Film once described as ‘one-way ticket to post-traumatic stress disorder’ originally classified U
• Watership Down has been upgraded to a PG. It’ll still terrify children
When Watership Down was first released in 1978, the film’s director, Martin Rosen, insisted the image featured on its promotional poster should warn viewers that this was no cutesy cartoon about some bunnies.
“I reckoned a mother with a sensitive child would see a rabbit in a snare with blood coming out its mouth and reckon, ‘Well, maybe this isn’t for Charlie – it’s a little too tough,’” he has said.
• Watership Down has been upgraded to a PG. It’ll still terrify children
When Watership Down was first released in 1978, the film’s director, Martin Rosen, insisted the image featured on its promotional poster should warn viewers that this was no cutesy cartoon about some bunnies.
“I reckoned a mother with a sensitive child would see a rabbit in a snare with blood coming out its mouth and reckon, ‘Well, maybe this isn’t for Charlie – it’s a little too tough,’” he has said.
- 7/21/2023
- by Esther Addley
- The Guardian - Film News
This article contains spoilers for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3"At the beginning of James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," out in theaters on May 5, Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper) is attacked by a mysterious gold alien named Adam Warlock. Rocket, a hyper-intelligent raccoon, is grievously injured, and his humanoid friends are unable to heal him using the high-tech medical devices at their disposal and Rocket falls into a coma. Rocket's friends, the Guardians of the Galaxy, scan his body and find that he has been encoded with cybernetic parts that prevent medicine from working on him. They will have to trek all over the galaxy to find the appropriate devices and information to undo the cybernetic coding and save their friend.
While the Guardians are on their mission, Rocket, comatose, begins dreaming about his past. Rocket remembers that as a baby raccoon, he was genetically...
While the Guardians are on their mission, Rocket, comatose, begins dreaming about his past. Rocket remembers that as a baby raccoon, he was genetically...
- 5/3/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)
The Movie: "Watership Down" (1978)
Where You Can Stream It: HBO Max
The Pitch: A young rabbit named Fiver (voiced by Richard Briers) has a vision of impending doom for the rabbit-warren where he resides, the forest near their home running red with blood. Aware his sibling's visions have come true in the past, Fiver's brother Hazel (John Hurt) chooses to defy the orders of his chief, who forbids anyone from leaving their burrow. Leading a group that includes Fiver and several other rabbits, Hazel and his peers brave hawks, cars, human traps, dogs, cats, and tyrannical rabbits known as Efrafans in the hopes of finding a new safe haven at the hill Fiver sees in his mind: Watership Down.
As...
The Movie: "Watership Down" (1978)
Where You Can Stream It: HBO Max
The Pitch: A young rabbit named Fiver (voiced by Richard Briers) has a vision of impending doom for the rabbit-warren where he resides, the forest near their home running red with blood. Aware his sibling's visions have come true in the past, Fiver's brother Hazel (John Hurt) chooses to defy the orders of his chief, who forbids anyone from leaving their burrow. Leading a group that includes Fiver and several other rabbits, Hazel and his peers brave hawks, cars, human traps, dogs, cats, and tyrannical rabbits known as Efrafans in the hopes of finding a new safe haven at the hill Fiver sees in his mind: Watership Down.
As...
- 9/6/2022
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
The Criterion Channel’s July 2021 Lineup Includes Wong Kar Wai, Neo-Noir, Art-House Animation & More
The July lineup at The Criterion Channel has been revealed, most notably featuring the new Wong Kar Wai restorations from the recent box set release, including As Tears Go By, Days of Being Wild, Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, Happy Together, In the Mood for Love, 2046, and his shorts Hua yang de nian hua and The Hand.
Also among the lineup is a series on neo-noir with Body Double, Manhunter, Thief, The Last Seduction, Cutter’s Way, Brick, Night Moves, The Long Goodbye, Chinatown, and more. The channel will also feature a spotlight on art-house animation with work by Marcell Jankovics, Satoshi Kon, Ari Folman, Don Hertzfeldt, Karel Zeman, and more.
With Jodie Mack’s delightful The Grand Bizarre, the landmark doc Hoop Dreams, Orson Welles’ take on Othello, the recent Oscar entries Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time and You Will Die at Twenty, and much more,...
Also among the lineup is a series on neo-noir with Body Double, Manhunter, Thief, The Last Seduction, Cutter’s Way, Brick, Night Moves, The Long Goodbye, Chinatown, and more. The channel will also feature a spotlight on art-house animation with work by Marcell Jankovics, Satoshi Kon, Ari Folman, Don Hertzfeldt, Karel Zeman, and more.
With Jodie Mack’s delightful The Grand Bizarre, the landmark doc Hoop Dreams, Orson Welles’ take on Othello, the recent Oscar entries Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time and You Will Die at Twenty, and much more,...
- 6/24/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Wes Anderson selected Suzie Templeton’s Oscar-winning Peter & The Wolf to screen in the Animation First Festival in New York
Suzie Templeton’s 2008 Oscar-winning Animated Short Peter & The Wolf is a timeless masterpiece. Selected by Wes Anderson, the first American Special Guest at the French Institute Alliance Française fourth annual Animation First Festival in New York it screens along with three other animated films that inspired him: David Hand’s Bambi, and two shorts, Martin Rosen’s The Plague Dogs (1982) and Garry Trudeau’s A Doonesbury Special (1977), co-directed by Faith Hubley and John Hubley. Templeton’s short Dog won Best New British Animation at the Edinburgh...
Suzie Templeton’s 2008 Oscar-winning Animated Short Peter & The Wolf is a timeless masterpiece. Selected by Wes Anderson, the first American Special Guest at the French Institute Alliance Française fourth annual Animation First Festival in New York it screens along with three other animated films that inspired him: David Hand’s Bambi, and two shorts, Martin Rosen’s The Plague Dogs (1982) and Garry Trudeau’s A Doonesbury Special (1977), co-directed by Faith Hubley and John Hubley. Templeton’s short Dog won Best New British Animation at the Edinburgh...
- 2/12/2021
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Wes Anderson selects David Hand’s Bambi
Wes Anderson has selected four films that inspired him: David Hand’s Bambi, Martin Rosen’s The Plague Dogs (1982), and two shorts, Garry Trudeau’s A Doonesbury Special (1977), and Suzie Templeton’s Peter & The Wolf (2006) to screen during the French Institute Alliance Française Animation First Festival in New York, co-curated by Delphine Selles-Alvarez and Catherine Lamairesse.
Mathieu Amalric: Renaissance Man poster featuring Fantastic Mr. Fox and Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell And The Butterfly Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Michaël Dudok de Wit (The Red Turtle) was the honoured guest of the inaugural Animation First Festival in 2018, Michel Ocelot (Kirikou and the Sorceress) and Jean-François Laguionie were the guests of honour in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
Fi:af President Marie-Monique Steckel: “This year's Animation First promises to be the richest in the Festival's history. We are delighted to have so many exciting new films, cult classics,...
Wes Anderson has selected four films that inspired him: David Hand’s Bambi, Martin Rosen’s The Plague Dogs (1982), and two shorts, Garry Trudeau’s A Doonesbury Special (1977), and Suzie Templeton’s Peter & The Wolf (2006) to screen during the French Institute Alliance Française Animation First Festival in New York, co-curated by Delphine Selles-Alvarez and Catherine Lamairesse.
Mathieu Amalric: Renaissance Man poster featuring Fantastic Mr. Fox and Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell And The Butterfly Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Michaël Dudok de Wit (The Red Turtle) was the honoured guest of the inaugural Animation First Festival in 2018, Michel Ocelot (Kirikou and the Sorceress) and Jean-François Laguionie were the guests of honour in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
Fi:af President Marie-Monique Steckel: “This year's Animation First promises to be the richest in the Festival's history. We are delighted to have so many exciting new films, cult classics,...
- 1/2/2021
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Watership Down Enterprises, the estate and family of author Richard Adams, has won an English High Court lawsuit against U.S. producer Martin Rosen, who wrote and directed the classic 1978 animated film of Adams’ beloved novel Watership Down.
In a judgment issued on 27 May 2020, Rosen and companies controlled by him were ordered to pay the estate court costs and an initial payment for damages totalling approximately $95,000 within twenty-eight days for infringing copyright, agreeing unauthorised license deals and denying royalty payments. Additional damages are due to be assessed at a future hearing.
The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (Ipec) also terminated the original contract in which motion picture rights for Watership Down were originally granted to Rosen in 1976.
The High Court heard that Rosen entered contracts worth more than $500,000 after wrongly claiming he owned all rights to Watership Down. The court also heard that Rosen made a further $85,000 from an unauthorised licence...
In a judgment issued on 27 May 2020, Rosen and companies controlled by him were ordered to pay the estate court costs and an initial payment for damages totalling approximately $95,000 within twenty-eight days for infringing copyright, agreeing unauthorised license deals and denying royalty payments. Additional damages are due to be assessed at a future hearing.
The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (Ipec) also terminated the original contract in which motion picture rights for Watership Down were originally granted to Rosen in 1976.
The High Court heard that Rosen entered contracts worth more than $500,000 after wrongly claiming he owned all rights to Watership Down. The court also heard that Rosen made a further $85,000 from an unauthorised licence...
- 6/2/2020
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
A court in England has ruled in favor of Watership Down Enterprises, the estate and family of author Richard Adams, in an action brought against producer Martin Rosen, who wrote and directed the 1978 animated film of Adams’ novel “Watership Down.”
In a judgment issued on May 27, Rosen and companies controlled by him were ordered to pay the estate court costs and an initial payment for damages totaling approximately $95,000 within 28 days for infringing copyright, agreeing unauthorized license deals and denying royalty payments. Additional damages will be assessed at a future hearing.
The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court – in a case heard by His Honour Judge Hacon – also terminated the original contract in which motion picture rights for “Watership Down” were originally granted to Rosen in 1976.
The court heard that Rosen entered contracts worth over $500,000 after claiming he owned all rights to “Watership Down.” Rosen made a further $85,000 from an unauthorized license for an audiobook of the novel,...
In a judgment issued on May 27, Rosen and companies controlled by him were ordered to pay the estate court costs and an initial payment for damages totaling approximately $95,000 within 28 days for infringing copyright, agreeing unauthorized license deals and denying royalty payments. Additional damages will be assessed at a future hearing.
The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court – in a case heard by His Honour Judge Hacon – also terminated the original contract in which motion picture rights for “Watership Down” were originally granted to Rosen in 1976.
The court heard that Rosen entered contracts worth over $500,000 after claiming he owned all rights to “Watership Down.” Rosen made a further $85,000 from an unauthorized license for an audiobook of the novel,...
- 6/1/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
CBS and The Young and the Restless were the top winners Friday at the Daytime Emmy Creative Arts Awards, which were handed out at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, the site of tomorrow’s 46th annual Daytime Emmys.
The Young and the Restless scored five nods at the ceremony, which honored the year’s best in children’s and animated programming along with crafts. Baobab Studios’ animated Crow: The Legend and Amazon Prime’s soap After Forever scored four wins apiece.
The syndicated The Ellen DeGeneres Show was one of four shows with three wins apiece, among them for directing and writing. Others with three included HBO’s Sesame Street, which was named Outstanding Preschool Children’s Series; NBC’s Days of Our Lives, which leads all programs this year with 27 total noms; and CBS’ The Talk.
Other marquee children’s programming winners included PBS’ Odd Squad, which won the Outstanding...
The Young and the Restless scored five nods at the ceremony, which honored the year’s best in children’s and animated programming along with crafts. Baobab Studios’ animated Crow: The Legend and Amazon Prime’s soap After Forever scored four wins apiece.
The syndicated The Ellen DeGeneres Show was one of four shows with three wins apiece, among them for directing and writing. Others with three included HBO’s Sesame Street, which was named Outstanding Preschool Children’s Series; NBC’s Days of Our Lives, which leads all programs this year with 27 total noms; and CBS’ The Talk.
Other marquee children’s programming winners included PBS’ Odd Squad, which won the Outstanding...
- 5/4/2019
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Catherine Pearson Dec 23, 2018
The BBC and Netflix version of Watership Down is a puzzling revival of the classic.
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
This review contains spoilers.
You’d have to be made of stone to not get a little something in your eye at the close of director Noam Murro’s two-part series. It’s an emotional finale to a unique story of companionship, survival and human destruction that had readers of Richard Adams’ 1972 novel and viewers of Martin Rosen’s 1978 film wiping away tears.
For all the peril the rabbits experience after fleeing their doomed warren to find the beautiful Watership Down, we don’t expect the emotional gut-punch of Hazel’s visit from the black rabbit as he finally rests, aged and weary, in the safety of his well-earned home. We’re prepared for his death in a vicious fight to the death with Captain Woundwort,...
The BBC and Netflix version of Watership Down is a puzzling revival of the classic.
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
This review contains spoilers.
You’d have to be made of stone to not get a little something in your eye at the close of director Noam Murro’s two-part series. It’s an emotional finale to a unique story of companionship, survival and human destruction that had readers of Richard Adams’ 1972 novel and viewers of Martin Rosen’s 1978 film wiping away tears.
For all the peril the rabbits experience after fleeing their doomed warren to find the beautiful Watership Down, we don’t expect the emotional gut-punch of Hazel’s visit from the black rabbit as he finally rests, aged and weary, in the safety of his well-earned home. We’re prepared for his death in a vicious fight to the death with Captain Woundwort,...
- 12/23/2018
- Den of Geek
In the midst of war, the faintest ray of light can be salvation. Richard Adams’ 1972 children’s novel is positively awash with sunshine compared to Martin Rosen’s 1978 children’s horror movie. The short-lived 1999 TV series skewed back toward the author’s original tone, yet each entry carried real weight, be it the biblical and mythological interpretations or the story’s gruesome jolts — and permanently etched in the minds of its young viewers.
Now, Netflix and the BBC revive the fantasy tale as a potent, stunning, and a tad too ugly vision of a rabbits’ world not that different from our own. Sent fleeing from their den by human development — can anyone say “gentrification”? — the new four-part story tracks Hazel (James McAvoy), Fiver (Nicholas Hoult), and a slew of other plainly drawn bunnies as they try to survive. Still, this is an optimistic spin on an old story originally crafted for kids.
Now, Netflix and the BBC revive the fantasy tale as a potent, stunning, and a tad too ugly vision of a rabbits’ world not that different from our own. Sent fleeing from their den by human development — can anyone say “gentrification”? — the new four-part story tracks Hazel (James McAvoy), Fiver (Nicholas Hoult), and a slew of other plainly drawn bunnies as they try to survive. Still, this is an optimistic spin on an old story originally crafted for kids.
- 12/20/2018
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
When they catch you, they will kill you… but first they must catch you. Ominous words in the first trailer for the remake of classic animated drama Watership Down.
The trailer for the Netflix and BBC One co-pro gives off an almost Game of Thrones vibe as it follows the adventure, courage and survival of a band of rabbits on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home.
The series, which airs around Christmas on both the British public broadcaster and Svod service, has an A-list cast including James McAvoy, Daniel Kaluuya, Nicholas Hoult, Ben Kingsley, John Boyega, Gemma Arterton, Rosamund Pike, Gemma Chan, Peter Capaldi, Taron Egerton, Miles Jupp, Freddie Fox, Mackenzie Crook, Olivia Colman, Anne-Marie Duff, Rory Kinnear, Tom Wilkinson, Jason Watkins, Craig Parkinson, Henry Goodman, Lee Ingleby, Charlotte Spencer and Daniel Rigby.
Set in the idyllic rural landscape of southern England,...
The trailer for the Netflix and BBC One co-pro gives off an almost Game of Thrones vibe as it follows the adventure, courage and survival of a band of rabbits on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home.
The series, which airs around Christmas on both the British public broadcaster and Svod service, has an A-list cast including James McAvoy, Daniel Kaluuya, Nicholas Hoult, Ben Kingsley, John Boyega, Gemma Arterton, Rosamund Pike, Gemma Chan, Peter Capaldi, Taron Egerton, Miles Jupp, Freddie Fox, Mackenzie Crook, Olivia Colman, Anne-Marie Duff, Rory Kinnear, Tom Wilkinson, Jason Watkins, Craig Parkinson, Henry Goodman, Lee Ingleby, Charlotte Spencer and Daniel Rigby.
Set in the idyllic rural landscape of southern England,...
- 12/4/2018
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
A Private War star Rosamund Pike, Doctor Who’s Peter Capaldi, Crazy Rich Asians’ Gemma Chan and Kingsman’s Taron Egerton have joined the voice cast of the BBC and Netflix’s adaptation of Watership Down.
It comes as the first images of the show are revealed. The quartet join the likes of James McAvoy, Daniel Kaluuya, Nicholas Hoult, Ben Kingsley, John Boyega and Gemma Arterton, which is produced by 42 and Biscuit Entertainment.
Pike will play The Black Rabbit Of Inlé, Capaldi plays seagull Kehaar, Egerton joins as El-Ahrairah and Chan plays Dewdrop.
Elsewhere, Miles Jupp, Freddie Fox, Mackenzie Crook, Olivia Colman, Anne-Marie Duff, Rory Kinnear, Tom Wilkinson, Jason Watkins, Craig Parkinson, Henry Goodman, Lee Ingleby, Charlotte Spencer and Daniel Rigby round out the A-list cast.
Adapted for the screen by Tom Bidwell (My Mad Fat Diary), Watership Down uses Richard Adams’ bestselling novel as its source to bring a...
It comes as the first images of the show are revealed. The quartet join the likes of James McAvoy, Daniel Kaluuya, Nicholas Hoult, Ben Kingsley, John Boyega and Gemma Arterton, which is produced by 42 and Biscuit Entertainment.
Pike will play The Black Rabbit Of Inlé, Capaldi plays seagull Kehaar, Egerton joins as El-Ahrairah and Chan plays Dewdrop.
Elsewhere, Miles Jupp, Freddie Fox, Mackenzie Crook, Olivia Colman, Anne-Marie Duff, Rory Kinnear, Tom Wilkinson, Jason Watkins, Craig Parkinson, Henry Goodman, Lee Ingleby, Charlotte Spencer and Daniel Rigby round out the A-list cast.
Adapted for the screen by Tom Bidwell (My Mad Fat Diary), Watership Down uses Richard Adams’ bestselling novel as its source to bring a...
- 11/1/2018
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Finally — a satisfying home video edition of Ken Russell’s absorbing, argument-starting classic, in which D. H. Lawrence’s quartet of bohemians attempt to live out their progressive theories about love and sex. The intellectual arguments may be cold but the characters are warm and vivid. Exceptional performing from all — Alan Bates, Glenda Jackson, Oliver Reed and Jennie Linden, and outstanding cinematography from Billy Williams.
Women in Love
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 916
1969 / Color / 1:75 widescreen / 131 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date March 27, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: Sir Alan Bates, Oliver Reed, Glenda Jackson, Jennie Linden, Eleanor Bron, Alan Webb, Catherine Willmer, Vladek Sheybal.
Cinematography: Billy Williams
Film Editor: Michael Bradsell
Original Music: Georges Delerue
Written by Larry Kramer
Produced by Larry Kramer, Martin Rosen
Directed by Ken Russell
In college, this one was guaranteed to keep couples up all night, debating the merits of each character’s notion of what constitutes a good relationship.
Women in Love
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 916
1969 / Color / 1:75 widescreen / 131 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date March 27, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: Sir Alan Bates, Oliver Reed, Glenda Jackson, Jennie Linden, Eleanor Bron, Alan Webb, Catherine Willmer, Vladek Sheybal.
Cinematography: Billy Williams
Film Editor: Michael Bradsell
Original Music: Georges Delerue
Written by Larry Kramer
Produced by Larry Kramer, Martin Rosen
Directed by Ken Russell
In college, this one was guaranteed to keep couples up all night, debating the merits of each character’s notion of what constitutes a good relationship.
- 3/17/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Wes Anderson is finally ready to talk about “Isle of Dogs.” The director returned to the Berlin Film Festival, where his latest feature is the first animated film to open the ceremony, and he joined his screenwriters Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Kunichi Nomura, plus many members of his star-studded voice cast, for the official “Isle of Dogs” press conference. Prior to Berlin, Anderson had been incredibly tight-lipped about his first stop-motion film since “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” but now we know a little more about what drove him to make the project.
“Jason, Roman, and I started this project with wanting to do a movie about some dogs abandoned on a garbage dump, a pack of dogs who live on garbage,” Anderson said, admitting that it wasn’t the boldest idea they ever had. “But we had also been talking about wanting to do something in Japan, about Japan, something...
“Jason, Roman, and I started this project with wanting to do a movie about some dogs abandoned on a garbage dump, a pack of dogs who live on garbage,” Anderson said, admitting that it wasn’t the boldest idea they ever had. “But we had also been talking about wanting to do something in Japan, about Japan, something...
- 2/15/2018
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Each month, the fine folks at FilmStruck and the Criterion Collection spend countless hours crafting their channels to highlight the many different types of films that they have in their streaming library. This April will feature an exciting assortment of films, as noted below.
To sign up for a free two-week trial here.
Monday, April 3 The Chaos of Cool: A Tribute to Seijun Suzuki
In February, cinema lost an icon of excess, Seijun Suzuki, the Japanese master who took the art of the B movie to sublime new heights with his deliriously inventive approach to narrative and visual style. This series showcases seven of the New Wave renegade’s works from his career breakthrough in the sixties: Take Aim at the Police Van (1960), an off-kilter whodunit; Youth of the Beast (1963), an explosive yakuza thriller; Gate of Flesh (1964), a pulpy social critique; Story of a Prostitute (1965), a tragic romance; Tokyo Drifter...
To sign up for a free two-week trial here.
Monday, April 3 The Chaos of Cool: A Tribute to Seijun Suzuki
In February, cinema lost an icon of excess, Seijun Suzuki, the Japanese master who took the art of the B movie to sublime new heights with his deliriously inventive approach to narrative and visual style. This series showcases seven of the New Wave renegade’s works from his career breakthrough in the sixties: Take Aim at the Police Van (1960), an off-kilter whodunit; Youth of the Beast (1963), an explosive yakuza thriller; Gate of Flesh (1964), a pulpy social critique; Story of a Prostitute (1965), a tragic romance; Tokyo Drifter...
- 3/29/2017
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
“My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today.” So wrote Richard Adams, who has died at 96, in “Watership Down.” The news, which comes from the English novelist’s family, places Adams on a long list of writers, musicians, actors and other artists who have passed away this year; though he lived a longer life than many of those figures, Adams’ passing marks another loss for the creative community.
Read More: ‘Watership Down’: Wes Anderson, Guillermo del Toro & More Describe Story’s Impact Ahead Of New Miniseries
“Richard’s much-loved family announce with sadness that their dear father, grandfather, and great-grandfather passed away peacefully at 10pm on Christmas Eve,” reads a statement posted to a website devoted to “Watership Down.” About a group of talking rabbits who flee their warren when man’s encroachment threatens their survival, the 1972 novel has long been noted as an especially dark,...
Read More: ‘Watership Down’: Wes Anderson, Guillermo del Toro & More Describe Story’s Impact Ahead Of New Miniseries
“Richard’s much-loved family announce with sadness that their dear father, grandfather, and great-grandfather passed away peacefully at 10pm on Christmas Eve,” reads a statement posted to a website devoted to “Watership Down.” About a group of talking rabbits who flee their warren when man’s encroachment threatens their survival, the 1972 novel has long been noted as an especially dark,...
- 12/27/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Since joining Twitter, Vincenzo Natali has been releasing a ton of art, script pages and information about both his made and unmade films. Last time he blew our minds was when he released a ton of concept art for his unmade and now defunt Neuromancer project (Rip). Yesterday, Natali dropped something of a bomb when he released concept art and stills from an animation test for his unmade adaptation of Richard Adams' classic Rabbit novel, "Watership Down".
Of course we have a great adaptation of Watership Down already in Martin Rosen' [Continued ...]...
Of course we have a great adaptation of Watership Down already in Martin Rosen' [Continued ...]...
- 5/20/2016
- QuietEarth.us
Netflix and BBC are partnering to stage a small screen revival of Watership Down, an adaptation of Richard Adams’ cherished children’s novel that first hit book shelves in 1972.
Pitched as a four-part miniseries, both Netflix and the BBC have already enlisted a star-studded ensemble to voice many of the lead characters of Adams’ beloved tale, including Star Wars: The Force Awakens breakout John Boyega (Bigwig), James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Ben Kingsley and Gemma Arterton.
Selling north of 50 million copies since it was first published, there’s no doubting the legacy of Watership Down, and that’s something the BBC is aiming to preserve with this all-new interpretation. In light of today’s announcement, Matthew Read – Commissioning Editor at the British broadcaster – released the following statement:
“Before there was Harry Potter there was Watership Down, Richard Adams’ novel is one of the most successful books of all time and one...
Pitched as a four-part miniseries, both Netflix and the BBC have already enlisted a star-studded ensemble to voice many of the lead characters of Adams’ beloved tale, including Star Wars: The Force Awakens breakout John Boyega (Bigwig), James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Ben Kingsley and Gemma Arterton.
Selling north of 50 million copies since it was first published, there’s no doubting the legacy of Watership Down, and that’s something the BBC is aiming to preserve with this all-new interpretation. In light of today’s announcement, Matthew Read – Commissioning Editor at the British broadcaster – released the following statement:
“Before there was Harry Potter there was Watership Down, Richard Adams’ novel is one of the most successful books of all time and one...
- 4/28/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
There are many childhoods that were marked by a viewing of "Watership Down," whether it was Martin Rosen's more harrowing 1978 film, or the softer TV series from the late '90s. Well, a whole new generation of children are going to get their own version of Richard Adams' novel, as yet another adaptation is in the works. Read More: Watch: Trailer For John Boyega's Sundance Award Winner 'Imperial Dreams' James McAvoy, John Boyega, Nicholas Hoult and Ben Kingsley have signed on to voice a miniseries take on the material for Netflix and BBC. Noam Murro ("300: Rise of the Empire") is the surprising choice to direct the four-part allegorical tale about rabbits fleeing from human intrusion, and aiming to find a new home, that will see McAvoy as Hazel, Hoult as Fiver, Kingsley as General Woundwort, and Boyega as Bigwig. Rounding out the ensemble is Gemma Arterton playing Clover,...
- 4/28/2016
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
A not-insignificant number of children were scarred for life by the horrifying 1978 animated adaptation of Richard Adams' allegorical 1972 novel Watership Down -- and many of those wounds were reopened today, with news that Netflix is partnering with the BBC for a brand-new version. The four-part CG-animated miniseries, which will be directed by Noam Murro (300: Rise of an Empire) and feature the voice talents of John Boyega, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Gemma Arterton and Ben Kingsley, will reportedly "tone down the levels of on-screen violence to make it more appropriate for children." Which of course does nothing for those already irrevocably traumatized by Martin Rosen's nightmare-inducing take on the material. For those not familiar with the film (or who perhaps saw it before blocking it out), Watership Down centers on a group of eight rabbits who embark on a grim journey to establish a new home after their...
- 4/28/2016
- by Chris Eggertsen
- Hitfix
Lee Gambin’s “Secretly Scary” column continues to look at non-horror films that are secretly horror films! “All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a thousand enemies…” Adapted from Richard Adams’s sweeping allegorical tale of survival and the promise of life outside despair, Martin Rosen’s animated film of Watership Down is relentlessly serious in…
The post Secretly Scary: 1978’s Watership Down appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
The post Secretly Scary: 1978’s Watership Down appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
- 3/23/2016
- by Chris Alexander
- shocktillyoudrop.com
The great Charlie Kaufman has made his first foray into the world of animation with the critically praised Anomalisa, which we named one of the best films of 2015. Finally expanding over the next few weeks, to celebrate, we’ve decided to look back at some of the finest animated films that one might not want to show the entire family.
Who said cartoons were just for kids? As this week’s list will demonstrate, some of the finest weren’t necessarily designed with undiscerning young audiences in mind. Crossing genres and styles, these fifteen amazing features should probably be watched after this kids have been put to bed. Of course, there are many great examples beyond these, so please suggest your own favorites in the comments.
Watership Down / The Plague Dogs (Martin Rosen)
Martin Rosen‘s dark adaptations of Richard Adams‘s classic novels, Watership Down and The Plague Dogs,...
Who said cartoons were just for kids? As this week’s list will demonstrate, some of the finest weren’t necessarily designed with undiscerning young audiences in mind. Crossing genres and styles, these fifteen amazing features should probably be watched after this kids have been put to bed. Of course, there are many great examples beyond these, so please suggest your own favorites in the comments.
Watership Down / The Plague Dogs (Martin Rosen)
Martin Rosen‘s dark adaptations of Richard Adams‘s classic novels, Watership Down and The Plague Dogs,...
- 1/13/2016
- by Tony Hinds
- The Film Stage
At a loss for what to watch this week? From new DVDs and Blu-rays, to what's streaming on Netflix, we've got you covered.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"Beyond the Lights"
Writer/director Gina Prince-Bythewood's triumphant return is a labor of love worth your love. This romantic drama stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Noni, a self-destructive pop singer who's tired of the limelight and all it entails. An off-duty cop named Kaz (Nate Parker) steps in to save Noni from making a terrible decision, and naturally, they fall for each other hard and fast. Mbatha-Raw and Parker have great chemistry. Plus, Minnie Driver is excellent as Noni's stage mom.
"Watership Down"
Martin Rosen's emotionally devastating animated film, based on the novel by Richard Adams, has gotten a spiffy Criterion restoration. There aren't a ton of bells and whistles on this Blu-ray, but those little bunnies have never looked so good.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"Beyond the Lights"
Writer/director Gina Prince-Bythewood's triumphant return is a labor of love worth your love. This romantic drama stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Noni, a self-destructive pop singer who's tired of the limelight and all it entails. An off-duty cop named Kaz (Nate Parker) steps in to save Noni from making a terrible decision, and naturally, they fall for each other hard and fast. Mbatha-Raw and Parker have great chemistry. Plus, Minnie Driver is excellent as Noni's stage mom.
"Watership Down"
Martin Rosen's emotionally devastating animated film, based on the novel by Richard Adams, has gotten a spiffy Criterion restoration. There aren't a ton of bells and whistles on this Blu-ray, but those little bunnies have never looked so good.
- 2/23/2015
- by Jenni Miller
- Moviefone
'Don't Look Now' as Criterion Takes 'A Day in the Country' One 'Autumn Afternoon' & more in February
Every month, the Criterion Collection selects a number of cinematically and culturally important films and makes an effort to preserve them with specialized DVD and Blu-ray releases. For February 2015, the Criterion Collection brings a new mix of classic films into the modern era with new restorations that mark the first time they've ever been available in high-definition (usually). In the mix we have Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now, Martin Rosen's animated adaptation of Richard Adams's Watership Down, Jean-Luc Godard's Every Man for Himself, Jean Renoir's A Day in the Country, Federico Fellini's Satyricon, and Yasujiro Ozu's An Autumn Afternoon.
For full details on all six releases, read on.
Read more...
For full details on all six releases, read on.
Read more...
- 2/8/2015
- by Lex Walker
- JustPressPlay.net
If you're reading this you're likely a fan of the Criterion Collection, which also means as much as you may be interested to know what new titles are coming to the collection in February 2015, if you aren't yet aware, Barnes & Noble is currently having their 50% of Criterion sale right now, click here for more on that. However, if you're already hip to the sale, let's have a look at the new titles that were just announced. The month will begin on February 3 with a new film from Jean-Luc Godard, his 1980 feature Every Man for Himself starring Jacques Dutronc, Nathalie Baye and Isabelle Huppert. It's a film Godard refers to as a second debut and is described as an examination of sexual relationships, in which three protagonists interact in different combinations. The release includes a new high-definition digital restoration, a short video titled Le scenario created by Godard to secure financing for the film,...
- 11/17/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
40. Night of the Hunter (1955)
Scene: The Preacher on the Horizon
Video: http://youtu.be/9PyNL2ahKwc?list=PLZbXA4lyCtqolaQOAXly96de5FYQlPzqK Just like a few others in this section of the list, Charles Laughton’s brilliant Night of the Hunter isn’t really a horror film, but still sets out to keep the audience on edge. Starring a diabolical Robert Mitchum as a preacher/serial killer Reverend Harry Powell, it follows him as he tries to woo his former cellmate’s widow Willa (Shelly Winters), hoping to learn where he has hidden his bank loot. Powell devises that his children John and Pearl must know, but he struggles to gain young John’s trust. When Willa learns of his plan, Powell is forced to kill her and hide the body, leaving him as sole caretaker of the children, who flee down the river. And then the scene. Having believed they have escaped Powell,...
Scene: The Preacher on the Horizon
Video: http://youtu.be/9PyNL2ahKwc?list=PLZbXA4lyCtqolaQOAXly96de5FYQlPzqK Just like a few others in this section of the list, Charles Laughton’s brilliant Night of the Hunter isn’t really a horror film, but still sets out to keep the audience on edge. Starring a diabolical Robert Mitchum as a preacher/serial killer Reverend Harry Powell, it follows him as he tries to woo his former cellmate’s widow Willa (Shelly Winters), hoping to learn where he has hidden his bank loot. Powell devises that his children John and Pearl must know, but he struggles to gain young John’s trust. When Willa learns of his plan, Powell is forced to kill her and hide the body, leaving him as sole caretaker of the children, who flee down the river. And then the scene. Having believed they have escaped Powell,...
- 10/11/2014
- by Joshua Gaul
- SoundOnSight
Born from a conversation between Austin Film Society programmer Lars Nilsen and local actor/filmmaker Jonny Mars, a new Afs recurring series starts in July: "That's Genius." In the words of Nilsen, the film series will serve as "a way for film professionals to share works that they [think represent] 'genius' in the world of some film discipline."
Austin filmmakers David and Nathan Zellner -- who directed the features Kid-Thing and Goliath -- have selected the inaugural movie in this series: the 1982 animated movie The Plague Dogs [tickets], which screens on Thursday, July 25 at the Marchesa. The Zellners will host the event, and filmmaker Martin Rosen will attend for a post-screening Q&A.
The Plague Dogs, which Rosen adapted from the novel by Richard Adams, follows two dogs who escape from a lab that has been performing tests on them. As a result of the experiments the lab has been running on animals,...
Austin filmmakers David and Nathan Zellner -- who directed the features Kid-Thing and Goliath -- have selected the inaugural movie in this series: the 1982 animated movie The Plague Dogs [tickets], which screens on Thursday, July 25 at the Marchesa. The Zellners will host the event, and filmmaker Martin Rosen will attend for a post-screening Q&A.
The Plague Dogs, which Rosen adapted from the novel by Richard Adams, follows two dogs who escape from a lab that has been performing tests on them. As a result of the experiments the lab has been running on animals,...
- 6/27/2013
- by Elizabeth Stoddard
- Slackerwood
And How Young Sherlock Holmes Unexpectedly Paved The Way For Pixar
The story of how Pixar began is a fascinating one when you consider the creative risks that a young John Lasseter took that ultimately cost him his job at a company he would later (practically) run! This, somewhat Shakespearean tale, can be punctuated quite well by a series of films that all, in some way, lend themselves to the development of the Pixar we know and love…
1. The Fox and the Hound (1981)
In 1975 the California Institute of the Arts set up a new programme for animation, taught by three members of Disney’s ‘Nine Old Men’, whilst that is impressive in itself the students they taught in that inaugural year included John Lasseter, Brad Bird, John Musker, Henry Selick and Tim Burton with artists like Joe Ranft, Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter.
After graduating Musker, Bird, Selick and Burton...
The story of how Pixar began is a fascinating one when you consider the creative risks that a young John Lasseter took that ultimately cost him his job at a company he would later (practically) run! This, somewhat Shakespearean tale, can be punctuated quite well by a series of films that all, in some way, lend themselves to the development of the Pixar we know and love…
1. The Fox and the Hound (1981)
In 1975 the California Institute of the Arts set up a new programme for animation, taught by three members of Disney’s ‘Nine Old Men’, whilst that is impressive in itself the students they taught in that inaugural year included John Lasseter, Brad Bird, John Musker, Henry Selick and Tim Burton with artists like Joe Ranft, Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter.
After graduating Musker, Bird, Selick and Burton...
- 6/22/2011
- by Owain Paciuszko
- Obsessed with Film
I don’t think there is a singular film-maker I’ve found myself having written more about than Australia’s own Dr. George Miller. And now, writing this, I’m still not quite certain of the best way to introduce him, if indeed such a thing is necessary at all. The last of cinema’s thoroughly modern myth-makers – those implicit, anthropological followers of Campbell and Jung, before George Lucas arrived and gunked up the works with his clunky concretizations – and a college lecturer on the indelible powers of those myths on our collectives psyches and their places in modern cinema, in his spare time. The single-handed spokesman for Australia’s burgeoning film industry, and their self-proclaimed answer to our own Steven Spielberg – although, that’s an arguable comparison, I think. Here is a director whose output has equaled one film in the past ten years – and, just one other film...
- 1/13/2011
- by Henry J. Baugh
- The Moving Arts Journal
We asked you to tell us what to write. Today, we present the beginnings of a kids' films library, with the 50 best family films by our critics, plus Michael Hann's own top choices
Gallery: our choice of the top 50 kids films
Why isn't there a recommended library of films for children, was the question @AdvancedDriver posed when we asked you to suggest the articles you wanted to read. "The recommendations should be thought-provoking and/or entertaining," @AdvancedDriver requested, though experience of sitting my pair in front of a movie suggests that if it's not entertaining, then no thoughts will be provoked. Now, this is a subject on which we're going to need your help, so while I'll start the ball rolling with some films that have worked in my home, please let me know the films that have captivated your kids. Surprising and unusual nominations will be especially welcomed, and...
Gallery: our choice of the top 50 kids films
Why isn't there a recommended library of films for children, was the question @AdvancedDriver posed when we asked you to suggest the articles you wanted to read. "The recommendations should be thought-provoking and/or entertaining," @AdvancedDriver requested, though experience of sitting my pair in front of a movie suggests that if it's not entertaining, then no thoughts will be provoked. Now, this is a subject on which we're going to need your help, so while I'll start the ball rolling with some films that have worked in my home, please let me know the films that have captivated your kids. Surprising and unusual nominations will be especially welcomed, and...
- 10/11/2010
- by Michael Hann
- The Guardian - Film News
Plastic Paper is a festival of animation and puppet films that will run at the Park Theatre in Winnipeg, Canada on May 5-8 and is presented by the Big Smash! Film Collective. The program, listed below, includes short films, features, documentaries, installations and special events.
The feature films include Rocaterrania, Brett Ingram’s documentary on scientific illustrator and secret fantasy artist Renaldo Kuhler; 2010 Oscar nominated film The Secret of Kells; the little seen 1982 environmental and animal activist film The Plague Dogs; a new surreal work by underground animator Bruce Bickford; and more.
For special events, there will be a continuously-running video installation by Winnipeg animator Leslie Supnet called How to Care for Introverts; a one-day Master Class taught by the legendary Bill Plympton; a Saturday morning cartoon feast; a T-shirt making class; and more.
Below is the full lineup of all the films screening at Plastic Paper, but for more info on them,...
The feature films include Rocaterrania, Brett Ingram’s documentary on scientific illustrator and secret fantasy artist Renaldo Kuhler; 2010 Oscar nominated film The Secret of Kells; the little seen 1982 environmental and animal activist film The Plague Dogs; a new surreal work by underground animator Bruce Bickford; and more.
For special events, there will be a continuously-running video installation by Winnipeg animator Leslie Supnet called How to Care for Introverts; a one-day Master Class taught by the legendary Bill Plympton; a Saturday morning cartoon feast; a T-shirt making class; and more.
Below is the full lineup of all the films screening at Plastic Paper, but for more info on them,...
- 5/1/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
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