Berta Singerman in NOTHING MORE THAN A WOMAN at UCLA
The 1934 melodrama Nada más que una mujer / Nothing More Than a Woman, a unique sample of the many Spanish-language versions of Hollywood films made for export in the 1930s, will be screened at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 19, at UCLA’s Billy Wilder Theater in Westwood. Nothing More Than a Woman will be followed by the 1933 romantic comedy No dejes la puerta abierta / Don’t Leave the Door Open, starring Raul Roulien of Flying Down to Rio. Both restored, 35mm prints will be screened with English subtitles.
"Once sound films had become firmly established in the late ’20s," wrote film historian Robert Dickson in the program for UCLA’s 1998 film preservation festival, "and before the advent of acceptable dubbing and subtitling, all of the major studios as well as several independent producers, fearful of losing their international audiences, began to make films in various foreign languages. The Fox studio elected to produce its foreign language releases almost exclusively in Spanish and, in the beginning, simply remade some of its English-language films, although it would later produce certain films only in Spanish. Between 1930 and 1935, Fox made [forty] features and [five] shorts in Spanish. Of these, only [around a quarter] appear to have survived." (The corrections in brackets are from Bob Dickson; Bob — who was a great help while I was working on the Ramon Novarro bio Beyond Paradise — also explains that when Fox merged with 20th Century in 1935 its production of Spanish-language films was abandoned.)
Now, why is Nothing More Than a Woman unique among the surviving films?
Well, the chief reason is that it stars legendary Argentinean stage performer Berta Singerman (above, left, with Luana Alcañiz), whom some have compared to Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, in one of her rare film appearances. Singerman, in fact, made only two other pictures: the silent La Vendedora de Harrod’s / The Harrod’s Salesgirl in 1921 — it’s unclear if that’s a feature or a short — and the 1942 four-episode anthology drama Ceniza al viento / Ashes in the Wind, in which she can be seen in one of the stories.
Born in the small Russian town of Mozir in 1901 (some sources claim she was born in Minsk, in today’s Belarus), Singerman was a major star on the Argentinean stage since the 1920s. Her father founded Buenos Aires’ first Yiddish-language theater, while Singerman — despite several vicious anti-Semitic attacks (Google translation) in the Argentinean press and adverse publicity because of her anti-Franco stance — was particularly renowned for her poetry recitations, including works by Pablo Neruda, Federico García Lorca, and Juan Ramón Jiménez. She toured for decades throughout Latin America, and also appeared onstage in the United States, Europe, and Israel.
Singerman uses her "poetry interpretation" talent to good advantage in the steamy Nothing More Than a Woman, which is set in an off-the-beaten-path island of The Philippines. The Spanish-language version of Fox’s B-melo Pursued (1934), Nothing More Than a Woman tells the story of Mona Estrada (Singerman), an entertainer who asks for — and, gasp!, gets — a job at the local tropical dive reciting poetry to customers. Whereas Dickson has noted that the plot "does not encourage close scrutiny" — Mona also has a love affair with a temporarily blinded plantation owner — Kenneth Turan wrote in the Los Angeles Times back in 1998 that "when Singerman launches into one of her rhythmic, racy, mesmerizing vocal presentations, you’re afraid to so much as blink in case you miss a word."
Indeed, even though the Nothing More Than a Woman plot and production values aren’t quite A-class stuff — except for Rudolph Maté’s moody cinematography — Singerman more than holds her own as the mysterious woman with both a shady past and a talent to make words of poetry come to vibrant life. (The title of an IMDb contributor’s review reads "An Unexpected, Vital Must-See Performance.")
At the time, the New York Times reviewer was impressed by the "diseuse" Singerman’s performance, writing "her presentation of ‘Pregones en [sic] Buenos Aires’ is so realistic that the spectator only has to close his eyes to imagine himself listening to the varied and strangely alluring calls in the streets of the Argentine metropolis. Señorita Singerman’s acting is excellent, with due allowance for the sentimentalities of the case, and she properly may be described as ‘may [sic] simpática.’"
Also in the Nothing More Than a Woman cast: Alfredo del Diestro, Juan Torena, the Spanish actress Luana Alcañiz (who starred in numerous Spanish-language versions of Hollywood films), Lucio Villegas, and Carmen Rodríguez. Harry Lachman directed from Lester Cole (one of the future Hollywood Ten) and Stuart Anthony’s Pursued screenplay, which in turn was taken from Larry Evans‘ story "The Painted Lady." Raymond Van Sickle and John Reinhardt wrote the Nothing More Than a Woman adaptation, while Miguel de Zárraga and Spanish satirist Enrique Jardiel Poncela (uncredited) penned the Spanish-language dialogue. (According to Bob Dickson, Jardiel Poncela’s name was removed from the credits so audiences wouldn’t think they were about to watch a comedy.)
Rosemary Lane and Victor Jory starred in the original Pursued, while Peggy Shannon and Spencer Tracy headed the cast of the hard-to-watch The Painted Woman (1932), taken from the same story. George O’Brien and Dorothy Mackaill starred in the 1925 silent version.
Berta Singerman, I should add, died in her sleep of respiratory failure in Buenos Aires in 1998, at the age of 97. Singerman, as quoted in the daily El Clarín (Google translation), once said, "I brought poetry back to the people. I took poetry out of the books, which were only accessible to a select minority." And finally, in the words of Spanish classical music composer Manuel de Falla: "While we, composers, look for music for our words, Berta extracts music from words."
In the light musical comedy Don’t Leave the Door Open, the Spanish-language version of Pleasure Cruise, Mexican Rosita Moreno (right, who starred in eighteen other Spanish-language productions) and Brazilian Raul Roulien (whose Spanish is remarkably fluent) star as a recently married couple whose troubles begin quite early in the marriage: Wife Moreno believes that husband Roulien is having an affair, so she decides to have a fling of her own while on a cruise from New York to Havana. Though hardly a masterpiece — the New York Times called it a "fairly entertaining comedy of matrimonial complications," Don’t Leave the Door Open is worth a look as a curiosity piece. As a plus, both Moreno and Argentinean acting legend Mona Maris are quite watchable.
Directed by Lewis Seiler and with Spanish dialogue by José López Rubio and Paul Perez (Miguel de Zárraga was "dialogue director"), Don’t Leave the Door Open also features George J. Lewis, Romualdo Tirado, Rosita Granada, and Ralph Navarro. Carlos Villarías, the star of the Spanish-language Dracula, has a small role as the ship’s purser. Genevieve Tobin, Roland Young, and Ralph Forbes starred in the original Pleasure Cruise, which Guy Bolton adapted from a play by Austen Allen.
Restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in the late 1990s, the preservation funds and grants for Nothing More Than a Woman and Don’t Leave the Door Open came from the American Film Institute, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Robert Dickson. Bob, by the way, is the co-author (with Juan B. Heinink) of the excellent Cita en Hollywood, a history of Spanish-language film productions in Hollywood during the 1930s.
Berta Singerman Photo: Courtesy of Robert Dickson
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Paul Newman on Turner Classic Movies
Paul Newman, who died this past September 26 at the age of 83, will be the Star of the Day on Turner Classic Movies this Sunday, October 12.
There are no Newman rarities in the program. But come to think of it, I’m not sure if there are any really rare Paul Newman vehicles out there, as most — perhaps all — of his motion picture work is available on either video or DVD, or has been screened on television.
In any case, the top recommendations for Paul Newman Day are Until They Sail (1957) — which I admit I still haven’t seen, but with a cast that includes Newman, Jean Simmons, Joan Fontaine, and Piper Laurie, it simply can’t be bad. And even if it is bad — the story revolves around four sisters in love with American soldiers on their way to some World War II action in the South Pacific — Until They Sail would still be worth watching because of its cast. Robert Wise, whose efforts range from so-so to excellent, directed. Just think about it: All this and Sandra Dee, too.
Directed by Martin Ritt from a screenplay by frequent collaborators Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. (based on Larry McMurtry’s novel), Hud (1963, top photo) is one of the best American movies of the 1960s. The story of a selfish, irresponsible, ruthless cowboy (Newman) who discovers — a little too late, perhaps — that everyone has to grow up one day, Hud is that rare Hollywood production that exudes both talent and intelligence. In the title role, Newman is fine as the spoiled cad, and so is Brandon De Wilde as his younger brother. That said, Hud actually belongs to Academy Award winners Patricia Neal (right) and Melvyn Douglas, who deliver two of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen. As a plus, the film boasts masterful black-and-white cinematography by Academy Award winner James Wong Howe.
Rachel, Rachel (1968), Newman’s directorial debut, is a remarkable drama, adapted by Stewart Stern from Margaret Laurence’s novel about a plain-looking, insecure, small-town school teacher who seems incapable of finding happiness in love or in life. New York Film Critics Circle best actress winner Joanne Woodward is superb in the title role, being well-supported by Estelle Parsons and Geraldine Fitzgerald. It’s too bad that Newman — who was chosen the best director of the year by the New York scribes — didn’t make as many films as a director as, say, the way overrated Clint Eastwood — as Newman had both vision and sensitivity to spare behind the cameras.
The flag-waving Exodus (1960, above), about the founding of Israel, is probably one of Newman’s worst films and performances (and almost surely Otto Preminger’s worst production as well), while Sweet Bird of Youth (1962), directed and adapted by Richard Brooks, is a disappointing rendition of a Tennessee Williams play (though eons better than the made-for-TV remake starring Elizabeth Taylor). Geraldine Page, however, has some good moments as a neurotic actress tripping away with a hunky escort.
The earlier Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958, with Elizabeth Taylor), which broke new ground because it (sort of) deals with homosexuality, is another Newman vehicle directed by Brooks and based on a Tennessee Williams play. The original isn’t all that good to begin with, while the glossy MGM adaptation is much too bowdlerized to either have any dramatic impact or make any sense.
Both Torn Curtain (1966) and Cool Hand Luke (1967) have their admirers. I’m not one of them. The former is absurd and tedious; the latter is tedious and absurd — and worse, yet, the makers of this messy, meandering melodrama believed they had an Important Message to convey about non-conformism vs. social oppression. (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest tackled the same theme much more effectively.) George Kennedy earned a best supporting actor Oscar for his turn as one of the convicts wasting away in a Southern prison, but the best performance — by far — in Cool Hand Luke is that of Jo Van Fleet in what (unfortunately) amounts to a cameo. (Van Fleet, one of the best and most underused — by Hollywood — actresses of the last century, is the one who should have been cast in the lead in Sweet Bird of Youth.)
Schedule (Pacific Time) and synopses from the TCM website.
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12 Sunday
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| 3:00 AM | Rack, The (1956) |
| A Korean War veteran is accused of cracking under enemy torture. Cast: Paul Newman, Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis. Dir: Arnold Laven. BW-100 mins, TV-14, CC
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| 4:51 AM | Short Film: Picturesque New Zealand (1952) |
| This travel short highlights some of the attractions of New Zealand, including their pastoral tradition and the native Maori people. Background music is provided by the Rangitoto Maori Choir. Cast: James A. Fitzpatrick C-8 mins,
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| 5:00 AM | Until They Sail (1957) |
| Four sisters in New Zealand fall for Allied sailors en route to World War II. Cast: Jean Simmons, Joan Fontaine, Paul Newman. Dir: Robert Wise. BW-95 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format
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| 6:38 AM | Short Film: In The Valley Of The Rhine (1953) |
| This travel talk tours the Rhine River in Western Europe, stopping at various cities and attractions, including still-war-ravaged Cologne, the fertile wine country, and its proud musical heritage. This remains an interesting travel short in a recovering region, less than a decade after WWII. Cast: James A. Fitzpatrick C-8 mins,
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| 7:00 AM | Torn Curtain (1966) |
| A U.S. scientist pretends to defect to follow his mentor behind the Iron Curtain. Cast: Paul Newman, Julie Andrews, Lila Kedrova. Dir: Alfred Hitchcock. C-128 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format
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| 9:15 AM | Exodus (1960) |
| A young Israeli activist fights to set up a homeland for his people. Cast: Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Sal Mineo. Dir: Otto Preminger. C-208 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format
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| 12:45 PM | Sweet Bird Of Youth (1962) |
| A young gigolo returns to his southern hometown in search of the lost love of his youth. Cast: Paul Newman, Geraldine Page, Shirley Knight. Dir: Richard Brooks. C-120 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format
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| 3:00 PM | Hud (1963) |
| An amoral modern rancher clashes with his rigid father. Cast: Paul Newman, Patricia Neal, Melvyn Douglas. Dir: Martin Ritt. BW-112 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format
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| 5:00 PM | Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) |
| True story of boxer Rocky Graziano’s rise from juvenile delinquent to world champ. Cast: Paul Newman, Pier Angeli, Eileen Heckart. Dir: Robert Wise. BW-114 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format, DVS
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| 7:00 PM | Cool Hand Luke (1967) |
| A free-spirited convict refuses to conform to chain-gang life. Cast: Paul Newman, George Kennedy, Strother Martin. Dir: Stuart Rosenberg. C-126 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format
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| 9:15 PM | Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958) |
| A dying plantation owner tries to help his alcoholic son solve his problems. Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives. Dir: Richard Brooks. C-108 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format, DVS
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| 11:15 PM | Rachel, Rachel (1968) |
| Small town teacher tries to overcome her shyness. Cast: Joanne Woodward, James Olson, Kate Harrington. Dir: Paul Newman. C-101 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format
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| 1:00 AM | Outrage, The (1964) |
| A Mexican bandit’s crimes receive wildly different interpretations from four witnesses. Cast: Paul Newman, Claire Bloom, Edward G. Robinson. Dir: Martin Ritt. BW-96 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format
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Spencer Tracy on Turner Classic Movies
Katharine Hepburn on Turner Classic Movies
Marlon Brando on Turner Classic Movies
Charlton Heston on Turner Classic Movies
Tony Curtis on Turner Classic Movies
Janet Leigh on Turner Classic Movies
Ingrid Bergman on Turner Classic Movies
Henry Fonda on Turner Classic Movies
Laurel & Hardy on Turner Classic Movies
Trevor Howard on Turner Classic Movies
BREAKFAST WITH SCOT Trailer
Directed by Laurie Lynd and adapted by Sean Reycraft from Michael Downing’s novel, Breakfast with Scot — which opened today in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York — stars Tom Cavanagh and Ben Shenkman as an upscale, "discreet" gay couple (one of them used to be a hockey player; the other one is a sports attorney) who unexpectedly find themselves parenting an 11-year-old boy (Noah Bernett) with serious pompom tendencies.
Also in the Breakfast with Scot cast: Graham Greene (Academy Award nominee for Dances with Wolves back in 1990), Fiona Reid, Jeananne Goossen, Colin Cunningham, Sheila McCarthy, Megan Follows, and Alex Popovic.
As per the film’s website, "officially sanctioned by the NHL and the Toronto Maple Leafs, Breakfast with Scot represents the first time a professional sports league has allowed their logo and uniforms to be used in a gay-themed movie."
Clip posted by themikbaby.
Robert De Niro in WHAT JUST HAPPENED? Trailer
Anne Hathaway in PASSENGERS Trailer
Edward Norton, Colin Farrell in PRIDE AND GLORY Trailer
ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM Trailer
Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning in THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES Trailer
Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore in HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU Trailer
GÉRARD PHILIPE: A MAN NOT AN ANGEL Clip
Robert De Niro in WHAT JUST HAPPENED? Trailer
Directed by Barry Levinson, What Just Happened? was adapted by producer Art Linson from his own novel, which in turn was inspired by the goings-on during the making of The Edge, a 1997 thriller directed by Lee Tamahori, written by David Mamet, and starring Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin, and Elle Macpherson.
What Just Happened? follows a Hollywood producer (Robert De Niro, who also happens to be one of the What Just Happened? producers) as he tries to salvage one bomb while struggling to get a new picture off the ground. Screened at Sundance, What Just Happened? [...] Continue Reading…
Anne Hathaway in PASSENGERS Trailer
Written by Ronnie Christensen and directed by Rodrigo García, Passengers centers on a grief counselor (Anne Hathaway) working with a group of plane-crash survivors who finds herself up to her neck in some pretty weird mystery when her clients begin to disappear.
Also in the Passengers cast: Patrick Wilson, Andre Braugher, Dianne Wiest, William B. Davis, David Morse, and Ryan Robbins.
Passengers opens in the US on October 24.
Clip posted by watchmoviepreviews.
SAW V Trailer
FEAR(S) OF THE DARK Trailer
Edward Norton, Colin Farrell in PRIDE AND GLORY Trailer
ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM Trailer
Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning in THE [...] Continue Reading…
SAW V Trailer
Co-written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, Saw V is the directorial debut of production designer David Hackl. (The last three Saws were directed by Darren Lynn Bousman.) The plot has something to do with the Hoffman character (Costas Mandylor) carrying on "the jigsaw legacy" while trying to "eliminate all loose ends." The film’s tagline reads: "You won’t believe how it ends." What I don’t believe is how it keeps on going.
In the Saw V cast: Toby Bell, Julie Benz, Greg Bryk, Meagan Good, Laura Gordon, and Joris Jarsky.
Saw V opens in the US on [...] Continue Reading…
Leslie Caron Salute + GIGI and LILI Screenings
Leslie Caron will be on hand for the premiere of a new digital restoration of the 1958 best picture Oscar winner Gigi tomorrow, October 10, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Film critic Stephen Farber will host an onstage conversation with Caron. (Note: This event is sold out. More information on additional tickets at the bottom of this article.)
"An Academy Salute to Leslie Caron" is being presented in cooperation with the American Cinematheque and the Santa Monica Puppetry Center. [...] Continue Reading…
FEAR(S) OF THE DARK Trailer
Peur(s) du noir / Fear(s) of the Dark features several intertwined stories focusing on nightmares, phobias, and the like. The Fear(s) of the Dark segments were written and directed by graphic artists Blutch, Charles Burns, Marie Caillou, Pierre di Sciullo, Lorenzo Mattotti, and Richard McGuire. Blutch, Burns, and di Sciullo also co-wrote the screenplay, along with Romain Slocombe, Jerry Kramsky, and Michel Pirus.
Among the voices featured in Fear(s) of the Dark are those of Guillaume Depardieu and Nicole Garcia.
Fear(s) of the Dark opens in the US on October 24. It opened in France [...] Continue Reading…
Edward Norton, Colin Farrell in PRIDE AND GLORY Trailer
Co-written and directed by Gavin O’Connor, Pride and Glory chronicles the breaking apart of a family filled with police officers after one family member (Edward Norton) starts investigating the murder of four New York cops. The trail leads to the police department itself and to a web of corruption involving his brother (Noah Emmerich) and brother-in-law (Colin Farrell).
Joe Carnahan co-wrote the screenplay with O’Connor. Also in the Pride and Glory cast: Jon Voight, Jennifer Ehle, and John Ortiz.
Pride and Glory opens in the US on October 24.
Official Site.
Clip posted by mpit55.
ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN [...] Continue Reading…
ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM Trailer
Believe it or not, there’s a serious global financial crisis going on. So, how about some escapism?
What better video clip to watch at this time than the trailer of Alex Gibney’s 2004 Academy Award-nominated documentary feature Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room? Doesn’t the title alone make you think of those smart guys wearing expensive suits, driving expensive cars, sitting in expensive chairs in expansive offices in expansive high-rises, and living in equally expansive (and expensive) mansions?
What Gibney’s film proves — four years after it was released — is that long after the [...] Continue Reading…
National Film Board of Canada Salute
“A Salute to the National Film Board of Canada” (NFB) will be presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ — in partnership with the Charles Guggenheim Center for the Documentary Film and the Foundation for the National Archives — on Thursday, October 23, at 7 p.m. at the William G. McGowan Theater at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The event will be hosted by animation critic and historian Charles Solomon, following an introduction by Academy President Sid Ganis.
The National Film Board of Canada salute will include [...] Continue Reading…
Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning in THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES Trailer
Set in 1964 South Carolina, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of a 14 year-old motherless white girl (Dakota Fanning) who learns about life from several black women, among them Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson, Academy Award nominees Queen Latifah and Sophie Okonedo, and Alicia Keys. Based on Sue Monk Kidd’s novel, The Secret Life of Bees was adapted and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood.
Also in the Secret Life of Bees cast: Paul Bettany and Hilarie Burton.
The Secret Life of Bees opens in the [...] Continue Reading…
Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore in HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU Trailer
In the romantic comedy He’s Just Not That into You young and attractive women fall for guys who don’t seem (I guess seem is the key here) to care all that much about them. Or at least not the way they (the women) want them (the guys) to.
Directed by Ken Kwapis (best known for his work on the TV series The Office), and adapted by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein from Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo’s bestseller, He’s Just Not That into You stars Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly, Drew Barrymore (who’s also [...] Continue Reading…
Bob Hope: Thanks for the Memories
Although Bob Hope was one of the most popular American (though English-born) entertainers of the 20th century, I’ve always found him hard to swallow. So, why am I so disappointed that I won’t be in New York City this fall (Oct. 7–Nov. 25) to check out the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts’ free screenings of the series "Bob Hope: Thanks for the Memories"?
Well, how about the fact that the series, arranged by Joseph Yranski of the New York Library for the Performing Arts’ Reserve Film & Video Collection, will be screening the little-seen, British-made The [...] Continue Reading…
Rock Hudson Was Not
When it was publicly revealed that Rock Hudson was gay — back in the mid-1980s, as the actor became the best-known person with AIDS in the world — I was surprised to learn that people were surprised about the "news." After all, years earlier, when I was a little kid, I remember my mother mentioning that fact to me while we were watching reruns of McMillan and Wife on TV. (The Wife, by the way, was the delightful Susan Saint James. Where the hell is she??)
Anyhow, today’s jaded crowd, looking at the above photograph, will surely assert that [...] Continue Reading…
DEADLY DECEPTION, IN THE SHADOW OF THE STARS: Oscar’s Docs
The two 1991 Oscar-winning documentaries, Debra Chasnoff’s short Deadly Deception: General Electric, Nuclear Weapons and Our Environment, and Allie Light and Irving Saraf’s feature In the Shadow of the Stars will be screened as part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ series "Oscar’s Docs, Part Four: Academy Award-Winning Documentaries 1988–1997" on Monday, October 13, at 7:30 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. Debra Chasnoff, Irving Saraf, and Allie Light will take part in post-screening discussions.
The documentary short subject Deadly Deception: General Electric, Nuclear [...] Continue Reading…
GÉRARD PHILIPE: A MAN NOT AN ANGEL Clip
Michel Viotte’s Gérard Philipe: Un homme, pas un ange, co-written by Viotte and Gérard Bonal, is a 2003 50-minute documentary made for French television. Gérard Philipe, quite possibly the most celebrated — and best-looking — male French film star of the 1940s and 1950s, died of liver cancer in 1959 at the age of 36.
Among Philipe’s best-known films are Georges Lampin’s L’Idiot, opposite Edwige Feuillère; Claude Autant-Lara’s Le Diable au corps, opposite Micheline Presle; Max Ophüls’ all-star La Ronde; Christian-Jaque’s Fanfan la Tulipe, with Gina Lollobrigida; René Clair’s Les Belles de nuit, with Martine Carol [...] Continue Reading…
CITY OF EMBER Trailer
Directed by Gil Kenan and adapted by Caroline Thompson from Jeanne Duprau’s book, City of Ember is set in the city of the title, whose great lights have begun to fail. At that point, a couple of teens (Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway) set out to find a way to keep the City of Ember’s lights on.
Also in the City of Ember cast: Tim Robbins, Bill Murray, Martin Landau, Toby Jones, Mackenzie Crook, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, and Mary Kay Place.
City of Ember opens in the US on October 10.
Official site.
Clip posted by BasilHitsManuel.
QUARANTINE Trailer
GOOD DICK Trailer
Mark [...] Continue Reading…
QUARANTINE Trailer
Directed and co-written by John Erick Dowdle, Quarantine is a remake of Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza’s 2007 Spanish horror-thriller Rec, winner of two Goyas (best editing, David Gallart; best new actress, Manuela Velasco). Now set in 2008 Los Angeles, Quarantine depicts the battle for survival inside an apartment building that has been quarantined by the Center for Disease Control after the authorities learn of a virus that has turned some of the building’s residents into rabid killers.
You know it’s a science-fiction flick when government authorities actually act promptly to handle an urgent health issue. Even [...] Continue Reading…
BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA Beats EAGLE EYE
Walt Disney Pictures’ adventure comedy Beverly Hills Chihuahua took an easy lead at the North American box office this weekend with US$29 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Raja Gosnell’s film about a spoiled chihuahua ending up astray in Mexico had no problems taking over the No. 1 spot from last week’s box-office winner Eagle Eye, which finished in second place.
D.J. Caruso’s action thriller starring Shia LaBeouf took home another $17.7 million, reaching a domestic total of $54.6 million after only two weeks in release. [...] Continue Reading…
GOOD DICK Trailer
I’ve rented pornos at several videostores, but never (intentionally*) at Cinefile — where I usually get stuff I can’t find anywhere else — so I can’t tell if their clerks have the habit of advising customers on the quality (or lack thereof) of their sex-film offerings. That’s the starting point of writer-director-co-producer Marianna Palka’s romantic comedy Good Dick, in which Palka stars as a reclusive woman with a porn fixation whose local videostore clerk (Jason Ritter) falls for her. The questions are: is he as big as those guys in the sex industry? And if so, is [...] Continue Reading…
Mark Wahlberg in MAX PAYNE Trailer
Adapted from a videogame, the upcoming thriller Max Payne stars Mark Wahlberg as a federal agent out to solve a series of murders in New York City. He’s joined by a young woman (Mila Kunis) intent on avenging her sister’s death. When the duo isn’t hunting about, they’re hunted by the police, the mob, and an evil corporation. Directed by John Moore, whose previous credits include The Flight of the Phoenix and The Omen; screenplay by Beau Thorne.
Also in the Max Payne cast: Beau Bridges, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Chris O’Donnell, and Nelly Furtado.
Max Payne opens in the [...] Continue Reading…
Artivist Film Festival 2008
The 5th Artivist Film Festival, held at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, kicked off last night with a screening of Peter Joseph’s Zeitgeist Addendum, the sequel to Joseph’s documentary Zeitgeist which had its official world premiere at the 2007 Artivist. Since then, Zeitgeist has been released on Google Video, becoming — as per the Artivist press release — "an on-line phenomenon as the most downloaded film in Internet history."
The 2008 edition of Artivist, which runs until Sunday, October 5, will screen no less than 40 films from no less than 40 countries. Themes range from human and animal [...] Continue Reading…
ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO Trailer
In Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno, a couple of friends, Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks), try to earn some much needed dinero by making an adult movie together. (The word "adult" here doesn’t refer to a movie with Oscar aspirations.) When the going gets hot, Zack and Miri come to realize that they actually have feelings for one another. (The word "feelings" here doesn’t refer to either fraternal love or unbridled lust.)
Also in the Zack and Miri Make a Porno cast: Jason Mewes, Craig Robinson, Traci Lords, and Justin Long.
Zack and Miri Make [...] Continue Reading…
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN Trailer
Directed by Tomas Alfredson and adapted by John Ajvide Lindqvist from his own novel, the horror-romance Swedish production Låt den rätte komma in / Let the Right One In follows a bullied boy (Kåre Hedebrant) who falls in love with a weird girl (Lina Leandersson) who happens to be a vampire. Together, they set out to draw bully blood — but then the boy starts wondering about the ethics of it all. How far will his love for the girl go?
Also in the Let the Right One In cast: Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl, Karin Bergquist, and Peter Carlberg.
Let [...] Continue Reading…
