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.
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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/2...s-bedroom.html
Carver amps....mmmmm.....not bad for a kid still in high school.
Great filmQuote:
Originally Posted by struth
Hope you are feeling better now Grant
Regards Neil
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 MCtQuote:
Originally Posted by Macca
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:
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:......
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by struth
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dalek Supreme D L
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. :)
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...lolQuote:
Originally Posted by Gazjam
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.
Also,Quote:
Originally Posted by struth
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!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazjam
....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...
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:Quote:
Originally Posted by Macca
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.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by struth
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.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dalek Supreme D L
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Macca
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by struth
BBC One tonight, it will be on the i player later.Quote:
Originally Posted by struth
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
Brilliant film. The drunk horse was marvellous and Marvin was on top form.Quote:
Originally Posted by struth
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by walpurgis
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?"
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.