Synopsis
Black Hawk Down
From acclaimed director Ridley Scott (The Martian) and renowned producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Pearl Harbor) comes the gripping true story about bravery, camaraderie, and the complex reality of war.
Black Hawk Down stars an exceptional cast including Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, and Eric Bana. In 1993, an elite group of American Rangers and Delta Force soldiers are sent to Somalia on a critical mission to capture a violent warlord whose corrupt regime has led to the starvation of hundreds of thousands of Somalis. When the mission goes quickly and terribly wrong, the men find themselves outnumbered and literally fighting for their lives.
The Guns Of Navarone
Academy Award®-winners Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn star as a team of Allied military specialists recruited for a dangerous but imperative mission: to infiltrate a Nazi-occupied fortress and disable two long-range field guns so that 2,000 trapped British soldiers may be rescued.
Black Hawk Down
From acclaimed director Ridley Scott (The Martian) and renowned producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Pearl Harbor) comes the gripping true story about bravery, camaraderie, and the complex reality of war.
Black Hawk Down stars an exceptional cast including Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, and Eric Bana. In 1993, an elite group of American Rangers and Delta Force soldiers are sent to Somalia on a critical mission to capture a violent warlord whose corrupt regime has led to the starvation of hundreds of thousands of Somalis. When the mission goes quickly and terribly wrong, the men find themselves outnumbered and literally fighting for their lives.
The Guns Of Navarone
Academy Award®-winners Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn star as a team of Allied military specialists recruited for a dangerous but imperative mission: to infiltrate a Nazi-occupied fortress and disable two long-range field guns so that 2,000 trapped British soldiers may be rescued.
- 9/17/2023
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
Ron Faber, who appeared on Broadway in the 1970s alongside Henry Fonda in First Monday in October and with Irene Papas in Medea, died March 26 in New York after a two-month battle with lung cancer, a publicist announced. He was 90.
Faber shaved his head and received Obie and Drama Desk awards in 1972 for his turn as a political prisoner in And They Put Handcuffs on the Flowers, Fernando Arrabal’s harrowing drama about the Spanish Civil War.
In 1981, he was featured in Wallace Shawn’s The Hotel Play at the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, which had a cast of 70 and was called “unassailable as a mad theatrical stunt” by Frank Rich in The New York Times.
Faber’s stage credits also included off-Broadway roles in Hamlet, Mary Stuart, Scenes From Everyday Life and Woyzeck at the Joseph Papp Public Theatre; Happy Days at the Cherry Lane Theatre; Troilus and Cressida at the Mitzi E.
Faber shaved his head and received Obie and Drama Desk awards in 1972 for his turn as a political prisoner in And They Put Handcuffs on the Flowers, Fernando Arrabal’s harrowing drama about the Spanish Civil War.
In 1981, he was featured in Wallace Shawn’s The Hotel Play at the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, which had a cast of 70 and was called “unassailable as a mad theatrical stunt” by Frank Rich in The New York Times.
Faber’s stage credits also included off-Broadway roles in Hamlet, Mary Stuart, Scenes From Everyday Life and Woyzeck at the Joseph Papp Public Theatre; Happy Days at the Cherry Lane Theatre; Troilus and Cressida at the Mitzi E.
- 4/24/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ron Faber, a theater, television and film actor who appeared in “The Exorcist,” died on March 26 of lung cancer. He was 90.
Faber’s career as an actor landed him roles in films including “The Exorcist,” “Tree of Guernica” and “The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover,” in addition to appearances on TV episodes of “Law and Order,” “Kojak” and “The Edge of Night.”
In 1973’s “The Exorcist,” Faber played the role of Chuck, an assistant director who reveals to Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) that Burke Dennings (Jack MacGowran) has died. He was also part of Broadway productions including “First Monday in October” with Henry Fonda and “Medea” with Irene Papas.
Faber was born on Feb. 16, 1993 in Milwaukee, Wis., where he grew up with a passion for jazz music and the Disney film “Fantasia.” After being accepted into Marquette University and pursuing a business degree, Faber swiftly landed his first entertainment...
Faber’s career as an actor landed him roles in films including “The Exorcist,” “Tree of Guernica” and “The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover,” in addition to appearances on TV episodes of “Law and Order,” “Kojak” and “The Edge of Night.”
In 1973’s “The Exorcist,” Faber played the role of Chuck, an assistant director who reveals to Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) that Burke Dennings (Jack MacGowran) has died. He was also part of Broadway productions including “First Monday in October” with Henry Fonda and “Medea” with Irene Papas.
Faber was born on Feb. 16, 1993 in Milwaukee, Wis., where he grew up with a passion for jazz music and the Disney film “Fantasia.” After being accepted into Marquette University and pursuing a business degree, Faber swiftly landed his first entertainment...
- 4/24/2023
- by McKinley Franklin
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Blumhouse and Atomic Monster’s Night Swim from writer/director Bryce McGuire has added Amélie Hoeferle, Gavin Warren, Nancy Lenehan, and Jodi Long to the cast. The group have joined Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon in the pic which hits theaters on Jan. 19, 2024. Production is currently underway in LA.
Based on the short film created by McGuire and Rod Blackhurst, Night Swim is described as a supernatural thriller built around the hidden source of terror found in an unassuming backyard swimming pool. Atomic Monster and Blumhouse are producing the film. Universal Pictures will handle distribution.
Hoeferle is a German-American actress who spent her youth in between the two countries. She will be next seen in Francis Lawrence’s prequel of Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes for Lionsgate. She plays “Vipsania Sickle,” mentor to a tribute from District 7. She also played “Sam” in the award winning The Boogeywoman,...
Based on the short film created by McGuire and Rod Blackhurst, Night Swim is described as a supernatural thriller built around the hidden source of terror found in an unassuming backyard swimming pool. Atomic Monster and Blumhouse are producing the film. Universal Pictures will handle distribution.
Hoeferle is a German-American actress who spent her youth in between the two countries. She will be next seen in Francis Lawrence’s prequel of Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes for Lionsgate. She plays “Vipsania Sickle,” mentor to a tribute from District 7. She also played “Sam” in the award winning The Boogeywoman,...
- 4/19/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
This year’s tribute was led by Lenny Kravitz, the rock legend, who performed “Calling All Angels” on piano as the flip show of late Hollywood celebs was displayed onscreen.
Some who were featured include Raquel Welch, Robbie Coltrane, Nichelle Nicholas, Kristie Alley, James Caan, Irene Papas, Ray Liotta and Jaen-Luc Godard. A Qr code was shown, revealing a fuller list of late stars, which you can read here.
In Memoriam 2022: 100 Great Celebrities Who Died In 2022
However, there were quite a few people missing from the roster, such as Leslie Jordan, Tom Sizemore, Paul Sorvino, Lisa Marie Presley, Gilbert Gottfried, Charlbi Dean, Anne Heche and Estelle Harris.
In a touching speech before Kravitz’s performance, John Travolta also paid tribute to Olivia Newton-John, who played Sandy in the classic Grease.
The post Oscars’ ‘In Memoriam’ Segment Leaves Out Anne Hache, Tom Sizemore & Paul Sorvino appeared first on uInterview.
Some who were featured include Raquel Welch, Robbie Coltrane, Nichelle Nicholas, Kristie Alley, James Caan, Irene Papas, Ray Liotta and Jaen-Luc Godard. A Qr code was shown, revealing a fuller list of late stars, which you can read here.
In Memoriam 2022: 100 Great Celebrities Who Died In 2022
However, there were quite a few people missing from the roster, such as Leslie Jordan, Tom Sizemore, Paul Sorvino, Lisa Marie Presley, Gilbert Gottfried, Charlbi Dean, Anne Heche and Estelle Harris.
In a touching speech before Kravitz’s performance, John Travolta also paid tribute to Olivia Newton-John, who played Sandy in the classic Grease.
The post Oscars’ ‘In Memoriam’ Segment Leaves Out Anne Hache, Tom Sizemore & Paul Sorvino appeared first on uInterview.
- 3/14/2023
- by Hailey Schipper
- Uinterview
Sunday’s SAG Awards ceremony will be a streaming event for the first time on the Netflix YouTube channel. One of the highlights each year is the special In Memoriam segment. It’s been a particularly rough year with over 100 deaths of prominent actors and actresses who were likely members of SAG/AFTRA. Show producers typically are able to include approximately 40-50 people in a tribute.
Among that group will certainly be Oscar winners Louise Fletcher, William Hurt and Irene Cara, plus nominees Angela Lansbury (a SAG life achievement recipient) and Melinda Dillon. Emmy champs Mary Alice, Kirstie Alley, Leslie Jordan, Ray Liotta, Stuart Margolin, Robert Morse and Barbara Walters.
SEECelebrity Deaths 2023: In Memoriam Gallery
Here is our expansive list of over 100 people who died since last year’s ceremony, several of whom will be honored on Sunday’s event:
Ralph Ahn
J. Grant Albrecht
Mary Alice
Rae Allen...
Among that group will certainly be Oscar winners Louise Fletcher, William Hurt and Irene Cara, plus nominees Angela Lansbury (a SAG life achievement recipient) and Melinda Dillon. Emmy champs Mary Alice, Kirstie Alley, Leslie Jordan, Ray Liotta, Stuart Margolin, Robert Morse and Barbara Walters.
SEECelebrity Deaths 2023: In Memoriam Gallery
Here is our expansive list of over 100 people who died since last year’s ceremony, several of whom will be honored on Sunday’s event:
Ralph Ahn
J. Grant Albrecht
Mary Alice
Rae Allen...
- 2/24/2023
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
It was another difficult year in 2022, and the sadness extended to many beloved and groundbreaking people in the show business and media worlds who died during the past 12 months.
Scroll through a photo gallery above, which also includes the obituaries.
The acting world lost giants including Sidney Poitier and Angela Lansbury, along with such big names as James Caan, Anne Heche, Bob Saget, Kirstie Alley, Ray Liotta, Nichelle Nichols, William Hurt, Louise Fletcher, Robert Clary, Emilio Delgado, Sally Kellerman, Robbie Coltrane, Monica Vitti, Leslie Jordan, John Aniston, Tony Sirico, Charlbi Dean, Tony Dow, Irene Papas, Howard Hesseman and Seinfeld moms Estelle Harris and Liz Sheridan.
We also pay tribute to directors including Ivan Reitman, Peter Bogdanovich and Marvin J. Chomsky.
Musicians who left us this past year include Jerry Lee Lewis, Loretta Lynn, Olivia Newton-John, Meat Loaf, Ronnie Spector, Naomi Judd, Ramsey Lewis, Stephen “tWitch” Boss and Coolio. Many key...
Scroll through a photo gallery above, which also includes the obituaries.
The acting world lost giants including Sidney Poitier and Angela Lansbury, along with such big names as James Caan, Anne Heche, Bob Saget, Kirstie Alley, Ray Liotta, Nichelle Nichols, William Hurt, Louise Fletcher, Robert Clary, Emilio Delgado, Sally Kellerman, Robbie Coltrane, Monica Vitti, Leslie Jordan, John Aniston, Tony Sirico, Charlbi Dean, Tony Dow, Irene Papas, Howard Hesseman and Seinfeld moms Estelle Harris and Liz Sheridan.
We also pay tribute to directors including Ivan Reitman, Peter Bogdanovich and Marvin J. Chomsky.
Musicians who left us this past year include Jerry Lee Lewis, Loretta Lynn, Olivia Newton-John, Meat Loaf, Ronnie Spector, Naomi Judd, Ramsey Lewis, Stephen “tWitch” Boss and Coolio. Many key...
- 12/31/2022
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
The 35th European Film Awards took place amid the uncanny beauty of Iceland’s capital city, Reykjavik. While it was possible to take a boat from the marina to gaze up at the aurora borealis dancing across the sky, the northern light on Saturday, December 10 came from Sweden and was named Ruben Östlund. The EFAs have a habit of decorating the same film across all major categories, so when his broad eat-the-rich satire “Triangle of Sadness” picked up an early award for Best European Director, it was clear which way the weather was going.
Östlund barely flinched when his name was announced as the winner in this early category — perhaps two Palme d’Ors in five years does that to a man. He first thanked the actress Sunnyi Melles (who was present) for her “great vomiting performance” and then had the grace to pay respects to Charlbi Dean, the South...
Östlund barely flinched when his name was announced as the winner in this early category — perhaps two Palme d’Ors in five years does that to a man. He first thanked the actress Sunnyi Melles (who was present) for her “great vomiting performance” and then had the grace to pay respects to Charlbi Dean, the South...
- 12/11/2022
- by Sophie Monks Kaufman
- Indiewire
Irene Papas, the Greek actress known for such films as “Zorba the Greek,” “Z” and “The Guns of Navarone,” has died. She was 93.
Greece’s Ministry of Culture and Sports confirmed the news Wednesday in a statement.
Papas starred in over 70 films and stage productions throughout her career spanning nearly six decades, from Hollywood features to French and Italian cinema. She also appeared in dozens of Greek tragedies, including the title role in the 1961 film adaptation of “Antigone.”
Born on Sept. 3, 1929, in the village of Chiliomodi near Corinth, Papas began her acting studies as a teenager and later worked on multiple film and TV projects in the ’40’s and ’50s, including “The Man from Cairo,” “The Unfaithfuls,” “Bouboulina” and “Attila,” among others.
In 1961, she played a supporting role in “The Guns of Navarone” starring Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn. Papas then starred opposite Quinn and Alan Bates in...
Greece’s Ministry of Culture and Sports confirmed the news Wednesday in a statement.
Papas starred in over 70 films and stage productions throughout her career spanning nearly six decades, from Hollywood features to French and Italian cinema. She also appeared in dozens of Greek tragedies, including the title role in the 1961 film adaptation of “Antigone.”
Born on Sept. 3, 1929, in the village of Chiliomodi near Corinth, Papas began her acting studies as a teenager and later worked on multiple film and TV projects in the ’40’s and ’50s, including “The Man from Cairo,” “The Unfaithfuls,” “Bouboulina” and “Attila,” among others.
In 1961, she played a supporting role in “The Guns of Navarone” starring Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn. Papas then starred opposite Quinn and Alan Bates in...
- 9/14/2022
- by Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
Irene Papas, the Greek actress who starred in such films as The Guns of Navarone, Z, Zorba the Greek and dozens of other films, playing opposite many of Hollywood’s biggest stars, died Wednesday in her hometown of Chilimodion. She was 93.
No cause of death was given, but Papas was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in the mid-2010s.
Greece’s Ministry of Culture and Sports confirmed the news. “Magnificent, majestic, dynamic, Irene Papas was the personification of Greek beauty on the cinema screen and on the theater stage, an international leading lady who radiated Greekness,” Minister Lina G. Mendoni said in a statement.
Hollywood & Media Deaths 2022: A Photo Gallery
Papas was a veteran of French and Italian cinema as well as Hollywood. During her nearly six-decade screen career, she starred with such screen legends as Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas, Katharine Hepburn, Richard Burton, James Cagney, Maximilian Schell, David Niven,...
No cause of death was given, but Papas was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in the mid-2010s.
Greece’s Ministry of Culture and Sports confirmed the news. “Magnificent, majestic, dynamic, Irene Papas was the personification of Greek beauty on the cinema screen and on the theater stage, an international leading lady who radiated Greekness,” Minister Lina G. Mendoni said in a statement.
Hollywood & Media Deaths 2022: A Photo Gallery
Papas was a veteran of French and Italian cinema as well as Hollywood. During her nearly six-decade screen career, she starred with such screen legends as Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas, Katharine Hepburn, Richard Burton, James Cagney, Maximilian Schell, David Niven,...
- 9/14/2022
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Greek stage and screen actor who appeared in The Guns of Navarone, Zorba the Greek and Captain Corelli’s Mandolin
It is apposite that Irene Papas, who has died aged 96, was at her peak when playing the heroines in film versions of classical Greek tragedies. Notwithstanding her many roles in a wide range of Hollywood, international and Greek films, including The Guns of Navarone (1961), Zorba the Greek (1964) and Z (1969), Papas always gave the impression that there was an Electra, Antigone or Clytemnestra bubbling beneath the surface.
She balanced expertly between theatrical tradition and the cinema closeup, her strong, expressive face being especially eloquent in moments of silent suffering.
It is apposite that Irene Papas, who has died aged 96, was at her peak when playing the heroines in film versions of classical Greek tragedies. Notwithstanding her many roles in a wide range of Hollywood, international and Greek films, including The Guns of Navarone (1961), Zorba the Greek (1964) and Z (1969), Papas always gave the impression that there was an Electra, Antigone or Clytemnestra bubbling beneath the surface.
She balanced expertly between theatrical tradition and the cinema closeup, her strong, expressive face being especially eloquent in moments of silent suffering.
- 9/14/2022
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Lewis John Carlino’s family-oriented Mafia tale was filmed four years before The Godfather: Kirk Douglas is a loose-cannon capo who bosses his own brother Alex Cord and won’t listen when his fellow kingpins talk about modernization. Irene Papas and Susan Strasberg are married to the mob, while veteran hoods Luther Adler and Eduardo Ciannelli provide the menacing atmosphere. Director Martin Ritt was supposedly not thrilled with the project yet it’s a polished, involving crime-time drama set both in New York City and Palermo, Sicily.
The Brotherhood
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] #119
1968 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date April 27, 2022 / Available from / £34.95
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Alex Cord, Irene Papas, Luther Adler, Susan Strasberg, Murray Hamilton, Eduardo Ciannelli, Joe De Santis, Connie Scott, Val Avery, Val Bisoglio, Alan Hewitt, Barry Primus, Michele Cimarosa, Louis Badolati.
Cinematography: Boris Kaufman
Art Director: Tambi Larsen
Film Editor: Frank Bracht
Original Music: Lalo Schifrin
Written...
The Brotherhood
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] #119
1968 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date April 27, 2022 / Available from / £34.95
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Alex Cord, Irene Papas, Luther Adler, Susan Strasberg, Murray Hamilton, Eduardo Ciannelli, Joe De Santis, Connie Scott, Val Avery, Val Bisoglio, Alan Hewitt, Barry Primus, Michele Cimarosa, Louis Badolati.
Cinematography: Boris Kaufman
Art Director: Tambi Larsen
Film Editor: Frank Bracht
Original Music: Lalo Schifrin
Written...
- 6/25/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Vangelis, the electronic-music pioneer who won an Oscar for “Chariots of Fire” and composed such other landmark film scores as “Blade Runner,” died Tuesday, the Athens News Agency reported. He was 79.
The self-taught musician enjoyed a long career in European pop music before the magical colors and textures of his 1970s solo albums brought him to the attention of film and TV producers. The use of a track from his 1975 album “Heaven and Hell” as the theme for Carl Sagan’s PBS series “Cosmos” brought his name and music into prominence in America.
But it was his music for the 1981 film “Chariots of Fire” that brought him worldwide fame. Producer David Puttnam made the unorthodox choice for his period sports drama after hearing Vangelis’s music for the French nature documentary “Opera Sauvage” and the studio album “China.”
As he often did, Vangelis performed all of the instruments, including synthesizer,...
The self-taught musician enjoyed a long career in European pop music before the magical colors and textures of his 1970s solo albums brought him to the attention of film and TV producers. The use of a track from his 1975 album “Heaven and Hell” as the theme for Carl Sagan’s PBS series “Cosmos” brought his name and music into prominence in America.
But it was his music for the 1981 film “Chariots of Fire” that brought him worldwide fame. Producer David Puttnam made the unorthodox choice for his period sports drama after hearing Vangelis’s music for the French nature documentary “Opera Sauvage” and the studio album “China.”
As he often did, Vangelis performed all of the instruments, including synthesizer,...
- 5/19/2022
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
It’s a perfect movie for a dark time: Carlo Levi’s famed novel about a political undesirable became a major Italian miniseries by the great Francesco Rosi, starring the now-legendary Gian Maria Volontè. In Mussolini’s most popular years of make-Italy-great-again Fascism, a dissident is given an indefinite ‘time out,’ an exile to a small town in a corner of the country so remote and primitive that not even Christianity could fully change it. He expects nothing but receives revelations about his country, his life and one’s place in society. It’s meditative, it’s illuminating, it’s like a book one can’t put down. It’s also uncut, as opposed to the theatrical version that made a splash here in 1980, as simply Eboli.
Christ Stopped at Eboli
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1043
1979 / Color / 1:33 flat / 220 150, 120 min. / Cristo si è fermato a Eboli / available through The Criterion Collection...
Christ Stopped at Eboli
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1043
1979 / Color / 1:33 flat / 220 150, 120 min. / Cristo si è fermato a Eboli / available through The Criterion Collection...
- 9/22/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
A movie for people who don’t normally like costume dramas about kings and queens, this adaptation of Maxwell Anderson’s play is great entertainment from head to toe. Richard Burton gives one of his better late-career performances, and Geneviève Bujold is a dynamo in a tiny package. It’s an impressive portrait of male power run amuck.
Anne of the Thousand Days
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1969 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 146 min. / Street Date , 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Richard Burton, Geneviève Bujold, Irene Papas, Anthony Quayle, John Colicos, Michael Hordern, Katharine Blake, Valerie Gearon, Michael Johnson, Peter Jeffrey.
Cinematography: Arthur Ibbetson
Film Editor: Richard Mardon
Original Music: Georges Delerue
Written by Bridget Boland, John Hale, Richard Sokolove from the play by Maxwell Anderson
Produced by Hal Wallis
Directed by Charles Jarrott
Anybody still saying that the Production Code made movies better? One minor effect of Code Enforcement was...
Anne of the Thousand Days
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1969 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 146 min. / Street Date , 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Richard Burton, Geneviève Bujold, Irene Papas, Anthony Quayle, John Colicos, Michael Hordern, Katharine Blake, Valerie Gearon, Michael Johnson, Peter Jeffrey.
Cinematography: Arthur Ibbetson
Film Editor: Richard Mardon
Original Music: Georges Delerue
Written by Bridget Boland, John Hale, Richard Sokolove from the play by Maxwell Anderson
Produced by Hal Wallis
Directed by Charles Jarrott
Anybody still saying that the Production Code made movies better? One minor effect of Code Enforcement was...
- 12/29/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
No foreign-language film has ever won an Oscar for Best Picture.
But given the promotional push that Netflix is giving Alfonso Cuaron‘s “Roma,” which just made the cut as one of the nine titles to make the subtitled short list as Mexico’s entry, the Golden Lion winner at Venice has one of the best chances in years to finally take home both statuettes.
Not that subtitled nominees haven’t tried before. There have been 10 bold movies that have attempted grab the Academy Award’s ultimate gold, starting with France’s 1937 World War I masterpiece “Grand Illusion” and including Italy’s 1994 romantic drama “The Postman” and Clint Eastwood‘s 2006 Japanese-American World War II effort “Letters From Iwo Jima.” But none competed for foreign-language film as well. In the case of France’s “Grand Illusion,” directed by Jean Renoir, the category did not officially exist until 1956. The year that “The Postman” competed,...
But given the promotional push that Netflix is giving Alfonso Cuaron‘s “Roma,” which just made the cut as one of the nine titles to make the subtitled short list as Mexico’s entry, the Golden Lion winner at Venice has one of the best chances in years to finally take home both statuettes.
Not that subtitled nominees haven’t tried before. There have been 10 bold movies that have attempted grab the Academy Award’s ultimate gold, starting with France’s 1937 World War I masterpiece “Grand Illusion” and including Italy’s 1994 romantic drama “The Postman” and Clint Eastwood‘s 2006 Japanese-American World War II effort “Letters From Iwo Jima.” But none competed for foreign-language film as well. In the case of France’s “Grand Illusion,” directed by Jean Renoir, the category did not officially exist until 1956. The year that “The Postman” competed,...
- 12/19/2018
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
After Saudi Arabia recently broke its 35-year ban on cinema with Hollywood titles such as “Black Panther,” “Isle of Dogs” and “A Quiet Place,” the kingdom is now set for its first release of an Arabic film, the 4K restored version of controversial 1976 prophet Muhammad epic “The Message.”
Helmed by Syrian-American film producer and director Moustapha Akkad, “The Message” was an ambitious but failed attempt to bridge cultures with an origins-of-Islam narrative. The film was initially backed by, among others, the Saudi government of the time, but Saudi authorities subsequently turned against the film’s production as hard-line clerics gained more influence and the country took the ultra-conservative turn that caused movie theaters in the kingdom to be banned in the early 1980s.
“The Message,” which was nominated for a best music Oscar in 1977, was made in two versions: one in English, toplining Anthony Quinn and Irene Papas, and...
Helmed by Syrian-American film producer and director Moustapha Akkad, “The Message” was an ambitious but failed attempt to bridge cultures with an origins-of-Islam narrative. The film was initially backed by, among others, the Saudi government of the time, but Saudi authorities subsequently turned against the film’s production as hard-line clerics gained more influence and the country took the ultra-conservative turn that caused movie theaters in the kingdom to be banned in the early 1980s.
“The Message,” which was nominated for a best music Oscar in 1977, was made in two versions: one in English, toplining Anthony Quinn and Irene Papas, and...
- 6/11/2018
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Don’t Torture a Duckling
Blu-ray
Arrow Films
1972 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / Street Date October 2, 2017
Starring Barbara Bouchet, Florinda Bolkan, Tomas Milian, Irene Papas
Cinematography by Sergio D’Offizi
Written by Lucio Fulci, Roberto Gianviti, Gianfranco Clerici
Film Edited by Ornella Micheli
Produced by Renato Jaboni
Music by Riz Ortolani
Directed by Lucio Fulci
Lucio Fulci’s most consistent trait might have been his instability. In fact it may have been the Italian director’s defining quality; lingering throughout his films is the inescapable notion that, no matter how stylish or finely-tuned his mise en scene, he will surely find a way to fly off the rails and take everyone with him. He’s the crazy ex-girlfriend of filmmakers.
Fulci made his rep in the late 70’s and early 80’s with a series of crassly exploitative horror films, high on gore and low on logic. Nevertheless he began his career on...
Blu-ray
Arrow Films
1972 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / Street Date October 2, 2017
Starring Barbara Bouchet, Florinda Bolkan, Tomas Milian, Irene Papas
Cinematography by Sergio D’Offizi
Written by Lucio Fulci, Roberto Gianviti, Gianfranco Clerici
Film Edited by Ornella Micheli
Produced by Renato Jaboni
Music by Riz Ortolani
Directed by Lucio Fulci
Lucio Fulci’s most consistent trait might have been his instability. In fact it may have been the Italian director’s defining quality; lingering throughout his films is the inescapable notion that, no matter how stylish or finely-tuned his mise en scene, he will surely find a way to fly off the rails and take everyone with him. He’s the crazy ex-girlfriend of filmmakers.
Fulci made his rep in the late 70’s and early 80’s with a series of crassly exploitative horror films, high on gore and low on logic. Nevertheless he began his career on...
- 10/3/2017
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
(See previous post: “Gay Pride Movie Series Comes to a Close: From Heterosexual Angst to Indonesian Coup.”) Ken Russell's Valentino (1977) is notable for starring ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev as silent era icon Rudolph Valentino, whose sexual orientation, despite countless gay rumors, seems to have been, according to the available evidence, heterosexual. (Valentino's supposed affair with fellow “Latin Lover” Ramon Novarro has no basis in reality.) The female cast is also impressive: Veteran Leslie Caron (Lili, Gigi) as stage and screen star Alla Nazimova, ex-The Mamas & the Papas singer Michelle Phillips as Valentino wife and Nazimova protégée Natacha Rambova, Felicity Kendal as screenwriter/producer June Mathis (The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse), and Carol Kane – lately of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt fame. Bob Fosse's Cabaret (1972) is notable as one of the greatest musicals ever made. As a 1930s Cabaret presenter – and the Spirit of Germany – Joel Grey was the year's Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner. Liza Minnelli...
- 6/30/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Icymi Part One of this Podcast & The Smackdown Itself
Starring: Actress Melanie Lynskey, the original creator of the Smackdowns Brian Herrera (aka StinkyLulu), and your regulars Nathaniel R, Joe Reid and Nick Davis.
Smackdown 1964 - A Companion Conversation Pt. 2
00:01 Back From Intermission & Joe freaks out over Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte
04:05 Bette Davis and Baby Jane
07:30 Agnes Moorehead totally divides us
13:30 The Night of the Iguana and its repressed lesbian
16:30 Melanie talks subtext, chemistry and shares an acting pet peeve
20:50 Nathaniel demands a remake and we cast it
24:00 Ava Gardner and Richard Burton Gif-ables
31:20 Not Nominated: Glynis Johns, Irene Papas, and Gloria Foster
34:10 A parting question for Melanie Lynskey
You can listen at the bottom of the post or download the conversation on iTunes. Continue the conversation in the comments.
Thanks Again To Our Guest Melanie Lynskey
Her new film Happy Christmas (co-starring Anna Kendrick,...
Starring: Actress Melanie Lynskey, the original creator of the Smackdowns Brian Herrera (aka StinkyLulu), and your regulars Nathaniel R, Joe Reid and Nick Davis.
Smackdown 1964 - A Companion Conversation Pt. 2
00:01 Back From Intermission & Joe freaks out over Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte
04:05 Bette Davis and Baby Jane
07:30 Agnes Moorehead totally divides us
13:30 The Night of the Iguana and its repressed lesbian
16:30 Melanie talks subtext, chemistry and shares an acting pet peeve
20:50 Nathaniel demands a remake and we cast it
24:00 Ava Gardner and Richard Burton Gif-ables
31:20 Not Nominated: Glynis Johns, Irene Papas, and Gloria Foster
34:10 A parting question for Melanie Lynskey
You can listen at the bottom of the post or download the conversation on iTunes. Continue the conversation in the comments.
Thanks Again To Our Guest Melanie Lynskey
Her new film Happy Christmas (co-starring Anna Kendrick,...
- 7/2/2014
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
This week's 'Best Shot' film Zorba the Greek (1964) was a first-time watch for yours truly. Oscar chose it for us since it won Walter Lassally's the Best Cinematography (Black and White) statue in the year we happen to be celebrating this month. At one point in the picture Zorba (Anthony Quinn and Anthony Quinn's giant expressive face), catches his employer Basil (Alan Bates, in young, stuffy, super pretty mode) sipping at alcohol. Zorba, a man of big appetites, forcefully tilts the bottle higher to get more booze down his boss's throat.
Don't be delicate..."
He tells his boss. That's good advice if you're watching Zorba the Greek which is, and I cannot understand why no actressexuals warned me of this, a fairly reprehensible motion picture. If this series were called Hit Me With The Shot That Shows Your Feelings About This Movie, my choice would be a...
Don't be delicate..."
He tells his boss. That's good advice if you're watching Zorba the Greek which is, and I cannot understand why no actressexuals warned me of this, a fairly reprehensible motion picture. If this series were called Hit Me With The Shot That Shows Your Feelings About This Movie, my choice would be a...
- 6/4/2014
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
European Film Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award: Catherine Deneuve, Jeanne Moreau, Judi Dench are the only three female recipients to date (photo: European movies’ Lifetime Achievement Award-less actress Danielle Darrieux) (See previous post: "Catherine Deneuve: Only the Third Woman to Receive European Film Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award.") As mentioned in the previous post, French film icon Catherine Deneuve is only the third woman to receive the European Film Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award since the organization’s first awards ceremony in 1988. Deneuve’s predecessors are The Lovers‘ Jeanne Moreau (1997) and Notes on a Scandal‘s Judi Dench (2008). In that regard, the European Film Academy is as male-oriented as the Beverly Hills-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. More on that below. Male recipients of the European Film Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award are the following: Ingmar Bergman, Marcello Mastroianni, Federico Fellini, Andrzej Wajda, Alexandre Trauner, Billy Wilder,...
- 9/25/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Gregory Peck from ‘Duel in the Sun’ to ‘How the West Was Won’: TCM schedule (Pt) on August 15 (photo: Gregory Peck in ‘Duel in the Sun’) See previous post: “Gregory Peck Movies: Memorable Miscasting Tonight on Turner Classic Movies.” 3:00 Am Days Of Glory (1944). Director: Jacques Tourneur. Cast: Gregory Peck, Lowell Gilmore, Maria Palmer. Bw-86 mins. 4:30 Am Pork Chop Hill (1959). Director: Lewis Milestone. Cast: Gregory Peck, Harry Guardino, Rip Torn. Bw-98 mins. Letterbox Format. 6:15 Am The Valley Of Decision (1945). Director: Tay Garnett. Cast: Greer Garson, Gregory Peck, Donald Crisp. Bw-119 mins. 8:15 Am Spellbound (1945). Director: Alfred Hitchcock. Cast: Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov, Leo G. Carroll, Rhonda Fleming, Bill Goodwin, Norman Lloyd, Steve Geray, John Emery, Donald Curtis, Art Baker, Wallace Ford, Regis Toomey, Paul Harvey, Jean Acker, Irving Bacon, Jacqueline deWit, Edward Fielding, Matt Moore, Addison Richards, Erskine Sanford, Constance Purdy. Bw-111 mins. 10:15 Am Designing Woman (1957). Director: Vincente Minnelli.
- 8/16/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
If not for a last minute change, legendary opera star Maria Callas would have been the female lead in The Guns of Navarone.
Opera superstar Maria Callas was set to make her movie debut in Carl Foreman’s iconic war film The Guns Of Navarone, according to a new book, The Making Of The Guns Of Navarone launched this weekend at the Bradford Widescreen Film Festival (April 26-29) by Scottish film historian Brian Hannan.
The singer had scandalised the world by her affair with Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, who would later marry Jackie Kennedy, widow of assassinated president John F Kennedy. Callas was first choice for the role of the older female Greek partisan. Producer Carl Foreman promised ‘mucho love scenes’ with star Gregory Peck.
Commented Hannan, ‘At the time, Maria Callas was the most famous woman in the world, a fiery mixture of Princess Diana and Madonna, the...
Opera superstar Maria Callas was set to make her movie debut in Carl Foreman’s iconic war film The Guns Of Navarone, according to a new book, The Making Of The Guns Of Navarone launched this weekend at the Bradford Widescreen Film Festival (April 26-29) by Scottish film historian Brian Hannan.
The singer had scandalised the world by her affair with Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, who would later marry Jackie Kennedy, widow of assassinated president John F Kennedy. Callas was first choice for the role of the older female Greek partisan. Producer Carl Foreman promised ‘mucho love scenes’ with star Gregory Peck.
Commented Hannan, ‘At the time, Maria Callas was the most famous woman in the world, a fiery mixture of Princess Diana and Madonna, the...
- 4/25/2013
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Duelling biopics of Muhammad reflect differing traditions of Sunni and Shia Islam over depiction of the Muslim prophet
Film-makers in Iran and Qatar are planning rival biopics about the life of Muslim prophet Muhammad, according to the Hollywood Reporter, despite the risk of offending religious sensibilities that such plans inevitably throw up.
Oil-rich Qatar recently announced a series of epics designed for a worldwide audience about the seventh-century prophet of Islam. Production company Alnoor Holdings has hired Lord of the Rings producer Barrie Osborne and Sunni Islam scholar and al-Jazeera broadcaster Yusuf al-Qaradawi to provide advice on what could be a $1bn project. "They certainly have the money to do it," Osborne told the Hollywood Reporter, adding: "They are being understandably very cautious."
Meanwhile, Iranian director Majid Majidi (The Song of Sparrows, Children of Heaven) began shooting a rival $30m Muhammad film in October. In keeping with Shiite-dominated Iran's more...
Film-makers in Iran and Qatar are planning rival biopics about the life of Muslim prophet Muhammad, according to the Hollywood Reporter, despite the risk of offending religious sensibilities that such plans inevitably throw up.
Oil-rich Qatar recently announced a series of epics designed for a worldwide audience about the seventh-century prophet of Islam. Production company Alnoor Holdings has hired Lord of the Rings producer Barrie Osborne and Sunni Islam scholar and al-Jazeera broadcaster Yusuf al-Qaradawi to provide advice on what could be a $1bn project. "They certainly have the money to do it," Osborne told the Hollywood Reporter, adding: "They are being understandably very cautious."
Meanwhile, Iranian director Majid Majidi (The Song of Sparrows, Children of Heaven) began shooting a rival $30m Muhammad film in October. In keeping with Shiite-dominated Iran's more...
- 3/15/2013
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Photographer celebrated for his informal portraits of artists, actors and musicians
David Farrell, who has died aged 93, was known primarily for his photographic portraits of the most prominent artists, actors, authors and, particularly, musicians of his time. These ranged from classical performers such as Yehudi Menuhin, Ravi Shankar and Jacqueline du Pré to Louis Armstrong, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. He would take his portable darkroom with him to filming locations, where he photographed Albert Finney, Julie Christie, Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson, among others. His main body of work dates from the mid-1950s to the 1980s, by which time he was working primarily in cinema, but he continued with his photography well into the digital age.
Taking Henri Cartier-Bresson's "humanitarian" photography as his model, Farrell specialised in taking portraits in informal situations – he preferred to photograph artists at home or in the studio, rather than in...
David Farrell, who has died aged 93, was known primarily for his photographic portraits of the most prominent artists, actors, authors and, particularly, musicians of his time. These ranged from classical performers such as Yehudi Menuhin, Ravi Shankar and Jacqueline du Pré to Louis Armstrong, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. He would take his portable darkroom with him to filming locations, where he photographed Albert Finney, Julie Christie, Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson, among others. His main body of work dates from the mid-1950s to the 1980s, by which time he was working primarily in cinema, but he continued with his photography well into the digital age.
Taking Henri Cartier-Bresson's "humanitarian" photography as his model, Farrell specialised in taking portraits in informal situations – he preferred to photograph artists at home or in the studio, rather than in...
- 2/11/2013
- by Amanda Hopkinson
- The Guardian - Film News
What is a ‘giallo’? – Giallo is Italian for yellow; a term which came from crime/mystery paperbacks with the yellow toned covers. In turn, highly stylized films of the same genre with elements of eroticism became known as ‘giallo’ films themselves.
Why did you pick this film? – This was on my 31 Days Of Horror list for 2011 and due to illness I wasn’t able to watch it. So I figured for 2012’s 31 Days I would put this to watch early on so I could finally watch this one, plus who wouldn’t want to watch a film with such a cool title?
Who is behind this one? – The film was written and directed by Italian horror legend Lucio Fulci. He is best known for films such as The Beyond, Zombi 2 and City Of The Living Dead. The man was really great at his craft, and I really wanted to explore his giallo films.
Why did you pick this film? – This was on my 31 Days Of Horror list for 2011 and due to illness I wasn’t able to watch it. So I figured for 2012’s 31 Days I would put this to watch early on so I could finally watch this one, plus who wouldn’t want to watch a film with such a cool title?
Who is behind this one? – The film was written and directed by Italian horror legend Lucio Fulci. He is best known for films such as The Beyond, Zombi 2 and City Of The Living Dead. The man was really great at his craft, and I really wanted to explore his giallo films.
- 10/5/2012
- by admin
- MoreHorror
In the wake of protests over Nakoula Basseley Nakoula's Innocence of Muslims, two film-makers have revealed they are also planning movies depicting the prophet Muhammad
Protests have erupted across the Muslim world after clips from a film depicting Muhammad appeared on YouTube. Now, according to the La Times, there could be more provocation to come: the newspaper says it has uncovered evidence that at least two further film-makers are planning movies which will show the prophet on screen.
Innocence of Muslims, the film currently at the centre of a religious firestorm, has caused anger for its depiction of Muhammad as a womaniser and paedophile, but has also upset worshippers who believe that it is blasphemous to depict him on screen. The Times says two further film-makers are both planning to do just that. Just as worryingly for Us relations with the Muslim world, both are ex-believers who no longer embrace...
Protests have erupted across the Muslim world after clips from a film depicting Muhammad appeared on YouTube. Now, according to the La Times, there could be more provocation to come: the newspaper says it has uncovered evidence that at least two further film-makers are planning movies which will show the prophet on screen.
Innocence of Muslims, the film currently at the centre of a religious firestorm, has caused anger for its depiction of Muhammad as a womaniser and paedophile, but has also upset worshippers who believe that it is blasphemous to depict him on screen. The Times says two further film-makers are both planning to do just that. Just as worryingly for Us relations with the Muslim world, both are ex-believers who no longer embrace...
- 9/26/2012
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
She was Iran's biggest film star. But when she bared her breast in a French video, she was banished from the country and became a lightning rod for the divisions in Iranian society
In January of this year the parents of the exiled Iranian actor Golshifteh Farahani took a call at their apartment in Tehran from a man who said he was an official of the supreme court of the Islamic Republic. He began shouting at her father, telling him that his daughter would be punished, that her breasts would be cut off and presented to him on a plate.
A few days earlier, Farahani had appeared in a short black-and-white video with 30 other "young hopes" of the French cinema to promote the Césars, the "French Oscars", where she had been nominated for her role in the winsome immigrant comedy Si Tu Meurs, Je Te Tue (If You Die, I'll...
In January of this year the parents of the exiled Iranian actor Golshifteh Farahani took a call at their apartment in Tehran from a man who said he was an official of the supreme court of the Islamic Republic. He began shouting at her father, telling him that his daughter would be punished, that her breasts would be cut off and presented to him on a plate.
A few days earlier, Farahani had appeared in a short black-and-white video with 30 other "young hopes" of the French cinema to promote the Césars, the "French Oscars", where she had been nominated for her role in the winsome immigrant comedy Si Tu Meurs, Je Te Tue (If You Die, I'll...
- 9/7/2012
- by Fiachra Gibbons
- The Guardian - Film News
Art Sensus, London
"What drove and kept me going over the decades? What was the motive force? If I had to use a single word, it would be curiosity." This quote from the pioneering photojournalist Eve Arnold, who died in January, aged 99, is among the various first-person wall texts that punctuate All About Eve, a retrospective of her work. Just how curious she was is evident in the timeline of the projects she undertook in her long career. It takes up one whole wall and makes for an illuminating read, not just because of the longevity of her career – from the late 1940s to the 90s – but for the range of subjects she tackled.
In 1978 alone, for instance, she shot several portraits, including Dirk Bogarde, Francis Bacon and Irene Papas, alongside advertisements for Optrex, the English Tourist Board, Pentax and Rolex as well as assignments on the White Jews of Cochin,...
"What drove and kept me going over the decades? What was the motive force? If I had to use a single word, it would be curiosity." This quote from the pioneering photojournalist Eve Arnold, who died in January, aged 99, is among the various first-person wall texts that punctuate All About Eve, a retrospective of her work. Just how curious she was is evident in the timeline of the projects she undertook in her long career. It takes up one whole wall and makes for an illuminating read, not just because of the longevity of her career – from the late 1940s to the 90s – but for the range of subjects she tackled.
In 1978 alone, for instance, she shot several portraits, including Dirk Bogarde, Francis Bacon and Irene Papas, alongside advertisements for Optrex, the English Tourist Board, Pentax and Rolex as well as assignments on the White Jews of Cochin,...
- 3/4/2012
- by Sean O'Hagan
- The Guardian - Film News
Each week within this column we strive to pair the latest in theatrical releases to worthwhile titles currently available on Netflix Instant Watch. This week we offer alternatives to Shame, The Lady & Coriolanus.
With the Christmas holiday soon to hit, a string of smaller flicks are set to open in limited release this Friday. A sex addict will battle his demons while facing off against a vengeance-seeking Shakespearean hero, and a world-changing real-life heroine. But if these releases won’t satisfy your thirst for history, Shakespeare, and drama, we’ve got you covered with some stellar selects that are Now Streaming.
Hunger’s Steve McQueen reteams with Michael Fassbender (Fish Tank) for this gritty drama that follows Brandon, a lonely New Yorker trapped in the throws of sex addiction. Carey Mulligan co-stars.
Lonely leads seek sex, love and solace in these steamy dramas:
Rabbit Hole (2010) Inspired by David Lindsay-Abaire’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play,...
With the Christmas holiday soon to hit, a string of smaller flicks are set to open in limited release this Friday. A sex addict will battle his demons while facing off against a vengeance-seeking Shakespearean hero, and a world-changing real-life heroine. But if these releases won’t satisfy your thirst for history, Shakespeare, and drama, we’ve got you covered with some stellar selects that are Now Streaming.
Hunger’s Steve McQueen reteams with Michael Fassbender (Fish Tank) for this gritty drama that follows Brandon, a lonely New Yorker trapped in the throws of sex addiction. Carey Mulligan co-stars.
Lonely leads seek sex, love and solace in these steamy dramas:
Rabbit Hole (2010) Inspired by David Lindsay-Abaire’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play,...
- 12/1/2011
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Sony Pictures release the ninth edition of their special Anniversary range of Blu-rays, turning their attention to the epic wartime adventure The Guns of Navarone. Available from this week, follow the jump for our review…
Academy Award winners Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn star as a team of Allied military specialists recruited for a dangerous but imperative mission: to infiltrate a Nazi-occupied fortress and disable two long-range field guns so that 2000 trapped British soldiers may be rescued. Faced with an unforgiving sea voyage, hazardous terrain, and the possibility of a traitor among them, the team must overcome the impossible without losing their own lives…
The Guns of Navarone won the Best Special Effects Academy Award back in 1961 and it’s easy to see why. Even today – 50 years later – the film remains both impressive and filled with breathtaking glorious action! Whether the group are blowing up Nazi patrol boats,...
Sony Pictures release the ninth edition of their special Anniversary range of Blu-rays, turning their attention to the epic wartime adventure The Guns of Navarone. Available from this week, follow the jump for our review…
Academy Award winners Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn star as a team of Allied military specialists recruited for a dangerous but imperative mission: to infiltrate a Nazi-occupied fortress and disable two long-range field guns so that 2000 trapped British soldiers may be rescued. Faced with an unforgiving sea voyage, hazardous terrain, and the possibility of a traitor among them, the team must overcome the impossible without losing their own lives…
The Guns of Navarone won the Best Special Effects Academy Award back in 1961 and it’s easy to see why. Even today – 50 years later – the film remains both impressive and filled with breathtaking glorious action! Whether the group are blowing up Nazi patrol boats,...
- 10/26/2011
- by Stuart Cummins
- Obsessed with Film
Director best known for the visually splendid and energetic Zorba the Greek
Although the first Greek films appeared in 1912, long periods of war and instability crippled any attempts at forming a national film industry. This meant that few features were produced until the 1950s, when the director Michael Cacoyannis, who has died aged 90, became the embodiment of Greek cinema, giving it an international reputation which reached a peak of popularity with his Zorba the Greek (1964).
Based on Nikos Kazantzakis's novel, the film burst on to the screen with extraordinary energy and visual splendour. It brilliantly combined the rhythmic music of Mikis Theodorakis and the Oscar-winning black-and-white cinematography of Walter Lassally with indelible performances by Anthony Quinn, Alan Bates, Irene Papas and Lila Kedrova (who won the Oscar for best supporting actress).
The film celebrated joie de vivre, yet there was an underlying pessimism and an echo of Greek tragedy...
Although the first Greek films appeared in 1912, long periods of war and instability crippled any attempts at forming a national film industry. This meant that few features were produced until the 1950s, when the director Michael Cacoyannis, who has died aged 90, became the embodiment of Greek cinema, giving it an international reputation which reached a peak of popularity with his Zorba the Greek (1964).
Based on Nikos Kazantzakis's novel, the film burst on to the screen with extraordinary energy and visual splendour. It brilliantly combined the rhythmic music of Mikis Theodorakis and the Oscar-winning black-and-white cinematography of Walter Lassally with indelible performances by Anthony Quinn, Alan Bates, Irene Papas and Lila Kedrova (who won the Oscar for best supporting actress).
The film celebrated joie de vivre, yet there was an underlying pessimism and an echo of Greek tragedy...
- 7/25/2011
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Michael Cacoyannis, best known for the 1964 Oscar-nominated drama Zorba the Greek, died of complications from a heart attack and chronic respiratory problems early Monday at an Athens hospital. He was either 89 or 90, depending on the source. Born in Limassol, Cyprus, on June 11, 1921 or 1922, the young Cacoyannis (Mihalis Kakogiannis in Greek) was sent to London to study Law, but later turned to the theater, studying Drama at the Old Vic and playing various roles on the British stage, including the lead in Albert Camus' Caligula. Unable to find work in the British film industry, he eventually moved to Athens. Cacoyannis' directorial debut took place in the early '50s, with the breezy comedy Windfall in Athens (1955), whose production lasted two years. International acclaim followed the release of Stella (1955), which was screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. This drama about a free-spirited young woman (Melina Mercouri) torn by her...
- 7/25/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Cypriot film-maker – real name Mihalis Kakogiannis – behind 1964 smash Zorba the Greek has passed away, according to reports
Multi-award-winning Cypriot film-maker Mihalis Kakogiannis, best known for the 1964 hit Zorba the Greek starring Anthony Quinn, has died at the age of 90, it has been reported. Kakogiannis, who was billed under the name Michael Cacoyannis for his English-language productions, was nominated in three separate Oscar categories for Zorba (including best director), and became a regular in competition at Cannes.
Born in Limassol in 1922, Kakogiannis learned his craft in the UK at the Old Vic, before travelling to Greece to shoot his first film, Windfall in Athens. His follow-up, Stella, starring a young Melina Mercouri, became an international hit and set Kakogiannis on his way. Zorba the Greek, adapted from a novel by Nikos Kazantzakis, eventually won three Oscars (though none for Kakogiannis himself).
Thereafter Kakogiannis found it hard to match Zorba's success. His follow-up,...
Multi-award-winning Cypriot film-maker Mihalis Kakogiannis, best known for the 1964 hit Zorba the Greek starring Anthony Quinn, has died at the age of 90, it has been reported. Kakogiannis, who was billed under the name Michael Cacoyannis for his English-language productions, was nominated in three separate Oscar categories for Zorba (including best director), and became a regular in competition at Cannes.
Born in Limassol in 1922, Kakogiannis learned his craft in the UK at the Old Vic, before travelling to Greece to shoot his first film, Windfall in Athens. His follow-up, Stella, starring a young Melina Mercouri, became an international hit and set Kakogiannis on his way. Zorba the Greek, adapted from a novel by Nikos Kazantzakis, eventually won three Oscars (though none for Kakogiannis himself).
Thereafter Kakogiannis found it hard to match Zorba's success. His follow-up,...
- 7/25/2011
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Lawrence of Arabia Turner Classic Movies' "Race and Hollywood: Arab Images on Film" continues this evening with four movies about European powers and their difficult relationship with "the Arab races": Lawrence of Arabia, Lion of the Desert, The Four Feathers, and Young Winston. In David Lean's sprawling Lawrence of Arabia, Peter O'Toole is a much taller version of T. E. Lawrence, the Englishman who fought alongside Arabs at the time of World War I. Lawrence of Arabia won a total of seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director; it's also considered by many one of the greatest movies ever made. Personally, I find Lawrence of Arabia great-looking but much too long: 227 minutes. Also, at times I couldn't quite figure out what Lean's and screenwriter Robert Bolt's political take was; I'm not sure if their vision is just too muddled and wishy-washy, or...
- 7/13/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
If filming classical literature always presents difficulties to the filmmaker, one of them is the haloed status of classical texts. Since the classics appear not to be about ordinary people, we are uncertain how Achilles or Arjuna should be represented, whether they should be made human or beings of another kind. The efforts made by writers to humanize epic characters by infusing them with ‘psychology’ – e.g. Iravathi Karve’s Yugantha – may be well-intentioned but they do not add to our understanding of the epics. Putting our thoughts and our kind of motives into the heads of epic characters seems to reduce their stature. A reason may be that the epics were created before the birth of the ‘individual’, before Man and the World had been differentiated, before the inner and the outer were set apart. Oedipus killed his father and married his mother not because of ‘psychology’ – i.e.
- 3/23/2011
- by MK Raghvendra
- DearCinema.com
Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman in Barry Levinson's Academy Award winner Rain Man (1988). Hoffman won the Best Actor Oscar that year; Cruise wasn't even nominated. Biggest Oscar Snubs #8e: Non-Nominated Actors – From Charles Farrell to Rock Hudson Jean Simmons, Elmer Gantry (1960) Robert Mitchum, The Sundowners (1960) Fredric March, Inherit the Wind (1960) Fred MacMurray, The Apartment (1960) Leslie Caron and Maurice Chevalier, Fanny (1961) Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer, West Side Story (1961) Laurence Harvey, Summer and Smoke (1961) Alec Guinness, Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Paul Newman, Sweet Bird of Youth (1962) Joan Crawford, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Cleopatra (1963) Brandon DeWilde, Hud (1963) Susannah York, Tom Jones (1963) Alan Bates and Irene Papas, Zorba the Greek (1964) Dick Van Dyke, Mary Poppins (1964) Vivien Leigh, Ship of Fools (1965) Jason Robards and Barbara Harris, A Thousand Clowns (1965) Laurence Harvey and [...]...
- 1/29/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Happy birthday to Best Actress winner Joan Fontaine (Suspicion, 1941), also known as the second Mrs. DeWinter. She turns 93 years young today. What on earth was she thinking about when she won the Oscar. This photo to your left fascinates me on account of "who knows?" It seems so much more candid than many Oscar night photos.
I keep the following "still with us!" list, not from any morbid curiousity but from a genuine happiness that some legendary screen stars are still walking the earth even though most of them aren't walking the screens these days. This year has been rough with the losses so maybe I'm going to stop keep this list. My heart was in the right place! We want the following to know that their past accomplishments are acknowledged by new generations.
The Oldest Living Oscar Nominees
All of them were born before the movies even had sound!
I keep the following "still with us!" list, not from any morbid curiousity but from a genuine happiness that some legendary screen stars are still walking the earth even though most of them aren't walking the screens these days. This year has been rough with the losses so maybe I'm going to stop keep this list. My heart was in the right place! We want the following to know that their past accomplishments are acknowledged by new generations.
The Oldest Living Oscar Nominees
All of them were born before the movies even had sound!
- 10/23/2010
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Khandhar (The Ruins) (1984)
My friends are amazed that I should rate a Mrinal Sen film among the very best in world cinema. In fact, there are two films of Mrinal-da that I rate very high—Oka oorie katha (a film in Telugu language based on the Munshi Premchand tale Kafan) made in 1977 and Khandhar (made in Hindi language). These are two films, for me, which raise the bar of quality of Indian cinema, decades after they were made.
Mrinal Sen is an acknowledged Leftist. Yet a viewer of Khandhar will not come across Communist propaganda or even a red flag. There are no political speeches. The Mrinal-da of the overtly political Chorus-that won awards at Moscow and Berlin festivals apart from top Indian national honors--and Calcutta ’71 cannot be recognized as such in Khandhar.
Why then do I rate Khandhar so high? Is it because it won the Golden Hugo...
My friends are amazed that I should rate a Mrinal Sen film among the very best in world cinema. In fact, there are two films of Mrinal-da that I rate very high—Oka oorie katha (a film in Telugu language based on the Munshi Premchand tale Kafan) made in 1977 and Khandhar (made in Hindi language). These are two films, for me, which raise the bar of quality of Indian cinema, decades after they were made.
Mrinal Sen is an acknowledged Leftist. Yet a viewer of Khandhar will not come across Communist propaganda or even a red flag. There are no political speeches. The Mrinal-da of the overtly political Chorus-that won awards at Moscow and Berlin festivals apart from top Indian national honors--and Calcutta ’71 cannot be recognized as such in Khandhar.
Why then do I rate Khandhar so high? Is it because it won the Golden Hugo...
- 3/11/2010
- by Jugu Abraham
- DearCinema.com
You have to hand it to 89-year-old Portuguese master Manoel de Oliveira.
Not only does he regularly make films when others have long retired, but his latest is an ambitious, tremendously satisfying experience. "Anxiety" (Inquietude) is visually superb, narratively complex and ultimately moving in ways few films even aspire to.
Alas, this supremely artistic effort -- a special screening selection at the Cannes film festival -- is not commercial enough to warrant more than a minor domestic U.S. release, but it's a sure-fire hit for the festival circuit.
A composite film with three distinct but interconnected sections, "Anxiety" opens with an exquisitely rendered tete-a-tete between a philosophically suicidal old man (Jose Pinto) and his aging son (Luis Miguel Cintra) that tricks one into expecting a rich but stagey meditation on the bodily and mental deterioration that afflicts even the most well-respected and successful of men when they enter their autumn years.
Indeed, about 35 minutes in, both protagonists have fallen to their deaths, and the curtain falls on what has been a 1930s stage production of Helder Prista Monteiro's "The Immortals", with two well-heeled gents in the audience. The story picks up with the middle-aged unnamed "him" (Diogo Doria) and his younger "friend" (David Cardoso) becoming involved with a pair of high-class courtesans, picking up a thread from the play that the love of women can make men of any age feel young.
Mildly jealous of the more substantial patrons they must contend with, the two men develop a theory about Suzy (Leonor Silveira) and Gabi (Rita Blanco). Skilled in lovemaking, but essentially exotic caged animals, the beautiful sophisticates have inherited the stoic legacy of Marcus Aurelius, taking pleasure in sacrifice.
In a melancholy, fatalistic confession, not-long-for-this-world Suzy reveals that "happiness is a small thing" when she has had everything else she's ever wanted in the way of fine living.
Late at night, the "friend" sets out to console "him" with a strange tale called "Mother of a River", based on a short story by Oliveira collaborator Agustina Bessa-Luis.
In this gorgeously composed finale, a socially constricted village girl (Leonor Baldaque) turns to the mystical 1,000-year-old Mother (Irene Papas) in a metaphorical suicide that results in the former being declared a witch and being chased off by a swarm of black-robed matrons. She turns away from the lover (Ricardo Trepa) who encouraged her trying to break with traditions and becomes the new "Deep Water", magically merging with nature to become a guardian of humanity.
ANXIETY
Madrago Filmes, Gemini Films,
Wanda Films and Light Night
Screenwriter-director: Manoel de Oliveira
Producer: Paulo Branco
Director of photography: Renato Berta
Art direction-costumes: Isabel Branco
Editor: Valerie Loiseleux
Sound: Philippe Morel, Jean-Francois Auger
Cast:
The Immortals
Father: Jose Pinto
Son: Luis Miguel Cintra
Marta: Isabel Ruth
Suzy
Him: Diogo Doria
Friend: David Cardoso
Suzy: Leonor Silveira
Gabi: Rita Blanco
Mother of a River
Mother: Irene Papas
Fisalina: Leonor Baldaque
The Fiance: Ricardo Trepa
Running time -- 112 minutes...
Not only does he regularly make films when others have long retired, but his latest is an ambitious, tremendously satisfying experience. "Anxiety" (Inquietude) is visually superb, narratively complex and ultimately moving in ways few films even aspire to.
Alas, this supremely artistic effort -- a special screening selection at the Cannes film festival -- is not commercial enough to warrant more than a minor domestic U.S. release, but it's a sure-fire hit for the festival circuit.
A composite film with three distinct but interconnected sections, "Anxiety" opens with an exquisitely rendered tete-a-tete between a philosophically suicidal old man (Jose Pinto) and his aging son (Luis Miguel Cintra) that tricks one into expecting a rich but stagey meditation on the bodily and mental deterioration that afflicts even the most well-respected and successful of men when they enter their autumn years.
Indeed, about 35 minutes in, both protagonists have fallen to their deaths, and the curtain falls on what has been a 1930s stage production of Helder Prista Monteiro's "The Immortals", with two well-heeled gents in the audience. The story picks up with the middle-aged unnamed "him" (Diogo Doria) and his younger "friend" (David Cardoso) becoming involved with a pair of high-class courtesans, picking up a thread from the play that the love of women can make men of any age feel young.
Mildly jealous of the more substantial patrons they must contend with, the two men develop a theory about Suzy (Leonor Silveira) and Gabi (Rita Blanco). Skilled in lovemaking, but essentially exotic caged animals, the beautiful sophisticates have inherited the stoic legacy of Marcus Aurelius, taking pleasure in sacrifice.
In a melancholy, fatalistic confession, not-long-for-this-world Suzy reveals that "happiness is a small thing" when she has had everything else she's ever wanted in the way of fine living.
Late at night, the "friend" sets out to console "him" with a strange tale called "Mother of a River", based on a short story by Oliveira collaborator Agustina Bessa-Luis.
In this gorgeously composed finale, a socially constricted village girl (Leonor Baldaque) turns to the mystical 1,000-year-old Mother (Irene Papas) in a metaphorical suicide that results in the former being declared a witch and being chased off by a swarm of black-robed matrons. She turns away from the lover (Ricardo Trepa) who encouraged her trying to break with traditions and becomes the new "Deep Water", magically merging with nature to become a guardian of humanity.
ANXIETY
Madrago Filmes, Gemini Films,
Wanda Films and Light Night
Screenwriter-director: Manoel de Oliveira
Producer: Paulo Branco
Director of photography: Renato Berta
Art direction-costumes: Isabel Branco
Editor: Valerie Loiseleux
Sound: Philippe Morel, Jean-Francois Auger
Cast:
The Immortals
Father: Jose Pinto
Son: Luis Miguel Cintra
Marta: Isabel Ruth
Suzy
Him: Diogo Doria
Friend: David Cardoso
Suzy: Leonor Silveira
Gabi: Rita Blanco
Mother of a River
Mother: Irene Papas
Fisalina: Leonor Baldaque
The Fiance: Ricardo Trepa
Running time -- 112 minutes...
- 5/29/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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