Mel Brooks has been awarded an honorary Oscar, but you'd never know it if you watch this year's Academy Awards unless they make a brief mention of it. Gone are the days where viewers were treated to such wonderful moments, as the Academy long ago decided that honoring film industry legends was a superfluous part of the TV broadcast. Better to make more time for the awful "spontaneous" banter between presenters and lame comedy routines. At least the Academy made the presentation available on its web site, so here it is. (Lee Pfeiffer)
Young Raquel in the 1966 sci-fi classic "Fantastic Voyage", one of the few films from this era that didn't require her to appear on screen in a bikini. (Photo: Cinema Retro Archive.)
Writing on the Turner Classic Movies web site, Jessica Pickens provides an informative look at Raquel Welch as both an actress and the real-life person behind the sex symbol image. Click here to view.
The 1976 revisionist Western film The Outlaw Josey Wales follows
the fugitive farmer’s harsh and unforgiving ride across the postwar country,
evading bounty hunters and Union soldiers.
Based on Clint Eastwood’s appearance in this iconic film, the Josey Wales 1/6 Scale Figure features
a carefully crafted and incredibly accurate portrait set in the actor’s
signature scowl, detailed with facial hair and complete with a sculpted
hat. Josey Wales wears an intricately
tailored fabric costume, meticulously layered with a blue undershirt, brown
pants, a dark brown vest with braided cords and faux-leather attachments, a
belt with two holsters, a red neckerchief, and a removable shoulder holster.
The figure’s sculpted boots also boast silver riding spurs on the heels, making
this a comprehensive head-to-toe recreation of the character’s on-screen
appearance.
The Josey Wales 1/6 Scale Figure is
articulated to allow for numerous display options. This rugged outlaw comes with
three revolvers as well as a range of hands so you can recreate your favorite
moments with dramatic and dynamic poses.
It has always been possible for Netflix subscribers to share their passwords with family members and friends who do not reside with them, even though the company's usage agreement specifies that all password sharing should pertain only to people who live in the same household. With Netflix reporting a net loss of subscribers, the company is taking new measures to increase revenues. They have introduced a Netflix option for subscribers who don't mind watching programs and movies that are interrupted by commercial breaks. (Obviously, this wouldn't pertain to Cinema Retro readers!) The willingness of some people to watch these compromised versions will result in a whopping $3 a month discount. Cinephiles and purists will find this an offer they can refuse. For many viewers, the initial appeal of streaming services was to get away from the horrendous numbers of commercials that are seen on broadcast TV programs, but there will probably be plenty of undemanding viewers who jump at the offer. The other way to increase revenue will be to crack down on people sharing passwords. Beginning by late March, such individuals will either have to pay for their own subscriptions or lose access. They will be offered a special discount, however, as well as the ability to retain their account data and history. For more, click here.
Steve McQueen and Robert Vaughn co-starred in the original 1968 blockbuster.
By Lee Pfeiffer
The Deadline web site reports that Bradley Cooper and Steven Spielberg will collaborate to bring the character of San Francisco maverick detective Frank Bullitt back to the big screen. Cooper will star as the character immortalized by Steve McQueen in the 1968 blockbuster. The film will not be a remake but, rather, a new crime thriller with Bullitt as the central character. The original film was made for McQueen's Solar Productions and his son and granddaughter will serve as Executive Producers of the movie, which remains known primarily for its groundbreaking car chase scene. The film was also a major critical success. It won an Oscar for Frank P. Keller's editing and was nominated for Best Sound. It was also nominated for five BAFTA awards including Best Director for Peter Yates and Best Supporting Actor for Robert Vaughn, who played an ambitious District Attorney at odds with McQueen.
Film critic Ann Thompson worked on early John Carpenter movies as a press agent, including the original 1978 horror classic "Halloween", which is being reissued to theaters. Thompson recently reunited with the director and actress to reminisce about the making of "Halloween", which was made for a relatively small budget and became a boxoffice blockbuster. Carpenter also discusses how his superb remake of "The Thing" made him cynical about working with major studios after it under-performed at the boxoffice- a fate that was blamed on his ambiguous ending to the movie. Click here to read.
If you follow current movie industry news then you know that the big bombshell this week was the decision by Warner Bros. to pull the plug on the much-anticipated "Batgirl" feature film. Even more shocking was the announcement that the studio would never show the film in any format. The film was mostly completed but directors Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi were still putting finishing touches on the production. Making matters worse, WB allegedly never informed anyone associated with the movie that it was being shelved until the New York Post broke the story. The movie is chockablock with talent: Leslie Grace, who plays the title role was prepping for a major career boost. The supporting cast includes Oscar winners J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon and Michael Keaton, returning in the role of Batman for the first time in decades. Brendan Fraser, who plays the villain Firefly, was promoting the movie at a fan convention on stage when the news broke. Everyone associated with the movie is understandably stunned and outraged despite the fact that WB issued a statement saying that the decision in no way reflects on the creative team.
"Holy Ouch, Batman!" What caused this to happen?
Apparently, WB is on a cost-cutting mission and a rough cut of "Batgirl" had been test screened with poor results. (It allegedly averaged in the "30s" in terms of audience satisfaction.) WB says the film will cost $90 million but press reports say the cost could be $100 million. That's still a relatively modest sum for a modern superhero flick but WB obviously feels it should cut its losses, as today's major films cost tens of millions to publicize and market. Fans have pondered why the studio doesn't directly release it to streaming and home video. It's because there is a clause that says if a studio wants the benefit of a tax break covering the total production costs, it can't show the film anywhere or profit from it under any circumstances.
If history is any guide, "Batgirl" will eventually surface in some version on bootleg videos. However, that's a poor way to experience whatever vision the creators had in mind. A film isn't complete until its director (or directors) proclaim it as such. The studio is grappling with the public relations disaster and there will obviously be plenty of breaking news to come. In the meantime, we'll have to satiate ourselves with Yvonne Craig's charming portrayal of Batgirl in the classic TV series from the 1960s.
(The New York Post has run some behind the scenes photos from the production. Click here to view. For additional coverage, click here.)
Bruce Willis's family has announced the legendary actor will be "stepping away" from acting due to health-related concerns.Willis has been diagnosed with aphasia, a condition that affects someone's abilities to communicate either verbally or through writing. The condition, which progresses slowly, causes degenerative harm and is usually caused by a head injury or a stroke. It is not known what the precise cause of Willis's condition is or whether it may have resulted from his work in action-oriented films. For more, click here.
We went bananas when we saw this. An enterprising video editor named Bradley Haase has revisited the original "Planet of the Apes" and concocted a hilarious music video based on the premise of an Ape Dance Party, complete with vinyl records and glitzy disco decor. It's too bizarre to describe. Just watch it. If you don't share our sense of amusement, then in the words of Charlton Heston's Taylor, "Damn you all to hell!"
The pandemic has taken a toll on big budget spy movies. The oft-moved James Bond film "No Time to Die" was originally supposed to premiere in March of 2020 but did not reach theater screens until September, 2021. Now the omnipresent virus has caused Paramount to push back the release date of "Mission: Impossible 7" to July of 2023, which means the film will debut almost two years after its previously announced premiere date of September 30, 2022. Consequently, the eighth installment of the long-running series starring Tom Cruise will be pushed back to June of 2024. The seventh film in the series has been shooting for what must seem like an eternity for those involved, with multiple exotic international locations affected in different ways by the impact of the pandemic. Meanwhile, Cruise's sequel to "Top Gun", which has already seen its release date delayed, still appears to be penciled in for a May 27, 2022 opening. For more, click here.
Here is Turner Classic Movies' annual tribute to the artists in the film industry who passed away during the year. As usual, it's beautifully constructed and very moving. It must be said that it's far superior to the annual similar segment shown at the Oscar ceremonies, which has increasingly neglected prominent people in each successive year's commemoration. At some point, they even neglected to include people who were actually nominated for an Oscar. Memo to the Academy: the TCM tribute is more inclusive and still runs less than five minutes. It seems that the Oscars could achieve the same feat if it trimmed a bit of the extraneous material that clutters up each year's telecast. It's a simple matter of priorities.- Lee Pfeiffer
America has been going through a very trying period in its history. In addition to Covid-19, which has killed 620,000 people to date and infected millions of others, the nation is in a state of constant anxiety from natural disasters and contentious and often wacky political conspiracy theories that have doomed friendships and torn apart families. The country sure needed something to smile about and it came from Major League Baseball, which delivered a big wet kiss in the form of the much-anticipated "Field of Dreams Game" that was held last night in the very location where the beloved 1989 film was shot in the small rural community of Dyersville, Iowa. Here the New York Yankees played the Chicago White Sox in the very first MLB game ever held in the state. But while the game itself was a very good one, it was the lead-in that was so memorable. Kevin Costner, star of "Field of Dreams", walked through the mystical corn field , which became an unexpected iconic symbol of American sports and pop culture. Then, Costner- looking fit and handsome- turned back to the cornfield and watched as the players from both teams slowly emerged, just like the long gone, legendary baseball greats from years past did in the movie. Costner shook the hands of players and delivered remarks about the 1989 film and the Iowa location in a moment so sentimental that the only thing that would have topped it would have been the sight of Burt Lancaster walking on to the field to join them. It's doubtful any viewer could maintain dry eyes during this marvelous occasion. Kudos to MLB for arranging this memorable event, which will go down as a great day in baseball history and showed America at its best. To paraphrase a classic line from the film, it wasn't Heaven...it was Iowa.
(right to left) George Feltenstein poses with Michael Feinstein, and
Roddy McDowall in front of a re-creation of Rick’s cafe for the 1992
VSDA trade show.
BY LEE PFEIFFER
Film historian Tim Millard has launched an addictive new blog titled "The Extras" in which he interviews various people in the movie industry. Millard is a former Warner Brothers Home Entertainment veteran who went on to create many of the "extras" (i.e bonus content) found on popular home video releases, hence the title of the podcast. For a high profile launch for the podcast, Millard turned to an appropriate interview subject: George Feltenstein, with whom he worked with for many years at WB. The average retro movie fan may not know Feltenstein by name, although he is a legend in the home video industry, but anyone who appreciates how classic and cult movies are made available to the general public owes him a debt of gratitude. Feltenstein was in charge of home video originally at MGM before moving to WB. I first met him in 1994 when he was still at MGM. At a meeting in his office in L.A., my partners John Cork and Mark Cerulli and I pitched the idea that we should be given a contract to create original "making of" retrospective documentaries about the James Bond films for laser disc release. After less arguing than we anticipated, Feltenstein gave us the go-ahead in spite of our reed-thin credentials to carry off such an expensive and high profile project. During the months of madcap production, he never once interfered with us as long as we continued to promise to deliver the goods on the agreed-upon date. They were successful and were expanded into VHS release in conjunction with a boxed set. Feltenstein's laid-back approach to doing business belies his passion and enthusiasm for the film industry itself. He loves and reveres movies and his life's mission has been to make films accessible to the general public in the most impressive way the current medium will allow. He pioneered the release of widescreen versions of movies, for example, so that they could finally be seen again in their original aspect ratios. George Feltenstein's remarkable career continues to this day and he shares with Tim Millard some marvelous stories that any classic movie lover will want to here. The multi-part podcast can be heard by clicking here.
Writing on the Den of Geek web site, Kirsten Howard relates how the forthcoming auction of the late actor David Prowse's personal script for "The Empire Strikes Back" demonstrates the length that producer George Lucas went to in order to preserve the legendary surprise ending regarding the relationship between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. While Prowse was hired to physically play Vader, Lucas always intended to have his voice dubbed in the final cut by James Earl Jones. Prowse was unaware of this during filming. The script copy he used did not have the famous shock revelation that Vader was Luke's father. Even Mark Hamill, who played Luke, was unaware of this shocker right up until the pivotal scene was being filmed, though director Irvin Kershner was in on the secret. The scripts had omitted the revelatory line entirely. These tactics caused hard feelings between Prowse and Lucas, as Prowse had felt deceived that it had been decided all along not to use his voice in the final cut. However, few would argue that the gravitas of Jones's instantly recognizable voice added far greater impact to character of Darth Vader. For more, click here.
When it was released in 1985, director/star Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky IV" was lambasted by critics who griped about the film's abbreviated running time (91 minutes) and Stallone's use of considerable footage from previous movies in the franchise to pad out the production. Still, Sly had the last laugh when fans embraced the Cold War-themed plot and ensured the movie would gross over $700 in today's equivalent if adjusted for inflation. Now Stallone has let it be known that he is finishing his director's cut of the film but is being mum about precisely what changes will be made. Click here for more.
Cinema Retro has been invited by Kino Lorber to premiere the trailer for
the new feature film "Lust for Gold: A Race Against Time.". Here is the
official press release:
Like
the 1949 Columbia Pictures release of Lust for Gold, this present-day true
story is about obsession, greed, and the hunt for gold. Boyhood dreams of
treasure lead to a lifelong search when a retired missile scientist makes a
monumental discovery and tempts fate for fortune as he hatches a secret plan to
prove his claim. With his estranged son at his side, he secures an
entertainment/personal injury lawyer who assembles a team –a retired blackjack
dealer, a veterinary assistant, and a dog. The plan? To covertly remove gold
bullion from within the most restricted area of Federal land deep within
Superstition Mountain, Arizona. But the one risk greater than facing the
unforgiving terrain and Federal prosecution is time.
The
Feature Presentation is preceded by a Featurette,The Tomb, which follows the
same team in their efforts to unearth a Jesuit Tomb said to contain millions of
dollars of gold bars, jewels, coins and paintings.
Director’s Statement:
When we’re young, our futures seem endless. Yet time has a
way of passing at increasing speed. Lust for Gold: A Race Against Time is about
holding onto our dreams and embracing adventure. For gold hunters, it’s the
search for an undiscovered vein or a buried cache. What drives us to seek
something that’s not ours –to risk injury or death to find an unearned prize?
For most, that prize eludes them. For some, it hides right under their feet,
while others are just too late. But for all, their undying belief lives on. It
is the human condition that interests me. All the characters in our film have a
thirst for adventure, but they’re also in search of something else. While
finding gold is at the forefront of their minds, they each have other
motivations, some conscious, some unconscious. They seek redemption, praise,
purpose, to prove their human value, to change their lot in life –all part of
the human experience. While our story rides on the surface of our characters’ actions,
their actual story plays deeper and is there for the observant. It’s not just
about a lust for gold, but for life–what’s left to discover, what will be our legacy?
I’m inspired by those who have taken the risk in their search and allowed us to
follow them on their adventure.
Robert May
LUST FOR GOLD: A RACE AGAINST TIME will have its premiere
Sunday, April 18 as part of the Arizona Film Festival. The screening will be
preceded by a Treasure Hunt (Lust
For Gold Treasure Hunt - Senart Films), from 11am to 4pm at the
Mercado District. The Treasure Hunt event is free and open to the public.
The film is available from Kino Lorber for
virtual/theatrical screenings. The Blu-ray, DVD and digital release date is
June 15th.
During the production of "2001: A Space Odyssey", director Stanley Kubrick commissioned musician Mike Kaplan to compose a song for the film. Kaplan complied, titling the offbeat creation "2001: A Garden of Personal Mirrors". Kubrick liked the title but shelved the idea of using the song. He also decided not to use the score for the film written by noted composer Alex North, opting instead to rely on classical music. Now Kaplan's "lost" song has been located by British film historian and critic Mark Kermode and it has recently been given air play, much to the 77 year-old Kaplan's delight. Click here to read more.
"Bruce", the beloved yet much feared shark from Steven Spielberg's 1975 blockbuster "Jaws", has been acquired by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The 25-foot fiberglass terror will be prominently displayed at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles when it opens in April, 2021, where he will hang suspended 30 feet above ground. In the pre-CGI era, Bruce caused numerous heartaches for the cast and crew and inspired the documentary "The Shark is Not Working" due to its countless malfunctions during filming. For more click here.
Still going strong: Eastwood in "A Fistful of Dollars" (1964).
Clint Eastwood isn't about to let a worldwide pandemic interfere with his filmmaking plans. Eastwood is collaborating with Oscar-winning producer Albert S. Ruddy ("The Godfather") to bring the novel "Cry Macho" to the screen. The story is set in 1978 and finds Eastwood playing a washed up former rodeo star who takes a road trip with a troubled young man. Warner Brothers hasn't confirmed the film officially, but according to Deadline, Eastwood is already scouting locations, though the production schedule will depend upon factors dictated by the pandemic. The goal would be to have the film in theaters by next winter. Eastwood's last film "The Mule" was well received by audiences and critics and was deemed a boxoffice hit. For more, click here.
In the pre-credits sequence for the 1967 James Bond film "You Only Live Twice", an astronaut dies while on a spacewalk, his body left to drift for eternity in the Great Beyond. I saw the film at age ten when it first opened and that scene continued to haunt me through repeated viewings over the decades because the possibility of someone dying in a similar fashion was very real, especially during the era of the U.S.- Soviet space race. I often wondered what the possibilities were for addressing such a death in space. Countless movies and TV series have focused on the concept of astronauts in crisis ranging from "B" sci-fi movies of the 1950s to marvelous schlock such as the "Lost in Space" TV series to esteemed feature films like "Apollo 13" and "Gravity" and now the Netflix sensation "Away". In many of the scenarios, astronauts die while on a mission. But what happens when someone really dies while exploring space? The answers are not very glamorous and they range from attempting to bring the body back home (not very practical) to allowing it to drift forever in space to the most unpalatable consideration: cannibalism, if the crew finds itself stranded and starving. Shannon Stirrone, writing on the Popular Science website, presents the cold, unsentimental scenarios that all astronauts must consider- even if they never openly discuss them. Click here to read.
Any time we at Cinema Retro might feel self-congratulatory about staying in print for sixteen years, we're immediately humbled by the fact that Dick Klemensen has been publishing Little Shoppe of Horrors magazine since 1972. You read that right...1972, the same year it seemed like a good idea to re-elect Richard Nixon in the biggest landslide in American history and Marlon Brando regained his mojo as The Godfather. Since then, Dick's magazine has been the gold standard for coverage of everything and anything to do with the Hammer films horror classics. The vast majority of every issue is dedicated to Hammer and yet he never gets repetitive. Dick started to reach out to the Hammer stars, directors, producers and technicians in the early 1970s and thus acquired a priceless archive of their stories and memories during an era in which most critics didn't take the films seriously. Dick's latest issue features the wonderful Hammer version of the Sherlock Holmes classic "The Hound of the Baskerville" on the cover and the interior is chock full of informative and entertaining articles. Click here to visit Little Shoppe of Horrors site and prepare to go on a shopping spree. Remember, print media needs your support!
Here is official list of contents for the latest issue:
vThe Hyman Horrors.
Denis
Meikle examines producer Kenneth Hyman's Trio of Terror for Hammer Films -
The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Stranglers of Bombay and The Terror of the
tongs.
v'Behind the Scenes' on The Hound of the Baskervilles
Peter
Cushing, Christopher Lee, Terence Fisher and many of the people involved talk
about the making of the film.
v'Murder Their Religion!'
The
Making of The Stranglers of Bombay by Bruce G. Hallenbeck.
vMurder By Hatchet!'
The
Making of The Terror of the Tongs by Bruce G. Hallenbeck.
v'He Painted With Light! Jack Asher'
A
tribute to Hammer's great Director of Photography by Emmy Award winning
cinematographer - David J. Miller & Asher's daughters & Hammer film
co-workers.
v'Michael
Medwin: Hammer's First Star'
Interview
by Denis Meikle.
vDracula
2020 — The recent BBC/Netflix/Hartswood Film version of Bram Stoker's classic
Novel.
Interviews
with Mark Gatiss (Writer/Producer/actor - as Renfield), Steven Moffat
(Writer/Producer), Claes Bang (Count Dracula), Dolly Wells (Sister Agatha Van
Helsing/Zoe Helsing), Cathering Schell (the Grand Duchess Valeria of
Habsburg) and Dave Elsey (with his wife Loue responsible for all the FX
makeups and effects).
v'The
Hammer Diaries of Christopher Wicking - 1975 - Part 2'
Edited
by Mitchel Wicking.
vVampirella Live
Jonathan
Rigby on the recent reading of Christopher Wicking's Vampirella script.
All our regular features - Letters to LSoH - Ralph's
One-and-Only Traveling Reviews CVompany - Hammer News.
It's a known fact that everything retro seems to have a resurgence in popularity. The New York Times reports that the latest trend is a resurgence of interest in drive-in movies, once a staple of family outings in America. There are still several hundred drive-ins still operating, mostly in rural areas where real estate prices have gone through the stratosphere. The current virus crisis has only increased their popularity but the trend began even before the health scare. Young people who never experienced a drive-in theater are enjoying them and now some investors think they will be all the rage once more. Click here to read.
Heather Ripley with Sally Ann Howes, Dick Van Dyke and Adrian Hall in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang".
She only made one feature film but it was a high profile one. In 1968, Heather Ripley had the plum role of little Jemima Potts, the adorable daughter of wacky inventor Caractacus Potts, played by Dick Van Dyke in the big budget musical screen adaptation of Ian Fleming's classic children's book "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". The role may have seemed like a dream-like opportunity for a child actor but for Ripley, it only added anxiety to her already complicated life. Daily Mail writer Gavin Madeley managed to locate the now 60 year-old Ripley, who resides in her van and espouses activist causes. Click here to read.
The list of 25 films added to the prestigious National
Film Registry in 2019 includes the 1957 Disney classic Old Yeller, starring Tommy
Kirk, Fess Parker, Dorothy McGuire, and Anthony Corcoran. The story, based on
the novel by Fred Gibson, is about a young boy on the Texas frontier named
Travis Coates (Kirk), who is left in charge of looking after his mother and
younger brother when his father (Parker) goes away on a business
trip. Travis reluctantly accepts a
large yellow dog into the family circle after the
stray follows his little brother (Corcoran) home one day. Despite his
initial doubts, the boy comes to see the dog's value when Old Yeller, as they
name him, proves himself resourceful, loyal and brave. In the course
of the story, he stoutly defends Travis and the family against
a series of life-threating marauders, including a bear, a ferocious pig
and, most significantly, a wolf. The story has a bittersweet conclusion but
ends on a note of optimism. Old Yeller is the friend and companion that Travis
always needed and wanted, but who in the end he must give up. The lessons
"that ol' yeller dog" taught him about friendship and sacrifice
are ones that will remain with him for the rest of his life. Of the many
"family pictures" that the Disney Studios produced in the 1950s and
1960s, Old Yeller ranks among the most memorable and best-loved. As is the case
with all these stories, the plot is simple and straightforward,
with the focus mostly on the action sequences. The human
relationships are largely uncomplicated, positive and close-knit: it is the
family we all wish we had had growing up. Old Yeller’s selection to the Library
of Congress’s Film Registry, a preservation organization that recognizes “culturally,
historically, or aesthetically significant films,†is a good one. It belongs
there.
Up until the time Old Yeller was released, Disney hadn't ventured very
far into the live-action genre. Instead, it relied
on its famed animation department to continue cranking out the hits, such
as Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp and Sleeping Beauty (another 2019 Registry
inductee). However, the enormous popular success of Old Yeller convinced studio
executives, namely, Walt Disney himself, to put more of them into production,
including Zorro the Avenger (1959), Kidnapped (1960), The Sign of Zorro (1960),
and Swiss Family Robinson (1960), the latter also co-starring Tommy Kirk. All
of these features, as well as dozens of others to follow, proved
to be great crowd-pleasers. The studio's expanding film
vault also provided a rich source of titles for the popular
weekly NBC show, The Wonderful World of Disney. Walt Disney was not
only king of animation during this period, but he also ruled the roost
when it came to providing the public with warm family movie dramas. The
studio was especially adept at producing what came to be popularly known as
"the wilderness adventure,†tales about American frontier families braving
the wilds to build a better life for themselves.
Wonderful World was where I first saw Old Yeller. I had
read the Gibson book and loved it, and the movie version was all I could have
hoped it would be. At the center of it all, besides Old Yeller himself, was
Tommy Kirk's character, Travis, who lived the kind of fantasy boyhood I
could only dream about. Every day seemed to bring a new adventure, one filled
with drama and a cast of colorful characters. Kirk was so likable and
convincing in the role that it was easy to imagine that it was all real.
Thousands of young boys, including me, longed to be him, or if not him
exactly, then at least his best friend. He was brave without
being overly reckless, daring and resourceful, and kind and considerate
without ever coming across as too goody-goody. Whatever defined the myth of the "all-American
boy" in post-World War II America, Tommy seemed to embody it.
A few years later, he co-starred in another Disney hit, Swiss
Family Robinson (1960),the story of a family shipwrecked on a
remote tropical island. Once again, the emphasis was on high
adventure and the importance of family. As he did in Old Yeller,
Tommy brought believability to his character of Ernest, the
impetuous younger brother of Fritz (James MacArthur). Swiss FamilyRobinson proved an even bigger commercial success than Old Yeller.
I once showed SFR to a group of fourth-graders. I wasn't sure how they
would react, given the fact that the movie was, by then, an old one, and the
actors unknown to them. As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about. The
kids loved the movie and sat glued to the screen from start to finish.
Tommy would go on to appear in other Disney hits, including The
Absent-Minded Professor and Son of Flubber. He later reprised his
role as Travis Coates in the Old Yeller sequel, Savage Sam (1963).
He was named a Disney Legend in 2006, a performance hall of
fame which recognizes individuals who have made significant and lasting
contributions to the Disney brand. It was a well-earned honor for an actor who
gained iconic status as one of the studio's most beloved stars.
Cinema Retro continues its tradition of helping to publicize worthy independent films. This one really caught our attention, as we imagination it will for anyone who has wasted considerable hours playing foosball without incurring a hint of guilt. Here is the official press release:
It’s one of the world’s most
popular pastimes. You might know it as “table soccer†or
“baby foot†or just simply “foosball.†It’s a decades-Ââ€old,
soccer inspired tabletop game where plastic men
have been fashioned to metal poles
and players must score the ball
in the opposing team’s goal. Simple, right?
Not quite. For the
compulsively obsessed who play foosball
at a professional level, foosball is more like a high-Ââ€speed chess match set inside a boxing
ring. Players are put to the test as they dial in highly mathematical moves
in a battle of strength,
endurance, and wit. Foosball originated in Europe around the turn of the
century, and was brought to the United States in the early 60swhereit
became an instant hit at game
rooms and bars across the country.
As its popularity soared, the game blossomed
into a professional sport.By the mid-Ââ€70s, players could win sports cars and big purses as
they traveled around the country as part of
Tournament Soccer’s
Million Dollar Pro Tour. But
thanks to the video game craze of the early
80s, the foosball market crashed and the
professional foosball scene
has never been the same.
The
current pro tour is a mere copy of a copy
of what it used to be. The turnouts are low, and the payouts are even lower. But for those
who still play the game, the stakes are higher than ever
before. The players today
don’t compete for money or fame. They
compete for the prestige and
honor of being crowned a world champion. Following
the top players from around the United States, Foosballer stakes
a deep dive into the underground circuit
of professional foosball. Not
only will audiences learn how to play
the game (and finally put the ‘can
you spin the rods?’ question to rest), they will get to meet the quirky and passionate players as they prepare for the sport’s biggest event: The Tornado World Championships.
For the first time ever, Foosballers
will finally put a human face to those tiny pieces of plastic.
"Foosballers" will open in select theaters on February 11 and will be available on iTunes on February 13.
"Joker" has amassed 11 Oscar nominations including Best Picture, making it the second superhero-themed film to score in this pivotal category. ("Black Panther" was the other.) Other films that fulfilled expectations in terms of nabbing major nominations include "The Irishman", "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" and "1917". Click here for more coverage of the nominations. Click here for complete list of nominations.
The annual BAFTA nominations have been announced with the controversial "Joker" leading, followed by "The Irishman". Click here for complete list of nominees.
Turner Classic Movies has once again produced a reverent and moving tribute to the artists we lost during the year. If only the Academy would produce something this inclusive instead of their now controversial tribute segment shown during the Oscar broadcasts that eliminates many worthy people from the film industry. TCM once again sets the gold standard.
Not coming to a theater near you: the original "Planet of the Apes".
BY LEE PFEIFFER
It's no secret to retro movie lovers that Disney has long denied theatrical screenings of most of their older films. The theory is that some classic gems will generate more interest (and revenue) if they are periodically reissued with great fanfare to commemorate a movie's anniversary. That mostly pertains to a handful of animated movies but doesn't explain why the studio's vast catalog of live-action films are routinely denied exhibition on the big screen. Now the situation appears to be exponentially worse with Disney's acquisition of Fox and its classic movie catalog. In an extensive piece on the web site Vulture, writer Matt Zoller Seitz presents a grim situation facing art house and revival cinemas: Disney is cherry-picking where and how some of the most beloved Fox classics of all time will be screened. The scattershot strategy defies easy explanation but the theory is that theaters that show first run movies will not be allowed to show retro Fox movies in the same venue. Disney has remained mum on the issue but theater owners are quite concerned because the interest in seeing older films on the big screen is quite extensive and such revivals are crucial to many smaller theater's survival. What is Disney's overall motive? It is theorized that the studio wants to maximize as many screens as possible in first-run theaters in order to minimize exhibition space for films of rival studios. There are exceptions. Theaters and film festivals that play exclusively older fare will apparently still be able to access the Fox catalog. However, many theaters can only continue to exist by playing a mixture of contemporary and classic fare. Disney now owns most of the major blockbuster film franchises (agent 007 remains a notable holdout) and last year the studio's films accounted for a staggering 40% of the North American boxoffice. Suppressing screenings of cinematic classics will only increase concerns that the house of Mickey Mouse is misusing its power and the unintended consequences might include threatening the survival of some theaters.
Sylvester Stallone was stuck in direct-to-video hell at one time and regarded as a washed-up superstar. But the business-savvy Sly smelled profits in his old hit franchises and- Presto!- before you knew it, Rambo and Rocky were minting new profits from older fans and appreciative new generation movie buffs. With the Rambo franchise now coming to an end, Stallone is now going back to his less-than-stellar achievements to see if there's still gold in them thar hills, as well. He has told the Playlist web site that he wants to make a sequel to his 1989 action flick "Tango & Cash", which cast Sly and Kurt Russell as two trash-talking, bickering cops who are framed for murder. There is one fly in Sly's ointment however: Russell is less-than-enthused about the project even though there is still an audience for '80s-style, largely indistinguishable duo-cop flicks. Presumably, if Russell shows good taste and stays away, Stallone will be launching a reboot of "Over the Top", which can only be described as the most ambitious film about arm-wrestling ever brought to the big screen.
Francis Ford Coppola was used to bucking the studio honchos in terms of fighting to bring his vision of a film to the big screen. There were epic battles behind the scenes on "The Godfather" but his experiences on the ill-fated production of "The Cotton Club" in 1984 broke down his will to resist. The movie, which was set in the legendary Harlem nightclub in the heyday of great artists such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, went far over-budget. There were constantly legal squabbles, shady characters that would have been at home in the film itself, a real-life murder and racist pressure from the studio to cut out footage of the African-American stars, Gregory and Maurice Hines, the famous brothers who gained reach fame with their tandem dance numbers. By the time the film opened, the knives were out for it. The movie became an expensive bomb and Coppola always felt a sense of guilt that he had compromised his own production and the contributions of the Hines brothers. He financed a complete re-edit of the film, adding back key scenes and musical production numbers so that the movie finally resembles the film he originally envisioned. It will premiere at the New York Film Festival on October 5 under the title "The Cotton Club Encore". Word-of-mouth is excellent and Coppola, who likes to amend some of his key films from an artistic standpoint, may finally see the acclaim for the production that he once envisioned. Click here to read more in Vanity Fair.
(Above: the famed Pinewood mansion house that served as Spectre HQ in "From Russia with Love")
Since the early days of the British film industry, Pinewood Studios, located on the outskirts of London in Iver Heath, has been an iconic presence in the motion picture industry. The long time home of the James Bond series has also seen countless other major franchises and other blockbusters utilize the studio's sound stages and nearby rural settings as backdrops for some of the most memorable films of all time. Now, however, the studio will be taken in a very different direction. Variety reports that Disney has signed a long-term deal to effectively take over all of the studio for a period of ten years commencing in 2020. With the exception of a few minor television studios on the premises, the deal will allow Disney to dominate production in the British film industry for the next ten years. Film production in England has been booming in recent years, a far cry from decades ago when draconian tax laws threatened the very existence of the studios.
Vintage trade magazine advertisement from 1965.
Variety reports that Netflix has signed a similar deal with Shepperton Studios, the other major historic setting of classic British films. Not coincidentally, Shepperton is under the ownership of Pinewood. Thus, available space for non-Disney or Netflix productions in Britain will be very limited in the years to come. Even Agent 007 would seem to be affected, as the franchise belongs to MGM and Eon Productions. Presumably, future Bond films might be excluded from the studio that has served as the franchise's home base since the early 1960s. The irony is that the fabled "Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage" might be off limits to James Bond for the next decade. For more, click here.
Maria Schneider and Marlon Brando in Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris (1972.
In the 1960s and 1970s there was an explosion of sex in the cinema as filmmakers, making the most of new-found freedoms, tried to compensate for decades of self-censorship in the industry. Much of the sex depicted on screen was pure exploitation, to be sure, but some of it was profound and resulted in the first truly adult looks at sexual relationships to be shown to mainstream audiences, at least since the silent and early sound era before the dreaded Hays Code of censorship was imposed. Films such as Last Tango in Paris, The Night Porter and The Devils were extremely controversial in their day with some critics acclaiming them as cinematic classics while others denounced them as high class pornography masquerading as art. Nevertheless, sexual content in films has traditionally pushed the envelope. However, in recent years- with a few exceptions primarily seen in art house releases- it has diminished in major studio releases. Ann Hornaday, film critic for the Washington Post, is not happy about it. She posits that studios are concentrating on big blockbusters that present sex in a pure vanilla, watered-down manner that is calculated not to offend. She misses films such as Body Heat and Fatal Attraction that combined compelling plots with sensuality. She says that when filmed with skill, sex scenes can play a key role in making movies not only memorable but artistic as well. Click here to read.
Writing on the site Pocket, Ian Frazier presents a short but insightful article about the mysterious things that bond people together in fear. Sensibly, he posits that no matter how awful crimes may be, we can ultimately learn to deal with their aftermath because we can make sense of them. They have been committed by a person or people. But what of those things that go "bump" in the night? Frazier's article doesn't relate to films but the point he makes is easily transferable to an appreciation of the horror/suspense film genres. Most contemporary movies achieve depicting horrible images but they are not necessarily suspenseful. For my money, films such as Robert Wise's The Haunting and Jack Clayton's The Innocents deliver the goods because there is an ambiguity about what we see or don't see. Both films are classic haunted house tales but we are never quite certain whether the allusions to the supernatural are simply illusions. Once in a while, the film industry still gets it right, as in the case of The Blair Witch Project, which tantalizingly leaves any sensible explanation for the horrific events shrouded in mystery. Even those of us who are skeptics about the existence of the supernatural will have to confess that there are times when we have let our imagination get the better of us. Who among us can't relate some eerie circumstance that we have yet to find a way to deal with? If you are home alone late at night during a bad storm (speaking of cliches!) and you hear a thumping coming from the attic, it's only a bothersome noise if you recall there was a loose shutter on the window that you keep forgetting to repair. However, if there isn't a loose shutter, the sound can represent something more ominous precisely because it is what you can't see or explain that really scares the bejesus out of us. Click here to read Ian Frazier's article.
Cinema Retro has received the following press release:
BURT LANCASTER, a four-week, 37-film festival
spotlighting one of the 20th century’s brightest stars, will run at Film Forum
from Friday, July 19 to Thursday, August 15 – kicking off
with a one-week run of Robert Siodmak’s The Killers, starring
Ava Gardner and Lancaster, playing in a new 4K restoration, July 19 – 25.
Burt Lancaster (1913-1994), a street kid from East Harlem, got a late start in
pictures in his mid-30s – after a brief stint in the circus, serving in World
War II, and appearing on Broadway (where he was discovered by agent and future
producing partner Harold Hecht) – but his star personality, among the most
powerful in film history, was there from the beginning: from the doom-laden
twisted hunk in films noir (The Killers, Brute Force, I Walk Alone, Sorry,
Wrong Number, Criss Cross, Desert Fury); to the grinning hot dog in spoof
adventure films (The Flame and the Arrow, Trapeze, The Crimson Pirate, Apache);
to the sleaziest of con men (The Rainmaker), Nazi collaborator (Judgement at
Nuremberg), and tabloid columnist (Sweet Smell of Success); to a stalwart
leader of men (Twilight’s Last Gleaming); to an idealistic fanatic (Elmer
Gantry); to a supremely dignified icon of another age.
Ranked among the top box office stars of the 1950s and 60s, Lancaster was also
a pioneering independent producer. Forming Hecht-Hill-Lancaster
Productions in 1948 gave him the ability to choose his own projects
(including Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, The Flame and the Arrow, The Crimson
Pirate, Apache, Trapeze, Sweet Smell of Success, Run Silent, Run Deep, The
Young Savages, Birdman of Alcatraz, and more). Nominated for four Academy
Awards, winning one for Elmer Gantry, Lancaster’s successful five-decade career
placed him at #19 on AFI’s list of the 50 Greatest Male Screen Legends.
“His vitality was more than cheerfulness or strength;
he seemed charged with power.â€
– David Thomson
BURT LANCASTER has been programmed by Bruce Goldstein,
Film Forum’s Director of Repertory Programming.
In contemporary cinema, it would appear that virtually every major action film is based on super hero from the comic book universe. Yet, decades ago, superhero flicks were considered to be a dicey bet by most major studios, despite the success of Christopher Reeve Superman films, which had been deemed as having run out of steam. All of that changed with the 1989 release of Tim Burton's dark, revisionist interpretation of Batman. Writing in The Washington Post, Michael Cavna explores how the success and influence of that film led to the glut of superhero blockbusters we are seeing today. Click here to read.
Writing in the Washington Post, Sonny Bunch mourns the loss of Blockbuster Video and similar "box stores" that were reviled in their day for driving smaller businesses into oblivion. True, the mom and pop video rental stores begat Blockbuster, which dominated neighborhoods by presenting thousands of videos for rental. No small corner video shop could compete. Then streaming services rendered Blockbuster obsolete, just as Amazon did the same to local, independent book stores. But Bunch makes a poignant case to look back on the box store era with some degree of nostalgia. He points out that without browsing aisles of videos and books, consumers are largely unaware of interesting titles that are available. Gone is the day of the "impulse buy". He also extols the sheer pleasure of walking down aisles packed with titles of interest and perusing whether you should take one home. It's the nature of public sentiment to long for eras that have passed. Yes, streaming is here to stay...but I wouldn't rule out a comeback for neighborhood video stores. Remember, vinyl was deemed to be dead when the CD was introduced and the CD was deemed to be dead when streaming music entered the picture. Instead, vinyl is enjoying the kind of success it hasn't seen since the 1970s and Wal-Marts and Target stores still have racks packed with thousands of CDs. Click here to read the article.
In this age of high tech, you might think the American drive-in has gone the way of spats and the Bay City Rollers. But writer Skye Sherman reminds us that drive-ins still flourish, mostly in rural areas where the real estate isn't worth a king's ransom. Sherman takes a look at what she has termed to be the nation's 15 coolest drive-in movie theaters. Click here to read.
Many fans of John Wayne's 1960 epic "The Alamo" have visited the massive movie set in remote Brackettville, Texas, over the decades. The land was owned by "Happy" Shahan, a prominent rancher from whom Wayne and United Artists leased the land. Shahan and his wife had one caveat: that the family would be allowed to keep the magnificent sets operating as a tourist attraction and filming location for other movies. The plan worked very well and over the years many prominent westerns were shot there even as thousands of fans attended "Alamo" events and festivals on the site. But now, the Shahan family is no longer operating the property as a viable attraction and the buildings sit unattended and deteriorating, though still intact and boasting a host of on-site props and memorabilia. It had been hoped that a Texan with deep pockets or the state itself would finance the preservation of the village, but to date this has not occurred. The sets from John Wayne's most personal film seems destined to remain a genuine ghost town.... This video by a visiting fan and historian presents a landscape that is both fascinating and bittersweet.
Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn in Stanley Donen's "Two for the Road" (1966).
Writing in the New York Times, Wesley Morris chronicles the rise and fall of a Hollywood staple: the romantic comedy (rom-com for those of you who are hip.) Morris bemoans the fact that the traditional films in this genre are rarely found in today's studio line-ups. Click here to read.
Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight" has come to Netflix in the format of a four-part mini-series with about 25 minutes of unseen footage added to the cut. Tarantino is enthused about the possibilities the format affords directors who do not want to be confined to the running time of a theatrical release. He is currently preparing a director's cut of "Django Unchained" that will run considerably longer than his original version. However, he says that not all of his films should be extended beyond their theatrical cut running times and cites the "Kill Bill" movies among them. For more, click here.
Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Park Circus:
Park Circus is delighted to announce that it will have
two classic films feature in the line-up at Festival de Cannes 2019.
A stunning new 4K restoration of Moulin
Rouge (1952) will screen as part of the Cannes Classics programme, with
road movie classic Easy Rider (1969) also screening. Presented half a century
ago on the Croisette, in Competition at the Festival de Cannes, the film won
the Prize for a first work. Co-writer, co-producer and lead actor, Peter Fonda,
will be in Cannes at the invitation of the Festival to celebrate this
anniversary.
Restored
from the 35mm Original Nitrate 3-Strip Technicolor Negative. 4K
scanning, color grading, digital image restoration and film recording by
Cineric, Inc. Colorist Daniel DeVincent. Audio
restoration by Chace Audio. Film processing and printing by FotoKem.
Restoration Consultant Grover Crisp.
Presented in proud partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment,
Easy
Rideris a landmark road film which chronicles the
search for freedom by two motorcycle-riding drifters (Peter Fonda and
Dennis Hopper, who also directs) who meet up with an alcoholic lawyer
(Jack Nicholson) in a southern jail. The lawyer gets
them out and then joins them on their liberating journey. This
unconventional classic, nominated for an Academy Award® (1969) for Best
Original Screenplay, is a compelling mixture of drugs, sex and armchair
politics, which continues to touch a chord with fans
everywhere.
Easy
Riderdirected by Dennis Hopper (1969, 95 minutes, USA).
Restored in 4K by Sony Pictures Entertainment in collaboration with
Cineteca di Bologna. Restored from the 35mm Original Picture Negative
and 35mm Black and White Separation Masters. 4K
scanning and digital image restoration by Immagine Ritrovata. Audio
restoration from the 35mm Original 3-track Magnetic Master by Chace
Audio and Deluxe Audio. Color grading, picture conform, additional image
restoration and DCP by Roundabout Entertainment.
Colorist Sheri Eisenberg. Restoration supervised by Grover Crisp.
Reflecting on the line-up, new Park Circus CEO Mark Hirzberger-Taylor commented:
*Park
Circus is once again honoured to be a part of the Cannes Classics
line-up. Together with our studio partners we are privileged to present
two seminal classics to the 72ndCannes Film Festival. We also look forward to meeting our many
exhibition and distribution partners, with whom we are delighted to
partner to bring so many wonderful films back to the big screen
worldwide*
Legendary British film historian and filmmaker Kevin Brownlow suspects that many silent movies believed to have been lost in time may reside in an archive in Cuba. Brownlow, who was honored at this year's Turner Classic Movies Film Festival, said that he has had conversations with people who credibly have stated that they have knowledge of Cuba's possession of long-missing silent films including the much-sought classic "The Devil's Pass Key". Brownlow also said that other missing gems might be stored under different titles in archives around the world. In 1965, Brownlow and Andrew Mollo wrote, produced and directed the micro-budget classic "It Happened Here", a chilling vision of what life in Britain would have been like under Nazi rule. For more, click here.
In a comprehensive report that seems to rival the Washington Post's landmark coverage of the Watergate scandal, writer Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson lays out the facts behind the amazing crime story associated with the theft of Dorothy's slippers from "The Wizard of Oz", which occurred at the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Okay, we're being sarcastic about equating this lengthy article to coverage of Watergate, but it is a remarkable account of a bizarre crime. The case caused a frenzy among fans of the film for years and over that period, many police and FBI personnel were involved in solving the case. The rather remarkable tale will undoubtedly be the subject of a movie some day, but for now, sit back and enjoy Dickinson's in-depth report that will take you quite some time to get through. Click here to read.
Robert Vaughn and Paul Newman in the 1974 blockbuster "The Towering Inferno", nominated for Best Picture.
BY LEE PFEIFFER
Movie fans have complained for many years that the Academy is increasingly focusing on nominating art house movies at the expense of blockbusters in the Best Picture Oscar category. The Washington Post investigates whether this is myth or reality and comes down on the side of the latter, providing charts and inflation-adjusted calculations to show that more than ever the Best Picture winners are generally not among the most popular with the public. But should they be? The Oscars are not supposed to be a popularity contest, though someone should tell the Academy that, given their botched lead up for plans for this year's telecast. Should a film get the Best Picture Oscar simply because it is a huge boxoffice success? The Academy was aware of its members honoring smaller art house films and in 2009 made the controversial decision to expand the nominations for Best Picture from five to up to ten. Purists said this was just a disingenuous way to include populist fare without really having to actually vote for it. But Oscar may be getting a raw deal. In the past, the Academy gave Best Picture Oscars to such popular successes as "The Greatest Show on Earth" and "Around the World in 80 Days" and nominated such blockbusters as "Jaws", "E.T.", "Star Wars" and "The Towering Inferno" even when the Best Picture category was relegated to only five films. Click here to read the article and form your own opinion.
Oscar winner Al Pacino is the latest major star to move into the realm of streaming TV series. He will star in Amazon's 10-episode series "The Hunt", a thriller set in 1977 in New York City that centers on the search for murderous ex-Nazis, a premise that seems to call to mind elements of the 1976 classic "Marathon Man". Pacino has won two Emmys for previous work in television but this marks the first time he has committed to starring in a series. The show will be produced by director Jordan Peele. For more click here.