Who needs Netflix and Prime? BBC iPlayer has a terrific collection of films to watch – here’s our updated list of what to watch right now (and when they’re leaving the service).
Whilst all eyes tend to be on streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime when it comes to movie updates, on the quiet the BBC iPlayer service continues to play host to a limited, diverse selection of films. What’s more, a good number of them you can download to your tablet to watch on the move.
So, without further ado, welcome to the weekly updated iPlayer film list. This list will be updated every week with the test available data from the BBC, in order of how long you have left to watch (so you can prioritise your viewing pleasure)
New! – denotes all new movies this week!
Brand-new This Week: Magic Mike, Superbad, Eddie the Eagle...
Whilst all eyes tend to be on streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime when it comes to movie updates, on the quiet the BBC iPlayer service continues to play host to a limited, diverse selection of films. What’s more, a good number of them you can download to your tablet to watch on the move.
So, without further ado, welcome to the weekly updated iPlayer film list. This list will be updated every week with the test available data from the BBC, in order of how long you have left to watch (so you can prioritise your viewing pleasure)
New! – denotes all new movies this week!
Brand-new This Week: Magic Mike, Superbad, Eddie the Eagle...
- 4/24/2024
- by Em McGowan
- Film Stories
It only takes about five minutes of conversation with Chad Stahelski, the director of all four “John Wick” movies, to realize that he’s a passionate cinephile whose unique combination of influences is what gives the “Wick” franchise its distinct look. While Stahelski’s devotion to Sam Peckinpah, Sergio Leone, and other action directors might be expected, it’s an entirely different genre that provides the most important — and perhaps most surprising — basis for his work. “Everybody laughs when I say it, but I love musicals,” Stahelski told IndieWire. “Bob Fosse is a huge inspiration. Gene Kelly in ‘Singin’ in the Rain.’ We didn’t reinvent action or anything with ‘John Wick’ — we just spent all our money and time preparing Keanu to be our Gene Kelly.”
Read More: Why ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ Earns Its Almost 3-Hour Running Time
All of the “John Wick” movies use Stahelski favorites like...
Read More: Why ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ Earns Its Almost 3-Hour Running Time
All of the “John Wick” movies use Stahelski favorites like...
- 3/23/2023
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
Click here to read the full article.
Sara Shane, who starred opposite Gordon Scott in Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure and appeared alongside Clark Gable in The King and Four Queens, has died. She was 94.
Shane died July 31 on the Gold Coast of Australia, her family announced.
Shane also starred with Kathleen Hughes and Marla English in the melodrama Three Bad Sisters (1956) and had the female lead in Affair in Havana (1957), featuring John Cassavetes and Raymond Burr.
With the Jane character absent in the John Guillermin-directed Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure (1959), Shane stepped in to portray Angie Loring, an American model and pilot who meets up with the King of the Jungle in Africa. The film was Scott’s fourth as Tarzan.
And in The King and Four Queens (1956), helmed by Raoul Walsh, Shane played Oralie McDade, one of four young widows — Eleanor Parker, Jean Willes and Barbara Nichols are the others — who...
Sara Shane, who starred opposite Gordon Scott in Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure and appeared alongside Clark Gable in The King and Four Queens, has died. She was 94.
Shane died July 31 on the Gold Coast of Australia, her family announced.
Shane also starred with Kathleen Hughes and Marla English in the melodrama Three Bad Sisters (1956) and had the female lead in Affair in Havana (1957), featuring John Cassavetes and Raymond Burr.
With the Jane character absent in the John Guillermin-directed Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure (1959), Shane stepped in to portray Angie Loring, an American model and pilot who meets up with the King of the Jungle in Africa. The film was Scott’s fourth as Tarzan.
And in The King and Four Queens (1956), helmed by Raoul Walsh, Shane played Oralie McDade, one of four young widows — Eleanor Parker, Jean Willes and Barbara Nichols are the others — who...
- 9/21/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Team Experience is revisiting a dozen Judy Garland movies for her Centennial. Here’s Mark Brinkerhoff on one of her most popular pictures...
Judy Garland: physical comedienne. This may not be the descriptor that comes to mind when it comes to the one, the only, The Voice. But as superlatives go, it’s the one that fits like a dainty, sturdy little glove on the hand of a one-of-a-kind talent in her very prime.
At 26 (and newly a first-time mom to then-baby Liza), Garland, less than a decade removed from her superstar-making performance in The Wizard of Oz, was reemerging in MGM musicals with a proto-Barbra-Streisand-as-Fanny-Brice performance in what would become her second biggest hit of the ‘40s. Easter Parade is a Funny Girl period-adjacent set tale of a novice singer-dancer plucked from obscurity by a storied showman...
Judy Garland: physical comedienne. This may not be the descriptor that comes to mind when it comes to the one, the only, The Voice. But as superlatives go, it’s the one that fits like a dainty, sturdy little glove on the hand of a one-of-a-kind talent in her very prime.
At 26 (and newly a first-time mom to then-baby Liza), Garland, less than a decade removed from her superstar-making performance in The Wizard of Oz, was reemerging in MGM musicals with a proto-Barbra-Streisand-as-Fanny-Brice performance in what would become her second biggest hit of the ‘40s. Easter Parade is a Funny Girl period-adjacent set tale of a novice singer-dancer plucked from obscurity by a storied showman...
- 6/5/2022
- by Mareko
- FilmExperience
Chicago – She was born Frances Gumm on June 10th, 1922, but the world knew her as megastar Judy Garland. To celebrate her birth centennial, the Gene Siskel Film Center presents nine of her films from June 1 – July 30. For ticket info and details, click JUDY100.
The nine films will be “Meet Me in St. Louis” (June 1 & 4), “The Clock” (June 8 & 11), “Easter Parade” (June 15 & 18), “In the Good Old Summertime” (June 22 & 26), “Summer Stock” (June 29 & July 2), A Star is Born” (July 6 & 9), The Pirate” (July 13 & 16), Judgement At Nuremberg (July 20 & 23) and of course “The Wizard of Oz” (July 27 & 30). All will screen at the Gene Siskel Film Center.
Judy Garland Summer Centennial
Photo credit: SiskelFilmCenter.org
Arguably, Judy Garland is one of the greatest movie stars of her era. She signed a movie contract in 1935 with Metro Goldwyn Mayer at the tender age of 15, and then starred in a series of iconic musical/dramatic films during her time there,...
The nine films will be “Meet Me in St. Louis” (June 1 & 4), “The Clock” (June 8 & 11), “Easter Parade” (June 15 & 18), “In the Good Old Summertime” (June 22 & 26), “Summer Stock” (June 29 & July 2), A Star is Born” (July 6 & 9), The Pirate” (July 13 & 16), Judgement At Nuremberg (July 20 & 23) and of course “The Wizard of Oz” (July 27 & 30). All will screen at the Gene Siskel Film Center.
Judy Garland Summer Centennial
Photo credit: SiskelFilmCenter.org
Arguably, Judy Garland is one of the greatest movie stars of her era. She signed a movie contract in 1935 with Metro Goldwyn Mayer at the tender age of 15, and then starred in a series of iconic musical/dramatic films during her time there,...
- 6/1/2022
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Sometimes it’s like they read your mind—or just notice upcoming releases as you do. Whatever the case, I’m thrilled that the release of Terence Davies’ Benediction played (I assume!) some part in a full retro on the Criterion Channel this June, sad as I know that package will make me and anybody else who comes within ten feet of it. It’s among a handful of career retrospectives: they’ve also set a 12-film Judy Garland series populated by Berkeley and Minnelli, ten from Ulrike Ottinger, and four by Billy Wilder. But maybe their most adventurous idea in some time is a huge microbudget collection ranging from Ulmer’s Detour to Joel Potrykus’ Buzzard, fellow success stories—Nolan, Linklater, Jarmusch, Jia Zhangke—spread about.
Criterion Editions continue with Bertrand Tavernier’s Round Midnight, Double Indemnity, and Seconds, while Chameleon Street, Karen Dalton: In My Own Time,...
Criterion Editions continue with Bertrand Tavernier’s Round Midnight, Double Indemnity, and Seconds, while Chameleon Street, Karen Dalton: In My Own Time,...
- 5/19/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Tom Holland will be trading his webbed Spider-Man suit for a pair of dancing shoes to portray Fred Astaire in a new biopic from Sony, the English actor revealed. According to sources, deals for the project are still being finalized.
Sony declined to comment.
“Oh, I am playing Fred Astaire,” Holland told the AP while promoting Spider-Man: No Way Home in London on Sunday. “The script came in a week ago; I haven’t read it yet. They haven’t given it to me. I know Amy Pascal has the script. She Facetimed me earlier when I was in the bath and we had a lovely Facetime. But I will be playing Fred Astaire.”
Pascal first mentioned her eye was on Holland for the role of the legendary dancer, singer, and choreographer in a November profile of Holland in GQ.
The Sony biopic is not to be confused with Amazon...
Sony declined to comment.
“Oh, I am playing Fred Astaire,” Holland told the AP while promoting Spider-Man: No Way Home in London on Sunday. “The script came in a week ago; I haven’t read it yet. They haven’t given it to me. I know Amy Pascal has the script. She Facetimed me earlier when I was in the bath and we had a lovely Facetime. But I will be playing Fred Astaire.”
Pascal first mentioned her eye was on Holland for the role of the legendary dancer, singer, and choreographer in a November profile of Holland in GQ.
The Sony biopic is not to be confused with Amazon...
- 12/6/2021
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
From Pig starring Nicolas Cage, Writer/Director Michael Sarnoski and Writer/Producer Vanessa Block join Josh and Joe to discuss the movies that inspired them during the creation of their film.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Nobody (2021)
Infested (2002)
The Big Chill (1983)
A History of Violence (2005)
Pig (2021)
Mandy (2018)
John Wick (2014)
The Testimony (2015)
No Country For Old Men (2007) [Both] – John Badham’s trailer commentary
The Maltese Falcon (1941) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Blood Simple (1984) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review, Dennis Cozzaliio’s review
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
Raising Arizona (1987)
Moonstruck (1987) – Glenn Erickson’s trailer commentary
Joe (2013)
Witness For The Prosecution (1957) [Vanessa Block] – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary
Easter Parade (1948)
Titanic (1997)
Never Been Kissed (1999)
Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
The Crow (1994)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Midnight Cowboy (1969) [Michael Sarnoski] – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Nobody (2021)
Infested (2002)
The Big Chill (1983)
A History of Violence (2005)
Pig (2021)
Mandy (2018)
John Wick (2014)
The Testimony (2015)
No Country For Old Men (2007) [Both] – John Badham’s trailer commentary
The Maltese Falcon (1941) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Blood Simple (1984) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review, Dennis Cozzaliio’s review
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
Raising Arizona (1987)
Moonstruck (1987) – Glenn Erickson’s trailer commentary
Joe (2013)
Witness For The Prosecution (1957) [Vanessa Block] – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary
Easter Parade (1948)
Titanic (1997)
Never Been Kissed (1999)
Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
The Crow (1994)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Midnight Cowboy (1969) [Michael Sarnoski] – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion...
- 7/16/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
The Notebook Primer introduces readers to some of the most important figures, films, genres, and movements in film history.Above: 42nd StreetWhile other genres undoubtedly advanced with the dawning of sound technology, the musical is likely the most indebted to the reverberations of this complementary process. More than that, though, the movie musical was fundamentally born with the surge of sound—it simply could not have existed otherwise. And since that time, the musical has indeed been a uniquely cinematic venture, less beholden to conventional narratives and often disposed to experimentations in color, location, camera mobility, production design, and special effects. Especially in its heyday, the so-called “Golden Age” lasting between the mid-1930s and late-‘50s, Hollywood musicals were an enrapturing experience, delighting audiences with spectacle, romance, athleticism, fine performances, and, of course, song and dance. Some of America’s brightest stars sparkled in the musical, while many of...
- 10/7/2020
- MUBI
We told you. Remember the rules. You didn’t listen. Now we’re Back with an all new batch of guest recommendations featuring Blake Masters, Julien Nitzberg, Floyd Norman, Tuppence Middleton and Blaire Bercy.
Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Wild Angels (1966)
Spirits of the Dead (1966)
The Trip (1967)
Mooch Goes To Hollywood (1971)
Stalker (1979)
The Candidate (1972)
The Parallax View (1974)
Network (1976)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
Ace In The Hole (1951)
Margin Call (2011)
Death Wish (1974)
Death Wish (2018)
Seconds (1966)
Soylent Green (1973)
Rage (1972)
Assault on Wall Street (2013)
Repo Man (1984)
Elmer Gantry (1960)
The Train (1965)
Clouds of Sils Maria (2014)
Strange Brew (1983)
To Have And Have Not (1944)
Singin’ In The Rain (1952)
Easter Parade (1948)
The Band Wagon (1953)
Guys And Dolls (1955)
On The Town (1949)
Casablanca (1942)
The Dirt Gang (1972)
Back To The Future (1985)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
The Big Sleep (1946)
Bomba, the Jungle Boy (1949)
My Man Godfrey...
Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Wild Angels (1966)
Spirits of the Dead (1966)
The Trip (1967)
Mooch Goes To Hollywood (1971)
Stalker (1979)
The Candidate (1972)
The Parallax View (1974)
Network (1976)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
Ace In The Hole (1951)
Margin Call (2011)
Death Wish (1974)
Death Wish (2018)
Seconds (1966)
Soylent Green (1973)
Rage (1972)
Assault on Wall Street (2013)
Repo Man (1984)
Elmer Gantry (1960)
The Train (1965)
Clouds of Sils Maria (2014)
Strange Brew (1983)
To Have And Have Not (1944)
Singin’ In The Rain (1952)
Easter Parade (1948)
The Band Wagon (1953)
Guys And Dolls (1955)
On The Town (1949)
Casablanca (1942)
The Dirt Gang (1972)
Back To The Future (1985)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
The Big Sleep (1946)
Bomba, the Jungle Boy (1949)
My Man Godfrey...
- 8/14/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Hippity, hoppity, Easter is here! After we eat all of the chocolate and complete our (indoor) Easter egg hunt, we're in the mood to throw on a holiday-themed movie and, thankfully, there are plenty to pick from! Even though there aren't as many Easter movies as there are about Christmas or Halloween, there still are some great films about this holiday or remind us of it. With Easter-specific movies like Hop and Easter Parade, there are plenty of flicks to put you in the spirit of the holiday that are also perfect for the kids. There are also plenty of movies like Zootopia and Peter Rabbit that feature adorable bunnies and furry critters enjoying the springtime,...
- 4/12/2020
- E! Online
Prolific producer and director Arthur Marks, who worked on “Perry Mason” and blaxploitation movies including “Detroit 9000” and “Friday Foster,” has died. He was 92.
Marks died Nov. 13 at his home in Woodland Hills, Calif. His son, “Narcos” producer Paul Marks, confirmed his passing to Variety.
Marks was a native of Los Angeles who was born in 1927 into a show business family. His grandparents were actors in silent pictures and his father, Dave Marks, worked as an MGM assistant director and production manager who worked on “The Wizard of Oz” and “Easter Parade.” Arthur Marks worked as a child actor, getting work as an extra and bit player on “The Good Earth” (1937), “Boys Town” (1938) and Mickey Rooney’s Andy Hardy series.
Marks joined the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy during World War II and served with the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. He began working in the production department at MGM,...
Marks died Nov. 13 at his home in Woodland Hills, Calif. His son, “Narcos” producer Paul Marks, confirmed his passing to Variety.
Marks was a native of Los Angeles who was born in 1927 into a show business family. His grandparents were actors in silent pictures and his father, Dave Marks, worked as an MGM assistant director and production manager who worked on “The Wizard of Oz” and “Easter Parade.” Arthur Marks worked as a child actor, getting work as an extra and bit player on “The Good Earth” (1937), “Boys Town” (1938) and Mickey Rooney’s Andy Hardy series.
Marks joined the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy during World War II and served with the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. He began working in the production department at MGM,...
- 11/23/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Tony Sokol Jul 8, 2019
The official trailer for the upcoming Judy film shows Renée Zellweger in what might be her next Oscar nominated role.
The first official trailer for the upcoming biopic Judy looks like it might pull an Academy Award for Renée Zellweger, who channels the The Wizard Of Oz star at the close of her career.
"Winter 1968 and showbiz legend Judy Garland arrives in Swinging London to perform a five-week sold-out run at The Talk of the Town," reads the official synopsis. "It is 30 years since she shot to global stardom in The Wizard of Oz, but if her voice has weakened, its dramatic intensity has only grown. As she prepares for the show, battles with management, charms musicians and reminisces with friends and adoring fans, her wit and warmth shine through. Even her dreams of love seem undimmed as she embarks on a whirlwind romance with Mickey Deans,...
The official trailer for the upcoming Judy film shows Renée Zellweger in what might be her next Oscar nominated role.
The first official trailer for the upcoming biopic Judy looks like it might pull an Academy Award for Renée Zellweger, who channels the The Wizard Of Oz star at the close of her career.
"Winter 1968 and showbiz legend Judy Garland arrives in Swinging London to perform a five-week sold-out run at The Talk of the Town," reads the official synopsis. "It is 30 years since she shot to global stardom in The Wizard of Oz, but if her voice has weakened, its dramatic intensity has only grown. As she prepares for the show, battles with management, charms musicians and reminisces with friends and adoring fans, her wit and warmth shine through. Even her dreams of love seem undimmed as she embarks on a whirlwind romance with Mickey Deans,...
- 7/8/2019
- Den of Geek
American Gods was a big hit, widely considered to have perfectly captured Neil Gaiman’s novel and being one of the most stylish looking shows on TV. After its first season did so well, you’d assume that putting together a second would be a piece of cake. Sadly, however, it hasn’t gone quite to plan, with showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green departing after they clashed with Neil Gaiman about the future direction of the series.
We now have Jesse Alexander of Hannibal and Star Trek: Discovery taking up their reins, but with the second season set to air in March, many will be wondering about what we might be missing. Well, we now have some insight into just that. Bryan Fuller opened up on his Twitter account recently and in a now-deleted Tweet, explained the following:
“Me and [Green] never abandoned American Gods. We were dedicated to cast,...
We now have Jesse Alexander of Hannibal and Star Trek: Discovery taking up their reins, but with the second season set to air in March, many will be wondering about what we might be missing. Well, we now have some insight into just that. Bryan Fuller opened up on his Twitter account recently and in a now-deleted Tweet, explained the following:
“Me and [Green] never abandoned American Gods. We were dedicated to cast,...
- 12/19/2018
- by David James
- We Got This Covered
By Lee Pfeiffer
Those of us who share the rather unusual- and sometimes bizarre-profession of reviewing films for a living all share a nasty little secret: there are countless classic movies that we haven't seen. I'm not alone in making this mea culpa. No less than the late, great Robert Osborne, whose insightful introductions on Turner Classic Movies helped launch that channel's success, once confided in me that even he could list numerous classic movies that he had yet to catch up with. When he confessed this to Lauren Bacall, she told him that she envied him because she wish she could recapture the sheer joy of seeing a great film for the first time. I've never seen the 1942 musical "Holiday Inn". I can't say why but perhaps it's because that as a boy growing up in the Sixties, such productions seemed quaint and unappealing when I had a celluloid tidal wave of WWII flicks,...
Those of us who share the rather unusual- and sometimes bizarre-profession of reviewing films for a living all share a nasty little secret: there are countless classic movies that we haven't seen. I'm not alone in making this mea culpa. No less than the late, great Robert Osborne, whose insightful introductions on Turner Classic Movies helped launch that channel's success, once confided in me that even he could list numerous classic movies that he had yet to catch up with. When he confessed this to Lauren Bacall, she told him that she envied him because she wish she could recapture the sheer joy of seeing a great film for the first time. I've never seen the 1942 musical "Holiday Inn". I can't say why but perhaps it's because that as a boy growing up in the Sixties, such productions seemed quaint and unappealing when I had a celluloid tidal wave of WWII flicks,...
- 12/2/2018
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
The first season of “American Gods” featured many highlights, including the captivating work of Ian McShane, some groundbreaking nudity and sexual content, and a fascinating breakout episode that brought unexpected depth to one of the show’s most complicated characters. But Gillian Anderson, with maybe 30 minutes of screen time total, may be the ultimate highlight.
Playing the “new god” Media, Anderson appears in several forms over the course of the season, all extremely recognizable to fans of pop culture. In depicting Lucy Ricardo, David Bowie, Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland, the veteran TV star demonstrated a spectrum of ability which people only familiar with her more serious drama work might not have anticipated.
Read More: ‘American Gods’ Review: Season 1’s Finale Is a Beautiful Sensory Nightmare That Finally Answers the Show’s Biggest Question
“We forget how good she is because she plays characters who are a bit like her,...
Playing the “new god” Media, Anderson appears in several forms over the course of the season, all extremely recognizable to fans of pop culture. In depicting Lucy Ricardo, David Bowie, Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland, the veteran TV star demonstrated a spectrum of ability which people only familiar with her more serious drama work might not have anticipated.
Read More: ‘American Gods’ Review: Season 1’s Finale Is a Beautiful Sensory Nightmare That Finally Answers the Show’s Biggest Question
“We forget how good she is because she plays characters who are a bit like her,...
- 6/26/2017
- by Liz Shannon Miller
- Indiewire
The Performer | Gillian Anderson
The Show | American Gods
The Episode | “Come to Jesus“ (June 18)
The Performance | Is there anything that livens up an American Gods scene more than the captivating, off-kilter addition of Gillian Anderson’s Media? We think not, especially given the X-Files alum’s highly entertaining performance in Sunday’s Season 1 finale.
When Media showed up as Judy Garland in her Easter Parade attire, all doe-eyed and delicate, Anderson was the picture of turn-of-the-century femininity. And we marveled, in part because she so thoroughly wrapped the New God in this old-school persona and in part because Anderson-as-Media-as-Garland...
The Show | American Gods
The Episode | “Come to Jesus“ (June 18)
The Performance | Is there anything that livens up an American Gods scene more than the captivating, off-kilter addition of Gillian Anderson’s Media? We think not, especially given the X-Files alum’s highly entertaining performance in Sunday’s Season 1 finale.
When Media showed up as Judy Garland in her Easter Parade attire, all doe-eyed and delicate, Anderson was the picture of turn-of-the-century femininity. And we marveled, in part because she so thoroughly wrapped the New God in this old-school persona and in part because Anderson-as-Media-as-Garland...
- 6/24/2017
- TVLine.com
Grab your pencils and calendars and make a note of these happenings this week. Embrace the lazy, hazy days of summer by hunkering down at a classic movie palace or spend sunny afternoons checking out a whole different type of artwork. We’ve even found a free workshop to help you hone your skills and prepare you for your next venture. No matter what, go forth and explore the City of Angels. You never know where your next gig might be hiding! Experience a classic film in a historic theater. Take a trip back to a time when going to the movies was a grand event. Throughout the summer, the L.A. Conservancy is screening legendary films in landmark movie palaces across the city as part of its Last Remaining Seats series. On June 17, experience the Judy Garland/Fred Astaire movie musical “Easter Parade” at the Los Angeles Theatre downtown...
- 6/15/2017
- backstage.com
Ask anyone to name his favorite Easter movie, and chances are you'll get a blank stare. A few people might say Here Comes Peter Cottontail (which was actually a 1971 stop motion animated TV special) or its 2005 animated sequel of the same name (a direct-to-video release that made its television debut on Cartoon Network the following year). Then of course, there's Hop, the 2011 live-action/animated movie that holds the honor of being the only Easter-themed feature film since the Judy Garland-Fred Astaire musical Easter Parade in 1948 (which didn't really involve the bunny). There's been a Disney Channel Original Movie about practically every fantastical creature—leprechauns, mermaids,...
- 4/15/2017
- E! Online
Step out of the spotlight and step into the weekend. Even though we know the training never truly stops, performers in the busy, beautiful city need to pencil in a break every once in awhile. Check out seven of our favorite cultural and creative events happening in NYC. 1. Get an inside look at Broadway’s “Dear Evan Hansen.”Join director Michael Greif and actor Ben Platt for a conversation moderated by “This American Life” host Ira Glass. The April 16 event will take place at 92nd Street Y on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. (Ticket prices vary.) 2. Put on your Sunday clothes at this Easter parade.Strut down the streets—and get your picture taken at the Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival that dates back to the 1870s. Bring your bonnet on April 16, and meet at St. Patrick’s Cathedral for the best view. (No ticket required.) 3. Get a taste...
- 4/14/2017
- backstage.com
Reel-Important People is a monthly column that highlights those individuals in or related to the movies that have left us in recent weeks. Below you'll find names big and small and from all areas of the industry, though each was significant to the movies in his or her own way. Lola Albright (1924-2017) - Actress, Singer. A regular on TV's Peter Gunn, she also appears in the movies Easter Parade, The Pirate, Champion, The Way West, The Tender Trap, Joy House, Lord Love a Duck, The Monolith Monsters and Kid Galahad. She died on March 23. (THR) Chuck Barris (1929-2017) - Game Show Host, Producer, Director, Songwriter, Author. He created The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game and The Gong Show, hosting the latter, and...
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- 4/5/2017
- by Christopher Campbell
- Movies.com
The Los Angeles conservancy group is gearing up for its 31st season of “Last Remaining Seats,” and the full lineup for the event (which begins June 3) has been revealed. The nine films included cover a wide range of classic, foreign, and Oscar winning films, proving that this year’s showings are not to be missed if you’re a film fan in L.A.
Read More: London Theater Pranks Audience by Playing ‘La La Land’ in a Screening of ‘Moonlight’
The event will also hold two showings in the Warner Grand Theatre for the first time in its history, among other prestigious venues. Here’s the full list, including dates and locations:
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Saturday, June 3 at 8 p.m.
Orpheum Theatre (1926), downtown L.A.
Laura (1944)
Wednesday, June 7 at 8 p.m.
Million Dollar Theatre (1918), downtown L.A.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
Saturday, June 10 at 2 p.m.
Warner Grand Theatre (1931), San Pedro
On the Waterfront (1954)
Saturday,...
Read More: London Theater Pranks Audience by Playing ‘La La Land’ in a Screening of ‘Moonlight’
The event will also hold two showings in the Warner Grand Theatre for the first time in its history, among other prestigious venues. Here’s the full list, including dates and locations:
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Saturday, June 3 at 8 p.m.
Orpheum Theatre (1926), downtown L.A.
Laura (1944)
Wednesday, June 7 at 8 p.m.
Million Dollar Theatre (1918), downtown L.A.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
Saturday, June 10 at 2 p.m.
Warner Grand Theatre (1931), San Pedro
On the Waterfront (1954)
Saturday,...
- 3/20/2017
- by Michael Gonzalez
- Indiewire
Though nobody foresaw it at the time, 1948 was a major turning point in what would be Judy Garland’s last few years at MGM. After the one-two Freed Unit punch of Easter Parade and Words and Music at the beginning of 1948, Judy was supposed to head straight into her third Arthur Freed film,The Barkleys of Broadway. With Fred Astaire coaxed out of retirement, the duo of Astaire and Garland looked to be a new box office guarantee. Unfortunately, what wasn’t a guarantee was Judy’s health. After two months of rehearsal, Judy backed out of The Barkleys of Broadway, to be replaced by Ginger Rogers. This decision sounded the death knell for her partnership with Arthur Freed, the producer who had created the Judy Garland formula. Judy was too tired, too thin, and too weak to go on filming, until another producer from her past swooped back into the picture: Joe Pasternak.
- 7/13/2016
- by Anne Marie
- FilmExperience
Anne Marie is tracking Judy Garland's career through musical numbers...
Easter Parade has becomea perrenial holiday favorite. Inevitably, the lighthearted musical appears on TCM Easter Sunday marathons, sandwiched between Ben Hur (1959) and King of Kings (1961). However, despite the annual dominance of this Judy Garland/Irving Berlin musical, the movie nearly stopped before it began. A combination of bad luck, souring relationships, and weak ankles nearly prevented the production from getting off the ground. Fans of the film have one person to thank for its resurrection: Fred Astaire.
The Movie: Easter Parade (1948)
The Songwriter: Irving Berlin (music & lyrics)
The Players: Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Ann Miller, Peter Lawford, directed by Charles Walters
The Story: The production of Easter Parade was plagued from the start. Though Irving Berlin enthusiastically agreed to expand upon his hit Holiday Inn for a new Judy Garland vehicle, the rest of the cast and crew was harder to secure.
Easter Parade has becomea perrenial holiday favorite. Inevitably, the lighthearted musical appears on TCM Easter Sunday marathons, sandwiched between Ben Hur (1959) and King of Kings (1961). However, despite the annual dominance of this Judy Garland/Irving Berlin musical, the movie nearly stopped before it began. A combination of bad luck, souring relationships, and weak ankles nearly prevented the production from getting off the ground. Fans of the film have one person to thank for its resurrection: Fred Astaire.
The Movie: Easter Parade (1948)
The Songwriter: Irving Berlin (music & lyrics)
The Players: Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Ann Miller, Peter Lawford, directed by Charles Walters
The Story: The production of Easter Parade was plagued from the start. Though Irving Berlin enthusiastically agreed to expand upon his hit Holiday Inn for a new Judy Garland vehicle, the rest of the cast and crew was harder to secure.
- 6/29/2016
- by Anne Marie
- FilmExperience
The classic 1941 Hollywood musical “Holiday Inn” is coming to Broadway. Roundabout Theatre Company, in association with Universal Stage Productions, on Thursday announced plans to mount an adaptation of the Bing Crosby-Fred Astaire classic in fall 2016. The new musical will feature 20 songs from the entire Irving Berlin catalog — including “Steppin’ Out With My Baby,” “Shaking the Blues Away,” “Easter Parade,” “Cheek to Cheek” and “Heatwave.” — and a new book by Gordon Greenberg and Chad Hodge inspired by the Oscar-winning movie. (We’re guessing the movie’s notorious blackface number will be omitted.) Also Read: 'Misery' Broadway Review: Bruce Willis,...
- 11/19/2015
- by Thom Geier
- The Wrap
“Do you know that scientists say that people fall in love quickest during a rainstorm? I can prove that. Because that’s when I fell in love with you!”
Easter Parade plays at The Hi-Pointe Theater ( 1005 McCausland Ave., St. Louis, Mo 63117) Saturday, April 11th at 10:30am as part of their Classic Film Series
Easter Parade is a Technicolor dream from 1948 and quite the showcase for the 17 Irving Berlin songs that are packed into this lavish production. Fred Astaire and Judy Garland shine in their only appearance together in films, and their obvious on-screen chemistry makes one wish they could have teamed again. MGM thought so too, but their re-teaming never materialized, and that makes this film all the more special for their unique performance together. Judy’s screen warmth and charm are especially bright in Easter Parade, and Fred is as dapper and nimble as ever. Ann Miller’s...
Easter Parade plays at The Hi-Pointe Theater ( 1005 McCausland Ave., St. Louis, Mo 63117) Saturday, April 11th at 10:30am as part of their Classic Film Series
Easter Parade is a Technicolor dream from 1948 and quite the showcase for the 17 Irving Berlin songs that are packed into this lavish production. Fred Astaire and Judy Garland shine in their only appearance together in films, and their obvious on-screen chemistry makes one wish they could have teamed again. MGM thought so too, but their re-teaming never materialized, and that makes this film all the more special for their unique performance together. Judy’s screen warmth and charm are especially bright in Easter Parade, and Fred is as dapper and nimble as ever. Ann Miller’s...
- 4/8/2015
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Amy Sherman-Palladino has created some of the fastest talkers in television history — especially on Gilmore Girls, which Vulture is celebrating all week long. These are the movies, albums, towns, and plays that have influenced her career.Easter Parade I started as a dancer, because my mother wanted me to be a dancer. She had actually no interest in me doing anything else, so all early influences were very MGM-musical driven. Cyd Charisse, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, a major Judy Garland fetish that still exists on a weird, probably should-be-gay-a man level. One of my mother’s favorite stories is “I met Judy Garland on the street, and I went up and talked to her, and she was so nice.” That was it. That was the whole story. Mel Brooks’s 2000 Year Old Man My father was a comic, and he stuck it in my room, like, “Yeah, you are not...
- 9/25/2014
- by Rebecca Milzoff
- Vulture
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Aug. 26, 2014
Price: DVD $19.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Kino Lorber
Anthony Perkins, Gregory Peck and Fred Astaire in On The Beach.
The science-fiction-tinged drama On The Beach is Stanley Kramer’s 1959 film adaptation of British-Australian author Nevil Shute’s 1957 post-apocalyptic novel.
In 1964, atomic war wipes out humanity in the northern hemisphere; one American submarine—the Sawfish—finds temporary safe haven in Australia, where life-as-usual covers growing despair. . Captain Dwight Towers (Gregory Peck, The Guns of Navarone) takes the Sawfish on a mission to see if an approaching radiation cloud has weakened, but returns with grim news: the cloud is lethal. With the days and hours dwindling, each person confronts the grim situation in his or her own way. One (Fred Astaire, Easter Parade) realizes a lifetime Grand Prix ambition; another (Ava Gardner, Earthquake) reaches out for a chance at love. The final chapter of human history is coming to a close…...
Price: DVD $19.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Kino Lorber
Anthony Perkins, Gregory Peck and Fred Astaire in On The Beach.
The science-fiction-tinged drama On The Beach is Stanley Kramer’s 1959 film adaptation of British-Australian author Nevil Shute’s 1957 post-apocalyptic novel.
In 1964, atomic war wipes out humanity in the northern hemisphere; one American submarine—the Sawfish—finds temporary safe haven in Australia, where life-as-usual covers growing despair. . Captain Dwight Towers (Gregory Peck, The Guns of Navarone) takes the Sawfish on a mission to see if an approaching radiation cloud has weakened, but returns with grim news: the cloud is lethal. With the days and hours dwindling, each person confronts the grim situation in his or her own way. One (Fred Astaire, Easter Parade) realizes a lifetime Grand Prix ambition; another (Ava Gardner, Earthquake) reaches out for a chance at love. The final chapter of human history is coming to a close…...
- 8/8/2014
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
When Mike Nichols’s The Birdcage was released in 1996, it made $185 million worldwide, a truly astonishing fact. There are so many reasons why The Birdcage would never ever be made today, let alone make so much money. We’re talking about an R-rated comedy with no gross-out or potty humor. It isn’t a buddy comedy or an action comedy or even a particularly romantic comedy. Its four main characters are quite a bit over the age of 40. Dianne Wiest has an above-the-title credit, for God’s sakes. This is a film geared towards just about every audience but the young straight men Hollywood targets with its comedies today.
Of course The Birdcage is a gay movie. Its leading couple is gay, the plot hinges on a gay secret, and there’s lots of drag and swishing and short shorts. There’s no actual sex, or even too many sexual allusions,...
Of course The Birdcage is a gay movie. Its leading couple is gay, the plot hinges on a gay secret, and there’s lots of drag and swishing and short shorts. There’s no actual sex, or even too many sexual allusions,...
- 4/21/2014
- by Bryan Rucker
- SoundOnSight
There may be more Christmas movies than movies set in Canada, and pretty much every horror flick counts as a Halloween flick. Even New Year's Eve has dozens of great movies centered around it, but when it comes to Easter, there's practically nothing. In fact, to the undiscerning eye, it may look like it's easier to pick a movie for Flag Day than it is for Easter—c'mon Hollywood, even Groundhog's Day has, well, Groundhog's Day.
Despite the paucity of obvious candidates, though, there are in fact quite a few good movies for Easter viewing, even for those of us who aren't religious (and if you are, then you don't need us to remind of of staples like The Greatest Story Ever Told or The Last Temptation of Christ). Here's our recommendation for Easter-themed flicks to enjoy that do more to celebrate (or, in many cases, lampoon) the holiday than just featuring a rabbit.
Despite the paucity of obvious candidates, though, there are in fact quite a few good movies for Easter viewing, even for those of us who aren't religious (and if you are, then you don't need us to remind of of staples like The Greatest Story Ever Told or The Last Temptation of Christ). Here's our recommendation for Easter-themed flicks to enjoy that do more to celebrate (or, in many cases, lampoon) the holiday than just featuring a rabbit.
- 4/10/2014
- by REELZ staff
- Reelzchannel.com
We’ll be honoring alternative lifestyle with a slate of Super-8 Movies celebrating Lbgt culture on April 1st at the Way Out Club! It’s Super-8 Gay Movie Madness, a fabulous night of gay-themed films shown on the Super-8 sound condensed format projected on our massive screen.
On April 1st we’ll be showing: The Village People and Bruce Jenner in Can’T Stop The Music, Tim Curry as the sweet transvestite Frank N. Furter in Rocky Horror Picture Show, a Judy Garland Double Feature of Easter Parade and Wizard Of Oz, the Ed Wood cross-dressing opus Glen Or Glenda, Lesbian Vampire ‘70s style in Vampyres, Frank Sinatra battles a gay serial killer in The Detective, Midnight Express, Bette Midler in The Rose, Joan Crawford in Straight-jacket, Karen Black in Airport ’75, It Conquered The World, the silent version of Ben Hur, and the gross educational film Coping With The Discomforts Of Pregnancy.
On April 1st we’ll be showing: The Village People and Bruce Jenner in Can’T Stop The Music, Tim Curry as the sweet transvestite Frank N. Furter in Rocky Horror Picture Show, a Judy Garland Double Feature of Easter Parade and Wizard Of Oz, the Ed Wood cross-dressing opus Glen Or Glenda, Lesbian Vampire ‘70s style in Vampyres, Frank Sinatra battles a gay serial killer in The Detective, Midnight Express, Bette Midler in The Rose, Joan Crawford in Straight-jacket, Karen Black in Airport ’75, It Conquered The World, the silent version of Ben Hur, and the gross educational film Coping With The Discomforts Of Pregnancy.
- 3/28/2014
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Guess what unforgettable movie about people wanting to forget is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary?
Have you ever thought about what your favorite shot from it is? Or which shot best represents the movie as a whole? Have you ever wondered how it can possibly be that the cinematographer Ellen Kuras has only done 4 narrative features in the ten years since?
You know where this is going right?!
Break out the bubbly because "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" returns on March 18th (We're moving it to Tuesdays at 9 Pm to give people the weekend to screen the movies and be ready!). If you're new to the blog or haven't yet experimented with actually participating, I guarantee a good time. Everyone who has participating religiously has said that they've gotten a ton out of it. Plus it proves the point 'the more the merrier' because the best episodes offer...
Have you ever thought about what your favorite shot from it is? Or which shot best represents the movie as a whole? Have you ever wondered how it can possibly be that the cinematographer Ellen Kuras has only done 4 narrative features in the ten years since?
You know where this is going right?!
Break out the bubbly because "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" returns on March 18th (We're moving it to Tuesdays at 9 Pm to give people the weekend to screen the movies and be ready!). If you're new to the blog or haven't yet experimented with actually participating, I guarantee a good time. Everyone who has participating religiously has said that they've gotten a ton out of it. Plus it proves the point 'the more the merrier' because the best episodes offer...
- 3/5/2014
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
3 Notes. Oh don't click away you have time to read them. And yes I'll be live tweeting and a little light blogging tonight
01. Like The Film Experience on Facebook. Follow Nathaniel on Twitter, Pinterest? Why am I so needy? It's like this: Once Oscar night wraps up I experience something like a free fall; help me pull that parachute string.
02. We're here all year -- it's not just an Oscar site so don't abandon us if you're exhausted by Oscar shenanigans. There's only one more week of it, recapping this year's Oscars, filmbitching, and we'll close out the annual festivities with that Supporting Actress Smackdown we promised (yes, the one I flubbed that you've been impatient for). After that one eye returns to brand new movies and pinch of tv and the other to occasional trips back to favored oldies in A Year With Kate, Seasons of Bette, and Hit Me.
01. Like The Film Experience on Facebook. Follow Nathaniel on Twitter, Pinterest? Why am I so needy? It's like this: Once Oscar night wraps up I experience something like a free fall; help me pull that parachute string.
02. We're here all year -- it's not just an Oscar site so don't abandon us if you're exhausted by Oscar shenanigans. There's only one more week of it, recapping this year's Oscars, filmbitching, and we'll close out the annual festivities with that Supporting Actress Smackdown we promised (yes, the one I flubbed that you've been impatient for). After that one eye returns to brand new movies and pinch of tv and the other to occasional trips back to favored oldies in A Year With Kate, Seasons of Bette, and Hit Me.
- 3/2/2014
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Top 10 Aliya Whiteley 28 May 2013 - 06:55
The 1930s to the end of the 20th century saw the release of some classic tap dancing movies. Here's Aliya's pick of the 10 best...
Either you love movies in which people suddenly break into tap dance routines to express their innermost desires, or you hate them. If you hate them, you’re in luck – they pretty much don’t exist in modern film any more.
Having said that, there have been some great dancing moments in the last few years, such as Amy Adams having a me party in The Muppets, or Meryl Streep bouncing up and down on the bed in Mamma Mia! But these aren’t tap dances, and they’re much more about enthusiasm than skill. Or High School Musical, Take The Lead and others give us great modern or ballroom dancing, but within the context of people putting on a show,...
The 1930s to the end of the 20th century saw the release of some classic tap dancing movies. Here's Aliya's pick of the 10 best...
Either you love movies in which people suddenly break into tap dance routines to express their innermost desires, or you hate them. If you hate them, you’re in luck – they pretty much don’t exist in modern film any more.
Having said that, there have been some great dancing moments in the last few years, such as Amy Adams having a me party in The Muppets, or Meryl Streep bouncing up and down on the bed in Mamma Mia! But these aren’t tap dances, and they’re much more about enthusiasm than skill. Or High School Musical, Take The Lead and others give us great modern or ballroom dancing, but within the context of people putting on a show,...
- 5/24/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
A few weeks back, Steve Buscemi marched in the New York City Easter Parade with Vampire Weekend — an enjoyable stunt that turned out to be a (vague) promotion for the concert webcast Buscemi will direct later this month. Happily, that webcast still needs promoting, and so now Steve Buscemi is making sketch videos with Vampire Weekend. Please now enjoy this first episode, in which Buscemi attempts to sing backup vocals and demands a decoder for the band’s references. (“Don’t get me wrong — sometimes I think I know what they mean, or I’m listening to the lyrics and then you go ‘Peter Gabriel, too’ or, uh, ‘Louis Vuitton’ out of nowhere, and I’m lost.”) Bring Buscemi on tour; this is funny.
- 4/16/2013
- by Amanda Dobbins
- Vulture
Here's your unlikely actor/director and musician pairing for the day: Steve Buscemi and Vampire Weekend. It you believe a recent tweet from the band, Buscemi is a distant cousin of the bassist Chris Baio (who is actually related Scott Baio) but mostly, they were just excited to team up with with actor for some "showbiz synergy." Well, they have. The American Express Unstaged series -- which in the past has brought together Terry Gilliam and Arcade Fire, David Lynch and Duran Duran and Werner Herzog and The Killers, among others -- will now present a Vampire Weekend concert webcast directed by Buscemi. Of course, he's already an established filmmaker with a fair share of movies and TV shows under his belt, but it will be his first time doing this sort of thing. But at the very least, he appears to be a fan, recently joining the band during...
- 4/2/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Actually, this could be a long-term arrangement — we really have no idea how long Steve Buscemi plans to act as Vampire Weekend’s fifth-member-slash-mascot. But yesterday’s antics involved Steve Buscemi marching in the NYC Easter Parade with Vampire Weekend; Steve Buscemi singing the Doug breakdown of “Diane Young” while the other members looked on; Steve Buscemi posing with Chris Baio, who claims to be a distant cousin of the actor (note today's date and everything that we’ve described up until now); and Steve Buscemi looking sad next to a picture of the now-infamous burning Saabs. Random? Yes. Amusing? Sure, why not?...
- 4/1/2013
- by Amanda Dobbins
- Vulture
In honor of the holiday, celebrities took to Twitter on Sunday (March 31) to share their thanks and warm wishes with fans and followers.
Your favorite stars including Justin Bieber, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Bethenny Frankel took to their social media accounts this morning and wished everyone a “Happy Easter.”
Nicky Hilton, Lindsay Vonn and Michael Strahan went for the simple “Happy Easter everybody” approach, while Tori Spelling shared her morning plans, tweeting, “Any other grown women creeping thru their yard at the break of dawn hiding small multi colored objects in bushes? #EasterBaby.”
Katie Couric asked a simple favor from her fellow New Yorkers, sharing, “If anyone goes to the Easter Parade on 5th Avenue please send photos! And tell me if you see Fred Astaire or Judy Garland!”
And Paris Hilton chilled with a fellow celeb, and tweeted, “The Easter Bunny chilling with @SnoopDogg. Happy Easter everyone!”
Read all...
Your favorite stars including Justin Bieber, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Bethenny Frankel took to their social media accounts this morning and wished everyone a “Happy Easter.”
Nicky Hilton, Lindsay Vonn and Michael Strahan went for the simple “Happy Easter everybody” approach, while Tori Spelling shared her morning plans, tweeting, “Any other grown women creeping thru their yard at the break of dawn hiding small multi colored objects in bushes? #EasterBaby.”
Katie Couric asked a simple favor from her fellow New Yorkers, sharing, “If anyone goes to the Easter Parade on 5th Avenue please send photos! And tell me if you see Fred Astaire or Judy Garland!”
And Paris Hilton chilled with a fellow celeb, and tweeted, “The Easter Bunny chilling with @SnoopDogg. Happy Easter everyone!”
Read all...
- 3/31/2013
- GossipCenter
On Easter Sunday, many people watch the old religious film favorites. Just look at today’s TCM schedule to see the epic staples programmed, like King of Kings, The Robe, The Greatest Story Ever Told and Ben-Hur (which Neil highlighted for Scenes We Love last year). They’re also showing the obviously appropriate musical Easter Parade. But there are a lot of other movies that aren’t recognized enough for either being Easter movies or including memorable Easter scenes. Did you know Altman’s Cookies Fortune takes place over Easter weekend? And major events happen on the holiday in such films as Chocolat, Steel Magnolias and Resnais’s The War is Over. Quite suitably, Charlton Heston’s first movie, Dark City, opens with him carrying a gift box with an Easter bunny inside. Six other movies selected here are rarely thought of as Easter movies, if they’re thought of at all. Consider...
- 3/31/2013
- by Christopher Campbell
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
The songs of a musical don't have to be toe-tappingly catchy or particularly memorable to make the film a success, as long as they work well in the moment in which they occur. Such is the truth of Irving Berlin's Easter Parade, directed by Charles Walters and starring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland, the story of a dancer who takes on a relatively inexperienced new partner to create a new act when his old one falls through. You won't hear the musical numbers of Easter Parade sung out of context too often, but that says nothing of their quality and the general feel good story the film offers. It's an above par musical and an excellent entry from both Fred Astaire and Judy Garland's careers.
Read more...
Read more...
- 3/15/2013
- by Lex Walker
- JustPressPlay.net
Welcome back to The Stack! This installment showcases Oscar winners and losers Skyfall, The Master, Argo, and The Sessions, as well as new vintage Se's from Shout Factory, including Terror Vision, The Video Dead, The Joshua Tree and Prison. The truly scary Sinister and the not so much The Hollow, the truly touching A Simple Life, joyous Fred Astaire and Judy Garland vehicle Easter Parade and absolutely hilarious Best in Show are also present and accounted for. ...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 2/26/2013
- Screen Anarchy
Oscar season comes to an abrupt end at the end of February which frees up our time. One of The Film Experience's most popular series, a communal viewing party of sorts, returns for another season. Byoe (Bring Your Own Eyes) to these blog-a-thon like events wherein participates choose their single favorite shot from movies from all eras. Watch, Read, Converse -- It's Edumucational!
Wed March 6th The Wizard Of Oz (1939) since Oz, the Great and Powerful is about to hit and we might need this as a lovely antidote.
Wed March 13th Barbarella (1968) ...I've been itchy to revisit
Wed March 20th ???
Wed March 27th Jackie Brown (1997) Quentin Tarantino Week for his 50th birthday
...and more to be scheduled including, as ever, a mix of genres, eras, and anniversary celebrations. It's a great way to have a virtual visual conversation from other cinephiles, catch up on classics you've never seen, revisit...
Wed March 6th The Wizard Of Oz (1939) since Oz, the Great and Powerful is about to hit and we might need this as a lovely antidote.
Wed March 13th Barbarella (1968) ...I've been itchy to revisit
Wed March 20th ???
Wed March 27th Jackie Brown (1997) Quentin Tarantino Week for his 50th birthday
...and more to be scheduled including, as ever, a mix of genres, eras, and anniversary celebrations. It's a great way to have a virtual visual conversation from other cinephiles, catch up on classics you've never seen, revisit...
- 2/14/2013
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
My good Sun-Times pal from the 1970s at the Chicago Sun-Times, Cynthia Dagnal, wrote me today:
"A friend in London sent me this, obituary from the London indpendent and I was stunned to see that Jeni Le Gon attended the same Southside dancing school in Chicago that I did. It was probably the most reputable one on that side of the "color line," and not very far from my house. So I studied with the younger "protégés" of Mary Bruce, and all those cute pics of me in little but Expensive tutus and whatnot that I sometimes use on my blogs are reminders of those days! I took tap, jazz and ballet as a wee one, and loved to walk around en pointe all day long in those danged--and also expensive--toe shoes!"
Le Gon (born in Georgia Aug. 24,1916; died December 7, 2012) was the first African-American women to sign with a major studio,...
"A friend in London sent me this, obituary from the London indpendent and I was stunned to see that Jeni Le Gon attended the same Southside dancing school in Chicago that I did. It was probably the most reputable one on that side of the "color line," and not very far from my house. So I studied with the younger "protégés" of Mary Bruce, and all those cute pics of me in little but Expensive tutus and whatnot that I sometimes use on my blogs are reminders of those days! I took tap, jazz and ballet as a wee one, and loved to walk around en pointe all day long in those danged--and also expensive--toe shoes!"
Le Gon (born in Georgia Aug. 24,1916; died December 7, 2012) was the first African-American women to sign with a major studio,...
- 1/25/2013
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
If one didn't know the melodies, the connections would not necessarily be made."Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy," airing on PBS' "Great Performances" Tuesday, Jan. 1 (check local listings), shows the very strong link between Jewish music and the sometimes mournful, sometimes joyful tunes that have dominated the Great White Way from the beginning.
"This isn't really a Jewish story," the filmmaker, Michael Kantor -- who also made the Emmy-winning "Broadway: The American Musical" -- tells Zap2it. "It is Jewish in the sense that [it] is exploring this phenomenon of this handful of writers, but they created an American art form. Only a few art forms are considered uniquely American -- jazz, abstract expressionism and the Broadway musical. So anything that deals with how these art forms came about deals with who we are as a nation.
"The Broadway musical is an amalgam of lots of different things," Kantor continues. "It is also incredibly entertaining.
"This isn't really a Jewish story," the filmmaker, Michael Kantor -- who also made the Emmy-winning "Broadway: The American Musical" -- tells Zap2it. "It is Jewish in the sense that [it] is exploring this phenomenon of this handful of writers, but they created an American art form. Only a few art forms are considered uniquely American -- jazz, abstract expressionism and the Broadway musical. So anything that deals with how these art forms came about deals with who we are as a nation.
"The Broadway musical is an amalgam of lots of different things," Kantor continues. "It is also incredibly entertaining.
- 1/1/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Blu-ray Release Date: Feb. 5, 2013
Price: Blu-ray $27.98
Studio: Warner
Streisand and Kristofferson in A Star is Born.
The 1976 musical drama-romance film A Star Is Born starring Barbra Streisand (Little Fockers) and Kris Kristofferson (Heaven’s Gate) is a remake of two earlier films—a 1937 drama starring Janet Gaynor and Frederic March and a 1954 musical version with Judy Garland (Easter Parade) and James Mason (Bigger Than Life).
The ’76 version tell the story of a talented young singer, Esther Hoffman (Streisand) who enters the music business, and meets and falls in love with veteran talented rock star John Norman Howard (Kristofferson) only to find her career ascending while his goes into decline. As their relationship grows, her success only makes John’s downward spiral more apparent.
The R-rated movie won five Golden Globes, including Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy, as well as an Academy Award for Best Original Song (“Evergreen,” written by...
Price: Blu-ray $27.98
Studio: Warner
Streisand and Kristofferson in A Star is Born.
The 1976 musical drama-romance film A Star Is Born starring Barbra Streisand (Little Fockers) and Kris Kristofferson (Heaven’s Gate) is a remake of two earlier films—a 1937 drama starring Janet Gaynor and Frederic March and a 1954 musical version with Judy Garland (Easter Parade) and James Mason (Bigger Than Life).
The ’76 version tell the story of a talented young singer, Esther Hoffman (Streisand) who enters the music business, and meets and falls in love with veteran talented rock star John Norman Howard (Kristofferson) only to find her career ascending while his goes into decline. As their relationship grows, her success only makes John’s downward spiral more apparent.
The R-rated movie won five Golden Globes, including Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy, as well as an Academy Award for Best Original Song (“Evergreen,” written by...
- 11/9/2012
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
The Fred Astaire-Judy Garland classic "Easter Parade" will be coming to Blu-ray for the first time on February 19, 2013. Featuring a wonderful collection of songs from Irving Berlin, the film follows an aging dancer (Astaire) whose relationship has gone sour with his dance and romance partner (Ann Miller), who's gone solo. Enter less polished up-and-comer Hannah Brown (Garland), glad to fill in his ex's shoes. Peter Lawford provides a shoulder for her to cry on when Astaire can't seem to let go of the flouncy bigger star. Mega-talents Astaire and Garland are both in top form here, and deliver some of the songs they're best known for (a feat in itself, given Garland's iconic roles in both "The Wizard of Oz" and "Meet Me in St. Louis," and Astaire's entire run with Ginger Rogers throughout the 1930s at Rko). "Easter Parade" is one of them--rotogravure anyone? "Steppin' Out with My Baby" features.
- 10/24/2012
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
Blu-ray Release Date: Feb. 19, 2013
Price: Blu-ray $19.98
Studio: Warner Home Video
The high-definition Blu-ray debut of classic musical Easter Parade is a 65th anniversary gift.
Regularly on best film lists, the 1948 movie stars Fred Astaire and Judy Garland as dance partners who fall in love. But everything gets difficult when Astaire turns down a job in the Ziegfeld Follies for them because his former partner (Ann Miller) is already there.
Easter Parade includes songs by Irving Berlin, who also brought us White Christmas, and won an Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture.
The Blu-ray comes with the same special features that were on the DVD Special Edition released in 2005. That DVD has been discontinued, but some copies can still be found. Here’s the list of the extras:
commentary by Fred Astaire’s daughter Ava Astaire McKenzie and Judy Garland biographer John Frickemaking-of documentary Easter Parade:...
Price: Blu-ray $19.98
Studio: Warner Home Video
The high-definition Blu-ray debut of classic musical Easter Parade is a 65th anniversary gift.
Regularly on best film lists, the 1948 movie stars Fred Astaire and Judy Garland as dance partners who fall in love. But everything gets difficult when Astaire turns down a job in the Ziegfeld Follies for them because his former partner (Ann Miller) is already there.
Easter Parade includes songs by Irving Berlin, who also brought us White Christmas, and won an Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture.
The Blu-ray comes with the same special features that were on the DVD Special Edition released in 2005. That DVD has been discontinued, but some copies can still be found. Here’s the list of the extras:
commentary by Fred Astaire’s daughter Ava Astaire McKenzie and Judy Garland biographer John Frickemaking-of documentary Easter Parade:...
- 10/24/2012
- by Sam
- Disc Dish
© Nick Stepowyj[Editor's Note: Melanie Lynskey (Hello I Must Be Going) is guest blogging. We love her. And now there's a lotta love to go around. - Nathaniel R]
After my love letter to Noah Taylor I thought it might be kind of fun to write to some people for The Film Experience and ask Them who they'd want to write a love letter to. Hopefully this is making some kind of sense. So I made a little dream list of people I respect and admire beyond all reason and I sent them a little e-mail saying:
I've seen you do work that has made me want to write you a love letter because it's moved me so deeply. Who or what would you like to write a love letter to? What piece of art or artist or feeling has moved you in this way?"
Here are a few amazing responses I got from these talented and passionate individuals!
To the magnificent & unique Zachary Quinto "my love letter to you is mostly me obsessing about: Angels In America!
After my love letter to Noah Taylor I thought it might be kind of fun to write to some people for The Film Experience and ask Them who they'd want to write a love letter to. Hopefully this is making some kind of sense. So I made a little dream list of people I respect and admire beyond all reason and I sent them a little e-mail saying:
I've seen you do work that has made me want to write you a love letter because it's moved me so deeply. Who or what would you like to write a love letter to? What piece of art or artist or feeling has moved you in this way?"
Here are a few amazing responses I got from these talented and passionate individuals!
To the magnificent & unique Zachary Quinto "my love letter to you is mostly me obsessing about: Angels In America!
- 8/30/2012
- by SPECIAL GUEST STAR
- FilmExperience
Last October I wrote a post about the illustrator and poster designer Jacques Kapralik. I had stumbled across Kapralik’s name and found a small amount of information about him online. My article generated interest from movie title afficionado Christian Annyas who provided me with some of Kapralik’s title sequence designs for MGM. But I was delighted a few months later to get a message on one of the posts telling me that the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming holds an archive of Jacques Kapralik’s work and papers. Archivist Emily Christopherson told me that the university has the paper dolls that were used in the title sequence for Presenting Lily Mars that I had featured. Since I had previously seen only black and white photos from that sequence it was a treat to see them in color and in so much eye-popping detail (click to...
- 8/24/2012
- MUBI
Warner has rounded up a new gang for A Christmas Story 2.
Warner has produced a sequel to the now classic 1983 comedy A Christmas Story, which regularly makes the top or close to top spot on Best Christmas Movie lists. A Christmas Story 2 brings up only one thought:
Really?
Back when DVD was still relatively new and studios realized people didn’t mind buying movies they hadn’t heard of as long they were familiar and on DVD (which didn’t have the stink VHS had always carried), we got a slew of these films: numerous Bring It Ons, American Pies and others.
Warner even created a division solely to produce these low-budget straight-to-dvd sequels, called Warner Premiere (which made A Christmas Story 2). And the studio wasn’t alone.
At first, Hollywood stuck with sequels of new theatrical hits, but soon they started digging into older titles, like The Scorpion King...
Warner has produced a sequel to the now classic 1983 comedy A Christmas Story, which regularly makes the top or close to top spot on Best Christmas Movie lists. A Christmas Story 2 brings up only one thought:
Really?
Back when DVD was still relatively new and studios realized people didn’t mind buying movies they hadn’t heard of as long they were familiar and on DVD (which didn’t have the stink VHS had always carried), we got a slew of these films: numerous Bring It Ons, American Pies and others.
Warner even created a division solely to produce these low-budget straight-to-dvd sequels, called Warner Premiere (which made A Christmas Story 2). And the studio wasn’t alone.
At first, Hollywood stuck with sequels of new theatrical hits, but soon they started digging into older titles, like The Scorpion King...
- 8/23/2012
- by Sam
- Disc Dish
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