned 95 on April 30, was already a seasoned performer before her impressive streak in film and television began in the early 1970s. In 1972, she pulled off a rare feat: She won the best supporting actress Oscar for Peter Bogdanovich’s “The Last Picture Show,” in a finely-drawn dramatic performance, and was nominated for an Emmy in comedy supporting actress for her role as the nutty Phyllis on CBS’ “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
The longtime stage, big screen and TV actress was in her mid-forties when two of her most memorable roles came along, followed just a few years later by her hilarious Frau Blücher in “Young Frankenstein,” for which she received a Golden Globe comedy acting nomination.
Bogdanovich recalled casting Leachman in “Last Picture Show” after her death in January. When she first entered the room, he said, he thought she seemed wrong for the part.
The longtime stage, big screen and TV actress was in her mid-forties when two of her most memorable roles came along, followed just a few years later by her hilarious Frau Blücher in “Young Frankenstein,” for which she received a Golden Globe comedy acting nomination.
Bogdanovich recalled casting Leachman in “Last Picture Show” after her death in January. When she first entered the room, he said, he thought she seemed wrong for the part.
- 4/30/2021
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
A wannabe hip-hop star is kidnapped into slavery in a film that beats a well-trodden path around LA’s scuzzy underbelly
Apart from Google Street View employees’ driveways, the LA “underbelly” must be the most filmed place on the planet, from Kiss Me Deadly to Training Day. That capital of spiritual degradation is where this scratchy low-budget drama is bound, as Angeleno wannabe Mandy (Wittie Hughes) meets-cute with a white-boy rapper on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and gets wrecked with him at a pool party.
Mandy’s hopes of stardom take a nosedive when she wakes up on a plastic-sheathed mattress in an anonymous low-rise, apparently delivered into human slavery. She has become the “property” of Shadow, a tooth-grilled pimp who appears to have taken James Franco’s “Look at all my shit” soliloquy in Spring Breakers as sound career advice. His sidekick is a mute never seen without a gold Anonymous mask.
Apart from Google Street View employees’ driveways, the LA “underbelly” must be the most filmed place on the planet, from Kiss Me Deadly to Training Day. That capital of spiritual degradation is where this scratchy low-budget drama is bound, as Angeleno wannabe Mandy (Wittie Hughes) meets-cute with a white-boy rapper on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and gets wrecked with him at a pool party.
Mandy’s hopes of stardom take a nosedive when she wakes up on a plastic-sheathed mattress in an anonymous low-rise, apparently delivered into human slavery. She has become the “property” of Shadow, a tooth-grilled pimp who appears to have taken James Franco’s “Look at all my shit” soliloquy in Spring Breakers as sound career advice. His sidekick is a mute never seen without a gold Anonymous mask.
- 4/5/2021
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
Bertrand Tavernier breaks the barrier between fans of European movies and 101 classic French pictures that most of us have never gotten a peek at. The key to this eight-hour film clip excerpt round-up is the hosting-curatorship of Tavernier — the fascinating miniseries has plenty to offer both fans that have never seen an old French movie, and some of us that thought (until now) that we knew something about them. The author and director is also a great storyteller, presenting his favorite underrated directors, actors & composers and putting them, in historical context. Tavernier is a deft film clip picker — all are riveting, none are spoilers, and you’ll come out learning fifty new French words, most of them clean. Highly, highly recommended.
Journeys Through French Cinema
Blu-ray
Cohen Media Group
2017 / Color + B&w / 1:78 widescreen + 1:33 flat / 459 min. without beating any particular bias-drum.
Even when championing directors he dubs The Forgotten Ones,...
Journeys Through French Cinema
Blu-ray
Cohen Media Group
2017 / Color + B&w / 1:78 widescreen + 1:33 flat / 459 min. without beating any particular bias-drum.
Even when championing directors he dubs The Forgotten Ones,...
- 3/27/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Ahead of FrightFest’s UK special screening of The Woman With Leopard Shoes at the Glasgow Film Festival, director Alexis Bruchon talks about his love of Noir, casting his brother and directing in his underwear…
Your background is in illustration and graphic design. Was making a movie the next logical step as an artist?
From a very young age, I wanted to make a movie (as a teenager I did make a slasher called Ice Crime a true masterpiece!) – but drawing is direct, cost nothing and allows you to produce any images you want. So, I started with two unpublished graphic novels. The good thing with comics is that I realised you can tell a story with very few elements… and no money!
So, when I started on The Woman With Leopard Shoes, drawing was highly important in the making of the film because I storyboarded everything with a lot of indications like light,...
Your background is in illustration and graphic design. Was making a movie the next logical step as an artist?
From a very young age, I wanted to make a movie (as a teenager I did make a slasher called Ice Crime a true masterpiece!) – but drawing is direct, cost nothing and allows you to produce any images you want. So, I started with two unpublished graphic novels. The good thing with comics is that I realised you can tell a story with very few elements… and no money!
So, when I started on The Woman With Leopard Shoes, drawing was highly important in the making of the film because I storyboarded everything with a lot of indications like light,...
- 2/23/2021
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
It takes too many words to properly describe Richard Kelly’s followup to Donnie Darko, but the oversized dystopian sci-fi epic just might grab audiences looking for weird extravagance. Cult hosannas aside, Kelly’s ‘crazy’ predictions closely resemble our present domestic chaos. Brilliant ideas rub shoulders with apocalyptic clichés and the acting styles are all over the place, but the show frequently achieves a truly goofy vibe described by its director as a cross between Philip K. Dick and Thomas Pynchon. Just be ready for a storyline that scatters in all directions. This new disc is a video debut for the original, longer Cannes preview cut.
Southland Tales
Blu-ray
Arrow Video
2006 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 145, 158 min. / Street Date January 26, 2021 / Available from Amazon / 39.95
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott, Nora Dunn, Janeane Garofalo, Christopher Lambert, John Larroquette, Jon Lovits, Mandy Moore, Wallace Shawn, Justin Timberlake, Amy Poehler, Zelda Rubenstein,...
Southland Tales
Blu-ray
Arrow Video
2006 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 145, 158 min. / Street Date January 26, 2021 / Available from Amazon / 39.95
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott, Nora Dunn, Janeane Garofalo, Christopher Lambert, John Larroquette, Jon Lovits, Mandy Moore, Wallace Shawn, Justin Timberlake, Amy Poehler, Zelda Rubenstein,...
- 1/30/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Star of film and TV who relished the roles of grandmas and grotesques, and won an Oscar for The Last Picture Show
Few actors could have asked for a more startling debut to their film careers than Cloris Leachman, who has died aged 94. In the opening of Robert Aldrich’s masterly film noir Kiss Me Deadly (1955), she is first seen running along a dark country highway at night, barefoot and clad only in a pale trench coat.
Terrified, she tries to flag down several cars until she forces one driven by the private eye Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) to stop. He reluctantly lets her get in. As the opening credits roll, we hear her highly amplified heavy breathing while, from the radio, Nat “King” Cole sings I’d Rather Have the Blues.
Few actors could have asked for a more startling debut to their film careers than Cloris Leachman, who has died aged 94. In the opening of Robert Aldrich’s masterly film noir Kiss Me Deadly (1955), she is first seen running along a dark country highway at night, barefoot and clad only in a pale trench coat.
Terrified, she tries to flag down several cars until she forces one driven by the private eye Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) to stop. He reluctantly lets her get in. As the opening credits roll, we hear her highly amplified heavy breathing while, from the radio, Nat “King” Cole sings I’d Rather Have the Blues.
- 1/28/2021
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Only a few days short of January’s end, 2021 has seen the loss of its first Oscar winner. Here’s how the Associated Press broke the news:
Cloris Leachman, an Oscar-winner for her portrayal of a lonely housewife in “The Last Picture Show” and a comedic delight as the fearsome Frau Blücher in “Young Frankenstein” and self-absorbed neighbor Phyllis on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” has died. She was 94.
Leachman died in her sleep of natural causes at her home in Encinitas, California, publicist Monique Moss said Wednesday. Her daughter Dinah Englund was at her side, Moss said.
Remarkably those 94 years encompassed nine decades of work on the big and small(er) screen. A truly versatile actress, her knack for comedy wasn’t really showcased until nearly twenty years into her astounding career. As a tribute we offer a fond look back at the work of a true cinema “scene-stealer...
Cloris Leachman, an Oscar-winner for her portrayal of a lonely housewife in “The Last Picture Show” and a comedic delight as the fearsome Frau Blücher in “Young Frankenstein” and self-absorbed neighbor Phyllis on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” has died. She was 94.
Leachman died in her sleep of natural causes at her home in Encinitas, California, publicist Monique Moss said Wednesday. Her daughter Dinah Englund was at her side, Moss said.
Remarkably those 94 years encompassed nine decades of work on the big and small(er) screen. A truly versatile actress, her knack for comedy wasn’t really showcased until nearly twenty years into her astounding career. As a tribute we offer a fond look back at the work of a true cinema “scene-stealer...
- 1/28/2021
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
When eulogizing screen performers, we often look at an Academy Award as either the launchpad or the apex of an actor’s life. In the case of Cloris Leachman, who died Wednesday at the age of 94, her Oscar was just one milestone in the career of an exceedingly versatile character actress.
Leachman was honored over the years both for her dramatic intensity and for a comedy skillset that embraced neurotic tension and fearless physicality with equal grace. She not only lived to be a nonagenarian, but she also remained busy and in demand to the very end, with recent credits as a voice in “The Croods: A New Age” and on such shows as “Mad About You” and “American Gods.”
Born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1926, Leachman studied at Northwestern (where her classmates included fellow comedy legends Paul Lynde and Charlotte Rae) before competing in the 1946 Miss America pageant. She...
Leachman was honored over the years both for her dramatic intensity and for a comedy skillset that embraced neurotic tension and fearless physicality with equal grace. She not only lived to be a nonagenarian, but she also remained busy and in demand to the very end, with recent credits as a voice in “The Croods: A New Age” and on such shows as “Mad About You” and “American Gods.”
Born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1926, Leachman studied at Northwestern (where her classmates included fellow comedy legends Paul Lynde and Charlotte Rae) before competing in the 1946 Miss America pageant. She...
- 1/28/2021
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Academy Award-winning actress Cloris Leachman has died at the age of 94. The news was originally broken by TMZ who reported the actress passed away of natural causes on Tuesday night at her home in Encinitas, California. Leachman boasted nearly 300 credit in film and television, throughout her career, making memorable turns in “The Last Picture Show,” “Young Frankenstein,” “The Twilight Zone,” and “Raising Hope.”
Leachman was born in Des Moines, Iowa on April 30, 1926. She started acting as a teenager, and after graduating high school she enrolled at Northwestern University in its School of Education. Her classmates included fellow comics Paul Lynde and Charlotte Rae. In 1946, Leachman participated in the Miss America pageant where she placed in the top 16. She used the scholarship she won to attend the famed Actors Studio in New York City, learning under acclaimed director Elia Kazan.
It was quickly after working with Kazan that Leachman started working on Broadway,...
Leachman was born in Des Moines, Iowa on April 30, 1926. She started acting as a teenager, and after graduating high school she enrolled at Northwestern University in its School of Education. Her classmates included fellow comics Paul Lynde and Charlotte Rae. In 1946, Leachman participated in the Miss America pageant where she placed in the top 16. She used the scholarship she won to attend the famed Actors Studio in New York City, learning under acclaimed director Elia Kazan.
It was quickly after working with Kazan that Leachman started working on Broadway,...
- 1/27/2021
- by Kristen Lopez
- Indiewire
Cloris Leachman, the Oscar-winning actress known for “The Last Picture Show” and “Young Frankenstein” and who had an equally long career on television in shows like “Phyllis,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “The Facts of Life,” has died. She was 94.
Leachman died in her sleep Tuesday at her home in California of natural causes, her manager told TheWrap.
Leachman’s career has spanned decades, and in that time she won eight Emmys from 22 nominations, setting records for both wins and nominations at the time, while still holding the record for most wins tied with Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Some of her other long-running TV roles have included “Raising Hope,” “A Brand New Life,” “The Ellen Show,” “Lassie” and many more. And on film she’s been seen more recently in “Spanglish,” “I Can Only Imagine,” and she lent her voice to both of “The Croods” animated films, including most recently the sequel from late last year.
Leachman died in her sleep Tuesday at her home in California of natural causes, her manager told TheWrap.
Leachman’s career has spanned decades, and in that time she won eight Emmys from 22 nominations, setting records for both wins and nominations at the time, while still holding the record for most wins tied with Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Some of her other long-running TV roles have included “Raising Hope,” “A Brand New Life,” “The Ellen Show,” “Lassie” and many more. And on film she’s been seen more recently in “Spanglish,” “I Can Only Imagine,” and she lent her voice to both of “The Croods” animated films, including most recently the sequel from late last year.
- 1/27/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
No one sets out to make a cult movie. Most filmmakers aspire to commercial heights even if they only have the budgets for a B-movie. They see films like Blair Witch realign box office accounting and apply all kinds of quantum physics to mimic the exponential multiplication. Very few achieve it, and the ones which do usually do it by accident, and certainly not with serious intent. Aliens, Clowns & Geeks is not afraid to be ridiculous. It joins the ranks as such brave films as Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Killer Klowns From Outer Space, and Frankenhooker.
It is also so much more than these films, dripping with artistry, and yet considerably less, with masturbating aliens, pussy ping pong, and sphincter-pinching obelisks. Richard Elfman’s sci-fi comedy has an abundance of experimental fun and a happily reckless disregard for taste. It owes as much to Frank Zappa as it does to Frank Capra,...
It is also so much more than these films, dripping with artistry, and yet considerably less, with masturbating aliens, pussy ping pong, and sphincter-pinching obelisks. Richard Elfman’s sci-fi comedy has an abundance of experimental fun and a happily reckless disregard for taste. It owes as much to Frank Zappa as it does to Frank Capra,...
- 1/22/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Robert Aldrich promised no-holds barred rough-tough dramas, and his first two Associates & Aldrich productions certainly hit hard. This play adaptation shows its director’s strength (no-flinching full shock impact) and weakness (theatrical overplaying) in full measure, but the unrestrained performances of Jack Palance and Eddie Albert are unforgettable. The main event can’t have pleased the Pentagon: shooting one’s own officer in combat. Plus, Lee Marvin and Richard Jaeckel get in early innings for their future work in Aldrichs’s The Dirty Dozen.
Attack
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1956 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 107 min. / Street Date December 1, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin, William Smithers, Buddy Ebsen, Robert Strauss, Richard Jaeckel, Jon Shepodd, Peter van Eyck, Jimmy Goodwin, Steven Geray, Strother Martin.
Cinematography: Joseph Biroc
Film Editor: Michael Luciano
Original Music: Frank Devol
Written by James Poe from the play Fragile Fox by Norman Brooks...
Attack
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1956 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 107 min. / Street Date December 1, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin, William Smithers, Buddy Ebsen, Robert Strauss, Richard Jaeckel, Jon Shepodd, Peter van Eyck, Jimmy Goodwin, Steven Geray, Strother Martin.
Cinematography: Joseph Biroc
Film Editor: Michael Luciano
Original Music: Frank Devol
Written by James Poe from the play Fragile Fox by Norman Brooks...
- 12/15/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Actress Alex Essoe walks is through some of her favorite dream sequences.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Starry Eyes (2014)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Beyond The Black Rainbow (2010)
Mandy (2018), as usual
Doctor Sleep (2019)
Death of Me (2020)
Life Dances On (1937)
Tales of Manhattan (1942)
I Love You, Alice B Toklas (1968)
Papillon (1973)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
The Conversation (1974)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)
Nashville (1975)
The Ninth Configuration (1980)
The Exorcist (1973)
Shutter Island (2010)
The Exorcist III (1990)
A Shot In The Dark (1964)
Another Woman (1988)
Stardust Memories (1980)
8 ½ (1963)
Interiors (1978)
Dumbo (1941)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
A Woman Under The Influence (1974)
Mulholland Falls (1996)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
Fletch (1985)
The ’Burbs (1989)
Dreams (1990)
Ran (1985)
Homewrecker (2019)
The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)
The Wicker Man (1973)
Other Notable Items
Howard Hughes
Panos Cosmatos
The Haunting of Bly Manor TV series (2020)
Shelley Duvall
Tfh Guru Darren Lynn Bousman
The American Cinematheque
The New Beverly Theatre
Julien Duvivier
Jean Renoir
Jean-Luc Godard
François Truffaut
John Cassavetes...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Starry Eyes (2014)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Beyond The Black Rainbow (2010)
Mandy (2018), as usual
Doctor Sleep (2019)
Death of Me (2020)
Life Dances On (1937)
Tales of Manhattan (1942)
I Love You, Alice B Toklas (1968)
Papillon (1973)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
The Conversation (1974)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)
Nashville (1975)
The Ninth Configuration (1980)
The Exorcist (1973)
Shutter Island (2010)
The Exorcist III (1990)
A Shot In The Dark (1964)
Another Woman (1988)
Stardust Memories (1980)
8 ½ (1963)
Interiors (1978)
Dumbo (1941)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
A Woman Under The Influence (1974)
Mulholland Falls (1996)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
Fletch (1985)
The ’Burbs (1989)
Dreams (1990)
Ran (1985)
Homewrecker (2019)
The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)
The Wicker Man (1973)
Other Notable Items
Howard Hughes
Panos Cosmatos
The Haunting of Bly Manor TV series (2020)
Shelley Duvall
Tfh Guru Darren Lynn Bousman
The American Cinematheque
The New Beverly Theatre
Julien Duvivier
Jean Renoir
Jean-Luc Godard
François Truffaut
John Cassavetes...
- 10/20/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Some films demand a willing suspension of disbelief, expecting audiences to put aside quibbles of what’s plausible, probable or even possible. Roseanne Liang’s “Shadow in the Cloud” parts ways with credibility altogether. This insanely entertaining high-altitude horror movie — which takes place almost entirely aboard a gremlin-infested WW2-era B-17 bomber — asks you to check your internal B.S. barometers on the runway, then takes off into murky skies, testing the limits at every turn. Hardly a minute of the movie registers as “realistic,” but that hardly matters, since Liang so fully commits to its over-the-top sensibility that you’ll be clutching the armrest and grinning with glee for most of the ride.
“Shadow in the Cloud” takes place in 1943, the same year Roald Dahl published “The Gremlins” and Warner Bros. released “Hare Raising,” a Merrie Melodies cartoon in which Bugs Bunny struggles to keep a cute little pest...
“Shadow in the Cloud” takes place in 1943, the same year Roald Dahl published “The Gremlins” and Warner Bros. released “Hare Raising,” a Merrie Melodies cartoon in which Bugs Bunny struggles to keep a cute little pest...
- 9/17/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
It’s smart, it’s funny, it has a touch of romance… it’s Billy Wilder & Charles Brackett’s entertaining espionage thriller set between the battle lines of the North Africa campaign. Franchot Tone must impersonate a double agent, when the command staff of General Rommel (Erich von Stroheim!) takes over a half-bombed hotel run by the forlorn Akim Tamiroff. Anne Baxter is the French maid desperate to make a deal, with whichever side will help her get what she wants. Even the title of this winner has a clever special meaning.
Five Graves to Cairo
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1943 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 96 min. / Street Date September 29, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Franchot Tone, Anne Baxter, Akim Tamiroff, Erich von Stroheim, Peter van Eyck, Fortunio Bonanova.
Cinematography: John F. Seitz
Film Editor: Doane Harrison
Original Music: Miklos Rozsa
Written by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett from a play by Lajos Biró...
Five Graves to Cairo
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1943 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 96 min. / Street Date September 29, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Franchot Tone, Anne Baxter, Akim Tamiroff, Erich von Stroheim, Peter van Eyck, Fortunio Bonanova.
Cinematography: John F. Seitz
Film Editor: Doane Harrison
Original Music: Miklos Rozsa
Written by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett from a play by Lajos Biró...
- 9/15/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Peacock, the NBCUniversal streaming service that launched in April in Comcast homes, started expanding nationally overnight as Tuesday turned to Wednesday on the East Coast.
Along with Comcast’s X1 and Flex, Peacock will be available on Apple and Google platforms, Microsoft’s Xbox, Vizio and LG smart TVs, Cox Contour and, starting next week, Sony PlayStation. Talks are ongoing with major distributors like Amazon Fire and Roku, but those two top platforms are still on the sidelines as of now.
Peacock will offer 13,000 hours on its free tier and 20,000 hours on its subscription level, sourced from a range of networks and studios both inside and outside of NBCU. Nine Peacock Original movies and shows are available at launch, with others following through the end of the year. (Deadline reported Tuesday on the latest release dates for several shows arriving after today’s expansion.)
There will be more than 30 curated channels,...
Along with Comcast’s X1 and Flex, Peacock will be available on Apple and Google platforms, Microsoft’s Xbox, Vizio and LG smart TVs, Cox Contour and, starting next week, Sony PlayStation. Talks are ongoing with major distributors like Amazon Fire and Roku, but those two top platforms are still on the sidelines as of now.
Peacock will offer 13,000 hours on its free tier and 20,000 hours on its subscription level, sourced from a range of networks and studios both inside and outside of NBCU. Nine Peacock Original movies and shows are available at launch, with others following through the end of the year. (Deadline reported Tuesday on the latest release dates for several shows arriving after today’s expansion.)
There will be more than 30 curated channels,...
- 7/15/2020
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
French animation house My Fantasy, a 2P2L Group subsidiary dedicated to new media animation, has unveiled its first feature project at Annecy’s MIFA pitch forum. Finalizing pre-production, the noirish thriller “Eugène” tells the real-life story of Eugene Falleni – a transman accused of murder in 1920s Sydney.
Etched in inky greyscale, the true-crime potboiler offers visual nods to classics of the genre like “Kiss Me Deadly,” “M,” and “Gilda” while painting the protagonist – an Italian immigrant to Australia whose story became sensationalized in the local press – with the nuance and compassion he was not afforded in his day.
Aiming for a 2023 wrap, the film will unfurl over two tempos, mixing a rotoscoped manhunt narrative — which finds Eugene on the lam after he is accused of murdering his wife – with a series of lyrical, hand-drawn dreams and flashbacks that evoke the lead’s anguished interior life.
For director Anaïs Caura,...
Etched in inky greyscale, the true-crime potboiler offers visual nods to classics of the genre like “Kiss Me Deadly,” “M,” and “Gilda” while painting the protagonist – an Italian immigrant to Australia whose story became sensationalized in the local press – with the nuance and compassion he was not afforded in his day.
Aiming for a 2023 wrap, the film will unfurl over two tempos, mixing a rotoscoped manhunt narrative — which finds Eugene on the lam after he is accused of murdering his wife – with a series of lyrical, hand-drawn dreams and flashbacks that evoke the lead’s anguished interior life.
For director Anaïs Caura,...
- 6/18/2020
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Fritz Lang’s final feature brings his career full circle to the core thriller concepts he pioneered back in 1922: superstitious human nature and sinister technological advances combine to make the 20th century an Age of Terror. Lang reboots his highly cinematic Weimar-era narrative tricks for a film that heralds the beginning of a brave new world where total surveillance and mind control are at the service of paranoid conspiracies. I could talk for hours about the directing/editing in this show — it’s so sophisticated, and yet so simple.
The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse
Region B Blu-ray
Eureka Entertainment/Masters of Cinema
1960 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 103 min. / Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse / Street Date May 11, 2020 / £ 15.99
Starring: Dawn Addams, Peter van Eyck, Gert Fröbe, Wolfgang Preiss, Lupo Prezzo, Werner Peters, Andrea Checchi, Marielouise Nagel, Reinhard Kolldehoff, Howard Vernon, Nico Pepe, Jean-Jacques Delbo, Christiane Maybach.
Cinematography: Karl Löb
Film Editors: Walter Wischniewsky,...
The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse
Region B Blu-ray
Eureka Entertainment/Masters of Cinema
1960 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 103 min. / Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse / Street Date May 11, 2020 / £ 15.99
Starring: Dawn Addams, Peter van Eyck, Gert Fröbe, Wolfgang Preiss, Lupo Prezzo, Werner Peters, Andrea Checchi, Marielouise Nagel, Reinhard Kolldehoff, Howard Vernon, Nico Pepe, Jean-Jacques Delbo, Christiane Maybach.
Cinematography: Karl Löb
Film Editors: Walter Wischniewsky,...
- 6/3/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Fritz Lang’s final feature is a mind-blowing culmination of the core thriller concepts he pioneered back in 1922: superstitious human nature and sinister technological advances combine to make the 20th century an Age of Terror. Lang reboots his highly cinematic Weimar-era narrative tricks for a film that heralds the beginning of a brave new world where total surveillance and mind control are at the service of paranoid conspiracies. I could talk for hours about the directing/editing in this show — it’s so sophisticated, and yet so simple.
The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse
Region B Blu-ray
Eureka Entertainment/Masters of Cinema
1960 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 103 min. / Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse / Street Date May 11, 2020 / £ 15.99
Starring: Dawn Addams, Peter van Eyck, Gert Fröbe, Wolfgang Preiss, Lupo Prezzo, Werner Peters, Andrea Checchi, Marielouise Nagel, Reinhard Kolldehoff, Howard Vernon, Nico Pepe, Jean-Jacques Delbo, Christiane Maybach.
Cinematography: Karl Löb
Film Editors: Walter Wischniewsky,...
The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse
Region B Blu-ray
Eureka Entertainment/Masters of Cinema
1960 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 103 min. / Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse / Street Date May 11, 2020 / £ 15.99
Starring: Dawn Addams, Peter van Eyck, Gert Fröbe, Wolfgang Preiss, Lupo Prezzo, Werner Peters, Andrea Checchi, Marielouise Nagel, Reinhard Kolldehoff, Howard Vernon, Nico Pepe, Jean-Jacques Delbo, Christiane Maybach.
Cinematography: Karl Löb
Film Editors: Walter Wischniewsky,...
- 6/2/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
From the people that brought you Pandemic Parade chapters 1-8, comes yet another thrilling episode featuring Jesse V. Johnson, Casper Kelly, Fred Dekker, Don Coscarelli, Daniel Noah, Elijah Wood and Blaire Bercy.
Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Wondrous Story of Birth a.k.a. The Birth of Triplets (1950)
Contagion (2011)
The Omega Man (1971)
Panic In The Streets (1950)
The Last Man On Earth (1964)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Fantastic Voyage (1966)
Innerspace (1987)
The Howling (1981)
The Invisible Man (2020)
The Sand Pebbles (1966)
Where Eagles Dare (1969)
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Goldfinger (1964)
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965)
Murder On The Orient Express (1974)
Dr. No (1962)
From Russia With Love (1963)
Bellman and True (1987)
Brimstone and Treacle (1982)
Richard III (1995)
Titanic (1997)
Catch 22 (1970)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966)
The Graduate (1967)
1941 (1979)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Jaws (1975)
The Fortune (1975)
Carnal Knowledge (1970)
Manhattan...
Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Wondrous Story of Birth a.k.a. The Birth of Triplets (1950)
Contagion (2011)
The Omega Man (1971)
Panic In The Streets (1950)
The Last Man On Earth (1964)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Fantastic Voyage (1966)
Innerspace (1987)
The Howling (1981)
The Invisible Man (2020)
The Sand Pebbles (1966)
Where Eagles Dare (1969)
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Goldfinger (1964)
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965)
Murder On The Orient Express (1974)
Dr. No (1962)
From Russia With Love (1963)
Bellman and True (1987)
Brimstone and Treacle (1982)
Richard III (1995)
Titanic (1997)
Catch 22 (1970)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966)
The Graduate (1967)
1941 (1979)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Jaws (1975)
The Fortune (1975)
Carnal Knowledge (1970)
Manhattan...
- 5/29/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
With 21 Bridges starring Chadwick Boseman out on Home Entertainment Release today, its cinematic roots are grounded in the Manhunt movie. As old as cinema itself, the genre is inherently cinematic; suspenseful, thrilling and always with a gripping ending.
The manhunt film is too a dexterous genre for directors. Whether you are a first-time auteur, such as Coralie Fargeat or a defined master of the craft, like David Fincher, the genre always offers all types of directors a form to express their style and further the genre. Here are some of the best.
21 Bridges is available to download and keep now, and out on Blu-ray and DVD 30th March.
M:
A pivotal work to German Expressionism, Fritz Lang’s M is one of the first manhunter films to blend a thriller narrative with an idiosyncratic style, specifically unique to the director. From its pioneering sound design through to Peter Lorre’s riveting central performance,...
The manhunt film is too a dexterous genre for directors. Whether you are a first-time auteur, such as Coralie Fargeat or a defined master of the craft, like David Fincher, the genre always offers all types of directors a form to express their style and further the genre. Here are some of the best.
21 Bridges is available to download and keep now, and out on Blu-ray and DVD 30th March.
M:
A pivotal work to German Expressionism, Fritz Lang’s M is one of the first manhunter films to blend a thriller narrative with an idiosyncratic style, specifically unique to the director. From its pioneering sound design through to Peter Lorre’s riveting central performance,...
- 3/30/2020
- by Alasdair Bayman
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Acclaimed stuntman and action director extraordinaire Jesse V. Johnson joins us to discuss the U.S. based action films and filmmakers that have influenced him the most.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
On The Waterfront (1954)
Fultah Fisher’s Boarding House (1922)
Undisputed (2002)
Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (2006)
Undisputed III: Redemption (2010)
Boyka: Undisputed (2016)
The Killer Elite (1975)
Convoy (1978)
The Osterman Weekend (1983)
Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
Le Cercle Rouge (1970)
Straw Dogs (1971)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Birdcage (1996)
Cross of Iron (1977)
Electra Glide in Blue (1973)
Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974)
Easy Rider (1969)
Fail Safe (1964)
The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
Ride The High Country (1962)
Major Dundee (1965)
Jinxed! (1982)
Beowulf (2007)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)
The Girl Hunters (1963)
Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)
Point Blank (1967)
Falling Down (1993)
M (1951)
M (1931)
The Black Vampire (1953)
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
Scum (1979)
Elephant (1989)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), possibly Joe’s favorite John Ford...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
On The Waterfront (1954)
Fultah Fisher’s Boarding House (1922)
Undisputed (2002)
Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (2006)
Undisputed III: Redemption (2010)
Boyka: Undisputed (2016)
The Killer Elite (1975)
Convoy (1978)
The Osterman Weekend (1983)
Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
Le Cercle Rouge (1970)
Straw Dogs (1971)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Birdcage (1996)
Cross of Iron (1977)
Electra Glide in Blue (1973)
Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974)
Easy Rider (1969)
Fail Safe (1964)
The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
Ride The High Country (1962)
Major Dundee (1965)
Jinxed! (1982)
Beowulf (2007)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)
The Girl Hunters (1963)
Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)
Point Blank (1967)
Falling Down (1993)
M (1951)
M (1931)
The Black Vampire (1953)
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
Scum (1979)
Elephant (1989)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), possibly Joe’s favorite John Ford...
- 3/24/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
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