View Full Version : Now Screening - What Are You Watching Right Now?
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'Ready Player One' (2018)
In Columbus Ohio 2047 a youth attempts to solve a puzzle in a virtual reality world.
Looked a bit like a kid's film but it's Spielberg directing and has Mark Rylance in it so thought I'd give it a go.
It's a cute film no doubt but it's also a bit lame. Thing with Spielberg is, he knows exactly what will play in the sticks so his films are popular but also a bit - or sometimes very - cornball. This has too much cornball to be classed as good, although spotting the hundreds of popular cultural references is quite entertaining. Any film that references 'Excalibur' can't be all bad.
Birmingham England stands in for the Columbus Ohio of the future, residents of Columbus might want to consider selling up and moving now.
Edge Of Tomorrow, 2014. Emily Blunt again in the 3rd of those time movies.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f9/Edge_of_Tomorrow_Poster.jpg
In an interview with DigitalSpy, Doug Liman, the director of the movie explained, "If I'm going to do a sequel for the first time in my life I want to make it the opposite of what you'd expect from a sequel and we found a story that does that".
That's not a bad film, drags on a bit toward the end though.
Pigmy Pony
08-04-2022, 13:25
terrible film but Emily Blunt.
Oh yes :)
Pigmy Pony
08-04-2022, 13:48
He deserved it too.
Michael Caine's autobiography is a worthwhile read (there are probably a few, I read "What's it all about?") Didn't have it easy early in life. Things picked up later, and Mrs. Shakira Caine (Lady Micklewhite!) not too shabby.
https://avalon.fabiosacdn.com/image/3459c29f-86b4-4a13-8c41-aac7239b9e9f.jpg
G.B.H., 1991. Written by Alan Bleasdale. Stars Robert Lindsay and Michael Palin. One of the great tv series, this from ch4.
https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p238074_b_v7_aa.jpg
Although no name is given to the fictional city in which this show was set, it was filmed largely in and around Greater Manchester. However, speculation that the city is intended to be Liverpool stems from the fact that the character of Michael Murray is a thinly veiled characterization of Derek Hatton, the former Labour deputy leader of Liverpool City Council. Hatton achieved notoriety in the 1980s when he refused to co-operate with the rate-capping policy of the Conservative government and was a strong follower of Trotskyist Militant Tendencies. Hatton was expelled from the Labour Party in 1986, and in 1993 he was accused of corruption during his time as Deputy Leader of the Council. He was brought to trial, but was exonerated.
The Terminator, 1984. Its directed by James Cameron and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton).
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/70/Terminator1984movieposter.jpg
One of these B movies that became huge and spawned a series of movies.
G.B.H., 1991. Written by Alan Bleasdale. Stars Robert Lindsay and Michael Palin. One of the great tv series, this from ch4.
https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p238074_b_v7_aa.jpg
Although no name is given to the fictional city in which this show was set, it was filmed largely in and around Greater Manchester. However, speculation that the city is intended to be Liverpool stems from the fact that the character of Michael Murray is a thinly veiled characterization of Derek Hatton, the former Labour deputy leader of Liverpool City Council. Hatton achieved notoriety in the 1980s when he refused to co-operate with the rate-capping policy of the Conservative government and was a strong follower of Trotskyist Militant Tendencies. Hatton was expelled from the Labour Party in 1986, and in 1993 he was accused of corruption during his time as Deputy Leader of the Council. He was brought to trial, but was exonerated.
finished this..
now Cat Ballou, 1965.
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRVslQH61-VwhEfpVCHJnbPIWCLm9woWWlHRPx8MtLVbDOaMUI4
At his acceptance of the Oscar, Lee Marvin opened by saying, "Half of this probably belongs to a horse out in the Valley somewhere".
Recent purchase, the 4k version of Some Like It Hot..... One of the greatest comedies ever. so far the picture is stunning, as is sound i think.(It has both 5.1 Surround & Original 2.0 Mono)
https://www.kinolorber.com/media_cache/images/full/738329257477.1.jpg
From the brilliant minds of director Billy Wilder (One, Two, Three) and screenwriter I.A.L. Diamond (The Apartment) comes the quintessential madcap farce.
https://i.ibb.co/8YmqmQq/Sink-the-Bismarck-poster.jpg (https://imgbb.com/)
upload pic (https://imgbb.com/)
'Sink The Bismarck' (1960)
Documents the hunt for and the eventual battle with the German battleship Bismarck in 1941.
Yes I know it's Kenneth More but thankfully he doesn't spoil things too much as the pacing is good and mostly concentrates on the action at sea rather than back at the Admiralty where More's character is stationed. Good model work used for the ships, helped by the slightly murky black and white picture quality but I personally still find it more convincing and less jarring than the modern day CGI which still looks a little cartoonish to me when used excessively (see 'Midway' from 2019 as an example).
Historical accuracy is not too bad, especially given that in 1960 a lot of info was still classified. The scene in which Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers attack Bismarck and are frustrated by their torpedoes failing to explode is now known to have not actually happened. In reality they mistakenly attacked HMS Sheffield. Luckily the magnetic detonators on the torpedoes were faulty and so the Sheffield remained unscathed.
The scene in which two British destroyers unsuccessfully attack Bismarck with torpedoes and one destroyer is hit and blows up never happened. Likewise no aircraft were lost in the attacks on Bismarck although the film depicts several being shot down.
Interestingly despite being hit by over 400 shells and multiple torpedoes Bismarck was merely superficially damaged and only sank because she was scuttled.
One story not included in the film is that of 'Unsinkable Sam', a cat that resided on the Bismarck and was rescued from the sea by the destroyer HMS Cossack. The cat went on to serve on Cossack, until it was sunk, and then transferred to HMS Ark Royal until that too was sunk. When rescued for the third time he was described as 'Unharmed but quite angry.'
Following that sinking he saw out the remainder of the war in the relative safety of a seaman's home in Belfast.
However there has been some suggestion that much, or all, of the story is apocryphal. Which would be a shame.
'Ludo' failed to mention him in his book:eyebrows: nice story tho, and thats probably what counts here.
'Ludo' failed to mention him in his book:eyebrows: nice story tho, and thats probably what counts here.
I suspect he had no interest in cats.
Photographs and a portrait of the creature do exist however:
https://i.ibb.co/c8HSdfx/sam.jpg (https://ibb.co/B6x5RWw)
its certainly possible, and obviously a cat did exsist that was on british ship, and thus could easily have been on bismark. One of the lucky ones as only about 100+ survived its sinking from a crew of over 2k.
Being a German cat he probably reacted promptly and efficiently when ordered to abandon ship.
The Ballad of Cable Hogue, 1970. No 4k print here but an excellent 2k, 1080p at its very best(see below)
https://cdn.hmv.com/r/w-640/hmv/files/4b/4b14abc5-3641-48c6-96a6-1aff6a389e0f.jpg
Warner Archive Collection commissioned a new scan, which was performed by Warner's Motion Picture Imaging facility at 2K using a recently struck interpositive. An original 1970 dye transfer (IB) Technicolor answer print was used for color reference; although the answer print itself was battered, Technicolor's dye transfer process is noted for its resistance to fading. The Blu-ray image reflects the care with which MPI has managed the film's many dissolves and superimpositions, which were accomplished optically with the concomitant loss of detail and sharpness and accentuated grain.
Production on the film fell weeks behind schedule due to bad weather. When filming was suspended, director Sam Peckinpah, along with cast and crew, would drink. When filming finally wrapped, the bar bill came to over $70,000 (equivalent to over $483,000 in 2021).
Pigmy Pony
10-04-2022, 13:57
https://i.ibb.co/8YmqmQq/Sink-the-Bismarck-poster.jpg (https://imgbb.com/)
upload pic (https://imgbb.com/)
Yes I know it's Kenneth More but thankfully he doesn't spoil things too much
What's up with Kenneth More? My mate used to do a brilliant impression of Douglas Bader doing 'The Twist'. Without Ken's portrayal of Bader that may never have happened.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, UHD.
https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p32093_p_v8_aa.jpg
[QUOTE]=Pigmy Pony;1315310]What's up with Kenneth More?/[QUOTE]
I don't know, he just gets on my tits for some reason. And he stars in that terrible re-make of 'The Thirty-Nine Steps' which is an hour and a half of my life I'll never get back.
One of those rare things where it's so bad you keep watching out of sheer disbelief that anyone could have made it let alone put it up for public consumption. Although the best example of that effect is the sitcom 'All About Me' with Jasper Carrott.
[QUOTE]=Pigmy Pony;1315310]What's up with Kenneth More?/[QUOTE]
I don't know, he just gets on my tits for some reason. And he stars in that terrible re-make of 'The Thirty-Nine Steps' which is an hour and a half of my life I'll never get back.
One of those rare things where it's so bad you keep watching out of sheer disbelief that anyone could have made it let alone put it up for public consumption. Although the best example of that effect is the sitcom 'All About Me' with Jasper Carrott.Been 3 films and a BBC production and none actually followed the book, which is a very good read.
The Hitch one is best, the others all do some things well enough but none are in any way gripping enough.
There are a few other Hannah books around same time which are good too. Green mantle comes to mind.
Pigmy Pony
10-04-2022, 15:57
Remakes usually do suck.
I remember seeing the one with Kenneth More, and there is a bit where they were going to Inveraray, and i got quite excited about it, as I have happy memories fishing there. Then he said "This isn't the road to Inveraray!" What a gyp! Then years later I saw another remake, this time with Robert Powell iirc. And guess what? They still didn't get to Inveraray!
I bet they did in the original.
Remakes usually do suck.
I remember seeing the one with Kenneth More, and there is a bit where they were going to Inveraray, and i got quite excited about it, as I have happy memories fishing there. Then he said "This isn't the road to Inveraray!" What a gyp! Then years later I saw another remake, this time with Robert Powell iirc. And guess what? They still didn't get to Inveraray!
I bet they did in the original.
in book its set when in scotland in and around sw scotland.. newton stewart etc. they never went over the rail bridge. there was no music hall act either
I've watched the original one, the 1978 Robert Powell one and the BBC version all quite recently.
Always enjoy the first one, have a soft spot for the 1978 one as I saw it at the cinema when it came out (going to the cinema back then was a very rare treat). And it has the best ending.
The BBC one could have been a lot better than it was, they clearly didn't have anything like enough budget to work with. But it was okay by today's standards.
Flight of the Navigator, 1986.
https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQwvmeHOdJY3b1c-9Bud7v0mPSfx2BX0yOKbRHcPQIyTiJzldNm
Joey Cramer(who played the navigator) got done for bank robbery in 2016 and copped 2 years inside and 2 years probation etc. Possibly shows how child stardom can screw you up.
Director Randall Kleiser brought in his brother Jeff as the visual effects supervisor, who oversaw the use of reflection mapping software to create the ship's chrome-like appearance. The result was one of the first successful examples of what would later be known as CGI - a full 5 years before the groundbreaking T-1000 of Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).
Flight of the Navigator, 1986.
https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQwvmeHOdJY3b1c-9Bud7v0mPSfx2BX0yOKbRHcPQIyTiJzldNm
Joey Cramer(who played the navigator) got done for bank robbery in 2016 and copped 2 years inside and 2 years probation etc. Possibly shows how child stardom can screw you up.
Director Randall Kleiser brought in his brother Jeff as the visual effects supervisor, who oversaw the use of reflection mapping software to create the ship's chrome-like appearance. The result was one of the first successful examples of what would later be known as CGI - a full 5 years before the groundbreaking T-1000 of Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).
looked that up - he's also been nicked for possession of controlled substance, dealing in controlled substance, drinking in public, illegal possession of a firearm with intent, and cashing forged cheques. Should have stuck to acting.
looked that up - he's also been nicked for possession of controlled substance, dealing in controlled substance, drinking in public, illegal possession of a firearm with intent, and cashing forged cheques. Should have stuck to acting.
dunno that he was any good anyway. child acting is different to adult. kids who get famous quick like that often struggle as people as i think emotionally they stop growing and often end up on drugs etc. easy money so drugs dealing is often quite attractive too. Not sure i would have been keen on one of mine being a star child actor.
Blame It on the Bellboy, 1992. some nice shots of Venice and the odd larf... plus Penelope Wilton and Patsy Kensit
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTgyNTgzMzA0MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwOTU3NTkwMzE@._ V1_.jpg
Dudley Moore was first billed, Bryan Brown was second, Richard Griffiths was third, Andreas Katsulas was fourth, and Patsy Kensit was fifth, though many posters and home video covers have Kensit third billed with Griffiths dropping back to fourth, and relatively unknown Katsulas not featuring his name above the title at all.
dunno that he was any good anyway. child acting is different to adult. kids who get famous quick like that often struggle as people as i think emotionally they stop growing and often end up on drugs etc. easy money so drugs dealing is often quite attractive too. Not sure i would have been keen on one of mine being a star child actor.
yes, I suppose like any sort of 'non-standard' childhood it can have deleterious effects later in life.
walpurgis
11-04-2022, 09:58
looked that up - he's also been nicked for possession of controlled substance, dealing in controlled substance, drinking in public, illegal possession of a firearm with intent, and cashing forged cheques. Should have stuck to acting.
Acting doesn't really qualify you for much else, apart from politics or selling used cars I suppose.
Acting doesn't really qualify you for much else, apart from politics or selling used cars I suppose.
probably spot on... im no use at any lol
https://i.ibb.co/xL9h6gx/who-dares.jpg (https://ibb.co/Rbr2c6R)
upload pic (https://imgbb.com/)
'Who Dares Wins' (1982) aka 'The Final Option'
Lewis Collins is a captain in the SAS who resigns his commission after an elaborate set up so he can go undercover to infiltrate a terrorist cell.
One of those films that has its moments but could have been a whole lot better without a lot more effort. With Lewis Collins in the lead role it does look and feel a lot like an extended episode of 'The Professionals' and indeed director Ian Sharp also did a number of episodes of that TV series.
The two main problems are that the pacing is ragged, firstly you get the impression that they had to drag out boring scenes in order to get the run time up to feature film length. Example being the rock concert scene, do we really have to sit through the entirety of the crappy song the band is playing?
Secondly the terrorists are not at all threatening or scary, they look like some genteel middle-class blokes from down the pub and their cause and motivation simply isn't credible.
So after a promising start it all gets a bit bogged-down and crappy, even the mostly very good cast can't save it.
Really only worth a look for the final third where the embassy is taken over and the SAS have to go in since it is actually the real SAS on screen, not actors or stuntmen.
Collins passed selection for 21 SAS (a territorial regiment) but was declined for active service on the grounds that he was too famous.
Just watch the first fifteen minutes and the last fifteen minutes and you've pretty much covered everything worth seeing.
https://i.ibb.co/xL9h6gx/who-dares.jpg (https://ibb.co/Rbr2c6R)
upload pic (https://imgbb.com/)
'Who Dares Wins' (1982) aka 'The Final Option'
Lewis Collins is a captain in the SAS who resigns his commission after an elaborate set up so he can go undercover to infiltrate a terrorist cell.
One of those films that has its moments but could have been a whole lot better without a lot more effort. With Lewis Collins in the lead role it does look and feel a lot like an extended episode of 'The Professionals' and indeed director Ian Sharp also did a number of episodes of that TV series.
The two main problems are that the pacing is ragged, firstly you get the impression that they had to drag out boring scenes in order to get the run time up to feature film length. Example being the rock concert scene, do we really have to sit through the entirety of the crappy song the band is playing?
Secondly the terrorists are not at all threatening or scary, they look like some genteel middle-class blokes from down the pub and their cause and motivation simply isn't credible.
So after a promising start it all gets a bit bogged-down and crappy, even the mostly very good cast can't save it.
Really only worth a look for the final third where the embassy is taken over and the SAS have to go in since it is actually the real SAS on screen, not actors or stuntmen.
Collins passed selection for 21 SAS (a territorial regiment) but was declined for active service on the grounds that he was too famous.
Just watch the first fifteen minutes and the last fifteen minutes and you've pretty much covered everything worth seeing.
yeah collins was always a bit of a get up and go type and was tough in real life.. think he was pally with the guys in the parras and they did a sponsored walk for kids.
yeah collins was always a bit of a get up and go type and was tough in real life.. think he was pally with the guys in the parras and they did a sponsored walk for kids.
Yes, he was actually in 10th Battalion of the Parachute Regiment which was a territorial unit. Brother of a friend of mine was also an actor, he knew him and said he could be a bit of a nutcase at times. Got passed over for James Bond which was a shame, he would have been pretty good I think.
walpurgis
11-04-2022, 10:33
probably spot on... im no use at any lol
Acting is weird really. Imagine going through life only being known for not being yourself.
Acting is weird really. Imagine going through life only being known for not being yourself.
instead i went through life not being known as anything or one :D
instead i went through life not being known as anything or one :D
That's the best way.
walpurgis
11-04-2022, 11:27
That's the best way.
I agree. :)
Blackadder the Third, 1987.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41D16Y2J5GL._AC_SY445_.jpg
The Count of Monte Cristo, 2002 written by Alexandre Dumas(s):D
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The Count of Monte Cristo was one of Mark Twain's favorite books. When Twain toured Europe in 1867, he made a special stop to see the prison, Chateau D'if. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn contains a humorous spoof of Monte Cristo.
The location of the Chateau D'if is actually an old castle in Malta, and is now used by the Maltese military as a communications and weather station.
Back to the Future III, 1990.
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRhsQKfwXKgBjNqApLyHvUNQYs_7269G chzhjwloGlvRurceWq7
A horse dealership in 1885 is owned by the Statlers. In Back to the Future (1985) there is an ad on the radio for "Statler Toyota" in 1985. In 1955, "Statler Motors Studebaker" is visible near the town theater.
This is the only film in the trilogy where Marty and Doc Brown exchange catchphrases. Marty says "Great Scott!" and Doc Brown replies "Yeah, this is heavy" while talking about the tombstone photo.
Only seen that once, better than the second one IIRC. ZZ Top are in it too.
You can't really fault the original at all. A perfect film. Don't know how many times I've seen that it never gets old.
'Better get used to these bars, kid.' That always cracks me up.
You can't really fault the original at all. A perfect film. Don't know how many times I've seen that it never gets old.
'Better get used to these bars, kid.' That always cracks me up.
i'd say the trilogy was the best ever, and probably will never be beaten. just class...
History of Mr Polly, 1949.
Not one of Barry's faves lol but I like it. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220411/5630780e7432a825c863aa337df41575.jpg
The Lady Vanishes, 1938. Hitchcock.....
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQlEi4UiB2vi95a5RVZ6eUnK3SCUUArw fCeOnyFAsesKVtts_Ry
In an interview with Peter Bogdanovich, Alfred Hitchcock revealed that this movie was inspired by a legend of an Englishwoman who went with her daughter to the Palace Hotel in Paris in the 1880s, at the time of the Great Exposition: "The woman was taken sick and they sent the girl across Paris to get some medicine in a horse-vehicle, so it took about four hours. When she came back she asked, 'How's my mother?' 'What mother?' 'My mother. She's here, she's in her room. Room 22.' They go up there. Different room, different wallpaper, everything. And the payoff of the whole story is, so the legend goes, that the woman had bubonic plague and they dared not let anybody know she died, otherwise all of Paris would have emptied." The urban legend, known as the Vanishing Hotel Room, also formed the basis of one segment of the German portmanteau movie Eerie Tales (1919), So Long at the Fair (1950) (in which the missing person was the young woman's brother as opposed to her mother) and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) season one, episode five, "Into Thin Air", starring Hitchcock's daughter Patricia Hitchcock.
3 years earlier, The 39 Steps, 1935.. Hitchcock again.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/films/aacbf709cba74e607ae657b7ea6ff1cf/2jsGvFmN8GvcK82SeP32fOu0YpUx1i_large.jpg
During a private screening, Alfred Hitchcock asked John Buchan, whose original plot had been used only very loosely, what he thought of the movie so far. Buchan replied: "Fascinating! I wonder how it will end." :lolsign::lolsign:
moving up 4 decades and another Hitch masterpiece. Frenzy, 1972.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR4ltkxSOTrlZgsl-u8YruwODZ7qqR0jvoCRQMpIeM-vyUINmjf
Alfred Hitchcock's daughter Patricia Hitchcock found this movie so disturbing that she would not allow her children to see it for many years. This is the only Alfred Hitchcock movie to carry an "18" certificate in the U.K., or receive an "X" rating after the "X" age restriction was moved from sixteen to eighteen in 1971.
The bags of pork scratchings displayed in Covent Garden pub The Globe, owned by Felix Forsythe (Bernard Cribbins), show the prices in dual currency (1/- or 5p). The same is true on various price lists seen in the market. While the U.K. had introduced decimal currency in February 1971, the new and old currencies were used until around 1973.
Jon Finch who stars, and plays Richard Blaney, was very well regarded actor who was offered the bond role in Live and Let Die(1973)that went to Roger Moore. He was also the original choice for Doyle in the Professionals that went to Martin Shaw. Finch had been a Para and was in the SAS too, but gave it up to concentrate on acting(mostly theatre)
https://www.filmbuffonline.com/FBOLNewsreel/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/JonFinch.jpg
walpurgis
12-04-2022, 12:56
moving up 4 decades and another Hitch masterpiece. Frenzy, 1972
Bit of an underrated classic and not well known. It's an excellent film, if rather grim. I have the DVD.
For some reason, it always reminds me of 'Peeping Tom' (which I should get).
Bit of an underrated classic and not well known. It's an excellent film, if rather grim. I have the DVD.
For some reason, it always reminds me of 'Peeping Tom' (which I should get).
ive got peeping tom. yes it has a lot of psychological similarities.
Now, a western from the great John Ford. The Searchers, 1956. Stars of course John Wayne along with Natalie Wood, Vera Miles and Jeffrey Hunter.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91KJ53YUC+L._RI_.jpg
Considering the part of Ethan Edwards to be the best character that he ever portrayed on-screen and The Searchers (1956) to be his favorite film role, John Wayne named his youngest son Ethan Wayne in homage.
The eccentric character of Mose Harper, played by Hank Worden, is loosely based on an actual historical personage called Mad Mose, a legendary half-crazy Indian fighter of the American southwest with a fondness for rocking chairs.
Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Jean-Luc Godard, John Milius, and Paul Schrader regard this as one of the films that have most influenced them and have all paid some form of homage to it in their work.
Switch, 1991.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a8/Switch_poster.jpg
great fun this...
quote. Protester: Do you know how many poor animals died to make that coat(fur)?
Woman: Do you know how many rich animals I had to fuck to get this coat?
:D
History of Mr Polly, 1949.
Not one of Barry's faves lol but I like it. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220411/5630780e7432a825c863aa337df41575.jpg
Read the book at school so was interested in seeing the film, hoping it would improve on the book. It didn't! :rolleyes:
Dead Man's Chest, 2006. Top cast and crew for this second installment.. Bill Nighy does a great job as Davy Jones.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTKp5KKVpoYkHVFoFCD0xC-FWBN1ZA2TTe20MNswXlzJ8I06QCM
At World's End, 2007. Chow Yun-fat joins the group
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81vCMwLnqLL._RI_.jpg
Dynasties special. Meercats. and season 2 of Dynasties.
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1920x1080/p092qjvk.jpg
https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/PRI_177435151_1609161950.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200&h=630&crop=1
Pigmy Pony
13-04-2022, 17:10
Dynasties special. Meercats. and season 2 of Dynasties.
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1920x1080/p092qjvk.jpg
https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/PRI_177435151_1609161950.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200&h=630&crop=1
Just brilliant, as are all things Attenborough. It doesn't matter where they are in the food chain, they have it tough. Streaming our way through them. Cheetahs tonight.
Just brilliant, as are all things Attenborough. It doesn't matter where they are in the food chain, they have it tough. Streaming our way through them. Cheetahs tonight.
just watched the cheatah one. it was very good indeed.
Ridley Scott's Bladerunner, The Final Cut, 1982. (not sure when final cut came out but maybe 2007..
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTzBrtjEYPZ9LdbAgkIib6W6u5S7fOm8 XRlUkd9kCDbftfly3u_
Director Sir Ridley Scott and director of photography Jordan Cronenweth achieved the famous "shining eyes" effect by using a technique invented by Fritz Lang known as the "Schüfftan Process": light is bounced into the actors' and actresses' eyes off of a piece of half mirrored glass mounted at a forty-five-degree angle to the camera.
Rutger Hauer came up with many inventive ideas for his characterization, like the moment where he grabs and fondles a dove. He also improvised the now-iconic line "All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain". He later chose "All those moments" as the title of his autobiography.
Philip K. Dick personally approved of Rutger Hauer, describing him as, "the perfect Batty-cold, Aryan, flawless".
See No Evil, Hear No Evil, 1989.
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqrTTyC1FHuqM0FbbIIIHS3vq7_Vyd6 7OI4ARB9ITLwJpJFZrJ
worth wtching for Joan Severance alone :D
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Shaun Of The Dead, 2004.
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Quentin Tarantino dubbed this as one of the top twenty movies made since 1992. It cost £4 million to make, and grossed £30 million worldwide.
Roxanne, 1987. Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah.
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Steve did his own stunts, some were fairly impressive.
Pigmy Pony
14-04-2022, 17:25
Roxanne, 1987. Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah.
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Steve did his own stunts, some were fairly impressive.
This story has made it yet again to film, this time "Cyrano", starring Hayley Bennett and the wonderful Peter Dinklage. I haven't seen it yet, but I will at some point, even though it appears to be a musical.
This story has made it yet again to film, this time "Cyrano", starring Hayley Bennett and the wonderful Peter Dinklage. I haven't seen it yet, but I will at some point, even though it appears to be a musical.
yes the dvd is available for that. this is only one i have
Ridley Scott's Bladerunner, The Final Cut, 1982. (not sure when final cut came out but maybe 2007..
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In what way does 'The Final Cut' differ from the 'Director's Cut'?
Pigmy Pony
15-04-2022, 06:34
In what way does 'The Final Cut' differ from the 'Director's Cut'?
This explains it Barry.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi0xfySt5X3AhVtQkEAHb16At0QFnoECAUQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fscreenrant.com%2Fblade-runner-final-cut-differences-changes%2F&usg=AOvVaw0Q6flM2cOhwzKv_VUk0vuE
In what way does 'The Final Cut' differ from the 'Director's Cut'?
Although Ridley Scott was consulted with the creation of the Director's Cut, 2007 is when he released the "Final Cut" of Blade Runner. This attempt was initially stalled due to legal troubles between Scott and WB, but those issues were solved in 2006 and allowed the director to finish his work with complete artistic freedom. As indicated by the title of this new cut, the Final Cut of Blade Runner is nearly a collection of the various edits of the film, which was also improved by remastering the visuals and sounds.
The changes made to the theatrical cut for the Director's Cut were maintained, but Scott added more elements from the various versions of the film. For starters, he reinserted the more violent scenes that were featured in the international version. The Final Cut also includes the full unicorn dream sequence, which was trimmed down for the Director's Cut. Scott even filmed new scenes and recorded additional dialogue to complete the changes he felt were necessary. The Final Cut of Blade Runner is what Ridley Scott considers to be the definitive version of the film, and it only took him 25 years to release it to the public.
So, the Directors cut was WB's Idea of what they thought was his cut, and the final is his actual idea.
There is no real need for more footage of the unicorn dream sequence, as even some of it in connection with the origami model left as a 'reminder', indicates that Deckard is a (specialised?) replicant. Nor is there need for explicit shots of violence: it's obvious even in the theatre version that Tyrell has his eyes gouged out by Batty.
Although I'm in the minority here, I miss Deckard's voice-over of the theatre version.
Regardless of which version is the best, all of them bare little relation to the book.
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Although I'm in the minority here, I miss Deckard's voice-over of the theatre version.
That was the only good version. As for the sequel - just terrible. I didn't have high hopes but it really stank the place out.
That was the only good version. As for the sequel - just terrible. I didn't have high hopes but it really stank the place out.
quite liked sequel personally. just shows how complex keeping everyone happy is.
quite liked sequel personally. just shows how complex keeping everyone happy is.
Maybe I'm too fussy but seems to me that they've stopped making good films altogether. Even that Sopranos one wasn't great and there's really no good reason why it shouldn't have been epic.
Maybe I'm too fussy but seems to me that they've stopped making good films altogether. Even that Sopranos one wasn't great and there's really no good reason why it shouldn't have been epic.
oh, no doubt the quality we had even in this country say pre 1980(far less hollywood) was amazing. a bit like music really. i mean, films that bogart were in were not really any different treated than any others, unlike now where biggest stars get paid in 'parts of countries' rather than money as they dont have the dollaridoos:eek:;). doesn't mean they dont make good films or music, its just that there are less of them, especially for older folk who got used to quality.
oh, no doubt the quality we had even in this country say pre 1980(far less hollywood) was amazing. a bit like music really. i mean, films that bogart were in were not really any different treated than any others, unlike now where biggest stars get paid in 'parts of countries' rather than money as they dont have the dollaridoos:eek:;). doesn't mean they dont make good films or music, its just that there are less of them, especially for older folk who got used to quality.
I was wondering if it might be an age thing. They don't seem to make films, music or TV for me anymore, seems to all be aimed at younger generations.
I often watch older, low budget films and they are so good, it's all in the dialogue, the characters and the acting. They had to have that as there was no budget to do anything fancy.
Now 100 million dollars is a normal budget but they have none of those qualities that make a film great.
I mean take Warner Brothers in the 1930s and 1940s - they were churning out films made for next to nothing and they're all watchable and some are genius.
Now it's these superhero films which seem to be aimed at kindergarten age. I would have thought they were rubbish back when I was ten. Yet I know people in their 20s and 30s who go to the cinema to watch them.
I used to work with a youth who was into his films and always going on about the latest piece of crap he'd seen at the flicks that weekend. Needless to say I would take the piss so he asked me to recommend a film that I thought was better. Off the top of my head I told him to watch 'Taxi Driver.'
He comes in on the Monday walks over to me and says 'Taxi Driver! Fucking hell!' It entirely reset his calibration scale.
Pigmy Pony
15-04-2022, 13:21
I do think it's an age thing, and your work colleague may have been an exception. There would be some who think quality went down the toilet when films stopped being black and white and the people stopped walking really fast, but they're probably all dead by now.
Opinions will have been extensively canvassed from young people (who make up the vast majority of film-goers), whose attention span has been set through a diet of social media and computer games, and need stuff in films to happen NOW and need it to be loud.
i'd imagine the average audience will be under 40; maybe under 35. due to woking etc they have to 'not insult anyones feelings'.. its a sad period in history where a fairly small % of pop make everyone elses life boring and at times a living hell. within reason, bring back calling a spade a shovel at very least.
i'd imagine the average audience will be under 40; maybe under 35. due to woking etc they have to 'not insult anyones feelings'.. its a sad period in history where a fairly small % of pop make everyone elses life boring and at times a living hell. within reason, bring back calling a spade a shovel at very least.
I think you can still make a great film without upsetting the woke though. I mean Tarentino gets some grief but it doesn't stop him.
It's just I recall back in the 80s and 90s there'd be at least one or two films a year that would go on to be classics. Now it's barely that many per decade.
They're always showing 'Rio Bravo' on TCM I wonder if in 70 years they will have any of this superhero stuff on heavy rotation like that? I doubt it. There's no depth to it, at best you only want to watch it once.
Dad's Army, 1971. Original crew here....
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Arthur Lowe had a clause written into his contract which stated that he would never appear without his trousers on. This is why Sgt. Wilson is leading the platoon during the platoon's changeover march (when the platoon change from civvies to uniform via their long-johns) instead of Captain Mainwaring. (Incidentally, this is also the reason why Jones gets the grenade down the trousers in the U Boat crew episode - it was originally going to be Captain Mainwaring).
The film made a number of significant changes, imposed by Columbia Pictures, such as filming outdoor scenes in Chalfont St Giles rather than Thetford. Also, the bank was now "Martins" rather than "Swallow" Bank. In addition, with the increase in budget, the set interiors and the vehicles used were completely different, and the streets of Walmington had extras walking on them. As well as this, the audience saw the Germans preparing across the Channel, rather than them simply being an unseen threat. In addition to this, the events of the platoon's formation were revised in various ways for the big screen treatment.
Private's Progress, 1956. The closing epilogue and dedication states: "To all those who got away, this film is most respectfully dedicated."
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William Hartnell made a career out of playing tough military NCOs in movies and on television. However, in real-life, he joined the Royal Armoured Corps in World War II, but was invalided out within eighteen months, due to a nervous breakdown.
The Square Peg, 1958... The 7th most popular film in the UK in 1959, and a "comeback" film for its star Norman Wisdom, whose films had been declining in popularity in the past decade.
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Norman Pitkin, a roadmender with the St Godric's Borough Council ends up i n army and then in France imitating a German geneal who he looks identical to.
I think you can still make a great film without upsetting the woke though. I mean Tarentino gets some grief but it doesn't stop him.
It's just I recall back in the 80s and 90s there'd be at least one or two films a year that would go on to be classics. Now it's barely that many per decade.
They're always showing 'Rio Bravo' on TCM I wonder if in 70 years they will have any of this superhero stuff on heavy rotation like that? I doubt it. There's no depth to it, at best you only want to watch it once.
Since I stopped going to our local film club, back in 2009, I have been to the cinema only three times to see: 'The Imitation Game'; 'Twelve Years a Slave', and 'Mr. Turner'.
They still make some good films, but they are few and far between. Thank goodness for the movie channels on free to view terrestial TV.
Mr Roberts, 1955.
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When John Ford met James Cagney at the airport, the director warned that they would "tangle asses," which caught Cagney by surprise. Cagney later said: "I would have kicked his brains out. He was so goddamned mean to everybody. He was truly a nasty old man." The next day, Cagney was slightly late on set, and Ford became incensed. Cagney cut short the imminent tirade, saying: "When I started this picture, you said that we would tangle asses before this was over. I'm ready now - are you?" Ford backed down and walked away and he and Cagney had no further conflicts on the set.
John Ford and Henry Fonda had a falling out that led to Ford's punching Fonda in the mouth. It ended their sixteen year personal friendship and eight film professional relationship, even though Ford apologized to Fonda afterward. Fonda only appeared in one more Ford film after that, "How the West Was Won," in a segment not directed by Ford.
John Ford was drinking more heavily than usual, causing him to behave erratically. Ward Bond helped direct when Ford was too inebriated.
Before shooting the scene where Pulver meets Capt. Morton (James Cagney) apparently for the first time and identifies himself and tells the captain that he's been on the ship for "14 months, sir", Cagney realized that he would have to rehearse the moment with Jack Lemmon again and again so he wouldn't burst out laughing during the actual filming. Lemmon agreed, and when the scene was filmed Cagney claimed he was just barely able to hang on with a straight face, even after all the rehearsal time.
3 Days of the Condor, 1975. Bob Redford and Faye Dunaway star.
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quote... Joubert: I don't interest myself in "why". I think more often in terms of "when", sometimes "where"; always "how much".
The place where Turner goes to pick up lunch for everyone -- The Lexington Candy Shop (1226 Lexington Avenue between 82nd and 83rd Streets) -- is still there, still looks the same, and has a steady clientele.
The film was shot in autumn but was set in winter. On the streets where the movie was being filmed, saplings had to be defoliated and leaves removed from the trees, to create the necessary wintry look. Star Robert Redford, an avid ecologist, checked on the process to insure that no damage was done to the plant life.
Not a bad little film - I think I have it on DVD somewhere.
My Fellow Americans, 1996. Directed by Peter Segal.
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Star Jack Lemmon did all of his own stunts for this movie, except for one brief horse riding scene.
At the Russell P. Kramer Presidential Library in Ohio, there is a life size cutout of President Kramer in a U.S. Naval officer's uniform. Jack Lemmon really served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
In his memoirs, Garner wrote that he enjoyed working with Lemmon but felt the director "was a self appointed genius who didn't know his ass from second base and Jack and I both knew it."
The League of Gentlemen, 1960. Director Basil Dearden... remastered bluray version.
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The portrait of Hyde's wife (he comments "I regret to say the bitch is still going strong.") is a portrait of Deborah Kerr that was originally used in The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943).
Jack Hawkins was ill with cancer during filming. Shooting was shut down for several days. Jack Hawkins, a chain smoker, underwent cobalt treatment after filming ended for what was described as a "secondary condition of the larynx". After undergoing cobalt therapy when filming had ended Jack Hawkins cut back from smoking 60 cigarettes a day to five. However his cancer returned in 1964 while he was filming "Guns at Batasi".
The Army raid was inspired partly by a real I.R.A. raid when I.R.A. members impersonated officers and stole weapons from a barracks.
This was originally planned as a Carl Foreman production, and he may have written a version of the screenplay (there are characters named Weaver and Grogan in this movie, a trademark of Foreman's) before hiring Bryan Forbes to write the movie as a planned vehicle for Cary Grant. When Forbes presented his version, Foreman said it was not good enough to present to a star of Grant's magnitude, and the project went into suspension for a while. When Forbes formed Allied Film Makers with Michael Relph, Basil Dearden, Sir Richard Attenborough, and Jack Hawkins, they obtained the necessary rights and made the movie. It was a great critical and financial success.
The Train, 1964.
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Burt Lancaster took a day off during shooting to play golf when the production was about half completed. On the links, he stepped in a hole and re-aggravated an old knee injury. In order to compensate for the injury, John Frankenheimer had Lancaster's character shot in the leg, thus enabling him to limp through the rest of the shooting.
Burt Lancaster performs all of his own stunts in this movie. Albert Rémy also gets into the act by performing the stunt of uncoupling the engine from the painting train on a real moving train.
The budget doubled under John Frankenheimer, due to an emphasis on action and the filming of train wrecks, eventually reaching $6.7 million. United Artists felt compelled to step in and assert its completion rights, demanding that principal photography be finished in seven weeks.
John Frankenheimer said of this film, "I wanted all the realism possible. There are no tricks in this film. When trains crash together, they are real trains. There is no substitute for that kind of reality."
The engine that crashes into a derailed engine was moving at nearly sixty miles per hour. The crash was staged in the town of Acquigny, with extensive safety precautions and special insurance. Only one take was possible, and seven cameras were used.
Operation Crossbow, 1965. Directed by Michael Anderson.
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For the section of this movie where Royal Air Force Bomber Command raids the Peenemunde rocket research site, the producers used the Avro Lancaster PA474 used by the Cranfield institute of technology. PA474 was painted in 83 squadron colors in the summer of 1964 for this movie. PA474 now flies as part of the Royal Air Force Battle of Britain memorial flight.
The parachute instructor seen in the jump tower scenes was Frank Foley. He's an Irishman who was, in fact, a Parachute Instructor.
Monty Python's Life of Brian, 1979. ... Originally financed by EMI, who backed out because they considered the script blasphemous. The Pythons sued EMI and settled out of court. George Harrison, a huge Monty Python fan, thought it was the last chance to have another Python movie. He created Handmade Films, and "pawned" (his words) his home in London and his office building to raise the £4 million needed. When asked why, he said "because I want to go see it." Eric Idle joked that it was the highest price ever paid for a cinema ticket.
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Six cast members played forty characters.
In the interview section of Monty Python's Flying Circus: Live at Aspen (1998), John Cleese said that because of the massive protests against this movie from all denominations of Christianity, he would joke with Michael Palin, "We've brought them all together for the first time in two thousand years!"
Interesting that at time it was checked by locl authorites etc and banned by many; the rest allowed it as an X cert. Nowadays its a 12.. how times and attitudes have changed in only 40 years.
QUOTE...
Stan: It's every man's right to have babies if he wants them.
Reg: But you can't have babies.
Stan: Don't you oppress me.
Reg: Where's the fetus going to gestate? You going to keep it in a box?
Throw Momma from the Train, 1987. Director, Danny Devito.
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Anne Ramsey's speech impediment was caused by operations she underwent in order to treat throat cancer. During filming, Ramsey was undergoing additional oral surgery and endured intense pain. However, according to director Danny DeVito, she never requested to be excused from work. "Momma" went on to become Ramsey's most critically-lauded performance, culminating with Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 1988. In the scene which Owen and Larry save Momma Lift from falling off the train, Anne Ramsey performed the stunt herself without the use of a stunt double.
The tunnel in the film is Observatory Tunnel at Griffith Park in Los Angeles. This is the same tunnel that was seen in Back to the Future (1985) and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). All three films were released within the four-year period of 1985 to 1988.
The Blue Planet. 2001. Attenborough.
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The series took almost five years to make, involving nearly 200 filming locations. The fact that most of the ocean environment remains a mystery presented the production team with many challenges. Besides witnessing some animal behaviours for the first time, the crew also observed some that were new to science. The producers were helped by marine scientists all over the world with state-of-the-art equipment.
Pigmy Pony
18-04-2022, 15:19
The Blue Planet. 2001. Attenborough.
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The series took almost five years to make, involving nearly 200 filming locations. The fact that most of the ocean environment remains a mystery presented the production team with many challenges. Besides witnessing some animal behaviours for the first time, the crew also observed some that were new to science. The producers were helped by marine scientists all over the world with state-of-the-art equipment.
Just great. Hard to believe it's over 20 years old.
Deep Impact, 1998.
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After discovering the comet, one of the astronomers is killed in an automobile accident. This mirrors the real-life automobile accident death (July 18, 1997, in the Australian outback) of astronomer Eugene Shoemaker, who helped discover the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet that collided with Jupiter in 1994 and was a source of inspiration for this film.
Morgan Freeman wanted his character (President Beck) to be wearing an earring. Director Mimi Leder turned him down. Later, we see the President addressing the nation from the oval office. His sleeves are rolled up, and one of Freeman's tattoos is showing. The director liked this. She felt it gave the President an everyman look.
The Mask of Zorro, 1998. Antonio Banderas stars.
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At the end, when Zorro confronts Captain Love, he pulls out his sword, and the sun glints off the blade running the full length. This was not CGI, and was suggested by Antonio Banderas. He had to tilt the sword to catch the sun without breaking eye contact with Matt Letscher. It only took three takes.
Antonio Banderas was extremely adamant about performing many of his own stunts for authenticity.
Legendary sword trainer Bob Anderson, who trained Errol Flynn, remarked that Antonio Banderas was the most gifted swordsman with whom he had worked since Flynn. Banderas had also trained with the Spanish Olympic team for four months.
In order to accomplish the effect of Elena's (Catherine Zeta-Jones') dress falling off from being sliced up by Zorro, a wire was attached to the dress to pull it off.
The Maltese Falcon, 1941. Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade played by Bogey... pure class. It was producer Henry Blanke who gave John Huston what he recalled as the single greatest piece of advice he would ever receive as a director: "Shoot each scene as if it was the most important scene in the film."
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Three of the statuettes still exist and are conservatively valued at over $1 million each. This makes them some of the most valuable film props ever made; indeed, each is now worth more than three times what the film cost to make.
At 357 pounds, 60-year-old British newcomer Sydney Greenstreet was so large that the studio had to specially manufacture his entire wardrobe for the role of Kasper Gutman. The chair in which Greenstreet sits while talking with Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) in the hotel room was also specially made for him; the chairs the prop department was going to use weren't wide enough to accommodate Greenstreet's girth nor strong enough to support his weight.
A few of the principal actors became close friends during the shooting. Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Ward Bond, and Mary Astor would often join John Huston at the Lakeside Country Club for drinks, buffet supper, and good conversation, usually until midnight. Bogart always considered Lorre and Huston great pals, mostly because they met two principal criteria: they weren't boring and they could drink like fish.
The Hound of the Baskervilles, 1939.
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After being out of circulation for many years, partly because of the 1959 Hammer remake (The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)) in Technicolor starring Peter Cushing, this film was restored and re-released to theaters in 1975 with great fanfare, to the point of having the national evening news do a story on it. The film was shown at its full 80-minute length, and newspaper and magazine articles commented on the fact that the line "Oh, Watson, the needle!", referring to Holmes' cocaine habit (and usually misquoted as "Quick, Watson, the needle!") was put back in after having been cut by the censors. As an added attraction, the studio added a rare sound film featurette which showed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes books, talking about his creation.
The Horse's Mouth, 1958. Director Ronald Neame.
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When Nosey offers Bisson a bowl of stew, Michael Gough's voice on the soundtrack says "Buzz off!" but his lips form the words "Drop dead!" Presumably the line was changed when Mike Morgan died suddenly before the movie was released.
Sir Alec Guinness felt that an educated accent for Gulley Jimson would be suited to an artist, but was not right for an eccentric. "So I tried to find a voice in which no one would be able to detect an accent of any sort, a kind of gritty, rough manner of speaking. When I found it, I felt myself free to just relax on that and say the lines as they came."
The poem Gulley Jimson (Sir Alec Guinness) quotes at the end of the movie ("For there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen, Before we go to Paradise by way of Kensal Green.") is from "The Rolling English Road" by G.K. Chesterton. The poem is about how drinking and misbehavior have shaped England's national character.
walpurgis
19-04-2022, 16:45
The Horse's Mouth, 1958. Director Ronald Neame
Great film. I have the DVD.
walpurgis
19-04-2022, 16:47
The Maltese Falcon, 1941. Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade played by Bogey... pure class.
Marvellous stuff.
I have the book waiting to be read.
The best actor ever in one of the best films ever.
To Have and Have Not, 1944. Director Howard Hawks.
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Film debut of Lauren Bacall. NOTE: The DVD sleeve notes state that she was 19 years of age at the time, while her dialogue in the film indicates that she was playing a character (Marie "Slim" Browning) who was 22.
According to Laura Wagner in her short article on Moran in "Films of the Golden Age" (Winter Issue, 2012-2013), actress Dolores Moran had a large supporting role as Madame Hellene de Bursac in the Humphrey Bogart / Lauren Bacall film To Have and Have Not (1944), but her part was downsized and Bacall's role was beefed up--this despite the fact that she was having an affair with the film's married director, Howard Hawks.
In the film's beginning, a map depicts an aircraft carrier moored in Martinique's bay. Later, Bogart's character Harry references a French carrier in the island's bay. This is all historically correct for mid- to late-1940, the film's time frame. The French navy's sole carrier, the Bearn, dropped anchor in the bay soon after the fall of France. It remained there for several years under the watchful eyes of Britain and America. The carrier was obsolete when war broke out. It never participated in a naval engagement.
The Outlaw Josey Wales, 1976. Directed by Clint Eastwood.
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Philip Kaufman started to direct this movie, but was replaced by Clint Eastwood on October 24, 1975, which was a controversial move that prompted the Directors' Guild of America (D.G.A.) to institute a ban on any current cast or crew member replacing the director on a movie: a rule which has ever since been titled the "Eastwood rule." According to biographer Marc Eliot, part of the acrimony between Eastwood and Kaufman was a result of both men asking female lead Sondra Locke out to dinner on the same night. Several members of the cast and crew were unhappy with Eastwood, and felt that Kaufman had done a lot of the work for which Eastwood later took credit. According to them, it was Kaufman who had chosen the locations, the costumes, and who had cast Chief Dan George, after seeing him in Little Big Man (1970).
if Eastwood's subsequent pictures as a director had been crap then that would be believable, as it is I think it's sour grapes.
I really like his style as he never tries to do anything fancy that breaks the spell. I know some actors have complained because he doesn't like to do multiple takes. If he's happy then he just moves on to the next scene, he doesn't care if the actor thinks that they 'haven't given their best.'
if Eastwood's subsequent pictures as a director had been crap then that would be believable, as it is I think it's sour grapes.
I really like his style as he never tries to do anything fancy that breaks the spell. I know some actors have complained because he doesn't like to do multiple takes. If he's happy then he just moves on to the next scene, he doesn't care if the actor thinks that they 'haven't given their best.'
think eastwood would probably have done it. he was a womanizer no doubt. using his star status to get folk hired happens, as can getting folk fired.
Kaufman had the opposite way to Eastwood in liking lots of takes as well and clint being a tightwad wouldnt be happy .. it was clint that brought him in to improve the script and then direct.
think eastwood would probably have done it. he was a womanizer no doubt. using his star status to get folk hired happens, as can getting folk fired.
Kaufman had the opposite way to Eastwood in liking lots of takes as well and clint being a tightwad wouldnt be happy .. it was clint that brought him in to improve the script and then direct.
I believe the bit about them both sniffing round Sondra Locke, but I think the real reason Clint got rid of him was because he realised he could do it better and cheaper,
Got a biography of him somewhere I'll have to dig it out and see what version of the story it gives.
I believe the bit about them both sniffing round Sondra Locke, but I think the real reason Clint got rid of him was because he realised he could do it better and cheaper,
Got a biography of him somewhere I'll have to dig it out and see what version of the story it gives.
clint was sniffing around anything young and pretty:lol: im sure the money etc saving was part of it, and the given reason, but;)
The bio doesn't mention the Sondra Locke thing. Just says that Clint was fed up doing repeated takes, and then when they ended up roaming around in the desert for hours looking for a marker Kaufmann had placed some days earlier to remind him where to set up the camera, that was the final straw.
More Eastwood with 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly', 1967.
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According to Eli Wallach, when it came time to blow up the bridge, Sergio Leone asked the Spanish Army Captain in charge to trigger the fuse, as a sign of gratitude for the Army's collaboration. They agreed to blow up the bridge when Leone gave the signal "Vai!" (Go!) over the walkie-talkie. Unfortunately, another crew member spoke on the same channel, saying the words "vai, vai!", meaning "it's okay, proceed" to a second crew member. The Captain heard this signal, thought it was for him, and blew up the bridge. Unfortunately, no cameras were running at the time. Leone was so upset that he fired the crewman, who promptly fled from the set in his car. The Captain was so sorry for what happened that he proposed to Leone that the Army would rebuild the bridge to blow it up again, with one condition: that the fired crewman be re-hired. Leone agreed, the crewman was forgiven, the bridge was rebuilt, and the scene was successfully shot.
During the scene right before the final duel where Tuco (Eli Wallach) is running frantically through the cemetery, a dog can be seen running on-screen at the beginning of the scene. In reality, that was improvised on the spot. Sergio Leone, who was afraid that the scene was going to slip into melodrama, released the dog without informing Eli Wallach first--thus, his look of surprise is quite genuine.
In addition to the train scene, Tuco (Eli Wallach) cheated death in the first scene where Blondie (Clint Eastwood) shoots him down from a hanging. The gunshot scared the horse, which took off running at full speed for nearly a mile. Wallach's hands were tied behind his back, and he had to hang on for dear life with his knees.
Playing By Heart, 1998.
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Sir Sean Connery took just $60,000 as his salary for this movie, as he was keen to play a character his age in a relationship with someone his own age. This was a far cry from the $14 million he earned on The Rock (1996).
Originally titled "Dancing About Architecture". The movie still contains the line from which this title was taken: "Talking about music is like dancing about architecture." or was it making love??lol
The Anderson Tapes, 1971. Sean Connery again...
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Sidney Lumet says in his book that there was a problem during exterior shooting in New York. The funeral of a notorious mafia kingpin was taking place while they were filming, and bystanders among the attendees asked for a copy of the film, because they were unhappy at the possibility that their faces might show up on film. (not sure who it was but might have been Billy Batts)
One of the burglars looks into a sack taken out of the safe and exclaims in delight, "Double eagles!" The double eagle is a $20 gold coin, no longer made. One of them is now worth several thousand dollars.
Blow Out, 1981. Director Brian De Palma.
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While on the way to the airport, the driver of the van containing two reels of footage of the Liberty Parade sequence stopped at a Dunkin' Donuts, leaving the van unattended. It was stolen while he was inside, and the footage was never seen again. The crew had to return to Philadelphia just to re-shoot the entire scene, at a cost of $750,000. Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond was no longer available, so he was replaced by László Kovács.
Quentin Tarantino stated in an interview that this film is his favorite Brian De Palma movie. In fact, Tarantino cast John Travolta in Pulp Fiction (1994) because he liked his performance in this movie so much.
How to Murder Your Wife, 1965. Stars Jack Lemmon, Virna Lisi and Terry-Thomas.
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During a taping of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962), Jack Lemmon told this story. Prior to starting the film, the husband of co-star Virna Lisi made her promise that she would not be talked into doing a nude scene in her first American film. She assured him that she would not, signed the contract and traveled to Hollywood. While filming the "revelation" scene, where Lemmon awakens to discover in horror that he had gotten married at the bachelor party, she had to disrobe and lay in the bed nude but discreetly covered with a sheet. However, it was this day that her husband, an architect, arrived unannounced at the set to surprise his wife. When he walked into the scene, he became very upset. He focused his anger toward Lemmon who, realizing that discretion was the better part of valor, exited the set at full speed with Virna's husband in pursuit. Running past several sound stages on the MGM lot, he quickly found a garbage dumpster, jumped in and closed the cover. He waited there until security officers found him.:lol:
Predestination, 2014.
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The movie is based on Robert A. Heinlein's short story "All You Zombies".
The picture of the Crosby Shoes building in the beginning of the movie is actually a picture of the exploded reactor number 4 from Chernobyl Power Plant which erupted on 26 April 1986.
https://i.ibb.co/5MR3432/fyeo.jpg (https://ibb.co/DVRFWFL)
'For Your Eyes Only' (1981)
At the end of 'The Spy Who Loved Me' we were promised that Bond would return in this one but instead he returned in 'Moonraker.'
The reason was the success of 'Star Wars' in 1977 encouraged the producers to go for an outer-space themed Bond and so FYEO was put back to the next outing instead.
Originally Moore was not going to return to the role after 'Moonraker' so a new Bond would be required. Due to that and also because they did not think they could top the extravagant production values and ludicrous plots of the two previous films, this time the producers decided to do a more 'back to basics' Bond along the lines of 'From Russia With Love.'
In the end Moore did decide to come back. The problem is that he was really starting to look too old to be credible. Sure the women half his age still fancy him, he's James Bond, so we can overlook that, but in terms of the stunts and fights and so forth it gets hard to suspend your disbelief. Maybe they could have written it as an older Bond using cunning and guile to achieve his objectives, which would have been interesting, but they didn't.
That aside this is still probably the last 'proper' James Bond film. 'Octopussy' was a mess, 'View To A Kill' looked like a made-for-TV pilot. And then the less said about everything that came after the better. This one also has the last decent attempt at a theme tune. (Sheena Easton, although she didn't write it).
Some good set pieces, Topol is always worth watching and plays a good part. The Maggie Thatcher bit at the end probably seemed like a good idea at the time, it got a big laugh in the cinema when I went to see it. Forty years on though it just seems bizarre and is out of keeping with the tone of the rest of the film which is fairly short on humour since it is essentially a tale of revenge.
I'd vote it as Moore's fourth best (after 'Spy', 'Moonraker', and 'Live and Let Die.').
yeah, no 'M' in that either. think only the first one didnt have an M.. Bernard Lee was going to play him but was dying sadly a nd had to abandon it. Moore was about 54, so certainly an aged Bond.
The House on 92nd Street, 1945. Directed by Henry Hathaway, and narrated by Reed Hadley who did a number of Department of Defense films as well as narrating hollywood films..
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The movie deals with the theft by German spies of the fictional "Process 97", a secret formula which, the narrator tells us, "was crucial to the development of the atomic bomb." The movie was released on September 10, 1945, only a month after the atomic bombs had been dropped on Japan, and barely a week after Japan's formal surrender. While making the film, the actors and Director Henry Hathaway did not know that the atomic bomb existed, nor that it would be incorporated as a story element in the movie. (None of the actors in the film mentioned the atomic bomb.) However, co-Director and Producer Louis De Rochemont (who produced the "March of Time" newsreel films) and Narrator Reed Hadley were involved in producing government films on the development of the atomic bomb. (Hadley was present at the final test of the bomb in Los Alamos, New Mexico, in July, 1945.) After the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Hadley and Screenwriter John Monks, Jr. hastily wrote some additional voice-over narration linking "Process 97" to the atomic bomb, and Rochemont inserted it into the picture in time for the film's quick release.
walpurgis
22-04-2022, 14:34
yeah, no 'M' in that either. think only the first one didnt have an M.. Bernard Lee was going to play him but was dying sadly a nd had to abandon it
I liked Bernard Lee, he was a great British supporting actor and in so many films.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail, 1975.
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The famous depiction of galloping horses by using coconut shells (a traditional radio-show sound effect) came about from the purely practical reason that the production simply could not afford real horses.
During the witch hunt, Eric Idle bares his teeth and bites down on the blade of the scythe he is holding. This was not scripted; Idle was actually about to burst out laughing and bit his scythe to stifle himself so as not to spoil the take. (If you look closely, you can see him shaking slightly, trying to keep his laughing under control.) Sir Michael Palin can be seen hiding laughter at the same time as well, while earlier in the scene, John Cleese quickly turns his head to one side just before the shot cuts, though not quickly enough to hide that he has broken character and is grinning broadly. All three comment on each others' corpsing on the DVD commentary.
A Bridge Too Far, 1977. Director Richard Attenborough...Operation Market Garden.
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Sir Dirk Bogarde's portrayal of General Browning was highly controversial, and several friends of the late General suggested that, had Browning still been alive in 1977, he would have sued director Sir Richard Attenborough and screenwriter William Goldman for libel. Bogarde took issue with the portrayal during filming, having known Browning personally, as he was a member of Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery's staff during the war. Although Attenborough publicly took responsibility for the controversy, his relationship with Bogarde was never the same again. Browning's son said he believed his father was made the fall guy for the failure of Operation Market Garden in the film because the producers knew there would have been too much flak if they went after Montgomery. During World War II, Sir Dirk Bogarde, who played Lieutenant General Browning, served in intelligence with the British Army. He, and eight other intelligence officers, were sent to Arnhem by General Bernard L. Montgomery during the battle.
Sir Michael Caine's scripted line to order the column of tanks and armored cars into battle, was "Forward, go, charge". Luckily for Caine, Lieutenant Colonel J.O.E. Vandeleur was on the set, so he could ask him what the actual line was. Vandeleur told him, "I just said quietly into the microphone, 'Well, get a move on, then'", which is what Caine says in the movie.
....also with Caine, he claims that director Richard Attenborough did not tell him that a string of dummy tanks behind the scout car which Caine was riding in would be blown up so that Caine would look realistically startled during the shot. He did!
quality film although you have to remember the script was written by a yank.
Browning did make one error which was to drop into the Nijmegan DZ along with his whole headquarters unit on the first day. Not only did that use up transport aircraft that could have been used to land more combat troops but also made it harder for him to control the operation than if he had remained in England.
The main reason for the failure is as explained in the film - 1st Airborne's DZ was too far from the objective as the RAF, concerned about losing too many transport aircraft, wanted to avoid flying over the enemy flak units.
A friend of mine her ex-husband was in 3 Para and she said he would be constantly re-watching it. I must have seen it a dozen times at least including at the cinema. I've got two copies of it on DVD as well. Quality film top to bottom.
Looking for new things to watch,
thought I'd take a punt on this, on AppleTV+
An "alternative history" take on the Space Race between USA and Soviets,
https://youtu.be/HZS9M52Bd_w
From Ronald D. Moore, the guy who did some of the best Trek DS9 shows and the reimagining of Battlestar Galactica.
That got my attention.
6 episodes in, its excellent.
Invaders from Mars, 1953. one of the first aliens from space films this....
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The special effects department used condoms to create the "bubbles" on the walls of the underground tunnels.
Luce Potter, one of the Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz (1939), played the Martian "head" enclosed in glass in the film. For years she received letters from fans of the movie telling her how much she had scared them as kids.
https://i.ibb.co/jTsqygC/spectre.jpg (https://ibb.co/Y3wJcp5)
Spectre (2015)
Not bothered with this one until now as one of my brothers is a big Bond fan and he told me it wasn't up to much.
On the whole though it's not so bad by the standards of 'modern' Bond. Craig is probably the most believable Bond since Connery and we no longer have Judi Dench as 'M', which never worked for me.
Some good set-pieces, especially the fight on the train which is reminiscent of similar from 'From Russia With Love' and 'The Spy Who Loved Me.' Although the direction occasionally gets a bit too fancy (you need a workmanlike director to do Bond properly) it's less intrusive than in the previous Craig films.
The return of Blofeld (following the resolution of rights ownership) is welcome and Christopher Waltz is always good, but the whole back story thing is a bit laboured. The last 20 minutes or so are a mess story-wise too. Why does Bond, who has vowed to protect Swann, allow her to just wander off into the night? Needless to say she is kidnapped by Blofeld within minutes.
Conveniently this all happens off screen so we don't see how it occurred as it's already been established that Swann is resourceful and tough.
Worth a watch but it still isn't 'proper' Bond for many reasons. Won't list them all but here is one that will give you an idea - near the start of the film Bond is summoned to M's office. M's office is the size of a basketball court and superbly appointed.
It Came from Outer Space, 1953.
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Although credited to Harry Essex, most of the script, including dialogue, is copied almost verbatim from Ray Bradbury's initial film treatment of The Creature from the Black Lagoon. .
The first 3-D film to be released by Universal Studios.
The shot of the spaceship destroying a ship was in fact a newsreel shot of HMS Barham exploding after being torpedoed in November 1941.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1956.
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Kevin McCarthy and author Jack Finney have always denied the rumor that the story is a statement against McCarthyism and Communism; they just saw it as a thriller. Director Don Siegel, however, believes that the political references to Sen. Joseph McCarthy and totalitarianism are inescapable, even though he tried not to emphasize them.
I've never bought the whole political angle to that film.
McCarthy was rabidly anti-communist. So it can't be both an anti-McCarthy film and an anti-communist film at the same time. I don't think it was ever intended to be either.
The horror aspect to the film is that once you get taken over you lose your individuality which is something we all subliminally fear. So I think it's actually a lot deeper than some trite political allegory.
I've never bought the whole political angle to that film.
McCarthy was rabidly anti-communist. So it can't be both an anti-McCarthy film and an anti-communist film at the same time. I don't think it was ever intended to be either.
The horror aspect to the film is that once you get taken over you lose your individuality which is something we all subliminally fear. So I think it's actually a lot deeper than some trite political allegory.
I think it was linked to both ends of the political spectrum: some have read the film as a reflection of right-wing paranoia about Communists taking over the American way of life, while others see it as symbolic of left-wing paranoia about McCarthyism. It was deliberately set in small town America where these fears were highest.
Lets face it, America in the 50's especially, but to an extent always has been paranoid about freedom. AKA The Simpsons and...If You Don't Have A Gun, The King Of England Can Just Walk In Here And Shove You Around.
Change of style now with Carry On Screaming!, 1966.
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One of the most popular films of 1966, and one of the highest-grossing films of the "Carry On" series.
The gag in the "do you mind if I smoke" sequence had been used by Morticia Addams in the 11/13/64 The Addams Family (1964) episode shown on UK TV during 1965, although without the couch. It had previously appeared earlier--almost exactly, and even with a chaise lounge--in the 4/2/55 episode of The George Gobel Show (1954), where guest star Maila Nurmi, aka "Vampira", did the smoking.
Sgt. Bung's car is a 1904 Brushmobile. The company was based in Loughborough in Leicestershire, England, and only six of these cars were made. The taxi used by Bung's wife is a 1906 Renault.
from that to the plain silly... Carry On Up the Jungle, 1970 :D oumpa, oumpa, stick it up your jumper...
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Bernard Bresslaw learned all his native orders in a genuine African language - Fanagalo in South Africa, a.k.a. Chilapalapa or Chikabanga further North, the lingua franca of Southern Africa. But on the first day of shooting, the extras all stared at him dumbly - all were of Caribbean origin and thus completely confused by his orders. However Sidney James (born to a Jewish family in South Africa) claimed to recognize the real thing and congratulated him.
The film's joke alternate titles seen at the start of the opening credits were "the African Queens", "Stop Beating About the Bush" and "Show Me Your Waterhole and I'll Show You Mine". Joke alternate titles that were dropped and weren't used at the beginning of the movie included "The Lust Continent" and "Don't Shoot 'til you See the Whites of their Thighs".
Joan Sims played Lady Evelyn in this film, the mother of Cecil The Jungle Boy, played by Terry Scott. She was actually three years younger than Scott. Terry Scott wasn't allowed to wear underwear under his loin cloth. In the scene by the river, his awkward posture as he lay next to Jacki Piper made his genitalia slip out during the long scene, making the camera crew and production staff corpse in the background.
Carry On Dick, 1974. .. Dick Turpin is terrorising the countryside around Upper Dencher. Captain Fancey and Sergeant Jock Strapp plan to put an end to his escapades, and enlist the help of the Reverend Flasher.
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The film was banned in South Africa in the 1970s as the South African authorities considered it anti-Christian. This was because of Sidney James's role as a parish priest as being corrupt having an alias as a robber.
The name of King George II's first professional police force was "The Bow Street Runners". The name of this outfit was the same as the true life historical police unit "The Bow Street Runners" which was the first in English history. The were founded in 1749 which was within a year of when this film is set it being 1750. Dick Turpin died in 1739, around eleven years before the picture actually takes place.
Bernard Bresslaw insisted on a closed set for the scene where his character, Sir Roger Daley, is stripped of his clothes and possessions. In the script, it was necessary for Sir Roger and Lady Daley, played by Margaret Nolan, to be naked, apart from a hat covering their private parts. Other cast members took photographs of Bernard Bresslaw as a practical joke in order to poke fun at his insistence of the set being closed to most crew. Sure Margaret Nolan didn't bother lol.
Creature from the Black Lagoon, 1954. Ingmar Bergman watched this film every year on his birthday.
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The Creature's appearance was based on old seventeenth-century woodcuts of two bizarre creatures called the Sea Monk and the Sea Bishop. The Creature's final head was based on that of the Sea Monk, but the original discarded head was based on that of the Sea Bishop.
Ricou Browning, the stuntman who provided the underwater shots of the creature, once had to make an emergency bathroom visit while he was filming a scene. Browning had been underwater for several minutes and breached the water, in full costume, next to an unsuspecting mother and her young daughter on the nearby shore. Browning said that they fled in terror once they saw him. He recalled, "they took off, and that's the last I saw of 'em!"
The Front Page, 1974. Kino Lorber Bluray Reg A.
https://www.kinolorber.com/media_cache/images/full/738329238285.jpg
This version of "The Front Page" was the first to mention the city by name and use actual Chicago newspapers. Billy Wilder felt that Chicago was the most exciting newspaper town in the country.
The opening scene showing the newspaper being printed was shot at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner's print room. It had one of the last fully operational old style printing presses still in use.
Susan Sarandon stayed at the famed Chateau Marmont Hotel in Hollywood during the shoot, and was robbed by an intruder who took her gear while she slept. When she told Walter Matthau, he insisted on lending her some money to get her through the shoot.
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, 1976. Shout Factory Bluray. Director: Herbert Ross.
Thought by many not to be all that good, but i like it a lot with Nicol Williamson as Holmes an excellent choice.
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The tennis match sequence was not a studio set but was shot at classic historical tennis courts at the Queen's Club in West Kensington, London.
Dr. Watson's revolver appears to be a Webley RIC No. 1 New Model (distinguishable from the older RICs by its fluted cylinder), an inspired choice by the filmmakers as it dovetails perfectly into Watson's service time, British Army regulations about service cartridge chambering, and Watson's likely financial means at the time (the New Model had been in production for several years by 1879 and used specimens could have been had fairly cheaply).
Holmes' hallucinations while detoxing include references to a number of canonical Holmes stories. The hound jumping out of the cabinet is a reference to the novel The Hound of the Baskervilles, set by sone Holmesian scholars as taking place before the great hiatus. Holmes also imagines his bed surrounded by a group of ginger haired and bearded men, a reference to the short story The Redheaded League.
Next up, Tobe Hooper's 1986 version of Invaders From Mars.
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Jimmy Hunt, who played young David MacLean in the original Invaders from Mars (1953) and the police chief in this remake, actually has several lines. When he and Officer Keeney go up the hill in search of Mr. Gardner, Hunt's line of "Gee, I haven't been up here since I was a kid" is a playful reference to the similar area of Martian activity that he witnessed as the boy in the 1953 movie.
During the final shootout between the Marines and the Martians in the Supreme Intelligence's throne room, a fire broke out. It was quickly contained and no one was hurt, but quick thinking led to the Supreme Intelligence being cut open to let the puppeteers out.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1978. Director Philip Kaufman...
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Robert Duvall, who had previously worked with Philip Kaufman on The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972), happened to be in San Francisco at the time of filming, and shot his only scene for free. He plays a crazy priest playing on a swing. It's supposed to foreshadow the pod person anomie and alienation we feel later in the movie.
Harry the homeless banjo guy's banjo playing was performed by Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia. The song being played (and sung) is the traditional "Going Down the Road Feeling Bad," which was a regular tune played by The Dead in live performances, and appears on several live albums.
Good remake that, one of the few in history.
That Invaders from Mars re-make is pretty good too IIRC.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, 2003.
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Good fun these and as ever, well made. This also has a young Keira Knightly in it.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, 2006. Keira again...:eyebrows:
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Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, 2007.
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Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge, 2017.
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Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 1991. This is the 4k uhd version.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was given a slightly used Gulfstream III airplane (worth about US $14 million) by producer Mario Kassar, for accepting the role in this film.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/85/Terminator2poster.jpg
Special effects guru Stan Winston and his crew studied hours of nuclear test footage in order to make Sarah Connor's "nuclear nightmare" scene look as realistic as possible. A miniature Los Angeles was made to simulate the scene. Some of the materials used in the miniature that mimicked all the destroyed masonry were Matzos crackers and Shredded Wheat. After each take, it would take on average two days to set the model up to shoot again. In late 1991, members of several US federal nuclear testing labs unofficially declared it "the most accurate depiction of a nuclear blast ever created for a fictional motion picture." The special effects team members have stated several times that no scene they've worked on since has received an equivalent amount of praise or emotional feedback from viewers.
Robert Patrick trained in a rigorous running regimen while breathing only through his nose, in order to be able to appear to run at high speeds without showing fatigue on film. He had trained so hard that he was able to catch up with Edward Furlong on his dirtbike with great ease, so he had to slow down considerably.
Production took sufficiently long that Edward Furlong visibly aged during the shoot. He is clearly much younger in the scene in the desert, for example, than in other scenes. His voice began to break and had to be pitched one level in post-production. He had also grown so tall over the months that, for one scene shot late in the production schedule, he had to stand in a hole in the ground in order to maintain continuity in height difference with Linda Hamilton.
For the Los Angeles River sequence, Arnold Schwarzenegger was in pain because he could not wear a glove while cocking the gun, so his fingers would get stuck in the mechanism. He tore the skin from his fingers and hand many times before he mastered it, and he frequently hit Edward Furlong with the gun while doing it, one time almost knocking the young actor out. He had to achieve all this while trying to act and control a Harley at the same time as James Cameron told him where to look. He could not dart his eyes either because it would have ruined the shot. Shooting the gates also took weeks of practice because he had to also "act cool" while doing it.
The Battle of the Sexes, 1959. Peter Sellers stars.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMzg1NDJjN2EtMDk3Ni00MWE1LTlkMTAtYzhiNGE5ZTJiNz ZiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDI4ODM5MDM@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.j pg
The Dam Busters, 1955. Directed by Michael Anderson.
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Footage used to show the bombs as they skipped on the surface of the water towards the dams was drawn from footage of the bombs being tested. Backspinning the bombs gave them gyroscopic stability when skipping across the water, then held them against the dams as they sank. To conceal the backspin, which was still a state secret at the time of filming, the bombs in the footage were painted over frame by frame. The bombs shown in the movie were the wrong shape because the actual shape (a stubby cylinder) was still secret at the time. Scenes of indoor testing of the model bomb were shot at the National Physical Laboratory at Teddington in the tanks where the actual tests took place.
Frank Phillips repeats in the movie his official announcement of the breach of the dams, which he had read on the BBC on May 18, 1943.
This is one of the movies from which George Lucas used clips to edit the rough cut of Star Wars (1977) (which utilized many features of the finale of this movie quite closely, notably the briefing, the ground staff waiting for news, the troika formation of the attacking aircraft and so on). In addition, the following exchange from this movie was reproduced almost verbatim (with the exception of the characters' names): Gibson: "How many guns d'you think there are, Trevor?" Trevor: "I'd say there's about ten guns, some in the field and some in the tower."
. In addition, the following exchange from this movie was reproduced almost verbatim (with the exception of the characters' names): Gibson: "How many guns d'you think there are, Trevor?" Trevor: "I'd say there's about ten guns, some in the field and some in the tower."
The Star Wars dialogue is:
GOLD LEADER: How many guns do you think, Gold Five?
GOLD FIVE: I'd say about twenty guns. Some on the
surface, some on the towers.
Just cut and paste your film from bits of other peoples', make a million dollars.
This scene was lifted entirely for Star Wars, including the bit at the end where they think they've blown the damn but it turns out they haven't.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1DCxpMz8aU
they had to rename the dog, 'trigger, or tigger' for american audiences apparently. ;) the dog wasnt as universally loved as film suggests, as it had a habit of pissing on people.
although many debate the point of raid now, this was said at time..
The Dam Busters raids were hugely innovative and daring, but how much impact did they really have? At the time, there was much speculation. The mission was to cause mass flooding, crippling steelworks and other facilities and cause the enemy huge logistical problems.
Not everyone was convinced, however. Even after the event, Sir Arthur “Bomber” Harris refused to budge on his earlier scepticism. In private, he wrote that the raids “achieved nothing compared with the effort and the loss”. Lancaster bombers were too valuable to have risked in this way, he was adamant.
Was it all a morale boosting stunt then, or something far greater? Perhaps the most telling evidence came from the Germans themselves. After the war it was revealed that the flood damage had caused chaos. Some 20,000 men were forced to redeploy to repair the dams and deal with the damage, rather than helping defend key strategic points in the conflict. The German Minister for Armaments himself, Albert Spear, declared it as “a disaster for us.”
For huge numbers of men and women stationed in the airfields of Lincolnshire, life was painfully tense. We can only imagine what passed through the minds of young pilots as they contemplated the mortal risks with every mission. The average age of RAF aircrew at the time has been estimated to be as low as 21. Almost three quarters (73%) were hurt or killed in action. Some 56% of those who flew with Bomber Command overall were killed in action or died of injuries.
In James Holland's recent book, Dam Busters: The Race to Smash the Dams, he states that "it is time to put the record straight". He insists that the damage was "absolutely enormous" and it was "an extraordinary achievement".
He points out that every bridge for 30 miles below the breached Mohne dam was destroyed, and buildings were damaged 40 miles away. Twelve war production factories were destroyed, and around 100 more were damaged. Thousands of acres of farmland were ruined.
Germans instantly referred to it after the raid as the "Mohne catastrophe". Even the cool Speer admitted that it was "a disaster for us for a number of months". German sources attribute a 400,000-tonne drop in coal production in May 1943 to the damage caused. Another German report into the effects of the raid talked about "considerable losses of production" caused by "the lack of water" and that "many shaft mines, coking plants, smelting works, power stations, fuel plants and armaments factories were shut down for several days".
The fact that a titanic effort was made to repair this damage shows how high a priority the dams were, and it meant resources were shifted from elsewhere. Nowhere was this costlier to the Third Reich than on the beaches of Normandy.
Hitler had ordered the construction of a massive network of defences against an Allied invasion. Now thousands of workers who should have been toiling in France were redirected to the Ruhr to repair the dams. A year later allied troops would have faced far more significant defences had it not been for the Dambusters raid.
No raid mounted by so few aircraft had ever caused such extensive material damage. It did not bring German war production to a permanent halt, but nobody had expected it to.
great film... Squadron Leader George Leonard "Johnny" Johnson, MBE, DFM is last surviving dambuster. he is 100 yrs young.. he was 3 months younger than my dad(also in raf) and 22 when the raid went ahead...22:doh: so many young guys died or were scarred for life especially in bomber command.
Selected to be part of the specialist No. 617 Squadron RAF, Johnson arrived at RAF Scampton on 27 March 1943. It was at this time that he was due to marry; however, due to the requirements of the training for Operation Chastise, all leave had been cancelled. Johnson appealed to his new Commanding Officer, Wing Commander Guy Gibson, who eventually relented, giving Johnson four days' leave.
McCarthy's crew in Lancaster AJ-T (T-Tommy) were detailed to attack the Sorpe Dam, the structure of which differed considerably from the other main targets insofar as it being an earthen dam as opposed to the gravity construction of the Möhne and Eder dams, thus necessitating a completely different type of attack. Like the rest of No. 617 Squadron, Johnson had practised dropping his bomb as the aircraft flew straight towards the target at low level. However, on the afternoon prior to the raid, when the five crews detailed to attack the Sorpe Dam received their briefing, they were told that they had to fly along the dam wall and drop their mine at its centre. It would roll down the wall and explode when it reached the correct depth. The specialist bomb sight developed for the raid would also be of no use.
Due to various losses and technical issues en route to the target, AJ-T was the first Lancaster to reach the Sorpe, and McCarthy soon realised how difficult the attack would be. Although there were no flak batteries, the attack would require the aircraft to be flown low across the nearby town of Langscheid, with its prominent church steeple, followed by the aircraft having to drop even lower so the bomb could be released. It was not until the tenth attempt that the crew were satisfied, with Johnson finally releasing the bomb.
For his part in the raid, Johnson received the Distinguished Flying Medal.
https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/zz5wZnIkGzTTHPvgSfeg3AQ0K0w=/800x450/smart/filters:no_upscale()/johnnnie-johnson-large-57c4b8955f9b5855e5f4e937.jpg
There was far more loss of life to the Allies than to the Germans. Only 40% of the squadron returned after the first mission. Many of the bouncing bombs exploded harmlessly in the water, or bounced over the top of the dam walls, exploding in neighbouring fields.
Only the Möhne and Eder dams were seriously breached, causing the death of some 1,700 people, mostly captured Allied prisoners. The dams were quickly repaired, using forced prisponer-of-war labourers taken from the V-weapon programme; which meant the development of the A3 rocket was delayed and never deployed.
The Hound of the Baskervilles, 1939. Rathbone and Bruce star....
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The impressive interior set for Baskerville Hall was subsequently recycled by Fox, most notably for their last Charlie Chan feature, Castle in the Desert (1942).
Publicity materials referred to the dog who played the title character as "Chief". The dog's real name was "Blitzen", but this was thought to sound too German.
Watson's revolver in this film is easily identifiable as a Colt Single Action Army, aka the Peacemaker, widely identified with the American "Wild West." However, over 5300 of these were sold in England through Colt's Pall Mall agent between 1874 and 1912, and were chambered in nearly every caliber approved by the British Army. Since officers (like Watson) purchased their own sidearms, this is, somewhat counter-intuitively, one of the more realistic choices made by a film maker of what Watson's service revolver might have actually been.
The film inspired the Grateful Dead song "Dire Wolf".
There was far more loss of life to the Allies than to the Germans. Only 40% of the squadron returned after the first mission. Many of the bouncing bombs exploded harmlessly in the water, or bounced over the top of the dam walls, exploding in neighbouring fields.
Only the Möhne and Eder dams were seriously breached, causing the death of some 1,700 people, mostly captured Allied prisoners. The dams were quickly repaired, using forced prisponer-of-war labourers taken from the V-weapon programme; which meant the development of the A3 rocket was delayed and never deployed.
think there were 5/600 german deaths. the rest were mostly pows and forced labour;
Bicentennial Man, 1999. Robin Williams stars, from a short story by Isaac Asimov.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTbEjy9XmSjuwFWyUhuoORWxryIoO65J HTQBrcHLrVyVPRYP85s
When Andrew regales the family with jokes, the jokes themselves were unscripted. Robin Williams ad-libbed all of the jokes. The other actors' reactions to the jokes and their laughter are real.
The aria that Andrew is listening to when he first uses the record player is from Dvorak's opera "Rusalka." The opera is concerned with the fairy-tale story of a water nymph who wants to become mortal for love.
Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics, which govern all the robots in his stories, are as follows: First Law - A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Second Law - A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. Third Law - A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.
walpurgis
28-04-2022, 10:27
Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics, which govern all the robots in his stories, are as follows: First Law - A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Second Law - A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. Third Law - A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.
People have been injured by robots and probably fatally too. Not the sentient humanoid type though, if there are really any yet.
Not sure how you'd reconcile Azimov's rules with the idea of robot soldiers
It was an excellent film.
now, Dances with Wolves, 1990. Kevin Costner directs and stars in this western epic.
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTGj-9jj6UTPiZ4oUyFl1nIauP4bYDG2SvY4zPNZjpGWfzq5S03
Because of the film's enormous success and sympathetic treatment of the Native Americans, the Sioux Nation adopted Kevin Costner as an honorary member.
Kevin Costner did all his own riding, including bareback and shooting his gun without holding the reins, during the buffalo hunt.
During the scene where the buffalo is charging at Smiles a Lot, the buffalo is actually charging at a pile of its favorite treat: Oreo cookies. (lol)
In the skinned buffalo scene, fake animals made of paper were used and looked very realistic. A passerby called the police during filming and they showed up with guns drawn ready to arrest the crew for poaching. After some explanations, the cops left laughing.
The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid, 1972.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/58/The_Great_Northfield_Minnesota_Raid_1972_poster.jp g
The production crew built several false front building façades which are still in Jacksonville, lending a nineteenth century flavor to the town.
The Apartment,1960. Bily Wilder directs.
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The film was lauded by Soviet-bloc critics as an indictment of the American system and a story that could only have happened in a capitalistic city like New York. At a dinner honoring him in East Berlin, Billy Wilder said the movie "could happen anywhere, in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Rome, Paris, London." When Wilder said the one place it could not have happened was Moscow, the East Germans broke into thunderous applause and cheers. When the ovation died down, Wilder continued: "The reason this picture could not have taken place in Moscow is that in Moscow nobody has his own apartment." The remark was met with grim silence.
Billy Wilder gave Jack Lemmon free rein to fill in the character of C.C. "Bud" Baxter in performance. He compared the actor favorably to Charles Chaplin and thought he could do no wrong.
In the scene, where Karl punches Baxter, Jack Lemmon was supposed to mime being punched, he failed to move correctly and was accidentally knocked down. Billy Wilder chose to use the shot of the genuine punch in the film.
earlier... https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p25564_p_v8_ad.jpg
now, Liar, Liar, 1997.
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR0op7odGULrOK7oXi8QeN9ynF-ngUmyxjYaeqPF5o92HunA2k5
2 superb films from Jim Carey and co...
...now, some Mags Rutherford as Miss Marple: Murder, She Said, 1961.
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQMK5Ec0GWZ4QKdb-icL8heP8jNTYZf95BmNjh2zSQeA1aS03NK
My Favorite Brunette, 1947. Bob Hope..
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRzpW5zsWdk-Q5Luvc08UM8BiTUEWibf_LQt1WE6u4VmLR2d0wh
Bing Crosby, Bob Hope's long-term co-star and rival in the Road movies, plays Harry, an executioner, who is livid when he doesn't get to execute Ronnie Jackson (Hope's character). Hope fires back saying, "He'll take any kind of a part" (at the time, Crosby was a top star, but here he was doing a one-scene cameo).
Dunkirk, 1958.
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When the troop ship taking the platoon home is bombed and sunk in Dunkirk harbor, the scene of the ship sinking is taken from The Cruel Sea (1953), which depicts the sinking of H.M.S. "Compass Rose".
The beach sequences were shot at Camber Sands on the south coast of England, while the town of Dunkirk was re-created in the nearby English town of Rye.
Looper, 2012.
https://resizing.flixster.com/tjLAK669Vn_WsLu2TSoA2bAAMfE=/206x305/v2/https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p9076140_p_v12_ao.jpg
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 93% based on 271 reviews, with an average rating of 8.10/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "As thought-provoking as it is thrilling, Looper delivers an uncommonly smart, bravely original blend of futuristic sci-fi and good old-fashioned action."
Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) falling off the fire escape was filmed on the actor's 30th birthday. Gordon-Levitt was left hanging on the stunt wires while the crew sang "Happy Birthday" and wheeled out a birthday cake.
Pigmy Pony
30-04-2022, 14:38
Did Emily Blunt pop out of the birthday cake? That would be nice.
Did Emily Blunt pop out of the birthday cake? That would be nice.
she can pop out of mine if she wishes:D
walpurgis
30-04-2022, 15:13
Looper, 2012
Good movie.
There have been some decent escapist/futuristic Sci-Fi films in the last few years. I was watching 'Limitless' last night and 'Source Code' is another.
'Limitless' is a good watch.
Just finished binging season 2 of "Raised by Wolves"
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Philosophical Sci-fi tv series from Ridley Scott.
Outstanding.
Weird, but brilliant.
Just started watching 'Farscape'. I know it's from 20 years ago but only just got round to it.
Someone told me it had similarities to 'Blakes 7.' Only watched the first episode but it does seem to.
Oblivion, 2013.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2e/Oblivion2013Poster.jpg
Joseph Kosinski and Claudio Miranda so disliked the extensive use of blue screen mattes in TRON: Legacy (2010) that for this film, they wanted to use real glass, mirrors and shiny surfaces for the glass tower set. The sky footage was projected on a 500x45' screen consisting of 21 monitors, and was filmed for three weeks from the summit of Haleakala volcano in Maui, Hawaii. The rooms with windows were lit by the light from those projections. The monitors took ten technicians several weeks to install and fine tune with floor-level rig support. In the end, the actors complimented the production team for that design to such an extent that Tom Cruise declared that the glass tower was one of his favorite film sets.
walpurgis
30-04-2022, 16:53
My wife is watching 'Mr Bean's Holiday'. It's actually a great film, which I found out when the grandkids watched it a few times.
My wife is watching 'Mr Bean's Holiday'. It's actually a great film, which I found out when the grandkids watched it a few times.
never bean in to him :doh: sorry:D
Just finished binging season 2 of "Raised by Wolves"
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzk0ZTZlOGItMjQ0MC00YzYyLWIwYjgtMGM4NDdkOTlhYz IzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_.jpg
Philosophical Sci-fi tv series from Ridley Scott.
Outstanding.
Weird, but brilliant.
not watched first series as of yet:D
https://i.ibb.co/Lv6f47V/Cannonball-run-ii.jpg (https://imgbb.com/)
Cannonball Run II (1984)
There's a couple of Burt Reynolds films that it is possible to watch when sober but this isn't one of them.
Cast is amazing though:
Burt Reynolds as J.J. McClure
Dom DeLuise as Victor Prinzi/Captain Chaos (DeLuise also appears uncredited as Don Canneloni)
Dean Martin as Jamie Blake
Sammy Davis Jr. as Morris Fenderbaum
Jamie Farr as Sheik Abdul ben Falafel
Ricardo Montalbán as King Abdul ben Falafel
Telly Savalas as Hymie Kaplan
Marilu Henner as Betty
Shirley MacLaine as Veronica
Susan Anton as Jill Rivers ("Lamborghini Babe #1", originally played by Tara Buckman)
Catherine Bach as Marcie Thatcher ("Lamborghini Babe #2", originally played by Adrienne Barbeau)
Foster Brooks, Sid Caesar and Louis Nye as the fishermen in the rowboat
Jackie Chan as Jackie Chan, Mitsubishi engineer
Richard Kiel as Arnold, Jackie's driver
It should be noted that both Marilu Henner and Catherine Bach are at the height of their powers.
The Cannonball Run series are probably the closest the yanks get to a 'Carry On' film.
Pigmy Pony
01-05-2022, 07:17
Just finished binging season 2 of "Raised by Wolves"
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzk0ZTZlOGItMjQ0MC00YzYyLWIwYjgtMGM4NDdkOTlhYz IzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDM2NDM2MQ@@._V1_.jpg
Philosophical Sci-fi tv series from Ridley Scott.
Outstanding.
Weird, but brilliant.
Saw it on my Sky planner, and thought it was this, so didn't bother.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Exjoz2WsL._AC_SY445_.jpg
But that looks pretty good. I'll have to see season 1 first tho
An American Werewolf in London [4K UHD] [Limited Edition] 1981. Written and directed by John Landis.
Got this for the boxset tbh as the bluray i have is certainly as good imo visually; maybe better.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/815DVy2+9LL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
Rick Baker won an Oscar for Best Makeup, and was the first film to do so. Rick Baker claimed to have been disappointed by the amount of time spent shooting the face changing shot for the transformation after having spent months working on the mechanism. John Landis only required one take lasting about seven seconds. Baker felt he had wasted his time until seeing the film with an audience that applauded during that one seven second shot.
Only four American work permits were requested by the British government for the production: for director John Landis, make-up artist Rick Baker, and David Naughton and Griffin Dunne. The first three work permits were granted by the British government without question. But the British office of Actors' Equity questioned the necessity of a work permit for Dunne, claiming that there were already plenty of young American actors living in Great Britain who could portray the role of Jack. It was only when director and screenwriter Landis threatened to re-write the script, and retitle the movie "An American Werewolf in Paris", that the equity office reconsidered the application and granted Dunne his work permit. A sequel called An American Werewolf in Paris (1997) would actually be made sixteen years later.
The Producers, 1967.
http://www.movienewsletters.net/photos/009691R1.jpg
Roger Ebert recounted how he was in an elevator with Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft in New York City after the film premiered. A woman got onto the elevator, recognized him and said, "I have to tell you, Mr. Brooks, that your movie is vulgar." Brooks replied, "Lady", he said, "it rose below vulgarity."
Mel Brooks has said that one of his "lifelong jobs" is "to make the world laugh at Adolf Hitler." The film was a way to enact vengeance through comedy. "The only real way I could get even with Hitler and company was to bring them down with laughter", Brooks said.
Mel Brooks cannot read music. "Springtime for Hitler" and "Prisoners of Love" (as were all the songs Brooks writes for his films) were hummed into a tape recorder and transcribed by an expert. When Brooks adapted the movie into a stage musical, he wrote the entire score by himself using the same method.
Mel Brooks was so surprised to win the Oscar for Best Screenplay, he collected the award without a speech prepared.
Innerspace, 1987. This is the only film directed by Joe Dante to win an Academy Award. It won the Best Visual Effects award.
https://www.denofgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/innerspace-main.jpg?resize=768%2C432
John Hora, who had previously worked as Joe Dante's cinematographer on all of his movies, was cast as Ozzie after Steven Spielberg suggested him to play the absent minded professor. Director Dante and producer Michael Finnell were very skeptical about that idea and Spielberg insisted that they give him a screen test to just to see and was cast after impressing Dante and Finnell.
Murder Most Foul, 1964. Directed by George Pollock.
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Like Murder at the Gallop (1963), this movie was adapted from an Hercule Poirot novel, the 1952 book "Mrs. McGinty's Dead"
Miss Jane Marple's audition piece for the Cosgood Players is her dramatic rendering of "The Shooting of Dan McGrew", a 1907 poem by Robert W. Service. Dame Margaret Rutherford was especially fond of the piece and reportedly once intended to give a reading of it at a women's prison to cheer up the inmates. (I'm sure they'd have been thrilled :rolleyes:)
Some nonsense now with Nuns On The Run, 1990.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81gwZUB51NL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
The picture was actor-comedian Eric Idle second major movie which made light of religious subject matter, the first having been Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979), which had debuted just over a decade earlier. Ironically, the first name of Idle's character in Nuns on the Run (1990) was Brian. This film generated far less controversy than the earlier one, and, in fact, some of the promotional video contains interviews with actual nuns who saw and liked the movie. Moreover, the film was one of two religious parodies as well featuring co-star Robbie Coltrane, who would later star in the following year's The Pope Must Die (1991).
'The Pope Must Die' was retitled 'The Pope Must Diet' for North America. Which makes no sense in relation to the plot.
'The Pope Must Die' was retitled 'The Pope Must Diet' for North America. Which makes no sense in relation to the plot.
ad agencies and all the rest etc were all shit scared to offend catholics. bizzare as if it had been about a protestant leader they wouldnt have batted an eyelid:D
He Walked By Night, 1948. Loosely based on the real-life 1946 crime spree of Erwin "Machine Gun" Walker (1917-2008). Unlike the character in the film, Walker was captured, tried, and sentenced to death for first-degree murder. On 4/14/1949, two days before his scheduled execution, Walker attempted suicide, and the execution was postponed. A psychiatric board pronounced him insane, and he was sent to the Mendocino State Hospital for the next 12 years. Declared sane again in 1961, his sentence was commuted by the governor to life without parole. From 1970-74,he filed several motions to appeal his case, twice making it to the California Supreme Court. The second time, the court vacated the "without parole" part of his sentence. Walker applied for, and was granted, parole in 1974. He then legally changed his name and worked as a chemist. He died in 2008.
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRd4vqhyCs2Q1XQHzRudRr1qpa21v0Ho Yo2EDJ8ghxnQPb4aIrB
Technical advisor for the film was Sgt. Marty Wynn of the Los Angeles Police Dept. During the course of shooting, he fell into conversation with Jack Webb, then the star of radio's "Jeff Regan, Private Investigator", who had a small part in the film. Wynn suggested that Webb do a radio series based on actual police files. Thus was born the idea for "Dragnet," which debuted on NBC radio about four months after this film was released.
The three fired cases were head-stamped 380 AP RMC which means .380 Automatic Pistol Remington Metallic Cartridge. At that time, that cartridge was fired in a Colt 1903 semi-automatic pocket pistol and several European semi-autos. It is not fired in a revolver and was not a common cartridge.
In Time, 2011. In 2169, people are genetically engineered to stop aging on their 25th birthday, when a one-year countdown on their forearm begins. When it reaches zero, the person "times out" and dies instantly. Time has thus become the universal currency, transferred directly between people or stored in "time capsules". Several major areas called Time Zones exist; Dayton is the poorest, a manufacturing "ghetto" where people rarely have over 24 hours on their clocks, whereas in New Greenwich, people have enough time to be essentially immortal. (so whats new?)
https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTallr69g7uXzNcxB0dq0-KQ9YkAK_4FpCHdK8yMu9nnOiVDeCD
Many of the character names are those of famous, and not so famous, watchmakers. The name Weis is pronounced the same as the watchmaker Albert Wajs.
walpurgis
02-05-2022, 09:58
Strange premise. Why would it be necessary?
keeps the poor working hard for the rich and keeps ovrall population down i guess. great way to control a people' tho. also the rich live forever and all stay youngish and healthy
Young Frankenstein, 1974. This is the reg A bluray. Not sure why I got the reg A one; might have been availability. Anyway the pic and sound are both very good.
https://www.tvguide.com/a/img/catalog/provider/1/2/1-172325571.jpg
Igor: You know, I'll never forget my old dad. When these things would happen to him... the things he'd say to me.
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: What did he say?
Igor: "What the hell are you doing in the bathroom day and night? Why don't you get out of there and give someone else a chance?"
Some Blackadder 2nd now... 1986. Ep..Beer.
Blackadder : Not good enough, you're fired.
Baldrick : But, my Lord, I've been in your family since 1532.
Blackadder : So has syphilis. Now get out.
and..
Edmund: Right, now; the sort of person we’re looking for is an aggressive drunken lout with the intelligence of a four year old and the sexual sophistication of a donkey.
Percy: [thinks] Cardinal Woolsey
The Curse of the Black Pearl, 2003. easy on eye and mind after a heavy dinner.:)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/89/Pirates_of_the_Caribbean_-_The_Curse_of_the_Black_Pearl.png
Dead Man's Chest, 2006.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTKp5KKVpoYkHVFoFCD0xC-FWBN1ZA2TTe20MNswXlzJ8I06QCM
Kidnapped, 1971.
https://networkonair.com/5213-large_default/kidnapped-blu-ray-.jpg
Several books on Sir Michael Caine have alleged that the cast and crew were not paid because of cash problems. Caine admitted this in his 1992 autobiography "What's It All About?"
Jack Hawkins couldn't speak and had to have his voice dubbed because he had been operated on for throat cancer and has had a tracheotomy. This is also the reason why in every scene he wears a scarf, it obscures the site of the tracheotomy. He made several other films during this period where the same method of concealing the tracheotomy site is used. It was dubbed by Charles Gray.
Kidnapped always remings me of McAdder in Blackadder...lol....
No, never! We must do right by Morag; we must return to Scotland and you must fight her in the old Highland way...bare breasted and each carrying an eight pound baby!
now, Heaven Can Wait, 1978.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRFFVF3wwJI9lN3hNvLJAXwORlBMEGQe ssFRC2MnRfVDvqt4VMc
The role of Joe Pendleton was originally a boxer in Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941). Warren Beatty originally wanted to have Muhammad Ali play the boxer. When Ali's boxing schedule prevented him from doing the movie, Beatty - who could not box but could play football - recast the lead role as a football player
Scrooged, 1988.
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Bill Murray and director Richard Donner reportedly did not enjoy working together, creating a lot of tension on-set. When asked by film critic Roger Ebert if he had any disagreements with Donner, Murray replied: "Only a few. Every single minute of the day. That could have been a really, really great movie. The script was so good. There's maybe one take in the final cut movie that is mine. We made it so fast, it was like doing a movie live. He kept telling me to do things louder, louder, louder. I think he was deaf."
When the Ghost of Christmas Present (Carol Kane) grabbed Bill Murray's lip, she tore it so badly that filming was halted for several days.
Bill Murray falling on his way out of the restaurant was unscripted and a genuine accident. (As evidenced by the reaction of the actor playing the waiter, and Murray's feet as he falls). Apparently, it was due to the stairs still being wet, after splashing the waiter with water, that caused him to lose his footing.
walpurgis
05-05-2022, 11:07
Bill Murray seems to have constant 'issues'.
Very eccentric bloke, supposedly. I think he's really good but if you look at the list of films he's been in they are mostly total crap:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000195/
The Man in the Iron Mask, 1977. Stars Richard Chamberlain and Patrick McGoohan.
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSi1KVPW4MsEGV_4GrMTaMX7oQ5U0ALL cuYOsUKmjd--kWkWan4
The final of four 1970s filmed adaptations of novels by Alexandre Dumas featuring Richard Chamberlain. The others being The Three Musketeers (1973), The Man in the Iron Mask (1977), The Four Musketeers (1974), and The Count of Monte-Cristo (1975), with a fifth made in the late 1980s, The Return of the Musketeers (1989).
Alexandre Dumas' novel "The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later", of which there are many filmed versions, has usually been shot under the title of "The Man in the Iron Mask", this being the final section of the book.
Chinatown, 1974. Director Roman Polanski.
https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p1933_p_v8_ad.jpg
After several takes that never looked quite right, Faye Dunaway got annoyed and told Jack Nicholson to actually slap her. He did and felt very guilty for it, despite it being Dunaway's decision. The shot made it into the movie.
Faye Dunaway and Roman Polanski were notorious for their on-set arguments. During filming, Polanski pulled out some strands of Dunaway's hair. On another occasion, when she asked him what her character's motivation was, he exploded, "Just say the f**king words, your salary is your motivation!"
L.A.'s original Chinatown was demolished between 1933 and 1936 to make way for Union Station. The current Chinatown, located a few blocks away, opened in 1938. So the only time L.A. had no official Chinatown was 1937, the year in which this film is set.
The Van der Lip Dam disaster is a reference to the collapse of the St. Francis Dam in 1928, forty miles northwest of Los Angeles, which had been designed by self-educated engineer William Mulholland. The consequent flooding killed at least four hundred fifty people, a loss of life that remains second only to that from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire in California's history.
walpurgis
05-05-2022, 14:46
Chinatown, 1974
Superb thriller! As was the follow up 'The Two Jakes', movies don't get much better than these.
Got both on DVD and I should watch them again I think.
Superb thriller! As was the follow up 'The Two Jakes', movies don't get much better than these.
Got both on DVD and I should watch them again I think.
yes both good flms. nicholsson directed second
'Bad for glass.'
Certainly one of the best films ever.
Blazing Saddles, 1974. Director Mel Brooks.
https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p1036_p_v12_an.jpg
(at around 45 mins) Cleavon Little was not warned about the "you know. . . . morons" line. His reaction was real.
The scene in which Cleavon Little aims his gun at his own head to save himself from the townspeople's wrath was based on an incident from Mel Brooks' childhood. He said that once, to his disbelief, he stole some gum and a water pistol from a drugstore; when a store worker tried to stop him, Brooks held the worker at bay with the very water pistol he had just taken from the store.
After promising Warner Brothers that he would edit out several "offensive" scenes, such as the infamous farting sequence, Mel Brooks never cut a single scene except one: after the room is darkened and Lilly (Madeline Kahn) informs Bart "It's TWUE! It's TWUE!," Bart (Cleavon Little) quietly states, "You're sucking on my arm." The scene was later added back to the home video release.
Production began with Gig Young as Jim, The Waco Kid. On the first day of shooting the scene where the drunk Waco Kid hangs from a bunk asking if Bart is black, Young revealed that he really was indeed drunk (he had had an alcohol problem for years) and proceeded to undergo a physical collapse on-set. According to Mel Brooks, "On the first day of shooting... we hung him upside down in the jail cell, and green stuff started spewing out of his mouth." Young's agent tried to defend him by explaining that he was a recovering alcoholic, with Brooks responding that wasn't actually recovered yet. Brooks shut down production for a day and Gene Wilder flew cross-country to take over the role. Young sued Warner Brothers for breach of contract.
Young also got sacked from 'Charlie's Angles.' He only had to do the voice of Charlie but was too drunk to even manage that.
American Guerrilla in the Philippines, 1950. Director Fritz Lang.
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Director Fritz Lang only made the film to pay his bills. In later years, he actively denied even making it. :rfl::rfl:
This movie was filmed just prior to the outbreak of the Korean War in June of 1950, and used American warships to portray Japanese ships. One such ship, the U.S.S. Orleck (DD 886), exists to this day after serving in the Korean War, the Vietnam War and being sold for a while to the Turkish Navy, and is permanently docked in Lake Charles, LA, where it serves as a museum.
Funniest line in movie... When Americans drop bombs son, they hit Japs, not us:eek::lolsign:
US airforce killed more of their own from air than the Japs did, or so my dad said :D still, they meant well...
The Big Sleep, 1978. Director Michael Winner.
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James Stewart(who was about 70) had difficulty saying his lines on time due to hearing problems. Some of the cast were shocked by his aged appearance. Robert Mitchum recalled, "The picture was all about corpses, but Jimmy looked deader than any of them." Stewart actually outlived Mitchum(who was 60 making the film) by one day, nearly 20 years later.
Oliver Reed told an interviewer he only accepted the minor supporting role of Eddie Mars in order to work with Robert Mitchum. Robert Mitchum impressed Oliver Reed on-set by drinking a bottle of gin in 55 minutes.
To avoid any copyright violations, Michael Winner organized a photo session for the cover of the pornographic book that Marlowe found in the bushes. Among the models taking part was Lindy Benson, who became Robert Mitchum's "companion" for the duration of filming.
so many things wrong with that film it would take the rest of my life to list them. Just one - it's set in London.
so many things wrong with that film it would take the rest of my life to list them. Just one - it's set in London.
:D its just a different interpretation on a novel. its ok and a good cast; i just dont try and compare it to a masterpiece. do that and you'll be ok:eyebrows: biggest issue for me was mitch was 60 and looked it+, istead of 33 as he should have been. In fact he went in for plastic surgey after film(im guessing his fee paid for the surgery and the gin:eek:
:D its just a different interpretation on a novel. its ok and a good cast; i just dont try and compare it to a masterpiece. do that and you'll be ok:eyebrows: biggest issue for me was mitch was 60 and looked it+, istead of 33 as he should have been. In fact he went in for plastic surgey after film(im guessing his fee paid for the surgery and the gin:eek:
I remember the first time I watched it was because of the cast. I don't think I'd seen the Bogart version then (I would have been about 17 or 18 at the time), but I'd read the book several times.
I thought it was terrible. Really disappointing.
Maybe ten years ago I decided to give it a second chance, I didn't make it past the first twenty minutes.
Mitchum looking too old is the least of its problems.
I remember the first time I watched it was because of the cast. I don't think I'd seen the Bogart version then (I would have been about 17 or 18 at the time), but I'd read the book several times.
I thought it was terrible. Really disappointing.
Maybe ten years ago I decided to give it a second chance, I didn't make it past the first twenty minutes.
Mitchum looking too old is the least of its problems.
he made another in london too. it was probably worse. ive got it on file too
Tombstone, 1993. Class act and super watchable, even if its not as accurate historically as the other one of day called Wyatt Earp with Costner in it.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/71/Tombstoneposter.jpeg
The line quoted by Doc at the end of the fight at the OK Corral is historically true, and was reported in the Tombstone papers reporting the fight. When confronted by one of the cowboys at point blank range, the cowboy reportedly said, "I got you now Doc, you son of a bitch!", to which Doc gleefully retorted, "You're a daisy if you do!"
Doc Holiday's wink to Billy Clanton just before the culmination of the O.K. Corral gun fight was completely improvised by Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer practiced for a long time on his quick-draw speed, and gave his character a Southern Aristocrat accent. The southern accent is an authentic touch, as Holliday was a cousin (several generations removed) of Margaret Mitchell, author of "Gone With the Wind".
Some years after the death of Doc Holliday, Wyatt was quoted in an interview as saying, "Doc was a dentist, not a lawman or an assassin, whom necessity had made a gambler; a gentleman whom disease had made a frontier vagabond; a philosopher whom life had made a caustic wit; a long lean ash-blond fellow nearly dead with consumption, and at the same time the most skillful gambler and the nerviest, speediest, deadliest man with a six-gun that I ever knew."
Robert Mitchum was signed on to star as Old Man Clanton. Prior to principal photography, he fell from his horse and injured his back, forcing him to quit the part. Instead, Mitchum provides the narration at the beginning and end of the film.
:D its just a different interpretation on a novel. its ok and a good cast; i just dont try and compare it to a masterpiece. do that and you'll be ok:eyebrows: biggest issue for me was mitch was 60 and looked it+, istead of 33 as he should have been. In fact he went in for plastic surgey after film(im guessing his fee paid for the surgery and the gin:eek:
It's a curious version. I'm not a big fan of anything directed by Michael Winner, and setting the action in London was never going to be successful.
It's a curious version. I'm not a big fan of anything directed by Michael Winner, and setting the action in London was never going to be successful.Don't think it was anything other than a couple of paychecks for Mitch. The 2 London noirs. He was old and not really got enough. He wasn't overly impressed with the stories etc but was picking up ,2 good checks.
It was interesting he always had a woman added to his contract when filming. He liked a young one in between sheets after be filming and lots of gin.
Cat Ballou, 1965 and an Oscar winning peformance from Lee Marvin and of course the gorgeous Jane Fonda.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNWEyYzczOWQtODlhNi00ZmE0LTgzZTYtOTcxNjU3MDAwM2 YzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjE5MjUyOTM@._V1_.jpg
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jane-fonda-cat-ballou-10_8650.jpg
The film's horse trainer told Elliot Silverstein that the scene where a horse leans against a wall with its front legs crossed could not be shot because horses don't cross their legs, but that it might be possible if he had a couple of days. Silverstein invoked his rank as director and gave him an hour. The trainer plied the horse with sugar cubes while repeatedly pushing its leg into position, and they were able to get the shot.
Alas Fonda was just a bit straight laced for the rest od cast and dissliked Marvins overt jovility and drunken pranks.... WEll, she was young:D
Jeremiah Johnson, 1972. Directed by Sidney Pollack.
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Based upon a real-life trapper named John Johnston, nicknamed "Crow Killer" and "Liver Eater Johnston" for his penchant for cutting out and eating the livers of Crow Indians he had killed (several Crows had murdered his wife and he swore vengeance against the entire tribe).
Liver Eatin' Johnston's wife (who was pregnant at the time) was actually killed by a random raiding party of Crow, not as revenge for a violation of their burial grounds. She was killed in the spring while Johnston was off trapping and he didn't return to find her body until several months later. He identified the band that had killed her because he recognized a Tennessee rifle he had given her in the possession of a Crow warrior. Also, rather than isolated incidents as shown in the movie, Johnston often recruited other mountain men as well as Indians (particularly Flatheads) to help him with his vendetta. The part about the warriors sent to kill him and told not to return without his scalp was true.
Joe Versus the Volcano, 1990.
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The only major issue that executive producer Steven Spielberg took with the production, was with the long unbroken take of Joe leaving Dr. Ellison's office building. The issue was that John Patrick Shanley did not shoot any coverage of the scene besides the one shot. Spielberg sent Shanley back to the location to film additional angles, which were promptly discarded in favor of the one-shot take.
walpurgis
07-05-2022, 12:00
Joe Versus the Volcano, 1990.
Been after region 2 DVD of that. Not paying the daft prices I've seen.
Been after region 2 DVD of that. Not paying the daft prices I've seen.
yeah it seems to be rarish. mine is an amazon stream
walpurgis
07-05-2022, 12:06
I'd certainly like to see it again. It has a quirky charm to it.
if isee one i will let u know.
Castaway, 2000. Director Robert Zemeckis..
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To make himself look like an average out of shape middle aged man Tom Hanks didn't exercise and allowed himself to grow pudgy. Production was then halted for a year so he could lose fifty pounds and grow out his hair for his time spent on the deserted island. During this hiatus, Robert Zemeckis used the same crew to film What Lies Beneath (2000).
Tom Hanks said he first got the idea for the film after reading an article about FedEx. "I realized that Boeing 747s filled with packages fly across the Pacific three times a day. What happens if one of those goes down?," he said. He took that idea and combined it with his interest in how to survive without the five required elements for living - food, water, shelter, fire, and companionship.
Some crew members were left on the island for a few days to survive and learn some skills. They used some of their survival techniques in the movie for the character of Chuck. They were: having trouble lighting a fire, opening a coconut, talking to a volleyball, collecting packages washed up on the beach, and catching fish.
3 Godfathers, 1948. Diretor John Ford...
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John Wayne's pose on the rear of the railroad car and his sweeping wave of his hat at the end of the film were copied by John Belushi for the ending of Continental Divide (1981).
This is a remake of the silent film The Three Godfathers (1916), which starred Ford's long-time friend Harry Carey. When Carey died in 1947, Ford decided to remake the story in Technicolor and dedicate the film to his memory. Carey's son, Harry Carey Jr., plays one of the three, "The Abilene Kid". The film Three Godfathers (1936) is based on the same source, so this film is, in some sense, a remake of that film as well.
It's a Wonderful Life, 1946.
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For the scene that required Donna Reed to throw a rock through the window of the Granville house, director Frank Capra hired a marksman to shoot it out on cue. To everyone's amazement, Reed broke the window by herself. She had played baseball in high school and had a strong throwing arm.
As Uncle Billy drunkenly leaves the Bailey home, it sounds as if he stumbles into some trash cans on the sidewalk. In fact, a crew member dropped a large tray of props right after Thomas Mitchell went off-screen. James Stewart began laughing, and Mitchell quickly improvised, "I'm alright, I'm okay!" Director Frank Capra decided to use this take in the final cut and gave the stagehand a $10 bonus for "improving the sound."
James Stewart was nervous about the phone kiss scene because it was his first onscreen kiss since his return to Hollywood after the war. Under director Frank Capra's watchful eye, Stewart filmed the scene in only one unrehearsed take, and it worked so well that part of the embrace was cut because it was too passionate to pass the censors.
Films made prior to this one used cornflakes painted white for the falling snow effect. Because the cornflakes were so loud, dialogue had to be dubbed in later. Director Frank Capra wanted to record the sound live, so a new snow effect was developed using foamite (a fire-fighting chemical), soap, and water. This mixture was then pumped at high pressure through a wind machine to create the silent, falling snow. 6,000 gallons of the new snow were used in the film. The RKO Effects Department received a Class III Scientific or Technical Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Academy Award aka Oscar Award) for the development of the new film snow.
Murder at the Gallop, 1963.
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The four movies in this franchise were regarded as "B" movies highlighted by superb casts. For this entry, two of the cast members would go on to be knighted: Dame Flora Robson and Dame Margaret Rutherford ... and not to forget its original creator, Dame Agatha Christie.
Like Murder Most Foul (1964), this movie was adapted from an Hercule Poirot novel, not a Miss Jane Marple novel.
Gladiator, 2000. Director Ridley Scott..
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Oliver Reed died three weeks before principal photography ended. Because Proximo was considered a key character, a clause in the movie's insurance contract would have allowed the filmmakers to re-shoot all of Reed's scenes with another actor at the insurer's expense, about $25 million. However, most of the actors and crew were exhausted from the punishing schedule, and Ridley Scott did not want to cut Reed from the movie. The script was rewritten, and a body double and CGI were used to give Reed's character a plausible resolution.
Joaquin Phoenix ad-libbed his scream of "Am I not merciful?" Connie Nielsen wasn't expecting it, and her frightened reaction was genuine.
Five tigers were used in the scene where Maximus fights Tigris the Gaul in the arena. A veterinarian armed with tranquilizer darts was present the entire time of this scene's shooting. For safety's sake, Russell Crowe was kept at least 15 feet away from the tigers.
The opening battle scene was filmed in Bourne Woods, Surrey, England. The Royal Forestry Commission had originally slated the area for deforestation, so Ridley Scott eagerly offered them his facilities to burn the woods to the ground. The Commission happily accepted.
Casablanca, 1942. .. Interesting that there has never been a fancy boxset of this with 4k etc. Maybe its so good it doesnt need it
https://images.moviesanywhere.com/be72f393064a69e973af17cfb521ec34/c53dcd16-11e6-483b-b68d-8d4bc721a7df.jpg
Many of the actors who played the Nazis were in fact German Jews who had escaped from Nazi Germany.
During the scene in which the "La Marseillaise" is sung over the German song "Die Wacht am Rhein" ("The Watch on the Rhine"), many of the extras had real tears in their eyes as a large number were actual refugees from Nazi persecution in Germany and elsewhere in Europe and were overcome by the emotions the scene brought out. The scene was copied from Jean Renoir's La Grande Illusion (1937), in which French soldiers in a German POW camp sing the song as a similar gesture of defiance. In that film the song was led by a prisoner who was in drag for a show the prisoners were putting on. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin" ("War Song for the Rhine Army").
Because the film was made during WWII the production was not allowed to film at an airport after dark for security reasons. Instead, it used a sound stage with a small cardboard cutout airplane and forced perspective. To give the illusion that the plane was full-sized, they used little people to portray the crew preparing the plane for take-off. Years later the same technique was used in Alien (1979), in the scene where the crew discovers the dead "space jockey", with director Ridley Scott's son and some of his friends in scaled-down spacesuits.
Jason Bourne, 2016.
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQidbcqrpW2e6MYtz5XKGsvRFdfUa88f CL_3fvafEOP6JksQudS
Matt Damon admitted that physically training for the role of Bourne was much harder in his forties, and he had to keep to a very strict diet to maintain his physique during filming.
Source Code, 2011. excellent film this.
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTcQkRU-m9otcd788GwWIIEtuCiYmjfy8ySoUvEFxEqsAf9vhrD
The watch Colter uses to time the 8 minutes seems to be the Victorinox Swiss Army 241300 Chrono Classic XLS MT.
The pilot episode Quantum Leap: Genesis: Part 1 - September 13, 1956 (1989) of Quantum Leap features the main character played by Scott Bakula jumping into someone else's body in the past, and the episode ends with him calling and talking to his father, as he is still alive during this time. In the final scene of Source Code, when the main character similarly takes advantage of being in the past to call his father, the father is voiced by Scott Bakula.
walpurgis
09-05-2022, 12:55
Source Code, 2011. excellent film this.
Just bought the DVD. Not watched it yet.
Just bought the DVD. Not watched it yet.
think you'll like it
The Day the Earth Caught Fire, 1961... Director Val Guest. Thiss i the BFI bluray as in picture. Super film this...
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71vhGRmWGkL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
Towards the end, Peter (Edward Judd) is driving to Jeannie's (Janet Munro's) apartment, when he stops to talk to a policeman, who was played by Sir Michael Caine.
This movie received an "X" certificate from the British Board of Film Censors upon release, barring anyone under eighteen from seeing it.
The final spoken passage in the film is "Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to see the sun" - a quote from Ecclesiastes 11:7 in the World English Bible.
In an early scene, Jeannie (Janet Munro) is struggling with a Roneo stencil duplicator, saying it is "over-inking". The Roneo company threatened to sue the producers for the potential damage to the reputation of their products.
In his commentary track for the 2001 Anchor Bay DVD release, director Val Guest stated that the sound of church bells heard at the very end of the American version had been added by distributor Universal, in order to suggest that the emergency detonation had succeeded and that the Earth had been saved. Guest speculated that the bells motif had been inspired by The War of the Worlds (1953), which ends with the joyous ringing of church bells after the emergency (and a nuclear explosion). But Guest maintained that his intention was to always have an ambiguous ending. This copy has the bells...
A damning look at mankind then..
Now some lighter piratey "arr, me maties" stuff with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, 2003.
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRKTcTqELNNPpy-c6orc876-Yxo-_QKENBdIufLEZNlSjHQBj_i
Some great escapism...
Erik the Viking, 1989. Roger Ebert hated this so a great reason to love it:D
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRYArTs-9FcnPdwaZslSiHTn55xHsDzbgcHpZqPU-7HuKsXdu6H
Although in many ways a fantasy film, a certain amount of historical accuracy was intended. Most notably, not one horned helmet is seen in the entire movie.
At one stage Sean Connery, Alec Guinness and Bob Hoskins were announced for the cast.
Paul, 2011
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For much of the filming, Seth Rogen was off filming The Green Hornet (2011), and so was unable to completely inhabit Paul's motion, and interact with the other actors. Joe Lo Truglio, who also plays O'Reilly in the film, stood in and finished what Rogen didn't complete. He studied Rogen extensively, in order to impersonate his voice, performed on his knees to capture Paul's physical presence, and even improvised in character as Paul. When filming wrapped, Rogen came in and provided the character's voice.
Avanti!, 1972.
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Juliet Mills gained 25 pounds within 6 weeks to take on the role of Pamela Piggott. (she still looked great, if a few lbs over her prime lol)
After Marcello Mastroianni had turned down the role of Carlucci, Billy Wilder tested both Nino Manfredi and Romolo Valli for the part. However, he worried that their accents would be too strong for American audiences and cast the New Zealand-born Clive Revill after the actor (whom he had recently directed in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)) happened to call him on the telephone. Revill had played a Russian in his earlier Wilder film and had also played an Italian quite recently in The Assassination Bureau (1969); Wilder recalled his facility for languages and his skill at accents (he had also played both an Arab and a Scot in Modesty Blaise (1966), an American in A Fine Madness (1966) and another Russian in both Fathom (1967) and The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968) in the recent past) and hired him at once.
Billy Wilder cast several non-professionals in supporting roles. Guidarino Guidi was a Rome actor's agent who called Wilder about getting jobs on the film for various clients and was instead cast as the maitre d' of the Excelsior Hotel; Raffaele Mottola was hired as the film's dialogue coach and then persuaded to play the passport official at the start of the film; and the elderly Armando Giovagnoli, playing the nonagenarian Baron, was Wilder's chauffeur on the film. The famous make-up man Harry Ray, who worked on a number of Wilder films (and was, for a time, Jack Lemmon's personal make-up man), was cast as Dr. Fleischman, the dentist on Wendell's plane - perhaps because of his close resemblance to Billy Wilder.
Back to The Future, 1985.
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The rights to the film and its sequels are owned by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. In a 2015 interview, Zemeckis maintained that no reboot or remake of the film would be authorized during his or Gale's lifetime.
The Bourne Identity, 2002... The name Bourne came from Ansel Bourne, a preacher in Rhode Island, the first documented case of "dissociative fugue", a condition not unlike dissociative amnesia or dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality disorder). One day in 1887 he forgot who he was, started a new life in Pennsylvania under the name Brown, and opened a convenience store. About three months later, he woke up and not only remembered his life as Bourne, but forgot all of his life as Brown... and needless to say was quite confused as to why he was in Pennsylvania.
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Matt Damon climbed down the last 30 feet of the building himself, without a stunt double. He called it "the most gruelling thing I had to do."
Matt Damon trained in the Filipino martial art Kali for the movie, as well as some Jeet Kune Do. Kali involves using the aggressor's energy against him and conserving your own energy.
Stagecoach, 1939. Director John Ford...
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Yakima Canutt explained how the stunt was accomplished where, as an Apache warrior attacking the stagecoach, he is "shot", falls off his horse, and then gets dragged underneath the stagecoach: "You have to run the horses fast, so they'll run straight. If they run slow, they move around a lot. When you turn loose to go under the coach, you've got to bring your arms over your chest and stomach. You've got to hold your elbows close to your body, or that front axle will knock them off." After the stunt was completed, Canutt ran to director John Ford to make sure they got the stunt on film. Ford replied that even if they hadn't, "I'll never shoot that again."
In his 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, Steven Spielberg paid homage to Canutt, recreating the stunt when stuntman Terry Leonard (doubling for Harrison Ford) 'dropped' from the front of a German transport truck, was dragged underneath (along a prepared trench) and then climbed up the back and round to the front again.
The hat that John Wayne wears was his own. He would wear it in many westerns during the next two decades before retiring it after Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo (1959) because it was simply "falling apart." After that, the hat was displayed under glass in his home.
As the movie began I thought to myself, "Hmmm, this transfer doesn't look all that great." There was an occasional run in the film, and there were moments of heavy grain. Then, as I was going through the special features, I watched the original theatrical trailer and saw how bad this transfer could have been: washed out, faded, generally indecipherable. I watched the movie again at this point, and was positively gobsmacked. This may not look reference quality, but it could have looked a lot worse.
Stuntman Yakima Canutt was an amazing guy and amazingly lived til he was 90.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakima_Canutt
Groundhog Day, 1993. Director Harold Ramis...
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Bill Murray was bitten by the groundhog twice during shooting. Murray had to have anti rabies injections, because the bites were so severe.
According to Director Harold Ramis, most of the time, when he tried to explain a scene to Bill Murray, Murray would interrupt and ask, "Just tell me - good Phil or bad Phil?"
Phil at the piano teacher's house, when he is fumblingly playing Sergei Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme by Paginini," is actually Bill Murray playing. He does not read music, but he learned that much of the song by ear. The same rhapsody, specifically its 18th Variation, was also used in another time fantasy movie, Somewhere in Time (1980).
Papillon, 1973.
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Steve McQueen insisted on performing the stunt where he jumps off a cliff. McQueen once said that it was "one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life".
Henri Charrière was present for the shoot in Jamaica, but he died of lung cancer in July 1973, a few months before the film was edited and released. He never got to see the finished product.
The crew took advantage of the abundant marijuana that was readily available in Jamaica. Not content to merely smoke it, they boiled it down to mix in drinks at a party. Several people got sick from that, particularly Director Franklin J. Schaffner, causing a day's delay in shooting.
Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman did have some difficulties, despite their determination to behave professionally toward each other. When Hoffman began one speech at breakneck speed, McQueen stopped him and said, "Less, man, less. Toss that shit out, you don't need it. Keep it simple." Another time, Hoffman invited a few close friends to watch a day's filming. McQueen had them thrown off the set. Nevertheless, Hoffman called their relationship "friendly rivalry" and later said his co-star "was a wonderful guy. Off screen, he was the nicest, classiest man. On the set itself he became very intense." Another time, however, he referred to McQueen as "that son of a bitch".
Good film. I saw it in the cinema on its release. Now have it on DVD. Always watchable.
Little Big Man, 1970.. Director Arthur Penn...
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The role of Old Lodge Skins was initially offered to Marlon Brando, who turned it down. Other sources claim Arthur Penn's first choice for the role was Sir Laurence Olivier. When that didn't work out, Richard Boone was slated for the role. When Boone backed out at the last minute, Chief Dan George was given the part and earned an Oscar nomination. He became the first Native American to receive an Academy Award nomination for acting.
Little Big Man was the name of an actual historical figure. He was a Native American, an Oglala Lakota, who was a fearless and respected warrior who fought under, and was rivals with, Crazy Horse. He also fought at the Battle of Little Big Horn, a battle which is depicted in this film.
Although Dustin Hoffman plays the "younger" adopted son of Faye Dunaway's character in the film, he's actually four years older than Dunaway. Hoffman was born in 1937, while Dunaway was born in 1941.
When Dustin Hoffman played Jack Crabb as an old man his face was covered with a 14 piece latex mask,created by Dick Smith, which took 5 hours a day to apply.
'Return Of The Saint'
Ian Ogilvy takes over the role from Roger Moore, first broadcast 26/11/1978
Really I didn't rate this even back then. Best thing about it is the opening theme titles and music, and his white Jaguar XJS. I always wanted one until I went into the trade and discovered that the engines leak more oil than the Torrey Canyon.
walpurgis
13-05-2022, 07:28
'Return Of The Saint'
It's pretty lame.
The Bourne Supremacy, 2004.
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To give this movie its gritty, documentary-style appearance, director Paul Greengrass used mostly handheld cameras, and a muted color palette. Greengrass also made sure to avoid computer graphics at all costs, and all of the stunts shown in the movie were achieved practically. Unlike the James Bond franchise, all the devices that Bourne uses are real and can be purchased by the average citizen. (well in America)lol
Matt Damon accidentally knocked out Tim Griffin who played the CIA interrogator John Nevins during the scene in the consulate when Bourne takes him and a security guard down after being captured.
It's pretty lame.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Os38o2K0QPo
Stir Crazy, 1980.
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Prior to filming, Arizona State Prison Warden Robert Raines had tried to organize a rodeo for 2 years. The biggest obstacle was the cost of constructing an arena, complete with grandstand, stables, and livestock chutes. When Columbia Pictures inquired about renting the prison for a film shoot, he saw a way to realize his dream. If security could be maintained, the prison was available for a fee which matched the budget for the new rodeo grounds. Raines said, "There was a fringe benefit we didn't anticipate. Morale in the prison was never higher. Some 350 inmates signed on as extras, playing themselves, and the rest, even the most notorious troublemakers, stayed on their best behavior. There were simply no incidents."
The cast and crew had to leave the prison walking in a line, single file, every night so the guards could ensure that no inmates escaped. One night, Charles Weldon recalled, "As I was walking out, a guard asked me to stand to one side. I should have realized something was wrong, but I obeyed him without a second thought." A moment later, Weldon found himself marched toward a cell block, along with the inmate extras. Fortunately, the film's production coordinator noticed one of the actors was missing, and rushed back to the prison. Weldon added "The guard told me, 'I could have sworn you were one of our guys.' He was profusely apologetic. But I didn't mind. To an actor, there couldn't have been a higher compliment."
Sneakers, 1992.
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When Martin (Robert Redford) and Cosmo (Sir Ben Kingsley) attempt their initial prank at the beginning of the movie, the façade building seen is the famous Hill Valley clock tower from the Back to the Future (1985) trilogy.
The computer in the room off of Cosmo's (Sir Ben Kingsley's) office in the PlayTronics building (the one that looks like a circular bench) is actually a Cray Y-MP, a multi-million dollar supercomputer that was one of the worlds fastest computers at the time this movie was made.
The movie deals with the impact of a factoring breakthrough on encryption, a reference to the RSA algorithm, the most popular public-key encryption algorithm in use today. Professor Len Adleman, one of the co-inventors of the RSA algorithm, provided some technical guidance on this movie in exchange for giving his wife a chance to meet Robert Redford.
Adleman served as a mathematical consultant on this movie, and spent several days constructing the slides Janek (Donal Logue) displays at the college symposium on "unbreakable codes" (which took Adleman a considerable amount of time to create using primitive early 1990s computer graphics technology). In the end, writer and director Phil Alden Robinson had the slides transposed as oil crayon scribbles, on account of the notion that "That's what a regular mathematician would have done." Adleman later remarked that this was indeed true, and what he would have done, and would have saved him days if only he'd known.
great quote...
“There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”
and humourously...
“- Cosmo: There I was in prison. And one day I helped a couple of nice older gentlemen make some free telephone calls. They turned out to be, let us say, good family men.
- Bishop: Organized crime?
- Cosmo: Hah. Don't kid yourself. It's not that organized.”
The Conversation, 1974. Director Francis Ford Coppola... This is the Studio Canal bluray
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The blue Mercedes limousine that Cindy Williams is sitting in near the end of the film was won by Francis Ford Coppola on a bet with Paramount Pictures. Coppola had complained about the station wagon he shared with five other passengers during the filming of The Godfather (1972). Studio executives told him that if The Godfather had grossed a certain amount, they would spring for a new car. After The Godfather became the highest grossing film of all time, Coppola and George Lucas went to a dealer and picked out the Mercedes, telling the salesman to bill Paramount Pictures.
Francis Ford Coppola's personal favorite of his movies, and also Gene Hackman's of his.
Gene Hackman learned to play the saxophone especially for the film.
On the DVD commentary, Francis Ford Coppola says he was shocked to learn that the film utilized the very same surveillance and wire-tapping equipment that members of the Nixon Administration used to spy on political opponents prior to the Watergate scandal. Coppola has said this is the reason the film gained part of the recognition it has received, but that this is entirely coincidental. Not only was the script completed in the mid 1960s (before the Nixon Administration came to power) but the spying equipment used in the film was discovered through research, and the use of technical advisers, and not, as many believed, by revelatory newspaper stories about the Watergate break-in. Coppola also noted that filming had been completed several months before the most revelatory Watergate stories broke in the press. Since the film was released to theaters just a few months before Richard Nixon resigned as President, Coppola felt that audiences interpreted the film to be a reaction to both the Watergate scandal and its fall-out.
Gene Hackman was a fit, good-looking relatively young man when Francis Ford Coppola cast him as Harry Caul. In order to personify Harry's weary, aging, and unhappy existence, Hackman grew a pathetic-looking mustache, wore ill-fitting glasses, and had a wardrobe picked out that was at least ten years out of date. Coppola specifically told Hackman he wanted Harry to look like a "nudnik", a Yiddish word referring to a person who is boring and a pest.
One of my favourite films.
Today, surveillance experts are referred to as "plumbers", owing to Harry Caul listening into the conversation from the bathroom of a neighbouring room in the hotel.
Looper, 2012.. 4K uhd..
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Talking about Looper and time travel in film, Rian Johnson said:
Even though it's a time-travel movie, the pleasure of it doesn't come from the mass of time travel. It's not a film like Primer, for instance, where the big part of the enjoyment is kind of working out all the intricacies of it. For Looper, I very much wanted it to be a more character-based movie that is more about how these characters dealt with the situation time travel has brought about. So the biggest challenge was figuring out how to not spend the whole movie explaining the rules and figure out how to put it out there in a way that made sense on some intuitive level for the audience; then get past it and deal with the real meat of the story.
Interupted Journey, 1949.
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The reason for the crash which was due to Richard Todd pulling the communication cord mirrors an actual crash the previous year near Winsford in Cheshire when a serviceman on his way home did the same thing so he could get home quicker rather than continuing to Crewe and then catching a train back to Winsford.
Interupted Journey, 1949.
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The reason for the crash which was due to Richard Todd pulling the communication cord mirrors an actual crash the previous year near Winsford in Cheshire when a serviceman on his way home did the same thing so he could get home quicker rather than continuing to Crewe and then catching a train back to Winsford.
Interesting that, thought about doing it myself but wouldn't actually do it.
According to Wikipedia:
The person who pulled the emergency cord was a railway employee who worked as a signalbox lad in Winsford Junction, but was currently serving in the army having been called up. He thought that the train would be perfectly safe because he knew how the signalling equipment of the time in that area worked; but he did not know that the train had stopped short of the track circuit, which would have reminded the signalman of its presence. He attended the enquiry to confess, and was still a signalman in Winsford Junction until he retired in the 1990s
There's no citation for that though and it seems unlikely, given that twenty-four people died. He'd surely do time for manslaughter?
looks like it wasnt really his fault, well wholly...
"The two trains concerned were the 5.40 p.m. Up Passenger Express from Glasgow to Euston, comprising ten bogie coaches, and the 6.25 p.m. Up Postal Express from Glasgow to Euston, composed of 13 bogie vans ; both were hauled by Pacific type engines. The Passenger train had been standing for about 17 minutes in the 1s mile section between Winsford Junction and Winsford Station signal boxes after a passenger had pulled the communication chain (without good reason), but the collision resulted from the signalman at Winsford Station clearing the block instruments although he had not seen the train pass the box and subsequently accepting the Postal train.
The Postal train thus entered the occupied section under clear signals at Winsford Junction, but the driver braked when he saw a red light displayed by the guard of the Passenger train about 400 yards in rear of it ; detonators were also exploded, and the speed had been reduced to 45-50 m.p.h. when the collision took place. Both lines were blocked by the wreckage, and a Down Postal express was fortunately stopped at Winsford Station box.
The impact demolished the rear coach of the Passenger train (whose brakes were off) and half of the coach next ahead, and there was severe telescoping between the second, third and fourth vans of the Postal train. There was a fairly full load of passengers in the former train and I regret to report that 16 were killed and eight subsequently died of their injuries in hospital ; all were in the last two coaches. Fourteen passengers and four of the Post Office staff were detained in hospital, of whom eight were discharged within a week, and 12 passengers and the two guards were treated for minor injuries or shock. Serious damage to the engine of the Postal train was confined to the front end, and the driver and fireman were uninjured."
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