Now Screening - What Are You Watching Right Now?

[walpurgis]

not seen that for a while. was fairly good i think, if i remember right.

Yeah, shame about Richard Jordan. Struck down by cancer as I recall and died young. He was a decent actor.

[struth]

Yeah, shame about Richard Jordan. Struck down by cancer as I recall and died young. He was a decent actor.

yes, brain cancer... was when he was about to star in the fugitive film.

[struth]

Another absolute classic and fav.. Kind Hearts and Coronets, 1949. Directed by Robert Hamer and stars Alec Guiness, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson and Dennis Price.





Initially, Sir Alec Guinness was only offered four of the roles. It was Guinness who insisted on playing all eight.

Sir Alec Guinness nearly drowned in the scene where the Admiral goes down with his sinking ship. Guinness was held down by wires whilst the set filled up with water. Once the scene was wrapped, the crew started to leave, until one technician suddenly realized that they had forgotten to release Sir Alec from the wires holding him underwater. He immediately dove into the waters with some wire-cutters and freed Guinness. Fortunately for all concerned, Guinness took great pride in his ability to hold his breath for long periods of time.

Agatha's death in the movie caused some consternation for Sir Alec Guinness. The scene in question, a hot air ballooning accident filmed in a field next door to Pinewood Studios, prompted him to ask the producers if he was well insured. They told him that he was, to the tune of ten thousand pounds sterling, but Guinness didn't think that was enough. He then declared that the balloon could not be raised any more than fifteen feet unless they raised the insurance to fifty thousand pounds sterling. Ealing Studios was renowned for being very penny-pinching, and it naturally refused Guinness' demand, pointing out that he would be accompanied in the balloon by a well-qualified Belgian balloonist hidden in the basket with him. Guinness was undeterred in his refusal to perform the stunt, so the scene in the finished movie is not him, but the Belgian balloonist wearing Agatha's dress and wig. Guinness had the last laugh, however, when a high wind pulled the balloon off course. The Belgian balloonist was found fifty miles away, having had to jump into a river.

[struth]

The Blue Dahlia, 1946. An American crime film and film noir with an original screenplay by Raymond Chandler directed by George Marshall and starring Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake and William Bendix. It was Chandler's first original screenplay.





The pressure of having to finish the screenplay combined with the curve ball of having to write an entirely new ending was too much for Raymond Chandler. He quickly came down with a severe case of writer's block. According to a near-legendary story, screenwriter Raymond Chandler offered to finish the screenplay by working drunk: in exchange for sacrificing his health to produce the requisite pages on time, Chandler was permitted to work at home (a privilege rarely granted to screenwriters) and was provided two chauffeured cars, one to convey the completed pages to the studio and the other for his wife. Chandler turned the script in on time. Many now believe the "drunkenness" was simply a ruse by Chandler to wrangle extraordinary privileges from the desperate studio.

[struth]

Ruthless People, 1986. starring Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Judge Reinhold, Bill Pullman and Helen Slater.






Bette Midler claims that Danny DeVito called her twice after the premiere of this film: once to congratulate her, and a second time, 20 minutes later, during which he and Midler both broke down in a nervous frenzy over how terrible the movie was, and how their careers were over. The film went on to become a box-office smash.

The make and model of the classic red sports car that Sam Stone (Danny DeVito) drives is the American Excalibur Series IV red Roadster convertible, model year 1980.

It is GHASTLY!! lol

[Barry]

Another absolute classic and fav.. Kind Hearts and Coronets, 1949. Directed by Robert Hamer and stars Alec Guiness, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson and Dennis Price.





Initially, Sir Alec Guinness was only offered four of the roles. It was Guinness who insisted on playing all eight.

Sir Alec Guinness nearly drowned in the scene where the Admiral goes down with his sinking ship. Guinness was held down by wires whilst the set filled up with water. Once the scene was wrapped, the crew started to leave, until one technician suddenly realized that they had forgotten to release Sir Alec from the wires holding him underwater. He immediately dove into the waters with some wire-cutters and freed Guinness. Fortunately for all concerned, Guinness took great pride in his ability to hold his breath for long periods of time.

Agatha's death in the movie caused some consternation for Sir Alec Guinness. The scene in question, a hot air ballooning accident filmed in a field next door to Pinewood Studios, prompted him to ask the producers if he was well insured. They told him that he was, to the tune of ten thousand pounds sterling, but Guinness didn't think that was enough. He then declared that the balloon could not be raised any more than fifteen feet unless they raised the insurance to fifty thousand pounds sterling. Ealing Studios was renowned for being very penny-pinching, and it naturally refused Guinness' demand, pointing out that he would be accompanied in the balloon by a well-qualified Belgian balloonist hidden in the basket with him. Guinness was undeterred in his refusal to perform the stunt, so the scene in the finished movie is not him, but the Belgian balloonist wearing Agatha's dress and wig. Guinness had the last laugh, however, when a high wind pulled the balloon off course. The Belgian balloonist was found fifty miles away, having had to jump into a river.

Sheer perfection - the ending has a wonderful 'twist' to it.

[struth]

Sheer perfection - the ending has a wonderful 'twist' to it.

yes i like the end too.. they had to change it for the usa censor as they didnt allow crime to pay at that time so an extra 10 secs were filmed.. then dumped later. they can be found in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, in a drawer somewhere.lol

[struth]

Monty Python and the Holy Grail, 1975. The team perform a superb bit of nonsense..






The French tactic of pelting Arthur and his knights with livestock echoes the relatively modern legend of a medieval siege of the fortified southern French town of Carcassonne. Said to have been near starvation, the townspeople used the last of their food to pelt the besieging army to convince them, suffering likewise, that the town was well stocked with food and that the siege was hopeless. The tactic was successful, and the siege was lifted.

[walpurgis]

Monty Python and the Holy Grail, 1975

Ah, I actually dug out my copy last night whilst browsing through my DVDs. May watch it later.

[struth]

Ah, I actually dug out my copy last night whilst browsing through my DVDs. May watch it later.

I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty-headed animal food trough wiper! I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!



1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Who goes there?

King Arthur: It is I, Arthur, son of Uther Pendragon, from the castle of Camelot. King of the Britons, defeater of the Saxons, Sovereign of all England!

1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Pull the other one!