American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story, the new 10-part docuseries on Amazon Prime, asks us to imagine its subject as the Don Draper of gentlemen's magazines. From humble origins, Hefner ascends the hierarchy of mid-century media, aided by a potent alchemy of ambition and chiseled instinct. He is – for the most part – amoral, though not without specific convictions. Stirred by Alfred Kinsey's seismic 1948 report, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, he determined in his junior year of college that sexual taboos were not merely hypocritical, but fundamentally damaging. American popular...
- 4/18/2017
- Rollingstone.com
Macbeth was the first film Roman Polanski made following the murder of his wife, Sharon Tate, and friends at the hands of the Manson family. At the time he'd been working on the sci-fi thriller The Day of the Dolphin, which would later be made by Mike Nichols. It was during a skiing trip arranged by Victor Lownes, a subsequent producer of the film, Polanski made the decision Macbeth would be his next film. It was a decision he made feeling his next film "should be something serious, not a comedy... something with some depth." Polanski would team with Kenneth Tynan to write the screenplay and, thanks to urging from Lownes, Hugh Hefner and Playboy would eventually serve as the film's producer after no one else would touch it. As Polanski notes in an included 60-minute documentary on this new Criterion Blu-ray release, to that point there had only been...
- 10/15/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Macbeth
Written by Roman Polanski and Kenneth Tynan
Directed by Roman Polanski
UK, 1971
Following the success of Rosemary’s Baby in 1968, and prior to what is arguably still his greatest film, Chinatown (1974), Roman Polanski made three curious filmmaking choices. One was the international coproduction and rarely discussed What? (1972), one was the racing documentary Weekend of a Champion (1972), and the third, which actually came before these two, was Macbeth (1971). It is obviously not that a Shakespearean adaptation in itself is unusual, but rather that it so seemingly diverted from the films that were garnering the young Polanski his worldwide acclaim: taut thrillers like The Knife in the Water (1962), Repulsion (1965), Cul-De-Sac (1966), and Rosemary’s Baby. Yet in Macbeth, there are a number of characteristic Polanski touches — in story and style — harkening back to these previous works and in many ways pointing toward those to come.
Don’t be fooled by the Playboy...
Written by Roman Polanski and Kenneth Tynan
Directed by Roman Polanski
UK, 1971
Following the success of Rosemary’s Baby in 1968, and prior to what is arguably still his greatest film, Chinatown (1974), Roman Polanski made three curious filmmaking choices. One was the international coproduction and rarely discussed What? (1972), one was the racing documentary Weekend of a Champion (1972), and the third, which actually came before these two, was Macbeth (1971). It is obviously not that a Shakespearean adaptation in itself is unusual, but rather that it so seemingly diverted from the films that were garnering the young Polanski his worldwide acclaim: taut thrillers like The Knife in the Water (1962), Repulsion (1965), Cul-De-Sac (1966), and Rosemary’s Baby. Yet in Macbeth, there are a number of characteristic Polanski touches — in story and style — harkening back to these previous works and in many ways pointing toward those to come.
Don’t be fooled by the Playboy...
- 9/30/2014
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Sept. 23, 2014
Price: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion
Jon Finch is Macbeth
In Macbeth, Roman Polanski (Rosemary’s Baby) imbues his unflinchingly violent adaptation of William Shakespeare’s tragedy of ruthless ambition and murder in medieval Scotland with grit and dramatic intensity.
Jon Finch (Frenzy) and Francesca Annis (Dune) are charged with fury and sex appeal as a decorated warrior rising in the ranks and his driven wife, scheming together to take the throne by any means.
Co-adapted by Polanski and the great theater critic and dramaturge Kenneth Tynan, and shot against a series of stunning, stark British Isle landscapes, this version of Macbeth is among the most atmospheric and authentic of all Shakespeare films.
Criterion’s DVD and Blu-ray editions of Macbeth contain the following features:
• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed stereo soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New documentary about the making of the film, featuring interviews with director Roman Polanski,...
Price: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion
Jon Finch is Macbeth
In Macbeth, Roman Polanski (Rosemary’s Baby) imbues his unflinchingly violent adaptation of William Shakespeare’s tragedy of ruthless ambition and murder in medieval Scotland with grit and dramatic intensity.
Jon Finch (Frenzy) and Francesca Annis (Dune) are charged with fury and sex appeal as a decorated warrior rising in the ranks and his driven wife, scheming together to take the throne by any means.
Co-adapted by Polanski and the great theater critic and dramaturge Kenneth Tynan, and shot against a series of stunning, stark British Isle landscapes, this version of Macbeth is among the most atmospheric and authentic of all Shakespeare films.
Criterion’s DVD and Blu-ray editions of Macbeth contain the following features:
• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed stereo soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New documentary about the making of the film, featuring interviews with director Roman Polanski,...
- 6/18/2014
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
The Playboy Bunny costume -- with its shiny satin bustier and floppy-eared head gear -- has become an iconic part of America's pop culture history. Ever since Hugh Hefner and Playboy executive Victor Lownes recruited Zelda Wynn Valdes to design the rabbit-inspired outfit, it's morphed into a recognizable symbol for Hefner's formidable media empire.
While it seems like just yesterday that the great Gloria Steinem donned the uniform in order to write her explosive expose on the wonder that was the Playboy Club, "A Bunny's Tale," the costume has actually been around for more than 50 years. In fact, Barbara Walters modeled the tail and ears back in 1962 for a segment on the "Today Show."
We recently came across a treasure trove of images that reveal the retro glory of the original bunny costumes. Whether you like the tight, skin-baring ensembles or not, it's difficult to deny the overwhelming allure of the design.
While it seems like just yesterday that the great Gloria Steinem donned the uniform in order to write her explosive expose on the wonder that was the Playboy Club, "A Bunny's Tale," the costume has actually been around for more than 50 years. In fact, Barbara Walters modeled the tail and ears back in 1962 for a segment on the "Today Show."
We recently came across a treasure trove of images that reveal the retro glory of the original bunny costumes. Whether you like the tight, skin-baring ensembles or not, it's difficult to deny the overwhelming allure of the design.
- 6/5/2013
- by Katherine Brooks
- Huffington Post
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