Less than a year before her passing in 2015, actress Yvonne Craig was chatting with me about the enduring nature of the 1960s Batman series that starred Adam West in the title role, Burt Ward as his sidekick, Robin; and Yvonne herself in the dual role of Barbara Gordon and Batgirl. The complete series had been issued on Blu-ray at the time, which explained the excitement of the moment, but not the fact that people still loved that show nearly 50 years after its debut. “Part of it is that it is that it's a sign of our times,” she said. “Everyone would like to go back to the time of ‘Flower Power.’ You know, rather than blowing people up in all these different places like they are in the world, people are looking for an escape. And this is not only an escape, but it’s stilly and fun and filled with pretty colors.
- 4/17/2018
- by Ed Gross
- Closer Weekly
'True Grit' 2010: Hailee Steinfeld and Jeff Bridges. 'True Grit' 2010 review: 'Far Superior' to 1969 John Wayne Western I've gotten to the point with the Coen brothers where I just expect something wonderful every time they make a movie. For me, that was the case even with an effort like True Grit. For others, however, it was different. When the Coens announced their plans to adapt Charles Portis' novel, heads turned and were scratched by many. After all, not only were the brothers going to adapt a book, something they had done only once before (twice if you count The Odyssey), but they were going to remake a movie made famous by John Wayne in 1969. To many, especially lovers of Westerns, touching True Grit was sacrilege. But the Coens weren't deterred, and thankfully so. Their adaptation of True Grit is not only far superior to Henry Hathaway's 1969 version, it...
- 12/26/2015
- by Nathan Donarum
- Alt Film Guide
A major star of the post-Diaghilev Ballets Russes, he was celebrated for his romantic roles
Frederic Franklin, who has died aged 98, was one of the best loved figures in the dance world. Always genial, always helpful, he possessed a razor-sharp memory of all the ballets he had appeared in. Franklin played an important part in the preservation of many early ballets by George Balanchine, and in 2002 was able to reconstruct episodes from Devil's Holiday, a ballet created by Frederick Ashton in 1939, never revived since and never seen on stage by Ashton.
Franklin, known as Freddie, was a major star of the post-Diaghilev Ballets Russes, forming a memorable and long-lasting partnership with the ballerina Alexandra Danilova; her champagne personality and his good looks and charisma combined to stunning effect. This was especially true in such ballets as Léonide Massine's Le Beau Danube and especially Gâité Parisienne. But Franklin also danced...
Frederic Franklin, who has died aged 98, was one of the best loved figures in the dance world. Always genial, always helpful, he possessed a razor-sharp memory of all the ballets he had appeared in. Franklin played an important part in the preservation of many early ballets by George Balanchine, and in 2002 was able to reconstruct episodes from Devil's Holiday, a ballet created by Frederick Ashton in 1939, never revived since and never seen on stage by Ashton.
Franklin, known as Freddie, was a major star of the post-Diaghilev Ballets Russes, forming a memorable and long-lasting partnership with the ballerina Alexandra Danilova; her champagne personality and his good looks and charisma combined to stunning effect. This was especially true in such ballets as Léonide Massine's Le Beau Danube and especially Gâité Parisienne. But Franklin also danced...
- 5/7/2013
- by Judith Cruickshank
- The Guardian - Film News
The Kennedy Center Honors have been handed out since 1978. Recipients hail from various branches of the American performance art world — including film, stage, music, and dance — even though performers more closely associated with British show business have managed to sneak in every now and then, e.g., Paul McCartney, Roger Daltrey, Elton John, Pete Townshend. Since recipients are supposed to attend the Washington, D.C., ceremony in order to take home their Kennedy awards, Doris Day has remained unhonored by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Katharine Hepburn kept putting it off until she finally relented in 1990. (Irene Dunne, see above photo, was one who managed to be honored though absent due to ill health.) Ginger Rogers, for her part, was present at the ceremony, but her films with Fred Astaire weren't — because Astaire's widow, Robyn Astaire, demanded payment for the televised clips. At the time, Kennedy Center Honors...
- 9/7/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Vibrant dancer, singer and actor – a leading light of the Lindsay Kemp Company and striking presence in films by Derek Jarman
Jack Birkett, who has died aged 75, was a performer with the Lindsay Kemp Company, whose stylised theatrical language permitted him to blend ferocity with camp comedy, tragedy with menace, and lyricism with grotesqueness. The company's emotionally intense fusion of dance, theatre, mime and spectacle took Jack around the world on a wave of popularity from the 1960s to the 1980s.
In 1966 Jack began to lose his sight. Through painstaking determination, he mentally charted many stages and backstages and despite the cuts and bruises from mishaps, he refused to ever be tentative in his roles. After he had become entirely blind, he grew more extreme in his performances and his persona. His change of name to The Incredible Orlando mirrored this transformation.
Jack was born into a working-class family in Leeds.
Jack Birkett, who has died aged 75, was a performer with the Lindsay Kemp Company, whose stylised theatrical language permitted him to blend ferocity with camp comedy, tragedy with menace, and lyricism with grotesqueness. The company's emotionally intense fusion of dance, theatre, mime and spectacle took Jack around the world on a wave of popularity from the 1960s to the 1980s.
In 1966 Jack began to lose his sight. Through painstaking determination, he mentally charted many stages and backstages and despite the cuts and bruises from mishaps, he refused to ever be tentative in his roles. After he had become entirely blind, he grew more extreme in his performances and his persona. His change of name to The Incredible Orlando mirrored this transformation.
Jack was born into a working-class family in Leeds.
- 5/28/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
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