Edward Woodward

Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Bryan Brown, Edward Woodward, Jack Thompson in Breaker Morant

Edward Woodward, the star of the 1980s television series The Equalizer and of the film classics The Wicker Man (1973) and Breaker Morant (1980), died on Monday in Truro, Cornwall, England. Woodward had been suffering from heart problems and other ailments; the cause of death was pneumonia.
Born to working-class parents in Croydon, Surrey, south of London, on June 1, 1930, Woodward began his acting career onstage in 1946. As a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he played roles in, among others, Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing, in addition to starring in Cyrano de Bergerac on the West End and in Noel Coward’s Broadway musical [...]

Bette Davis, Barbara Steele, ALIEN: Library of Congress Packard Campus’ Fall Series

 
Oscar winners, horror movies, and silent shorts are all part of the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation’s fall film series in Culpeper, Va., starting Oct. 8.
Among the Oscar winners is best actress Bette Davis in Jezebel (1938), William Wyler’s classic romantic melodrama that was Warner Bros.’ answer to Gone with the Wind. (The film was based on a flop play that starred Miriam Hopkins, Bette Davis’ future archrival.) Davis was one of the top contenders for the role of Scarlett O’Hara, but had to content herself with playing Jezebel’s wilful Southern belle — who dares to wear a red dress (in black and white) at a ball much to the shock and [...]

British Critics Pick Best British Films

Total Film magazine recently asked twenty-five British film critics to come up with their choices of the best British films ever made. The result is somewhat surprising, with the 1971 Mike Hodges-directed thriller Get Carter chosen as Britain’s very best movie ever. Other top-ten surprises include Monty Python’s Life of Brian, the James Bond actioner From Russia with Love, and Mike Leigh’s Naked. No pre-1945 film made it to the top ten.
Here’s the list:

1. Get Carter (1971)
2. A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
3. Trainspotting (1996)
4. The Third Man (1949)
5. Life of Brian (1979)
6. The Wicker Man [...]