By Todd Garbarini

After the dramatic, Ingmar Bergman-esque directorial turn he took with Interiors (1978), on the heels of his Oscar winner Annie Hall (1977), Woody Allen turned back to contemporary New York for a daring film that was shot in black-and-white and scored with the music of George Gershwin. Manhattan (1979) was the result. Proclaimed as the only truly great American film of the 1970s by film critic Andrew Sarris, Manhattan is a joy to behold from start to finish and is quite simply one of the most romantic films of all-time. Gordon Willis’ beautiful photography married with the sumptuous Gershwin music makes me wish that filmmakers would make black and white films today. There are some who do, but they appear to only do it within avant-garde and independent circles.

Manhattan, released on Wednesday, April 25, 1979, stars Woody Allen as Isaac Davis, a twice-divorced television writer who is unfulfilled with his life as a comedy writer. His second ex-wife Jill (Meryl Streep) has left him for another woman and is writing a book about their marriage. Isaac is 42 and is dating Tracy (Mariel Hemingway) who is 25 years younger than he is and is still in high school. He feels very guilty about this, but genuinely cares for her (this plot point was reportedly inspired by Mr. Allen’s affair with actress Stacy Nelkin on the set of Annie Hall in 1976, though her part was eventually cut from that film). His friend Yale (Michael Murphy) is writing a book about Eugene O’Neill and is married to Emily (Anne Byrne) but has started an affair with Mary Wilkie (Diane Keaton) whom Isaac initially can’t stand but increasingly grows fond of. Throughout the film we are confronted by these characters that cannot seem to put their finger on what they want and stick with it. They are not inherently bad people: they just keep making questionable decisions. By the end of the film, the only person who seems to have their head on straight is Tracy and the film ends, like Mr. Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), on a very positive and upbeat note.

The real star of the film is Manhattan itself, with its pulsating and bustling people and automobiles. Rarely has the city looked so luminous and beautiful onscreen. Gordon Willis, the revered cinematographer of The Godfather films and Mr. Allen’s Annie Hall and Interiors, captures Gotham in all its beauty even during an era when the city was beset by social decay. For the first time in his career, Mr. Allen forgoes the relative constraints of the 1.85:1 flat ratio to the far more accommodating 2.35:1 anamorphic Panavision vista and the results makes one ache for further use of this format.

For Raymond Benson's exclusive interviews with Malcolm McDowell and Jan Harlan about the making of A Clockwork Orange, see Cinema Retro issue #21.

Producer Mike Kaplan has been in the film business for decades. In 1971, he was working as the head of promotions on Stanley Kubrick's 1971 classic A Clockwork Orange. In a recent article, Kaplan shares his memories of the extraordinary process of seeing that film come to life- and Kubrick's meticulous micro-managing of the publicity campaign, which mandated that actual frames from the film be used in place of traditional still photos. He also recalls the first industry screening of the film for Warner Brothers executives at Britain's Pinewood Studios.  Click here to read

By Lee Pfeiffer

Although often erroneously attributed to legendary producer William Castle, the 1965 chiller Two on a Guillotine certainly has all the hallmarks of one of his productions: a modestly-budgeted scarefest backed by an intense, sensational marketing campaign. In fact, the film was, perhaps improbably, produced and directed by William Conrad- that's right, the same character actor who originated the role of Matt Dillon on the Gunsmoke radio program and who would enjoy leading man status in the 1970s as the star of the popular Cannon detective series on TV. The off-beat story begins in the 1940s and finds Cesar Romero as 'Duke' Duquesne, the world's greatest magician and illusionist. Everyone is enamored of him except his wife Melinda (Connie Stevens), who is tired of being a beautiful prop in his act. On the eve of presenting his most ambitious stunt, which involves faking Melinda's beheading on a guillotine, she mysteriously vanishes. Obsessed with grief, Duke sends their two-year old daughter Cassie to be raised by an aunt. Cut to twenty years later. Duke has passed away and Cassie attends her estranged father's funeral. A showman even in death, his will is read to her by his attorney on stage at the Hollywood Bowl (an extraordinary sequence that shows the place completely deserted.) In order to inherit his mansion, Cassie has to spend seven consecutive nights there. You don't have to be a super sleuth to realize that, from minute one, strange things occur in the cavernous home- making Cassie suspect her father might be capable of fulfilling his deathbed promise to return from the grave. Her only support comes from Duke's long-time agent and her former nanny (both well-played by Parley Baer and Virginia Gregg), but since they stand to benefit from her losing her inheritance, she instead turns to an affable young man named Val (Dean Jones), who is seemingly on the scene to protect her but, in reality, is a reporter looking for a exploitation story to sell newspapers.

By Lee Pfeiffer

If ever an epic deserved the Blu-ray deluxe treatment, Fox's 1970 Pearl Harbor spectacular is it. The film was a major money-loser for the studio at the time and replicated the experience of Cleopatra from a decade before in that this single production threatened to bankrupt the studio. Fox had bankrolled a number of costly bombs around this period including Doctor Doolittle, Hello, Dolly and Star! Fortunately, they also had enough hits (Patton, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, M*A*S*H, the Planet of the Apes series) to stay afloat. However, the Tora! debacle cost both Fox chairman Darryl F. Zanuck and his son, production head Richard Zanuck their jobs. Ironically, Darryl F. Zanuck had saved the studio a decade before by finally bringing Cleopatra to a costly conclusion and off-setting losses with spectacular grosses from his 1962 D-Day blockbuster The Longest Day. By 1966, Zanuck and that film's producer Elmo Williams decided they could make lightning strike twice by using the same formula to recreate the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The project seemed jinxed from the beginning. Skyrocketing costs and logistical problems delayed filming until 1969. By then, America's outlook about war movies had changed radically due to the burgeoning anti-Vietnam movement. Zanuck and Williams also forgot one important distinction between The Longest Day and Tora! Tora! Tora!: the former was about a major Allied victory while the latter was about a tremendous defeat. Americans generally stay away from military movies that depict anything other than glorious victories and Tora! was no exception. Critics were also lukewarm and the only saving grace was that the film performed spectacularly in Japan, largely because it presented both sides of the conflict on a non-judgmental level.

RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST FROM CINEMA RETRO'S ARCHIVES

(This article originally ran in October 2008)

In the wake of Paul Newman’s death I’ve been watching a few of his movies over again, and in some cases, watching some of his films for the first time.

For an avowed admirer of 60s and 70s films, and thrillers especially, I was surprised that I had never seen The Mackintosh Man (1973) before. I was very familiar with it in the context of Newman’s canon, and films in general, and I remember it opening, but for some reason it had passed me by until today.

Well, truth be told, there’s good reasons for that. It’s not a bad film per se, but you can see why its not part of the common cultural currency of 70s movies.

The story involves a British Intelligence spy working deep undercover and known only to his chief – Mr Mackintosh – hence being a Mackintosh man - and attempting to bring to book a corrupt MP. The means by which he does this (faking a diamond robbery in order to go to jail, so as to attract the attention of a mysterious firm who can spring him and a high level prisoner with links to the said MP) are contrived the point of hilarity.

But the pedigree is good, great even. Directed by John Huston, with a script co-written by Walter Hill from a novel by Desmond Bagely one could reasonably expect a memorable and exciting yarn. With a supporting cast to die for including James Mason, Harry Andrews, Ian Bannen, Nigel Patrick, Peter Vaughan and Michael Horden, its always interesting , but only from a social and culturally historic perspective. If you ever wanted to see Paul Newman wander round early 70s London, hopping on tube trains and round Leather Lane market (with actual market goers trying very hard and failing to stop and gawk at the Hollywood royalty walking amongst them), or even slopping out in Liverpool  with John Bindon from Get Carter, then this is the film for you. What 1973 audiences would have made of it is anyone’s guess. The convoluted plot and intentionally slow pace would have left the most hardened thriller fan napping. There are practically no markers that this is directed by the same man that gave us The Maltese Falcon, The Asphalt Jungle and Chinatown; its so pedestrian as to resemble an episode of The Saint, which apparently, according to IMDB, this film is almost a carbon-copy of one such episode.

The Mackintosh Man is the dictionary definition of a film which survives on star power alone. On paper this could quite easily have been filler on the bottom half of a double bill, and had starred someone like Ian McShane or Bradford Dillman without changing anything in the script. As it is, Newman brings effortless professionalism to the proceedings, and even manages to adapt, chameleon-like to his drab and everyday surroundings, a little like Sean Connery in The Offence.

If you’ve never seen it, the tone in the first half of the film veers between Frenzy, The Ipcress File and Porridge. But after the jailbreak the tone shifts into almost Bondian territory, or at the very least an episode of The Avengers with the introduction of Jenny Runacre’s Gerda, a kind of taller version of OHMSS’s Irma Bunt with her mute henchman (I kid ye not)Taafe played by Percy Herbert. This scenario is almost played for laughs and culminates with perhaps cinema's only onscreen kick in the female crotch by a male character.

Dominique Sanda glides through the film with a single blank expression her face from start to finish, which doesn’t help in a scene where James mason spikes her drink. It took quite few moments to spot that she was trying to act like someone who’ s lost most of her higher motor functions.

Ultimately, any enjoyment one can derive from this film is in watching a mid-career Newman in a film featuring authentic locations with a sterling, if underused cast. It’s a sombre film in tone, with only a few flashes of action, notably a very realistic motor chase along bleak Irish roads, and a foot chase across moors which resembles Newman’s flight from the prison guards and dogs in Cool Hand Luke. The film reeks of “contractural obligation”, but at the end of the day I’m glad I’ve finally seen it, and will probably revisit again. Maybe.

At the moment its only available as part of a Warner Region 1 Newman Box set, but its worth getting as it includes Harper, The Drowning Pool, Pocket Money, The Young Philadelphians and The Left-Handed Gun, all under-appreciated films. - Steve Saragossi

CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE PAUL NEWMAN COLLECTION BOXED DVD SET

By Todd Garbarini

As long as there are films, there will always be lively discussions as to what Woody Allen’s best movie is. Most film fans tend to argue amongst his four greatest works: Annie Hall (1977), Manhattan (1979), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989). If I personally had to choose, it would probably be Hannah, which is perhaps the finest film that he has ever made. At the same time, I don’t want to neglect the others, so it becomes an exercise in futility as none of these films suffer from any condition other than they are great films. Mr. Allen would probably disagree, insofar as Annie Hall is concerned. Mercifully title-changed from Anhedonia (a condition which characterizes a person’s inability to experience pleasure from activities usually found to be enjoyable), Annie Hall is a film full of life, laughs, and, ultimately, ironies. Few comedies have reached the heights that Annie Hall reaches for and easily tops, and as such it resides on the number four spot of the American Film Institutes’ 100 Funniest American Movies of All-Time.

Annie Hall, which opened on Wednesday, April 20, 1977, won the Best Picture award over George Lucas’s Star Wars (1977) in April 1978 at the 50th Annual Academy Awards. I was nine at the time and positively bewildered that anything would have trumped my favorite science fiction film. Didn’t everyone see and love Star Wars? Who could have voted against it? When I finally did see Woody Allen’s comedy years later I was broadsided by how different, mature, and outright hilarious it was. The film is a feast of high-brow humor with its visual and verbal in-jokes, effectively upping the ante from the hilarious sight-gags that populated Take the Money and Run (1969), Bananas (1971), and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex: But Were Afraid to Ask (1972). What makes this film so remarkable are the performances, the dialogue, and the brilliant editing. Originally intended as a dramatic murder mystery with a comedic and romantic subplot (which Mr. Allen shelved until 1993’s Manhattan Murder Mystery), Annie Hall revolves around Alvy Singer (Allen), a neurotic Manhattan comedian, and his relationship with his girlfriend, the titular Annie Hall (played by Diane Keaton, whose real name is Diane Hall). Told in flashback like J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye (which is mentioned in the film), Annie Hall details their struggles to maintain a relationship in the Big Apple. Alvy meets the awkward Annie, and once their relationship begins the film soars in its cinematic depiction of how they relate to one another as well as to the audience. This is the one film of Mr. Allen’s which begins and ends with no music over the credits, and wherein he talks directly to the audience in character. Among the standouts are Alvy’s description of his childhood; Alvy’s harassment by “the cast of The Godfather” outside the Beekman Theatre; Alvy introducing Marshall McLuhan to an annoying theatre patron; Alvy and Annie’s attempts to cook lobster; their first meeting and first date; making fun of people in Central Park; Alvy meeting Annie’s family; Annie’s middle-of-the-night call to kill a spider in the bathtub; and Alvy’s “fish-out-of-water” reaction to Los Angeles.

The film is about memory and acts also as a great time capsule of what life was like in 1976 when the film was shot. I can’t help but notice how dressed up people are at the movie theatres, most of which specialized in foreign films. It is hard to believe now that New York City was once a place that was moderately affordable to live in.

MGM's Annie Hall Blu-ray presentation is a considerable step up for the previous DVD release which was marred by video noise as well as speckles and blemishes on the film. The new Blu-ray is, of course, sharper and is sourced from a film print in considerably better condition. The disc has subtitles and the theatrical trailer.

If you are a Woody Allen fan, the purchase of this Blu-ray is a no-brainer.

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By Lee Pfeiffer

It's been a DVD smorgasbord for fans of James Coburn, with so many of the iconic actor's films finally released to home video in the last year or so. The latest comes from MGM's burn-to-order service: Harry in Your Pocket, a largely unheralded 1973 comedy/drama that finds Coburn well-cast as a debonair "king of the pickpockets". Along with his partner, the elderly but equally charismatic Casey (Walter Pidgeon), Harry is intent on recruiting a couple of newcomers to train as part of an ambitious pickpocket team. He settles on Ray (Michael Sarrazin) and his new girlfriend Sandy (comely Trish Van Devere), a destitute couple that is eager to learn from the master. After some rough edges in the "training", Ray and Sandy earn their keep by helping Harry set up the sting operations. Casey decides who will be the victim, Sandy distracts that person while Harry robs his wallet, then quickly passes it off to Ray. Harry's golden rule is "Harry doesn't hold", meaning he is never in possession of the incriminating loot for more than the few seconds it takes to pass it off to his accomplice.Life with Harry is good. The team travels extensively and everything is first class. However, it isn't long before Ray suspects that his real value to the team is the fact that he is accompanied by Sandy, who Harry clearly has eyes for. Soon, sexual tension threatens to disrupt the profitable partnership.

It may seem that a film about pickpocketing might be a complete yawn. Indeed, there isn't much that happens in terms of plot and the movie relies almost entirely on the chemistry between cast members. Fortunately, everyone is at the top of their game. Coburn is charismatic and charming, but has a hard, threatening edge that makes it clear Harry is man who is used to getting things his way. It's top flight Coburn, in terms of performance and he's well-matched by Sarrazin and Van Devere, who gets to wear some eye-popping mini-skirts to distract the potential victims. The all-around scene stealer, however, is Pidgeon in a wonderful late career performance. As the erudite, dapper and coke-sniffing thief, he dominates every sequence- especially when he opines about the lack of a code of honor that used to be prevalent among people of his peculiar trade.

This is the only feature film ever directed by Bruce Geller, best known as the creator and chief writer for the Mission: Impossible TV series. He handles the action well and capitalizes on lush location shooting in Seattle, Victoria, BC and Salt Lake City, all set to a funky Lalo Schifrin score. If there is one dismaying aspect to the movie, it's the fact that, unlike most films and TV series about charismatic con-men from The Sting to Hustle, the victims here are not corrupt executives and politicians, but everyday working people. It's hard to cheer on the protagonists when they are depriving the guy next door of his week's wages. Nevertheless, Harry in Your Pocket is a forgotten gem of film and well worth catching up with.

The DVD contains the original trailer.

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Willliamson as Little John with Audrey Hepburn and Sean Connery in Robin and Marian (1976)

Scottish actor Nicol Williamson has died from cancer at age 73. He was regarded as one of the finest actors to emerge in the 1960s and 1970s, but his disdain for his own profession led him to go into self-imposed retirement in favor of working on musical projects. Playwright John Osborne said he was the finest actor since Brando. Nominated for numerous Tony Awards and BAFTAs, Williamson was regarded by many as the greatest Hamlet of his time. However, his thorny temperament and disposition became legendary and he famously walked off stage at a 1969 performance of the play, apologizing to the audience for his performance. His work was largely confined to the theater, but he did make some major films including Excalibur, Robin and Marian and The Seven-Per-Cent Solution. He lived for the last twenty years in Amsterdam. For more click here

Last night (Jan 26th), Cinema Retro Editor and British board member of the Ian Fleming Foundation, Dave Worrall, gave an introductory speech at EON Productions and The National Motor Museum's 50th anniversary exhibition 'Bond in Motion' at Beaulieu. The champagne reception for a large corporate accountancy company was held in the actual exhibition area where guests, surrounded by James Bond's famous vehicles and gadgetry, enjoyed Dave's informative talk about how Eon and the museum put together the spectacular event, which is now open to the public on a daily basis until the end of the year. After his talk, Dave mingled with the guests and answered dozens of questions asked him by the (predominantly!) male audience, who were keen to learn more about the various cars on show, including OO7's various Aston Martins, the underwater Lotus, and autogyro 'Little Nellie', to name but a few.

Bond fans will be pleased to discover that apart from the 32-page 'Bond in Motion' souvenir brochure on sale, the museum's gift shop has two sections devoted entirely to James Bond merchandise, including toy cars, t-shirts, books, mugs, posters - and more!

For more information about visiting the 'Bond in Motion' exhibition click here

Photos © Mark Mawston.

Farentino in The Bold Ones TV series in 1969

Actor James Farentino died Tuesday in Los Angeles at age 73 following a lengthy illness. Farentino's good looks and charisma made him a star on the rise in the 1960s and he appeared in numerous films and TV series in recurring roles or as a guest. He also co-starred in the hit series The Bold Ones. His success in feature films was more erratic but he did land occasional prominent roles in films like Me, Natalie and in the sci-fi Pearl Harbor-themed hit The Final Countdown. Farentino lead a tumultuous personal life that saw him married four times. In 1994, his career went into a greater nosedive when he pleaded no contest to stalking ex-wife Tina Sinatra, youngest daughter of Frank Sinatra. He was sentenced to probation and ordered to get psychiatric care. Farantino admitted that his behavior was often appalling and led to him being marginalized to "D" grade movie hell. For more clickhere

By Todd Garbarini

Dario Argento’s Inferno (1980) is one of the most beautifully-realized cinematic experiences ever captured on film. The follow-up to his previous film, Suspiria (1977), Inferno is a film that upon first viewing appears to be short on substance but considerably long on style. While dialogue has never been the director’s strong suit, the verbal platitudes that permeate not just this phantasmagorical tale of alchemy and murder, but just about every other film he has directed, provide a certain charm that has become an unofficial and unmistakable part of his oeuvre. Although the film takes place in New York, virtually all of it was faked in Italy between April and August 1979, with some minor location shooting in the Big Apple. Beautifully framed and suffused with primary colors, Inferno, the story lifted from the myth of the Three Mothers as written by Thomas De Quincey in his 1945 essay “Suspiria de Profundis,” takes the viewer on a journey not seen outside of a nightmare. Whereas Suspiria was loud, strident, and truly graphic, Inferno is a study in contrasts – long, meandering scenes suddenly give way to abrupt changes in mood, the accompanying music cacophonous in its energy. The film is no less graphic in its depiction of violence. Leigh McCloskey stars as Mark, a music student in Rome who becomes involved in trying to track down his sister, Rose (Irene Miracle), who has disappeared in New York. With the help of a fellow student, Sarah (Eleanora Giorgi), Mark uncovers a layer of evil permeating the earth that he formerly was oblivious to. This threadbare plot provides the basis for some truly stunning set pieces ever mounted by the director.

By Todd Garbarini

I have always loved movies that take place outdoors in the wilderness ever since seeing Ken Annakin’s The Swiss Family Robinson (1960) at a matinee showing in 1980 (when theaters still did that sort of thing) and John Boorman’s Deliverance (1972), though I will admit that the latter, although beautifully lensed by Vilmos Zsigmond, is enough to make anyone want to stay indoors! Matthew Leutwyler’s The River Why (2010), filmed in Portland, Oregon in the summer of 2008, is the film version of David James Duncan’s 1983 novel of the same name and the beautiful outdoors figures prominently in the film. Essentially, this is a coming-of-age story about a young man named Gus Orviston (Zach Gilford of Larry Fessenden’s The Last Winter and television’s "Friday Night Lights"), who is at his wits end when it comes to the constant bickering of his parents, played effectively by William Hurt and Kathleen Quinlan, the former of whom refers to Gus by his full name Augustine. He decides that rather than whine and complain, he will actually do something about it. His answer is to move to a small cabin by himself so he can concentrate on fishing, something that he loves to do. He creates an “ideal schedule” that consists of eating, sleeping and fishing. This schedule is more or less a result of tunnel vision as he believes that this is all that he wants in life. As the days progress, he wants a stronger connection to the people around him, especially with the young and initially elusive fisherwoman named Eddy (played by the luminous Amber Heard of 2010’s The Rum Diaries) who catches his eye and his heart.

The River Why is a slow-moving and relaxing viewing and requires patience to stick with it. Viewers used to the slam-bang editing that has become the norm in Hollywood productions will more than likely be bored, but for other viewers the film will be a rewarding experience. The story is a character-driven drama rather than plot-driven, and there are solid supporting performances from William Devane as a newspaper journalist and Dallas Roberts as a philosopher who gets Gus to look at The Big Picture.

Available on DVD and Blu-ray, the latter of course is the way to see this film as the scenery, not to mention Ms. Heard, is sumptuous in high definition.

Click here to order on Blu-ray

Given the fast sell-out of Cinema Retro's Where Eagles Dare issue in 2009, we anticipated a lot of interest in our other two Movie Classics special issues commemorating the Clint Eastwood/Sergio Leone "Dollars" films and Eastwood's 1970 WWII hit Kelly's Heroes. Although we had an increased print run for these titles, we never expected the response would be so overwhelming. These are the two best-selling issues in Cinema Retro's eight year history- and they keep selling briskly. (A web site dedicated to WWII history sold over 500 copies of Kelly's in the last month alone!).

If you haven't ordered these 80 page issues, do so today- each issue is loaded with a mind-boggling number of rare photos, some of which are printed here for the first time. 

Copies of Where Eagles Dare are now selling for over $200 each on Ebay. Don't let these issues escape your collection! They are sure to be valued collector's items once they are out of print. 

Click here for full description of the "Dollars" issue and to order direct from our Ebay affiliate store.

Click here for full description of the Kelly's Heroes  issue and to order direct from our Ebay affiliate store.

By Raymond Benson

It was surrealist filmmaker Luis Buñuel’s most popular film and his biggest financial success, even outperforming the great Oscar-winning The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (the idea for which was given to the director by actor Owen Wilson during a time travel escapade to Paris in the 1920s*). Starring an effervescent, young and beautiful Catherine Deneuve in a defining role that would forever typify her as the kind of cool, intense, independent blonde she would portray for the rest of her long career, Belle de Jour broke ground for eroticism and feminism alike.

Released in 1967, the picture is one of Buñuel’s most accessible pictures. The plot is simple enough. Severine, a frigid and frustrated woman of the Parisian upper class who is married to a successful doctor, has disturbing fantasies of being sexually humiliated and degraded. When a friend of her husband’s (a man who has tried many times, unsuccessfully, to seduce Severine) tells her about a high class brothel, she becomes curious. At first frightened and timid, Severine applies for afternoon work at the brothel, and there she ultimately discovers the path to her own sexual fulfillment. Yes, she’s a masochist, but she is one by choice and desire. Her new vocation improves things at home with her husband until she becomes involved with a client who happens to be a hit man. The gangster also grows obsessed with Severine, a story twist with tragic results.

The legendary mystery: are the contents of the box erotic, disgusting or both?

As with any Buñuel film, there’s a lot more going on. There is humor, to be sure, as well as the kind of shocking imagery typical of the auteur’s work. Severine’s fantasies take on the surrealistic touches the director has been known for since his first picture, Un Chien Andalou (made with Salvador Dali), but the “realistic” scenes in the brothel also venture into absurdist territory. For example, one client, a successful gynecologist, insists on role-playing a disobedient servant to a punishing mistress. Another client, an Asian man, carries a jewelry box, which, when opened, emits a strange buzzing sound. We can’t see what’s in the box, but whatever it is gets mixed reactions from the various prostitutes (usually disgust). It is only Severine who finds the mysterious object fascinating. Of course, Buñuel means for the audience to interpret what’s in the box for themselves.

The new edition from Criterion features a magnificent high-definition digital restoration. Audio commentary is by Michael Wood, author of the BFI Film Classics book on Belle de Jour. A very interesting video interview with activist Susie Bright and film scholar Linda Williams sheds light on the sexual politics and feminist themes in the picture. Co-writer Jean-Claude Carrière talks about working with Buñuel in a new interview. Finally, Deneuve appears in a vintage French television program on the making of the movie. Also included is a booklet featuring a 1970 interview with Buñuel and more.

Belle de Jour is a classic of the new permissiveness of the late 1960s, and it is a must for true film buffs. And watch for Buñuel’s cameo appearance at an outdoor bar/restaurant!

* As seen in Woody Allen’s new film, Midnight in Paris

Click here for video clips

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Now Available! Author and Cinema Retro columnist Raymond Benson’s classic 1980s reference book all about 007, THE JAMES BOND BEDSIDE COMPANION, has been re-published!

THE JAMES BOND BEDSIDE COMPANION was Benson's very first published work (it originally appeared in 1984!). Crossroad Press has published it again this week, first as an e-book, available for Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, and all other e-reader formats. Coming later will be an downloadable audiobook edition, followed by a new print edition! 

As of today, the book is the #1 best-seller on Amazon Kindle’s “Film and Video/Reference” category.

THE BEDSIDE COMPANION was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Biographical/Critical Work of 1984 by Mystery Writers of America and 007 fans still consider it to be a "Bond Bible." 

Here is the official description of the book:

New digital edition of the classic 007 reference book from the 1980s, complete with a new Foreword by the author. 

THE JAMES BOND BEDSIDE COMPANION is an encyclopedic celebration of 007, who is still the world’s most popular secret agent. 

The only book to cover all aspects of the James Bond phenomenon in a single volume, it includes: a) An intimate portrait of Ian Fleming as remembered by his friends and colleagues; b) a character study of James Bond—his background and early life, his clothing and other personal habits, his preferences in food and drink, his attitudes toward women and marriage; c) The by-products of Bondmania and the merchandising of 007; d) Detailed analyses of every James Bond novel by Ian Fleming, as well as those written by other authors through the 1980s; e) A critical look at the 007 film series—the producers, screenplays, directors, actors, soundtracks, and special effects; f) over 100 photographs; g) An Introduction written by Ernest Cuneo, perhaps Fleming’s closest American friend; h) And enough facts, figures, and miscellaneous Bondian trivia to satisfy even the most ardent fan.

BIO: Raymond Benson is the highly acclaimed author of twenty-five books, six original James Bond 007 novels, three film novelizations, three short stories, and two anthologies on Bond. He is a sought-after lecturer on film genres and history. Writing as David Michaels, Benson is a New York Times best-selling author, an Edgar Alan Poe Award nominee, and a Readers' Choice Award winner.

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Martin Scorsese's Hugo has topped the Oscar nominations with 11 nods. Industry veterans Woody Allen, Max Von Sydow, Meryl Streep, Nick Nolte and Christopher Plummer all picked up nominations. Click here for complete list. 

By Lee Pfeiffer

Last April, Dave Worrall and I were in London for a few days on business pertaining to Cinema Retro. As is our custom, we generally hold a dinner party at the famed Groucho Club and invite an eclectic group of friends and acquaintances. This time around, the group included several people who, coincidentally, had ties to Sean Connery. Film producer Euan Lloyd (The Wild Geese) had produced Connery's first film after leaving the role of James Bond, the 1968 Western Shalako. Actor Richard Johnson had been approached prior to Connery to play 007 and had met with producers Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman at Eon's offices in London. (Typical of Johnson's wry, self-deprecating humor, he said that it was best for everyone that he didn't accept the role because "I was so right for it, I would have played the part wrong. Sean was so wrong for it, he played the part right") Also in the mix was actress Lana Wood, who had co-starred with Connery in his 1971 Bond comeback Diamonds Are Forever. As all Bond fans know, Lana, the sister of Natalie Wood, made a memorable impression as the aptly-named Plenty O'Toole. We actually didn't know Lana well, having only spoken to her briefly over the years, but she was in London and was enthused about joining our merry band of fifteen or so. I can't say I know her much better today than I did a year ago, but what I can say is that I found her candor to be quite astonishing.

Although Lana never found stardom in films and has suffered enormous personal losses in her life, ranging from numerous love affairs gone wrong to the mysterious death of Natalie, she has an amazing number of anecdotes to relate. Not only can she tell you fascinating facts about the sister she still loves so dearly, but she also speaks openly and unashamedly about her tumultuous love life, which has seen her involved with some of the most famous men on the planet. They include Sean Connery, who she told me she had an affair with on the set of Diamonds. Although neither were married at the time, they kept their relationship hush-hush so as to not feed grist to the mill of the tabloids. (The Fleet Street rags were already awash with "exclusive" stories about Connery allegedly bedding his female lead Jill St. John.) Not knowing how many of these stories Lana had previously made public, I decided to keep the revelations confidential, which may seem to be a quaint notion when one runs a high popular web site. Nevertheless, in a recent interview in The Daily Mail, Lana opens up about many of the anecdotes she related to me that evening- and it makes for riveting reading.

I have fond memories of that particular party, as Lana made for a most gracious and glamorous dinner companion whose down-to-earth charm enchanted everyone there. My only major regret is that the star-packed Groucho Club famously excludes anyone from taking photos on the premises, probably due to the fact that certain celebrities would not want to be seen with certain other celebrities they were, eh, escorting for the evening. Thus, there are no recorded images of this memorable dinner party except in the minds of those who were there. Nevertheless, it was an evening to remember- thanks in no small part to the charm of Lana Wood. 

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Hughes makes the case that the restored version of Sergio Leone's classic The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is inferior to the original theatrical release.

Cinema Retro columnist and film book author Howard Hughes vents on his blog about misconstrued extended cuts of films that failed to improve on the originals. Among those in his sites: Star Wars and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Click here to read

A long-lost TV pilot titled Final Curtain, directed by legendary B movie auteur Ed Wood, has been discovered in the archive of a private collector. The episode is said to rival The Twilight Zone and represent some of Wood's best work. For almost 50 years, Wood's colleagues and film historians have searched for a print of the pilot episode for a proposed anthology series titled Portraits of Terror. Wood had intended Bela Lugosi to star but the legendary actor passed away while reading the script. The damaged print was located by Jason Insalaco, the nephew of Wood's friend and stock company member Paul Marco, who died before he could fulfill his quest to find the missing film. Insalaco painstakingly restored the film and it will be shown at the Slamdance Film Festival in Utah. For more click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

Joshua Logan's 1955 screen adaptation of William Inge's Broadway sensation Picnic has been released on Blu-ray by the excellent Twilight Time label as a 3,000 unit limited edition. The play helped boost Paul Newman to stardom but amazingly he was excluded from the film version, along with most of his fellow cast members. Inge's play presented an unusually frank examination of repressed sexual frustration in a small Kansas town. That tension boils over with the arrival of Hal Carter (William Holden), a charismatic drifter whose arrival in town sets off a combustible tinderbox of emotions among the residents. Hal is a magnet for women of all ages, but he sets his sites on Madge (Kim Novak), a vulnerable teenager from a broken home who is looking for a white knight to deliver her from the boredom of her small town life. Hal fills the void but brings to mind the old adage "Be careful what you wish for- you just might get it." Hal's presence unleashes long suppressed rivalries and jealousies and he goes from hero to cad in the eyes of many.

It's long been said that Holden was too old for the leading role, but nothing could be further from the truth. He's at the top of his game and exudes raw sexuality. He benefits from an outstanding supporting cast, each of whom is seen at their best: Novak; Susan Strasberg as her catty, envious sister, Betty Field as the frustrated mom who advises her girls that sex may be an unpleasant chore for a woman, but if it allows you to nab a handsome husband, it's worth it; young Cliff Robertson as an insecure local hunk who comes to regret Hal's presence, and wonderful turns by Arthur O'Connell, Nick Adams and others. Among the many memorable scenes are Holden and Novak's slow dance to Moonglow, which drips eroticism and plays like a mating ritual. All of this is set to James Wong Howe's glorious cinematography which improbably manages to "open up" a rather claustrophobic storyline written for the stage.

The Twilight Time Blu-ray looks great and includes the original trailer, an informative booklet written by Julie Kirgo and an isolated track for George Duning's terrific score.

Click here to order

Actress Naomi Harris, who will be starring with Daniel Craig in the new James Bond film Skyfall, says that rumors she is playing Miss Moneypenny are inaccurate. Her character, Eve, was rumored to be an alias for Moneypenny but Harris has thrown cold water on that theory. For more click here

Rare 70mm drive-in ad for Lawrence of Arabia.

Click here to view a fascinating documentary on Amazon about the challenges encountered in restoring Sir David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia in 1989, under the supervision of Robert Harris.

Don Sharp photographed during interview session by John Exshaw. (Copyright John Exshaw. All rights reserved.)

Cinema Retro's John Exshaw remembers a highly talented and often under-rated director.

“Don was first-class . . . a really good film director. [He was] extremely capable, and he was very, very interested in everything that he did. . . . He used to come well-prepared with what he was going to shoot. . . . I don’t ever remember having problems with making a [Don Sharp] film move and making a sequence move that one might have had . . . and that’s why I’ve always had a lot of respect for Don, because the scenes that he produced, they played so well.” – Eric Boyd-Perkins, editor (Hennessy, et al.)

“I will remember Don for his determination to bring together the often disparate elements of a cast and crew to produce a movie that was true to the intentions of its producer and author: he was a true servant of the medium. Perhaps most of all I will remember his patience and unfailing good humour. I had some of the best times of my working life on the films he directed and I will remember him with great affection.” – Richard Johnson, actor (Hennessy, et al.)

“Very, very calm. Very calm and knew exactly what he wanted.” – Sir Christopher Lee, actor (The Face of Fu Manchu, et al.)

“He was one of the great technicians in the business. He really was a very competent director in terms of budget and schedules . . .” – Peter Snell, producer (Hennessy, et al.)

“I kept using Don because his films came in on budget and were without exception very successful. On top of that he was a most agreeable person of very good character – no tantrums – clear headed – resourceful; a gentleman too.” – Harry Alan Towers, producer (The Face of Fu Manchu, et al.)

It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of Don Sharp, who passed away, aged 90, in Cornwall on 14 December last year. I first met Don (and his delightful wife, Mary) at their home in London in 2007, having arranged to interview him about his career, and in particular the two films which I regard as his finest, The Face of Fu Manchu (1965) and Hennessy (1975). He seemed quietly pleased that someone else shared his own good opinion of those films, having, in the past, been mainly interviewed about the three films he made for Hammer (The Kiss of the Vampire, 1963, The Devil-Ship Pirates, 1964, and Rasputin, the Mad Monk, 1965).

In a different sense, of course, I’d met Don many years before, through his films, which always left an impression, no matter how unpromising the basic material; I can well remember scanning the TV guides and making a point to watch anything ‘Directed by Don Sharp’. In those days, the TV schedules were full of the type of British second-feature films that Don made, but his always had something different – a sense of style and movement, in a word action – that made them stand out from the dross.

It is worth emphasising how rare that quality was in British films of that period. While Terence Fisher is justly celebrated for directing the most famous Hammer films, his forte was atmosphere, combined with a certain classical rigour in both composition and cutting derived, one imagines, from his years as an editor. Seth Holt and Michael Reeves both made stylish and memorable contributions to what, for the sake of immediate convenience, we’ll call the horror genre, but the majority of British films in the horror-thriller field were usually both dull in concept and laboured in execution, to put it kindly.

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

Dear listeners,

Catch the NEW episode of Dave’s Gone By (#373 – Kir Package) – LIVE, this Saturday, 1/21, 10am-1pm(MT) on UNC Radio (www.uncradio.com).

Featuring: Dave chats with Oscar winner GEORGE CHAKIRIS (“West Side Story”). Plus: Inside Broadway, Bob Dylan – Sooner & Later and the Saturday Segue (Dave’s birthday songs).

Says Dave about this week’s show, “In his film and TV career, George Chakiris has worked with Natalie Wood, Yul Brynner, Gene Kelly, Lana Turner and Marilyn Monroe. I once interviewed Dick Van Patten and had dinner with Larry `Bud’ Melman, so basically, George and I are in the same league.”

Dave’s Gone By episodes are archived, free, on the web! They’re at www.davesgoneby.com. See an alphabetized list of all our previous guests – complete with hyperlinks to their episodes – at davesgoneby.com.

DAVE'S GONE BY offers talk, humor and music, from political commentary to sketch comedy, from theater reviews to interviews, from musical detours to straight-talking monologues. Guests have included Neil Sedaka, Christine Lavin, Carol Channing, Peter Schickele, Jane Siberry, Dr. Demento, Juliana Hatfield, Tom Paxton, Wreckless Eric, Joe Franklin and Shecky Greene. Visit us at www.davesgoneby.com.

Since debuting Oct. 6, 2002, DAVE'S GONE BY has treated listeners to one of the most off-beat and engaging shows in radio. An award-winning playwright, Dave Lefkowitz is the programming director for UNC Radio. He’s also founder and editor of TotalTheater.com, co-publisher of Performing Arts Insider (PerformingArtsInsider.com), producer of “Shalom, Dammit!”, and monthly columnist for the Long Island Pulse.

DAVE'S GONE BY is produced by TotalTheater Productions (P.O. Box 31, Greeley, CO 80632. TotalTheater.com).

The once-defunct Hammer Films is not only making movies again but they are aggressively moving to upgrade their horror classics for Blu-ray. The releases will include new interviews with cast members. The studio is also appealing to the collector's circuit to help provide prints that may have scenes deleted from theatrical versions. For more click here

Copies of legendary James Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli's 1998 autobiography "When the Snow Melts" command big dollars on the collector's circuit. Now the book is available on Amazon.UK as a kindle edition. Here is the description:

Originally published in hardback in 1998 with the title 'WHEN THE SNOW MELTS', this updated edition from EON Productions features introductions by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli as well as a selection of rarely seen images. EON Productions will donate all of the income from the sales of this eBook to Cancer Research UK, the world’s leading charity dedicated to beating cancer through research. Cubby Broccoli’s autobiography is a roller-coaster ride through the life of one of Hollywood’s best-loved producers. He recounts extraordinary and humorous stories of how he created a life in the movies, his unique relationship with Howard Hughes and other friendships with Hollywood greats such as Cary Grant, Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck and Frank Sinatra are also portrayed.

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George Lucas tells the New York Times he intends to get out of the film business, though he does leave the door open for a possible Indiana Jones flick and art house movies with limited commercial appeal. Lucas is apparently disgruntled by the fact that his latest production, Red Tails, was difficult to find financing for because it centers on a virtually all-black cast in this story of the famed Tuskegee Airmen who fought valiantly in WWII. Insiders close to Lucas also speculate that he's pretty much achieved all of his personal goals, so there's nowhere to go but either into retirement or back to his roots by making experimental films. For more click here

The BAFTA nominations have been announced and the acclaimed films The Artist and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy lead the race. For full list of nominees click here

From The Daily Cinema trade magazine, February 1966

By Dave Worrall 

Photos copyright Mark Mawston. All rights reserved. 

Britt Ekland with the Aston Martin Vanquish from Die Another Day outside the entrance.

The 50th anniversary of the James Bond film series got off the grid yesterday (Sun 15th) with the official launch of 'Bond in Motion: 50 Vehicles, 50 Years', an exhibition of OO7-related vehicles at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu in Hampshire. To commemorate this historic turning point in the Bond franchise, Eon Productions (the Bond film-makers) and the motor museum (celebrating its 40th anniversary this year), have put together the largest official collection of famous James Bond vehicles the world has ever seen.

Sunday also saw Eon kick-start the 50th anniversary with many special features in British newspapers and magazine supplements including The Mail on Sunday and The Sunday Mirror.

Before opening to the public on January 17th, the world's press and selected guests were invited to attend the unveiling of fifty different forms of transport to celebrate fifty years of the OO7 movies.

Opening ceremony (L to R) Ralph Montagu, Eunice Gayson (Dr No/From Russia With Love), Britt Ekland (The Man With the Golden Gun), Jenny Hanley (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service), Madeline Smith (Live and Let Die).

Guests in attendance included Chris Courbold (SFX Casino Royale-Skyfall), Vic Armstrong (Stunt co-ordinator and 2nd unit director on many films), actors Colin Salmon (Die Another Day), Shane Rimmer (You Only Live Twice and The Spy Who Loved Me) and Ken Wallis, the inventor of the autogyro who doubled Sean Connery in the sequences with 'Little Nellie' in You Only Live Twice.

American businessman Michael Dezer, who purchased the entire 'Cars of the Stars' and 'Bond Museums' last year, flew over especially for the occasion. The boat from From Russia With Love was loaned to the museum by Mr Dezer for the exhibition. Mr Dezer's car museum, which is anticipated to be the largest in the world, is due to open this year in Florida.

By Lee Pfeiffer

The Scorpion DVD label has released the notorious 1976 British horror flick I Don't Want to Be Born under its American title, The Devil Within Her (It was also known as Sharon's Baby). It's easy to see why this cult movie has gained its reputation, as its a real hoot. Joan Collins stars as Lucy, a one-time London stripper who gives up her wild lifestyle in favor of a more sedate life. She marries a successful Italian businessman, Gino (Ralph Bates) and finds herself pregnant immediately after their wedding night. Trouble is, she suspects the real father is actually her sleazy ex-boyfriend  Tommy (John Steiner), who she slept with the night before her wedding in order to have one final fling. Things are moving along swimmingly with the happy couple living the good life in a tony section of London. However, when Lucy goes into labor, the process of giving birth proves to be particularly agonizing, causing speculation that it was almost as if the baby did not want to be born. Nevertheless, she takes home a healthy, if robust 12 pound baby boy. Immediately strange and disturbing things start to happen. Visitor are injured and Lucy herself is scratched severely by the baby. Strange noises come from his nursery and furniture in the room is inexplicably tossed about.Before long, the mayhem results in people disappearing while others are killed under strange circumstances. Lucy is terrified to be alone with her own baby, as she is convinced he is possessed by the devil. The fear is not unwarranted, as she recalls having her pregnancy cursed by a sex-crazed dwarf whose attentions she once spurned. (I'm not making any of this up, folks.) The film borrows so heavily from two horror classics it should have been titled Rosemary's Exorcist. Yes, there is an exorcism performed by Lucy's sister-in-law, an Italian nun (Eileen Atkins).

Veteran Hammer films director Peter Sasdy throws in every cliche the genre has to offer, although he does do a good job of maximizing actual locations in London, which at least lends some atmosphere to the production. His biggest challenge is insurmountable in that, while you can coach even an angelic child actor to appear menacing (a la The Omen), you can't give direction to an infant. Thus, Sasdy has to resort to some unintentionally funny gimmicks such as showing a glimpse of the super-tyke's arm as he assails innocent people who are only trying to "koochy koo" him. Meanwhile, when the camera comes back to focus on the baby, he looks as menacing as a coffee table. What makes the film so much fun is the determination of the cast to play it straight, as though they were performing in an erstwhile production at the Old Vic. Collins is gorgeous, of course, but has to contend with a deadlier enemy than her demonic baby: the styles of the 1970s. Thus, she goes through the proceedings often sporting a hair style that appears to emulate that of George Washington. Sasdy does, however, provide the prerequisite Collins scene in which she is shown in "stockings and suspenders", as the Brits would say and we do get a gloriously torrid and superfluous love scene between her and Bates. Sasdy also breaks up the laughs by centering other scenes at a strip club as an excuse to show plenty of T&A. Joining Collins onscreen is an impressive cast that occasionally manages to make the viewer begin to take the proceedings somewhat seriously. Donald Pleasence, cast as Lucy's sympathetic but bewildered doctor,  is as compelling as ever, managing to steal every scene even while underplaying. Eileen Atkins also delivers a fairly admirable performance as the much-troubled nun trying to save her sister-in-law and ultra sexy Caroline Munro makes a few welcome appearances as Lucy's best friend. Cult favorite John Steiner is amusingly over-the-top as the villainous boyfriend who may have sired the son of Satan.The film's appeal as a camp classic remains intact and despite its flaws, remains a thoroughly enjoyable romp- if even for the wrong reasons.

Scorpion's DVD edition includes an original TV spot and a very entertaining recent interview with Steiner, who tells funny stories about the legions of B movies he has starred in. (He even gets a plug in for his new career as a real estate agent). Unfortunately, Steiner doesn't remember much about the making of this film, but he does render some fascinating anecdotes about others he has appeared in. The DVD also has an optional introduction by Katarina Leigh Waters, who I understand is a professional wrestler. I'm not sure how this qualifies her to introduce a horror film, but she does a fine job, providing some interesting facts about the production as well as some eye candy.  In the tradition of Elvira, Waters also hosts other horror films for the label. The DVD also features a trailer gallery of other Scorpion releases.

Click here to order from Amazon.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Until the sexual revolution of the mid-to-late 1960s was embraced by the film industry, the subject of homosexuality was dealt with in schizophrenic manner  by studios. There were some bold attempts to address the subject in a serious and sympathetic manner, but fine movies like The Trials of Oscar Wilde and Victim were relegated to art-house hell and never enjoyed a wide audience. Indeed, it was the complete financial failure of the former film that motivated, in desperation, producer Cubby Broccoli to dust off the idea of adapting the James Bond novels for the screen. In other cases, the movies were more high profile (i.e Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Children's Hour) but studios forced the directors to substantially water down overt references to homosexuality. Within a few short years, however, the situation had changed dramatically. While many characters were often presented as comical stereotypes, there were other bold attempts to address more realistic approaches to the traumas faced by gays and lesbians. Going one rung further, a few films actually took on such issues as cross-dressing and transsexuals. One of the more notable films of the era was The Christine Jorgensen Story, released in 1970. However, as well-meaning as the movie was, it was generally regarded as an exploitation movie with a good dose of shlock and some unintended laughs. (Click here for review)

Far more impressive was the 1972 British film I Want What I Want...To Be a Woman starring Anne Heywood in a daring performance as an effeminate young man who secretly desires to be a woman. Unlike the real-life Christine Jorgensen, this story is not based on fact, but a novel by writer Geoff Brown. Roy is a sensitive twenty-something man who is living a nightmarish life. He's the son of a macho, ex-army officer (the always brilliant Harry Andrews) who spends most of his time drinking with high society types while he seduces their women. Roy and his father have a fractious relationship as the old man refuses to acknowledge the obvious fact that his son looks more like the daughter he never had. He tries to force Roy into macho behavior by having him escort women on fraudulent dates and  making him sit with other men in drawing rooms to argue politics over cigars and brandy. Meanwhile, all Roy wants to do is explore his feminine side. Eventually he can't resist the urge to dress as a woman and is caught in the act by his appalled father, who slaps him around and humiliates him. Distraught, Roy leaves his home to establish a new life in a far away town. This represents his first public appearance as a woman and the film conveys the anxiety cross dressers must feel when they make such a "debut". Although Heywood makes a head-turning woman, we have to remember she's supposed to be a man. As such, she gives a riveting performance and demonstrates the inevitable paranoia that might accompany such a bold lifestyle decision. Roy is convinced that everyone he passes on the street knows his secret.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Look, I'm not one of these high-brow guys who knock all of the programming on cable TV. About the only shows I ever have time to watch are guilty pleasures like Hoarders and Storage Wars plus various National Geographic programs that center on helpless humans being devoured by wild animals. Most of the time I'm working on my computer, so the only programs that run consistently are political shows that don't require me to sit in front of a screen. In fact, with all the heated debates on these programs, they provide plenty of wild animal-like behavior in and of themselves. What I do find really offensive is when a cable network decides to use a legendary movie as the basis of a low-grade TV concept. For example, A&E has just announced that it is developing a series titled Bates Motel that will explore the early years of Psycho's legendary cinematic killer Norman Bates, as well as his Oedipus-like relationship with his mother. Is this really what classic movie lovers have been clamoring for? Obviously not.  How many people even remember that there was a TV movie sequel to Psycho back in 1987? So this new project is a rip-off of a rip-off.  However, A&E is gambling that there are plenty of undiscriminating viewers out there who probably never even saw the original film and will think this concept is a hoot. Murder and implied incest? Irresistable! And now Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece can be improved upon with the inclusion of numerous dumb-ass commercials, color cinematography and answers to the mysteries surrounding Bates' background that were so annoyingly mysterious that they might have inspired you to use your own imagination. Click here for the lurid details.

(Cheap plug: For Cinema Retro's in-depth tribute to the original Psycho, see issue #18)

By Lee Pfeiffer

Not for the weak-stomached or faint of heart, Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders, available now on DVD from First Run Features,  offers excellent insights into the highly-touted humanitarian organization and the individual doctors who keep it afloat. The documentary follows volunteer doctors in war-torn Liberia and Congo, not only detailing their “typical” work day activities (in often bloody detail), but also delving into their motivations for joining the organization, their means of coping with high-pressure situations, and their opinions of the humanitarian assistance field.

While just watching the documentary, which includes footage of crude amputations and a hernia the size of a beach ball, can make your blood pressure rise, Living in Emergency is also strangely refreshing. While most documentaries focusing on humanitarian assistance often turn into love letters to specific organizations or individuals, Living in Emergency avoids all-out hero worship in favor of a nuanced view that encompasses both the successes and the shortcomings of the organization and its volunteers. While the positive impact of Doctors Without Borders is certainly the focus of the movie, concerns about its support of new staff members and premature decisions to pull out of certain areas are also expressed. Similarly, while anyone watching the film cannot help but admire the courage and commitment of the organization’s volunteers, the movie also illustrates their humanity by showing them at their best (in surgery) and their worst (drunk and argumentative).

The only real shortcoming of the film is its failure to give a sufficient voice to the over 20,000 local staff that make Doctors Without Borders run. As Americans, it may seem more captivating to watch our Western counterparts delve into both a physical and metaphorical heart of darkness. However, it is extremely important to recognize the role played by local volunteers, who sacrifice their time, safety, and energy to help their own communities without the promise of leaving after six months. While the documentary does feature one local doctor, more interviews with healthcare providers, patients, and community members would have greatly enriched the documentary and provided a more balanced perspective on the organization.

Despite this weakness, Living in Emergency is an excellent and thought-provoking film that anyone interested in the field of humanitarian assistance should take the time to watch.

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Cinema Retro enters its eighth great year with issue #22, now shipping worldwide. All subscribers will be receiving their copies shortly.

If you have not renewed your subscription, please do so today! We cannot hold copies in reserve for you, so don't miss out on a single great issue during 2012. Click here to subscribe instantly through our Ebay affiliate store or click here for other methods of subscribing.

Highlights of issue #22 include special features that celebrate the 60th anniversary of Cinerama:

• Sir Christopher Frayling provides a major 10 page article on the making of MGM's Cinerama blockbuster How the West Was Won, featuring deleted scenes and a wealth of rarely seen photographs.
• Howard Hughes pays tribute to Jack Cardiff's 1968 gut-busting adventure Dark of the Sun (aka The Mercenaries) starring Rod Taylor
• Dave Worrall blows the lid off the 1969 Cinerama epic Krakatoa, East of Java and takes us behind the scenes for the Cinerama family classic The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm.
• Thomas Hauerslev takes us back to those wonderful Cinerama travelogues This is Cinerama, Seven Wonders of the World and traces the history of the format.
  
• Lee Pfeiffer reviews a plethora of spy movies on DVD including The Man From U.N.C.L.E. feature films
• Adrian Smith interviews actress Anneke Wills, star of the mod London cult classic The Pleasure Girls and pays tribute to Jane Asher in Jerzy Skolimowsky's Deep End
  
• Raymond Benson looks at the best films of 1981
• Gareth Owen revisits the filming of The Great Gatsby at Pinewood Studios
  
• Plus the latest DVD, soundtrack and film book reviews

It's a sad ending to a once glamorous career. Anita Ekberg, one of the most celebrated sex kittens of 60s cinema, is now 80 and suffering from ill health and financial ruin. Her accountant says she has lost her home to a fire and is virtually penniless. Appeals are being made to help ease her suffering. Ekberg made screen history with her appearance in Fellini's 1960 masterpiece La Dolce Vita, cavorting with Marcello Mastroianni in Rom'es Trevi fountain, clad in a gown with a plunging neckline. Her career burned brightly but was short-lived before she entered the realm of B movies. For more click here

Ray Liotta, Robert DeNiro, Paul Sorvino and Joe Pesci in Goodfellas.

By Lee Pfeiffer

There was a time when AMC, originally known as American Movie Classics, lived up to its name. The network rivaled Turner Classic Movies in terms of reverent showings of great movies, all complete and uncut. Then the zombies and Wall Streeters took over management of the network and decided to trash tradition. Suddenly, lousy movies were interspersed with the classics, films were edited for content and to allow an abundance of commercials to be crammed in and the network didn't even respect the movies enough to allow for the end credits to run. Instead, they were shown in a microscopic window at warp speed while inane "coming up next" promos filled the screen. The outcry was tremendous among classic movie lovers, but there's a big brainless public in America that will watch movies under these conditions. The AMC brass knew their target audience and the station's popularity and profits soared. They did do something right, however, in terms of developing original content, which resulted in the acclaimed series Mad Men and Breaking Bad). AMC may have another promising concept: creating a series from Nicholas Pileggi's non-fiction mob book Wise Guy which was the basis for Martin Scorsese's 1990 film Goodfellas, a genuine American masterpiece. Pileggi is involved with the project, as is the film's producer Irwin Winkler. They might make a great series out of this, which is ironic, because you would never be able to see Goodfellas presented respectfully on the same network. For more click here

Reader Bill Parisho alerted us to this unusual DVD that will appeal to all John Wayne fans:

"In this behind-the-scenes documentary, Ethan, Patrick and Marisa Wayne share their memories of growing up with a Hollywood legend, and reveal why the time is right for the auction of the personal property of their movie-star father. Includes an exclusive look at the one-of-a-kind items from Wayne's extraordinary life featured in the Heritage Auctions event. A must-have collector's DVD for all Wayne fans. DVD sales benefit the John Wayne Cancer Foundation."

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON

By Raymond Benson

The original 1954 Japanese Kaiju (it means “strange beast”) film, Gojira, is not only a classic monster movie, it’s one of those significant game-changers that is important to pop culture and cinema history. Gojira, known as “Godzilla” in the west, was the first of an onslaught of “strange beasts,” spawning a Kaiju franchise that is still popular today. In fact, Hollywood is remaking Gojira as a reboot at the time of this writing.

The ’54 film, directed by Ishiro Honda and produced by Toho Studios (it’s ironic that it was being made at the same time as Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai from the same studio), was little seen in the West until recent DVD releases appeared. Instead, for over fifty years we’ve had Godzilla, King of the Monsters, an abominably bastardized, re-edited import of Gojira. Joseph E. Levine had bought the rights but had additional footage shot in Hollywood featuring Raymond Burr as an American reporter caught in the Tokyo chaos—and throwing out much of Honda’s film except the Godzilla sequences—thus, creating an entirely different storyline and movie. It was released in 1956.

Why was this an egregious thing to do? Honda’s artistic statement was jettisoned. Gojira was a Japanese reaction to and a social comment about the atomic bomb. It’s quite obvious, actually, that Godzilla is a metaphor for nuclear destruction. Part of the plot also involves a scientist who has unwittingly invented a new weapon of mass destruction and threatens to destroy his research so that no country can get its hands on it. Of course, it’s the only thing that can stop Godzilla, so he has to use it once. In the end, he sacrifices himself, and the weapon, to do his duty for Japan; but the message is clear—get rid of the bombs.

On the other hand, the American version, directed by Terry Morse (and using Honda’s footage), is seen in the West as just another giant monster romp in a decade when Hollywood was churning out giant monster romps by the dozens. The cliché of giant beasts destroying Tokyo arose from this release. The real message behind the Gojira is totally lost.

Criterion has done a terrific job with its new high-definition digital restoration of both versions of the picture in this wonderful two-disk set. The commentary on the two pictures is by film historian David Kalat. You also get interviews with Akira Takarada and Haruo Nakajima, two of the stars, and several of the special effects team. Film critic Tadao Sato provides an insightful interview, as does one with composer Akira Ifukube. The clever packaging contains a pop-up of the “strange beast” in question along with an informative collector's booklet.

If you’ve never seen the original, it’s time to check it out. Sure, the monster scenes are crude—it is a guy inside a suit—but that’s part of the appeal.

Click here to order discounted from Amazon

Hitchcock directing Novak in Vertigo

By Lee Pfeiffer

Kim Novak has a bone to pick with Michael Hazanavicius, the director of the acclaimed film The Artist, which is a tribute to the silent film era. Hazanavicius employed a key love theme by Bernard Herrmann from Alfred Hitchcock's classic Vertigo in a sequence in his film. This lead to Vertigo star Kim Novak to come out of self-imposed hibernation and take out a full page ad in Variety saying that she felt  her work had been "raped" by the appropriation of Herrmann's score that is so associated with the Hitchcock movie. Predictably, Hazanavicius does not agree and has said that he used the musical piece as an 'homage' to one of his favorite composers. This is not the first time that 'homages' have been accused of being rip-offs. Some years ago legendary artist and designer Saul Bass sued filmmaker Spike Lee for using images from his ad campaign for Anatomy of a Murder in Lee's 1995 film Clockers. Lee's defense was that the graphic of the outline of body was an 'homage' to Bass. Similarly, director Brian De Palma was criticized for using all-too-apparent Hitchcock techniques in some of his early films. De Palma also maintained these were intentional homages. Click here to read Variety music historian Jon Burlingame's article about the controversy.

Hollywood bad girl Lindsay Lohan is using the period in between arrests to recharge her career. With new roles having dried up considerably, Lohan is attempting to make a splash with 'homages' to legendary actresses. Last February, she received $1 million from Playboy  to recreate erotic poses originally featuring Marilyn Monroe. Now Lohan is in talks to star in a biopic of Elizabeth Taylor. The worse news is that it won't even be for the big screen. The project is for the Lifetime cable TV network, which means that the 'tribute' to La Liz will be compromised by a small budget and endless commercials for Viagra. For more click here

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Eon Productions and Fox Home Entertainment:

LAS VEGAS, NV (Jan. 10, 2012) – In celebration of James Bond’s monumental golden anniversary, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment today unveiled BOND 50, a collectible box-set featuring all 22 James Bond films on Blu-ray Disc for the first time in one complete offering. The longest running film franchise of all time, the Bond 50 collection marks the debut of nine James Bond films previously unavailable in high definition Blu-ray. Fans around the world can pre-order now with participating online retailers.

Acclaimed Bond directors John Glen (five Bond films including For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, The Living Daylights & Licence To Kill), Martin Campbell (GoldenEye, Casino Royale) and Michael Apted (The World Is Not Enough) with special guests Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) and Caterina Murino (Casino Royale) made the Blu-ray announcement today during a Directors’ Panel discussion in the Panasonic Booth at the annual Consumer Electronics Show.

BOND 50 showcases fifty years of Bond neatly packaged into one cool, sleek collectable box-set featuring all six iconic James Bond actors. Produced using the highest possible picture quality and audio presentation, the collection includes all 22 James Bond feature films from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace and more than 130 hours of bonus features including some new and exclusive content.

“With all 22 feature films available on Blu-ray in one collection for the first time this is a great way for fans to catch up on 007’s epic journey before Skyfall hits theaters next Fall,” said Michael Brown, Senior Vice President, MGM Home Entertainment. “Now viewers can enjoy the intense action of the innovative franchise in the most immersive home experience possible.”

“We have a whole program of exciting activities planned for our 50th anniversary year, beginning with today’s announcement, by Fox, of the release of all 22 films on Blu-ray for the very first time,’’ added Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, with Eon Productions. “We are also delighted that Fox has unveiled a specially designed anniversary poster which we hope the fans will love as much as we do. Our website, 007.com will be regularly updated with all the latest anniversary news and events.”

CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER THE COLLECTION DISCOUNTED FROM AMAZON AND SAVE $100!

CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER FROM AMAZON UK

Film Chest's Phil Hopkins (L) and Ralph Stevens (R) with Cinema Retro Editor-in-Chief Lee Pfeiffer at The Players club in New York- under the watchful eye of Jason Robards.

Film Chest, a film archive based in Bridgeport, CT that manages and restores several major motion picture libraries, is introducing a boutique home video division, American Pop Classics. The have recently remastered several of the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes classics of the 1940s that were originally released theatrically by Universal. The titles will be available on burn-to-order basis through the Allied-Vaughn company, the industry leader in the technology. Film Chest executives joined Cinema Retro editor-in-chief Lee Pfeiffer for a Holmes screening at New York's legendary Players club at Gramercy Park where DVDs of the new line were given away as raffle prizes. The crisply remastered prints represent the first time that these Sherlock Holmes films are available as burn-to-order editions. They are available through major on-line retailers. Film Chest offers many classic movies, rare television shows, and cult film classics now available on demand. Stay tuned for further info.

Christopher Atkins in A Night in Heaven (1983)

Jamie Lee Curtis in True Lies (1994)

The Huffington Post provides us with a completely gratuitous reason to run photos of sexy guys and girls: their poll asks who was the most convincing on-screen stripper.

British kids had some cool collectibles that fans never got in the States: hardcover adventure books based on their favorite TV series and movies. These hardback "annuals" were all the rage in the 1950s and 1960s. The books featured original stories and artwork and some, such as The Man From U.N.C.L.E. , reproduced the Gold Key comic books that were sold in America. More elaborate annuals such as those based on the James Bond films offered full color photos as well. Illustrated here: two vintage adventure books based on Rawhide starring Eric Fleming and a young up-and-comer named Clint Eastwood.

The Cult Trailers web site presents a wealth of great coming attractions including this schlock 1971 female version of Cool Hand Luke.Click here to view

By Lee Pfeiffer

First Run Features specializes in releasing often obscure, but fascinating documentaries, with many titles relating to WWII history. The company has just made available Dear Uncle Adolf: The Germans and Their Fuhrer, a 2010 documentary by filmmaker Michael Kloft. It's pretty hard to bring a new angle to the study of WWII, as virtually every conceivable aspect would seem to have been covered countless times. However, Kloft examines a genuinely unique aspect of Nazi culture: the countless "fan letters" written to Adolf Hitler during his ascent to power and his reign as Fuhrer. It seems that after the Soviets took Berlin in the waning days of the war, they uncovered a massive archive of personal letters written to Hitler by German citizens. These were studied, cataloged and stored because Hitler felt they were a good measurement of how his people felt about his policies. The Soviets kept a lid on the archive but in the post-Cold War period, they were opened up, though it's unclear how many historians took advantage of this obscure but important find. The cameras pan down endless rows of neatly cataloged storage boxes all filled with the letters. A narrator reads some of them, along with official communiques from Nazi officials. All of this is blended with mesmerizing footage of Hitler and his cronies, much of it new to me.

The film presents a stark and timeless lesson about how cultured, educated and rational people can willingly suspend their common sense- as well as their civil liberties- in hopes of appeasing a charismatic leader. While it is true the German people had suffered terribly in the aftermath of WWI and the oppressive conditions of the Treaty of Versailles, the desperate population willingly adopted Nazi policies that a decade were deemed uncivilized. When Hitler tried to take power at the point of a gun, he failed. He succeeded only when he went the legal route, understanding fully that frightened people will pay any price to have a benevolent strongman solve their problems. If the price of this pact with the devil is that countless numbers of their fellow citizens be deemed undesirables and marked for death, well, that was just too bad. The letters written to Hitler and documented in this film run the gamut from those sent by academics to literal nutcases. (Yes, even the Fuhrer wasn't immune from attracting crazed eccentrics such as the barber who pleaded with Hitler to allow him to meet him in Berlin so he could fulfill his dream of giving him a haircut!) Countless women wrote to Hitler, with the type of adoration that American bobbysoxers were reserving for the likes of young Frank Sinatra. Their flowery prose barely hide their all-too-apparent desire to offer him sexual favors. One woman blatantly invites Hitler to father a child with her so that his legacy can live on.  However, there are also heartbreaking letters from the early days of Hitler's regime. These come from wives and children who profess their devotion to him and the cause of National Socialism even as they plead with him to intervene and release their husband/father who has been jailed for unspecified reasons. One woman writes incredulously that her husband has not even been formally charged with a crime despite being in jail for months, as though the niceties of the Weimar Republic were still prevalent in the courts. In one particularly disturbing missive to the Fuhrer, a terrified woman reaffirms her Germanic heritage and spells out the reasons why a trace of mixed blood should not result in her being branded a Jew. She pleads with Hitler to deliver her from the "curse" of being Jewish. In contrast, one child writes to Hitler to beg him to annex his native Austria into the Reich because the Jews are using Christian German children as human sacrifices. Such tall tales were widely believed and helped justify Hitler's amicable takeover of a once sovereign nation. The letters and communiques in the film also show how well Hitler understood the importance of not trivializing his super-human image, as a baker is chastised for naming a cake in his honor. The man writes a sniveling and apologetic reply explaining he was only conforming to the popular demand for such a delicacy from local party officials.