Now Screening - What Are You Watching Right Now?

[struth]

Mulholland Dr, 2001.. 4k Bluray. A native 3840 x 2160p resolution image with widescreen 1.85:1 aspect ratio, uses 10-bit video depth, High Dynamic Range, a Wide Colour Gamut (WCG) and is encoded using the HEVC (H.265) codec for HRD10 and Dolby Vision. Remasterd film is beautiful.






The set of reels that was distributed to the movie theaters included a computer-written, photocopied note from director David Lynch himself giving special instructions to the projectionists worldwide. Specifically, he did not want the film to be centered vertically on the screen, but rather to "allow more overhead" as the term in projectionist's slang, that is, to let the top part of the frame be more visible than the bottom part. This was because the film was originally made for TV, with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 (or 16:9) in mind -- without the projectionists' manual correction, the aspect ratio of the theatrical release (1.85:1) would have resulted in heads being cut off at the top of the silver screen. Lynch also asked to raise the volume of the theater's sound system by three decibels when the film was playing. The note ended with the words, "Your friend, David Lynch."

On a particularly bad day of auditioning in Hollywood before she landed the role, Naomi Watts was driving along Mulholland Drive and imagined herself turning the wheel and going over the edge to her death. After ten years of getting nowhere and largely being ignored by casting directors, Watts was shocked that not only did director David Lynch meet her in person but he asked her questions about herself and she immediately felt relaxed. She was so moved by their conversation, she almost burst into tears after leaving his office.

[struth]

Hellfighters, 1968..






A burning oil well prompted the owner, present-day billionaire Phillip Anschutz, to call Red Adair, a famous firefighter who later put out the oil well fires during the Gulf War, to put out the blaze. To pay Adair, Anschutz persuaded Universal Studios to pay him $100,000 to film Adair putting out his well fire for "Hellfighters."

The studio designed special nozzles for the fires. There was an outer ring nozzle that shot out the flames and an inner one that shot out a mixture of water and India ink to simulate oil. This can be seen in how easily the "oil" is wiped off the actor's faces.

When asked to comment on the film during production, actress Katharine Ross replied, "It's the biggest piece of crap I've ever done!" Then the reporter asked Vera Miles to respond to Ross's comment. She thought for a moment and said, "Well, it's not the biggest piece of crap I'VE ever done!"

[struth]

Been a long time since i saw this, and I think Katharine Ross was possibly correct

[struth]

Here Comes Mr. Jordan, 1941. Crterion bluray...






The review in Film Daily opined, "Producer Everett Riskin, noted for his successes in the field of comedy, had no cinch with this property which might easily have backfired with an inexperienced hand at the helm. But Riskin's talent and knowledge has placed this finished product very near the peak of perfection in film making." Here Comes Mr. Jordan placed fifth on the year-end poll of 548 critics nationwide at Film Daily, naming it one of the best films of 1941.

[Macca]

Been a long time since i saw this, and I think Katharine Ross was possibly correct

yes its shocking isn't it?

[struth]

Midway, 2019..





The film highlights the faulty Mark 13 aerial torpedo used by the US Devestator at the time. Even before the war, the Mark 13 was shown to be faulty with most test torpedoes either sinking, running on the surface, or just failing to launch. Studies later found that many torpedoes were damaged upon impact with the water, namely the propellers and the torpedo head. It took two years of testing and re-evaluation before the Mark 13 became a reliable weapon by incorporating a shroud to protect the propeller fins and adding a drag ring to the torpedo head to cushion the impact. The drag ring was made of wood and would break away upon impact. During Midway, only a single Mark 13 found its target and detonated. It was dropped by a Catalina float-plane and hit the oil-tanker Kiyosumi Maru. The explosion ripped a 33 foot hole in the ship's bow but the Kiyosumi Maru survived and continued on with its mission.

At Midway the Japanese forces greatly outnumbered the Americans. The Japanese had 4 carriers, 2 light carriers, 2 battleships, 16 cruisers and 12 destroyers. The Americans had 3 carriers, 8 cruisers, and 15 destroyers. The only parity was in the number of submarines, planes and, counting the airfield at Midway, landing surfaces.

Although William F. Halsey's skin rash is referred to briefly in the film, it was so severe by the time of Midway he lost 20 pounds and was suffering from insomnia due to the chronic irritation. Chester W. Nimitz was reportedly so shocked by Halsey's appearance that he had no choice but to replace him with Raymond A. Spruance for the upcoming engagement. Still, Halsey was devastated he would not be leading the fleet into battle and called it "the most grievous disappointment in my career".

Several seemingly "Hollywood-ized" events depicted in the film, such as Bruno Gaido sprinting into a parked plane in an effort to shoot down a crippled plane attempting to crash into the Enterprise, then getting on-spot promoted, occurred as shown, though according to USA Today, "Gaido hid after shooting the plane down, afraid he was going to get in trouble for leaving his battle station. 'They had to hunt him down and bring him to Halsey', says [Retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Samuel J. Cox, director of the Naval History and Heritage Command]."

[Macca]

Not a perfect film by a long way but on balance I think it is superior to the 1975 effort.

[struth]

Not a perfect film by a long way but on balance I think it is superior to the 1975 effort.

certainly a different style. cgi is a bit 'in your face' but that seems to be the style folk want. it kinda reminds me of the doomed pearl harbour film, although much better done.

[struth]

japanese admiral... you men will leave ship and i will go down with it as i scuttle her...

japanese aide... i want to stay with you sir...

japanese admiral... very well...

japanese aide... you bastard! i was only trying to look big....

[struth]

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's A Matter of Life and Death1946. (aka in usa as Stairway to Heaven.)




The backcloth of the High Court scene, suggesting tiers of seats stretching into infinity, measured three hundred fifty feet long and forty feet high. Altogether eight backcloths of similar large dimensions were used in Other World scenes, and twenty-nine elaborate sets were constructed. In all of these vast scenes, five thousand three hundred seventy-five extras were used, including real Royal Air Force crews, Red Cross nurses, and W.A.A.C.s.

David Niven (Peter Carter) and Raymond Massey (Abraham Farlan) both died on July 29, 1983.

A great many of the famous men whose statues are on the massive stairway have a common trait: they were believed, when this film was made, to have had neurological disorders . This is a subtle nod to Peter's medical condition.

The huge escalator linking this World with the Other, called "Operation Ethel" by the firm of engineers who constructed her under the aegis of the London Passenger Transport Board, took three months to make, and cost three thousand pounds sterling (in 1946). "Ethel" had one hundred six steps, each twenty feet wide, and was driven by a twelve horsepower engine. The full shot was completed by hanging miniatures.

The first scene shot was David Niven washing up on the beach. Originally planned to fade in from black, Michael Powell decided on the spot that the effect would be too cheesy. When Jack Cardiff told him to look through the camera, Cardiff then deliberately breathed right onto the lens, which fogged the glass for a few seconds until it evaporated. Powell loved the idea and had him use it for the shot.

It was during a visit to Hollywood in 1945 that director Michael Powell decided to cast the then-unknown Kim Hunter as June, the American servicewoman, largely upon the recommendation of Sir Alfred Hitchcock, who had done a series of screen tests of actors and actresses auditioning for parts in his upcoming production, Notorious (1946). The trouble was that in these screen tests Hunter was not seen but, rather, was heard off-camera, feeding lines and cues to the actors Hitchcock was actually screen-testing. But Hitchcock assured Powell that he would arrange a "face-to-face" with Hunter and her agent, so that he could see for himself whether she fit the requirements of the "all-American" girl Powell had envisioned opposite David Niven. And upon first encountering Hunter, Powell agreed with Hitchcock that she, indeed, was a perfect choice for the role.

Niven and Hunter..