View Full Version : Now Screening - What Are You Watching Right Now?
Spectral Morn
28-09-2014, 21:23
This,ll send you bananas then!
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/09/28/406ae0dd03c1e6512a4871d2f2233981.jpg
Gentlemen she would eat you all for breakfast and spit you all out :lol:
Regards Neil
Spectral Morn
28-09-2014, 22:10
Babylon 5 - The Gathering
The slightly clunky pilot for what would become one of the finest TV sci-fi series ever made. I recall watching this as a video I hired, and thinking once finished watching it that it would make a good series. I knew it was a pilot and as so many series never get beyond a first go didn't hold my breath re there ever being more and some time later that series I thought would not get made was shown on Channel 4 :cool: a very pleasant surprise.
If you have never watched B5 and like sci-fi then you are in my opinion missing out big time.
Regards Neil
Gentlemen she would eat you all for breakfast and spit you all out :lol:
Regards Neil
Don't bet on that Neil :eyebrows: and anyhoo, what a way to go.
...now watching Red Dwarf 3
Showing on BBC2 tonight at 10.00pm:
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
http://www.find-dvd.co.uk/pictures/1100319.jpg
Biographical drama charting the life and rise to fame of “punk poet laureate” Ian Dury, starring Andy Serkis. Despite contracting polio as a child, the singer defied expectations to become one of the pioneers of the British punk rock scene in the late 1970s.
Serkis (he of Gollum fame) gives a tour de force performance as the late great Ian Dury – a rôle he was born to play, in much the same way that Stephen Fry was born to play Oscar Wilde, (or Jeeves in ‘Jeeves and Wooster’).
I watched Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll this evening and enjoyed it immensely, I rate Serkis highly and IMO he was Ian Drury personified. This film is classy, witty, hilarious, tragic, thought provoking and raw. 10/10
Watched Ides of March last night.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1124035/
Great film, reminds me of Primary Colours, another Washington based political drama, but with a William Friedkin/ Frankenheimer 70's vibe to it.
Great acting, Phillip Hoffman was great but really surprised by Ryan Gosling.
Strong screen presence, reminded me of a young Steve McQueen in the film.
Amazing in Drive, this guys some actor.
Asks good questions about Politics, morality, loyalty and how far you will go, what bad things you will do to get a good job done.
Layered, complex and doesn't spoon feed you the answers, my kinda film.
Great direction by Clooney too.
Highly recommended.
Going to watch "Down Among the Big Boys " which came out in 1993, and starred Billy Connelly, Maggie Bell, Ashley Jensen and Alex Norton. Bill barclay also appears as a police Sergeant .....This was part of the "Screen One" series on the Beeb, and has Connelly as a top Glasgow Gangster and Thief robbing a bank while his daughter is about to marry a copper......A mix of drama with some excellent comedic moments make this a must see, especially for lovers of the Gallus.
Great show that. Love the bit when they blow the safety deposits while dancing to an Orange band playing in the street..
Now on to Red Dwarf series 4.....Love my Dwarf:eyebrows:
smeggin' great that.
Watched "The Strain" tv series last night. Very good.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2654620/
New take on the vampire story, set in modern day new york.
Really enjoyable, co-written and executive produced by Guillermo Del Toro.
Some genuinely creepy and horrific stuff in there.
Another Strain fan. I'm going to get the books.
Now watching BomberBoys on Yesterday
It Was the terror of Jazz Music
Tonight, is Leone night with "Giù la testa" (1971) being the film of choice. AKA "Duck You Sucker" , AKA "Once Upon A Time In The Revolution" , AKA A Fistful of Dynamite. Written by Luciano Vincenzoni, plus Sergio's, Donati and Leone, and starring Rod Steiger and James Coburn in the main roles.
When James Coburn (who had been offered roles in Sergio Leone's For a Fistful of Dollars (1964) and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)) was offered the role of John(Sean) Mallory by Leone, he was initially reluctant. He had dinner with Henry Fonda (star of Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)) and asked him what he thought of Leone. Fonda told him that he considered Leone the greatest director he ever worked with. Coburn then took the part. (Similarly, Fonda himself had been reluctant to take the part Leone offered hims, but was persuaded by his friend, Eli Wallach.) The film was initially planned to have been directed by Leone's assistant Giancarlo Santi, but both Rod Steiger and James Coburn demanded that Sergio Leone direct the picture, so Santi was out.
A nice line or two on revolution; I know what I am talking about when I am talking about the revolutions. The people who read the books go to the people who can't read the books, the poor people, and say, "We have to have a change." So, the poor people make the change, ah? And then, the people who read the books, they all sit around the big polished tables, and they talk and talk and talk and eat and eat and eat, eh? But what has happened to the poor people? They're dead! That's your revolution. Shhh... So, please, don't tell me about revolutions! And what happens afterwards? The same fucking thing starts all over again!
My favourite line : As Sean opens his coat to reveal the explosives strapped to his body he says "If you shoot me, they will have to change all the maps" :rfl:
In Revolution-torn 1913 Mexico, Juan Miranda (Rod Steiger), a Mexican outlaw leading a bandit family, robs a coach of wealthy men and rapes a female passenger (Maria Monti) who insulted him. Passing by on a motorcycle is Seán (John) Mallory (James Coburn), an early Irish Republican explosives expert on the run from the British.
The inspiration for the firing squad scene came from Francisco Goya, and in particular from his set of prints The Disasters of War. Leone showed the prints to director of photography Giuseppe Ruzzolini in order to get the lighting and colour effects he wanted. The film is believed to have been influenced by Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, and it shares some plot elements with Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, a western also starring Coburn and released a year later.
Music as always is by Ennio Morricone.
Moving on to the mini series of Mary Wesley's book, "The Camomile Lawn" starring Felicity Kendal, Claire Bloom, Jennifer Ehle, Paul Eddington, Virginia McKenna, Tara Fitzgerald and Toby Stephens to name just a few..
Lush and totally engaging series with fabulous performances all round. Set during the war and then up to present day, and seen during flashbacks from the people involved at a funeral. Thought Paul Eddington was fantastic, as is Rebecca Hall(Iron Man 3) in the role of Sophy as a child (played by Claire Bloom as an adult
One of Channel 4's best productions, this follows the book pretty much to the letter. I'll be engrossed in this for quite some time as I can never stop once I start it. Probably the only program that really takes me to the place and time.
Moving on to the mini series of Mary Wesley's book, "The Camomile Lawn" starring Felicity Kendal, Claire Bloom, Jennifer Ehle, Paul Eddington, Virginia McKenna, Tara Fitzgerald and Toby Stephens to name just a few..
Lush and totally engaging series with fabulous performances all round. Set during the war and then up to present day, and seen during flashbacks from the people involved at a funeral. Thought Paul Eddington was fantastic, as is Rebecca Hall(Iron Man 3) in the role of Sophy as a child (played by Claire Bloom as an adult
One of Channel 4's best productions, this follows the book pretty much to the letter. I'll be engrossed in this for quite some time as I can never stop once I start it. Probably the only program that really takes me to the place and time.
What a cast line up! Sad to think it was probably Paul Eddington's last appearance.
And with Claire Bloom (one of my first 'crushes'), and Tara Fitzgerald and Rebecca Hall (two of my later 'crushes' - Goodness, I'm too old for all this!), could one ask for more?
If you like The Camomile Lawn, you will probably like Brideshead Revisited. Also starring Claire Bloom and a rather young Jeremy Irons.
Got a Raoul Walsh cracker from 1949 for viewing tonight. White Heat starring James Cagney as Arthur "Cody" Jarrett, Virginia Mayo as Verna Jarrett, Edmond O'Brien as Hank Fallon AKA "Vic Pardo" and Margaret Wycherly as "Ma" Jarrett. Inspiration was said to have been Fred Barker and Arthur Barker, gangsters of the 1930s, famously devoted to their domineering mother Ma Barker.
White Heat was filmed between May 5 and mid-June 1949. Filming locations included the Southern Pacific railroad tunnel in the Santa Susana Mountains near Chatsworth, California, and the Shell Oil plant at 198th Street and Figueroa in Torrance, California, where the final climactic shoot-out was filmed. The outdoor theatre that Cody, Verna and Ma duck into is the now-demolished San Val Drive-In at 2720 Winona Avenue in Burbank, California - the second drive-in theatre to open in California, after the "Drive-In Theatre" on Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles. White Heat is ranked no 4 in the American Film Institute's list of the 10 greatest gangster films.
If the surprise expressed by James Cagney's fellow inmates during "the telephone game" scene in the prison dining room appears real, it's because it is. Director Raoul Walsh didn't tell the rest of the cast what was about to happen, so Cagney's outburst caught them by surprise. In fact, Walsh himself didn't know what Cagney had planned; the scene as written wasn't working, and Cagney had an idea. He told Walsh to put the two biggest extras playing cons in the mess-hall next to him on the bench (he used their shoulders to boost himself onto the table) and to keep the cameras rolling no matter what. At the time of filming of White Heat (1949), Special Effects were not yet using squibs (tiny explosives that simulate the effects of bullets). The producers employed skilled marksmen who used low velocity bullets to break windows or show bullets hitting near the characters. In the factory scene, James Cagney was missed by mere inches.
"TOP OF THE WORLD MA!"
James Cagney received the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award. Charlton Heston, in announcing that Cagney was to be honoured, called him one of the most significant figures of a generation when American film was dominant.
He received the Kennedy Centre Honours in 1980. In 1984, Ronald Reagan awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In 1999, the U.S. Postal Service issued a 33 cent stamp honouring Cagney.
Cagney was among the most favoured actors for the director Stanley Kubrick and the actor Marlon Brando, and was considered by Orson Welles to be maybe the greatest actor to ever appear in front of a camera. Warner Bros. would arrange private screenings of Cagney films for Winston Churchill.
Cody Jarrett was one stone cold fruit loop psycho.
Back now to the second disc of the Camomile Lawn
Tonight it is The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) Directed by Joseph Sargent (real Name Giuseppe Danielle Sorgente.), who was infamous for Jaws....the revenge :doh:
Stars Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam and Julius Harris who was in Cagney & Lacey seeing as we have been into cop series :eyebrows: Scored by David Shire, the soundtrack was rated one of the best in movie history.
From the Book by John Godey, who also did the book and screenplay for Never a Dull Moment starring Dick Van Dyke, Edward G. Robinson.
The Transit Authority (TA) of New York at first refused to allow the film to be shot on the actual New York subway. They feared it would lead to imitative crime (it didn't, but their position was shown to be reasonable when the later film Money Train (1995) apparently did). When they did the remake you can see why it was important as they didnt.
The meaning of "Pelham One Two Three" refers to the New York subway timetable terminus and time of departure schedule radio call sign. As explained in the movie, "Pelham" is the name of the station of origin where the subway train departs whereas "One Two Three" refers to the time of departure i.e. 1.23 pm. Ever since the release of the film, no6 train has never been scheduled to leave Pelham Station at either 13:23 or 01:23 by the New York City Transit Authority. This was the practice for many years until the policy was discontinued but generally as a kind of tradition and caution, trains are still not scheduled to leave the Pelham at either 1.23 am or pm although the ban was rescinded.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three was released on October 2, 1974. It grossed $16,550,000 at the box office and was filmed with a $5,000,000 budget.
Now about to watch "Tomkinson's Schooldays"- A Ripping Yarn starring Michael Palin............
Dont think I've seen Brideshead funnily......might try it
If you like The Camomile Lawn, you will probably like Brideshead Revisited. Also starring Claire Bloom and a rather young Jeremy Irons.[/QUOTE]
Tonight it is The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) Directed by Joseph Sargent (real Name Giuseppe Danielle Sorgente.), who was infamous for Jaws....the revenge :doh:
Stars Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam and Julius Harris who was in Cagney & Lacey seeing as we have been into cop series :eyebrows: Scored by David Shire, the soundtrack was rated one of the best in movie history.
From the Book by John Godey, who also did the book and screenplay for Never a Dull Moment starring Dick Van Dyke, Edward G. Robinson.
The Transit Authority (TA) of New York at first refused to allow the film to be shot on the actual New York subway. They feared it would lead to imitative crime (it didn't, but their position was shown to be reasonable when the later film Money Train (1995) apparently did). When they did the remake you can see why it was important as they didnt.
The meaning of "Pelham One Two Three" refers to the New York subway timetable terminus and time of departure schedule radio call sign. As explained in the movie, "Pelham" is the name of the station of origin where the subway train departs whereas "One Two Three" refers to the time of departure i.e. 1.23 pm. Ever since the release of the film, no6 train has never been scheduled to leave Pelham Station at either 13:23 or 01:23 by the New York City Transit Authority. This was the practice for many years until the policy was discontinued but generally as a kind of tradition and caution, trains are still not scheduled to leave the Pelham at either 1.23 am or pm although the ban was rescinded.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three was released on October 2, 1974. It grossed $16,550,000 at the box office and was filmed with a $5,000,000 budget.
"gesundheit..." :)
Jo Sargent also directed some of the best episodes of Star Trek's first Season, thought to be its best.
Live long n' prosper dudes.
on to The Testing of Eric Olthwaite now........Mum, I don't think I've seen black pudding as black as that......oh shut up you boring little tit:lol:
escape from Stalagluft 112b....... all the best British officers were there and there was a waiting list of several years to get in:lol:
Now on to Carry on Follow That Camel. Very underrated carry on this with Phil Silvers. Also Anita Harris displays her considerable charms. Always had a fancy for Anita.
on to The Testing of Eric Olthwaite now........Mum, I don't think I've seen black pudding as black as that......oh shut up you boring little tit:lol:
Was that the one where his Dad pretended to be French so he didn't have to talk to him?
Was that the one where his Dad pretended to be French so he didn't have to talk to him?
Oh, quelle journée au bas de la terre. Je suis très fatigué demain, Vera.
Von Ryan,s Express is just started on film four.A Frank Sinatra vehicle but well done and superbly supported by the able Trevor Howard.
I was just watching Frank last night in 'Never So Few' knocking about in the Burmese jungle with Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson. One problem with a lot of the Hollywood films from the Fifties and early Sixties was the pacing, especialy with the 'love interest' scenes which seem to drag on forever.
I was just watching Frank last night in 'Never So Few' knocking about in the Burmese jungle with Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson. One problem with a lot of the Hollywood films from the Fifties and early Sixties was the pacing, especialy with the 'love interest' scenes which seem to drag on forever.
Quite a good one that. ..and yes producers know sex sells so they'll pop a bit of skirt in anywhere. Was surprised Tom Hanks didnae find a nice bit when he was a castaway :eyebrows:
Tonight I'm going back to the great depression to watch John Ford's 1940 classic, The Grapes of Wrath, starring Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, Grant Mitchell, John Carradine and Ward Bond. Screen play by Nunnally Johnston(The Mudlark, Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation and the Dirty Dozen to name a few) from the superb book by John Steinbeck.
Set during the Great Depression, the novel focuses on the Joads, a poor family of tenant farmers driven from their Oklahoma home by drought, economic hardship, agricultural industry changes and bank foreclosures forcing tenant farmers out of work. Due to their nearly hopeless situation, and in part because they were trapped in the Dust Bowl, the Joads set out for California. Along with thousands of other "Okies", they sought jobs, land, dignity, and a future.
Prior to filming, producer Darryl F. Zanuck sent undercover investigators out to the migrant camps to see if John Steinbeck had been exaggerating about the squalor and unfair treatment meted out there. He was horrified to discover that, if anything, Steinbeck had actually downplayed what went on in the camps. Banks and the large farming corporations that controlled most California farms were not keen on the original novel (it was banned in some states and in several counties in California, and the book was not carried in the municipal library of author John Steinbeck's home town of Salinas, California, until the 1990s) and were even less thrilled that a film was being made of it. The Associated Farmers of California called for a boycott of all 20th Century-Fox films, and Steinbeck himself received death threats. It was also banned in the Soviet Union by Joseph Stalin because the poorest of the poor in America were portrayed as having a car. Just shows that a great book and film can hit hard.
The original story called for the pregnant Rosasharn, the Joad's lass, having a still birth and then letting a starving man feed from her breast. This was way too much for a 1940 audience and was cut, but it really would have been a stunning and heart rendering scene.
Steinbeck scholar John Timmerman sums up the book's influence: "The Grapes of Wrath may well be the most thoroughly discussed novel – in criticism, reviews, and college classrooms – of 20th century American literature." The Grapes of Wrath is referred to as a Great American Novel.
At the time of publication, Steinbeck's novel "was a phenomenon on the scale of a national event. It was publicly burned by citizens, it was debated on national talk radio; but above all, it was read." According to The New York Times, it was the best-selling book of 1939 and 430,000 copies had been printed by February 1940. In that month it won the National Book Award, favourite fiction book of 1939, voted by members of the American Booksellers Association. It also won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Does the film do it justice...YOU BET! Fonda gave Fox a 7 year exclusive on him just to play what he called "The Part of a Lifetime"
If you don't have this, GET IT!:eyebrows:
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) Directed by Don Siegel and starring Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter and Larry Gates (watch out for a young Sam Peckinpah in a small role.
Based on the book The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney, the screenplay is by Daniel Mainwaring who wrote the Big Steal screen play starring Bob Mitchum.
The story depicts an extraterrestrial invasion that begins in a small California town when alien plant spores grow into large seed pods, each one capable of reproducing internally a duplicate replacement copy of each human: As each pod reaches full development, it assimilates the physical characteristics, memories, and personalities of each sleeping person placed near it; these duplicates are devoid of all human emotion. Little by little, a local doctor uncovers what is occurring and tries to stop the invasion.
Although the studio constantly demanded cuts to the budget, it made several tmes its price in the us alone and in 1994 Invasion of the Body Snatchers was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
The BBFC insisted on several cuts here, just to get an X certificate which is hard to believe now.
Some extra shooting took lace to change the ending as Siegel had shot it as the finish being McCarthy shouting in vain warnings to the passing vehicles. The studio insisted in the one you now see. Gig Young, Dick Powell, Joseph Cotten and several others for the role of Miles. For Becky he considered casting Anne Bancroft, Donna Reed, Kim Hunter, Vera Miles and others. Due to budget constraints the cheaper option was to take Relative newcomers McCarthy and Wynter.(worked out pretty well though). Remade in 78(which is also excellent) this is still the daddy of the genre, and was scary to the public at the time.
Producer Walter Wanger saw the final cut in December 1955 and protested the use of the Superscope aspect ratio. Its use had been included in early plans for the film, but the first print was not made until December. Wanger felt that the film lost sharpness and detail. Siegel originally shot Invasion of the Body Snatchers in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Superscope was a post-production laboratory process designed to create an anamorphic print from non-anamorphic source material that would be projected at an aspect ratio of 2.00:1
Spectral Morn
04-10-2014, 20:24
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) Directed by Don Siegel and starring Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter and Larry Gates (watch out for a young Sam Peckinpah in a small role.
Based on the book The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney, the screenplay is by Daniel Mainwaring who wrote the Big Steal screen play starring Bob Mitchum.
The story depicts an extraterrestrial invasion that begins in a small California town when alien plant spores grow into large seed pods, each one capable of reproducing internally a duplicate replacement copy of each human: As each pod reaches full development, it assimilates the physical characteristics, memories, and personalities of each sleeping person placed near it; these duplicates are devoid of all human emotion. Little by little, a local doctor uncovers what is occurring and tries to stop the invasion.
Although the studio constantly demanded cuts to the budget, it made several tmes its price in the us alone and in 1994 Invasion of the Body Snatchers was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
The BBFC insisted on several cuts here, just to get an X certificate which is hard to believe now.
Some extra shooting took lace to change the ending as Siegel had shot it as the finish being McCarthy shouting in vain warnings to the passing vehicles. The studio insisted in the one you now see. Gig Young, Dick Powell, Joseph Cotten and several others for the role of Miles. For Becky he considered casting Anne Bancroft, Donna Reed, Kim Hunter, Vera Miles and others. Due to budget constraints the cheaper option was to take Relative newcomers McCarthy and Wynter.(worked out pretty well though). Remade in 78(which is also excellent) this is still the daddy of the genre, and was scary to the public at the time.
Producer Walter Wanger saw the final cut in December 1955 and protested the use of the Superscope aspect ratio. Its use had been included in early plans for the film, but the first print was not made until December. Wanger felt that the film lost sharpness and detail. Siegel originally shot Invasion of the Body Snatchers in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Superscope was a post-production laboratory process designed to create an anamorphic print from non-anamorphic source material that would be projected at an aspect ratio of 2.00:1
Excellent film, shows exactly what can be done with a great story, good acting and clever use of lighting and mood - and special effects when and where needed - less is more.
The 1978 remake is very good too and one of the few times a remake offers more but differently.
Got hold of the book a few weeks ago :)
Regards Neil
Now onto Red Dwarf series 5.
Excellent film, shows exactly what can be done with a great story, good acting and clever use of lighting and mood - and special effects when and where needed - less is more.
The 1978 remake is very good too and one of the few times a remake offers more but differently.
Got hold of the book a few weeks ago :)
Regards Neil
The Abel Ferrara re-make set on a U.S Air Force base is pretty good too. There are at least 4 remakes of this film.
Precisely…. Looks to be pretty violent and gory, too - so it ticks all the boxes! :eyebrows:
Is there a section here for films you want to go and see at the cinema? If not, you may wish to create one ;)
Marco.
Good idea , I'll do that tonight when on the PC,and move these there if you want. Might do one for future DVD releases too
I'm away down the canal with Julia Bradbury. :lol:
She's up here in Scotland at the Caledonian Canal built by Thomas Telford
Good idea , I'll do that tonight when on the PC,and move these there if you want. Might do one for future DVD releases too
Excellent, please do :thumbsup:
Marco.
Watching Wild Columbia with Nigel Marven. He just had a large snake in his hands; a constrictor. It was huge, ans started to coil round him and knocked him down...:mad:
Tonight its Guy Hamilton's 1969 masterpiece, The Battle of Britain, with an all star cast including Michael Caine,Trevor Howard,Harry Andrews, Laurence Olivier, Robert Shaw, Ralph Richardson and the delectable Susannah York .
The script by James Kennaway and Wilfred Greatorex was based on the book*The Narrow Margin by Derek Wood and Derek Dempster .
The film required a large number of period aircraft. In September 1965 producers*Harry Saltzman*and S. Benjamin Fisz contacted former RAF Bomber Command Group Captain Hamish Mahaddie to find the aircraft and arrange their use. Eventually 100 aircraft were employed, called the "35th largest air force in the world". With Mahaddie's help, the producers located 109 Spitfires in the UK, of which 27 were available although only 12 could be made flyable. Mahaddie negotiated use of six Hawker Hurricanes, of which three were flying. The film helped preserve these aircraft, including a rare Spitfire Mk II which had been a gate guardian at RAF Colerne.
During the actual aerial conflict, all RAF Spitfires were*Spitfire Mk I and Mark II variants. However, only one Mk Ia and one Mk IIa (the latter with a Battle of Britain combat record) could be made airworthy, so the producers had to use seven other different marks, all of them built after the battle. To achieve commonality, the production made some modifications to "standardise" the Spitfires, including adding elliptical wingtips, period canopies and other changes. To classic aircraft fans, they became known as "Mark Haddies" (a play on Grp. Capt. Mahaddie's name). A pair of two-seat trainer Spitfires were camera platforms to achieve realistic aerial footage inside the battle scenes. A rare Hawker Hurricane XII had been restored by Canadian*Bob Diemert, who flew the aircraft in the film. Eight non-flying Spitfires and two Hurricanes were set dressing, with one Hurricane able to taxi.
Sir William Walton was first hired to write the score, which would have been his last. Because of his advanced age, he turned to friend Sir Malcolm Arnold for assistance with the orchestrations (which Arnold supplied, as well as writing additional cues). Producer Harry Saltzman rejected the score, stating it wasn't long enough. Ron Goodwin was hired to write a new score, but when told he would be replacing one of Walton's, his first reaction was, "Why?" Goodwin eventually wrote the replacement score, but Laurence Olivier threatened to have his name removed from the credits if none of Walton's original was used. For this reason, Walton's original music was kept for the "Battle in the Air" sequence towards the end of the film. In my film you can alternate between the soundtracks. Ron Goodwin's score opens with the "Luftwaffe March", later retitled "Aces High", in the style of a traditional German military march in 6/8 time. The march places heavy emphasis on the "oom-pah" sound of tubas and lower-pitched horns on the first and second beats and has the glockenspiel double the horns in the melody. Because of the great length of this sequence, which shows a Luftwaffe general's inspection of a Heinkel squadron in occupied France, the "Aces High" has three separate bridges between choruses of the main theme, one of which recurs several times in a gently sentimental variation. Despite its origin in a representation of a tyrannical threat to democracy, the march has become a popular British march tune, like the Dambusters March; an adaptation was first played by a British military band in 1974 by the Corps of Drums of the Royal Pioneer Corps
There were to have been scenes featuring Lord Beaverbrook. Alec Guinness was hired to play Lord Beaverbrook, but these scenes were cut from the script shortly before filming.
This film became regarded as a patriotic tribute to "the few," that many of those involved in the production, actors and technicians, reduced their normal fees to work on this film. Much of the large budget went toward the acquisition, restoration, modification, maintenance and operation of the vintage aircraft.Even so the film lost millions at the box Office, probably because Americans hate to see anyone winning the war but them.
At least two excerpts are used by Pink Floyd in their "The Wall" album: Audio from Stuka diving during the attack to the radio station is used at the end of the first track, "In the Flesh?". The scene in which Simon is shot can be heard at the transition between the songs "Nobody Home" to "Vera". The phrase "Where the hell are you, Simon?", for example, is clearly recognizable at this point.
My favourite part is when the Polish pilot parachutes down to a field after being shot down. He says "Good afternoon " The farmer replies " Good afternoon my arse, you boche bastard. Come on put your hands up." ....This is now cut from the film you see on tv, probably due to Political correctness....what the hell is the world coming to.
I still think that is an awesome film; you can understand why everyone wanted to be part of it.
......now on to Red Dwarf 10......The Jesus episode is a scream.
'I love you man' on BBC1, very 'easy watching' (& Rush are in it & one of the main characters has a McIntosh set up)
PASSPORT TO PIMLICO is just about to start on film four so gonna watch that
Spectral Morn
06-10-2014, 15:36
The Abel Ferrara re-make set on a U.S Air Force base is pretty good too. There are at least 4 remakes of this film.
I have seen this and enjoyed it but I didn't think it brought a lot new to the party, slightly more sensual in places and the cold methodical way the Pod people disposed of their husks was quiet chilling particularly in the air base hospital.
Regards Neil
Tonight I'm watching John Huston's film noir Heist drama, The Asphalt Jungle (1950). Starring a superb ensemble cast incluging Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe and a young Mariyln Monroe (Brad Dexter also had his first role here. Brannom (Brad Dexter) is the first character to die in the film. Dexter later appeared as Harry Luck in The Magnificent Seven (1960). He was the first of the Seven to be killed. ).
Adaptated by director John Huston and screenwriter Ben Maddow of the 1949 novel by W. R. Burnett. It was backed by MGM, who allowed the production a relatively free hand. The Production Code Administration, who required all scripts to be passed by them before production, were disturbed by the detailed depiction of the heist and the fact that the character of the fence Emmerich seemed to cheat justice by killing himself. Neither the studio nor the censors interfered significantly with the script, however, and both the heist and the suicide featured in the final cut.
This is a pretty realistic, gritty and for the time slightly repulsive portrayal of real life crime and was possibly its downfall. It pretty much broke even at the box office, and it was both liked and hated at the same time by the critics at the time.
It won 3 award: Sam Jaffe for best actor at the Venice Film Festival; John Huston for best director by the National Board of Review and Ben Maddow and John Huston for Best Motion Picture Screenplay at the Edgar Allan Poe Awards. It also had 4 nominations at the Academy Awards.
The later posters showing Marilyn Monroe in a purple dress was created much later, after she became a household name. Marilyn Monroe was basically unknown when the film was made in 1950, and only has a very small role. She certainly wouldn't have been given top billing at the time. In fact, she wasn't named on the original posters at all.
istari_knight
06-10-2014, 22:41
Just finished watching Sophie Scholl for the 4th time.
Highly recommended if you've not seen it.
Just finished watching Sophie Scholl for the 4th time.
Highly recommended if you've not seen it.
The White rose, I have not seen it but have read the book which was superb....another film on my list; thanks for reminding me
Spectral Morn
07-10-2014, 09:17
Been watching Battlestar Galactica recently after I retire to bed. The 70s series which in places is pretty good, certainly a very different beast to the more recent version but enjoyable none the less. The follow up Galactica 1980 is pretty poor imho and not worth watching.
Regards Neil
Up now is the directorial debut of Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder. The 1943 home front drama Millions Like Us starring Eric Portman, Patricia Roc, Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne, Gordon Jackson, Megs Jenkins, Anne Crawford and Moore Marriott. Radford and Wayne again play Charters and Caldicott, the cricket obsessed pair who featured in many films, including The Lady Vanishes and Night Train to Munich. Lets face it, it always lifted the tone of a film with those two putting in an appearance. The characters Charters and Caldicott made a re-appearance in the Hammer films' 1979 remake of The Lady Vanishes, with Arthur Lowe as Charters and Ian Carmichael as Caldicott. In 1985 they were the main characters in a BBC television series, Charters and Caldicott set in the modern day, with Michael Aldridge playing Caldicott and Robin Bailey as Charters. They make you proud to be British...again:eyebrows:
At the factory dance, the men were in fact Servicemen, enrolled for the film(dunno what the pay was thou). This was Jackson's fourth film and probably his best roe in his early years..hs first was in 1942 as Alastair 'Jock' MacFarlan in The Foreman Went to France.
A good film this, and Megs Jenkins again holds things together (a grand actress she was)
The Great Beauty
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/910Me6nRAxL._SY606_.jpg
Bafta Winner: ‘Film not in the English Language’ category 2014. Oscar Winner: ‘Best Foreign Language film’ 2014
Jep Gambardello, a 65-year-old journalist and once promising novelist, lives his easy life among Rome’s decadent high society in a swirl of rooftop parties and late-night soirees. But when he learns of the death of his friend’s wife – a woman he once loved as a 18-year-old – his life is thrown into perspective and he begins to see the world through new eyes…
The Aviator
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51mU53%2B8MgL._SY300_.jpg
Fine performances from Leonardo de Caprio, Cate Blanchett, and also from a mis-cast Kate Beckinsale.
Directed by Martin Scorsese.
Circle of Friends
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51C6HVJJ6SL.jpg
“The same year as the BBC's Pride and Prejudice (1995) writer Andrew Davies and star Colin Firth were also hard at work on Circle of Friends, an Irish romance brought to the big screen by director Pat O'Connor (Dancing at Lughnasa). It's 1957 and three small-town friends Benny (Minnie Driver), Eve (Geraldine O'Rawe) and Nan (Saffron Burrows) arrive at university in Dublin, the scene set for an entertaining obstacle course along the path to true love. Jack, an excellent Chris O'Donnell, is the object of Benny's affections, and as the still unsure young woman beginning to find her way Driver gives an extremely engaging performance. Alan Cummings has a rather stereotyped role, which involves him in an attempted rape scene, one not only out-of-character with the rest of the film, but not even in the original novel. The transfer of 1990s mores onto 1950s Catholic Ireland jars a little towards the end, but whereas the cinema usually portrays Ireland as either a backdrop to "The Troubles", or--Angela's Ashes-style--as a land of hard working-class struggle, it's appealing to see it taking a look at the adventures of decent, ordinary middle-class people. The plot never springs any serious surprises, but makes for beautifully photographed Sunday-night TV-style nostalgia.” --Gary S. Dalkin
The Aviator was a great picture, and Di Caprio was it superb form. This and Gangs are my 2 favourties of his
I wasn't keen on the Aviator at all. I can't believe Dicaprio playing any role other than as a young kid. He was even miscast in Titanic IMO. He is just too fresh-faced. Plus the film finishes just as things are getting interesting.
I kinda thought he did Hughes pretty well.....
...been a little off colour today, so no dvd and write up, but have put on Ice Age 3 from my Hard drive.....stonkingly funny and well made film. I can and do watch it all the time.
Tonight, its anther film from my British war collection; Ice Cold in Ales (1958) Directed by J Lee Thompson, who also did some of the planet of the apes films and The Guns of Navarone.
Starring John Mills, Sylvia Syms, Harry Andrews and Anthony Quayle. (So 2 future Sirs in the cast then). Cinematography is by Gilbert Taylor who's reume includes Dr Strangelove, The Omen and Star Wars to name a few. Filmed n location in Liyba and at Elstree, and recieved 3 nominations for BAFTA's, winning 1, for Anthony Quayle as Best British Actor.
The film had a number of Censorship problems from day 1. The love scene between Anson and Diana had to be re-shot after the British censor decided that Sylvia Syms had too many buttons undone on her blouse, revealing too much cleavage. Censor John Nicholls had already requested over 80 alterations to the script before shooting and, following protests by director J. Lee Thompson, he was eventually replaced as BBFC chief by John Trevelyan in May 1958. Other additional dialogue cuts included the removal of the phrase 'made a balls of it' and the overdubbing of 'bloody good old bitch'.
The final scenes have been used in two British advertising campaigns in the 80s. One was for Holsten Pils, interspersing comedian 'Griff Rhys Jones' into the original footage, a la Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982). Carlsberg themselves then later used the footage to promote their lager, colorizing it, earning the cast considerably more than they were paid for the film. According to 'Sylvia Syms', John Mills was the only lead who was able to "glug the lager down" as required in the final scene, although he eventually ended up plastered due to the amount of takes (lucky man; free drink and Syvia's charms on a platter).
A few military cock ups were made including when Quayle is driven away as a prisoner-of-war at the end of the film, several post-war Land Rovers can be seen parked in the background, and The Afrika Korps are shown variously equipped with American M3 half-tracks and an American self-propelled gun. also "Katy" the Austin K2 ambulance used in the film was specially converted to 4-wheel drive, apparently for greater mobility during desert filming (the transfer case, front differential and front propellor shaft are visible in some shots). Genuine K2s were not so fitted. Harry Andrews also claims "Katy weighs two tons!" whereas the actual weight of the K2 exceeded three tons.
Nevertheless, this is a fantastic film and should be on the telly more. The film was butchered for the US market cut down to not much more than an hour as a filler(typical Yanks; if they aint winning the war, then they're not interested):steam:
A tour round Ferris Bueller's bedroom:
http://mattandtimfunny.blogspot.be/2010/06/ferris-buellers-bedroom.html
Carver amps....mmmmm.....not bad for a kid still in high school.
Spectral Morn
10-10-2014, 16:50
Tonight, its anther film from my British war collection; Ice Cold in Ales (1958) Directed by J Lee Thompson, who also did some of the planet of the apes films and The Guns of Navarone.
Starring John Mills, Sylvia Syms, Harry Andrews and Anthony Quayle. (So 2 future Sirs in the cast then). Cinematography is by Gilbert Taylor who's reume includes Dr Strangelove, The Omen and Star Wars to name a few. Filmed n location in Liyba and at Elstree, and recieved 3 nominations for BAFTA's, winning 1, for Anthony Quayle as Best British Actor.
The film had a number of Censorship problems from day 1. The love scene between Anson and Diana had to be re-shot after the British censor decided that Sylvia Syms had too many buttons undone on her blouse, revealing too much cleavage. Censor John Nicholls had already requested over 80 alterations to the script before shooting and, following protests by director J. Lee Thompson, he was eventually replaced as BBFC chief by John Trevelyan in May 1958. Other additional dialogue cuts included the removal of the phrase 'made a balls of it' and the overdubbing of 'bloody good old bitch'.
The final scenes have been used in two British advertising campaigns in the 80s. One was for Holsten Pils, interspersing comedian 'Griff Rhys Jones' into the original footage, a la Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982). Carlsberg themselves then later used the footage to promote their lager, colorizing it, earning the cast considerably more than they were paid for the film. According to 'Sylvia Syms', John Mills was the only lead who was able to "glug the lager down" as required in the final scene, although he eventually ended up plastered due to the amount of takes (lucky man; free drink and Syvia's charms on a platter).
A few military cock ups were made including when Quayle is driven away as a prisoner-of-war at the end of the film, several post-war Land Rovers can be seen parked in the background, and The Afrika Korps are shown variously equipped with American M3 half-tracks and an American self-propelled gun. also "Katy" the Austin K2 ambulance used in the film was specially converted to 4-wheel drive, apparently for greater mobility during desert filming (the transfer case, front differential and front propellor shaft are visible in some shots). Genuine K2s were not so fitted. Harry Andrews also claims "Katy weighs two tons!" whereas the actual weight of the K2 exceeded three tons.
Nevertheless, this is a fantastic film and should be on the telly more. The film was butchered for the US market cut down to not much more than an hour as a filler(typical Yanks; if they aint winning the war, then they're not interested):steam:
Great film
Hope you are feeling better now Grant
Regards Neil
Spectral Morn
10-10-2014, 16:54
A tour round Ferris Bueller's bedroom:
http://mattandtimfunny.blogspot.be/2010/06/ferris-buellers-bedroom.html
Carver amps....mmmmm.....not bad for a kid still in high school.
When I was a Saturday boy, just fresh into the audio trade I worked in a place that sold the solid state Carver gear, it was ok, but the big valve amps and speakers were where it was really at and the step up transformer they made - the MCt
Regards Neil
Cheers Neil; slightly better.....tonight I am going to watch 2 Mules for Sister Sara (1970) directed by Don Siegel and starring Shirley MacLaine and Clint Eastwood ( the 2nd of 5 Eastwood/ Siegel collaborations).
Budd Boetticher wrote the story and originally did the screenplay but it was sold and redone by Albert Maltz. Cinematography is by the late great Gabriel Figueroa who also did Kelly's Hero's if memory serves.
It was not an especially happy shoot for MacLaine as she constantly fought with Siegel(whom she did not like and was unhappy about her appearance in the film).
The 2 mules were here original transport and Clint, who she referred to as Mr Mule:lol:
Going to be watching the Bluray release of this humorous film, of which the original writer (Boetticher) asked Siegel how he could make an awful film like that with Siegel replying that it was a great feeling to wake up in the morning and know there was a check in the mail, while Boetticher replied it was a better feeling to wake up in the morning and be able to look at yourself in the mirror. Filmed in anamorphic Panavision in Mexico, it s budget of $4 dollars was more than recouped in the US box office alone.
A tyical Clint film for lovers of the genre.
The least you can do is take off your hat!!!! ............I haven't got time for that :lolsign:
Now watching the channel 4 drama directed by Simon Moore and Alistair Reid from 1989; the wonderful TRAFFIK starring Bill Paterson, Jamal Shah, Lindsay Duncan and Fritz Müller-Scherz. One of the very best drama's ever imo.
Watching EXPLOSION 1812, a docudrama presented by Dan Snow. Its about the war between America and Britain of that date, and the giant explosion at the arsenal.
Shane is on film 4 at mo....having a music free Saturday.
Going to watch the second disc of Traffik tonight....quite a chilling drama this, and worth the watching if it comes back on tv.
That was a fabulous series. 6 episodes in told....very powerful stuff; you forget just how when you have to seen it for a while. All the actors did a fantastic job.
....time to lighten the mood, so am now watching Red Dwarf....again..........Motzart wrote twinkle twinkle little star by the time he was 5.......I was barely toilet trained by then........:lol:
Tonight, a little later than usual, Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn go down the The Luangwa River in the African Queen to sink the German gunboat the Konigin Luise.
Made in 1951, and directed by John Huston, this original tale by C.S. Forester could not have been better done.
In "The Making of 'The African Queen,' or How I Went to Africa with Bogie, Bacall and Huston and Almost Lost My Mind", (title containing references to Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and John Huston) Katharine Hepburn described the first day of shooting. Five cars and trucks were needed to take the cast, crew and equipment 3.5 miles from Biondo to the Ruiki river. There, they loaded everything onto boats and sailed another 2.5 miles to the shooting location. Press materials and contemporary articles detailed the perils of shooting on location in Africa, including dysentery, malaria, contaminated drinking water, and several close brushes with wild animals and poisonous snakes. Most of the cast and crew were sick for much of the filming. In a February 1952 New York Times article, John Huston said he hired local natives to help the crew, but many would not show up for fear that the filmmakers were cannibals.
To show her disgust with the amount of alcohol that John Huston and Humphrey Bogart consumed during filming, Katharine Hepburn drank only water. As a result, she suffered a severe bout of dysentery (that'll teach her for being down on whisky) :eyebrows: . According to cameraman Jack Cardiff, Katharine Hepburn was so sick with dysentery during shooting of the church scene that a bucket was placed off camera because she vomited constantly between takes. Cardiff called her "a real trouper." In "The Making of The African Queen (1951)" Hepburn said she rushed for the outhouse only to find a black mamba inside, then ran to the trees.
With a $1 mil budget the African Queen made $11 mil at the US boxoffice alone, and was on of the most sucessful films of the year, concluding in Bogart winning an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role(his one and only, which is ridiculous now as he was imho the best actor alive in his time)
A myth has grown that the scenes in the reed-filled riverbank were filmed in Dalyan, Turkey. But Katharine Hepburn's published book (p. 118) on the filming states 'We were about to head... back to Entebbe, but John Huston wanted to get shots of Bogie and me in the miles of high reeds before we come out into the lake...". The reeds sequence was thus shot on location in Africa (Uganda and Congo) and London studios.
Most of the action takes place aboard a boat – the African Queen of the title – and scenes on board the boat were filmed using a large raft with a mockup of the boat on top. Sections of the boat set could be removed to make room for the large Technicolor camera. 'The African Queen' sank and had to be raised twice during filming of the movie. Lauren Bacall quoted "The natives had been told to watch it and they did. They watched it sink." (its the way I tell'em!):lol:
Will be watching the recently released BLURAY Special Restoration Version from ITV Studios which includes commentary from cinematographer Jack Cardiff ...meant to say the restore was by far the best I have ever seen, and if you like this film then this is the version to go for as it looks like it was shot yesterday.
Only one word for that "Stunning"
...now on to some Dwarf.....I need some vibes:eyebrows:
Spectral Morn
12-10-2014, 23:27
Babylon 5 - Third Space
Wonderful story, creepy and haunting mixing elements of HP Lovecraft with space opera. One of the best B5 stories.
Regards Neil
Getting the complete works for The Boy for his xmas pressie...He loves it.....have to say ashamedly I dont think I've seen it, but I dare say he'll give me a loan :eyebrows:......
Spectral Morn
12-10-2014, 23:49
Getting the complete works for The Boy for his xmas pressie...He loves it.....have to say ashamedly I dont think I've seen it, but I dare say he'll give me a loan :eyebrows:......
Its a great series though Season One is a wee bit weak in places and it is setting the scene for what is to follow.
Third Space is one of the movie specials, stand alone story about a very ancient artefact found that is a gateway to another reality - on the other side an entire armada of very xenophobic creatures that are about as nasty a bunch ever used in the series are waiting to wipe all life out.
In my opinion one of the best sci-fi series ever - hope you enjoy it Grant.
Regards Neil
Its a great series though Season One is a wee bit weak in places and it is setting the scene for what is to follow.
Third Space is one of the movie specials, stand alone story about a very ancient artefact found that is a gateway to another reality - on the other side an entire armada of very xenophobic creatures that are about as nasty a bunch ever used in the series are waiting to wipe all life out.
In my opinion one of the best sci-fi series ever - hope you enjoy it Grant.
Regards Neil
Agree with Neil, it was a landmark in TV sci-fi. Was blown away by it when I first saw it.
Ahead of its time, mainly down to the great writing I thought.
Had a direct effect on me as being a computer nerd when younger I couldn't believe the special effects were done on an Commodore Amiga!
Got into digital art and 3D because I saw B5 and thought I might have a bash at that...
Watching the cruel sea on film 4. Made in 1952 and starring Jack Hawkins and Donald Sinden. Stanley Baker loved his "snorkers". Apparently he did in real life
Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke's 2001 A Space Odyssey is tonight's film. Starring Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester and Douglas Rain as Hal 9000 :eyebrows: Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do. I'm half crazy all for the love of you. It won't be a stylish marriage, I can't afford a carriage. But you'll look sweet upon the seat of a bicycle built for two.
The film is structured into four distinct acts. Daniel Richter plays the character "Moonwatcher" in the first act, and William Sylvester plays Dr. Heywood R. Floyd in the second. Keir Dullea (as Dr. David Bowman) and Gary Lockwood (as Dr. Frank Poole) star in the third act as the two astronauts on their voyage to Jupiter on board the spacecraft Discovery One, with Douglas Rain as the voice of the sentient computer HAL 9000 who has full control over their spacecraft. The fourth and final act of the film follows the journey of astronaut David Bowman "beyond the infinite".
Budget was about $10 mil but incredibly it returned $190 mil in the world boxoffice. Various locations as diverse as the Western Isles and Monument Valley were used by Stanley Kubrick to make what has been said to be "the picture that science fiction fans of every age and in every corner of the world have prayed that the industry might some day make.
Music is mostly to the fore here with dialogue at a premium. Khachaturian's Gayane, Strauss's The Blue Danube Richard Strauss's tone poem Also Sprach Zarathustra are among the classical pieces on offer. Alex North had been commissioned to do a score but Kubrick decided to ditch it and go with the classic classics. North did not know of the abandonment of the score until after he saw the film's premiere screening (he apparently said :doh: ).
Kubrick was the first director to use front projection with retroreflective matting in a main-stream movie, Kubrick chose the technique to produce the backdrops for the African scenes showing ape-men against vast natural-terrain backgrounds, as traditional techniques such as painted backdrops or rear-projection did not produce the realistic look Kubrick demanded. In addition to the "Dawn of Man" sequence, the front-projection system was used to depict astronauts walking on the Lunar surface with the Moon base in the background. The technique has been used widely in the film industry since 2001 pioneered its use, although starting in the 1990s it has been increasingly replaced by blue/green screen systems.
The coloured lights in the Star Gate sequence were accomplished by slit-scan photography of thousands of high-contrast images on film, including op-art paintings, architectural drawings, Moiré patterns, printed circuits, and crystal structures. Known to staff as "Manhattan Project", the shots of various nebula-like phenomena, including the expanding star field, were coloured paints and chemicals swirling in a pool-like device known as a cloud tank, shot in slow-motion in a dark room. The live-action landscape shots in the 'Star Gate' sequence were filmed in the Hebridean islands, the mountains of northern Scotland, and Monument Valley (U.S.A.). The strange colouring and negative-image effects in these shots were achieved by the use of different colour filters in the process of making dupe negatives.
Stanley Kubrick an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and the film also won 4 BAFTA's.
In 2002, the French film maker William Karel (after initially planning a straight documentary on Stanley Kubrick) directed a mockumentary about the supposed Stanley Kubrick involvement in faking the NASA Apollo Lunar landing titled Dark Side of the Moon. He had the cooperation of Kubrick's surviving family and some NASA personnel (all of whom appear using scripted lines) and used recycled footage of members of the Nixon administration taken out of context. The film purported to demonstrate that the NASA Lunar landings had been faked and that the footage had been directed by Stanley Kubrick during the production of 2001: A Space Odyssey. In discussing the film, director Karel said
Navigating carefully between lies and truth, the film mixes fact with pure invention. We will use every possible ingredient: 'hijacked' archive footage, false documents, real interviews which have been taken out of context or transformed through voice-over or dubbing, staged interviews by actors who reply from a script ...
This is not an 'ordinary' documentary. Its intent is to inform and entertain the viewer, but also to shake him up, make him aware of the fact that television can get it wrong (intentionally or not). We want to achieve this aim by using a universally known event (the landing on the Moon) that is surrounded by question marks (which is a fact) and spin some tale around it, that sounds plausible but isn't a fact (although there are elements in it that are real!).
When the film was shown to a group of undergraduate sociology students taking a course on conspiracy theories, many of them mistakenly believed that this was an earnest and serious film. Do it well and you can sell ice cream to the Eskimo's:eyebrows:
Bit of a grindhouse double feature last night
Sat grinning like a loon all the way through both films, only interrupted by busting a gut laughting.
First up: Machete
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbZDW8kIaw8
2nd, Black Dynamite
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96Y24a0cyCE
great night in front of the box. :)
Bit of a grindhouse double feature last night
Sat grinning like a loon all the way through both films, only interrupted by busting a gut laughting.
First up: Machete
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbZDW8kIaw8
2nd, Black Dynamite
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96Y24a0cyCE
great night in front of the box. :)
not seen either Gary. Not really my thing now, but the boy might like. He is getting Babalon 5 tomorrow. I was going to get it for his xmas but he could not wait...lol
Just finishing a program about Edwin Lutyens then Ice age 3....I'm missing my fix :eyebrows:
Watching the 39 steps with Kenneth More. not by any means the most accurate version, but my favourite anyhoo! Made in 1959, it also had the excellent Brenda de Banzie in it playing Nellie the desparate, and her long suffering husband Reginald Beckwith, who I also like. He was in Thunderball and Genevieve
That's the worst '39 Steps' ever (I think there are 4 versions now). Was Kenneth More ever in a good film? I know he's in the Battle of Britain but although that has its moments it is far from a good film.
Genevieve, reach for the sky, admirable Creighton to name 3 and was in the forsyte sage and the first doctor in the house if memory serves. Think he is a love him or leave him type.
Oh and sink the Bismarck .;)
Agree, as I said it was the worst for accuracy to the book which is one of my favs , but I still like it as an easy watch. The newest one was the closest I guess but have to say it was boringly acted and too dark.
yep the new one was crap but the Moore version is just dire with no atmosphere or suspense and that endless bit in the middle where they are wandering around Scotland (clearly not filmed there since the sun is shining) as though they are on their honeymoon and don't have a care in the world. Oh! I'm on the edge of my seat! First one is the best, early Hitchcock effort made for 5 bob, you never see the joins.
Fancy a bit of Arnie justice so going in the machine now is The Running Man (1987). directed by Paul Michael Glaser of Starsky and Hutch fame( he directed a few of those too).
Also starring María Conchita Alonso, the singer/dancer/actress/model that was also in Preditor 2, the cockup:eyebrows:
Not a great film, but I've seen much worse, and Arn kicks ass and has some cringeworthy one liners
Loosely from a book by Stephen King I believe, it is another of those love it or hate it films.
Fancy a bit of Arnie justice so going in the machine now is The Running Man (1987). directed by Paul Michael Glaser of Starsky and Hutch fame( he directed a few of those too).
Also starring María Conchita Alonso, the singer/dancer/actress/model that was also in Preditor 2, the cockup:eyebrows:
Not a great film, but I've seen much worse, and Arn kicks ass and has some cringeworthy one liners
Loosely from a book by Stephen King I believe, it is another of those love it or hate it films.
Also,
it starred Mick Fleetwood as a resistance fighter. (Yes THAT one)
In a line of dialogue he taks about "Stevie" :)
Not forgetting Jessie Ventura who's in it too, who was also in Predator.
He later went on to be the Governor of Minnesota, go figure!
Yup, based on a King Novella, though under one of his Pseudonyms, Richard Bachman.
Another film of King's made from a book under this name was "Thinner"...unfortunately a pretty crap film!
Also,
it starred Mick Fleetwood as a resistance fighter. (Yes THAT one)
In a line of dialogue he taks about "Stevie" :)
Not forgetting Jessie Ventura, who was also in Predator.
He Went on to be the Governor of Minnesota, go figure!
Yup, based on a King Novella, though under one of his Pseudonyms, Richard Bachman.
Another film of Kings made from a book under this name was "Thinner"...unfortunately a pretty crap film!
....LOL; I would have thought TEXAS:stalks:
Mike Fleetwood...I never noticed him in it ...nice spot Gary
Well, That Hit The Spot!!! :lol: nice ending that............and John Parr's No More Lonely nights to take us through the credits.:eyebrows:
Now watching The Dwarf series 4 ...AGAIN....Lister has space mumps.:doh:
Carry on Cleo (1964) with Kenneth Williams and Sid James as the main Romans, Caesar and Mark Anthony; and Kenneth Connor and Jim Dale as Hengist and Horsa. who this time bring Rome's leaders to their knees instead of the Britons'.
Lots of familiar gags, which I love.....no smut like! :eyebrows:
I'm Camembert, I'm the big cheese.......on to the 1966 carry on, Don't Lose your head.......with citizen Bidet and Sir Rodney Effing, with 2 F's. ..... :lol:
Watched '2012' last night.
A film so bad even John Cuzack can't save it, although he does his best, bless him. When you've seen one super-volcano eruption, you've seen them all...
Watched '2012' last night.
A film so bad even John Cuzack can't save it, although he does his best, bless him. When you've seen one super-volcano eruption, you've seen them all...
Not seen that one , and maybe a good reason to keep it that way. I have seen "the day after tomorrow" which is watchable, although scientifically crap. At least is is relatively well made and acted. I'll accept you view and give 2012 a miss :lol:
As it was mentioned earlier, I am going to watch A Night to Remember (1958) directed by Roy Baker, who also did one of my favourite POW films, The One that got Away. Adapted by Eric Ambler, it portrays the final day and night of RMS Titanic, and starred Kenneth More, Honor Blackman, Kenneth Griffith, David McCallum and John Cairney to name just a few.
The film is based on the 1955 book A Night to Remember by Walter Lord, but in Ray Johnson’s documentary The Making of "A Night to Remember" (1993), Lord says that when he wrote his book, there was no mass interest in the Titanic, and he was the first writer in four decades to attempt a grand-scale history of the disaster, synthesizing written sources and survivors’ firsthand accounts. Lord dated the genesis of his interest in the subject to childhood. So did producer MacQuitty, who, as a boy of six, watched the Titanic set out from Belfast, as well as screenwriter Ambler, who was a lad in London when the ship was launched.
Kenneth More recalled the production of the film in his autobiography, published 20 years later in 1978. There was no tank big enough at Pinewood Studios to film the survivors struggling to climb into lifeboats, so it was done in the open-air swimming bath at Ruislip Lido at 2:00am on an icy November morning. When the extras refused to jump in, More realised he would have to set an example. He called out: "Come on!"
"I leaped. Never have I experienced such cold in all my life. It was like jumping into a deep freeze. The shock forced the breath out of my body. My heart seemed to stop beating. I felt crushed, unable to think. I had rigor mortis, without the mortis. And then I surfaced, spat out the dirty water and, gasping for breath, found my voice.
'Stop!' I shouted. "Don't listen to me! It's bloody awful! Stay where you are!
"But it was too late" ... :eek:
The footage used during the launching sequence of the Titanic is that of the 1938 launching of the Cunard Liner Queen Elizabeth, as no footage of the Titanic's launching actually existed. Despite the nearly thirty year difference in the two launchings, the substituted footage worked perfectly in conveying what a ship launch in the period was like.
Very good film this; made with care, and reverence, and will live on along with the disaster.
Not seen that one , and maybe a good reason to keep it that way. I have seen "the day after tomorrow" which is watchable, although scientifically crap. At least is is relatively well made and acted. I'll accept you view and give 2012 a miss :lol:
It's better than The Day After Tomorrow so if you thought that bearable you should give it a go. mind you it's not the scientific crap in that that annoys me its the fact that he kills his 2 best friends walking to New York to rescue his son then he's not there 5 minutes and helicopters come and get them all anyway.
A Night To Remember = brilliant. That bit when all the lights go out on the ship just before it goes down. Always makes me shiver.
Spectral Morn
18-10-2014, 21:21
Dr Who - Flatland
Finally a good, non silly story. It could have been more scary, played on the horror of the threat but overall a great story - about time.
Regards Neil
Dr Who - Flatland
Finally a good, non silly story. It could have been more scary, played on the horror of the threat but overall a great story - about time.
Regards Neil
if it was on telly or sky the boy would be watching...he loves it.
It's better than The Day After Tomorrow so if you thought that bearable you should give it a go. mind you it's not the scientific crap in that that annoys me its the fact that he kills his 2 best friends walking to New York to rescue his son then he's not there 5 minutes and helicopters come and get them all anyway.
A Night To Remember = brilliant. That bit when all the lights go out on the ship just before it goes down. Always makes me shiver.
Yes it does dont it.....:eyebrows: Glad it wasn't me.....the sound of the ropes when the lifeboats lower is awesome too, as is the Carpathia picking up whats left.
Yes it does dont it.....:eyebrows: Glad it wasn't me.....the sound of the ropes when the lifeboats lower is awesome too, as is the Carpathia picking up whats left.
The Purser on Titanic lived in my great aunt's house. Before she lived there. And I used to work with a bloke who had Captain Smith's grandson living next door.
Spectral Morn
18-10-2014, 22:45
if it was on telly or sky the boy would be watching...he loves it.
BBC One tonight, it will be on the i player later.
Regards Neil
Watching. Help my house is falling down.....and it is!
That couple got suckered there. The place is a death trap
Currently watching Cat Ballou with Lee Marvin and the gorgeous Jane (Barbarella) Fonda . Made in 1965 by Elliot Silverstein who also did a man called horse
walpurgis
19-10-2014, 22:17
Currently watching Cat Ballou with Lee Marvin and the gorgeous Jane (Barbarella) Fonda . Made in 1965 by Elliot Silverstein who also did a man called horse
Brilliant film. The drunk horse was marvellous and Marvin was on top form.
Brilliant film. The drunk horse was marvellous and Marvin was on top form.
It was Geoff lo...fab!! like the sets when he gets dressed and goes and kills his bro then tell Cat.. oh and the drunk shooting .. actually that has cheered me a bit....the singing is great......brilliant acting.
Tonight's film is the ww2 classic Dunkirk (1958) directed by Leslie Norman, who produced The Cruel Sea 5 years earlier. Starring John Mills, Richard Attenborough, Sean Barrett and Bernard Lee, this is a tale of disaster turned to mini victory (although a lot of that was Hitlers fault:eyebrows: )
The film's beach sequences were shot at Camber Sands in south east England. The scene where the bridge was blown during the early part of the film was on the River Medway at Teston Bridge, Teston in Kent.
The wartime Dunkirk town centre was recreated using part of Rye Harbour in Sussex, England. A canal-type bridge was temporarily constructed over the upper harbour, leading on to the quayside. It was over this bridge that the refugees and troops poured into the 'town centre'. Several scenes take place at this location, particularly a tracking shot following two British Army officers as they discuss the situation. In the background, the viewer can make out Rye Church, and also some old warehouses which still exist, albeit in much restored condition. One of the warehouses was used as the interior for the 'Barn Scene'.
The film was the second most popular production at the British box office in 1958. According to MGM records it earned only $310,000 in the US and Canada but $1,750,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $371,000.
An image of Sean Barrett as Frankie was used on the cover of The Smiths' 1985 single "How Soon Is Now?"
walpurgis
20-10-2014, 18:06
Trouble is Grant, I find a lot of old British war films a bit stilted. Too much of the jolly old 'stiff upper lip' and all officers speaking impeccable 'BBC' English, with the NCOs and lads in the trenches being 'common' Cockneys.
There were some decent ones though. Ice Cold in Alex was a bit grittier than many.
(by the way, do you remember How I Won the War, The war satire with John Lennon?)
Have not seen that since it came out Geoff...Roy Kinnear was in it.
Too much of the jolly old 'stiff upper lip' and all officers speaking impeccable 'BBC' English, with the NCOs and lads in the trenches being 'common' Cockneys.
...Yes, know what you mean, but it is a bit like carry on films, in that it is a tradition I feel easy with, and tbh, it was a bit like that, in the early days anyways.
Not too shabby, is Dunkirk..... Great spirit our parents had.....
Now going to watch some of the 1987 TV version of Tom Sharpe's Porterhouse Blue.... Great book( I love pretty much all his work) and a surprisingly well done series with David Jason in the role of Skullion, and Ian Richardson as the Dean.....and not for getting John Sessions as the desperate Zipser who has fantasies about his bedder played by the full figure of Paula Jacobs....scary stuff indeed.
walpurgis
20-10-2014, 21:20
Not too shabby, is Dunkirk..... Great spirit our parents had.....
Now going to watch some of the 1987 TV version of Tom Sharpe's Porterhouse Blue.... Great book( I love pretty much all his work) and a surprisingly well done series with David Jason in the role of Skullion, and Ian Richardson as the Dean.....and not for getting John Sessions as the desperate Zipser who has fantasies about his better played by the full figure of Paula Jacobs....scary stuff indeed.
Not read any Tom Sharpe for years. Marvellous stuff!
Sure was Geoff. his books along with G M Fraser have helped me laugh my way out of despair many a time. The title song, Dives in Omnia" ("There's Money in Everything") was sung by The Flying Pickets.
Sure was Geoff. his books along with G M Fraser have helped me laugh my way out of despair many a time. .
GM Fraser was a brilliant writer and a great man. It was a sad day when he passed on.
Spectral Morn
21-10-2014, 11:45
Tonight's film is the ww2 classic Dunkirk (1958) directed by Leslie Norman, who produced The Cruel Sea 5 years earlier. Starring John Mills, Richard Attenborough, Sean Barrett and Bernard Lee, this is a tale of disaster turned to mini victory (although a lot of that was Hitlers fault:eyebrows: )
The film's beach sequences were shot at Camber Sands in south east England. The scene where the bridge was blown during the early part of the film was on the River Medway at Teston Bridge, Teston in Kent.
The wartime Dunkirk town centre was recreated using part of Rye Harbour in Sussex, England. A canal-type bridge was temporarily constructed over the upper harbour, leading on to the quayside. It was over this bridge that the refugees and troops poured into the 'town centre'. Several scenes take place at this location, particularly a tracking shot following two British Army officers as they discuss the situation. In the background, the viewer can make out Rye Church, and also some old warehouses which still exist, albeit in much restored condition. One of the warehouses was used as the interior for the 'Barn Scene'.
The film was the second most popular production at the British box office in 1958. According to MGM records it earned only $310,000 in the US and Canada but $1,750,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $371,000.
An image of Sean Barrett as Frankie was used on the cover of The Smiths' 1985 single "How Soon Is Now?"
Very moving film. I have a customer who was there and among the last men to get off the beaches. Amazingly humble man, a real pleasure to talk with.
Regards Neil
Spectral Morn
21-10-2014, 11:48
Not too shabby, is Dunkirk..... Great spirit our parents had.....
Now going to watch some of the 1987 TV version of Tom Sharpe's Porterhouse Blue.... Great book( I love pretty much all his work) and a surprisingly well done series with David Jason in the role of Skullion, and Ian Richardson as the Dean.....and not for getting John Sessions as the desperate Zipser who has fantasies about his bedder played by the full figure of Paula Jacobs....scary stuff indeed.
Sold a copy of that earlier today (I work in a bookshop) and the customer and I were discussing the TV series, very funny, though I thought Blot on The Landscape better.
Regards Neil
Sold a copy of that earlier today (I work in a bookshop) and the customer and I were discussing the TV series, very funny, though I thought Blot on The Landscape better.
Regards Neil
I have ti say book wise it is one of the weaker but most are not really tv material. The throwback was my favourite but it couldnt really be done. Blott was great too as was ancestoral vices. Think i remember Wilt being made into a film but was not so great.
Dont think tv could do the flashy novels justice either
I'd love to see Flashman on TV or maybe a film franchise. Apparantly after the film of 'Royal Flash' GMF wouldn't entertain the idea unless he could have complete creative control, which understandably no-one would give him.
Spectral Morn
21-10-2014, 13:30
I'd love to see Flashman on TV or maybe a film franchise. Apparantly after the film of 'Royal Flash' GMF wouldn't entertain the idea unless he could have complete creative control, which understandably no-one would give him.
This is getting weird now as I sold one of those earlier today too :eek:
Regards Neil
I have all the novels on my ebook and most on cd read by differing guys. All superb readers. I listen to them when i am in the car on an endless loop...i love harry...lol
currently got Ice Age 3 on. I know, I know, but it is good.:)
again!? :)
Lol. Yes again.
Now watching doctor in clover. Leslie Philips and JRJ at loggerheads over a lass.
Tonight it is the 2007 film of Stephen Hunter's book "Point of Impact" directed by one time music video director Antoine Fuqua and starring Mark Wahlberg, Danny Glover, Ned Beatty and the very lovely Kate Mara.
Wahlberg plays Bob Lee Swagger, an ex military marksman, now loner living in the hills with his dog and his arsenal of weapons.
The film was shot mainly in British Columbia, Canada, in places such as New Westminster, Kamloops, Mission, Ashcroft and Cache Creek. The assassination scenes were filmed in Philadelphia. The crowd scenes with the President and the Archbishop were filmed in Independence National Historical Park in front of Independence Hall. The sniper location was created using the exteriors of the church steeple at the junction of New Street and North 4th Street. These were then combined with an elevated view from another building to create a fictional vista of the park. Swagger's escape was filmed in New Westminster along the Fraser River. The car chase that ends when it plunged into the river was filmed down 6th Street and off the Westminster Quay. The following scene of Swagger clinging to the side of a dredger was also filmed on the Fraser River near the Pattullo Bridge.
Shooter depicts a number of sniper tactics, thanks to the guidance of former U.S. Marine scout sniper Patrick Garrity, who trained Mark Wahlberg for the film. Garrity taught Wahlberg to shoot both left and right-handed (the actor is left-handed), as he had to switch shooting posture throughout the movie, due to Swagger's sustained injuries. He was also trained to adjust a weapon's scope, judge effects of wind on a shot, do rapid bolt manipulation and develop special breathing skills. His training included extreme distance shooting (up to 1,100 yards), and the use of camouflage ghillie suits. Fuqua appointed Garrity as the film's military technical advisor.
The score to the film was composed by Mark Mancina, who recorded the music at the Todd-AO Scoring Stage in Studio City, Los Angeles, using a 77–piece orchestra conducted by Don Harper. A score soundtrack was released by Lakeshore Records on March 27, 2007. The song "Nasty Letter" by Otis Taylor plays over the end of the film and credits. The film had a fairly heafty $61 mil budget but has grossed more than $90mil.
I first saw the film when given it as a present in a box set. I did not fancy it but on viewing it has made it into my top 10 guilty secrets :eyebrows: The gun he uses is awesome; he high caliber rifle that Swagger owns and is framed with is a Cheyenne Tactical M200 Intervention. It fires a .408 caliber projectile accurately out to and beyond 2000 meters. The CheyTac M200 is also available with a Long Range Rifle System, which consists of a laser range finder, magnifying scope with night vision capability, and a weather-sensing module, all of which interface with a PDA running ballistics calculation software.
The character name of Bob Lee Swagger is a homage to the conspiracy theory that assassins have three names such as Lee Harvey Oswald, John Wilkes Booth, Mark David Chapman and James Earl Ray.
Now back to the second part of Porterhouse Blue, including the explosive jonnies:lol:
Well Skullion has had his Blue( and was proud of it) and as said, "you may not have been born with a silver spoon in your mouth, but you'll die with one" as he's fed his mush:eyebrows:
The 1947 film noir thriller BOOMERANG starring George Kennedy and Dana Andrews is on more 4 currently. Excellent film for its time
Tonight it is Billy Wilder's 1960 comedy The Apartment. Winning 5 Academy Awards, 3 for Wilder,(This was the last B&W movie to win Best Picture at The Academy Awards until The Artist (2011). ) this was Wilder's follow up to Some Like it Hot starring Jack Lemmon. Fred MacMurray and Shirley MacLaine make up the major roles in this super movie, made for $3mil and grossing $25mil. Although well received by many, some criticised it as a dirty movie and MacMurray was accosted in the street on more than one occasion.
The scenes in the huge office was shot in perspective with smaller and smaller desks and people until they were using children. Lemmon did 2 ad libs, squirting the nasal drops, and singing while making the spaghetti. He actually did catch a bad cold due to filming the park scenes in weather so cold Wilder had to spray him with antifreeze to stop him solidifying.
In 1968, playwright Neil Simon adapted the screenplay as the book for the Broadway musical "Promises, Promises". It spawned the hit song "I'll Never Fall in Love Again", composed by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. "Promises, Promises" opened at the Shubert Theatre on December 1, 1968 and ran for 1281 performances. The first Broadway revival opened at the Broadway Theatre April 25, 2010 starring Kristin Chenoweth.
Tonight it is Billy Wilder's 1960 comedy The Apartment.
One of my favourites Grant, Shirl at her peak :eyebrows:
Fabulous film and worth its status and awards. quite dark and poignant too. As you say Roy, Shirley at her best (She was making Oceans Eleven at the same time).
Now watching They Who Dare(1954) starring Dirk Bogarde and Denholm Elliott. Set in Greece during World war 2 a small group of British commando's and patriots land on an island with orders to attack two airfields from which the Germans are threatening allied forces. It goes kinda wrong of course but is based on LRDG/SAS types. Good film.
walpurgis
23-10-2014, 22:38
I remember that, decent movie. Denholm Elliot was a top class actor. Outstanding in every film I saw him in, much as Bogarde was. Often cast similarly too.
Tonight is guilty secret night, and Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts, Rhys Ifans, Emma Chambers, Tim McInnerny, Gina McKee and Hugh Bonneville star in the 1999 film directed by Roger Michell and written by Richard Curtis; NOTTING HILL.:eek:
The film is tosh, but nice tosh and Julia Roberts is at her most lovely.
Richard Curtis developed the film from thoughts while lying awake at night. He described the starting point as "the idea of a very normal person going out with an unbelievably famous person and how that impinges on their lives". He said; "I would sometimes wonder what it would be like if I just turned up at my friends' house, where I used to have dinner once a week, with the most famous person at that time, be it Madonna or whomever. It all sprang from there. How would my friends react? Who would try and be cool? How would you get through dinner? What would they say to you afterwards?"
Music was composed by Trevor Jones. Several additional songs written by other artists include Elvis Costello's cover of the Charles Aznavour song "She", Shania Twain's remixed version of "You've Got A Way", as well as Ronan Keating's specially recorded cover of "When You Say Nothing at All"; the song reached number one in the British charts. The song played when Will strides down Portobello Road is "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers. Originally, Charles Aznavour's version of "She" was used in the film, but American test screening audiences did not respond to it. Costello was then brought in by Richard Curtis to record a cover version of the song. Both versions of the song appear in non-U.S. releases. The soundtrack album was released by Island Records.
Love that song, "SHE" ...but prefer Aznavour's version to Costello's. In fact I have Charles' fairly rare original cd She - The Best Of Charles Aznavour, or it used to be anyways.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8JkNq_Ilq8
Spectral Morn
25-10-2014, 20:07
Dr Who - In the forest of Night
Another good story, well I am surprised :D
and next week looks good too.....
Regards Neil
Cannot be bothered with a film tonight so watching Red Dwarf 10...........The boys from the Dwarf back to their best.
Just watched Serpico with Al Pacino.
No, seriously, Al's here right now with me. Say hi to the folks on AoS, Al.
'Hi'
That was Al typing. Method typing that is. Al actually becomes the keyboard, isn't that right Al?
'Yes'
See what I mean? He's great company. Really.
Great film that Martin. Have not seen it for a long time....gets the thumbs up from mee:)
I last saw it in 1986. I think they must of cleaned up the print or something. It looked great like it was in hi-rez.
just looked it up and looks like they did a restored 1080p transfer on the film in 2014 for bluray so that may well be the version shown. The Masters of Cinema Blu-ray SteelBook comes in at £18......tempting.
That would explain it. Some great locations in that film, authentic 'Seventies New York. They must have used hidden cameras for some of the shots.
Tonight a great ensemble of British wartime talent are going to give me "Went the Day Well" (1942) directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, who would later give us that lovely horror, Dead of Night. Stars Mervyn Johns, Thora Hird, Pat Hayes, Elizabeth Allen and Leslie Banks to name but a few.
The title includes the John Edmonds line, Went the day well? We died and never knew. But, well or ill, Freedom, we died for you. Its the story of English village of Bramley End, and its attack by German fifth columnist soldiers in a sneak attack. The Locals give 'em hell of course, in this fabulous propaganda film.
Its reputation has grown over the years and it has been noted that by opening and closing in a predicted future where not only had the war been won but a (fictitious) full-scale German invasion of Britain defeated, and by presenting a scenario where all echelons of British society unite for the common good for example when the lady of the manor sacrifices herself without hesitation to save the village children.
In July 2010, StudioCanal and the British Film Institute National Archive released a restoration of the Went the Day Well to significant critical acclaim. Tom Huddleston of Time Out (London) termed it "jawdroppingly subversive. Cavalcanti establishes, with loving care and the occasional wry wink, the ultimate bucolic English scene, then takes an almost sadistic delight in tearing it to bloody shreds in an orgy of shockingly blunt, matter-of-fact violence." When the restored film opened at Film Forum in New York City in 2011, A.O. Scott of The New York Times called it "undeservedly forgotten... Home-front propaganda has rarely seemed so cut throat or so cunning."
One of the top 100 war films of all time, this film, from the story by Graham Greene, was partially copied by Jak Higgins in the Eagle Has Landed.
one "Sober" note....When the man running the pub in the village where the film was being shot discovered that he had used up his alcohol ration on the film crew, he was so distraught he committed suicide.:doh:
Good film. It was also the basis for the film version of Dad's Army.
Spectral Morn
26-10-2014, 23:15
Babylon 5 - A Call to Arms. (Watch HD now)
Excellent film that sets up the sadly short run series Crusade. Crusade was cancelled half way through the first series - just as it got going. Ancient allies of The Shadows - the Drakh - begin attacking and destroying worlds with Earth on the list. Two new prototype Earth vessels Excalibur and Victory combining Earth, Vorlon and Mimbari technology are all that stand between Earth and the Drakh.
Call to Arms is an excellent space opera, with excellent space battles and impossible odds of winning as the Drakh have a massive advantage with a Shadow planet killer in their arsenal of ships. Several interesting characters are introduced including a return to the series of the Techno Mages.
A Call to Arms is brave in that Earth doesn't win this conflict - watch to find out how they loose.
Co starring Tony Todd
Regards Neil
Good film. It was also the basis for the film version of Dad's Army.
Yes, I guess it was...never thought of that:doh:
Babylon 5 - A Call to Arms. (Watch HD now)
Excellent film that sets up the sadly short run series Crusade. Crusade was cancelled half way through the first series - just as it got going. Ancient allies of The Shadows - the Drakh - begin attacking and destroying worlds with Earth on the list. Two new prototype Earth vessels Excalibur and Victory combining Earth, Vorlon and Mimbari technology are all that stand between Earth and the Drakh.
Call to Arms is an excellent space opera, with excellent space battles and impossible odds of winning as the Drakh have a massive advantage with a Shadow planet killer in their arsenal of ships. Several interesting characters are introduced including a return to the series of the Techno Mages.
A Call to Arms is brave in that Earth doesn't win this conflict - watch to find out how they loose.
Co starring Tony Todd
Regards Neil
The boy has not started watching B5 yet, as he is still wading through The witch thing, Charmed...he loves that. He's looking forward to it though.
Tonight Ronald Neame directs the film of James Kennaway's novel and screenplay "Tunes of Glory" (1960)starring Alec Guinness and John Mills. Shot at Shepperton Studios in London, and on location around but not in Stirling Castle asthe original cooperation was withdrawn after the commanding officer saw the cover of the paperback book (the big Jessie).
James Kennaway, who adapted the screenplay from his novel, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, but lost to Elmer Gantry. It also received numerous BAFTA nominations, including Best Film, Best British Film, Best British Screenplay and Best Actor nominations for both Guinness and Mills.
The film was the official British entry at the 1960 Venice Film Festival, and John Mills won the Best Actor award there.That same year the film was named "Best Foreign Film" by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. It was also the first role for Susannah York who plays Big Morag :lol:
Although the name of the Highland regiment portrayed is never mentioned, the screenwriter served in the Gordon Highlanders. However, the same regimental tartan (designed for this film) and bonnet badges were worn by the Highland regiment in Carry On Up the Khyber (1968), so the regiment in Tunes of Glory may well be the "3rd Foot & Mouth.":lol:
In one of the venomous exchanges between the Scots pipe-major Duncan Macrae (nice to hear the lamenting voice of Duncan) and the English RSM (Percy Herbert), the former advises the latter to go and watch his television set, adding, "Muffin the Mule is on at four o'clock". This refers to a famous British children's program of the early 1950s, which was presented by Annette Mills - the sister of John Mills, who plays the colonel of the regiment in this film.
A real bad piece of work is Guinness's role and although initially one feels sympathy for him, it does turn to poor old Mills as he is basically destroyed by Jock Sinclair.(well he didnae win the DSO and MM to be pushed about by guy who does not like bawdy highland dancing. :eyebrows: ..one of my favourite films of type, and not untypical of military life at the time.
Not seen that film in years but I remember it as being awesome.
Not seen that film in years but I remember it as being awesome.
It was very good. First time for a few years now myself. Top marks from me.
now tonight I'm watching the docu drama "The Great Indian Wars" made in 1991 and written by Marlene Carabello who was a consultant on a few other such projects. Narrated by the oft TV series writer Jack Hanrahan with scenes from Lloyd Bridges and Jim Davis (uncredited of course), this is a much better program than it was given credit for.
Now, as you know All White Men are Devils and speak with forked tongue so lets go kill'em:lol:
Sky Arts 1 HD - Janis Joplin & Big Brother - 900 Nights
Rip Torn narrates a profile of 1960s San Francisco rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company, who rose to fame as the backing group for rebellious soul singer Janis Joplin. Guitarists Sam Andrew and James Gurley, bassist Peter Albin and drummer Dave Getz reflect on the history of their band and reveal how Joplin at first fitted into their style of music, then changed it, before finally growing out of it
Next up is the real deal, in Ken Burns, "The West"
Will watch some more tomorrow... love Ken Burns stuff, its so easy to watch yet informative too. ...ok now some Dwarf for my soul:eyebrows:
Layer Cake on Film 4 HD (featuring everbody's favourite junction - Gallow's Corner :D)
great film that made Craig what he is today, and I don't give a xxxx if you agree:eyebrows:
Next up is the real deal, in Ken Burns, "The West"
Bit of a western theme at the moment. Last night I watched a fairly comprehensive doc about the mountain man Kit Carson on PBS America. They have some good shows on that channel.
My daily dose of 'The Rockford Files' on BBC2 (it's great being retired!)
When did that start? Are they showing them in order from the beginning?
When did that start? Are they showing them in order from the beginning?
Became aware of it Monday, not sure if it was on last week, they seem to be showing season 5.
Typical BBC showing the seasons out of order and the individual episodes out of order is their M.O. for anything they repeat. Probably no-one left there these days who is old enough to remember it or care. It matters you dickheads!
By contrast ITV 4 managed to show Magnum P.I in correct season and episode order.
No doubt when I retire (if I get that far) they will be repeating all the modern shit that is new at the moment. Tried to watch some of it last night, new series called 'Intruders' with him out of Life on Mars. Complete crap. I stuck with it for about 30 minutes which is generous for me as I when it coems to the tellly I am more than a bit jaded and usually if they cannot grab me in the first 5 minutes then I am out of there. 30 minutes and I wasn't in the slightest bit hooked. That's really shit writing.
Complete list of messages left on Jim Rockford's answering machine:
http://www.thesandbox.net/arm/rockford/answering_machine/index.html
Complete list of messages left on Jim Rockford's answering machine:
http://www.thesandbox.net/arm/rockford/answering_machine/index.html
This was today's episode -
The Battle-Ax And The Exploding Cigar [513] Miss Hollroy, City Federal. Your lost check still hasn't arrived. It's impossible for us to lose checks, so unless we receive full payment by noon today we'll foreclose.
Cool car as well. Pontiac Firebird. Cool, but not over the top like Magnum's Ferrari. A classy show and they never did a bad one.
This from IMDb -
Jim Rockford's license plate number, 853-OKG, was created by his agent, Meta Rosenberg (who was a producer and sometime director of the series), at the start of the show and stands for August, 1953, when Garner got his first acting job, and OKG which stands for Oklahoma, his home state, and his own last name, Garner, thereby making "August 1953 Oklahoma Garner" the full meaning of the Firebird license plate.
Tonight it's Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) starring Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon and Teri Garr. This $18 mil sifi classic has earned well over $300mil for Columbia and won Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond an Oscar and Frank E. Warner a special achievement award for sound effects editing.
There are a number of Spielberg in joke cuts in this film, including his dog appearing again as it did in Jaws, R2D2 is in there as is the shark. The Jaws theme can be heard when the mother ship is communicating with the base at the end of the movie, right before the release of the human prisoners. The list goes n.
Interestingly, the synthesizer technician/performer was the actual engineer sent by ARP Instruments to install the synthesizer equipment (ARP 2500) on the set. Steven Spielberg watched his expert playing of the equipment and immediately cast him for the role. The name of the ARP engineer is Philip Dodds and he is actually mentioned in the credits. The John Williams score was created before the film was edited. Steven Spielberg edited the film to match the music, a reverse of what is usually done in film scoring. Both Spielberg and Williams felt that it ultimately gave the film a lyrical feel.
.... I don't think we could have asked for a more beautiful evening, do you? Okay, watch the skies please...:eyebrows:
Tonight I am going to watch the 1948 Film Noir "The Naked City" which has just been released on Bluray today. William Daniels deservedly won an Oscar for cinematography, as did Paul Weatherwax for film editing. Directed by Julius Dassin and starring Barry Fitzgerald as Detective Lt. Dan Muldoon and Frank Conroy as Captain Donahue.
Most of the street scenes were shot on location in New York without the public's knowledge. Photographer William H. Daniels and his uncredited assistant Roy Tripp filmed people on the streets using a hidden camera from the back of an old moving van. Occasionally, a fake newsstand with a hidden camera inside was also set up on the sidewalk to secretly film the actors. Director Jules Dassin hired a juggler to distract the crowds, and also hired a man to occasionally climb up on a light post and give a patriotic speech, while waving an American flag to get the crowd's attention.
Producer Mark Hellinger, who narrates the movie, died of a heart attack before the film was released into theatres. Following Hellinger's death, executives at Universal Studios were ready to scrap the movie. They had no idea how to market it, and feared it would be a box office failure. But Hellinger's family reminded the studio that Hellinger's contract for the film included a "guarantee of release" clause from Universal. Having no choice, Universal released the film in theatres, and were surprised when it became a hit, and received two Oscars.
Based on real events, the film was the inspiration for a half-hour television series, also called Naked City, which used the film's famous concluding line. The series ran for a single season in 1958 to 1959, earning an Emmy Award nomination as Best Drama. It was resurrected in the fall of 1959 as an hour-long drama, which ran from 1959 to 1963.
The basic plot of the film was the basis of a case players can solve in the video game, L.A. Noire, released on May 17, 2011 by Rockstar Games. In the game, the story is moved to 1940's Los Angeles.
good film, and well restored. now watching the extras.
Witchfinder General on BBC2, Vincent Price at his best
Just watched: Dad's Army, The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer, Knowing me Knowing You with Alan Partridge, Yes Minister (2 episodes), Nazi Megastructures (giant tanks this time) and Classic Albums: Black Sabbath Paranoid.
Not a bad evenings viewing and all pre-taped so no adverts :)
Spectral Morn
02-11-2014, 20:29
Witchfinder General on BBC2, Vincent Price at his best
Horrible movie, if even a smidge of truth in it what a truly vile individual.
Don't recall seeing it although probably have.
"Witchfinder General on BBC2, Vincent Price at his best
Horrible movie, if even a smidge of truth in it what a truly vile individual."
.....Been watching some "Porridge" with Ronnie Barker....still as good today as it ever was.
Tonight its "Murder My Sweet", which was released originally here as "Farewell My Lovely". Made in 1944 by Edward Dmytryk who later gave us the Caine Mutiny, The Carpetbaggers and Shalako, and starring Dick Powell and Claire Trevor. The film is based on Raymond Chandler's 1940 novel Farewell, My Lovely. A second film adaptation of the novel was made in 1975 and released under Chandler's title.
Dick Powell was previously known (1930s and early 1940s) for light comedies and musicals, so the casting of him as Chandler's hard-boiled private detective anti hero was a surprise to audiences. The studio executives changed the title from Farewell, My Lovely because they believed audiences would think the film was a musical. Powell's performance is much debated by fans of Chandler and film noir; some think it too light and comic; others consider it the best interpretation of Philip Marlowe on film.
Some great Chandler lines here like "I caught the blackjack right behind my ear. A black pool opened up at my feet. I dived in. It had no bottom. I felt pretty good - like an amputated leg", and "Okay Marlowe, I said to myself. You're a tough guy. You've been sapped twice, choked, beaten silly with a gun, shot in the arm until you're crazy as a couple of waltzing mice. Now let's see you do something really tough - like putting your pants on."
Powell, the light Musical star engineered himself into the role, and Director Dymtryk was less than happy about it, but I have to say Dickie Boy did real good.;)
Top class Movie that.
....now got on the first disc of Prof Aubrey Manning's Earth Story.
Bought the alien anthology blu ray box. The first movie had sound issues as in the sound went totally for 10 seconds or so. The second film did the same but more often. Totally ruined my enjoyment so much I put it off after an hour. Anyone got this 2010 release have any issues?
Have the anthology but not the bluray version..It might be a problem with the firmware on your machine; may be worth seeing if there is an update John.
Currently still watching the wonderful documentary "Earth Story". One of the BBC's best imo and always informative as often as Ive watched it I always get a little more out of re-watching it. Aubrey Manning is very good at helping you get to the crux.
Walking Dead 'on demand', it's grabbed my attention :)
Blackadder series 3............MACBETH!!!!:eyebrows:
Walking Dead 'on demand', it's grabbed my attention :)
Ended up watching all of season one, toddled off to bed at 5:30. Daren't put season two on tonight, got an early start tomorrow.
Just put the first 3 seasons on my watch list with Prime
Originally Posted by Roy S View Post
Walking Dead 'on demand', it's grabbed my attention
Ended up watching all of season one, toddled off to bed at 5:30. Daren't put season two on tonight, got an early start tomorrow.
I'm working my way through the Sons Of Anarchy box set on Netflix, as an ex biker this series is right up my street. Season 3's finale is epic :)
Mark Pope
06-11-2014, 17:35
Just finished watching Batman Begins. Great fun!
Currently, A Matter Of Life And Death with David Niven
Good film that. Kim Hunter was a very attractive lass.
Think I'll watch some Dwarf now.:eyebrows:
Currently, A Matter Of Life And Death with David Niven
Another excellent Powell/Pressberger film. Their depiction of Heaven is very believable, and created long before CGI!
watching an excellent program on the Vimy Ridge assault by the Royal Canadian Corps
was a toss up between shaving ryan's ******** and a comedy, so decided on a Jimmy Cagney film :lol: ......and a comedy taboot. "One Two Three (1961) Starring Cagney and Horst Buchholz (one of the mighty 7). Directed by the one and only Billy Wilder, and shot in Berlin, and in the end Munich as the Ruskies put a wall up during the filming.:doh:
Cagney really hated Horst, and said "I got riled at S.Z. Sakall," he once said, "in Yankee Doodle Dandy for trying to steal a scene, but he was an incorrigible old ham who was quietly and respectfully put in his place by Michael Curtiz. No harm in the old boy. But this Horst Buchholz character I truly loathed. Had he kept on with his little scene-stealing didoes, I would have been forced to knock him on his ass, which I would have very much enjoyed doing."
We knew that we were going to have a comedy, we [were] not going to be waiting for the laughs. But we had to go with Cagney, because Cagney was the whole picture. He really had the rhythm, and that was very good. It was not funny. But just the speed was funny...The general idea was, let's make the fastest picture in the world...And yeah, we did not wait, for once, for the big laughs. ”
—From Conversations with Wilder (1999).
I love this film, and Cagney who was very underrated. he could do everything, and was as tough as nails too.
The whole scene stealing thing is interesting. I read that Meryl Streep would always find something to do with her hands in a scene where she did not have much dialogue. Peeling an orange, for example.
The whole scene stealing thing is interesting. I read that Meryl Streep would always find something to do with her hands in a scene where she did not have much dialogue. Peeling an orange, for example.
in her pocket I hope........
now watching Blackadder's christmas carol
Mrs Scratchett, tiny Tom is 15 stone and built like a brick privvy :lol:
now watching Blackadder's christmas carol
:lol:
Watched 'Back & forth' yesterday where Baldrick's pants were responsible for the demise of the Dinosaurs
Watched 'Back & forth' yesterday where Baldrick's pants were responsible for the demise of the Dinosaurs
Thats next up :D
due to the the anniversary i'm watching goes forth....i'm sure the fallen would have approved
American Gangster. With Denzil W. I know I have seen this before but I can't recall any of it. Having said that it does jump around a lot and you need to pay attention to what is going on or you lose the plot. Don't know about anyone else but I get a bit irritated if a film is made in such a manner that I can't follow what is happening without really concentrating. None of the great films of all time are like that.
Agreed....Ive seen it and it irritated me too....Too much phaffing about
watching the 2002 version of the hound of the baskervilles on the drama channel. Richard Roxburgh and Richard E Grant star.
American Gangster. With Denzil W. I know I have seen this before but I can't recall any of it. Having said that it does jump around a lot and you need to pay attention to what is going on or you lose the plot. Don't know about anyone else but I get a bit irritated if a film is made in such a manner that I can't follow what is happening without really concentrating. None of the great films of all time are like that.
I dunno. 'The Big Sleep' is incomprehensible in plot terms because the studio insisted that the ending be changed. Still a great film though.
It is great and I have watched it too many times. The book is a top read as well. As for the convoluted plot even with the original story Chandler confessed even he did not really know who murdered the chauffer.
Spectral Morn
09-11-2014, 23:08
BBC FourHD - NOW - The Day After Tomorrow ..... into Infinity.
A rare chance to see this only shown once (when originally transmitted) Gerry Anderson pilot for a show that was never commissioned. The light ship Altares sets out to explore the mysteries of the universe.
This show was science heavy and very much a vehicle to present science in a fiction context. Very much the same look and vibe as Space 1999, with actors from that show. Brian Blessed, Joanna Dunham and Nick Tate.
Can't believe this is on, as I have long wanted to see it again.
More here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_After_Tomorrow_(TV_special)
Regards Neil
missed half of it but watching now.....never seen it
Spectral Morn
09-11-2014, 23:42
missed half of it but watching now.....never seen it
I missed the first 5 minutes.
Very enjoyable but a bit light as it was aimed at a young audience. I recall it being shown in an early evening slot. Can't believe it was 1975.
Regards Neil
I missed the first 5 minutes.
Very enjoyable but a bit light as it was aimed at a young audience. I recall it being shown in an early evening slot. Can't believe it was 1975.
Regards Neil
Series could have been the British 'Lost in Space' (without the dodgy robot & pantomime villain)
Spectral Morn
09-11-2014, 23:58
Series could have been the British 'Lost in Space' (without the dodgy robot & pantomime villain)
Indeed but Gerry decided not to run with it. Nice of the BBC to show it again as up till now it was only available to buy direct from Gerry Anderson's fan club and one had to be a member to get to buy it.
Regards Neil
I've never seen Brian Blessed that reserved.
Think I missed too much to have much of an opinion, but what I saw never floated my boat.
stayed on Beeb 4 and am watching and enjoying the heart of country... how nashville became music city usa.
Tonights Movie will be Chris Gerolmo's 1995 film version of Robert Cullen's The Killer Department. CITIZEN X, Starring Stephen Rea, Donald Sutherland, Joss Ackland and Max Von Sydow, and filmed in Hungary, focusses on the chase for a serial killer in Russia during the communist era. Made by HBO for Cable TV this is still one powerful film and proved that serial killings are nothing to do with decadence and capitalism .... Donald Sutherland won a couple of awards I believe playing the boss of the investigator (Rea).
walpurgis
10-11-2014, 23:27
'The Station Agent' is now on Film4. Not been on long. Marvellous, understated US drama. One of my favourites!!
Now got Pimpernel Smith on, with Leslie Howard
Tonight is gonna be Gangster night so am going to find "Things to do in Denver when your dead" (1995) directed by Gary Fleder (recently did Homefront) and stars Andy Garcia, Christopher Walken, Steve Buscemi, Christopher Lloyd and Treat Williams.
Andy Garcia plays Jimmy the Saint (a name that comes from a Springsteen song) who's debt gets picked up by the extremely evil Walken. Walken really does ooze nastiness allows Jimmy to live but sentences his "crew" to "Buckwheats" IE shot up the ass type execution.(Very Nasty that is):eyebrows: Buscemi is the man for that job:lol:
The film was a bit of a disaster at the box office returning only 5% of its outlay, but I like it. Sometimes the flops are some of the best.
As Jimmy says, "Are you in love? Because if you are, then I won't waste your time anymore :eek: ...constantly, coz he was.
Off to see Interstellar tonight...3 hours long, got the nappy ready. :)
enjoyed that. Garcia is the epitome of cool.
......now on to Ice Age 1:lol:
Interstellar...
Much like one of the themes of the film, Christopher Nolans reach exceeds his grasp.
And you know what, bless him for that.
He's the only director nowadays with the Studio clout to make "concept" movies like this on a blockbuster level, and as a guy who grew up on Blade Runner, Silent Running, 2001 etc I can't get enough of that.
Yet... a slightly disappointed 7.5/10.
Overall very good but not great apart from several "whoa" moments that paid for the price of admission alone.
Some plot holes, but who cares? suspending disbelief is ok in my book if it doesn't take you out the movie.
Ambitious, technically wonderful but let down by some Basil Exposition level dialogue, carboard characters and an editor that sometimes needed a slap.
All that said, on to the good:
Sense of wonder:
Nolan nails this in a way that makes it obvious he's a fan of Stanley Kubrick.
(There's a nice nod to 2001, almost a cameo even, that when you get it you'll smile)
I think though Danny Boyle did it just as well in Sunshine....need to dig that movie out again.
Effects:
10/10
goods projection of what tech design you think NASA might come up with and visually superb.
Score:
Hans Zimmer doing the honours for Nolan again, but a VERY different and surprising score compared to anything he's done with him before.
Quite like Philip Glass in some parts which is great and it works really well for the film.
Apparently Zimmer wrote the score based on a brief outline of the film Nolan gave him and wasn't written to directly match sequences in the film?
It's better for it too.
So,
Recommend you go see it, very good but not great.
As a film it reminded me less of 2001 but more like Contact another one I need to dig out again.
Glad I saw it in the cinema, won't be the same on Bluray on smaller screen.
nice write up Gary. not my thing but know that Nolan is a talent. can do it all and has done all in one film...ie "following" where he pretty much made the whole thing.
watching the battle of the river plate. the search and eventual sinking of the graf spee
UP Pompeii tonight. Described as a Bawdy Comedy..
"Cassandra: Pompeii's citizens will befall the fate of the sinful men of Gomorrah!
Lurcio: Will they, indeed?
Cassandra: And Sodom
Lurcio: Ooh, I agree, the lot of them!
Now watching big Arnie Schwarzenegger kick everyone's ass, including Robert Duvall.....well, there are 2 of him :eyebrows:
Spectral Morn
13-11-2014, 23:48
watching the battle of the river plate. the search and eventual sinking of the graf spee
That American warship USS Salem with its numbers still clearly on show ruins what is a good film, should have used a model of the Graf Spee instead.
Regards Neil
Picked up today from my local charity shop:
The Third Man (dir. Carol Reed)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519TM352K1L.jpg
and
The Fifth Element (dir. Luc Bresson)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41J8Y0B0ANL.jpg
Spectral Morn
14-11-2014, 21:16
Fire Fox on ITV4 enjoyable slice of improbable spy, air combat movie, that was improbable when it was made and still is.
Regards Neil
Had my wee sleep so fighting fit.....Ah the third man...Love that music.
...I am going to watch the film version of The League of Gentlemen.... T L of G's Apocalypse. These folk are seriously mad :lol:
now watching "Carry on follow that Camel" Phil Silvers and Jim Dale. Phil was past his best and kept forgetting his lines, but still can do the business.
oh and of course the very lovely Angela Douglas as Lady Ponconby.....she was married to Kenneth More(lucky man)
Tonight, later than usual its Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat's Blue Murder At St Trinians (1957) starring Terry-Thomas, George Cole, Joyce Grenfell, Lionel Jeffries and Richard Wattis.
The Wild Geese
Corking men-on-a-mission film that has always been under-rated because when it was released in 1979 colonialism and the exploits of mercenaries such as Mike Hoare and Colonel Callan were still fresh in people's minds. As a consequence the film was branded 'racist' and exploitative despite the fact that its message is that black and white Africans need to come together to solve the continent's problems. The airfield sequence where Jaanders is desperately trying to catch up with the plane, pursued by an army of Simbas, has been parodied many times over the intervening decades; an indication perhaps of how secretly popular this film was. Great theme tune by Joan Armatrading, too.
good choice Martin. its one of my favoutites that i dont own. There are a lot of issues of human nature dealt with very well
It does indeed and there are great performances from everyone. Burton is too old for an action film but that just becomes an aspect of his character. Really good script, it's only some of the action scenes that let it down a bit, not as convincing as more modern efforts like private Ryan but it doesn't jar too much.
I've probably watched it too many times but you start to notice details such as each of the mercs wears his regimental beret with cap badge so you can identify the unit he has formerly served in. They also carry an amazing variety of weapons, I calculated they would need 6 different ammunition types just for the small-arms alone. The struggles of the quartermaster to supply it all must have ended up on the cutting room floor....
Tonight, later than usual its Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat's Blue Murder At St Trinians (1957) starring Terry-Thomas, George Cole, Joyce Grenfell, Lionel Jeffries and Richard Wattis.
That's not Minder is it?
That's not Minder is it?
yep he was in minder with dennis waterman. a young george cole in his role here as flash harry. a fabulous actor as was alistair simm who played the school head.
i am now watching david attenbourgh narrating the great flood of the Okavango in natures great events on the yesterday channel
'Wheeler Dealers' on Discovery Turbo - Italian Stallions day (and my 3000th post - yay)
congrats Roy.....well on your way to 3001 :eyebrows:
............about to watch THREADS (1984) tv movie about nuclear war and its effects on an area in England (Sheffield). Written by Barry Hines and directed by Mick Jackson, this was a pretty realistic program ans was frowned upon by the Govt of the day. Reece Dinsdale starred in this and Carl Sagan was credited as a consultant.
The 1980 British Government exercise "Square Leg" was used as the basis for projecting the level of destruction and number of casualties in the movie. "Square Leg" was a government project that estimated what would happen in Britain in the event of an actual attack. It projected the mortality rate at 29 million, serious injuries at 7 million and short term survivors at 19 million.
Jackson later recalled that while BBC productions would usually be followed by phone calls of congratulations from friends or colleagues immediately after airing, no such calls came after the first screening of Threads. Jackson later "realised... that people had just sat there thinking about it, in many cases not sleeping or being able to talk." He later said that he had it on good authority that Ronald Reagan watched the film when it aired in the US. Hines himself received a letter of praise from Labour leader Neil Kinnock(but not from Maggie:lol: ).
Carry On Don't Lose Your Head. - I'm Camembert, I'm the big cheese around here:ner:
Currently watching "The Beiderbecke Affair" with James Bolam
Guardians of the Galaxy...
Pretty good, a bit "pop culture-ry" but enjoyable tosh.
An interesting direction Marvel took with this one, half way through realised the makers were having as much fun as I was and I wanted to test my cynical film buff mate with it as a "litmus test" on whether he was still able to let go and enjoy himself with movies. (suspect he's not as Hitchcock didn't direct it)
Spectral Morn
19-11-2014, 23:12
Guardians of the Galaxy...
Pretty good, a bit "pop culture-ry" but enjoyable tosh.
An interesting direction Marvel took with this one, half way through realised the makers were having as much fun as I was and I wanted to test my cynical film buff mate with it as a "litmus test" on whether he was still able to let go and enjoy himself with movies. (suspect he's not as Hitchcock didn't direct it)
This is pretty much my fave film of this genre, can't wait to see it again on Blu Ray soon.
Regards Neil
Spectral Morn
20-11-2014, 15:41
The 300 Spartans
Not a perfect film but vastly superior to 300 in my opinion.
Regards Neil
Edwardian farm.. ruth goodmand is on hands and knees cleaning the floor of the farmhouse.....like a good scrubber:eyebrows:
Beiderbecke tapes(nearly done) then "B" connection to finish the series. All excellent fun...best bit, when the pipe band duffs up "A certain type of englishman" lol
Spectral Morn
21-11-2014, 23:16
Interstellar
Wow, wow, wow, wow................... :)
Interstellar
Wow, wow, wow, wow................... :)
Yes, yes,yes, yes.... :)
Did you see it in Imax Neil?
Gandhi (dir. Richard Attenborough)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71Xc%2BXcyFZL._SL1500_.jpg
Spectral Morn
22-11-2014, 21:20
Yes, yes,yes, yes.... :)
Did you see it in Imax Neil?
No. no I Max in Northern Ireland now, it went bust.
Just plain cinema, good picture, nice sound, no issues with dialogue for me. Beautiful, moving, thought provoking film.
Regards Neil
The Ghosts f Berkeley Square (1947) starring Robert Morley and Felix Aylmer as ghosts trapped in a house until royalty visits and their attempts to entince them over the centuries.
Top class and rarely seen film this.
Blu Ray version of Casablanca is up now. Topquality reproduction and of course the film is up there with all the greats(possibly ahead of)
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTAwWDUwMA==/z/PKYAAOSwq7JT4WXv/$_12.JPG
Blu Ray version of Casablanca is up now. Topquality reproduction and of course the film is up there with all the greats (possibly ahead of)
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTAwWDUwMA==/z/PKYAAOSwq7JT4WXv/$_12.JPG
Could be the start of a beautiful friendship. :D
One of my favourites - along with 'To Have and Have Not'; debuting the divine Lauren Bacall. :)
LOL.....
Might as well get in the spirit so now watching "It's a Wonderful Life" recorded earlier.
CARRY ON AGAIN DOCTOR.(1969). ONE OF THE LATER ONES (18TH I THINK) BUT STILL VERY GOOD FOR ALL THAT...
Some great names like Gladstone Screwer, Doctor Frederick Carver, Doctor Ernest Stoppidge, Doctor Jimmy Nookey and last but not least(at least she's upfront), Goldie Locks aka Maud Boggins :lolsign::lolsign:
Oppenheimer
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Uc%2B8gtVoL.jpg
4-disc BBC mini-series. Sam Waterston was made for the part of Oppenheimer.
Oppenheimer
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Uc%2B8gtVoL.jpg
4-disc BBC mini-series. Sam Waterston was made for the part of Oppenheimer.
I have this as well, although mine is a 3 disc version. It is rather good, and stylish too. Also have shadowmakers which tells the same story but in a shorter time.
Currently watching "The Gentle Sex".... a ww2 propaganda film focusing on women's contributions to the war effort in uniform. Top quality film it is too.
and on to Red Dwarf 10. Best since the beginning of series 7
Sailor Beware with Peggy Mount.....hilarious!! ......scariest mother in law around
I've got Aliens vs Predator II taped but I though the first one was piss-poor and I'm concerend that I am going to waste 2 hours of my life with the sequel. Has anyone seen it? Is it worth the effort?
unless your a big fan id think youll switch it off pdq
The boy got the latest Planet of the monkees film so I'll be seeing it soon and also the new Godzilla film.......I cant wait:(
tonight I am watching ice age ....again this time the blu ray version.
I've got Aliens vs Predator II taped but I though the first one was piss-poor and I'm concerend that I am going to waste 2 hours of my life with the sequel. Has anyone seen it? Is it worth the effort?
Better than the first one but still bloomin' awful.
Watch Alien or Predator instead. :)
Spectral Morn
27-11-2014, 21:02
The boy got the latest Planet of the monkees film so I'll be seeing it soon and also the new Godzilla film.......I cant wait:(
tonight I am watching ice age ....again this time the blu ray version.
Dawn of the Planet of The Apes movie is very good, Godzilla after a recent second viewing isn't as poor as I first thought.
Regards Neil
walpurgis
27-11-2014, 21:24
The boy got the latest Planet of the monkees film so I'll be seeing it soon and also the new Godzilla film.......I cant wait:(
tonight I am watching ice age ....again this time the blu ray version.
Have you ever read the book of the original story, 'Monkey Planet' by Pierre Boulle? I read it years ago. It wasn't bad at all.
Spectral Morn
27-11-2014, 21:31
Have you ever read the book of the original story, 'Monkey Planet' by Pierre Boulle? I read it years ago. It wasn't bad at all.
I have it somewhere but never got round to reading it though I think as a young teenager having ago and stopping because it wasn't like the TV series/films :doh:
Regards Neil
Have you ever read the book of the original story, 'Monkey Planet' by Pierre Boulle? I read it years ago. It wasn't bad at all.
No Geoff, I haven't seen it far less read it.....it must have slipped by me somehow. Might have a look for it on kindle or the likes
Dawn of the Planet of The Apes movie is very good, Godzilla after a recent second viewing isn't as poor as I first thought.
Regards Neil
Agree with 2nd viewing of Godzilla.
A lot of subtle(ish) stuff going on, not apparent on first viewing.
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