“All this filming isn’t healthy,” says blind but perceptive Mrs. Stephens (Maxine Audley) late in Michael Powell’s resolutely disturbing Peeping Tom, and every aspect of the film’s rigorously self-reflexive construction seems to bear her out. From the opening shot of an opening eye, to the final shot of a blank screen swathed in black and blood-red gel lighting, Peeping Tom obsessively examines the social and psychological ramifications of overactive cinephilia. This situates Powell’s film as a direct precursor to later 1960s autocritiques along the lines of Federico Fellini’s 8½, Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow-Up, and Haskell Wexler’s Medium Cool.
Powell and screenwriter Leo Marks originally wanted to make a film about Sigmund Freud and his theories, but word of John Huston’s upcoming Freud biopic put the kibosh on those plans. So instead they came up with the story of Mark Lewis (Carl Boehm), who works...
Powell and screenwriter Leo Marks originally wanted to make a film about Sigmund Freud and his theories, but word of John Huston’s upcoming Freud biopic put the kibosh on those plans. So instead they came up with the story of Mark Lewis (Carl Boehm), who works...
- 5/24/2024
- by Budd Wilkins
- Slant Magazine
Stars: Karlheinz Bohm, Maxine Audley, Anna Massey, Moira Shearer, Brenda Bruce, Esmond Knight, Martin Miller, Michael Goodliffe, Jack Watson, Shirley Anne Field | Written by Leo Marks | Directed by Michael Powell
Originally released 64 years ago (!) and a Martin Scorsese favourite, Peeping Tom has already had a UK release from StudioCanal, with a print restored in association with The Film Foundation and the BFI National Archive; and now comes another release, this time in the US courtesy of the Criterion Collection.
My immediate reaction, almost from the opening scene is that for a film that was made so long ago, it has aged extremely well and I imagine it might have seemed quite shocking at the time.
That does seem to be the case as “on its initial release in 1960, Peeping Tom received a savage reception from critics who were dismayed by its controversial subject matter and the sympathy it seems to engender for its murderous protagonist.
Originally released 64 years ago (!) and a Martin Scorsese favourite, Peeping Tom has already had a UK release from StudioCanal, with a print restored in association with The Film Foundation and the BFI National Archive; and now comes another release, this time in the US courtesy of the Criterion Collection.
My immediate reaction, almost from the opening scene is that for a film that was made so long ago, it has aged extremely well and I imagine it might have seemed quite shocking at the time.
That does seem to be the case as “on its initial release in 1960, Peeping Tom received a savage reception from critics who were dismayed by its controversial subject matter and the sympathy it seems to engender for its murderous protagonist.
- 5/14/2024
- by Alain Elliott
- Nerdly
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has confirmed that Matthew Perry will be honoured at its TV awards later this year following backlash over his omission from the In Memoriam segment of the film awards night on Sunday evening, reports ‘Variety’.
Although Perry, who died last October, was best known for his 10-year stint as Chandler Bing on hit TV show ‘Friends’, ‘Variety’ adds that he also appeared in a number of popular feature films in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including ‘The Whole Nine Yards’, alongside Bruce Willis, and ‘Fools Rush In’ opposite Salma Hayek.
This year’s In Memoriam segment, set to a special arrangement of Cyndi Lauper’s ‘The After Time’ performed by ‘Ted Lasso’ star Hannah Waddingham, featured Jane Birkin, Shirley Anne Field, Richard Roundtree, Michael Gambon, Tom Wilkinson and Carl Weathers, among others.
The segment also paid tribute to Tina Turner,...
Although Perry, who died last October, was best known for his 10-year stint as Chandler Bing on hit TV show ‘Friends’, ‘Variety’ adds that he also appeared in a number of popular feature films in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including ‘The Whole Nine Yards’, alongside Bruce Willis, and ‘Fools Rush In’ opposite Salma Hayek.
This year’s In Memoriam segment, set to a special arrangement of Cyndi Lauper’s ‘The After Time’ performed by ‘Ted Lasso’ star Hannah Waddingham, featured Jane Birkin, Shirley Anne Field, Richard Roundtree, Michael Gambon, Tom Wilkinson and Carl Weathers, among others.
The segment also paid tribute to Tina Turner,...
- 2/19/2024
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has confirmed that Matthew Perry will be honored at its TV awards later this year following backlash over his omission from the film awards’ In Memoriam segment on Sunday evening.
Although Perry, who died last October, was best known for his 10-year stint as Chandler Bing on hit TV show “Friends,” he also appeared in a number of popular feature films in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including “The Whole Nine Yards” alongside Bruce Willis and “Fools Rush In” opposite Salma Hayek.
This year’s In Memoriam segment, set to a special arrangement of Cyndi Lauper’s “The After Time” performed by “Ted Lasso” star Hannah Waddingham, featured Jane Birkin, Shirley Anne Field, Richard Roundtree, Michael Gambon, Tom Wilkinson and Carl Weathers, among others. The segment also paid tribute to Tina Turner, who was commemorated as both an actor and singer.
Although Perry, who died last October, was best known for his 10-year stint as Chandler Bing on hit TV show “Friends,” he also appeared in a number of popular feature films in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including “The Whole Nine Yards” alongside Bruce Willis and “Fools Rush In” opposite Salma Hayek.
This year’s In Memoriam segment, set to a special arrangement of Cyndi Lauper’s “The After Time” performed by “Ted Lasso” star Hannah Waddingham, featured Jane Birkin, Shirley Anne Field, Richard Roundtree, Michael Gambon, Tom Wilkinson and Carl Weathers, among others. The segment also paid tribute to Tina Turner, who was commemorated as both an actor and singer.
- 2/19/2024
- by K.J. Yossman and Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
The BBC is celebrating the art of the literary adaptation by screening a variety of classics on BBC Four. More details here.
The BBC is quite rightly celebrated for its rich history of book to screen adaptations, such as the iconic 1995 version of Jane Austen’a Pride And Prejudice to Cbbc’s hugely successful adaptation of Dame Jacqueline Wilson’s Tracy Beaker series.
It has now put together a season of 14 adaptations from the BBC archive, some of which have rarely been seen since their original broadcast.
The dramas are:
The Great Gatsby
Toby Stephens, Mira Sorvino and Paul Rudd lead the cast in this 2000 BBC adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel on the American dream in the jazz age.
Small Island
Naomie Harris, Ruth Wilson, David Oyelowo, Benedict Cumberbatch and Ashley Walters star in this 2009 TV version of Andrea Levy’s novel focusing on the lives and...
The BBC is quite rightly celebrated for its rich history of book to screen adaptations, such as the iconic 1995 version of Jane Austen’a Pride And Prejudice to Cbbc’s hugely successful adaptation of Dame Jacqueline Wilson’s Tracy Beaker series.
It has now put together a season of 14 adaptations from the BBC archive, some of which have rarely been seen since their original broadcast.
The dramas are:
The Great Gatsby
Toby Stephens, Mira Sorvino and Paul Rudd lead the cast in this 2000 BBC adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel on the American dream in the jazz age.
Small Island
Naomie Harris, Ruth Wilson, David Oyelowo, Benedict Cumberbatch and Ashley Walters star in this 2009 TV version of Andrea Levy’s novel focusing on the lives and...
- 2/6/2024
- by Jake Godfrey
- Film Stories
Stars: Karlheinz Bohm, Maxine Audley, Anna Massey, Moira Shearer, Brenda Bruce, Esmond Knight, Martin Miller, Michael Goodliffe, Jack Watson, Shirley Anne Field | Written by Leo Marks | Directed by Michael Powell
Released 64 years ago (!!!), a Martin Scorsese favourite, Peeping Tom, is getting a special edition 4K release this year after being restored by The Film Foundation and BFI National Archive in association with StudioCanal.
This was a first-time watch for me, and my immediate reaction, almost from the opening scene is that for a film that was made so long ago, it has aged extremely well and I imagine it might have seemed quite shocking at the time.
That does seem to be the case as “on its initial release in 1960, Peeping Tom received a savage reception from critics who were dismayed by its controversial subject matter and the sympathy it seems to engender for its murderous protagonist.” It then remained...
Released 64 years ago (!!!), a Martin Scorsese favourite, Peeping Tom, is getting a special edition 4K release this year after being restored by The Film Foundation and BFI National Archive in association with StudioCanal.
This was a first-time watch for me, and my immediate reaction, almost from the opening scene is that for a film that was made so long ago, it has aged extremely well and I imagine it might have seemed quite shocking at the time.
That does seem to be the case as “on its initial release in 1960, Peeping Tom received a savage reception from critics who were dismayed by its controversial subject matter and the sympathy it seems to engender for its murderous protagonist.” It then remained...
- 1/29/2024
- by Alain Elliott
- Nerdly
A new restoration of the 1959 horror film on Blu-ray and DVD, and making its UK digital debut, Horrors Of The Black Museum, starring Michael Gough and directed by Arthur Crabtree (Fiend Without a Face), marked the first film in the “Sadian Trilogy”, followed by the Hammer favourite Circus of Horrors and Michael Powell’s infamous Peeping Tom – introducing cinema audiences to a more shocking and salacious brand of onscreen horror.
A series of grisly, macabre murders sweep London and leave Scotland Yard completely baffled. Bancroft, an evil crime journalist, is hypnotising his assistant to commit murders using items curated in his own personal “Black Museum” – inspired by the infamous real-life collection of weapons and torture instruments used by criminals. Using these murders to fuel his own crime stories, Bancroft delights in the Yard’s embarrassment.
Experience fear beyond belief in this gruesome British horror treat that features a splendid lead...
A series of grisly, macabre murders sweep London and leave Scotland Yard completely baffled. Bancroft, an evil crime journalist, is hypnotising his assistant to commit murders using items curated in his own personal “Black Museum” – inspired by the infamous real-life collection of weapons and torture instruments used by criminals. Using these murders to fuel his own crime stories, Bancroft delights in the Yard’s embarrassment.
Experience fear beyond belief in this gruesome British horror treat that features a splendid lead...
- 1/8/2024
- by Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins
- Horror Asylum
British actress Shirley Anne Field, known for her roles in 1960s classic movies Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and Alfie, and her stint on the NBC soap Santa Barbara, passed away on Sunday, December 10. Her family confirmed her death was due to “natural causes” in a statement to the BBC. She was 87. “It is with great sadness that we are sharing the news that Shirley Anne Field passed away peacefully on Sunday… surrounded by her family and friends,” a spokesperson announced. “Shirley Anne will be greatly missed and remembered for her unbreakable spirit and her amazing legacy spanning more than five decades on stage and screen.” Field, born on June 27, 1936, in the Forest Gate district of East London, initially embarked on a career as a model in the early 1950s. By the mid-1950s, she transitioned to acting and appeared in films such as Loser Takes All and It’s A Wonderful World,...
- 12/12/2023
- TV Insider
British actor Shirley Anne Field, whose long career included memorable performances in such 1960s classic Angry Young Men genre dramas as Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and Alfie — as well as a pivotal, several-month stint on the NBC soap Santa Barbara — died Sunday, Dec. 10, of natural causes. She was 87.
Her family announced her passing In a statement to the BBC. “It is with great sadness that we are sharing the news that Shirley Anne Field passed away peacefully on Sunday… surrounded by her family and friends. Shirley Anne will be greatly missed and remembered for her unbreakable spirit and her amazing legacy spanning more than five decades on stage and screen.”
Shirley Anne Field, Albert Finney, ‘Saturday Night And Sunday Morning’ (1960)
Born June 27, 1936, in the Forest Gate district of East London, Field began working as a model in the early 1950, moving into acting by the middle of the decade with...
Her family announced her passing In a statement to the BBC. “It is with great sadness that we are sharing the news that Shirley Anne Field passed away peacefully on Sunday… surrounded by her family and friends. Shirley Anne will be greatly missed and remembered for her unbreakable spirit and her amazing legacy spanning more than five decades on stage and screen.”
Shirley Anne Field, Albert Finney, ‘Saturday Night And Sunday Morning’ (1960)
Born June 27, 1936, in the Forest Gate district of East London, Field began working as a model in the early 1950, moving into acting by the middle of the decade with...
- 12/12/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
British actor who starred in the 1960s film classics Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and The Entertainer
Shirley Anne Field, who has died aged 87, was likened to Marilyn Monroe, Catherine Deneuve and even “a sort of red-haired Brigitte Bardot”. There was no question she could stop traffic. “Lorries used to thunder to a halt, and I would wonder what they were looking at,” she said.
Her presence was sharply distinctive. In Karel Reisz’s film of Alan Sillitoe’s Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), a defining work of kitchen-sink drama, she was a vision of self-possession as Doreen, who works in a Nottingham hairnet factory, lives with her mother and catches the eye of the discontented lathe operator Arthur Seaton, played by Albert Finney.
Shirley Anne Field, who has died aged 87, was likened to Marilyn Monroe, Catherine Deneuve and even “a sort of red-haired Brigitte Bardot”. There was no question she could stop traffic. “Lorries used to thunder to a halt, and I would wonder what they were looking at,” she said.
Her presence was sharply distinctive. In Karel Reisz’s film of Alan Sillitoe’s Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), a defining work of kitchen-sink drama, she was a vision of self-possession as Doreen, who works in a Nottingham hairnet factory, lives with her mother and catches the eye of the discontented lathe operator Arthur Seaton, played by Albert Finney.
- 12/12/2023
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
Shirley Anne Field, the British leading lady who starred alongside Laurence Olivier in The Entertainer, Albert Finney in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, and Kenneth More in Man in the Moon — all in 1960 — has died. She was 87.
“It is with great sadness that we are sharing the news that Shirley Anne Field passed away peacefully on Sunday, Dec. 10, surrounded by her family and friends,” a spokesperson announced.
“Shirley Anne will be greatly missed and remembered for her unbreakable spirit and her amazing legacy spanning more than five decades on stage and screen.”
For her first Hollywood film, Field passed up John Schlesinger’s A Kind of Loving to star opposite Steve McQueen and Robert Wagner in the World War II drama The War Lover (1962). It was a decision she would regret, she explained in a 2009 interview.
“I finally had a chance to go to Hollywood and become a worldwide name.
“It is with great sadness that we are sharing the news that Shirley Anne Field passed away peacefully on Sunday, Dec. 10, surrounded by her family and friends,” a spokesperson announced.
“Shirley Anne will be greatly missed and remembered for her unbreakable spirit and her amazing legacy spanning more than five decades on stage and screen.”
For her first Hollywood film, Field passed up John Schlesinger’s A Kind of Loving to star opposite Steve McQueen and Robert Wagner in the World War II drama The War Lover (1962). It was a decision she would regret, she explained in a 2009 interview.
“I finally had a chance to go to Hollywood and become a worldwide name.
- 12/12/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Appearing in many of the landmark gritty dramas of the era, the actor, who has died aged 87, stood out for portraying vulnerability combined with a canny intelligence
Shirley Anne Field had the kind of ingenue English-rose freshness and beauty that the British cinema loved in the 50s and 60s – it had something feline about it, a kind of innocent-fatale. Hers were the kind of looks that always introduced an almost unintentional note of innocence and poignancy into the tough dramas and kitchen-sink pictures in which she was cast; she had something of the model agency and deportment school and yet also the pinup mag.
Field was of the same generation as heartstoppingly beautiful performers such as Janette Scott, Shirley Eaton, Sylvia Sims and Julie Christie. She appeared briefly in Michael Powell’s 1960 chiller Peeping Tom as a temperamental film diva (quite unlike her real self) but had her breakthrough in...
Shirley Anne Field had the kind of ingenue English-rose freshness and beauty that the British cinema loved in the 50s and 60s – it had something feline about it, a kind of innocent-fatale. Hers were the kind of looks that always introduced an almost unintentional note of innocence and poignancy into the tough dramas and kitchen-sink pictures in which she was cast; she had something of the model agency and deportment school and yet also the pinup mag.
Field was of the same generation as heartstoppingly beautiful performers such as Janette Scott, Shirley Eaton, Sylvia Sims and Julie Christie. She appeared briefly in Michael Powell’s 1960 chiller Peeping Tom as a temperamental film diva (quite unlike her real self) but had her breakthrough in...
- 12/12/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Field starred in The Entertainer opposite Laurence Olivier and in films such as Alfie alongside Michael Caine
• Peter Bradshaw on Shirley Anne Field: a smart and seductive key player in the British New Wave
• A life in pictures
Shirley Anne Field has died aged 87, her family has announced.
The stage and screen actor came to prominence in the 1960s following her role as Tina Lapford in The Entertainer opposite Laurence Olivier.
• Peter Bradshaw on Shirley Anne Field: a smart and seductive key player in the British New Wave
• A life in pictures
Shirley Anne Field has died aged 87, her family has announced.
The stage and screen actor came to prominence in the 1960s following her role as Tina Lapford in The Entertainer opposite Laurence Olivier.
- 12/11/2023
- by PA Media
- The Guardian - Film News
Move over, Angry Young Men: Alfie Elkins leverages class resentment and killer good looks to become a ladies’ man extraordinaire… in his own eyes. Michael Caine was born to play Bill Naughton’s smooth-talking, responsibility-dodging cad’s cad. Alfie mistreats a glorious lineup of actresses — Julia Foster, Jane Asher, Vivien Merchant — and Shelley Winters is hilarious as the widow who has his number. Will Alfie maybe develop a conscience? The two-disc special edition shares a double bill with My Generation, a highly entertaining Swinging London documentary hosted by Michael Caine. Being kind doesn’t make one a fool, Alfie.
Alfie + My Generation
Blu-ray (Region-Free)
Viavision [Imprint] 41
1965 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 112 min. / Street Date June 2, 2021 / Available from Viavision / au 64.98
Starring: Michael Caine, Shelley Winters, Julia Foster, Jane Asher, Vivien Merchant, Millicent Martin, Denholm Elliott, Alfie Bass, Graham Stark, Eleanor Bron, Shirley Anne Field, Murray Melvin, Sydney Tafler.
Cinematography: Otto Heller
Art Direction:...
Alfie + My Generation
Blu-ray (Region-Free)
Viavision [Imprint] 41
1965 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 112 min. / Street Date June 2, 2021 / Available from Viavision / au 64.98
Starring: Michael Caine, Shelley Winters, Julia Foster, Jane Asher, Vivien Merchant, Millicent Martin, Denholm Elliott, Alfie Bass, Graham Stark, Eleanor Bron, Shirley Anne Field, Murray Melvin, Sydney Tafler.
Cinematography: Otto Heller
Art Direction:...
- 6/19/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“Kinder der Eisigen Dunkelheit!” If those words don’t give you a chill, you may be one of ‘The Damned.’ Joseph Losey’s fascinatingly morbid reflection on atomic terror was too much for England in 1961, wasn’t released in the U.S. for four full years, and then only after being shorn of nine minutes of footage. An ‘impossible’ Cold War scenario puts military authority on the same moral plane as delinquent street thugs. Losey transplants his subversive sensibility to England, and the result is one of the top political sci-fi tales of all time.
These are the Damned
Blu-ray
Explosive Media GmbH
1961 / B&w / 2:35 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date June 13, 2019 /Sie Sind Verdammt / Available from Amazon.de
Starring: Macdonald Carey, Shirley Anne Field, Viveca Lindfors, Alexander Knox, Oliver Reed, Walter Gotell, James Villiers, Tom Kempinski, Kenneth Cope, Brian Oulton, Rachel Clay, Caroline Sheldon, Rebecca Dignam, Siobhan Taylor, Nicholas Clay.
Cinematography:...
These are the Damned
Blu-ray
Explosive Media GmbH
1961 / B&w / 2:35 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date June 13, 2019 /Sie Sind Verdammt / Available from Amazon.de
Starring: Macdonald Carey, Shirley Anne Field, Viveca Lindfors, Alexander Knox, Oliver Reed, Walter Gotell, James Villiers, Tom Kempinski, Kenneth Cope, Brian Oulton, Rachel Clay, Caroline Sheldon, Rebecca Dignam, Siobhan Taylor, Nicholas Clay.
Cinematography:...
- 7/6/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
By Adrian Smith
William Blood (Kenneth More) is a man with an incredible immune system and without worries. He spends most of his time working as a human guinea pig for government departments such as the Common Cold and Flu Research Agency. There he frustrates the men in white coats by stubbornly refusing to catch a cold. He never gets ill, and his secret is that he has no emotional attachments. “The minute you get into a relationship with a woman, your guard is down and the coughing will start!” News of this remarkable constitution gets to the scientists at N.A.A.R.S.T.I., the National Atomic Research Station and Technological Institute, who are preparing to send the first maned rocket to the moon. They have previously sent up dogs and monkeys, but owing to public complaints about cruelty to animals, they have decided it would be...
William Blood (Kenneth More) is a man with an incredible immune system and without worries. He spends most of his time working as a human guinea pig for government departments such as the Common Cold and Flu Research Agency. There he frustrates the men in white coats by stubbornly refusing to catch a cold. He never gets ill, and his secret is that he has no emotional attachments. “The minute you get into a relationship with a woman, your guard is down and the coughing will start!” News of this remarkable constitution gets to the scientists at N.A.A.R.S.T.I., the National Atomic Research Station and Technological Institute, who are preparing to send the first maned rocket to the moon. They have previously sent up dogs and monkeys, but owing to public complaints about cruelty to animals, they have decided it would be...
- 10/30/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Shudder will take viewers to the place that's "not as brightly lit" this Halloween season, as the 1980s anthology series Tales From the Darkside will be available to watch in its entirety on the horror streaming service beginning October 1st:
Press Release: New York, New York – September 26, 2016 – The AMC-backed streaming service, Shudder, is The entertainment destination for everything you need to watch this Halloween season. Whether you’re a hardcore horror fan or simply looking for the scariest films to celebrate this time of year, Shudder has something for everyone in its sweeping library, carefully curated by some of the top horror experts in the world.
As Halloween approaches, Shudder is expanding its database with a variety of new titles including cult favorites, blockbuster hits, and classic thrillers. Additionally, for the first time ever, Shudder will be offering horror TV series to complement its expansive film library.
Premiering October 20th...
Press Release: New York, New York – September 26, 2016 – The AMC-backed streaming service, Shudder, is The entertainment destination for everything you need to watch this Halloween season. Whether you’re a hardcore horror fan or simply looking for the scariest films to celebrate this time of year, Shudder has something for everyone in its sweeping library, carefully curated by some of the top horror experts in the world.
As Halloween approaches, Shudder is expanding its database with a variety of new titles including cult favorites, blockbuster hits, and classic thrillers. Additionally, for the first time ever, Shudder will be offering horror TV series to complement its expansive film library.
Premiering October 20th...
- 9/28/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
By Tim Greaves
Writer Derek Pykett (whose excellent book " MGM British Studios: Hollywood in Borehamwood" was reviewed here earlier this year) has turned his hand to directing; setting up and playing host to a dozen intimate interviews with some of Britain's most respected and beloved thesps, the results are now available on DVD with "From Stage to Screen", a privately produced, limited edition 6-disc box set.
With each performer given their own ‘episode’ and a total running time of 15 hours, there's so much material here that it'll take the average viewer a number of sittings to get through it all. Beyond starting with disc one and working through methodically, where one begins is probably going to be proportionate to the level of esteem in which the viewer holds each particular actor or actress represented within the set; I confess that at the time of writing I still have a fair bit to get through.
Writer Derek Pykett (whose excellent book " MGM British Studios: Hollywood in Borehamwood" was reviewed here earlier this year) has turned his hand to directing; setting up and playing host to a dozen intimate interviews with some of Britain's most respected and beloved thesps, the results are now available on DVD with "From Stage to Screen", a privately produced, limited edition 6-disc box set.
With each performer given their own ‘episode’ and a total running time of 15 hours, there's so much material here that it'll take the average viewer a number of sittings to get through it all. Beyond starting with disc one and working through methodically, where one begins is probably going to be proportionate to the level of esteem in which the viewer holds each particular actor or actress represented within the set; I confess that at the time of writing I still have a fair bit to get through.
- 8/12/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Cinema Retro has received the following press announcement:
For the first time on DVD a brand new series of relaxed, intimate, face to face interviews with some of Britain’s finest, much loved actors, who share with us moments from their lives and work in theatre, television and films.
With careers that span over seven decades, we hear stories about the greatest theatres (The National; The Old Vic; The Royal Shakespeare Company); the theatrical knights (Olivier; Gielgud; Richardson); the bright lights of Broadway, and the most celebrated movie directors of the twentieth century (Spielberg; Fellini; Huston; Chaplin; Visconti; Lean).
Featuring an extensive archive of rare photographs and film trailers, it is a nostalgic trip down memory lane in the company of highly respected actors who have given us some unforgettable performances.
Joss Ackland, Michael Medwin, Vera Day, Julian Glover, Michael Craig, Roy Dotrice, Sarah Miles, Lee Montague, Michael Jayston, Derren Nesbitt,...
For the first time on DVD a brand new series of relaxed, intimate, face to face interviews with some of Britain’s finest, much loved actors, who share with us moments from their lives and work in theatre, television and films.
With careers that span over seven decades, we hear stories about the greatest theatres (The National; The Old Vic; The Royal Shakespeare Company); the theatrical knights (Olivier; Gielgud; Richardson); the bright lights of Broadway, and the most celebrated movie directors of the twentieth century (Spielberg; Fellini; Huston; Chaplin; Visconti; Lean).
Featuring an extensive archive of rare photographs and film trailers, it is a nostalgic trip down memory lane in the company of highly respected actors who have given us some unforgettable performances.
Joss Ackland, Michael Medwin, Vera Day, Julian Glover, Michael Craig, Roy Dotrice, Sarah Miles, Lee Montague, Michael Jayston, Derren Nesbitt,...
- 8/4/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
(Photo copyright Mark Mawston.)
Ed Mason, who ran the film fairs at Westminster Central Hall for over 18 years has suddenly died, leaving behind him an enormous legacy with the film fairs and the shop he had on King’s Road in London for a great many years.
Being part of the film fairs since they started back in September 1973, he was responsible for introducing the now-highly collectable Belgian posters with their great art work to the UK, and kept the world of original film memorabilia going all through his life. Ed was also responsible for bringing over the best poster and stills dealers from Europe and America to his London collector fairs, which also influenced the opening of many cinema shops both in London and around the country.
In the late 1980’s and early 90’s Ed Mason organised the first public autograph signings at Westminster, where Caroline Munro , Ingrid Pitt...
Ed Mason, who ran the film fairs at Westminster Central Hall for over 18 years has suddenly died, leaving behind him an enormous legacy with the film fairs and the shop he had on King’s Road in London for a great many years.
Being part of the film fairs since they started back in September 1973, he was responsible for introducing the now-highly collectable Belgian posters with their great art work to the UK, and kept the world of original film memorabilia going all through his life. Ed was also responsible for bringing over the best poster and stills dealers from Europe and America to his London collector fairs, which also influenced the opening of many cinema shops both in London and around the country.
In the late 1980’s and early 90’s Ed Mason organised the first public autograph signings at Westminster, where Caroline Munro , Ingrid Pitt...
- 4/12/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
By Lee Pfeiffer
Kino Lorber has released a Blu-ray edition of the 1963 action adventure film "Kings of the Sun", a movie that has largely faded into relative obscurity. In viewing for the first time since its initial release I was pleasantly surprised at how impressive the film is on any number of levels. For one, it takes place during a period that has been largely untouched by Hollywood in that it is set in the era of the ancient Mayans. One must deal with the fact that the historical aspects of the screenplay are largely hokum. The story opens with the Mayan people mourning the death of its king in battle against a rival tribe led by the blood-thirsty Hunac Ceel (Leo Gordon). The new heir apparent is Balam (George Chakiris), a young man who must instantly assume his father's throne and responsibilities. These include the practice of human sacrifice to appease the gods.
Kino Lorber has released a Blu-ray edition of the 1963 action adventure film "Kings of the Sun", a movie that has largely faded into relative obscurity. In viewing for the first time since its initial release I was pleasantly surprised at how impressive the film is on any number of levels. For one, it takes place during a period that has been largely untouched by Hollywood in that it is set in the era of the ancient Mayans. One must deal with the fact that the historical aspects of the screenplay are largely hokum. The story opens with the Mayan people mourning the death of its king in battle against a rival tribe led by the blood-thirsty Hunac Ceel (Leo Gordon). The new heir apparent is Balam (George Chakiris), a young man who must instantly assume his father's throne and responsibilities. These include the practice of human sacrifice to appease the gods.
- 2/14/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Who needs epics about Ancient Rome, Egypt, or Greek mythology when we have a thousand years of exotic Central and South American civilizations to exploit? Well, it's only been done a handful of times. This cinematic concatenation of nifty architecture, fruity multicolored headgear and athletic oiled warriors is, well, nifty, fruity and athletic! Kings of the Sun Kl Studio Classics Savant Blu-ray Review 1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 108 min. / Street Date May 26, 2015 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Yul Brynner, George Chakiris, Shirley Anne Field, Richard Basehart, Brad Dexter, Barry Morse, Armando Silvestre, Leo Gordon, Victoria Vettri, Rudy Solari, Ford Rainey, Chuck Hayward, James Coburn (narrator). Cinematography Joseph MacDonald Film Editor William Reynolds Original Music Elmer Bernstein Written by James R. Webb, Elliot Arnold Produced by Lewis J. Rachmil Directed by J. Lee Thompson
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Epics don't get wilder than this. According to producer Walter Mirisch, 1963's Kings of the Sun...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Epics don't get wilder than this. According to producer Walter Mirisch, 1963's Kings of the Sun...
- 9/8/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Crypt Of The Living Dead
(1973, dir: Julio Salvador & Ray Danton)
“The Undead Dies…Again, Again And Again!”
One night whilst snooping round a luxurios island villa, archaeologist Professor Bolton (Mariano García Rey, Shaft in Africa) is attacked by crazed writer Peter (Mark Damon, Black Sabbath). Bolton is left for dead under a tomb. When his son Chris (Andrew Pine, The Town That Dreaded Sundown) finds out about the fate of his father, he visits the island to say his goodbyes. He is greeted by Peter who is playing the nice guy card. Once settled and with the help of the mysterious locals, Chris and Peter begin to open the tomb belonging to Hannah (Teresa Gimpera, Lips of Blood), who according to local folklore was the vampiric wife of Louis VII. Once opened, they discover the still fresh corpse of Hannah (who looks damn good considering she’s been buried for 700 years!
(1973, dir: Julio Salvador & Ray Danton)
“The Undead Dies…Again, Again And Again!”
One night whilst snooping round a luxurios island villa, archaeologist Professor Bolton (Mariano García Rey, Shaft in Africa) is attacked by crazed writer Peter (Mark Damon, Black Sabbath). Bolton is left for dead under a tomb. When his son Chris (Andrew Pine, The Town That Dreaded Sundown) finds out about the fate of his father, he visits the island to say his goodbyes. He is greeted by Peter who is playing the nice guy card. Once settled and with the help of the mysterious locals, Chris and Peter begin to open the tomb belonging to Hannah (Teresa Gimpera, Lips of Blood), who according to local folklore was the vampiric wife of Louis VII. Once opened, they discover the still fresh corpse of Hannah (who looks damn good considering she’s been buried for 700 years!
- 8/11/2015
- by Mondo Squallido
- Nerdly
Part I. Anger, Suez and Archie Rice
“There they are,” George Devine told John Osborne, surveying The Entertainer‘s opening night audience. “All waiting for you…Same old pack of c***s, fashionable assholes. Just more of them than usual.” The Royal Court had arrived: no longer outcasts, they were London’s main attraction.
Look Back in Anger vindicated Devine’s model of a writer’s-based theater. Osborne’s success attracted a host of dramatists to Sloane Square. There’s Shelagh Delaney, whose A Taste of Honey featured a working-class girl pregnant from an interracial dalliance; Harold Pinter’s The Room, a bizarre “comedy of menace”; and John Arden’s Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance, which aimed a Gatling gun at its audience. Devine encouraged them, however bold or experimental. “You always knew he was on the writer’s side,” Osborne said.
Peter O’Toole called the Royal Court actors “an...
“There they are,” George Devine told John Osborne, surveying The Entertainer‘s opening night audience. “All waiting for you…Same old pack of c***s, fashionable assholes. Just more of them than usual.” The Royal Court had arrived: no longer outcasts, they were London’s main attraction.
Look Back in Anger vindicated Devine’s model of a writer’s-based theater. Osborne’s success attracted a host of dramatists to Sloane Square. There’s Shelagh Delaney, whose A Taste of Honey featured a working-class girl pregnant from an interracial dalliance; Harold Pinter’s The Room, a bizarre “comedy of menace”; and John Arden’s Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance, which aimed a Gatling gun at its audience. Devine encouraged them, however bold or experimental. “You always knew he was on the writer’s side,” Osborne said.
Peter O’Toole called the Royal Court actors “an...
- 3/13/2015
- by Christopher Saunders
- SoundOnSight
The Hollywood star is always headline news – for her movies, relationships and extendend family. And her latest claims about the paternity of her son have reopened the bitter wounds from her split from Woody Allen
For a while, Mia Farrow was a genuine Surrey housewife. In a life of bright lights and dark, dark shadows, this must surely count as one of the most unusual periods of them all: a moment of apparent stability and respectability in the late 70s and early 80s. During this time, she picked up her twin sons Matthew and Sascha by the conductor André Previn from their ballet classes and music lessons and took them back to the family home in Leigh, much as if she had never been the daughter of Tarzan's Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan), nor the young bride of Frank Sinatra.
But this was the era when the notion of adopting needy children took hold.
For a while, Mia Farrow was a genuine Surrey housewife. In a life of bright lights and dark, dark shadows, this must surely count as one of the most unusual periods of them all: a moment of apparent stability and respectability in the late 70s and early 80s. During this time, she picked up her twin sons Matthew and Sascha by the conductor André Previn from their ballet classes and music lessons and took them back to the family home in Leigh, much as if she had never been the daughter of Tarzan's Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan), nor the young bride of Frank Sinatra.
But this was the era when the notion of adopting needy children took hold.
- 10/6/2013
- by Vanessa Thorpe
- The Guardian - Film News
As we enter our 8th year of publishing, we'd like to thank each of our loyal readers for helping us keep the dream alive. It's not easy maintaining a magazine in the age of the internet, but we continue to thrive thanks to our many readers throughout the world. A very special thanks to those of you who subscribe to Cinema Retro. Frankly, there is no greater way of helping us out (unless you have a few million bucks laying around that you'd like to donate). Every subscription goes a long way to ensuring that we'll be able to maintain the high standards you've come to expect- with a minimum amount of advertising. We've also been able to maintain our pricing without a single increase in eight years, despite soaring costs for printing and mailing. Every issue will continue to be a limited edition collector's item. In fact with the...
- 11/16/2011
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
By Matthew Field
BFI Flipside was launched in May 2009 with a mission to expose the hidden history of British cinema by releasing restored prints on DVD and Blu-ray of British films that have slipped through the cracks of time. Now on its 17th release the label has released everything from exploitation documentaries about the seedy sixties (London In The Raw) to B-movies featuring Oliver Reed (The Party's Over), Shirley Anne Field (Lunch Hour), Klaus Kinski (The Pleasure Girls) and Withnail & I director Bruce Robinson (Private Road). If it's weird, British and forgotten, then it's Flipside.
Developed from its popular monthly screening slot at BFI Southbank, the Flipside titles are newly mastered to High Definition from original film elements, and are presented with rare and fascinating special features - including previously unavailable short films, documentaries and archival interviews, many of which are preserved in the BFI National Archive.
By Matthew Field
BFI Flipside was launched in May 2009 with a mission to expose the hidden history of British cinema by releasing restored prints on DVD and Blu-ray of British films that have slipped through the cracks of time. Now on its 17th release the label has released everything from exploitation documentaries about the seedy sixties (London In The Raw) to B-movies featuring Oliver Reed (The Party's Over), Shirley Anne Field (Lunch Hour), Klaus Kinski (The Pleasure Girls) and Withnail & I director Bruce Robinson (Private Road). If it's weird, British and forgotten, then it's Flipside.
Developed from its popular monthly screening slot at BFI Southbank, the Flipside titles are newly mastered to High Definition from original film elements, and are presented with rare and fascinating special features - including previously unavailable short films, documentaries and archival interviews, many of which are preserved in the BFI National Archive.
- 5/10/2011
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
By Matthew Field
On March 30th 2011 Cinema Retro was invited to a special screening of Karel Reisz's classic British New Wave drama Saturday Night Sunday Morning at the BFI Southbank in London. Featuring an unforgettable performance by Albert Finney as rebellious, hard-living factory worker Arthur Seaton, this gritty, vital piece of cinema, is widely agreed to be one of the best British films of all time. Originally released in 1960, Saturday Night Sunday Morning was produced by Woodfall a production company that led the wave of kitchen sink dramas which explored post-war working class issues in a serious manner for the first time.
The screening was preceded with a Q & A with actress Shirley Anne Field. In conversation with the BFI’s artistic director Eddie Berg, Field credited the whole production for successfully creating credible working class characters who she felt had previously been portrayed on screen in a very patronising way.
On March 30th 2011 Cinema Retro was invited to a special screening of Karel Reisz's classic British New Wave drama Saturday Night Sunday Morning at the BFI Southbank in London. Featuring an unforgettable performance by Albert Finney as rebellious, hard-living factory worker Arthur Seaton, this gritty, vital piece of cinema, is widely agreed to be one of the best British films of all time. Originally released in 1960, Saturday Night Sunday Morning was produced by Woodfall a production company that led the wave of kitchen sink dramas which explored post-war working class issues in a serious manner for the first time.
The screening was preceded with a Q & A with actress Shirley Anne Field. In conversation with the BFI’s artistic director Eddie Berg, Field credited the whole production for successfully creating credible working class characters who she felt had previously been portrayed on screen in a very patronising way.
- 4/27/2011
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Let’s go back to when Britain had its own cinema and see who some of our homegrown stars were then. If we dissolve back to 1960, we find a plethora of movie stars - enough to guarantee full houses in all the West End, and regional theatres, in the country. Here are just some of them: Margaret Rutherford, Joyce Grenfell, John Mills, Leslie Phillips, Joan Sims, Virginia McKenna, Denholm Elliott, Fenella Fielding, Alec Guinness, Leo McKern, Diana Dors, Terry Thomas, Richard Burton, Dirk Bogarde, Peter Sellers, Laurence Olivier, Joan Greenwood, Hermione Baddeley, Moira Lister, Oliver Reed, Dennis Price, Michael Hordern, Robert Shaw, Michael Redgrave, Robert Morley, Laurence Harvey, Paul Scofield, Richard Harris, Tom Courtenay, Leslie-Anne Down, George Formby, Peter Ustinov, Peter Finch, Harry Andrews, Maxine Audley, Nigel Stock, Eric Porter, Noel Coward, Dinsdale Landen, Bernard Cribbins, Patrick Wymark, Shirley-Anne Field, and Moira Redmond…...
- 12/23/2010
- by Jonathan Gems
- Pure Movies
The 60s began in Billy Liar's Bradford – but that cultural insurgency now seems a long time ago
In a week with those Camdenites the Milibands stealing away with the Labour leadership race, Andy Burnham's plaint about "metropolitan elites" seems particularly poignant. But then poignancy is the northern tone these days. Mancunians, I found recently, still adduce the Happy Mondays when pressed to say what is distinctive about their home. That the works of this fairly ropey outfit should be taken as a cultural landmark shows what a bleak half century it's been for the north.
I grew up thinking there was a real cachet in being northern. It's 50 years since Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, the 1960 film of Alan Sillitoe's novel, with Albert Finney as a hedonistic machinist in Nottingham. Any youngsters watching him don his suit on the eponymous night must have wished they too were from Pendleton near Salford,...
In a week with those Camdenites the Milibands stealing away with the Labour leadership race, Andy Burnham's plaint about "metropolitan elites" seems particularly poignant. But then poignancy is the northern tone these days. Mancunians, I found recently, still adduce the Happy Mondays when pressed to say what is distinctive about their home. That the works of this fairly ropey outfit should be taken as a cultural landmark shows what a bleak half century it's been for the north.
I grew up thinking there was a real cachet in being northern. It's 50 years since Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, the 1960 film of Alan Sillitoe's novel, with Albert Finney as a hedonistic machinist in Nottingham. Any youngsters watching him don his suit on the eponymous night must have wished they too were from Pendleton near Salford,...
- 9/13/2010
- by Andrew Martin
- The Guardian - Film News
On The Cinephilic Pleasures Of...Murder, She Wrote: Those among you who read my blog cloesly, and with any regularity, have by now discovered that My Lovely Wife and I are completely, well, gaga over Angela Lansbury. I think she's totes hot in Gaslight, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and especially The Harvey Girls. And My Lovely Wife loves...Murder, She Wrote. That's right, the long-running (1984 to 1996!) TV series created by Richard Levinson and William Link, who were also the fathers of television crime fighters Columbo and Mannix, TV crime drama's fastest parallel-parker. And I'll tell you what: I love Murder, She Wrote, too, and if you have a problem with that you can say it to my face and I won't much care.
Last week we had tickets to go see Lansbury, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, in Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, in a Broadway production directed by Trevor Nunn.
Last week we had tickets to go see Lansbury, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, in Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, in a Broadway production directed by Trevor Nunn.
- 3/19/2010
- MUBI
Season 6 of Cinema Retro begins with issue #16,which has now been mailed to all subscribers in North America and other non-European territories as of today. As always, subscribers get the latest issue in advance of retail shops. Due to particularly heavy demand for this issue, we won't know for a while whether we will have any individual copies of #16 for sale. As of this moment, it is only available from us on a subscription basis.
As a courtesy to subscribers, when a new season starts we reserve a copy of the latest issue in anticipation of your renewal. If you have not renewed from last season yet, please be aware that as of today, we are no longer keeping an issue reserved for you. Due to very heavy demand, the present inventory of issue #16 will be sold on a "first-come,first-serve" subscription basis. As always, we are especially thankful to our subscribers,...
As a courtesy to subscribers, when a new season starts we reserve a copy of the latest issue in anticipation of your renewal. If you have not renewed from last season yet, please be aware that as of today, we are no longer keeping an issue reserved for you. Due to very heavy demand, the present inventory of issue #16 will be sold on a "first-come,first-serve" subscription basis. As always, we are especially thankful to our subscribers,...
- 1/30/2010
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Due to the recent inclement weather in England, arrival of issue #16 in North America was delayed a bit. We expect the issue to reach America around January 18 and it should be mailed out to all subscribers as soon as it reaches our offices, which should be a few days later. As always, subscribers will get their issues before retail stores do. If you generally buy Cinema Retro at your local shop, they should have it around the beginning of February, though we can't give a precise date because retails stores are handled by our distributor. Highlights of this issue are as follows:
The making of the lesbian-themed Hammer horror film Lust for a Vampire with an abundance of rare and provocative photos. Exclusive interview with director Norman Jewison, who gives the inside story on the making of such classics as In the Heat of the Night, Fiddler on the Roof and The Thomas Crown Affair.
The making of the lesbian-themed Hammer horror film Lust for a Vampire with an abundance of rare and provocative photos. Exclusive interview with director Norman Jewison, who gives the inside story on the making of such classics as In the Heat of the Night, Fiddler on the Roof and The Thomas Crown Affair.
- 1/17/2010
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Issue #15 of Cinema Retro has just been mailed to all subscribers in North America and territories outside of Europe. As a reminder, this is the last issue of season 5. Subscribers will find a renewal form inside this issue, but you don't need to wait. You can re-subscribe for next season at any time. If you haven't subscribed yet, this is a great chance to enjoy all three issues of the current season - #13, #14 and #15. You will receive them all in one package along with a renewal form should you wish to continue subscribing for next season.
Here are the highlights of issue #15 :
Lee Marvin Tribute Issue Featuring Rare Unpublished 1974 Interview In Which Marvin Discusses His Key Films; Plus Steve Mori's On-location Report From The Set Of "The Klansman" Starring Marvin, Richard Burton, O.J. Simpson And Luciana Paluzzi - Featuring Unpublished Behind The Scenes Set Photos Taken By Steve.We...
Here are the highlights of issue #15 :
Lee Marvin Tribute Issue Featuring Rare Unpublished 1974 Interview In Which Marvin Discusses His Key Films; Plus Steve Mori's On-location Report From The Set Of "The Klansman" Starring Marvin, Richard Burton, O.J. Simpson And Luciana Paluzzi - Featuring Unpublished Behind The Scenes Set Photos Taken By Steve.We...
- 9/16/2009
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Now Shipping In UK And Europe. Will Ship Soon Everywhere Else! Highlights Include:
Lee Marvin Tribute Issue Featuring Rare Unpublished 1974 Interview In Which Marvin Discusses His Key Films; Plus Steve Mori's On-location Report From The Set Of "The Klansman" Starring Marvin, Richard Burton, O.J. Simpson And Luciana Paluzzi - Featuring Unpublished Behind The Scenes Set Photos Taken By Steve.We Also Feature Steve Saragossi's Tribute To Marvin's Bizarre Crime Classic "Prime Cut"Sir Christopher Lee Recalls The Making Of The Fu Manchu Movies In An Exclusive Interview With John Exshawbruce R. Marshall Interviews Screenwriter Richard Tuggle About The Making Of The Clint Eastwood Crime Classic "Escape From Alcatraz"James Caan'S Exclusive Interview With Steve Saragossi Continues With His Memories Of Making "The Godfather" And The Sci-fi Classic "Rollerball"Sexy Screen Siren Shirley Anne Field Talks To Mark Mawston About Her Remarkable Career And Working With Steve McQueengareth Owen Takes...
Lee Marvin Tribute Issue Featuring Rare Unpublished 1974 Interview In Which Marvin Discusses His Key Films; Plus Steve Mori's On-location Report From The Set Of "The Klansman" Starring Marvin, Richard Burton, O.J. Simpson And Luciana Paluzzi - Featuring Unpublished Behind The Scenes Set Photos Taken By Steve.We Also Feature Steve Saragossi's Tribute To Marvin's Bizarre Crime Classic "Prime Cut"Sir Christopher Lee Recalls The Making Of The Fu Manchu Movies In An Exclusive Interview With John Exshawbruce R. Marshall Interviews Screenwriter Richard Tuggle About The Making Of The Clint Eastwood Crime Classic "Escape From Alcatraz"James Caan'S Exclusive Interview With Steve Saragossi Continues With His Memories Of Making "The Godfather" And The Sci-fi Classic "Rollerball"Sexy Screen Siren Shirley Anne Field Talks To Mark Mawston About Her Remarkable Career And Working With Steve McQueengareth Owen Takes...
- 1/3/2009
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
This Page Is Being Updated. Sorry For Any Inconvenience.
Some back issues may be temporarily unavailable to order through the web site. You can order by mail, phone or send us an e mail with the issues you need to: cinemaretro@hotmail.com and we can send you a Pay Pal invoice until the back issues section is updated entirely.
Cinema Retro Issue #15 (2009)
Lee Marvin tribute issue with unpublished interview from 1974 Analyzing "Prime Cut" starring Lee Marvin and Gene Hackman Sir Christopher Lee discusses the making of the Fu Manchu films in an exclusive interview Interview with Richard Tuggle, screenwriter of Clint Eastwood's "Escape from Alcatraz" Exclusive interview with James Caan Exclusive interview with Shirley Anne Field The making of "The Red Shoes". Alistair McLean's "Golden Rendezvous", "Bear Island" and "Caravan to Vaccares" "The Films from U.N.C.L.E." continues with "The Helicopter Spies" The making...
Some back issues may be temporarily unavailable to order through the web site. You can order by mail, phone or send us an e mail with the issues you need to: cinemaretro@hotmail.com and we can send you a Pay Pal invoice until the back issues section is updated entirely.
Cinema Retro Issue #15 (2009)
Lee Marvin tribute issue with unpublished interview from 1974 Analyzing "Prime Cut" starring Lee Marvin and Gene Hackman Sir Christopher Lee discusses the making of the Fu Manchu films in an exclusive interview Interview with Richard Tuggle, screenwriter of Clint Eastwood's "Escape from Alcatraz" Exclusive interview with James Caan Exclusive interview with Shirley Anne Field The making of "The Red Shoes". Alistair McLean's "Golden Rendezvous", "Bear Island" and "Caravan to Vaccares" "The Films from U.N.C.L.E." continues with "The Helicopter Spies" The making...
- 1/3/2006
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
As an Irish tall tale, ''Hear My Song'' cheerfully embraces coincidences and strokes of good fortune. These are its storytelling tools, a means of reconciling a romantic instinct with a deep belief in the workings of fate.
At times sentimentality threatens to overwhelm the tale. If ''Hear My Song'' does emerge triumphant in the final scene, it probably has something to do with the unabashed earnestness of its players.
Miramax has a potential art-house hit here.
But it may be stretching Irish luck by launching a campaign for a supporting-actor nomination for Ned Beatty. His is a pleasant performance, but he has given far better in his career.
The film's co-writer, Adrian Dunbar, plays an innocent rascal named Micky O'Neill. He operates an aging Liverpool night spot, where he books acts like Franc Cinatra. He seems genuinely surprised that anyone might think this unethical. Can't people spell?
His latest booking is ''Mr. X -- Is He or Isn't He?'' The He in question is Josef Locke (Ned Beatty), a world-famous Irish tenor who fled England in the 1950s over alleged income tax evasion.
The real-life Josef Locke cleared up his tax problem. But this fanciful tale imagines that he vanished into the Irish wilds for 25 years, long enough for an impostor (William Hootkins) to make a living billing himself as Mr. X while imitating Locke's famous voice.
Coincidently -- well, you were warned -- the mother of Micky's fiance (Tara Fitzgerald) had a brief but torrid affair with Locke before his hasty departure. When Mr. X exploits this long-dormant infatuation to bed the woman Shirley Anne Field), this turns out to be one area where he cannot imitate the real thing.
In the wake of Mr. X's unmasking, Micky's club is ruined and he becomes a social outcast. The only way for Micky to repair the damage is to return to his native Ireland and recruit the real tenor to sing at his club.
Cinematographer Sue Gibson presents director/co-writer Peter Chelsom with cheery landscapes for his comic tale. There's a buoyancy to even the dreariest urban locale and a magical glow to the Irish countryside.
But Chelsom develops an odd habit of overemphasizing the trivial while rushing past his biggest scenes. An enormous amount of time and forced humor is spent on sequences involving an Irish cow. Yet he virtually tosses away the emotional reunion of the two aging lovers.
The acting is lovely. Sporting a moustache that makes him look slightly like Jackie Gleason, Beatty catches the cunning and boisterousness of the reclusive tenor.
Dunbar's charm and moxie carry the movie. But he's greatly aided by the troubled beauties, Field and Fitzgerald; Hootkins' surprisingly sagacious Mr. X; James Nesbitt as Micky's old mate back home; and David McCallum as the Liverpool police chief determined to nail Locke.
HEAR MY SONG
Miramax
Producer Alison Owen
Director Peter Chelsom
Writers Peter Chelsom, Adrian Dunbar
Story Peter Chelsom
Executive producers Simon Fields, Russ Russell, John Paul Chapple
Director of photography Sue Gibson
Production designer Caroline Hanania
Music John Altman
Editor Martin Walsh
Costume designer Lindy Hemming
Color/Stereo
Cast:
Micky O'Neill Adrian Dunbar
Josef Locke Ned Beatty
Cathleen Doyle Shirley Anne Field
Nancy Doyle Tara Fitzgerald
Mr. X William Hootkins
Jim Abbott David McCallum
Fintan O'Donnell James Nesbitt
Running time -- 114 minutes
No MPAA rating
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
At times sentimentality threatens to overwhelm the tale. If ''Hear My Song'' does emerge triumphant in the final scene, it probably has something to do with the unabashed earnestness of its players.
Miramax has a potential art-house hit here.
But it may be stretching Irish luck by launching a campaign for a supporting-actor nomination for Ned Beatty. His is a pleasant performance, but he has given far better in his career.
The film's co-writer, Adrian Dunbar, plays an innocent rascal named Micky O'Neill. He operates an aging Liverpool night spot, where he books acts like Franc Cinatra. He seems genuinely surprised that anyone might think this unethical. Can't people spell?
His latest booking is ''Mr. X -- Is He or Isn't He?'' The He in question is Josef Locke (Ned Beatty), a world-famous Irish tenor who fled England in the 1950s over alleged income tax evasion.
The real-life Josef Locke cleared up his tax problem. But this fanciful tale imagines that he vanished into the Irish wilds for 25 years, long enough for an impostor (William Hootkins) to make a living billing himself as Mr. X while imitating Locke's famous voice.
Coincidently -- well, you were warned -- the mother of Micky's fiance (Tara Fitzgerald) had a brief but torrid affair with Locke before his hasty departure. When Mr. X exploits this long-dormant infatuation to bed the woman Shirley Anne Field), this turns out to be one area where he cannot imitate the real thing.
In the wake of Mr. X's unmasking, Micky's club is ruined and he becomes a social outcast. The only way for Micky to repair the damage is to return to his native Ireland and recruit the real tenor to sing at his club.
Cinematographer Sue Gibson presents director/co-writer Peter Chelsom with cheery landscapes for his comic tale. There's a buoyancy to even the dreariest urban locale and a magical glow to the Irish countryside.
But Chelsom develops an odd habit of overemphasizing the trivial while rushing past his biggest scenes. An enormous amount of time and forced humor is spent on sequences involving an Irish cow. Yet he virtually tosses away the emotional reunion of the two aging lovers.
The acting is lovely. Sporting a moustache that makes him look slightly like Jackie Gleason, Beatty catches the cunning and boisterousness of the reclusive tenor.
Dunbar's charm and moxie carry the movie. But he's greatly aided by the troubled beauties, Field and Fitzgerald; Hootkins' surprisingly sagacious Mr. X; James Nesbitt as Micky's old mate back home; and David McCallum as the Liverpool police chief determined to nail Locke.
HEAR MY SONG
Miramax
Producer Alison Owen
Director Peter Chelsom
Writers Peter Chelsom, Adrian Dunbar
Story Peter Chelsom
Executive producers Simon Fields, Russ Russell, John Paul Chapple
Director of photography Sue Gibson
Production designer Caroline Hanania
Music John Altman
Editor Martin Walsh
Costume designer Lindy Hemming
Color/Stereo
Cast:
Micky O'Neill Adrian Dunbar
Josef Locke Ned Beatty
Cathleen Doyle Shirley Anne Field
Nancy Doyle Tara Fitzgerald
Mr. X William Hootkins
Jim Abbott David McCallum
Fintan O'Donnell James Nesbitt
Running time -- 114 minutes
No MPAA rating
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 11/19/1991
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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