Long before Jigsaw and Annabelle, Ghostface and Samara—going back to even before Freddy and Jason—there were the Universal Monsters. These were the creatures and character designs who were so iconic that they defined what the horror genre was to most moviegoers during the earliest decades of talking pictures. Primarily released in two film cycles by Universal Pictures across the 1930s and ‘40s (plus a few outliers on both sides of this), the legacy of these films and the people who made them endures still. It echoes in Halloween costumes and TV specials, merchandise toys and candies, it’s even informing recent Blumhouse films and Netflix’s Wednesday. Right now, you can go to any Universal theme park and meet the Monsters as un-goodwill ambassadors at “Halloween Horror Nights.”
Yet to return to the original movement of films which were so frightening in their day that they essentially invented...
Yet to return to the original movement of films which were so frightening in their day that they essentially invented...
- 10/28/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Morgan Wallen follows up Dangerous: The Double Album with what can arguably be called a triple: One Thing at a Time, loaded with 36 tracks, drops March 3rd.
Among the glut of songs on the album is Wallen’s current hit “You Proof,” the song he wrote for his mother, “Thought You Should Know,” and one he recently teased from a hunting blind on social media, “Keith Whitley,” named after the Country Music Hall of Fame singer who died from alcohol poisoning in 1989.
One Thing at a Time also includes a number of guest shots,...
Among the glut of songs on the album is Wallen’s current hit “You Proof,” the song he wrote for his mother, “Thought You Should Know,” and one he recently teased from a hunting blind on social media, “Keith Whitley,” named after the Country Music Hall of Fame singer who died from alcohol poisoning in 1989.
One Thing at a Time also includes a number of guest shots,...
- 1/30/2023
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1944/ 87 min.
Starring Maria Montez, Jon Hall
Cinematography by George Robinson
Directed by Arthur Lubin
Thanks to George Robinson’s Technicolor photography and Vera West’s kaleidoscopic costumes, death and destruction look pretty as a picture in 1944’s Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Director Arthur Lubin’s action fantasy is no patch on the Fleischer brothers’ Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba’s Forty Thieves but this Universal Pictures release is a cheerfully unassuming time-killer.
This Arabian Nights fable about a caliph’s son who grows up to lead a band of robbers contains a few nuggets of actual history; the movie’s bloodthirsty villain, Hulagu Khan, was indeed the grandson of the infamous Genghis. Hulagu was a thug who didn’t fall far from the tree; he conquered Baghdad and then decimated it, sending the then storybook city into a spiral.
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1944/ 87 min.
Starring Maria Montez, Jon Hall
Cinematography by George Robinson
Directed by Arthur Lubin
Thanks to George Robinson’s Technicolor photography and Vera West’s kaleidoscopic costumes, death and destruction look pretty as a picture in 1944’s Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Director Arthur Lubin’s action fantasy is no patch on the Fleischer brothers’ Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba’s Forty Thieves but this Universal Pictures release is a cheerfully unassuming time-killer.
This Arabian Nights fable about a caliph’s son who grows up to lead a band of robbers contains a few nuggets of actual history; the movie’s bloodthirsty villain, Hulagu Khan, was indeed the grandson of the infamous Genghis. Hulagu was a thug who didn’t fall far from the tree; he conquered Baghdad and then decimated it, sending the then storybook city into a spiral.
- 8/8/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Cobra Woman
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1944/ 1:33 / 71 min.
Starring Maria Montez, Jon Hall, Sabu
Directed by Robert Siodmak
In the early 40’s Universal Pictures was still best known for its shadowy black and white horror shows. That all changed in 1944 when the studio produced the kind of candy-colored dreamland not seen since Dorothy woke up to Oz. The movie was Robert Siodmak’s Cobra Woman starring Maria Montez, Jon Hall and studio stalwart Lon Chaney Jr., last seen putting the bite on Louise Allbritton in Siodmak’s Son of Dracula. There aren’t any vampires in this florid South Sea adventure but this is Universal, after all – villagers are dying and the bite marks on their throats suggest Siodmak’s latest wouldn’t stray too far from the studio’s comfort zone.
Montez plays two roles, a moony island girl named Tollea and her twin sister Naja who rules far-off...
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1944/ 1:33 / 71 min.
Starring Maria Montez, Jon Hall, Sabu
Directed by Robert Siodmak
In the early 40’s Universal Pictures was still best known for its shadowy black and white horror shows. That all changed in 1944 when the studio produced the kind of candy-colored dreamland not seen since Dorothy woke up to Oz. The movie was Robert Siodmak’s Cobra Woman starring Maria Montez, Jon Hall and studio stalwart Lon Chaney Jr., last seen putting the bite on Louise Allbritton in Siodmak’s Son of Dracula. There aren’t any vampires in this florid South Sea adventure but this is Universal, after all – villagers are dying and the bite marks on their throats suggest Siodmak’s latest wouldn’t stray too far from the studio’s comfort zone.
Montez plays two roles, a moony island girl named Tollea and her twin sister Naja who rules far-off...
- 12/31/2019
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Paranoid, vengeful, with skin so thin you can see through it, The Invisible Man is the most nakedly neurotic of Universal’s classic monsters (beating out Larry Talbot by a hair). That said, this particular monster was something of a one-note character yet the diligent creators behind the subsequent sequels did their best to introduce a little variety into his act. Those films have just been released in a new Blu-ray set containing the original 1933 classic, the four sequels and the invisible one’s 1951 run-in with Abbott and Costello, all in immaculate transfers from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
The Invisible Man Complete Legacy Collection
Blu ray
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
1933, ‘40, ‘41, ‘42, ‘44, ‘51/ 1.33:1 / Street Date August 28, 2018
Starring Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, Vincent Price, Virginia Bruce, John Barrymore, Jon Hall
Cinematography by Arthur Edeson, Milton Krasner
Directed by James Whale, Joe May, Ford Beebe
The story of a mild-mannered scientist driven mad by his own experiments,...
The Invisible Man Complete Legacy Collection
Blu ray
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
1933, ‘40, ‘41, ‘42, ‘44, ‘51/ 1.33:1 / Street Date August 28, 2018
Starring Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, Vincent Price, Virginia Bruce, John Barrymore, Jon Hall
Cinematography by Arthur Edeson, Milton Krasner
Directed by James Whale, Joe May, Ford Beebe
The story of a mild-mannered scientist driven mad by his own experiments,...
- 9/18/2018
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Vulture Watch Has Charlie finally had it with Joel and Tess? Is the Ill Behaviour TV show cancelled or renewed for a second season on Showtime? The television vulture is watching all the latest cancellation and renewal news, so this page is the place to track the status of Ill Behaviour, season two. Bookmark it, or subscribe for the latest updates. Remember, the television vulture is watching your shows. Are you? What's This TV Show About? A Showtime thriller, Ill Behaviour stars Chris Geere, Tom Riley, Jessica Regan, Lizzy Caplan, Christina Chong, John Gordon Sinclair, Helena Day, Hemera Day, Tom Bell, and Anjana Vasan. The dark, British wish-fulfillment comedy from creator Sam Bain centers on Joel (Geere), a recently divorced underachiever. After receiving a £2 million divorce settlement, he reunites with his old schoolmates, Charlie (Riley) and Tess (Regan). When...
- 12/7/2017
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Network: Showtime. Episodes: Ongoing (hour). Seasons: Ongoing. TV show dates: November 13, 2017 — present. Series status: Has not been cancelled. Performers include: Chris Geere, Tom Riley, Jessica Regan, Lizzy Caplan, Christina Chong, John Gordon Sinclair, Helena Day, Hemera Day, Tom Bell, and Anjana Vasan. TV show description: A dark, British wish-fulfillment comedy from creator Sam Bain, the Ill Behaviour TV show centers on Joel (Geere). This recently divorced underachiever with a fondness for cocaine flounders as he looks for some direction and meaning in life. After receiving a £2 million divorce settlement, he reunites with his old schoolmates, Charlie (Riley) and Tess (Regan). Although Tess has a job in It, it is killing...
- 11/14/2017
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
It’s not exactly remarkable that cinema has been around long enough to chart the rise of modern psychology. The first century of film covers society’s entire 20th, a hundred-year span rife with innovation in a great many fields. But as art is keen on investigating the psyche, it’s little surprise that cinema would try to keep pace in some way with the study and expression of it. From the psychological thriller to the psychodrama to most horror films, the study of the mind onscreen sometimes unfolds perfectly naturally, and other times feels like a stiff lecture from somebody who read a really fascinating article in Time the month before. Look no further than Psycho for an example of both, but look to three films that played at the TCM Classic Film Festival for some pretty wild takes.
Based on a novel by a prominent psychologist (once president...
Based on a novel by a prominent psychologist (once president...
- 4/13/2017
- by Scott Nye
- CriterionCast
Still haven’t scored tickets to Hamilton?
Lin-Manuel Miranda and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson‘s new YouTube epic, Millennials: The Musical, just might be your next best bet.
“Lin and I had so much fun making Moana that we decided to produce our own Broadway show,” Johnson previously said in a behind-the-scenes look at the musical, produced by his production company, Seven Bucks Productions.
“There are very few things that are greater than bringing to life a story of a marginalized group of people,” the reigning Sexiest Man Alive joked. “Like, um, millennials.”
The 13-minute-long musical, just released on Johnson’s YouTube page,...
Lin-Manuel Miranda and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson‘s new YouTube epic, Millennials: The Musical, just might be your next best bet.
“Lin and I had so much fun making Moana that we decided to produce our own Broadway show,” Johnson previously said in a behind-the-scenes look at the musical, produced by his production company, Seven Bucks Productions.
“There are very few things that are greater than bringing to life a story of a marginalized group of people,” the reigning Sexiest Man Alive joked. “Like, um, millennials.”
The 13-minute-long musical, just released on Johnson’s YouTube page,...
- 11/29/2016
- by Catherine Kast
- PEOPLE.com
The Hurricane
Written by Dudley Nichols
Directed by John Ford
USA, 1937
“My name is John Ford and I make Westerns,” so the legendary filmmaker once declared. As has been pointed out (by Martin Scorsese among others) that statement in a sense discounts the great director’s non-genre works, like the four features for which he won Academy Awards: The Informer (1935), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), and The Quiet Man (1952). But with more than 140 directing credits on his résumé, it also sidesteps many lesser known, though quality, Ford films, those that either fall into the middle of the road category or those that are very good, if not quite great. That’s where his 1937 romantic drama The Hurricane comes in.
Produced by Samuel Goldwyn, directed by Ford (two years after The Informer and two years before his groundbreaking Stagecoach [1939]), and written by Dudley Nichols, himself an Oscar-winner for his writing The Informer,...
Written by Dudley Nichols
Directed by John Ford
USA, 1937
“My name is John Ford and I make Westerns,” so the legendary filmmaker once declared. As has been pointed out (by Martin Scorsese among others) that statement in a sense discounts the great director’s non-genre works, like the four features for which he won Academy Awards: The Informer (1935), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), and The Quiet Man (1952). But with more than 140 directing credits on his résumé, it also sidesteps many lesser known, though quality, Ford films, those that either fall into the middle of the road category or those that are very good, if not quite great. That’s where his 1937 romantic drama The Hurricane comes in.
Produced by Samuel Goldwyn, directed by Ford (two years after The Informer and two years before his groundbreaking Stagecoach [1939]), and written by Dudley Nichols, himself an Oscar-winner for his writing The Informer,...
- 11/30/2015
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
John Ford and Samuel Goldwyn's South Seas disaster picture can boast spectacular action and compelling romance. The unjustly imprisoned Jon Hall crosses half an ocean to rejoin his beloved Dorothy Lamour under The Moon of Manakoora, before an incredible (and incredibly expensive) hurricane blows the island to smithereens. Ford's direction is flawless, as are the screenplay by Dudley Nichols and the Hollywood-exotic music score by Alfred Newman. The Hurricane Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1937 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 110 min. / Street Date November 24, 2015 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Dorothy Lamour, Jon Hall, Mary Astor, C. Aubrey Smith, Thomas Mitchell, Raymond Massey, John Carradine, Jerome Cowan, Al Kikume, Kuulei De Clercq, Layne Tom Jr., Mamo Clark, Movita, Inez Courtney, Chris-Pin Martin. Cinematography Bert Glennon Film Editor Lloyd Nosler Special Effects James Basevi, Ray Binger, R.T. Layton, Lee Zavitz Original Music Alfred Newman Written by Dudley Nichols, Oliver H.P. Garrett from the...
- 11/24/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
'The Devil Strikes at Night,' with Mario Adorf as World War II era serial killer Bruno Lüdke 'The Devil Strikes at Night' movie review: Serial killing vs. mass murder in unsubtle but intriguing World War II political drama After more than a decade in Hollywood, German director Robert Siodmak (Academy Award nominated for the 1946 film noir The Killers) resumed his European career in the mid-1950s. In 1957, he directed The Devil Strikes at Night / Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam, an intriguing, well-crafted crime drama about the pursuit of a serial killer – and its political consequences – during the last months of the mass-murderous Nazi regime. Inspired by real events, The Devil Strikes at Night begins as war-scarred Hamburg is deeply shaken by the horrific murder of a waitress. Through the Homicide Bureau, inspector Axel Kersten (Claus Holm) begins an investigation that leads him to a mentally disabled laborer,...
- 5/11/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Teresa Wright-Samuel Goldwyn association comes to a nasty end (See preceding post: "Teresa Wright in 'Shadow of a Doubt': Alfred Hitchcock Heroine in His Favorite Film.") Whether or not because she was aware that Enchantment wasn't going to be the hit she needed – or perhaps some other disagreement with Samuel Goldwyn or personal issue with husband Niven Busch – Teresa Wright, claiming illness, refused to go to New York City to promote the film. (Top image: Teresa Wright in a publicity shot for The Men.) Goldwyn had previously announced that Wright, whose contract still had another four and half years to run, was to star in a film version of J.D. Salinger's 1948 short story "Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut." Instead, he unceremoniously – and quite publicly – fired her.[1] The Goldwyn organization issued a statement, explaining that besides refusing the assignment to travel to New York to help generate pre-opening publicity for Enchantment,...
- 3/11/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The new issue of cléo features interviews with Sally Potter and Julie Taymor, a profile of Sylvia Schedelbauer and articles on Alexander Payne’s Election, Jonathan Lynn's Clue, Mia Hansen-Løve's Eden, John Fawcett’s Ginger Snaps and Jon Hall's Beach Girls and the Monster. Necsus has rolled out its autumn issue with and essay by the late Harun Farocki. In the new journal Kinetophone, we can read about Dario Argento's Opera, Jean-Jacques Beineix's Diva, Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo and Federico Fellini's E la nave va. The new Cineaste is out and Fireflies is preparing its second issue on Abbas Kiarostami and Béla Tarr. » - David Hudson...
- 12/5/2014
- Fandor: Keyframe
The new issue of cléo features interviews with Sally Potter and Julie Taymor, a profile of Sylvia Schedelbauer and articles on Alexander Payne’s Election, Jonathan Lynn's Clue, Mia Hansen-Løve's Eden, John Fawcett’s Ginger Snaps and Jon Hall's Beach Girls and the Monster. Necsus has rolled out its autumn issue with and essay by the late Harun Farocki. In the new journal Kinetophone, we can read about Dario Argento's Opera, Jean-Jacques Beineix's Diva, Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo and Federico Fellini's E la nave va. The new Cineaste is out and Fireflies is preparing its second issue on Abbas Kiarostami and Béla Tarr. » - David Hudson...
- 12/5/2014
- Keyframe
Fans of Robert Redford, Marlon Brando, John Wayne and Jason Robards rejoice! Altitude Films are releasing Seven classic films between May 27th and June 10th and to celebrate we are offering you the chance to win them all.
Two lucky winners will each receive a bundle of classic movies including a copy of The Fugitive Kind, The Hot Rock, Arabian Nights, Desiree, The Story of GI Joe, The St Valentines Massacre and McLintock!
Here’s the rundown on the films included in this fantastic classic bundle…
Arabian Nights (1942)
Filmed in glorious Technicolor and nominated for four Academy Awards®, Arabian Nights is an action-packed adventure classic.
Starring Jon Hall and Maria Montez, Arabian Nights is a grand tale of intrigue and romance. Haroun-Al-Raschid, the Caliph of Bagdad and his half-brother Kamar are in an epic battle, competing for the throne and for the affections of a beautiful dancer, Scheherazade.
Pre-order your copy now here.
Two lucky winners will each receive a bundle of classic movies including a copy of The Fugitive Kind, The Hot Rock, Arabian Nights, Desiree, The Story of GI Joe, The St Valentines Massacre and McLintock!
Here’s the rundown on the films included in this fantastic classic bundle…
Arabian Nights (1942)
Filmed in glorious Technicolor and nominated for four Academy Awards®, Arabian Nights is an action-packed adventure classic.
Starring Jon Hall and Maria Montez, Arabian Nights is a grand tale of intrigue and romance. Haroun-Al-Raschid, the Caliph of Bagdad and his half-brother Kamar are in an epic battle, competing for the throne and for the affections of a beautiful dancer, Scheherazade.
Pre-order your copy now here.
- 5/29/2013
- by Simon Gallagher
- Obsessed with Film
To celebrate the release of the adventure classic Arabian Nights on 10th June, we are offering you the chance to win one of three copies of the DVD.
Filmed in glorious Technicolor and nominated for four Academy Awards®, Arabian Nights is an action-packed adventure classic.
Directed by John Rawlins and starring Jon Hall and Maria Montez, Arabian Nights is a grand tale of intrigue and romance. Haroun-Al-Raschid, the Caliph of Bagdad and his half-brother Kamar are in an epic battle, competing for the throne and for the affections of a beautiful dancer, Scheherazade.
Lavish sets, beautiful costumes and the first-ever pairing of the romantic adventure team of Hall and Montez, Arabian Nights is a film not to be missed!
Pre-order your copy now here.
Click next for your chance to win.
The post Win Arabian Nights on DVD appeared first on HeyUGuys.
Filmed in glorious Technicolor and nominated for four Academy Awards®, Arabian Nights is an action-packed adventure classic.
Directed by John Rawlins and starring Jon Hall and Maria Montez, Arabian Nights is a grand tale of intrigue and romance. Haroun-Al-Raschid, the Caliph of Bagdad and his half-brother Kamar are in an epic battle, competing for the throne and for the affections of a beautiful dancer, Scheherazade.
Lavish sets, beautiful costumes and the first-ever pairing of the romantic adventure team of Hall and Montez, Arabian Nights is a film not to be missed!
Pre-order your copy now here.
Click next for your chance to win.
The post Win Arabian Nights on DVD appeared first on HeyUGuys.
- 5/15/2013
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Arabian Nights
Directed by John Rawlins
Starring Jon Hall, Maria Montez, and Sabu
USA, 86 min – 1942.
Part of a series of exotic pictures released by Universal in the 1940s (the others of which include Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and White Savage), Arabian Nights places the Hollywood spin on the classic tale of Scheherazade and her murderous husband. The name of the source material’s heroine – Scheherazade – is kept the same, while others are changed. The tale is twisted, so that there seems to be very little of the original myth and of the original Scheherazade. What is left are some names, supposed exotic places (“Arabia”), a brother’s feud, and humorous references to the stories of Aladdin and Sinbad. Arabian Nights becomes a campy adventure film to take war-minded audiences away to a far off place, for a while. It works.
Universal’s Arabian Nights begins with a frame...
Directed by John Rawlins
Starring Jon Hall, Maria Montez, and Sabu
USA, 86 min – 1942.
Part of a series of exotic pictures released by Universal in the 1940s (the others of which include Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and White Savage), Arabian Nights places the Hollywood spin on the classic tale of Scheherazade and her murderous husband. The name of the source material’s heroine – Scheherazade – is kept the same, while others are changed. The tale is twisted, so that there seems to be very little of the original myth and of the original Scheherazade. What is left are some names, supposed exotic places (“Arabia”), a brother’s feud, and humorous references to the stories of Aladdin and Sinbad. Arabian Nights becomes a campy adventure film to take war-minded audiences away to a far off place, for a while. It works.
Universal’s Arabian Nights begins with a frame...
- 1/29/2013
- by Karen Bacellar
- SoundOnSight
Successful 1940s film actor whose exotic roles led fan magazines to dub him 'the Turkish Delight'
"Exotic" is the epithet most frequently used to describe the series of Technicolored escapist movies produced by Universal Pictures in the 1940s. These profitable films, often set in a North African or Arabian desert recreated on the studio backlot, featured the Dominican actor Maria Montez; Sabu, the Indian teenage boy; Jon Hall (son of a Swiss actor and a Tahitian princess); and Turhan Bey, who has died aged 90. Bey was often cast as wily, "foreign" villains, or romantic leads in thrillers and Arabian Nights fantasies, for which he was dubbed by fan magazines "the Turkish Delight".
Son of a Turkish diplomat father and a Czech industrialist mother, he was born Turhan Gilbert Selahattin Sahultavy in Vienna, but emigrated to the Us with his mother and grandmother shortly before Austria was annexed by Germany in 1938. In California,...
"Exotic" is the epithet most frequently used to describe the series of Technicolored escapist movies produced by Universal Pictures in the 1940s. These profitable films, often set in a North African or Arabian desert recreated on the studio backlot, featured the Dominican actor Maria Montez; Sabu, the Indian teenage boy; Jon Hall (son of a Swiss actor and a Tahitian princess); and Turhan Bey, who has died aged 90. Bey was often cast as wily, "foreign" villains, or romantic leads in thrillers and Arabian Nights fantasies, for which he was dubbed by fan magazines "the Turkish Delight".
Son of a Turkish diplomat father and a Czech industrialist mother, he was born Turhan Gilbert Selahattin Sahultavy in Vienna, but emigrated to the Us with his mother and grandmother shortly before Austria was annexed by Germany in 1938. In California,...
- 10/10/2012
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Turhan Bey starred in '40s Technicolor fantasy / adventure movies Bey (closeup photo, right), best remembered for his roles opposite Maria Montez and Jon Hall in a number of Technicolor exotic "Easterns" at Universal in the '40s, died in Vienna on September 30. Bey, who had been suffering from Parkinson's Disease, was 90 years old. He was born as Gilbert Selahettin Schultavey on March 30, 1922, in the Austrian capital. His father was a Turkish diplomat; his mother was Czech Jew. According to reports, in 1940 Bey and his family fled the Nazis to the United States, eventually settling in Los Angeles. Not long thereafter, he was discovered by a Warner Bros. talent scout. Bey Hollywood movies Bey's Warners stint didn't last long, as he began appearing in Universal productions shortly after his Hollywood career kicked off in 1941. Though never a star, he was a popular player in the '40s, in escapist Technicolor...
- 10/9/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Stocky supporting actor who won an Oscar when he was cast against type as a lonely butcher in Marty
With his coarsely podgy features, bug eyes, gap-toothed grin and stocky build, Ernest Borgnine, who has died aged 95 of renal failure, seemed destined to remain one of nature's supporting actors in a string of sadistic and menacing parts. Instead he won an Oscar for a role which was the antithesis of all his previous characters.
In 1955, the producer Harold Hecht wanted to transfer Paddy Chayefsky's teleplay Marty to the big screen, with Rod Steiger in the title role, which he had created. But Steiger was filming Oklahoma! so was unavailable. Borgnine was offered the role after a female guest at a Hollywood reception quite disinterestedly remarked to Hecht that, ugly as he was, Borgnine possessed an oddly tender quality which made her yearn to mother him. "That," Hecht said later,...
With his coarsely podgy features, bug eyes, gap-toothed grin and stocky build, Ernest Borgnine, who has died aged 95 of renal failure, seemed destined to remain one of nature's supporting actors in a string of sadistic and menacing parts. Instead he won an Oscar for a role which was the antithesis of all his previous characters.
In 1955, the producer Harold Hecht wanted to transfer Paddy Chayefsky's teleplay Marty to the big screen, with Rod Steiger in the title role, which he had created. But Steiger was filming Oklahoma! so was unavailable. Borgnine was offered the role after a female guest at a Hollywood reception quite disinterestedly remarked to Hecht that, ugly as he was, Borgnine possessed an oddly tender quality which made her yearn to mother him. "That," Hecht said later,...
- 7/9/2012
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
MTV has finally signed off on a reunion show for 2Gether. The surviving members of the "boy band" will produce their own show and MTV will then air it. I'm fascinated to see how seriously they take this.
I know this photo spread with the theme "Bros Blowin' Shotties" is about sharing a hit, but it looks so sexy and erotic.
Bret Easton Ellis is writing a screenplay for (straight) porn star James Deen to star in. It's meant to be a non-porn film, but Deen has to act and be full-frontal naked banging girls and guys." This could end up being so bad it's good.
While it's theoretically a good thing that Josh Gad, Rory O'Malley, Michael Potts and Andrew Rannells have extended their contracts with The Book of Mormon through 2013, I'm not sure how that squares with the news that Rannells was cast as the lead in Ryan Murphy's new family show.
I know this photo spread with the theme "Bros Blowin' Shotties" is about sharing a hit, but it looks so sexy and erotic.
Bret Easton Ellis is writing a screenplay for (straight) porn star James Deen to star in. It's meant to be a non-porn film, but Deen has to act and be full-frontal naked banging girls and guys." This could end up being so bad it's good.
While it's theoretically a good thing that Josh Gad, Rory O'Malley, Michael Potts and Andrew Rannells have extended their contracts with The Book of Mormon through 2013, I'm not sure how that squares with the news that Rannells was cast as the lead in Ryan Murphy's new family show.
- 1/24/2012
- by lostinmiami
- The Backlot
A recent retrospective on the cult film-maker revealed his inspiration – a dazzling 1940s diva who could not even act
Jack Smith and Maria Montez were made for each other. They never met. Sadly, she had died before he started making films – drowning in her bathtub in Paris at the age of 39 on 7 September 1951. Yet her spirit imbued his first movie, Buzzards over Bagdad, which reimagined her teaming with Jon Hall and Sabu in Arabian Nights (1942), one of the garishly fantasies that earned Montez the nickname "the Queen of Technicolor".
Indeed, she inspired many of the works contained in the Ica's recent landmark season, Jack Smith: A Feast for Open Eyes, and even acted as a posthumous beard for his avant-garde manifesto, The Perfect Filmic Appositeness of Maria Montez, which appeared in the Winter 1962 edition of Film Culture and laid out Smith's vision for a new Queer cinema. In so doing,...
Jack Smith and Maria Montez were made for each other. They never met. Sadly, she had died before he started making films – drowning in her bathtub in Paris at the age of 39 on 7 September 1951. Yet her spirit imbued his first movie, Buzzards over Bagdad, which reimagined her teaming with Jon Hall and Sabu in Arabian Nights (1942), one of the garishly fantasies that earned Montez the nickname "the Queen of Technicolor".
Indeed, she inspired many of the works contained in the Ica's recent landmark season, Jack Smith: A Feast for Open Eyes, and even acted as a posthumous beard for his avant-garde manifesto, The Perfect Filmic Appositeness of Maria Montez, which appeared in the Winter 1962 edition of Film Culture and laid out Smith's vision for a new Queer cinema. In so doing,...
- 9/23/2011
- by David Parkinson
- The Guardian - Film News
From Andrew to Katrina, hurricanes are one of the harshest natural threats on Earth, and it's no accident that studios have leveraged them on multiple occasions in stories of courage, struggles and romance.
Five films defined hurricanes for us better than any others, though, and they feature intense performances, as well as sprawling directorial ambitions.
5. "The Hurricane" (1937)
At the time, this John Ford-directed film boasted "the most spectacular scenes ever filmed by man." And you know what? His bad weather special effects weren't all that bad. The story follows a man (Jon Hall) imprisoned for getting into a bar fight; his luck after that just kind of wanders into a downward spiral.
If this were a top five list of scenes featuring priests playing organs in apocalyptic weather situations, "The Hurricane" would be number one.
4. "The Hurricane" (1999)
The Hurricane in this film (Denzel Washington) didn't devastate any islands, but...
Five films defined hurricanes for us better than any others, though, and they feature intense performances, as well as sprawling directorial ambitions.
5. "The Hurricane" (1937)
At the time, this John Ford-directed film boasted "the most spectacular scenes ever filmed by man." And you know what? His bad weather special effects weren't all that bad. The story follows a man (Jon Hall) imprisoned for getting into a bar fight; his luck after that just kind of wanders into a downward spiral.
If this were a top five list of scenes featuring priests playing organs in apocalyptic weather situations, "The Hurricane" would be number one.
4. "The Hurricane" (1999)
The Hurricane in this film (Denzel Washington) didn't devastate any islands, but...
- 8/25/2011
- by IFC
- ifc.com
Turner Classic Movies' look at Arabs in Hollywood movies continues this evening with six movies. Why exactly Gabriel Pascal's film adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) is one of the six, I don't know. Caesar was a Roman-born emperor; Cleopatra, a descendant of Greek royalty, was an Egyptian queen long before the Arab conquest of Egypt. Now, I may be puzzled about its inclusion, but Caesar and Cleopatra is very much worth watching chiefly thanks to Claude Rains' brilliant performance as the first half of the title role and Vivien Leigh's highly theatrical but enjoyable star turn as the second half of the title role. Kismet (1944) would have been more enjoyable had it been directed by Henry Hathaway, Michael Curtiz, Frank Lloyd, or even Lloyd Bacon. William Dieterle, best known for several ponderous Warner Bros. biopics of the '30s, had a heavy hand...
- 7/20/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Last year Barnes & Noble commissioned Eisner Award-winning comics illustrator Thomas Yeates to illustrate its new edition of the first three Mars tales of Edgar Rice Burroughs. The handsome new volume, John Carter of Mars, contains A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars, and The Warlord of Mars, which together comprise a trilogy recounting the fighting Virginian’s arrival and ascendance on the Red Planet.
A Princess of Mars was Edgar Rice Burroughs’ first book, written after a series of unsuccessful endeavors led him try his hand at bettering what he read in the pulps. His next book was the now-obscure The Outlaw of Torn; Yeates has done his part to revive this overlooked tale of the Middle Ages by illustrating a full color graphic novel edition to be published by Dark Horse under the title The Outlaw Prince (part one). Burroughs’ third book was somewhat better received; Tarzan of the Apes...
A Princess of Mars was Edgar Rice Burroughs’ first book, written after a series of unsuccessful endeavors led him try his hand at bettering what he read in the pulps. His next book was the now-obscure The Outlaw of Torn; Yeates has done his part to revive this overlooked tale of the Middle Ages by illustrating a full color graphic novel edition to be published by Dark Horse under the title The Outlaw Prince (part one). Burroughs’ third book was somewhat better received; Tarzan of the Apes...
- 6/15/2010
- by Steve
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
DVD Playhouse—July 2009
By
Allen Gardner
Do The Right Thing: 20th Anniversary Edition (Universal) Spike Lee’s groundbreaking fable about race relations in an ethnically mixed Brooklyn neighborhood during a sweltering New York summer remains as potent, timely and prescient as it was in 1989. Lee is among the cast, which also includes John Turturro, Danny Aiello, Samuel L. Jackson, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and Rosie Perez (to name a few), that provide the tableaux-like framework for this stunning work. Criminally ignored by Oscar (it wasn't even nominated for Best Picture, but did garner nods for Supporting Actor Danny Aiello and Lee’s screenplay), it endures as a timeless classic. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Lee, Ernest Dickerson, Wynn Thomas, Joie Lee; Documentary; Deleted and extended scenes; Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround.
Coraline (Universal) A young girl moves into an old Victorian house with her parents...
By
Allen Gardner
Do The Right Thing: 20th Anniversary Edition (Universal) Spike Lee’s groundbreaking fable about race relations in an ethnically mixed Brooklyn neighborhood during a sweltering New York summer remains as potent, timely and prescient as it was in 1989. Lee is among the cast, which also includes John Turturro, Danny Aiello, Samuel L. Jackson, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and Rosie Perez (to name a few), that provide the tableaux-like framework for this stunning work. Criminally ignored by Oscar (it wasn't even nominated for Best Picture, but did garner nods for Supporting Actor Danny Aiello and Lee’s screenplay), it endures as a timeless classic. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Lee, Ernest Dickerson, Wynn Thomas, Joie Lee; Documentary; Deleted and extended scenes; Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround.
Coraline (Universal) A young girl moves into an old Victorian house with her parents...
- 7/14/2009
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Here’s a list of some of the new DVD and Blu-ray releases this week. Plus, some old favorites coming out this week on Blu-Ray.
New Movies:
• Knowing ~ Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne (DVD and Blu-ray)
• Push ~ Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning (DVD and Blu-ray)
• The Unborn ~ Odette Yustman (DVD and Blu-Ray)
• Night Train ~ Danny Glover, Leelee Sobieski, Steve Zahn (DVD and Blu-ray)
• Five Fingers ~ Laurence Fishburne, Colm Meaney, Antonie Kamerling, Saïd Taghmaoui (DVD and Blu-ray)
• A Day in the Life ~ Omar Epps, Faizon Love, Michael Rapaport, Tyrin Turner (DVD)
• Flying By ~ Billy Ray Cyrus, Heather Locklear, Olesya Rulin, Patricia Neal (DVD)
• Applause for Miss E ~ Vanessa Bell Calloway, Roger Guenveur Smith, Gina Torres (DVD)
• Power Rangers Rpm, Vol. 1: Start Your Engines ~ Eka Darville, Ari Boyland, Rose McIver, Milo Cawthorne (DVD)
• Flight 666 ~ Iron Maiden (Blu-ray)
Previously Released and Classic Movies:
• Lonely are the Brave ~ Kirk Douglas, Gena Rowlands, Walter Matthau, George Kennedy...
New Movies:
• Knowing ~ Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne (DVD and Blu-ray)
• Push ~ Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning (DVD and Blu-ray)
• The Unborn ~ Odette Yustman (DVD and Blu-Ray)
• Night Train ~ Danny Glover, Leelee Sobieski, Steve Zahn (DVD and Blu-ray)
• Five Fingers ~ Laurence Fishburne, Colm Meaney, Antonie Kamerling, Saïd Taghmaoui (DVD and Blu-ray)
• A Day in the Life ~ Omar Epps, Faizon Love, Michael Rapaport, Tyrin Turner (DVD)
• Flying By ~ Billy Ray Cyrus, Heather Locklear, Olesya Rulin, Patricia Neal (DVD)
• Applause for Miss E ~ Vanessa Bell Calloway, Roger Guenveur Smith, Gina Torres (DVD)
• Power Rangers Rpm, Vol. 1: Start Your Engines ~ Eka Darville, Ari Boyland, Rose McIver, Milo Cawthorne (DVD)
• Flight 666 ~ Iron Maiden (Blu-ray)
Previously Released and Classic Movies:
• Lonely are the Brave ~ Kirk Douglas, Gena Rowlands, Walter Matthau, George Kennedy...
- 7/7/2009
- by Chris Ullrich
- The Flickcast
DVD Links: DVD News | Release Dates | New Dvds | Reviews | RSS Feed Knowing I just reviewed the Blu-ray edition of this one and you can read that right here. I still find this a fascinating movie and definitely recommend everyone check it out at least once, but the second time around the two hour runtime does begin to really weigh on you and I didn't end up finding anything new that I hadn't noticed already. I personally hoped for more from a second viewing but came up empty. Not sure this one is a purchase, but do give it a chance if you haven't seen it yet. The Unborn (Unrated) Meh, not a very good movie to begin with (read my theatrical review here) and I highly doubt this supposed "unrated" cut will be any better. If you want to see a low-rent PG-13 horror I would recommend The Uninvited over this one.
- 7/7/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
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.