Note: this article contains detailed discussions of sexual assault.
Norman Lear's seminal sitcom "All in the Family" was known for bringing laughs and thought-provoking discussions, but a 1977 episode entitled "Edith's 50th Birthday" was an outlier. Instead of a comedy, the two-parter felt like a horror show, one with a gravely serious topic: rape. In it, family matriarch Edith Bunker (Jean Stapleton) survives a harrowing, extended assault attempt by a stranger and is forced to muddle through the aftermath of intense trauma. It's a dark point for the series, but it's one that show creator Lear said elicited the strongest live-action response of any moment in the show's nine-season run.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2017, Lear (who died at the age of 101 in 2023) was asked to recall the biggest audience uproar in the show's history. "I never heard a bigger sound on television than when Edith got...
Norman Lear's seminal sitcom "All in the Family" was known for bringing laughs and thought-provoking discussions, but a 1977 episode entitled "Edith's 50th Birthday" was an outlier. Instead of a comedy, the two-parter felt like a horror show, one with a gravely serious topic: rape. In it, family matriarch Edith Bunker (Jean Stapleton) survives a harrowing, extended assault attempt by a stranger and is forced to muddle through the aftermath of intense trauma. It's a dark point for the series, but it's one that show creator Lear said elicited the strongest live-action response of any moment in the show's nine-season run.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2017, Lear (who died at the age of 101 in 2023) was asked to recall the biggest audience uproar in the show's history. "I never heard a bigger sound on television than when Edith got...
- 3/31/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products released each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.
Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!
Inland Empire Blu-ray from Criterion
Inland Empire will join The Criterion Collection with a Blu-ray release on March 21. David Lynch’s 2006 experimental horror film stars Laura Dern, Jeremy Irons, Justin Theroux, Harry Dean Stanton, Karolina Gruszka, Peter J. Lucas. Krzysztof Majchrzak, and Julia Ormond.
It has received a new HD digital master from a 4K restoration supervised by Lynch, with 5.1 surround DTS-hd Master Audio and uncompressed stereo soundtracks newly remastered by Lynch and original rerecording mixers Dean Hurley and Ron Eng.
The two-disc set includes the 2007 documentaries Lynch (one) and LYNCH2, a new conversation between Dern and Kyle MacLachlan, 75 minutes of extra scenes, Lynch’s 2007 short film Ballerina, and more.
E.T. Sneakers from Zavvi...
Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!
Inland Empire Blu-ray from Criterion
Inland Empire will join The Criterion Collection with a Blu-ray release on March 21. David Lynch’s 2006 experimental horror film stars Laura Dern, Jeremy Irons, Justin Theroux, Harry Dean Stanton, Karolina Gruszka, Peter J. Lucas. Krzysztof Majchrzak, and Julia Ormond.
It has received a new HD digital master from a 4K restoration supervised by Lynch, with 5.1 surround DTS-hd Master Audio and uncompressed stereo soundtracks newly remastered by Lynch and original rerecording mixers Dean Hurley and Ron Eng.
The two-disc set includes the 2007 documentaries Lynch (one) and LYNCH2, a new conversation between Dern and Kyle MacLachlan, 75 minutes of extra scenes, Lynch’s 2007 short film Ballerina, and more.
E.T. Sneakers from Zavvi...
- 12/16/2022
- by Alex DiVincenzo
- bloody-disgusting.com
One of the great things about horror movies is that they offer a universal experience. No matter where you go in the world, the same things are considered scary, which is why great horror movies are made all over the world. Today we’re going to be focusing on ones made or produced in Ireland, so if you’re looking for a fright, try one of these out.
The Sleep of Death
The Sleep of Death was released in 1980 and was written and directed by Calvin Floyd. It’s often described as a Swedish-Irish film, thanks to the prevalence of Swedish cast members. The film is based on the 1872 novella The Room in the Dragon Volant and is sometimes called The Inn of the Flying Dragon, in reference to the title of the novella. The story follows a young Englishman called Colonel Gaillard, played by Per Oscarsson, who goes to France to pursue a woman,...
The Sleep of Death
The Sleep of Death was released in 1980 and was written and directed by Calvin Floyd. It’s often described as a Swedish-Irish film, thanks to the prevalence of Swedish cast members. The film is based on the 1872 novella The Room in the Dragon Volant and is sometimes called The Inn of the Flying Dragon, in reference to the title of the novella. The story follows a young Englishman called Colonel Gaillard, played by Per Oscarsson, who goes to France to pursue a woman,...
- 8/19/2022
- by agency
- GlamSham
Theater, film and television writer-director Robert Allan Ackerman died Jan. 10. He was 77.
Nominated twice for Golden Globes and five times for Emmys, Ackerman also received numerous theater directing awards.
Ackerman started out directing at the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theatre. In the 1980s his theater productions included Martin Sherman’s Tony nominated “Bent,” starring Richard Gere and David Dukes; John Byrne’s “Slab Boys,” starring Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon and Val Kilmer and William Mastrosimone’s “Extremities” starring Susan Sarandon. He went on to direct Peter Allen in “Legs Diamond” and Al Pacino in Oscar Wilde’s “Salome.”
When reached for comment, Al Pacino said, “I love Bob. I loved being around him, his aurora, his steady peace. To work with him was joyous. He understood the language of theater art and communicated it with such ease. His gift was intangible and there’s no way of understanding how he created.
Nominated twice for Golden Globes and five times for Emmys, Ackerman also received numerous theater directing awards.
Ackerman started out directing at the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theatre. In the 1980s his theater productions included Martin Sherman’s Tony nominated “Bent,” starring Richard Gere and David Dukes; John Byrne’s “Slab Boys,” starring Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon and Val Kilmer and William Mastrosimone’s “Extremities” starring Susan Sarandon. He went on to direct Peter Allen in “Legs Diamond” and Al Pacino in Oscar Wilde’s “Salome.”
When reached for comment, Al Pacino said, “I love Bob. I loved being around him, his aurora, his steady peace. To work with him was joyous. He understood the language of theater art and communicated it with such ease. His gift was intangible and there’s no way of understanding how he created.
- 1/13/2022
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Robert Allan Ackerman, the director whose television work scored five Emmy nominations and who directed acclaimed Broadway productions including Bent and Extremities, died Jan. 10 of kidney failure at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. He was 77.
His death was announced by family through a spokesman.
“I love Bob. I loved being around him, his aurora, his steady peace,” said actor Al Pacino, who starred in Ackerman’s 1992 Broadway staging of Oscar Wilde’s Salome. “To work with him was joyous. He understood the language of theater art and communicated it with such ease. His gift was intangible and there’s no way of understanding how he created. When an artist has that special gift it is unexplainable, it just happens. When he stopped directing, he started writing again and his writing also had that same magic. He will be missed.”
In 2016, Pacino would re-team with Ackerman in a Pasadena Playhouse production of God Looked Away,...
His death was announced by family through a spokesman.
“I love Bob. I loved being around him, his aurora, his steady peace,” said actor Al Pacino, who starred in Ackerman’s 1992 Broadway staging of Oscar Wilde’s Salome. “To work with him was joyous. He understood the language of theater art and communicated it with such ease. His gift was intangible and there’s no way of understanding how he created. When an artist has that special gift it is unexplainable, it just happens. When he stopped directing, he started writing again and his writing also had that same magic. He will be missed.”
In 2016, Pacino would re-team with Ackerman in a Pasadena Playhouse production of God Looked Away,...
- 1/13/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Looking for a bad horror movie for Halloween? May I suggest… Rawhead Rex (1986) Director: George Pavlou Stars: David Dukes, Kelly Piper, Hugh O'Conor A pagan demon once thought dead re-emerges to terrorize a peaceful Irish village, one golden shower at a time. If you're a horror fan, you should really thank Rawhead Rex for existing. Not because it's a good movie…...
- 10/23/2019
- by Jason Adams
- JoBlo.com
In the 1818 novel “Frankenstein,” Mary Shelley invented a creature that was philosophical, articulate and vengeful. But most people remember the Hollywood version: barely speaking, lumbering and with bolts in his neck, memorable thanks to Boris Karloff and the makeup designed by Jack P. Pierce. November 21 marks the anniversary of the film’s 1931 debut. At the time, Variety wrote that the studio added a prologue only two days before prints shipped, in which audiences were warned what to expect, since horror was a newish genre for U.S. films. The Variety story added that Universal and director James Whale reshot the ending after previews: “New scenes keep the doctor, who treats the monster, alive instead of burning him to death with his robot.”
Kansas City still wasn’t pleased. In those days, local communities could censor films, and K.C. demanded 34 cuts including the climax, because the movie “shows cruelty and tends to debase morals.
Kansas City still wasn’t pleased. In those days, local communities could censor films, and K.C. demanded 34 cuts including the climax, because the movie “shows cruelty and tends to debase morals.
- 11/23/2018
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Review by Roger Carpenter
Back in 1986 Clive Barker was a hot property. His successful, six-volume collection entitled Books of Blood were major international bestsellers, as was his first full-length novel, The Damnation Game. In fact, Barker was one of the early pioneers of the splatterpunk movement in horror fiction, helping to popularize the genre throughout the mid- to late-eighties and into the nineties. Many of his novels and quite a few of his short stories have been adapted for the screen, including Rawhead Rex, originally a short story collected in Books of Blood, Volume 3.
Unfortunately for Barker—and perhaps very fortunate for horror film fans—the first two films made based upon Barker’s work turned out so badly that he not only disowned the films but decided he would direct the next film himself. That film was the seminal Hellraiser (See? Good for us!). The two films Barker, to this day,...
Back in 1986 Clive Barker was a hot property. His successful, six-volume collection entitled Books of Blood were major international bestsellers, as was his first full-length novel, The Damnation Game. In fact, Barker was one of the early pioneers of the splatterpunk movement in horror fiction, helping to popularize the genre throughout the mid- to late-eighties and into the nineties. Many of his novels and quite a few of his short stories have been adapted for the screen, including Rawhead Rex, originally a short story collected in Books of Blood, Volume 3.
Unfortunately for Barker—and perhaps very fortunate for horror film fans—the first two films made based upon Barker’s work turned out so badly that he not only disowned the films but decided he would direct the next film himself. That film was the seminal Hellraiser (See? Good for us!). The two films Barker, to this day,...
- 12/29/2017
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
With Halloween only two weeks away now, that means we have another killer batch of home entertainment releases arriving this Tuesday, primed to get everyone in the mood for the macabre. Cult film lovers should get those wallets ready, as Kino Lorber is keeping busy with The Terror Within II, Revenge of the Dead, and a 4K special edition of RawHead Rex, too.
For those who still venture out into the real world to make their media purchases, Target has the exclusive on season one of Stranger Things that comes in nifty retro packaging, and Criterion has put together a stellar Blu for Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.
Other notable releases for October 17th include American Gods: Season One, Wes Craven’s Summer of Fear, Red Christmas, Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Honor Farm, and Alfred Hitchcock: The Ultimate Collection.
American Gods: Season One (Lionsgate, Blu-ray & DVD)
When...
For those who still venture out into the real world to make their media purchases, Target has the exclusive on season one of Stranger Things that comes in nifty retro packaging, and Criterion has put together a stellar Blu for Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.
Other notable releases for October 17th include American Gods: Season One, Wes Craven’s Summer of Fear, Red Christmas, Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Honor Farm, and Alfred Hitchcock: The Ultimate Collection.
American Gods: Season One (Lionsgate, Blu-ray & DVD)
When...
- 10/17/2017
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
President Donald Trump attacked fellow Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham, early Thursday morning after the South Carolina senator criticized Trump’s response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend.
Graham denounced the president in a statement on Wednesday, according to CNN.
“Through his statements yesterday, President Trump took a step backward by again suggesting there is moral equivalency between the white supremacist neo-Nazis and Kkk members who attended the Charlottesville rally and people like Ms. Heyer,” Graham said, referring to Heather Heyer, who died after a driver rammed his car into a group of protesters demonstrating against the white nationalist rally.
Graham denounced the president in a statement on Wednesday, according to CNN.
“Through his statements yesterday, President Trump took a step backward by again suggesting there is moral equivalency between the white supremacist neo-Nazis and Kkk members who attended the Charlottesville rally and people like Ms. Heyer,” Graham said, referring to Heather Heyer, who died after a driver rammed his car into a group of protesters demonstrating against the white nationalist rally.
- 8/17/2017
- by Stephanie Petit
- PEOPLE.com
In the 1980s, Clive Barker introduced horror fans to a world where pleasure and pain intertwined in Hellraiser (based on The Hellbound Heart), and in that same decade in Books of Blood Volume 3, he created a violent creature known as Rawhead Rex, who jumped to the screen to prey upon a rural town in George Pavlou's 1987 film of the same name. Now, 30 years later, Kino Lorber is bringing Rawhead Rex back to select theaters this summer with a new 4K restoration that will also be featured on a new home media release this fall.
The exact dates for the theatrical re-release and special edition Blu-ray / DVD of Rawhead Rex, as well as the home media release's special features, have yet to be announced, but we'll be sure to keep Daily Dead readers updated as more information is revealed.
In the meantime, we have the official announcement from Kino Lorber below,...
The exact dates for the theatrical re-release and special edition Blu-ray / DVD of Rawhead Rex, as well as the home media release's special features, have yet to be announced, but we'll be sure to keep Daily Dead readers updated as more information is revealed.
In the meantime, we have the official announcement from Kino Lorber below,...
- 4/27/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
One of my personal holy grails finally arrives on Blu-ray this week in the form of Olive Films’ release of Peter Medak’s bizarre, riveting The Men’s Club. Released in 1986, the film’s print ads promoted it as the successor to popular ensemble films like The Big Chill and The Breakfast Club, which is a little like trying to convince people to watch Abel Ferrara’s The Bad Lieutenant by comparing it to an episode of CHiPs. The Men’s Club follows a night in the life of a group of men (and what a group: David Dukes, Richard Jordan, Harvey Keitel, Frank […]...
- 1/27/2017
- by Jim Hemphill
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The 1980 Broadway production was directed by Robert Allan Ackerman, scenery by Santo Loquasto, costumes by Robert Wojewodski, lighting by Arden Fingerhut, and music by Stanley Silverman. The show featured Richard Gere as Max, David Marshall Grant as Rudy,James Remar as Wolf, Michael Gross as Greta, George Hall as Uncle Freddie, Bryan E. Clark as Officer, David Dukes as Horst, Ron Randell as Captain, and the Guards were Kai Wulff, Philip Kraus, and John Snyder. Check out a photo of the marquee below...
- 9/30/2013
- by Walter McBride
- BroadwayWorld.com
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s Blackfish is a combo of documentary expose and unconventional murder mystery. The setting is Sea World in Orlando and the murderer, who’s taken three lives to date, is not human but a 32-year old Orca whale named Tilikum.
Although the culprit is not in question, the how and why of the Orca’s violence lead-in to something else altogether, an illuminating and oft damning portrait of Sea World and its questionable practices regarding killer whales. There’s a tendency for emotional assault and sermonizing in an advocacy piece like this, but despite Cowperthwaite’s obvious agenda, she delivers inarguable (although Sea World has done just that) evidence with a mostly firm and steady hand.
There’s a pointed conclusion laid out right from the film’s start; keeping captive killer whales is not just a dangerous proposition but also one that’s also abusive and morally questionable.
Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s Blackfish is a combo of documentary expose and unconventional murder mystery. The setting is Sea World in Orlando and the murderer, who’s taken three lives to date, is not human but a 32-year old Orca whale named Tilikum.
Although the culprit is not in question, the how and why of the Orca’s violence lead-in to something else altogether, an illuminating and oft damning portrait of Sea World and its questionable practices regarding killer whales. There’s a tendency for emotional assault and sermonizing in an advocacy piece like this, but despite Cowperthwaite’s obvious agenda, she delivers inarguable (although Sea World has done just that) evidence with a mostly firm and steady hand.
There’s a pointed conclusion laid out right from the film’s start; keeping captive killer whales is not just a dangerous proposition but also one that’s also abusive and morally questionable.
- 7/26/2013
- by Nathan Bartlebaugh
- Obsessed with Film
Chicago – With the success of “Red Tails,” currently in theaters, movie goers may want another, less Lucasversed take on the same story and could get it with one part of the three-movie wave of releases from HBO Home Video meant to celebrate Black History Month — “The Tuskegee Airmen,” which just hit the format with “Thurgood” and “The Josephine Baker Story.”
Blu-ray Rating: 4.0/5.0
“Mildred Pierce” is only the latest in a Long string of award-winning telefilms produced by HBO. Twenty years ago (God, I feel old), “The Josephine Baker Story” won an incredible five Emmys, including Outstanding Lead Actress for the great title turn by Lynn Whitfield. Four years later, “The Tuskegee Airmen” with Laurence Fishburne, Andre Braugher, and Cuba Gooding Jr. would win three Emmys itself and was nominated for an amazing seven more. And last February, the trend continued as “Thurgood” was very highly acclaimed and notched three Emmy Award nominations.
Blu-ray Rating: 4.0/5.0
“Mildred Pierce” is only the latest in a Long string of award-winning telefilms produced by HBO. Twenty years ago (God, I feel old), “The Josephine Baker Story” won an incredible five Emmys, including Outstanding Lead Actress for the great title turn by Lynn Whitfield. Four years later, “The Tuskegee Airmen” with Laurence Fishburne, Andre Braugher, and Cuba Gooding Jr. would win three Emmys itself and was nominated for an amazing seven more. And last February, the trend continued as “Thurgood” was very highly acclaimed and notched three Emmy Award nominations.
- 1/24/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Written by: John Goff
Directed by: Nigel Dick
Starring: Lisa Eilbacher, Steve Railsback, Maud Adams, Fred Williamson, Persis Khambatta, Lance Henrikson, David Dukes, Solly Marx, Pamela Guest
Okay, you see a DVD cover (or read about a film on the web) with Maud Adams, Fred Williamson, Persis Khambatta and Lance Henrikson in the cast and you figure it has to be a decent bit of cheese. Well, check your expectations at the door, because Deadly Intent is intent on being a deadly dull cinematic experience.
Released on video in 1989, the story focuses on the trials of Laura Keaton (Lisa Eilbacher). She’s married to Raymond (Lance Henrikson), an adventurer who collects rare artifacts and is not above screwing over his partners. When the film opens, we see him beat a member of his most recent expedition (Harley, played by Solly Marx) senseless in order to walk out of the jungle with a massive diamond.
Directed by: Nigel Dick
Starring: Lisa Eilbacher, Steve Railsback, Maud Adams, Fred Williamson, Persis Khambatta, Lance Henrikson, David Dukes, Solly Marx, Pamela Guest
Okay, you see a DVD cover (or read about a film on the web) with Maud Adams, Fred Williamson, Persis Khambatta and Lance Henrikson in the cast and you figure it has to be a decent bit of cheese. Well, check your expectations at the door, because Deadly Intent is intent on being a deadly dull cinematic experience.
Released on video in 1989, the story focuses on the trials of Laura Keaton (Lisa Eilbacher). She’s married to Raymond (Lance Henrikson), an adventurer who collects rare artifacts and is not above screwing over his partners. When the film opens, we see him beat a member of his most recent expedition (Harley, played by Solly Marx) senseless in order to walk out of the jungle with a massive diamond.
- 1/13/2012
- by Chris McMillan
- Planet Fury
The play opened on Broadway with Richard Gere in the lead role which the New York Times deemed "powerful and provocative." When I saw that magnificent production co-starring David Dukes, I thought that Bent was certainly one of the greatest plays I had ever seen. Prior to Broadway, it premiered in London starring Ian McKellan. Audiences have been mesmerized and moved by its scathing depiction of the persecution and encampment of gay men and Jews in Third Reich Germany. This powerful play was subsequently turned into a film with Clive Owen and Mick Jagger in 1997.
- 5/27/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
The play opened on Broadway with Richard Gere in the lead role which the New York Times deemed "powerful and provocative." When I saw that magnificent production co-starring David Dukes, I thought that Bent was certainly one of the greatest plays I had ever seen. Prior to Broadway, it premiered in London starring Ian McKellan. Audiences have been mesmerized and moved by its scathing depiction of the persecution and encampment of gay men and Jews in Third Reich Germany. This powerful play was subsequently turned into a film with Clive Owen and Mick Jagger in 1997.
- 5/16/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
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