When Disney purchased the 20th Century Fox library in 2019, it caused some consternation among cineastes. The Fox catalog was vast and impressive, containing tons of indelible classics and even more titles waiting deep inside the studio's archive. 20th Century Fox was formed in 1935 and quickly became one of the "big five" studios that dominated the film industry for decades. Fox hadn't seen a shake-up this dramatic since 1985 when ultra-conservative media mogul Rubert Murdoch bought a controlling share of the company from Marvin Davis.
When Disney made its purchase, many film fans wondered if Fox's old classics would be made more widely available through the about-to-launch Disney+. When the streaming service debuted with a paltry 500 titles, cineastes were aghast. Why buy all those Fox titles if you're not going to distribute them?
That, however, was merely the end of the road for Fox. For its 83-year life, the studio went through many massive,...
When Disney made its purchase, many film fans wondered if Fox's old classics would be made more widely available through the about-to-launch Disney+. When the streaming service debuted with a paltry 500 titles, cineastes were aghast. Why buy all those Fox titles if you're not going to distribute them?
That, however, was merely the end of the road for Fox. For its 83-year life, the studio went through many massive,...
- 4/21/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Every truly great film has to start with a great story, and "All About Eve" is no exception. The 1950 film follows the feud between a veteran actress and the titular protege who tries to steal her career — and succeeds in nearly every way that matters. The premise was lifted from a short story written by Mary Orr, "The Wisdom of Eve," which was published in Cosmopolitan in 1946. That too was a juicy story, filled with twists, turns, and no shortage of acerbic wit. And it essentially sells itself, especially for an adaptation on film.
In the late '40s, the story was making the rounds with every major studio in Hollywood — catching the eye of future "All About Eve" director Joseph L. Mankiewicz — but it took three long years to drum up genuine interest in adapting it. It may sound ridiculous now, but "The Wisdom of Eve" was virtually radioactive in its original form,...
In the late '40s, the story was making the rounds with every major studio in Hollywood — catching the eye of future "All About Eve" director Joseph L. Mankiewicz — but it took three long years to drum up genuine interest in adapting it. It may sound ridiculous now, but "The Wisdom of Eve" was virtually radioactive in its original form,...
- 9/19/2022
- by Lyvie Scott
- Slash Film
Hello, everyone! August 23rd is a quiet day for horror and sci-fi home media releases, but that doesn’t mean that this week’s offerings aren’t pretty darn great all the same. Scream Factory has put together a killer Collector’s Edition 4K release for Neil Marshall’s Dog Soldiers and Kino Lorber has put together reissues of their Blu-ray box sets for seasons one and two of The Outer Limits, which genre fans will definitely want to pick up.
Cheers!
Dog Soldiers: 4K Collector’s Edition
A group of soldiers dispatched to the Scottish Highlands on special training maneuvers face their biggest fears after they run into Captain Ryan – the only survivor of a Special Ops team that was literally torn to pieces. Ryan refuses to disclose his mission even though whoever attacked his men might be hungry for seconds. Help arrives in the form of a...
Cheers!
Dog Soldiers: 4K Collector’s Edition
A group of soldiers dispatched to the Scottish Highlands on special training maneuvers face their biggest fears after they run into Captain Ryan – the only survivor of a Special Ops team that was literally torn to pieces. Ryan refuses to disclose his mission even though whoever attacked his men might be hungry for seconds. Help arrives in the form of a...
- 8/23/2022
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
“Bill’s thirty-two. He looks thirty-two. He looked it five years ago, he’ll look it twenty years from now. I hate men. “
All About Eve plays at The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar in St. Louis) Monday July 15th as part of the ‘Classics on the Loop’ series. Showtimes are 4pm and 7pm. Admission is $7.
A publicity still from the 1950 Academy Award®-winning drama “All about Eve” features (left to right): Gary Merrill, Bette Davis, George Sanders, Anne Baxter, Hugh Marlowe and Celeste Holm. “All about Eve” received a record 14 Academy Award nominations and won six Oscars®, including Best Picture. Restored by Nick & jane for Dr. Macro’s High Quality Movie Scans Website: http:www.doctormacro.com. Enjoy!
It is almost impossible to find fault in the performances in
All About Eve . Bette Davis is in her element as Margo Channing and Anne Baxter is great as the cunning, if not slightly deranged,...
All About Eve plays at The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar in St. Louis) Monday July 15th as part of the ‘Classics on the Loop’ series. Showtimes are 4pm and 7pm. Admission is $7.
A publicity still from the 1950 Academy Award®-winning drama “All about Eve” features (left to right): Gary Merrill, Bette Davis, George Sanders, Anne Baxter, Hugh Marlowe and Celeste Holm. “All about Eve” received a record 14 Academy Award nominations and won six Oscars®, including Best Picture. Restored by Nick & jane for Dr. Macro’s High Quality Movie Scans Website: http:www.doctormacro.com. Enjoy!
It is almost impossible to find fault in the performances in
All About Eve . Bette Davis is in her element as Margo Channing and Anne Baxter is great as the cunning, if not slightly deranged,...
- 7/9/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
‘This Picture Kills Fascists’ might be a motto for this bombshell essay documentary. Leo Hurwitz’s film wasn’t made welcome in 1948 and would surely be controversial today, as it’s just too &%#$ truthful and blunt about good old American bigotry and injustice. The passionate, jarring plea for humanist sanity really shakes up viewers, in a constructive way. Hurwitz said that one TV executive compared it to The Sermon on the Mount. It’s still a lightning bolt against fascist ideas flourishing in the Land of the Free.
Strange Victory
Blu-ray
The Milestone Cinematheque
1948 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 64 min. / available through Milestone Films / Street Date August 14, 2018 / 34.95
Narrators: Alfred Drake, Muriel Smith, Gary Merrill, Saul Levitt, Faith Elliott.
Actors: Virgil Richardson, Sophie Maslow, Cathey McGregor, Jack Henderson, Robert P. Donley.
Cinematography: Peter Glushanok, George Jacobsen
Film Editors: Leo Hurwitz, Faith Elliott (Hubley), Mavis Lyons
Original Music: David Diamond
Written by Saul Levitt,...
Strange Victory
Blu-ray
The Milestone Cinematheque
1948 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 64 min. / available through Milestone Films / Street Date August 14, 2018 / 34.95
Narrators: Alfred Drake, Muriel Smith, Gary Merrill, Saul Levitt, Faith Elliott.
Actors: Virgil Richardson, Sophie Maslow, Cathey McGregor, Jack Henderson, Robert P. Donley.
Cinematography: Peter Glushanok, George Jacobsen
Film Editors: Leo Hurwitz, Faith Elliott (Hubley), Mavis Lyons
Original Music: David Diamond
Written by Saul Levitt,...
- 7/17/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The month of March is closing out with a busy week of home entertainment releases, with two of the highlights this week being Scream Factory's stunning Steelbook editions for Assault on Precinct 13 and Prince of Darkness. Scream Factory is also keeping busy with their Collector’s Edition release of Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon and their Blu-ray release of IFC Midnight's I Remember You.
David Cronenberg’s Scanners is also making its way into the Criterion Collection this week, and The City of the Dead is the recipient of another limited edition release as well. Other notable titles coming home on March 27th include The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special, The Outer Limits Season 1, Hell’s Kitty, Star Time, The Executioners, Mercy Christmas, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Assault on Precinct 13 Limited Edition Steelbook (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
Isolated inside a soon-to-be-closed L.A. police station,...
David Cronenberg’s Scanners is also making its way into the Criterion Collection this week, and The City of the Dead is the recipient of another limited edition release as well. Other notable titles coming home on March 27th include The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special, The Outer Limits Season 1, Hell’s Kitty, Star Time, The Executioners, Mercy Christmas, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Assault on Precinct 13 Limited Edition Steelbook (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
Isolated inside a soon-to-be-closed L.A. police station,...
- 3/27/2018
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
New Yorkers of two centuries ago surely complained loudly about rampant street crime, but in the 1960s the media really ramped up the reportage paranoia. Had a new age of senseless violence begun? A New York play about terror on the subway is the source for this nail-biter with a powerful cast, featuring an ensemble of sharp new faces and undervalued veterans.
The Incident
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1967 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 99 min. / Street Date February 20, 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Tony Musante, Martin Sheen, Beau Bridges, Jack Gilford, Thelma Ritter, Brock Peters, Ruby Dee, Ed McMahon, Diana Van der Vlis, Mike Kellin, Jan Sterling, Gary Merrill, Robert Fields, Robert Bannard, Victor Arnold, Donna Mills.
Cinematography: Gerald Hirschfeld
Film Editor: Armond Lebowitz
Production design: Manny Gerard
Original Music: Terry Knight, Charles Fox
Written by Nicholas E. Baehr
Produced by Edward Meadow, Monroe Sachson
Directed by Larry Peerce
Various pundits...
The Incident
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1967 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 99 min. / Street Date February 20, 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Tony Musante, Martin Sheen, Beau Bridges, Jack Gilford, Thelma Ritter, Brock Peters, Ruby Dee, Ed McMahon, Diana Van der Vlis, Mike Kellin, Jan Sterling, Gary Merrill, Robert Fields, Robert Bannard, Victor Arnold, Donna Mills.
Cinematography: Gerald Hirschfeld
Film Editor: Armond Lebowitz
Production design: Manny Gerard
Original Music: Terry Knight, Charles Fox
Written by Nicholas E. Baehr
Produced by Edward Meadow, Monroe Sachson
Directed by Larry Peerce
Various pundits...
- 2/27/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Bette Davis’s longtime personal assistant was suspicious when she heard the star’s eldest daughter was writing a memoir.
“I know they loved each other but there was a lot of history there,” says Kathryn Sermak, 61, who is featured in the current issue of People.
Sermak — who served as a live-in assistant to Davis off and on during the decade leading up to the Hollywood legend’s death in 1989 — says she called Davis’s daughter Barbara (nicknamed Bede) in 1985 to dissuade her from publishing the book.
She recounts the phone call in her own memoir, Miss D and Me:...
“I know they loved each other but there was a lot of history there,” says Kathryn Sermak, 61, who is featured in the current issue of People.
Sermak — who served as a live-in assistant to Davis off and on during the decade leading up to the Hollywood legend’s death in 1989 — says she called Davis’s daughter Barbara (nicknamed Bede) in 1985 to dissuade her from publishing the book.
She recounts the phone call in her own memoir, Miss D and Me:...
- 9/1/2017
- by Patrick Gomez
- PEOPLE.com
By Doug Oswald
Robert Mitchum is Martin Brady, an American hired gun living in exile in Mexico in “The Wonderful Country,” a Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber. While waiting on the Rio Grande for his contact for a gun smuggling job, Brady decides to escort the wagon north to Puerto, Texas, and pick up a cache of guns on behalf of his employers, the Castro brothers. Pancho Gil (Mike Kellin), another agent of the Castros, arrives to escort the guns they’re buying from a man named Sterner, but Brady insists on picking up the guns himself. When one of Brady’s associates reminds him that he’s a wanted man in America, Brady states, “I want to see the other side of the river.”
Arriving in Puerto, a tumble-weed startles Brady’s horse and he breaks a leg in the fall. He’s aided by Dr. Herbert J. Stovall...
Robert Mitchum is Martin Brady, an American hired gun living in exile in Mexico in “The Wonderful Country,” a Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber. While waiting on the Rio Grande for his contact for a gun smuggling job, Brady decides to escort the wagon north to Puerto, Texas, and pick up a cache of guns on behalf of his employers, the Castro brothers. Pancho Gil (Mike Kellin), another agent of the Castros, arrives to escort the guns they’re buying from a man named Sterner, but Brady insists on picking up the guns himself. When one of Brady’s associates reminds him that he’s a wanted man in America, Brady states, “I want to see the other side of the river.”
Arriving in Puerto, a tumble-weed startles Brady’s horse and he breaks a leg in the fall. He’s aided by Dr. Herbert J. Stovall...
- 4/26/2017
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
And you thought there was no love lost between Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie!
With the debut Sunday of his new FX anthology series Feud, Ryan Murphy drew back the curtain on the rivalry between Bette and Joan, with (as you well know) Susan Sarandon as Davis and Jessica Lange as Crawford. The reviews, including TVLine’s, have been good. But did you, too, find the drama as intoxicating as a flask of 100-proof vodka? Let’s go over the events of the pilot, then you can weigh in in the poll below.
Related2017 Renewal Scorecard: What’s Coming Back?...
With the debut Sunday of his new FX anthology series Feud, Ryan Murphy drew back the curtain on the rivalry between Bette and Joan, with (as you well know) Susan Sarandon as Davis and Jessica Lange as Crawford. The reviews, including TVLine’s, have been good. But did you, too, find the drama as intoxicating as a flask of 100-proof vodka? Let’s go over the events of the pilot, then you can weigh in in the poll below.
Related2017 Renewal Scorecard: What’s Coming Back?...
- 3/6/2017
- TVLine.com
Hell hath no fury like two Hollywood actresses scorned!
That's the exact premise behind season one of FX's newest anthology series, Feud: Bette and Joan, which premieres this Sunday, March 5. The limited series, which heralds from the mind of executive producer Ryan Murphy, stars A-list actresses Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon as Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, respectively, and fixates on the bitter, lifelong rivalry between them.
But before you tune in, we've crafted the ultimate Feud cheat sheet to break down all the real-life drama!
Watch: Susan Sarandon & Jessica Lange in Character as Bette Davis & Joan Crawford
Getty Images
Who Is Joan Crawford? Born Lucille Fay LeSueur in 1904, Crawford (Lange) became one of Hollywood's most prominent movie stars and one of the highest paid women in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. However, by the end of the 1930s, her films began losing money and she was labeled "Box Office Poison." She made...
That's the exact premise behind season one of FX's newest anthology series, Feud: Bette and Joan, which premieres this Sunday, March 5. The limited series, which heralds from the mind of executive producer Ryan Murphy, stars A-list actresses Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon as Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, respectively, and fixates on the bitter, lifelong rivalry between them.
But before you tune in, we've crafted the ultimate Feud cheat sheet to break down all the real-life drama!
Watch: Susan Sarandon & Jessica Lange in Character as Bette Davis & Joan Crawford
Getty Images
Who Is Joan Crawford? Born Lucille Fay LeSueur in 1904, Crawford (Lange) became one of Hollywood's most prominent movie stars and one of the highest paid women in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. However, by the end of the 1930s, her films began losing money and she was labeled "Box Office Poison." She made...
- 3/3/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Sam Moffitt, and Tom Stockman
Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away in 2013 at age 92. In 1933, the then-13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at a Hollywood theater and was inspired – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre “stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done.” It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. The influence of Harryhausen on film luminaries like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, and...
Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away in 2013 at age 92. In 1933, the then-13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at a Hollywood theater and was inspired – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre “stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done.” It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. The influence of Harryhausen on film luminaries like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, and...
- 6/29/2016
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Otto Preminger looks at police corruption and comes up with a classy noir starring Dana Andrews as a rogue cop and Gene Tierney as the woman whose father he accidentally frames for murder. With Karl Malden, Gary Merrill and velvety-slick B&W cinematography by Joseph Lashelle. Where the Sidewalk Ends Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1950 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 95 min. / Ship Date February 9, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Gary Merrill, Bert Freed, Tom Tully, Karl Malden, Ruth Donnelly, Craig Stevens. Cinematography Joseph Lashelle Art Direction J. Russell Spencer, Lyle Wheeler Film Editor Louis R. Loeffler Original Music Cyril J. Mockridge Written by Ben Hecht, Robert E. Kent, Frank P. Rosenberg, Victor Trivas from the novel Night Cry by William L. Stuart Produced and Directed by Otto Preminger
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Want to see an example of a gloriously polished studio production, a film noir...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Want to see an example of a gloriously polished studio production, a film noir...
- 2/21/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Fans of special effects icon Ray Harryhausen should rejoice at the remastering of 1961’s Mysterious Island, a sequel of sorts to Jules Verne’s more celebrated 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which had been memorably adapted by Richard Fleischer in 1954. Director Cy Endfield takes the reigns on this big budget spectacle which tends to suffer from a bout of sequel-itis as regards the bombastic fervor of gigantic, menacing creatures taking precedence over characterization or narrative energy. Still, the production quality does display the same sense of movie magic specific to a certain period of cinema where Harryhausen’s signature Dynamation would influence generations of future filmmakers.
During the 1865 siege of Richmond, Virginia, a handful of soldiers, both Union and Confederate, escape the stockade via a hot air balloon, ending up somewhere on a strange island in the Pacific Ocean. Captain Cyrus Harding (Michael Craig) more or less resumes control of the men,...
During the 1865 siege of Richmond, Virginia, a handful of soldiers, both Union and Confederate, escape the stockade via a hot air balloon, ending up somewhere on a strange island in the Pacific Ocean. Captain Cyrus Harding (Michael Craig) more or less resumes control of the men,...
- 1/12/2016
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Fans that missed Twilight Time's initial Blu-ray release of Ray Harryhausen's Jules Verne spectacle get a second chance with this Encore Edition reissue. It includes an improved transfer and new extras, including an excellent audio commentary with Steven C. Smith, C. Courtney Joyner and Randall William Cook. The show still sends us, and Bernard Herrmann's powerful music score shakes the rafters. Mysterious Island Blu-ray Twilight Time 1961 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 101 min. / Encoire Limited Edition / available at the Screen Archives Entertainment website; Street Date December 8, 2015 / 29.95 Starring Michael Craig, Michael Callan, Beth Rogan, Gary Merrill, Herbert Lom, Joan Greenwood, Percy Herbert. Cinematography Wilkie Cooper Special visual effects Ray Harryhausen Art Direction Bill Andrews Film Editor Frederick Wilson Original Music Bernard Herrmann Written by John Prebble, Daniel B. Ullman and Crane Wilbur from the novel by Jules Verne Produced by Charles H. Schneer Directed by Cy Endfield
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...
- 1/4/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Let's hear it for the great westerns -- not the Ford and Hawks classics, but the fascinating marginal gems that see The West in a different way. Do you like Sam Peckinpah? Robert Parrish's evocation of Texas and Mexico in the 1880s will be pleasantly familiar -- a testing ground of personal codes and shifting loyalties in a treacherous land. The Wonderful Country Savant Blu-ray Review Kl Studio Classics 1959 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 98 min. / Street Date September 29, 2015 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Robert Mitchum, Julie London, Pedro Armendariz, Gary Merrill, Jack Oakie, Albert Dekker, Charles McGraw, Leroy "Satchel" Paige. Cinematography Floyd Crosby Film Editor Michael Luciano Production Design Harry Horner Original Music Alex North Written by Robert Ardrey from the book by Tom Lea Produced by Chester Erskine Directed by Robert Parrish
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
This gem is as individual a western as any made in the 1950s, and a...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
This gem is as individual a western as any made in the 1950s, and a...
- 9/8/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
'Father of the Bride': Steve Martin and Kimberly Williams. Top Five Father's Day Movies? From giant Gregory Peck to tyrant John Gielgud What would be the Top Five Father's Day movies ever made? Well, there have been countless films about fathers and/or featuring fathers of various sizes, shapes, and inclinations. In terms of quality, these range from the amusing – e.g., the 1950 version of Cheaper by the Dozen; the Oscar-nominated The Grandfather – to the nauseating – e.g., the 1950 version of Father of the Bride; its atrocious sequel, Father's Little Dividend. Although I'm unable to come up with the absolute Top Five Father's Day Movies – or rather, just plain Father Movies – ever made, below are the first five (actually six, including a remake) "quality" patriarch-centered films that come to mind. Now, the fathers portrayed in these films aren't all heroic, loving, and/or saintly paternal figures. Several are...
- 6/22/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
One of the marketing trends today is for consumers to take a brand and make it their own. An example is the phenomenon of customizing phones. I’m sure that just about everyone you know has selected a cellphone case so that their phone has really become their phone. And a few years ago, I had a role in a Kia Soul marketing campaign. The big idea was that you, as a car owner, could customize the Soul in whatever way worked best for you. And there’s more of this brand customization in the future. Centennials, the group that comes after Millennials, are even more passionate about personalizing brands.
Geek Culture’s passionate fans already have their own personalized visions of popular entertainment brands and characters. They are a finicky bunch, especially when it comes to change. Long gone are the days when they blindly accepted reboots or revisions...
Geek Culture’s passionate fans already have their own personalized visions of popular entertainment brands and characters. They are a finicky bunch, especially when it comes to change. Long gone are the days when they blindly accepted reboots or revisions...
- 6/1/2015
- by Ed Catto
- Comicmix.com
Teresa Wright and Matt Damon in 'The Rainmaker' Teresa Wright: From Marlon Brando to Matt Damon (See preceding post: "Teresa Wright vs. Samuel Goldwyn: Nasty Falling Out.") "I'd rather have luck than brains!" Teresa Wright was quoted as saying in the early 1950s. That's understandable, considering her post-Samuel Goldwyn choice of movie roles, some of which may have seemed promising on paper.[1] Wright was Marlon Brando's first Hollywood leading lady, but that didn't help her to bounce back following the very public spat with her former boss. After all, The Men was released before Elia Kazan's film version of A Streetcar Named Desire turned Brando into a major international star. Chances are that good film offers were scarce. After Wright's brief 1950 comeback, for the third time in less than a decade she would be gone from the big screen for more than a year.
- 3/11/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Available for the first time on Blu-ray or DVD and remastered in high definition is forgotten film noir Witness to Murder, a 1954 Barbara Stanwyck potboiler also starring George Sanders and Gary Merrill. As written by Chester Erskine (The Egg and I, 1947), the film feels like plenty of other narratives, though its frustrating contrivance of hysteria as dramatic tension places it squarely within a particular male dominated paradigm. In particular, the film feels eerily reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, which actually opened a month after this Roy Rowland directed venture, doomed to be overshadowed and quickly forgotten. But, magnificently photographed by John Alton, it’s a shadowy and angular motion picture, enjoyable for its considerable melodrama as a portrait of misinformed and misogynistic gender politics.
Cheryl Draper (Barbara Stanwyck) witnesses a young woman being murdered in the apartment complex adjacent to her own. She calls the police to report what she sees.
Cheryl Draper (Barbara Stanwyck) witnesses a young woman being murdered in the apartment complex adjacent to her own. She calls the police to report what she sees.
- 12/16/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
By Lee Pfeiffer
Kino Lorber has released the relatively forgotten 1954 murder thriller "Witness to Murder" on Blu-ray. The flick is film noir in the best tradition: modest budget, creative lighting and cinematography, an inspired cast and a compelling story. Barbara Stanwyck stars as Cheryl Draper, an independent, career-minded woman who has the misfortune to look out the window of her apartment late one windy evening only to observe a murder being committed across the street in another apartment. She is horrified to see an attractive young woman being strangled to death by a well-dressed, middle-aged man. She phones the police and is visited by two detectives: Lawrence Matthews (Gary Merrill) and Eddie Vincent (cigar-chomping Jesse White), who dutifully take the details and head over the apartment where the crime was committed. The murderer is Albert Richter (George Sanders), a snobby author of some repute who has had time to hide...
Kino Lorber has released the relatively forgotten 1954 murder thriller "Witness to Murder" on Blu-ray. The flick is film noir in the best tradition: modest budget, creative lighting and cinematography, an inspired cast and a compelling story. Barbara Stanwyck stars as Cheryl Draper, an independent, career-minded woman who has the misfortune to look out the window of her apartment late one windy evening only to observe a murder being committed across the street in another apartment. She is horrified to see an attractive young woman being strangled to death by a well-dressed, middle-aged man. She phones the police and is visited by two detectives: Lawrence Matthews (Gary Merrill) and Eddie Vincent (cigar-chomping Jesse White), who dutifully take the details and head over the apartment where the crime was committed. The murderer is Albert Richter (George Sanders), a snobby author of some repute who has had time to hide...
- 12/2/2014
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Written by Ben Hecht
Directed by Otto Preminger
USA, 1950
To those paying attention, film history teaches that groups of like-minded artists enjoy working together. The better the result of their initial project, the higher the likelihood the same team shall reconvene to produce one, two, or more films, hopefully of equal or superior quality. Some time ago in this column, Otto Preminger’s 1944 Laura was reviewed, a brilliant picture about a detective falling in love with a believed-to-be-deceased woman based on her stunning portrait, starring Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney as the lovers in question. Six years following said sumptuous collaboration, the same director-actors partnership brought audiences Where the Sidewalk Ends, an equally bittersweet tale of misguided love.
The set-up to Preminger’s 1950 film makes it come across as something of a spiritual precursor to Nicholas Ray’s On Dangerous Ground, which would come out two years later.
Written by Ben Hecht
Directed by Otto Preminger
USA, 1950
To those paying attention, film history teaches that groups of like-minded artists enjoy working together. The better the result of their initial project, the higher the likelihood the same team shall reconvene to produce one, two, or more films, hopefully of equal or superior quality. Some time ago in this column, Otto Preminger’s 1944 Laura was reviewed, a brilliant picture about a detective falling in love with a believed-to-be-deceased woman based on her stunning portrait, starring Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney as the lovers in question. Six years following said sumptuous collaboration, the same director-actors partnership brought audiences Where the Sidewalk Ends, an equally bittersweet tale of misguided love.
The set-up to Preminger’s 1950 film makes it come across as something of a spiritual precursor to Nicholas Ray’s On Dangerous Ground, which would come out two years later.
- 9/5/2013
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Sam Moffitt, and Tom Stockman
Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away last month at age 92. In 1933, the then-13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at a Hollywood theater and was inspired – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre “stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done.” It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. The influence of Harryhausen on film luminaries like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson,...
Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away last month at age 92. In 1933, the then-13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at a Hollywood theater and was inspired – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre “stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done.” It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. The influence of Harryhausen on film luminaries like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson,...
- 6/25/2013
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
By Lee Pfeiffer
Twilight Time has released the 1961 film adaptation of Jules Verne's classic adventure Mysterious Island as a limited edition (3,000 units) Blu-ray. The story was Verne's sequel to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, although the only recurring character is the reclusive genius Captain Nemo (played in this version with great dignity and charisma by Herbert Lom). Nemo doesn't appear until late in the movie and to say too much about how he fits in with the story would spoil the film's many delights. The movie starts with a daring escape by Union POWs from a Confederate prison during the final days of the Civil War. The escapees utilize a hot air balloon, that they successfully launch under gun fire in the midst of a hurricane. The newly-freed men are Capt. Harding (Michael Craig), fellow soldiers Herbert Brown (Michael Callan) and Neb Nugent (Dan Jackson), as well as a war correspondent,...
Twilight Time has released the 1961 film adaptation of Jules Verne's classic adventure Mysterious Island as a limited edition (3,000 units) Blu-ray. The story was Verne's sequel to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, although the only recurring character is the reclusive genius Captain Nemo (played in this version with great dignity and charisma by Herbert Lom). Nemo doesn't appear until late in the movie and to say too much about how he fits in with the story would spoil the film's many delights. The movie starts with a daring escape by Union POWs from a Confederate prison during the final days of the Civil War. The escapees utilize a hot air balloon, that they successfully launch under gun fire in the midst of a hurricane. The newly-freed men are Capt. Harding (Michael Craig), fellow soldiers Herbert Brown (Michael Callan) and Neb Nugent (Dan Jackson), as well as a war correspondent,...
- 3/28/2012
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
By Lee Pfeiffer
Released in 1966, producer Ivan Tors' Around the World Under the Sea seemed at first blush like an exercise in stunt casting: cobble together some contemporary TV favorites into a feature film and have MGM and Tors divvy up the profits. However, that perception would be entirely wrong. While the film did boast some popular TV stars in leading roles, the film itself is an intelligent adventure flick, well acted and very competently directed by old hand Andrew Marton. The film stars Lloyd Bridges (only a few years out of Sea Hunt), Brian Kelly (star of Flipper), Daktari lead Marshall Thompson and Man From U.N.C.L.E. David McCallum. Veteran supporting actors Keenan Wynn and Gary Merrill are also prominently featured and Shirley Eaton, riding her fame from Goldfinger, has the only female role in this macho male storyline.The film is yet another title...
Released in 1966, producer Ivan Tors' Around the World Under the Sea seemed at first blush like an exercise in stunt casting: cobble together some contemporary TV favorites into a feature film and have MGM and Tors divvy up the profits. However, that perception would be entirely wrong. While the film did boast some popular TV stars in leading roles, the film itself is an intelligent adventure flick, well acted and very competently directed by old hand Andrew Marton. The film stars Lloyd Bridges (only a few years out of Sea Hunt), Brian Kelly (star of Flipper), Daktari lead Marshall Thompson and Man From U.N.C.L.E. David McCallum. Veteran supporting actors Keenan Wynn and Gary Merrill are also prominently featured and Shirley Eaton, riding her fame from Goldfinger, has the only female role in this macho male storyline.The film is yet another title...
- 12/28/2011
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
With the entire original run of The Twilight Zone available to watch instantly, we’re partnering with Twitch Film to cover all of the show’s 156 episodes. Are you brave enough to watch them all with us? The Twilight Zone (Episode #76): “Still Valley” (airdate 11/24/61) The Plot: Confederate soldiers in the final days of the Civil War find a warlock whose magic may be strong enough to help the South rise again. The Goods: Sgt. Joseph Paradine (Gary Merrill) is fed up with the Civil War. It’s bad enough he picked the losing side, but now as the Confederacy moves quickly and inexorably towards defeat Paradine finds himself stuck with a weak-willed and whiny fellow soldier at his side. The duo are out on scout duty when they hear the tell tale sounds of Union soldiers rabble rousing through a town at the base of the hill. Paradine heads down to scope out the enemy and...
- 9/20/2011
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Hitting movie theaters this weekend:
Jumping the Broom – Paula Patton, Laz Alonso, Angela Bassett
Something Borrowed – Ginnifer Goodwin, Kate Hudson, Colin Egglesfield
Thor – Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman
Movie of the Week
Thor
The Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman
The Plot: The powerful but arrogant warrior Thor (Hemsworth) is cast out of the fantastic realm of Asgard and sent to live amongst humans on Earth.
The Buzz: When I first heard about this film there was no accompanying metaphorical rumble of thunder. As a matter of fact, I instead grumbled at Marvel’s blunder — a film about Thor? He’s got to be one of the least popular Marvel Comics heroes out there. He’s not even a super hero, he’s the god of thunder, and his books are some of the most boring that Marvel has ever published. What was Marvel thinking? I just couldn...
Jumping the Broom – Paula Patton, Laz Alonso, Angela Bassett
Something Borrowed – Ginnifer Goodwin, Kate Hudson, Colin Egglesfield
Thor – Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman
Movie of the Week
Thor
The Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman
The Plot: The powerful but arrogant warrior Thor (Hemsworth) is cast out of the fantastic realm of Asgard and sent to live amongst humans on Earth.
The Buzz: When I first heard about this film there was no accompanying metaphorical rumble of thunder. As a matter of fact, I instead grumbled at Marvel’s blunder — a film about Thor? He’s got to be one of the least popular Marvel Comics heroes out there. He’s not even a super hero, he’s the god of thunder, and his books are some of the most boring that Marvel has ever published. What was Marvel thinking? I just couldn...
- 5/4/2011
- by Aaron Ruffcorn
- The Scorecard Review
Your weekly fix of great movies made before you were born that you should check out before you die. All this month, Old Ass Movies will be celebrating the 103rd anniversary of Bette Davis‘s birthday. The iconic film star acted in far too many movies to care to count, but it seems as though she’s been reduced to a pair of eyes in popular culture. She’s the subject of a 80s pop tune, not the star that she should be recognized for being, and that needs fixing. This week’s movie is an ensemble where Davis proved once again how to stand out even in a distinguished crowd. She plays the famous stage star Margo Channing who is getting on in years at the ancient age of forty. But this isn’t her story, and it’s also not the story of Eve – a young woman who slinks her way into Channing’s world...
- 4/18/2011
- by Cole Abaius
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
DVD Playhouse—March 2011
By
Allen Gardner
127 Hours (20th Century Fox) Harrowing true story of Aron Ralston (James Franco, in another fine turn), an extreme outdoorsman who finds himself trapped in a remote Utah canyon, his arm pinned between two boulders, with no help nearby, no communication to the outside world, and dim prospects for survival, to say the least. Director Danny Boyle manages to prove again that he’s one of the finest filmmakers working today by making a subject that is seemingly uncinematic a true example of pure cinema. Inventive, breathtaking, funny, and horrifying, often all at once. Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara make a memorable, brief appearance as hikers who connect with Ralston during his journey. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Boyle, producer Christian Colson, co-writer Simon Beaufoy; Deleted scenes; Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.
Amarcord (Criterion) Federico Fellini’s Oscar-winning, autobiographical classic might...
By
Allen Gardner
127 Hours (20th Century Fox) Harrowing true story of Aron Ralston (James Franco, in another fine turn), an extreme outdoorsman who finds himself trapped in a remote Utah canyon, his arm pinned between two boulders, with no help nearby, no communication to the outside world, and dim prospects for survival, to say the least. Director Danny Boyle manages to prove again that he’s one of the finest filmmakers working today by making a subject that is seemingly uncinematic a true example of pure cinema. Inventive, breathtaking, funny, and horrifying, often all at once. Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara make a memorable, brief appearance as hikers who connect with Ralston during his journey. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Boyle, producer Christian Colson, co-writer Simon Beaufoy; Deleted scenes; Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.
Amarcord (Criterion) Federico Fellini’s Oscar-winning, autobiographical classic might...
- 3/1/2011
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
All About Eve is regularly considered to be one of the greatest films from the annals of Hollywood’s history and with a record 14 Oscar nominations – tying it with James Cameron’s epic Titanic (1998) – and 6 wins, it’s hard to argue against it’s importance. And now with today’s Blu-ray upgrade, improving on all previous DVD releases, it’s great to see this piece of film history transformed into a slick, deserving and glossy HD presentation. If you’ve never taken the opportunity to delve into the world of back-stage dramas and one-upmanship then now couldn’t be a better time.
All About Eve follows the schemes and manoeuvres of an aspiring actress, Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter), as she attempts to inculcate herself into the life of aging, but mammoth stage star Margo Channing (Bette Davis) and her array of theatre friends. As Eve engineers herself to become indispensible to Margo,...
All About Eve follows the schemes and manoeuvres of an aspiring actress, Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter), as she attempts to inculcate herself into the life of aging, but mammoth stage star Margo Channing (Bette Davis) and her array of theatre friends. As Eve engineers herself to become indispensible to Margo,...
- 2/21/2011
- by Stuart Cummins
- Obsessed with Film
Gene Tierney on TCM Schedule and synopses from the TCM website: 3:00 Am Plymouth Adventure (1952) Epic dramatization of the Pilgrims’ journey to the new world on the Mayflower. Cast: Spencer Tracy, Gene Tierney, Van Johnson. Dir: Clarence Brown. C-106 mins. 5:00 Am Personal Affair (1953) When a teenaged student disappears, her teacher is suspected of killing her. Cast: Gene Tierney, Leo Genn, Glynis Johns. Dir: Anthony Pelissier. Bw-82 mins. 6:30 Am Never Let Me Go (1953) An American correspondent and his Russian ballerina wife are separated by the Soviet authorities. Cast: Clark Gable, Gene Tierney, Richard Haydn. Dir: Delmer Daves. Bw-94 mins. 8:15 Am Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) A police detective’s violent nature keeps him from being a good cop. Cast: Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Gary Merrill. Dir: Otto Preminger. Bw-95 mins. 10:00 Am Shanghai Gesture, The (1941) A gambling queen uses blackmail to stop a British financier from [...]...
- 8/14/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.
Finally, season 4 of Alfred Hitchcock Presents is on DVD. I say finally because this season contains one of my favorite episodes of any TV series ever, "Man with a Problem," with Elizabeth Montgomery, Gary Merrill, and Peter Mark Richman. It has a great twist ending (you can watch it here). I have to start buying this show on DVD.
The Golden Age of Television DVD is a Criterion Collection set and includes some great live TV episodes, including "Marty," "Days of Wine and Roses," "The Comedian," "Requiem for a Heavyweight," "No Time For Sergeants," "A Wind from the South," and "Bang The Drum Slowly." Also comes with extensive commentaries and interviews and a booklet.
Continue reading New TV on DVD releases this week
Filed under: TV on DVD, Reality-Free
Permalink | Email this | | Comments...
Finally, season 4 of Alfred Hitchcock Presents is on DVD. I say finally because this season contains one of my favorite episodes of any TV series ever, "Man with a Problem," with Elizabeth Montgomery, Gary Merrill, and Peter Mark Richman. It has a great twist ending (you can watch it here). I have to start buying this show on DVD.
The Golden Age of Television DVD is a Criterion Collection set and includes some great live TV episodes, including "Marty," "Days of Wine and Roses," "The Comedian," "Requiem for a Heavyweight," "No Time For Sergeants," "A Wind from the South," and "Bang The Drum Slowly." Also comes with extensive commentaries and interviews and a booklet.
Continue reading New TV on DVD releases this week
Filed under: TV on DVD, Reality-Free
Permalink | Email this | | Comments...
- 11/23/2009
- by Bob Sassone
- Aol TV.
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.