In 2009, Sally Menke, the splicer extraordinaire who cut her way to film industry prominence as Quentin Tarantino's most trusted collaborator, wrote, "Editors are the quiet heroes of movies and I like it that way." I emphatically agree and disagree with this observation. On one hand, the best film editing is seamless; watching a movie should be an entrancing experience, and it's the editor's job to not break the spell. Yes, there are singular, medium-altering cuts (the entire Odessa Steps sequence in Sergei Eisenstein's silent classic "Potemkin;" the blowing out of a match whisking us off to the desert in David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia;" the bone-to-spaceship transition in Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Opera"), but they're grand gestures deftly woven into the fabric of the movie. They pull you deeper into their worlds, not take you out of them.
Watch enough movies, however, and you become attuned to certain editorial rhythms.
Watch enough movies, however, and you become attuned to certain editorial rhythms.
- 1/9/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Robert Donat snagged an Oscar for this sentimental crowdpleaser, a Best Picture nominee in Hollywood’s ‘Golden Year’ of 1939. The genteel chemistry between Donat’s shy schoolteacher and the charming personality Greer Garson broke hearts, and made Ms. Garson one of MGM’s top names for the next decade. It’s one of the studio’s English productions, filmed in the shadow of the coming war. A glowing new digital restoration redeems 70 years of not-so-good TV prints.
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1939 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 115 min. / Street Date January 24, 2023 / Available at Amazon.com/ 21.99
Starring: Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn, John Mills, Paul Henreid, Judith Furse.
Cinematography: Freddie Young
Art Director: Alfred Junge
Film Editor: Charles Frend
Original Music: Richard Addinsell
Written by R.C. Sherriff, Claudine West, Eric Maschwitz from the novel by James Hilton
Produced by Victor Saville
Directed by Sam Wood
No, it’s not about the terrible Chips Ahoy!
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1939 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 115 min. / Street Date January 24, 2023 / Available at Amazon.com/ 21.99
Starring: Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn, John Mills, Paul Henreid, Judith Furse.
Cinematography: Freddie Young
Art Director: Alfred Junge
Film Editor: Charles Frend
Original Music: Richard Addinsell
Written by R.C. Sherriff, Claudine West, Eric Maschwitz from the novel by James Hilton
Produced by Victor Saville
Directed by Sam Wood
No, it’s not about the terrible Chips Ahoy!
- 2/11/2023
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Awkwardly plotted but chilling just the same, this beautifully-filmed tale of Victorian experimentation with death has nightmarish qualities that won’t go away. Class actors Robert Stephens, Robert Powell & Jane Lapotaire bring believability to a deadly-serious idea that scores the ‘phantom-trapping’ concept years before Ghostbusters. The cinematographer was Freddie Young; both versions are included, along with a commentary by Kim Newman and Stephen Jones.
The Asphyx
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1972 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 98, 86 min. / Street Date January 31, 2023 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Robert Stephens, Robert Powell, Jane Lapotaire, Fiona Walker, Ralph Arliss.
Cinematography: Freddie Young
Production Designer: John Stoll
Costume Design: Evelyn Gibbs
Film Editor: Maxine Julius
Original Music: Bill McGuffie
Written by Brian Comport, from an idea by Christina and Laurence Beers
Produced by John Brittany
Directed by Peter Newbrook
The Asphyx is a strangely disturbing horror film with a consistently morbid theme. Despite its web of borrowed ideas and forced ironies,...
The Asphyx
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1972 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 98, 86 min. / Street Date January 31, 2023 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Robert Stephens, Robert Powell, Jane Lapotaire, Fiona Walker, Ralph Arliss.
Cinematography: Freddie Young
Production Designer: John Stoll
Costume Design: Evelyn Gibbs
Film Editor: Maxine Julius
Original Music: Bill McGuffie
Written by Brian Comport, from an idea by Christina and Laurence Beers
Produced by John Brittany
Directed by Peter Newbrook
The Asphyx is a strangely disturbing horror film with a consistently morbid theme. Despite its web of borrowed ideas and forced ironies,...
- 1/24/2023
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
John Barry’s elegiac score and Freddie Young’s improbably beautiful photography combine to make Lewis Gilbert’s 1967 film the most glamorous of Sean Connery’s Bond outings. An action-packed travelogue set within neon-soaked Tokyo and the storybook environs of the Japanese countryside, 007 plays cat and mouse with Donald Pleasance’s Blofeld in a volcano that doubles as a launching pad. Godzilla fans will recognize Akiko Wakabayashi and Mie Hama while Krimi aficianados are treated to Karin Dor as a duplicitous femme fatale.
The post You Only Live Twice appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post You Only Live Twice appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 5/23/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
It’s a Cold War thriller in the steamy tropics! The Reds are making their move in Malaya and four vibrant people are caught in the crosshairs: rich rubber planter William Holden, revolutionary strategist Tetsuro Tanba, peaceful teacher and activist Capucine, and adventurous Governor’s daughter Susannah York. Director Lewis Gilbert keeps a rickety script on its feet drama-wise and superb cinematography (Freddie Young) and impressive music (Riz Ortolani) do the rest. The show ended up being most noted for a nude swimming scene scooped in the pages of Playboy.
The 7th Dawn
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1964 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 123 min. / Street Date January 4, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: William Holden, Susannah York, Capucine, Tetsuro Tanba, Michael Goodliffe, Allan Cuthbertson, Sydney Tafler, Maurice Denham.
Cinematography: Frederick Young
Production Designer: John Stoll
Art Director: Herbert Smith
Film Editor: John Shirley
Original Music: Riz Ortolani
Associate Producer: John Dark
Written for the...
The 7th Dawn
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1964 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 123 min. / Street Date January 4, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: William Holden, Susannah York, Capucine, Tetsuro Tanba, Michael Goodliffe, Allan Cuthbertson, Sydney Tafler, Maurice Denham.
Cinematography: Frederick Young
Production Designer: John Stoll
Art Director: Herbert Smith
Film Editor: John Shirley
Original Music: Riz Ortolani
Associate Producer: John Dark
Written for the...
- 1/1/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Chivalry! Vows of loyalty and honor! Combat action that will impress today’s Marvel fans! The violet eyes and super-damsel figure of Elizabeth Taylor! MGM’s made-in-Merrie Olde England tale of Knights and knaves and forbidden love is yet another suits-of-armor sword-basher about ransoming King Richard from those European Union swine across the channel. Everything clicks, from Miklos Rozsa’s most stirring anthem to the righteous justice of the finale. And it’s restored from 3-strip Technicolor. Robert Taylor is terrific as the stalwart Ivanhoe, the kind of no-funny-business hero they ain’t makin’ anymore.
Ivanhoe
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1952 /Color / 1:37 Academy / 106 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date December 14, 2021 / 21.99
Starring: Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Emlyn Williams, Robert Douglas, Finlay Currie, Felix Aylmer, Guy Rolfe.
Cinematography: Freddie Young
Art Director: Alfred Junge
Film Editor: Frank Clarke
Original Music: Miklos Rozsa
Written by Aeneas MacKenzie, Marguerite Roberts,...
Ivanhoe
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1952 /Color / 1:37 Academy / 106 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date December 14, 2021 / 21.99
Starring: Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Emlyn Williams, Robert Douglas, Finlay Currie, Felix Aylmer, Guy Rolfe.
Cinematography: Freddie Young
Art Director: Alfred Junge
Film Editor: Frank Clarke
Original Music: Miklos Rozsa
Written by Aeneas MacKenzie, Marguerite Roberts,...
- 12/7/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
In honor of Daniel Craig’s farewell as James Bond, “No Time to Die” director Cary Joji Fukunaga made a romantic adventure to wrap up 007’s emotionally-charged personal journey, and linked it to the franchise’s two previous tragic love stories: “Casino Royale” and “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.” For cinematography, Fukunaga tapped Oscar-winning Dp Linus Sandgren (“La La Land”), who shot on Kodak film in 35mm and 65mm large-format (including IMAX 65mm) — a franchise first.
What they achieved on “No Time to Die” was an “enhanced reality,” with greater richness and scope in a grand, classical style, according to Sandgren, who joins “You Only Live Twice’s” three-time Oscar-winning legend, Freddie Young, as the only other Dp who comes to Bond with such Academy distinction. “It was very important for Cary that we take care of that part of Bond that embraces adventure, escapism, and romantic action,” he said.
What they achieved on “No Time to Die” was an “enhanced reality,” with greater richness and scope in a grand, classical style, according to Sandgren, who joins “You Only Live Twice’s” three-time Oscar-winning legend, Freddie Young, as the only other Dp who comes to Bond with such Academy distinction. “It was very important for Cary that we take care of that part of Bond that embraces adventure, escapism, and romantic action,” he said.
- 10/13/2021
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Like so many of my fellow fantastical fans, I’m at a point where I’m just looking for something to help forget the horrors of the real world, even for 90 minutes; a film where plot is jettisoned in favor of mass destruction, and character development merrily skips alongside the other forgotten tenets of basic storytelling. I’m happy to say I found my fella; Gorgo (1961) is a British film that extensively rips off Godzilla and King Kong in a successful quest to grease my eyeballs with goofy goodness. And it does it in 78 minutes, to boot.
And this is coming from someone who has yet to glom onto Godzilla’s oversized charms and Japanese destruction in any kind of constructive way; I understand the legacy and even the appeal of the series, but can’t pry myself inside. But after viewing Gorgo, I have a greater appreciation for why people find Godzilla effective.
And this is coming from someone who has yet to glom onto Godzilla’s oversized charms and Japanese destruction in any kind of constructive way; I understand the legacy and even the appeal of the series, but can’t pry myself inside. But after viewing Gorgo, I have a greater appreciation for why people find Godzilla effective.
- 8/8/2020
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
In celebration of its 100th anniversary, the American Society of Cinematographers has released a list of the 100 best shot films of the 20th century.
This list was released to "showcase the best of cinematography as selected by professional cinematographers.” Here's how the list was put together:
The process of cultivating the 100 films began with Asc members each submitting 10 to 25 titles that were personally inspirational or perhaps changed the way they approached their craft. “I asked them — as cinematographers, members of the Asc, artists, filmmakers and people who love film and whose lives were shaped by films — to list the films that were most influential,” Fierberg explains. A master list was then complied, and members voted on what they considered to be the most essential 100 titles.
Here's a little sizzle reel that was cut together showcasing some of the films on the list:
It's hard to argue with the Top 10 films,...
This list was released to "showcase the best of cinematography as selected by professional cinematographers.” Here's how the list was put together:
The process of cultivating the 100 films began with Asc members each submitting 10 to 25 titles that were personally inspirational or perhaps changed the way they approached their craft. “I asked them — as cinematographers, members of the Asc, artists, filmmakers and people who love film and whose lives were shaped by films — to list the films that were most influential,” Fierberg explains. A master list was then complied, and members voted on what they considered to be the most essential 100 titles.
Here's a little sizzle reel that was cut together showcasing some of the films on the list:
It's hard to argue with the Top 10 films,...
- 1/9/2019
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the American Society of Cinematographers (Asc) this year, they’ve polled their members to determine 100 milestone films in the art and craft of cinematography of the 20th century. Topping the list is David Lean’s epic Lawrence of Arabia, shot by Freddie Young. Also in the top ten is Blade Runner (Jordan Cronenweth), The Conformist (Vittorio Storaro), Days of Heaven (Néstor Almendros), and more.
Organized by Steven Fierberg, he said “Asc members wanted to call attention to the most significant achievements of the cinematographer’s art but not refer to one achievement as ‘better’ than another. The selected films represent a range of styles, eras and visual artistry, but most importantly, it commemorates films that are inspirational or influential to Asc members and have exhibited enduring influence on generations of filmmakers.”
See the top 10 below, along with the full list.
1. Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Freddie Young,...
Organized by Steven Fierberg, he said “Asc members wanted to call attention to the most significant achievements of the cinematographer’s art but not refer to one achievement as ‘better’ than another. The selected films represent a range of styles, eras and visual artistry, but most importantly, it commemorates films that are inspirational or influential to Asc members and have exhibited enduring influence on generations of filmmakers.”
See the top 10 below, along with the full list.
1. Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Freddie Young,...
- 1/9/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The American Society of Cinematographers, in celebration of the organization’s 100th anniversary, has revealed its list of 100 milestone films in the art and craft of cinematography from the 20th century. The list culminates with a top 10, topped by Freddie Young’s lensing of David Lean’s Oscar-winning 1962 epic “Lawrence of Arabia.”
Jordan Cronenweth’s work on Ridley Scott’s 1982 sci-fi standard “Blade Runner” came in at number two. Celebrated cinematographer Roger Deakins finally won an Oscar last year for the film’s sequel, “Blade Runner 2049.”
Vittorio Storaro rounded out the top three for Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 Vietnam odyssey “Apocalypse Now.” He, Conrad Hall and Gordon Willis each appeared on the overall list five times, leading the pack. John Alcott, Caleb Deschanel and Haskell Wexler each lensed four.
Organized by Steven Fierberg, Asc (“The Affair”) and voted on by Asc members, the milestones list is the first of...
Jordan Cronenweth’s work on Ridley Scott’s 1982 sci-fi standard “Blade Runner” came in at number two. Celebrated cinematographer Roger Deakins finally won an Oscar last year for the film’s sequel, “Blade Runner 2049.”
Vittorio Storaro rounded out the top three for Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 Vietnam odyssey “Apocalypse Now.” He, Conrad Hall and Gordon Willis each appeared on the overall list five times, leading the pack. John Alcott, Caleb Deschanel and Haskell Wexler each lensed four.
Organized by Steven Fierberg, Asc (“The Affair”) and voted on by Asc members, the milestones list is the first of...
- 1/8/2019
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Variety Film + TV
The American Society of Cinematographers (Asc), an elite organization of cinematographers at the top of their field, is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding today. What better way to honor that milestone than to create a list of 100 milestone films known for the art and craft of cinematography in the 20th century, and they call it the Best Shot Films Of All Time.
Asc says this is the first time a list like this has been compiled, at least by a group of pros who should know what they are talking about. The list culminates in a Top 10 (the other 90 are unranked). The Top 10 Best Shot Films Of All Time are:
Lawrence of Arabia (1962), shot by Freddie Young, Bsc (Dir. David Lean) Blade Runner (1982), shot by Jordan Cronenweth, Asc (Dir. Ridley Scott) Apocalypse Now (1979), shot by Vittorio Storaro, Asc, Aic (Dir. Francis Ford Coppola) Citizen Kane (1941), shot by Gregg Toland,...
Asc says this is the first time a list like this has been compiled, at least by a group of pros who should know what they are talking about. The list culminates in a Top 10 (the other 90 are unranked). The Top 10 Best Shot Films Of All Time are:
Lawrence of Arabia (1962), shot by Freddie Young, Bsc (Dir. David Lean) Blade Runner (1982), shot by Jordan Cronenweth, Asc (Dir. Ridley Scott) Apocalypse Now (1979), shot by Vittorio Storaro, Asc, Aic (Dir. Francis Ford Coppola) Citizen Kane (1941), shot by Gregg Toland,...
- 1/8/2019
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
The American Society of Cinematographers (Asc) celebrates its 100th anniversary on Tuesday by unveiling two lists devoted to 20th century visual achievements: the 100 Milestone Films and the top 10 Best-Shot Films, led by “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962), shot by Oscar-winning cinematographer Freddie Young.
The rest of the Top 10 list includes sci-fi classics “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968), shot by Geoffrey Unsworth, and “Blade Runner” (1982), shot by Jordan Cronenweth; two from director Francis Ford Coppola: “The Godfather” (1972), shot by Gordon Willis, and “Apocalypse Now” (1979), shot by Oscar-winner Vittorio Storaro; two black-and-white entries: “Citizen Kane” (1941), shot by Gregg Toland, and “Raging Bull” (1980), shot by Michael Chapman; “Days of Heaven” (1978), shot by Oscar winner Néstor Almendros; and “The French Connection” (1971), shot by five-time Oscar nominee Owen Roizman.
Alas, there are no silent movies in the top 10. And there’s no representation of the ’30s; ‘the ’50s; or the ’90s.
The lists were voted on by...
The rest of the Top 10 list includes sci-fi classics “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968), shot by Geoffrey Unsworth, and “Blade Runner” (1982), shot by Jordan Cronenweth; two from director Francis Ford Coppola: “The Godfather” (1972), shot by Gordon Willis, and “Apocalypse Now” (1979), shot by Oscar-winner Vittorio Storaro; two black-and-white entries: “Citizen Kane” (1941), shot by Gregg Toland, and “Raging Bull” (1980), shot by Michael Chapman; “Days of Heaven” (1978), shot by Oscar winner Néstor Almendros; and “The French Connection” (1971), shot by five-time Oscar nominee Owen Roizman.
Alas, there are no silent movies in the top 10. And there’s no representation of the ’30s; ‘the ’50s; or the ’90s.
The lists were voted on by...
- 1/8/2019
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Lawrence of Arabia, David Lean's 1962 epic lensed by the late Freddie Young, has topped a list of milestone films in the art and craft of cinematography of the 20th century, as selected by members of the American Society of Cinematographers. The release of the list kicks off the commemoration of the society's Centennial, which will be celebrated throughout 2019.
Ridley Scott's 1982 sci-fi classic Blade Runner, lensed by the late Jordan Cronenweth, and Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 war film Apocalypse Now, shot by Vittorio Storaro, round out the top three films on the list. Storaro's ...
Ridley Scott's 1982 sci-fi classic Blade Runner, lensed by the late Jordan Cronenweth, and Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 war film Apocalypse Now, shot by Vittorio Storaro, round out the top three films on the list. Storaro's ...
Lawrence of Arabia, David Lean's 1962 epic lensed by the late Freddie Young, has topped a list of milestone films in the art and craft of cinematography of the 20th century, as selected by members of the American Society of Cinematographers. The release of the list kicks off the commemoration of the society's Centennial, which will be celebrated throughout 2019.
Ridley Scott's 1982 sci-fi classic Blade Runner, lensed by the late Jordan Cronenweth, and Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 war film Apocalypse Now, shot by Vittorio Storaro, round out the top three films on the list. Storaro's ...
Ridley Scott's 1982 sci-fi classic Blade Runner, lensed by the late Jordan Cronenweth, and Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 war film Apocalypse Now, shot by Vittorio Storaro, round out the top three films on the list. Storaro's ...
Though long embraced by parents as family-friendly safe zones, Disney’s live action films were just as often called out for their squeaky clean posturing and regressive world views.
Fair enough – but as Noah Cross growled, “Politicians, ugly buildings and whores all get respectable if they last long enough” – and a good number of those mild-mannered entertainments, while not exactly ready for the arthouse, are at least worthy of a second look.
Disney Movie Club has released some of those Baby Boomer perennials in sterling Blu ray transfers – unfortunately available to club members only. Here’s part one in a rundown of the more tantalizing items.
Treasure Island, Davy Crockett,
Old Yeller, Pollyanna
Blu ray
Disney Movie Club
1950, ‘55, ‘56, ‘57, ‘60 / 1. 33:1, 1.85:1 / 96, 93, 81, 83, 134 Min.
Starring Robert Newton, Dorothy McGuire, Hayley Mills, Fess Parker
Cinematography by Freddie Young, Charles P. Boyle, Russell Harlan
Directed by Byron Haskin, Robert Stevenson, David Swift
Treasure Island – 1950
Thanks...
Fair enough – but as Noah Cross growled, “Politicians, ugly buildings and whores all get respectable if they last long enough” – and a good number of those mild-mannered entertainments, while not exactly ready for the arthouse, are at least worthy of a second look.
Disney Movie Club has released some of those Baby Boomer perennials in sterling Blu ray transfers – unfortunately available to club members only. Here’s part one in a rundown of the more tantalizing items.
Treasure Island, Davy Crockett,
Old Yeller, Pollyanna
Blu ray
Disney Movie Club
1950, ‘55, ‘56, ‘57, ‘60 / 1. 33:1, 1.85:1 / 96, 93, 81, 83, 134 Min.
Starring Robert Newton, Dorothy McGuire, Hayley Mills, Fess Parker
Cinematography by Freddie Young, Charles P. Boyle, Russell Harlan
Directed by Byron Haskin, Robert Stevenson, David Swift
Treasure Island – 1950
Thanks...
- 12/25/2018
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
It has become a cliché to quote the age-old maxim that you should never meet your heroes. I am also of the belief that you should never write about meeting them either. But I am going to make an exception for Nicolas Roeg, who passed away aged 90 on November 26, 2018. It’s commonly accepted, and certainly in the tributes that have flowed since his death, that Roeg was a genius of the cinema. In his lifetime he was not always held in such lofty regard, as his longtime friend and producing associate Jeremy Thomas was swift to point out when he chastised the U.K. film establishment for its neglect of one of its most visionary talents. “Roeg was one of the major figures but he wasn’t supported by the British Film Industry. There is something about our culture that we don’t revere our greatest filmmakers, especially if they...
- 12/10/2018
- MUBI
Cinema Retro has received the following press announcement:
The American Cinematheque debuts a brand new print of Lawrence Of Arabia (1962) this month and has exclusive rights to exhibit the Best Picture Academy Award Winner in the Los Angeles region. Lawrence Of Arabia is one of the all-time favorites of American Cinematheque audiences and has been shown several times a year since the organization re-opened the Egyptian Theatre in December 1998. The first of exclusive engagement will take place December 15-30, 2017 at the Egyptian Theatre.
"When we completed the digital restoration of Lawrence of Arabia in 2012, we also wanted to preserve on film all the hard work that went into the image restoration. So, we produced a new 65mm negative primarily for preservation purposes. In the intervening time, renewed interest in 70mm print exhibition has generated many requests for new 70mm prints of Lawrence and we decided that this would be a...
The American Cinematheque debuts a brand new print of Lawrence Of Arabia (1962) this month and has exclusive rights to exhibit the Best Picture Academy Award Winner in the Los Angeles region. Lawrence Of Arabia is one of the all-time favorites of American Cinematheque audiences and has been shown several times a year since the organization re-opened the Egyptian Theatre in December 1998. The first of exclusive engagement will take place December 15-30, 2017 at the Egyptian Theatre.
"When we completed the digital restoration of Lawrence of Arabia in 2012, we also wanted to preserve on film all the hard work that went into the image restoration. So, we produced a new 65mm negative primarily for preservation purposes. In the intervening time, renewed interest in 70mm print exhibition has generated many requests for new 70mm prints of Lawrence and we decided that this would be a...
- 12/5/2017
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
“Lawrence of Arabia” is no stranger to receiving restorations. To mark its 50th anniversary in 2012, it received a digital 4K restoration that took three years to complete. If you think that means we don’t need another, well think again.
Read More: 15 Essential Movies Shot On 70mm Film, From ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ to ‘Dunkirk’
International distributor Park Circus is getting ready to bring David Lean’s 1962 masterpiece back to the big screen the way it was always meant to be experienced: 70mm. That’s right, the company has given a 70mm restoration of “Lawrence of Arabia,” meaning one of the great theatrical experiences in movie history will see another day.
“Lawrence of Arabia” stars Peter O’Toole as T.E. Lawrence, a British archaeologist and military officer who travels to the Arab Peninsula to act as a liaison during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in Wwi. He gets caught up...
Read More: 15 Essential Movies Shot On 70mm Film, From ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ to ‘Dunkirk’
International distributor Park Circus is getting ready to bring David Lean’s 1962 masterpiece back to the big screen the way it was always meant to be experienced: 70mm. That’s right, the company has given a 70mm restoration of “Lawrence of Arabia,” meaning one of the great theatrical experiences in movie history will see another day.
“Lawrence of Arabia” stars Peter O’Toole as T.E. Lawrence, a British archaeologist and military officer who travels to the Arab Peninsula to act as a liaison during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in Wwi. He gets caught up...
- 7/26/2017
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Hoyte van Hoytema has emerged as one of the great cinematographers of our time: cerebral, emotional, poetic. He creates texture and beauty with formal precision. He’s the thinking person’s cinematographer, who synthesizes the past and the present, but prefers shooting on film for organic, analog warmth.
No wonder director Christopher Nolan was drawn to the Dutch-Swedish cinematographer. They are kindred spirits, and their work on “Interstellar” and “Dunkirk” (shot mostly with the 15-perf IMAX film camera) recalls the scope and intimacy of the legendary David Lean and Freddie Young pairing on “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Doctor Zhivago.”
In all likelihood, “Dunkirk,” which portrays the heroic evacuation of Allied soldiers from German occupation during the early stages of World War II, should result in Hoytema’s first Oscar nomination. Shot from three perspectives — land, sea, and air — the footage we’ve seen thus far is breathtaking in its visceral force.
No wonder director Christopher Nolan was drawn to the Dutch-Swedish cinematographer. They are kindred spirits, and their work on “Interstellar” and “Dunkirk” (shot mostly with the 15-perf IMAX film camera) recalls the scope and intimacy of the legendary David Lean and Freddie Young pairing on “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Doctor Zhivago.”
In all likelihood, “Dunkirk,” which portrays the heroic evacuation of Allied soldiers from German occupation during the early stages of World War II, should result in Hoytema’s first Oscar nomination. Shot from three perspectives — land, sea, and air — the footage we’ve seen thus far is breathtaking in its visceral force.
- 7/7/2017
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
“I spent a lot of time reviewing the silent films for crowd scenes –the way extras move, evolve, how the space is staged and how the cameras capture it, the views used,” Nolan said earlier this year when it came to the creation of his WWII epic Dunkirk, referencing films such as Intolerance, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, and Greed, as well as the films of Robert Bresson.
Throughout the entire month of July, if you’re in the U.K., you are lucky enough to witness a selection of these influences in a program at BFI Southbank. Featuring all screenings in 35mm or 70mm — including a preview of Dunkirk over a week before it hits theaters — there’s classics such as Greed, Sunrise, and The Wages of Fear, as well as Alien, Speed, and even Tony Scott’s final film.
Check out Nolan’s introduction below, followed by...
Throughout the entire month of July, if you’re in the U.K., you are lucky enough to witness a selection of these influences in a program at BFI Southbank. Featuring all screenings in 35mm or 70mm — including a preview of Dunkirk over a week before it hits theaters — there’s classics such as Greed, Sunrise, and The Wages of Fear, as well as Alien, Speed, and even Tony Scott’s final film.
Check out Nolan’s introduction below, followed by...
- 5/25/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Running from 1-31 July, BFI Southbank are delighted to present a season of films which have inspired director Christopher Nolan’s new feature Dunkirk (2017), released in cinemas across the UK on Friday 21 July.
Christopher Nolan Presents has been personally curated by the award-winning director and will offer audiences unique insight into the films which influenced his hotly anticipated take on one of the key moments of WWII.
The season will include a special preview screening of Dunkirk on Thursday 13 July, which will be presented in 70mm and include an introduction from the director himself.
Christopher Nolan is a passionate advocate for the importance of seeing films projected on film, and as one of the few cinemas in the UK that still shows a vast amount of celluloid film, BFI Southbank will screen all the films in the season on 35mm or 70mm.
In 2015 Nolan appeared on stage alongside visual artist...
Christopher Nolan Presents has been personally curated by the award-winning director and will offer audiences unique insight into the films which influenced his hotly anticipated take on one of the key moments of WWII.
The season will include a special preview screening of Dunkirk on Thursday 13 July, which will be presented in 70mm and include an introduction from the director himself.
Christopher Nolan is a passionate advocate for the importance of seeing films projected on film, and as one of the few cinemas in the UK that still shows a vast amount of celluloid film, BFI Southbank will screen all the films in the season on 35mm or 70mm.
In 2015 Nolan appeared on stage alongside visual artist...
- 5/24/2017
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Rejoice: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg To Adapt Another Comic Property, This One From ‘The Walking Dead’ Creator Robert KirkmanIt’s called ‘Invincible,’ and it’s headed to the big screen.
Fresh off the success of Preacher, the Vertigo comic they adapted into a television series for AMC, THR is reporting that writers, producers, and directors Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Superbad, This is the End, The Interview) are heading back to the funny-book mine for their next big-screen project, and the vein they’re tapping is Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead.
See, though Kirkman is best known for his zombie drama, shortly before he started publishing Twd he released Invincible, about teenager Mark Grayson just trying to survive adolescence with two big asterisks attached: one, he’s superpowered, and two, so’s his pop, in fact he’s the most powerful being on the planet. Rogen and Goldberg will be writing, producing...
Fresh off the success of Preacher, the Vertigo comic they adapted into a television series for AMC, THR is reporting that writers, producers, and directors Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Superbad, This is the End, The Interview) are heading back to the funny-book mine for their next big-screen project, and the vein they’re tapping is Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead.
See, though Kirkman is best known for his zombie drama, shortly before he started publishing Twd he released Invincible, about teenager Mark Grayson just trying to survive adolescence with two big asterisks attached: one, he’s superpowered, and two, so’s his pop, in fact he’s the most powerful being on the planet. Rogen and Goldberg will be writing, producing...
- 4/5/2017
- by H. Perry Horton
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Plus: A lot more ‘Alien,’ the first photo of Luke Skywalker, and the weekend’s best shots.
This week marks the start of a great new chapter in the history of Film School Rejects/One Perfect Shot, as we’re pleased to present the premiere episodes of our first three shows under the new One Perfect Podcast banner.
Up first and available today, After the Credits, a new kind of movie review show hosted by Fsr Columnist Matthew Monagle. Each week Matthew will be joined by a special guest to help him explore our expectations of certain films and how they impact the way we feel about what we ultimately see in theaters. This week the special guest is Fsr Chief Film Critic Rob Hunter, and the film in question is The Belko Experment.
Subscribe to One Perfect Pod: iTunes | Stitcher | RSS | Soundcloud
Then on Wednesday, March 22nd, the first episode of Shot by Shot drops. Hosted...
This week marks the start of a great new chapter in the history of Film School Rejects/One Perfect Shot, as we’re pleased to present the premiere episodes of our first three shows under the new One Perfect Podcast banner.
Up first and available today, After the Credits, a new kind of movie review show hosted by Fsr Columnist Matthew Monagle. Each week Matthew will be joined by a special guest to help him explore our expectations of certain films and how they impact the way we feel about what we ultimately see in theaters. This week the special guest is Fsr Chief Film Critic Rob Hunter, and the film in question is The Belko Experment.
Subscribe to One Perfect Pod: iTunes | Stitcher | RSS | Soundcloud
Then on Wednesday, March 22nd, the first episode of Shot by Shot drops. Hosted...
- 3/20/2017
- by H. Perry Horton
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
This past weekend, the American Society of Cinematographers awarded Greig Fraser for his contribution to Lion as last year’s greatest accomplishment in the field. Of course, his achievement was just a small sampling of the fantastic work from directors of photography, but it did give us a stronger hint at what may be the winner on Oscar night. Ahead of the ceremony, we have a new video compilation that honors all the past winners in the category at the Academy Awards
Created by Burger Fiction, it spans the stunning silent landmark Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans all the way up to the end of Emmanuel Lubezki‘s three-peat win for The Revenant. Aside from the advancements in color and aspect ration, it’s a thrill to see some of cinema’s most iconic shots side-by-side. However, the best way to experience the evolution of the craft is by...
Created by Burger Fiction, it spans the stunning silent landmark Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans all the way up to the end of Emmanuel Lubezki‘s three-peat win for The Revenant. Aside from the advancements in color and aspect ration, it’s a thrill to see some of cinema’s most iconic shots side-by-side. However, the best way to experience the evolution of the craft is by...
- 2/6/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
“No Arab loves the desert. We love water and green trees. There is nothing in the desert and no man needs nothing.”
Lawrence Of Arabia screens Wednesday September 21st at The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar in ‘The Loop’) as part of their new ‘Classics in the Loop’ film series. The movie starts at 7pm and admission is $7. It will be on The Tivoli’s big screen.
“Greatest biopic ever”…”Genius in 70mm”…”A Miracle of a Movie”…
All these statements were said somewhere about director David Lean’s Lawrence Of Arabia and it’s understandable. It was some kind of madness to make a movie like this in 1962. Working in the middle of desert for such a long time, those extraordinary ways of cinematographer Freddie Young, and working with that huge number of actors (and camels).
But it all worked. Lawrence Of Arabia is more than a glorious, expensive, old biopic movie.
Lawrence Of Arabia screens Wednesday September 21st at The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar in ‘The Loop’) as part of their new ‘Classics in the Loop’ film series. The movie starts at 7pm and admission is $7. It will be on The Tivoli’s big screen.
“Greatest biopic ever”…”Genius in 70mm”…”A Miracle of a Movie”…
All these statements were said somewhere about director David Lean’s Lawrence Of Arabia and it’s understandable. It was some kind of madness to make a movie like this in 1962. Working in the middle of desert for such a long time, those extraordinary ways of cinematographer Freddie Young, and working with that huge number of actors (and camels).
But it all worked. Lawrence Of Arabia is more than a glorious, expensive, old biopic movie.
- 9/19/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then there will never be a definitive list of the greatest cinematography, but for our money, one of the finest polls has been recently conducted on the matter. Our friend Scout Tafoya polled over 60 critics on Fandor, including some of us here, and the results can be found in a fantastic video essay below. Rather than the various wordless supercuts that crowd Vimeo, Tafoya wrestles with his thoughts on cinematography as we see the beautiful images overlaid from the top 12 choices.
“I’ve been thinking of the world cinematographically since high school,” Scout says. “Sometime around tenth grade I started looking out windows, at crowds of my peers, at the girls I had crushes on, and imagining the best way to film them. Lowlight, mini-dv or 35mm? Curious and washed out like the way Emmanuel Lubezki shot Y Tu Mamá También,...
“I’ve been thinking of the world cinematographically since high school,” Scout says. “Sometime around tenth grade I started looking out windows, at crowds of my peers, at the girls I had crushes on, and imagining the best way to film them. Lowlight, mini-dv or 35mm? Curious and washed out like the way Emmanuel Lubezki shot Y Tu Mamá También,...
- 4/28/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Cinema Retro has received the following press release:
Back on the big screen in cinemas UK-wide from 27 November 2015
An epic romance set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution, director David Lean’s Doctor Zhivago, based on the novel by Nobel Prize-winning author Boris Pasternak and featuring a stand-out cast led by the late Omar Sharif alongside iconic British actress Julie Christie, is one of cinema’s greatest love stories.
On 27 November, in celebration of the film’s 50th anniversary and as part of the BFI’s 2015 blockbuster Love: Films To Fall In Love With… Films To Break Your Heart, in partnership with Plusnet, it will be back on the big screen in cinemas across the UK in a beautiful new 4K digital restoration.
Doctor Zhivago won 5 Academy Awards and is the eighth most successful film of all time at the Us box office[1]. ‘Lara’s Theme’, the musical motif created by composer Maurice Jarre,...
Back on the big screen in cinemas UK-wide from 27 November 2015
An epic romance set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution, director David Lean’s Doctor Zhivago, based on the novel by Nobel Prize-winning author Boris Pasternak and featuring a stand-out cast led by the late Omar Sharif alongside iconic British actress Julie Christie, is one of cinema’s greatest love stories.
On 27 November, in celebration of the film’s 50th anniversary and as part of the BFI’s 2015 blockbuster Love: Films To Fall In Love With… Films To Break Your Heart, in partnership with Plusnet, it will be back on the big screen in cinemas across the UK in a beautiful new 4K digital restoration.
Doctor Zhivago won 5 Academy Awards and is the eighth most successful film of all time at the Us box office[1]. ‘Lara’s Theme’, the musical motif created by composer Maurice Jarre,...
- 11/3/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Robert Mitchum ca. late 1940s. Robert Mitchum movies 'The Yakuza,' 'Ryan's Daughter' on TCM Today, Aug. 12, '15, Turner Classic Movies' “Summer Under the Stars” series is highlighting the career of Robert Mitchum. Two of the films being shown this evening are The Yakuza and Ryan's Daughter. The former is one of the disappointingly few TCM premieres this month. (See TCM's Robert Mitchum movie schedule further below.) Despite his film noir background, Robert Mitchum was a somewhat unusual choice to star in The Yakuza (1975), a crime thriller set in the Japanese underworld. Ryan's Daughter or no, Mitchum hadn't been a box office draw in quite some time; in the mid-'70s, one would have expected a Warner Bros. release directed by Sydney Pollack – who had recently handled the likes of Jane Fonda, Barbra Streisand, and Robert Redford – to star someone like Jack Nicholson or Al Pacino or Dustin Hoffman.
- 8/13/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Sound on Sight undertook a massive project, compiling ranked lists of the most influential, unforgettable, and exciting action scenes in all of cinema. There were hundreds of nominees spread across ten different categories and a multi-week voting process from 11 of our writers. The results: 100 essential set pieces, sequences, and scenes from blockbusters to cult classics to arthouse obscurities.
Whether storming a beach or a besieging castle, marching on foot or charging on horseback, in a historical epic or a fantasy extravaganza, battles scenes are some of the most complex and intricately choreographed of all action scenes. Capable of zooming in to a one-on-one fight between two foes or zooming out to show a big picture look at the action–and featuring anywhere from dozens to hundreds to thousands of extras, either flesh and blood or digital–these are the scenes in which wars are fought, tides are turned, and glory is won.
Whether storming a beach or a besieging castle, marching on foot or charging on horseback, in a historical epic or a fantasy extravaganza, battles scenes are some of the most complex and intricately choreographed of all action scenes. Capable of zooming in to a one-on-one fight between two foes or zooming out to show a big picture look at the action–and featuring anywhere from dozens to hundreds to thousands of extras, either flesh and blood or digital–these are the scenes in which wars are fought, tides are turned, and glory is won.
- 6/9/2015
- by Shane Ramirez
- SoundOnSight
'Nicholas and Alexandra': Movie starred Michael Jayston and Janet Suzman 'Nicholas and Alexandra' movie review: Opulent 1971 spectacle lacks emotional core Nicholas and Alexandra is surely one of the most sumptuous film productions ever made. The elaborate sets and costumes, Richard Rodney Bennett's lush musical score, and frequent David Lean collaborator Freddie Young's richly textured cinematography provide the perfect period atmosphere for this historical epic. Missing, however, is a screenplay that offers dialogue instead of speeches, and a directorial hand that brings out emotional truth instead of soapy melodrama. Nicholas and Alexandra begins when, after several unsuccessful attempts, Tsar Nicholas II (Michael Jayston) finally becomes the father of a boy. Shortly thereafter, he and his wife, the German-born Empress Alexandra (Janet Suzman), have their happiness crushed when they discover that their infant son is a hemophiliac. In addition to his familial turmoil, the Tsar must also deal with popular...
- 5/7/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
To begin with, no, 49th Parallel is not a Canadian film. At least not technically. The Hungarian Emeric Pressburger, who had been working in England for about five years, wrote the 1941 feature, and the Kent-born Michael Powell, who had been making films since the early 1930s, directed it. All but one interior was shot at Denham Studios in Buckinghamshire, and Ortus Films, a British company, produced the picture after the Ministry of Information commissioned it. The cast is a veritable who’s who of prominent British actors, including Laurence Olivier, Anton Walbrook, and Leslie Howard, among others. David Lean, then the preeminent editor in England, cut the picture.
Still, it is a great Canadian film. Locations range from Winnipeg to Quebec to Alberta. Perhaps more than any other film, certainly of the era, it also deals explicitly with Canada’s largely ignored involvement in World War II—as far as the movies are concerned anyway.
Still, it is a great Canadian film. Locations range from Winnipeg to Quebec to Alberta. Perhaps more than any other film, certainly of the era, it also deals explicitly with Canada’s largely ignored involvement in World War II—as far as the movies are concerned anyway.
- 4/29/2015
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
By winning the Best Cinematography Oscar for a second year in a row, "Birdman" director of photography Emmanuel Lubezki has joined a truly elite club whose ranks haven't been breached in nearly two decades. Only four other cinematographers have won the prize in two consecutive years. The last time it happened was in 1994 and 1995, when John Toll won for Edward Zwick's "Legends of the Fall" and Mel Gibson's "Braveheart" respectively. Before that you have to go all the way back to the late '40s, when Winton Hoch won in 1948 (Victor Fleming's "Joan of Arc" with Ingrid Bergman) and 1949 (John Ford's western "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon"). Both victories came in the color category, as the Academy awarded prizes separately for black-and-white and color photography from 1939 to 1956. Leon Shamroy also won back-to-back color cinematography Oscars, for Henry King's 1944 Woodrow Wilson biopic "Wilson" and John M. Stahl...
- 2/23/2015
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Hitfix
Stumbling across that list of best-edited films yesterday had me assuming that there might be other nuggets like that out there, and sure enough, there is American Cinematographer's poll of the American Society of Cinematographers membership for the best-shot films ever, which I do recall hearing about at the time. But they did things a little differently. Basically, in 1998, cinematographers were asked for their top picks in two eras: films from 1894-1949 (or the dawn of cinema through the classic era), and then 1950-1997, for a top 50 in each case. Then they followed up 10 years later with another poll focused on the films between 1998 and 2008. Unlike the editors' list, though, ties run absolutely rampant here and allow for way more than 50 films in each era to be cited. I'd love to see what these lists would look like combined, however. I imagine "Citizen Kane," which was on top of the 1894-1949 list,...
- 2/4/2015
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Hitfix
"The Shawshank Redemption," "Fargo," "Kundun," "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," "The Man Who Wasn't There," "No Country for Old Men," "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," "The Reader," "True Grit," "Skyfall," "Prisoners." Surely one of those films won the Oscar for Best Cinematography, right? Nope. Roger Deakins has 11 Oscar nominations but, to date, has not been granted access to the Dolby Theater stage (or the Kodak Theater…or the Shrine Auditorium…he's a veteran of multiple Oscar venues at this point). Could that change with Angelina Jolie's "Unbroken?" Possibly. Deakins pushed himself quite a bit on the film and played with a few aesthetic ideas he hadn't really dabbled in before. It's only the second time he's worked in the war genre (after 2005's "Jarhead"), but he paints Jolie's canvas with striking hues of contrast. For a film that could be a formidable prestige Oscar player,...
- 12/3/2014
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Hitfix
Hatari!
Written by Leigh Brackett
Directed by Howard Hawks
USA, 1962
Hatari! is essentially about a group of men with a job to do, which makes it a perfect vehicle for John Wayne and Howard Hawks. Hawks reveled in stories about professional people who take their job seriously, and more often than not, Wayne played a character who was the best man for the job. As in their other collaborations — two Westerns before and two after — this film highlights what these two can best bring to the cinematic table. While Hatari! mostly falls into the action/adventure category (though throughout its 157-minute runtime, relatively little is concentrated on extensive action), it ends up being an entertaining and amusing character study, something perhaps more in line with Hawks than Wayne.
This was Leigh Brackett’s third screenplay for Hawks (with two more to follow) and as usual, she expertly captures the banter...
Written by Leigh Brackett
Directed by Howard Hawks
USA, 1962
Hatari! is essentially about a group of men with a job to do, which makes it a perfect vehicle for John Wayne and Howard Hawks. Hawks reveled in stories about professional people who take their job seriously, and more often than not, Wayne played a character who was the best man for the job. As in their other collaborations — two Westerns before and two after — this film highlights what these two can best bring to the cinematic table. While Hatari! mostly falls into the action/adventure category (though throughout its 157-minute runtime, relatively little is concentrated on extensive action), it ends up being an entertaining and amusing character study, something perhaps more in line with Hawks than Wayne.
This was Leigh Brackett’s third screenplay for Hawks (with two more to follow) and as usual, she expertly captures the banter...
- 3/21/2014
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
By Lee Pfeiffer
Sony has released director Richard Brooks' 1965 screen adaptation of Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim as a burn-to-order DVD title. The novel, written in 1899, centers on Jim, an idealistic young man who fulfills his dream of being a highly regarded officer on a commercial cargo vessel in southeast Asia. All is going well for him under the guidance of his mentor, ship's captain Marlowe. However, when an injury causes Jim to convalesce for an extended period, he ends up on a rickety freighter under the command of an unscrupulous captain who is transporting hundreds of Muslim pilgrims. When the ship founders, the captain and his cowardly crew abandon ship, leaving the pilgrims to face what appears to be certain death. To his own astonishment, Jim spontaneously opts to join them in order to save his own life. When the ragged survivors finally make port, they are shocked...
Sony has released director Richard Brooks' 1965 screen adaptation of Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim as a burn-to-order DVD title. The novel, written in 1899, centers on Jim, an idealistic young man who fulfills his dream of being a highly regarded officer on a commercial cargo vessel in southeast Asia. All is going well for him under the guidance of his mentor, ship's captain Marlowe. However, when an injury causes Jim to convalesce for an extended period, he ends up on a rickety freighter under the command of an unscrupulous captain who is transporting hundreds of Muslim pilgrims. When the ship founders, the captain and his cowardly crew abandon ship, leaving the pilgrims to face what appears to be certain death. To his own astonishment, Jim spontaneously opts to join them in order to save his own life. When the ragged survivors finally make port, they are shocked...
- 1/19/2014
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Cinematographer on the first Star Wars film who worked with the Boulting Brothers, Hitchcock and Polanski
The British cinematographer Gilbert Taylor, who has died aged 99, was best known for his camerawork on the first Star Wars movie (1977). Though its special effects and set designs somewhat stole his thunder, it was Taylor who set the visual tone of George Lucas's six-part space opera.
"I wanted to give it a unique visual style that would distinguish it from other films in the science-fiction genre," Taylor declared. "I wanted Star Wars to have clarity because I don't think space is out of focus … I thought the look of the film should be absolutely clean … But George [Lucas] saw it differently … For example, he asked to set up one shot on the robots with a 300mm camera lens and the sand and sky of the Tunisian desert just meshed together. I told him it wouldn't work,...
The British cinematographer Gilbert Taylor, who has died aged 99, was best known for his camerawork on the first Star Wars movie (1977). Though its special effects and set designs somewhat stole his thunder, it was Taylor who set the visual tone of George Lucas's six-part space opera.
"I wanted to give it a unique visual style that would distinguish it from other films in the science-fiction genre," Taylor declared. "I wanted Star Wars to have clarity because I don't think space is out of focus … I thought the look of the film should be absolutely clean … But George [Lucas] saw it differently … For example, he asked to set up one shot on the robots with a 300mm camera lens and the sand and sky of the Tunisian desert just meshed together. I told him it wouldn't work,...
- 8/25/2013
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
It's astonishing to think that Lean's stately masterpiece was made half a century ago, a mere 27 years after the death of Te Lawrence, and that following the initial showing in 1962 the film was cut, making it necessary for the restorers to have Charles Gray dub the voice of the late Jack Hawkins. There are no intelligent epics like this today and, because of computer-generated effects, it's unlikely that there ever will be again. To appreciate the film fully, Lawrence must be seen in a cinema, in 70mm on the widescreen and in stereophonic sound, and the present theatrical revival is not to be missed. I spent a year in the desert doing my national service and read The Seven Pillars of Wisdom there, but when I think of sand it's Freddie Young's images from Lawrence that I remember.
I'll never forget seeing the film for the first time at the Odeon,...
I'll never forget seeing the film for the first time at the Odeon,...
- 11/25/2012
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Like I said last week, Twilight : Breaking Dawn Part 2 was bound to have such a massive opening box office weekend that it would soar above Skyfall and finally knock Bond back into second place. Wait, no, don’t go and check back, just trust me, that’s definitely what I said. Honestly.
With £15.85 million taken in its opening three days, the latest Twilight has the highest opening gross of any film in the franchise thus far. Bond experienced his sharpest drop off yet, down 47% on its third week takings, but even with the expected gradual decline in the coming weeks, it still looks set to overtake Avatar’s record box-office haul of £94million given that in just four weeks it has already managed to bank a cool £82million.
Twilight movies don’t tend to have the legs of many other blockbusters as the die-hard fan base flock to see it opening weekend,...
With £15.85 million taken in its opening three days, the latest Twilight has the highest opening gross of any film in the franchise thus far. Bond experienced his sharpest drop off yet, down 47% on its third week takings, but even with the expected gradual decline in the coming weeks, it still looks set to overtake Avatar’s record box-office haul of £94million given that in just four weeks it has already managed to bank a cool £82million.
Twilight movies don’t tend to have the legs of many other blockbusters as the die-hard fan base flock to see it opening weekend,...
- 11/23/2012
- by Rob Keeling
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
800x600
Epic Grandeur Captured In Blu-ray Gift Set
By Raymond Benson
It’s probably the quintessential motion picture epic. If you’re looking for an intimate story told on a grand scale, an adventure set in an exotic location and against the backdrop of significant historical events, and an engrossing portrait of an important First World War figure… seek no further. Lawrence of Arabia has it all. This 1962 roadshow attraction from arguably Britain’s greatest director, David Lean, Lawrence is simply a magnificent achievement—both technically and artistically. With star power such as Peter O’Toole (in his first major role), Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, Alec Guinness, Claude Rains, Jack Hawkins, and Jose Ferrer, and a master cinematographer such as Freddie Young, Lawrence of Arabia is not only gorgeous to look at, it is dramatically compelling.
O’Toole states that on the first day of shooting, Lean told him, “We...
Epic Grandeur Captured In Blu-ray Gift Set
By Raymond Benson
It’s probably the quintessential motion picture epic. If you’re looking for an intimate story told on a grand scale, an adventure set in an exotic location and against the backdrop of significant historical events, and an engrossing portrait of an important First World War figure… seek no further. Lawrence of Arabia has it all. This 1962 roadshow attraction from arguably Britain’s greatest director, David Lean, Lawrence is simply a magnificent achievement—both technically and artistically. With star power such as Peter O’Toole (in his first major role), Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, Alec Guinness, Claude Rains, Jack Hawkins, and Jose Ferrer, and a master cinematographer such as Freddie Young, Lawrence of Arabia is not only gorgeous to look at, it is dramatically compelling.
O’Toole states that on the first day of shooting, Lean told him, “We...
- 11/13/2012
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Whether faced with space travel, ninja assassins or Blofeld's killer piranhas, Sean Connery's Bond has never seemed more at home than in Roald Dahl's exotic epic
There's no point in me trying to state a case for this being the best Bond film; no one thinks that. It wasn't the first Bond film I saw, and it came out before I was born – so it's not the Bond film that hit when I was whatever is considered the "right age" for liking Bond. I don't even have a nice story of the first time I saw it; I can't remember when that was. What I can say for sure is You Only Live Twice is the Bond film I have seen most often and I have enjoyed the hell out it every single time.
Ignoring almost all of the source novel (a bitter tale of a broken Bond...
There's no point in me trying to state a case for this being the best Bond film; no one thinks that. It wasn't the first Bond film I saw, and it came out before I was born – so it's not the Bond film that hit when I was whatever is considered the "right age" for liking Bond. I don't even have a nice story of the first time I saw it; I can't remember when that was. What I can say for sure is You Only Live Twice is the Bond film I have seen most often and I have enjoyed the hell out it every single time.
Ignoring almost all of the source novel (a bitter tale of a broken Bond...
- 10/4/2012
- by Phelim O'Neill
- The Guardian - Film News
Reintroduced to the geek generation as the film Michael Fassbender's android character David was watching in Ridley Scott's Prometheus, Lawrence of Arabia is an undoubted classic. And now it's coming back to cinemas.
A 50th anniversary restoration of the film is being released in the UK on November 16. The movie will screen at the BFI Southbank, Empire Leicester Square and nationwide. A trailer is included below.
David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia won seven Oscars including 1962 best picture and best director, and four BAFTAs including best film.
It starred Peter O'Toole in the title role alongside Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif, Jose Ferrer, Claude Rains, Jack Hawkins, Anthony Quayle and Arthur Kennedy.
Official synopsis and background
One of the screen's grandest epics, this monumental story recounts the true life experiences of T.E. Lawrence, better known to the world as Lawrence of Arabia.
A young, idealistic British officer in Wwi,...
A 50th anniversary restoration of the film is being released in the UK on November 16. The movie will screen at the BFI Southbank, Empire Leicester Square and nationwide. A trailer is included below.
David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia won seven Oscars including 1962 best picture and best director, and four BAFTAs including best film.
It starred Peter O'Toole in the title role alongside Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif, Jose Ferrer, Claude Rains, Jack Hawkins, Anthony Quayle and Arthur Kennedy.
Official synopsis and background
One of the screen's grandest epics, this monumental story recounts the true life experiences of T.E. Lawrence, better known to the world as Lawrence of Arabia.
A young, idealistic British officer in Wwi,...
- 10/3/2012
- by David Bentley
- The Geek Files
Following on from the announcement of its main slate, the New York Film Festival has unveiled the event’s sidebar programs, which includes a sneak preview of three episodes of Oliver Stone’s forthcoming Showtime series Untold History of the United States. For me, the most exciting strand of those just announced is Cinema Reflected, which has such titles as Room 237, Rodney Ascher’s obsessional examination of Kubrick’s The Shining; Marina Zenovich’s follow-up doc Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out; a bizarre concoction by Taxidermia director György Pàlfi called Final Cut — Ladies and Gentlemen which proclaims to be scenes from 450 of the greatest movies ever made around the world, fashioned into one unifying narrative; plus non-fiction works on Manoel de Oliveira; Liv Ullmann and Ingmar Bergman; and the love triangle involving Roberto Rossellini, Ingrid Bergman and Anna Magnani.
The newly announced films are listed below:
Nyff Masterworks Films And Descriptions
Restorations,...
The newly announced films are listed below:
Nyff Masterworks Films And Descriptions
Restorations,...
- 8/21/2012
- by Nick Dawson
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
This October, Sony Pictures Entertainment is celebrating the 50th anniversary of David Lean’s beyond classic film Lawrence Of Arabia (1962), the winner of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and a Best Actor award for Peter O’Toole and a best supporting actor award for Omar Sharif, by bring it to Blu-Ray with a beautiful boxed set (above).
Thanks to Home Theater Forum, we have the press release, which delves into the details of the film, the Blu-Ray set, and the deluge of special features you can expect when this collection comes out October 4th.
Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential films in the history of cinema, David Lean’s masterpiece Lawrence of Arabia returns to the big screen 50 years after its 1962 premiere in a 4K digitally-restored version of the Director’s Cut. Following its international debut at Festival Du Cannes this past May, Lawrence of Arabia...
Thanks to Home Theater Forum, we have the press release, which delves into the details of the film, the Blu-Ray set, and the deluge of special features you can expect when this collection comes out October 4th.
Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential films in the history of cinema, David Lean’s masterpiece Lawrence of Arabia returns to the big screen 50 years after its 1962 premiere in a 4K digitally-restored version of the Director’s Cut. Following its international debut at Festival Du Cannes this past May, Lawrence of Arabia...
- 7/21/2012
- by Andy Greene
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present the U.S. premiere of a new digital restoration of Columbia Pictures’ 1962 Best Picture winner “Lawrence of Arabia” on Thursday, July 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The 50th anniversary screening will feature the director’s cut of the film, with an introduction by Grover Crisp, Sony Pictures’ executive vice president in charge of film restoration, and a special video message from Oscar®-nominated actor Omar Sharif. Digitally restored by Sony Pictures Colorworks, the film will be presented from a newly created 4K Digital Cinema Package.
David Lean’s epic biography of adventurer T.E. Lawrence, based upon Lawrence’s book “Seven Pillars of Wisdom,” was shot in exotic locations in Jordan, Morocco and Spain in 65mm (nearly two times as wide as standard 35mm film stock), and printed and presented in Super Panavision 70. The...
David Lean’s epic biography of adventurer T.E. Lawrence, based upon Lawrence’s book “Seven Pillars of Wisdom,” was shot in exotic locations in Jordan, Morocco and Spain in 65mm (nearly two times as wide as standard 35mm film stock), and printed and presented in Super Panavision 70. The...
- 6/28/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Is there a greater film than "Lawrence of Arabia?" Perhaps. There are certainly few longer ones, or few that are more epic and sweeping in their scope (thanks to the timeless Panavision 70 photography by Freddie Young). But even if the film isn't your absolute favorite, it is the number one of many, including Steven Spielberg, who credits the picture with making him want to be a filmmaker.
David Lean's tale of T.E. Lawrence's adventures in Arabia in World War I is fifty years old this year, and ahead of a brand-spanking-new Blu-ray release next month, a glorious new 4K restoration of the film is screening at Cannes tomorrow night. To mark the occasion, as well as the anniversary of the death of Lawrence himself, who died 77 years ago tomorrow, we've assembled five things you might not know about Lean's unassailable classic.
1. David Lean nearly directed a biopic of...
David Lean's tale of T.E. Lawrence's adventures in Arabia in World War I is fifty years old this year, and ahead of a brand-spanking-new Blu-ray release next month, a glorious new 4K restoration of the film is screening at Cannes tomorrow night. To mark the occasion, as well as the anniversary of the death of Lawrence himself, who died 77 years ago tomorrow, we've assembled five things you might not know about Lean's unassailable classic.
1. David Lean nearly directed a biopic of...
- 5/18/2012
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
Martin Kemp's werewolf embarrassment, David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia rides again and Ealing classics get a spruce-up
One in the eye for Martin
How must Martin Kemp feel? The Krays star, EastEnder and sofa seller was also once, of course, a member of Spandau Ballet. He can now be found contributing an ill-starred cameo to the dreadful, straight-to-dvd British comedy (I think) Strippers vs Werewolves. In the film's opening scene, Martin, aroused by a stripper dressed in schoolgirl uniform, turns into a werewolf and she, taking fright, stabs him in the eye. That's him over with, after just two minutes.
Then the opening credits kick in… set to "Hungry Like the Wolf", by his 80s arch rivals Duran Duran. Oh the infamy. Always believe in your soul, Martin - at least the BBC are bound to play "Gold" a lot during the Olympics.
Arabian nights at this year's...
One in the eye for Martin
How must Martin Kemp feel? The Krays star, EastEnder and sofa seller was also once, of course, a member of Spandau Ballet. He can now be found contributing an ill-starred cameo to the dreadful, straight-to-dvd British comedy (I think) Strippers vs Werewolves. In the film's opening scene, Martin, aroused by a stripper dressed in schoolgirl uniform, turns into a werewolf and she, taking fright, stabs him in the eye. That's him over with, after just two minutes.
Then the opening credits kick in… set to "Hungry Like the Wolf", by his 80s arch rivals Duran Duran. Oh the infamy. Always believe in your soul, Martin - at least the BBC are bound to play "Gold" a lot during the Olympics.
Arabian nights at this year's...
- 4/28/2012
- by Jason Solomons
- The Guardian - Film News
Financed largely by Arab countries and shot on location in Tunisia and Qatar, Black Gold is an Arabian Nights fable about the settlement of a long rivalry between two emirs on the Arabian peninsula at some unspecified time in the early 20th century, and how warfare breaks out when a Texas company strikes oil in the no man's land separating the two countries. Nesib (Antonio Banderas) wants to use the new wealth to build schools and hospitals in his land and raise living standards; the austere Amar (Mark Strong) wishes to defy progress and avoid the temptations of mammon and materialism. It's a tepid, timid affair, sexually, dramatically and politically. Nearer, in fact, to the B-movie easterns starring Maria Montez that Universal made in the 1940s than to Lawrence of Arabia, though no one actually says "It is written", which I rather missed. Freddie Young and John Seale, who won...
- 2/26/2012
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
To mark the 50th Anniversary of one of the most successful movie franchises of all time and as James Bond prepares for his 23rd official outing in Skyfall later this year, I have been tasked with taking a retrospective look at the films that turned author Ian Fleming’s creation into one of the most recognised and iconic characters in film history.
After the phenomenal box-office success of Thunderball in 1965 the Bond series producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were left looking for an out of this world adventure for Bond’s fifth outing, You Only Live Twice. When Richard Maibaum the screenwriter of all the previous films became unavailable the producers hired popular short story and children’s writer Roald Dahl to pen the screenplay. Dahl had been a close friend of Fleming but described the original novel as “Fleming’s worst book”. Taking only a handful of ideas from the story,...
After the phenomenal box-office success of Thunderball in 1965 the Bond series producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were left looking for an out of this world adventure for Bond’s fifth outing, You Only Live Twice. When Richard Maibaum the screenwriter of all the previous films became unavailable the producers hired popular short story and children’s writer Roald Dahl to pen the screenplay. Dahl had been a close friend of Fleming but described the original novel as “Fleming’s worst book”. Taking only a handful of ideas from the story,...
- 1/15/2012
- by Chris Wright
- Obsessed with Film
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.