Laurence Olivier was an Oscar-winning thespian best remembered for his psychologically intense Shakespeare adaptations, both as an actor and a director. Yet his filmography extends well past the Bard’s work. Let’s take a look back at 15 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1907 in Surrey, England, Olivier first came to prominence on the British stage. A series of acclaimed theatrical performances, most notably in Noel Coward‘s “Private Lives,” caught the attention of filmmakers both in the UK and the US.
He earned his first Oscar nomination as Best Actor for William Wyler‘s “Wuthering Heights” (1939), competing the very next year for Alfred Hitchcock‘s “Rebecca” (1940). Having firmly established himself as a formidable talent in front of the camera, he stepped behind it to great success with “Henry V”, the first of three films he would direct and star in based on the works of William Shakespeare.
Born in 1907 in Surrey, England, Olivier first came to prominence on the British stage. A series of acclaimed theatrical performances, most notably in Noel Coward‘s “Private Lives,” caught the attention of filmmakers both in the UK and the US.
He earned his first Oscar nomination as Best Actor for William Wyler‘s “Wuthering Heights” (1939), competing the very next year for Alfred Hitchcock‘s “Rebecca” (1940). Having firmly established himself as a formidable talent in front of the camera, he stepped behind it to great success with “Henry V”, the first of three films he would direct and star in based on the works of William Shakespeare.
- 5/18/2024
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
If the best revenge is living well, it is a truism that has not yet taken root for Hamid (a riveting Adam Bessa), the dark, scarred heart of Jonathan Millet’s brooding, gripping “Ghost Trail.” Outside his soon-to-be-revealed mission, Hamid barely has a life at all, placing him firmly in the genre tradition of the taciturn, traumatized hero whose obsessive pursuit of his quarry leaves little room for anything beyond the constant, careful stoking of his rage, grief and survivor’s guilt. Millet’s expertly tooled movie is far from the first to derive its moral stakes from the desire to find some measure of redress for the victims and survivors of political violence, but it is among the best to also crossbreed this familiar archetype with the urgency and topicality of the Syrian refugee crisis.
Even while the screen is still black as the opening credits unfurl, the narrative...
Even while the screen is still black as the opening credits unfurl, the narrative...
- 5/17/2024
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
This article contains spoilers for "X-Men '97."
Magneto of "X-Men" has one of the most brilliant backstories in superhero comics — they almost made a movie entirely about it. He was once a young Jewish boy when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Captured and dehumanized, he suffered at concentration camp Auschwitz like so many of his people. He survived but it convinced him that hatred is as natural to men as breathing, and so he fights to ensure the prosperity of mutantkind. This backstory was not part of Magneto's original conception (Chris Claremont added it in 1981's "Uncanny X-Men" #150), but you'll be hard-pressed to find a writer who hasn't embraced it since.
"X-Men '97" certainly has. In episode 2, "Mutant Liberation Begins," when Magneto is tried before the United Nations, he recalls how he was first put on his path when his people were slaughtered because "they called God by a different name.
Magneto of "X-Men" has one of the most brilliant backstories in superhero comics — they almost made a movie entirely about it. He was once a young Jewish boy when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Captured and dehumanized, he suffered at concentration camp Auschwitz like so many of his people. He survived but it convinced him that hatred is as natural to men as breathing, and so he fights to ensure the prosperity of mutantkind. This backstory was not part of Magneto's original conception (Chris Claremont added it in 1981's "Uncanny X-Men" #150), but you'll be hard-pressed to find a writer who hasn't embraced it since.
"X-Men '97" certainly has. In episode 2, "Mutant Liberation Begins," when Magneto is tried before the United Nations, he recalls how he was first put on his path when his people were slaughtered because "they called God by a different name.
- 5/2/2024
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
1986 was an important year for DC Comics. "Crisis on Infinite Earths" rebooted the decades-old continuity, and Frank Miller reinvigorated Batman with "The Dark Knight Returns." Miller's tale depicted an aged Bruce Wayne coming out of retirement to fight the evils of the 1980s, from street gangs to the Cold War to Ronald Reagan. If you've ever wondered what the beginning of dark and gritty Batman was, it was this book.
The next year, DC was relaunching the main "Batman" title for the "Post-Crisis" era, and Miller was the obvious choice to kick it off. The result was "Year One," running four issues from "Batman" #404-407. The book follows Bruce Wayne's early days as a crime fighter when Gotham City was menaced by the mob, not super-villains. Batman refines his tactics through trial and error and slowly wins the trust of James Gordon — not yet a commissioner, but a rare...
The next year, DC was relaunching the main "Batman" title for the "Post-Crisis" era, and Miller was the obvious choice to kick it off. The result was "Year One," running four issues from "Batman" #404-407. The book follows Bruce Wayne's early days as a crime fighter when Gotham City was menaced by the mob, not super-villains. Batman refines his tactics through trial and error and slowly wins the trust of James Gordon — not yet a commissioner, but a rare...
- 1/16/2024
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
Awkwardly arriving the very same day as “The Bricklayer,” with Aaron Eckhart as an ex-CIA agent with the titular dayjob, “The Painter” has Charlie Weber as ex-cia agent who has taken up … well, you can guess. This more humbly scaled actioner likewise finds its uber-tough erstwhile operative reluctantly forced back into activity amid a conspiratorial hail of bullets. From that shared starting point, Brian Buccellato’s script finds its own path. But neither he nor director Kimani Ray Smith locate much credibility or suspense in an uninspired tale that also features Jon Voight, as well as Madison Bailey from the Netflix series “The Outer Banks.” Lacking in most departments beyond decent pacing and adequate technical polish, this forgettable thriller launches in limited U.S. theaters Jan. 5, and on digital platforms Jan. 9.
Weber plays Peter Barrett, who quit the CIA for the solitary life of an artist in the Pacific...
Weber plays Peter Barrett, who quit the CIA for the solitary life of an artist in the Pacific...
- 1/1/2024
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
Movies about clones have been around for ages and are easily a fan favorite. Netflix's new movie "They Cloned Tyrone," which hit the streamer on July 21, is no exception.
The film stars Hollywood hotshot John Boyega along with Teyonah Parris and Jamie Foxx. The trio work together to uncover a government cloning conspiracy that sees agents watching the lives of Black people so they can make them vanish and replace them with clones. The movie's twist ending is sure to stick with you long after the credits roll.
If you're finished watching "They Cloned Tyrone" and itching to see more movies about clones, check out the list below, and soon you'll be seeing double.
1. "Oblivion"
Tom Cruise stars as Jack, a member of a team tasked with surveying the smoldering ruins of planet Earth in the year 2077, 60 years after a battle with aliens where Earthlings lost. While on his journey,...
The film stars Hollywood hotshot John Boyega along with Teyonah Parris and Jamie Foxx. The trio work together to uncover a government cloning conspiracy that sees agents watching the lives of Black people so they can make them vanish and replace them with clones. The movie's twist ending is sure to stick with you long after the credits roll.
If you're finished watching "They Cloned Tyrone" and itching to see more movies about clones, check out the list below, and soon you'll be seeing double.
1. "Oblivion"
Tom Cruise stars as Jack, a member of a team tasked with surveying the smoldering ruins of planet Earth in the year 2077, 60 years after a battle with aliens where Earthlings lost. While on his journey,...
- 7/21/2023
- by Toria Clarke
- Popsugar.com
Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s fortnightly strand in which we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are appearing in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track… So we’re going to do the hard work for you.
This week we’re headed to South Africa, where psychological thriller drama Dam has captured eyeballs through its mix of mystery, social commentary and supernatural elements. The second season dropped earlier this year and is one of streamer Showmax’s top series. With nods to Ire Levin-era dramas like Rosemary’s Baby and The Boys From Brazil, Dam is part of a growing roster of South African TV series and films making a mark across the African continent and beyond.
Name: Dam
County:...
This week we’re headed to South Africa, where psychological thriller drama Dam has captured eyeballs through its mix of mystery, social commentary and supernatural elements. The second season dropped earlier this year and is one of streamer Showmax’s top series. With nods to Ire Levin-era dramas like Rosemary’s Baby and The Boys From Brazil, Dam is part of a growing roster of South African TV series and films making a mark across the African continent and beyond.
Name: Dam
County:...
- 4/4/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
In 1988 Tom Cruise was arguably the biggest star in the world. Top Gun came out in 1986 and was the year’s top-grossing movie. It wasn’t only a hit – it was a cultural phenomenon, and Cruise became a rare kind of movie star. He was a sex symbol for the ladies, but the guys liked him too. Speaking personally, having been born in 1981, I vividly remember owning the VHS tape of Top Gun and playing it on a loop. Cruise was my first concept of a movie star; to kids like me, he was like a cool Big Brother-type figure. He was the guy we all wanted to be with him riding motorcycles, rocking fantastic hair and an attitude which was never too threatening while blasting awesome 80s rock music and having the girls go crazy for him. He was the man, and if any movie ever cemented his big-screen stardom,...
- 3/19/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Nazi ghouls have figured in plenty of horror movies, whether preserved (1966’s “The Frozen Dead”), newly bioengineered (1978’s “The Boys from Brazil”) or zombiefied (too many to list). Edging close to that terrain, “Burial” revolves around a corpse — the corpse, as far as WWII’s end was concerned — that does not reanimate or otherwise come “back to life,” but poses a grave threat nonetheless.
Not-quite-horror despite its macabre theme and mood, this sophomore directorial feature for Ben Parker is a handsomely produced period thriller that delivers in terms of action and atmospherics, even if his somewhat convoluted story doesn’t maximally pay off. IFC Midnight is releasing the Estonia-shot U.K. production to limited U.S. theaters and on-demand platforms Sept. 2.
A framing device set in 1991 London has elderly Anna disturbed one night by an intruder. No helpless spinster, she soon has the skinhead-looking young perp (David Alexander) cuffed to her radiator.
Not-quite-horror despite its macabre theme and mood, this sophomore directorial feature for Ben Parker is a handsomely produced period thriller that delivers in terms of action and atmospherics, even if his somewhat convoluted story doesn’t maximally pay off. IFC Midnight is releasing the Estonia-shot U.K. production to limited U.S. theaters and on-demand platforms Sept. 2.
A framing device set in 1991 London has elderly Anna disturbed one night by an intruder. No helpless spinster, she soon has the skinhead-looking young perp (David Alexander) cuffed to her radiator.
- 8/29/2022
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
Israeli director Leon Prudovsky, whose film “My Neighbor, Adolf” world premieres Thursday in Locarno Film Festival’s Piazza Grande, will next be making a feature version of his 2012 short “Welcome, and our Condolences.”
The project, titled “Our People,” is a multi-character tragicomedy, centering on a Russian Jewish family traveling to Israel in the early 1990s. On the plane their grandmother dies, which places them in a tricky situation: they are worried that they will lose their right to settle in Israel, so decide to pretend she’s still alive. Prudovsky himself was born in Russia and migrated to Israel at that time.
“My Neighbor, Adolf” is also a tragicomedy. It stars David Hayman, whose credits include “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” “Sid and Nancy” and TV series “Taboo,” as Polsky, a grumpy old man living in the wilds of Colombia in 1960.
Polsky, who survived the Holocaust and hates all Germans,...
The project, titled “Our People,” is a multi-character tragicomedy, centering on a Russian Jewish family traveling to Israel in the early 1990s. On the plane their grandmother dies, which places them in a tricky situation: they are worried that they will lose their right to settle in Israel, so decide to pretend she’s still alive. Prudovsky himself was born in Russia and migrated to Israel at that time.
“My Neighbor, Adolf” is also a tragicomedy. It stars David Hayman, whose credits include “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” “Sid and Nancy” and TV series “Taboo,” as Polsky, a grumpy old man living in the wilds of Colombia in 1960.
Polsky, who survived the Holocaust and hates all Germans,...
- 8/4/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Hey, everyone! We’re back with a brand new installment of our horror and sci-fi home media recap, and if you’re looking to check out some fun stuff this upcoming Memorial Day weekend, maybe this week’s releases can help keep you entertained. If you haven’t had a chance to check them out yet, both Umma featuring Sandra Oh and Matt Reeves’ The Batman arrive on Tuesday via a variety of formats. Both Tobe Hooper’s Lifeforce and James Wan’s Malignant are getting the 4K format treatment this week, and somehow I missed the fact that there was a RoboCop TV series at some point, but that’s being released on both Blu-ray and DVD this Tuesday. And on a bittersweet note, the Foo Fighters’ Studio 666 is making its home entertainment debut this week as well.
Other Blu-ray and DVD releases for May 24th include #FromJennifer, Horror High,...
Other Blu-ray and DVD releases for May 24th include #FromJennifer, Horror High,...
- 5/23/2022
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
With another winter melting away, Scream Factory will have plenty of scares in store for home media collectors this summer with new June Blu-ray releases of Hunter Hunter, Battle Beyond the Stars (including a Sybil Danning action figure), Kindred, The Awakening, and Sphinx:
Kindred Blu-ray: "Kindred (Street date: June 15th) –After the death of her boyfriend, vulnerable mother-to-be Charlotte (Tamara Lawrance) is taken in by her deceased partner's mother, Margaret (Fiona Shaw), and stepbrother, Thomas (Jack Lawson). But Charlotte's source of comfort soon turns to terror as her benefactors begin to appear increasingly obsessed with her every move. Plagued by mysterious hallucinations, Charlotte finds her suspicions raging with questions about Margaret and Thomas's intentions for her unborn child.
Pre-order now @ https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/kindred?product_id=7592
Check out the trailer @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzsGT31egS4"
Hunter Hunter Blu-ray: "Hunter Hunter (Street date: June 22nd) – In the remote wilderness,...
Kindred Blu-ray: "Kindred (Street date: June 15th) –After the death of her boyfriend, vulnerable mother-to-be Charlotte (Tamara Lawrance) is taken in by her deceased partner's mother, Margaret (Fiona Shaw), and stepbrother, Thomas (Jack Lawson). But Charlotte's source of comfort soon turns to terror as her benefactors begin to appear increasingly obsessed with her every move. Plagued by mysterious hallucinations, Charlotte finds her suspicions raging with questions about Margaret and Thomas's intentions for her unborn child.
Pre-order now @ https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/kindred?product_id=7592
Check out the trailer @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzsGT31egS4"
Hunter Hunter Blu-ray: "Hunter Hunter (Street date: June 22nd) – In the remote wilderness,...
- 3/9/2021
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Photo: ‘Winter Journey’/Danmarks Radio Bruno Ganz was a tremendous actor. Born in Switzerland in 1941, he spent the first several decades of his career amassing perhaps the most prestigious filmography in German cinema history, working with auteurs like Werner Herzog and Wim Wenders. He co-starred with Gregory Peck and Laurence Olivier in the Nazi hunter sci-fi thriller ‘The Boys From Brazil’, and he unforgettably played Adolf Hitler in the 2004 film ‘Downfall’. In the last fifteen years of his life, he suddenly became a go-to character actor in English-language films, appearing alongside Denzel Washington in ‘The Manchurian Candidate’, Liam Neeson in ‘Unknown’, and Ralph Fiennes in ‘The Reader’. Ganz passed away following a battle with cancer in 2019; ‘Winter Journey’, the new film from Danish director Anders Østergaard, is his final onscreen performance. Related article: ‘The Crossing’ is a WWII Fairytale Adventure Set in the Enchanted Forests of Norway Related article: ‘Supernova...
- 2/26/2021
- by Trent Kinnucan
- Hollywood Insider - Substance & Meaningful Entertainment
Four-time Oscar nominee Peter Lamont, who worked on 18 James Bond films and received an Academy Award for production design for “Titanic,” has died. He was 91.
Lamont’s death was disclosed Friday by the official 007 account on Twitter, which posted a statement by producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli that reads, “Peter Lamont was a much beloved member of the Bond family and a giant in the industry. Inextricably linked with the design and aesthetic of James Bond since Goldfinger (1964).”
“He became Production Designer on For Your Eyes Only (1981) working on 18 of the 25 films including nine as Production Designer. He was a true success story proving that with talent and hard work you will achieve your dreams,” the statement went on. “He won the Academy Award for Titanic in 1998 as well as nominations for Fiddler On The Roof (1971), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), and Aliens (1986). Our hearts go out to...
Lamont’s death was disclosed Friday by the official 007 account on Twitter, which posted a statement by producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli that reads, “Peter Lamont was a much beloved member of the Bond family and a giant in the industry. Inextricably linked with the design and aesthetic of James Bond since Goldfinger (1964).”
“He became Production Designer on For Your Eyes Only (1981) working on 18 of the 25 films including nine as Production Designer. He was a true success story proving that with talent and hard work you will achieve your dreams,” the statement went on. “He won the Academy Award for Titanic in 1998 as well as nominations for Fiddler On The Roof (1971), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), and Aliens (1986). Our hearts go out to...
- 12/18/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Ken Nightingall, who had a long career in the biz as a boom operator and spawned his own cosplay phenomenon among Star Wars fans, has died at the age of 92.
Amps, the Association of Motion Picture Sound, confirmed the news, saying Nightingall passed away at his UK home on Tuesday (May 19).
Oscar-winning Gravity and Black Hawk Down sound mixer, Chris Munro, paid the following tribute, “I first met Ken when I entered the industry over 50 years ago. He was immensely supportive of me as I carved my early career as a young sound mixer. ‘Legend’ is the word that springs to mind when I try to describe him. He will be sadly missed by our film community but his is a life and career that should be celebrated. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.”
Nightingall had a long and successful career as a boom operator, beginning...
Amps, the Association of Motion Picture Sound, confirmed the news, saying Nightingall passed away at his UK home on Tuesday (May 19).
Oscar-winning Gravity and Black Hawk Down sound mixer, Chris Munro, paid the following tribute, “I first met Ken when I entered the industry over 50 years ago. He was immensely supportive of me as I carved my early career as a young sound mixer. ‘Legend’ is the word that springs to mind when I try to describe him. He will be sadly missed by our film community but his is a life and career that should be celebrated. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.”
Nightingall had a long and successful career as a boom operator, beginning...
- 5/21/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Laurence Olivier would’ve celebrated his 112th birthday on May 22, 2019. The Oscar-winning thespian is best remembered for his psychologically intense Shakespeare adaptations, both as an actor and a director. Yet his filmography extends well past the Bard’s work. In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 15 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1907 in Surrey, England, Olivier first came to prominence on the British stage. A series of acclaimed theatrical performances, most notably in Noel Coward‘s “Private Lives,” caught the attention of filmmakers both in the UK and the Us.
SEEAlfred Hitchcock movies: 25 greatest films ranked from worst to best
He earned his first Oscar nomination as Best Actor for William Wyler‘s “Wuthering Heights” (1939), competing the very next year for Alfred Hitchcock‘s “Rebecca” (1940). Having firmly established himself as a formidable talent in front of the camera, he stepped behind...
Born in 1907 in Surrey, England, Olivier first came to prominence on the British stage. A series of acclaimed theatrical performances, most notably in Noel Coward‘s “Private Lives,” caught the attention of filmmakers both in the UK and the Us.
SEEAlfred Hitchcock movies: 25 greatest films ranked from worst to best
He earned his first Oscar nomination as Best Actor for William Wyler‘s “Wuthering Heights” (1939), competing the very next year for Alfred Hitchcock‘s “Rebecca” (1940). Having firmly established himself as a formidable talent in front of the camera, he stepped behind...
- 5/22/2019
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Gregory Peck would’ve celebrated his 103rd birthday on April 5, 2019. The Oscar-winning actor starred in dozens of classics, staying active on the big and small screen until his death in 2003 at the age of 87. In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 20 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1916, Peck made his screen debut with a starring role in “Days of Glory” (1944). He earned his first Oscar nomination as Best Actor for his second movie, “The Keys of the Kingdom” (1944), playing a Catholic priest spreading Christianity in China. He earned subsequent bids for playing an ex-Confederate soldier in “The Yearling” (1946), a journalist posing as Jewish in “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1947) and an Air Force commander in “Twelve O’Clock High” (1949).
SEEOscar Best Actor Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
He clinched the gold for “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962), adapted from Harper Lee‘s beloved Civil Rights novel.
Born in 1916, Peck made his screen debut with a starring role in “Days of Glory” (1944). He earned his first Oscar nomination as Best Actor for his second movie, “The Keys of the Kingdom” (1944), playing a Catholic priest spreading Christianity in China. He earned subsequent bids for playing an ex-Confederate soldier in “The Yearling” (1946), a journalist posing as Jewish in “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1947) and an Air Force commander in “Twelve O’Clock High” (1949).
SEEOscar Best Actor Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
He clinched the gold for “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962), adapted from Harper Lee‘s beloved Civil Rights novel.
- 4/5/2019
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Gregory Peck would’ve celebrated his 103rd birthday on April 5, 2019. The Oscar-winning actor starred in dozens of classics, staying active on the big and small screen until his death in 2003 at the age of 87. In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 20 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1916, Peck made his screen debut with a starring role in “Days of Glory” (1944). He earned his first Oscar nomination as Best Actor for his second movie, “The Keys of the Kingdom” (1944), playing a Catholic priest spreading Christianity in China. He earned subsequent bids for playing an ex-Confederate soldier in “The Yearling” (1946), a journalist posing as Jewish in “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1947) and an Air Force commander in “Twelve O’Clock High” (1949).
He clinched the gold for “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962), adapted from Harper Lee‘s beloved Civil Rights novel. The role of Atticus Finch, a...
Born in 1916, Peck made his screen debut with a starring role in “Days of Glory” (1944). He earned his first Oscar nomination as Best Actor for his second movie, “The Keys of the Kingdom” (1944), playing a Catholic priest spreading Christianity in China. He earned subsequent bids for playing an ex-Confederate soldier in “The Yearling” (1946), a journalist posing as Jewish in “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1947) and an Air Force commander in “Twelve O’Clock High” (1949).
He clinched the gold for “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962), adapted from Harper Lee‘s beloved Civil Rights novel. The role of Atticus Finch, a...
- 4/5/2019
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Bruno Ganz, the renowned Swiss actor who portrayed Adolf Hitler in 2004’s Downfall and an angel in 1987’s Wings of Desire, died Friday at the age of 77.
The actor died at his home in Zurich, his management confirmed to the BBC, who added that Ganz reportedly suffered from colon cancer.
“Bruno Ganz was one of the greatest and most versatile actors ‘who inspired generations of film fans,’ the Berlinale Film Festival tweeted Saturday. “We are incredibly saddened by the loss of a long-standing festival companion and outstanding figure of the international film history.
The actor died at his home in Zurich, his management confirmed to the BBC, who added that Ganz reportedly suffered from colon cancer.
“Bruno Ganz was one of the greatest and most versatile actors ‘who inspired generations of film fans,’ the Berlinale Film Festival tweeted Saturday. “We are incredibly saddened by the loss of a long-standing festival companion and outstanding figure of the international film history.
- 2/16/2019
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Bruno Ganz, the Swiss actor best known for dramatizing Adolf Hitler’s final days in 2004’s “Downfall,” has died. He was 77.
Ganz died at his home in Zurich on Friday, his representatives told media outlets. The cause of death was reportedly colon cancer.
In addition to delivering one of the definitive cinematic portrayals of Hitler, Ganz played an angel who gives up immortality to experience earthly pleasures in Wim Wenders’ classic film “Wings of Desire” (1987). He reprised that role in Wenders’ 1993 follow-up, “Faraway, So Close!”
His celestial performance was so memorable that Ganz once recounted how people ascribed special powers to him when they recognized him in public.
“People in planes said: ‘Ah, no need to be afraid, because with you here, nothing can happen. Now we are safe,'” Ganz told the Danish film journal P.O.V. “Or a mother said to her child: ‘Look, there’s your guardian angel.
Ganz died at his home in Zurich on Friday, his representatives told media outlets. The cause of death was reportedly colon cancer.
In addition to delivering one of the definitive cinematic portrayals of Hitler, Ganz played an angel who gives up immortality to experience earthly pleasures in Wim Wenders’ classic film “Wings of Desire” (1987). He reprised that role in Wenders’ 1993 follow-up, “Faraway, So Close!”
His celestial performance was so memorable that Ganz once recounted how people ascribed special powers to him when they recognized him in public.
“People in planes said: ‘Ah, no need to be afraid, because with you here, nothing can happen. Now we are safe,'” Ganz told the Danish film journal P.O.V. “Or a mother said to her child: ‘Look, there’s your guardian angel.
- 2/16/2019
- by Brent Lang and Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Bruno Ganz, the Swiss actor best known for dramatizing Adolf Hitler’s final days in 2004’s “Downfall,” has died. He was 77.
Ganz died at his home in Zurich on Friday, his representatives told media outlets. The cause of death was reportedly colon cancer.
In addition to delivering one of the definitive cinematic portrayals of Hitler, Ganz played an angel who gives up immortality to experience earthly pleasures in Wim Wenders’ classic film “Wings of Desire” (1987). He reprised that role in Wenders’ 1993 follow-up, “Faraway, So Close!”
His celestial performance was so memorable that Ganz once recounted how people ascribed special powers to him when they recognized him in public.
“People in planes said: ‘Ah, no need to be afraid, because with you here, nothing can happen. Now we are safe,'” Ganz told the Danish film journal P.O.V. “Or a mother said to her child: ‘Look, there’s your guardian angel.
Ganz died at his home in Zurich on Friday, his representatives told media outlets. The cause of death was reportedly colon cancer.
In addition to delivering one of the definitive cinematic portrayals of Hitler, Ganz played an angel who gives up immortality to experience earthly pleasures in Wim Wenders’ classic film “Wings of Desire” (1987). He reprised that role in Wenders’ 1993 follow-up, “Faraway, So Close!”
His celestial performance was so memorable that Ganz once recounted how people ascribed special powers to him when they recognized him in public.
“People in planes said: ‘Ah, no need to be afraid, because with you here, nothing can happen. Now we are safe,'” Ganz told the Danish film journal P.O.V. “Or a mother said to her child: ‘Look, there’s your guardian angel.
- 2/16/2019
- by Brent Lang and Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Bruno Ganz, the Swiss actor whose work ranged from playing an angel in Wim Wenders’ “Wings of Desire” to an on-the-edge-of-defeat Adolf Hitler in the much-memed “Downfall,” has died at age 77.
He died at his home in Zurich on Friday after a diagnosis of colon cancer, his agent told France 24.
In his long career, Ganz appeared in more than 80 films and TV movies, mostly in Europe. He starred as a hit man opposite Dennis Hopper in Wenders’ 1977 film noir “The American Friend,” and then reteamed with the director a decade later for “Wings of Desire,” playing an angel sent to earth to comfort dying humans, who begins to long for humanity for himself.
Also Read: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2019 (Photos)
In Werner Herzog’s 1979 “Nosferatu the Vampyre,” Ganz played the human Jonathan Harker to Klaus Kinski’s otherworldly Dracula. And he starred as a Venice cafe worker who romances...
He died at his home in Zurich on Friday after a diagnosis of colon cancer, his agent told France 24.
In his long career, Ganz appeared in more than 80 films and TV movies, mostly in Europe. He starred as a hit man opposite Dennis Hopper in Wenders’ 1977 film noir “The American Friend,” and then reteamed with the director a decade later for “Wings of Desire,” playing an angel sent to earth to comfort dying humans, who begins to long for humanity for himself.
Also Read: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2019 (Photos)
In Werner Herzog’s 1979 “Nosferatu the Vampyre,” Ganz played the human Jonathan Harker to Klaus Kinski’s otherworldly Dracula. And he starred as a Venice cafe worker who romances...
- 2/16/2019
- by Thom Geier
- The Wrap
It was just three years ago that Spike Lee collected an Honorary Oscar, which is often the academy’s way of rewarding an overdue veteran who hasn’t picked up a competitive prize. But the iconoclastic filmmaker seems poised to return to the awards race in a big way with the hard-hitting “BlacKkKlansman,” which has already earned him nominations from the Directors Guild, the Producers Guild, the Writers Guild and much more. Should Lee win Oscars for writing, directing or producing — or all three — he’d join an elite group of people who have taken home the gold in a competitive race after receiving a career-achievement award.
The last person to do this was Ennio Morricone, the legendary Italian composer who lost five Oscars for Best Original Score — “Days of Heaven” (1978), “The Mission” (1986), “The Untouchables” (1987), “Bugsy” (1991), and “Malena” (2000) — before being handed an honorary statuette in 2007. Several years later, however, he...
The last person to do this was Ennio Morricone, the legendary Italian composer who lost five Oscars for Best Original Score — “Days of Heaven” (1978), “The Mission” (1986), “The Untouchables” (1987), “Bugsy” (1991), and “Malena” (2000) — before being handed an honorary statuette in 2007. Several years later, however, he...
- 1/21/2019
- by Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
Separated at birth, then reunited at age 19 in 1980, New York triplets Bobby Shafran, Eddy Galland, and David Kellman became the toast of the talk-show circuit after learning that they were long-lost brothers. Though their story received considerable exposure at the time — making them a welcome fixture at Studio 54, landing them a cameo with Madonna in “Desperately Seeking Susan,” and so on — the public tended to focus on the inspirational reunion rather than asking questions about the circumstances of their adoption.
Turns out, the brothers’ story is much bigger and more complicated than anyone imagined, and is only now being properly revealed, thanks to director Tim Wardle’s jaw-dropping decades-later doc “Three Identical Strangers.” A gripping, stranger-than-fiction account of a real-world medical conspiracy, the film begins as a human-interest story and builds to an impressive work of investigative journalism into how and why they were placed with the families who raised them.
Turns out, the brothers’ story is much bigger and more complicated than anyone imagined, and is only now being properly revealed, thanks to director Tim Wardle’s jaw-dropping decades-later doc “Three Identical Strangers.” A gripping, stranger-than-fiction account of a real-world medical conspiracy, the film begins as a human-interest story and builds to an impressive work of investigative journalism into how and why they were placed with the families who raised them.
- 4/17/2018
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Author: Daniel Goodwin
Legendary glam/punk photographer Mick Rock is a primary player in music/ rock history, having provided some of the most iconic rock imagery to grace the careers and album covers of artists like Bowie, Blondie, Lou Reed, Queen and Iggy Pop.
Rock captured key moments from classic concerts including that iconic shot of Bowie performing fellatio on Mick Ronson’s guitar during the Ziggy Stardust era. He also designed the album covers of Bowie’s Space Oddity, Lou Reed’s Transformer, Iggy and The Stooges’ Raw Power and directed many of Bowie’s music videos.
Rock’s unruly work Mo was also a lifestyle choice. Integrating hard partying and meditation into his photography/practice by saturating himself in the event he was covering instead of adopting the role of a passive observer, yet Rock provided some outstanding imagery as a result.
Some of his antics involving controversially...
Legendary glam/punk photographer Mick Rock is a primary player in music/ rock history, having provided some of the most iconic rock imagery to grace the careers and album covers of artists like Bowie, Blondie, Lou Reed, Queen and Iggy Pop.
Rock captured key moments from classic concerts including that iconic shot of Bowie performing fellatio on Mick Ronson’s guitar during the Ziggy Stardust era. He also designed the album covers of Bowie’s Space Oddity, Lou Reed’s Transformer, Iggy and The Stooges’ Raw Power and directed many of Bowie’s music videos.
Rock’s unruly work Mo was also a lifestyle choice. Integrating hard partying and meditation into his photography/practice by saturating himself in the event he was covering instead of adopting the role of a passive observer, yet Rock provided some outstanding imagery as a result.
Some of his antics involving controversially...
- 7/20/2017
- by Daniel Goodwin
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Sean Wilson Mar 16, 2017
From Total Recall and RoboCop through to Turkish Delight and Flesh+Blood, we look at the musical scores of Paul Verhoeven films...
The Netherlands' arch-provocateur and filmmaker extraordinaire Paul Verhoeven is back in cinemas right now with Elle. A characteristically confrontational and provocative thriller, it spins a rape-revenge storyline into a mordantly funny, blackly comic and off-kilter odyssey, and has garnered an Oscar nomination for extraordinary lead Isabelle Huppert in the process.
See related The Maze Runner 3: Dylan O’Brien seriously injured on set Maze Runner 3 release now delayed, Dylan O’Brien still not back
It's exactly what we've come to expect from a veteran director who's done it all, having made jaws drop in both Europe and Hollywood - but beneath Verhoeven's love of excess and shock tactics lurks real artistry, and nowhere is this more evident than in the remarkable run of film scores...
From Total Recall and RoboCop through to Turkish Delight and Flesh+Blood, we look at the musical scores of Paul Verhoeven films...
The Netherlands' arch-provocateur and filmmaker extraordinaire Paul Verhoeven is back in cinemas right now with Elle. A characteristically confrontational and provocative thriller, it spins a rape-revenge storyline into a mordantly funny, blackly comic and off-kilter odyssey, and has garnered an Oscar nomination for extraordinary lead Isabelle Huppert in the process.
See related The Maze Runner 3: Dylan O’Brien seriously injured on set Maze Runner 3 release now delayed, Dylan O’Brien still not back
It's exactly what we've come to expect from a veteran director who's done it all, having made jaws drop in both Europe and Hollywood - but beneath Verhoeven's love of excess and shock tactics lurks real artistry, and nowhere is this more evident than in the remarkable run of film scores...
- 2/9/2017
- Den of Geek
Something sinister stalks the halls of a brutal boarding school in The House That Screamed, and to celebrate its new home media release from Scream Factory, we've been provided with three Blu-ray copies of the film to give away to lucky Daily Dead readers.
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Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) Blu-ray copy of The House That Screamed.
How to Enter: For a chance to win, email contest@dailydead.com with the subject “The House That Screamed Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.
Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on January 2nd. This contest is only open to those who are eighteen years of age or older that live in the United States. Only one entry per household will be accepted.
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The House That Screamed Blu-ray: "The chilling 1970 horror film by Narciso Ibáñez-Serrador (Who Could Kill A Child?) has been cited as an influence...
————
Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) Blu-ray copy of The House That Screamed.
How to Enter: For a chance to win, email contest@dailydead.com with the subject “The House That Screamed Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.
Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on January 2nd. This contest is only open to those who are eighteen years of age or older that live in the United States. Only one entry per household will be accepted.
————
The House That Screamed Blu-ray: "The chilling 1970 horror film by Narciso Ibáñez-Serrador (Who Could Kill A Child?) has been cited as an influence...
- 12/27/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Even though there are only a few days of 2016 left, that doesn’t mean we don’t have several more horror and sci-fi home entertainment releases to look forward to before the new year arrives. This Tuesday, Ti West’s In A Valley of Violence arrives on both Blu-ray and DVD, and Scream Factory is giving the cult classic The House That Screamed an HD overhaul.
Festival favorite Pet comes home on December 27th courtesy of Paramount, and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has a new batch of Underworld Blu-rays coming our way, including the original film in 4K Ultra HD. Other notable releases this week include When the Bough Breaks, Dog Eat Dog, and Kill Command.
The House That Screamed (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
The chilling 1970 horror film by Narciso Ibáñez-Serrador (Who Could Kill A Child?) has been cited as an influence on Dario Argento's classic Suspiria.
Festival favorite Pet comes home on December 27th courtesy of Paramount, and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has a new batch of Underworld Blu-rays coming our way, including the original film in 4K Ultra HD. Other notable releases this week include When the Bough Breaks, Dog Eat Dog, and Kill Command.
The House That Screamed (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
The chilling 1970 horror film by Narciso Ibáñez-Serrador (Who Could Kill A Child?) has been cited as an influence on Dario Argento's classic Suspiria.
- 12/27/2016
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Something sinister stalks the halls of a brutal boarding school in The House That Screamed, which is teased in high-def clips and a trailer ahead of its Blu-ray release on December 27th.
The House That Screamed Blu-ray: "The chilling 1970 horror film by Narciso Ibáñez-Serrador (Who Could Kill A Child?) has been cited as an influence on Dario Argento's classic Suspiria. At a 19th-century French boarding school for troubled girls, run by the sinister headmistress Madame Fourneau (Lilli Palmer, The Boys From Brazil), students begin to disappear shortly after the latest student's arrival (Cristina Galbó, The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue). Could a mysterious killer be loose within the school's dark corridors or have some of the girl's escaped the tight grip of the stern Fourneau?
Bonus Features
Two Versions Of The Film: Theatrical Version (In HD, 94 min.) And Extended Version (In HD With Standard Definition Inserts, 104 min.) Interview With...
The House That Screamed Blu-ray: "The chilling 1970 horror film by Narciso Ibáñez-Serrador (Who Could Kill A Child?) has been cited as an influence on Dario Argento's classic Suspiria. At a 19th-century French boarding school for troubled girls, run by the sinister headmistress Madame Fourneau (Lilli Palmer, The Boys From Brazil), students begin to disappear shortly after the latest student's arrival (Cristina Galbó, The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue). Could a mysterious killer be loose within the school's dark corridors or have some of the girl's escaped the tight grip of the stern Fourneau?
Bonus Features
Two Versions Of The Film: Theatrical Version (In HD, 94 min.) And Extended Version (In HD With Standard Definition Inserts, 104 min.) Interview With...
- 12/23/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
A boarding school could be home to a killer who stalks the halls in The House That Screamed, coming out on Blu-ray this December from Scream Factory with a list of newly revealed special features.
From Facebook: "We can officially announce today our final list of extras on our release of The House That Screamed--a 1970 slasher film that clearly had some influence on Argento's Suspiria years later. Street date is December 27th.
• Two versions of the film:
- Theatrical version (in HD – 94 mins)
- Extended version (in HD with Standard Definition inserts – 104 mins)
• Interview with actor John Moulder-Brown
• Film Festival Q & A with actress Mary Maude
• Theatrical Trailer/TV Spot
• Radio Spots
• Still Gallery
Our new transfer was done from a Cri film element. The inserts came from an Sd master, which was the only element we could find.
We hope you enjoy our presentation and we're very...
From Facebook: "We can officially announce today our final list of extras on our release of The House That Screamed--a 1970 slasher film that clearly had some influence on Argento's Suspiria years later. Street date is December 27th.
• Two versions of the film:
- Theatrical version (in HD – 94 mins)
- Extended version (in HD with Standard Definition inserts – 104 mins)
• Interview with actor John Moulder-Brown
• Film Festival Q & A with actress Mary Maude
• Theatrical Trailer/TV Spot
• Radio Spots
• Still Gallery
Our new transfer was done from a Cri film element. The inserts came from an Sd master, which was the only element we could find.
We hope you enjoy our presentation and we're very...
- 11/9/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Narciso Ibanez-Serrador’s The House That Screamed (1970) is coming to Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory on December 20th! While special features have yet to be revealed, we have a look at the cover art and initial details on the upcoming release.
From Scream Factory: “We are now taking pre-orders for our upcoming release of the long-lost film Aip film The House That Screamed which makes its Blu-ray format debut!
This chilling 1970 horror film by Directed by Narciso Ibáñez-Serrador (Who Could Kill A Child?) has been cited as an influence on Dario Argento’s classic Suspiria. At a 19th-century French boarding school for troubled girls, run by the sinister head mistress Madame Fourneau (Lilli Palmer, The Boys From Brazil), students begin to disappear shortly after the latest student’s arrival (Cristina Galbó, The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue). Could a mysterious killer be loose within the school’s dark corridors...
From Scream Factory: “We are now taking pre-orders for our upcoming release of the long-lost film Aip film The House That Screamed which makes its Blu-ray format debut!
This chilling 1970 horror film by Directed by Narciso Ibáñez-Serrador (Who Could Kill A Child?) has been cited as an influence on Dario Argento’s classic Suspiria. At a 19th-century French boarding school for troubled girls, run by the sinister head mistress Madame Fourneau (Lilli Palmer, The Boys From Brazil), students begin to disappear shortly after the latest student’s arrival (Cristina Galbó, The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue). Could a mysterious killer be loose within the school’s dark corridors...
- 8/31/2016
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
Happy Birthday, Laurence Olivier Born in 1907, Olivier remains one of the most revered actors of the 20th century. He was the first artistic director of the National Theatre of Great Britain and its main stage is named in his honour. Olivier's career as a stage and film actor spanned more than six decades and included a wide variety of roles, from the title role in Shakespeare's Othello and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night to the sadistic Nazi dentist Christian Szell in Marathon Man and the kindly but determined Nazi-hunter in The Boys from Brazil. Olivier played more than 120 stage roles Richard III, Macbeth, Romeo, Hamlet, Othello, Uncle Vanya, and Archie Rice in The Entertainer. He appeared in nearly sixty films, including William Wyler's Wuthering Heights, Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus, Otto Preminger's Bunny Lake Is Missing, Richard Attenborough's Oh What a Lovely War,...
- 5/22/2016
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published May 5, 2015.
Ian Fleming’s James Bond is one of the most recognizable and successful characters in modern popular culture. The novels have sold over 100 million copies, and the film franchise is the second most successful in history, having been recently displaced by the Harry Potter series. For most readers and viewers, 007 is merely a Western pop icon. However, there is much more at work in the novels and films than appears on the surface. In fact, there are deeper undercurrents, themes, symbols, and messages that operate as psychological warfare propaganda and an in-depth semiotic analysis of the novels and films yields an interpretation that confirms this thesis. Much has been written on the subject of Ian Fleming’s James Bond. From Umberto Eco’s older essay “Narrative Structures in Fleming” to Christoph Linders’ modern collections The James Bond Phenomenon and Revisioning 007: James Bond and Casino Royale,...
Ian Fleming’s James Bond is one of the most recognizable and successful characters in modern popular culture. The novels have sold over 100 million copies, and the film franchise is the second most successful in history, having been recently displaced by the Harry Potter series. For most readers and viewers, 007 is merely a Western pop icon. However, there is much more at work in the novels and films than appears on the surface. In fact, there are deeper undercurrents, themes, symbols, and messages that operate as psychological warfare propaganda and an in-depth semiotic analysis of the novels and films yields an interpretation that confirms this thesis. Much has been written on the subject of Ian Fleming’s James Bond. From Umberto Eco’s older essay “Narrative Structures in Fleming” to Christoph Linders’ modern collections The James Bond Phenomenon and Revisioning 007: James Bond and Casino Royale,...
- 11/7/2015
- by Jay Dyer
- SoundOnSight
Stars: Sarah Hagan, Barbara Crampton, Sara Malakul Lane, Evan Jones, Jim Boeven | Written and Directed by Ben Cresciman
One of four films at this years Frightfest to feature 80s horror icon Barbara Crampton (the others being We Are Still Here, Road Games and Tales of Halloween), Sun Choke stars the wonderful Sarah Hagan, who many will remember from TV shows like Freaks and Geeks and Buffy the Vampire Slayer – where she played one of the potential slayers, Amanda, Here Hagan channels that same sweet, shy persona with an underlying edge she had in Buffy. However unlike that TV show, where that edge would ultimately channel itself into a heroic vampire slaying role, the underlying edge here is more of the unhinged kind – you literally spend the entire movie just waiting for her character Janie to snap.
You see Janie is recovering from a violent psychotic break, subjected each day to...
One of four films at this years Frightfest to feature 80s horror icon Barbara Crampton (the others being We Are Still Here, Road Games and Tales of Halloween), Sun Choke stars the wonderful Sarah Hagan, who many will remember from TV shows like Freaks and Geeks and Buffy the Vampire Slayer – where she played one of the potential slayers, Amanda, Here Hagan channels that same sweet, shy persona with an underlying edge she had in Buffy. However unlike that TV show, where that edge would ultimately channel itself into a heroic vampire slaying role, the underlying edge here is more of the unhinged kind – you literally spend the entire movie just waiting for her character Janie to snap.
You see Janie is recovering from a violent psychotic break, subjected each day to...
- 8/25/2015
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Anne Meara, who along with her husband and partner Jerry Stiller, became a comedy legend, has died at age 85. Meara and Stiller were unlikely candidates for romance in 1950s New York: he was Jewish, she was Catholic. Nevertheless, to the disappointment of both of their families, they married. Like many young couples in show business, they initially struggled to pay the bills. They developed a comedy act that proved to be popular in Gotham night clubs. This eventually caught the eye of Ed Sulllivan, who gave them a coveted slot on his Sunday night variety show. The rest was history. Stiller and Meara became one of the top comedy acts in the country. Their real life marriage lasted 61 years, during which they remained mainstays on the New York social scene. They also continued to perform regularly and even had a popular web-based series. Meara was a familiar face on television and in feature films.
- 5/25/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Anne Meara, a four-time Emmy nominee who made up half of the '60s comedy duo Stiller and Meara, died on Saturday (May 23) at the age of 85. Born in Brooklyn in 1929, Meara married Jerry Stiller in 1954 and they performed together as part of The Compass Players, the Chicago-based improvisational comedy company that would evolve into The Second City. As Stiller and Meara, the couple turned details from their own relationship into a wildly successful comedy pairing that made them variety show, late night and game show favorites through the '60s and '70s. More than a few of their bits related to his Jewishness and her Irish Catholic upbringing, though she converted to Judaism in 1960. While Meara's 1975 CBS drama "Kate McShane" was short-lived, it earned her the first of her Emmy nominations, followed by nods for "Archie Bunker's Place" and a guest spot on "Homicide: Life on the Street.
- 5/24/2015
- by Daniel Fienberg
- Hitfix
Happy Birthday, Laurence Olivier Born in 1907, Olivier remains one of the most revered actors of the 20th century. He was the first artistic director of the National Theatre of Great Britain and its main stage is named in his honour. Olivier's career as a stage and film actor spanned more than six decades and included a wide variety of roles, from the title role in Shakespeare's Othello and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night to the sadistic Nazi dentist Christian Szell in Marathon Man and the kindly but determined Nazi-hunter in The Boys from Brazil. Olivier played more than 120 stage roles Richard III, Macbeth, Romeo, Hamlet, Othello, Uncle Vanya, and Archie Rice in The Entertainer. He appeared in nearly sixty films, including William Wyler's Wuthering Heights, Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus, Otto Preminger's Bunny Lake Is Missing, Richard Attenborough's Oh What a Lovely War,...
- 5/22/2015
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
By: Jay Dyer
Ian Fleming’s James Bond is one of the most recognizable and successful characters in modern popular culture. The novels have sold over 100 million copies, and the film franchise is the second most successful in history, having been recently displaced by the Harry Potter series. For most readers and viewers, 007 is merely a Western pop icon. However, there is much more at work in the novels and films than appears on the surface. In fact, there are deeper undercurrents, themes, symbols, and messages that operate as psychological warfare propaganda and an in-depth semiotic analysis of the novels and films yields an interpretation that confirms this thesis. Much has been written on the subject of Ian Fleming’s James Bond. From Umberto Eco’s older essay “Narrative Structures in Fleming” to Christoph Linders’ modern collections The James Bond Phenomenon and Revisioning 007: James Bond and Casino Royale, there...
Ian Fleming’s James Bond is one of the most recognizable and successful characters in modern popular culture. The novels have sold over 100 million copies, and the film franchise is the second most successful in history, having been recently displaced by the Harry Potter series. For most readers and viewers, 007 is merely a Western pop icon. However, there is much more at work in the novels and films than appears on the surface. In fact, there are deeper undercurrents, themes, symbols, and messages that operate as psychological warfare propaganda and an in-depth semiotic analysis of the novels and films yields an interpretation that confirms this thesis. Much has been written on the subject of Ian Fleming’s James Bond. From Umberto Eco’s older essay “Narrative Structures in Fleming” to Christoph Linders’ modern collections The James Bond Phenomenon and Revisioning 007: James Bond and Casino Royale, there...
- 5/12/2015
- by Jay Dyer
- SoundOnSight
The name Josef Mengele, Hitler’s so-called ‘Angel of Death’, will probably be familiar to you. He was the subject of Franklin Schaffner’s Oscar-winning thriller (and World Cup rent-a-headline) The Boys From Brazil and his clammy presence returns to the big screen with Argentine drama Wakolda. The film has a first-look trailer and a new poster to share its take on one of science’s most warped villains. Released in the Us under the name The German Doctor, Wakolda is set in Patagonia in 1960. Mengele (Alex Brendemühl), ensconced in Argentina after his escape from Nazi Germany 15 years earlier, has wormed his way into the trust of a young family who run a hotel in the icy boondocks. However, as the saying probably goes: ‘Once a Nazi scumbag, always a Nazi scumbag’, and soon he’s back pursuing his interest in eugenics on the youngest member of the clan, Lilith (Florencia Bado). Unusually,...
- 7/9/2014
- EmpireOnline
Happy Birthday, Laurence Olivier Born in 1907, Olivier remains one of the most revered actors of the 20th century. He was the first artistic director of the National Theatre of Great Britain and its main stage is named in his honour. Olivier's career as a stage and film actor spanned more than six decades and included a wide variety of roles, from the title role in Shakespeare's Othello and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night to the sadistic Nazi dentist Christian Szell in Marathon Man and the kindly but determined Nazi-hunter in The Boys from Brazil. Olivier played more than 120 stage roles Richard III, Macbeth, Romeo, Hamlet, Othello, Uncle Vanya, and Archie Rice in The Entertainer. He appeared in nearly sixty films, including William Wyler's Wuthering Heights, Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus, Otto Preminger's Bunny Lake Is Missing, Richard Attenborough's Oh What a Lovely War,...
- 5/22/2014
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
By Lee Pfeiffer
Adolf Hitler and Jesus Christ aren't generally linked together in any way, shape or form- but their names were invoked in a lawsuit regarding copyright infringement in L.A. this week. A judge has issued a summary judgment in a case against Warner Brothers and the producers of The Matrix film franchiset by a screenwriter, Thomas Althouse, who alleged that that key aspects of the movies were derived from a 1993 script he wrote. Althouse contends the lawsuit took so many years to file because he had only recently watched the films in question and came to the conclusion that references to Hitler being brought back from the dead could be traced to his script. He also maintained that Christ-like allusions could have also derived from said script. The judge dismissed the complaint saying that he could find no substantial similarities and noted that allusions to Christ can't be copyrighted,...
Adolf Hitler and Jesus Christ aren't generally linked together in any way, shape or form- but their names were invoked in a lawsuit regarding copyright infringement in L.A. this week. A judge has issued a summary judgment in a case against Warner Brothers and the producers of The Matrix film franchiset by a screenwriter, Thomas Althouse, who alleged that that key aspects of the movies were derived from a 1993 script he wrote. Althouse contends the lawsuit took so many years to file because he had only recently watched the films in question and came to the conclusion that references to Hitler being brought back from the dead could be traced to his script. He also maintained that Christ-like allusions could have also derived from said script. The judge dismissed the complaint saying that he could find no substantial similarities and noted that allusions to Christ can't be copyrighted,...
- 4/29/2014
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
A Nazi At My Table: Puenzo’s Latest an Eerie Reimagining
Argentinian director Lucia Puenzo once again adapts one of her own novels for her latest offering, an intriguing period piece, The German Doctor. Whereas her 2009 adaptation of The Fish Child unraveled itself with a series distracting narrative flourishes, her latest effort is a bit more reserved, a simple and straightforward tale that manages to build a sinister simmer, even distracting us from what audiences familiar with historical accuracy already know will happen. While avoiding the use of Nazism and the perverse case of Dr. Mengele as an exploitative element, the rather demure narrative only hints at the possibility of the notorious and despicable terrors residing underneath the calm visage of a stranger that upends one unremarkable family’s livelihood.
Set in early 1960’s Patagonia, a man by the name of Helmut Gregor (Alex Brendemuhl), becomes fascinated with an underdeveloped...
Argentinian director Lucia Puenzo once again adapts one of her own novels for her latest offering, an intriguing period piece, The German Doctor. Whereas her 2009 adaptation of The Fish Child unraveled itself with a series distracting narrative flourishes, her latest effort is a bit more reserved, a simple and straightforward tale that manages to build a sinister simmer, even distracting us from what audiences familiar with historical accuracy already know will happen. While avoiding the use of Nazism and the perverse case of Dr. Mengele as an exploitative element, the rather demure narrative only hints at the possibility of the notorious and despicable terrors residing underneath the calm visage of a stranger that upends one unremarkable family’s livelihood.
Set in early 1960’s Patagonia, a man by the name of Helmut Gregor (Alex Brendemuhl), becomes fascinated with an underdeveloped...
- 4/21/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
I'm sure you've seen the melancholy yet uplifting new spot for Nebraska that points out the ages of its principal cast and how long they've been acting. It's inspiring, for sure, as longevity often is. Hollywood and the Oscars often favor the sprinters (note all the stars, particularly actresses, who won too soon and all the films that opened in the rush of awards season that were only hot for two months) but life is a marathon.
Assuming Bruce Dern and June Squibb are both nominated on January 16th (and smart money says they will be) they'll both be among the top three oldest performers ever nominated in their categories. It will break down like so...
Oldest Best Actor Nominees
01 Richard Farnsworth, The Straight Story (1999) who was 79
02 Bruce Dern, Nebraska (20) who is 77*
03 Henry Fonda, On Golden Pond (1981) who was 76
04 Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby (2004) who was 74
05 Peter O'Toole, Venus (2006) who was also 74
06 Morgan Freeman,...
Assuming Bruce Dern and June Squibb are both nominated on January 16th (and smart money says they will be) they'll both be among the top three oldest performers ever nominated in their categories. It will break down like so...
Oldest Best Actor Nominees
01 Richard Farnsworth, The Straight Story (1999) who was 79
02 Bruce Dern, Nebraska (20) who is 77*
03 Henry Fonda, On Golden Pond (1981) who was 76
04 Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby (2004) who was 74
05 Peter O'Toole, Venus (2006) who was also 74
06 Morgan Freeman,...
- 1/3/2014
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Bob and Harvey Weinstein announced today that they will executive produce, finance and distribute a screen adaptation of author Ira Levin's 1973 Broadway thriller "Veronica's Room" through their TWC-Dimension label. Here's the synopsis:The dark tale of "Veronica's Room" explores the thin line between fantasy and reality. Students Susan and Larry find themselves enticed to an old New England mansion by its caretakers to meet the sole surviving member of the family. They insist that Susan bears a striking resemblance to Veronica, the family member's long-dead sister. They believe her presence will comfort the dementia-afflicted woman and allow her to die in peace. But what begins as a simple errand of mercy quickly spirals into a nightmare cycle of guilt, sacrifice, and murder.Ira Levin, who died in 2007, is most famous for his novels "Rosemary's Baby," "The Stepford Wives" and "The Boys from Brazil," which all became acclaimed cult films. His play "Veronica's Room" was.
- 12/5/2013
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
Gregory Peck movies: Memorable miscasting in David O. Selznick’s Western Gregory Peck is Turner Classic Movies’ "Summer Under the Stars" star today, August 15, 2013. TCM is currently showing Raoul Walsh’s good-looking but not too exciting Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951), with Peck in the title role and Virginia Mayo as his leading lady. (See “Gregory Peck in ‘Duel in the Sun’: TCM movie schedule.”) (Photo: Gregory Peck ca. 1950.) Next in line is Zoltan Korda’s crime melodrama The Macomber Affair (1947), based on a story by Ernest Hemingway about a troubled married couple and their safari guide. This is another good-looking film — black-and-white cinematography by veteran Karl Struss, whose credits ranged from the 1920 Gloria Swanson melo Something to Think About to Charles Chaplin’s The Great Dictator. Unfortunately, the psychology, the romance, and some of the acting found in The Macomber Affair is — at best — superficial. Joan Bennett and Gregory Peck look great,...
- 8/16/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Home entertainment agreement will see Shout! Factory distribute ITV Studios Global Entertainment films in North America.
North American distributor Shout! Factory and UK distributor ITV Studios Global Entertainment (Itvs Ge) have secured a deal to partner on home entertainment and digital distribution.
The agreement will see an extensive library of acclaimed cinema classics back to the home entertainment marketplace in the Us and Canada.
Titles include Sophie’s Choice; On Golden Pond; The Eagle Has Landed; The Last Unicorn; The Tamarind Seed; Capricorn One; The Cassandra Crossing; Brief Encounter; Saturn 3; The Merchant of Venice; Voyage of the Damned and The Boys from Brazil.
Some of these titles have never been available on Blu-ray or DVD. In addition, bonus content is currently in development by Shout! Factory for special editions and double features.
North American distributor Shout! Factory and UK distributor ITV Studios Global Entertainment (Itvs Ge) have secured a deal to partner on home entertainment and digital distribution.
The agreement will see an extensive library of acclaimed cinema classics back to the home entertainment marketplace in the Us and Canada.
Titles include Sophie’s Choice; On Golden Pond; The Eagle Has Landed; The Last Unicorn; The Tamarind Seed; Capricorn One; The Cassandra Crossing; Brief Encounter; Saturn 3; The Merchant of Venice; Voyage of the Damned and The Boys from Brazil.
Some of these titles have never been available on Blu-ray or DVD. In addition, bonus content is currently in development by Shout! Factory for special editions and double features.
- 7/25/2013
- ScreenDaily
Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn's follow-up to the darkly stylish Drive is the even more violent Only God Forgives. Is he revelling in sexual brutality?
"So," asks Nicolas Winding Refn, as we sit down for lunch in a swish new place in King's Cross, London, "what was the first reaction you had to my film? What was the first thought that went through your mind?"
Not only is this a reversal of the traditional interview roles, it's also a tricky question. The film under review is Only God Forgives, the follow-up to Refn's critically acclaimed and commercially successful Drive. Imagine a Quentin Tarantino homage to oriental slasher movies but directed by David Lynch at his most elliptical and unsettling, and you might get some idea of the strangeness of Only God Forgives. It features Ryan Gosling as a boxing promoter and drug dealer with impotence issues, Kristin Scott Thomas as his blond,...
"So," asks Nicolas Winding Refn, as we sit down for lunch in a swish new place in King's Cross, London, "what was the first reaction you had to my film? What was the first thought that went through your mind?"
Not only is this a reversal of the traditional interview roles, it's also a tricky question. The film under review is Only God Forgives, the follow-up to Refn's critically acclaimed and commercially successful Drive. Imagine a Quentin Tarantino homage to oriental slasher movies but directed by David Lynch at his most elliptical and unsettling, and you might get some idea of the strangeness of Only God Forgives. It features Ryan Gosling as a boxing promoter and drug dealer with impotence issues, Kristin Scott Thomas as his blond,...
- 7/15/2013
- by Andrew Anthony
- The Guardian - Film News
Happy Birthday, Laurence Olivier Born in 1907, Olivier remains one of the most revered actors of the 20th century. He was the first artistic director of the National Theatre of Great Britain and its main stage is named in his honour. Olivier's career as a stage and film actor spanned more than six decades and included a wide variety of roles, from the title role in Shakespeare's Othello and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night to the sadistic Nazi dentist Christian Szell in Marathon Man and the kindly but determined Nazi-hunter in The Boys from Brazil. Olivier played more than 120 stage roles Richard III, Macbeth, Romeo, Hamlet, Othello, Uncle Vanya, and Archie Rice in The Entertainer. He appeared in nearly sixty films, including William Wyler's Wuthering Heights, Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus, Otto Preminger's Bunny Lake Is Missing, Richard Attenborough's Oh What a Lovely War,...
- 5/22/2013
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
On TV this Thursday: Zero Hour is upon us, Glee walks a core couple down the aisle, Community celebrates Halloween (of course) and we get a big step closer to crowning the next American Idol. As a supplement to TVLine’s original features (linked within), here are 10 programs to keep on your radar.
Preview | Vampire Diaries‘ Joseph Morgan on Klaroline’s ‘Honest’ Moment, Klaus’ Exit
Preview | The Big Bang Theory: Get Scoop on Tonight’s Valentine’s Day Episode!
8 pm Zero Hour (ABC) | Series premiere: Anthony Edwards (ER) returns to TV in this mythology-driven adventure about a magazine editor whose wife (Jacinda Barrett,...
Preview | Vampire Diaries‘ Joseph Morgan on Klaroline’s ‘Honest’ Moment, Klaus’ Exit
Preview | The Big Bang Theory: Get Scoop on Tonight’s Valentine’s Day Episode!
8 pm Zero Hour (ABC) | Series premiere: Anthony Edwards (ER) returns to TV in this mythology-driven adventure about a magazine editor whose wife (Jacinda Barrett,...
- 2/14/2013
- by Kimberly Roots
- TVLine.com
Martin Richards — or “Marty,” as those in the theater community called him — died of cancer Monday in New York City. Richards won an Academy Award in 2003 for producing that year’s Best Picture, Chicago. The Oscar was the culmination of Richards’s decades-long battle to bring that Kander and Ebb musical to movie theaters; it began in 1975, when Richards produced the show’s original Broadway production.
Of course, Chicago wasn’t Richards’s only project. The prolific stage producer — born Morton Richard Klein in the Bronx — was nominated for 10 Tony Awards throughout his career, winning for La Cage aux Folles...
Of course, Chicago wasn’t Richards’s only project. The prolific stage producer — born Morton Richard Klein in the Bronx — was nominated for 10 Tony Awards throughout his career, winning for La Cage aux Folles...
- 11/27/2012
- by Hillary Busis
- EW - Inside Movies
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