Director Robert Benton and Paul Newman come through with an extremely pleasing small town story. Snowy North Bath New York would seem a pit of failures big and small, until we begin to appreciate its social web of ‘support relationships’ that fill in for broken family connections. Newman’s injured laborer can’t get a fair shake, but he begins to realize the importance of his neighbors and his grandson. The comic conflicts are wholly believable, with Jessica Tandy, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Philip Seymour Hoffman on board: this one is Mellow and Mature (and a little racy) without succumbing to Hallmark TV drama sentimentality.
Nobody’s Fool
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 145
1994 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date July 27, 2022 / Available from / aud 34.95
Starring: Paul Newman, Jessica Tandy, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, Dylan Walsh, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Gene Saks, Josef Sommer, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco, Catherine Dent, Margo Martindale,...
Nobody’s Fool
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 145
1994 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date July 27, 2022 / Available from / aud 34.95
Starring: Paul Newman, Jessica Tandy, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, Dylan Walsh, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Gene Saks, Josef Sommer, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco, Catherine Dent, Margo Martindale,...
- 8/27/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
David Mamet’s gangster fable benefits from a casting match made in heaven — Don Ameche and Joe Mantegna. A shoeshine vendor is tapped to take a rap for a mob boss, but the hoodlum delivering him to court instead takes him on a two-day escape to Reno … against mob orders. It’s low-key comedy with delightful characters and the sobering knowledge that the weekend will end in jail … or the morgue. After a thirty-year hiatus Ameche makes a marvelous return to starring glory… just think, a Mamet film where we really warm up to the players!
Things Change
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1988 / Color / 1:85 / 100 min. / Street Date March 22, 2021 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99
Starring: Don Ameche, Joe Mantegna, Robert Prosky, J.J. Johnston, Ricky Jay, Mike Nussbaum, Jack Wallace, William H. Macy, J.T. Walsh, Felicity Huffman, Sara Eckhardt, Karen Kohlhaas, Paul Butler.
Cinematography: Juan Ruiz Anchía
Film Editor: Trudy Ship...
Things Change
Region B Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1988 / Color / 1:85 / 100 min. / Street Date March 22, 2021 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99
Starring: Don Ameche, Joe Mantegna, Robert Prosky, J.J. Johnston, Ricky Jay, Mike Nussbaum, Jack Wallace, William H. Macy, J.T. Walsh, Felicity Huffman, Sara Eckhardt, Karen Kohlhaas, Paul Butler.
Cinematography: Juan Ruiz Anchía
Film Editor: Trudy Ship...
- 2/23/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
It’s a quality true-life mystery-exposé that doesn’t come off as tabloid trash or Oliver Stone hysteria — the true story of Karen Silkwood is told without cooking the books. The all-superstar cast is something too — Meryl Streep, Cher and Kurt Russell. Only a fine director like Mike Nichols could steer this one into good entertainment & memorable cinema territory.
Silkwood
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1983 / Color B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 131 min. / Street Date July 25, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, Cher, Craig T. Nelson, Diana Scarwid, Fred Ward, Ron Silver, Charles Hallahan.
Cinematography: Miroslav Ondrícek
Production Designer: Patrizia von Brandenstein
Art Direction: Richard D. James
Film Editor: Sam O’Steen
Original Music: Georges Delerue
Written by Alice Arlen and Nora Ephron
Produced by Larry Cano, Michael Hausman, Buzz Hirsch, Mike Nichols
Directed by Mike Nichols
Remember when the big movies about adult themes were in the theaters, and not on cable TV?...
Silkwood
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1983 / Color B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 131 min. / Street Date July 25, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, Cher, Craig T. Nelson, Diana Scarwid, Fred Ward, Ron Silver, Charles Hallahan.
Cinematography: Miroslav Ondrícek
Production Designer: Patrizia von Brandenstein
Art Direction: Richard D. James
Film Editor: Sam O’Steen
Original Music: Georges Delerue
Written by Alice Arlen and Nora Ephron
Produced by Larry Cano, Michael Hausman, Buzz Hirsch, Mike Nichols
Directed by Mike Nichols
Remember when the big movies about adult themes were in the theaters, and not on cable TV?...
- 8/5/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Exclusive: For the first time ever a film festival will overlap the Bogota Audiovisual Market (Bam) in July as Colombia’s film chiefs look to turn the summer corridor into a creative and business platform for the country’s booming film industry.
IndieBo co-founders Paola Turbay and Juan Carvajal have moved from last year’s inaugural September weekend slot to July 16-26.
The sixth annual Bam, managed by the Bogota Chamber Of Commerce and national body Proimágenes Colombia, runs from July 13-17.
While here is no official link yet and the overlap is short, market director Juliana Ortiz along with Turbay and Carvajal are hopeful of a productive synergy.
Indeed it is understood some IndieBo guests have already begun scheduling Bam meetings into their agendas.
IndieBo top brass expect to host more than 90 screenings from around 30 countries including Latin American premieres of selections from Sundance, Tribeca and Berlin. They unveil the line-up of films and events on June...
IndieBo co-founders Paola Turbay and Juan Carvajal have moved from last year’s inaugural September weekend slot to July 16-26.
The sixth annual Bam, managed by the Bogota Chamber Of Commerce and national body Proimágenes Colombia, runs from July 13-17.
While here is no official link yet and the overlap is short, market director Juliana Ortiz along with Turbay and Carvajal are hopeful of a productive synergy.
Indeed it is understood some IndieBo guests have already begun scheduling Bam meetings into their agendas.
IndieBo top brass expect to host more than 90 screenings from around 30 countries including Latin American premieres of selections from Sundance, Tribeca and Berlin. They unveil the line-up of films and events on June...
- 5/18/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Alfonso Cuaron's "Gravity" and Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" both won the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for outstanding producer of theatrical motion pictures at the 2014 Producers Guild of America awards. It's an unprecedented tie that just makes the Academy Awards much more unpredictable!
"We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks" took home the documentary trophy while "Frozen" won the animated category.
Here's the complete list of winners (highlighted) of the 2014 Producers Guild Awards (PGA):
Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures (Tie):
*Gravity (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Producers: Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman
*12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Producers: Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner
American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)
Producers: Megan Ellison, Jon Gordon, Charles Roven, Richard Suckle
Blue Jasmine (Sony Pictures Classics)
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum
Captain Phillips (Columbia Pictures)
Producers: Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Scott Rudin...
"We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks" took home the documentary trophy while "Frozen" won the animated category.
Here's the complete list of winners (highlighted) of the 2014 Producers Guild Awards (PGA):
Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures (Tie):
*Gravity (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Producers: Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman
*12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Producers: Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner
American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)
Producers: Megan Ellison, Jon Gordon, Charles Roven, Richard Suckle
Blue Jasmine (Sony Pictures Classics)
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum
Captain Phillips (Columbia Pictures)
Producers: Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Scott Rudin...
- 1/20/2014
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
12 Years A Slave and Gravity have tied at this year’s PGA. With American Hustle taking the SAG ensemble on Saturday night, we have a bonafide Best Picture race on our hands folks! This is the first tie for the top film in Producers Guild Award history.
The PGA split keeps the Oscar race wide open in one of the tightest three-way battles in years, with “American Hustle” still in the game following a week of big showings at the Golden Globes, Oscar nominations and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Tonight the Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced this year’s winning motion picture and television productions at the 25th Annual Producers Guild Awards ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.
David Heyman, Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Dede Gardner, Alfonso Cuaron, Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision for Producers Guild/AP Images)
In addition to the competitive awards,...
The PGA split keeps the Oscar race wide open in one of the tightest three-way battles in years, with “American Hustle” still in the game following a week of big showings at the Golden Globes, Oscar nominations and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Tonight the Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced this year’s winning motion picture and television productions at the 25th Annual Producers Guild Awards ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.
David Heyman, Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Dede Gardner, Alfonso Cuaron, Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision for Producers Guild/AP Images)
In addition to the competitive awards,...
- 1/20/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Plenty of groups give out awards for excellence in film and television at the end of every year, but no set of nominations is watched more carefully by Oscar predictors than the picks from the Producers Guild. That’s because year after year their choices end up being a fairly good indicator of which films will also be granted Best Picture nominations when the Academy makes their selections.
The Guild has announced their 2014 nominations today and there aren’t really any major surprises here. All the expected films are present, including 12 Years A Slave, American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Gravity, Her and The Wolf Of Wall Street. Animated films that nabbed nominations are The Croods, Despicable Me 2, Epic, Frozen and Monsters University. Included in the documentary nominations are A Place at the Table, Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story, Life According to Sam, We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks...
The Guild has announced their 2014 nominations today and there aren’t really any major surprises here. All the expected films are present, including 12 Years A Slave, American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Gravity, Her and The Wolf Of Wall Street. Animated films that nabbed nominations are The Croods, Despicable Me 2, Epic, Frozen and Monsters University. Included in the documentary nominations are A Place at the Table, Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story, Life According to Sam, We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks...
- 1/2/2014
- by Alexander Lowe
- We Got This Covered
The Producers Guild of America has announced the nominees for the 25th annual PGA Awards. In the movie category, the Coen Brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis" and the awards hopefuls from the Weinstein Company were ignored -- no "August: Osage County," "Fruitvale Station" (darn!), "Philomena" (another darn), "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom," and "Lee Daniels' The Butler." Sorry Harvey and Bob Weinstein!
We'll find out the winners on Jan. 19. Here's the complete list of nominees of the 25th Annual PGA Awards (including TV categories):
The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:
American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)
Producers: Megan Ellison, Jon Gordon, Charles Roven, Richard Suckle
Blue Jasmine (Sony Pictures Classics)
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum
Captain Phillips (Columbia Pictures)
Producers: Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Scott Rudin
Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)
Producers: Robbie Brenner, Rachel Winter
Gravity (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Producers: Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman
Her (Warner Bros.
We'll find out the winners on Jan. 19. Here's the complete list of nominees of the 25th Annual PGA Awards (including TV categories):
The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:
American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)
Producers: Megan Ellison, Jon Gordon, Charles Roven, Richard Suckle
Blue Jasmine (Sony Pictures Classics)
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum
Captain Phillips (Columbia Pictures)
Producers: Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Scott Rudin
Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)
Producers: Robbie Brenner, Rachel Winter
Gravity (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Producers: Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman
Her (Warner Bros.
- 1/2/2014
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
The Producers Guild of America has accurately forecast the last six Best Picture Oscar winners, so it was good news for 10 films that were nominated today for the PGA’s Darryl F. Zanuck Award. While Gravity, 12 Years a Slave, and American Hustle were among the films that made the cut, Inside Llewyn Davis, The Butler, and Fruitvale Station did not. Last year, eight of the 10 movies that received nods from the PGA went on to earn Oscar nominations for Best Picture.
Fruitvale will go home with a special award when the hardware is handed out on Jan. 19. The movie from...
Fruitvale will go home with a special award when the hardware is handed out on Jan. 19. The movie from...
- 1/2/2014
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
DVD Playhouse – May 2012
By Allen Gardner
Shame (20th Century Fox) Director Steve McQueen’s harrowing portrait of a Manhattan sex addict (Michael Fassbender, in the year’s most riveting performance) whose psyche goes into overload when his equally-troubled sister (Carey Mulligan) visits unexpectedly. Exquisitely-made on every level, save for the screenplay, which makes its point after about thirty minutes. While it tries hard to be a modern-day Last Tango in Paris, this fatal flaw makes it fall somewhat short. The much- ballyhooed sex scenes and frontal nudity are the least-interesting things about the film, incidentally, which is still a must-see for discriminating adults who seek out challenging material. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.
Being John Malkovich (Criterion) Spike Jonze’s madcap film of Charlie Kaufman’s script, regarding a socially-disenfranchised puppeteer (John Cusack) who finds a portal into the mind of actor...
By Allen Gardner
Shame (20th Century Fox) Director Steve McQueen’s harrowing portrait of a Manhattan sex addict (Michael Fassbender, in the year’s most riveting performance) whose psyche goes into overload when his equally-troubled sister (Carey Mulligan) visits unexpectedly. Exquisitely-made on every level, save for the screenplay, which makes its point after about thirty minutes. While it tries hard to be a modern-day Last Tango in Paris, this fatal flaw makes it fall somewhat short. The much- ballyhooed sex scenes and frontal nudity are the least-interesting things about the film, incidentally, which is still a must-see for discriminating adults who seek out challenging material. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.
Being John Malkovich (Criterion) Spike Jonze’s madcap film of Charlie Kaufman’s script, regarding a socially-disenfranchised puppeteer (John Cusack) who finds a portal into the mind of actor...
- 5/7/2012
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
I had a fantastic time meeting the main cast of "Taking Woodstock." And the film is equally thought-provoking (I'll post my review very soon!).
Directed by Ang Lee ("Brokeback Mountain," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") and based on a book by Elliot Tiber called "Taking Woodstock: A True Story of A Riot, A Concert, and A Life," the film is a bittersweet look at the event that changed pop culture forever.
So take a trip with "Taking Woodstock" when it opens this Friday, August 28.
Now, here are my interviews:
Emile Hirsch
The super-fantastic Emile Hirsch and I talked about:
Why He Loves My First Interview With Him For "Milk" (I'm Pretty Proud Of That :happy)
His character Billy
Working with Ang Lee
How he prepared for the role
And His Full-frontal Male Nudity Scene!
Liev Schreiber
We talked about:
His character, Vilma, a drag queen activist who is also Eliott's...
Directed by Ang Lee ("Brokeback Mountain," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") and based on a book by Elliot Tiber called "Taking Woodstock: A True Story of A Riot, A Concert, and A Life," the film is a bittersweet look at the event that changed pop culture forever.
So take a trip with "Taking Woodstock" when it opens this Friday, August 28.
Now, here are my interviews:
Emile Hirsch
The super-fantastic Emile Hirsch and I talked about:
Why He Loves My First Interview With Him For "Milk" (I'm Pretty Proud Of That :happy)
His character Billy
Working with Ang Lee
How he prepared for the role
And His Full-frontal Male Nudity Scene!
Liev Schreiber
We talked about:
His character, Vilma, a drag queen activist who is also Eliott's...
- 8/25/2009
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Chicago – In our latest trippy edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 admit-two passes up for grabs to the highly anticipated Chicago screening of “Taking Woodstock” from Oscar-winning director Ang Lee (“Brokeback Mountain” and “Sense and Sensibility”). “Taking Woodstock” stars Emile Hirsch, Liev Schreiber, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Dan Fogler, Demetri Martin, Paul Dano, Henry Goodman, Jonathan Groff and Eugene Levy.
To win your free pass to the advance screening of “Taking Woodstock” in Chicago courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, all you need to do is answer our question below. That’s it! The screening will be held on Aug. 27, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. in downtown Chicago. Directions to enter this Hookup and immediately win can be found beneath the graphic below.
The movie poster for “Taking Woodstock” with Emile Hirsch, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Paul Dano.
Image credit: Focus Features
Here is the “Taking Woodstock” plot description:
“Taking Woodstock” is...
To win your free pass to the advance screening of “Taking Woodstock” in Chicago courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, all you need to do is answer our question below. That’s it! The screening will be held on Aug. 27, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. in downtown Chicago. Directions to enter this Hookup and immediately win can be found beneath the graphic below.
The movie poster for “Taking Woodstock” with Emile Hirsch, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Paul Dano.
Image credit: Focus Features
Here is the “Taking Woodstock” plot description:
“Taking Woodstock” is...
- 8/25/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Danny Boyle, director of Slumdog Millionaire, won the Directors Guild of America award Saturday night. It was the first time Boyle has been nominated for the award.
Boyle beat out fellow nominees David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Gus Van Sant (Milk), Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight) and Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon).
After taking this prize and the Golden Globe for “Best Director,” it seems Danny Boyle is the man to beat on February 22 at the Oscars. The DGA Award has matched the Academy Award for “Best Director” all but six times since 1948 when the guild started presenting awards. It was a well-deserved win for the British director.
I picked Slumdog over Dark Knight as my favorite film of the year for a reason. Christopher Nolan is my favorite director working today, but Boyle has proven he can conquer any genre with solid, underrated films. He made a name for himself with Trainspotting,...
Boyle beat out fellow nominees David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Gus Van Sant (Milk), Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight) and Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon).
After taking this prize and the Golden Globe for “Best Director,” it seems Danny Boyle is the man to beat on February 22 at the Oscars. The DGA Award has matched the Academy Award for “Best Director” all but six times since 1948 when the guild started presenting awards. It was a well-deserved win for the British director.
I picked Slumdog over Dark Knight as my favorite film of the year for a reason. Christopher Nolan is my favorite director working today, but Boyle has proven he can conquer any genre with solid, underrated films. He made a name for himself with Trainspotting,...
- 2/2/2009
- by Jeff Leins
- newsinfilm.com
Okay y'all, it's now a sure bet! "Slumdog Millionaire's" Danny Boyle will win the Academy Awards for Best Director! Why? Because his comrades, the Directors Guild of America bestowed him as the best of the best of 2008!
Boyle was chosen over David Fincher ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"), Ron Howard ("Frost/Nixon"), Christopher Nolan (Yeah, the DGA nominated him for "The Dark Knight"), and Gus Van Sant ("Milk").
The best part for me? My hero, my inspiration, my own personal icon, Roger Ebert was given the DGA Honorary Life Member Award in recognition of outstanding creative achievement. Congratulations Mister Roger!!!!
Want to see the full list of winners? Click Read More!
Outstanding Directorial Achievement In Feature Film
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures)
Unit Production Manager: Sanjay Kumar
First Assistant Director: Raj Acharya
Second Assistant Director: Avani Batra
Second Second Assistant Director: Sonia Nemawarkar...
Boyle was chosen over David Fincher ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"), Ron Howard ("Frost/Nixon"), Christopher Nolan (Yeah, the DGA nominated him for "The Dark Knight"), and Gus Van Sant ("Milk").
The best part for me? My hero, my inspiration, my own personal icon, Roger Ebert was given the DGA Honorary Life Member Award in recognition of outstanding creative achievement. Congratulations Mister Roger!!!!
Want to see the full list of winners? Click Read More!
Outstanding Directorial Achievement In Feature Film
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures)
Unit Production Manager: Sanjay Kumar
First Assistant Director: Raj Acharya
Second Assistant Director: Avani Batra
Second Second Assistant Director: Sonia Nemawarkar...
- 2/1/2009
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
The Little Movie That Could can do no wrong. Danny Boyle was handed the DGA Award for outstanding directorial achievement in feature film for "Slumdog Millionaire."
Boyle walked away with the honor Saturday night during the DGA's annual awards ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel. David Fincher ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"), Gus Van Sant ("Milk"), Christopher Nolan ("The Dark Knight") and Ron Howard ("Frost/Nixon"), who won the award in 1995 and 2001, also were nominated.
It was Boyle's first DGA nomination.
"If I can get here, you can get here," Boyle said from the podium, with the presenting Coen brothers behind him. "Dream hard."
It's been a miracle year for Boyle, the 52-year-old British director of "Shallow Grave," "Trainspotting," "A Life Less Ordinary," "The Beach," "28 Days Later...," "Millions" and "Sunshine." He's already been named the year's best director by several critics groups and took the top...
Boyle walked away with the honor Saturday night during the DGA's annual awards ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel. David Fincher ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"), Gus Van Sant ("Milk"), Christopher Nolan ("The Dark Knight") and Ron Howard ("Frost/Nixon"), who won the award in 1995 and 2001, also were nominated.
It was Boyle's first DGA nomination.
"If I can get here, you can get here," Boyle said from the podium, with the presenting Coen brothers behind him. "Dream hard."
It's been a miracle year for Boyle, the 52-year-old British director of "Shallow Grave," "Trainspotting," "A Life Less Ordinary," "The Beach," "28 Days Later...," "Millions" and "Sunshine." He's already been named the year's best director by several critics groups and took the top...
- 2/1/2009
- by By Jay A. Fernandez
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- The biggest question prior to the Oscars is: How much of an underdog can Slumdog Millionaire really be when it's winning major honors at the Globes, Producer's Guilds, and has ten Oscar noms to go along with it? Danny Boyle claimed the top prize which also includes Unit Production Manager: Sanjay Kumar, First Assistant Director: Raj Acharya, Second Assistant Director: Avani Batra and Second Second Assistant Director: Sonia Nemawarkar. Sticking to the film categories, Ari Folman can overcome his Cannes win snub with yet added another win for Waltz with Bashir. Here is the complete list of winners below, Outstanding Directorial Achievement In Movies For Television/Mini-SERIESJay Roach, Recount (HBO)Unit Production Manager: Scott Ferguson First Assistant Director: Michael Hausman First Assistant Director/Second Assistant Director: Peter Thorell Second Assistant Director: Tudor Jones Second Second Assistant Director: Rob Dickerson Jr. Outstanding Directorial Achievement In Dramatic Series NIGHTDan Attias, The Wire
- 2/1/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
Although Ari Folman's "Waltz With Bashir" did not make the shortlist of 15 films under consideration for the best documentary Oscar, it is among the nominees for the DGA's doc award, announced Friday.
"Waltz" will compete with Gonzalo Arijon's "Stranded: I've Come From a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains," in which survivors of a 1972 Andes plane crash tell their story; Elizabeth Farnsworth and Patricio Lanfranco's "The Judge and the General," a look back at the investigation into the regime of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet; Peter Gilbert & Stevie James' "At the Death House Door," an examination of the wrongful conviction of a Texas man executed for murder; and James Marsh's "Man on Wire," a study of tight-rope walker Philippe Petit.
All the nominees are first-time DGA nominees, with the exception of Gilbert (who won the DGA's doc award in 1998 for "Vietnam: Long Time Coming" and was...
"Waltz" will compete with Gonzalo Arijon's "Stranded: I've Come From a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains," in which survivors of a 1972 Andes plane crash tell their story; Elizabeth Farnsworth and Patricio Lanfranco's "The Judge and the General," a look back at the investigation into the regime of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet; Peter Gilbert & Stevie James' "At the Death House Door," an examination of the wrongful conviction of a Texas man executed for murder; and James Marsh's "Man on Wire," a study of tight-rope walker Philippe Petit.
All the nominees are first-time DGA nominees, with the exception of Gilbert (who won the DGA's doc award in 1998 for "Vietnam: Long Time Coming" and was...
- 1/9/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This review was written for the festival screening of All the King's Men.
TORONTO -- You would not immediately think of Sean Penn for the role of Willie Stark, the powerful and hugely ambitious Southern politician around whom Robert Penn Warren's famous 1946 novel revolves. You think of a big man because the character was modeled after Louisiana's flamboyant governor Huey P. Long and was played in the original 1949 movie by Broderick Crawford, both stocky men. But Penn fills the screen with this cagey and cunning character, his oratory so loquacious an enemy would vote for him and a body seeming to move in several different directions with every step. In one of his greatest screen performances, Penn nails the contradictory and compelling genius of a small-time rural pol, who dreams and schemes his way to the top of a corrupt system designed to keep men like him on the outside.
This charismatic performance, surrounded by incisive turns by an all-star ensemble cast, gives furious energy to a movie that doesn't seem to know how to contain it. Writer-director Steven Zaillian's questionable solution is to fit this rambunctious portrait of unruly Southern politics in a monumental frame where Southern Gothic meets Leni Riefenstahl. Neo-classical buildings and old-money mansions tower over mere mortals or glower with oligarchic rage. Ominous darkness reaches into the corners of a screen that is as close to black-and-white as a color movie can achieve. James Horner's music thunders so melodramatically you expect lightning to fill the sky at any moment.
Audience can certainly find entertainment in this movie, so long as no one takes things too seriously. One suspects, however, that Zaillian and a vast team of producers and executive producers that includes political consultant and pundit James Carville believe they are making a serious commentary on American politics. It comes closer to kitsch. Columbia Pictures will have a job selling a movie where drawbacks nearly equal winning attributes, and its great star has never meant much at the boxoffice.
Curiously, Zaillian moves the story from the 1930s to the postwar era, apparently to let Willie Stark deliver his common-man message to integrated audiences, making it seem as if Stark/Long reached out to poor blacks as well as poor whites. He certainly never did.
This particular type of demagogue grew out of a rural region in a Southern state dominated by cigar-smoking old-boy politics of the worst sort. To defeat such men, Willie had to use their own methods against them. Thus, the idealist often worked outside the law and believed the ends always justified any means. Penn, in even Willie's earliest moments as a hick politician in a backwater town, conveys this duality. He truly believes in the hopes and aspirations of his "fellow hicks," but know he can't deliver on his promise by playing fair.
Lapsed idealist and alcoholic journalist Jack Burden (Jude Law), the novel and movie's eyes and ears, picks up on this aspect of Willie right away. From Old Southern aristocracy himself, he gloms onto Willie as a breath of fresh air blowing through smoke-filled rooms. Jack joins Willie's administration after he is elected. But when the governor is threatened by impeachment, Willie asks Jack to dig up dirt on the prominent Judge Irwin (Anthony Hopkins), a man who acted as father to Jack between and during his mother's (Kathy Baker) four marriages.
His reluctant sleuthing proves everyone's undoing as Jack is forced to confront his own past, including his long lost love, the daughter of a former governor, Anne Stanton (Kate Winslet), and her melancholy brother Adam (Mark Ruffalo), the story's only true idealist. Meanwhile, Willis' press attache and sometime lover Sadie (Patricia Clarkson) jealously stirs the pot while Tiny Duffy (James Gandolfini), a man of wide girth and low cunning, prods everyone with jabs of unimaginative pragmatism.
Subplots from the novel get shorn or abbreviated as the movie takes great leaps to get to its crucial moments. It can't afford too much subtlety, but then Willie is not a subtle guy. Nevertheless, the hammy neo-Third Reich trappings of the production design and cinematography feel disingenuous and imposed on a milieu and a political climate that produced a different kind of corruption. What you are left with then is a towering performance as Penn plays one of the great figures of 20th century American literature with a verve and vitality that is breathtaking.
ALL THE KING'S MEN
Columbia Pictures in association with Relatively Media a Phoenix Pictures production
Writer/director: Steven Zaillian
Based on the novel by Robert Penn Warren
Producers: Mike Medavoy, Arnold W. Messer, Ken Lemberger, Steven Zaillian
Executive producers: Todd Phillips, Andreas Schmid, Michael Hausman, David Thwaites, James Carville, Andy Grosch, Ryan Kavanaugh
Director of photography: Pawel Edelman
Production designer: Patrizia Von Brandenstein
Costumes: Marit Allen
Music: James Horner
Editor: Wayne Wahrman
Cast:
Willie Stark: Sean Penn
Jack Burden: Jude Law
Judge Irwin: Anthony Hopkins
Anne Stanton; Kate Winslet
Adam Stanton: Mark Ruffalo
Sadie Burke: Patricia Clarkson
Tiny Duffy: James Gandolfini
Sugar Boy: Jackie Earle Haley
Mrs. Burden: Kathy Baker
Running time -- 128 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
TORONTO -- You would not immediately think of Sean Penn for the role of Willie Stark, the powerful and hugely ambitious Southern politician around whom Robert Penn Warren's famous 1946 novel revolves. You think of a big man because the character was modeled after Louisiana's flamboyant governor Huey P. Long and was played in the original 1949 movie by Broderick Crawford, both stocky men. But Penn fills the screen with this cagey and cunning character, his oratory so loquacious an enemy would vote for him and a body seeming to move in several different directions with every step. In one of his greatest screen performances, Penn nails the contradictory and compelling genius of a small-time rural pol, who dreams and schemes his way to the top of a corrupt system designed to keep men like him on the outside.
This charismatic performance, surrounded by incisive turns by an all-star ensemble cast, gives furious energy to a movie that doesn't seem to know how to contain it. Writer-director Steven Zaillian's questionable solution is to fit this rambunctious portrait of unruly Southern politics in a monumental frame where Southern Gothic meets Leni Riefenstahl. Neo-classical buildings and old-money mansions tower over mere mortals or glower with oligarchic rage. Ominous darkness reaches into the corners of a screen that is as close to black-and-white as a color movie can achieve. James Horner's music thunders so melodramatically you expect lightning to fill the sky at any moment.
Audience can certainly find entertainment in this movie, so long as no one takes things too seriously. One suspects, however, that Zaillian and a vast team of producers and executive producers that includes political consultant and pundit James Carville believe they are making a serious commentary on American politics. It comes closer to kitsch. Columbia Pictures will have a job selling a movie where drawbacks nearly equal winning attributes, and its great star has never meant much at the boxoffice.
Curiously, Zaillian moves the story from the 1930s to the postwar era, apparently to let Willie Stark deliver his common-man message to integrated audiences, making it seem as if Stark/Long reached out to poor blacks as well as poor whites. He certainly never did.
This particular type of demagogue grew out of a rural region in a Southern state dominated by cigar-smoking old-boy politics of the worst sort. To defeat such men, Willie had to use their own methods against them. Thus, the idealist often worked outside the law and believed the ends always justified any means. Penn, in even Willie's earliest moments as a hick politician in a backwater town, conveys this duality. He truly believes in the hopes and aspirations of his "fellow hicks," but know he can't deliver on his promise by playing fair.
Lapsed idealist and alcoholic journalist Jack Burden (Jude Law), the novel and movie's eyes and ears, picks up on this aspect of Willie right away. From Old Southern aristocracy himself, he gloms onto Willie as a breath of fresh air blowing through smoke-filled rooms. Jack joins Willie's administration after he is elected. But when the governor is threatened by impeachment, Willie asks Jack to dig up dirt on the prominent Judge Irwin (Anthony Hopkins), a man who acted as father to Jack between and during his mother's (Kathy Baker) four marriages.
His reluctant sleuthing proves everyone's undoing as Jack is forced to confront his own past, including his long lost love, the daughter of a former governor, Anne Stanton (Kate Winslet), and her melancholy brother Adam (Mark Ruffalo), the story's only true idealist. Meanwhile, Willis' press attache and sometime lover Sadie (Patricia Clarkson) jealously stirs the pot while Tiny Duffy (James Gandolfini), a man of wide girth and low cunning, prods everyone with jabs of unimaginative pragmatism.
Subplots from the novel get shorn or abbreviated as the movie takes great leaps to get to its crucial moments. It can't afford too much subtlety, but then Willie is not a subtle guy. Nevertheless, the hammy neo-Third Reich trappings of the production design and cinematography feel disingenuous and imposed on a milieu and a political climate that produced a different kind of corruption. What you are left with then is a towering performance as Penn plays one of the great figures of 20th century American literature with a verve and vitality that is breathtaking.
ALL THE KING'S MEN
Columbia Pictures in association with Relatively Media a Phoenix Pictures production
Writer/director: Steven Zaillian
Based on the novel by Robert Penn Warren
Producers: Mike Medavoy, Arnold W. Messer, Ken Lemberger, Steven Zaillian
Executive producers: Todd Phillips, Andreas Schmid, Michael Hausman, David Thwaites, James Carville, Andy Grosch, Ryan Kavanaugh
Director of photography: Pawel Edelman
Production designer: Patrizia Von Brandenstein
Costumes: Marit Allen
Music: James Horner
Editor: Wayne Wahrman
Cast:
Willie Stark: Sean Penn
Jack Burden: Jude Law
Judge Irwin: Anthony Hopkins
Anne Stanton; Kate Winslet
Adam Stanton: Mark Ruffalo
Sadie Burke: Patricia Clarkson
Tiny Duffy: James Gandolfini
Sugar Boy: Jackie Earle Haley
Mrs. Burden: Kathy Baker
Running time -- 128 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 9/21/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This review was written for the festival screening of "Brokeback Mountain".
VENICE, Italy -- Everything you ever imagined about the characters of John Wayne and Montgomery Clift in "Red River" or Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott in "Ride the High Country" is revealed candidly in Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain", an epic Western about forbidden love.
Anne Proulx's 1997 short story in the New Yorker has been masterfully expanded by screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana to provide director Lee with his best movie since "Sense and Sensibility" in 1995.
Featuring scenes filmed in the fabulous Canadian Rockies of Alberta and boasting a fine cast topped by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, "Brokeback Mountain" will appeal to moviegoers who enjoy grand filmmaking and poignant love stories, whether gay, hetero or otherwise.
The film, which screened in competition at the Venice International Film Festival, follows two men, Ennis Del Mar (Ledger) and Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal), and their love for each other that in the hide-bound and traditional world of the American West they must keep hidden, fearful not only of scandal but also for their lives.
Ennis and Jack meet in 1963 when they each show up looking for a summer's work herding sheep on Brokeback Mountain, Wyoming, on land owned by no-nonsense rancher Joe Aguirre (Randy Quaid). In order to keep his herd safe, Aguirre is happy to break regulations by requiring one of his men to roam high in the mountains, sleeping rough with no fire, while the other maintains a base camp with a one-man tent throughout the summer and into the fall.
There's nothing romantic about herding huge numbers of four-legged beasts left to range far and wide, and cowboys pretty much have cornered whatever romance there is in rugged outdoor animal husbandry. Riding herd on sheep guaranteed a horseman a hard time in old Westerns, but Ennis and Jack make the most of it, even if their diet is mostly beans.
They don't talk much, but Ennis speaks of being raised by his brother and sister after their parents died in a car crash, and of a woman named Alma he plans to marry. Jack tells of stern parents and working the Texas rodeo circuit. The scenery is breathtakingly gorgeous but their days are hard, with bears and coyotes threatening, and the biting mountain cold, and the two men soon come to rely on each other totally.
One night, Ennis decides to sleep by the fire rather than head off to his lonely post, but in the wee small hours, with the fire dead, he's freezing. Jack yells at him to join him in his tent. A simple human gesture in sleep prompts a frantic coupling that in the cold light of morning each man is quick to dismiss.
The summer ends, and as time goes by Ennis marries Alma (Michelle Williams) and Jack weds Lureen (Anne Hathaway), and they each have kids. The men's shared passion keeps its fire, however, and their affection and need for each other grows. Over the years, they contrive to spend time together back on Brokeback Mountain. Always there is the threat of exposure and the fear it breeds.
Pulitzer Prize-winner McMurtry ("Lonesome Dove") and Ossana, his writing partner since 1993 who has shepherded the project for eight years, use a large canvas for what is really an intimate story. They develop the secondary characters with great insight and compassion. The women in the lives of Ennis and Jack are given full attention, and the acting, especially by Williams, Hathaway and Kate Mara, as Ennis' daughter Alma at age 19, is deeply affecting.
The fine details of the West are as precise as you would expect from a McMurtry piece, and Lee's adroitness with the excellent cast is on full display, particularly in the brave and moving performances of Ledger and Gyllenhaal.
The dusty towns of Wyoming and Texas are contrasted with the spectacular Canadian Rockies, splendidly filmed by Rodrigo Prieto, and the film benefits enormously from composer Gustavo Santaolalla's melodic and plangent score.
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
A Focus Features and River Road Entertainment presentation
Credits:
Director: Ang Lee
Screenplay: Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana
Based on the short story by: Annie Proulx
Producers: Diana Ossana, James Schamus
Executive producers: William Pohlad, Larry McMurtry, Michael Costigan, Michael Hausman, Alberta Film Entertainment
Director of photography: Rodrigo Prieto
Production designer: Judy Becker
Editors: Geraldine Peroni, Dylan Tichenor
Music: Gustavo Santaolalla
Cast:
Ennis Del Mar: Heath Ledger
Jack Twist: Jake Gyllenhaal
Joe Aguirre: Randy Quaid
Alma: Michelle Williams
Lureen Newsome: Anne Hathaway
Alma Jr., age 19: Kate Mara
Alma Jr., age 13: Cheyenne Hill
Cassie: Linda Cardellini
Monroe: Scott Michael Campbell
Fayette Newsome: Mary Liboiron
L.B. Newsome: Graham Beckel
Randall Malone: David Harbour
Lashawn Malone: Anna Faris
Jack's mother: Roberta Maxwell
John Twist: Peter McRobbie
MPAA rating R
Running time -- 134 minutes...
VENICE, Italy -- Everything you ever imagined about the characters of John Wayne and Montgomery Clift in "Red River" or Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott in "Ride the High Country" is revealed candidly in Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain", an epic Western about forbidden love.
Anne Proulx's 1997 short story in the New Yorker has been masterfully expanded by screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana to provide director Lee with his best movie since "Sense and Sensibility" in 1995.
Featuring scenes filmed in the fabulous Canadian Rockies of Alberta and boasting a fine cast topped by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, "Brokeback Mountain" will appeal to moviegoers who enjoy grand filmmaking and poignant love stories, whether gay, hetero or otherwise.
The film, which screened in competition at the Venice International Film Festival, follows two men, Ennis Del Mar (Ledger) and Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal), and their love for each other that in the hide-bound and traditional world of the American West they must keep hidden, fearful not only of scandal but also for their lives.
Ennis and Jack meet in 1963 when they each show up looking for a summer's work herding sheep on Brokeback Mountain, Wyoming, on land owned by no-nonsense rancher Joe Aguirre (Randy Quaid). In order to keep his herd safe, Aguirre is happy to break regulations by requiring one of his men to roam high in the mountains, sleeping rough with no fire, while the other maintains a base camp with a one-man tent throughout the summer and into the fall.
There's nothing romantic about herding huge numbers of four-legged beasts left to range far and wide, and cowboys pretty much have cornered whatever romance there is in rugged outdoor animal husbandry. Riding herd on sheep guaranteed a horseman a hard time in old Westerns, but Ennis and Jack make the most of it, even if their diet is mostly beans.
They don't talk much, but Ennis speaks of being raised by his brother and sister after their parents died in a car crash, and of a woman named Alma he plans to marry. Jack tells of stern parents and working the Texas rodeo circuit. The scenery is breathtakingly gorgeous but their days are hard, with bears and coyotes threatening, and the biting mountain cold, and the two men soon come to rely on each other totally.
One night, Ennis decides to sleep by the fire rather than head off to his lonely post, but in the wee small hours, with the fire dead, he's freezing. Jack yells at him to join him in his tent. A simple human gesture in sleep prompts a frantic coupling that in the cold light of morning each man is quick to dismiss.
The summer ends, and as time goes by Ennis marries Alma (Michelle Williams) and Jack weds Lureen (Anne Hathaway), and they each have kids. The men's shared passion keeps its fire, however, and their affection and need for each other grows. Over the years, they contrive to spend time together back on Brokeback Mountain. Always there is the threat of exposure and the fear it breeds.
Pulitzer Prize-winner McMurtry ("Lonesome Dove") and Ossana, his writing partner since 1993 who has shepherded the project for eight years, use a large canvas for what is really an intimate story. They develop the secondary characters with great insight and compassion. The women in the lives of Ennis and Jack are given full attention, and the acting, especially by Williams, Hathaway and Kate Mara, as Ennis' daughter Alma at age 19, is deeply affecting.
The fine details of the West are as precise as you would expect from a McMurtry piece, and Lee's adroitness with the excellent cast is on full display, particularly in the brave and moving performances of Ledger and Gyllenhaal.
The dusty towns of Wyoming and Texas are contrasted with the spectacular Canadian Rockies, splendidly filmed by Rodrigo Prieto, and the film benefits enormously from composer Gustavo Santaolalla's melodic and plangent score.
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
A Focus Features and River Road Entertainment presentation
Credits:
Director: Ang Lee
Screenplay: Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana
Based on the short story by: Annie Proulx
Producers: Diana Ossana, James Schamus
Executive producers: William Pohlad, Larry McMurtry, Michael Costigan, Michael Hausman, Alberta Film Entertainment
Director of photography: Rodrigo Prieto
Production designer: Judy Becker
Editors: Geraldine Peroni, Dylan Tichenor
Music: Gustavo Santaolalla
Cast:
Ennis Del Mar: Heath Ledger
Jack Twist: Jake Gyllenhaal
Joe Aguirre: Randy Quaid
Alma: Michelle Williams
Lureen Newsome: Anne Hathaway
Alma Jr., age 19: Kate Mara
Alma Jr., age 13: Cheyenne Hill
Cassie: Linda Cardellini
Monroe: Scott Michael Campbell
Fayette Newsome: Mary Liboiron
L.B. Newsome: Graham Beckel
Randall Malone: David Harbour
Lashawn Malone: Anna Faris
Jack's mother: Roberta Maxwell
John Twist: Peter McRobbie
MPAA rating R
Running time -- 134 minutes...
Martin Scorsese's careerlong exploration of the role of violence in American society culminates in "Gangs of New York". The view here is that brutality and corruption played midwives to the American nation, that the American dream of liberty from European despotism, monarchy and aristocratic privilege ran afoul of the New World vices of bigotry and anarchy almost immediately. This is a relentless, pitch-black portrait of New York in 1863 that, while thoroughly rooted in historical fact, is nonetheless painted from limited pigments.
Astonishing and audacious, the film certainly creates a kind of perverse beauty and excitement out of its horrors. Scorsese seems to want the viewer to get a voyeuristic rush from gut-spilling fights featuring knives, cleavers and bats. And just as certainly, "Gangs" poses a major challenge to Miramax's marketing department.
Here is a movie from arguably America's most brilliant filmmaker, yet one so dark and disturbing you might label it a "feel-bad" movie. It's a gangster film, one of cinema's more durable genres, yet mired in arcane history and forgotten political movements. Scorsese's reputation ensures a solid opening here and perhaps even better in Europe. But Miramax will have a hard time recouping the enormous cost of re-creating 19th century New York at Rome's Cinecitta Studios.
Inspired by Herbert Asbury's 1928 classic study, the script by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan embroils the viewer in a now-forgotten district of Lower Manhattan known as Five Points. Here everyone prays to one God or another, but in reality, God does not venture into this satanic terrain.
Ruled by an underworld barbarian known as Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis, in his first movie since 1997's "The Boxer"), the area's only business is crime: theft, racketeering, prostitution, gambling, drugs and murder. Bill has made a devil's alliance with Boss Tweed (Jim Broadbent), supplying muscle to the political boss who would rule the city. It is into this cauldron that immigrants, mostly Catholics despised by Nativists, surge on a daily basis.
Unlike Scorsese's previous gangster movies, such as "GoodFellas" or "Casino", there is little complexity to this 1863 underworld. There is a bad guy in Bill the Butcher, who carves up people and pigs with equal enthusiasm. And there is a young hero in an American-born Irish orphan named Amsterdam (Leonardo DiCaprio), determined to avenge Bill's murder of his father, Priest Vallon (Liam Neeson), an Irish immigrant leader, 16 years earlier.
Amsterdam somewhat implausibly worms his way into Bill's Nativist gang and then into his confidence, becoming a son to the chief. The lad gets involved romantically with a beauteous, headstrong pickpocket, Jenny (Cameron Diaz), who has links to Bill as well. Other characters fill out the rogue's gallery: Monk (Brendan Gleeson), a strong-arm enforcer settled into shopkeeping; Happy Jack John C. Reilly), a former gang member-turned-corrupt copper; and Johnny (Henry Thomas), an Amsterdam loyalist with strong instincts for self-preservation.
Against the backdrop of the Civil War -- of President Lincoln's unpopular conscription and coffins arriving daily in the city -- come the political maneuverings of Boss Tweed and a betrayal that alerts Bill to Amsterdam's true intentions. This lead to a climax amid the worst riot in American history, the Draft Riots, where much of Manhattan was destroyed first by immigrant mobs, then by soldiers and Navy guns.
DiCaprio makes the protagonist's thirst for revenge and reclamation of family honor palpable. But he doesn't look the part of a street tough. Nor is the script helpful by insisting that despite 16 long years in a religious "house of refuge," he has lost none of his street smarts.
The film's great performance belongs to Day-Lewis, a sociopath given free reign to spill blood in copious amounts. Here anger -- at politicians, foreign "invaders," high society -- mingles with humor and a sense of detachment. He's illiterate yet understands how power works and how to hold it through terror.
Cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, designer Dante Ferretti and costumer Sandy Powell conspire to bring to life paintings and engravings of Old New York -- its interiors almost monochromatic, the streets filled with smoky colors and nights made sinister by gaslight and flickering fires that dot the landscape.
Yet this 168-minute movie, reportedly cut down from a 195-minute version, never gets you inside the story so you understand how the characters feel about their deeds. Whether or not a longer version would have given the film more texture and dimension, this one presents a blinkered vision of American history, relegated to a few streets and alleys of Lower Manhattan and a few thugs who left no mark except perhaps on the collective unconscious.
GANGS OF NEW YORK
Miramax Films
An Alberto Grimaldi production
Credits:
Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenwriters: Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, Kenneth Lonergan
Story by: Jay Cocks
Producers: Alberto Grimaldi, Harvey Weinstein
Executive producers: Michael Ovitz, Bob Weinstein, Rick Yorn, Michael Hausman, Maurizio Grimaldi
Director of photography: Michael Ballhaus
Production designer: Dante Ferretti
Music: Howard Shore
Costume designer: Sandy Powell
Editor: Thelma Schoonmaker
Cast:
Amsterdam Vallon: Leonardo DiCaprio
Bill the Butcher: Daniel Day-Lewis
Jenny Everdeane: Cameron Diaz
Boss Tweed: Jim Broadbent
Happy Jack: John C. Reilly
Johnny Sirocco: Henry Thomas
Monk: Brendan Gleeson
Priest Vallon: Liam Neeson
Running time -- 168 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Astonishing and audacious, the film certainly creates a kind of perverse beauty and excitement out of its horrors. Scorsese seems to want the viewer to get a voyeuristic rush from gut-spilling fights featuring knives, cleavers and bats. And just as certainly, "Gangs" poses a major challenge to Miramax's marketing department.
Here is a movie from arguably America's most brilliant filmmaker, yet one so dark and disturbing you might label it a "feel-bad" movie. It's a gangster film, one of cinema's more durable genres, yet mired in arcane history and forgotten political movements. Scorsese's reputation ensures a solid opening here and perhaps even better in Europe. But Miramax will have a hard time recouping the enormous cost of re-creating 19th century New York at Rome's Cinecitta Studios.
Inspired by Herbert Asbury's 1928 classic study, the script by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan embroils the viewer in a now-forgotten district of Lower Manhattan known as Five Points. Here everyone prays to one God or another, but in reality, God does not venture into this satanic terrain.
Ruled by an underworld barbarian known as Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis, in his first movie since 1997's "The Boxer"), the area's only business is crime: theft, racketeering, prostitution, gambling, drugs and murder. Bill has made a devil's alliance with Boss Tweed (Jim Broadbent), supplying muscle to the political boss who would rule the city. It is into this cauldron that immigrants, mostly Catholics despised by Nativists, surge on a daily basis.
Unlike Scorsese's previous gangster movies, such as "GoodFellas" or "Casino", there is little complexity to this 1863 underworld. There is a bad guy in Bill the Butcher, who carves up people and pigs with equal enthusiasm. And there is a young hero in an American-born Irish orphan named Amsterdam (Leonardo DiCaprio), determined to avenge Bill's murder of his father, Priest Vallon (Liam Neeson), an Irish immigrant leader, 16 years earlier.
Amsterdam somewhat implausibly worms his way into Bill's Nativist gang and then into his confidence, becoming a son to the chief. The lad gets involved romantically with a beauteous, headstrong pickpocket, Jenny (Cameron Diaz), who has links to Bill as well. Other characters fill out the rogue's gallery: Monk (Brendan Gleeson), a strong-arm enforcer settled into shopkeeping; Happy Jack John C. Reilly), a former gang member-turned-corrupt copper; and Johnny (Henry Thomas), an Amsterdam loyalist with strong instincts for self-preservation.
Against the backdrop of the Civil War -- of President Lincoln's unpopular conscription and coffins arriving daily in the city -- come the political maneuverings of Boss Tweed and a betrayal that alerts Bill to Amsterdam's true intentions. This lead to a climax amid the worst riot in American history, the Draft Riots, where much of Manhattan was destroyed first by immigrant mobs, then by soldiers and Navy guns.
DiCaprio makes the protagonist's thirst for revenge and reclamation of family honor palpable. But he doesn't look the part of a street tough. Nor is the script helpful by insisting that despite 16 long years in a religious "house of refuge," he has lost none of his street smarts.
The film's great performance belongs to Day-Lewis, a sociopath given free reign to spill blood in copious amounts. Here anger -- at politicians, foreign "invaders," high society -- mingles with humor and a sense of detachment. He's illiterate yet understands how power works and how to hold it through terror.
Cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, designer Dante Ferretti and costumer Sandy Powell conspire to bring to life paintings and engravings of Old New York -- its interiors almost monochromatic, the streets filled with smoky colors and nights made sinister by gaslight and flickering fires that dot the landscape.
Yet this 168-minute movie, reportedly cut down from a 195-minute version, never gets you inside the story so you understand how the characters feel about their deeds. Whether or not a longer version would have given the film more texture and dimension, this one presents a blinkered vision of American history, relegated to a few streets and alleys of Lower Manhattan and a few thugs who left no mark except perhaps on the collective unconscious.
GANGS OF NEW YORK
Miramax Films
An Alberto Grimaldi production
Credits:
Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenwriters: Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, Kenneth Lonergan
Story by: Jay Cocks
Producers: Alberto Grimaldi, Harvey Weinstein
Executive producers: Michael Ovitz, Bob Weinstein, Rick Yorn, Michael Hausman, Maurizio Grimaldi
Director of photography: Michael Ballhaus
Production designer: Dante Ferretti
Music: Howard Shore
Costume designer: Sandy Powell
Editor: Thelma Schoonmaker
Cast:
Amsterdam Vallon: Leonardo DiCaprio
Bill the Butcher: Daniel Day-Lewis
Jenny Everdeane: Cameron Diaz
Boss Tweed: Jim Broadbent
Happy Jack: John C. Reilly
Johnny Sirocco: Henry Thomas
Monk: Brendan Gleeson
Priest Vallon: Liam Neeson
Running time -- 168 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 12/6/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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