Now Screening - What Are You Watching Right Now?

[Spectral Morn]

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

[struth]

Now onto Red Dwarf series 5.

[Macca]

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.

[struth]

Precisely…. Looks to be pretty violent and gory, too - so it ticks all the boxes!

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

[struth]

I'm away down the canal with Julia Bradbury.

She's up here in Scotland at the Caledonian Canal built by Thomas Telford

[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

Excellent, please do

Marco.

[struth]

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...

[struth]

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.

[struth]

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.

[Roy S]

'I love you man' on BBC1, very 'easy watching' (& Rush are in it & one of the main characters has a McIntosh set up)