Lindsay Anderson’s third ‘Mick Travis’ movie is a crazy comedy eager to overstep lines of cinematic decorum. Britain in 1982 is a country at war with itself, torn by elitist snobbery and working-class revolt. Union grievances cripple the functioning of a major public hospital, on a day when the Queen is set to visit. A huge comic cast grapples with satire that reaches beyond cynicism to express total dysfunction. And the comedy has a wicked sting in its tail: Graham Crowden’s mad-as-a-hatter scientist has diverted National Health funds into grisly experiments with human body parts. The ‘visionary’ maniac spills more blood than Peter Cushing and Sam Peckinpah, put together.
Britannia Hospital
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1982 / Color / 1:85 widescreen/ 117 (111) min. / Street Date June 29, 2020 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99
Starring: Leonard Rossiter, Vivian Pickles, Graham Crowden, Jill Bennett,
Marsha A. Hunt, Joan Plowright, Malcolm McDowell, Mark Hamill.
Cinematography: Mike Fash...
Britannia Hospital
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1982 / Color / 1:85 widescreen/ 117 (111) min. / Street Date June 29, 2020 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99
Starring: Leonard Rossiter, Vivian Pickles, Graham Crowden, Jill Bennett,
Marsha A. Hunt, Joan Plowright, Malcolm McDowell, Mark Hamill.
Cinematography: Mike Fash...
- 7/7/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This look at the ‘adjustments’ of old age and the pain of nostalgia is a prime opportunity to admire a pair of legendary actresses. David Barry’s play observes the intersection of several interesting personalities on one glorious late-summer day. Bette Davis and Lillian Gish earn our full attention, backed by memorable turns from Ann Sothern and Vincent Price, directed by Lindsay Anderson.
The Whales of August
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1987 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 90 min. / 30th Anniversary Edition / Street Date December 19, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Ann Sothern, Vincent Price, Harry Carey Jr., Frank Grimes, Margaret Ladd, Tisha Stering, Mary Steenburgen.
Cinematography: Mike Fash
Film Editor: Nicolas Gaster
Production Design: Jocelyn Herbert
Original Music: Alan Price
Written by David Berry, from his play
Produced by Mike Kaplan, Carolyn Pfeiffer
Directed by Lindsay Anderson
Every once in a while a ‘sunset’ movie comes along, a picture seemingly...
The Whales of August
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1987 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 90 min. / 30th Anniversary Edition / Street Date December 19, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Ann Sothern, Vincent Price, Harry Carey Jr., Frank Grimes, Margaret Ladd, Tisha Stering, Mary Steenburgen.
Cinematography: Mike Fash
Film Editor: Nicolas Gaster
Production Design: Jocelyn Herbert
Original Music: Alan Price
Written by David Berry, from his play
Produced by Mike Kaplan, Carolyn Pfeiffer
Directed by Lindsay Anderson
Every once in a while a ‘sunset’ movie comes along, a picture seemingly...
- 12/30/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Lillian Gish, Bette Davis in Lindsay Anderson's The Whales of August The Whales Of August Review Pt.1 Libby is also possessive of her sister, resenting the relationship between Sarah and Mr. Maranov. When Sarah invites the man to dinner, Libby scowls, "I will not eat his fish!" More cutting dialogue continues over dinner, during which Libby is rude to the point of insulting their guest. When the subject turns to the past, Libby emphatically insists, "Photographs fade. Memories live forever." Mr. Maranov, however, notes, "Alas, Mrs Strong. Memories can fade too." Libby snaps, "That has not been my experience!" The "whales" in the title refer to the women's lost youth. Sarah and Tisha are anxious to see them one more time, but blind Libby seems not to care. Anticipating her own death, she is unable to understand why her sister continues to relish life. Once again, the contrast between...
- 1/27/2012
- by Danny Fortune
- Alt Film Guide
According to an early Bruce Springsteen song, it's hard to be a saint in the city. That sentiment could apply to Depression-era human-rights activist Dorothy Day.
While the former newspaper reporter and Greenwich Village Bohemian would have quickly shrugged off her saintly status, she nevertheless served as a credited inspiration for the likes of Mother Teresa, John F. Kennedy and Abbie Hoffman.
Producer Ellwood Kieser has added his name to Day's list of admirers with the release of "Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story." In many ways "Angels" emulates his acclaimed 1988 production "Romero", which chronicled the life of El Salvador Archbishop Oscar Romero and was also directed by Michael Rhodes.
Rich in period detail and featuring an impassioned lead performance by Moira Kelly, this handsome film appears to have undergone some heavy editing, which has unfortunately resulted in a heavily truncated, frustratingly hard-to-follow story line. Despite all the good intentions, the picture lacks a satisfying dramatic arc that would have done justice to its title character's fascinating life.
We first see Day (Kelly in some rather unconvincing old-age makeup), during the 1960s, sitting in a jail cell after being arrested at a ban-the-bomb protest. The story then goes back almost half a century when Day was an idealistic and determined newspaper reporter who hung with the likes of Eugene O'Neill and Floyd Dell, engaging in barroom debates and other typical Greenwich Village-in-the-Roaring Twenties behavior.
However, a failed romance and subsequent abortion leaves Day searching for direction in her life. Even a more nurturing relationship with Forster Batterham (Lenny Von Dohlen), which produces a daughter, disintegrates when he can't commit to marriage.
Finding a purpose in organized religion, Day addresses Depression-era poverty and suffering by moving to the Lower East Side and starting a newspaper - The Catholic Worker - with a boat-rocking approach that becomes a thorn in the side of a cardinal (Brian Keith). Undeterred and spurred on by French-Canadian mentor Peter Maurin (Martin Sheen), Day opens her cramped apartment to the homeless. She would continue to crusade for human rights up until 1980, when she died at age 83.
Kelly has the right period look and an admirable, feet-on-the-ground commitment that keeps her character rooted in flesh-and-blood reality and fallibility, rather than opting for a loftier, Gandhi-type interpretation. The rest of the performances are equally respectable, although Sheen's colorful take on the seemingly inexhaustible Maurin falls just short of hammy.
Given the obvious chopping in the editing room, it's hard to blame the film's episodic nature on the original script, penned by "ER"'s John Wells. There is enough care given to aspects of character and dialogue to suggest that there was once more than ultimately meets the eye.
Visually, "Angels" is faultless, thanks to impressive work from cinematographer Mike Fash ("The Whales of August") and production designer Charles Rosen ("My Favorite Year", "Taxi Driver").
That it achieves its Rich Look on a very modest budget is an example of industriousness that Dorothy Day, who dedicated a life to finding the means where none seemed to exist, would have applauded.
ENTERTAINING ANGELS:
THE Dorothy Day STORY
Paulist Pictures
Director Michael Rhodes
Producer Ellwood Kieser
Screenwriter John Wells
Director of photography Mike Fash
Production designer Charles Rosen
Editor George Folsey Jr.
Costume designer Gail Evans-Ivy
Music Bill Conti, Ashley Irwin
Color/stereo
Cast:
Dorothy Day Moira Kelly
Peter Maurin Martin Sheen
Sister Aloysius Melinda Dillon
Forster Lenny Von Dohlen
Maggie Heather Graham
Mike Gold Paul Lieber
Floyd Dell Geoffrey Blake
Eugene O'Neill James Lancaster
Frankie Allyce Beasley
The Cardinal Brian Keith
Running time - 112 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
While the former newspaper reporter and Greenwich Village Bohemian would have quickly shrugged off her saintly status, she nevertheless served as a credited inspiration for the likes of Mother Teresa, John F. Kennedy and Abbie Hoffman.
Producer Ellwood Kieser has added his name to Day's list of admirers with the release of "Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story." In many ways "Angels" emulates his acclaimed 1988 production "Romero", which chronicled the life of El Salvador Archbishop Oscar Romero and was also directed by Michael Rhodes.
Rich in period detail and featuring an impassioned lead performance by Moira Kelly, this handsome film appears to have undergone some heavy editing, which has unfortunately resulted in a heavily truncated, frustratingly hard-to-follow story line. Despite all the good intentions, the picture lacks a satisfying dramatic arc that would have done justice to its title character's fascinating life.
We first see Day (Kelly in some rather unconvincing old-age makeup), during the 1960s, sitting in a jail cell after being arrested at a ban-the-bomb protest. The story then goes back almost half a century when Day was an idealistic and determined newspaper reporter who hung with the likes of Eugene O'Neill and Floyd Dell, engaging in barroom debates and other typical Greenwich Village-in-the-Roaring Twenties behavior.
However, a failed romance and subsequent abortion leaves Day searching for direction in her life. Even a more nurturing relationship with Forster Batterham (Lenny Von Dohlen), which produces a daughter, disintegrates when he can't commit to marriage.
Finding a purpose in organized religion, Day addresses Depression-era poverty and suffering by moving to the Lower East Side and starting a newspaper - The Catholic Worker - with a boat-rocking approach that becomes a thorn in the side of a cardinal (Brian Keith). Undeterred and spurred on by French-Canadian mentor Peter Maurin (Martin Sheen), Day opens her cramped apartment to the homeless. She would continue to crusade for human rights up until 1980, when she died at age 83.
Kelly has the right period look and an admirable, feet-on-the-ground commitment that keeps her character rooted in flesh-and-blood reality and fallibility, rather than opting for a loftier, Gandhi-type interpretation. The rest of the performances are equally respectable, although Sheen's colorful take on the seemingly inexhaustible Maurin falls just short of hammy.
Given the obvious chopping in the editing room, it's hard to blame the film's episodic nature on the original script, penned by "ER"'s John Wells. There is enough care given to aspects of character and dialogue to suggest that there was once more than ultimately meets the eye.
Visually, "Angels" is faultless, thanks to impressive work from cinematographer Mike Fash ("The Whales of August") and production designer Charles Rosen ("My Favorite Year", "Taxi Driver").
That it achieves its Rich Look on a very modest budget is an example of industriousness that Dorothy Day, who dedicated a life to finding the means where none seemed to exist, would have applauded.
ENTERTAINING ANGELS:
THE Dorothy Day STORY
Paulist Pictures
Director Michael Rhodes
Producer Ellwood Kieser
Screenwriter John Wells
Director of photography Mike Fash
Production designer Charles Rosen
Editor George Folsey Jr.
Costume designer Gail Evans-Ivy
Music Bill Conti, Ashley Irwin
Color/stereo
Cast:
Dorothy Day Moira Kelly
Peter Maurin Martin Sheen
Sister Aloysius Melinda Dillon
Forster Lenny Von Dohlen
Maggie Heather Graham
Mike Gold Paul Lieber
Floyd Dell Geoffrey Blake
Eugene O'Neill James Lancaster
Frankie Allyce Beasley
The Cardinal Brian Keith
Running time - 112 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 10/10/1996
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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