In the early 1970s, Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan wrote and recorded songs for the English version of Italian director Franco Zeffirelli’s film “Brother Sun, Sister Moon,” about the early years of St. Francis of Assisi, that evoked the “flower power” hippie movement and developed a cult following.
Half a century later, Donovan traveled to Italy last week to watch a freshly restored version of the film in two celebratory events. The first was an intimate private screening held in Rome’s Quirinale Palace for Italian President Sergio Mattarella and a select group of officials, and the next was in Florence, the late Zeffirelli’s birthplace, where the Zeffirelli Foundation held a free screening open to the public attended by a copious contingent of Franciscan monks.
Donovan, who was born in Glasgow, emerged on the U.K. folk scene in 1965. He broke out the following year with the album “Sunshine Superman,...
Half a century later, Donovan traveled to Italy last week to watch a freshly restored version of the film in two celebratory events. The first was an intimate private screening held in Rome’s Quirinale Palace for Italian President Sergio Mattarella and a select group of officials, and the next was in Florence, the late Zeffirelli’s birthplace, where the Zeffirelli Foundation held a free screening open to the public attended by a copious contingent of Franciscan monks.
Donovan, who was born in Glasgow, emerged on the U.K. folk scene in 1965. He broke out the following year with the album “Sunshine Superman,...
- 3/19/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Peter Yates’ excellent war-movie follow-up to Bullitt landed in the wrong year: the beautifully produced and directed action thriller was barely seen in America. Royal Navy mechanic Peter O’Toole swears vengeance on the U-Boat commander who sunk his ship and murdered its entire crew. Locals in a Caribbean backwater help him to strike back: he must first teach himself to fly an airplane. With support from Horst Janson, Sian Phillips and the great Philippe Noiret, it’s a wartime suspense nail-biter with a little manic obsession thrown in as well. Indicator’s extras feature the great editor-director John Glen, who relates the exciting story of the filming on location in Venezuela.
Murphy’s War
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1971 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 107 min. / Limited Edition / Street Date May 30, 2022 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £19.99
Starring: Peter O’Toole, Sian Phillips, Philippe Noiret, Horst Janson, John Hallam, Ingo Mogendorf.
Cinematography: Douglas Slocombe...
Murphy’s War
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1971 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 107 min. / Limited Edition / Street Date May 30, 2022 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £19.99
Starring: Peter O’Toole, Sian Phillips, Philippe Noiret, Horst Janson, John Hallam, Ingo Mogendorf.
Cinematography: Douglas Slocombe...
- 5/10/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
If you see a movie for the first time and swear you've heard the score before, it may not be your imagination...
Last month, the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (Afm) sued six major studios for reusing film soundtracks in other films without paying the appropriate compensation. It's the kind of news that will make people roll their eyes. Ah yes, they'll say after seeing the headlines. Typical Hollywood. Not even the music's original any more.
But go beyond the headlines about reusing the same music too much and delve into the lawsuit and it reveals an interesting insight into the kind of situations where music does get repeated.
The lawsuit, it soon becomes evident, isn't about the use of music in itself (a quick browse through the soundtracks for the titles in question, such as This Means War or Argo, reveals that they have...
Last month, the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (Afm) sued six major studios for reusing film soundtracks in other films without paying the appropriate compensation. It's the kind of news that will make people roll their eyes. Ah yes, they'll say after seeing the headlines. Typical Hollywood. Not even the music's original any more.
But go beyond the headlines about reusing the same music too much and delve into the lawsuit and it reveals an interesting insight into the kind of situations where music does get repeated.
The lawsuit, it soon becomes evident, isn't about the use of music in itself (a quick browse through the soundtracks for the titles in question, such as This Means War or Argo, reveals that they have...
- 6/9/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Oscar-winning composer Ken Thorne died Tuesday, according to the funeral home handling his final arrangements. He was 90. Photos Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2014 Thorne won an Oscar for scoring the 1966 musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and earned a Grammy nomination for writing the incidental score to the 1965 Beatles film Help! He went on to receive an Emmy nomination for the 1995 CBS TV movie A Season Of Hope. Thorne was born in England and lived in West Hills, California. He began playing piano at age five and was a professional
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- 7/10/2014
- by Aaron Couch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Calling all Beatles fans… the group’s second feature film, 1965’s Help!, will be released on Blu-ray on Tuesday, June 25 and Wamg is giving away copies to 2 lucky readers.
Directed by Richard Lester, who also directed the band’s debut feature film, 1964’s A Hard Day’s Night, Help! follows The Beatles as they become passive recipients of an outside plot that revolves around Ringo’s possession of a sacrificial ring, which he cannot remove from his finger. As a result, he and his bandmates John, Paul and George are chased from London to the Austrian Alps and the Bahamas by religious cult members, a mad scientist and the London police.
In addition to starring The Beatles, Help! boasts a witty script, a great cast of British character actors, and classic Beatles songs “Help!,” “You’re Going To Lose That Girl,” “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away,” “Ticket To Ride,...
Directed by Richard Lester, who also directed the band’s debut feature film, 1964’s A Hard Day’s Night, Help! follows The Beatles as they become passive recipients of an outside plot that revolves around Ringo’s possession of a sacrificial ring, which he cannot remove from his finger. As a result, he and his bandmates John, Paul and George are chased from London to the Austrian Alps and the Bahamas by religious cult members, a mad scientist and the London police.
In addition to starring The Beatles, Help! boasts a witty script, a great cast of British character actors, and classic Beatles songs “Help!,” “You’re Going To Lose That Girl,” “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away,” “Ticket To Ride,...
- 6/24/2013
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Beatles’ second feature film, 1965’s Help!, is on the way on Blu-ray. On June 24 (June 25 in North America), Help! makes its eagerly awaited Blu-ray debut in a single-disc package pairing the digitally restored film and 5.1 soundtrack with an hour of extra features, including a 30-minute documentary about the making of the film, memories of the cast and crew, an in-depth look at the restoration process, an outtake scene, and original theatrical trailers and radio spots. An introduction by the film’s director, Richard Lester, and an appreciation by Martin Scorsese are included in the Blu-ray’s booklet.
Help!’s Blu-ray edition follows the 2012 release of The Beatles’ digitally restored Yellow Submarine and Magical Mystery Tour feature films on Blu-ray, DVD and iTunes with extensive extras. Help!’s restoration for its 2007 DVD debut wowed viewers, earning five-times platinum sales in the U.S. and praise from a broad range of...
Help!’s Blu-ray edition follows the 2012 release of The Beatles’ digitally restored Yellow Submarine and Magical Mystery Tour feature films on Blu-ray, DVD and iTunes with extensive extras. Help!’s restoration for its 2007 DVD debut wowed viewers, earning five-times platinum sales in the U.S. and praise from a broad range of...
- 6/12/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Our round-up of John Barry’s non-Bond movie scores continues with a look at some romantic compositions from the disco decade…
As we embark on the fourth part of our appreciation of John Barry’s career beyond Bond, we move into a decade renowned for its glitter balls, bell-bottoms and jiggle television. However, this phase of Barry’s career is representative of a burgeoning interest in more emotionally charged, fractured and complex ideas, viewed through the filter of a maturing, mellowing artist.
Even the most vibrant, exotic scores could not disguise the introspection and sensitivity of the man himself. He continued to chase universal themes – and he was still capable of conjuring up worlds of intrigue and drama – but the projects he gravitated towards more in the wake of Midnight Cowboy were those that allowed him to explore more intimate musical textures.
Barry still accepted a range of eclectic assignments,...
As we embark on the fourth part of our appreciation of John Barry’s career beyond Bond, we move into a decade renowned for its glitter balls, bell-bottoms and jiggle television. However, this phase of Barry’s career is representative of a burgeoning interest in more emotionally charged, fractured and complex ideas, viewed through the filter of a maturing, mellowing artist.
Even the most vibrant, exotic scores could not disguise the introspection and sensitivity of the man himself. He continued to chase universal themes – and he was still capable of conjuring up worlds of intrigue and drama – but the projects he gravitated towards more in the wake of Midnight Cowboy were those that allowed him to explore more intimate musical textures.
Barry still accepted a range of eclectic assignments,...
- 8/15/2011
- Den of Geek
Update: This may have come too soon -- re-reading the source story there's the line saying that Hans Zimmer is scoring "Nolan's new Superman chapter." So there could be an error there that should have that reading Batman rather than Superman, in which case this is a moot point. More very shortly. Original article follows. Last night's Inception party has been the source of a few good tidbits [1]. There's the quote from Christopher Nolan about being able to close out his Batman trilogy with no interference from the studio, and the reports from his producer and wife Emma Thomas that Superman has been fully handed off to director Zack Snyder. (That latter point not really being in doubt, but confirmation is always good.) And now Hans Zimmer says that he'll be writing the score to Superman -- something he's recently discussed as a possibility -- among many other projects he...
- 12/1/2010
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
As many Criterion fans are surely aware, the cult film Head, starring The Monkees, will soon be released as part of the box set America Lost And Found: The Bbs Story. Preceding this cinematic bonanza by a month, Rhino Handmade will be releasing an expanded 3-cd edition of the film’s soundtrack on October 26, chock-full of previously unreleased goodies and rarities.
While this will certainly appeal more to hardcore Monkees fans than the average Criterion collector, it is worth noting that The Monkees’ music is not without merit, and the Head soundtrack in particular was one of their more adventurous albums.
From the get-go as a pop band manufactured for television in 1966 by Bert Schneider and Bob Rafelson, The Monkees chafed under the control of music coordinator Don Kirshner, who commissioned songs to be written (by professional songwriters such as Neil Diamond, Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart, and Harry Nilsson) and...
While this will certainly appeal more to hardcore Monkees fans than the average Criterion collector, it is worth noting that The Monkees’ music is not without merit, and the Head soundtrack in particular was one of their more adventurous albums.
From the get-go as a pop band manufactured for television in 1966 by Bert Schneider and Bob Rafelson, The Monkees chafed under the control of music coordinator Don Kirshner, who commissioned songs to be written (by professional songwriters such as Neil Diamond, Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart, and Harry Nilsson) and...
- 9/10/2010
- by West Anthony
- CriterionCast
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