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https://goldenglobes.com/person/mark-rydell/
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en
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Golden Globes
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2023-10-25T15:29:04+00:00
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Mortimer “Mark” Rydell (born March 23, 1928 in New York City) directed The Fox (1967) from the 1923 novella by D.H. Lawrence, The Reivers (1969) with ...
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en
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Golden Globes
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https://goldenglobes.com/person/mark-rydell/
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Golden Globes, LLC (“Golden Globes”) uses first and third-party technologies to enable PMC and third-parties to collect information about you and your interactions with our sites and services (including clicks, cursor movements and screen recordings). Learn more HERE. By continuing to use our sites or services, you agree to our Terms of Use (including the class action waiver and arbitration provisions) and Privacy Policy, which have recently changed.
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6000
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dbpedia
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https://www.mycast.io/talent/mark-rydell
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Mark Rydell Fan Casting
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View casting suggestions for Mark Rydell, and make your own suggestions for roles you think they should play in upcoming films!
|
myCast - Fan Casting Your Favorite Stories
|
https://www.mycast.io/talent/mark-rydell
|
Join myCast
Do you love movies? Fan casting? myCast is the place for you!
Join thousands of other users in fan casting your favorite stories. Take 30 seconds to create a completely free profile, which will allow you to:
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Make casting suggestions
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Join myCast
Do you love movies? Fan casting? myCast is the place for you!
Join thousands of other users in fan casting your favorite stories. Take 30 seconds to create a completely free profile, which will allow you to:
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Make casting suggestions
Vote and comment on casting suggestions
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|
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6000
|
dbpedia
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1
| 47
|
https://www.theyshootpictures.com/rydellmark.htm
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en
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Mark Rydell
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TSPDT
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http://www.theyshootpictures.com/page-6//rydellmark.htm
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This director's page has not been developed.
GFGreatest Films ranking (â Top 1000) / 21C 21st Centuryranking (â Top 1000) / TTSPDT / N1,000 Noir Films / RJonathan Rosenbaum / SMartin Scorsese
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6000
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dbpedia
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0
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http://nixpixdvdmoviereviewsandmore.blogspot.com/2015/01/on-golden-pond-blu-ray-lord-gradeitc.html
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en
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ray (Lord Grade/ITC Entertainment 1981) Shout! Factory
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2015-01-18T14:33:00-05:00
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Henry Fonda bid his farewell to the movies in Mark Rydell’s On Golden Pond (1981); an unabashedly sentimental tearjerker that proved the...
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http://nixpixdvdmoviereviewsandmore.blogspot.com/favicon.ico
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Henry Fonda bid his farewell to the movies in Mark Rydell’s On Golden Pond (1981); an unabashedly sentimental tearjerker that proved the catalyst for a long overdue reconciliation between the actor and his daughter, Jane. The two had fallen out back in 1972, in part because of Jane’s outspoken liberal views and her highly publicized trip to Hanoi – then perceived in the media as something of an anti-American indictment against the Vietnam conflict. However, the truth of the matter, just like this father/daughter relationship, was infinitely more complex. Henry Fonda – despite being one of America’s finest actors – was not an easy man to get to know or, arguably, love. Perhaps his children never understood him and vice versa. As a younger man, Fonda had preferred personal solitude to family time, and, a cherished and enduring friendship with fellow actor, James Stewart. The two men could spend hours together, not saying a word to each other, while working on their passionate model train hobby. As Jane and Henry’s son Peter grew into adulthood they embraced the hippy counterculture of the 1960s; decidedly running against the grain of Fonda’s own ultra-conservatism. To Henry, this must have seemed the ultimate betrayal; the rift widening considerably. In fact, by 1980, the year Mark Rydell began to prepare On Golden Pond, Jane and her father were barely on speaking terms.
In reality, Jane had been the catalyst for bringing this little known off-Broadway property to Mark Rydell’s attention before it became a runaway hit. By the late 1970’s, Jane Fonda’s cache in Hollywood far outweighed her dad’s, thanks to a series of smash hits including Klute (1971), Julia (1977), Coming Home (1978) and The China Syndrome (1979). In mid-stride, Jane changed directives, taking a leap of faith in Colin Higgin’s superb spoof, Nine to Five (1980). Now it was time to stretch her creative legs in yet another direction. On stage, On Golden Pond had been a two act, one room play about the ties that bind and those that can bring families to the brink of being torn apart. While Rydell was immediately enchanted by the story, Jane saw it as an opportunity to build a bond of reunion with her estranged father. By then, the elder Fonda was badly ailing. Alas, he was still as stubborn as ever in his refusal to reconcile. Therefore, Jane was taking no chances that Henry might turn both her and the project down flat. To sweeten the deal, Jane approached Katharine Hepburn to costar. Hepburn, as it turns out, had the deepest admiration for Henry; also, an eagerness to appear with him in a movie. As miraculous as it may seem, the two had never worked together before.
The notion of working again, particularly with Kate Hepburn, appealed to Henry too. Hepburn was, after all, nothing if not an indomitable spirit and a genuine force of nature. More to the point; she never took 'no' for an answer. Still, Fonda was reticent to partake, mostly because of his ailing health. He may also have harbored some lingering misgivings about appearing opposite Jane who, in addition to playing his on-screen daughter – also happened to be On Golden Pond’s producer. Mark Rydell quickly discovered he could get no insurance on the actor; a difficulty sidestepped by assuring the film’s backers/distributors, ITC Entertainment, that he would restructure his shooting schedule so all of Henry’s scenes could be shot first in the event of a health-related mishap or setback. Rydell also hedged his bets by hiring playwright, Ernest Thompson to rework his own property into a manageable and ever so slightly expanded screenplay. Thompson’s love for the material is undeniable and quite unique; his ability to ‘open up’ his own play to accommodate the location work proving its pliability.
By the time On Golden Pond went into production Henry Fonda realized, perhaps better than anyone else, his body was steadily betraying him. Although no one knew it at the time, Fonda had mere months to live. Undaunted and ultimately committed to the project, Henry turned in one of his most poignantly understated performances; no small feat considering the actor's perfectionism and formidable body of work. In some ways, Henry Fonda is playing himself in On Golden Pond – the physically fragile/emotionally isolated relic, whose estrangement from daughter, Chelsea (Jane Fonda) has amplified his own misery.
Rydell and the rest of his crew feverishly worked around Fonda’s physical limitations. Of immeasurable support in this regard was Kate Hepburn, who doggedly pursued a policy of stern kindness to bolster Henry’s resolve and confidence. Each would come to regard the other in friendship, and, this brief last chapter in Fonda’s life and career as a high water mark; Fonda relying on Kate’s no nonsense attitude to keep him motivated and focused. Rydell was relieved to find both actors in fine spirits throughout the shoot. But he had less success in keeping Hepburn's feistiness at bay; particularly when she insisted on carrying a canoe of considerable size all by herself down a steep embankment to the lake. Rydell, who had already assessed this sequence slowed down the story and was to be cut, shot the scene anyway out of respect for Hepburn, but quietly left the footage on the cutting room floor. When Hepburn viewed On Golden Pond’s final cut she was not amused. It is unlikely she ever entirely forgave Rydell his trespass.
Meanwhile, the screenplay was ever so slightly tweaked by Ernest Thompson to heighten and mirror the feuding Fondas own father/daughter legacy and ultimate reconciliation. In one of those ironic ‘art imitates life’ scenarios, On Golden Pond gradually evolved into a cathartic experience for Jane and Henry. In reviewing the film today, one can intuitively sense a more meaningful compassion at play; something about the bittersweet glint caught in Henry’s sad eyes, or that tear-stained laughter emanating from Jane as she embraces her own father in the final reel with genuine and unrehearsed abandonment, ever more heartfelt than acted. Just a scant three weeks after production rapped Rydell, who was heavily into cutting the movie, received a pressing phone call from Jane explaining how Henry’s health had deteriorated to such an extent he would likely not be able to make the premiere. Frenzied post-production commenced, with Rydell inviting Henry to an emergency private screening attended by all the principle cast. As the house lights came up, Fonda reportedly leaned into Rydell to thank him for the “greatest moment" of his career. As Rydell would recall years later, and still choking back a few tears, “This moment very quickly became the greatest in mine.”
In a nutshell, On Golden Pond is the story of a summer-long retreat and how it forever changes the toxic chemistry between an embattled father/daughter for the better. Henry Fonda is Norman Thayer Jr., a weary curmudgeon whose bark is much worse than his bite, but who seems unwilling to accept what the years have done to his life, his body and his health. Norman tells his wife Ethel (Katharine Hepburn) he is contemplating getting a job. She shrugs off the suggestion for its absurdity and lovingly refers to him as ‘the old poop’. But later, while walking down the town road back to their cottage alone, Norman suddenly becomes disorientated and panicky. Rydell would later recall, “He (Fonda) put everything he had into that scene, pacing frantically and breathing so heavily and sweating that I sincerely worried for his health.”
Recognizing what a fright her husband has had, and perhaps even more concerned for him because he has suddenly been deprived of all self-reliance, Ethel comes to Norman’s side with a tender embrace, heartily encouraging, “Don’t you know, you’re my knight in shining armor? Don’t you ever forget it.” Norman, however, remains unconvinced; a bitter pill made all the more difficult to swallow when he learns his estranged daughter, Chelsea (Jane Fonda) has arrived to get the couple’s blessing about her new fiancée, Bill (Dabney Colman) and his young son, Billy Ray (Doug McKeon). Bill is a good man – fair and easy-going. But Norman relentless goads him into a confrontation, more out of his deferred anger over Chelsea’s first failed marriage. “You know,” Bill finally explains to Norman, “It's not imperative that you and I become friends. I thought it would be nice…but that's obviously not an easy task…But I think there's one thing you should know while you're jerking me around and making me feel like an asshole. I know precisely what you're up to. And I'll take just so much of it.”
Over the next couple of days the relationship between Chelsea and Norman becomes even more strained. Ethel has had quite enough, pulling Chelsea aside, at once chiding yet imparting some very good advice: “Don't you think that everyone looks back on their childhood with a certain amount of bitterness and regret about something? You're a big girl now. Aren't you tired of it all? Bore, bore. It doesn't have to ruin your life, darling. Life marches by, Chels. I suggest you get on with it.” Bill and Chelsea leave Billy Ray in Norman and Ethel’s care for a few weeks while they run off to get married. Norman and Billy take an instant dislike to one another, especially after Billy calls out Norman on his age, saying “So, I heard you turned eighty…yeah, man…that’s really old” to which Norman bluntly replies, “You should meet my father!” Ethel nurses their mutual contempt by forcing the two to spend all of their free time together. When Billy suggests to Norman it isn’t necessary they get along since he won’t be around much longer, Norman’s sobering reply, “Yeah, neither will I” strikes the first nerve in a poignant chord of generation gap reconciliation.
The pair’s imposed companionship eventual gives way to a deeply satisfying mutual understanding and even more miraculous bond of compassion. In fact, Billy Ray and Norman become sincere friends, especially after a near-fatal boating accident almost puts an end to both their lives. Thus when Chelsea returns with Bill as her husband, she discovers Norman newly reformed, and with a newfound humility and willingness to embrace her and Bill’s happiness; ready to accept her for the woman she has become instead of the daughter he always wished her to be. Because of the subtext between Jane and Henry, Chelsea and Norman's understanding has, in retrospect, taken on more ballast; the audience absolutely certain their on-camera resolution has, in fact, transferred to these real-life counterparts: the old wounds finally healed.
Viewed today, On Golden Pond remains a lyrically inspiring critique of “loving through time”; perhaps even more impressive when one considers playwright, Richard Ernest Thompson was only twenty-eight when he wrote it. What began as a simple ode to Thompson’s own childhood recollections of a way of life, reared on summer retreats at secluded cabins and cottages dotting the New Hampshire landscape, quickly became a much beloved off-Broadway main staple in 1978, featuring Tom Aldredge and Frances Sternhagen. After sold out engagements at the Kennedy Center, it opened at the New Apollo Theater on Broadway in 1979 and was revived the following season at the Century Theatre where it ran for more than 400 performances. With the film’s unexpected $120 million box office success, Thompson could also add ‘Academy Award-winning screenwriter to his pedigree, preceded by similar accolades bestowed on him at the Golden Globes and by the Writers Guild of America.
On Oscar night, an emotional Jane Fonda accepted Henry’s Best Actor statuette (remarkably, Fonda’s first) for her ailing father, adding “I’ll bet he’s saying, ‘Hey! Ain’t I lucky?’ as though luck had anything at all to do with it.” On Golden Pond would also afford Katherine Hepburn her final Oscar, her record-breaking and record-holding fourth! Awards, although meaningful to varying degrees, rarely attest to a level of quality. On Golden Pond proves the exception to this rule. A more deserving candidate you will not find. Alas, it lost the coveted Best Picture Oscar to David Puttnam’s Chariots of Fire; arguably, a forgivable loss. In hindsight, the passing years have only enriched the film’s message about the power of forgiveness. Billy Williams’ gorgeous cinematography transforms the wilds of Squam Lake into a graciously pastoral escape. David Grusin’s evocative score is an orchestral tone poem – arguably as integral to setting the mood and theme as the performances. Yet, in retrospect, it is the dramatic arc of the story, the verisimilitude between those lives depicted on the screen and the people who came together behind the scenes and the cross-cutting parallel between these two that continues to resonate with meaningful truth. Time itself has robbed us of Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda – two inimitable talents whose likes we shall not see again. But their legacies – both apart and more directly together - endure in this celebrated melodrama. On Golden Pond is among their finest hours on the screen.
Long overdue for a hi-def release, On Golden Pond arrives via Shout! Entertainment in a mostly pleasing 1.78:1 Blu-ray. Although there are a few minor speckles, this 1080p transfer sparkles with gorgeously vibrant colors and a quantum leap forward in resolving fine details, even during dimly lit sequences. Flesh tones are startlingly accurate; the lush forest landscape positively pops. I am confounded by the lack of chapter stops: only 8 for a nearly two hour movie. I recall when digital media first debuted one of its pluses was easy access to one’s favorite scenes. Of late, a lot of replicating companies seem to have set aside this advantage. To what purpose, other than laziness on their part to assign more chapters and author more flexible viewing options, I’m sure I don’t know. Overall, the image quality won’t disappoint. Neither will the 2.0 DTS audio that properly places Dave Grusin’s score, sweetly nestled within expertly recorded and well-placed dialogue. For a mono mix, this one has some remarkable spatiality.
The biggest disappointment for me remains in the extras. Virtually all are ported over from Universal Home Video’s DVD reissue from 2005 and include an audio commentary from director Mark Rydell, who revisits On Golden Pond with remarkable presence of mind and many poignant reflections. We also get the thirty minute featurette, Reflections On Golden Pond This is basically a puff piece with Billy Williams’ waxing about his own contributions on the film and featuring limited insight from Mark Rydell and writer, Ernest Thompson. Even less comprehensive is A Woman of Substance: Katharine Hepburn Remembered – at barely sixteen minutes, little more than a video dissertation.
Absent again is the glowing documentary ‘Loving Through Time’. This nearly hour long documentary, originally featured on the first release of On Golden Pond – but not via Universal Home Video - was infinitely more comprehensive, as it poignantly captured Mark Rydell’s recollections about making the movie and also featured some fairly solid interviews with Thompson and Jane Fonda, as well as many rarely seen outtakes and deleted scenes. Where is it now? One can only assume Universal had no rights to reissue it to Shout! Factory. But Shout! ought to have gone after the original holders of these copyrights to incorporate it into this Blu-ray release. Disappointing as this oversight is, this Blu-ray comes highly recommended for the quality of its 1080p transfer.
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)
5+
VIDEO/AUDIO
4.5
EXTRAS
|
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6000
|
dbpedia
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2
| 69
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https://sixtyandme.com/movie-club-on-golden-pond-directed-by-mark-rydell/
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en
|
Movie Club: On Golden Pond, Directed by Mark Rydell
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2014-04-12T03:00:38+00:00
|
“On Golden Pond” is a classic movie that brings together some of the greatest actors of the 20th century. Its theme is timeless. Examining relationships at the end of life, it explores with compassion and honesty the importance of taking care of unfinished family business. Many women in the Sixty and Me community have dealt with the loss of their parents. Hopefully they had an opportunity to...
|
en
|
Sixty and Me
|
https://sixtyandme.com/movie-club-on-golden-pond-directed-by-mark-rydell/
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“On Golden Pond” is a classic movie that brings together some of the greatest actors of the 20th century. Its theme is timeless. Examining relationships at the end of life, it explores with compassion and honesty the importance of taking care of unfinished family business.
“On Golden Pond” tells the story of Norman, played by Henry Fonda, and Ethel, played by Katharine Hepburn. They are a long married couple who know each other well. They are spending the summer at their lakeside cabin, when their daughter Chelsea, played by Jane Fonda, arrives on the scene. She shows up with her boyfriend and persuades her parents to look after his little boy for a few weeks while they go on holiday.
Time with the boy gives Norman a chance to reflect on his relationship with his daughter. When she returns, it’s time for them to deal with their complicated feelings for each other. Conversations between Norman and Ethel are refreshing and human. At moments, the fine line between amazing acting, incredible set, real like intimacy, and superb direction come together.
Many women in the Sixty and Me community have dealt with the loss of their parents. Hopefully they had an opportunity to speak words of forgiveness, and self-forgiveness that are often needed. The characters in this movie are stereotypical in some ways, but their vulnerability and dignity shine through.
The relationship between Henry Fonda and his real life daughter Jane will resonate with many women in the community. For me, the family connection gave the movie a special poignancy. It showed the depth of the father/ daughter relationship as well as the complexity of the mother daughter dynamic.
“On Golden Pond” is a unique film on many levels. It was Henry Fonda’s last film, Katherine Hepburn’s last movie role, and the only film with Henry and Jane Fonda.
Film critic, Roger Ebert sums up his feelings about the movie when he says, “‘On Golden Pond’ is a treasure for many reasons, but the best one is that I could believe it. I could believe in its major characters and their relationships, and in the things they felt for one another, and there were moments when the movie was witness to human growth and change.”
If you don’t already have a copy of “On Golden Pond” you can get it on Amazon.
To kick things off, here are a few questions for discussion. Please add your thoughts in the comments:
What things in the movie that led you to think differently about relationships with your children?
What was the quality you loved most about the relationship between Ethel and Norman?
Do you have unfinished business to take care of in your family?
Did Jane Fonda’s real life relationship to her father changed the way you perceived the movie?
What is your favourite scene in the movie?
What do you think the director might have done differently?
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6000
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dbpedia
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0
| 27
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https://dcpfilm.wordpress.com/2013/07/08/harry-and-walter-go-to-new-york-rydell-1976/
|
en
|
Harry and Walter Go To New York (Rydell, 1976)
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2013-07-08T00:00:00
|
Thanks to Zimbo Films for turning me onto this one. Harry and Walter Go To New York is worth it just to hear Elliot Gould and James Caan's many duets. The two star as vaudeville actors-turned-thieves opposite Michael Caine in Mark Rydell's 1976 effort, five years prior to what I know the director for, On Golden Pond.…
|
en
|
https://s1.wp.com/i/favicon.ico
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dcpfilm
|
https://dcpfilm.wordpress.com/2013/07/08/harry-and-walter-go-to-new-york-rydell-1976/
|
Thanks to Zimbo Films for turning me onto this one. Harry and Walter Go To New York is worth it just to hear Elliot Gould and James Caan’s many duets.
The two star as vaudeville actors-turned-thieves opposite Michael Caine in Mark Rydell’s 1976 effort, five years prior to what I know the director for, On Golden Pond. It’s not just Caine, Gould and Caan (who all, oddly enough, would appear in A Bridge Too Far the next year…well maybe that’s not too odd. Everyone’s in A Bridge Too Far), it’s also Diane Keaton and an awesome cast of supporting players, including a lascivious Charles Durning as a bank owner, Burt Young as a warden, and Carol Kane as one of Keaton’s cohorts.
Mark Rydell’s direction is very modest as he lets the actors do the work, and they mostly do a good job outside of a bit of overacting from Gould’s Walter. It’s the small humor that makes the first and third acts of HWNY really funny. Two of my favorite lines are both from Gould: “Ahhh, I never liked corn, Harry!” when they find themselves amidst a cornfield post-prison break; and “Watch the cat. Oh, it’s a dog,” as a total throwaway line that’s hilarious for how improvised it feels.
The middle act of HWNY really drags, but the climax, where the vaudevillians finally get to put their true talents to use is awesome. It’s not only a good example of a these two actors’ comedic range, but also a nice take down on self-serious theater.
Small SPOILER:
There’s a major bummer at the end of the film. Diane Keaton’s Lissa Chestnut has proved to be a staunch advocate for social justice and moderately characterized as a feminist throughout. Michael Caine’s Adam Worth, on the other hand, seems to be a bit of a chauvinist and is certainly prone to violence. They’re entirely at odds with one-another. Yet, instead of keeping things logical and true to the progression of the script to that point, Rydell and writers Don Devlin and John Byrum have Chestnut inexplicably leave with Worth at the end. It’s a kick in the pants to what was a really strong female character and a total cop-out.
Still, there are other nicely written and directed moments like this one, which takes place at the climax. As the rag-tag gang run by Chestnut, Harry and Walter prepare to rob a bank we see (they don’t) that there’s a missing link in their dynamite. One of Worth’s accomplices comes into the bank amidst their attempt and sees the string of dynamite:
He traces the string back, a bit confused as to what’s going on-
-and inadvertently completes the chain with his hand, thereby enabling the dynamite:
It’s funny largely because it’s clever and because Rydell goes out of his to show us the missing link long before this accomplice comes in, thereby giving us an idea of what’s going to happen before it does.
What is it about these 1960s-70s period/heist films and desaturated sepia tones and ending freeze frames? As the film came to a close I actually said ‘freeze frame’ out loud…and then, sure enough:
I mean, sure, there’s Butch Cassidy, but does every period piece about charlatans or folk heroes need to then cement their legacy by freezing them into the cinematic history books? I wonder how many American genre films did this from 1969 – 1979.
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6000
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dbpedia
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1
| 84
|
https://www.canyon-news.com/a-conversation-with-ed-asner-and-mark-rydell/24401
|
en
|
A Conversation With Ed Asner And Mark Rydell
|
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2010-05-03T03:30:26+00:00
|
A Conversation With Ed Asner And Mark Rydell
|
en
|
Canyon News
|
https://www.canyon-news.com/a-conversation-with-ed-asner-and-mark-rydell/24401
|
HOLLYWOOD —Once a month, writer/director Luke Yankee interviews two prominent actors, writers, directors and/or producers about their lives, their careers and, of course, their craft. These informal and informative conversations are sure to inspire, enlighten and entertain. Produced in conjunction with Stella Adler Studios (one of the most respected acting schools in America), a portion of the proceeds will support the charity of the speakers’ choice and another portion will support scholarships and outreach programs at the Stella Adler Studio – Los Angeles.
This week one of the most honored actors in the history of television, Edward Asner will be a guest. Asner has been the recipient of seven Emmy awards® and 16 nominations, as well as five Golden Globe awards® and served as national president of the Screen Actors Guild for two terms. He was inducted into the TV Academy Hall of Fame in 1996. Perhaps best known for his comedic and dramatic crossover as the gruff but soft-hearted journalist Lou Grant, the role he originated on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and continued on the “Lou Grant Show,” which earned him five Emmys® and three Golden Globe Awards®. Asner received two more Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for the mini-series “Rich Man, Poor Man and Roots.” Asner’s dozens of motion pictures include “They Call Me Mister Tibbs!,” “Fort Apache” “The Bronx,” “JFK,” and the European production of “Giovanni XXIII”- the highest rated television mini-series in the history of Italian TV as well as “Elf” with Will Farrell. Asner was the lead voice of Carl Fredricksen in Pixar’s 2009 box-office-hit “UP!,” which won Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Score -Motion Picture, at the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards as well as two Academy Awards.
Alongside Asner will be Mark Rydell, who is an Academy Award®-nominated director, a classically trained actor, and an accomplished jazz pianist. He received an Oscar® nomination as Best Director for “The Rose” starring Bette Midler and “On Golden Pond” starring Henry Fonda, Katherine Hepburn and Jane Fonda.
Rydell’s commitment to the craft of filmmaking is evidenced by the 26 Oscar® nominations garnered by his films. Bette Midler, Marsha Mason, Henry Fonda, Katherine Hepburn and Sissy Spacek have all received Oscar® nominations under his direction, as well as Golden Globe® nominations for both Stephen Rea and Isabella Rossellini.
Rydell directed more than fifty episodes of dramatic television including “I Spy,” “Ben Casey” and “Gunsmoke.” His first feature, “The Fox” won the Golden Globe® award for Best English Language Foreign Film.
Other films include “The Reivers” with Steve McQueen, “Jeremiah Johnson” with Robert Redford, and “Scarecrow” starring Al Pacino and Gene Hackman. “Scarecrow” won the Cannes Film Festival’s top honor – The Palme D’Or.
Rydell himself produced and directed “The Cowboys” starring John Wayne,“Cinderella Liberty” starring James Caan and Marsha Mason (who was nominated for an Academy award® as Best Actress), and “Harry and Walter Go To New York” starring Elliott Gould, James Caan, Michael Caine and Diane Keaton, followed by “The Rose” and “On Golden Pond.”
The director’s filmography went on to include “The River,” starring Sissy Spacek and Mel Gibson, “For The Boys” with Bette Midler and James Caan, “Intersection” starring Richard Gere and Sharon Stone, and “Crime of the Century” for HBO starring Stephen Rea and Isabella Rossellini, which earned five Golden Globe nominations including Best Picture.) Rydell also directed and produced TNT’s critically acclaimed “James Dean” (2001), and “Even Money,” starring Kim Basinger and Danny DeVito.
Rydell heads the Los Angeles-based production company, Concourse Productions, known for producing, amongst many others, “The Man In The Moon” (1991) starring Sam Waterston and Tess Harper, a film that also introduced the world to future Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon. Rydell is a Board Member of the Actors Studio and an Artistic Director of the Actors Studio West. He shares from his film making experience at universities and seminars all over the country.
To attend this week’s highly anticipated event, go to CONVERSATIONS ON CRAFT.
DISCLAIMER: This article was a contribution made by an outside agency or person. The content has not been verified by Canyon News. Please exercise your due diligence prior to relying on this article for factual information. Canyon News is not responsible for the views, words, and opinions of contributors.
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dbpedia
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https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/56669
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en
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Catalog
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Ethel Thayer and her retired English professor husband, Norman Thayer, Jr., arrive at their New England summer cottage, nestled in the woods next to a lake called Golden Pond. While Norman is a curmudgeon and exaggerates his senility, Ethel has a youthful spirit and is delighted by their holiday. She scolds Norman for his obsession with death. As the couple paddles in a canoe on the lake, Ethel spots two loons and interprets their call as a welcome, but Norman feigns disinterest. Sometime later, Norman grudgingly agrees to pick wild strawberries for Ethel; however, he becomes disoriented in the woods and returns home empty-handed. Meanwhile, postman Charlie Martin delivers the couple’s mail by motorboat, and Ethel insists he stay for coffee. Ethel reads a letter from her divorced daughter, Chelsea Thayer Wayne, announcing that she and her dentist boyfriend, Bill Ray, will be visiting the cottage to celebrate Norman’s eightieth birthday on their way to Europe. Norman is indiffere
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According to production notes in AMPAS library files and a 29 Mar 1982 NYT article, actress Jane Fonda and producer Bruce Gilbert, her partner at IPC Films, acquired film rights to Ernest Thompson’s 1979 play On Golden Pond, with the assistance of Lord Lew Grade’s Incorporated Television Company (ITC) and Marble Arch for $287,500. Fonda was reportedly searching for “an appropriate vehicle” in which she could perform for the first time with her father, Henry Fonda.
On 27 Nov 1979, HR announced that Henry Fonda and Ingrid Bergman were being courted by Lew Grade, who intended to film On Golden Pond in London, England. Less than one month later, a 19 Dec 1979 HR news item reported that Katharine Hepburn was “virtually signed” to star with Henry Fonda and Jane Fonda. Principal photography was scheduled to begin early 1980 in London. However, the 28 Mar 1980 DV noted that shooting had been rescheduled for summer 1980, as contracts had not yet been signed and the project was still without a director.
A 2 May 1980 DV brief announced that Mark Rydell had been hired to direct and filming was set to begin Jul 1980 in New England. On 27 Jun 1980, the New England Entertainment Digest reported that the production was planning locations in New Hampshire, even though the play was set in Maine. Production notes specified the location as a home in the Lake Winnipesaukee region of New Hampshire, and modern sources listed Squam Lake, situated near the town of Center Harbor, NH, as the film’s most prominent locale. An existing one-story residence was fashioned with a new wing that added two upstairs rooms and a balcony, and the set was dressed with personal items supplied by the Fondas and Hepburn, including a photograph of young Hepburn standing beside a plane during flight training and a picture of Fonda, in his youth, examining model airplanes with his friend, actor James Stewart. Although production notes stated that principal photography began 21 Jul 1980, other contemporary sources, including HR production charts published 1 Aug 1980, listed a start date two days earlier, on 19 Jul 1980.
Shortly after filming began, a 22 Jul 1980 DV news item reported that the production was threatened by a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) strike, despite producer Bruce Gilbert’s efforts to request waivers for his stars. DV noted that the filmmakers had “limited time” to shoot in New Hampshire due to the changing season, and the “title scenes” were being filmed that day because they did not include actors. On 5 Aug 1980, HR announced that production had resumed after being shut down by the strike for over one week. The filmmakers were reportedly “among the first of the 31 motion pictures and TV movies” to sign SAG’s interim agreement.
Location shooting in New Hampshire continued through Aug 1980. A 14 Aug 1980 DV brief reported that Jane Fonda led early morning aerobics classes for the cast and crew, and a 14 Aug 1980 HR column stated that Hepburn arrived on location in Laconia, NH, with a present for Henry Fonda, a cap that Spencer Tracy “always wore on set.” Despite their contemporary acting careers, Fonda and Hepburn had never before performed in a feature film together. On 11 Sep 1980, DV stated that Jane Fonda had returned to Los Angeles, CA, to co-host a SAG fundraiser and a Campaign for Economic Democracy (CED) “benefit fashion show,” but she was due back on set 15 Sep 1980 to perform the film’s climactic “final confrontation.” A 26 Sep 1980 HR news item announced that filming ended 23 Sep 1980 in New Hampshire after a ten-week shoot. According to a 12 Mar 1982 DV brief, the total budget was $7.5 million.
On Golden Pond made its world premiere on 18 Nov 1981 at AMPAS’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, CA, as a benefit for AFI’s “new campus” in Hollywood, as noted in several contemporary sources including the 29 Oct 1981 LAT. The event was planned to include many celebrities, such as James and Gloria Stewart, Neil Simon and Marsha Mason, Burt Lancaster, and Gene Kelly, but according to the 11 Nov 1981 DV, Henry Fonda was in poor health at that time. A 17 Nov 1981 LAT brief announced that Fonda would be unable to attend the premiere, and the following day, an 18 Nov 1981 DV news item reported that the seventy-six-year-old actor had been hospitalized at Cedars Sinai Medical Center for observation related to his “heart problems.”
As noted in the 13 Nov 1981 DV review, On Golden Pond opened 4 Dec 1981 in New York City and Los Angeles, before its general release on 22 Jan 1982. After two days at New York City’s Cinema 1 and Los Angeles’ Avco Cinema, the film earned remarkable grosses, according to a 7 Dec 1981 DV column. The opening weekend at Cinema 1 grossed $31,570, including house record-breaking Saturday box-office receipts of $17,880. An 8 Dec 1981 LAHExam article stated that the picture’s three-day opening earnings of $41,544 at Avco Cinema marked “the biggest weekend in the theater’s history.”
Despite generally mixed reviews, with the 18 Nov 1981 Variety hailing the picture as a “class act” and the 4 Dec 1981 NYT complaining about the conventionality of the pastoral narrative, the film continued to fare well at the box-office. On 10 Feb 1982, HR announced that On Golden Pond was at the top of box-office charts after its second week of release, grossing over $4.9 million “during the latest three days” and increasing its total earnings to $19,255,967. A 29 Mar 1982 NYT article noted that the film’s popularity benefitted theatrical productions of On Golden Pond, even though the play had not previously been a success on Broadway.
On Golden Pond marked Henry Fonda’s final performance in a theatrically released feature film before his death on 12 Aug 1982. Several reviews, including the 4 Dec 1981 LAHExam, noted that the strength of Fonda’s role was due, in part, to its reflection of his true life, ill health and “well-publicized rifts” with Jane Fonda. A 13 Dec 1981 NYT article, written by Vincent Canby as a follow-up to his lukewarm 4 Dec 1981 review, stated that Fonda’s “performance that engages and delights us by being something of an astonishment” was solely responsible for giving the “homogenized” film a “center of gravity.” In the month following Fonda’s death, a 30 Sep 1982 HR article announced Universal’s plans to reissue the picture, which had a domestic gross of $116,466,064 to date. The studio claimed that the reissue decision was made before Fonda’s death, and no mention of his passing would be made in advertisements.
On 14 Oct 1982, HR announced that ITC Films had failed to win a legal battle contesting ownership of the picture’s rights, and a partnership of New York City investors called “Golden Film Partners,” who had reportedly purchased the rights from ITC for $10.4 million on 3 Dec 1981, was named sole owner. In addition, ITC was charged with miscalculating the film’s production costs and was “imposed a judgment of $433,000.” Golden Films’s claims against Universal were dropped when the Universal “placed $19 million in escrow pending the outcome of the case,” to be used as a “first payment of profits” to Golden Films. According to HR, the ownership exchange between ITC and Golden was initially a two-picture deal that included Barbarosa (1982, see entry); when Golden decided to eliminate Barbarosa from the contract, ITC sought to rescind the sale of On Golden Pond, claiming that Golden breached the obligations of their oral agreement. ITC’s Los Angeles lawyer, Robert Kaplan, was fined $10,000 for failing to register the “required assignment of copyright” for On Golden Pond after the disputed 3 Dec 1981 sale to Golden Films, and ITC later filed a $2 million malpractice suit against Kaplan for this oversight, as announced in a 15 Feb 1983 HR article.
Later that year, on 2 Aug 1983, HR stated that the New York City Federal District Court judge who issued the Oct 1982 ruling against ITC had changed his opinion about the case. He “considerably reduced the cash payment awarded” to Golden Film Partners, rejected the jury’s findings of fraud, and repudiated the $10,000 judgment against Kaplan. The judge explained that ITC had only received one-forth of the film rights’ purchase price, and therefore the settlement should also be divided in fourths. A 15 Jun 1988 Var column announced that ITC was awarded $4.3 million for Golden Film Partners’ failure to honor their oral agreement to purchase rights to Barbarosa.
On Golden Pond became the subject of another lawsuit, when Hepburn, Shirlee Fonda, (Henry Fonda’s widow), writer Ernest Thompson, along with Jane Fonda and Bruce Gilbert under the banner of their production company, IPC Films, sued Marble Arch, ITC, and Associate Communications for $1 million, claiming that the actors and writer had been denied pay. Discrepancies between reported and actual net profits for the film were discovered during a routine audit in 1984. The outcome of the case is undetermined.
As noted in the 4 Apr 2005 Var, On Golden Pond was remade as a stage musical and as a 2001 CBS television movie starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. A Broadway revival of the play opened 7 Apr 2005 at the Cort Theater with an African American cast, starring Leslie Uggams and James Earl Jones. However, a 23 Jun 2005 Playbill announced that the production closed early due to Jones’s “bout with pneumonia.”
The film received three Academy Awards in the categories: Actor in a Leading Role (Henry Fonda), Actress in a Leading Role (Katharine Hepburn), and Writing (Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium). It was also nominated for seven Academy Awards in the following categories: Actress in a Supporting Role (Jane Fonda), Cinematography, Directing, Film Editing, Music (Original Score), Sound, and Best Picture. The film was included in three AFI “100 Years” lists, ranking #22 on “100 Years… 100 Passions,” #24 on “100 Years of Film Scores,” and #45 on “100 Years… 100 Cheers.”
End credits include the following acknowledgements: “Special thanks to Roger Spottiswoode”; and, “The play produced on Broadway by Arthur Cantor and Greer Garson.” Also included in end credits is the statement: “The producers wish to acknowledge their appreciation to the people of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Film and Television Bureau in the making of this film.” Final credits in the picture read: “This film is respectfully dedicated to the memory and talent of Robert L. Wolfe.”
Less
Ethel Thayer and her retired English professor husband, Norman Thayer, Jr., arrive at their New England summer cottage, nestled in the woods next to a lake called Golden Pond. While Norman is a curmudgeon and exaggerates his senility, Ethel has a youthful spirit and is delighted by their holiday. She scolds Norman for his obsession with death. As the couple paddles in a canoe on the lake, Ethel spots two loons and interprets their call as a welcome, but Norman feigns disinterest. Sometime later, Norman grudgingly agrees to pick wild strawberries for Ethel; however, he becomes disoriented in the woods and returns home empty-handed. Meanwhile, postman Charlie Martin delivers the couple’s mail by motorboat, and Ethel insists he stay for coffee. Ethel reads a letter from her divorced daughter, Chelsea Thayer Wayne, announcing that she and her dentist boyfriend, Bill Ray, will be visiting the cottage to celebrate Norman’s eightieth birthday on their way to Europe. Norman is indifferent and preoccupies himself with the newspaper. When Charlie leaves, Norman admits fear that he is losing his wits, but Ethel consoles her husband, saying he is her “knight is shining armor.” Sometime later, on the evening of Norman’s birthday, Chelsea arrives. She refers to her father formally, by his first name, and Norman criticizes his thin daughter for being overweight. The Thayers are surprised that Chelsea is accompanied by thirteen-year-old Billy Ray, the surly son of Bill. Chelsea is shocked to see how much her father has aged. When Chelsea ducks out of the house to avoid her father, Bill remains with the old man and tries to be cordial. Speaking peevishly with his daughter’s suitor, Norman responds sarcastically when Bill asks for permission to sleep in the same room with Chelsea, but Bill refuses to be intimidated. Meanwhile, Ethel and Chelsea swim naked in the lake, laughing about old times. As Bill joins Chelsea outside, Ethel returns to the cottage and asks Norman to do a favor for his daughter; Chelsea has asked them to look after Billy while she and Bill travel in Europe. Sometime later, Chelsea laments her difficult relationship with Norman, and Ethel observes that her daughter has a chip on her shoulder. She warns that life passes too quickly to harbor bad feelings. In time, Chelsea and Bill leave for Europe. Billy is hostile to being left behind, but Norman wins the boy over. He takes Billy on fishing excursions and teaches him to perform a back flip dive off the dock. As days pass, Norman takes Billy fishing at a secret inlet on Golden Pond called Purgatory Cove and tells the boy about his nemesis, a large trout named “Walter” that has eluded him for years. Ethel surprises the men by tracking them down to deliver lunch. As she boats away, Norman is delighted to reel in an enormous rainbow trout, but insists it is not Walter. However, Norman’s spirits darken that evening when he nearly burns down the cottage after leaving the fireplace unattended. He blames Billy for the incident, and the boy’s feelings are hurt, but Ethel reminds Billy that Norman means well, despite his cantankerous demeanor. The following day, Billy is thrilled to motorboat across the Golden Pond on his own. Back at the cottage, Norman astonishes Ethel by stealing a kiss. In the evening, Norman and Billy fish for Walter and the boy helps his elderly friend navigate through a bed of rocks into Purgatory Cove. When they reach their destination and cast lines, Norman accidentally calls the boy “Chelsea,” and Billy admits he is going to miss Norman’s company. Just then, Billy hooks a large fish, but when Norman nets the catch they realize it is a dead loon. When Billy asks if Norman is afraid of dying, the old man dismisses him and insists they boat home. With Billy at the helm, Norman directs the boy through the rocks, but suddenly orders him to reverse. Panicked, Billy mistakenly gears the boat forward at full speed and Norman is thrown from the vessel as it collides with a nearby boulder. With his head bloodied, Norman comes to the surface and calls for Chelsea. Billy jumps into the water to save the old man and the two cling to a rock. Meanwhile, Ethel drives to the home of Charlie, the mailman, terrified by Norman and Billy’s disappearance. Charlie motorboats to Purgatory Cove, but insists no one would be crazy enough to navigate through the rocks. Knowing her husband’s stubbornness, Ethel forces Charlie to proceed into the cove as she scans the lake with a flashlight. Calling Norman’s name, Ethel sees the two and dives into the water to save them. One week later, back at the cottage, Norman and Billy pretend to immerse themselves in a jigsaw puzzle while Ethel goes to search the woods for mushrooms. When they sneak away to fish, Ethel calls them “juvenile delinquents” and they promise to stay close to home. While they fish in a rowboat, Chelsea returns home and startles her mother, who sings aloud while picking flowers. Ethel tells her daughter about Billy’s close relationship with Norman and their boating accident. Announcing her new marriage to Bill, Chelsea explains that the doctor returned to California for work. She is jealous of Billy’s connection to Norman and complains that her father is a “selfish son-of-a-bitch,” but Ethel hits her across the face. Meanwhile, Billy hooks a large fish, and Norman declares they have finally caught the “son-of-a-bitch,” Walter. Back on shore, Ethel encourages Chelsea to make amends with her father. As Norman and Billy pull toward the dock, Chelsea greets Billy and he announces their victory over Walter. However, Norman let the fish go. Billy rushes inside the cottage to share the news with Ethel, and Chelsea asks her father if they can be friends. Despite Norman’s petulance, he is happy to hear about his daughter’s new marriage. When he announces with pride that Billy has mastered the back flip, Chelsea concedes that she was always “too fat” to successfully follow her father’s instructions. Although Norman protests, Chelsea swims to the dock and makes the dive as Norman cheers his daughter’s courage. Sometime later, Chelsea and Billy pack their rental car to leave Golden Pond. Norman gives Billy a fishing rod, then places a second-place medal that he won at Princeton University around Chelsea’s neck. She calls him “dad” for the first time and they embrace. Later still, Norman and Ethel close the house for the winter and Norman suffers heart pains. Ethel gives her husband medication and attempts to phone the operator, but is unable to get through. Ethel fears Norman is dying, but he insists he feels better. As she helps him to his feet, Norman spots two loons on Golden Pond and declares that the birds have come to say goodbye.
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https://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/04/movies/fonda-at-his-peak-in-on-golden-pond-230502.html
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FONDA AT HIS PEAK IN 'ON GOLDEN POND'
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"Vincent Canby"
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1981-12-04T00:00:00
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Family tensions at summer retreat. Peak Hank.
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en
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/vi-assets/static-assets/favicon-d2483f10ef688e6f89e23806b9700298.ico
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https://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/04/movies/fonda-at-his-peak-in-on-golden-pond-230502.html
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AS a successful Broadway play, Ernest Thompson's ''On Golden Pond'' was processed American cheese, smooth, infinitely spreadable and bland, with color added by the actors. The screen version, directed by Mark Rydell from Mr. Thompson's screenplay, is not much different in any superficial way.
It's still the upbeat, learning-to-love-you lesson about one summer in the lives of Norman Thayer Jr., a retired, crotchety university professor; Ethel Thayer, his bright, spunky wife of nearly 50 years, and their only daughter, Chelsea, whom Norman has never forgiven for not being a boy. You don't have to have seen the play to guess what happens to Norman's gentle misanthropy, especially to his feelings toward Chelsea, after he and Ethel spend a month taking care of the foul-mouthed, lonely, misunderstood teen-age son of Chelsea's fiance, a dentist named Bill Ray. Life can be beautiful, if full of tears.
The movie, which opens today at the Cinema 1, is still American cheese, but its stars - Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, Jane Fonda and Dabney Coleman - add more than color to this pasteurized product. ''On Golden Pond'' now has the bite of a good old cheddar.
As Norman Thayer Jr., celebrating his 80th birthday with reluctance, furiously aware of his physical and mental decline and as frightened of death as he is angry with it, Mr. Fonda gives one of the great performances of his long, truly distinguished career. Here is film acting of the highest order, the kind that is not discovered overnight in the laboratory, but seems to be the distillation of hundreds of performances.
As you watch him in ''On Golden Pond,'' you're seeing the intelligence, force and grace of a talent that has been maturing on the screen for almost 50 years, in everything from ''You Only Live Once,'' ''Jesse James,'' ''The Grapes of Wrath,'' ''The Lady Eve'' and ''My Darling Clementine,'' through ''Mr. Roberts,'' ''Twelve Angry Men'' and all of those more recent films in which he has given class to junk simply by his presence in a cameo role.
In ''On Golden Pond,'' Mr. Fonda is very funny, nonchalant and tough in ways that deny the essential gooiness of the material, and of Mr. Rydell's direction, which, when in doubt, cuts to lyrical shots of the sun-dappled waters of Golden Pond, of loons paddling along together in blissful harmony and of lily petals glistening with dew. One more drop of dew and this movie would have drowned.
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https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/intersection-1994
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en
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Intersection movie review & film summary (1994)
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Maybe my problem was that somehow I got it stuck in my head that "Intersection" was a Thriller. If I'd known it was a Weeper, I wouldn't have wept, but at
|
en
|
Roger Ebert
|
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/intersection-1994
|
Maybe my problem was that somehow I got it stuck in my head that “Intersection” was a Thriller. If I’d known it was a Weeper, I wouldn’t have wept, but at least I wouldn’t have been waiting for an hour for someone to pull out an ice pick.
The movie is a belated reminder of one of the unmourned genres of earlier years, the Shaggy Lover Story, in which a doomed romance is told against a backdrop of impending heartbreak. The twist at the end is supposed to send you out of the theater blowing your nose, but the people around me seemed more concerned with clearing their sinuses.
“Intersection” stars Richard Gere as an architect who is torn between two women: his wife, who is cold but uninteresting, and his lover, who is warm but uninteresting. Gere is not interesting either.
The only thing these characters have to talk about are the problems manufactured for them by the screenplay. No other conversations on any other subject amount to more than filler between crises.
Gere and his estranged wife Sally (Sharon Stone) are partners in an architectural firm. Their marriage, seen in laborious flashbacks, is a “business partnership,” he complains, in which she runs the business and he has the ideas. He meets a journalist named Olivia (Lolita Davidovich), falls in love, moves out on his wife and daughter, and begins to talk about the new house he will build for himself and Olivia.
But . . . should he? Is he still attracted to Sally? He doesn’t seem to know. Does he feel guilt about leaving his daughter? Sometimes. Does Olivia understand him? Yes. But, darn it all, things are so complicated! Martin Landau, his associate at work, tells him: “You have a wife and child in one place, a lover in another place . . . that’s just plain messy. Keep everything under one roof. That’s a basic rule of architecture.” I am sure people talk like this somewhere. I don’t want to go there.
I also don’t want to give away the ending of the movie. That means I can’t give away the beginning, either, because the whole movie is one long flashback within which are contained shorter flashbacks, all setting the stage for near-death visions. As nearly as I can tell, only about five minutes of the movie is supposed to take place in the present.
All of these observations pale by comparison to the film’s central problem, which is that director Mark Rydell and writers David Rayfiel and Marshall Brickman have not given us characters of the slightest interest. Stone plays the wife like a woman with a migraine, Davidovich plays the lover like a good sport, and Gere plays the man in the middle as if life would be a lot easier if he hadn’t ever met either woman.
All three people share a strange characteristic common to many Hollywood films: All of their behavior is linked directly to the plot. Unlike the people in European films, they have no lives, no ideas, no questions, no quirks, no real jobs, aside from the plot.
(Precious little architecture or journalism gets performed in this movie.) The movie isn’t even very good at handling ancient staples like marital fights: Gere and Stone have a weirdly off-center, badly timed argument that leads up to the old dependable Packing A Bag And Moving Out Scene (played by him this time). It’s so unconvincing we’re reduced to noticing that after he grabs three unspecified items from a drawer and throws them onto the bed, the drawer is empty. Must be the drawer where he keeps his Packing A Bag clothes.
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https://people.com/ryan-reynolds-blake-lively-it-ends-with-us-love-interest-awkward-interview-8690807
|
en
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Ryan Reynolds Grills Blake Lively's It Ends with Us Love Interest in Hilariously Awkward Interview
|
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2024-08-06T11:22:26.349000-04:00
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Ryan Reynolds shared a video on Instagram showing himself, his mother Tammy and Hugh Jackman grilling Blake Lively's 'It Ends with Us' love interest Brandon Sklenar for a hilariously odd interview. 'It's not every day the husband gets to interview his wife's love interest in a film,' Reynolds said.
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/favicon.ico
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Peoplemag
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https://people.com/ryan-reynolds-blake-lively-it-ends-with-us-love-interest-awkward-interview-8690807
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Before It Ends with Us releases in theaters, Ryan Reynolds felt it was finally time to come face-to-face with his wife Blake Lively's love interest in the film.
On Tuesday, Aug. 6, Ryan, 47, shared a video to Instagram of himself surprising Brandon Sklenar during a press day for the movie — and he brought along his mother Tammy Reynolds and best friend Hugh Jackman to grill the actor, 34, as well.
"It's not every day the husband gets to interview his wife's love interest in a film. It's kind of crazy," Ryan said, as he sat down in an interviewer's chair and began asking Sklenar questions despite his protests that they were not scheduled to meet.
The Deadpool and Wolverine star then went about questioning a photograph of Sklenar and Lively, 36, together.
"So I saw you posing in a photo with Mrs. Reynolds — I'm sorry, what do you call her, do you guys have a nickname or something?" he asked, before diving into questions regarding Sklenar's backside. "Is that genetics? Do you have some sort of low-angle squat routine to pop that region in that way? I mean, what's going on here, man?"
Ryan's amusing interview with Sklenar took a turn for the absurd when he joked that he has been using methamphetamine. "Ryan? You wanna take a break?" Sklenar asked at one point, to which Reynolds responded, "From Blake? Sure."
Cut to two minutes later, Reynolds and Sklenar are shown hugging it out — and then Ryan's mother Tammy steps into the frame to grill Sklenar with new questions.
"Well, it's not every day the mother-in-law of the leading lady gets to interview the love interest and the man trying to replace my sweet little gummy bear Ryan," she said, reading questions her son wrote in jest that suggest Ryan is looking for a new father figure in his life.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
"It says: Ryan would love to have a new dad to have a catch, and I think he could really use a man in his life," one question read, as Ryan himself returned to read the question. "Hugh is no spring chicken anymore. Blink once for yes, or blink once for I'd love to be your new dad."
Jackman, 55, then entered the video as the third and final interviewer Sklenar faced, joking that Lively's It Ends with Us costar is "the guy trying to replace Ryan as a husband and me as his best mate."
"Sir, I have no idea what's happening at all today, but I do have to say while I have you here: Your work in Les Mis. . . what a triumph," Sklenar told Jackman, seemingly winning the actor over. "I mean, you can do it all. You're a unicorn."
The video ends with Ryan, his mother and Jackman each complimenting Sklenar and wearing sweaters that match what Lively's costar wore in the video. "I think we found the next Wolverine," Jackman jests as the clip ends.
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
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https://www.slideserve.com/lavender/on-golden-pond-1981-directed-by-mark-rydell
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On Golden Pond (1981) directed by Mark Rydell PowerPoint Presentation
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2014-07-30T00:00:00
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On Golden Pond (1981) directed by Mark Rydell. Movie and Aging Project by Crystal Ammons , Andrea Isbell, Laura Sullivan, and Regina Wallace. Introduction of Characters. Henry Fonda : Norman Thayer, Jr., a retired professor. Katharine Hepburn: Ethyl Thayer, Norman’s wife. Slideshow 2629468 by...
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https://www.slideserve.com/img/favicon.ico
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SlideServe
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https://www.slideserve.com/lavender/on-golden-pond-1981-directed-by-mark-rydell
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Plot Summary • Norman and Ethyl Thayer visit their Summer cottage on Golden Pond to celebrate Norman’s 80th birthday. • Joining them is their daughter, Chelsea, her boyfriend Bill, and his son Billy Jr. • Norman is faced with his mortality and changes that often accompany aging. These changes bring about a negative attitude that revolves around limited time and death. • Chelsea and her father have been estranged and her visit brings up old wounds.
Plot Summary continued • Chelsea and Bill leave for Europe for a month, leaving Billy Jr. behind to spend the time with Norman and Ethyl. • Billy’s attitude toward the old couple is one of disdain and he talks of leaving and going back to California. • Norman and Ethyl slowly interest Billy Jr. in life on the pond and soon he begins fishing and doing things around the house with them. • Norman and Billy forge a bond that changes Billy Jr.’s attitude toward the old couple and relationships with elders. • Chelsea returns to see that Norman has a relationship with Billy Jr. that she never had with her father. • Norman and Chelsea work toward healing the rift that has pulled them apart for so many years.
Aging-Related Concepts in the Film • Director Mark Rydell sets the film in an old cottage on Golden Pond that has seen some wear and tear similar to the physical changes that Norman and Ethyl have experienced over the years. The unhinged door is a metaphor for Norman’s aging mind,body, and his attitude. With some care, it may be repaired. • Norman and Billy Jr. search for “Walter”, the elusive trout that is the prize of their fishing trips. The fish symbolizes the peace that Norman is seeking in dealing with his mortality.
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First Impressions
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2018-07-05T07:17:26+00:00
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Posts about Mark Rydell written by NotesonFilm1
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en
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First Impressions
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https://notesonfilm1.com/tag/mark-rydell/
|
The Long Goodbye is by now an acknowledged classic. It wasn’t always so. As Pauline Kael writes in her 1973 review, ‘It’s a knockout of a movie that has taken eight months to arrive in New York because after being badly reviewed in Los Angeles last March and after being badly received (perfect irony) it folded out of town. It’s probably the best American movie ever made that almost didn’t open in New York.’ Charles Champlin, one of the initial culprits, titled his review ‘A Private Eye’s Honour Blackened’. But as early as 1974, Stewart Garrett in Film Quarterly was already underlining its importance and influence: ‘‘the masterwork of America’s most interesting working director….In watching Chinatown, one can feel The Long Goodbye lurking behind it with the latent force of a foregone conclusion’. All I want to do here is add my praise, point to a couple of aspects of the film’s particular brilliance, and also indicate some problems with the film that its biggest fans have been too quick to gloss over.
The movie begins and ends with an extract from the song ‘Hooray for Hollywood’, a nod to dreamland and part of the film’s homage to noir and the detective genre. Elliot Gould is a different Marlowe than Humphrey Bogart, looser, gentler, even more addicted to tobacco, with cigarettes constantly dangling from his thick, sensuous lips. The car he drives, the apartment building he lives in, the bars he frequents, all conjure up the forties. But the LA he moves through, a character of its own in this film (the skyline, the highways, the all-night supermarkets, Malibu), with the women in the apartment next door making hash brownies, practicing yoga, and dancing topless, all point to the film’s present. And that interplay between past and present, figured through the casting of Elliot Gould as the central character, is one of joys of the film.
Gould’s Marlow, unkempt, seeming to offer a wry, disbelieving and humours look at everything he sees, is convincingly single, marginal, and over-reliant on his cat for company. He is the most unkempt and bedraggled of leading man: loose, irreverent but convincingly embodying someone who carries the night with him like a halo; a knight errant reeking of stale tobacco, too much booze and too little sleep. His friend Terry Lennox (Jim Bouten) calls hims a born loser.
David Thomson writes of how Altman ‘spends the whole film concentrating on the way Elliott Gould moves, murmurs, sighs, and allows silence or stillness to prevail’. And this at a time when as Pauline Kael writes in her review of the film, by 1973 , ‘Audiences may have felt that they’d already had it with Elliot Gould; the young men who looked like him in 1971 have got cleaned up and barbered and turned into Mark Spitz. But it actually adds poignancy to the film that Gould himself is already an anachronism…Gould comes back with his best performance yet. It’s his movie.’ It certainly is. Next to M*A*S*H and Bob &Carol&Ted&Alice, it’s also become the one he’s most associated with.
The first few scenes in the film dazzle. The whole sequence with the cat at the beginning where Marlowe gets up to feed it, the cat jumping from counter, to fridge, and onto Marlowe’s shoulder is disarming and rather wondrous. Even those who don’t love cats will be charmed. But the scene also conveys quite a bit about who Marlowe is: someone lonely, who relies on cats for company; someone responsible and loving who cares that the cat is well fed and willing to go out in the middle of the night to buy the cat’s preferred brand; a good neighbour too, prepared to get the brownie mix the women next door ask for and unwilling to charge them for it: a gent or a chump? The choices Altman makes to show and tell us the story are constantly surprising, witty and wondrous on their own. See above, a minor example, that begins inside the apartment, showing us the city’s skyline, then the women, then the women in the city, before dollying down, something that looks like a peek at a little leg action before showing us, perfectly framed, Marlowe arriving in his vintage car.
In The Long Goodbye much is filmed through windows, which sometimes look onto something else, allowing action to happen on at least two planes. However the dominant use of this is to show the play of what’s happening between foreground and background, with the pane of glass, allowing partial sight of what’s beyond the glass and the reflection itself only partially showing what’s in front of it; and both together still only adding up to two partial views that don’t make a whole but which suggest there’s a background to things, and things themselves are but pale reflections of a greater underlying reality. You can see an example of this in the still above, from the the interrogation scene at the police station with the two way mirror. It’s a beautiful, expressive composition. According to Richard K. Ferncase, ‘the photography by Vilmos Zsigmond is unlike the heavy chiaroscuro of traditional noir’. However, as evident in the still above, whilst it might be unlike, it certainly nods to and references it. In fact it’s part of a series of references: the gatekeeper who does imitations of James Stewart, Walter Brennan, Barbara Stanwyck etc; the way Marlowe lights matches a la Walter Neff, the hospital scene where it seems like the Invisible Man or Bogart before his plastic surgery in Dark Passage, etc.
This must be one of Vilmos Zsigmond’s greatest achievements as a cinematographer. Garret writes of how, ‘Altman accentuated the smog-drenched haze of his landscape by slightly overexposing, or ‘fogging’ the entire print.’ Ferncase admires the ‘diaphanous ozone of pastel hues, blue shadowns, and highlights of shimmering gossamer’ Zsigmond created by post-flashing the film. Zsigmond himself attributes this to a low budget: ‘We…flashed the film heavily, even more than we flashed it on McCabe. And the reason was basically because we didn’t have a big budget there for big lights and all that. So we were really very creative about how, with the little amount of equipment that we had, how we are going to do a movie in a professional way. A couple of things we invented on that movie — like flashing fifty per cent, which is way over the top. But by doing that we didn’t have to hardly use any lights when go from outside or inside and go outside again.’.
Robert Reed Altman notes how, ‘On Long Goodbye the camera never stopped moving. The minute the dolly stopped the camera started zooming. At the end of the zoom it would dolly and then it would zoom again, and it just kept moving. Why did he do it? Just to give the story a felling, a mood, to keep the audience an an edge’. Zsigmond describes how this came to be, ”On Images, when we wanted to have something strange going on, because the woman is crazy, we decided to do this thing — zooming and moving sideways. And zooming, and dollying sideways. Or zooming forward. What is missing? Up and down! So we had to be able to go up and down, dolly sideways, back and forth, and zoom in and out. Then we made The Long Goodbye and Robert said, ‘Remember that scene we shot in Images? Let’s shoot this movie all that way’.
They did. But it’s worth remarking that whilst Altman was happy to let actors improvise and to grab and use anything useful or interesting that happened to pass by the camera’s path (the funeral procession, the dogs fucking in Mexico, etc.), the use of the camera seems to me to be highly conscious and controlled. See the scene below when Marlowe brings Roger Wade (a magnificent Sterling Hayden, like wounded lion on its last legs) home to his wife.
In the scene above Marlowe has just brought Wade back home to his wife Eileen (Nina van Pallandt), who’d hired Marlowe to do just that. As Marlowe heads to the beach, note how they’re both filmed outside a window, Wade cornered into the left side of the frame, his wife on the right; the palm trees reflected on the glass but outside. Inside the house is dark, the conversation pointed. In the next shot we get closer to Wade but stil framed within frames, encased in his situation, with window shades acting like bars behind him. In the third shot, we get closer to where the first shot was but Wade seems even murkier, hidden. When Eileen says ‘milk, is that what you really want,’ The camera zooms in, first on him, then her, then him, and as he walks over to her, we see Marlow behind a second window in the back. So we are seeing a domestic scene through a window, sunny California reflected in the palms in front, in the surf behind, something dark happening inside the house, and Marlow, pondering outside, for the moment their plaything, and playing on the surf behind, seen through two sets of glass. Much of the scene will be played like that until Wade goes to join Marlowe outside. Brilliantly evocative images, vey expressive of the characters, their situation and their dynamic, and they seem to me to be perfectly controlled to express just that. In fact that series of images evoke what the film’s about (see below)
The scene where the Wades and Marlowe are gathered together for the first time, rhymes with their last one. This time it’s Marlowe and Eileen who talk, and the discussion is about the husband, who as the camera zooms past Eileen and Marlowe’s conversation, and through the window, we see heading, fully dressed, into the ocean. The camera cuts to them from the outside, once more seeing through a window, but the darkness is on the outside now, and we don’t hear what they’re saying. What we hear now is the sounds of night on the beach — the waves, the surf — , and what we see, clearly and without mediation is Wade letting the surf engulf him. It’s a perfect riposte to the first scene, taking elements of the same style, but accentuating different ones — analogous to the way the film uses ‘The Long Goodbye’ song but in completely different arrangements as the film unfolds –, and creating a series of images that remain beautiful and startling in themselves but beautifully express what’s going on, what’s led to this. Had I extended the scene longer, you’d be able to see Eileen and Marlow also engulfed by the sea, the Doberman prancing by the shore, and that indelible image of the dog returning only with Wade’s walking stick. It’s great.
Schwarzenegger makes an uncredited appearance in The Long Goodbye, screaming for attention by flexing his tits, and looking considerably shorter than Elliot Gould. An interesting contrast between a characteristic leading man of the 70s and how what that represents gave way to Schwarzenegger’s dominance in the 80s and 90s, and what that in turn came to represent. But though this is a fun moment in the film, its also what I liked least about it: i.e. the stunt casting. Nina van Pallandt is beautiful and she’s ok. But think of what Faye Dunaway might have brought to the role. Director Mark Rydell as gangster Marty Augustine is also ok but imagine Joe Pesci. As to Jim Bouton, a former ballplayer and TV presenter as Terry Lennox, to say that he’s wooden is to praise too highly. There’s a place in in cinema for this type of casting– and a history of much success — but see what a talented pro like David Carradine brings to the prison scene — not to mention Sterling Hayden and Elliot Gould both so great — and imagine the dimensions skilled and talented actors might have brought to the movie. The Long Goodbye is great in spite of, not because of, the casting of these small but important roles.
Many thanks to Dave Stewart for bringing this Jack Davis ‘Mad’-esque poster of the film to my attention:
*The Vilmos Zsigmond and Robert Reed Altman quotes are taken from Mitchell Zuckoff’s great book on Altman, Robert Altman: The Oral Biography, New York, Knopg, 2009.
José Arroyo
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The original trailer for the French release in 1970 promised that Les choses de la vie/ The Things of Life would be ‘about people, people like you, people to whom things happen, things of life: beautiful, sweet, stupid; things of life that make life worth living’. If the ‘you’ referred to is an ideal ‘you’ – richer, more glamorous, more beautiful – then, the film delivers on that promise.
Les choses de la vie begins with an image of the wheel of a car in a field. We realise that a car has crashed in a rural motorway. Inside the car is Pierre (Michel Piccoli), a successful architect. As he drifts in an out of consciousness, we find out what his life has amounted to, what has been important to him: Catherine (Lea Massari), his wife, whom he’s separated from but who he still has unresolved feelings for; Helène (Romy Schneider), the mistress who adores him but whom he finds a bit clingy and demanding; the son, suddenly grown-up and growing more distant by the day; his parents; the problems with his job; the things he did wrong and might never get a chance to fix; flashes of joy experienced whilst sailing with his family or kissing his mistress in a meadow.
Les choses de la vie could so easily be soap opera; could so easily have become what its American re-make, Intersections (Mark Rydell, USA, 1994), turned out to be: a glossy, glamorous melodrama with people one couldn’t relate to and that remained at one remove, as if the pretty-ness of the image was a glass barrier to feeling. Yet, Sautet’s film is something else: even more exquisite to look, but here the look providing a lens through which to see a complex life in a way that is much deeper, much finer.
It’s a poetic film, sad, with an emphasis on feeling and on thought rather than on action; where things are felt but hidden, half-said, mis-articulated; where the narrative shows all the complexities that the characters cannot themselves express, may not yet know, may in fact be trying to hide; a film where things are expressed visually and aurally, as befits a film.
The film is structured around the car-crash, spectacularly choreographed by Gérard Streiff and shown in a variety of ways depending on the mood the film is intent on conveying when it returns to it, as it does throughout the film; it’s the event that anchors the narrative and permits it to drift off in fragments whilst still being experienced as linear; it works as memory, as drifting thought, but it at all times makes sense to the viewer.
We sometimes see it in slow motion, or with the film speeded up, or even with the film being run backward; and when we return to the accident, we sometimes cut to the witnesses of the crash, sometimes to an event in Pierre’s life; sometimes just to his point-of-view as he’s trying to make sense of what’s happened to him. In one instance we see a shiny black boot, stepping on a gorgeous ground of green grass, poppies and little blue flowers. As Pierre tries to focus, and at the very moment in which he realizes he might die, he can still see beauty amongst the black.
One can understand why Sautet thought Jacqueline Thiédot, chief editor, important enough to come first at the end credits. The film is a masterpiece of editing. But really, the film is a masterpiece for many reasons.
It’s full of wonderful moments: the two scenes where Pierre and Helène discuss their relationship, first in the elevator and then in the car, where the shadows as the elevator ascends through floors, or the lime yellow of passing traffic, create a murkiness, a lack of clarity, that symbolizes all of the mis-communication, the pain of Helène’s honest and vulnerable expression in the light, or lack of light, of Pierre’s inability to express his own emotions, in the light, or lack of light, of his silence.
Or the wonderful close-up of Romy Schneider at the auction (see clip below), where one can see exactly why Pierre fell in love with her; or those moments of bliss sailing, never to be repeated, already in the past as the image fades to white; or the exquisite pan around the wedding banquet where the dream of what might have been suddenly turns into the nightmarish realization of what actually is in one sweeping camera movement. This is the work of a truly great director.
Sautet here also enjoys the collaboration of an extraordinary team. Not only the aforementioned Thiédot but also an intricate screenplay based on the novel by Paul Guimard which Sautet superbly knitted together with Guimard, Sandro Continenza and Jean-Loup Dabadie, who would later write at least dialogue for many of Sautet’s other films (including the marvellous César et Rosalie). Jean Boffety is director of photography and responsible for very beautiful and evocative images with a lighting design that signifies; one in which, things are half shown as they are half-spoken, capable of great beauty in that wonderful Eastman colour that picks up primary colours and makes them almost shine (sadly it is also the process most prone to fade and turn to red ). Also the camera renders the space almost sculptural in the way that it frames all that happens as spaces of changeable feeling and meaning; all this greatly aided by Phillipe Sarde’s very beautiful score (the film itself is almost structured as a fugue).
A popular success, Les choses de la vie was the 8th highest earning film of its year with 2,959, 682 admissions. It won the Louis Delluc Prize for Best Film in 1970. It was also nominated for Golden Palm at 1970 Cannes Film Festival. The film would revitalise the careers of Sautet and Schneider and lead to many future collaborations between them, including Max et les ferrailleurs/ Max and the Junkmen and César et Rosalie, both superb. Les choses de la vie was remade in Hollywood as Intersections directed by Mark Rydell and with Richard Gere, Sharon Stone, Lolita Davidovitch. It might be worth noting that the performances of Piccoli, Schneider and Masari are so great they completely eclipse any memory of the American actors, which I saw first. Courrèges did Romy’s chic, career-girl A-line mini-dresses. Lovely.
To my knowledge, Les choses de la vie is not available in the UK or the US with English sub-titles. I hope someone does something about it soon. It’s only a matter of time before Sautet’s great works are re-disovered. Les choses de la vie is one of them.
José Arroyo
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https://www.flickeringmyth.com/blu-ray-review-the-long-goodbye-1973/
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The Long Goodbye (1973)
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2021-12-12T12:00:37+00:00
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The Long Goodbye, 1973. Directed by Robert Altman. Starring Elliott Gould, Nina van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden, Mark Rydell, Henry Gibson, David Arkin, Jim Bouton, and Warren Berlinger. SYNOPSIS: Robert Altman brought his maverick filmmaking sensibilities to a staid property in his adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye, using Elliott Gould to turn hardboiled detective […]
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en
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Flickering Myth
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https://www.flickeringmyth.com/blu-ray-review-the-long-goodbye-1973/
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Directed by Robert Altman.
Starring Elliott Gould, Nina van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden, Mark Rydell, Henry Gibson, David Arkin, Jim Bouton, and Warren Berlinger.
SYNOPSIS:
Robert Altman brought his maverick filmmaking sensibilities to a staid property in his adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye, using Elliott Gould to turn hardboiled detective Philip Marlowe into a droll character. Kino Lorber commissioned a new 4K master of the film for this Blu-ray, along with a big batch of bonus features.
The Long Goodbye may be based on a Raymond Chandler novel, but don’t put this new Blu-ray from Kino Lorber in your player expecting a movie in the old school hardboiled style. This is a Robert Altman movie, after all, so this is his one of Philip Marlowe’s adventures as filtered through the director’s droll lens.
Elliott Gould plays the title role and ex-baseball player Jim Bouton takes on the small part of Terry Lennox, which nonetheless figures prominently in the plot. Terry asks Marlowe to give him a ride to Tijuana and the detective returns home only to be questioned by a pair of police detectives who say that Terry murdered his wife, Sylvia.
The police later say that Terry committed suicide in Mexico, so Marlowe seems to be off the hook, but when a woman named Eileen Wade hires him to find her missing novelist husband and the detective realizes there’s a connection between the Lennoxes and the Wades, he begins to suspect there’s more going on than the official police story.
Gould would be an odd choice for Marlowe in a more conventional adaptation, but here he’s playing the famous detective as interpreted by Altman, courtesy of a screenplay by Leigh Brackett. (If her name sounds familiar, that’s because she wrote the initial draft of The Empire Strikes Back.) As such, Gould’s Marlowe seems indifferent to everything around him, whether it’s the naked young women who sun themselves outside the apartment near his or it’s Roger Wades’ destructive, alcohol-fueled tirades.
The rest of the cast plays their roles the same way, even Mark Rydell as the gangster Marty Augustine, who at one point demands that his goons all strip down to their skivvies to demonstrate their transparency. It’s an absurd moment, but it’s one that Altman fans will go right along with.
Kino Lorber commissioned a new 4K remaster of the film, giving The Long Goodbye a restoration to the way it looked when it was originally released in 1973. The only issue I noticed was a white spot that appeared near the top of the screen and stayed there for several minutes.
Kino also commissioned a nice batch of bonus features. Many of them were obviously ported over from past releases, but I believe the commentary track is new. I’m not sure what else is new, in the sense that it hasn’t been available on home video before. Here’s the rundown:
Commentary track with film historian Tim Lucas: This is one of those “film class in a box” discussions in which Lucas comes clearly prepared to talk about the movie. It’s a bit dry, but there’s no dead air, which is nice, and it’s highly informative. It’s definitely worth a listen.
Rip Van Marlowe (24.5 minutes): This featurette stars Altman and Gould looking back on the film. Altman starts it by talking about the idea of “Rip Van Marlowe,” which was his concept that Marlowe had fallen asleep for 20 years and woken up to apply 1950s ideals to a 1970s world.
Vilmos Zsigmond Flashes The Long Goodbye (14.5 minutes): The cinematographer looks back on the making of the movie and, in particular, working with Altman.
David Thompson on Robert Altman (21 minutes): The writer and filmmaker gives an overview of the director’s career, which was marked by many films that were deconstructions of various genres in the same way The Long Goodbye is a deconstruction of Chandler’s hardboiled detective stories.
Tom Williams on Raymond Chandler (14.5 minutes): Williams wrote a biography of Chandler and here he gives a discussion of how and when the author made his mark with his Philip Marlowe books.
Maxim Jakubowski on Hard Boiled Fiction (14.5 minutes): The crime writer, critic and editor talks about his definition of hard-boiled fiction, which he says is in the eye of the beholder. He then moves on to discuss the noir genre, pulp fiction, and other related terms in the context of novels, movies, pulp magazines, and other media.
Trailers From Hell with Josh Olson (2.75 minutes): The screenwriter talks about the film over its trailer.
A 1973 American Cinematographer article is included as a text piece that you can page through with your remote. It’s a shame that Kino didn’t put it in a physical booklet, but they don’t usually do that, unfortunately.
Radio and TV commercials, along with a pair of trailers, round out the disc.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
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The Long Goodbye movie review (1973)
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Robert Altman’s “The Long Goodbye” (1973) attacks film noir with three of his most cherished tools: Whimsy, spontaneity and narrative perversity. He is always the most youthful of directors, and here he gives us the youngest of Philip Marlowes, the private eye as a Hardy boy. Marlowe hides in the bushes, pokes his nose up against a window, complains like a spoiled child, and runs after a car driven by the sexy heroine, crying out “Mrs. Wade! Mrs. Wade!” As a counterweight, the movie contains two startling acts of violence; both blindside us, and neither is in the original Raymond Chandler novel.
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Altman began with a screenplay by Leigh Brackett, the legendary writer of “The Big Sleep” (1946), the greatest of the many films inspired by Marlowe. On that one her co-writer was William Faulkner. There is a famous story that they asked Chandler who killed one of the characters (or was it suicide?). Chandler’s reply: “I don’t know.” There is a nod to that in “The Long Goodbye” when a character who was murdered in the book commits suicide in the movie.
Certainly the plot of “The Long Goodbye” is a labyrinth not easily negotiated. Chandler’s 1953 novel leads Marlowe into a web of deception so complex you could call it arbitrary. The book is not about a story but about the code of a private eye in a corrupt world. It is all about mood, personal style, and language. In her adaptation, Brackett dumps sequences from Chandler, adds some of her own (she sends Marlowe to Mexico twice), reassigns killings, and makes it almost impossible to track a suitcase filled with a mobster’s money.
I went through the film a shot at a time two weeks ago at the Conference on World Affairs at the University of Colorado, sitting in the dark with several hundred others as we asked ourselves, What do we know, how do we know it, and is it true? Many of our questions center on the rich, sex-drenched Eileen (Nina Van Pallandt). Does she desire the death of her husband, Roger Wade, an alcoholic writer played by the gruff old bear Sterling Hayden? Or does she only want free of him? What about that seductive dinner she serves Marlowe (Elliott Gould) on the night Wade walks into the ocean? Does she intend to sleep with Marlowe? She does in the novel, and he is later part of her alibi when she kills Wade and makes it look like suicide. But here she doesn’t kill Wade. What is the link connecting Terry Lennox (the baseball star Jim Bouton), Eileen and the gangster Marty Augustine (Mark Rydell)? Does Augustine owe Wade money, as he claims to Marlowe, or does Wade owe Augustine money, as Wade implies in a Freudian slip? What is the exact connection between any money owed to anyone and the money in the suitcase? Only a final, blunt speech by Lennox, Marlowe’s unworthy friend, answers some of our questions.
Elliott Gould says on the DVD that Altman made many changes to Brackett’s screenplay, but that when she saw the movie not long before she died, she said she was “more than satisfied.” One change is to make Philip Marlowe, that laconic loner with a code of honor, into what Altman and Gould privately called “Rip Van Marlowe.” When he awakens at the beginning of the movie, he’s a 1953 character in a 1973 world. He wears a dark suit, white shirt and narrow tie in a world of flower power and nude yoga. He chain-smokes; no one else smokes. He is loyal to Terry Lennox and considers him his friend, but the movie establishes their friendship only by showing them playing liar’s poker, and Lennox is no friend. Marlowe carries a $5,000 bill for most of the movie, but never charges for any of his services. He is a knight errant, and like Don Quixote imperfectly understands the world he inhabits.
The earlier movie Marlowes (Humphrey Bogart, James Caan, James Garner, Robert Mitchum, Robert Montgomery, Dick Powell) are terse and guarded. They talk, as Chandler wrote, “with rude wit, a lively sense of the grotesque, a disgust for sham, and a contempt for pettiness.” And they talk a lot, because they narrate the novels. Gould’s Marlowe has these qualities, but they emerge in meandering dialogue that plays as a bemused commentary to himself. In the novel, Marlowe has no pets, but here he has a cat, and in the famous pre-credit opening sequence he attempts to convince the cat he is supplying its favorite cat food, but the cat is not fooled. In a movie that throws large chunks of plot overboard, there is no reason for this sequence, except that it establishes Marlowe as a man who is more loyal to his cat than anyone is to him.
The plot can be summarized in a few words, or endlessly. The rich playboy Lennox asks Marlowe to drive him to Tijuana. Marlowe does, and is questioned by the cops and jailed after Lennox’s wife is found beaten to death. Released by the cops after Lennox’s suicide in Mexico, Marlowe is visited by the gangster Marty Augustine and his goons. Augustine thinks Marlowe has money Lennox was carrying. In one of the most shocking moments in movie history, he commits an act of cruelty and says, “Now that’s someone I love. Think what could happen to you.”
Marlowe follows him to the Malibu beach house of the writer Roger Wade and his wife Eileen, and is later hired by Eileen to track down Roger after he runs away to a shady drying-out sanitarium. How are Lennox, the Wades and Augustine connected?
I don’t think the answer to that question concerns Altman nearly as much as the look and feel of the film. He wants to show a private eye from the noir era blundering through a plot he is perhaps too naive to understand. The movie’s visual strategy underlines his confusion. Altman and his cinematographer, Vilmos Zsigmond, “flashed” the color film with carefully calculated extra light, to give it a faded, pastel quality, as if Marlowe’s world refuses to reveal vivid colors and sharp definition. Most of the shots are filmed through foregrounds that obscure: Panes of glass, trees and shrubbery, architectural details, all clouding Marlowe’s view (and ours). The famous Altman overlapping dialogue gives the impression that Marlowe doesn’t pick up on everything around him. Far from resenting the murkiness in his world, Marlowe repeats the catch-phrase, “It’s all right with me.” The line was improvised by Gould, and he and Altman decided to use it throughout the story as an ironic refrain.
There is another refrain: The title theme, which is essentially the only music heard in the film. Altman uses it again and again, with many different performers (even a Mexican marching band, with the sheet music pinned to the shirt of the man in front of them). At Boulder, the musician Dave Grusin, who worked on the film, and told us Altman gathered a group of musicians on a sound stage and had them spend an evening playing around with different arrangements of the song. Why did Altman only use the one song? I’ve heard a lot of theories, of which the most convincing is, it amused him.
The visuals and sound undergo a shift after the suicide of Roger Wade. There is a scene on the beach where Marlowe pesters people with questions and accuses them of dishonesty; he sounds like a child, a drunk, or both. But then color begins to saturate the pale visuals, the foregrounds no longer obscure, characters start talking one at a time, and finally in the vivid sunlight of Mexico, Marlowe is able to see and hear clearly, and act decisively.
Casting is crucial in film noir, because the actors have to arrive already bearing their fates. Altman’s actors are as unexpected as they are inevitable. Sterling Hayden, a ravaged giant, roars and blusters on his way to his grave. As his wife, Altman cast Nina Van Pallandt, then famous as the mistress of Clifford Irving, author of the celebrated fake autobiography of Howard Hughes. She could act, but she did more than act, she embodied a Malibu beach temptress. Mark Rydell, the director, seems to be channeling Martin Scorsese’s verbal style in a performance that uses elaborate politeness as a mask for savagery. And Elliott Gould is a Marlowe thrust into a story were everybody else knows their roles. He wanders clueless and complaining, and then suddenly understands exactly what he must do.
“The Long Goodbye” should not be anybody’s first film noir, nor their first Altman movie. Most of its effect comes from the way it pushes against the genre, and the way Altman undermines the premise of all private eye movies, which is that the hero can walk down mean streets, see clearly, and tell right from wrong. The man of honor from 1953 is lost in the hazy narcissism of 1973, and it’s not all right with him.
Also in the Great Movies series at rogerebert.com: Altman’s “McCabe and Mrs. Miller,” “3 Women” and “Nashville” and Hawks’ “The Big Sleep.”
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The Hollywood Interview: MARK RYDELL REMEMBERS KILLING JOHN WAYNE...AND BETTE MIDLER!
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(Mark Rydell directing John Wayne in The Cowboys , above.) By Jon Zelazny (Note: This interview is also appearing at Eight Million Stories...
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Mark-Rydell/movies
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Mark Rydell Movies: Latest and Upcoming Films of Mark Rydell
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https://static.toiimg.com/imagenext/medley-topic/thumb/photo/image/show/83/Mark-Rydell?imgsize=7820
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Mark Rydell Movies: Check out the list of latest Mark Rydell movies and upcoming Mark Rydell movies along with movie trailers, videos, songs, photos, movie review and more only on Times of India
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The Times of India
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Mark-Rydell/movies
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7 killed in 47 days: Forest teams capture killer wolf in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich
tnn / Aug 29, 2024, 12:37 (IST)
Over a continuous 72-hour operation, 25 forest department teams successfully captured one of the three wolves responsible for a string of deadly attacks in Bahraich's Sisiya village. Utilizing drones, nets, and tranquilizer guns, the team focused on sugarcane fields where the wolves were detected. Seven victims, including six children, were reported over 47 days.
'Never threatened ... ': Mamata clarifies remarks made during TMCP rally
timesofindia.com / Aug 29, 2024, 12:21 (IST)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee clarified her remarks accusing the BJP-led Centre of undermining democracy and attempting to create anarchy in the state. She denied targeting medical students or their protests, affirming support for their cause. Her comments have prompted criticism from BJP leaders, including Assam's Himanta Biswa Sarma and Manipur's N Biren Singh.
Southern states look to outfox each other in hunt for a ‘Foxconn city’
the economic times / Aug 28, 2024, 15:55 (IST)
The company is being offered 2,000 acres in Telangana to build an industrial park modelled on its facilities in Taiwan and China. But other states are also aggressively courting the manufacturer
'When a team like Australia can tour Pak, why not India?'
timesofindia.com / Aug 29, 2024, 12:41 (IST)
Pakistan have hosted teams from Australia, Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies in the past few years. It has led to former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal questioning the BCCI, asking why India cannot travel to Pakistan when teams like Australia have done so. The last time Pakistan hosted India was in 2005-06, where Pakistan won the three-match Test series 1-0, while India claimed the ODI series with a 4-1 margin.
Kuno loses sole wandering spotted cat. What’s Project Cheetah hiding?
timesofindia.com / Aug 28, 2024, 14:15 (IST)
Pawan's is the twelfth cheetah death at Kuno National Park. Pawan had fathered two of the three litters born in Kuno and was the only one in the open. The other 24 cheetahs — half of them cubs — continue to be in enclosures
Passport website shut for 5 days: Dates, reason and what happens to booked appointments
timesofindia.com / Aug 29, 2024, 11:37 (IST)
The Passport Seva portal will be unavailable from August 29, 2024, to September 2, 2024, for technical maintenance. The Ministry of External Affairs confirms that all appointments scheduled during this period will be rescheduled, ensuring no public inconvenience. The portal facilitates booking passport appointments and processing applications nationwide.
Police complaint filed against Mamata over 'if Bengal burns' warning to PM Modi
timesofindia.com / Aug 29, 2024, 13:57 (IST)
A police complaint was filed against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her remarks warning Prime Minister Modi of consequences if BJP instigated trouble in Bengal. Banerjee clarified she supports student movements and accused the BJP-led Centre of threatening democracy, after a speech linked to protests over a brutal incident.
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Google Books
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Search the world's most comprehensive index of full-text books.
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https://cinema.wisc.edu/blog/2024/07/15/race-devil-%3Fpage%3D1
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These notes on Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel were written by Josh Martin, PhD student in the Department of Communication Arts at UW-Madison. The Grand Budapest Hotel will screen in the second part of our Thank You, David Bordwell series on Friday, August 30 at 7 p.m. in our regular venue, 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Ave. The screening will be followed by David Bordwell's video essay discussing Wes Anderson's visual style.
By Josh Martin
“There are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity,” muses lobby boy-turned-reclusive hotel proprietor Zero Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham) in the final moments of Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). Spoken with the “imperceptible air of sadness” that the film’s novelist narrator identifies early in the picture, Zero offers one final remark: “He was one of them.” That faint glimmer in question is Monsieur Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes), the meticulously mannered, quick-witted, and often hysterically profane concierge of the film’s titular establishment. Gustave is many things – a poet, a philanderer, a precise and dutiful manager – but above all, he is a man of decency and honor. At this stage of the film, Zero’s tribute to his friend and mentor is also a lament, a mourning of the loss of a man whose principles and dignity, much like the “enchanted old ruin” he managed, left him at odds with an increasingly violent and desolate age. “His world had vanished long before he ever entered it,” Zero opines, “but he sustained the illusion with a marvelous grace.” Imbued with that indefatigable grace by Fiennes, Gustave H. is the melancholy center of gravity in Anderson’s crown jewel, a film that remains an indelible creation.
Like many of Anderson’s recent works, which experiment with storytelling structures such as the stage-play-within-a-fictional-TV-show-within-a-film of last year’s Asteroid City, or the anthology of newspaper articles recalled by their scribes in 2021’s The French Dispatch, The Grand Budapest Hotel employs a complicated narrative approach matched by its play with aspect ratios, colors, and other elements of form. The film opens with a young girl visiting a memorial site for an author (Tom Wilkinson), whom we are told is one of the literary gems of the fictional European land of Zubrowka. The girl is carrying a copy of one of the author’s best-known works: The Grand Budapest Hotel. Here, Anderson cuts to the author of the novel in question, who remembers his time in the 1960s as a young man (now played by Jude Law) at the Grand Budapest. It was during this stay that he learned the tale of Mr. Moustafa, who regaled him with the loopy account of how he acquired this property in the 1930s – the story that eventually became the author’s novel. Anderson presents these layers of storytelling and artifice with an impressive clarity throughout, with the metafictional structure unfolding smoothly for the viewer.
The plot of The Grand Budapest Hotel itself is zippy, matched by the rhythmic, playful tempo of Alexandre Desplat’s Oscar-winning score. Anderson revels in his tale’s twists and extreme convolutions – knotty phrases such as “the second copy of the second will” come to make perfect sense in a world divorced from any kind of realism. This sense of play extends to the film’s engagement with various genres, defying a simple classification in favor of a knowing smorgasbord of popular forms. The bildungsroman, the murder mystery, the war film, prison break pictures, even a set piece that echoes slasher movies – all are present in Anderson’s metamorphic work. Yet even as it evolves and shifts beneath the viewer’s feet, the film orbits around Fiennes, whose first collaboration with Anderson (he would later reteam to play a panoply of roles in the director’s 2023 Roald Dahl shorts) brings the scrupulous clerk to life with specificity and vividness. The British thespian demonstrates an instinctual feel for the director’s rat-a-tat dialogue, exemplifying Gustave’s prim-and-proper formality and his deliciously combative sense of superiority (“You wouldn’t know chiaroscuro from chicken giblets”).
Yet in an interview with The Daily Beast, Fiennes describes Gustave as “quite alone,” with his cheeky performance of dutiful service acting as a “persona” to veil his more turbulent emotions. More than just a superlative comic turn, Fiennes imbues in Gustave a tenuous balance between the humorous and the melancholic – a balance that is essential to an understanding of the film’s broader milieu. Despite its tinkering with genre and heightened environments, The Grand Budapest Hotel is a film principally concerned with the looming clouds of war – with the violence and prejudice that emerged at the twilight of one age and the dawn of another, pointedly addressing Zero’s status as an immigrant and the xenophobic sentiments that arose around this fictionalized portrait of World War II.
Such tonal clashes and thematic concerns can be traced back to the source material. In the closing credits, Anderson acknowledges the inspiration of Stefan Zweig, the Austrian author of novels such as Letter from an Unknown Woman who left Europe in the 1930s amid rising antisemitism and fascism. During an interview with Anderson, Zweig biographer George Prochnik describes the film’s “fairy tale dimension” signified by the blend of a “confectionary” style and “black” humor as matching the tenor of Zweig’s own writings. Indeed, The Grand Budapest Hotel is such a feast of candy-colored pastel palettes that one is almost startled by the slow incursion of depravity into its narrative. Hints of unexpected discordance are visible early – Anderson loves sudden non sequiturs and digressions – but as the film progresses, the onslaught of decapitations, dead cats, and severed fingers further disturb the frothy mood.
Anderson is a filmmaker often reduced to a set of recognizable aesthetic idiosyncrasies: symmetrical frames employing what David Bordwell describes as “planimetric style,” visual incongruity, mannered dialogue. As such, the director is often accused of being emotionally distant and socio-politically opaque, a formalist hamstrung by that dastardly label of “style over substance.” Though this contention deserves further scrutiny, The Grand Budapest Hotel is a particularly strong refutation, with Anderson’s style and his themes operating harmoniously in tandem. The affectations and lovingly controlled frames – arranged with as much rigor and purpose as Monsieur Gustave’s hotel – serve as counterpoints to Grand Budapest’s more morose sensibilities, with characters whose stylized mannerisms fail to fully obscure lives marred by tragedy.
An emphasis on Grand Budapest’s solemnity and sociopolitical reflections could, perhaps, dampen an audience’s interest, lest they be subjected to a moody and downbeat experience. However, the pleasures of the film’s form and narrative are so immediate and immense – so evidently delectable for the spectator – that those depths of theme and feeling slowly creep up as the film continues, growing in profundity and capaciousness with each return to Anderson’s world. A decade after its initial critical and financial success, The Grand Budapest Hotel remains beloved in part because it is something of a magic trick, fusing its competing tones, genres, and emotional registers with, to return to Zero’s words, the kind of “marvelous grace” that even Monsieur Gustave would envy.
These notes on Race with the Devil were written by Josh Martin, PhD student in the Department of Communication Arts at UW-Madison. A new 4K DCP of Race with the Devil will screen in our "Action Vehicles" series on Friday, July 19 at 7 p.m. in our regular venue, 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Ave.
By Josh Martin
In Susan A. Compo’s biography of Warren Oates, the iconic star of Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch (1969) and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974), she recalls a bizarre story from the production of Race with the Devil, Jack Starrett’s 1975 genre-bender. With Oates and co-star Peter Fonda eager to appear in “a sure-fire moneymaker,” the former agreed to lead the project — tacking on the additional request of having producers furnish him a new RV. Preparing to shoot the film in the Texas winter, Oates loaded up the vehicle with friends, including pal Harry Dean Stanton, for a series of drives through the southwestern United States. During these drives, Oates and his companions took heavy doses of psychedelic drugs. Soon, they reported experiencing close encounters with extraterrestrial life — encounters witnessed only by those under the influence. In Compo’s account, Oates associate Dean Jones recalls that “they all saw a UFO'' on the drive to San Antonio, though Bob Watkins, another friend, acknowledged that they “were hallucinating to some extent.” This countercultural debauchery may seem irrelevant to the eventual production of a major motion picture, but it is in these conditions — an anxious, drug-addled state, blending genuine fear of the unknown and jovial absurdity — that the equally paranoid and unusual Race with the Devil came to exist.
Starrett’s film features an elevator pitch that practically jumps off the page. Four years after Fonda and Oates first appeared together in The Hired Hand (1971), the former’s directorial debut, the duo reunited for a road movie-turned-horror picture about two motorcyclists who stumble upon Satanic rituals deep in the heart of Texas. If this concept seems ripe for campy thrills and witchy kitsch, the tone that the filmmakers strive for proves more sinister, a mood that is immediately evident from the opening credits. As the camera tilts up on the dividing lane of a dark, empty highway, storm clouds gather ahead, clustered around a lone tree as discordant music sets the atmosphere of unease. The clouds change in color to a bright, blood red, with the space eventually abstracted, enveloping the spectator in this frightening universe.
Despite the early preview of a menacing mood, Race with the Devil more accurately simulates the steady deterioration of a bad trip. Fonda and Oates star as Roger and Frank, respectively, two friends and speed enthusiasts who are taking their first much-needed vacation in a long time: a January jaunt to Aspen for some winter skiing. Roger and Frank are joined by their wives, Alice (Loretta Swit) and Kelly (Lara Parker), as they pack into Roger’s brand spanking-new $36,000 motorhome, equipped with all manner of bells and whistles. The RV enables the kind of independence and solitude that the men are looking for, with Roger exclaiming, “We don’t need anything from anybody! We are self-contained, babe.” But more crucially, the road trip gives Roger and Frank an opportunity to relax, to bond with one another, sharing sentimental remarks over drinks and racing their bikes in the Texas desert. Seemingly in an attempt to push the opening credits sequence out of our minds, the film plays up the tranquility of this escape – the sense of calm that washes over our lead characters.
Stopped for the night in an empty valley, Roger and Frank’s boozy soiree is rudely interrupted when a tree is lit on fire several hundred feet from them. Their interest piqued, the buddies look through a pair of binoculars to see a strange ritual, featuring men chanting and wearing bizarre robes. The tone of the film does not immediately shift, with Starrett teasing the potential for comedic hijinks in this peculiar discovery. Yet as the ritual continues, the film initiates an accelerated editing rhythm, with the montage becoming more pronounced in tandem with the demonic chanting. But this is no hallucination: the frenzied cutting culminates in the sacrificial murder of a young woman, an act of violence that sends Roger and Frank into a full-blown freakout. Spotted by the cult, they find themselves on the run, the good vibes of their vacation thwarted.
Race with the Devil plays on the fears of the post-countercultural moment, on a diffuse sense of paranoia directed at the dark side of peace, drugs, and free love. The sheriff, when informed of the ritual murder, grumbles that a “bunch of hippies moved into the area… stuffed garbage up their nose and into their arm,” thus making the town an uglier place. Though Fonda’s Frank is skeptical that the murder is “hippie”-related, the film draws on this constellation of interrelated cultural pressure points, engulfing post-Manson mania, ritual violence, and Satanic panic.
Equally essential to this concoction of mid-1970s anxiety is a fear of rurality, of what horrors may lurk deep within the forgotten, neglected corners of America’s vast landscape. Race with the Devil concocts a disturbing ambience around the denizens of these small Texas towns, transmitting the unshakable feeling that everyone is in on the plot, out to punish the city folks for their invasion on this territory. Compo notes that the screenplay, written by Lee Frost and Wes Bishop, was “inspired” by John Boorman’s 1971 classic Deliverance, another tale of friends who get a little more than they bargained for with some nefarious locals on their vacation. And while the slasher is not a sub-genre in play here, Race similarly recalls Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), particularly in the dusty spaces and open Texas fields where our horror takes place.
Amid this swirl of influences and cultural concerns, the film had a somewhat tumultuous production, which Compo’s book carefully recounts. Co-screenwriter Frost was the original director, but 20th Century Fox became weary of the unpredictable Oates, Fonda, and Bishop’s frequent changes to the dialogue, eventually placing Starrett in the director’s chair as a steadying force. After this change, production settled into a groove, resulting in a profitable endeavor. In one famed anecdote, producer Paul Maslansky solicited the work of “Satanists and black magic experts” as extras, providing a purported verisimilitude to the far-fetched picture.
While writing on Race with the Devil often draws comparisons to Rosemary’s Baby (Polanski, 1968) and The Exorcist (Friedkin, 1973), the particularities of the cult’s Satanic plot here are functionally irrelevant. What Starrett’s film instead offers is a feeling of suspicion — an uncertainty that builds to a surreal sense of entrapment and terror. In this manner, one feels a stronger kinship between Race with the Devil and the uneasy vibes of films like The Wicker Man (Hardy, 1974) or Messiah of Evil (Huyck and Katz, 1973), especially as Starrett’s picture reaches its climax. Though Maslansky believed that the ending “sucked” and co-star Lara Parker lamented its “meanness,” the unsparing, slow-motion conclusion is the perfect validation of the film’s paranoid logic, with all the distressing incidents and unresolved threads coalescing into a nightmarish series of images. Race with the Devil may have its fun — in its intense chase sequences and its buddy film rhythms — but a feeling of inescapable doom lingers once the credits roll.
This essay on Vanishing Point is by Josh Martin, PhD student in the Department of Communication Arts at UW-Madison. A new 4K DCP of Vanishing Point will be screened on Friday, July 12 in the Cinematheque's regular venue, 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Ave. Admission is free. Copies of Vanishing Point Forever by Robert M. Rubin will be on sale before and after the screening. To learn more about the book and the movie, listen to a new episode of our Cinematalk Podcast featuring special guest Robert M. Rubin!
By Josh Martin
Kowalski (Barry Newman), the enigmatic protagonist of Richard C. Sarafian’s Vanishing Point (1971), is a man of few words. He is stoic and direct, always acting on impulse and instinct. This ethos of simplicity is even reflected in his mononymous title: in a deleted scene with a hitchhiker played by European film star Charlotte Rampling, Kowalski insists that this moniker is his “first, last, and only” name. Suffice to say that Kowalski, who finds himself in an interstate chase with highway patrol officers as he drives from Colorado to California, spends little time explaining the psychological motivations of his actions. Instead, he leaves the mythologizing to Super Soul (Cleavon Little), a blind disc jockey whose program becomes a sort of Greek chorus for the film, narrating Kowalski’s travels by following a police scanner. Through his radio show, the garrulous Super Soul molds the impenetrable Kowalski into a folk legend, a stand-in for the mood of America. Super Soul becomes the voice of Vanishing Point, anointing Kowalski as “the last American hero, to whom speed means freedom of the soul.” “The question is not when he’s gonna stop,” Super Soul wonders aloud, but “who is gonna stop him?”
If this seems rather philosophical for a car chase movie, it all functions harmoniously within Vanishing Point, which is described by cultural critic John Beck “as the apotheosis of the Vietnam-era exploitation/arthouse existentialist road movies produced in the wake of Easy Rider.” Sarafian, who rose in the ranks from industrial films to Hollywood alongside maverick director Robert Altman, indulges in the experimental spirit of the times. Inflected by Michelangelo Antonoini and other European arthouse masters, the film tinkers with temporality, narrative, and ambitious feats of montage, complicating its own straight-forward conceit. With a script written by Cuban novelist Guillermo Infante Cabrera (under the pseudonym Guillermo Cain), the film strives to probe the notion of the American spirit – to shape a portrait of the independent outsider whose resistance to conformity makes him a national icon and source of identification.
Yet far from a singularly intellectual exercise, Vanishing Point uses its sense of formal play to up the ante on its muscular thrills, balancing its competing aims as a State of the Union address and a super-sized stunt showcase. It is this tension – between the melancholic and the thrilling, the thoughtful mood and the high-octane jolts of action – that makes Vanishing Point so distinct. The plot, of course, is simple: late on a Friday night, Kowalski is assigned to deliver a Dodge Challenger to San Francisco. An amphetamine user and a compulsive risk-taker, Kowalski meets his drug dealer prior to the drive and makes a bet that he can complete the drive by 3 PM on Saturday. Such a feat, of course, would require Kowalski to drive extraordinarily fast.
And drive fast he does. In a quote from an interview with Turner Classic Movies that circulated widely upon Sarafian’s passing in 2013, the late director emphasizes his aim to “physicalize speed,” to make this experience palpable for the spectator throughout Vanishing Point. In the film’s initial chase sequence – which commences when Kowalski is spotted speeding by patrol officers – Sarafian initiates a bombardment of aggressive formal techniques. As Kowalski zips through this windy terrain, the camera presents hazy close-ups of the Challenger that soon shift out of focus, drifting into a blur of indistinguishable movement. The scene proceeds almost as a premonition of the style that would later develop in music videos, with electrifying editing rhythms and an underlying soundtrack of sonically aggressive rock music. If “[physicalizing] speed” was the principal goal, this exhilarating exercise is a testament to a job well done.
In the passages between these sensorial vehicular thrills, Vanishing Point emerges as a character study – of a character who refuses to be studied. Despite Kowalski’s reticence to speak and the overall narrative minimalism, the film continually discloses brief glimpses of exposition through elliptical editing, interrupting the flow of action to chronicle his life’s story. Throughout these fragments, the viewer sees the defining moments of Kowalski’s life: a near-fatal crash during a stock car race, his intervention as a cop during the sexual assault of a young woman by a fellow officer, and the death of his lover in a surfing accident. Later, the cops will discover Kowalski’s war history, adding another traumatic experience onto his growing record. With a life immersed in tragedy, Kowalski takes shape as a man more at home weaving through the verdant green trees and dusty desert landscapes of western America than continuing onward in traditional society. Though the film will pivot to a more literal death drive as its speedy journey progresses, Vanishing Point’s signature images of this outsider indulge in stunning natural scenery, prioritizing extreme long shots of Kowalski’s Challenger as a dot on the horizon, a blip on the expansive landscape around him.
In a rite of passage for every future cult classic, initial reviews in the mainstream press were far from kind. The New York Times’ Roger Greenspun derisively framed it as a film that asks the question, “why not make a dumb movie that is nothing but an automobile chase?” Yet half a century later, Vanishing Point remains a cultural touchstone – and an object of great interest to film directors and historians. Recently, Robert M. Rubin published Vanishing Point Forever (FilmDesk Books, 2024), a mammoth, 500-page volume that assembles production documents, marketing materials, and essays from critics such as J. Hoberman, all serving as proof of the idiosyncratic film’s enduring popularity.
The legacy of Vanishing Point extends to a widely discussed association with the work of Quentin Tarantino, who references the film in his 2007 exploitation homage Death Proof. As Tarantino’s quintessentially loquacious characters chat at a Tennessee diner, New Zealand daredevil and stuntwoman Zoe (Zoe Bell) professes her desire to drive a 1970 white Dodge Challenger, with her friend instantly exclaiming “Kowalski!” in return. When another character expresses their unfamiliarity with Vanishing Point, Zoe responds incredulously: “It’s just one of the best American movies ever made!” If it’s not one of the best American movies ever made, it certainly is one of the most American, channeling the spirit of the era and the sublime pleasure of its scenery to craft a portrait of the last American hero, “that last beautiful free soul on the planet.”
The following notes on The Small Back Room were written by Josh Martin, PhD student in the Department of Communication Arts at UW Madison. A newly restored 4K DCP of The Small Back Room will screen on Friday, July 5, 7 p.m., in the Cinematheque's regular venue 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Ave. Admission is Free.
By Josh Martin
In the London war offices depicted in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s The Small Black Room (1949), an assortment of background signs provide a grim insistence on nightly wartime rules: “Don’t forget the blackout!” Set in 1943 at the height of the Second World War, the anxious, gloomy atmosphere engendered by the mandated preventative blackout enhances the viewer’s experience of this cinematic nocturne. As the preeminent mid-century British filmmakers, Powell and Pressburger (known collectively as The Archers) are still best known today for their elaborate use of Technicolor. Whether in service of the lavish, fantastical ballet of The Red Shoes (1948), the feverish desires of Black Narcissus (1947), or even the floral gardens of A Matter of Life and Death (1944), the legacy of the Archers is inseparable from their probing of cinematic color’s emotional and affective possibilities. However, the Archers were no strangers to the affordances of black-and-white, demonstrated by collaborations such as I Know Where I’m Going (1945) and The Small Back Room, a film that draws on moody shadows and expressionistic style to craft a tale of British despondence, resilience, and redemption.
Based on a 1943 novel by Nigel Balchin, Powell and Pressburger’s film introduces viewers to a cramped, chaotic space in the London offices of the British army, where a compendium of misfit scientists experiment with the latest in weapons technology to serve in the fight against the Germans. Operating like a disorganized, miniature Los Alamos, the “back room boys” attempt to marry their knowledge of statistics with the “feel” of weaponry as experienced by the everyday soldiers. Sammy Rice (played by David Farrar, a favorite of the Archers) is a specialist in munitions and bombs working out of this back room, but he is struggling with a disability: the loss of his foot in action. Left in endless, excruciating pain, Sammy alternates between popping pills and failing to stay away from any whiskey he can get his hands on, doing whatever it takes to mitigate the misery of his prosthetic foot. Despite the support of his love interest, war office assistant Susan (Kathleen Byron, another member of the Archers’ stock company), Sammy spends most of his time stuck in a cycle of discontent and snarky self-loathing, cynically lamenting his lot. However, Sammy finds a chance at a purpose when approached by Captain Dick Stuart (Michael Gough), who informs him of the existence of a dangerous new German bomb that the military has thus far struggled to successfully disable.
The Small Back Room arrived at a transition point in the career of the Archers. As described by Powell in his autobiography, A Life in Movies, a rift had formed between the filmmakers and J. Arthur Rank. The superproducer, who shepherded many of the Archers’ most notable triumphs of the 1940s, was profoundly unhappy with the prospects of The Red Shoes. As the Archers grew more frustrated with Rank and his lack of confidence, the independent filmmakers were also being wooed by Alexander Korda, the head of British Lion Productions. Powell approached Korda with the idea of adapting The Small Back Room, which, from his vantage point, “had a great suspense sequence” at its climax and an “ideal” role for Black Narcissus star Farrar. Korda, unfamiliar with the book, agreed to buy the rights if Powell and Pressburger were interested in adapting it for the screen. Rank ultimately decided, along with his associate John Davis, to dump The Red Shoes into theaters with little fanfare and no premiere. This decision sparked, in Powell’s words, the conclusion of “one of the greatest partnerships in the history of British films.” The Archers agreed to a five picture deal with Korda, the first of which would be The Small Back Room.
Powell and Pressburger were familiar with dramatizing British perspectives on World War II. The catastrophic conflict – and the decades leading up to it, as presented in 1943’s epic The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp – had been a central subject for the directors throughout the 1940s. Far from a retread, The Small Back Room offers a distinct approach that expands on the Archers’ previous explorations of World War II-era Britain, placing an emphasis on the London home front – on the bureaucratic politics and behind-the-scenes machinations that shaped the war effort. This national portrait works in careful conjunction with the film’s more penetrating character study of Sammy Rice, whose endurance and recovery from his shattering, alcoholic despair mirrors Britain’s own comeback and ultimate victory in the war.
Though triumph is on the horizon by the film’s end, our subject matter is stark – and starkly reflected by the non-naturalistic shadows and sinister ambience of the film’s black-and-white world. Powell admitted to incorporating his love of the great German expressionist films into The Small Back Room, and we see the fruits of this influence in the surfeit of canted angles, in the cavernous, twisted spaces inside the war office – all united by the low visibility and limited illumination provided by cinematographer Chris Challis’ black-and-white compositions. Most prominently, such influence is visible in the noteworthy sequence criticized upon release by Britain’s Monthly Film Bulletin as a “lapse… into surrealistic camerawork.” One must forgive the Bulletin for its own “lapse” of judgment, as the scene in question is one of the most astonishing in the Archers’ filmography.
Resembling the Salvador Dalí-designed interlude in Hitchcock’s Spellbound (1945) or, perhaps more aptly, the drunken dreams of grandeur by Emil Jannings’ lowly porter in F.W. Murnau’s The Last Laugh (1924), Powell and Pressburger present an assortment of nightmarish sounds and images that represent the inner turmoil of Sammy, now at his lowest point in the film. As a clock ticks loudly in the soundscape, the camera lingers on Sammy’s gaze, fixated on a whiskey bottle. The clock grows louder, with the film alternating between images of the clock’s inner workings and striking close-ups of a pained look on Sammy’s face. Eventually, the scene itself morphs into an abstract and distorted space, inundating Sammy and the spectator with strange visual reminders of his addictions, failings, and overwhelming fears. The whiskey bottle grows larger, the alarm clock becomes louder, and our tortured protagonist finds himself one step closer to his breaking point.
This commitment to formal innovation is evident throughout The Small Back Room, from the exchange of intimate close-ups on Farrar and Byron’s expressive faces to the meticulous tension of the climactic bomb disposal, a quiet exercise in stillness and unease. Down on his luck and in dire pain, facing a high likelihood of death, Sammy still approaches the bomb hoping for some insight that could help beat the Germans. “Are you sure you can manage?” the captain asks. With a typically British stiff upper lip, Sammy can only chuckle and smile, responding: “Suppose I’ll have to.” In a resurgent moment for the Archers in contemporary film culture, highlighted by the North American tour of the British Film Institute’s “Cinema Unbound” retrospective and the forthcoming release of the Martin Scorsese-produced Powell/Pressburger documentary Made in England, The Small Back Room is a prime candidate for rediscovery and further appreciation. Among their many canonized classics, the film remains a key chapter in their oeuvre, a visually accomplished character study that doubles as an essential work of postwar British self-mythologizing.
The following notes on Speedwere written by Josh Martin, PhD student in the Department of Communication Arts at UW Madison. A 35mm print of Speed from the Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research will be screened on Wednesday, July 3, at 7 p.m., in our series tribute to the late David Bordwell. Admission is free
By Josh Martin
“Speed (1994) exemplifies the fairly well-crafted action picture. You can say it has three acts (bomb on elevator/on bus/on subway train), or Thompson’s four parts (with a midpoint stakes raiser, the death of an innocent bus passenger, proving that the bomber is willing to kill everyone). The running motifs do causal work. The bomber is watching a televised football game featuring the Arizona Wildcats, and in phone conversation with Jack, the cop on the lethal bus, he refers to Annie, the woman driving, as a ‘wildcat.’ Only later will Jack realize that the bomber can see Annie’s Arizona sweater, so there must be a video camera aboard. The ‘pop quiz’ line answered by Jack’s flippant ‘Shoot the hostage’ at the film’s start recurs at the end, but now Annie is the hostage, and Jack cannot follow his own maxim. Both motifs tie into a broader arc of Jack’s character. At the beginning he’s valiant but impetuous, and his mentor, Harry, warns him that he’s going to have to learn to think if he’s to survive. The bomber mocks Jack for the same reason: ‘Do not attempt to grow a brain.’ But when Jack concludes that the bomber is monitoring the bus, he devises a way to send looped video footage to the bomber while the passengers escape. At the Climax, Jack can use his recklessness strategically: with the subway train hurtling out of control, he realizes that he must accelerate. In the course of his adventure, Jack’s boldness gets tempered by wiliness and prudence. This is not a moral education worthy of Henry James, but it’s enough to bind the suspense and stunts into a reasonably well-contoured whole” (David Bordwell).
Bordwell’s analysis of Jan de Bont’s action classic Speed (1994) emerges in the context of a broader look at modern action cinema in his 2006 book, The Way Hollywood Tells It. Rejecting a cynical reading of action films in which “spectacle overrides narrative,” Bordwell instead sketches a vision of the genre contingent on “all the standard equipment of goals, conflicts, foreshadowing, restricted omniscience, motifs, rising action, and closure.” “Far from being a noisy free-for-all,” Bordwell writes, “the industry’s ideal action movie is as formally strict as a minuet.” De Bont’s film thus serves as an exemplar of how such “equipment” works in the modern action genre, producing a form that blends extravagant thrills with key narrational work.
What strikes the viewer about Speed, both from Bordwell’s assessment and one’s own engagement with the picture, is its impressive economy in fulfilling these classical norms. Here we have a film that rarely slows down, instead providing character depth and narrative information through action, often by employing clear and cogent cinematic grammar. The rather simple scenario is nonetheless handled with skill, intricacy, and precision, operating in tandem with a rapid pace and sense of energetic urgency. The film follows Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves, in prime form), a hotshot LAPD bomb squad member who recently succeeded in thwarting an elevator bombing by an aggrieved terrorist (an amped-up Dennis Hopper). As an act of revenge, Hopper’s bomber rigs a Santa Monica city bus to explode if his monetary demands are not met. If the bus accelerates over 50 miles per hour, the bomb will be activated. If the bus subsequently slows below this 50 mph threshold, it will explode. If the LAPD tries to remove the passengers from the bus, it will explode. These are the conditions in which Jack must save the lives of the ordinary Angelenos who happen to board this doomed vehicle.
One of Speed’s many strengths is its casual evocation of the day-to-day lives of the bus riders, succinctly crafting dynamic characters who exemplify the diversity of the city in microcosm. The nervous Helen (Beth Grant), who will later panic in the face of this dangerous endeavor, mentions that she started riding the bus due to stress: “I just couldn’t handle the freeways anymore. I got so tense.” Self-proclaimed “yokel” Stephens (Alan Ruck) is the quintessential LA tourist, confused by the airport and the city’s insufficient networks of transportation. Annie, played by Sandra Bullock in her breakout role, receives an especially snappy characterization. Aside from some small essential details – her revoked license, and her attendance at the University of Arizona – the film is ultimately uninterested in an elaborate backstory that would bog down the pace. The viewer meets her in a moment of high stress: chasing down the city bus, coffee in one hand, cigarette in the other. From the smirking reaction of bus driver Sam (Hawthorne James), this is part of Annie’s everyday routine – it’s just another day on the LA bus lines.
Of course, such expertly staged metropolitan mundanity only carries any weight in contrast to the intensity of Speed, a picture that deliberately heightens its pace – and its performances – to match the playfully choreographed chaos. Dennis Hopper, eight years after David Lynch’s Blue Velvet (1986), brings a similar villainous ferocity to his role as the bomber, whose boisterous bellowing and unpredictable fury provide a sublime foil to the stoic Jack Traven. Reeves, ice cold off his widely criticized performance in Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula (1993), is a natural fit as the sharp, cool-as-a-cucumber Traven, further honing the action star persona he began crafting as early as Kathryn Bigelow’s Point Break (1991). Paired with the nascent everywoman charisma of Bullock, our three leads make for a formidable trio, helping to smoothly execute the narrative norms and beats that Bordwell emphasizes.
Far from just a showcase for its stars’ well-honed personalities, Speed is also one of the definitive Los Angeles movies, a city symphony that presents obstacles and details only possible in the smog-covered city of Angels. “LA is one large place,” Stephens quips at one point, and the film eagerly makes use of this sprawling landscape. Los Angeles is built upon a complex network of freeways, a web that enables high-speed pursuits and the omnipresent threat of stultifying traffic jams. De Bont, who served as the cinematographer for fellow LA actioner Die Hard (1988) before making his directorial debut here, uses the idiosyncrasies of the city to the fullest, exploiting the narrative challenges presented by construction hazards, the inescapable visibility of hovering local news cameras, and the threat of ravenous reporters. By the time Jack and Annie send a subway car crashing onto Hollywood Boulevard, landing in front of delighted tourists at the Chinese Theatre, the film’s portrait of everyday LA slyly gives way to an ending only possible in the movies. Hooray for Hollywood, indeed.
In a decade that produced a surplus of high-octane action filmmaking – from the continued reign of Die Hard’s John McTiernan to the emergence of Michael Bay’s signature mayhem – Speed remains a high point of the era. In the introduction to The Way Hollywood Tells It, Bordwell offers a defense of his study of classical norms, conventions, and “ordinary” films, writing that the interrogation of these norms allows us to “better appreciate skill, daring, and emotional power on those rare occasions when we meet them.” On its thirtieth anniversary, de Bont’s picture remains one such occasion: a beacon of classical Hollywood craftsmanship and its enduring ability to thrill the spectator.
The following notes on Days of Heaven were written by Will Quade, PhD Candidate in the department of Communication Arts at UW Madison. A new 4K DCP of Days of Heaven screens on Friday, May 3, at the Cinematheque's regular venue, 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Avenue. Admission is Free!
By Will Quade
French composer Camille Saint-Saëns’ spine-tingling classical piece “Aquarium” hovers like a ghost over the drama within Terrence Malick’s revered second feature Days of Heaven. The music is first placed over the film’s opening credits, where documentary photographs of people working, living, and playing in the 1910s dissolve into each other before Malick ends on one final image: a lone preteen girl, Linda (Linda Manz) – huddled over, knees scrunched to her chest – staring right at the viewer. It is this girl, and Manz’s remarkably vivid voiceover, who will anchor us throughout the film’s dreamy narrative.
The mix of overpowering music, small human drama, and rigorous historical grounding that made Days of Heaven an instantly formidable American film are, by now, part and parcel of what we know as the overall Malick style. While his first film, Badlands (1973), still utilized the trademark pastoral photography he would only become more renowned for, that movie’s conventional lovers-on-the-run premise seems shockingly clear in comparison to Days of Heaven’s almost anti-narrative ethos. Even during the film’s opening few minutes, one can’t help but ask themselves certain questions: where did this strange style come from? Who is responsible for this non-stop barrage of jaw-dropping images? What drove this filmmaker to tell this story this way?
Often discussed in almost cryptid-like terms, the notoriously private Malick was not originally a filmmaker. Graduating summa cum laude at Harvard in 1965, he became a Rhodes scholar in philosophy with a specialization in the works of Martin Heidegger. While never finishing his degree, his translation of Heidegger’s The Essence of Reasons was published by Northwestern University Press in 1969. A philosopher by trade, Malick’s attention was drawn to cinema. After receiving an MFA from the brand-new AFI Conservatory, he found steady work in the industry as a writer and the success of Badlands made Paramount anxious to work with him on a bigger project. What followed was the script for Days of Heaven. But what was originally a smaller, more manageable film about an impoverished con-artist couple trying to marry into the enormous wealth of a dying farmer soon snowballed into a tumultuous production process that rivaled other New Hollywood classics like Sorcerer, Apocalypse Now, and Heaven’s Gate.
Taking place in the Texas Panhandle but shot primarily in Canada, one of Days of Heaven’s most striking aspects is its use of “magic hour” photography to capture footage of the 15-20 mins of golden daylight remaining just before dawn or right after dusk. While this footage is clearly integral to the film’s dazzling imagery, the pain-staking process of shooting this resulted in a near-mutiny from the crew on set. As production languished, cinematographer Nestor Almendros was slowly becoming blind and eventually had to leave the project to lens another one, resulting in director of photography Haskell Wexler finishing what he started. The script was tossed mid-shoot to allow for maximum improvisation. This meant daily call sheets and shooting schedules were constantly changing, angering the crew further. The film ended up taking two full years to edit as Malick switched creative directions and enlisted Manz to provide a backbone of voiceover narration, effectively making her the central protagonist.
All the tumult in the years-long journey of making Days of Heaven still managed to yield instant accolades. Malick won the Best Director award at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival and from the National Society of Film Critics, and Ennio Morricone was nominated for an Academy Award and won a BAFTA Award for his score. Almendros won an Oscar for his cinematography but—true to the film’s acrimonious production—Wexler crusaded for a co-credit (and Oscar statuette) for his work after replacing him. The entire ordeal exhausted Malick. He retreated from Hollywood, dropped out of all public life, and moved to France. The mystique around Malick himself continued to grow in his absence, seemingly encouraged by Days of Heaven’s hazy and tender tone. The sensitivity of the film’s approach and its towering photography turned the director into a somewhat-deified “missing poet” of American cinema. While Malick did appear 20 years later in 1998 with his World War II epic The Thin Red Line and has continued to make films into his eighties, the elements that make him the director he is today are all present in the conception, production, and reception of Days of Heaven.
Malick has continued to craft productions that remain vague, discombobulate crews, disappoint actors, and make little money. The reception of his films from critics has only become more divided as his works have drifted closer to legitimately experimental film in his late career. But Days of Heaven remains his unimpeachable early career achievement if for no other reason than it serves as something of an origin story for one of the most iconic directors in the history of Hollywood cinema. However, its overall quality goes beyond just the craft and reputation of Malick himself.
Manz’s magnetic performance and perceptive voiceover showcase another dazzling light demanding the viewer’s attention along with its awe-inspiring vistas. As the character Linda matures over the course of the film, we feel Manz the actor doing the same. Her questioning, timeless descriptions reflect the philosophical interests of Malick, especially his interest in the sublime quality of nature. In the end, the young girl in the black-and-white photograph from the opening credits seems to be recounting to us her own days of heaven; not ones without hardship and strife, but still representative of a time that encompassed the most resplendent memories of her young life. The gob-smacking beauty of Linda’s story is both wondrous and terrifying, giving and damning. Watching Days of Heaven recalls critic Fernando F. Croce’s praise of Malick’s 2005 feature The New World: “It makes you view the world with virgin eyes again.”
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“You’ve come a long way. I appreciate that you’re traveling all this way to see me,” Monte Hellman said after I rang his doorbell and he opened the door. I did leave Hollywood early in the morning—I took the Metro Rail from Hollywood and Vine to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, there I hopped…
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“You’ve come a long way. I appreciate that you’re traveling all this way to see me,” Monte Hellman said after I rang his doorbell and he opened the door. I did leave Hollywood early in the morning—I took the Metro Rail from Hollywood and Vine to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, there I hopped on the Greyhound bus to Palm Springs, and from there, a Lyft ride brought me to the gated community near Palm Springs where Mr. Hellman now resides.
But that itinerary was peanuts compared to his long and rewarding journey as a director whose film output includes four early Jack Nicholson films, “Flight to Fury” and “Back Door to Hell” (both 1964) and two westerns “The Shooting” and “Ride in the Whirlwind” (both 1966), as well as “Two-Lane Blacktop” (1971), the action drama “Cockfighter” (1974), and another western of his, “China 9, Liberty 37” (1978). Films that film buffs are all very familiar with.
Just to pick out one of them, “Two-Lane Blacktop” (1971)—which is undoubtedly one of the greatest road movies ever made. The film stars singers/musicians and first-time actors James Taylor and Dennis Wilson (co-founder and member of the Beach Boys), with Warren Oates and Laurie Bird in the other leading roles. The slow-paced, atmospheric cross-country car race, about everything and nothing, with great visuals and limited dialogue, has always been a favorite film of mine, and the subtle cult masterpiece looks even better today than it did almost fifty years ago. This might as well be your typical Monte Hellman picture, although his entire body of work has so much more to offer.
“Two-Lane Blacktop” (1971, trailer)
His first film was “Beast from the Haunted Cave” (1959), brought to him by Roger Corman. The film was shot back-to-back with Corman’s “Ski Troop Attack” (1960), using the same locations in Deadwood, South Dakota; the same cast, including Michael Forest, Frank Wolff, Sheila Noonan, Richard Sinatra, and Wally Campo; the same screenwriter, Charles B. Griffith; the same cinematographer, Andrew M. Costikyan, and so on—which is so like Roger Corman, who introduced Mr. Hellman to filmmaking. He mentored him, just as he launched the careers of so many others.
Born in New York City in 1932, and moving with his family to Los Angeles when he was five, Mr. Hellman made all of his films on a tight budget. The all-round, multi-skilled film craftsman who made very personal character studies was not only a film director and editor—in the latter capacity, also working for other film directors such as Roger Corman (“The Wild Angels,” 1966), Bob Rafelson (“Head,” 1968), Sam Peckinpah (“The Killer Elite,” 1975), and Jonathan Demme (“Fighting Mad,” 1976).
Over the years, Mr. Hellman also shot the prologue for Francis Ford Coppola’s “Dementia 13” (1963); he was dialogue director (Roger Corman’s “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre,” 1967); finished Mark Robson’s “Avalanche Express” (1979) in post-production; did second unit work for Paul Verhoeven (“RoboCop,” 1987), and co-executive produced Quentin Tarantino’s debut film “Reservoir Dogs” (1992). His latest film as film director was “Road to Nowhere” (2010), the first feature he directed since “Iguana” (1988).
Mr. Hellman still has a huge following in Europe and his work is much praised by the French because the films he directed have a European—or at least a foreign—flavor. Consequently, it’s no surprise that he has always been fond of foreign-language films.
In November 2018, he moved from Laurel Canyon in the Hollywood Hills to Palm Desert, California. That’s where I met him five months later at his new home, in March 2019. He still got invited to attend numerous events in Los Angeles, but, as he said, ‘I can’t go. Los Angeles is too far. I haven’t been back since I moved here.’
During our conversation in his living room, you couldn’t ignore the posters on the walls, all beautifully framed, of films that are very dear to him.
Mr. Hellman, since you don’t live in Los Angeles anymore, don’t you miss the film community?
No, there is no film community; at least, I was not a member of any film community.
Nevertheless, you had an impressive career, didn’t you?
It was sporadic, but it was fine.
Don’t you think you were underestimated as a filmmaker?
I don’t think so. I actually had a very good score with critics—I don’t believe in critics, but they liked my movies from the very beginning. I never had a problem with them liking me, I had a problem with me respecting them because they may have liked me for the wrong reasons.
What gave you the passion to become a filmmaker?
The Saturday matinee serials like “The Lone Ranger” and the “Tarzan” films, that was really the beginning of my love of cinema.
Was it the storytelling that inspired you, or was it because of the performances, the directing…?
No, I wasn’t thinking about those things. I just liked movies.
Out of the many films you made, would you consider “Two-Lane Blacktop” [1971] a highlight of your career or your most personal film?
I enjoyed making it, and it was one of my best films, but my most personal film was “Road to Nowhere” [2010]. If I didn’t have any other film, that’s the one I would keep.
You also edited your films. When you were shooting on the set, did you edit already in your mind?
Not really. I was an editor and I edited most of my own movies, but I wasn’t thinking about that when I was on the set.
How did you work with your actors? Did you have a specific approach or working method?
No, because whatever I did, I didn’t do it consciously. I didn’t think about it. I didn’t analyze it. Later in my career, when my movies came out on DVD or Blu-ray, I saw interviews with some of the people I worked with. Millie Perkins [Jack Nicholson’s co-star in “The Shooting” and “Ride in the Whirlwind,” both 1966] told a lot about my direction because I didn’t know what I was doing. She said that whenever she would ask me a question, I would always say, ‘I don’t know.’ I wouldn’t even answer her question [laughs]. So that was my first insight. I think I worked from my instincts. I didn’t think about things too much.
How did you cast your actors?
I usually cast actors from their look, from their appearance, and then I was always surprised because they were so inspired. I didn’t expect that. The most surprising actress I worked with was Shannyn Sossamon [“Road to Nowhere”]. I cast her because she looked apart, and when she turned out to be so brilliant, it was a pleasure, but it was also surprising. And I thought there was a little bit of Laurie Bird in her [1953-1975, actress who appeared in “Two-Lane Blacktop” and “Cockfighter”]; quite a bit of Shannyn’s dialogue even comes from things I remember from Laurie when we did “Two-Lane Blacktop” and “Cockfighter” together.
You have worked with a lot of amazing people. You even turned James Taylor into a magnificent actor.
He was really amazing, but he still hasn’t seen the movie. I think he doesn’t like to see himself.
You made four films with Jack Nicholson, also four with Warren Oates [1928-1982], who was one of the best character actors of his generation. According to Richard Linklater, he was one of the reasons why you’d love “Two-Lane Blacktop” because ‘there was once a God who walked the earth named Warren Oates.’ What made him so special?
He was such a special human being, to begin with. I first saw him in a stage production of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” playing the part Jack Nicholson played in the movie, and he popped into my mind for “The Shooting” [1966]. We both liked literature, that was one of our common interests, and we became close friends. So I really enjoyed working with him, and he was always very surprising to me. But generally, I don’t give direction at all. Which means I don’t direct, and I expect my actors to be the same way. I don’t want them to act. They don’t have to be the character: they are the character. The character is whoever you cast; that actor becomes the character. That’s why casting is the most important job of the director. After that, there’s nothing more to do. So if people ask me how I direct, I say, ‘I don’t.’ And if actors ask me how to act, I say, ‘Don’t.’ Most great directors don’t direct, you don’t tell an actor what to do. It’s like Clint Eastwood once said, ‘How can I tell Morgan Freeman how to act?’ So you don’t. That’s the bottom line.
Does that mean you don’t rehearse?
I don’t rehearse, that’s right. That doesn’t mean it’s all very fresh—not if you do fifty takes. But I don’t rehearse.
How do you know which take is the right one?
Sometimes I don’t know until I’m in the editing room.
As an editor, do you leave a lot of material on the cutting room floor?
I would think so. I shoot probably a ratio of ten to one, so I leave ninety percent on the cutting room floor. Maybe even more than that, because if I have different angles, there’s duplication here and there.
When you see Jack Nicholson on television in a movie, do you still recognize the actor and the person that you’ve known now for so many years?
It’s difficult for me to say because I haven’t seen all his movies. I loved working with him, but I like a different kind of movie than the ones he’s been making. My favorite movies from the last few years are “Silence in Dreamland” [2013, original Italian title “Silencio en la tierra de los sueños”] and “Saint George” [2016, original Portugese title “São Jorge”].
Can you name a film that you didn’t like and that everybody else seemed to enjoy?
“La La Land” [2016]. I just couldn’t watch it.
When they send you a script, how do you judge it? What does it take for you to accept it or turn it down?
I work emotionally, so it has to interest me. I never think about things like the structure or anything like that. That doesn’t interest me.
How do you work with your cinematographer?
I worked with the same cinematographer for years. Josep M. Civit made my last four movies, I guess. We didn’t have to talk; we just knew what to do.
Are film reviews important to you? Do you read them?
Oh yes, I read them [laughs]. I have enough of a curiosity to be interested; also if the reviewer doesn’t like the movie, I’m always interested.
Do critics usually know what they’re writing about?
No. Very few. The only person I ever met who really understood one of my movies—the movie was “Two-Lane Blacktop”—was a man who worked in a brewery; he came to me and told me what he saw. Now that didn’t matter to me, I mean if someone had a different interpretation, that was okay too, you know. But I thought it was interesting; here you had this one guy who saw what I saw. And what made the film interesting from my point of view was that the first edit was three and a half hours. But according to our contract, it couldn’t be more than two hours. So I cut it down to two hours, and then I kept cutting to what it is now, which is an hour and three quarters. So after we reached the contractual obligation, I still cut it because I wanted to.
Did that also same happen with your other films? “Cockfighter” [1974], for example?
That’s the only film, with “Road to Nowhere,” that I didn’t edit completely. I edited the scenes with the actors, and Lewis Teague edited all the scenes with the cockfights. I intended to edit “Road to Nowhere,” but my protégée was a woman [Céline Ameslon] that I had convinced to go back to Paris to get a degree in editing after she had been there as a director. So when I brought her over to be my assistant, we watched the dailies for three days, and we talked about them. After that, I said, ‘Why don’t you start editing? Start with the first scene?’ And she did, and when we watched it, I suggested she’d finish the movie. And she did.
Was it easy for you to let it go, especially since you were used to editing everything yourself?
Well, what can I say? She was better than me, that’s why I urged her to do it.
How important is editing to you?
I was a stage director, and in movies, the directing and the editing combined make up what a stage director does. So directing and editing are equally important.
We just talked about film critics. What about critics such as Roger Ebert, Rex Reed, or Pauline Kael? Did you know any of them personally?
No, I didn’t know them, but Pauline Kael, for some reason, disliked my movies so much that she would even mention me when she was reviewing another movie, not mine. She would say, ‘It’s almost as bad as a Monte Hellman film.’ She never liked any of my movies.
How important were the box office receipts to you? Were they crucial?
Obviously not, because I never made a movie that made a lot of money [laughs]. It was something that I wished for, but I can’t say it was crucial because I lived without it.
When your movies are on TV, or people buy a DVD or Blu-ray of your movies, do you get paid for that?
No, I never get paid for that. Every once in a while I get a check for a few dollars from the Directors Guild as my receipt for box office sales or DVD sales in Holland or something. So as far as I’m concerned, there’s not a lot of money in making movies.
People always talk about the film business, but shouldn’t it be called film art?
I don’t use the word film anymore. It goes back to the early days when they called them motion pictures. I still call them pictures now. Film is no longer accurate because we don’t make movies on film anymore. They’re pictures. So I make pictures.
And do you see your own pictures again from time to time?
No. Except “Road to Nowhere” that I show to people, and every time I think I’m going to watch a couple of minutes, but in the end, I watch the whole thing.
Do you still watch a lot of movies?
No. I try. I can tell if a movie is good after one or two minutes. That works, at least for me. After two minutes, if I feel it’s not right for me, I don’t watch the rest of it. I look for something very unique. With “Saint George,” which I saw at the Academy when I was a member of the committee for foreign-language movies, I knew right away it was a movie for me—from the first few frames.
Is that what you also try to achieve as a filmmaker? Capture the attention of the audience from the very beginning?
When you’re directing on the set, you’re experiencing it differently. As a filmmaker, I have basically learned to shut off my brain, and so everything is through my instincts. I work from the unconscious. And that’s also what I tell my actors, ‘Shut off your brain, don’t think too much. Just let it happen.’ Only then it will come from the unconscious, not from the conscious.
Did you ever teach film students?
I had a few students for a while; we called it a masterclass but everything I know about movies, I can teach or tell you in a minute or two. So what we would do in those masterclasses is watch movies and talk about them afterward. On the other hand, I think I learned more from those students than what they learned from me, especially in terms of using modern technology.
And what would be your advice to film students now?
Don’t [laughs]. If they want to be a director, I’d say, ‘Don’t.’
If you would be able to start all over again, would you choose the same path?
I didn’t choose it, and I don’t think I would have any choice. But I would still do the same thing.
You have a lot of books here in your living room. Are they film books?
No, there’s only one, a biography of David Lean.
You admire him?
I do. I was at his 80th birthday party. I didn’t know him, but I managed to attend that party.
Did you ever have problems financing your films?
Always. I never had a project of mine that got made, except for “Road to Nowhere,” that was the first one. Before that, somebody always called me and offered me a movie. They hired me as their director, I was a director for hire. So I never had one of my projects green-lighted until “Road to Nowhere.” My daughter [Melissa Hellman] had raised the money for it, and she became my producer, but we haven’t made another movie since then. It’s always difficult to finance a movie.
“Road to Nowhere” was your first film in more than twenty years. Was the money issue the reason why it took you so long to make another feature?
Melissa got tired of seeing “Two-Lane Blacktop” over and over again, so she said it was time for me to make another movie. And one day, she told me, ‘Let us just stop waiting for other people to give you permission and the money to make a movie.’ So she went out on her own and raised most of the budget that we used to shoot the film on location in Los Angeles, North Carolina, London and Italy. Then she raised more money to get us through post-production.
“Road to Nowhere” (2010, trailer)
Are you still a member of the Academy?
Yes. But I’ve only been a member of the Academy for like ten years. I was put up for membership over the years—twice—before I was finally taken in. Now let me see [takes his wallet]. I became a member of the Academy in… where’s my membership card… in 2007. Only in 2007 because I was never accepted. But I’m happy to be in, and I was a member of the foreign-language committee, so every year I would see 35 out of 90 movies. I have become friends with the directors of the foreign movies that I mentioned, because of my love for their movies. They don’t necessarily broaden my horizon, but the few movies that I love, I see them over and over again—I see them a dozen times, sometimes two dozen times. I know those directors because I write them for a copy of the movie after I had seen it at the Academy and liked it so much.
Do foreign films have something that you may not find in American films?
Always. In recent years I’ve become less and less interested in American movies. I don’t watch them very much.
Do you still have the opportunity to watch foreign-language films, now that you’re no longer based in Los Angeles?
It has become difficult now, but I still get screeners once in a while.
You directed Sam Peckinpah in “China 9, Liberty 39” [1978]. How do you remember working with him?
When I did that movie, I already knew him, and I kept trying to have him come over and play a part, but he just didn’t show up. I had him set for three different parts, and when we wanted to shoot his scenes, no Sam Peckinpah, so someone else did it. Then the last day of shooting, I tried to get hold of him again, and he finally showed up. He was completely insane and very difficult because he would be under the influence of one drug or another. But I loved him; he was a wonderful, crazy person.
How about Roger Corman? Do you remember the first time you met him?
No, I don’t remember that, but I was aware of him when I was working at a studio over by Griffith Park. I had my lunch there, and he was there one day shooting a movie. He was very important: without him, I wouldn’t be here. He launched many careers over the years.
Is it true that you also knew James Dean?
I knew him at UCLA, and I said to him I didn’t think he would make it as an actor because he was too short. He was a star, he looked great, he was a wonderful actor, but I told him, ‘It’s too bad you’re not tall, Jimmy’ [laughs].
You co-executive produced Quinten Tarantino’s first film “Reservoir Dogs” [1992]. What does an executive producer do?
He is usually the one who comes up with the money, and that’s what I did.
Did he like your films?
Yes, he loves my work, but there is no movie he doesn’t love [laughs].
May I take a picture of you before I leave?
No, I don’t do pictures anymore. I want people to remember me like I was [laughs].
Palm Desert, California
March 30, 2019
FILMS
BEAST FROM THE HAUNTED CAVE (1959) DIR Monte Hellman PROD Gene Corman SCR Charles B. Griffith (also story) CAM Andrew M. Costikyan ED Anthony Carras MUS Alexander Laszlo CAST Michael Forest, Sheila Carol [Sheila Noonan], Frank Wolff, Willy Campo, Richard Sinatra, Linné Ahlstrand
SKI TROOP ATTACK (1960) DIR – PROD Roger Corman DIR FOOTAGE ADDED FOR TV Monte Hellman [uncredited] SCR Charles B. Griffith CAM Andrew M. Costikyan ED Anthony Carras MUS Fred Katz CAST Michael Forest, Frank Wolff, Wally Campo, Richard Sinatra, James Hoffman, Chan Biggs, Tom Staley, Sheila Carol [Sheila Noonan], Roger Corman
THE WILD RIDE (1960) DIR – PROD Harvey Berman SCR Marion Rothman, Ann Porter (story by Burt Topper) ED Monte Hellman [uncredited], William Mayer CAST Jack Nicholson, Georgianna Carter, Robert Bean, Carol Bigby, John Bologni, Gary Espinosa, Judith Trezise
CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA (1961) DIR – PROD Roger Corman DIR PRE-TITLE SEQUENCE Monte Hellman [uncredited] SCR Charles B. Griffith CAM Jacques R. Marquette ED Angela Scellars MUS Fred Katz CAST Antony Carbone, Betsy Jones-Moreland, Robert Towne, Beach Dickerson, Robert Bean, Esther Sandoval
DEMENTIA 13 (1963) DIR Francis Ford Coppola, Monte Hellman [prologue] PROD Roger Corman SCR Francis Ford Coppola CAM Charles Hannawalt ED Stuart O’Brien, Morton Tubor MUS Ronald Stein CAST William Campbell, Luana Anders, Bart Patton, Mary Mitchell, Patrick Magee, Eithne Dunne, Peter Read, Karl Schanzer
THE TERROR (1963) DIR Roger Corman ([uncredited] Monte Hellman, Francis Ford Coppola, Jack Nicholson, Jack Hill, Dennis Jakob, Jack Hale) LOCATION DIR Monte Hellman PROD Roger Corman SCR Leo Gordon, Jack Hill CAM John M. Nickolaus Jr., Floyd Crosby ED Stuart O’Brien MUS Ronald Stein CAST Boris Karloff, Jack Nicholson, Sandra Knight, Dick Miller, Dorothy Neumann, Jonathan Haze
FLIGHT TO FURY (1964) DIR Monte Hellman PROD Fred Roos, Eddie Romero SCR Jack Nicholson (story by Monte Hellman, Fred Roos) CAM Mike Accion ED Monte Hellman [uncredited], Joven Calub MUS Nestor Robles CAST Dewey Martin, Fay Spain, Jack Nicholson, Vic Diaz, Joseph Estrada, Jacqueline Hellman, John Hackett
BACK DOOR TO HELL (1964) DIR Monte Hellman PROD Fred Roos SCR Richard A. Guttman, John Hackett (story by Richard A. Guttman) CAM Nonong Rasca ED Monte Hellman [uncredited], Fely Crisostomo MUS Mike Velarde CAST Jimmie Rodgers, Jack Nicholson, John Hackett, Annabelle Huggins, Conrad Maga, Johnny Monteiro
CORDILLERA (1964) DIR Monte Hellman PROD Fred Roos SCR Jack Nicholson, Eddie Romero MUS Nestor Robles CAST Joseph Estrada, Dewey Martin, Fay Spain, Robert Arevalo, Vic Diaz, Imelda Ilanan, Ely Ramos Jr., Henry Duval
BUS RILEY’S BACK IN TOWN (1965) DIR Harvey Hart PROD Elliott Kastner SCR Walter Gage [Wiliam Inge] CAM Russell Metty ED Folmar Blangsted ASST ED Monte Hellman MUS Richard Markowitz CAST Ann-Margret, Michael Parks, Janet Margolin, Brad Dexter, Jocelyn Brando, Larry Storch, Kim Darby, Mimsy Farmer, David Carradine
RIDE THE WHIRLWIND (1966) DIR Monte Hellman PROD Monte Hellman, Jack Nicholson SCR Jack Nicholson CAM Gregory Sandor ED Monte Hellman [uncredited] MUS Robert Drasnin CAST Cameron Mitchell, Millie Perkins, Jack Nicholson, Katherine Squire, Rupert Crosse, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hackett
THE WILD ANGELS (1966) DIR – PROD Roger Corman SCR Charles B. Griffith CAM Peter Bogdanovich [uncredited], Richard Moore ED Peter Bogdanovich [uncredited], Monte Hellman MUS Mike Curb, Davie Allan CAST Peter Fonda, Nancy Sinatra, Bruce Dern, Diane Ladd, Buck Taylor, Norman Alden, Michael J. Pollard, Gayle Hunnicutt, Dick Miller, Peter Bogdanovich
THE SHOOTING (1966) DIR Monte Hellman PROD Monte Hellman, Jack Nicholson SCR Adrien Joyce (a.k.a. Carole Eastman) CAM Gregory Sandor ED Monte Hellman [uncredited] MUS Richard Markowitz CAST Will Hutchins, Millie Perkins, Jack Nicholson, Warren Oates, Charles Eastman, Guy El Tsosie
THE ST. VALENTINE’S DAY MASSACRE (1967) DIR – PROD Roger Corman DIALOGUE DIR Monte Hellman SCR Howard Browne CAM Milton Krasner ED William B. Murphy CAST Jason Robards Jr., George Segal, Ralph Meeker, Jean Hale, Clint Ritchie, Frank Silvera, Joseph Campanella, Bruce Dern, Harold J. Stone, Jack Nicholson
HEAD (1968) DIR Bob Rafelson PROD Bob Rafelson, Jack Nicholson SCR Bob Rafelson, Jack Nicholson CAM Michel Hugo ED Monte Hellman [uncredited], Michael Pozen CAST Peter Tork, Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, Victor Mature, Annette Funicello, Timothy Carey, Sony Liston, Frank Zappa, Teri Garr, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson, Bob Rafelson
TARGET: HARRY (1969) DIR Henry Neill [Roger Corman] PROD Gene Corman SCR Bob Barbash CAM Patrice Pouget ED Monte Hellman MUS Les Baxter CAST Vic Morrow, Suzanne Pleshette, Victor Buono, Cesar Romero, Stanley Holloway, Charlotte Rampling, Michael Ansara, Ahna Capri
THE CHRISTIAN LICORICE STORE (1971) DIR James Frawley PROD – SCR Floyd Mutrux CAM David L. Butler ED Richard A. Harris MUS Lalo Schifrin CAST Beau Bridges, Maud Adams, Gilbert Roland, Allan Arbus, Anne Randall, Monte Hellman (Joseph), Jean Renoir, Talia Coppola [Talia Shire]
TWO-LANE BLACKTOP (1971) DIR – ED Monte Hellman SCR Rudy Wurlitzer, Will Cory (story by Will Cory) CAM Jack Deerson CAST James Taylor, Warren Oates, Laurie Bird, Dennis Wilson, David Drake, Richard Ruth, Jaclyn Hellman, Harry Dean Stanton
COCKFIGHTER (1974) DIR Monte Hellman PROD Roger Corman SCR Charles Willeford (also novel) CAM Néstor Almendros ED Monte Hellman [uncredited], Lewis Teague MUS Michael Franks CAST Warren Oates, Richard B. Shull, Harry Dean Stanton, Ed Begley Jr., Laurie Bird, Troy Donahue, Millie Perkins, Charles Willeford
SHATTER (1974) DIR Michael Carreras, Monte Hellman [uncredited] SCR Don Houghton CAM John Wilcox, Roy Ford, Brian Probyn ED Eric Boyd-Perkins MUS David Lindup CAST Stuart Whitman, Lung Ti, Lily Li, Peter Cushing, Anton Diffring, Yemi Goodman Ajibade, Liu Ka Yong [Chia Yung Liu]
THE KILLER ELITE (1975) DIR Sam Peckinpah PROD Martin Baum, Arthur Lewis SCR Stirling Silliphant, Marc Norman (novel by Robert Syd Hopkins) CAM Philip H. Lathrop ED Monte Hellman, Tony de Zarraga MUS Jerry Fielding CAST James Caan, Robert Duvall, Arthur Hill, Bo Hopkins, Mako, Burt Young, Gig Young, Tom Clancy
HARRY AND WALTER GO TO NEW YORK (1976) DIR Mark Rydell PROD Don Devlin, Harry Gittes SCR Robert Kaufman, John Byrum (story by John Byrum, Don Devlin) CAM László Kovács ED Don Guidice, David Bretherton ADDITIONAL ED Monte Hellman [uncredited] MUS David Shire CAST James Caan, Elliott Gould, Michael Caine, Diane Keaton, Charles Durning, Lesley Ann Warren, Val Avery, Jack Gilford, Carol Kane, Burt Young, Bert Remsen
SUDDEN DEATH (1977) DIR Eddie Romero PROD John Ashley, J. Skeet Wilson SCR Oscar Williams CAM Justo Paulino ED Monte Hellman [uncredited] MUS Johnny Pate CAST Robert Conrad, Don Stroud, Felton Perry, John Ashley, Thayer David, Aline Samson, Larry Manetti
AMORE, PIOMBE E FURORE, a.k.a. CHINA 9, LIBERTY 39 (1978) DIR Monte Hellman PROD Monte Hellman, Gianni Bozzacchi, Valerio De Paolis SCR Jerry Harvey, Douglas Venturelli (story by Ennio De Concini) CAM Giuseppe Rotunno ED Monte Hellman [uncredited], Cesare D’Amico MUS Pino Donaggio, John Rubinstein CAST Fabio Testi, Warren Oates, Jenny Agutter, Sam Peckinpah, Isabel Mestres, Gianrico Tondinelli
AVALANCHE EXPRESS (1979) DIR Mark Robson, Monte Hellman [uncredited] PROD Mark Robson SCR Abraham Polonsky (novel by Colin Forbes) CAM Jack Cardiff ED Monte Hellman [uncredited], Garth Craven MUS Allyn Ferguson CAST Lee Marvin, Robert Shaw, Linda Evans, Maximilian Schell, Joe Namath, Horst Buchholz, Mike Connors, Claudio Cassinelli
THE AWAKENING (1980) DIR Mike Newell PROD Robert H. Solo SCR Allan Scott, Chris Bryant CAM Jack Cardiff ED Terry Rawlings ADDITIONAL ED Monte Hellman [uncredited] MUS Claude Bolling CAST Charlton Heston, Susannah York, Jill Townsend, Stephanie Zimbalist, Patrick Drury, Bruce Myers, Nadim Sawalha
SOMEONE TO LOVE (1987) DIR – SCR Henry Jaglom PROD M.H. Simonson CAM Hanania Baer ED Henry Jaglom [uncredited] CAST Henry Jaglom, Andrea Marcovicci, Michael Emil, Sally Kellerman, Oja Kodar, Orson Welles, Ronee Blakley, Kathryn Harrold, Monte Hellman (Richard)
ROBOCOP (1987) DIR Paul Verhoeven SEC UNIT DIR Monte Hellman [uncredited] PROD Arne Schmidt SCR Edward Neumeier, Michael Miner CAM Jost Vacano ED Frank J. Urioste MUS Basil Poledouris CAST Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O’Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer, Ray Wise, Paul Verhoeven
IGUANA (1988) DIR Monte Hellman PROD Franco Di Nunzio SCR Monte Hellman, Steven Gaydos, David M. Zehr (novel by Alberto Vázquez Figueroa) CAM Josep M. Civit ED Monte Hellman MUS Franco Campanino CAST Everett McGill, Michael Bradford, Roger Kendall, Robert Case, Fabio Testi, Jack Taylor, Maru Valdivielso, Michael Madsen
RESERVOIR DOGS (1992) DIR – SCR Quentin Tarantino PROD Lawrence Bender EXEC PROD Monte Hellman, Richard N. Gladstein, Ronna B. Wallace CAM Andrzej Seluka ED Sally Menke CAST Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen, Randy Brooks, Quentin Tarantino
LOVE, CHEAT & STEAL (1993) DIR – SCR William Curan PROD Brad Krevoy, Steven Sabler CAM Kent L. Wakeford ED Carole Kravetz Aykanian ADDITIONAL ED Monte Hellman MUS Dan Wool CAST John Lithgow, Eric Roberts, Mädchen Amick, Richard Edson, Donald Moffat, David Ackroyd, Dan O’Herlihy
GREY KNIGHT (1993) DIR George Hickenlooper PROD Brad Krevoy, Steven Stabler SCR Matt Greenberg CAM Kent L. Wakeford ED Monte Hellman, Esther P. Russell MUS Bill Boll CAST Corbin Bernsen, Adrian Pasdar, Martin Sheen, Billy Bob Thornton, David Arquette, Matt LeBlanc, George Hickenlooper, Matt Greenberg
TRAPPED ASHES (2006) DIR Sean Cunningham, Joe Dante, John Gaeta, Ken Russell, Monte Hellman (segment STANLEY’S GIRLFRIEND) PROD Dennis Bartok, Yoshifumi Hosoya, Yoki Yoshikawa SCR Dennis Bartok CAM Zoran Popovic ED Marcus Manton CAST Jayce Bartok, Henry Gibson, Dick Miller, John Saxon, Ken Russell, John R. Taylor
ROAD TO NOWHERE (2010) DIR Monte Hellman PROD Monte Hellman, Melissa Hellman, Steven Gaydos SCR Steven Gaydos CAM Josep M. Civit ED Céline Ameslon MUS Tom Russell CAST Tygh Runyan, Dominique Swain, Shannyn Sossamon, John Diehl, Cliff De Young, Waylon Payne, Fabio Testi
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https://nypost.com/2017/07/16/martin-landau-oscar-winner-for-ed-wood-dies-at-89/
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en
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Martin Landau, Oscar winner for ‘Ed Wood,’ dies at 89
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2017-07-16T00:00:00
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Oscar-winning actor Martin Landau, most closely associated with scene-stealing character turns in such films as “North by Northwest,” “Crimes and...
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en
|
New York Post
|
http://variety.com/2017/film/news/martin-landau-dead-dies-ed-wood-mission-impossible-1202497128/
|
Oscar-winning actor Martin Landau, most closely associated with scene-stealing character turns in such films as “North by Northwest,” “Crimes and Misdemeanors” and “Ed Wood” as well as the classic TV series “Mission: Impossible,” died Saturday in Los Angeles, according to his publicist. He had been hospitalized at UCLA. He was 89.
The lanky, offbeat-looking veteran of the Actors Studio had many ups and downs in his career, and his greatest successes (three Oscar nominations and one win) came later in life when he returned to character roles like the one that first won him notice, as James Mason’s sinister gay henchman in Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest.”
Most of his leading man roles came on television, most notably as Rollin Hand, a master of disguise on “Mission: Impossible” — and even that was essentially a character part, since it required him to take on heavily made-up aliases in order to dupe the villains. He later spent a couple of years starring in syndicated sci-fi series “Space: 1999,” on which, as with “Mission: Impossible,” he co-starred with then-wife Barbara Bain.
After a dry spell, his career roared back to life in the late 1980s when Francis Ford Coppola cast him in “Tucker: The Man and His Dream,” which brought Landau the first of three supporting noms. It was, he reminded one journalist, the first time this “Jewish kid from Brooklyn” took a role that called for him to play Jewish.
An even more impressive turn as a successful Jewish ophthalmologist haunted by a secret in Woody Allen’s drama “Crimes and Misdemeanors” brought him an Oscar nomination for the second year in a row.
In 1994 came the part of a lifetime for a character actor, the dying, once-famous screen ghoul Bela Lugosi, in Tim Burton’s whacked-out “Ed Wood.” Landau won the supporting actor Oscar.
Landau made his first big-screen impression in Alfred Hitchcock’s action suspenser “North by Northwest,” playing the villain who does Mason’s dirty work. The role led to a major supporting role in the epic “Cleopatra,” on which Landau spent a year, only to find most of his role as General Rufio on the cutting-room floor. “What could I do?” he later lamented. “They couldn’t cut Richard Burton or Elizabeth Taylor.”
During the 1960s he had character roles in “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” “Nevada Smith” and “The Hallelujah Trail.”
Landau had been doing television work since the 1950s but got busy in TV in the mid-’60s, with several guest appearances on sci-fier “The Outer Limits” and spy skein “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” He was producer Gene Roddenberry’s first choice for the role of Spock on “Star Trek,” but the role wound up going to Leonard Nimoy after Landau opted for “Mission: Impossible.” (Nimoy would later take a recurring role on “Mission: Impossible.”)
On the enormously successful “Mission: Impossible,” Landau and Bain played well off one another and with the rest of the regular ensemble, which included Peter Graves. Landau stayed with the series for three years, through 1969, drawing Emmy nominations three years in a row. He said his reason for leaving (and Bain’s as well) was artistic differences over the general direction of the show, though others claim salary demands were the real problem.
But forgettable roles in “A Town Called Hell,” “Operation Snafu” and another villain role in “They Call Me Mister Tibbs” did little to further his big-screen ambitions.
Television came to the rescue again with the two-year run of “Space: 1999” in the mid-’70s. Numerous TV movie turns reached a nadir with “The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island” in 1981.
He and Bain divorced, and Landau spent the ’80s in undistinguished roles in mostly obscure films. He also worked as an acting teacher.
After the successes of “Tucker,” “Crimes and Misdemeanors” and “Ed Wood,” Landau had a steady stream of mostly supporting work on the big screen from the mid-’90s through the late 2000s.
He brought poignancy to his role as a judge in “City Hall” and played Gepetto in “The Adventures of Pinocchio.” He contributed a memorable turn to “The X-Files” movie in 1998, worked for Burton again in “Sleepy Hollow” and took roles in “Rounders,” “The Majestic” and “Hollywood Homicide.”
He had a series of roles in small films including 2006’s “David and Fatima” and starred in 2008’s “Harrison Montgomery.”
There was also higher-profile work: Landau starred with Judy Parfitt in the 2004 Holocaust drama “The Aryan Couple,” but while the New York Times said the actor displayed “marvelous dignity” in his part as a Hungarian steel manufacturer, the film generally received poor reviews. He also had a role in “City of Ember” and did voice work for the 2009 animated feature “9” and 2012’s “Frankenweenie.”
Landau provided voices for the 1997 Oscar-winning documentary “The Long Way Home” and appeared as himself in the docus “Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen’s,” “Cannes: Through the Eyes of the Hunter” and “Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There” (2003) as well as a 2011 “American Masters” documentary on Woody Allen.
He kept his hand in on the small screen as well, starring in the miniseries “Bonanno: A Godfather’s Story” and appearing as a series regular on the brief ABC series “The Evidence.” He recurred notably on “Without a Trace” as Anthony LaPaglia’s father with Alzheimer’s and on “Entourage” as a washed-up producer, drawing Emmy nominations in 2004 and 2005 for the former and in 2007 for the latter.
Also in the 2000s, Landau worked as an acting coach in a venture with director Mark Rydell and screenwriter-playwriter Lyle Kessler.
The Brooklynite started out as a cartoonist, spending four years with the New York Daily News from 1948 to 1951, then turned his attentions to acting. He claimed that he and Steve McQueen were the only two among 2,000 applicants whose auditions gained them admittance to the Actors Studio (of which Landau later became an officer).
Landau did some stage work, most notably touring with the Paddy Chayefsky play “Middle of the Night” in 1956-57. He married one of the understudies, Bain, whom he met in Curt Conway’s acting classes.
His film debut came in a small role in “Pork Chop Hill” in 1959, followed by a larger role in “The Gazebo.” Then he drew attention for his role in “North by Northwest.”
Landau’s marriage to Bain produced two daughters, writer-producer-casting director Susan Landau Finch and thesp Juliet Landau of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fame.
|
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6000
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dbpedia
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https://www.britannica.com/biography/Don-Siegel
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Don Siegel | Biography, Movies, & Facts
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1998-07-20T00:00:00+00:00
|
Don Siegel Biography, Movies, & Facts
|
en
|
/favicon.png
|
Encyclopedia Britannica
|
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Don-Siegel
|
Early work
Siegel studied at Jesus College, Cambridge, and at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. After a brief stint as an actor, he joined Warner Brothers studios near Hollywood as an assistant film librarian. He later worked as an editor before joining the studio’s montage department, where he contributed to Now, Voyager (1942), Casablanca (1942), and Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), among other films.
Siegel’s first directorial efforts were the short films Star in the Night and Hitler Lives? (uncredited; both 1945); they both won Academy Awards and resulted in his graduating to features. His first was The Verdict (1946), a solid Scotland Yard period piece that was the eighth and last movie to feature the popular on-screen team of Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre. Night unto Night was shot in 1947 but not released until 1949. The romantic drama featured Ronald Reagan as an epileptic scientist and Viveca Lindfors as a widow haunted by her late husband; Siegel and Lindfors were married from 1949 to 1954. He next made The Big Steal (1949), a lighthearted crime yarn that reunited Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer, the stars of Jacques Tourneur’s noir classic Out of the Past (1947). Although not up to that level, The Big Steal showed Siegel’s facility with hard-boiled action, the genre in which he would eventually make his reputation.
First, however, Siegel struggled through The Duel at Silver Creek (1952), an uninspired Audie Murphy western; No Time for Flowers (1952), an unsatisfying rework of Ernst Lubitsch’s comedy classic Ninotchka (1939); and the fast-moving but far-fetched melodrama Count the Hours (1953), in which Macdonald Carey played an attorney defending a migrant worker (John Craven) who is wrongly convicted of murder. Siegel next made China Venture (1953), a middling World War II drama that pitted a U.S. Marine commando unit against Japanese soldiers.
Early action dramas
In 1954 Siegel registered his first major critical and commercial success with Riot in Cell Block 11, a classic prison drama made for producer Walter Wanger, who had served four months in jail and been appalled by the conditions there. The film featured the fast pace and tight editing that would come to define Siegel’s productions. Almost as exciting was Private Hell 36 (1954), a noir about the problems that arise after two detectives (Steve Cochran and Howard Duff) decide to keep stolen money that they have recovered; Ida Lupino played a nightclub singer, and she cowrote the script (with Collier Young).
Although Siegel’s forte seemed to be in action and crime dramas, his next picture was the forgettable An Annapolis Story (1955), about brothers (John Derek and Kevin McCarthy) who both love the same woman. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), however, was a huge leap forward. One of the best science-fiction movies of the decade, it triumphed over a low-wattage cast and a minuscule budget to become a classic of paranoia. It centres on a small town that is being quietly invaded by aliens, who take over the bodies of residents. Crime in the Streets (1956), an adaptation of a 1955 TV drama by Reginald Rose, featured original cast members John Cassavetes and future director Mark Rydell as disaffected teens, with Sal Mineo added for star power. Siegel’s next project was Baby Face Nelson (1957), a violent look at the infamous gangster (played by Mickey Rooney).
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Siegel had more success with The Lineup (1958), which was based on a popular TV series. It offered Eli Wallach as a paid killer who must recover heroin that was hidden in the luggage of unsuspecting travelers; Richard Jaeckel portrayed a mobster acting as his chauffeur. The Gun Runners (1958), the third screen adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s To Have and Have Not, was disappointing. With Hound-Dog Man (1959), Siegel shifted gears. The dramedy centres on two teenaged boys and their adventures one summer; teen pop idol Fabian was surprisingly effective in his screen debut. Edge of Eternity (1959) was a contemporary western, with a deputy (Cornel Wilde) chasing down a killer (Mickey Shaughnessy).
Siegel then made the gritty Flaming Star (1960), which featured Elvis Presley in a convincing performance as a man whose allegiances are divided between his white father (Steve Forrest) and his Kiowa mother (Dolores del Rio). It is widely considered Presley’s best nonmusical film. Hell Is for Heroes (1962) was a hard-as-nails World War II picture that starred Steve McQueen in an antiheroic role as a rebellious U.S. soldier who ultimately leads his weary fellow men (Fess Parker, Nick Adams, and James Coburn, among others) in an attack on a much-larger German force.
Siegel then turned his focus to television. He worked on several series before making The Killers (1964). The classic crime drama was based on a Hemingway short story about two hit men (Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager) who try to uncover information about the man whom they were hired to kill. Their search leads them to a gangster (Reagan, in his last feature film) and his girlfriend (Angie Dickinson). Originally shot as a TV original, it was deemed too violent for the small screen and was instead given a theatrical release. His next projects were the TV movies The Hanged Man (1964), a passable remake of Robert Montgomery’s Ride the Pink Horse (1947), and Stranger on the Run (1967), a suspenseful western with a fine cast that included Henry Fonda, Anne Baxter, Sal Mineo, and Dan Duryea.
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https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/genres-i-revision-transformation-and-revival
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en
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Genres I: Revision, Transformation, and Revival
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5Genres I: Revision, Transformation, and RevivalThe Youth-Cult FilmGenre and TelevisionThe WesternThe Gangster FilmFilm Noir and Other Crime GenresThe MusicalHorror and the Mainstreaming of Exploitation Source for information on Genres I: Revision, Transformation, and Revival: History of the American Cinema dictionary.
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https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/genres-i-revision-transformation-and-revival
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The Youth-Cult Film
Genre and Television
The Western
The Gangster Film
Film Noir and Other Crime Genres
The Musical
Horror and the Mainstreaming of Exploitation
The Science Fiction Film
The Disaster Film
Conclusion
Genre films essentially ask the audience, "Do you still want to believe this?" Popularity is the audience answering, 'Yes." Change in genres occur when the audience says, "That's too infantile a form of what we believe. Show us something more complicated."
Leo Braudy, The World in a Frame, 1977
There is general agreement among critics and scholars that the 1970s witnessed the regular production of genre films for the first time since the classical studio era (excepting the musicals and Westerns made during the 1950s).1 The return to genre production grew out of the preoccupation of New Hollywood auteurs with film history and film form, and was underwritten by the studios as a form of risk reduction since genre films, like stars, were inherently "pre-sold" and easy to package. Influenced by the French New Wave, early Hollywood Renaissance directors like Penn, Peckinpah, and Kubrick had experimented within classical genres (the gangster film, the Western, and the science fiction film respectively), whereas Altman, Bogdanovich, and others were interested in revising, "correcting," and/or deconstructing them. Collateral to this revisionism was the recycling of former exploitation genres (for example, AIP-style monster and horror movies, rock 'n' roll musicals, "race" movies, and pornography) into the mainstream, as producers sought ever more sensational audience hooks and "movie brat" directors were called upon to recreate the subversive cinema of their youth as a series of big-budget features. By mid-decade, genre parody, a staple of prime-time television since the late sixties (e.g., The Wild, Wild West [1965-1969], Batman [1966-1968], Get Smart [1966-1970], Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In [1968-1973]), was firmly entrenched in the work of Mel Brooks and Woody Allen; and, with Star Wars (1977), George Lucas pioneered the genre pastiche in which several classical genres were melded into one (in this case, science fiction, the Western, the war film, and the quasi-mystical epic). At this juncture, nostalgia became an important market element, both as a Saturday-matinee-style appeal to lost innocence and as the last viable response to classical genre. For such "film generation" auteurs as Steven Spielberg, the nostalgic genre pastiche—as in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)—would become the blockbuster paradigm for the eighties.
Classical narrative and generic conventions had both been called into question during the 1960s under the influence of the European art film,2 especially in the work of the French New Wave, whose particular brand of modernism called attention to cinematic style through exaggeration and parody. Popularized by Richard Lester's commercially successful Beatles films, A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965), and Claude Lelouch's A Man and a Woman (Un Homme et une Femme, 1966),3 such disruptive New Wave techniques as jump-cutting and optically violent camera movement had entered mainstream American cinema shortly thereafter. Traces of New Wave style can be found in the freeze-frame ending of Sidney Lumet's Fail-Safe (1964) and the elliptical flashbacks of his The Pawnbroker (1965), as well in the hand-held, cinema verité-style camera work of John Frankenheimer's Seven Days in May (1964) and Seconds (1966). By 1967, Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde could offer audiences a compendium of such practices without jeopardizing narrative coherence, but did risk alienating them by imitating the radical mood swings of such New Wave paragons as Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1959) and Shoot the Piano Player (François Truffaut, 1960). Like the French films, Bonnie and CLyde mixed an inherently serious genre (the gangster film) with an inherently unserious one (slapstick), producing violent shifts from comedy to tragedy that outraged contemporary critics like Bosley Crowther.4 Yet these New Wave borrowings hardly foretold the death of classical narrative, because they were largely cosmetic. Continuity editing, mimesis, and stars remained crucial to the Hollywood mode of representation throughout the coming decades, and the New Wave's stylistic reflexivity was quickly assimilated into more conventional forms (including, most visibly, the television commercial). As Robert B. Ray has put it, the influence of the 1960s European art film on American cinema was one of "superficial stylistic exuberance, leaving Classic Hollywood's paradigms fundamentally untouched."5 If proof is needed one has only to compare the narrational mode of Michelangelo Antonioni's Zabriskie Point (1970), produced in the United States by MGM, with that of Robert Altman's Brewster McCloud (or any other Altman film of the decade, except perhaps 3 Women [1977]) produced in the same year for the same studio. Although Altman has long been regarded as an authentic American practitioner of art cinema,6 his film is a formally closed narrative, and its editing structure, if somewhat elliptical, is unambiguous. Antonioni's film, by contrast, is episodic, open-ended, and distinctly modernist in form, yielding its meaning less through linear narrative than polyphonic montage and a densely allusive subtext. (Ironically, whereas MGM's new president James T. Aubrey hated Brewster McCloud and condemned it to an early death on the exploitation circuit, he told Antonioni that Zabriskie Point "may be the best movie I've ever seen in my life."7 (Of course, Aubrey had more capital—both literal and political—invested in Antonioni than Altman, which surely colored his opinion.)
If the directors of the New Hollywood were self-avowed modernists, then, they were not modernists who sought to demolish primary forms like representation and narrative. Rather, they concentrated their attack on secondary forms—most notably, individual genres—and, as Stephen Schiff has argued, they were so successful at it that by the mid-1970s genre could scarcely be said to exist at all, except where it provided experiences unavailable on television—that is, in spectacle and pornography—or as a function of nostalgia.8 What had made genres an integral part of the studio system was their reliability as a product, their ability to provide an audience with a consistently familiar and repeatable experience. Genre was also an important factor in product differentiation and standardization, and genre production was highly costefficient: the same sets, props, costumes, and creative personnel (including writers, actors, and directors) could be recycled from one genre film to the next, enabling the studios to virtually mass-produce them. (For example, during the 1943-1944 season, sixty-two of the 397 features released by the eleven largest distributors [the five majors, the three minors, and the three largest B-studios] were Westerns produced in this way.)9 And it was this predictability that caused a return to genre production as negative costs soared in the wake of Jaws (1975) and Star Wars (1977) as the risks associated with blockbuster production demanded stories that were pre-tested, pre-sold, and easily packaged for global distribution. In fact, late seventies blockbusters like Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977), Grease (Randal Kleiser, 1978), Superman (Richard Donner, 1978), and Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979) were even "more classical," in Thomas Schatz's phrase, than their generic predecessors owing to their narrative sophistication and technical prowess10—a reintensification made possible both by the film-school training of New Hollywood directors and an acceleration in special effects and other production technology. Before this neo-classicism took hold, however, there was a splintering and dislocation of classical genres that began with Bonnie and Clyde (1967), proceeded through Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, 1969) and the "youth-cult" boom of 1969-1971, leading to their ultimate explosion in the first half of the 1970s.
The Youth-Cult Film
The youth-cult or counterculture film was a response by the studios to the exemplary success of Columbia's Easy Rider (released in July 1969), whose $19.2-million rental return on a $375,000 investment made all Hollywood take note.11 During the 1969-1970 season, the only other distributor to stake a serious claim in the youth market was United Artists, whose Alice's Restaurant (Arthur Penn, 1969) and Midnight Cowboy (John Schlesinger, 1969) were both shrewdly marketed to what New Republic critic Stanley Kauffman was then calling "the Film Generation."12 Although Paramount had picked up the independent H and J production Medium Cool (Haskell Wexler, 1969), MGM had Antonioni's Zabriskie Point in production as the second in a three-film deal that had begun with Blow Up (1966), and Warner Bros. had contracted with a twenty-six-year-old cameraman named Michael Wadleigh and the promoters of the Woodstock rock festival in upstate New York (Woodstock Ventures) to film that event when it took place in August 1969,13 there was little other action on the youth market front until the revelatory success of Easy Rider, which opened in mid-July and shortly thereafter sent the studios scrambling after similar projects. As 1970 began, the banner headline for Variety's year-end wrap-up proclaimed "B. O. Dictatorship By Youth," while the accompanying article commented that "Hollywood's current problem is to engage in a film production program that it can survive under, attuned to the contemporaneous market."14 A few months later, the Variety B. O. Chart for 1969, tracking the gross performance of 1,028 features in the domestic market through the year's end, placed nine youth-oriented films among the top twenty (#4—I Am Curious Yellow; #5—Midnight Cowboy; #6—Easy Rider; #8—Romeo and Juliet; #9—Bullitt; #11—Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; #13—2001: A Space Odyssey; #16—Alice's Restaurant; #20—The Wild Bunch).15 Some of these were clearly "corrected" classical genre films whose youth appeal was circumstantial (or, like that of 2001, grounded mainly in style), but the Easy Rider phenomenon led studios to speculate wildly low-budget movies produced directly for the youth market.
This was what motivated Warner Bros. to lend Francis Ford Coppola $600,000 to form the alternative studio that became American Zoetrope and Columbia to negotiate the six-film deal with Easy Rider-producer BBS that led to Five Easy Pieces (Bob Rafelson, 1970), The Last Picture Show (Peter Bogdanovich, 1971), and other notable films (see Chapter 4). By early 1970, virtually every major studio had youth-cult films in development or production that bore the influence of Easy Rider their themes of youthful rebellion and their documentary-like intention—that is, their desire to be vibrantly contemporary, or, variously, "hip," "with it," "relevant," and "now." MGM released Zabriskie Point in February and The Strawberry Statement (Stuart Hagmann) in June, both of which were unconvincingly set in the context of student radicalism, although the former contains some of Antonioni's most brilliantly expressive montage and the latter somehow managed to win the 1970 Special Jury Prize at Cannes. In May 1970, Columbia also released two films about student unrest—Getting Straight (Richard Rush), and R.P.M. (Stanley Kramer)—which were similarly superficial in their political commitment; as was United Artists' youth-oriented The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart (Leonard Horn), also released in May, and The Revolutionary (Paul Williams), released in July. The Warner Bros. rock documentary Woodstock (Michael Wadleigh) was probably the most "pre-sold" of all youth-cult properties when it appeared in August 1970. But Gimme Shelter, shot by the Maysles brothers at The Rolling Stones' Altamont concert and distributed by Cinema V, featured a real, on-camera murder and was similarly popular at year's end; as was Frank Zappa's 200 Motels (United Artists, 1971—the first theatrical release shot in a videotape-to-film transfer process) shortly thereafter. Universal, which had distributed the liberated confessional Coming Apart (Milton Moses Ginsberg) in 1969, produced a fine satire on the generation gap in Taking Off (1971), Milos Forman's first American film since emigrating from Czechoslovakia in 1969 and the enigmatic road movie Two-Lane Blacktop (Monte Hellman, 1971), which became a cult classic later in the decade. At Paramount, Sidney J. Furie attempted to clone Easy Rider with the motorcycle-racing epic Little Fauss and Big Halsey (1970) (as did Avco Embassy's C. C. and Company [Robbie Seymour, 1970]),16 and Mike Nichols's muchanticipated adaptation of Joseph Heller's absurdist World War II novel Catch-22 (1970) was spiked with contemporary antiwar rhetoric to enhance its youth appeal. The anti-Vietnam subtext was even clearer in both 20th Century-Fox's revisionist "combat" film M*A*S*H (Robert Altman, 1970), a black comedy in which only combat's bloody aftermath is shown, and National General's revisionist Western Little Big Man (Arthur Penn, 1970), where the massacred Indians stand in for nonviolent flower children, as well as for Vietnamese villagers. But the year's ultimate expression of youth-cult fear and loathing for the Establishment was probably Cannon Film's Joe (John G. Avildsen), in which a hardcore blue-collar bigot (Peter Boyle) and a weak-willed business executive go on a murderous rampage against a hippie commune that harbors the latter's daughter (Susan Sarandon, in her debut); the film ends in a freeze-frame in which the businessman unwittingly shoots his own daughter in the back as she runs away from him towards the camera, suggesting an unholy alliance between working class and bourgeoisie to exterminate the counterculture.
Most of the youth-cult films of 1970 shared a dual impulse to capture the Zeitgeist and to be stylistically innovative, often through the adaptation of cinema verité and/or art film techniques to narrative, but just as often through conspicuous abuse of rack-focus composition and the zoom lens—newly available in high-resolution, high-speed formats with a 5 to 1 ratio from Taylor-Hobson (London), Canon (Tokyo), and Angenieux (Paris).17 Many also shared some kind of high-concept advertising logo, a portentous, "with-it" marketing slogan, and a rock-music sound track, often tied in to a simultaneous album release—all in imitation of Easy Rider, whose Dunhill Records sound track of cuts by Steppenwolf, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Byrds, The Band, and The Electric Prunes was certified "Gold" in January 1970.18 (For example, Zabriskie Point was advertised with a huge graphic of the title in which the letters were formed from the stars and stripes of the American flag. This echoed Easy Rider's poster art, where images of the flag appear prominently on the crash helmet, fuel tank, and jacket of "Captain America" [Peter Fonda] as he sits on his Harley and stares off into what is left of the American frontier. Easy Rider's slogan, "A man went looking for America, but couldn't find it anywhere," became for Zabriskie Point: "Zabriskie Point…where a boy…and a girl…meet…and touch…and BLOW THEIR MINDS!!" Or, alternatively: "Zabriskie Point…How you get there…depends on where you're at!" And Zabriskie Point's sound-track album was released by MGM Records, with songs by The Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead, and Pink Floyd, who also pioneered a synthesized rock score for the film.19) Implicit in many of these films was the equation of the youth culture with the drug culture, so that the odyssey of Easy Rider's protagonists from Los Angeles to Louisiana is bankrolled by a cocaine deal (although they explicitly eschew coke themselves for marijuana and LSD); the Korean War servicemen in M*A*S*H anachronistically smoke a joint during an intramural football game; the entire cast gets stoned in Taking Off (Milos Forman, 1971); and Woodstock is a veritable pharmacopoeia (for which, according to Stephen Farber, it very specifically received an R rating from CARA20). The darker side of drug use would become the focus of Fox's The Panic in Needle Park (Jerry Schatzberg, 1971); United Artists' Born to Win (Ivan Passer, 1971); MGM's Believe in Me (Stuart Hagmann, 1971); Warner Bros.' Dealing: or The Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues (Paul Williams, 1972); the documentary Dusty and Sweets McGee (Floyd Mutrux, 1971); Columbia's Cisco Pike (B. W. L. Norton, 1972); and several other early seventies productions targeted (unsuccessfully in the main) for youth.21 A notable film in this category was Conrad Rooks's independently distributed Siddhartha (1973), an adaptation of Hermann Hesse's novel of expanded consciousness that was shot on location in India by the Swedish cinematographer Sven Nykvist. Originally published in 1922, Hesse's visionary bildungsroman had become a bible of late-sixties drug consciousness; and Rooks had become a hallucinogenic cult hero when Chappaqua (1966; released 1968), his mesmerizing film about heroin withdrawal, won a Silver Lion at Venice in 1966. The final youth-cult films were independent productions tending toward black humor—Alan Myerson's Steelyard Blues (1972), James Frawley's Kid Blue (1973), and James William Guercio's Electra Glide in Blue (1973)—which anticipated the music-video format in their integration of sound and vision.
In pursuing the youth-cult boomlet of 1969-1971, the majors followed a pattern of exploitation laid out for them by Roger Corman at James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff's American-International Pictures (AIP) in the fifties and early sixties. (Easy Rider was in fact a variant of several Corman-produced AIP biker films, made largely by AIP alumni.)22 The AIP-Corman strategy was to abjure the mass audience and target market segments demographically (teenagers) in order to exploit their tastes (monster-themed science fiction, horror, hot-rods, rock 'n' roll) with sensational, low-budget material. As with pornography—which is the ultimate exploitation genre—swift delivery of the goods compensated for a multitude of sins at the level of form and packaging, and low budgets meant high returns for success and minimum risk for failure. The majors' venture into youth-cult exploitation was recession-driven and produced uneven results: of the specifically engineered youth-cult films cited above, only Woodstock and Joe met with unqualified success, generating rentals of $16.4 and $9.5 million, respectively (which put them at sixth and tenth place for the year). M*A*S*H was a bigger hit, earning $36.7 million in rentals (and third place), but it had mass market as well as youth appeal.23 Nevertheless, the studios' youth-cult gambit set the stage for a blurring of distinctions between mainstream and exploitation genres that would characterize the first half of the 1970s until, around 1975, the distinctions themselves disappeared. And once Hollywood began to travel this road, the authority of mainstream classical genres was diluted and finally lost.
Not all of the majors' efforts to court the youthful market during the 1969-1971 recession went into youth-cult exploitation. For every film keyed to the hippie values of drugs, sex, radicalism, and rock 'n' roll, there were others calculated to appeal to urban professionals and other young adults who had not yet chosen, in the words of Dr. Timothy Leary, to "turn on, tune-in, and drop-out."24 There were numerous films about coming of age or sexual awakening like Paramount's The Sterile Cuckoo (Alan Pakula, 1969), Goodbye, Columbus (Larry Peerce, 1969; adapted from Philip Roth's novel) and A Separate Peace (Larry Peerce, 1972; adapted from the John Knowles classic), Fox's John and Mary (Peter Yates, 1969), Warner Bros.' Summer of '42 (Robert Mulligan, 1971), and Allied Artist's Last Summer (Frank Perry, 1969), as well films about middle-class marital angst—many of them based on prestigious women's novels—such as Universal's Diary of a Mad Housewife (Frank Perry, 1970; adapted by Eleanor Perry from a novel by Sue Kaufman) and Play It As It Lays (Frank Perry, 1972; adapted by Joan Didion from her own novel), Columbia's Loving (Irvin Kershner, 1970), Fox's Marriage of a Young Stock Broker (Lawrence Turman, 1971), Paramount's Desperate Characters (Frank D. Gilroy, 1971; adapted from a novel by Paula Fox) and Such Good Friends (Otto Preminger, 1971; adapted by Elaine May [as Esther Dale] from Lois Gould's novel), and National General's Up the Sandbox (Irvin Kershner, 1972; adapted from a novel by Anne Richardson Roiphe). Whatever their other merits, these films were able to deal frankly with sexual situations—within CARA guidelines—for the first time since the imposition of the Production Code in 1934, which gave them a certain freshness and novelty.
Other studio films honed for the new demographics focused on middle-class youths or young adults in search of identity and meaning. Warner Bros.' Rabbit, Run (Jack Smight, 1970), Paramount's Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me (Jeffrey Young, 1971), Universal's Puzzle of a Downfall Child (Jerry Schatzberg, 1971), National General's Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (Ulu Grosbard, 1971) and The Christian Licorice Store (James Frawley, 1971), Avco Embassy's The Steagle (Paul Sylbert, 1971), and Columbia's The Pursuit of Happiness (Robert Mulligan, 1971) fall into this category, as do BBS Productions' Columbia-released Five Easy Pieces (Bob Rafelson, 1970), Drive, He Said (Jack Nicholson, 1972), and A Safe Place (Henry Jaglom, 1971). Finally, several films evoking urban paranoia—a newly urgent theme after years of ghetto riots and rising crime rates—were given youth appeal through their casting: most obviously United Artists' X-rated Midnight Cowboy (John Schlesinger, 1969), whose stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight were both nominated for Oscars (which the picture and screenplay won), and Fox's Move (Stuart Rosenberg, 1970) and Little Murders (Alan Arldn, 1971; adapted by Jules Feiffer from his own stage play), both of which starred M*A*S*'H's youth-cult icon Elliott Gould.
Genre and Television
Another crucial factor in the explosion of genres was television. When series television subsumed the function of Â-films during the late fifties and sixties, it reproduced nearly all of the classical Hollywood genres—the Western, the crime melodrama, the screwball comedy, etc.—and there was an inevitable debasement and cheapening of the original formulas. As Stephen Schiff comments, "When the mass audience was regularly exposed to Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Rawhide, Wagon Train, The Wild, Wild West, and so on, it realized how limited and boring the Western could be."25 In this argument, the self-awareness that enters the "adult" Hollywood Westerns of the late fifties and early sixties, as well as the self-consciousness of the Italian "spaghetti Westerns," may be traced to the infinite repetition of genre iconography on television, until finally, by the decade's end, the Western setting could only be used in ways that emphasize either its exhaustion (The Wild Bunch) or its quaintness (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid). Another complementary way in which television exploded genre was to become a kind of museum of classical cinema. Between 1955 and 1957, all of the majors but MGM sold the bulk of their pre-1948 films (those owned outright and not subject to residual payments) to distributors who syndicated them to local stations.26 In the early 1960s, the networks followed suit and increased their prime-time programming of Hollywood features. Starting with the NBC Saturday Night Movie in 1961, by 1968 there was a network prime-time movie showcase for every night of the week, which had the effect of turning every household in America into a private film museum. As Robert B. Ray puts it, "By plundering Hollywood's archive, television encouraged a new attitude toward the popular cinema and the traditional mythology it embodied."27 Christopher Anderson has pointed out how this situation helped to foster the New Hollywood both materially and culturally. On the one hand, income from teleproduction and profits from film library sales helped to subsidize the boom-or-bust mentality of the New Hollywood by reducing the risk of blockbuster production; on the other, television's "archiving" of classical cinema by constantly recycling of studio-era films helped to form the New Hollywood's historical consciousness—that unique sense of retrospection that informs the work of nearly every major figure of the 1970s from Altman through Spielberg—becoming a major point of demarcation between the "old" Hollywood and the new.28 For the mass audience, however, the constant diet of genre-based TV shows and classical Hollywood genre films bred something like contempt for traditional generic conventions, reinforcing a sense that they had become old-fashioned, "unrealistic," and culturally irrelevant.
The Western
The 1970s revision of the Western genre provides a striking example of this process. Traditionally associated with conservative cultural and political values (in the hands of John Ford, say), the Western became a vehicle for antiwar protest and social criticism in the early years of the decade. Six months before the release of Easy Rider, Richard Nixon had been inaugurated as the thirty-sixth president of the United States, and three months later the toll of Americans killed in Vietnam reached 33,641 and exceeded that of the Korean War. Despite Nixon's election-year pledge to end the war and "bring us together," his strategy in office was to escalate it and stifle dissent by exploiting the "generation gap" he had promised to close. His ultimate move in this direction was the invasion of Cambodia, announced in a television address on April 30, 1970, which unleashed a storm of protest across the nation, culminating in the killing of the four college students at Kent State University by the Ohio National Guard on May 4th. This event and the public response to it (according to a Newsweek poll, 58 percent of respondents thought the shootings were justified)29 capped several years of political violence and divisiveness, which had begun with the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy in April and June 1968, and the police riot at the National Democratic Convention in Chicago that August. This violence, together with the conviction that the United States was waging a pointless and immoral war in Southeast Asia, produced a mood of cultural despair among America's youth that, after Kent State, bordered on the apocalyptic. The hopelessness and romantic fatalism that pervades so many of Hollywood's 1969-1971 youth-cult films, starting with Easy Rider and continuing through Zabriskie Point (whose release was delayed by MGM until outrage over Kent State had abated) and Joe, can be traced very specifically to this despair and the Nixonian politics of division that produced it. So too can the infusion of the Hollywood Western with antimilitary, anti-colonial, anti-imperialist themes that occurred at precisely the same time—it was a brief historical moment in which American genre films, like their counterparts in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, became vehicles for symbolic political expression because the real thing had become too dangerous (or, at least, too controversial) for the studios to subsidize directly.
The "Vietnam Western"
Prefigured by Abraham Polonsky's parable Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (Universal, 1969) and Elliot Silverstein's A Man Called Horse (Cinema Center Films, 1970)—an anthropologically correct account of Sioux tribal life circa 1820—a number of Westerns appeared in the early 1970s that for the first time depicted native Americans as heroes in their struggles against the U.S. cavalry. These new-Left "Vietnam Westerns," as Thomas Schatz has called them, used the taming of the West as a metaphor for American involvement in Vietnam and were distinctly revisionist in terms of theme.30 Pre-eminent among them was Arthur Penn's Little Big Man (National General, 1970), which portrayed the "pacification" of the frontier as a genocidal war against the Indians, who were clearly intended to represent the people of Vietnam and whose way of life was equated with the contemporary American counterculture. (The film's set piece is a shocking re-creation of the Washita River Massacre of 1868, which the title character/narrator [Dustin Hoffman] bluntly refers to as "an act of genocide.") Ralph Nelson's Soldier Blue (Avco Embassy, 1970), according to its epilogue, was prompted by the recent revelation of American atrocities in Vietnam in the American press (specifically, the My Lai massacre of March 16, 1968). Much of the film is irrelevant to this issue, but there is a truly horrific massacre at its conclusion in which an American general—played, like Custer in Penn's film, as a half-mad racial chauvinist—orders his troops to raze a Cheyenne village. This sequence contains images of rape, pillage, and dismemberment modeled on photographs from My Lai, which had to be cut to avoid an X rating from CARA and were sensationally touted in the press.31 As a film, rather than as a political tract, Soldier Blue fell far below the achievement of Little Big Man. Yet both spoke to the genocidal policies of the U.S. high command (and, as we now know, the CIA) in Vietnam, and to the paranoid sense of imminent extinction that Kent State had fostered among America's youth. (The most direct and extreme expression of this paranoia was Peter Watkins's independently produced Punishment Park [1971], a cinema verité-style "docudrama" in which antiwar protestors are literally hunted down by National Guard troops in a game park; the film received only limited distribution [through Francoise], for obvious reasons.) The "Vietnam Western" theme was updated by Tom Laughlin's Billy Jack (1971; re-released by Taylor-Laughlin, 1973), where the title character is a half-breed Vietnam veteran who defends the children of his reservation against a mob of white townies backed by the local sheriff. (Billy Jack was actually the only movie to realize Hollywood's post-Easy Rider fantasy of huge grosses from a cheaply produced youth-cult film, and did so, ironically, by circumventing the industry's own distribution machinery: when Warner Bros. failed to adequately distribute the $800,000 film, Laughlin successfully sued the studio for the right to distribute it himself and then four-walled Billy Jack in a regional saturation re-release in May 1973—a strategy that brought in $32.2 million in rentals and became the model for blockbuster distribution several years after [see Chapter 2].)
Modernist or Anti-Westerns
"Vietnam Westerns" were made as late as 1972 (e.g., Robert Aldrich's Ulzana's Raid [Universal]; re-edited several times by its producer-distributor), but were soon displaced in the symbolic political hierarchy by Watergate and the new genre of "conspiracy films." Meanwhile, the mainstream Western of the 1970s became increasingly "modernist," either through overt myth-debunking as in Little Big Man, or through subversive, ambiguous style as in Robert Altman's McCabe & Mrs. Miller (Warner Bros., 1971), or both. Some films in the first category focused on deconstructing specific Western myths and stereotypes, such as Edwin Sherrin's Valdez Is Coming (MGM, 1971), Phil Kaufman's The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid (Universal, 1972), Stan Dragoti's Dirty Little Billie (WRG/Wamer Bros., 1972), Frank Perry's Doc (United Artists, 1971), John Hustons The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (First Artists, 1972), and Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (MGM, 1973). Others attempted to offer a historically realistic depiction of the harshness of Western life in general, for example, William Fraker's Monte Walsh (Cinema Center, 1970), Peckinpah's The Ballad of Cable Hogue (Warner Bros., 1970), Blake Edwards's
Wild Rovers (United Artists, 1971), Michael Winner's Lawman Robert Benton's Bad Company (Jaffilms/Paramount, 1972), Dick Richards's The Culpepper Cattle Company (Fox, 1972), Jan Troell's Zandy's Bride (Warner Bros., 1974), and Clint Eastwood's The Outlaw—Josey Wales (Malpaso/Warner Bros., 1976). Among the 1970s Westerns that took the art film route are Peter Fonda's The Hired Hand (Universal, 1971), Dennis Hopper's The Last Movie Sydney Pollack's Jeremiah Johnson (Warner Bros., 1972), Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter (Malpaso/Universal, 1973), James Frawley's Kid Blue (Fox, 1973), Frank Perry's Rancho Deluxe (United Artists, 1975), Richard Brooks's Bite the Bullet (Columbia, 1975), Robert Altman's Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (De Laurentiis, 1976), Arthur Penn's The Missouri Breaks (United Artists, 1976), and Monte Hellman's China 9, Liberty 37 (CEA, 1978). These self-conscious films, acutely aware of their classical heritage, were the logical culmination of the demystifying strain injected into the genre during the sixties by the Italian "spaghetti Westerns" (such as Sergio Leone's Fistful of Dollars [1964], For a Few Dollars More [1966], The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly [1966], and Once Upon a Time in the West [1968]) by such antiheroic domestic Westerns as Sam Peckinpah's Major Dundee (Columbia, 1965), Monte Hellman's Ride in the Whirlwind (1965) and The Shooting (1967), Tom Gries's Will Penny (Paramount, 1968), and, preeminently, Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch (Warner Bros., 1969)—often described as the first "anti-Western," although it simultaneously functions as a bitter elegy to western myths and values.
Modernist Westerns of the 1970s were often unconventional in form, resorting to loosely structured narratives and New Wave-style reflexivity, both French and Eastern European (the latter partially attributable to the influence of the two great Hungarian émigré cinematographers—Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond—who worked on many of them).32 Altman's Westerns, for example, resemble nothing so much as the Czech New Wave films of Jan Kadar (The Shop on Main Street [1965]) and Milos Forman (Fireman's Ball [1967]) in their use of nondiegetic music for thematic (as opposed to dramatic) reinforcement and their allusively dissident evocation of national institutions: McCabe & Mrs. Miller is as much a critique of corporate capitalism as Fireman's Ball is of Czechoslovak communism; and Buffalo Bill and the Indians interrogates racial zealotry no less than The Shop on Main Street in a different context. But Buffalo Bill is also relentlessly American, in a post-Watergate kind of way, as it attempts to show the myth of the Wild West in the very process of construction. Indeed, the ultimate burden of all 1970s modernist Westerns was to critique this myth-making process and aspire towards the condition of Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate (United Artists, 1980), where the historical West is presented as an economic and cultural evil—a malignant capitalist tumor on Eden's body.
Traditional Westerns
American-produced traditional Westerns continued to be popular during the decade, many of them owing to the presence of John Wayne (1907-1979), whose star power remained considerable throughout the 1970s, despite strong competition from such newcomers as Clint Eastwood (b. 1930) and Robert Redford (b. 1936).33 Four of Waynes seventies Westerns were made by his own production company, Batjac,34 for distribution by Warner Bros.—Chisum (Andrew V. McLaglen, 1970), Big Jake (George Sherman, 1971), The Train Robbers (Burt Kennedy, 1973), and Cahill—United States Marshall (Andrew V. McLaglen, 1973)—and were extremely conservative in their approach to the genre (unsurprisingly, given Waynes ultra-rightist politics). But others—Howard Hawks's last film Rio Lobo (Malabar/Cinema Center Films/NGC, 1970); Mark Rydell's The Cowboys (Sanford/Warner Bros., 1972); and Stuart Millar's Rooster Cogburn (Universal, 1975), a sequel to Henry Hathaway's hugely popular True Grit (Paramount, 1969), were less so—especially Waynes last film, The Shootist (Don Siegel, 1976), where he played an aging gunfighter dying of cancer, as Wayne himself was dying of the disease in real life. In fact, many of these traditional Westerns featured aging cowboys, and some (like Hawks's, Hathaway's, and Siegel's) were actually about aging, suggesting the creakiness of the Old West mythology and making the boundary between them and the revisionist Western less clear-cut than one might suppose.35 Nonetheless, "spaghetti Westerns"—like Sergio Corbucci's Companeros! (1971), Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dynamite (aka Duck, You Sucker, 1972), and Tonino Valerii's My Name Is Nobody (1973)—held on to their market share in the early part of the decade, but lost much of their appeal in the wake of Mel Brooks's Blazing Saddles (Crossbow/Warner Bros., 1974), whose parodic deconstruction of the Western form made their own inflated generic posturing difficult to take seriously (if, indeed, it had ever been).36
Comic And Parodic Westerns
Although it is true that the huge popular success of Blazing Saddles proclaimed genre parody as the quintessential comic film form of the seventies, it was hardly without precedent. Robert B. Ray points out that by the spring of 1966, as the New Hollywood stood poised to emerge, an enormous volume of television and motion picture fare was devoted to genre parody.37 As noted earlier, television series such as Batman, Get Smart, and The Wild, Wild West (a parody of the already parodic Maverick series, popular from 1957-1962) subsisted exclusively on spoofing their respective genres, while such films as United Artists' Thunderball (Terence Young, 1965) and Columbia's Cat Ballou (Elliot Silverstein, 1965) were straws in the wind for hundreds of movies produced between 1967 and 1980 that would depend on their audiences' ability to recognize them as corrections, exaggerations, or revisions of mainstream classical genres. The critically acclaimed Cat Ballou, which starred Lee Marvin in an Oscar-winning role as a drunken gunfighter, inaugurated the parody of Western generic clichés that reached its textual limit in Blazing Saddles. Cat Ballou was followed almost immediately by such imitators as Universal's Texas Across the River (Michael Gordon, 1966), Paramount's Waterhole #3 (William Graham, 1967) and a series of comic Westerns directed by Burt Kennedy, including The War Wagon (Universal, 1967), Support Your Local Sheriff (United Artists, 1969), The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (Warner-Seven Arts, 1969), Young Billy Young (United Artists, 1969), and Dirty Dingus Magee (MGM, 1970), that culminated in Support Your Local Gunfighter (United Artists, 1971) and Hannie Caulder (Paramount, 1971). This tongue-in-cheek approach to the genre was so well established by the late sixties that it informed nearly every line of William Goldman's script for George Roy Hill's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Fox, 1969), which, with $45.9 million in rentals ($21 million in 1969; the rest from re-release), became one of the most successful Westerns ever made. (It's worth noting that two other popular Westerns of 1969, both from Paramount, contained parodic elements—Henry Hathaway's True Grit, the eighth-highest earner of the year with $14.2 million in rentals, and Josh Logan's musical comedy Paint Your Wagon, which was the seventh with $14.5 million but still a loser given its negative cost of $20 million.)
By the early 1970s, even the "spaghetti Western" had begun to parody itself with films like Blindman (Ferdinando Baldi, 1972), and the "Trinity" series: They Call Me Trinity (E. B. Clutcher, 1971), Trinity Is Still My Name 1972), and Man of the East (E. B. Clucher, 1972), which also contained a parody of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.38 Clearly, Blazing Saddles had many predecessors, but it was unique in the extremity of its deconstruction, much of which is directed toward a subversion of film form itself—by revealing the source of nondiegetic sound on-camera, by exposing the two-dimensionality of apparently three-dimensional sets, and by having its characters crash through the Western set at the film's conclusion into several other studio sets, and finally into a movie theater where they watch themselves on screen. Western genre conventions and character types are parodied throughout the film, but a striking amount of its humor derives from the manipulation of racial stereotypes that have little or nothing to do with the Old West (but everything to do with the movies). Thus Blazing Saddles is considerably more deliberate than the "raunchy, protracted version of a television comedy skit" that Variety found it to be; but it scarcely dealt a death blow to the Western, as some critics have charged.39 (In fact, the reverse could be argued, since its $47.8 million in rentals made it the most financially successful Western of all time.)40
Printing the Legend
If there was a death blow to the Western genre, it was delivered by the political violence of 1968, Vietnam, and Watergate, after which the heroic Utopian mythography of the American West became impossible to sustain. Domestic production of Westerns declined dramatically and proportionally year by year in the wake of these phenomena, so that after 1976 there was little but parody (Fox's The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox [Melvin Frank, 1976], AIP's Great Scout and Cathouse Thursday [Don Taylor, 1976]), comedy (Paramount's Goin' South [Jack Nicholson, 1978], Columbia's The Villain [Hal Needham, 1979], Warner Bros.' The Frisco Kid [Robert Aldrich, 1979]), and sequels (United Artists' The Return of A Man Called Horse [Irvin Kershner, 1976], Fox's Butch and Sundance: The Early Days [Richard Lester, 1979]—actually a "prequel"), spiked by an occasionally serious contemporary Western (United Artists' Comes a Horseman [Alan J. Pakula, 1978]; Columbia's The Electric Horseman [Sydney Pollack, 1979]). By 1980, Hollywood production of Westerns had dwindled to six films—one of them bizarre (Windwalker [Pacific International; Kieth Merrill]), two of them resolutely silly (Bronco Billy [Warner Bros.; Clint Eastwood], Cattle Annie and Little Britches [Hemdale; Lamont Johnson]), and the rest grim to the point of nihilism (Heaven's Gate [United Artists; Michael Cimino], The Long Riders Artists; Walter Hill], Tom Horn [Warner Bros./First Artists; William Wiard])—and there were only four each in 1981 and 1982. The Western has been an undeniably impoverished genre since the 1970s, although popular Western films continue to be made. It has been noted, for example, that whereas only one Western had won an Academy Award for Best Picture before 1989 (RKO's Cimarron [1931], directed by Wesley Ruggles), two have won since (Orion's Dances with Wolves [1990], directed by Kevin Costner; and Warner Bros.' Unforgiven [1992], directed by Clint Eastwood),41 but both are films that succeed by standing classical conventions on their head and taking a deeply pessimistic view of human nature in general, and (white) society in particular. More and more, it begins to seem that the period 1969-1980 was the Western's last great moment, after which, to paraphrase Lee Clark Mitchell's Westerns, there was little but repetition of plots, visual fetishes, and character types.42
The Gangster Film
Other action genres experienced a similar transformation during the 1970s, notably the gangster film and the detective film, or film noir. (The combat film was another action subtype revised in the early 1970s, but with great caution, since America was still deeply conflicted about its involvement in Vietnam, yielding such anomalies as the release of M*A*S*H [Robert Altman], Patton [Franklin Schaffner], and Tora! Tora! Tora! [Richard Fleischer] by the same studio [Fox] in the same year [1970]—when they became numbers 3, 4, and 8 at the box office, respectively. Things became somewhat clearer after the American withdrawal in 1975, and by the end of the decade films like The Deer Hunter [Michael Cimino, 1978], Coming Home [Hal Ashby, 1978], and Apocalypse Now [Francis Ford Coppola, 1979] could address the conflict directly.) As with the Western, skepticism about American values undercut classical conceptions of heroism and individual destiny in both genres, leaving their protagonists to face a world too complicated to control or even understand. Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967), with its sympathetic protagonists and graphic violence, was the premiere revisionist gangster film, and its reworking of the "criminal couple" subgenre (e.g., They Live by Night [Nicholas Ray, 1949]) inflected many seventies variations of the form. These include low-budget imitations like Fox#x0027;s Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (John Hough, 1974), Warner Bros.' Aloha, Bobby and Rose (Floyd Mutrux, 1975), and New Worlds Crazy Mama (Jonathan Demme, 1975), as well as such original productions as Sam Peckinpah's The Getaway (National General, 1972), based on Jim Thompson's novel; Terrence Malick's Badlands (Warner Bros., 1973), based on the Charles Starkweather-Carol Fugate murder spree of 1957-1958; Robert Altman's Thieves Like Us (United Artists, 1974), based on the source novel for They Live by Night; and Steven Spielberg's The Sugarland Express (Universal, 1974), also based on real-life fugitives. The most unusual criminal couple film of the decade, and in many ways the most distinguished, was unquestionably Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon (Warners, 1975), based on a real-life incident in which a bisexual man (played by Al Pacino) held up a bank in New York City in order to finance a sex-change operation for his male lover. In nearly all of these films, the criminal couple is portrayed sympathetically (though not without irony) and martyred at the film's conclusion by callous lawmen, reversing the moral order of the classical universe. Yet the American gangster film had always been used as a vehicle to explore wider social and cultural issues, and the criminal couples of the seventies were in many ways configured as romantic revolutionaries against the system that gave us Watergate and Vietnam (and could therefore expect to be dealt with by the authorities in the same manner as the Kent State Four). As usual, AIP contributed several low-end but creatively distinct versions of the mainstream prototype—Bloody Mama (Roger Corman, 1970), Boxcar Bertha (Martin Scorsese, 1972), Dillinger (John Milius, 1973)—films with romanticized criminal heroes, whose murderous behavior is tempered by winning personality or mitigating circumstance.
The corruption of the system was implicit in another type of gangster film prominent during the 1970s—the Mafia family saga as apotheosized by Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (Paramount, 1972) and The Godfather, Part II (Paramount, 1974). Before The Godfather unexpectedly became the first great blockbuster of the decade, and inspired many imitations, there had been only a handful of films dealing with organized crime families (most recently, Paramount's The Brotherhood [Martin Ritt, 1968], and the TV-movie Honor Thy Father [Paul Wendkos, 1971], based on Gay Talese's nonfiction best-seller). Taken together, the two Godfather films trace the history of the fictional Corleone family from the early years of the twentieth century through the 1960s as its criminal business empire evolves in tandem with that of corporate America from free market capitalism to oligopoly, monopoly, and finally hegemonic global imperialism. In Part II, the equation of legitimate and illegitimate business is made quite clear when the Corleones' partners in taking control of the Cuban gambling industry are shown to be a combination of American conglomerates (real and fictive)—United Fruit, United Telephone and Telegraph, and Pan-American Mining—as well as the Teamsters union and assorted U.S. senators. Appropriately bracketing the Watergate scandal (the break-in occurred on May 28, 1972, and Nixon resigned the presidency in disgrace on August 8, 1974), The Godfather and the Godfather, Part II stopped just short of confirming the prediction of a leading Mafia expert that "organized crime will put a man in the White House some day, and he won't even know it until they hand him the bill."43 Other seventies gangster films that focussed on the Mafia, or Cosa Nostre, were Dino De Laurentiis's Columbia-released The Valachi Papers (Terence Young, 1972) and Crazy Joe (Carlo Lizzani, 1974), Universal's The Don Is Dead (Richard Fleischer, 1973), the Italian-produced Lucky Luciano (Francesco Rosi, 1974), and Warner Bros.' Lepke (Menahem Golan, 1975). (There were also numerous black action films with plots that revolved around conflicts between black mobsters and white Mafiosi—for example, United Artists' Across 11oth Street [Barry Shear, 1972], Columbia's Black Gunn [Robert Hartford-Davis, 1972], AIP's Black Caesar [Larry Cohen, 1973] and Hell Up in Harlem [Larry Cohen, 1973], and Cinemation's The Black Godfather [John Evans, 1974].) Although no subsequent gangster film came even close to the magisterial sweep of Coppola's work, the small-time Italian American hoods of Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets [Warner Bros., 1973] provided a sort of miniature version in the form of an urban youth-crime drama. Toward the decade's end, an unusual musical parody of the classical Hollywood gangster film appeared from Britain in Bugsy Malone (Alan Parker, 1976), cast entirely with children (whose machine guns shot whipped cream instead of bullets), and United Artists produced F.I.S.T. (Norman Jewison, 1978), a film about labor racketeering in the thirties that depicted a union's infiltration by organized crime for the first time since Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront (Columbia, 1954). However, the Godfather films dominated the mobster subgenre until the appearance of Sergio Leone's epic and compendious homage Once Upon a Time in America (Ladd, 1984).
Film Noir and Other Crime Genres
The detective film, or film noir, reappeared in the 1970s after a long dry spell in the late fifties and sixties when the cultural malaise that had driven it since the end of World War II was replaced by prosperity, consumerism, and fear of nuclear holocaust. Postwar film noir was fundamentally a "cinema of moral anxiety" dealing with the conditions forced upon honest people by a mendacious, self-deluding society,44 and the sense of alienation, corruption, and pessimism that this implies returned to the American detective film with a vengeance during the era of Watergate and Vietnam. (Geoffrey O'Brien has suggested that film noir was not a genre at all but "a slick new variety of packaging" designed to attract dwindling postwar audiences back to the theater with a blend of sex, violence, and fashionable nihilism.45 If true, the same logic would apply to the 1970s, whose confused cultural politics were quite similar to those of 1944-1950.)
SeventiesFilm Noir
Created by the "hard-boiled" school of American crime-writers—Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, and Horace McCoy (later joined by Mickey Spillane and Jim Thompson)—the film noir detective was originally a paragon of courageous individualism: tough, resourceful, and, above all, heroic in combating the moral anarchy that surrounded him.46 The seventies noir detective, by contrast, is bemused, vulnerable, and inept—as often as not the victim of an anachronistic code of honor. For example, in Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (United Artists, 1973), adapted from the novel by Raymond Chandler but updated to contemporary Los Angeles, Marlowe (Elliott Gould) becomes a fall-guy for his best friend, who abuses the detective's trust to cover up the murder of his wife. At the conclusion of Roman Polanski's period noir Chinatown (Paramount, 1974), from an original screenplay by Robert Towne, private eye J. J. Gittes (Jack Nicholson) unwittingly helps the Los Angeles police assassinate the woman he loves and is sworn to protect. (As Polanski later wrote, "I saw Chinatown not as a 'retro' piece or conscious imitation of classic movies shot in black and white, but as a film about the thirties seen through the camera eye of the seventies.")47 Harry Mosbey (Gene Hackman), the detective in Arthur Penn's Night Moves (Warner Bros., 1975), fails miserably to comprehend the larger picture that his obsessively assembled clues suggest, facilitates the deaths of several innocent people, and finally stumbles onto the truth when it is no longer relevant. Penn's description of Night Moves as "a counter-genre film, a private-eye film about a detective who finds that the solution is not solvable" could apply to most 1970s films noirs.48 Others that conform more or less to this revisionist pattern are MGM's Chandler (Paul Magwood, 1972—not to be confused with MGM's Marlowe [Paul Bogart, 1969], which is an adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel The Little Sister); Warner Bros.' Klute (Alan J. Pakula, 1971); United Artists' Hickey & Boggs (Robert Culp, 1972); Columbia's Shamus (BUZZ Kulik, 1973); Warner Bros.' The Yakuza (Sydney Pollack, 1975), from an original script by Paul Schrader and Robert Towne about an American investigator confronting the mob in Japan, The Drowning Pool (Stuart Rosenberg, 1976), based on Ross Macdonald characters, and The Late Show (Robert Benton, 1977); Avco Embassy's Farewell, My Lovely (Dick Richards, 1975), adapted from the Chandler novel originally filmed in 1944 as Murder, My Sweet (Edward Dmytryk); United Artists' The Big Sleep (Michael Winner, 1978), a remake of Howard Hawks's 1946 version of the Chandler novel scripted by William Faulkner, et al.; and Universal's The Big Fix (Jeremy Paul Kagan, 1978), a post-youth-cult film, noir, in which the detective is an ex-1960s radical in search of an ex-hippie cult leader. Central to all of these films are protagonists who are lost in a world that they no longer understand and are therefore powerless to master. What J. J. Gittes is told by another character in Chinatown is emblematic of this condition in general: "You may think you know what you're dealing with, but believe me, you don't." Or, as Marlowe (Robert Mitchum) expresses it at one point in Farewell, My Lovely: "I've run out of trust in this joint….Everything I touch turns to shit." (A highly specialized subtype of detective movie, the Sherlock Holmes film, also experienced considerable revision during the 1970s [not to mention parody] in such sophisticated treatments as United Artists' The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes [Billy Wilder, 1970], Universal's The Seven-Per-cent Solution [Herbert Ross, 1976], and Avco's Murder by Decree [Bob Clark, 1979], all of which revealed Holmes's cocaine addiction and suggested an emotionally complicated relationship with Watson.)
A close counterpart of the tired and alienated private eyes in the detective film was the noir cop as represented in Warner Bros.' "Dirty Harry" series with Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry [Don Siegel, 1971]; Magnum Force [Ted Post, 1973]; The Enforcer [James Fargo, 1976]) and The Gauntlet (Clint Eastwood, 1977); Fox's The French Connection (William Friedkin, 1971), The Seven-Ups (Philip D'Antonio, 1973), and The French Connection II (John Frankenheimer, 1975); Paramount's Serpico (Sidney Lumet, 1973) and Hustle (Robert Aldrich, 1975); Columbia's The New Centurions (Richard Fleischer, 1972); Universal's The Choirboys (Robert Aldrich, 1977); and Avco Embassy's The Onion Field (Harold Becker, 1979)—the last three adapted from novels by Joseph Wambaugh. Like Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry, which Pauline Kael lambasted as "a deeply immoral movie," many of the cops in these movies operated outside of the law.49 Their high quotient of vigilantism seems to confirm the argument of Michael Ryan and Douglas Kellner in Camera Politica that the 1970s film noir revival signaled the death of political liberalism, which found itself suddenly powerless against the economic realities of corporate capitalism and the military-industrial state.50 On the other hand, it seems clear that the deep cultural pessimism engendered by Vietnam and Watergate cut across the entire political spectrum—bearing out Kael's 1973 dictum that "[t]oday, movies say that the system is corrupt, that the whole thing stinks." Such is the case in such films as National General's Prime Cut (Michael Ritchie, 1972); Paramount's The Friends of Eddie Coyle (Peter Yates, 1973) and Framed (Phil Karlson, 1975); MGM's The Outfit (John Flynn, 1974); Universal's The Midnight Man (Ronald Kibbee, 1974); Fox's The Laughing Policeman (Stuart Rosenberg, 1974) and 99 and 44/100% Dead (John Frankenheimer, 1974), The Nickel
Ride (Robert Mulligan, 1975), and The Driver (Walter Hill, 1978); Warner Bros.' Dog Day Afternoon (Sidney Lumet, 1975) and The Killer Inside Me (Burt Kennedy, 1976); Faces Distribution's The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (John Cassavetes, 1976); Columbia's Shamus (BUZZ Kulik, 1973), Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976), and Hardcore (Paul Schrader, 1979); and United Artists' The Mechanic (Michael Winner, 1972), Busting (Peter Hyams, 1974), and Who'll Stop the Rain (Karel Reisz, 1978), the latter an adaptation of Robert Stone's corrosive, award-winning novel Dog Soldiers (1974), about the fury that engulfs two Vietnam veterans when they smuggle several kilos of heroin back into California.51 As one critic wrote, Who'll Stop the Rain (Stone's title was changed so that the film could be cross-marketed with its Creedence Clearwater Revival sound-track album) embodied "the ethical fragmentation and moral paralysis that spread like a plague through America's intellectuals as they witnessed Vietnam."52 In all these films, however, whatever their specific motive force, a sense of fatality, hopelessness, and dread threatens to overwhelm the characters even as they struggle against the disorder of the modern world.
The "Vigilante Revenge" Cycle
In a related 1970s subgenre, the "vigilante revenge film," populist heroes took the law into their own hands to fight against crime, corruption, and authoritarian bureaucracy, often from a rightist perspective. Typically, the protagonist was a decent man who had been wronged but cannot receive justice under law and is forced to seek redress by violating it. Billy Jack (Warners, 1971; re-released by Taylor-Laughlin, 1973) was the model for this type of film, and its basic strategy was that a vicious attack upon the hero's loved one(s) catalyzed his general sense of abuse and pushed him to seek violent retribution.53 (Like Howard Beale in Network [United Artists; Sidney Lumet, 1976], he's "mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.") Billy Jack earned $32.5 million through its re-release and generated two successful sequels from Warners—The Trial of Billy Jack (Tom Laughlin, 1974), which indicts the criminal justice system and blames Nixon personally for Watergate; and Billy Jack Goes to Washington (Tom Laughlin, 1977), a virtual remake of Frank Capra's depression-era classic Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). It also inspired the AIP/CRC release Walking Tall (Phil Karlson, 1973), an ultraviolent exploitation film based on the true story of Buford Pusser (played by Joe Don Baker), the club-wielding rural sheriff who had single-handedly cleaned up the vice-ridden town of Selma, Tennessee, after thugs murdered his wife. Opening slowly on the regional drivein circuit, this brutal endorsement of vigilantism became the sleeper of the year when it went into national release and returned $10 million in rentals against its tiny budget by attracting significant urban crossover. At the same time that Photoplay readers of 1973 voted Walking Tall their "Favorite Motion Picture of the Year," New York critics like Vincent Canby and Andrew Sarris were praising its "accomplished artistry."54 Two AIP-distributed theatrical sequels—Walking Tall, Part 2 (Earl Bellamy, 1975) and Walking Tall—The Final Chapter (Jack Starrett, 1977), both nearly as popular as the original—continued the story through Pusser's death in a suspicious car accident in 1974. And a 1978 CBS-TV movie based on his career, "A Real American Hero" (Lou Antonio, 12/9/78), became the pilot for a brief series.
The Walking Tall franchise inspired many imitations in the exploitation field and was itself a prime example of a general re-mythologizing of the country—particularly the rural South—in American popular culture during the 1970s. Stimulated by the decline of the nation's central cities and the rise of a "rust-belt" in the urban North, as well as by an economic boom in southern-rim states like Florida and Texas, this new mythos reflected the region's very real transformation in the wake of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. It was manifest materially in the national popularity of country-and-western music, CB (Citizens Band) radios, and movies with working-class rural or "redneck" heroes. By mid-decade, Southern-based car-chase movies (The Last American Hero [Lamont Johnson, 1973], Eat My Dust! [Charles Griffith, 1976], Smokey and the Bandit [Hal Needham, 1977]); trucker movies (White Line Fever [Jonathan Kaplan, 1975], Breaker! Breaker! [Don Hulette, 1977], Convoy [Sam Peckinpah, 1978]); romantic melodramas (Buster and Billy [Daniel Petrie, 1974], Ode to Billy Joe [Max Baer, 1976]); horror films (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre [Tobe Hooper, 1974], The Hills Have Eyes [Wes Craven, 1977]); and crime thrillers (Macon County Line [Richard Compton, 1974], Jackson County Jail [Michael Miller, 1976], Gator [Burt Reynolds, 1976]) were booming as newly created state film commissions helped to make location shooting in "the new South" an economically attractive alternative to filming on location elsewhere.55
The boom had extended to television by the late 1970s, where the rural South figured prominently in such series as The Dukes of Hazzard (CBS, 1979-1985), B. J. and the Bear (NBC, 1979-1981), and The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (NBC, 1979-1980). But it was in the vigilante revenge subgenre that the South figured most prominently during the 1970s, perhaps because, "new" or not, it had always registered statistically as the most violent part of the country. (Since records began to be kept in the nineteenth century, the South has had the highest homicide rate in the United States—nearly double that of the Northeast—a key factor in America's disproportionately high murder rate relative to other industrialized nations.)56 Rural revenge provided the basic plotline for such films as White Lightning (Joseph Sargent, 1973), Framed (Phil Karlson, 1975), Fighting Mad (Jonathan Demme, 1976), Vigilante Force (George Armitage, A Small Town in Texas (Jack Starrett, 1976), The Black Oak Conspiracy (Bob Kelljan, 1977), Rolling Thunder (John Flynn, 1977; story by Paul Schrader), The Farmer (David Berlatsky, 1977), and Wolf Lake (Burt Kennedy, 1978)—all of which pit an individual (often a returned Vietnam veteran) or a small town against dark forces of crime, greed, or corporate cupidity. The populist impulse of these rural revenge films is clearly related to the ideal of working-class purity enshrined in urban films like Rocky (John G. Avildsen, 1976; see below), whose heroes overcome impossible odds to rise above their "betters." At the core of both is the resentment of wealth, sophistication, and high culture that informs all populist mythologies of the little man, spiked with Watergate-Vietnam era mistrust for institutional authority.
The vigilante revenge scenario was given an upscale urban context in Paramount's Death Wish (Michael Winner, 1974), in which a self-professed pacifist (Charles Bronson) becomes a free-ranging vigilante killer to avenge the murder-rape of his wife and daughter. This slickly directed, cynical film became the anchor for its own franchise, spawning three sequels in the eighties (Death Wish 2-4, 1982-1987) and inspiring both blatant imitations (The Exterminator [James Glickenhaus, 1980]; An Eye for an Eye [Steve Carver, 1981]; The Annihilators [Charles E. Sellier, Jr., 1985]), and a "feminist" rape-revenge cycle (i.e., women avenging their own rapes) that included Paramount's Lipstick (Lamont Johnson, 1976), as well as such gory exploitation fodder as I Spit on Your Grave (Meir Zarchi, 1977) and Ms. 45 (Abel Ferrara, 1981). As this progression would suggest, the vigilante revenge subgenre became increasingly exploitative as the 1970s concluded, and finally became associated with the sadistic horror of films like Maniac (William Lustig, 1980) and Terror Train (Roger Spottiswoode, 1980) which Variety christened as "demented revenge."57 Nevertheless, we should recall that the rape-revenge motif was central to much 1970s cinema, appearing as the motive force in such important mainstream films as Straw Dogs (Sam Peckinpah, 1971) and Deliverance (John Boorman, 1972), as well as providing the opening scene of The Godfather (1972), wherein Don Corleone vows to avenge the gang-rape of an undertaker's daughter that the law has failed to punish. Furthermore, the most critically acclaimed film noir of the decade, Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (Columbia, 1976), falls squarely within the category of vigilante revenge in its subplot of Travis Bickle liberating a twelve-year-old prostitute from her pimp.
The "Paranoid" Conspiracy Film
The sense that oppressive forces were at work against individual liberty, and that the law could not protect its citizens from them, was central to another subgenre of 1970s film noir. In both mood and theme, the conspiracy film was a type of paranoid political thriller that placed the blame for American society's corruption on plotters pursuing secret agendas to control national life. (These films were paranoid in the sense of Richard Hofstader's usage of the term in his 1967 essay: "The Paranoid Style in American Politics," where he argues that an extremist strain runs throughout American political history, whose central preconception is "the existence of a vast, insidious, preternaturally effective international conspiratorial network designed to perpetrate acts of the most fiendish character."58) Inspired by the snowballing critique of the Warren Commission's investigation into the assassination of President Kennedy, and intensified by the revelations surrounding Watergate (as well as the Gulf of Tonkin incident, the Pentagon Papers, and the CIA-led coup against the Allende government in Chile), films about conspiracy began to appear in 1973.59 (Appropriately, the Watergate cover-up came to national attention most prominently during the summer of 1973 as a result of the televised Senate Watergate Committee hearings, chaired by Senator Sam Ervin, May 17-August 7.) The first was the theatrical feature Executive Action (David Miller, 1973), scripted by blacklist victim Dalton Trumbo (an original member of the "Hollywood Ten") from a story co-authored by Mark Lane, whose Rush to Judgement (1967) was the first and foremost documentary film to challenge the Warren Commission report. Produced with private funds and distributed by National General, Executive Action marked the tenth anniversary of the Kennedy assassination by attributing it to a conspiracy of right-wing businessmen. (Intriguingly, though its dramatic scenes are woodenly directed, the film mixes newsreel and staged footage of events surrounding the assassination with an impressive verisimilitude that clearly influenced Oliver Stone's JFK [1991].) Alan Pakula's The Parallax View (Paramount, 1974) uses the assassination of a fictive U.S. senator and its subsequent cover-up to evoke the murder of both Kennedys and a vast corporate conspiracy that runs the country by assassinations disguised as accidents or the work of "lone nut" killers. The film's mystery-like plot revolves around the attempts of an investigative reporter (Warren Beatty) to penetrate the ultra-secret Parallax Corporation, a company whose only business, it transpires, is the recruitment of sociopaths to carry out political murders which blue-ribbon government panels—like the Warren Commission—then help to conceal through collusion, stupidity, or both. The invisible operations of corporate power also stand behind Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation (The Directors Company/Paramount, 1974), although it is more concerned with the limits of personal responsibility than with politics. In it, a surveillance expert (Gene Hackman) is hired by a corporation's director to record a conversation between a man and woman as they stroll together in a San Francisco park at noon. Playing back the recording, he thinks he has uncovered a murder plot and must decide whether to act on the discovery or not; he does act, but in misreading the audiotape inadvertently facilitates a crime he had sought to prevent. Deliberately evocative of Antonioni's Blowup (1966) in both its theme and art-film ambience, The Conversation describes a world where conspiracies appear and disappear like cobwebs and where recording media are inherently duplicitous—a world very much like that of the real-life Watergate co-conspirators who were the subject of Alan Pakula's next film, All the President's Men (1976), which has been called "the centerpiece of the conspiracy subgenre."60
Adapted by Willam Goldman from the best-selling account by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two Washington Post reporters who broke the case at great risk to their careers (and ultimately, the film implies, their lives), All the President's Men is constructed like a detective story in which the two principals (Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford, who also produced)61 move clue by clue and tip by tip toward uncovering a criminal conspiracy that reaches into the highest levels of the White House. To do this, they must coax bits and pieces of the truth from a wide range of low-level administration officials, most of whom are very scared, and one unidentified White House insider (the legendary "Deep Throat") in order to establish an indisputable link between funds donated to CREEP (the Committee to Re-Elect the President) and the money used to pay the Watergate burglars. Although it is fairly conventional in form, All the President's Men is extraordinary in its evocation of police-state-like menace and its semi-documentary integration of television news footage and dramatic text. Unlike other Watergate films (e.g., the 1979 CBS-TV miniseries Blind Ambition [George Schaefer], or Oliver Stone's 1995 feature Nixon), none of the administration principals are portrayed by actors; Nixon and his lieutenants reveal (or, more accurately, expose) themselves only through the real television interviews, addresses, and newscasts that had taken place during the previous three years, and had the currency of "instant history." Thus the film is able to focus on its mystery plot, and offer little exposition of the scandal itself, because contemporary audiences had just been inundated by media coverage of it. Yet polls showed that the public was becoming as cynical about the media as it was of other national institutions, a circumstance reflected in the popularity of three late seventies films: Network (United Artists; Sidney Lumet, 1976), a satire on the interrelationship of television and corporate capitalism written by Paddy Chayefsky; Capricorn One (Associated General [ITC]; Peter Hyams, 1978), a political thriller in which a manned-flight landing on Mars is faked by a deadly conspiracy involving NASA, elements of the press, and the CIA; and The China Syndrome (Columbia/IPC; James Bridges, 1979), a "doomsday" thriller—released just weeks before a near-fatal accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, forced the evacuation of 1,000,000 local residents—that posits collusion among the media, Federal regulatory agencies, and the nuclear power industry to conceal the latter's threat to public health. (Earlier, Michael Ritchie's The Candidate [Fox, 1972] had suggested the kind of unsavory relationship of media and politics that both elected Richard Nixon and brought him down.)
In 1975-1976, revelations surfaced of the CIA's involvement in several foreign assassination attempts, successful (South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem) and abortive (Cuban Premier Fidel Castro), and the agency itself became the target in Three Days of the Condor (Sydney Pollack, 1975) and The Killer Elite (Sam Peckinpah, 1975), which were basically high-powered espionage thrillers with a political edge. In the former, a CIA researcher (Robert Redford) becomes a hunted man when he stumbles onto a plot by a renegade faction of the agency to invade the Middle East and liberate its oil supplies; in the latter, several members of a private assassination bureau subcontracted to the CIA become double agents, and turn against the agency. In Twilight's Last Gleaming (Robert Aldrich, 1977), Vietnam is the issue and conspiracy is pandemic as renegade Air Force officers commandeer a nuclear missile silo, threatening to start World War III unless the president reveals the contents of a secret blueprint for continuing the war. The document will prove that the military-industrial complex kept the war going to ensure its credibility long after intelligence had deemed it unwinnable, costing tens of thousands of lives. (This was not exactly a revelation: Jonathan Schell said more or less the same thing in his 1976 book The Time of Illusion on the catastrophic Nixon presidency: "The war had become [by 1969] an effort directed entirely toward building up a certain image by force of arms. It had become a piece of pure theater.")62 In the end, both the terrorists and the president are killed, and the document is suppressed. Other 1970s assassination films with conspiracy genes are Scorpio (United Artists; Michael Winner, 1973), a tale of contract killers inside the CIA; The Day of the Dolphin (AVCO Embassy; Mike Nichols, 1973), in which dolphins are trained by plotters (who may be renegade CIA agents) to carry bombs to the presidential yacht; The Day of the Jackal (Universal; Fred Zinnemann, 1973), based on Frederick Forsyth's best-seller about a right-wing plot to assassinate French president Charles de Gaulle, with clear parallels to the JFK murder; The Mackintosh Man (Warners; John Huston, 1973), about the CIA's efforts to assassinate a high-placed spy within the British government; and The Domino Principle (AVCO Embassy; Stanley Kramer, 1977) in which a secret assassination bureau recruits an ex-convict to kill a key government official (unspecified in the film, but probably Nixon or Kissinger). Political murder is also the motive force of Richard Lester's Cuba (United Artists, 1979), a dark and brilliantly executed satire set during the final days of the Batista regime in 1959, which forms a nearly perfect pendant with Coppola's The Godfather, Part II: Sean Connery plays a British mercenary sent to train government security forces in Havana, where the CIA-backed military works feverishly with Cuban factory owners and American businessmen to drain the last ounces of capital from a country whose only remaining social contract is graft, before its inevitable revolution.
By the end of the decade, the conspiracy subgenre was so well codified that it could be parodied in Winter Kills (AVCO Embassy; William Richert 1979; re-released 1983). (Nasty Habits [Michael Lindsay-Hogg, 1977], a British film distributed by Fox, had already satirized the Watergate conspiracy in an allegory of political corruption inside a Philadelphia convent run by a paranoid abbess.) Adapted from a novel by Richard Condon (whose novel The Manchurian Candidate was the source for John Frankenheimer's ur-conspiracy film of 1962), Winter Kills is actually less a parody than black comedy in which the half-brother of the assassinated President Kegan (Kennedy) tracks his way through an interlocking network of witnesses, survivors, and conspiracy theorists to discover that family patriarch Pa Kegan (Joseph Kennedy) was behind the murder—basically to protect his business interests when his son, the president, waxed too liberal, returning in a comic way to the premise of Executive Action. Finally, conspiracy was cross-bred with other genres in ways that reflected, not merely political mistrust, but the significant "collapse of confidence in business" that Seymour Martin Lipset and William Schneider discovered had occurred between 1965 and 1975.63
Such generic hybridization—a general trend in late-seventies Hollywood—produced films like Coma (United Artists; Michael Crichton, 1978), in which the health industry conspires to harvest organs from the living; North Dallas Forty (Paramount; Ted Kotcheff, 1979), a satire on the conspiratorial nature of professional football; and The Formula (MGM; John G. Avildsen, 1980), wherein a multinational oil cartel conspires with ex-Nazis to suppress the development of a cheap synthetic fuel. Even a sci-fi/horror thriller like Alien (Fox; Ridley Scott, 1979) could have a strong anticorporate subtext (in this case, a corporation plots against its own employees to salvage a monstrous polymorph). The theme of government/corporate conspiracy remained strong in the early eighties, when films like Hangar 18 (Sunn Classic; James L. Conway, 1980), Eyewitness (Fox; Peter Yates, 1981), Cutter's Way (United Artists; Ivan Passer, 1981), Outland (Warner Bros.; Peter Hyams, 1981); Blow Out (Filmways; Brian De Palma, 1981), Missing (Universal; Constantin Costa-Gavras, 1982), and Silkwood (Fox; Mike Nichols, 1983) made it clear that the post-traumatic stress of Watergate could not be laughed away. (The popular interest in conspiracy unleashed by Watergate also facilitated the first American films to speak openly of the 1950s industry blacklist, dovetailing nicely with the downfall of veteran anti-Communist witchhunter Richard Nixon: The Way We Were [Columbia; Sydney Pollack, 1973], a glossy love story produced by Ray Stark, used blacklisting as a plot device to end a romance between two attractive Hollywood insiders played by Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford, whereas The Front [Columbia; Martin Ritt, 1976] was made by people who had suffered the effects of blacklisting themselves—director Ritt, scriptwriter Walter Bernstein, and star Zero Mostel—and had the blacklist at its core in its story of a nobody, played by Woody Allen, who "fronts" scripts to studios on behalf of "tainted" writers.)
ParodyNoir
Yet, for all of this free-floating paranoia, films of mystery and detection were parodied throughout the decade, beginning with Fox's Sleuth (Joseph Mankiewicz, 1972), adapted by Anthony Shaffer from his own play, and two Agatha Christie adaptations from Paramount that border on parody—Murder on the Orient Express (Sidney Lumet, 1974) and its follow-up Death on the Nile (John Guillermin, 1978). It was also during the 1970s that two Blake Edwards films (The Pink Panther [1964] and Shot in the Dark [1964], produced by the Mirisch Company for United Artists), starring Peter Sellers as the bumbling French detective Inspector Clouseau, became part of a series. The appearance of three new entries, all produced and directed by Edwards for United Artists—The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976), and The Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)—created a brief franchise for visual slapstick long after its mainstream demise. Neil Simon spoofed the "locked room" subgenre of detective fiction in Columbia's popular Murder by Death (Robert Moore, 1976)—which brings five of the world's greatest detectives together under one roof, and it was followed, in true seventies fashion, by an inferior sequel: The Cheap Detective (Robert Moore, 1978), in which the Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) character from Murder by Death is run through a Maltese Falcon parody. In fact, Bogart and The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941) became parodic icons for the 1970s, beginning with Paramount's Play It Again, Sam (Herbert Ross, 1972; adapted by Woody Allen from his own play), in which Bogart's ghost rises from the frames of Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942) to instruct the protagonist on life and love. The Black Bird (David Giler, 1975) was a Maltese Falcon parody/sequel/remake where Sam Spade, Jr. pursues the valuable statue mislaid by his dad, with Lee Patrick and Elisha Cook, Jr. reprising their original roles. Parody of the hard-boiled school punctuated the decade's end with Fox's The Man With Bogart's Face (aka Sam Marlowe, Private Eye [Robert Day, 1980]), in which a contemporary detective has plastic surgery to give him the face of his idol and becomes involved in a Maltese Falcon-type case, replete with references to classical personalities and stars. The master of classical genre parody during the 1970s, however, was Mel Brooks, and his Hitchcock spoof High Anxiety (Fox, 1977) is a locus classicus of the type. Simultaneously a tribute and a send-up, Brooks's film contains legible quotations from Spellbound (Alfred Hitchcock, 1945), Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958), Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960), and The Birds 1963), as well as some purely stylistic allusions that incarnate the decade's dual (and somewhat schizoid) impulse toward cynical nose-thumbing and reverent nostalgia.
Related to these mystery spoofs were "buddy caper" films, a comic variation of the criminal couple subgenre—usually focusing on the relations between two men—that became extremely popular during the 1970s. Some took the form of heist films like Columbia's $ (Dollars) (Richard Brooks, 1971) and Fox's The Hot Rock (Peter Yates, 1972), whose high-water mark was the blockbuster success of Universal's period caper The Sting (George Roy Hill, 1973), which returned $78.2 million in rentals to become the second highest grossing film of the year. Other buddy caper films had a more serious social edge (e.g., MGM's Slither [Howard Zieff, 1973]; United Artists' Thunder-bolt and Lightfoot [Michael Cimino, 1974]; Universal's Charley Varrick [Don Siegel, 1973] and Blue Collar [Paul Schrader, 1978]; and AIP's Special Delivery [Paul Wendkos, 1976]), but many were purely comedic in both pacing and tone (Warners' Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins [Dick Richards, 1975], Freebie and the Bean [Richard Rush, 1974], and The In-Laws (Arthur Hiller, 1979); Columbia's Fun with Dick and Jane (Ted Kotcheff, 1977); and Universal's The Brink's Job (William Friedkin, 1978) and Smokey and the Bandit (Hal Needham, 1977). The unexpected $59 million return of Smokey and the Bandit—primarily a southern rural car-chase film in the mode of United Artists' White Lightning (Joseph Sargent, 1973) and Gator [Burt Reynolds, 1976]—led to many imitations (Ron Howard's Grand Theft Auto [AIP/Warners, 1977], and Hal Needham's own Hooper [Cinerama, 1978] that attempted to mainstream the formula with considerably less success. In the 1980s, buddy capers became more violent and action-oriented, as witnessed by such successful "buddy cop" franchises as Paramount's 48 Hrs. (Walter Hill, 1982) and Warners' Lethal Weapon (Richard Donner, 1987) series, whose origins lay in Fox's popular French Connection films of 1971 and 1975.
The Musical
The musical entered the 1970s with the onerous distinction of having helped more than any other single genre to create the financial crisis of 1969-1971. Seeking to emulate the success of Fox#x0027;s The Sound of Music (Robert Wise) in 1965, over-produced big-budget musicals had generated more than $60 million in losses for the majors between 1967 and 1970, leading directly to an industry-wide production moratorium in October 1969.64 Several spectacular musicals then in post-production were released in early 1970 with similarly dismal results. Paramount's On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (Vincent Minnelli; based on an Alan Jay Lerner stage show about reincarnation), and Darling Lili (Blake Edwards; from an original screenplay by Edwards and William Peter Blatty about a World War I British stage star who is also a German spy), were both disappointments. Clear Day broke even, but Lili lost $18.7 of its $22-million negative cost to become the biggest box-office failure of the 1970s, despite award-winning music by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer. Another stalled behemoth was ABC/Cinerama Releasing Corp.'s Song of Norway (Andrew L. Stone, 1970), a musical biography of Edward Grieg adapted from a 1944 Broadway hit and shot on location in Super Panavison 70, which earned just under $4.5 million and failed to return its negative cost. Coming at the end of a long string of late-sixties flops (which included Fox's Doctor Dolittle [Richard Fliescher, 1967], Star! [Robert Wise, 1968], and Hello, Dolly! [Gene Kelly, 1969], Warner Bros.' Camelot [Joshua Logan, 1967], United Artists' Chitty Chitty Bang Bang [Ken Hughes, 1968], Universal's Sweet Charity [Bob Fosse, 1969], and Paramount's Paint Your Wagon [Joshua Logan, 1969]), the poor performance of these big-budget musicals in 1970 seemed to confirm the fact that the form was dead, or perhaps ready for replacement by "alternative" musicals like Warner Bros.' Woodstock (Michael Wadleigh, 1970), whose youth-cult appeal brought in $16.4 million in rentals and placed it sixth on Variety's annual box-office chart. (It also won the 1970 Academy Award for best documentary feature.) In what seemed an immediate contradiction, 1971's biggest hit was United Artists' Fiddler on the Roof (Norman Jewison), a $9-million adaptation of a Broadway musical based on stories of Shalom Aleichem that had been running since 1964. Shot on locations in Yugoslavia (and at Pinewood Studios, London) in Panavision and recorded in six-track stereo, the three-hour film earned $38.2 million (about half The Sound of Music's rentals, 1965-1967) and eight Academy Award nominations. Yet 1971 also saw the release of MGM's The Boy Friend (Ken Russell), a musical which, though based on a popular Sandy Wilson stage play, would provide a paradigm for the genre's revision. Filmed at EMI-MGM Elstree Studios as an homage to the studio musicals of the thirties, the film is genrecoded with a typical backstage romance and Busby Berkeley-style crane choreography (virtually indistinguishable from the original except for its Panavison aspect ratio and color), but it is also self-reflexive to a degree: the plot revolves around a repertory company attempting to stage a provincial production of Sandy Wilsons The Boy Friend which a film crew is simultaneously shooting as a motion picture. The Boy Friend achieves the almost-perfect balance between nostalgia and parody that would become a hallmark of 1970s revisionism. But it was Bob Fosses Cabaret (ABC/Allied Artists, 1972) that most dramatically changed public perception of what a musical could be by appropriating it as a vehicle for serious social criticism.
Revisionism: FromCabarettoNew York New York
In adapting the John Masteroff-John Kander-Fred Ebb stage show, screenwriter Jay Presson Allen incorporated elements from its sources in John van Druten's play I Am a Camera and the writings of Christopher Isherwood to create a chilling picture of pre-Nazi Berlin on the brink of a catastrophic fascist revolution. In a reaction against the artificially "integrated" musicals of the fifties and sixties, Fosse segregated the production numbers from the dramatic action and contextualized them as cabaret performances at the seedy "Kit Kat Club," a locus classicus of Weimar decadence. Further-more, by intercutting these interludes of lurid staged entertainment with scenes of Nazi violence in the streets, he instantiated a Brechtian irony more characteristic of the European art film than the American musical. (Fosse was no stranger to art cinema, having recently directed a film version of Sweet Charity [Universal, 1969], the Broadway musical based on Fellini's Nights of Cabiria [1957].) Finally, in developing its historical anti-authoritarian theme, Cabaret clearly suggested the political and moral price of withdrawing into self-indulgence at a time when many sixties activists had done just that in the face of the Nixon ascendancy. Cabaret, which starred Liza Minnelli as Sally Bowles, was both critically and financially successful (earning $20.2 million in rentals and winning eight Academy Awards), but if industry leaders took note of this condition, they failed immediately to act on it. Instead the studios continued to crank out standard Broadway and off-Broadway adaptations (Columbia's 1776 [Peter Hunt, 1972] and Godspell [David Greene, 1973], United Artists' Man of La Mancha [Arthur Hiller, 1972], Universal's Jesus Christ Superstar [Norman Jewison, 1973], Warner Bros.' Mame [Gene Saks, 1974]) and conventional musical biopics (MGM's The Great Waltz [Andrew L. Stone, 1972], about Johann Strauss; Paramount's Lady Sings the Blues [Sidney J. Furie, 1972], about Billie Holiday) with scant reward—of the above named films, only Lady Sings the Blues and Jesus Christ Superstar grossed more than $10 million. They even managed to produce one certified, late-sixties-style disaster in Columbia's Lost Horizon (Charles Jarrott, 1973), a musical version of Frank Capra's 1937 fantasy classic that lost $8.2 million of its $12-million investment and is still reviled as one of the worst musicals ever made. In 1974 and 1975, however, several films confirmed the genre's modernist turn, including the nostalgic compilation of excerpts from MGM musicals entitled That's Entertainment! (Jack Haley, 1974), which announced the death of the classical musical by eulogizing it and became integral to the retrospective consciousness of the decade. (It was also extremely popular, earning $19.1 million in rentals to place tenth on Variety's annual chart and generating the 1976 sequel That's Entertainment, Part II [Gene Kelly].) Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise (1974) was a camp musical version of Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera (already given straight treatment in four earlier films), with a pounding contemporary rock score by Paul Williams. Ken Russell's Mahler (Mayfair, 1974) and Lisztomania (Warner Bros., 1975) were irreverent, musical biopics in the style of his earlier portrait of Tchaikovsky in The Music Lovers (United Artists, 1971)—the Liszt film offering a wild burlesque of nineteenth-century musicians in general.
These films were all to some extent self-conscious, but none was so reflexive as Robert Altman's Nashville (Paramount, 1975) the musical entry in his project to revise all of the major classical genres. The film traces the overlapping (and, finally, intersecting) paths of twenty-four characters through the country-and-western music capital over a five-day period, and it contains twenty-seven songs presented in performance contexts and recorded in Lion's Gate eight-track stereo. (The Dolby noise reduction system was also used in recording Nashville, as well as in mastering the stereo magnetic release prints—see below.) Like Cabaret, Nashville has a political subtext, which has to do with the way in which American media and historical reality have become intertwined, but is much more subtle than Fosse's film in terms of rhetoric. There was nothing subtle about Fox's British import The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman, 1975), which took generic hybridization to new heights by combining a rock musical with a horror film (one highly reminiscent of Hammer Films' The Curse of Frankenstein [Terence Fisher, 1957]) and parodying both forms.65 This film version of a kinky, longrunning London stage show about a heterosexual couple who stumble onto an old dark house full of "transvestites from transsexual Transylvania" has been described as "a high camp blend of Gay Liberation and B-movie Gothic,"66 and it quickly became a cult phenomenon, catalyzing audience participation at midnight movie screenings for years to come—initially, at the Waverly Theater in Greenwich Village where it ran for 95 consecutive weeks between 1976 and 1978. (The 1970s were the golden age of midnight movies in cities around the nation; they were institutionalized with the premiere of Alexandra Jodorowksy's El Topo at the Elgin Theater in New York late 1970 and had become a regular feature of urban distribution by the time of Rocky Horror.)
If Rocky Horror represented the epitome of generic pastiche, Peter Bogdanovich's At Long Last Love (Fox, 1975) attempted to be the ultimate homage to the RKO Astaire-Rogers musicals of the 1930s and failed miserably at the box office, despite its superb art deco sets and sixteen Cole Porter songs. Lingering public tolerance for old-style musicals was demonstrated by the success of Columbia's Funny Lady (Herbert
Ross, 1975), a sequel to its popular Fanny Brice biography Funny Girl (William Wyler, 1968); but whereas the earlier film's $26.4 million in rentals had made it by far the highest earner of 1968, the sequel's $19.3 million placed it eighth in the year Jaws. Significantly, several mid-seventies rock musicals performed nearly as well as or better than Funny Lady—Ken Russell's visually extravagant version of The Who's rock opera Tommy (Columbia, 1975) earned $17.8 million; and Warner Bros.' fourth remake of A Star Is Born (Frank R. Pierson, 1976), with Barbra Streisand as a stellar rock singer, earned $37.1 million and set the standard for film/music cross-marketing with its "Evergreen" sound-track album (see Chapter 3). But the decade's most aesthetically successful essay in musical revision was New York New York (United Artists, 1977), Martin Scorsese's homage to the big band era, based on his viewing of literally hundreds of MGM musicals from the 1940s and 1950s. With Liza Minnelli as a rising singer (the kind of role her mother Judy Garland had played in many such MGM films) married to saxophonist/band leader Robert De Niro, the film mixed musical buoyancy with postwar angst that was perfectly captured by the moody Technicolor cinematography of Laszlo Kovacs. As in Cabaret and Nashville, the production numbers are segregated onto the stage, and the narrative focus is on the failed relationship of the Minnelli and De Niro characters. In the year of Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, though, it was probably inevitable that Scorsese's pessimistic vision would go unrewarded, and New York returned only $7 million in rentals on its $9-million investment.
Another failure, but for different reasons, was the U.S.-Austrian-German coproduction of A Little Night Music (New World-Sascha-Wien; Harold Prince, 1978), adapted from Stephen Sondheim's ratified, Tony-award winning 1973 musical version of Bergmans Smiles of a Summer Night (1955) by its original stage director Harold Prince. The film was part of an Austrian attempt to jumpstart its industry, which had been languishing since the end of World War II: the action was moved from turn-of-the-century Sweden to Vienna and given an operetta-like quality out of tune with the wistful, thought-provoking original—none of which was helped by casting Diana Rigg and Elizabeth Taylor in singing roles.67 Hated by critics and audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, A Little Night Music was an enormous flop that ended the film career of Harold Prince, although it did win an Oscar for Best Adapted Scoring in competition against Disney's Pete's Dragon (Don Chaffey, 1977) and a British retelling of Cinderella called The Slipper and the Rose (Bryan Forbes, 1976), whose exteriors were also shot in Austria.
Saturday Night Fever, Grease, and The Advent of Dolby Stereo Optical Sound
In the first years of the Carter presidency there was a newly affirmative national mood as Americans began to come to terms with the dual traumas of Watergate and Vietnam. Carter, who was elected in the Bicentennial year of 1976 on a solemn pledge "never to lie to the American people," promised to bring a new era of openness and honesty to government. Predictably, Paramount's upbeat dance film Saturday Night Fever (John Badham, 1977) was more in step with the new rhythm than either Scorsese's or Prince's work. In its vibrant portrait of working-class kids who come alive at a local disco, it became one the decade's most successful musicals, earning a remarkable $74.1 million in rentals to place third for the year behind Star Wars (George Lucas) and Close Encounters (Steven Spielberg). Like those films, Saturday Night Fever generated multiple repeat viewings among young people, who consumed it much as they would a rock concert. It also had the novelty of being the first post-"youth-cult" youth film with a contemporary setting, and stimulated Paramount to cast its star, television crossover John Travolta, in a similar musical production the following year—an adaptation of the long-running Broadway hit Grease. Directed by Randal Kleiser, Grease was a parody of 1950s rock 'n' roll programmers and 1960s beach-party movies containing seventeen production numbers that were integrated with the narrative, which was less a conservative reflex than a knowing bow to its stage origins. (As Kleiser said at the time, "Stylistically, the actors will stop and break into song—that's old—but we are using all the '70s film techniques we can muster, like split screen and high-powered sound.")68 Grease was even more successful than its predecessor, earning $96.3 million to become the top-grossing film in the year of such blockbusters as Superman (Richard Donner) and National Lampoon's Animal House (John Landis). The popularity of both Saturday Night Fever and Grease was enhanced by the installation of Dolby stereo reproduction equipment in theaters around the country in the wake of Star Wars, the first wide-release film with a Dolby-encoded stereo optical sound track, whose astounding success was understood to stem at least in part from its use of high-quality sound. (Fox's surveys of theaters playing the film indicated that Dolby-equipped venues significantly outgrossed non-Dolby ones.)69 The sound-track albums of Saturday Night Fever and Grease sold tens of millions of copies (thirty-five and twenty-four, respectively) worldwide. Saturday Night Fever, in fact, became the first film to earn more from its album sales than from its very considerable rentals (a $350 million gross, making it the best-selling LP of all time), and it became the prototype of synergy between the film and record industries.70 Worth noting here is the phenomenal growth of the popular music industry during the 1970s: from $1 billion in 1967, record and tape sales reached $2 billion in 1973 and $4 billion in 1978—$1.5 billion more than the total 1978 grosses of the American film industry in its 15,000 theaters.71
Most of those theaters were equipped to play optical prints only (in which the sound track is printed as a small strip to the left of the picture for reading by a photoelectric cell in projection), and therefore did not have access to the superior quality of pre-Dolby magnetic stereo. There were two magnetic stereo systems available to theaters before Dolby—the four-track CinemaScope system for 35mm introduced by Fox in The Robe (Henry Koster, 1953), and the six-track Todd-AO system for 70mm film introduced in Around the World in Eighty Days (Michael Anderson, 1956), both of which placed their separate magnetic tracks directly on the theatrical print outside of the picture frame.72 Although magnetic prints offered the highest possible quality of sound reproduction, they cost about twice as much to produce as optical prints (in the mid-1970s, $1,200 vs. $800) and degraded faster
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https://medium.com/%40milforddonahoe/all-the-mark-rydell-movies-in-chronological-order-553b2e93d961
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All 35 Mark Rydell Movies (in Order)
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2024-04-04T22:05:29.937000+00:00
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Get ready to immerse yourself in the world of cinema as we take a deep dive into the vast filmography of the legendary Mark Rydell. From his early beginnings as a director to his critically acclaimed…
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https://medium.com/@milforddonahoe/all-the-mark-rydell-movies-in-chronological-order-553b2e93d961
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Milford Donahoe
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14 min read
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Apr 4, 2024
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Get ready to immerse yourself in the world of cinema as we take a deep dive into the vast filmography of the legendary Mark Rydell. From his early beginnings as a director to his critically acclaimed works, this roundup article offers an engaging overview of Rydell’s unforgettable contributions to the movie industry.
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1. Crime in the Streets (1956)
Experience the raw, gritty world of “Crime in the Streets” (1956), a powerful drama that explores the social challenges of the era. Set in a poverty-stricken community, a dedicated social worker finds himself drawn into the dangerous world of a local slum gang. As he tries to befriend them, he must navigate a labyrinth of crime and tension, all while facing the harsh realities of life in the streets.
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2. The Fox (1967)
The Fox, “ a gripping 1967 drama, tells the tale of two young women, Jill and Ellen, who attempt to keep a chicken farm running in Canada. Their lives take an unexpected turn when the powerful and gentle Paul Grenfell returns to help them, ultimately proposing marriage to Ellen.
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3. The Reivers (1969)
The Reivers” is a classic 1969 film that takes viewers on a heartwarming and humorous journey through Mississippi at the turn of the century. The film centers around an 11-year-old boy, who, under the influence of two fun-loving adult friends, embarks on a daring adventure that involves stealing the family car and venturing to Memphis.
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4. The Cowboys (1972)
The Cowboys, a 1972 Western directed by Mark Rydell, tells the story of rancher Wil Andersen, portrayed by the legendary John Wayne, who hires a group of inexperienced boys to assist in getting his herd to market. However, their journey is far from easy, as they face dangers and encounter a gang of cattle rustlers on their trail.
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5. The Long Goodbye (1973)
In “The Long Goodbye, “ private investigator Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould) gets tangled in a web of trouble when he helps a friend, Terry Lennox (Dennis Weaver), in an unrelated case. The friend’s wife, Eileen Wade (Nina van Pallandt), subsequently turns up dead, and Marlowe becomes the prime suspect. This is where the neo-noir crime drama begins, set in the picturesque coastal city of Malibu, California.
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6. Cinderella Liberty (1973)
Cinderella Liberty” is a captivating drama-romance film set in the heart of early 1970s America. Directed by Mark Rydell and written by Darryl Ponicsan, this intriguing movie captures the essence of love and self-discovery as it unfolds its compelling story. The film, released in 1973, was nominated for 3 Oscars and stars notable actors James Caan and Marsha Mason.
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7. Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976)
In the thrilling 1976 comedy-crime film “Harry and Walter Go to New York, “ two vaudevillian con artists named Harry and Walter become entangled with a notorious bank robber in an audacious New York City heist in 1892. Directed by Mark Rydell and written by Don Devlin, John Byrum, and Robert Kaufman, the movie stars James Caan and Elliott Gould, as well as Michael Caine. Set during a time of vaudeville and petty crime, the film offers an engaging mix of comedy and crime, taking audiences on a thrilling ride through the streets of New York.
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8. The Rose (1979)
The Rose” is a heart-wrenching drama that delves into the world of a self-destructive female rock star. The film, set in 1979, tells the tragic story of a woman wrestling with the relentless pressures of her music career and the merciless demands of her ruthless business manager.
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9. Starring Katharine Hepburn (1981)
Starring Katharine Hepburn is a mesmerizing documentary that delves into the awe-inspiring career of an iconic actress. From 1932 to 1981, Hepburn graced the silver screen with her charm and undeniable talent, captivating audiences with her unforgettable performances. In this film, her esteemed co-stars and colleagues share insightful stories and anecdotes from their time working alongside the legendary actress.
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10. On Golden Pond (1981)
On Golden Pond” is a poignant drama film released in 1981, showcasing the heartwarming journey of an estranged father-daughter relationship. The film revolves around the characters Norman, a grumpy yet charming old man, and his daughter Chelsea, a young woman who recently got engaged. Norman and his wife welcome Billy, the son of Chelsea’s new boyfriend, into their lives, leading to an unexpected friendship that blossoms between them.
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11. The Passing (1983)
In “The Passing” (1983), two elderly World War II veterans, Bob and Harry, share a small home and bond over their shared experiences. However, Bob’s fate takes a dark turn when he becomes the human guinea pig of a secretive operation, fusing his older body with those of younger, more functional parts. Returning as an unrecognizable figure, Bob’s identity is concealed, while his friendship with Harry is pushed to its limits.
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12. The River (1984)
The River, “ a dramatic film from 1984, follows the harrowing story of a farming family who faces the trials, tribulations and personal sacrifices that come with trying to save and hold on to their land. As they battle severe storms and the looming threat of losing their farm to a bank, they must endure other hardships that push them to the edge.
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13. Punchline (1988)
In the heart of New York City, Punchline (1988) takes a humorous and heartfelt look at self-discovery and the pursuit of a dream. Sally Field and Tom Hanks star as two unconventional stand-up comedians, struggling to find their place in the competitive world of nightclubs and comedy clubs.
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14. Havana (1990)
Havana, released in 1990, is a gripping drama that takes place in the tumultuous 1950s Cuba. The story follows a professional gambler, played by Robert Redford, as he becomes entangled in a passionate love affair with a woman deeply committed to the revolution movement.
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15. For the Boys (1991)
For the Boys is a heartwarming comedy-drama that takes us back to the World War II era. U. S.
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16. The Man in the Moon (1991)
The Man in the Moon” (1991) is a heartwarming coming-of-age drama set in the heart of the south during the era of Elvis Presley’s peak. Directed by Robert Mulligan and written by Jenny Wingfield, this film stars Sam Waterston, Tess Harper, and Gail Strickland. The story revolves around the unique bond between two sisters, exploring their sister-sister relationship while navigating the challenges of adolescence and love.
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17. A Century of Cinema (1994)
A Century of Cinema” (1994) is an enlightening documentary that celebrates the art of filmmaking while coinciding with cinema’s 100th anniversary. This intriguing journey explores the impact of cinema on society and culture, as well as showcasing numerous interviews with some of the most influential film personalities of the 20th century. With a runtime of just 1 hour and 12 minutes, viewers are treated to a captivating exploration of the evolution of cinema, as well as its lasting effects.
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18. Intersection (1994)
Intersection, “ a 1994 drama-romance film, explores the complexities of human relationships and the internal conflict faced when confronted with difficult choices. Directed by Mark Rydell and written by David Rayfiel, Marshall Brickman, and Paul Guimard, this absorbing movie features a riveting performance by Sharon Stone.
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19. Crime of the Century (1996)
Crime of the Century” is a gripping drama that tells the true story of one of the most shocking and infamous crimes in American history — the Charles Lindbergh baby kidnapping and murder case of 1932. The film delves into the investigation against Bruno Richard Hauptmann, who was eventually convicted and executed for the crime. The plot unravels the corrupt police force’s efforts to pinpoint Hauptmann as a scapegoat while navigating the pressures of a high-profile case under intense public scrutiny.
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20. A Man Is Mostly Water (2000)
A Man Is Mostly Water” is a light-hearted comedy, released in 2000, that centers on the contrasting lives of two unrelated neighbors sharing a duplex: Roper, an exuberant documentarian, and Andy, a wealthy and aimless golf enthusiast. Despite their dissimilar paths, they both find themselves entangled in the whimsical and absurd as they attempt to find their purpose and maintain their relationships. This film is a heartwarming exploration of unconventional friendships and the trials of growing up.
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21. James Dean (2001)
Prepare to unravel the life behind the iconic legend of James Dean in this thrilling biopic, James Dean (2001). Delving into the 1950’s realm of Hollywood, the film presents a dynamic account of the meteoric rise of a man whose tumultuous life mirrored the raw intensity of his acclaimed performances in “East of Eden, “ “Rebel Without a Cause, “ and “Giant. “
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22. Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s (2002)
Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s, released in 2002, is a riveting documentary that delves into the era of rock and roll and other pop music-based films from the 20th century. This film takes viewers on a journey through the enigmatic world of Hollywood’s filmmaking and the dynamic growth of the film industry in the 1970s.
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23. Hollywood Ending (2002)
In the whimsical world of Hollywood, the celebrated director Val Wellington (Woody Allen) is in the thick of preparations for his latest film when his reality takes a wild, twisted turn. As if the professional challenges weren’t enough, he’s saddled with an unbearable case of psychosomatic blindness. The cherry on top? .
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24. What’s Up, Scarlet? (2005)
What’s Up, Scarlet? . is a feel-good comedy drama that tells the story of Scarlet, a workaholic matchmaker in Los Angeles who is desperate for a life beyond her job. When she clumsily crashes into a homeless actress named Sabrina, her life takes an unexpected turn.
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25. An Unfinished Life (2005)
An Unfinished Life (2005) follows the heart-wrenching journey of Jean, a single mother struggling to raise her daughter, as she searches for a place to call home. Relying on the help of her estranged father-in-law, a caring but troubled man, she moves in with him, unraveling a web of secrets and long-hidden emotions.
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26. Even Money (2006)
Even Money” is a gripping crime drama that explores the devastating effects of gambling addiction. The film follows the interconnected lives of three people, each grappling with the ruinous consequences of their addiction.
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27. No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos (2008)
No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos” is a riveting documentary that explores the lifelong friendship and unparalleled influence of two legendary Hungarian-born cinematographers, László Kovács and Vilmos Zsigmond, on American cinema. This film delves into the captivating journey of these cinematography giants, who revolutionized the industry and left an indelible mark on Hollywood.
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28. Trying to Get Good: The Jazz Odyssey of Jack Sheldon (2008)
In “Trying to Get Good: The Jazz Odyssey of Jack Sheldon, “ viewers are invited to take a thrilling musical journey alongside legendary jazz trumpeter, Jack Sheldon. Despite his incredible talent, Sheldon never stops seeking perfection, reflecting his “divine dissatisfaction” in his pursuit of excellence. The film delves into Sheldon’s personal struggles with addiction, loss, and the unrelenting drive for greatness.
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29. Char·ac·ter (2009)
Char·ac·ter” is an intimate and enlightening documentary, offering a rare look into the lives of some of America’s most esteemed storytellers. Director Drago Sumonja brings together veterans of the acting world, including Dabney Coleman, Peter Falk, Charles Grodin, Mark Rydell, and Harry Dean Stanton. This collection of longtime friends discusses their personal experiences and emotions related to the craft of acting, allowing the audience to glimpse into their hearts and minds.
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30. Remembering Nigel (2009)
Remembering Nigel” is a refreshing, light-hearted comedy that follows a group of individuals as they gather to memorialize a mutual acquaintance named Nigel. The twist? .
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31. And the Oscar Goes to… (2014)
And the Oscar Goes to. . “ — a riveting documentary that delves into the rich history of the Academy Awards. Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, the film brings to life the glitz and glamour, the triumphs and tribulations associated with this prestigious event.
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33. Close Encounters with Vilmos Zsigmond (2016)
Close Encounters with Vilmos Zsigmond is a fascinating and heartwarming documentary that delves into the life and artistry of one of the most influential figures in contemporary cinematography, the Hungarian-born neorealist Vilmos Zsigmond. As one of the founding fathers of this craft, Zsigmond has left an indelible mark on the world of film, having worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Through intimate interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, this documentary provides a rare glimpse into the life and work of a true master.
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34. Chicanery (2017)
Chicanery” is a comedy movie released in 2017, with a runtime of 1 hour and 21 minutes. The film’s plot centers around Darren Flare, an Emmy Award-winning, slightly dim newscaster who stumbles upon the story of the decade — the capture of the FBI’s most wanted terrorist, the Imam Abdul Mohammed Zaleeka. Directed by Charles Dennis, “Chicanery” stars Rose Abdoo, Elya Baskin, and Drew Bell.
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35. Senior Entourage (2021)
Senior Entourage” (2021) is a hilarious mockumentary-style comedy that takes the humor of “Seinfeld” and applies it to a group of seniors ranging in age from 9 to 90. The zany cast, featuring Ed Asner, Helen Reddy, Charlie Robinson, Marion Ross, and Mark Rydell, brings a unique blend of wit, charm, and hilarity to the screen.
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Posts about Dabney Coleman written by moviesandbacon
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Director: Mark Rydell
Year: 1981
Score: 7/10
Tender if saccharine drama about an elderly man, his troubled relationship with his daughter, and the time he spends fishing on Golden Pond (a lake) with her boyfriend’s teenage son.
Henry Fonda won an Oscar for his solid lead performance, and died soon thereafter. Katharine Hepburn also won one – her fourth Best Actress Oscar, a record unlikely to ever be equalled – for playing his wife, though reportedly it was widely regarded as a sentimental win rather than necessarily being deserved for this particular performance. In my view both are good enough to deserve their wins, though Hepburn is really in more of a supporting role than a lead one. The relationship between their characters is the film’s strongest and most moving facet.
On the other hand, the relationship between Fonda’s character and his daughter – played with mixed results by his real-life daughter Jane – doesn’t quite click, though from a narrative perspective it’s supposed to be the main event. Dabney Coleman is amusing in a supporting role. The stuff with the loons is a tad heavy-handed, contributing to the sense of over-sentimentality.
Still probably worth watching for the performances, the warm humour, and the bits that succeed on an emotional level, of which there are quite a few. After all, there really aren’t enough good movies about old age.
Director: John Badham
Year: 1983
Score: 8/10
This sci-fi(ish) thriller could very easily have not stood the test of time given how reliant it is on computer technologies that are supposed to seem futuristic. However, it still holds up, primarily because it’s really good fun, with a perfect tone and the right balance of humour and techno-thrills.
Young Matthew Broderick (several years before he was Ferris Bueller) is a great asset, nailing the role of David Lightman, the bright high school student hacker who’s quickly in over his head but manages to pull MacGyver-esque stunts to get out of any fix and solve problems his seniors just don’t understand. Other members of the cast are also good, especially Dabney Coleman, who rarely disappoints. Also look for John Spencer (The West Wing) and Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill) as the pair of missile launchers in the prologue.
A few minor criticisms: despite being one of the first mainstream movies to feature a hacker as a protagonist (a step forward in the fight for equality for nerds and geeks!), it nonetheless perpetuates stereotypes about computer nerds (Exhibit A: the scene featuring two of David’s nerdier hacker friends); David’s parents’ lack of concern about (or knowledge of) his activities, even once he’s been effectively taken into custody by government agents, is hard to believe; and there’s a bit where the love interest played by Ally Sheedy has a moment of stupidity that seems jarringly out of character, seriously asking David whether his detention by the authorities was “because of what you did with my grade?” despite already knowing that his hacking had caused a temporary military crisis. Just ignore these minor quibbles and enjoy the ride as I did.
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David Nutter has directed 19 pilots and an unprecedented 17 have been picked up for series. How does he do it? By following his instincts, respecting his collaborators, and sticking to stories that move him.
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https://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/1304-Fall-2013/DGA-Interview-David-Nutter
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Fall 2013
Taking Off
David Nutter has directed 19 pilots and an unprecedented 17 have been picked up for series. How does he do it? By following his instincts, respecting his collaborators, and sticking to stories that move him.
BY BRIAN LOWRY
Photographed by Scott Council
Producer Steven Bochco once compared television to baseball, noting that if you get a hit one out of three times at bat, you’ll wind up in the Hall of Fame. Based on that math, it’s difficult to determine in exactly what league one would place David Nutter.
The director has a near-unparalleled knack for overseeing pilots that wind up surviving the Darwinian development process and being ordered as a series. Since he began directing prototypes in the mid-1990s, 17 (out of 19 at-bats) have achieved that feat, including Arrow (2012), Smallville (2001), and The Mentalist (2008), which is currently one of the highest-rated scripted series throughout the world. He’s had a pilot earn a primetime slot 16 of the last 18 years, and in 2003 accomplished the rare feat of going two-for-two.
In the process, Nutter has worked with a who’s who of writers and producers, and toiled in a wide variety of genres—from science fiction (which has become something of a specialty) to drama to crime procedurals. He cut his teeth on 21 Jump Street before landing on The X-Files, directing several of the memorable early episodes. Starting with Space: Above and Beyond (1995), pilots began to dominate his time, and made him one of TV’s most in-demand directors. Yet he still finds time to direct episodes of ongoing franchises—perhaps most memorably the much-buzzed-about “Red Wedding” installment of Game of Thrones. Series co-creator David Benioff later commented that Nutter “directed the living hell out of it.”
Soft-spoken and passionate about his work, Nutter—a four-time DGA Award nominee (twice for Entourage, The Sopranos and the mini-series The Pacific)—discussed the consuming nature of the birthing process, his unsatisfying brush with features and the art and importance of collaboration.
BRIAN LOWRY: You’ve become known as ‘the pilot whisperer,’ a director who knows how to get series on the air. How did that start?
DAVID NUTTER: Fortunately, my first pilot opportunity was given to me by [producers] Glen Morgan and Jim Wong, who had fought to get me on The X-Files. Their first pilot was my first pilot—Space: Above and Beyond. From there, I got a chance to work with Chris Carter on the Millennium pilot, and then I got to the point of beginning to choose things I wanted to do
Q: Is there an art to choosing pilots?
A: I guess the simplest answer I can give you is that I’ve got to fall in love with it. It’s got to move me in some way. I’ve got to be touched emotionally by something. It can’t be just flash and no substance or, ‘Just the facts ma’am,’ without any heart. And at the end of it I say to myself, ‘Do I want to watch the next episode?’ That’s really what it’s all about.
Q: Obviously you have more input on a pilot than you do coming in on an established show.
A: I look at it as a little movie. I’m there from the very beginning stages of the process, and I’m basically there to create a template and look for the show. I also put the crew together. The writers and I have to have an agreement—we have to be hand-in-hand all the way throughout the process. Since Millennium I’ve been fortunate to get an executive producer credit as well. I’m there from the very early stages and I’m the guy sitting there [at the end] when they do the layback and take the multi-track down to the two-track and turn it in. I’m there every second of the process: for the mix, color-correction, editing, all the postproduction, all the different audience viewings—all of that. For me, it’s my all-consuming life. I don’t like to juggle a lot of different things; I don’t have six things in development. I’m a director, that’s what I do, and it takes all of me to do that.
MASSACRE: (top) Nutter, with Michelle Fairley, staged the "Red Wedding" episode of Game of Thrones like it was an opera. (above) Working on the comedy Entourage, with Kevin Dillon, was a change of pace.
Q: In general, how do you approach the material?
A: I [keep in mind what] the script tells me. As a director I like to be very invisible. I don’t like to be noticed. I don’t want to be someone whose shot takes you out of the dramatic sequence or takes you out of the emotional story that you’re trying to tell or says, ‘Hey, look at this cool shot I have here.’ To me, that’s not right. It’s about, how do you hang on to the hearts of the audience? How do you [get] them to actually give a shit and care?
Q: When you’re doing a pilot, how do you prep for it? Do you block out every scene?
A: I spend a lot of time with the writer trying to figure out what their intent is with a sequence. I may have an idea to adjust it or move it along, and we work on that as far as the tonality is concerned. I want to get in my head what the scene really means.
I’m also a great believer in rehearsals and blocking rehearsals. I do extensive storyboards so people can get a sense of what we’re doing, and what the attitude and tone is. I work a lot with the actors. I like to go to sets or locations with them before shooting so that they know what they’ll be doing on the day. I have found actors really do like to know about blocking, etc., before the shoot day comes. I want them to walk on the set and feel a sense of confidence.
Q: How important is it to you who you’re going to be working with on a show?
A: Since Smallville, I’ve worked at Warner Bros. Television. I knew [president] Peter Roth from the Fox days. So when he came to Warner Bros., and I came to Warner Bros. to do the Smallville pilot, we kind of started a deal where each year I’d direct a pilot for him. And oftentimes I get a chance to look at different scripts; talk to different writers. By doing that I get to feel out who I’m going to be working with.
CRUSADER: Nutter, who loved comic books as a kid, directing Stephen Amell in the pilot for Arrow, based on a DC Comics superhero.
Q: What about your crew?
A: I have to have a real connection with who the crew will be and have to agree to that before I get involved in something. You try to get the people that you’ve worked with before, but it depends on availability a lot of the time. With ADs on a series, my initial objective is to get the lowdown on everyone and everything; what to look out for and how best to achieve our goals on that particular episode. Babu Subramaniam became a real hero to me when he guided me through my first episode of ER when it was the number one show on television. He was truly my knight in shining armor. And I’ve done 10 pilots with my editor, Paul Karasick. Bill Roe is a terrific director of photography and on something like The Sarah Connor Chronicles, I knew I needed a DP who could really kick ass.
Q: When you’re trying to decide on a project, can a pitch from the producers sway you? Will the studio ever say, ‘We have a lot riding on this one?’
A: Well, interestingly enough, this year is the first time I’ve said yes to a pilot before the script was finished. That was for The Flash [a spinoff from Arrow]. But I did that after having worked with Greg Berlanti on Jack & Bobby, and Andrew Kreisberg and Berlanti on the Arrow pilot, which was a wonderful experience. But beyond that, I only go with my gut instincts. I hear a lot of pitches, but I wait until I read the script, which has been the bottom line for me. I don’t really care who’s producing or if a person [is] a big name; I can’t look at that. If it’s not on the page, I can’t formulate it.
Q: You’ve done all kinds of shows, but you have done a considerable amount in the fantasy/sci-fi genre. Is that something you have a special feel for?
A: I think a lot of that was just one project leading to another. What happened is that after I did The X-Files people would come to me and they’d say, ‘Oh, let’s go do something more wild and more crazy than The X-Files.’ And I would explain, that’s not what the secret of The X-Files was. The secret of The X-Files was that you were creating a real- world situation with real people and real situations, and viewers could actually have an affinity for them; [there was] an accessibility. The frame of the television would in a sense dissipate and you could actually lean into the show. The framing would fall away, and most importantly, you’d begin to care. And once you began to care about what you were watching, and believed what you were watching, then we’d throw the paranormal at them. Or we’d throw something else at the audience that would affect them in an emotional way—not unlike the reaction to Game of Thrones. So to me, if you make it smart and look up to the audience, that’s the secret. It’s really all about giving the audience characters that they can relate to.
Q: Do you think your pilots have anything in common?
A: If there’s a common thread to the ones that I choose, it’s that I’m attracted to shows where the characters have a void in their life. It’s that deep emotional thing the audience can grasp onto that I try to bring out as a director.
Q: On a pilot, the actors are still finding their character. How do you work with them?
A: I think of Sidney Lumet and Mark Rydell—directors of that nature and that quality. When you saw their films, you knew that you’d be seeing wonderful performances. It’s about finding someone you feel inhabits that character; you don’t want them to take too long a trail to get there as far as who the character is. So when I work with actors, my job is to let them know that I’m there to catch them when they fall. I don’t sit back in video village and yell instructions. I have two little monitors, I sit next to the camera, and I do extensive rehearsals. I’m big into that, so that everyone is comfortable with where they’re headed, and the actors can get an idea on blocking and understand what’s happening before the crew is even there. Because once they know the dance moves, then they can get into the character even better. And I spend a lot of time with actors talking about tonalities. The writer and I will sit down with them and go through every specific thing so that they feel confident in what they’re going to be doing—and how they’re going to be doing it.
Q: You’ve worked with a lot of different writers. Have they generally understood the director’s role and the nature of the collaboration?
A: I’ve been very lucky in that regard. A lot of times, you’ve got to suss out who you’re working with a little bit beforehand—before you even say yes. I like to lay all the cards on the table and say, ‘This is what I want to do and this is what we can do together to make it greater. If you want to go, let’s go.’ I think collaboration is everything.
Q: I’ve talked to enough directors to know that not every writer is as receptive to those suggestions.
A: That’s very true. I’ve had meetings with people where I’ve said, ‘I don’t want to be involved in that.’ I thrive best when I’m in a positive situation—that’s the most important thing. I did a movie several years ago, Disturbing Behavior, that was a terrible experience for me because it was just like they wanted the young X-Files director to do an X-Files for teenagers, and I said, ‘OK, let’s go do it.’ And then basically, there was just a year and a half with writers, producers, and the studio. It’s the worst experience I ever had in my life.
I just said, ‘I can’t do this again.’ And the great thing was within a year I got a chance to do the Roswell pilot with Jason Katims. It was probably the most emotionally satisfying thing I’ve ever done, because it was basically coming off of a failure in some respects, and taking that same sensibility to make something that I think was quite special; it tested through the roof. So to me it’s all about positive energy. I don’t like to have arguments and fights. That just doesn’t work.
Q: How invested are you in a project beyond the pilot stage in terms of letting the baby walk on its own?
A: I realized a while back that I’m not a great producer-director. I don’t like that position because in one respect when you’re making a pilot you’re one thing—you’re more of a creative voice. I’m not good at looking over other directors’ shoulders. [It’s] the old Clint Eastwood line [from Magnum Force], ‘A man needs to know his limitations.’
Q: Do you interact with the directors who follow you after the pilot?
A: I was very happy with what I did last year with the Arrow pilot. A lot of times directors in television will come to a series, and they kind of feel like the odd man out. They come in with no direction, no feeling of family, no sense of camaraderie, no feeling of teamwork, no feeling of ‘we’re all making this great thing together.’ They come in almost like the lone soldier. No one’s there to guide them and take them through it.
So last year, and I’ve tried to do this before, I helped with suggestions for [hiring] directors for the first 13 episodes. I put together a big breakfast, and I made sure everyone watched the pilot. I sat down with maybe 10 of the directors at once, and then I met with the other few directors on my own. I brought in [series creators] Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg, and we all sat down and talked about the show—we wanted each director to be invested. [We said], ‘We’re going to make sure you get all the scripts. If you’re directing episode five, make sure you read one through four.’ That kind of thing. As a result, the directors really felt like it was something of a community. I think that’s sorely missing a lot of the time in television, and it’s something I was very proud to get going. I want to try to continue doing it for pilots I do in the future.
Q: Some of the serialized dramas on TV now are so intricate. Is it more complicated for an episodic director coming on a show like Homeland because it has so many moving parts?
A: I think it is much more daunting because of the fact that so many of them have huge through lines in the storytelling. It’s not like the murder case of the week. I’m in a great situation in that after I finish a pilot, I get a chance to do [an established show] that I want to do. A show that I respect, a show that I can learn from and hopefully become a better director. By doing that, I’ve realized that even though you walk on to something like Homeland with Claire Danes or The Sopranos with James Gandolfini, actors want to be directed. So you have to come in and direct.
On Homeland, the thing that impressed me so much about Claire was the fact that Carrie Mathison is such a complicated character, fighting with so many demons. Claire can do that, turn that switch on, and when she’s done with the scene, she doesn’t live there. She knows how to turn that switch on and off. And I can also talk to her about technical things, like head turns. That stuff matters as well.
Q: When you’re coming onto an established show, how do you work with an actor of that caliber?
A: Actors want to know that what they’re doing, the choices they’re making, are the right ones. So the most important thing I can bring to it is to let them know I’m really there watching them. I have my monitors, but I’m close enough to be there to watch. I’m focused on what they’re doing. No matter what I do as a director, unless you have the actors to bring it together, you’ve got nothing. I often feel that I’m an artist with no hands or eyes, because the actors are really what it’s all about. It’s simply about treating them with respect.
Q: You directed the ‘Red Wedding’ episode of Game of Thrones, which became a huge sensation. Did you have a sense going in how significant that episode was going to be?
A: What happened originally was I met with [producers] David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss] and got a chance to direct a really big sequence for season two, which was going to be the big Lannister riot where Joffrey gets a cow pie in his face. It was a big sequence we shot in Croatia. And they liked what I did; they liked how I handled it. So they started talking to me about coming back to do ‘Red Wedding’ for the end of season 3.
Q: They were thinking that far in advance?
A: Oh, absolutely, because they knew how important it was. And I was like, ‘OK, well, that’s very nice, thank you.’ Then I started to hear more about this. And basically I started to bear this huge weight that got larger and larger on my back, realizing how important this is going to be. So for about nine months it was like, ‘I’m going to have to do the “Red Wedding,’’’ and finally I got the script and understood what was going on. I didn’t want to read the books past the screenplay’s format because they wanted that to be my first impression of what it was going to be. I didn’t want to get ahead of myself. I knew some things that were going on superficially, but I had no idea it would have that kind of effect.
Q: I understand you shot the banquet massacre sequentially. Can you talk about how you built to that climatic moment, and made it feel as shocking as it was?
A: In some respects, I looked at it almost as an opera. It was all about how I set up the tables in the room, how I positioned who was going to sit where. It was important to shoot as much as possible in order so we didn’t have to go back and reshoot something really intense. It was important to focus on what areas of the sequence I would need wide shots for. It was sort of like dominos, where we could keep the tonality going so when we got to the really intense stuff, we were shooting it one after the other and building on top of the drama—building to a climax.
I rehearsed with the actors two or three days before, and then with all the stunt people. It was important for them so they didn’t have to worry about the small things and could focus on the drama of it. It was not unlike a football coach outlining his plays on a chalkboard. Basically, I told everybody, ‘You’re going to sit here, you’re going to sit there, and this is going to happen.’
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Posts about Mark Rydell written by Stephen Bowie
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In 1972, Bruce Dern asked for permission to leave the set of the science fiction film Silent Running, in which he played the lead, for two days in order to shoot a cameo in an upcoming John Wayne Western, The Cowboys. During those two days, Dern became one of only a handful of actors to earn the dubious honor of killing John Wayne on screen. (Of Wayne’s Westerns up to that point, only The Alamo saw him die at the end – and, of course, everybody died at the Alamo.) Supposedly it was Dern’s idea to not only shoot the Duke, but to shoot him in the back. When they heard that their star was about to become the most hated man in the movies, the producers of Silent Running panicked and declared that their movie had to come out before The Cowboys. (It didn’t, and it wasn’t a hit.)
The director of The Cowboys was Mark Rydell, and had Dern not been released for those two days, he had a backup plan: Rydell would have used the star of Ben Casey, the television series that launched his directing career, in the small role that Dern ended up playing. Blowing away John Wayne in a big movie in 1972 ended up as a footnote in Bruce Dern’s ascendant filmography but for the struggling Vince Edwards, it might have been an important career move. His days as a leading man were over, but it’s easy to imagine an alternate cinema history in which Edwards turned character actor and played Al Lettieri-type roles – hulking, aging thugs, in other words – in some of the many action and neo-noir movies that came out of Hollywood during the late seventies and eighties.
That’s just one of the many tangents that I stumbled across, but didn’t have room to mention, while I was researching these pieces on Ben Casey and on Vince Edwards’s strange career as a TV director. And because it’s what blogs are good for, I’m going to reheat a selection of this ephemera below.
*
One of the things that entertained me about Vince Edwards was that the group of ragtag hangers-on that he cultivated. Lots of insecure stars had such entourages but, perhaps because they were looking for ways to rake the churlish, interview-averse Edwards over the coals, journalists did an unusually thorough of enumerating and mocking these individuals.
Unlike that other movie star Vince – Vincent Chase, the fictional character (based on Mark Wahlberg) at the center of the recent TV series Entourage – our Vince’s entourage didn’t start with family. Although he had six siblings, including a twin brother, Bob Zoino, Edwards kept his family at arm’s length. In fact, one of the ways he managed to look bad during the run of Ben Casey was by exchanging barbs in the press with both Bob (who was a bus driver while Vince was Ben Casey) and their mother, June.
Of the colorful characters who did follow Vince around and keep him entertained between takes and horse races, the closest to him was Bennie “The Fighting Jew” Goldberg, a pint-sized former boxer. Dwight Whitney, in one of two snide but detailed TV Guide profiles of Edwards, described Goldberg as the star’s “dresser, errand boy and general factotum.” Born in Poland and raised in Detroit, Goldberg lost the world bantamweight title to Manuel Ortiz in 1943, and died the day before the World Trade Center collapsed. According to co-star Harry Landers, Goldberg was a thug who implemented various small-time cons to keep his boss in gambling money. His Hollywood career included bit parts, usually as boxers, in John Frankenheimer’s All Fall Down and an episode of Cannon, and at least once on Ben Casey. Here he is in that episode (“When I Am Grown to Man’s Estate,” 1965):
Along with Goldberg, Edwards’s lackeys included a pair usually described as his “stand-ins”: Ray Joyer and George Fraser. Joyer’s lasting claim to fame is as the orderly (below) who slams the gurney through the double doors at the start of the final version of Ben Casey‘s opening credits – a role he sought to exploit a year after Ben Casey went off the air, by suing Bing Crosby Productions in both state and federal court for residuals. Alas, the trades didn’t report on the resolution of his case. Joyer died young, around age 50, in 1975. Fraser was an animal trainer who kept lions, and his experiences were the springboard for the Edwards-scripted-and-directed TV movie Maneater. But, surprisingly for someone in such a colorful line of work, little else about Fraser turns up in the newspaper archives.
But the most fascinating member of Edwards’s circle was one who escaped Whitney’s notice: a jack-of-all-trades named Marcus W. Demian. Well, actually, his real name was Bernard Schloss, although he claimed at one point that he was a full-blooded Native American from Yakima, Washington – likely an utter fabrication. Demian was born around 1928, and more than Edwards’s other hangers-on, he seemed to have some artistic aspirations. Demian was probably the screenwriter Edwards occasionally told the press he had on retainer to work up movie ideas for him when he was riding high. Demian accrued writing credits not only on Edwards’s projects (Ben Casey, Matt Lincoln, and Maneater) but on Channing, some British TV series, and the movie Little Moon and Jud McGraw. Demian was also an actor – below is an image of him in his one Ben Casey bit part – with screen credits as recent as 2011’s Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star, in which Demian played “Old Man with Pig.” Demian was also a restaurateur – a partner, in fact, in the early Los Angeles vegetarian restaurant the Aware Inn – and a master hypnotist.
It gets weirder: In October 1966, Demian made the front page of the New York Times for menacing his wife with an eight-inch ice pick after she leapt from his red sports car on Manhattan’s First Avenue. And why was that front page news? Because the fellow who hopped out of his chauffeur-driven limo and took the ice pick away from Demian was Henry Barnes, the city’s traffic commissioner, who was 60 years old and a survivor of several heart attacks. Demian fled, twice – first by jumping into the sports car and speeding away, and a second time by diving out a window when the police showed up at his nearby apartment. The cops finally nabbed him a few blocks away and booked Demian on assault and weapons charges.
Oh, and the woman who almost got ice-picked? According to the New York Times piece, she was a television performer named Diane Hittleman, and she had married Demian in Mexico in June of 1966 and dumped him three months later. Well … maybe. Also in 1966, there was a local TV program called Yoga For Health, featuring one Diane Hittleman (who also did yoga with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, and died in May). At the time that Diane Hittleman, who was the same age as Demian’s Diane Hittleman, was married and had three children with her co-host, Richard Hittleman. One has to wonder if the Times was giving Hittleman a break, and if Marcus picked up some bad habits from his famous (and famously womanizing) buddy.
Needless to say, I tried to contact Marcus Demian for an interview, but the phone numbers were all disconnected and the letters and e-mails bounced back. If you’re out there, Marcus, we’d love to hear your Vince Edwards stories.
*
Also present in the murky history of Ben Casey is another bizarre true crime story, one with echoes of the Leonard Heideman case that I wrote about early in the days of this blog.
“Wife Held For Murder in Film Editor’s Death,” read the May 8, 1962 headline in the Los Angeles Times, which reported that one Jeane Sampson, 40, had shot her husband to death during a struggle for a revolver. The dead man, identified in the papers as John E. Sampson, 50, and usually credited on screen as Edward Sampson, had edited the pilot for Ben Casey and been the show’s head film editor during its first season.
According to Jeane Sampson, she was a battered wife, and her husband had interrupted a suicide attempt. She told the police that she was going to shoot herself because she “got tired of being used as a punching bag.” The deadly chain of events began when Jeane Sampson called her parents in Palm Springs and told them of her plans to commit suicide. They begged her to wait, but Jeane locked herself in the bathroom of their home (at 1103 Eilinita Avenue in Glendale) with a revolver and the couple’s only child, ten year-old Terry. Edward Sampson heard the commotion and went to investigate. Terry screamed through the bathroom door to her father: “Go away, Daddy, or you’ll be hurt.” Daddy should’ve listened. Instead he broke down the bathroom door and then – blammo.
Jeane Sampson was arraigned for murder the following week and a hearing was set for the fall. That hearing was never held. On August 13, Jeane Sampson took a fatal overdose of barbiturates.
Sampson’s credits included the TV series Disneyland and Lassie and several juvie B-movies (one of which, 1955’s The Fast and the Furious, he evidently co-directed). He also shot some second-unit hospital footage for Ben Casey. On the same day it published his obituary, Variety noted separately that producer Stanley Kramer’s upcoming feature A Child Is Waiting would include stock footage of a baby’s birth, filmed by Sampson for the Casey episode “I Remember a Lemon Tree” (one of the two written in part by Marcus Demian!).
And yes, I did try to find out what happened to Terry Sampson (whose birth in 1952, when her father was working at Paramount, had been announced in Variety). But – perhaps for the best – I didn’t succeed.
*
Next week, I’ll conclude our Ben Casey coverage with an interview feature. No, you’ll never be able to guess who the two subjects are – and in fact, I’m still as surprised as I am delighted that I found them and that they remembered so much. Tune in….
Update, 1/27/2015: Marcus W. Demian died on November 20, 2014, at 86. The spelling of George Fraser’s name has been corrected above and elsewhere on this blog, thanks to a kind note from his son, Tam O’Connor Fraser.
“Why not directing? There’s no big mystery about it. It’s – well, it’s just having a point of view and – and a certain amount of selection and taste.”
– Vince Edwards
Last month, I wrote about the problems of writing about television direction. With the auteur concept in film criticism, the collaborative nature of the medium becomes a dangerous trap: how do we determine, through research or comparison, which decisions were made by the director rather than by the writer, the cinematographer, the actors, or the editor? Television multiplies that problem by sheer volume – most directors racked up a hundred or more TV episodes during their career – as well as access – logistically, how many of those hundred or more shows can be located and screened in quick succession? Compounding the daunting element of scale is the assumption that television is not a director’s medium. More than in feature filmmaking, the director’s role is proscribed, with producers, stars, and editors routinely making decisions that would typically fall to the director in cinema. The process of discerning a television director’s personal style is a kind of reverse engineering. It’s not enough to study Director X’s episodes of many different series. One also needs to look at other directors’ episodes of the same series, as a means of identifying which touches are unique to Mr. X and which might be part of a given show’s overall “house style.” And, perhaps, familiarize oneself with the unquantifiable work of many actors: how are they different under Mr. X’s direction than under someone else’s?
The fraternity of fanatics who have seen enough television to be qualified to undertake such studies is small. I’m one of them, but even I find the prospect intimidating. In the back of my mind, I have a list of a dozen or so episodic directors active between the fifties and the seventies who consistently delivered first-rate work. But it would take a pretty big research grant to fund the hundreds of hours necessary to write authoritatively about even one of those bodies of work.
*
Which brings us to Vincent Edwards, the star of Ben Casey, and also an occasional director of television segments. Edwards might seem an unexpected choice to serve as our guinea pig here, but there are certain factors that make him well-suited to our purpose. First, his videography is manageable: he helmed only about twenty-two hours of television across nearly thirty years. Second, he was famous, which means that we have access to more biographical information than we would expect to find for a rank-and-file television director. Third, the case of the television-star-turned-director is a fairly specific phenomenon that recurs across the history of successful TV series, and we may be able to benefit from certain generalizations about how it happens, and what the results tend to be.
The other factor that makes Edwards interesting is that he’s something of an extreme case. Edwards came to mind when I was reading reviews of a Mad Men episode directed by John Slattery (who, like his co-star Jon Hamm, has become one of the series’ regular directors). One mentioned Slattery’s “lovely lyrical images,” another his “usual visual flair.” The seven episodes of Ben Casey that Edwards directed are also precociously cinematic. In fact, Edwards’s kid-in-a-candy-shop infatuation with the camera and its possibilities is so manifestly in evidence that his work on Ben Casey has attained a tiny cult following among the handful of aficionados who pay attention to such things. (The post seems to have been swallowed by the internet, but Edwards-as-director came in for a round of both admiration and scorn a few years back in one of the discursive discussions on auteurist extraordinaire Dave Kehr’s blog.)
*
“I just went up [to the producers of Ben Casey] and said, ‘I wanta direct a show.’ They said, ‘OK, we’ll find a script.’”
– Vince Edwards
The script that Edwards pulled was a heavy female melodrama called “Dispel the Black Cyclone That Shakes the Throne.” The patient of the week was one Clarissa Rose Genet (Mary Astor), a reclusive opera star whose comeback has been thwarted by blindness (because blind people have never become successful recording artists) and also by the controlling impulses of a live-in manager (Eileen Heckart) who prefers that her solo client remain as helpless as possible. Although Clarissa’s heterosexuality is carefully established by the introduction of an old flame (James Dunn), it’s implied that the hysterical, unsympathetic manager, Polly Jenks (Eileen Heckart), is motivated in part by an obsessive same-sex attraction. Can Dr. Casey untangle all these unhealthy attachments and convince Clarissa to have the surgery she requires?
“It needed – uh, fluidity,” said Edwards of this rather lugubrious outing. “Fluidity” translated into a range of showy, often unmotivated camera movements. Fittingly for someone with a megastar’s ego, Edwards began his directing career on a crane: “Cyclone”’s cold open commences with a crane down into Clarissa’s cavernous foyer, and then a two-minute long-take in which Polly and a doctor (Wilton Graff) outline some of the basic facts of the plot. Edwards tries to enliven several routine dialogue scenes by sending the camera on a slow, circling prowl around the actors. There’s a distracting fast pull-back on Astor during a scene in which she makes a pivotal shift in loyalty, from Polly to her estranged, alcoholic daughter (Luana Anders), and an equally flashy zoom in on Heckart at the moment when Polly learns she has been fired.
Amid the expected overzealousness of a freshman director, though, there are good instincts. Edwards creates a number of stark, forceful close-ups on his actors:
“Where does the shadow go when the sun has set?” is the last line of the episode – Polly’s, as she contemplates an empty life after her break with the healed Clarissa. Edwards creates a literal correlative for this line, a dramatic final image in which the camera pulls back, isolating Heckart in a shadowy hospital corridor amid a row of bright spotlights extending into the background. No actual hospital anywhere in the world, it’s safe to say, has ever employed a lighting scheme of this sort.
Edwards’s second episode, “For a Just Man Falleth Seven Times,” concerns dying businessman Thomas Hardin (Lew Ayres), who experiences a burst of strength and euphoria during his final hours. Once buttoned-down, now impulsive, he goes forth into the seedy side of town and proposes marriage to a coded prostitute (Lee Grant). Edwards tries out more ambitious compositions in the red light district sequences: a handheld camera following Ayres as he walks through the scuzzy streets, a god’s-eye point of view to establish a waterfront dive. The circling pans from “Cyclone” recur, and Edwards sets up several compositions that can be called signature shots. The most evident is a positioning of actors at right angles in different planes, which creates a dramatic depth of field and also allows Edwards to eschew the standard shot-reverse shot grammar of the television conversation. Here it is in “For a Just Man”:
And an earlier instance in “Cyclone”:
Amid the show’s rudimentary sets, Edwards sought out striking places to put the camera. In “For a Just Man” he positions Grant and Sharon Farrell (playing Ayres’s daughter) behind the fence that surrounds the upper-floor terrace (an indoor set) where patients are often seen recuperating.
An identical shot recurs in Edwards’s next episode, “Every Other Minute It’s the End of the World”:
The ninety-degree positioning of actors reappears in “Every Other Minute,” too:
“Every Other Minute” is a convoluted story about a teenaged girl (Patricia Hyland) who’s going blind as a result of diabetic retinopathy; the twist is that her father (Francis Lederer) is a survivor of Nazi medical experimentation and thus vehemently opposes the experimental procedure that Dr. Casey proposes to save Hyland’s eyesight. The script never recovers from that cringeworthy (in)convenience, not even after a wild second-act curveball. Edwards, rather like Dr. Casey, is hell-bent on experimentation, most of which does not spring organically from the material. There’s an attention-grabbing move in a scene between Casey and the German refugee, in which the camera suddenly whirls around a hospital wall and places the two actors in silhouette, behind the window. The dialogue at that moment is routine; nothing in it compels such an extreme shift in emphasis. (Casey even turns off an overhead lamp for no reason, except to make the lighting more dramatic.)
Edwards also sets up some odd shots in a scene where a frantic Hyland go-go dances herself into a coma. At one point, Edwards creates an impossible image, intercutting overhead shots of the dancers with low-angle shots taken from a hole in the floor (which is, of course, not evident in the wider shot). A moment later, Hyland appears to be positioned upright against a wall, even though her character is supposed to be lying on the floor. These shots are disorienting, but without evident purpose.
Hyland, of whose brief acting career Ben Casey was one of the high points, recently spoke favorably of Vince Edwards as “a lovely, generous director” who instilled “a warm sense of trust in her.” Fifty years earlier, Eileen Heckart offered a similar endorsement of Edwards’s first time behind the camera: “I didn’t think much of the script, but he was brilliant. He’d done all his homework.”
All of Edwards’s first three directorial turns feature not just strong performances but, notably, strong performances by women. In “Cyclone,” the two leads deliver work that’s well within their range – Astor world-weary and formidable, Heckart sharp and shrewish – but there’s also a fine, fragile performance by Luana Anders (below) as the neglected, wistful daughter. In “For a Just Man,” solid, enjoyable work by Lew Ayres is upstaged by the two younger women in Hardin’s life: open-faced Sharon Farrell, playing Cordelia to Hardin’s lear, and Lee Grant as the waterfront wife, bitter but secretly vulnerable. (Farrell was dating Edwards at the time; Grant took a similar approach to a similar character two years later on Peyton Place, and won an Emmy for it.)
It’s commonly assumed that actors who become directors will function best as actors’ directors, and Edwards seems to succeeded in that regard. “People who are actors often know how to deal with actors really well. They don’t treat them like a light fixture,” said Hyland. “There’s just a little more rapport.” But another, less intuitive scenario is that actors will take performance as something already mastered, and become more consumed initially with mise-en-scene, because it’s the aspect of the job that’s new to them. This was true of Vic Morrow, the Combat star who started directing for his series a year after Edwards, and of Sydney Pollack and Mark Rydell, two young character actors who initiated a permanent transition into directing on Ben Casey – and of Edwards as well.
Compared to what came before, Edwards’s next three episodes – “Eulogy in Four Flats,” a quasi-comedy about an old con man who fakes illness so that his neighbors will take care of him; “Three L’il Lambs,” an unsold backdoor spinoff about three newly-minted residents of varying skill and commitment; and “Run For Your Lives, Dr. Galanos Practices Here,” a silly, cliched yarn about the generational conflict between an aging Latin American revolutionary and his assimilationist doctor son – were comparatively restrained. The signature shots are still in evidence – for instance, the god’s-eye point of view in “Eulogy”:
And the ninety-degree positioning of actors in “Three Li’l Lambs”:
But the eye-catching set-ups are less evident. In fact, only this restricted composition in “Three Li’l Lambs,” which emphasizes one character’s anxiety about his professional performance and echoes the earlier behind-the-fence set-ups, stands out. (It’s also another long take that allows a two-person conversation to play out without cuts.)
A laziness begins to creep in: “Eulogy” contains a twenty-three second shot of Edwards descending a flight of stairs, a shot duration which (along with some of the endless dancing scenes in “Every Other Minute”) suggests that Edwards’s episodes may have come in short. “Galanos,” in particular, is almost entirely conventional in its lighting and composition. And the performances are uneven: Norman Alden is quite moving in the scene shown above, in which his character expresses uncertainty about the choice of medicine as a career, but he conspicuously overplays an earlier scene in which the character botches a diagnosis. Was Edwards passing out of his experimental phase and trying out a more conventional style? Or was he simply getting bored? Did it matter that none of his second three episodes included female roles as prominent as those in the first three?
If there were only six Edwards-directed Ben Casey segments, they would form a predictable arc from novice’s enthusiasm into easily-distracted TV star’s boredom. But there’s a seventh, an episode called “If You Play Your Cards Right, You Too Can Be a Loser,” which is as overstuffed as its title and as gloriously, wonderfully, touchingly self-indulgent any television episode ever has been. Into it, Edwards crams every crash zoom, Dutch angle, ostentatious dissolve, extreme overhead angle, and action-framed-by-a-random-object-in-the-foreground composition that he can muster. (A very small selection of them appears below.) It is his “Wagon Wheel Joe” moment.
What to make of “If You Play Your Cards Right”? Some of Edwards’s excess is justified by the delirium that is periodically experienced by the central character, a glue-sniffing wife-beater (!) played by Davy Jones (only months before he turned into a Monkee). Much of it, though, seems to be an expression of disinterest or contempt toward the material, which is difficult to fault. The script is tawdry and unsubtle, and Jones’s fatal miscasting sinks what ever chances it had; there isn’t even a bit of throwaway exposition to reconcile his British accent with the American ones in which the actors (John McLiam and Louise Latham) cast as his parents speak. In its final season Ben Casey morphed into a serial, and one could argue (perhaps feebly) that the splintering of episodes like “If You Play Your Cards Right” into three or four discrete subplots invites a disorienting mise-en-scene. And there’s one other X factor, the replacement of the long-time cinematographer Ted Voigtlander with his former camera operator, William T. Cline. But Cline’s imagery in the fifth season is generally no more adventurous than the gifted Voigtlander’s had been, and other directors’ episodes in that year are far more sedate. Plus, there is evidence of a clash between Cline and Edwards. (In his memoirs, producer John Meredyth Lucas claimed that Edwards packed on the pounds in between seasons, then scapegoated Cline for making him look fat after the need to slim down was pointed out.) When Edwards went off the directorial rails, it was his own doing.
*
The initial assumption one makes about TV stars who begin directing their own shows is that they do so purely as an expression of ego. (“Isn’t directing a TV show that you’re acting in an exercise in vanity?” is how The Atlantic put it, rudely, to Slattery last year.) Perhaps. The actors who launched abortive directing careers off their long-running hits often tend to be the same stars who used their clout to seize control of those shows and push out the original creative teams – for instance, Richard Boone on Have Gun Will Travel and Alan Alda on M*A*S*H. Edwards falls into this category to the extent that, after Ben Casey became a hit, the show’s set ran according to his whims. Although there’s no evidence that Edwards controlled the hiring of producers, or influenced story content, as Boone and Alda did, there was little question of anyone saying no when he expressed the desire to direct.
But it’s important to consider the context behind Edwards’s career move. Ben Casey’s initial producer, Matthew Rapf, was committed booster for young talent and the series was a training ground for aspiring directors from the beginning. Sydney Pollack did his first important television work on Ben Casey, and then paid that forward by inviting his friend Mark Rydell out from New York for an on-staff apprenticeship as a director-in-training. Pollack and Rydell in turn became mentors of sorts to Edwards as he prepared to direct. Crucially, in the years just before Ben Casey, Edwards had the good fortune to work as an actor for some of the most promising filmmakers in Hollywood. He’d garnered some acclaim for leading roles in two existential, quasi-independent films noir (Murder by Contract, 1958; City of Fear, 1959) directed by Irving Lerner, who (presumably at Edwards’s behest) became a regular director on Ben Casey. Edwards appeared in The Night Holds Terror (1958) with John Cassavetes, who remained a friend and cast him in a memorable cameo (as a dumb lug who beats up a whole jazz combo in a long pool-hall confrontation) in the second feature he directed, Too Late Blues. And Edwards was in The Killing (1956), and always spoke proudly of having working with Stanley Kubrick. A smart observer – and Edwards, whatever his other flaws, was anything but dumb – couldn’t help but absorb some of the creativity and enthusiasm of these men.
Edwards shot home movies and other films with a personal eight-millimeter camera, and became an avid shutterbug; according to his second wife, the actress Linda Foster, Edwards’s still photographs displayed an excellent eye for composition. (Notwithstanding that a sneering TV Guide article suggested that Edwards mostly enjoyed photographing the pretty nurses on the set of Ben Casey.) Foster and others suggested that Edwards’s interest in directing was not an indulgence but, in fact, a remedy for some of his diva behavior on the Ben Casey set. The more cerebral task of directing diverted his attention from the excesses of stardom and other personal problems and refocused it on the work. “Vince was volatile but when it came directing he quieted right down and got to work. And he worked hard at it,” said actress Kathy Kersh, who was briefly married to Edwards during Ben Casey and appears in “Three Li’l Lambs.”
Asked if Edwards was a cinephile, Foster said no, but noted that his filmgoing was highly focused. “He’d say we’ve got to go this or we’ve got to go see that. It was quite specific. He was never a ‘let’s go to the movies’ type of person. The only movie I remember he liked [in the seventies], he was crazy about Stallone and Rocky.” Earlier, in a 1966 interview, the actor cited at least one influence that suggested he’d been paying attention to new developments in the cinema: Richard Lester’s peppy mod comedy The Knack … And How to Get It, which opened in Los Angeles in July 1965. Given the chronology, The Knack almost certainly explains the left turn in Edwards’s style between “Dr. Galanos” and “If You Play Your Cards Right.” In that interview, Edwards complained about “old-school” (his words) directors who “are so determined to keep the picture in frame that everything becomes ‘static’” (the reporter’s paraphrase, apart from the last word). Lester seems to have liberated Edwards as a visual stylist.
Unfortunately, at the same time, ABC liberated the actor in a different way: they cancelled his show at the end of the 1966 TV season.
*
“[Directing] brings a different sort of adulation. Kazan isn’t mobbed by teen-agers.”
– Vince Edwards
However much Edwards might have enjoyed his work on the back end of the camera, becoming the next Elia Kazan wasn’t on his mind when Ben Casey went off the air in 1966. His priorities, according to a 1965 TV Guide interview, were marriage, kids, and a movie career. Edwards left Ben Casey with a three-picture deal at Columbia and a successful nightclub act that he’d originated during his summer vacations.
Edwards also had a crippling addiction to gambling – specifically, horse racing – one that had been amply covered in the press and that earned him a reputation around town for epic unprofessionalism. He regularly bolted from the set during the middle of the day to go to the racetrack, and even though he’d made millions off of Ben Casey, he was always putting the touch on friends and co-workers for a loan. His lazy attitude towards acting didn’t help, either. While rival TV doctor Richard Chamberlain, also a wooden unknown when Dr. Kildare made him a star, studied the craft and grew into an acclaimed performer, Edwards clung to the snarl and the somewhat smarmy charm that landed him the Ben Casey role. His one-expression-fits-all acting was fodder for nightclubs’ and columnists’ wit. After the three films he top-lined flopped, Edwards had nowhere to go but back to television. If you play the ponies wrong, you too can be a loser.
In 1971, Edwards starred as a psychiatrist in Matt Lincoln, a clear attempt to recreate the magic of Ben Casey; it failed after one abbreviated season. In the meantime Edwards had married (twice) and fathered three kids; with movie and now even TV stardom eluding him, he’d tried all of those goals he enumerated in 1965. Directing worked its way back to the top of the list. One of the last Matt Lincoln episodes was his first directing credit in five years, and his deal with Universal (which produced the series) extended to the closest thing to an auteur effort in Edwards’s videography. Maneater (1973), starring Ben Gazzara and Sheree North, was the first project that Edwards directed without also acting in. He originated the telefilm himself. The story idea about tigers on the loose came from a crony and former stand-in, George Fraser, who had been an animal trainer, and Edwards wrote the teleplay with another member of his entourage, an occasional Ben Casey writer named Marcus Demian. (Horror master Jimmy Sangster did a credited rewrite.) Cecil Smith, TV critic for The Los Angeles Times, wrote that Edwards “builds a fine sense of tension” in his direction, but Maneater earned little attention and mixed reviews.
According to Foster, Edwards expressed a preference for directing over acting more than once, and “tried to develop a couple of things,” but Maneater became the only film or television project that he would originate. During the seventies, Edwards’s always precarious personal life took a nose-dive. He’d been to several psychiatrists to try to control his gambling, but always ended up ditching the sessions and heading to the track. Foster divorced him after nearly a decade of marriage, because of the gambling, and in 1976 he filed for bankruptcy.
It’s likely that most of Edwards’s directing credits after Maneater were undertaken primarily out of financial necessity. He enjoyed a parallel career going back and forth between acting and directing, but most of the directing gigs came from producer friends; Edwards never established himself as a sought-after director. Nearly all of his episodic directing during the seventies and eighties traces back to either David Gerber, Aaron Spelling (a pal since the sixties who called Edwards his “itty-bitty buddy,” and with whom Edwards shared a business manager), or Glen A. Larson (at whose Hawaii estate Edwards married his third wife in 1980).
Most of those shows, with the exception of Gerber’s Police Story, can be charitably called junk, and Edwards was no longer the biggest wheel on the set but, now, just another down-on-his-luck journeyman director. Ten years after the impossible object that is “If You Play Your Cards Right, You Too Can Be a Loser,” do we find anything of the old exuberant Vince Edwards, cineaste, in the likes of Larson’s pablum? Surprisingly, yes – if only a glimmer.
It’s harder to analyze performance in the likes of BJ and the Bear and The Fall Guy than in Ben Casey. Most of the shows Edwards directed in the seventies emphasize action and spectacle over character-driven drama. Of the seven Edwards-directed segments I was able to view, the most accomplished performance came from a young actress: Anne Lockhart (below), playing the guilt-ridden girlfriend of a villain in a two-part Hardy Boys.
Lockhart also turns up in Edwards’s Battlestar: Galactica two-parter, “The Living Legend” (which inspired perhaps the high point of Ronald D. Moore’s remake of that series, making it, in hindsight, the most significant of Edwards’s later directing efforts), giving a less polished performance but still a striking, sexy one. Lloyd Bridges, the primary guest star in “The Living Legend,” does all the things you’ve seen Bridges do a hundred times before, but Edwards assists him with a shadowy entrance that foreshadows the direction his character will turn:
Edwards’s other excursion into the Battlestar empire was a single episode of Galactica 1980, “The Super Scouts Part 1.” In one shot Edwards revives the familiar right-angle positioning of actors that he used repeatedly in Ben Casey:
“Super Scouts” also brings back another favorite Casey tic, the slow circling pan, which is why this child actor ends up addressing Lorne Greene over his shoulder in their scenes together:
Greene and the boy have scenes together on the same set in the second half of this two-parter, which was directed not by Edwards but by Sigmund Neufeld, Jr. While the gauzy fog filter is used there, too, the camera remains static in Neufeld’s scenes. Thus Galactica serves as a rare petri dish in which elements of house style (the filter) can be distinguished from choices made by individual directors (the camera movement).
There are new techniques, not evident during Ben Casey, that Edwards favors in the seventies shows. Here’s a close-up of Lorne Greene from “The Living Legend” in which the actor is positioned toward one side of the frame while others bustle out-of-focus in the background in the other half of the image:
A nearly identical set-up occurs at least three times in Edwards’s episode of BJ and the Bear, “Silent Night, Unholy Night.” Edwards also displays a facility for staging action in real locations, something that Ben Casey – which very rarely left the soundstage – afforded little opportunity to do. Scenes shot in a bank and a department store in “The Super Scouts Part 1” and on the USC campus in Edwards’s episode of David Cassidy – Man Undercover capture more of the flavor of those locations than one typically observes in television location shoots. The “Super Scouts” sequence in which Barry Van Dyke “accidentally” robs a bank builds a unexpected amount of tension as it progresses. As a standalone sequence, it’s more effective than the banal story into which it’s integrated.
Edwards’s rebirth as a TV director fizzled out in the early eighties. There was one outlier, an In the Heat of the Night episode in 1990, and then nothing. According to Linda Foster, he never defeated his addiction to gambling. “He never was going to be a serious filmmaker, because he was too interested in the sixth race at Santa Anita,” said Mark Rydell, who noticed Edwards’s divided focus even as he began preparing for his first turn as a director. “He was a little bit like a rabbit running around rabbit holes. I don’t think he had the patience and discipline to see things through half the time. And he’d get frustrated and take himself off to the racetrack,” said Foster.
“The ultimate satisfaction in film is the director’s. I love it,” said Edwards in 1973, in what may have been his final recorded statement on the subject. “But it’s two months’ work for two weeks’ pay. As an actor, you come in to do an 11-day TV movie, take the money and run. You can’t do that as a director. At least I can’t. I have to be involved every step of the way through post-production up until it’s on the air.”
*
Sources (in addition to linked text above): Dwight Whitney, “Anybody Know What Kind of Mood Vince-Baby Is in Today?” TV Guide, April 4, 1964; Whitney, “Vince Baby Plays It Cool,” TV Guide, February 18, 1967; Cecil Smith, “Will Ben Casey Make a Comeback?” Los Angeles Times, December 6, 1973; Kathy Kersh interview in Tom Lisanti and Louis Paul, Film Fatales: Women in Espionage Films and Television, 1962-1973 (McFarland, 2002); John Meredyth Lucas, Eighty Odd Years in Hollywood: Memoir of a Career in Film and Television (McFarland, 2004); and July 2013 telephone interviews with Patricia Hyland Tackett, Mark Rydell, and Linda Foster Winter.
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2016-04-03T00:00:00
|
The Oscar Quest began in May of 2010. I finished about fifteen months later, and wrote it up for this site. That was essentially the first thing I did on here. Five years have passed since then. I've grown as a person. My tastes have changed, matured (or gotten more immature, in some cases). So…
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https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/ea3a3f137056719de8b1e880588615198cf22a9ac8f8155a4dd1f4038211ac26?s=32
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B+ Movie Blog
|
https://bplusmovieblog.com/2016/04/03/the-oscar-quest-reconsidered-best-director-1981-1982/
|
The Oscar Quest began in May of 2010. I finished about fifteen months later, and wrote it up for this site. That was essentially the first thing I did on here. Five years have passed since then. I’ve grown as a person. My tastes have changed, matured (or gotten more immature, in some cases). So it feels fitting, on the five year anniversary of the site and of the Oscar Quest, to revisit it.
I want to see just how my opinions about things have changed over the past five years. I didn’t do any particular work or catch-up for this. I didn’t go back and watch all the movies again. Some I went back to see naturally, others I haven’t watched in five years. I really just want to go back and rewrite the whole thing as a more mature person, less concerned with making points about certain categories and films than with just analyzing the whole thing as objectively as I can to give people who are interested as much information as possible.
This is the more mature version of the Oscar Quest. Updated, more in-depth, as objective as possible, less hostile. You can still read the old articles, but know that those are of a certain time, and these represent the present.
1981
Warren Beatty, Reds
Hugh Hudson, Chariots of Fire
Louis Malle, Atlantic City
Mark Rydell, On Golden Pond
Steven Spielberg, Raiders of the Lost Ark
Analysis:
Reds. Warren Beatty’s magnum opus about communism. Well, it’s not really about communism. It’s about a communist. John Reed, who wrote the book “Ten Days that Shook the World.” He’s an American journalist who gets swept up in the communist Revolution.
It’s him, Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson. Mostly it’s him and Keaton. We see him becoming a communist, falling in love with her, and then Nicholson is playing Eugene O’Neill, who also is in love with her, and then Beatty goes to Russia and stays behind, and they’re separated for a while, then he comes back, there’s the whole reunion scene at the train station — it’s a long movie. It’s good, though. Be prepared for a lot of scenes of people in meeting halls talking about communist values.
The direction is good. It’s appropriately epic. He also structures it in a style that people hadn’t seen before. Which is basically how Band of Brothers structured their story. Real people (a mix of real and fictional people) talking about the characters as if it were a documentary, and then flashing back and forth from them to the action. This is the classy choice in the category and it makes total sense that he won. I can’t argue this having won. I’m probably going a different way, but I do understand him winning.
Chariots of Fire. I used to call this the worst Best Picture choice of all time. I don’t know if I feel as strongly now. I think it’s a bad choice, but now I understand it more based on what I know about the Academy and how they vote.
The film is about people who run. One kid is jewish and the other is catholic. We follow them in college and then as they run professionally and then all the way to the Olympics. That’s pretty much the film. There’s more. But that’s the general overview of the story.
The movie is fine. I don’t think it holds up very well at all and I’m still surprised that the Academy liked it enough to vote for it. I’m really curious how the year turned out. Because either there was a huge favorite that went down to the underdog, or they had no idea how it was gonna turn out and it was a dogfight to get the most votes and this just happened to win. From the looks of it, Reds had the most nominations, but it was about communism. And there’s no way the Academy as it was constituted in 1981 was going to vote for a movie about communism. And then there was Raiders, which was the populist choice (like Mad Max was), but wasn’t taken seriously by them for wins outside of the technical categories. Atlantic City was never gonna happen, so it became between On Golden Pond and this. And with BAFTA firmly behind this, and this having that uplifting kind of sports feel to it… I understand it. It’s not a choice that holds up, but I do understand it.
As for the direction, I would not vote for it. I think it’s fine, but I’d have him third in the category at best. I don’t even love the movie, but I’d still have him third here.
Atlantic City. No one even knows what this movie is. It was directed by Louis Malle, but feels quintessentially American. And 80s.
Burt Lancaster is an aging gangster who runs numbers (small time). Susan Sarandon is a cocktail waitress whose husband hasn’t lived with her for a while but shows up with a bunch of cocaine he’s gonna sell. He gets Lancaster involved, but then gets killed by the people he stole the coke from. So now, Lancaster is got a full on crush on Sarandon and wants to impress her. So the mobsters are now after her, and he’s trying to be young again and be a big man for her, and it’s actually quite good. Lancaster plays a really pathetic guy you completely understand.
The direction is fine. I like the film. I don’t think I’d consider it any higher than fourth in the category. It looks and feels like a lot of 80s movies. Nothing to make me want to vote for it over any of the major contenders in this category.
On Golden Pond.
I love this movie. I mean, it would have been a bit of a joke had it won, given how slight the subject matter is, but I love it nonetheless.
Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn (both in their final film roles) are an elderly couple who have gone to the same lake house every summer for something like fifty years. Fonda just celebrated his 80th birthday and is basically a cranky old man. They hear from their daughter (Jane Fonda), who has just married a man she met a few months ago, and they’re going on their honeymoon. And his son is now gonna stay with them for a few weeks until she comes back. So they’re left with this kid for half the movie, and a lot of it is the kid being kind of a dick, but then warming to them and becoming a regular nice kid — you know the drill. And then Fonda comes back, and there’s some personal shit that needs to be hashed out (which has an added real life father-daughter element to it). The movie is great. Hepburn and Fonda are so entertaining and so good, and it’s one of those movies you can’t help but love.
That said — the direction is clearly fifth in the category. There’s nothing particularly exemplary about it. It almost feels like a TV movie. The film is great, but there is zero need to even think about voting for it in this category. It’s actually a little surprising that it even got nominated here. Look at Driving Miss Daisy eight years after this. Wasn’t even nominated. This could have been like that and everyone would have understood.
Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s Raiders, man. Indiana Jones, Ark of the Covenant, Marion, “Snakes.” Everyone knows this movie. We’ve all seen it. It’s great.
Spielberg was arguably the best choice in the category at the time, but, in a way similar to this past year with George Miller, the Academy just doesn’t seem to like for movies they consider blockbusters. They had a real vendetta it seemed against Steven Spielberg for a good fifteen years before he finally won. I think this is tops in the category and is gonna be my vote, but I completely understand taking Warren Beatty instead.
– – – – – – – – – –
The Reconsideration: It’s either Spielberg or Beatty. I don’t see any other choice as being viable. Rydell is lucky to be nominated, with his film looking like it was made for TV. Malle’s reward is the nomination. It’s fine, but not anything particularly standout. And Hudson — I guess, if you wanted to not split the vote. But I think it’s middle of the pack at best. So you’re left with the two solid efforts of Spielberg and Beatty. I’m okay with either. The Academy went Beatty, I’m going Spielberg. Either is a good choice.
– – – – – – – – – –
Rankings (category):
Steven Spielberg, Raiders of the Lost Ark
Warren Beatty, Reds
Hugh Hudson, Chariots of Fire
Louis Malle, Atlantic City
Mark Rydell, On Golden Pond
Rankings (films):
Raiders of the Lost Ark
On Golden Pond
Reds
Atlantic City
Chariots of Fire
My Vote: Steven Spielberg, Raiders of the Lost Ark
Recommendations:
Raiders of the Lost Ark is practically a life essential film. How does one grow up without seeing it? As a film buff, it’s essential.
The rest… ehh.
Reds isn’t essential, but you should see it. It’s a classic, it’s Beatty directing, a lot of Oscar nominations, he won Best Director. It’s definitely something you should see as a film buff, but you don’t need to rush into it. See the big movies first, and get to this around college.
Chariots of Fire is almost essential, but that’s only because it won, and if you want to complain about it having won, you need to see it. That’s how that works. So for people who really care about the Oscars, you need to see it. For film buffs, you can see it, because it is a Best Picture winner, but you don’t need to. And for casual film people — take it or leave it.
On Golden Pond is an absolutely lovely film. I think you should see it because it’s entertaining as shit. Also it won both lead acting Oscars. I’ll leave it as such — if the names Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda mean anything to you as a film buff, then you should see this movie.
Atlantic City is a solid, forgotten film of the 80s. Really well done. Later Burt Lancaster in his last truly awesome role, and a young Susan Sarandon. A crime movie, well made. Not gonna appeal to all, but very solid. It’s worth seeing because of its place in Oscar history, but it’s not essential by any means. This is the kind of story that, nowadays, would have been a subplot on three episodes of The Sopranos.
The Last Word: I say it’s either Beatty or Spielberg. Take your pick. Both are deserving. One is the “classy” choice, and the other is the populist choice. I’m taking Spielberg, but either one is a good decision.
– – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – –
1982
Richard Attenborough, Gandhi
Sidney Lumet, The Verdict
Wolfgang Petersen, Das Boot
Sydney Pollack, Tootsie
Steven Spielberg, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Analysis:
Gandhi. As you can tell by the title, this is a biopic of Warren G. Harding.
It’s long, it’s epic, it really captures Gandhi the man. It’s great. You can’t really argue with this having won. Would I vote for it? Maybe. Is it deserving? Absolutely. So we’ll see where it shakes out.
The Verdict. Sidney Lumet again. Why is it that any time he gets nominated there’s always some reason to not vote for him? Definitely goes to back up the notion that he’s one of the most overlooked directors in history.
Paul Newman is a disgraced lawyer who was once a hot shot and is now a drunk ambulance chaser. His friend sends him a case as an act of charity that will basically settle out of court and get him a nice payday. A woman was given anesthesia at a church-run hospital and ended up almost dying and is now in a coma. The woman’s family wants the settlement so they can keep her alive. Newman, however, sees this as his chance for redemption and refuses the offer. So now he’s taking on the church and all their deep pockets. And of course, now that it’s going to trial, stuff starts happening. The star witness disappears, and the defense has James Mason, a top lawyer who practically guarantees a win, and even the judge seems to be working against him.
It is a GREAT movie. It’s really good. David Mamet wrote it, by the way. Paul Newman delivers a powerhouse performance, and arguably should have won Best Actor. The direction is really solid. Potentially worth a vote. Not sure if I would, but definitely something to consider.
Das Boot. Literally, “The Boat.” Sounds way better in German.
It’s about a bunch of men on a German U-Boat. We follow through the eyes of a young officer as the crew members work on this boat during World War II.
The story doesn’t matter, the movie is GREAT. It’s utterly captivating, and much of the movie is shot on the cramped quarters of a submarine. There are three different versions, the original 150 minute version, the 210 minute directors cut (typically the one people watch) and an uncut 290 minute version (which is almost five hours).
The direction is so great. It’s foreign, but it belongs right up there for a vote with everything else in this category. What Petersen achieves is nothing short of astounding. After this movie he made nothing but Hollywood features from then on.
Tootsie. Ah, Tootsie. Most people know this as “the movie where Dustin Hoffman dresses like a woman” but it’s actually a lot more than that. It’s really an amazing movie. I watched it again recently. It holds up.
Dustin Hoffman is a temperamental actor who can’t book a job because people know how difficult he is. He hears his friend is going up for a job as a nurse on a popular soap, and, desperate, decides that since no one will hire him, he’ll audition dressed like a woman. So he goes in and gets the part. And quickly his character becomes the best part of the show. So now he has to pretend to be a woman half the time. And on top of that, he falls in love with Jessica Lange, the female lead of the soap, who has taken a strong liking of her co-star (him, as a woman). Comedy ensues, but there’s a lot of weight to it. It’s not just a frivolous comedy. There’s actually drama here too. This movie manages to do it all.
It’s really great. One of the best movies of the 80s, and a definite Best Picture player, for when we get there. Underrated Oscar year, this one. As for the direction — good. Maybe you can want to vote for it. Tough category, tough year. But worth a vote, which means we keep it in play for later.
E.T. I want to say “oh fuck you if you don’t know what this is,” but that would be overly mean and more in line with what I did last time.
But seriously, it’s E.T. You should have heard of it. Boy finds an alien in the backyard, takes him in, tries to help him “phone home.”
It’s an all-time classic. Another one of those movies where, in 1982, I bet they were super pissed when Spielberg didn’t win, because the Academy just didn’t respect him. Why? Because this movie beat Star Wars to become the highest grossing movie of all time when it came out. And to them, that didn’t necessarily mean a film was “awards worthy.”
Definitely is worth a vote. Not sure what I’m doing, but absolutely is he right there in the end. I think we might have a category with all five as potential choices.
– – – – – – – – – –
The Reconsideration: All five are worth the vote, honestly. Some more than others, but I could understand making a case for all five.
The first two off for me are Tootsie and The Verdict. They’re great movies, but the direction for me doesn’t beat the other three. Not sure how I rank them, they’re about the same to me, but in terms of a vote, those come off first.
Then, with the other three — honestly, I’m still gonna take Das Boot here. I think what Petersen accomplishes, shooting so much of the movie inside a submarine, is really astounding. I think he deserved this.
I can’t be upset with Attenborough having won, but I don’t think I’d vote for him. His film is shot on an epic scale, which means wife shots, big sets, lots of people. It looks grand. It’s easy to make it look grand. I don’t think he did all that much outside of shoot in the scale to really make me want to vote for him over Petersen. And to be perfectly honest, I’d vote for Spielberg over Attenborough. Because with Spielberg, he made some really classic images in his film that stick with me way more than the ones from Gandhi do. Gandhi is a great film, but the direction of E.T. I feel is overall stronger.
But either way, I think Petersen takes this for me. Every time I see that film, I’m amazed by his direction.
– – – – – – – – – –
Rankings (category):
Wolfgang Petersen, Das Boot
Steven Spielberg, E.T the Extra-Terrestrial
Richard Attenborough, Gandhi
Sidney Lumet, The Verdict
Sydney Pollack, Tootsie
Rankings (films):
The Verdict
Tootsie
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Das Boot
Gandhi
My Vote: Wolfgang Petersen, Das Boot
Recommendations:
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is life essential. How you could make it to college without having seen it is unfathomable.
Das Boot isn’t essential, but you should see it as a film buff. It’s a really famous film, and it’s just a masterwork of direction. One of the great war films, too. Highly, highly recommended. Put it this way — if you’re here, you trust my opinion enough to know that I’ve seen enough movies to at least know what I’m talking about. And if I’m actually voting for something, there’s a reason for it. You may not agree with me, in the end, but if a movie you haven’t heard of or haven’t seen is something I’m voting for on this Quest, it’s probably something you should see. Otherwise, what are you doing reading this site?
Tootsie is an all-time classic and an essential movie for film buffs. It should be essential for everyone, it’s so good.
The Verdict is also an essential movie for film buffs. It’s a great trial movie, a genre that is always interesting, directed by Sidney Lumet and featuring one of the most iconic Paul Newman performances of all time. If you like movies, you need to see it.
Gandhi is a movie I’m calling life essential, because we should all be educated as to who this man was and why he had such an impact on the world and on history. You should see it as a human being. It’s not life essential the way E.T. is — I can understand if you haven’t seen it at age 20. But you should see it, so just get on that. It’ll make you a better person.
The Last Word: You can make a case for all five. Lumet seems slightest to me. Attenborough’s effort seems appropriately epic but doesn’t inspire much passion from me. Pollack’s effort is really solid but also doesn’t feel enough to warrant a vote. Spielberg is close, but every time I want to vote for him, I’m reminded how much I love Petersen’s effort. So, I take Petersen, but you could feel differently and take any one of the other four directors and be totally legitimized in doing so. As long as you can make a case as to why you think their effort is best, I can see voting for just about any one of the five nominees here. A very strong category.
– – – – – – – – – –
(Read more Oscar Quest articles.)
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https://thefantasyreviews.com/2024/08/02/10-cyberpunk-books-that-are-thought-provoking/
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en
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10 Cyberpunk Books That Are Thought
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2024-08-02T00:00:00
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The Fantasy Review’s list of 10 Cyberpunk Books That Are Thought-Provoking, including some underrated and popular picks...
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en
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The Fantasy Review
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https://thefantasyreviews.com/2024/08/02/10-cyberpunk-books-that-are-thought-provoking/
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The Fantasy Review’s list of 10 Cyberpunk Books That Are Thought-Provoking.
Virtual Light (Bridge, #1) by William Gibson
From the blurb:
The millennium has come and gone, leaving in its wake only stunned survivors. In Los Angeles, Berry Rydell is a former armed-response rentacop now working for a bounty hunter. Chevette Washington is a bicycle messenger turned pickpocket who impulsively snatches a pair of innocent-looking sunglasses. But these are no ordinary shades. What you can see through these high-tech specs can make you rich—or get you killed…
Nexus (Nexus, #1) by Ramez Naam
From the blurb:
Mankind gets an upgrade
In the near future, the experimental nano-drug Nexus can link humans together, mind to mind. There are some who want to improve it. There are some who want to eradicate it. And there are others who just want to exploit it…
Altered Carbon (Takeshi Kovacs, #1) by Richard K. Morgan
From the blurb:
In the twenty-fifth century, humankind has spread throughout the galaxy, monitored by the watchful eye of the U.N. While divisions in race, religion, and class still exist, advances in technology have redefined life itself. Now, assuming one can afford the expensive procedure, a person’s consciousness can be stored in a cortical stack at the base of the brain and easily downloaded into a new body (or “sleeve”) making death nothing more than a minor blip on a screen…
Moxyland by Lauren Beukes
From the blurb:
Lauren Beukes’s frighteningly persuasive, high-tech fable follows four narrators living in a dystopian near-future.
Kendra, an art-school dropout, brands herself for a nanotech marketing program. Lerato, an ambitious AIDS baby, plots to defect from her corporate employers. Tendeka, a hot-headed activist, is becoming increasingly rabid. Toby, a roguish blogger, discovers that the video games he plays for cash are much more than they seem…
Islands in the Net by Bruce Sterling
From the blurb:
Two decades into the twenty-first century, the world’s nations are becoming irrelevant. Corporations are the true global powers, with information the most valuable currency, while the smaller island nations have become sanctuaries for data pirates and terrorists. A globe-trotting PR executive for the large corporate economic democracy Rizome Industries Group, Laura Webster is present when a foreign representative is assassinated on Rizome soil during a conference for offshore data havens…
Titanium Noir (Titanium Noir, #1) by Nick Harkaway
From the blurb:
Cal Sounder is a detective working for the police on certain very sensitive cases. So when he’s called in to investigate a homicide at a local apartment, he’s surprised by the routineness of it all. But when he arrives on scene, Cal soon learns that the victim—Roddy Tebbit, an otherwise milquetoast techie—is well over seven feet tall. And although he doesn’t look a day over thirty, he is ninety-one years old. Tebbit is a Titan—one of this dystopian, near-future society’s genetically altered elites. And this case is definitely Cal’s thing…
Eclipse (A Song Called Youth, #1) by John Shirley
From the blurb:
The Russians didn’t use the big nukes.
The ongoing Third World War leaves parts of Europe in ruins. Into the chaos steps the Second Alliance, a multinational eager to impose its own kind of New World Order.
In the United States … in FirStep, the vast space colony … and on the artificial island Freezone — the SA shoulders its way to power, spinning a dark web of media manipulation, propaganda, and infiltration…
Trouble and Her Friends by Melissa Scott
From the blurb:
After the authorities close down the illegal world of cyberspace, home to the computer netwalkers, India Carless (alias “Trouble”) settles down in the corporate world, until a computer hacker forces her into a deadly battle of technology and wits.
Mindplayers by Pat Cadigan
From the blurb:
For Allie, putting on the madcap that Jerry borrowed was a very big mistake. The psychosis itself was quite conventional, but it didn’t go away when she took the madcap off, so the Brain Police took over leaving her with a choice – go to jail as a mind criminal or become a mindplayer.
Neuromancer (Sprawl, #1) by William Gibson
From the blurb:
Case was the sharpest data-thief in the matrix—until he crossed the wrong people and they crippled his nervous system, banishing him from cyberspace. Now a mysterious new employer has recruited him for a last-chance run at an unthinkably powerful artificial intelligence. With a dead man riding shotgun and Molly, a mirror-eyed street-samurai, to watch his back, Case is ready for the adventure that upped the ante on an entire genre of fiction…
Related to: 10 Cyberpunk Books That Are Thought-Provoking
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https://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/the-fox-1967-mark-rydell/
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The Fox (1967) Mark Rydell
|
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2016-02-01T00:00:00
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Mark Rydell’s The Fox was released in Canada in December of 1967. Two months later, in early February, it opened in the U.S. I remember seeing the film back then with a full house of other filmgoers at the Festival theater in New York City. It's based on an early novella by D.H. Lawrence, best known for…
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en
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https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/d7aa46c18fcbc9e958d920117d48842da9864b7cf29fa6a6bdc6b1715f25f45a?s=32
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Twenty Four Frames
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https://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/the-fox-1967-mark-rydell/
|
Mark Rydell’s The Fox was released in Canada in December of 1967. Two months later, in early February, it opened in the U.S. I remember seeing the film back then with a full house of other filmgoers at the Festival theater in New York City. It’s based on an early novella by D.H. Lawrence, best known for the erotic Lady’s Chatterley’s Lover, a book just about every high school boy back in the day secretly read.
In the mid to late sixties, The Motion Picture Production Code was in disarray. Films like Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Pawnbroker and Blow-Up were chipping away at the code’s hold on filmmakers, opening up a door for more mature stories to reach the screen. British Producer Raymond Stross was one filmmaker who wanted to continue to stretch the boundaries of what was acceptable on the screen. He also wanted to find a project that would star his wife; actress, and former Miss Great Britain (1950), Anne Heywood. Stross and Heywood had previously collaborated in films like The Brain and Ninety Degrees in the Shade. The Fox would be their third collaboration and their most controversial up to that point in time.
With the making of The Fox, Stross did stretch the boundaries, and pushed a lot of buttons in the process. The film included scenes of nudity, lesbianism and masturbation. Watched today, it may film seem mild, but back in ‘67/’68 it was pretty strong stuff. With the new rating system still months away, the film was Suggested for Mature Audiences. After the rating system went into effect, The Fox was given an “R.” Later on, it was changed to PG-13. Two reasons for the change. First, by future standards the scenes were not as graphic as what would come later, and second, the film more importantly was edited to chip away at some of the more suggestive scenes and in the process diluting the power of the film. Subsequently, if you have seen The Fox in recent years, most likely you are seeing the edited version.
The film is basically a three character study. Jill Banford (Sandy Dennis) and Ellen March (Anne Heywood) are two women who wanted to get away from the craziness of city life. They live and work a farm in the rural Canadian countryside. Jill takes care of the household chores whereas Ellen does the tougher farm work, including trying to hunt a fox who has been raiding their chicken coop. There are hints that Jill and Ellen’s relationship may be more than just the two working the farm together. While Jill is happy with their rural life, Ellen has become lonely and frustrated.
Their quiet world changes with the unexpected arrival of Paul (Keir Dullea), a seaman on leave, who explains to the women his grandfather once owned the farm. With no place to go, he volunteers to stay awhile and help out with the heavier farm work. Jill appreciatively agrees while Ellen needs to be persuaded. Paul is attracted to Ellen and while Ellen is at first reluctant they soon begin having an affair. The two fall in love, announcing to Jill they plan to marry and leave the farm. Jill becomes upset. Before the couple leave the farm, an unexpected accident sadly resolves the conflict.
The screenplay, by Lewis John Carlino (The Great Santini, Seconds) and Howard Koch (Casablanca, Mission to Moscow, The Letter), modernizes Lawrence’s short novel to the modern day late 1960‘s. Additionally, they moved the story from England to an isolated farm in rural Canada. Finally, they made Lawrence’s novella a more graphic story though managing to keep the author’s concept mostly intact.
The late Sandy Dennis was a terrific actress, but unfortunately the role she has here requires her to be a high-pitched, annoying, whiney, overly dependent irritant. Her voice is like nails screeching on a blackboard. Pauline Kael wrote she, “made an acting style out of postnasal drip.” One wonders just what Anne Heywood’s Ellen saw in her. Kier Dullea’s Paul comes across as self-confident, you might even say smug and opinionated. He has no doubts about himself. At one point he even questions Jill on why she’s a lesbian noting she’s not bad looking and has nice legs. Dullea is good, however, I found his character very likable. That leaves Anne Heywood as Ellen who arguably gives the strongest performance of the cast. Reserved and lonely, she allows herself to be become prey to Paul’s seduction.
The film is beautifully photographed by cinematographer William A. Fraker (Rosemary’s Baby, Bullitt). Director Mark Rydell, a former actor (Crime in the Streets, The Long Goodbye), does a nice job turning this quiet, sometimes slow paced tale into an arty work of quiet beauty. This was Rydell’s first feature film as a director. He honed his skills in television doing shows like Mr. Novak, Ben Casey, The Fugitive and Gunsmoke. Rydell would go on to direct other films including The Rose, On Golden Pond, The Reivers and The Cowboys among others.
The husband and wife team of Raymond Stross and Anne Heywood would go on to make other controversial films including I Want What I Want (sex change) and Good Night, Miss Wyckoff (rape, interracial sex), neither of which were very good nor are deservedly very well known.
This is my contribution to the O CANADA BLOGATION. For more entries in this series check out the link below.
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https://quillette.com/2021/06/28/in-praise-of-the-novelization-pop-fictions-least-reputable-genre/
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en
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In Praise of the Novelization—Pop Fiction's Least Reputable Genre
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2021-06-28T00:00:00
|
This month brings us the release of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. No, not the film. That came out in 2019. But now HarperCollins is publishing a novelization, written by Tarantino himself, and based on the earlier film. This particular type of fiction—the bastard offspring
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en
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Quillette
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https://quillette.com/2021/06/28/in-praise-of-the-novelization-pop-fictions-least-reputable-genre/
|
This month brings us the release of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. No, not the film. That came out in 2019. But now HarperCollins is publishing a novelization, written by Tarantino himself, and based on the earlier film. This particular type of fiction—the bastard offspring of the film treatment and the legitimate novel—is probably pop fiction’s least reputable genre, which no doubt is why it appeals to Tarantino. When HarperCollins announced the project last fall, Tarantino issued a statement saying:
To this day I have a tremendous amount of affection for the genre. So as a movie-novelization aficionado, I’m proud to announce Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as my contribution to this often marginalized, yet beloved sub-genre in literature. I’m also thrilled to further explore my characters and their world in a literary endeavor that can (hopefully) sit alongside its cinematic counterpart.
Movie novelizations have been around since filmdom’s silent era and are still a fairly common sight on the paperback spinner racks of chain bookstores and airport gift shops. The genre is often looked down upon as a literary backwater, attracting only hacks and whores. Tarantino’s affection can probably be at least partially attributed to the year of his birth—1963. Those of us born into the so-called Baby Boom generation grew up before videocassette players were widely available (and before DVD players and streaming services had even been conceived). Back in those benighted days, if you enjoyed a film based on an original screenplay and you wanted to experience it again after it had left the theater, your options were limited. You could wait for it to appear on television (where it would almost certainly be shortened, censored, cropped from its original aspect-ratio via pan-and-scan technology, and chock-full of commercial breaks), you could hope for it to enjoy a theatrical revival (highly unlikely), or you could seek out a novelization, which, though it would lack the colorful visuals and the musical score and the performances, would at least allow you to be thrilled once again by the plot and the dialogue, or some semblance thereof. Furthermore, although theaters wouldn’t allow people under 16 to see an R-rated film without parental accompaniment, bookstores had no such restrictions. A kid could buy the novelization of an R-rated movie without the book clerk asking to see his ID.
The 1960s and 1970s were probably the golden age for both the TV and movie novelization, at least in terms of sheer numbers. I was a young book-lover back then and I can recall spinner racks filled with novelizations of dozens of successful—and a few not-so-successful—TV series. Leave It To Beaver, Ironside, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Starsky and Hutch, Time Tunnel, Star Trek, Hawaii 5-O, Mannix, The Prisoner, I Spy, Get Smart, The Partridge Family, The Mod Squad, Rat Patrol, The Brady Bunch, Batman, Columbo, Dark Shadows—the list goes on and on. Some of these books (such as the adaptations of Star Trek episodes written for Bantam Books by James Blish) were based on actual episodes of the program, but many contained original stories that employed the TV show’s characters and settings and themes.
There’s a lot of talk about cinematic universes these days, but novelizations were expanding those universes even before the concept had a name. Casual fans of fictional San Francisco homicide detective Harry Callahan are probably familiar with the character only through the five films in which he has appeared, Dirty Harry (1971), Magnum Force (1973), The Enforcer (1976), Sudden Impact (1983), and The Dead Pool (1988). But superfans will also be familiar with Duel for Cannons, Death on the Docks, Massacre at Russian River, and the nine other spin-off novels in which Harry’s story was expanded by “Dane Hartman” (a pseudonym used by a collective of authors).
Sometimes the novelizers took famous TV or movie characters and sent them off in surprising new directions. According to Lori A. Paige’s study The Gothic Romance Wave: A Critical History of the Mass Market Novels, 1960–1993, author Marilyn Ross (real name: Dan Ross) wrote a phenomenally successful series of Dark Shadows tie-in novels without ever having watched the program, a gothic daytime soap opera that ran from 1966–71. His ignorance of all but the barebones outlines of what the show was about allowed him to create a Barnabas Collins (the vampire whose exploits eventually became the focus of the series) who differed greatly from the one portrayed by Jonathan Frid on the TV screen. Writes Paige, “[L]iterary Barnabas is nowhere near as frightening” as TV Barnabas:
He is a gentleman on every page, a tragic soul yearning for a lasting love his curse prevents him from attaining. He is described (repeatedly, in fact) as a handsome and articulate man, a welcome guest at any party, a patron of the arts … Dan Ross admitted in interviews with Dark Shadows fans, conducted long after the series ended, that he had little interest in following the scripts from the show. He decided to strike out on his own, creating new characters and situations. He was interested in exploring avenues the show could not due to time, cast, and budget constraints.
Doctor Who appears to be the all-time champion of TV show novelizations, having generated hundreds of them. Curiously, British publishers sometimes hire a Brit to write a movie tie-in book even though an American author has already done the job. Thus, the UK novelization of Peter Hyams’s 1978 thriller Capricorn One was written by Ken Follett (using the pseudonym Bernard L. Ross), while the American novelization was written by Ron Goulart.
A few gifted authors occasionally deigned to write a novelization of a film or TV series. Beverly Cleary, the highly regarded children’s author who died earlier this year at 104, once wrote a Leave It To Beaver spin-off (coincidentally, her name was a near-anagram of the show’s main character, Beaver Cleaver). Sometimes novelizations served as a writer’s springboard. Early in her career, Danielle Steel, the fourth bestselling fiction writer of all time, novelized Garry Michael White’s screenplay for the 1979 film The Promise. Sometimes novelizations served as a sad swan song. Late in his career (and life), legendary crime writer Jim Thompson wrote a spin-off novel for the TV series Ironside. He also wrote novelizations of the films The Undefeated (1969) and Nothing But a Man (1970). Paul Monette, who won the 1992 National Book Award for his memoir Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story, novelized several films in his too-short life, including Scarface (1983), Predator (1987), and Midnight Run (1988). William Kotzwinkle, author of numerous novels, including the World Fantasy Award-winning Doctor Rat (1976), wrote a novelization of Melissa Mathison’s screenplay for E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. It turned out to be the bestselling work of fiction in America for 1982. Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic (and novelist) Stephen Hunter wrote a novelization of Arthur Penn’s 1985 film, Target.
Graham Greene’s novella The Third Man is a novelization of sorts. He sketched it out merely as a précis of a film script he wanted to write, which he had no intention of publishing. But Carol Reed’s 1949 film became a hit (in 1999, the British Film Institute voted it the best British film of all time), which encouraged Greene to make his novella available to the reading public (the novella differs in some important ways from the film). Likewise, Greene’s novel The Tenth Man began life as a film treatment he wrote in the 1930s and quickly forgot about. At some point MGM acquired the rights to the treatment but then decided not to make a film from it. They sold the rights to a British publisher who gave Greene permission to convert the treatment into a novella, which he did. The book was published in 1985 and then adapted into a 1988 TV movie starring Anthony Hopkins and Kristin Scott Thomas. William Saroyan’s novel The Human Comedy started out as a 240-page script for a film that Saroyan hoped to direct himself. When MGM dropped him from the project, he novelized the script and sent it off to Harcourt, his publishers. The novelization made it into American bookstores just a month before the film made it into American movie theaters and became the fifth bestselling work of fiction of 1943. The film earned Saroyan an Academy Award for Best Story, a category that no longer exists. A much fuller list of novelizers, famous and not, can be found in Randall D. Larson’s excellent 1995 tome, Films Into Books: An Analytical Bibliography of Film Novelizations, Movie, and TV Tie-Ins. It is the only full-length academic study of the genre I’ve ever come across, and it is not nearly as pretentious as the subtitle makes it sound.
Unfortunately, Larson’s book covers only acknowledged novelizations, whereas one of the most interesting sub-categories of the genre is the stealth novelization. This type of book pretends to be the source of a film when it is actually its byproduct. Herman Raucher wrote the first draft of the screenplay that would eventually become Summer of ’42 (1972) back in the 1950s but could never find any takers for it. In the late 1960s, he showed it to filmmaker Robert Mulligan (To Kill a Mockingbird), who eventually got Warner Bros. studios to greenlight a movie from it. According to Wikipedia, here’s what happened next:
After production, Warner Bros., still wary about the film only being a minor success, asked Raucher to adapt his script into a book. Raucher wrote it in three weeks, and Warner Bros. released it prior to the film to build interest in the story. The book quickly became a national bestseller, so that when trailers premiered in theaters, the film was billed as being “based on the national bestseller,” despite the film having been completed first. Ultimately, the book became one of the best selling novels of the first half of the 1970s, requiring 23 reprints between 1971 and 1974 to keep up with customer demand.
Something similar happened to Erich Segal. In the late 1960s, he wrote a screenplay about a young female student at Radcliffe and a young male student at Harvard who fall in love only to discover that the young woman is terminally ill. Paramount Pictures purchased the screenplay but asked Segal to write a novelization of it in order to drum up interest in the film. Segal complied and the result was Love Story, the slim novel (novelization, actually) that became the bestselling work of fiction in America for 1970.
In 1976, five years after his impressive work on the Summer of ’42 novelization, Herman Raucher pulled off an even more impressive feat—he novelized a pop song! It seems that Max Baer Jr. (best known as the actor who played Jethro Bodine on The Beverly Hillbillies) had become determined to make a film out of Bobby Gentry’s spooky 1967 ballad, Ode to Billy Joe, and he hired Raucher to write the script. The notoriously cryptic song has a running time of four minutes and fifteen seconds and contains all of 358 words. Somehow Raucher turned it into a respectable screenplay that, when filmed, had a running time of an hour and 45 minutes. He also converted it into a literate and entertaining 253-page novelization.
Neither Raucher’s Summer of ’42 nor Segal’s Love Story was actually labeled a novelization by its publisher. Rushing out a short novel in advance of a film in order to drum up interest in the film’s release was a fairly standard practice back in the1970s. The practice appears to have largely died out since then, probably because today’s pop cultural consumers are a lot savvier than their parents and grandparents were. In the 1970s, such stealth novelizations were commonplace and fairly easy to spot if you knew what to look for. Most (but certainly not all) of them were paperback originals (meaning that no hardback edition was ever issued). Most of them were well under 300 pages (240 pages seems to have been the genre’s sweet spot). Stealth novelizations were almost always written by the author of the film’s screenplay and usually arrived in bookstores just a few weeks, or perhaps a few months, before the film version arrived in theaters. Stealth novelizations were never identified as such—their cover copy either identified them as “novels” or offered no genre identification at all.
Consider, for instance, Marc Norman’s novel Oklahoma Crude. My paperback edition, which is 240 pages long, is a tie-in to the Stanley Kramer film of the same name, starring George C. Scott and Faye Dunaway. The copyright page says 1973. The film was released in July of that year. The archived review of the book at the Kirkus Reviews website mentions that a Stanley Kramer film is already in production. Even in 1973, Marc Norman (who would later share a Best Original Screenplay Oscar with Tom Stoppard for the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love) was already working as a writer of teleplays and screenplays and had no published novels to his name. Norman’s entry on Wikipedia asserts (without citing a source) that his screenplay for Oklahoma Crude came first and that the novel was adapted from it. If this is correct, then it gets my vote for greatest stealth novelization of all time—a small comic masterpiece reminiscent in some ways of Charles Portis’s True Grit.
Another excellent stealth novelization is The Cowboys, a 1971 western written by William Dale Jennings and based on a film treatment he had already sold to Warner Bros. The book, like the 1972 film version starring John Wayne and directed by Mark Rydell, is set in Montana in 1877 and tells the story of rancher Wil [sic] Andersen (Wayne), whose ranch hands abandon him en masse to go prospecting for gold just before a 400-mile cattle drive. It being summertime, the town’s young boys (all of them between 13 and 15 years old) are out of school and largely idle, so Andersen, despite misgivings, decides to train them to replace his cowhands. The movie was as straight as an arrow, but the novelization differed in an important respect.
Jennings was a fine writer best remembered today for having been a fierce advocate of gay rights long before the Stonewall Uprising of 1968, and his novel contains homoerotic touches that never would have made it into a John Wayne western of the 1970s (or any other era). The most prominent female in the book is Miss Dulcy Drew, a prostitute whom Jennings slyly suggests is probably a man in drag. In an afterword, Jennings notes that one of the reasons he wrote The Cowboys was to explore what men did to slake their sexual urges on cattle drives, when they might go weeks or months without seeing a female. “Western historians and Hollywood would have us believe that erectile tissue was completely missing in the metabolism of the West,” he writes. He describes the aftermath of a naked swim the boys take together like this:
They stood on the river bank and peeked at one another with secret interest … Inevitably comparing their bodies, they were envious of some and proud before others … But it was Horny Jim who received the most comment. He was almost ludicrously lucky. They laughed and kidded him and he was delighted. “My father says you don’t get your full growth until you’re eighteen or so. Think how big I’ll be in four more years!”
Later in the novel, when the boys go bathing together one last time, they’ve begun maturing from boys to men:
Bathing in the river, they again compared the jewelry of their groins and that peculiarly male thing, their hair: how dark on the crotch, how thick on the chest, how bristly on the chin.
John Wayne’s image adorned the paperback edition of The Cowboys, which was one of the most widely distributed homoerotic novels of the early ’70s. Presumably, the Duke was blissfully unaware of this fact. Unlike Wayne, who noisily supported every American war but bent over backwards to avoid serving in any of them, Jennings served in World War II, fought at Guadalcanal, and earned multiple medals for his valor. Jennings’s patriotism was the real deal; the Duke’s was more in the spirit of a cheap movie tie-in. In today’s neo-Puritan culture, a book like The Cowboys would likely be condemned for its frank portrayal of adolescent sexuality and its use of racial slurs. But back in the 1970s, it was just another piece of pop fiction on the local supermarket spinner rack. I managed to read it aged 13 without being turned into a child molester or a Klansman.
But was The Cowboys really a novelization and not a novel? The opening credits of the film claim that it is based on the book by William Dale Jennings. Jennings shares the screenwriting credit with two other men. Wikipedia (not always the world’s most reliable source of information) claims the novel derived from Jennings’s film treatment. Is this true? A clue can be found in the back of the book, where Jennings confesses to having made a mistake in historical accuracy. It turns out that, in the 1870s, Montana children only attended school during summer because it was too cold in the winter months. But, writes Jennings, by the time he discovered this error, “the publisher, film producer, and writer were quite unwilling to scrap the whole project just because this one point made the story impossible.” This suggests that the book was being written while the film was being made, and so the script must have predated the novel. The hardback edition of the book was published in September of 1971. The film was released in January of 1972. The movie tie-in paperback came out the following month. That tight chronology suggests a stealth novelization to me. What’s more, if the book, in all its homoerotic glory, had come first, it seems unlikely that any American studio would have considered it appropriate source material for a John Wayne film. I suspect Jennings sold the much tamer screen treatment to Warner Bros. first and then subversively transformed it into a raunchy sausage-fest during its novelization.
Sometimes a novelization’s path to publication has as many twists and turns as its plot. In 1966, a 26-year-old British writer and actor named David Pinner set out to write a screenplay about a cop investigating a ritualistic murder. He titled the screenplay “Ritual.” Film director Michael Winner liked the script and wanted to make the film. Pinner’s agent, however, suspected that the screenplay might get trapped in development hell for years and recommended that his client convert it into a novel instead. So, Pinner spent seven weeks novelizing the story. The novel was published in 1967. In 1971, it caught the attention of writer Anthony Shaffer, best known then for his 1970 stage play Sleuth. At that time Shaffer and actor Christopher Lee were looking for an intelligent horror story that they could turn into a film. After reading and liking Ritual, Shaffer and Lee paid David Pinner £15,000 for it, and Shaffer went to work transforming it into a screenplay—which is what it had been originally. But Shaffer quickly decided that Ritual wouldn’t work as a film. Instead, he opted to write an original screenplay incorporating just some elements of Pinner’s novel. Shaffer called this new story The Wicker Man.
The tortuous path that Shaffer and director Robin Hardy traveled to bring The Wicker Man to the screen is the subject of numerous articles and a number of full-length books, including The Quest for The Wicker Man, edited by Benjamin Franks and Jonathan Murray, and Inside The Wicker Man: How Not To Make a Cult Classic, by Allan Brown. The film was released in Britain in 1973, but only after Hardy had been forced by the studio to remove nearly 20 minutes from his preferred cut. Fortunately, the film became a big enough hit that, a few years later, Hardy and the studio decided that a fully restored director’s cut might be able to find an audience. Alas, the studio had thrown out all the copies of the original cut but one. Early in the process a lone copy of the longer version was sent to American horror film impresario Roger Corman, to see if he might be interested in distributing it in the US. Corman had passed on the distribution rights but he had hung on to his copy of the film. Thus, a fully-restored director’s cut was made for re-release in January 1979. At that point, Shaffer and Hardy decided that a novelization of the film, published slightly ahead of the film’s re-release, might help drum up publicity for the re-edit. So, together they cranked out a tie-in novel of 240 pages. This book was a novelization of a screenplay that had been inspired by a novelization of another screenplay.
This type of cross-pollenization of intellectual property isn’t at all unprecedented. In the 1970s, Christopher Wood wrote novelizations of the scripts he contributed to the James Bond films The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979) despite the fact that both films were based (loosely) on existing novels written by Ian Fleming. There are fans online who prefer the Wood novelizations to the Fleming originals. Likewise, it isn’t unusual to find people online who prefer a novelization to the film it is based on. For instance, there seem to be a lot of fans who prefer James W. Ellison’s novelization of Finding Forrester to Gus van Sant’s 2000 film version (written by Mike Rich and starring Sean Connery). A possible explanation for this phenomenon is that novelizers are often working from a very early draft of a screenplay, and early drafts are almost always more straightforward and less convoluted than rewrites. Hollywood screenplays often grow more complex for reasons that have nothing to do with story logic.
For instance, Arthur Laurents’s original script for The Way We Were (1973) focused mainly on the character of political activist Katie Morosky (played by Barbra Streisand in the film). Her sometime-boyfriend Hubbell Gardiner was a secondary character. When director Sidney Pollack brought his friend Robert Redford on board to play Hubbell, they insisted that the Hubbell character be given equal stature with the Katie character. Laurents resisted so Pollack elbowed him out of the film’s development process and brought in 11 different writers, including Dalton Trumbo and Paddy Chayefsky (about whom, more in a moment), to tinker with the script. The result was a bloated mess. Though no literary masterpiece, Laurents’s novelization of the film is based not on the shooting script but on the 125-page treatment he had drafted early in the process in order to sell the project to producer Ray Stark. As a result, it is much more coherent than what Pollack managed to put up on the screen.
So, Quentin Tarantino isn’t the only prestigious name connected with the lowly literary product known as the novelization. In fact, he isn’t even the only highly regarded film director to have novelized one of his own films. In 1994, New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion co-wrote, with Kate Pullinger, a novel called The Piano, which was essentially a novelization of her 1993 film of the same name, for which she had won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Steven Spielberg novelized his script for Close Encounters of the Third Kind (with an uncredited assist from Leslie Waller). Filmmaker Whit Stillman has written novelizations of his 1998 film The Last Days of Disco and his 2016 film Love & Friendship (itself based upon Jane Austen’s novel, Lady Susan). In 1978, the great filmmaking team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger wrote a novelization of their classic 1948 film The Red Shoes. Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has novelized several of his films, including Pan’s Labyrinth (with Cornelia Funke) and The Shape of Water (with Daniel Kraus). George Romero (in collaboration with Susan Sparrow) wrote novelizations of two of his films, Martin and Dawn of the Dead (both released in 1978). John Boorman co-wrote (with longtime collaborator Bill Stair) a novelization of his 1974 fantasy film Zardoz, which starred Sean Connery. John Milius wrote a novelization of his 1975 film The Wind and the Lion, which also starred Connery. Paul Mazursky co-wrote (with Josh Greenfeld) a novelization of his 1974 film Harry and Tonto, which did not star Connery. This is by no means an all-inclusive list.
One of the most notorious director-penned novelizations is Mr. Arkadin, published in 1955 to tie in with the release that year of Orson Welles’s film of the same title. The novel was credited to Orson Welles, although it was first published in French, a language in which he wasn’t fluent, and distributed only in France. An English translation appeared the following year. In an interview, Welles told director Peter Bogdanovich that he didn’t write the book and had never read it. Nonetheless, when it was reprinted in 1987 as a Zebra Books paperback it was still being credited to Welles, who had been dead for two years by that time. The paperback’s cover announces it as “Orson Welles’s Only Novel!”
Some novelizations are little more than published screenplays, although they’ve generally been stripped of their slug lines (eg: INT. LESTER’S BAR & GRILL – EVENING), which are often replaced by more reader-friendly scene descriptions. The novelization of Rooster Cogburn, a 1975 sequel to the 1969 film version of True Grit, follows this format, although nothing on the book’s cover suggests that it’s anything other than a paperback novel. The paperback tie-in to the film American Graffiti, published in 1973, is also just a screenplay with the slug lines made more reader-friendly (Ballantine Books had the decency to announce this fact on the front cover: “The complete scenario of the film, WITH 70 ILLUSTRATIONS”). Since the name George Lucas meant almost nothing to your average pop-fiction junkie back in 1973, it appears in tiny print on the front cover alongside the names of his co-writers, husband and wife team Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck (frequent Lucas collaborators). But four years later, when the first Star Wars film was released, the tie-in book featured the words “A Novel by George Lucas” in bold above the title, even though it had actually been written by Alan Dean Foster. One of the most prolific novelizers of all time (as well as a writer of his own original works), Foster has written tie-in books for the Star Trek franchise, the Alien franchise, the Terminator franchise, the Transformers franchise, and for a lot of standalone films, including Krull (1983), Starman (1984), and Pale Rider (1985).
Plenty of successful movie musicals also got the novelization treatment back in the 1960s and 1970s, which may seem odd when you consider that musicals are popular primarily because of… well, the music. But George Scullin’s novelization of the 1969 movie musical Paint Your Wagon is actually more charming and witty than the ponderous film upon which it is based, even though the script had been co-written by Paddy Chayefsky, the only person ever to have won three solo Academy Awards for writing original scripts and adaptations. Chayefsky himself was the author of a stealth novelization. His 1978 novel, Altered States, began life as an 87-page film treatment. Daniel Melnick, a producer at Columbia Pictures, saw the treatment and recommended that Chayefsky turn it into a novel first, in order to build interest in the subsequent film. So, Chayefsky—somewhat surprisingly, since he was an iconoclast who hated taking orders from studio suits—complied, though it wasn’t easy.
Chayefsky wasn’t a natural novelist (or even novelizer) and the stress of turning his treatment into a book took a toll on his health. He suffered a heart attack in 1977 while still working on it (coincidentally, the story is about a research scientist who pursues his inquiry into the nature of human consciousness so relentlessly that he nearly kills himself). The book’s protagonist, Edward Jessup, might well have been speaking for his creator when he tells his wife near the end of the novel why he can’t give up the project that is taking such a toll on his mental and physical health: “I think it’s too late. I don’t think I can get out of it anymore. I’ve committed myself to it … It’s a real and living horror, living and growing within me now, eating of my flesh, drinking of my blood.”
Chayefsky finally delivered the book, his only novel, to Harper and Row, and it was published in 1978. The film was expected to follow shortly, but the production was one of the most troubled in Hollywood history, primarily because of interference by Chayefsky himself. Arthur Penn, the original director, walked away after clashing with his writer. The job was then offered to Steven Spielberg, Orson Welles, Sidney Pollack, Robert Wise, Stanley Kubrick, and many other top filmmakers, all of whom turned it down. Ken Russell, who eventually took the job, claimed that he was the studio’s 27th choice. Inevitably, Russell, too, clashed with Chayefsky and had him banished from the set. Chayefsky didn’t want the studio to use his name to promote the film so he took his screenwriting credit under the pseudonym Sidney Aron (his birth name was Sidney Aron Chayefsky). The film, which starred William Hurt and Blair Brown (as well as Drew Barrymore in her screen debut), was finally released on Christmas Day 1980. It was modestly successful at the box office and earned generally positive reviews. But the ordeal had left Chayefsky’s body in a badly altered state. He died a little more than seven months later. He was 58.
For as long as novelizations have been around they have mostly been cranked out in a hurry by hack writers who haven’t spent much time worrying about the quality of the product. Paddy Chayefsky may be the only writer in history whose death can be partially attributed to the effort he brought to bear on this much maligned task. Let’s hope Quentin Tarantino didn’t work that hard on his. He turned 58 in March.
CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, in an earlier version of this article, the authors of the US and UK novelizations of Capricorn One were reversed.
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"Craig Calman's unique style, larger than life characters and crisp, witty, insightful dialogue evokes thought provoking hilarity. His writing is unpredictable, structurally sound and a gift to the art. I recommend his work without reservation."
-Sal Romeo, Artistic Director
Friends & Artists Theatre, Los Angeles
I love so many genres and have written works in quite a variety:
The first play I wrote and directed was in high school entitled "Generation Reformation" and the performances were enthusiastically received. Encouraged by my tenth grade English teacher, Mrs. Dorothy Sprungman, bless her, I also wrote film scripts for my 8mm and Super 8mm cameras and then cast, directed, edited and screened the results for my high school classes to resounding success. My documentary "THE CANYON" was a Finalist in the Teenage Kodak Movie Awards and I was written up in the local newspapers as an up and coming film maker.
While in Mexico I filmed yards and yards of footage and when I returned to the States I edited it all together, wrote a script, narrated it and "LAS TRES CULTURAS DE MEXICO" was a major factor in my admission to the UCLA Motion Picture/ Television Department.
My first feature length screenplay created while at UCLA is "FROGS & LOVERS" a Ruritanian romp for children of all ages.
"MOURNING DOVES" is a contemporary and realistic screen drama which I gave to the legendary BETTE DAVIS. She read it and wrote me a lovely, inspirational three page handwritten letter including:
I envisioned the lead roles to be played by Ms. Davis and John Huston, to whom I was also able to send the script. Despite great praise the project was never made. But I was only in my early 20s and this enthusiasm from two of Hollywood's greatest encouraged me to continue writing.
After film school I focused on writing for the stage. I have attended several playwrighting workshops over the years including Craig Noel's Old Globe Theatre in San Diego; Miguel Pinero's workshop at Ralph Waite's The Los Angeles Actors Theater; Ed Bullins' workshop at The Public Theater, New York City; the 78th Street Theatre Lab, New York City; and The Playwright/Director Unit at The Actors Studio West headed by Director Mark Rydell and Playwright Lyle Kessler.
Ralph Waite's Los Angeles Actors Theatre, located in a seamy section of Hollywood, produced vibrant and passionate theatre in the late '70s. I was a member of the Playwright Workshop there for six months in 1977 where I got to know the notorious playwright Miguel ("Short Eyes") Pinero, producer extraordinaire Bill Bushnell, and very special actors Toni Sawyer and Fred Pinkard. Salome Jens, Richard Jordan, Dana Elcar and Donald Moffat contributed their talents to LAAT and the intense Philip Baker Hall offered his thespianic services in a memorable play reading of mine as well. My one-act "Benny & Hope" was chosen for their First Annual Festival of One Act Plays. Under the guidance of Bill Bushnell, LAAT expanded to become The Los Angeles Theatre Center, a Los Angeles cultural landmark.
SCRIPTS
BY
CRAIG CALMAN:
FULL LENGTH STAGE PLAYS:
"The Turn of the Century"
"Strangled Nocturne"
"Life Without Father"
"Patterns Woven In A Park"
"Skidoo Ruins"
ONE ACT PLAYS:
"In Concert"
"September"
"Icy Waters"
"Malagasy Figs"
"Marksmen"
"Longing Lodge"
"Grandfather's Amber Locket"
"Golden Hair"
"Roommates"
FEATURE LENGTH SCREENPLAYS:
"Frogs & Lovers"
"Mourning Doves"
"The Turn Of The Century"
"Strangled Nocturne"
"Skidoo Ruins"
NOVEL:
The Turn Of The Century
"THE TURN OF THE CENTURY" is a mysterious comedy about greed and generosity, pretense and honesty, stardom, curiosity, sanity, obsessions, valiant sacrifices and dark and venal doings. You may yet discover other themes lurking behind the secret panels or within the Victorian shadows of the legendary Winceworth House. Young LIVVY did, when she innocently entered the portals of a strange and eccentric household.
The time is shortly before New Year's Eve 1900 and a centennial celebration of another sort is about to take place. The surviving relatives are all in attendance for the inter vivos reading of the will and the 100th birthday of LADY EULALIA WINCEWORTH, venerable actress of the Shakespearean stage who is soon to play the greatest performance of her career.
But the celebrations are marred by MURDER. Was it greet which left the Right Reverend Archibald W. Winceworth sprawled out on the polo field with a broken neck? Or was it revenge that sent Cousin Melvin hurtling to his premature demise from the third story bedroom window onto the mimosa below? What about the other foul deeds that have this small California town in an uproar?
Question the wild-eyed MAJOR-GENERAL fresh from the African War. Question the suspiciously temperamental cabaret singer ROXANNE and her slippery lover PIERRE. Question the wistful WISTERIA, whose hold on reality appears to be as quirky as her delicate demeanor. Question LADY WINCEWORTH herself if you dare. Enter the heart of the mystery -- knock upon the spellbinding door to imagination and truth and discovery what really happened at The Turn Of The Century.
WHAT PRODUCERS HAVE SAID ABOUT
"THE TURN OF THE CENTURY"
Dallas Theatre Center:
"Marvelously eccentric yet believable characters. A good tortuous plot. The author very skillfully maintains a comic form throughout the whole play...writing shows a lot of imagination and energy."
-Eleanor Lindsay, New Play Development
Goodman Theatre, Chicago:
"Hilarious, outrageous first-class spoof -- a ripping good night at the theatre. The writer has crafted his own world and filled it with ordered and hilarious chaos."
-Literary Department
Pennsylvania Stage Company:
"This is the best I have read in a long time. It's funny, lighthearted, not sentimental, fun to read. The dialogue is endearing, the plot is new. The characters are well written, the story line is quick, never drawn out, never boring."
-Literary Department
International Creative Management, New York, NY:
"I am quite impressed. You are extremely talented."
-Audrey Wood,
Tennessee Williams's long-time literary agent
"The Turn Of The Century" was a selection of The Old Globe Theatre's Play Discovery Project performed with Kelsey Grammer. Other highly successful staged readings include The Actors Studio West and The Marquis Theatre, New York City.
Two Play versions: one or two sets, five males, six females
Feature length screenplay available
MARTHA SCOTT (1914-2003) encouraged me greatly. Broadway Star, movie actress and theatrical producer of The Plumstead Theatre Society, she was dedicated to American plays new and classic. Ms. Scott was especially keen on "THE TURN OF THE CENTURY" and wrote a wonderful letter of recommendation for me.
"When I discover a writer as gifted as Craig Calman, I know it is a special occasion."
Other responses to "THE TURN OF THE CENTURY":
"Outrageous, fascinating and bizarre."
-Jessica Tandy
"Clever boy!"
-Estelle Winwood, age 100
"I like this play very much. Craig Calman is a very talented writer. 'The Turn Of The Century' has every chance of being a great success."
-Bette Davis
"'The Turn Of The Century screenplay is very interesting and very well written."
-Robert Wise, Director
("The Sound of Music" etc.)
"STRANGLED NOCTURNE" is a tale of wild passions, repressed yearnings and hidden crimes. It is based upon factual history. The aboriginal culture which flourished on the Fiji Islands before the Second World War was shocking and barbaric, even by Western standards. Cannibalism was the order of the day, and savage attacks upon the White settlers were not uncommon.
Amorality East and West collide one night in 1925 at the island bungalow of DR. RAVEN, reluctant recipient of an intimate party honoring his final night on the islands. His native houseboy EUGENE welcomes the guests: FATHER HEWITT, a young and inexperienced missionary; MIRIAM BENSON, a loud pink woman with large appetites; her dark, mysterious half-caste daughter LENORE and the reclusive, enigmatic CONSTANCE CORNETTE, whose unexpected arrival ignites the drama and propels the characters into a nightmare of confession, guilt and horrid revelations.
Staged reading by Danny Glover's Robey Theatre Company, Los Angeles directed by the fabulous Bennet Guillory.
WHAT PRODUCERS HAVE SAID ABOUT
"STRANGLED NOCTURNE"
THE FOUNTAIN THEATRE, Los Angeles:
"It's a wonderfully-written piece, exotic and dramatic, with rich language and complex characters."
-Simon Levy,
Producing Director/Dramaturg
ARENA STAGE, Washington, D.C.:
"I am impressed with the ambition of Craig Calman's themes and his ability to take the reader to exotic places and times."
-Lloyd Rose, Literary Manager
BERKELEY STAGE COMPANY:
"Fascinating and deals with profound themes."
-Angela Paton, Artistic Director
CIRCLE IN THE SQUARE, New York, NY:
"Very well written: Craig Calman sets up mood well and his characters and dialogue are believable."
-Theodore Mann, Artistic Director
CIRCLE REPERTORY COMPANY, New York, NY:
"The literary staff found much to admire in Craig Calman's in-depth study of evil as man's undoing."
-Lynn M. Thomson, Dramaturg/Literary Manager
DALLAS THEATRE CENTER:
The plot and characterizations are very interesting. The script is ready for production."
-Martha Goodman, Coordinator, Play Committee
OFFICE FOR ADVANCED DRAMA RESEARCH:
"I am impressed, indeed, by this play."
-Arthur Ballet, Director
SAN DIEGO REPERTORY THEATRE:
"An exciting drama reminiscent of Strindberg."
-Scott Feldsher, Literary Manager
"LIFE WITHOUT FATHER" is a sociopolitical fantasy about the first woman to run for the U.S. Presidency. Her opponent is her own daughter. Considering that the star of a 1952 Hollywood comedy called "Bedtime For Bonzo" managed to become our nation's leader once upon a time, not to mention our other Presidential escapades past and present, the scenario for this comedy is not too terribly far-fetched.
Set several election years from now, when mass hysteria and social chaos have become even more commonplace, to the point where it is continually interrupting the television broadcasts of MOTHER's beloved soap operas, this supremely wealthy and socially prominent widow has reached the end of her velvet rope. Not only is society in disarray, but MOTHER is unable to control the chaos of her own household or even keep hold of a lover for any appreciable length of time, so she decides to run for President Of The United States.
Horrified at this prospect, her troubled daughter CYNTHIA, esoteric seeker after Truth, decides to run against her. Thus begins the greatest political battle of The New Millennium. Mother's ex-housekeeper and now best-selling tell-all author MANZANITA PITTSTOP SHELLFISH runs CYNTHIA's campaign, while MOTHER is aided by ROLLO DERBY, an upwardly mobile African-American roller-skate salesman, along with handsome stud CHAD DIMPLE, former Senate messenger boy and frequenter of disreputable polling places. The beloved man without a country DR. HAMPSTEAD VERST rounds out the cast, who roller-skate their merry way through several years of American social and political upheavals.
WHAT PRODUCERS HAVE SAID ABOUT
"LIFE WITHOUT FATHER"
BERKELEY STAGE COMPANY:
"This political turn is refreshing and dramatic....It is a 20th Century Herstory in a series of surrealistic 'coups de theatre'....The plot turns, characters and style parodies are very funny and the stage directions are usually hilarious."
-Stephen Weinstock, Literary Department
CURTIS BROWN LTD., New York, NY:
"Very funny, well written and fast paced."
-Philip S. Menges, III, Literary Agent
FEUER & RITZER, New York, NY:
"Craig Calman has a definite flair for comedy writing and eccentric characters."
-Jeremy Ritzer, Partner
GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE, Los Angeles:
"Poignant and timely. Craig Calman has created an original world with rich and unique characters."
-Amy Levinson, Literary Associate
MARK TAPER FORUM, Los Angeles:
"'Life Without Father' creates one of the most unusual family portraits I've encountered....the play rides a thin line between absurdity and hysteria....The scenes by themselves are delightful."
-Jessica Teich, Literary Manager
ORGANIC THEATRE COMPANY, Chicago:
"I think it's very good -- reminiscent of Kopit at his best....a zany, insubordinate play."
-Donn Gunn, Manager
ROYAL COURT THEATRE, London, England:
"An original and vibrant comedy."
-Ruth Little, Literary Office
SAN DIEGO REPERTORY THEATRE:
"A very funny, one might say perverse, comedy."
-Scott Feldsher, Associate Director/Dramaturg
Staged readings at Actors Studio West and by Women-In-Theatre.
"SKIDOO RUINS" is a Rip Van Winkle fable of two World War II veterans who go off to modern day Hollywood. This is a comedy in the style of the classic Hal Roach comedies of the 1930s.
This colorful tale told in high good spirits concerns a bunch of ambitious low-lifes who dream of success in the brave "new" world of rock music videos. Two old pals, World War II veterans POTTLE and LEER decide to venture out into the modern world -- and they find themselves getting up-to-date in a flash. Egged on by POTTLE's newfound girlfriend RUBY, a nightclub singer with a passion for Glamour with a capital "G" and her shifty associate MR. BUMPS, a man with a past that stretches into the Dark Ages, these characters connive and wrangle their way into the fast-track world of Hollywood. Or so they think.
Attempting to produce a rock music video version of the silent screen classic "Greed," these nuts, along with their star attraction PEPITO PANDEMONIO POPOTE (the New Millennium's answer to Rudolph Valentino or a demented version of a member of 'Menudo'?) and SERGEANT BARRY FITZGERALD O'ROARKE O'MALLEY, rogue cop extraordinaire, travel to location at Skidoo Ruins, a parched outpost in the Death Valley desert.
In this seeming wasteland our heroes encounter the mad genius-hermit UNCLE MORDECAI, spiritualist, shaman and philosopher, a far from bitter outcast of Hollywood, Broadway and the culture capitals of the world. With the aid of this divine desert rat, our heroes come to see the true status of their American republic early in the 21st century; they come to grips with the Zen of Video; they discover the undying spirit of Eternal Hollywood. Why, they even comprehend the meaning of the Cosmos. There's something for everyone in this charming script -- "a genre is born!"
WHAT PRODUCERS HAVE SAID ABOUT
"SKIDOO RUINS"
LOS ANGELES THEATER CENTER:
"I was intrigued....Craig Calman's language, as always, is entertaining and artfully bold."
-Stephen Weeks, Literary Co-Manager
MARK TAPER FORUM, Los Angeles:
"Perhaps the most interesting play of yours we've read."
-Jessica Teich, Literary Manager
ORGANIC THEATRE COMPANY, Chicago:
"Compelling...it was as though there had been an explosion in the Sam Shepard wing of the Museum of Theatrical Imagery and into the ruins there struggled these two guys, picking up bits and pieces of American cultural iconography, tossing them aside, shaking burnt fingers."
-Lawrence Santoro, Literary Manager/Dramaturg
THE PLAYWRIGHT'S THEATRE, Los Angeles:
"Craig Calman's writing is bright, quick and snappy. The piece really moves."
-Richard Polak, Managing and Artistic Director
ROYAL COURT THEATRE, LONDON, ENGLAND:
"A spirited and ebullient comedy built around the notion of Hollywood as a powerful cultural beacon."
-Ruth Little, Literary Office
AND FROM HOLLYWOOD'S PIONEER COMEDY VETERAN:
"This is Rip Van Winkle profanity!"
-Hal Roach, 1988 Motion Picture Pioneer, Producer from 1914
"Our Gang," Laurel & Hardy, etc.
Staged reading The Road Company, North Hollywood.
A wonderful staged reading of "SKIDOO RUINS" was given by First Stage Los Angeles on April 4, 2005. The above cast was directed by Bill White to a very appreciative audience. They are from left to right: Catherine Anne Hayes as Ruby, Jonathan Amaret as Pepito, Arnie Weiss as Uncle Mordecai, Bob Larkin as Pottle, Hawthorne James as Sergeant O'Malley, Herman Poppe as Leer and Lawrence Gaughan as Mr. Bumps.
June 27, 2005: Another reading of "SKIDOO RUINS" this time with the great Edward Asner as Leer, Charlie Robinson (far left) as Sgt. O'Malley and Joe Allen Price as Pottle. Yours truly played Mr. Bumps. Behind Cathie is Dan Roth, the Narrator/Announcer; to his left is director Bill White and to the far right is Arnie "Dutch" Weiss, a veritable walking encyclopedia of film and theatre.
Letter of recommendation from Edward Asner, July 29, 2006:
"I have performed in a staged reading of Craig Calman's play "SKIDOO RUINS" and have read the screenplay version. I have also read his play "LIFE WITHOUT FATHER" and am very impressed by his talent. Craig Calman has had many years experience as a working actor and knows how to create roles actors will find a joy to play. I am confident audiences will have a similar experience when his scripts are produced. I recommend his work without reservation."
"PATTERNS WOVEN IN A PARK" Three sets of couples meet in a park separately and unbeknownst to the others, at noon, late afternoon and midnight; all their lives are mysteriously intertwined.
The city park in which this play occurs is a haven for the weary traveler. It is a vast aviary where pigeons peck the ground for real and imaginary sustenance, where peacocks vainly strut and show off their dazzling plumage, where primitive, reptilian-like creatures wing their way to unknowable bourn....
"PATTERNS WOVEN IN A PARK" is composed of three interrelated scenes, each one taking place in the same secluded spot in this mythical sylvan oasis at different times of the day:
(1) "Icy Waters" begins at high noon, a nasty comical lunch shared by the old, terrified and cantankerous MR. LIPINSKY and his rather bizarre, porno-loving NURSE.
(2) "Malagasy Figs" transpires in the late afternoon, an impressionistic pre- or even post-1939 interlude with a shabby GENTLEMAN and a careworn LADY.
(3) "Pterodactyl Soup" concludes at midnight, a bewitching encounter between a romantic, freewheeling bachelor (or is it hermit?) and a purple-clad culinary coquette.
WHAT PRODUCERS HAVE SAID ABOUT
"PATTERNS WOVEN IN A PARK"
A.S.K. THEATRE PROJECTS, LOS ANGELES:
"Pulling the stories together with a common thread the writer keeps things interesting, building his stories with expert skill before making their connection known to the reader."
-Megan Brown, Literary Associate
CAST THEATRE, Los Angeles:
"Beautifully written."
-Diana Gibson, Literary Manager
MARK TAPER FORUM, Los Angeles:
"Haunting and provocative."
-Jessica Teich, Literary Manager
SAN DIEGO REPERTORY THEATRE:
"This play may be brilliant, I am afraid to deal in superlatives. The playwright has a facility with words that is most uncommon. Verbal imagery delivered in a playful, tantalizing flair. 'Patterns Woven In A Park' is all of life in three acts: the dreams, defeats, depressions, despairs, presented in allegorical form with satirical yet humorous overtones."
-Suzy Rau, Literary Department
ROYAL COURT THEATRE, LONDON, ENGLAND:
"Most ambitious and formally adventurous."
-Ruth Little, Literary Office
STOREFRONT THEATRE, PORTLAND, OREGON:
"Engrossing and well written."
-Shirley Sutles, Literary Manager
In 1995 I entered the new on-line world when I was hired as a columnist for the Internet cinema magazine "FilmZone."
In my monthly column "Relix Update" I wrote about the re-discoveries, restorations and re-releases of classic movies from the earliest days of the 1890s to the restoration of "Star Wars." I also revealed the efforts of film schools, museums and motion picture studios to rescue movies that were deteriorating over time.
Although "FilmZone" was voted one of the Ten Best Movie Websites of 1995 by "Entertainment Weekly" magazine, it was gone within two years.
But it was serendipitous timing for me as 1995 marked the 100th anniversary of the first commercial public showing of motion pictures in the world. (That occurred in Paris in April 1895.) What better way to commemorate this milestone than to be writing a film column? And at this time I had the good fortune to meet the late great film historian, David Shipman, whose meticulously researched and entertainingly written works, including The Story Of Cinema and The Great Movie Stars (in three volumes) are must-reads for every film lover.
As a playwright myself, it was quite an experience to portray William Shakespeare as interpreted by George Bernard Shaw in his "DARK LADY OF THE SONNETS"
Off-off Broadway, 1981
"Craig David Calman as the funny and outspoken Shakespeare...turned in a comic virtuoso performance."
-Edward Rubin, Backstage New York
A few centuries later Anton Chekhov added his genius to theatrical literature and I was privileged to portray him in "THE GOOD DOCTOR" by a successful 20th century playwright, Neil ("Doc") Simon.
Marquis Public Theatre, 1979
"Craig Calman's performance as 'The Good Doctor,' Chekhov himself, was continuously compelling, his comedic timing well paced and his understanding of the character's gentle, ironic humanity clear."
-Milton Savage, The San Diego Union
"The Writer was smartly played by Craig Calman with a sense of timing that both Simon and Chekhov would appreciate."
-Frances L. Bardacke, San Diego Magazine
In June 2000 I was invited to join The Actors Studio West Playwright/Director Unit headed by Mark Rydell and Lyle Kessler. To date I have had five staged readings of my works presented under their auspices.
PROFESSIONAL COMMENTS:
"The playwright is that person who charts the course and maps out the path for us to begin the journey and tell the story. Craig's strong ability in this area is informed by his talent as an actor, thereby gaining important insight into what the director and actor may contribute to his work....Mr. Calman has an acute talent in storytelling with a profound social consciousness. His work transcends the ordinary into something aesthetically exciting.
Mr. Calman's graceful contributions to the theatre are important. We in the community would do well to cultivate our artists, especially this one."
- Bennet Guillory, Artistic Director,
THE ROBEY THEATRE COMPANY
"I feel certain that once Craig David Calman is given an opportunity to reveal his abilities as a playwright, film maker, screenwriter and actor, he will be recognized by the industry as an exciting and enduring talent."
-Martha Scott, Executive Vice President
PLUMSTEAD THEATRE SOCIETY, INC.
"The audience reaction to 'The Turn of the Century' was extremely favorable, his dialog is good, he has an understanding of the theatre and I am confident that if he continues in this field he will be successful. Because he is also an actor and has spent a good deal of time around the theatre, his scripts are professional and economically feasible to produce."
-Craig Noel, Executive Director
OLD GLOBE THEATRES, San Diego, California
"I am not normally a city bench frequenter on workaday afternoons. I maintain offices. Offices of philosophy most days of the week. It is to me a round-the-clock proposition. Something never to be taken lightly. Something requiring study and research. I maintain liaisons with all the higher centers of learning. I peruse every available shelf. I attend lectures, hearings and discussions. I am privy to decisions, councils and arbitrations of major importance. I do not shirk any obligation nor any nuance. I pride myself on my thoroughness. I am acknowledged for my thoroughness. I am esteemed for my thoroughness. I am a philosopher by reputation, riding on the banner of sober and unmitigated thoroughness."
-Shabby Gentleman, "MALAGASY FIGS"
My alter ego still uses a quill pen!
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
"I see the playwright as the lay preacher peddling the ideas of his time in popular form."
-August Strindberg
"In a play, time is arrested in the sense of being confined....The audience can sit back in a comforting dusk to watch a world which is flooded with light and in which emotion and action have a dimension and dignity that they would likewise have in real existence, if only the shattering intrusion of time could be locked out."
-Tennessee Williams
I had the great honor of meeting Tennessee Williams on February 25, 1977. It was at a small theater off Melrose and La Cienega. During intermission he asked me what I thought of the first act of "Two Character Play," another of the many rewrites he made of a fascinating and complex work. I remember the date because he died on February 25 six years later.
"There was no renaissance in the American theatre of the forties, but there was a certain balance within the audience -- a balance, one might call it, between the alienated and the conformists -- that gave sufficient support to the naked cry of the heart and, simultaneously, enough resistance to force it into a rhetoric that at one stroke could be broadly understandable and yet faithful to the pain that had pressed the author to speak."
-Arthur Miller
"Great drama is great questions or it is nothing but technique."
-Ibid.
"[Writing] is a lonely business. The difficulty comes when you begin to think it isn't. It's not a social racket at all. It has nothing to do with conversation or criticism or even compliments. It has nothing to do with family or marriage or friends or associates or pleasures. It is and should be the most alone thing in the world. I guess that's why writers are hard to live with, impossible as friends and ridiculous as associates. A writer and his work is and should be like a surly dog with a bone, suspicious of everyone, trusting no one, loving no one. It's hard to justify such a life but that's the way it is if it is done well."
-John Steinbeck
"The dislike of the artist, the fear of the artist has been seen in every culture at every age. It's as if the one kind of person that power fears most is the person that nobody owns, the person whose voice doesn't stand for anybody except himself or herself. These voices that are simply themselves and represent no interest or interest group, represent no polemical tendency. They simply respond to the world as they see it and try to offer the most coherent vision of it that they can make. And that appears to terrify people."
-Salman Rushdie
"Sometimes the public makes a mistake about what artists think of the society they're in even when they're criticizing it. Because I think it is an aspect of celebration. It is an aspect of love to be undeceived and I think it's one of the things that artists do out of love."
-Ibid.
"I am a comedian, not a liar. I can afford the luxury of telling the truth."
-Albert Brooks
"Words are sacred. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little."
-Tom Stoppard
"A writer never has a vacation. For a writer life consists of either writing or thinking about writing."
-Eugene Ionesco
"A work of art is above all an adventure of the mind; it is the creation of an autonomous world introduced into our world from fundamental truths -- which are those we find in dream and imagination."
-Ibid
"The true writer must write not the acceptable but the true."
-David Mamet
"And there are an unorganized few...the immense minority...who sincerely love the arts. There are those for whom reading, for example, can be an act of love, and lead to a revelation, not of truth, moral or otherwise, but of lucidity, order, rightness of relation, the experience of a world fully felt and furnished and worked out in the head, the head where the heart is also to be found, and all the other vital organs."
-William H. Gass
"The Test of Time"
"The trivial is as important as the important when looked at importantly....Even a wasted life is priceless when composed properly or hymned aright."
-Ibid.
"The world likes humor, but it treats it patronizingly. It decorates its serious artists with laurel, and its wags with Brussels sprouts. It feels that if a thing is funny it can be presumed to be something less than great, because if it were truly great it would be wholly serious. "
-E.B. White
"Intelligence is so damn rare and the people who have it often have such a bad time with it that they get bitter or propagandistic and then it's not much use."
-Ernest Hemingway
"I divide all works into two classes: those I like and those I don't."
-Anton Chekhov
"As we begin the third millennium, at just this moment in our expiring high culture, the polemic against genius has achieved the prevalence of a pernicious ideology."
-Harold Bloom
"Goethe urged the new, strong writer to have the persistence, will and self-abnegation to acquaint himself thoroughly with the tradition while retaining enough strength and courage to develop his original nature independently and to treat the divers assimilated elements in his own way."
-Ibid.
"The ultimate tragedy is not the brutality of the bad people, but the silence of the good people."
-Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"If there's a human race here in 100 years, and you know, it's a toss up, it'll be our sense of humor which may save us."
-Pete Seeger
November 2005
"I think we never become really and genuinely our entire and honest selves until we are dead -- and not then until we have been dead years and years. People ought to start dead, and then they would be honest so much earlier."
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Explore the filmography of Mark Rydell on Rotten Tomatoes! Discover ratings, reviews, and more. Click for details!
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A former jazz pianist who appeared on Broadway and TV before beginning his directing career with series such as "Ben Casey," "I Spy" and "Gunsmoke," Rydell earned critical acclaim for his debut feature, "The Fox" (1968). He also won plaudits for his helming of "Cinderella Liberty" (1973) and "The Rose" (1979). "On Golden Pond" (1981), a typical film, in that it displayed its director's fondness for sentiment and nostalgia, earned him an Oscar nomination as Best Director. Rydell has subsequently made films only occasionally, some ("The River" 1984) doing fairly well with critics, while others ("Intersection" 1994 and the somewhat overly maligned "For the Boys" 1991) did less well with critics and public alike.
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The Rose, 1979, Mark Rydell
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I have been aware of The Rose for most of my life. People had talked about it at various stages, but I made an unconscious decision not to see it. Why? Maybe because I loved Janis Joplin and disliked Bette Midler, so the burning desire wasn’t there. It wasn’t anything about Midler’s acting ability or…
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I have been aware of The Rose for most of my life. People had talked about it at various stages, but I made an unconscious decision not to see it. Why? Maybe because I loved Janis Joplin and disliked Bette Midler, so the burning desire wasn’t there. It wasn’t anything about Midler’s acting ability or talents, just that I was certainly not the target market for the remainder of her career. The fact that it was not really about Janis turned me off more than anything else. Having now seen it many years later, I’m actually glad I waited.
First off, this is not about Janis Joplin. In many of the supplements, this is stated and re-stated, and it is unfair to the film to get hung up on her life being the template for the plot. It is only the broad strokes that relate to Janis. This film is about the plight of the rock and roll star, the insatiable need for the rush of attention that one gets onstage, the insecurity off the stage, and the self-destruction in between. The only time that Janis is recollected is in the performances, yet not all of them. Most of the performances are all Bette channeling a 70s rock-starlet persona.
What stands out about the film is the cinematography. From the early scene in a building that towers above Central Park in New York City, to the kaleidoscope of images and colors that are captured in the live performance, every frame looks fantastic. Vilmos Zsigmond is responsible for the majority of the film’s appearance, but he also recruited some of the best in the industry to capture the concert sequences. Rather than go into specifics, I recommend you read Adam Batty’s post about The Eyes Behind The Rose.
The Rose shouts out at a concert that she keeps herself in shape through “Drugs, sex and rock n’ roll!” The order in which she places the words is telling. Most people refer to that era as “Sex, drugs and rock n’roll.” One of The Rose’s problems was that, despite her fame, she was not able to “get laid.” She expresses this directly in the early meeting with Rudge (Alan Bates). We don’t see her delve deeply into drugs until towards the end, which is what initiates her downfall, but the sex and subsequent rejection leads her to search for an escape. Rock n’ roll was last on her priority list because it really was. She was exhausted from all the touring and performing, and desperately wanted a break. Her mental stability was wearing down due to the lifestyle, yet Rudge trapped her. Her desire for the limelight and attention also trapped her. In many ways, rock n’ roll was her drug, only it was not giving her the same high it did before.
Deep down, The Rose simply wants to be appreciated. She’s shy, insecure, and in a lot of ways neurotic. The stage is the only place where she really belongs, where she feels appreciated. One recurring theme is her constant rejection. It begins with Billy Ray (Harry Dean Stanton) not so politely asking her not to sing his songs. Later in her hometown, she is recognized in a familiar shop owner in her hometown as Mary Rose and not “THE” Rose.
Redemption comes her way through Huston Dyer (Frederic Forrest), a limo driver who she steals from Billy Ray and takes on a wild misadventure of sex and shenanigans. Huston, however, is from a different world. He’s actually a deserter from the Army, and cannot relate to the “drugs, sex and rock n’ roll” lifestyle. What they have in common is that he is a deserter, and she wants to leave her rock career at least temporarily, and into his arms seems the most appropriate place to hide. Huston does not approve of what she’s doing to herself, and this comes to a head in the powerful bathhouse scene where he finally lets loose. He comes back to the fold, but the old magic has gone.
The Rose is a mess. “Do I look old?” she asks at one time. She is yearning for any sign of vitality, yet she finds none unless she is on-stage. The breaking point is when Rudge strong-arms her as a power contract ploy and cancels her hometown show. This smoking gun transforms her from a slow descent to a spiraling downfall. She takes solace in every chemical she can find, trying to find a chemically induced feeling that rivals what she feels onstage or in Huston’s arms. When some demons come back to haunt her, she finally caves, only it is too late. The damage has been done. That is the tragic reality of some rock n’ roll lifestyles. Again, even though this movie was not about Janis, her tragic reality is the backbone. The Rose’s downfall is just as tragic, even if fictional.
The performances are truly what makes the film worth watching. Midler owns her role as The Rose, and I was impressed that the star of Beaches was able to convincingly play a rock n’ roll star. Forrest as Huston also shines in the scenes where he gets to be the voice of reason. Even Alan Bates as Rudge does a fine job with what is essentially a flat character. Some of the dramatic choices are a stretch and at times the film gets heavy-handed, but overall it is a worthwhile character exploration.
Film Rating: 7/10
Supplements
Commentary: Mark Rydell from 2003.
The band was put together with Rydell, Paul Rothchild, and Bette Midler. They were a real band that played real stories.
This was NOT the Janis Joplin story as Rydell emphatically states. It was a character based on some of the rock stars in history. It was conceived as biography of her for years. They made a fictional character using the dramatic elements of Joplin’s life that were dramatic and fitting, and invented the rest.
They shot real concerts, twice at two hours without interruption. There were no interruptions and Bette was really playing to the crowd. These shows were later cut together for the film.
Bathhouse scene was unheard of. All that male nudity, even if not shown, was shocking for the time.
Rydell spends a lot of time gushing about the actors. They all exceeded his expectations.
One thing I like about this commentary is that Rydell lets the film breathe. He stays out during important moments, so it’s almost as if watching the film again. He interjects only when he has something worth saying. Sometimes I prefer this sort of commentary to one with endless chatter.
Bette Midler: Interview from 2015.
At first she didn’t want to do it. She was a Joplin fan and didn’t want to tarnish her legacy, so they changed it from being inspired by Joplin and not telling the complete story. She started gymnastics for her stage moves. Wanted to get a panther quality to her moves, “a violent creature” on stage.
She praises Forrest in particular. She thought he did a great job at being patient. She wasn’t prepared for Harry Dean Stanton. He was tough. Everyone wanted her to succeed (except for Harry Dean.) They were supportive, and it was “joyful and full of love.” She remembers it more than most of her movies.
Mark Rydell: Interview in 2014.
He also didn’t want to do a straight Joplin biopic. People recommended Bette Midler and he knew she was perfect when he saw the dailies. She had sung in men’s bathhouses, so they incorporated it into the movie.
Aaron Russo was her manager and was very controlling. “You talk to me before you talk to Bette.” He called the police and got him out of there. Bette got him out of the way then and that began his relationship with Bette.
He talks at length about all the amazing Directors of Photography that he used for the concert footage. He needed nine cameras for these scenes. He asked Zsigmond to pick the best cameramen in town, and somehow he succeeded in getting the the giants of the era.
There were 6,000 people at the concert, who came out because of a radio announcement. They were told not to react unless the performer makes them react. She brought it. “That’s why the concert felt so alive, because they were alive.”
Vilmos Zsigmond: He speaks with cinematographer John Bailey in 2014.
The opening shot was in the Hilton in downtown NYC. It was difficult to light because they had to be careful of the backlighting in the windows.
Of course he also talks about the concert scenes. They lit them differently because they shot them on the same stage. They did the overhead helicopter shot, carefully lit it up, and did so to show the popularity and stature of The Rose. They did a lot of improvising with the shots because the performances were improvised. In addition to the star cinematographers, he also used Dave Myers, who was a big concert photographer, who famously shot Woodstock.
He thinks that the craft is diminishing, and that the concept of lighting is being lost. Too many people are becoming cinematographers. He is trying to teach the youngsters that are using digital cameras to go look at the old films, see how they are lit. Don’t get lazy by how easy the digital camera is to use.
Today Show: Tom Brokaw with Rydell and Midler in 1978.
It shows behind the scenes of them shooting the scene where she leaves a news conference, take after take. Brokaw interviews Rydell and he gives overwhelming praise to Midler for her performance.
Gene Shalit & Bette Midler: Interviews from 1979.
He asks the question about Janis Joplin, comparing the fact that Janis is 1960s whereas Bette is 1970s. Bette said that she did not intend to become Janis. She contrasts the differences. She is a New Yorker, which is a bombarding culture, but she played a Californian, which is more of a laid back atmosphere.
Janis Joplin, Tina Turner and Aretha Franklin inspired her. She saw them all in the same week in the 1960s and that was the turning point.
It is interesting hearing her reflect on her career, which is something she had just started thinking about recently. She says she would be happy if she retired tomorrow. Of course there were would be plenty more to come.
Criterion Rating: 8/10
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Director Mark Rydell (On Golden Pond, James Dean, The Cowboys) shares insights to his long career in entertainment; studying at the Actors Studio and directing on Broadway before moving to helm iconic television series and award-winning feature films.
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https://www.dga.org/Craft/VisualHistory/Interviews/Mark-Rydell
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Born in New York City, Mark Rydell began his long career in entertainment as a regular actor on the soap opera As the World Turns, after training with famed method acting coaches Sanford Meisner and Lee Strasberg. His first directing work came at the Actors Studio for the play Bo Hickey Creek to much acclaim from his teachers. After directing several more plays in New York, Rydell began working on the television series Ben Casey, doing odd jobs on the set and observing the directing team.
In 1963 he was given his first chance to direct an episode of the series and continued in the medium throughout the rest of the decade, directing for such series as Mr. Novak; The Reporter; Slattery’s People; I Spy; The Wild, Wild West; The Long, Hot Summer; The Fugitive; and Gunsmoke. After gaining attention from his television directing, he was hired to helm his first feature, The Fox in 1967 which won the Golden Globe for Best English-Language Foreign Film, as well as a Globe nomination for Rydell.
This was followed by many critically acclaimed films including The Reivers (1969), The Cowboys (1972), Cinderella Liberty (1973), Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976), The Rose (1979), the much lauded On Golden Pond (1981), The River (1984), For the Boys (1991), Intersection (1994), and Even Money (2006). Rydell also continued to have a prolific career in television, directing the pilot of the series Family in 1976, and the movies-for-television McBride and Groom (1993), Crime of the Century (1996), and the eponymous biopic James Dean (2001), with whom he had been friends with during his early years as an actor.
For his directorial efforts Rydell has been nominated for two DGA Awards, for On Golden Pond in 1982, and for James Dean in 2002. He was also nominated for an Academy Award for his direction of On Golden Pond, as well as three Primetime Emmys—two for directing and producing James Dean—and another for his direction of Crime of the Century. An active Guild member, Rydell served on the DGA’s National Board from 1987-91, the Western Directors Council from 1982-84, 1987-92, 1998-2007, and was a member of the 1977 and 1981 Negotiating Committees.
This interview was conducted by Jeremy Kagan over two days at the DGA Building in Los Angeles on August 12, 2003 and January 15, 2004.
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Mark Rydell is an Academy Award-nominated director, a classically trained actor, and an accomplished jazz pianist. Throughout his multi-hyphenated career Rydell’s films have received twenty-six Oscar nominations. Bette Midler, Marsha Mason, Henry Fonda, Katherine Hepburn and Sissy Spacek have all received Oscar nominations under his direction.
Rydell was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. Before a stint in the army, he studied with famed jazz pianist Teddy Wilson at the Juilliard School of Music. He then spent two years in Far East Japan developing entertainment for military personnel, and later began studies at the University of Chicago and the Chicago Musical College. He went on to major in English and philosophy at New York University.
His showbiz debut came as a jazz pianist, working the nightclubs of both New York and Chicago. He turned to acting when he won a scholarship to Sanford Meisner’s renowned Neighborhood Playhouse. Rydell then went on to join the Actors Studio, an arts organization of which he is still an active member.
After acting in numerous live television shows and eventually landing a continuing role on the CBS daytime drama “As The World Turns,” he made his Broadway debut in “Seagulls Over Sorrento” with Rod Steiger. Soon after, his feature film acting debut arrived opposite John Cassavetes and Sal Mineo in Don Siegel’s 1956 youth gang drama Crime In The Streets.
Rydell’s tenure as director began on television with the “Ben Casey” series. He also directed the first episode of “I Spy,” starring Bill Cosby and Robert Culp, and went on to helm more than fifty episodes of dramatic television, including an award-winning episode of “Gunsmoke.”
The director celebrated his debut in feature films with The Fox starring Sandy Dennis, Anne Heywood and Keir Dullea. Based on the D.H. Lawrence novella, The Fox won the Golden Globe Award for Best English Language Foreign Film.
Quickly after completing The Fox, he teamed up with actor Steve McQueen to bring William Faulkner’s final novel The Rievers (1969) to the screen. The film received Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor and Best Film Score by John Williams.
In 1971, Rydell and a partner formed their own production company, Sanford Productions, which went on to produce such films as Jeremiah Johnson (1972), starring Robert Redford, and Scarecrow (1973) starring Al Pacino and Gene Hackman. Scarecrow won the Cannes Film Festival’s top honor – The Palme D’Or.
Additional credits from this time period include: The Cowboys (1972), starring John Wayne which Rydell produced and directed; Cinderella Liberty (1973) starring James Caan and Marsha Mason, who was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress; and Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976) starring Elliott Gould, James Caan, Michael Caine and Diane Keaton.
In 1979, The Rose, directed by Rydell, gave moviegoers their first glimpse at the enormous talent of Bette Midler. Her powerful turn as a declining rock singer brought her an Oscar nomination as Best Actress and a nomination for Freddie Forrest as Best Supporting Actor.
Arguably the most well received and respected film of Rydell’s career came in 1981 when he directed On Golden Pond (1981), starring Henry Fonda, Katherine Hepburn and Jane Fonda. This film, about a family rediscovering their love for one another, received ten Oscar nominations including one for Rydell as Best Director. The film won Oscars for Henry Fonda (his first), Katherine Hepburn, and writer Ernest Thompson.
The River (1984), starring Sissy Spacek and Mel Gibson, was next for the acclaimed director. The picture, about a farming family struggling to save their land, received five Oscar nominations.
Based on the profound successes of his prior collaborations, Rydell eventually gained fame as an “actor’s director,” evident once again in 1991 when he brought together two stars, both of whom received previous critical acclaim under Rydell’s direction: Bette Midler and James Caan in For the Boys, the story of a song and dance team who entertained American troops through half a century. Once again Midler received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.
The director’s filmography went on to include “Crime of the Century” (1996) for HBO starring Stephen Rea and Isabella Rossellini, which earned five Golden Globe nominations: Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor. Rydell also directed and produced TNT’s critically acclaimed “James Dean” (2001), directing himself in the role of studio mogul Jack Warner in the film opposite James Franco’s Golden Globe-winning portrayal of James Dean. Rydell was nominated for a Directors Guild Award for his work on the project, and in all “James Dean” received 11 Emmy nominations, including Best Picture Made-For-Television and Best Director.
Rydell recently completed his run as the lead in Moving Right Along, a three-part set of short comedies written by Elaine May and Jan Mirochek, which enjoyed a 9 week run at San Francisco’s Magic Theatre.
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The Hollywood Interview: Mark Rydell: The Hollywood Interview
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Actor/director Mark Rydell. BULLFIGHTING BUSES WITH JIMMY DEAN, SMASHING COKE BOTTLES WITH ROBERT ALTMAN, BEING ONE-UPPED BY STEVE MCQUEEN ...
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2007-05-21T00:00:00
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GOINGS ON ABOUT TOWN movie listings for May 16-May 22, 2007.
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https://www.newyorker.com/verso/static/the-new-yorker/assets/favicon.ico
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The New Yorker
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https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/05/21/movies-9
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OPENING
BROOKLYN RULES
A drama about young men who are tempted by the Mob. Starring Scott Caan and Alec Baldwin. Directed by Michael Corrente. Opening May 18. (34th Street Theatre and Union Square.)
CAPTIVITY
A horror film, directed by Roland Joffé, about a couple chained together in a basement. Opening May 18. (In wide release.)
EVEN MONEY
Reviewed below in Now Playing. Opening May 18. (Empire 25 and 19th Street East 6.)
FAY GRIM
Reviewed this week in The Current Cinema. Opening May 18. (In wide release.)
FLANDERS
Bruno Dumont directed this drama, about a man who is drafted to fight in a desert war. In French. Opening May 18. (Cinema Village.)
THE LAST TIME
A drama about salesmen in love, starring Michael Keaton, Brendan Fraser, and Amber Valletta; written and directed by Michael Caleo. Opening May 18. (Quad Cinema.)
ONCE
In this musical, set in Dublin, a busker and an immigrant form a duo. Directed by John Carney. Opening May 16. (Sunshine Cinema.)
SEVERANCE
In this horror comedy, directed by Christopher Smith, a company’s outdoor adventure trip results in gruesome accidents. Opening May 18. (Angelika Film Center.)
SHREK THE THIRD
Directed by Chris Miller; with the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and Julie Andrews. Opening May 18. (In wide release.)
THE WENDELL BAKER STORY
Reviewed this week in The Current Cinema. Opening May 18. (In wide release.)
NOW PLAYING
AWAY FROM HER
Julie Christie is sixty-six, but her face hasn’t lost its beautiful definition—the downward-turning mouth, the slightly pointed chin, the eyes that can explode with wrath. Her temperament hasn’t fallen out of shape, either. As Fiona, an Ontario woman succumbing to Alzheimer’s, she seems quite lost one second but then, as an intention pierces through a cloud of unhappiness, becomes crisp and incisive. Christie, turning a medical condition into a dramatic coup, makes it impossible for us merely to feel sorry for Fiona, and that toughness gives the film the abrupt, challenging intelligence of a fresh and exploratory work rather than the soft piteousness of, say, a “Movie of the Week” from 1973. With Gordon Pinsent, the veteran Canadian actor, who has a capacious gut, a fine beard, and the burnished aspect of an aging lion, as Grant, Fiona’s longtime husband; Michael Murphy as the stricken man whom Fiona falls in love with at an assisted-living facility; and Olympia Dukakis as the practical old broad who gives Grant a way to remain loyal yet survive as a man. The young Canadian actress Sarah Polley adapted the Alice Munro story “The Bear Came Over the Mountain” and also directed the movie, with attention to the human mysteries and a feeling for the spiritual meaning of landscape. In all, a minor triumph.—David Denby (Reviewed in our issue of 5/14/07.) (In wide release.)
DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT
Julia Loktev wrote and directed this ambitious drama, which follows a nameless terrorist recruit (Luisa Williams) as she prepares to carry out a suicide bombing in Times Square. Loktev pays close attention to personal detail, using a claustrophobic camera style and slow, real-time pacing. The plotter is portrayed as a lost soul hoping for the approval and succor of a God she’s not quite sure exists. With no ethnicity or affiliation specified for the woman (she’s clearly American, with dark features), the story lacks context, leaving one with a sense that the filmmaker has little more to say than that terrorists are people, too. But not mentioning the political motives of those who want to give their lives to take the lives of others makes an incomplete picture, to potentially detrimental effect.—Shauna Lyon (IFC Center.)
DISTURBIA
Judged as an adolescent, suburban version of Hitchcock’s extraordinarily sophisticated 1954 urban thriller “Rear Window,” this movie, written by Christopher B. Landon and Carl Ellsworth and directed by D. J. Caruso, can rightly be called a travesty. The dopiness of it, however, may be an indication not so much of cinematic ineptitude as of the changes in a movie culture that was once devoted to adults and is now rather haplessly and redundantly devoted to kids. Shia LaBeouf, Sarah Roemer, and Aaron Yoo, aided by enough electronic equipment to open a Circuit City, spy on a suspected murderer (David Morse) living across the street. When he gets wise to them, the picture turns into a conventional (and at times effectively scary) horror movie, with splattered blood and corpses floating in some sort of basement vat.—D.D. (In wide release.)
EVEN MONEY
The director Mark Rydell (“The Rose,” “On Golden Pond”) suffuses this hard-nosed anti-gambling drama with the grim knowledge that, in the end, the house always wins. The script, by Robert Tannen, links the fortunes of ten characters in a round of doomed compulsion: an English professor (Ray Liotta) whose novelist wife (Kim Basinger) abandons work and home for the casino; the washed-up magician (Danny DeVito) she meets there; an indebted sports bettor (Forest Whitaker) who wants his younger brother, a college basketball star (Nick Cannon), to shave points; two small-time bookies, one of whom (Jay Mohr) loves the action and the other of whom (Grant Sullivan) loves a nurse (Carla Gugino) who wants him to quit; a suave, sadistic mobster (Tim Roth); and the war-wounded detective (Kelsey Grammer) who collects the bodies as they fall. Rydell’s blunt moralism and almost campy sincerity seem a throwback to distant decades. He elicits amazingly vivid and concise performances (especially from DeVito and Whitaker), and, without rummaging through backstories, simply shows the lure of the payoff to be irresistible to certain unfortunate souls. Despite huge gaps in the plot and some implausible staging of scenes, the old-school storytelling exudes a primal force.—Richard Brody (Empire 25 and 19th Street East 6.)
HOT FUZZ
A worthy successor to “Shaun of the Dead,” though not a sequel. That dealt with zombies in London; this, even more forbiddingly, deals with the British rural classes, hellbent on preserving their way of life. Simon Pegg (who co-wrote the script) stars as Nicholas Angel, an ambitious policeman consigned, for his own good, to a blameless country town, where he pairs up with an overweight local officer, Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), to chase shoplifters and swans. Needless to say, there are darker crimes to come, and the partners are finally drawn into deafening shoot-outs and high-speed chases—all the paraphernalia of the American cop movies to which Danny is so devoted. Edgar Wright’s movie, generous with its gags, doesn’t so much spoof the action-thriller genre as pay it prolonged homage, in the most inappropriate of settings; along the way, it finds time to anatomize, as did “Shaun of the Dead,” the peculiar lusts and lunacies of modern England—or, at least, that part of it which tries to wish modernity away.—Anthony Lane (4/30/07) (In wide release.)
I DON’T WANT TO SLEEP ALONE
The first shot of Tsai Ming-Liang’s oblique drama—a paralyzed man in bed, fed through a tube and serenaded by a recorded aria from “The Magic Flute”—sets out the blend of degradation and exaltation that marks the entire story. A homeless man in Kuala Lumpur collapses at the side of the road and is taken in by a Bangladeshi migrant laborer. As the vagrant recovers and explores the neighborhood, he meets the paralyzed man’s sister; they become a couple of sorts, spending too much time looking for a trysting place among the hulking ruins of abandoned skyscrapers. But the man who took him in is attracted to him, too, as is the invalid’s mother (who, in scenes of colossal squirm value, can’t keep her hands off her son). This record of grinding frustration and fleeting tenderness, composed mainly of static long takes, plays out in a deadened, polyglot, pan-urban landscape of globalization’s unfulfilled promise; instead of a world brought together, Tsai shows natives turned into aliens at home, who remain silent in every language. His political point regarding Malaysia is sharp and angry: when government, religion, and tradition put desire under an iron fist despite the free market in labor, humans are reduced to beasts of burden, and their desire turns beastly as well. In Taiwanese, Malay, Mandarin, and Bengali.—R.B. (IFC Center.)
LUCKY YOU
This gambling movie is tight and focussed at the Vegas tables where men (and the occasional woman) play the incomparable high-stakes game of Texas hold’em but is conventional, weak, and dumb everywhere else. Eric Bana is a poker brat who’s too emotional and undisciplined to be a winner; Robert Duvall (slit-eyed, and in good form) is his champion father; and Drew Barrymore is the moral girl from Bakersfield who falls in love not with the gambler in Bana but with the responsible man she would like him to be—a terrible basis for a love affair and a stuffy idea for a movie romance. Many real-life champion players sit around with the actors, muttering insults and a few grudging compliments. Written by Eric Roth and Curtis Hanson; directed by Hanson.—D.D. (5/14/07) (In wide release.)
LES MAÎTRES FOUS
To the French filmmaker Jean Rouch, all the world’s a stage. In this 1955 documentary, he reports on the annual festivities of the West African Hauka cult. The group withdraws from the city of Accra, Ghana, to a rural compound, which they call the “government palace,” and play-act as the “mad masters” of the title. Working themselves up into drooling fits, burning themselves, sacrificing a dog and drinking its spurting blood, they mime the pomp of their colonial overlords, calling one another “captain,” “governor,” “secretary general,” and so on, and holding an officious conference to debate whether to eat the dog raw or cooked. The next day, back in Accra, the revellers trade one role for another, returning to their jobs as merchants, soldiers, laborers, and thieves. In subsequent films, Rouch pushed the idea of self-dramatization to more radical ends by working onscreen with his subjects to develop their personae, but here he embeds his illuminating psychosocial speculations in a straightforward documentary essay. In French.—R.B. (Film Forum; May 21.)
SEVEN MEN FROM NOW
Budd Boetticher’s stark 1956 Western offers a Hemingwayesque intensity of unspoken emotion and bitter wisdom and a visually terse style to match. Before you blink, two of the seven men are already gunned down by Stride (Randolph Scott), the former sheriff of Silver Springs, Colorado, who trawls the desert for the bandits who killed his wife, a Wells Fargo clerk, in a robbery. But the chest full of gold is still missing, and Masters (Lee Marvin), a criminal whom Stride had put away twice, is after it. Meanwhile, John and Annie Greer (Walter Reed and Gail Russell), two Easterners on their way to California whose wagon gets stuck in mud, are rescued by Stride, who falls for Annie but doesn’t act on it. In Boetticher’s harshly judgmental view, the lawless and barren landscape proves the humanity of some but dehumanizes others: the crazed robbers pursuing Stride scuttle among rocks like scorpions, while the wounded hero, as embodied by the huge yet delicate Scott, moves with a dancer’s proud grace.—R.B. (Walter Reade; May 16 and May 19.)
SPIDER-MAN 3
The third and least of the series so far. Tobey Maguire, looking ever more costive and uncomfortable, returns as Peter Parker, who finds himself doubly transformed—first into the crime-busting arachnid whom we know and revere, and, second, into a black-suited alternative who revels in violence and, for some unknown reason, keeps breaking into dance moves. He is paired with a distracted Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) and, briefly and more entertainingly, with Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard), who looks like a villain waiting to happen. For the moment, we have to make do with a couple of dullards: the New Goblin (James Franco), warmed up from the previous films, and Venom (Topher Grace), a frustrated hack consumed by an extraterrestrial compound. All this is orchestrated by the director, Sam Raimi, with a halting, scattershot approach that verges on panic. The only person to emerge from the wreckage with any credit is Thomas Haden Church, who finds a grainy, melancholic streak in the unstoppable Sandman.—A.L. (5/7/07) (In wide release.)
THE TREATMENT
Oren Rudavsky’s movie tells of Jake Singer (Chris Eigeman), a flustered and bookish New Yorker; he could be the bulkier, less funny second cousin of Woody Allen’s Alvy Singer in “Annie Hall.” Jake has trouble with his love life, the specific problem being that he doesn’t have one. This is surprisingly solved when he falls for Allegra (Famke Janssen), the widowed mother of a boy in the private school where Jake teaches English; more surprising still, she falls for Jake in return. Their affair feels slight and plaintive, and the film—adapted by Rudavsky and Daniel Saul Housman from Daniel Menaker’s novel—would curl up and die were it not for the bracing presence of Ernesto Morales (Ian Holm), Jake’s Argentinean psychoanalyst. The movie flirts with the idea that Dr. Morales might be a figment of Jake’s fancy, but to no avail; thanks to Holm, it is Morales—at once withering and enlivening—who compels our attention, while the other figures fade away.—A.L. (5/7/07) (Angelika Film Center and Lincoln Plaza Cinemas.)
THE VALET
Another busy French farce from Francis Veber (“The Dinner Game”). Gad Elmaleh plays François Pignon, a humble parker of cars, who by sheer mischance—Veber’s specialty—ends up posing as the temporary lover of a supermodel (Alice Taglioni). Caught up in the whirl of circumstance are a number of other fools and avengers, including a bewildered billionaire (Daniel Auteuil) and his needle-sharp wife (Kristin Scott Thomas). As ever, Veber piles on the obstacles, but the movie feels unresolved, and it lacks the misanthropic verve of his earlier work; it almost seems to be priming itself for a softhearted Hollywood remake. In French.—A.L. (4/30/07) (Angelika Film Center and Cinemas 1, 2, and 3.)
WAITRESS
Adrienne Shelly wrote and directed this winning comedy (sadly, her last), starring Keri Russell as Jenna, a small-town waitress and expert pie baker married to a freakishly controlling husband (Jeremy Sisto). When Jenna gets pregnant, she drowns her sorrows by baking desserts with names like Bad Baby Pie and begins a torrid affair with her handsome, bland gynecologist (Nathan Fillion). The able supporting cast includes Andy Griffith (as the curmudgeonly diner owner), Cheryl Hines and Shelly (as Jenna’s sparky waitress friends), and Eddie Jemison (as a nerdy suitor), and Russell conveys Jenna’s bleak world with a pretty, expressionless face. Shelly deftly achieves a tone pitched between fantasy and reality, its levity belying an astute and humane study of an unhappy relationship steeped in inertia.—S.L. (In wide release.)
WHITE NIGHTS
Luchino Visconti, conjuring up Livorno in the Cinecittà studio, wrests visual poetry from that city’s winding streets and canals in his uneven yet touching 1957 adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s story. The film accumulates strength from the simple force of the central concept: a lonely man (Marcello Mastroianni) meets the woman of his dreams (Maria Schell), only to discover that she’s pining for the man of her dreams (Jean Marais). Mastroianni is wonderful as a modest fellow who pushes beyond his limits; he externalizes every bit of the character’s doting alertness and jealousy, especially in a funny, nerve-racking scene in which he draws his date’s attention away from a wiry rock-and-roller by doing his own slapstick jitterbug. The final sequences soar to those operatic heights which Visconti negotiated better than anyone, peaking when snow drapes the tormented heroine in white. Despite lapses in pace, tone, and casting, the movie is a showcase both for Mastroianni and for Visconti’s simultaneously baroque and limpid style. In Italian.—Michael Sragow (Walter Reade; May 16.)
ALSO PLAYING
DELTA FARCE: In wide release. THE EX: In wide release. GEORGIA RULE: In wide release. THE HIP HOP PROJECT: In wide release. THE SALON: In wide release. 28 WEEKS LATER . . .: In wide release.
REVIVALS, CLASSICS, ETC.
Titles with a dagger are reviewed above.
ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES
32 Second Ave., at 2nd St. (212-505-5181)—“Essential Cinema.” May 17 at 7: “The Passion of Joan of Arc” (1927-28, Carl Theodor Dreyer; silent). | “Goethe-Institut New York Presents.” May 17 at 7:30: “The Death of Maria Malibran” (1972, Werner Schroeter; in German). | In première. May 18 and May 21-22 at 7:30 and 9 and May 19-20 at 4:30, 6, 7:30, and 9: “Rolling Like a Stone” (2005, Stefan Berg and Magnus Gertten).
BAM ROSE CINEMAS
30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn (718-636-4100)—“Generation Garrel,” films directed by Philippe Garrel or featuring the actors Maurice Garrel and Louis Garrel. All films are in French. May 16 at 4:30, 6:50, and 9:15: “Liberté, la Nuit” (1983). | May 17 at 6:50 and 9:15: “Emergency Kisses” (1988). | May 18 at 2, 4:30, 6:50, and 9:15: “The Dreamers” (2003, Bernardo Bertolucci). | May 19 at 2:30, 5:45, and 9: “Kings and Queen” (2004, Arnaud Desplechin). | May 20 at 2, 4:30, 7, and 9:30: “Wild Innocence” (2001). | “Jean Genet on Film.” May 21 at 4:30, 6:50, and 9:15: “The Maids” (1974, Christopher Miles). | May 22 at 4:30, 6:50, and 9:15: “Mademoiselle” (1966, Tony Richardson; in French).
FILM FORUM
W. Houston St. west of Sixth Ave. (212-727-8110)—Through June 7: The nonfiction work of Werner Herzog, plus films of his choice. May 18-19 at 1, 4, 7, and 10: “Little Dieter Needs to Fly” (1997). The 7 P.M. screening on May 19 will be introduced by the director. | May 18-19 at 2:35, 5:35, and 8:35: “Wings of Hope” (1999). | May 20 at 1, 4:40, and 8:20: “The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner” (1973) and “Dark Glow of the Mountains” (1984). The 8:20 screening will be introduced by the director. | May 20 at 2:45, 6:25, and 10:05: “The White Diamond” (2004). | May 21 at 2, 4:30, 7, and 9:30: “Sans Soleil” (1983, Chris Marker) and “Les Maîtres Fous” (+). The 7 P.M. screening will be introduced by Herzog. | May 22 at 1, 4, 7, and 10: “Death for Five Voices” (1995). | May 22 at 2:15, 5:15, and 8:15: “The Transformation of the World Into Music” (1994).
FRENCH INSTITUTE ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE
Florence Gould Hall, 55 E. 59th St. (212-355-6160)—The films of Fanny Ardant. May 22 at 12:30, 4, and 7:30: “La Vie Est un Roman” (1983, Alain Resnais; in French).
IFC CENTER
323 Sixth Ave., at W. 3rd St. (212-924-7771)—In revival. May 18-20 at noon: “Jules and Jim” (1962, François Truffaut; in French and German). | “Waverly Midnights.” May 18-19: “The Apple” (1980, Menahem Golan).
MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
Roy and Niuta Titus Theatres, 11 W. 53rd St. (212-708-9480)—The films of Allan King. May 16 at 6: “Skid Row” (1956) and “A Matter of Pride” (1960). | May 16 at 8 and May 21 at 8:30: “Who Has Seen the Wind” (1977). | May 17 at 6: “Termini Station” (1990). | May 17 at 8:30: “One Night Stand” (1978). | May 18 at 6: “A Married Couple” (1969). | May 18 at 8:15 and May 20 at 2: “Maria” (1976) and “Red Emma” (1976). | May 19 at 2: “Dreams” (1961) and “Running Away Backwards” (1964). | May 19 at 4:30: “The Dragon’s Egg” (1999). | May 19 at 7: “Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company” (2005). | May 21 at 6: “Who’s in Charge?” (1983). | “Still Moving.” May 18 at 8:30: “Earth” (1930, Alexander Dovzhenko; silent).
MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE
35th Ave. at 36th St., Astoria (718-784-0077)—In première. May 17 at 7: “Paprika” (2006, Satoshi Kon), followed by a discussion with the critic Gilberto Perez and the neurophysiologist Robert Stickgold. | The films of Samuel Fuller. May 19 at 2: “Fixed Bayonets” (1951). | May 19 at 4: “Hell and High Water” (1954). | May 19-20 at 6:30: “House of Bamboo” (1955). | May 20 at 4:30: “Park Row” (1952). | May 13 at 4: “The Baron of Arizona” (1950).
PIONEER THEATRE
155 E. 3rd St. (212-591-0434)—In première. May 16-27 (call for showtimes): “The Changeling” (2007, Jay Stern).
RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART
150 W. 17th St. (212-620-5000)—“Cabaret Cinema.” May 18 at 9:30: “Death in Venice” (1971, Luchino Visconti).
SUNSHINE CINEMA
143 E. Houston St. (212-330-8182)—“Sunshine@Midnight.” May 18-19: “Krull” (1983, Peter Yates).
WALTER READE THEATRE
Lincoln Center (212-875-5600)—Through May 24: The films of Lee Marvin. May 16 at 1 and May 20 at 4:15: “Paint Your Wagon” (1969, Joshua Logan). | May 16 at 4:15 and May 19 at 4: “Seven Men from Now” (+). The May 19 screening will be introduced by Lee Marvin’s widow, Pamela Marvin. | May 16 at 6:15: “The Big Heat” (1953, Fritz Lang). | May 17 at 1 and May 18 at 8:30: “Attack” (1956, Robert Aldrich). | May 17 at 3:15: “Point Blank” (1967, John Boorman). | May 18 at 1:15 and May 20 at 2: “The Comancheros” (1961, Michael Curtiz). | May 18 at 3:30: “The Big Red One” (1980, Samuel Fuller). | May 18 at 6:30 and May 19 at 2: “The Spikes Gang” (1974, Richard Fleischer). | May 19 at 8:30 and May 22 at 3:10: “Emperor of the North Pole” (1973, Robert Aldrich). The May 19 screening will be introduced by Keith Carradine. | May 20 at 7:30: “Ship of Fools” (1965, Stanley Kramer), introduced by Pamela Marvin. | May 21 at 2:30: “The Killers” (1964, Don Siegel). | May 22 at 1: “Monte Walsh” (1970, William A. Fraker). | Special screenings. May 16 at 8:15: “White Nights” (+). | May 19 at 6 and 11: “Wide Awake” (2006, Alan Berliner), followed by a Q. & A. with the director.
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https://criterioncloseup.com/2015/06/19/the-rose-1979-mark-rydell/
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The Rose, 1979, Mark Rydell
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2015-06-19T00:00:00
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I have been aware of The Rose for most of my life. People had talked about it at various stages, but I made an unconscious decision not to see it. Why? Maybe because I loved Janis Joplin and disliked Bette Midler, so the burning desire wasn’t there. It wasn’t anything about Midler’s acting ability or…
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https://s1.wp.com/i/favicon.ico
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Criterion Close-Up
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https://criterioncloseup.com/2015/06/19/the-rose-1979-mark-rydell/
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I have been aware of The Rose for most of my life. People had talked about it at various stages, but I made an unconscious decision not to see it. Why? Maybe because I loved Janis Joplin and disliked Bette Midler, so the burning desire wasn’t there. It wasn’t anything about Midler’s acting ability or talents, just that I was certainly not the target market for the remainder of her career. The fact that it was not really about Janis turned me off more than anything else. Having now seen it many years later, I’m actually glad I waited.
First off, this is not about Janis Joplin. In many of the supplements, this is stated and re-stated, and it is unfair to the film to get hung up on her life being the template for the plot. It is only the broad strokes that relate to Janis. This film is about the plight of the rock and roll star, the insatiable need for the rush of attention that one gets onstage, the insecurity off the stage, and the self-destruction in between. The only time that Janis is recollected is in the performances, yet not all of them. Most of the performances are all Bette channeling a 70s rock-starlet persona.
What stands out about the film is the cinematography. From the early scene in a building that towers above Central Park in New York City, to the kaleidoscope of images and colors that are captured in the live performance, every frame looks fantastic. Vilmos Zsigmond is responsible for the majority of the film’s appearance, but he also recruited some of the best in the industry to capture the concert sequences. Rather than go into specifics, I recommend you read Adam Batty’s post about The Eyes Behind The Rose.
The Rose shouts out at a concert that she keeps herself in shape through “Drugs, sex and rock n’ roll!” The order in which she places the words is telling. Most people refer to that era as “Sex, drugs and rock n’roll.” One of The Rose’s problems was that, despite her fame, she was not able to “get laid.” She expresses this directly in the early meeting with Rudge (Alan Bates). We don’t see her delve deeply into drugs until towards the end, which is what initiates her downfall, but the sex and subsequent rejection leads her to search for an escape. Rock n’ roll was last on her priority list because it really was. She was exhausted from all the touring and performing, and desperately wanted a break. Her mental stability was wearing down due to the lifestyle, yet Rudge trapped her. Her desire for the limelight and attention also trapped her. In many ways, rock n’ roll was her drug, only it was not giving her the same high it did before.
Deep down, The Rose simply wants to be appreciated. She’s shy, insecure, and in a lot of ways neurotic. The stage is the only place where she really belongs, where she feels appreciated. One recurring theme is her constant rejection. It begins with Billy Ray (Harry Dean Stanton) not so politely asking her not to sing his songs. Later in her hometown, she is recognized in a familiar shop owner in her hometown as Mary Rose and not “THE” Rose.
Redemption comes her way through Huston Dyer (Frederic Forrest), a limo driver who she steals from Billy Ray and takes on a wild misadventure of sex and shenanigans. Huston, however, is from a different world. He’s actually a deserter from the Army, and cannot relate to the “drugs, sex and rock n’ roll” lifestyle. What they have in common is that he is a deserter, and she wants to leave her rock career at least temporarily, and into his arms seems the most appropriate place to hide. Huston does not approve of what she’s doing to herself, and this comes to a head in the powerful bathhouse scene where he finally lets loose. He comes back to the fold, but the old magic has gone.
The Rose is a mess. “Do I look old?” she asks at one time. She is yearning for any sign of vitality, yet she finds none unless she is on-stage. The breaking point is when Rudge strong-arms her as a power contract ploy and cancels her hometown show. This smoking gun transforms her from a slow descent to a spiraling downfall. She takes solace in every chemical she can find, trying to find a chemically induced feeling that rivals what she feels onstage or in Huston’s arms. When some demons come back to haunt her, she finally caves, only it is too late. The damage has been done. That is the tragic reality of some rock n’ roll lifestyles. Again, even though this movie was not about Janis, her tragic reality is the backbone. The Rose’s downfall is just as tragic, even if fictional.
The performances are truly what makes the film worth watching. Midler owns her role as The Rose, and I was impressed that the star of Beaches was able to convincingly play a rock n’ roll star. Forrest as Huston also shines in the scenes where he gets to be the voice of reason. Even Alan Bates as Rudge does a fine job with what is essentially a flat character. Some of the dramatic choices are a stretch and at times the film gets heavy-handed, but overall it is a worthwhile character exploration.
Film Rating: 7/10
Supplements
Commentary: Mark Rydell from 2003.
The band was put together with Rydell, Paul Rothchild, and Bette Midler. They were a real band that played real stories.
This was NOT the Janis Joplin story as Rydell emphatically states. It was a character based on some of the rock stars in history. It was conceived as biography of her for years. They made a fictional character using the dramatic elements of Joplin’s life that were dramatic and fitting, and invented the rest.
They shot real concerts, twice at two hours without interruption. There were no interruptions and Bette was really playing to the crowd. These shows were later cut together for the film.
Bathhouse scene was unheard of. All that male nudity, even if not shown, was shocking for the time.
Rydell spends a lot of time gushing about the actors. They all exceeded his expectations.
One thing I like about this commentary is that Rydell lets the film breathe. He stays out during important moments, so it’s almost as if watching the film again. He interjects only when he has something worth saying. Sometimes I prefer this sort of commentary to one with endless chatter.
Bette Midler: Interview from 2015.
At first she didn’t want to do it. She was a Joplin fan and didn’t want to tarnish her legacy, so they changed it from being inspired by Joplin and not telling the complete story. She started gymnastics for her stage moves. Wanted to get a panther quality to her moves, “a violent creature” on stage.
She praises Forrest in particular. She thought he did a great job at being patient. She wasn’t prepared for Harry Dean Stanton. He was tough. Everyone wanted her to succeed (except for Harry Dean.) They were supportive, and it was “joyful and full of love.” She remembers it more than most of her movies.
Mark Rydell: Interview in 2014.
He also didn’t want to do a straight Joplin biopic. People recommended Bette Midler and he knew she was perfect when he saw the dailies. She had sung in men’s bathhouses, so they incorporated it into the movie.
Aaron Russo was her manager and was very controlling. “You talk to me before you talk to Bette.” He called the police and got him out of there. Bette got him out of the way then and that began his relationship with Bette.
He talks at length about all the amazing Directors of Photography that he used for the concert footage. He needed nine cameras for these scenes. He asked Zsigmond to pick the best cameramen in town, and somehow he succeeded in getting the the giants of the era.
There were 6,000 people at the concert, who came out because of a radio announcement. They were told not to react unless the performer makes them react. She brought it. “That’s why the concert felt so alive, because they were alive.”
Vilmos Zsigmond: He speaks with cinematographer John Bailey in 2014.
The opening shot was in the Hilton in downtown NYC. It was difficult to light because they had to be careful of the backlighting in the windows.
Of course he also talks about the concert scenes. They lit them differently because they shot them on the same stage. They did the overhead helicopter shot, carefully lit it up, and did so to show the popularity and stature of The Rose. They did a lot of improvising with the shots because the performances were improvised. In addition to the star cinematographers, he also used Dave Myers, who was a big concert photographer, who famously shot Woodstock.
He thinks that the craft is diminishing, and that the concept of lighting is being lost. Too many people are becoming cinematographers. He is trying to teach the youngsters that are using digital cameras to go look at the old films, see how they are lit. Don’t get lazy by how easy the digital camera is to use.
Today Show: Tom Brokaw with Rydell and Midler in 1978.
It shows behind the scenes of them shooting the scene where she leaves a news conference, take after take. Brokaw interviews Rydell and he gives overwhelming praise to Midler for her performance.
Gene Shalit & Bette Midler: Interviews from 1979.
He asks the question about Janis Joplin, comparing the fact that Janis is 1960s whereas Bette is 1970s. Bette said that she did not intend to become Janis. She contrasts the differences. She is a New Yorker, which is a bombarding culture, but she played a Californian, which is more of a laid back atmosphere.
Janis Joplin, Tina Turner and Aretha Franklin inspired her. She saw them all in the same week in the 1960s and that was the turning point.
It is interesting hearing her reflect on her career, which is something she had just started thinking about recently. She says she would be happy if she retired tomorrow. Of course there were would be plenty more to come.
Criterion Rating: 8/10
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Brief Descriptions and Expanded Essays of National Film Registry Titles
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Brief descriptions of each Registry title can be found here, and expanded essays are available for select titles. The authors of these essays are experts in film history, and their works appear in books, newspapers, magazines and online. Some of these essays originated in other publications and are reprinted here by permission of the author. Other essays have been written specifically for this website. The views expressed in these essays are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Library of Congress.
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The Library of Congress
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Brief descriptions of each Registry title can be found here, and expanded essays are available for select titles. The authors of these essays are experts in film history, and their works appear in books, newspapers, magazines and online. Some of these essays originated in other publications and are reprinted here by permission of the author. Other essays have been written specifically for this website. The views expressed in these essays are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Library of Congress.
In most cases, the images linked to Registry titles listed below were selected from the Library's Prints & Photographs Online Catalog, however some are drawn from other Library collections.
View a list of all expanded essays
7th Heaven (1927)
"Seventh Heaven" (also referred to as "7th Heaven"), directed by Frank Borzage and based on the play by Austin Strong, tells the story of Chico (Charles Farrell), the Parisian sewer worker-turned-street cleaner, and his wife Diane (Janet Gaynor), who are separated during World War I, yet whose love manages to keep them connected. "Seventh Heaven" was initially released as a silent film but proved so popular with audiences that it was re-released with a synchronized soundtrack later that same year. The popularity of the film resulted in it becoming one of the most commercially successful silent films as well as one of the first films to be nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award. Janet Gaynor, Frank Borzage, and Benjamin Glazer won Oscars for their work on the film, specifically awards for Best Actress, Best Directing (Dramatic Picture), and Best Writing (Adaptation), respectively. "Seventh Heaven" also marked the first time often-paired stars Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell worked together. Added to the National Film Registry in 1995.
Expanded essay by Aubrey Solomon (PDF, 694KB)
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
Special-effects master Ray Harryhausen provides the hero (Kerwin Mathews) with a villanous magician (Torin Thatcher) and fantastic antagonists, including a genie, giant cyclops, fire-breathing dragons, and a sword-wielding animated skeleton, all in glorious Technicolor. And of course no mythological tale would be complete without the rescue of a damsel in distress, here a princess (Kathryn Grant) that the evil magician shrinks down to a mere few inches. Harryhausen's stunning Dynamation process, which blended stop-motion animation and live-actions sequences, and a thrilling score by Bernard Herrmann ("Psycho," "The Day the Earth Stood Still") makes this one of the finest fantasy films of all time. Added to the National Film Registry in 2008.
Expanded essay by Tony Dalton (PDF, 900KB)
3:10 to Yuma (1957)
Considered to be one of the best westerns of the 1950s, "3:10 to Yuma" has gained in stature since its original release as audiences have recognized the progressive insight the film provides into the psychology of its two main characters that becomes vividly exposed during scenes of heightened tension. Frankie Laine sang the film's popular theme song, also titled "3:10 to Yuma." Often compared favorably with "High Noon," this innovative western from director Delmer Daves starred Glenn Ford and Van Heflin in roles cast against type and was based on a short story by Elmore Leonard. Added to the National Film Registry in 2012.
12 Angry Men (1957)
In the 1950s, several television dramas acted live over the airways won such critical acclaim that they were also produced as motion pictures; among those already honored by the National Film Registry is "Marty" (1955). Reginald Rose had adapted his original stage play "12 Angry Men" for Studio One in 1954, and Henry Fonda decided to produce a screen version, taking the lead role and hiring director Sidney Lumet, who had been directing for television since 1950. The result is a classic. Filmed in a spare, claustrophobic style—largely set in one jury room—the play relates a single juror's refusal to conform to peer pressure in a murder trial and follows his conversion of one juror after another to his point of view. The story is often viewed as a commentary on McCarthyism, Fascism, or Communism. Added to the National Film Registry in 2007.
Expanded essay by Joanna E. Rapf (PDF, 258KB)
12 Years a Slave (2013)
This biographical drama directed by Sir Steve McQueen, and produced by Brad Pitt’s production company, is based on the 1853 slave memoir “Twelve Years a Slave” by Solomon Northup, an African-American free man who was kidnapped in Washington, D.C. by two conmen in 1841, and sold into slavery. He was put to work on plantations in the state of Louisiana for 12 years before being released. The film received nine Academy Award nominations, winning for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay for John Ridley, and Best Supporting Actress for Lupita Nyong’o. Added to the National Film Registry in 2023.
13 Lakes (2004)
James Benning's feature-length film can be seen as a series of moving landscape paintings with artistry and scope that might be compared to Claude Monet's series of water-lily paintings. Embracing the concept of "landscape as a function of time," Benning shot his film at 13 different American lakes in identical 10-minute takes. Each is a static composition: a balance of sky and water in each frame with only the very briefest suggestion of human existence. At each lake, Benning prepared a single shot, selected a single camera position and a specific moment. The climate, the weather and the season deliver a level of variation to the film, a unique play of light, despite its singularity of composition. Curators of the Rotterdam Film Festival noted, "The power of the film is that the filmmaker teaches the viewer to look better and learn to distinguish the great varieties in the landscape alongside him. [The list of lakes] alone is enough to encompass a treatise on America and its history. A treatise the film certainly encourages, but emphatically does not take part in." Benning, who studied mathematics and then film at the University of Wisconsin, currently is on the faculty at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). Added to the National Film Registry in 2014.
Expanded essay by Scott MacDonald (PDF, 316KB)
20 Feet from Stardom (2013)
Directed by Morgan Neville and produced by Gil Friesen, “20 Feet from Stardom” uses archival footage and interviews sharing behind-the-scenes experiences, and shining the spotlight on backup singers, including Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, Judith Hill, Jo Lawry, Claudia Lennear, and Tata Vega. Archival footage includes performances with Sting, David Bowie, Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Tom Jones, Ike & Tina Turner, Luther Vandross, and more. A highlight of the film includes an interview with Mick Jagger telling the story of how Merry Clayton came to sing the iconic background vocals on “Gimme Shelter.” Added to the National Film Registry in 2023.
42nd Street (1933)
At a little less than 90 minutes, "42nd Street" is a fast-moving picture that crackles with great dialogue and snappily plays up Busby Berkeley's dance routines and and the bouncy Al Dubin-Harry Warren ditties that include the irrepressably cheerful "Young and Healthy" (featuring the adorable Toby Wing), "Shuffle Off to Buffalo" and the title number. A famous Broadway director (Warner Baxter) takes on a new show despite his ill health, then faces disaster at every turn, including the loss of his leading lady on opening night. The film features Bebe Daniels as the star of the show and Berkeley regulars Guy Kibbee, Ginger Rogers, Dick Powell, and Ruby Keeler, whom Baxter implores, "You're going out a youngster, but you've got to come back a star!" Added to the National Film Registry in 1998.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Stanley Kubrick's landmark epic pushed the envelope of narrative and special effects to create an introspective look at technology and humanity. Arthur C. Clarke adapted his story "The Sentinel" for the screen version and his odyssey follows two astronauts, played by Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood, on a voyage to Jupiter accompanied by HAL 9000, an unnervingly humanesque computer running the entire ship. With assistance from special-effects expert Douglas Trumbull, Kubrick spent more than two years creating his vision of outer space. Despite some initial critical misgivings, "2001" became one of the most popular films of 1968. Billed as "the ultimate trip," the film quickly caught on with a counterculture audience that embraced the contemplative experience that many older audiences found tedious and lacking substance. Added to the National Film Registry in 1991.
Expanded essay by James Verniere (PDF, 691KB)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916)
Directed by Stuart Paton, the film was touted as "the first submarine photoplay." Universal spent freely on location, shooting in the Bahamas and building life-size props, including the submarine, and taking two years to film. J. E. Williamson's "photosphere," an underwater chamber connected to an iron tube on the surface of the water, enabled Paton to film underwater scenes up to depths of 150 feet. The film is based on Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and to a lesser extent, "The Mysterious Island." The real star of the film is its special effects. Although they may seem primitive by today's standards, 100 years ago they dazzled contemporary audiences. It was the first time the public had an opportunity to see reefs, various types of marine life and men mingling with sharks. It was also World War I, and submarine warfare was very much in the public consciousness, so the life-size submarine gave the film an added dimension of reality. The film was immensely popular with audiences and critics. Added to the National Film Registry in 2016.
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Freight handlers Bud Abbott and Lou Costello encounter Dracula and Frankenstein's monster when they arrive from Europe for a house of horrors exhibit. After the monsters outwit the hapless duo and escape, Dracula returns for Costello whose brain he intends to transplant into the monster. Lon Chaney Jr. as the lycanthropic Lawrence Talbot, Bela Lugosi in his final appearance as Dracula and Glenn Strange as the Monster all play their roles perfectly straight as Bud and Lou stumble around them. Throughout the film, Dracula and the Monster cavort in plain view of the quivering Costello who is unable to convince the ever-poised and dubious Abbott that the monsters exist. until the wild climax in Dracula's castle, where the duo are pursued by all three of the film's monstrosities.
Expanded essay by Ron Palumbo (PDF, 424KB)
Ace in the Hole (aka Big Carnival) (1951)
Based on the infamous 1925 case of Kentucky cave explorer Floyd Collins, who became trapped underground and whose gripping saga created a national sensation lasting two weeks before Collins died. A deeply cynical look at journalism, "Ace in the Hole" features Kirk Douglas as a once-famous New York reporter, now a down-and-out has-been in Albuquerque. Douglas plots a return to national prominence by milking the story of a man trapped in a Native American cave dwelling as a riveting human-interest story, complete with a tourist-laden, carnival atmosphere outside the rescue scene. The callously indifferent wife of the stricken miner is no more sympathetic: "I don't go to church. Kneeling bags my nylons." Providing a rare moral contrast is Porter Hall, who plays Douglas' ethical editor appalled at his reporter's actions. Such a scathing tale of media manipulation might have helped turn this brilliant film into a critical and commercial failure, which later led Paramount to reissue the film under a new title, "The Big Carnival."
Expanded essay by Molly Haskell (PDF, 330KB)
Adam's Rib (1949)
With an Oscar-nominated script by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, "Adam's Rib" pokes fun at the double standard between the sexes. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn play husband and wife attorneys, each drawn to the same case of attempted murder. Judy Holliday, defending the sanctity of her marriage and family, intends only to frighten her philandering husband (Tom Ewell) and his mistress (Jean Hagen) but tearfully ends up shooting and injuring the husband. Tracy argues that the case is open and shut, but Hepburn asserts that, if the defendant were a man, he'd be set free on the basis of "the unwritten law." As the trial turns into a media circus, the couple's relationship is put to the test. Holliday's first screen triumph propelled her onto bigger roles, including "Born Yesterday," for which she won an Academy Award. The film is also the debut of Ewell, who would become best known for his role opposite Marilyn Monroe in "The Seven Year Itch", and Hagen, who would floor audiences as the ditzy blonde movie star with the shrill voice in "Singin' in the Rain."
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
When Richard the Lion-Hearted is captured and held for ransom, evil Prince John (Claude Rains) declares himself ruler of England and makes no attempt to secure Richard's safe return. A lone knight, Robin Hood (Errol Flynn), sets out to raise Richard's ransom by hijacking wealthy caravans traveling through Sherwood Forest. Aided by his lady love, Maid Marian (Olivia de Havilland), and band of merry men (including Alan Hale and Eugene Pallette) Robin battles the usurper John and wicked Sheriff of Nottingham to return the throne to its rightful owner. Dashing, athletic and witty, Flynn is everything that Robin Hood should be, and his adversaries are memorably villainous, particularly Basil Rathbone with whom Flynn crosses swords in the climactic duel. One of the most spectacular adventure films of all time, and features a terrific performance by the perfectly cast Flynn. Only a spirited and extravagant production could do justice to the Robin Hood legend; this film is more than equal to the task. Erich Wolfgang Korngold's score won an Oscar, as did the editing and art direction.
The African Queen (1951)
Adapted from a novel by C.S. Forester, the film stars Humphrey Bogart in an Oscar-winning portrayal of a slovenly, gin-swilling captain of the African Queen, a tramp steamer carrying supplies to small African villages during World War I. Katharine Hepburn plays a prim spinster missionary stranded when the Germans invade her settlement. Bogart agrees to transport Hepburn back to civilization despite their opposite temperaments. Before long, their tense animosity turns to love, and together they navigate treacherous rapids and devise an ingenious way to destroy a German gunboat. The difficulties inherent in filming on location in Africa are documented in numerous books, including one by Hepburn.
Airplane! (1980)
"Airplane!" emerged as a sharply perceptive parody of the big-budget disaster films that dominated Hollywood during the 1970s. Written and directed by David Zucker, Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, the film is characterized by a freewheeling style and skewered Hollywood's tendency to push successful formulaic movie conventions beyond the point of logic. One of the film's most noteworthy achievements was to cast actors best known for their dramatic careers, such as Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack and Lloyd Bridges, and provide them with opportunities to showcase their comic talents.The central premise is one giant cliche: a pilot (Robert Hays), who's developed a fear of flying, tries to win back his stewardess girlfriend (Julie Hagerty), boarding her flight so he can coax her around. Due to an outbreak of food poisoning, Hays must land the plane, with the help of a glue-sniffing air traffic controller (Bridges) and and his tyranical former captain (Stack). Supporting the stars is a wacky assemblage of stock characters from every disaster movie ever made.
Expanded essay by Michael Schlesinger (PDF, 477KB)
“¡Alambrista! (1977)
“¡Alambrista!” is the powerfully emotional story of Roberto, a Mexican national working as a migrant laborer in the United States to send money back to his wife and newborn. Director Robert M. Young’s sensitive screenplay refuses to indulge in simplistic pieties, presenting us with a world in which exploitation and compassion coexist in equal measure. The film immerses us in Roberto’s world as he moves across vast landscapes, meeting people he can’t be sure are friend or threat, staying one step ahead of immigration officials. “¡Alambrista!” is as relevant today as it was on its 1977 release, a testament to its enduring humanity. Added to the National Film Registry in 2023.
Expanded essay by Charles Ramírez Berg (PDF, 556KB)
Interview with Edward James Olmos (PDF, 2MB)
Alien (1979)
This film's appeal may lie in its reputation as "a haunted house movie in space." Though not particularly original, "Alien" is distinguished by director Ridley Scott's innovative ability to wring every ounce of suspense out of the B-movie staples he employs within the film's hi-tech setting. Art designer H.R. Giger creates what has become one of cinema's scariest monsters: a nightmarish hybrid of humanoid-insect-machine that Scott makes even more effective by obscuring it from view for much of the film. The cast, including Tom Skerritt and John Hurt, brings an appealing quality to their characters, and one character in particular, Sigourney Weaver's warrant officer Ripley, became the model for the next generation of hardboiled heroines and solidified the prototype in subsequent sequels. Rounding out the cast and crew, cameraman Derek Vanlint and composer Jerry Goldsmith propel the emotions relentlessly from one visual horror to the next.
All About Eve (1950)
Scheming ingénue Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) ingratiates herself with aging Broadway star Margo Channing (Bette Davis) moving in on her acting roles, her friends and her stage director beau. The dialog is often too bitingly perfect with its sarcastic barbs and clever comebacks, but it's still entertaining and quote-worthy. The film took home Academy Awards for best picture, best director (Joseph L. Mankiewicz), best screenplay (Mankiewicz) and costume design (Edith Head and Charles Le Maire). George Sanders won a best supporting actor Oscar for his performance as the acid-tongued theater critic Addison DeWitt. Thelma Ritter as Margo's maid, Celeste Holm as Margo's best friend, and Marilyn Monroe, in a small role as an aspiring actress, give memorable performances.
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All My Babies (1953)
Written and directed by George Stoney, this landmark educational film was used to educate midwives throughout the South. Produced by the Georgia Department of Public Health, profiles the life and work of "Miss Mary" Coley, an African-American midwife living in rural Georgia. In documenting the preparation for and delivery of healthy babies in rural conditions ranging from decent to deplorable, the filmmakers inadvertently captured a telling snapshot at the socioeconomic conditions of the era that would prove fascinating to future generations. Added to the National Film Registry in 2002.
Expanded essay by Joshua Glick (PDF, 391KB)
Watch it here
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
This faithful adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's classic pacifist novel is among the greatest antiwar films ever made, remaining powerful more than 80 years later, thanks to Lewis Milestone's inventive direction. Told from the perspective of a sensitive young German soldier (Lew Ayres) during WWI, recruited by a hawkish professor advocating "glory for the fatherland." The young soldier comes under the protective wing of an old veteran (Louis Wolheim) who teaches him how to survive the horrors of war. The film is emotionally draining, and so realistic that it will be forever etched in the mind of any viewer. Milestone's direction is frequently inspired, most notably during the battle scenes. In one such scene, the camera serves as a kind of machine gun, shooting down the oncoming troops as it glides along the trenches. Universal spared no expense during production, converting more than 20 acres of a large California ranch into battlefields occupied by more than 2,000 ex-servicemen extras. After its initial release, some foreign countries refused to run the film. Poland banned it for being pro-German, while the Nazis labeled it anti-German. Joseph Goebbels, later propaganda minister, publicly denounced the film. It received an Academy Award as Best Picture and Milestone was honored as Best Director.
Expanded essay by Garry Wills (PDF, 713KB)
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All That Heaven Allows (1955)
The rich visual texture, using glorious Technicolor, and a soaring emotional score lend what is essentially a thin story a kind of epic tension. A movie unheralded by critics and largely ignored by the public at the time of its release, All That Heaven Allows is now considered Douglas Sirk's masterpiece. The story concerns a romance between a middle-aged, middle-class widow (Jane Wyman) and a brawny young gardener (Rock Hudson)—the stuff of a standard weepie, you might think, until Sirk's camera begins to draw a deeply disturbing, deeply compassionate portrait of a woman trapped by stifling moral and social codes. Sirk's meaning is conveyed almost entirely by his mise-en-scene—a world of glistening, treacherous surfaces, of objects that take on a terrifying life of their own; he is one of those rare filmmakers who insist that you read the image.
Expanded essay by John Wills (PDF, 187KB)
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All That Jazz (1979)
Director/choreographer Bob Fosse takes a Felliniesque look at the life of a driven entertainer. Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider, channeling Fosse) is the ultimate work (and pleasure)-aholic, as he knocks back a daily dose of amphetamines to juggle a new Broadway production while editing his new movie, an ex-wife Audrey, girlfriend Kate, young daughter, and various conquests. Reminiscent of Fellini's "8 1/2 ," Fosse moves from realistic dance numbers to extravagant flights of cinematic fancy, as Joe meditates on his life, his women, and his death. Fosse shows the stiff price that entertaining exacts on entertainers (among other things, he intercuts graphic footage of open-heart surgery with a song and dance), mercilessly reversing the feel-good mood of classical movie musicals.
All the King's Men (1949)
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Robert Penn Warren and directed by Robert Rossen, "All the King's Men" was inspired by the career of Louisiana governor Huey Long. Broderick Crawford won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Willie Stark, a backwoods Southern lawyer who wins the hearts of his constituents by bucking the corrupt state government. The thesis is basically that power corrupts, with Stark presented as a man who starts out with a burning sense of purpose and a defiant honesty. Rossen, however, injects a note of ambiguity early on (a scene where Willie impatiently shrugs off his wife's dream of the great and good things he is destined to accomplish); and the doubt as to what he is really after is beautifully orchestrated by being filtered through the eyes of the press agent (Ireland) who serves as the film's narrator, and whose admiration for Stark gradually becomes tempered by understanding. In addition to its Oscars for Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge, the film won the Best Picture prize.
All the President's Men (1976)
Based on the memoir by "Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein about uncovering the Watergate break-in and cover up, "All the President's Men" is a rare example of a best-selling book transformed into a hit film and a cultural phenomenon in its own right. Directed by Alan J. Pakula, the film stars Robert Redford as Woodward and Dustin Hoffman as Bernstein, and features an Oscar-winning performance by Jason Robards as Ben Bradlee. Nominated for numerous awards, it took home an Oscar for best screenplay by William Goldman (known prior to this for "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and after for "The Princess Bride"). Pakula's taut directing plays up the emotional roller coaster of exhilaration, paranoia, self-doubt, and courage, without ignoring the tedium and tireless digging, and elevating it to noble determination.
Expanded essay by Mike Canning (PDF, 72KB)
Allures (1961)
Called the master of "cosmic cinema," Jordan Belson excelled in creating abstract imagery with a spiritual dimension that featured dazzling displays of color, light, and ever-moving patterns and objects. Trained as a painter and influenced by the films of Oskar Fischinger, Norman McLaren, and Hans Richter, Belson collaborated in the late 1950s with electronic music composer Henry Jacobs to create elaborate sound and light shows in the San Francisco Morrison Planetarium, an experience that informed his subsequent films. The film, Belson has stated, "was probably the space-iest film that had been done until then. It creates a feeling of moving into the void." Inspired by Eastern spiritual thought, "Allures" (which took a year and a half to make) is, Belson suggests, a "mathematically precise" work intended to express the process of becoming that the philosopher Teilhard de Chardin has named "cosmogenesis."
Amadeus (1984)
Milos Forman directed this deeply absorbing, visually sumptuous film based on the lives and rivalry of two great classical composers — the brash, youthful Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the good, if not truly exceptional, Antonio Salieri. Based upon Peter Shaffer's highly successful play, which Shaffer personally rewrote for the screen, "Amadeus," though ostensibly about classical music, instead shines as a remarkable examination of the concept of genius (Mozart) as well as the jealous obsession from less-talented rivals (Salieri). In an Oscar-winning performance, F. Murray Abraham skillfully lays bare the tortured emotions (admiration and covetous envy) Salieri feels for Mozart's work: "This was the music I had never heard...It seemed to me that I was hearing the voice of God. Why would God choose an obscene child to be his instrument?"
America, America (1963)
"My name is Elia Kazan. I am a Greek by blood, Turk by birth, American because my uncle made a journey." So begins the film directed, produced and written by Elia Kazan, and the one he frequently cited as his personal favorite. Based loosely on Kazan's uncle, Stavros dreams of going to America in the late 1890s. Kazan, who often hired locals as extras, cast in the lead role a complete novice, Stathis Giallelis, whom he discovered sweeping the floor in a Greek producer's office. Shot almost entirely in Greece and Turkey, Haskell Wexler's cinematography evokes scale and authenticity that combines with Gene Callahan's Oscar-winning art direction to give the film a distinctly European feel. Intended as the first chapter of a trilogy, the epically ambitious "America, America" also earned Oscar nominations for best director, best screenplay and best picture.
American Graffiti (1973)
Fresh off the success of "The Godfather," producer Francis Ford Coppola weilded the clout to tackle a project pitched to him by his friend, George Lucas. The film captured the flavor of the 1950s with ironic candor and a latent foreboding that helped spark a nostalgia craze. Despite technical obstacles, and having to shoot at night, cinematographer Haskell Wexler gave the film a neon glare to match its rock-n-roll soundscape. Lucas' period detail, co-writers Willard Huyck's and Gloria Katz's realistic dialogue, and the film's wistfulness for pre-Vietnam simplicity appealed to audiences amidst cultural upheaval. The film also established the reputations of Lucas (whose next film would be "Star Wars") and his young cast, and furthered the onset of soundtrack-driven, youth-oriented movies.
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An American in Paris (1951)
Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Georges Guetary, (The film was supposed to make Guetary into "the New Chevalier." It didn't.) The thinnish plot is held together by the superlative production numbers and by the recycling of several vintage George Gershwin tunes, including "I Got Rhythm," "'S Wonderful," and "Our Love Is Here to Stay." Highlights include Guetary's rendition of "Stairway to Paradise"; Oscar Levant's fantasy of conducting and performing Gershwin's "Concerto in F" (Levant also appears as every member of the orchestra). "An American in Paris," directed by Vincente Minnelli, cleaned up at the Academy Awards, with Oscars for best picture, screenplay, score, cinematography, art direction, set design, and even a special award for the choreography of its 18-minute closing ballet in which Kelly and Caron dance before lavish backgrounds resembling French masterpieces.
Interview with Leslie Caron (PDF, 1.36MB)
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
Director Otto Preminger brought a new cinematic frankness to film with this gripping crime-and-trial movie shot on location in Michigan's Upper Peninsula where the incident on which it was based had occurred. Based on the best-selling novel by Robert Traver, Preminger imbues his film with daring dialogue and edgy pacing. Controversial in its day due to its blunt language and willingness to openly discuss adult themes, "Anatomy" endures today for its first-rate drama and suspense, and its informed perspective on the legal system. Starring James Stewart, Ben Gazzara and Lee Remick, it also features strong supporting performances by George C. Scott as the prosecuting attorney, and Eve Arden and Arthur O'Connell. The film includes an innovative jazz score by Duke Ellington and one of Saul Bass's most memorable opening title sequences.
Animal House (1978)
(see "National Lampoon's Animal House")
Annie Hall (1977)
Woody Allen's romantic comedy of the Me Decade follows the up and down relationship of two mismatched New York neurotics. "Annie Hall" blended the slapstick and fantasy from such earlier Allen films as "Sleeper" and "Bananas" with the more autobiographical musings of his stand-up and written comedy, using an array of such movie techniques as talking heads, splitscreens, and subtitles. Within these gleeful formal experiments and sight gags, Allen and co-writer Marshall Brickman skewered 1970s solipsism, reversing the happy marriage of opposites found in classic screwball comedies. Hailed as Allen's most mature and personal film, "Annie Hall" beat out "Star Wars" for Best Picture and also won Oscars for Allen as director and writer and for Keaton as Best Actress; audiences enthusiastically responded to Allen's take on contemporary love and turned Keaton's rumpled menswear into a fashion trend. Added to the National Film Registry in 2001.
Expanded essay by Jay Carr (PDF, 302KB)
Antonia: A Portrait of the Woman (1974)
Directed by Jill Godmilow and Judy Collins, this Oscar-nominated documentary chronicles the life of musician-conductor Antonia Brico and her struggle to become a symphony director despite her gender. Told by many that it was ridiculous for a woman to think of conducting, she admits, "I felt that I'd never forgive myself if I didn't try." And the pain and deprivation which she has known all her life are over-shadowed in this film by her ebullient, forthright warmth. The narrative of her life alternates with glimpses of her at work—rehearsing or teaching. She also reflects on the emotional experience of conducting— including the acute separation pangs that follow a concert.
Expanded essay by Diane Worthey (PDF, 458KB)
The Apartment (1960)
Billy Wilder is purported to have hung a sign in his office that read, "How Would Lubitsch Do It?" Here, that Lubitsch touch seems to hover over each scene, lending a lightness to even the most nefarious of deeds. One of the opening shots in the movie shows Baxter as one of a vast horde of wage slaves, working in a room where the desks line up in parallel rows almost to the vanishing point. This shot is quoted from King Vidor's silent film "The Crowd" (1928), which is also about a faceless employee in a heartless corporation. Cubicles would have come as revolutionary progress in this world. By the time he made this film, Wilder had become a master at a kind of sardonic, satiric comedy that had sadness at its center. Wilder was fresh off the enormous hit "Some Like it Hot," his first collaboration with Lemmon, and with "The Apartment" Lemmon showed that he could move from light comedian to tragic everyman. This movie was the summation of what Wilder had done to date, and the key transition in Lemmon's career. It was also a key film for Shirley MacLaine, who had been around for five years in light comedies, but here emerged as a serious actress who would flower in the 1960s.
Expanded essay by Kyle Westphal (PDF, 428KB)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The chaotic production also experienced shut-downs when a typhoon destroyed the set and star Sheen suffered a heart attack; the budget ballooned and Coppola covered the overages himself. These production headaches, which Coppola characterized as being like the Vietnam War itself, have been superbly captured in the documentary, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse. Despite the studio's fears and mixed reviews of the film's ending, Apocalypse Now became a substantial hit and was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Duvall's psychotic Kilgore, and Best Screenplay. It won Oscars for sound and for Vittorio Storaro's cinematography. This hallucinatory, Wagnerian project has produced admirers and detractors of equal ardor; it resembles no other film ever made, and its nightmarish aura and polarized reception aptly reflect the tensions and confusions of the Vietnam era.
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Applause (1929)
This early sound-era masterpiece was the first film of both stage/director Rouben Mamoulian and cabaret/star Helen Morgan. Many have compared Mamoulian's debut to that of Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" because of his flamboyant use of cinematic innovation to test technical boundaries. The tear-jerking plot boasts top performances from Morgan as the fading burlesque queen, Fuller Mellish Jr. as her slimy paramour and Joan Peters as her cultured daughter. However, the film is remembered today chiefly for Mamoulian's audacious style. While most films of the era were static and stage-bound, Mamoulian's camera reinvigorated the melodramatic plot by prowling relentlessly through sordid backstage life.
Apollo 13 (1995)
The extreme challenges involved in space travel present compelling cinema storylines, and one cannot imagine a more harrowing scenario than the near tragic Apollo 13 space mission. Director Ron Howard’s retelling is equally meticulous and emotional, a master class in enveloping the audience into a complicated technological exercise in life-and-death problem-solving. Based on the 1994 book “Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13” by astronaut Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger, “Apollo 13” blends skillful editing, crafty special effects, a James Horner score, and a well-paced script to detail the quick-thinking heroics of both the astronaut crew and NASA technicians as they improvise and work through unprecedented situations. The talented cast includes Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris and Kathleen Quinlan. Howard went to great lengths to create a technically accurate movie, employing NASA's assistance in astronaut and flight-controller training for his cast, and obtaining permission to film scenes aboard a reduced-gravity aircraft for realistic depiction of the weightlessness experienced by the astronauts in space. Added to the National Film Registry in 2023.
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
John Huston's brilliant crime drama contains the recipe for a meticulously planned robbery, but the cast of criminal characters features one too many bad apples. Sam Jaffe, as the twisted mastermind, uses cash from corrupt attorney Emmerich (Louis Calhern) to assemble a group of skilled thugs to pull off a jewel heist. All goes as planned — until an alert night watchman and a corrupt cop enter the picture. Marilyn Monroe has a memorable bit part as Emmerich's "niece."
Atlantic City (1980)
Aided by a taut script from playwright John Guare, director Louis Malle celebrates his wounded characters even as he mercilessly reveals their dreams for the hopeless illusions they really are. Malle reveals the rich portraits he paints of wasted American lives, through the filter of his European sensibilities. He is exceptionally well served by his cast and his location--a seedy resort town supported, like the principal characters, by memories of glories past. Burt Lancaster, in a masterful performance, plays an aging small-time criminal who hangs around Atlantic City doing odd jobs and taking care of the broken-down moll of the deceased gangster for whom Lou was a gofer. Living in an invented past, Lou identifies with yesteryear's notorious gangsters and gets involved with sexy would-be croupier (Susan Sarandon) and her drug-dealing estranged husband.
The Atomic Café (1982)
Produced and directed by Kevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader and Pierce Rafferty, the influential film compilation "The Atomic Cafe" provocatively documents the post-World War II threat of nuclear war as depicted in a wide assortment of archival footage from the period (newsreels, statements from politicians, advertisements, training, civil defense and military films). This vast, yet entertaining, collage of clips serves as a unique document of the 1940s-1960s era and illustrates how these films—some of which today seem propagandistic or even patently absurd ("The House in the Middle")—were used to inform the public on how to cope in the nuclear age.
Expanded essay by John Willis (PDF, 45KB)
Attica (1974)
The September 1971 Attica prison uprising is the deadliest prison riot in U.S. history. To protest living conditions, inmates took over the facility, held hostages, issued a manifesto demanding better treatment, and then engaged in four days of fruitless negotiations. On Day 5, state troopers and prison authorities retook the prison in a brutal assault, leaving 43 inmates and hostages dead. Cinda Firestone’s outstanding investigation of the tragedy takes us through the event, what caused it, and the aftermath. She uses first-hand interviews with prisoners, families and guards, assembled surveillance and news camera footage, and video from the McKay Commission hearings on the massacre. An ex-inmate ends the film with a quote hoping to shake public lethargy on the need for prison reform: “Wake up, because nothing comes to a sleeper, but a dream.”
The Augustas (1930s-1950s)
Scott Nixon, a traveling salesman based in Augusta, Ga., was an avid member of the Amateur Cinema League who enjoyed recording his travels on film. In this 16-minute silent film, Nixon documents some 38 streets, storefronts and cities named Augusta in such far-flung locales as Montana and Maine. Arranged with no apparent rhyme or reason, the film strings together brief snapshots of these Augustas, many of which are indicated at pencil-point on a train timetable or roadmap. Nixon photographed his odyssey using both 8mm and 16mm cameras loaded with black-and-white and color film, amassing 26,000 feet of film that now resides at the University of South Carolina. While Nixon's film does not illuminate the historical or present-day significance of these towns, it binds them together under the umbrella of Americana. Whether intentionally or coincidentally, this amateur auteur seems to juxtapose the name's lofty origin—'august,' meaning great or venerable—with the unspectacular nature of everyday life in small-town America.
View this film at Moving Image Research Collections, University of South Carolina External
The Awful Truth (1937)
Leo McCarey's largely improvised film is one of the funniest of the screwball comedies, and also one of the most serious at heart. Cary Grant and Irene Dunne are a pair of world-weary socialites who each believe the other has been unfaithful, and consequently enter into a trial divorce. The story began life as a 1922 stage hit and was filmed twice previously. McCarey maintained the basic premise of the play but improved it greatly, adding sophisticated dialogue and encouraging his actors to improvise around anything they thought funny. "The Awful Truth" was in the can in six weeks, and was such a success that Grant and Dunne were teamed again in another comedy, "My Favorite Wife" and in a touching tearjerker, "Penny Serenade." The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.
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Baby Face (1933)
Smart and sultry Barbara Stanwyck uses her feminine wiles to scale the corporate ladder, amassing male admirers who are only too willing to help a poor working girl. One of the more notorious melodramas of the pre-Code era, a period when the movie industry relaxed its censorship standards, films such as this one led to the imposition of the Production Code in 1934. This relative freedom resulted in a cycle of gritty, audacious films that resonated with Depression-battered audiences.
Expanded essay by Gwendolyn Audrey Foster (PDF, 819KB)
Back to the Future (1985)
Writer/director Robert Zemeckis explored the possibilities of special effects with the 1985 box-office smash "Back to the Future." With his writing partner Bob Gale, Zemeckis tells the tale of accidental time-tourist Marty McFly. Stranded in the year 1955, Marty (Michael J. Fox)—with the help of his friend eccentric scientist Dr. Emmett Brown (played masterfully over-the-top by Christopher Lloyd)—must not only find a way home, but also teach his father (Crispin Glover) how to become a man, repair the space/time continuum and save his family from being erased from existence. All this, while fighting off the advances of his then-teenaged mother (Lea Thompson). The film generated a popular soundtrack and two enjoyable sequels.
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
Vincente Minnelli directed this captivating Hollywood story of an ambitious producer (Kirk Douglas)as told in flashback by those whose lives he's impacted: an actress (Lana Turner), a writer (Dick Powell) and a director (Barry Sullivan). Insightful and liberally sprinkled with characters modeled after various Hollywood royalty from David O. Selznick to Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, witty, with one of Turner's best performances. Five Oscars include Supporting Actress (Gloria Grahame), Screenplay (Charles Schnee). David Raksin's score is another asset.
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Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
Though only 81 minutes in length, "Bad Day" packs a punch. Spencer Tracy stars as Macreedy, a one-armed man who arrives unexpectedly one day at the sleepy desert town of Black Rock. He is just as tight-lipped at first about the reason for his visit as the residents of Black Rock are about the details of their town. However, when Macreedy announces that he is looking for a former Japanese-American Black Rock resident named Komoko, town skeletons suddenly burst into the open. In addition to Tracy, the standout cast includes Robert Ryan, Anne Francis, Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine and Dean Jagger. Director John Sturges displays the western landscape to great advantage in this CinemaScope production.
Badlands (1973)
Stark, brutal story based on the Charles Starkweather-Carol Fugate murder spree through the Midwest in 1958, with Martin Sheen as the killer lashing out against a society that ignores his existence and Sissy Spacek as his naive teenage consort. Sheen is forceful and properly weird as the mass murderer, strutting around pretending to be James Dean, while Spacek doesn't quite understand what he's all about, but goes along anyway. Director Terrence Malick neither romanticizes nor condemns his subjects, maintaining a low-key approach to the story that results in a fascinating character study. The film did scant box office business, but it remains one of the most impressive of directorial debuts.
Ball of Fire (1941)
In this Howard Hawks-directed screwball comedy, showgirl and gangster's moll Sugarpuss O'Shea (Barbara Stanwyck) hides from the law among a group of scholars compiling an encyclopedia. Cooling her heels until the heat lets up, Sugarpuss charms the elderly academics and bewitches the young professor in charge (Gary Cooper). Hawks deftly shapes an effervescent, innuendo-packed Billy Wilder-Charles Brackett script into a swing-era version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs or "squirrely cherubs," as Sugarpuss christens them. Filled with colorful period slang and boogie-woogie tunes and highlighted by an energetic performance from legendary drummer Gene Krupa, the film captures a pre-World War II lightheartedness.
The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982)
Directed by Robert M. Young, produced by Moctesuma Esparza, and co-produced by Edward James Olmos, who stars as Gregorio, some of the film’s most beautiful scenes come from acclaimed cinematography Reynoldo Villalobos. “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez” is one of the key feature films from the 1980s Chicano film movement. Edward James Olmos was a working actor but not yet a star when he and several friends, meeting at what would become the Sundance Film Festival, decided to make a film about a true story of injustice from the Texas frontier days.
Shot on a tiny budget for PBS, “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez” accurately tells the story of a Mexican-American farmer who in 1901 was falsely accused of stealing a horse. Cortez killed the sheriff who tried to arrest him, outran a huge posse for more than a week, barely escaped lynching and was eventually sentenced to more than a decade in prison. The incident became a famous corrido, or story-song, that is still sung in Mexico and Texas. While some characters speak in Spanish and others in English, the filmmakers decided not to use subtitles to give audiences the same experience as those caught up in the unfolding tragedy.
“This film is being seen more today than it was the day we finished it,” Olmos said in a 2022 interview with the Library of Congress. “‘The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez’ is truly the best film I’ve ever been a part of in my lifetime.”
Interview with Edward James Olmos (PDF, 2MB)
Bambi (1942)
One of Walt Disney's timeless classics (and his own personal favorite), this animated coming-of-age tale of a wide-eyed fawn's life in the forest has enchanted generations since its debut nearly 70 years ago. Filled with iconic characters and moments, the film features beautiful images that were the result of extensive nature studies by Disney's animators. Its realistic characters capture human and animal qualities in the time-honored tradition of folklore and fable, which enhance the movie's resonating, emotional power. Treasured as one of film's most heart-rending stories of parental love, "Bambi" also has come to be recognized for its eloquent message of nature conservation.
Expanded essay by John Wills (PDF, 360KB)
Expanded essay by Gail Alexander (wife of Stan Alexander - “Flower”) (PDF, 371KB)
Original drawing of Bambi
Bamboozled (2000)
Mixing elements of “A Face in the Crowd,” “The Producers,” “Network” and “Putney Swope,” Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled” showcases his unique talents, here blending dark comedy and satire exposing hypocrisy. An African American TV executive (Damon Wayans) grows tired of his ideas being rejected by his insincere white boss, who touts himself with an “I am Black People” type of vibe. To get out of this untenable situation, Wayans proposes an idea he feels will surely get him fired: a racist minstrel show featuring African American performers donning blackface. The show becomes a smash hit while at the same time sparking outrage, including militant groups leading to violence. As with the best satire, the focus is not on believable plot but rather how the story reveals the ills of society, in this case how Hollywood and television have mistreated African Americans over the decades. Added to the National Film Registry in 2023.
The Band Wagon (1953)
Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray and Jack Buchanan star in this sophisticated backstage toe-tapper directed by Vincente Minnelli, widely considered one of the greatest movie musicals of all time. Astaire plays a washed-up movie star (in reality he'd been a succesful performer for nearly 30 years) who tries his luck on Broadway, under the direction of irrepressible mad genius Buchanan. Musical highlights include "Dancing in the Dark" and "That's Entertainment" (written for the film by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz) and Astaire's sexy Mickey Spillane spoof "The Girl Hunt" danced to perfection by Charisse. Fred Astaire would only make three more musicals after "The Band Wagon," before turning to a film and television career that included the occasional turn as a dramatic actor.
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The Bank Dick (1940)
Perhaps more than any other film comedian in the early days of movies, W.C. Fields is an acquired taste. His absurdist brand of humor, at once dry and surreal, endures for the simple reason that the movies bear up under repeated viewings; in fact, it's almost a necessity to watch them over and over, if only to figure out why they're so funny. In his second-to-last feature, The Bank Dick (which he wrote under the moniker "Mahatma Kane Jeeves"), Fields as unemployed layabout Egbert Souse -- Soosay, if you don't mind -- replaces drunk movie director A. Pismo Clam on a location shoot in his hometown of Lompoc, California before chance lands him in the job of bank detective -- after which the movie becomes a riff on the comic possibilities of his new-found notoriety. The stellar comic supporting cast includes future Stooge Shemp Howard as the bartender at Fields' regular haunt, The Black Pussy, and Preston Sturges regular Franklin Pangborn as bank examiner J. Pinkerton Snoopington.
Expanded essay by Randy Skretvedt (PDF, 401KB)
The Bargain (1914)
After beginning his career on the stage (where he originated the role of Messala in "Ben-Hur" in 1899), William S. Hart found his greatest fame as the silent screen's most popular cowboy. His 1914 "The Bargain," directed by Reginald Barker, was Hart's first film and made him a star. The second Hart Western to be named to the National Film Registry, the film was selected because of Hart's charisma, the film's authenticity and realistic portrayal of the Western genre and the star's good/bad man role as an outlaw attempting to go straight. Added to the National Film Registry 2010.
Expanded essay by Brian Taves (PDF, 1692KB)
Watch it here
The Battle of the Century (1927)
"Battle of the Century" is a classic Laurel and Hardy silent short comedy (2 reels, ca. 20 minutes) unseen in its entirety since its original release. The comic bits include a renowned pie-fighting sequence where the principle of "reciprocal destruction" escalates to epic proportions. "Battle" offers a stark illustration of the detective work (and luck) required to locate and preserve films from the silent era. Only excerpts from reel two of the film had survived for many years. Critic Leonard Maltin discovered a mostly complete nitrate copy of reel one at the Museum of Modern Art in the 1970s. Then in 2015, film collector and silent film accompanist Jon Mirsalis located a complete version of reel two as part of a film collection he purchased from the Estate of Gordon Berkow. The film still lacks brief scenes from reel one, but the film is now almost complete, comprising elements from MoMA, the Library of Congress, UCLA and other sources. It was restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive in conjunction with Jeff Joseph/SabuCat. The nearly complete film was preserved from one reel of 35mm nitrate print, one reel of a 35mm acetate dupe negative and a 16mm acetate print. Laboratory Services: The Stanford Theatre Film Laboratory, Deluxe Entertainment Services Group, Cineaste Restoration/Thad Komorowksi, Point 360/Joe Alloy. Special Thanks: Jon Mirsalis, Paramount Pictures Archives, Richard W. Bann, Ray Faiola, David Gerstein.
The Battle of San Pietro (1945)
John Huston's documentary about the WW II Battle of San Pietro Infine was considered too controversial by the U.S. military to be seen in its original form, and was cut from five reels to its released 33 minute-length. powerful viewing, vivid and gritty. Some 1,100 men died in the battle. scenes of grateful Italian peasants serve as a fascinating ethnographic time capsule. Filmed by Jules Buck. Unlike many other military documentaries, Huston's cameramen filmed alongside the Army's 143rd regiment, 36th division infantrymen, placing themselves within feet of mortar and shell fire. The film is unflinching in its realism and was held up from being shown to the public by the United States Army. Huston quickly became unpopular with the Army, not only for the film but also for his response to the accusation that the film was anti-war. Huston responded that if he ever made a pro-war film, he should be shot. Because it showed dead GIs wrapped in mattress covers, some officers tried to prevent troopers in training from seeing it, for fear of morale. General George Marshall came to the film's defense, stating that because of the film's gritty realism, it would make a good training film. The depiction of death would inspire them to take their training seriously. Subsequently the film was used for that purpose. Huston was no longer considered a pariah; he was decorated and made an honorary major.
Expanded essay by Ed Carter (PDF, 423KB)
View this film at National Film Preservation Foundation External
The Beau Brummels (1928)
Al Shaw and Sam Lee were an eccentrically popular vaudeville act of the 1920s. In 1928 they made this eight-minute Vitaphone short for Warner Bros. The duo later appeared in more than a dozen other films, though none possessed the wacky charm of "The Beau Brummels." As Jim Knipfel has observed: "If Samuel Beckett had written a vaudeville routine, he would have created Shaw and Lee." Often considered one of the quintessential vaudeville comedy shorts, the film has a simple set-up—Shaw and Lee stand side by side with deadpan expressions in non-tailored suits and bowler hats as they deliver their comic routine of corny nonsense songs and gags with a bit of soft shoe and their renowned hat-swapping routine. Shaw's and Lee's reputation has enjoyed a recent renaissance and their brand of dry, offbeat humor is seen by some as well ahead of its time. The film has been preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive.
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" is an animated, musical retelling of the fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince du Beaumont. The film follows Belle (voiced by Paige O'Hara), an intelligent and rebellious young French woman, who is forced to live with a hideous monster, the Beast (voiced by Robby Benson), after offering to take her father's place as the Beast's prisoner. Unaware that the Beast is actually an enchanted prince, Belle falls in love with him. "Beauty and the Beast" was the first animated film nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Picture category. Alan Menken won an Oscar for his original score, and he and lyricist Howard Ashman (posthumously) earned Oscars for the film's theme song "Beauty and the Beast."
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Becky Sharp (1935)
Actress Miriam Hopkins had a long and successful movie career, appearing in many classics, including "Trouble in Paradise" and "Design for Living." However, it is as this film's titular heroine that she received her only Academy Award best-actress nomination. Based upon Thackeray's novel "Vanity Fair," "Becky" is the story of a socially ambitious woman and her destructive climb up the class system. "Becky Sharp" merits historical note as the first feature-length film to utilize the three-strip Technicolor process, which, even today, gives the film a shimmering visual appeal. The lengthy, complicated restoration process of "Becky Sharp" by the UCLA Film and Television Archive marked one of the earliest archival restorations to garner widespread public attention. Partners in this painstaking effort included the National Telefilm Associates Inc., Fondazione Scuola Nazionale di Cinema, Cineteca Nazionale (Rome), British Film Institute, The Film Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Paramount and YCM Laboratories. More information can be found at https://cinema.ucla.edu/restoration/becky-sharp-restoration External.
Before Stonewall (1984)
In 1969, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village. After years of harassment, this infamous act proved a tipping point and led to three days of riots. The Stonewall riots are credited with launching the modern gay civil rights movement in the U.S. Narrated by Rita Mae Brown, "Before Stonewall" provides a detailed look at the history and making of the LGBTQ community in 20th-century America through archival footage and interviews with those who felt compelled to live secret lives during that period. Elements, prints and a new 2016 digital cinema package are held in the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project Collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive.
Behind Every Good Man (1967)
This pre-Stonewall UCLA student short by Nikolai Ursin offers a stunning early portrait of Black, gender fluidity in Los Angeles and the quest for love and acceptance. Following playful street scene vignettes accompanied by a wistful, baritone voice-over narration, the film lingers tenderly on our protagonist preparing for a date who never arrives. The film is preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Preservation funded by the National Film Preservation Foundation on behalf of the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project. Special thanks to John Campbell, Stephen Parr and Norman Yonemoto.
Being There (1979)
Chance, a simple-minded gardener (Peter Sellers) whose only contact with the outside world is through television, becomes the toast of the town following a series of misunderstandings. Forced outside his protected environment by the death of his wealthy boss, Chance subsumes his late employer's persona, including the man's cultured walk, talk and even his expensive clothes, and is mistaken as "Chauncey Gardner," whose simple adages are interpreted as profound insights. He becomes the confidant of a dying billionaire industrialist (Melvyn Douglas, in an Academy Award-winning performance) who happens to be a close adviser to the U.S. president (Jack Warden). Chance's gardening advice is interpreted as metaphors for political policy and life in general. Jerzy Kosinski, assisted by award-winning screenwriter Robert C. Jones, adapted his 1971 novel for the screenplay which Hal Ashby directed with an understatement to match the subtlety and precision of Sellers' Academy Award-nominated performance. Shirley MacLaine also stars as Douglas's wife, then widow, who sees Chauncey as a romantic prospect. Film critic Robert Ebert said he admired the film for "having the guts to take this totally weird conceit and push it to its ultimate comic conclusion." That conclusion is a philosophically complex film that has remained fresh and relevant.
Expanded essay by Jerry Dean Roberts (PDF, 118KB)
Ben-Hur (1925)
Adapted from General Lew Wallace's popular novel "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ" published in 1880, this epic featured one of the most exciting spectacles in silent film: the chariot race that was shot with 40 cameras on a Circus Maximus set costing a staggering (for the day) $300,000. In addition to the grandeur of the chariot scene, a number of sequences shot in Technicolor also contributed to the epic status of "Ben-Hur," which was directed by Fred Niblo and starred Ramon Novarro as Judah Ben-Hur and Francis X. Bushman as Messala. While the film did not initially recoup its investment, it did help to establish its studio, MGM, as one of the major players in the industry.
Expanded essay by Fritzi Kramer (PDF, 254KB)
Lobby card
Ben-Hur (1959)
This epic blockbuster stars Charlton Heston in the title role of a rebellious Israelite who takes on the Roman Empire during the time of Christ. Featuring one of the most famous action sequences of all time -- the breathtaking chariot race -- the film was a remake of the impressive silent version released in 1925. Co-starring Stephen Boyd as Judah Ben-Hur's onetime best friend and later rival, it also featured notable performances by Hugh Griffith and Jack Hawkins. Directed by Oscar-winner William Wyler, who found success with "Mrs. Miniver" "The Best Years of Our Lives" and others, "Ben-Hur" broke awards records, winning 11 Oscars, including best picture, director, actor, supporting actor, and score. Famed stuntman Yakima Canutt was brought in to coordinate all the chariot race stunt work and train the driver The race scene alone cost is reported to have cost about $4 million, or about a fourth of the entire budget, and took 10 weeks to shoot.
Expanded essay by Gabriel Miller (PDF, 499KB)
Bert Williams Lime Kiln Club Field Day (1913)
In 1913, a stellar cast of African-American performers gathered in the Bronx, New York, to make a feature-length motion picture. The troupe starred vaudevillian Bert Williams, the first African-American to headline on Broadway and the most popular recording artist prior to 1920. After considerable footage was shot, the film was abandoned. One hundred years later, the seven reels of untitled and unassembled footage were discovered in the film vaults of the Museum of Modern Art, and are now believed to constitute the earliest surviving feature film starring black actors. Modeled after a popular collection of stories known as "Brother Gardener's Lime Kiln Club," the plot features three suitors vying to win the hand of the local beauty, portrayed by Odessa Warren Grey. The production also included members of the Harlem stage show known as J. Leubrie Hill's "Darktown Follies." Providing insight into early silent-film production (Williams can be seen applying his blackface makeup), these outtakes or rushes show white and black cast and crew working together, enjoying themselves in unguarded moments. Even in fragments of footage, Williams proves himself among the most gifted of screen comedians.
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
A moving and personal story directed by real-life veteran William Wyler, the film depicts the return to civilian life by three World War II servicemen, portrayed by Dana Andrews, Fredric March and Harold Russell. Adapted by Robert Sherwood from MacKinlay Kantor's novel "Glory for Me," Gregg Toland's deep-focus cinematography is memorable for emotionally evokative long dolly shots. It also starred Myrna Loy, Teresa Wright, Cathy O'Donnell, and Virginia Mayo. The film won nine Oscars including Best Picture, as well as two awards for Russell, who lost his hands in the war.
Expanded essay by Gabriel Miller (PDF, 319KB)
Betty Tells Her Story (1972)
Liane Brandon’s classic documentary explores the layers of storytelling and memory - how telling a story again can reveal previously hidden details and context. In this poignant tale of beauty, identity and a dress, the filmmaker turns the storytelling power over to the subject. Deceptively simple in its approach, the director in two separate takes films Betty recalling her search for the perfect dress for an upcoming special occasion. During the first take, Betty describes in delightful detail how she found just the right one, spent more than she could afford, felt absolutely transformed … and never got to wear it. Brandon then asks her to tell the story again, and this time her account becomes more nuanced, personal and emotional, revealing her underlying feelings. Though the facts remain the same, the story is strikingly different. “Betty Tells Her Story” was the first independent documentary of the Women’s Movement to explore the ways in which clothing and appearance affect a woman’s identity. It is used in film studies, psychology, sociology, women’s studies, and many other academic disciplines as a perceptive look at how our culture views women in the context of body image, self-worth and beauty in American culture. The film was restored with a grant from New York Women in Film & Television’s Women's Film Preservation Fund.
Inductees' Gallery - Liane Brandon, producer and director
Big Business (1929)
As gifted in their repartee as they were in their physical antics, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were the perfect team for the transition from silent film comedy to sound. Their legendary career spanned from 1921 to 1951 and included more than 100 films. This two-reeler finds the duo attempting to sell Christmas trees in sunny California. Their run-in with an unsatisfied customer (played by James Finlayson) lays the groundwork for a slapstick melee eventually involving a dismantled car, a wrecked house and an exploding cigar. The film was produced by the team's long-time collaborator, Hal Roach, the king of no-holds-barred comedy.
Expanded essay by Randy Skretvedt (PDF, 308KB)
The Big Heat (1953)
One of the great post-war noir films, "The Big Heat" stars Glenn Ford, Lee Marvin and Gloria Grahame. Set in a fictional American town, the film tells the story of a tough cop (Ford) who takes on a local crime syndicate, exposing tensions within his own corrupt police department as well as insecurities and hypocrisies of domestic life in the 1950s. Filled with atmosphere, fascinating female characters, and a jolting—yet not gratuitous—degree of violence, "The Big Heat," through its subtly expressive technique and resistance to formulaic denouement, manages to be both stylized and brutally realistic, a signature of its director Fritz Lang.
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The Big Lebowski (1998)
From the unconventional visionaries Joel and Ethan Coen (the filmmakers behind "Fargo" and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?") came this 1998 tale of kidnapping, mistaken identity and bowling. As they would again in the 2008 "Burn After Reading," the Coens explore themes of alienation, inequality and class structure via a group of hard-luck, off-beat characters suddenly drawn into each other's orbits. Jeff Bridges, in a career-defining role, stars as "The Dude," an LA-based slacker who shares a last name with a rich man whose arm-candy wife is indebted to shady figures. Joining Bridges are John Goodman, Tara Reid, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Steve Buscemi and, in a now-legendary cameo, John Turturro. Stuffed with vignettes—each staged through the Coens' trademark absurdist, innovative visual style—that are alternately funny and disturbing, "Lebowski" was only middling successful at the box office during its initial release. However, television, the Internet, home video and considerable word-of-mouth have made the film a highly quoted cult classic.
Expanded essay by J.M. Tyree & Ben Walters (PDF, 354KB)
The Big Parade (1925)
One of the first films to deglamorize war with its startling realism, "The Big Parade" became the largest grossing film of the silent era. From a story by Laurence Stallings, director King Vidor crafted what "New York Times" critic Mordaunt Hall called "an eloquent pictorial epic." The film, which Hall said displayed "all the artistry of which the camera is capable," depicts a privileged young man (John Gilbert) who goes to war seeking adventure and finds camaraderie, love, humility and maturity amid the horrors of war. Along the way he befriends two amiable doughboys (Karl Dane and Tom O'Brien) and falls for a beautiful French farm girl (Renée Adorée). Vidor tempered the film's serious subject matter with a kind of simple, light humor that flows naturally from new friendships and new loves. A five-time nominee for Best Director, Vidor was eventually recognized by the Academy in 1979 with an honorary lifetime achievement award. Both stars continued to reign until the transition to talking pictures, which neither Gilbert nor Adorée weathered successfully. Their careers plummeted and both died prematurely.
The Big Sleep (1946)
Howard Hawks directed this Raymond Chandler story featuring private eye Philip Marlowe, played by Humphrey Bogart. Appearing opposite him in only her second film was a former model named Lauren Bacall, with whom Bogart had fallen in love (and vice versa) during filming of "To Have and Have Not" earlier that year. Hawks and his writers attempted to untangle the threads of Chandler's complicated plot which caused frequent production delays. More than a month behind schedule and about $50,000 over budget, the film was ready in mid-summer1945, and that version was distributed to servicemen overseas. Shortly thereafter "To Have and Have Not" was released, and audiences loved the Bogart-Bacall chemistry, so the wide release of "The Big Sleep" was further delayed the wide release by rewriting scenes to heighten the chemistry and bring out Bacall's "insolent" quality that audiences found so appealing the pair's earlier film. The pre-release cut is only two minutes longer, but contains 18 minutes of scenes missing from the final picture. The first "draft" was discovered at the UCLA Film and Television Archive where both versions have since been preserved.
The Big Trail (1930)
This taming of the Oregon Trail saga comes alive thanks to the majestic sweep afforded by the experimental Grandeur wide-screen process developed by the Fox Film Corporation. Audiences marveled at the sheer scope of the panoramic scenes before them and delighted in the beauty of the vast landscapes. Hollywood legend has it that director Raoul Walsh was seeking a male lead for a new Western and asked his friend John Ford for advice. Ford recommended an unknown actor named John Wayne because he "liked the looks of this new kid with a funny walk -- like he owned the world." When Wayne professed inexperience, Walsh told him to just "sit good on a horse and point."Wayne's starring role in "The Big Trail" did not catapult him to stardom, and he languished in low-budget pictures until John Ford cast him in the 1939 classic "Stagecoach."
Expanded essay by Marilyn Ann Moss (PDF, 375KB)
The Birds (1963)
"The Birds" was the fourth suspense hit by Alfred Hitchcock—following "Vertigo," "North by Northwest" and "Psycho"—revealing his mastery of his craft. Hitchcock transfixed both critics and mass audiences by deftly moving from anxiety-inducing horror to glossy entertainment and suspense, with bold forays into psychological terrain. Marked by a foreboding sense of an unending terror no one can escape, the film concludes with its famous, final scene, which only adds to the emotional impact of "The Birds."
The Birth of a Nation (1915)
This landmark of American motion pictures is the story of two families during the Civil War and Reconstruction. Director D.W. Griffith's depiction of the Ku Klux Klan as heroes stirred controversy that continues to the present day. But the director's groundbreaking camera technique and narrative style advanced the art of filmmaking by leaps and bounds. Profoundly impacted by the novel "The Clansman: An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan," Griffith hired its author Thomas F. Dixon Jr. to adapt it as a screenplay. At the heart of the story are two pairs of star-crossed lovers on either side of the conflict: Southerner Henry B. Walthall courts Northerner Lillian Gish, and the couple's siblings, played by Elmer Clifton and Miriam Cooper, are also in love. The ravages of war and the chaos of reconstruction take their toll on both families. The racist and simplistic depictions of blacks in the film is difficult to overlook, but underneath the distasteful sentiment lies visual genius.
Expanded essay by Dave Kehr (PDF, 599KB)
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Black and Tan (1929)
In one of the first short musical films to showcase African-American jazz musicians, Duke Ellington portrays a struggling musician whose dancer wife (Fredi Washington in her film debut) secures him a gig for his orchestra at the famous Cotton Club where she's been hired to perform, at a risk to her health. Directed by Dudley Murphy, who earned his reputation with "Ballet mécanique," which is considered a masterpiece of early experimental filmmaking, the film reflects the cultural, social and artistic explosion of the 1920s that became known as the Harlem Renaissance. Ellington and Washington personify that movement, and Murphy—who also directed registry titles "St. Louis Blues" (1929), another musical short, and the feature "The Emperor Jones" (1933) starring Paul Robeson—cements it in celluloid to inspire future generations. Washington, who appeared with Robeson in "Emperor Jones," is best known as "Peola" in the 1934 version of "Imitation of Life."
The Black Pirate (1926)
This swashbuckling tour-de-force by Douglas Fairbanks, king of silent action adventure pictures, is most significant for having been filmed entirely in two-strip Technicolor, a process still being perfected at the time, and the precursor to Technicolor processes that would become commonplace by the 1950s. Fairbanks plays a nobleman who has vowed to avenge the death of his father at the hands of pirates, and once upon the pirates' vessel, protects a damsel in distress (Bessie Love)taken hostage by the band of thieves. Fairbanks wrote the original story under a pseudonym, and Albert Parker directed.
Expanded essay by Tracey Goessel (PDF, 356 KB)
The Black Stallion (1979)
When a ship carrying young Alec Ramsey (Kelly Reno) and a black Arabian stallion sinks off the coast of Africa, Alec and the horse find themselves stranded on a deserted island. Upon their rescue, Alec and horse trainer/former jockey Henry Dailey (Mickey Rooney) begin training the horse to become a formidable racer. Directed by Carroll Ballard and based on the Walter Farley novel of the same name, the film was executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola who finally persuaded United Artists to release the film after shelving it for two years. The film's supervising sound editor, Alan Splet, received a Special Achievement Award for his innovations including affixing microphones around the horse's midsection to pick up the sound of its hoof beats and breathing during race sequences. "The Black Stallion" was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for Best Supporting Actor for Mickey Rooney and one for Best Film Editing for Robert Dalva.
Expanded essay by Keith Phipps (PDF, 375 KB)
Blackboard Jungle (1955)
In a 1983 interview, writer-director Richard Brooks claimed that hearing Bill Haley and the Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" in 1954 inspired him to make a rock & roll-themed picture. The result was "Blackboard Jungle," an adaptation of the controversial novel by Evan Hunter about an inner-city schoolteacher (played in the film by Glenn Ford) tackling juvenile delinquency and the lamentable state of public education— common bugaboos of the Eisenhower era. Retaining much of the novel's gritty realism, the film effectively dramatizes the social issues at hand, and features outstanding early performances by Sidney Poitier and Vic Morrow. The film, however, packs its biggest wallop even before a word of dialog is spoken. As the opening credits roll, Brooks' original inspiration for the film – the pulsating strains of "Rock Around the Clock" – blasts across theater speakers, bringing the devil's music to Main Street and epitomizing American culture worldwide.
Blacksmith Scene (1893)
Not blacksmiths but employees of the Edison Manufacturing Company, Charles Kayser, John Ott and another unidentified man are likely the first screen actors in history, and "Blacksmith Scene" is thought to be the first film of more than a few feet to be publicly exhibited. The 30-second film was photographed in late April 1893 by Edison's key employee, W.K.L. Dickson, at the new Edison studio in New Jersey. On May 9, audiences lined up single file at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences to peer through a viewing machine called a kinetoscope where glowed images of a blacksmith and two helpers forging a piece of iron, but only after they'd first passed around a bottle of beer. A Brooklyn newspaper reported the next day, "It shows living subjects portrayed in a manner to excite wonderment."
First Motion Picture Copyright Found
National Film Preservation Foundation - Blacksmithing Scene External
Blade Runner (1982)
A blend of science fiction and film noir, "Blade Runner" was a box office and critical flop when first released, but its unique postmodern production design became hugely influential within the sci-fi genre, and the film gained a significant cult following that increased its stature. Harrison Ford stars as Rick Deckard, a retired cop in Los Angeles circa 2019. L.A. has become a pan-cultural dystopia of corporate advertising, pollution and flying automobiles, as well as replicants, human-like androids with short life spans built for use in dangerous off-world colonization. Deckard, a onetime blade runner – a detective that hunts down rogue replicants – is forced back into active duty to assassinate a band of rogues out to attack earth. Along the way he encounters Sean Young, a replicant who's unaware of her true identity, and faces a violent confrontation atop a skyscraper high above the city.
Expanded essay by David Morgan (PDF, 358 KB)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
This riotously funny, raunchy, no-holds-barred Western spoof by Mel Brooks is universally considered one of the funniest American films of all time. The movie features a civil-rights theme (the man in the white hat (Cleavon Little ) turns out to be an African-American who has to defend a bigoted town), and its furiously paced gags and rapid-fire dialogue were scripted by Brooks, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg and Alan Unger. Little as the sheriff and Gene Wilder as his recovering alcoholic deputy have great chemistry, and the delightful supporting cast includes Harvey Korman, Slim Pickens, and Madeline Kahn as a chanteuse modelled on Marlene Dietrich. As in "Young Frankenstein," "Silent Movie," and "High Anxiety," director/writer Brooks gives a burlesque spin to a classic Hollywood movie genre.
Expanded essay by Michael Schlesinger (PDF, 662 KB)
Bless Their Little Hearts (1984)
Part of the vibrant New Wave of independent African-American filmmakers to emerge in the 1970s and 1980s, Billy Woodberry became a key figure in the movement known as the L.A. Rebellion. Woodberry crafted his UCLA thesis film, "Bless Their Little Hearts," which was theatrically released in 1984. The film features a script and cinematography by Charles Burnett. This spare, emotionally resonant portrait of family life during times of struggle blends grinding, daily-life sadness with scenes of deft humor. Jim Ridley of the "Village Voice" aptly summed up the film's understated-but- real virtues: "Its poetry lies in the exaltation of ordinary detail."
The Blood of Jesus (1941)
Also known as "The Glory Road," this was among the approximately 500 "race movies" produced between 1915 and 1950 for African-American audiences and featuring all-black casts. In this film, a deeply devout woman (Cathryn Caviness) faces a spiritual crossroads after being accidentally shot, and is forced to choose between heaven and hell. Spencer Williams, who wrote, directed and starred in the film, produced the film in response to a need for spiritually-based films that spoke directly to black audiences. Long thought lost, prints were discovered in a warehouse in Tyler, Texas, in the mid-1980s.
Expanded essay by Mark S. Giles (PDF, 256 KB)
View this film at Southern Methodist University Central University Libraries External
The Blue Bird (1918)
Maurice Tourneur's beautiful expressionist adaptation of Maurice Maeterlink's play remains one of the most aesthetically pleasing films. The film is a sumptuously composed pictorial entrance into a fantasy world, which tries to teach us not to overlook the beauty of what is close and familiar.
Expanded essay by Kaveh Askari (PDF, 445 KB)
The Blues Brothers (1980)
Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, then both best known for their star-turns as part of the "Not Ready for Prime-Time Players" troupe on TV's "Saturday Night Live," took their recurring "Blues Brothers" SNL sketch to the big screen in this loving and madcap musical misadventures of Jake and Elwood Blues on a mission from God. An homage of sorts to various classic movie genres — from screwball comedy to road movie — "The Blues Brothers" serves as a tribute to the lead duo's favorite city (Chicago) as well as a lovely paean to great soul and R&B music. In musical cameos, such legends as Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and John Lee Hooker all ignite the screen. Added to the National Film Registry in 2020.
Interview with Dan Aykroyd (PDF, 2MB)
Interview with John Landis (PDF, 2MB)
Body and Soul (1925)
One of the truly unique pioneers of cinema, African-American producer/director/writer/distributor Oscar Micheaux somehow managed to get nearly 40 films made and seen despite facing racism, lack of funding, the capricious whims of local film censors and the independent nature of his work. Most of Micheaux's films are lost to time or available only in incomplete versions, with the only extant copies of some having been located in foreign archives. Nevertheless, what remains shows a fearless director with an original, daring and creative vision. Film historian Jacqueline Stewart says Micheaux's films, though sometimes unpolished and rough in terms of acting, pacing and editing, brought relevant issues to the black community including "the politics of skin color within the black community, gender differences, class differences, regional differences especially during this period of the Great Migration." For "Body and Soul," renaissance man Paul Robeson, who had gained some fame on the stage, makes his film debut displaying a blazing screen presence in dual roles as a charismatic escaped convict masquerading as a preacher and his pious brother. The George Eastman Museum has restored the film from a nitrate print, producing black-and-white-preservation elements and later restoring color tinting using the Desmet method.
Bohulano Family Film Collection (1950s-1970s)
Delfin Paderes Bohulano and Concepcion Moreno Bohulano recorded their family life for more than 20 years. Shot primarily in Stockton, California, their collection documents the history of the Filipinx community (once the largest in the country) during a period of significant immigration. The couple moved to the United States following American military service during World War II. They were involved in the local Filipino American community, including the building of Stockton's new Filipino Center in the early 1970s. The movies record community events, family gatherings, trips to New York, Atlantic City, and Washington, DC, as well as the family's 1967 visit to the Philippines. The 15-reel collection is shot on Super 8mm, 8mm, and 16mm, and in color and silent. Preserved by the Center for Asian American Media. Added to the National Film Registry in 2023.
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Setting filmmaking and style trends that linger today, "Bonnie and Clyde" veered from comedy to social commentary to melodrama and caught audiences unaware, especially with its graphic ending. The violence spawned many detractors, but others saw the artistry beyond the blood and it earned not only critical succes which eventually showed at thebox office. Arthur Penn deftly directs David Newman and Robert Benton's script, aided by the film's star and producer Warren Beatty, who was always eager to push the envelope. Faye Dunaway captures the Depression-era yearning for glamour and escape from poverty and hopelessness.
Expanded essay by Richard Schickel (PDF, 530KB)
Movie poster
Born Yesterday (1950)
Judy Holliday's sparkling lead performance as not-so-dumb "dumb blonde" Billie Dawn anchors this comedy classic based on Garson Kanin's play and directed for the screen by George Cukor. Kanin's satire on corruption in Washington, D.C., adapted for the screen by Albert Mannheimer, is full of charm and wit while subtly addressing issues of class, gender, social standing and American politics. Holliday's work in the film (a role she had previously played on Broadway) was honored with the Academy Award for Best Actress and has endured as one of the era's most finely realized comedy performances.
Expanded essay by Ariel Schudson (PDF, 394KB)
Movie poster
Boulevard Nights (1979)
"Boulevard Nights" had its genesis in a screenplay by UCLA student Desmond Nakano about Mexican-American youth and the lowrider culture. Director Michael Pressman and cinematographer John Bailey shot the film in the barrios of East Los Angeles with the active participation of the local community (including car clubs and gang members). This street-level strategy using mostly non-professional actors produced a documentary-style depiction of the tough choices faced by Chicano youth as they come of age and try to escape or navigate gang life ("Two brothers...the street was their playground and their battleground"). In addition to "Boulevard Nights," this era featured several films chronicling youth gangs and rebellion — "The Warriors" (1979), "Over the Edge" (1979), "Walk Proud" (1979) and "The Outsiders" (1983). The film faced protests and criticism from some Latinos who saw outsider filmmakers, albeit well-intentioned, adopting an anthropological perspective with an excessive focus on gangs and violent neighborhoods. Nevertheless, "Boulevard Nights" stands out as a pioneering snapshot of East L.A. and enjoys semi-cult status in the lowrider community.
Boys Don't Cry (1999)
Director Kimberly Peirce made a stunning debut with this searing docudrama based on the infamous 1993 case of a young Nebraska transgender man who is brutally raped and murdered (along with two other people) in a small Nebraska town. Released a year after the killing of Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, the film brought the issue of hate crimes clearly into the American public spotlight. Sometimes compared to Theodore Dreiser's "An American Tragedy," "Boys" raised issues that are still relevant 20 years later: intolerance, prejudice, the lack of opportunity in small towns, conceptions of self, sexual identity, diversity and cultural, sexual and social mores. New York Times' critic Janet Maslin lauded the film for not taking the usual plot routes: "Unlike most films about mind-numbing tragedy, this one manages to be full of hope." Several things helped create that result, particularly the performance of 22-year-old Hilary Swank, who won an Oscar as Brandon.
Boyz N the Hood (1991)
In his film debut, John Singleton wrote and directed this thought-provoking look at South Central L.A.'s black community. A divorced father (Larry Fishburne) struggles to raise his son, Tre (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) in a world where violence is a fact of life. Tre is torn by his desire to live up to his father's expectations and pressure from friends pushing him toward the gang culture. Roger Ebert praised the film for its "maturity and emotional depth," calling it "an American film of enormous importance." The lead players are backed by strong supporting performances from Ice Cube, Morris Chestnut, Tyre Ferrell, Angela Bassett and Nia Long.
Brandy in the Wilderness (1969)
This introspective "contrived diary" film by Stanton Kaye features vignettes from the relationship of a real-life couple, in this case the director and his girlfriend. An evocative 1960s time capsule—reminiscent of Jim McBride's "David Holzman's Diary"—this simulated autobiography, as in many experimental films, often blurs the lines between reality and illusion, moving in non-linear arcs through the ever-evolving and unpredictable interactions of relationships, time and place. As Paul Schrader notes, "it is probably quite impossible (and useless) to make a distinction between the point at which the film reflects their lives, and the point at which their lives reflect the film." "Brandy in the Wilderness" remains a little-known yet key work of American indie filmmaking.
This article by director Paul Schrader originally appeared in the Fall 1971 issue of "Cinema Magazine." (PDF, 1764KB)
Bread (1918)
Billed as a "sociological photodrama, "Bread" tells the story of a naïve young woman in a narrow-minded town who journeys to New York to become a star but faces disillusionment when she learns that sex is demanded as the price for fame. Ida May Park, director and scenarist of "Bread," was among more than a half-dozen prolific women directors working at the Universal Film Manufacturing Company during the period in which Los Angeles became the home of America's movie industry. Park directed 14 feature-length films between 1917 and 1920, and her career as a scenarist lasted until 1931. She reasoned that because the majority of movie fans were women, "it follows that a member of the sex is best able to gauge their wants in the form of stories and plays." In an essay Park contributed to the book "Careers for Women," she stated that women were advantaged as motion picture directors because of "the superiority of their emotional and imaginative faculties." In the two surviving reels of "Bread," one of only three films Park directed that are currently known to exist, she displays an accomplished ability to knowingly vivify her protagonist's plight as she fends off an attacker and places her frail hopes in a misshapen loaf of bread that has come to symbolize for her the good things in life.
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Truman Capote's acclaimed novella—the bitter story of self-invented Manhattan call girl Holly Golightly—arrived on the big screen purged of its risqué dialogue and unhappy ending. George Axelrod's screenplay excised explicit references to Holly's livelihood and added an emotionally moving romance, resulting, in Capote's view, in "a mawkish valentine to New York City." Capote believed that Marilyn Monroe would have been perfect for the film and judged Audrey Hepburn, who landed the lead, "just wrong for the part." Critics and audiences, however, have disagreed. The Los Angeles Times stated, "Miss Hepburn makes the complex Holly a vivid, intriguing figure." Feminist critics in recent times have valued Hepburn's portrayals of the period as providing a welcome alternative female role model to the dominant sultry siren of the 1950s. Hepburn conveyed intelligent curiosity, exuberant impetuosity, delicacy combined with strength, and authenticity that often emerged behind a knowingly false facade. Critics also have lauded the movie's director Blake Edwards for his creative visual gags and facility at navigating the film's abrupt changes in tone. Composer Henry Mancini's classic "Moon River," featuring lyrics by Johnny Mercer, also received critical acclaim. Mancini considered Hepburn's wistful rendition of the song on guitar the best he had heard.
The Breakfast Club (1985)
John Hughes, who had previously given gravitas to the angst of adolescence in his 1984 film, "Sixteen Candles," further explored the social politics of high school in this comedy/character study produced one year later. Set in a day-long Saturday detention hall, the film offers an assortment of American teen-age archetypes such as the "nerd," "jock," and "weirdo." Over the course of the day, labels and default personas slip away as members of this motley group actually talk to each other and learn about each other and themselves. "The Breakfast Club" is a comedy that delivers a message with laughs. Thirty years later, the movie's message is still vivid. Written and directed by Hughes, the film's cast includes Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez and Ally Sheedy.
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Director James Whale took his success with "Frankenstein," added humor and thus created a cinematic hybrid that perplexed audiences at first glance but captivated them by picture's end. Joined eventually by a mate (Elsa Lanchester), the Frankenstein monster (Boris Karloff reprising his role and investing the character with emotional subtlety) evolves into a touchingly sympathetic character as he gradually becomes more human. Ernest Thesiger as Dr. Pretorious is captivatingly bizarre. Many film historians consider "Bride," with its surreal visuals, superior to the original.
Expanded essay by Richard T. Jameson, (PDF, 672KB) examines "Frankenstein" and "Bride of Frankenstein" in a single entry.
Movie poster
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
At the heart of David Lean's antiheroic war epic about a band of British POWs forced to build a bridge in the wilds of Burma is the notion of men clinging to their sanity by clinging to military tradition. The film's cast, which reflects a broad spectrum of acting styles, includes Alec Guinness as the British commanding officer and Sessue Hayakawa as his Japanese counterpart, and William Holden as an American soldier who escapes from the camp and Jack Hawkins as the British major who convinces him to return and help blow up the bridge. Lean elects to keep the musical score to a minimum and instead plays up tension with nature sounds punctuating the action. For many film critics and historians, "Bridge on the River Kwai" signals a shift in Lean's directorial style from simpler storytelling toward the more bloated epics that characterized his later career.
Sessue Hayakawa and Alec Guinness in a scene from "The Bridge On The River Kwai"
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
In this fast-paced screwball comedy from director Howard Hawks, Susan Vance (Katharine Hepburn), an eccentric heiress with a pet leopard named Baby, proves a constant irritant to paleontologist David Huxley (Cary Grant), who is trying to raise $1 million to complete his dinosaur skeleton reconstruction project. Based on a short story by Hagar Wilde, Hawks worked closely with Wilde and screenwriter Dudley Nichols to perfect the script, in which the role of Susan Vance was written specifically with Hepburn in mind. Although now considered a cinematic classic, "Bringing Up Baby" received mixed critical reviews upon release and performed well in only certain areas of the United States, thus reaffirming the film industry's then-current view of Hepburn as "box office poison." Significantly, "Bringing Up Baby" is possibly the first American film to use the term "gay" as a reference to homosexuality.
Expanded essay by Michael Schlesinger (PDF, 25KB)
Broadcast News (1987)
James L. Brooks wrote, produced and directed this comedy set in the fast-paced, tumultuous world of television news. Shot mostly in dozens of locations around the Washington, D.C. area, the film stars Holly Hunter, William Hurt and Albert Brooks. Brooks makes the most of his everyman persona serving as Holly Hunter's romantic back-up plan while she pursues the handsome but vacuous Hurt. Against the backdrop of broadcast journalism (and various debates about journalist ethics), a grown-up romantic comedy plays out in a smart, savvy and fluff-free story whose humor is matched only by its honesty.
Expanded essay by Brian Scott Mednick (PDF, 432KB)
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
"Brokeback Mountain," a contemporary Western drama that won the Academy Award for best screenplay (by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana) and Golden Globe awards for best drama, director (Ang Lee) and screenplay, depicts a secret and tragic love affair between two closeted gay ranch hands. They furtively pursue a 20-year relationship despite marriages and parenthood until one of them dies violently, reportedly by accident, but possibly, as the surviving lover fears, in a brutal attack. Annie Proulx, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the short story upon which the film was based, described it as "a story of destructive rural homophobia." Haunting in its unsentimental depiction of longing, lonesomeness, pretense, sexual repression and ultimately love, "Brokeback Mountain" features Heath Ledger's remarkable performance that conveys a lifetime of self-torment through a pained demeanor, near inarticulate speech and constricted, lugubrious movements. In his review, Newsweek's David Ansen wrotes that the film was "a watershed in mainstream movies, the first gay love story with A-list Hollywood stars." "Brokeback Mountain" has become an enduring classic.
Broken Blossoms (1919)
Most associated with epics such as "Intolerance" and "The Birth of a Nation," D.W. Griffith also helmed smaller films that struck a chord with silent era audiences. "Broken Blossoms," Griffith's first title for his newly formed United Artists, is one example. Set in the slums of London, it concerns an abused 15-year-old girl, Lucy, portrayed by Lillian Gish and the former missionary turned shopkeeper Cheng Huan (Richard Barthelmess) who rescues her from her brutal father. More than a tender but chaste love story, "Broken Blossoms" entreats audiences to denounce racism and poverty.
Expanded essay by Ed Gonzalez (PDF, 495KB)
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A Bronx Morning (1931)
Part documentary and part avant-garde, this renowned city symphony was filmed by Jay Leyda when he was 21. It features sensational and stylish use of European filmmaking styles The images movingly show the resilience of people persevering with style and enthusiasm during the early years of the depression. "A Bronx Morning" won Leyda a scholarship to study with the renowned Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein. Added to the National Film Registry in 2004.
Expanded essay by Scott Simmon for the National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF) (PDF, 284KB)
Watch it here
Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
"The best Wim Wenders documentary to date and an uncommonly self-effacing one, this 1999 concert movie about performance and lifestyle is comparable in some ways to "Latcho Drom," the great Gypsy documentary/musical. In 1996, musician Ry Cooder traveled to Havana to reunite some of the greatest stars of Cuban pop music from the Batista era (who were virtually forgotten after Castro came to power) with the aim of making a record, a highly successful venture that led to concerts in Amsterdam and New York. The players and their stories are as wonderful as the music, and the filmmaking is uncommonly sensitive and alert," wrote film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum.
The Buffalo Creek Flood: An Act of Man (1975)
This powerful documentary by the Kentucky-based arts and education center Appalshop represents the finest in regional filmmaking, providing important understanding of the environmental and cultural history of the Appalachian region. The 1972 Buffalo Creek Flood Disaster, caused by the failure of a coal waste dam, killed more than 100 people and left thousands in West Virginia homeless. Local citizens invited Appalshop to come to the area and to film a historical record, fearing that the Pittston Coal Co.'s powerful influence in the state would lead to a whitewash investigation and absolve it of any corporate culpability. Newsweek hailed the film as "a devastating expose of the collusion between state officials and coal executives."
Expanded essay by the film's director Mimi Pickering (PDF, 793KB)
Bullitt (1968)
The winding streets and stunning vistas of San Francisco, backed by a superb Lalo Schifrin score, play a central role in British director Peter Yates' film renowned for its exhilarating 11-minute car chase, arguably the finest in cinema history. In one of his most famous roles, Steve McQueen stars as tough-guy police detective Frank Bullitt. The story, based on Robert L. Pike's cr
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Sydney Pollack: A great director of Hollywood filmmaking known for epic dramas with social and political themes, complex characters, and collaborations with Robert Redford.
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Sydney Pollack was an American director best known for his wide-ranging storytelling and poignant dramas, such as Out of Africa and The Way We Were. His work earned him considerable recognition, including Academy Awards.
Pollack’s films often revolved around complex, humanistic themes and characters dealing with personal and professional dilemmas. His work frequently explored the balance between societal expectations and individual desires, showcased in films like The Firm, where a young lawyer battles moral quandaries within a corrupt law firm. His movies often feature protagonists in extraordinary circumstances that force them to confront their values, as in Jeremiah Johnson, where the eponymous character grapples with the harsh realities of wilderness survival and solitude.
Pollack’s style was understated yet sophisticated, often utilising natural lighting and location-based shooting to heighten the film’s realism. His approach towards cinema was deeply rooted in the classical Hollywood tradition, focusing on strong narrative structure, character development, and emotional depth. They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? exemplified his knack for creating dramatic tension and an engaging atmosphere through skilful editing and framing. Despite the conventional cinematic language, Pollack imprinted his distinctive style, largely due to his actor-centred approach, drawing out nuanced performances that enriched the storytelling.
Pollack’s ability to blend art and commercial cinema while maintaining a keen focus on character-driven stories set a new standard in Hollywood. He successfully navigated different genres, proving his versatility and cementing his reputation as a director who could masterfully balance box-office success with critical acclaim.
Sydney Pollack’s Films Ranked
Sydney Pollack: Themes and Style
Themes:
Human Relationships: Pollack frequently explored the dynamics between people, whether it was romantic, platonic, or professional. Films like The Way We Were and Out of Africa delved into complex romantic relationships and the challenges that come with them.
Personal Transformation: Many of Pollack’s characters undergo significant personal journeys. For instance, Tootsie features a character who dresses as a woman to get acting jobs and learns about the challenges faced by women.
Ethical Dilemmas: Pollack was keen on exploring moral ambiguity. Films like Three Days of the Condor and Absence of Malice place characters in situations where they must navigate moral grey areas.
Culture and Environment: In films like Jeremiah Johnson and Out of Africa, the environment is as much a character as the protagonists, and the culture or setting plays a pivotal role in shaping the narrative.
Styles:
Versatility: Pollack was a chameleon of genres. From romantic dramas to thrillers and comedies, his range was broad, which is a rarity among directors.
Character-driven Narratives: Even in his most plot-heavy films, Pollack gave priority to character development, ensuring the audience deeply connected with the protagonists.
Collaborative Spirit: He was known for his collaborations with actors and other filmmakers, resulting in authentic performances and rich narratives. His frequent collaboration with Robert Redford is a notable example.
Visually Rich: Pollack often used cinematography to enhance the narrative, creating visually stunning scenes that complemented the story’s emotional weight.
Directorial Signature:
Character-Centric: At the heart of a Pollack film is always a well-defined character. He gave actors the space to delve deep into their roles, bringing out nuanced performances.
Emotional Depth: Pollack’s films are emotionally resonant. He masterfully used the medium to evoke strong emotions, ensuring the audience felt deeply connected to the narrative.
Balancing Act: Even when dealing with heavy themes, Pollack’s movies often had moments of levity and a balanced tone that made them both engaging and reflective.
Engaging Storytelling: Pollack had a knack for making even the most complex stories accessible. He did this by focusing on the human element, ensuring audiences could relate regardless of the film’s context or setting.
Sydney Pollack: The 231st Greatest Director
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The Classic TV History Blog
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Posts about Mark Rydell written by Stephen Bowie
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The Classic TV History Blog
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https://classictvhistory.wordpress.com/tag/mark-rydell/
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In 1972, Bruce Dern asked for permission to leave the set of the science fiction film Silent Running, in which he played the lead, for two days in order to shoot a cameo in an upcoming John Wayne Western, The Cowboys. During those two days, Dern became one of only a handful of actors to earn the dubious honor of killing John Wayne on screen. (Of Wayne’s Westerns up to that point, only The Alamo saw him die at the end – and, of course, everybody died at the Alamo.) Supposedly it was Dern’s idea to not only shoot the Duke, but to shoot him in the back. When they heard that their star was about to become the most hated man in the movies, the producers of Silent Running panicked and declared that their movie had to come out before The Cowboys. (It didn’t, and it wasn’t a hit.)
The director of The Cowboys was Mark Rydell, and had Dern not been released for those two days, he had a backup plan: Rydell would have used the star of Ben Casey, the television series that launched his directing career, in the small role that Dern ended up playing. Blowing away John Wayne in a big movie in 1972 ended up as a footnote in Bruce Dern’s ascendant filmography but for the struggling Vince Edwards, it might have been an important career move. His days as a leading man were over, but it’s easy to imagine an alternate cinema history in which Edwards turned character actor and played Al Lettieri-type roles – hulking, aging thugs, in other words – in some of the many action and neo-noir movies that came out of Hollywood during the late seventies and eighties.
That’s just one of the many tangents that I stumbled across, but didn’t have room to mention, while I was researching these pieces on Ben Casey and on Vince Edwards’s strange career as a TV director. And because it’s what blogs are good for, I’m going to reheat a selection of this ephemera below.
*
One of the things that entertained me about Vince Edwards was that the group of ragtag hangers-on that he cultivated. Lots of insecure stars had such entourages but, perhaps because they were looking for ways to rake the churlish, interview-averse Edwards over the coals, journalists did an unusually thorough of enumerating and mocking these individuals.
Unlike that other movie star Vince – Vincent Chase, the fictional character (based on Mark Wahlberg) at the center of the recent TV series Entourage – our Vince’s entourage didn’t start with family. Although he had six siblings, including a twin brother, Bob Zoino, Edwards kept his family at arm’s length. In fact, one of the ways he managed to look bad during the run of Ben Casey was by exchanging barbs in the press with both Bob (who was a bus driver while Vince was Ben Casey) and their mother, June.
Of the colorful characters who did follow Vince around and keep him entertained between takes and horse races, the closest to him was Bennie “The Fighting Jew” Goldberg, a pint-sized former boxer. Dwight Whitney, in one of two snide but detailed TV Guide profiles of Edwards, described Goldberg as the star’s “dresser, errand boy and general factotum.” Born in Poland and raised in Detroit, Goldberg lost the world bantamweight title to Manuel Ortiz in 1943, and died the day before the World Trade Center collapsed. According to co-star Harry Landers, Goldberg was a thug who implemented various small-time cons to keep his boss in gambling money. His Hollywood career included bit parts, usually as boxers, in John Frankenheimer’s All Fall Down and an episode of Cannon, and at least once on Ben Casey. Here he is in that episode (“When I Am Grown to Man’s Estate,” 1965):
Along with Goldberg, Edwards’s lackeys included a pair usually described as his “stand-ins”: Ray Joyer and George Fraser. Joyer’s lasting claim to fame is as the orderly (below) who slams the gurney through the double doors at the start of the final version of Ben Casey‘s opening credits – a role he sought to exploit a year after Ben Casey went off the air, by suing Bing Crosby Productions in both state and federal court for residuals. Alas, the trades didn’t report on the resolution of his case. Joyer died young, around age 50, in 1975. Fraser was an animal trainer who kept lions, and his experiences were the springboard for the Edwards-scripted-and-directed TV movie Maneater. But, surprisingly for someone in such a colorful line of work, little else about Fraser turns up in the newspaper archives.
But the most fascinating member of Edwards’s circle was one who escaped Whitney’s notice: a jack-of-all-trades named Marcus W. Demian. Well, actually, his real name was Bernard Schloss, although he claimed at one point that he was a full-blooded Native American from Yakima, Washington – likely an utter fabrication. Demian was born around 1928, and more than Edwards’s other hangers-on, he seemed to have some artistic aspirations. Demian was probably the screenwriter Edwards occasionally told the press he had on retainer to work up movie ideas for him when he was riding high. Demian accrued writing credits not only on Edwards’s projects (Ben Casey, Matt Lincoln, and Maneater) but on Channing, some British TV series, and the movie Little Moon and Jud McGraw. Demian was also an actor – below is an image of him in his one Ben Casey bit part – with screen credits as recent as 2011’s Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star, in which Demian played “Old Man with Pig.” Demian was also a restaurateur – a partner, in fact, in the early Los Angeles vegetarian restaurant the Aware Inn – and a master hypnotist.
It gets weirder: In October 1966, Demian made the front page of the New York Times for menacing his wife with an eight-inch ice pick after she leapt from his red sports car on Manhattan’s First Avenue. And why was that front page news? Because the fellow who hopped out of his chauffeur-driven limo and took the ice pick away from Demian was Henry Barnes, the city’s traffic commissioner, who was 60 years old and a survivor of several heart attacks. Demian fled, twice – first by jumping into the sports car and speeding away, and a second time by diving out a window when the police showed up at his nearby apartment. The cops finally nabbed him a few blocks away and booked Demian on assault and weapons charges.
Oh, and the woman who almost got ice-picked? According to the New York Times piece, she was a television performer named Diane Hittleman, and she had married Demian in Mexico in June of 1966 and dumped him three months later. Well … maybe. Also in 1966, there was a local TV program called Yoga For Health, featuring one Diane Hittleman (who also did yoga with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, and died in May). At the time that Diane Hittleman, who was the same age as Demian’s Diane Hittleman, was married and had three children with her co-host, Richard Hittleman. One has to wonder if the Times was giving Hittleman a break, and if Marcus picked up some bad habits from his famous (and famously womanizing) buddy.
Needless to say, I tried to contact Marcus Demian for an interview, but the phone numbers were all disconnected and the letters and e-mails bounced back. If you’re out there, Marcus, we’d love to hear your Vince Edwards stories.
*
Also present in the murky history of Ben Casey is another bizarre true crime story, one with echoes of the Leonard Heideman case that I wrote about early in the days of this blog.
“Wife Held For Murder in Film Editor’s Death,” read the May 8, 1962 headline in the Los Angeles Times, which reported that one Jeane Sampson, 40, had shot her husband to death during a struggle for a revolver. The dead man, identified in the papers as John E. Sampson, 50, and usually credited on screen as Edward Sampson, had edited the pilot for Ben Casey and been the show’s head film editor during its first season.
According to Jeane Sampson, she was a battered wife, and her husband had interrupted a suicide attempt. She told the police that she was going to shoot herself because she “got tired of being used as a punching bag.” The deadly chain of events began when Jeane Sampson called her parents in Palm Springs and told them of her plans to commit suicide. They begged her to wait, but Jeane locked herself in the bathroom of their home (at 1103 Eilinita Avenue in Glendale) with a revolver and the couple’s only child, ten year-old Terry. Edward Sampson heard the commotion and went to investigate. Terry screamed through the bathroom door to her father: “Go away, Daddy, or you’ll be hurt.” Daddy should’ve listened. Instead he broke down the bathroom door and then – blammo.
Jeane Sampson was arraigned for murder the following week and a hearing was set for the fall. That hearing was never held. On August 13, Jeane Sampson took a fatal overdose of barbiturates.
Sampson’s credits included the TV series Disneyland and Lassie and several juvie B-movies (one of which, 1955’s The Fast and the Furious, he evidently co-directed). He also shot some second-unit hospital footage for Ben Casey. On the same day it published his obituary, Variety noted separately that producer Stanley Kramer’s upcoming feature A Child Is Waiting would include stock footage of a baby’s birth, filmed by Sampson for the Casey episode “I Remember a Lemon Tree” (one of the two written in part by Marcus Demian!).
And yes, I did try to find out what happened to Terry Sampson (whose birth in 1952, when her father was working at Paramount, had been announced in Variety). But – perhaps for the best – I didn’t succeed.
*
Next week, I’ll conclude our Ben Casey coverage with an interview feature. No, you’ll never be able to guess who the two subjects are – and in fact, I’m still as surprised as I am delighted that I found them and that they remembered so much. Tune in….
Update, 1/27/2015: Marcus W. Demian died on November 20, 2014, at 86. The spelling of George Fraser’s name has been corrected above and elsewhere on this blog, thanks to a kind note from his son, Tam O’Connor Fraser.
“Why not directing? There’s no big mystery about it. It’s – well, it’s just having a point of view and – and a certain amount of selection and taste.”
– Vince Edwards
Last month, I wrote about the problems of writing about television direction. With the auteur concept in film criticism, the collaborative nature of the medium becomes a dangerous trap: how do we determine, through research or comparison, which decisions were made by the director rather than by the writer, the cinematographer, the actors, or the editor? Television multiplies that problem by sheer volume – most directors racked up a hundred or more TV episodes during their career – as well as access – logistically, how many of those hundred or more shows can be located and screened in quick succession? Compounding the daunting element of scale is the assumption that television is not a director’s medium. More than in feature filmmaking, the director’s role is proscribed, with producers, stars, and editors routinely making decisions that would typically fall to the director in cinema. The process of discerning a television director’s personal style is a kind of reverse engineering. It’s not enough to study Director X’s episodes of many different series. One also needs to look at other directors’ episodes of the same series, as a means of identifying which touches are unique to Mr. X and which might be part of a given show’s overall “house style.” And, perhaps, familiarize oneself with the unquantifiable work of many actors: how are they different under Mr. X’s direction than under someone else’s?
The fraternity of fanatics who have seen enough television to be qualified to undertake such studies is small. I’m one of them, but even I find the prospect intimidating. In the back of my mind, I have a list of a dozen or so episodic directors active between the fifties and the seventies who consistently delivered first-rate work. But it would take a pretty big research grant to fund the hundreds of hours necessary to write authoritatively about even one of those bodies of work.
*
Which brings us to Vincent Edwards, the star of Ben Casey, and also an occasional director of television segments. Edwards might seem an unexpected choice to serve as our guinea pig here, but there are certain factors that make him well-suited to our purpose. First, his videography is manageable: he helmed only about twenty-two hours of television across nearly thirty years. Second, he was famous, which means that we have access to more biographical information than we would expect to find for a rank-and-file television director. Third, the case of the television-star-turned-director is a fairly specific phenomenon that recurs across the history of successful TV series, and we may be able to benefit from certain generalizations about how it happens, and what the results tend to be.
The other factor that makes Edwards interesting is that he’s something of an extreme case. Edwards came to mind when I was reading reviews of a Mad Men episode directed by John Slattery (who, like his co-star Jon Hamm, has become one of the series’ regular directors). One mentioned Slattery’s “lovely lyrical images,” another his “usual visual flair.” The seven episodes of Ben Casey that Edwards directed are also precociously cinematic. In fact, Edwards’s kid-in-a-candy-shop infatuation with the camera and its possibilities is so manifestly in evidence that his work on Ben Casey has attained a tiny cult following among the handful of aficionados who pay attention to such things. (The post seems to have been swallowed by the internet, but Edwards-as-director came in for a round of both admiration and scorn a few years back in one of the discursive discussions on auteurist extraordinaire Dave Kehr’s blog.)
*
“I just went up [to the producers of Ben Casey] and said, ‘I wanta direct a show.’ They said, ‘OK, we’ll find a script.’”
– Vince Edwards
The script that Edwards pulled was a heavy female melodrama called “Dispel the Black Cyclone That Shakes the Throne.” The patient of the week was one Clarissa Rose Genet (Mary Astor), a reclusive opera star whose comeback has been thwarted by blindness (because blind people have never become successful recording artists) and also by the controlling impulses of a live-in manager (Eileen Heckart) who prefers that her solo client remain as helpless as possible. Although Clarissa’s heterosexuality is carefully established by the introduction of an old flame (James Dunn), it’s implied that the hysterical, unsympathetic manager, Polly Jenks (Eileen Heckart), is motivated in part by an obsessive same-sex attraction. Can Dr. Casey untangle all these unhealthy attachments and convince Clarissa to have the surgery she requires?
“It needed – uh, fluidity,” said Edwards of this rather lugubrious outing. “Fluidity” translated into a range of showy, often unmotivated camera movements. Fittingly for someone with a megastar’s ego, Edwards began his directing career on a crane: “Cyclone”’s cold open commences with a crane down into Clarissa’s cavernous foyer, and then a two-minute long-take in which Polly and a doctor (Wilton Graff) outline some of the basic facts of the plot. Edwards tries to enliven several routine dialogue scenes by sending the camera on a slow, circling prowl around the actors. There’s a distracting fast pull-back on Astor during a scene in which she makes a pivotal shift in loyalty, from Polly to her estranged, alcoholic daughter (Luana Anders), and an equally flashy zoom in on Heckart at the moment when Polly learns she has been fired.
Amid the expected overzealousness of a freshman director, though, there are good instincts. Edwards creates a number of stark, forceful close-ups on his actors:
“Where does the shadow go when the sun has set?” is the last line of the episode – Polly’s, as she contemplates an empty life after her break with the healed Clarissa. Edwards creates a literal correlative for this line, a dramatic final image in which the camera pulls back, isolating Heckart in a shadowy hospital corridor amid a row of bright spotlights extending into the background. No actual hospital anywhere in the world, it’s safe to say, has ever employed a lighting scheme of this sort.
Edwards’s second episode, “For a Just Man Falleth Seven Times,” concerns dying businessman Thomas Hardin (Lew Ayres), who experiences a burst of strength and euphoria during his final hours. Once buttoned-down, now impulsive, he goes forth into the seedy side of town and proposes marriage to a coded prostitute (Lee Grant). Edwards tries out more ambitious compositions in the red light district sequences: a handheld camera following Ayres as he walks through the scuzzy streets, a god’s-eye point of view to establish a waterfront dive. The circling pans from “Cyclone” recur, and Edwards sets up several compositions that can be called signature shots. The most evident is a positioning of actors at right angles in different planes, which creates a dramatic depth of field and also allows Edwards to eschew the standard shot-reverse shot grammar of the television conversation. Here it is in “For a Just Man”:
And an earlier instance in “Cyclone”:
Amid the show’s rudimentary sets, Edwards sought out striking places to put the camera. In “For a Just Man” he positions Grant and Sharon Farrell (playing Ayres’s daughter) behind the fence that surrounds the upper-floor terrace (an indoor set) where patients are often seen recuperating.
An identical shot recurs in Edwards’s next episode, “Every Other Minute It’s the End of the World”:
The ninety-degree positioning of actors reappears in “Every Other Minute,” too:
“Every Other Minute” is a convoluted story about a teenaged girl (Patricia Hyland) who’s going blind as a result of diabetic retinopathy; the twist is that her father (Francis Lederer) is a survivor of Nazi medical experimentation and thus vehemently opposes the experimental procedure that Dr. Casey proposes to save Hyland’s eyesight. The script never recovers from that cringeworthy (in)convenience, not even after a wild second-act curveball. Edwards, rather like Dr. Casey, is hell-bent on experimentation, most of which does not spring organically from the material. There’s an attention-grabbing move in a scene between Casey and the German refugee, in which the camera suddenly whirls around a hospital wall and places the two actors in silhouette, behind the window. The dialogue at that moment is routine; nothing in it compels such an extreme shift in emphasis. (Casey even turns off an overhead lamp for no reason, except to make the lighting more dramatic.)
Edwards also sets up some odd shots in a scene where a frantic Hyland go-go dances herself into a coma. At one point, Edwards creates an impossible image, intercutting overhead shots of the dancers with low-angle shots taken from a hole in the floor (which is, of course, not evident in the wider shot). A moment later, Hyland appears to be positioned upright against a wall, even though her character is supposed to be lying on the floor. These shots are disorienting, but without evident purpose.
Hyland, of whose brief acting career Ben Casey was one of the high points, recently spoke favorably of Vince Edwards as “a lovely, generous director” who instilled “a warm sense of trust in her.” Fifty years earlier, Eileen Heckart offered a similar endorsement of Edwards’s first time behind the camera: “I didn’t think much of the script, but he was brilliant. He’d done all his homework.”
All of Edwards’s first three directorial turns feature not just strong performances but, notably, strong performances by women. In “Cyclone,” the two leads deliver work that’s well within their range – Astor world-weary and formidable, Heckart sharp and shrewish – but there’s also a fine, fragile performance by Luana Anders (below) as the neglected, wistful daughter. In “For a Just Man,” solid, enjoyable work by Lew Ayres is upstaged by the two younger women in Hardin’s life: open-faced Sharon Farrell, playing Cordelia to Hardin’s lear, and Lee Grant as the waterfront wife, bitter but secretly vulnerable. (Farrell was dating Edwards at the time; Grant took a similar approach to a similar character two years later on Peyton Place, and won an Emmy for it.)
It’s commonly assumed that actors who become directors will function best as actors’ directors, and Edwards seems to succeeded in that regard. “People who are actors often know how to deal with actors really well. They don’t treat them like a light fixture,” said Hyland. “There’s just a little more rapport.” But another, less intuitive scenario is that actors will take performance as something already mastered, and become more consumed initially with mise-en-scene, because it’s the aspect of the job that’s new to them. This was true of Vic Morrow, the Combat star who started directing for his series a year after Edwards, and of Sydney Pollack and Mark Rydell, two young character actors who initiated a permanent transition into directing on Ben Casey – and of Edwards as well.
Compared to what came before, Edwards’s next three episodes – “Eulogy in Four Flats,” a quasi-comedy about an old con man who fakes illness so that his neighbors will take care of him; “Three L’il Lambs,” an unsold backdoor spinoff about three newly-minted residents of varying skill and commitment; and “Run For Your Lives, Dr. Galanos Practices Here,” a silly, cliched yarn about the generational conflict between an aging Latin American revolutionary and his assimilationist doctor son – were comparatively restrained. The signature shots are still in evidence – for instance, the god’s-eye point of view in “Eulogy”:
And the ninety-degree positioning of actors in “Three Li’l Lambs”:
But the eye-catching set-ups are less evident. In fact, only this restricted composition in “Three Li’l Lambs,” which emphasizes one character’s anxiety about his professional performance and echoes the earlier behind-the-fence set-ups, stands out. (It’s also another long take that allows a two-person conversation to play out without cuts.)
A laziness begins to creep in: “Eulogy” contains a twenty-three second shot of Edwards descending a flight of stairs, a shot duration which (along with some of the endless dancing scenes in “Every Other Minute”) suggests that Edwards’s episodes may have come in short. “Galanos,” in particular, is almost entirely conventional in its lighting and composition. And the performances are uneven: Norman Alden is quite moving in the scene shown above, in which his character expresses uncertainty about the choice of medicine as a career, but he conspicuously overplays an earlier scene in which the character botches a diagnosis. Was Edwards passing out of his experimental phase and trying out a more conventional style? Or was he simply getting bored? Did it matter that none of his second three episodes included female roles as prominent as those in the first three?
If there were only six Edwards-directed Ben Casey segments, they would form a predictable arc from novice’s enthusiasm into easily-distracted TV star’s boredom. But there’s a seventh, an episode called “If You Play Your Cards Right, You Too Can Be a Loser,” which is as overstuffed as its title and as gloriously, wonderfully, touchingly self-indulgent any television episode ever has been. Into it, Edwards crams every crash zoom, Dutch angle, ostentatious dissolve, extreme overhead angle, and action-framed-by-a-random-object-in-the-foreground composition that he can muster. (A very small selection of them appears below.) It is his “Wagon Wheel Joe” moment.
What to make of “If You Play Your Cards Right”? Some of Edwards’s excess is justified by the delirium that is periodically experienced by the central character, a glue-sniffing wife-beater (!) played by Davy Jones (only months before he turned into a Monkee). Much of it, though, seems to be an expression of disinterest or contempt toward the material, which is difficult to fault. The script is tawdry and unsubtle, and Jones’s fatal miscasting sinks what ever chances it had; there isn’t even a bit of throwaway exposition to reconcile his British accent with the American ones in which the actors (John McLiam and Louise Latham) cast as his parents speak. In its final season Ben Casey morphed into a serial, and one could argue (perhaps feebly) that the splintering of episodes like “If You Play Your Cards Right” into three or four discrete subplots invites a disorienting mise-en-scene. And there’s one other X factor, the replacement of the long-time cinematographer Ted Voigtlander with his former camera operator, William T. Cline. But Cline’s imagery in the fifth season is generally no more adventurous than the gifted Voigtlander’s had been, and other directors’ episodes in that year are far more sedate. Plus, there is evidence of a clash between Cline and Edwards. (In his memoirs, producer John Meredyth Lucas claimed that Edwards packed on the pounds in between seasons, then scapegoated Cline for making him look fat after the need to slim down was pointed out.) When Edwards went off the directorial rails, it was his own doing.
*
The initial assumption one makes about TV stars who begin directing their own shows is that they do so purely as an expression of ego. (“Isn’t directing a TV show that you’re acting in an exercise in vanity?” is how The Atlantic put it, rudely, to Slattery last year.) Perhaps. The actors who launched abortive directing careers off their long-running hits often tend to be the same stars who used their clout to seize control of those shows and push out the original creative teams – for instance, Richard Boone on Have Gun Will Travel and Alan Alda on M*A*S*H. Edwards falls into this category to the extent that, after Ben Casey became a hit, the show’s set ran according to his whims. Although there’s no evidence that Edwards controlled the hiring of producers, or influenced story content, as Boone and Alda did, there was little question of anyone saying no when he expressed the desire to direct.
But it’s important to consider the context behind Edwards’s career move. Ben Casey’s initial producer, Matthew Rapf, was committed booster for young talent and the series was a training ground for aspiring directors from the beginning. Sydney Pollack did his first important television work on Ben Casey, and then paid that forward by inviting his friend Mark Rydell out from New York for an on-staff apprenticeship as a director-in-training. Pollack and Rydell in turn became mentors of sorts to Edwards as he prepared to direct. Crucially, in the years just before Ben Casey, Edwards had the good fortune to work as an actor for some of the most promising filmmakers in Hollywood. He’d garnered some acclaim for leading roles in two existential, quasi-independent films noir (Murder by Contract, 1958; City of Fear, 1959) directed by Irving Lerner, who (presumably at Edwards’s behest) became a regular director on Ben Casey. Edwards appeared in The Night Holds Terror (1958) with John Cassavetes, who remained a friend and cast him in a memorable cameo (as a dumb lug who beats up a whole jazz combo in a long pool-hall confrontation) in the second feature he directed, Too Late Blues. And Edwards was in The Killing (1956), and always spoke proudly of having working with Stanley Kubrick. A smart observer – and Edwards, whatever his other flaws, was anything but dumb – couldn’t help but absorb some of the creativity and enthusiasm of these men.
Edwards shot home movies and other films with a personal eight-millimeter camera, and became an avid shutterbug; according to his second wife, the actress Linda Foster, Edwards’s still photographs displayed an excellent eye for composition. (Notwithstanding that a sneering TV Guide article suggested that Edwards mostly enjoyed photographing the pretty nurses on the set of Ben Casey.) Foster and others suggested that Edwards’s interest in directing was not an indulgence but, in fact, a remedy for some of his diva behavior on the Ben Casey set. The more cerebral task of directing diverted his attention from the excesses of stardom and other personal problems and refocused it on the work. “Vince was volatile but when it came directing he quieted right down and got to work. And he worked hard at it,” said actress Kathy Kersh, who was briefly married to Edwards during Ben Casey and appears in “Three Li’l Lambs.”
Asked if Edwards was a cinephile, Foster said no, but noted that his filmgoing was highly focused. “He’d say we’ve got to go this or we’ve got to go see that. It was quite specific. He was never a ‘let’s go to the movies’ type of person. The only movie I remember he liked [in the seventies], he was crazy about Stallone and Rocky.” Earlier, in a 1966 interview, the actor cited at least one influence that suggested he’d been paying attention to new developments in the cinema: Richard Lester’s peppy mod comedy The Knack … And How to Get It, which opened in Los Angeles in July 1965. Given the chronology, The Knack almost certainly explains the left turn in Edwards’s style between “Dr. Galanos” and “If You Play Your Cards Right.” In that interview, Edwards complained about “old-school” (his words) directors who “are so determined to keep the picture in frame that everything becomes ‘static’” (the reporter’s paraphrase, apart from the last word). Lester seems to have liberated Edwards as a visual stylist.
Unfortunately, at the same time, ABC liberated the actor in a different way: they cancelled his show at the end of the 1966 TV season.
*
“[Directing] brings a different sort of adulation. Kazan isn’t mobbed by teen-agers.”
– Vince Edwards
However much Edwards might have enjoyed his work on the back end of the camera, becoming the next Elia Kazan wasn’t on his mind when Ben Casey went off the air in 1966. His priorities, according to a 1965 TV Guide interview, were marriage, kids, and a movie career. Edwards left Ben Casey with a three-picture deal at Columbia and a successful nightclub act that he’d originated during his summer vacations.
Edwards also had a crippling addiction to gambling – specifically, horse racing – one that had been amply covered in the press and that earned him a reputation around town for epic unprofessionalism. He regularly bolted from the set during the middle of the day to go to the racetrack, and even though he’d made millions off of Ben Casey, he was always putting the touch on friends and co-workers for a loan. His lazy attitude towards acting didn’t help, either. While rival TV doctor Richard Chamberlain, also a wooden unknown when Dr. Kildare made him a star, studied the craft and grew into an acclaimed performer, Edwards clung to the snarl and the somewhat smarmy charm that landed him the Ben Casey role. His one-expression-fits-all acting was fodder for nightclubs’ and columnists’ wit. After the three films he top-lined flopped, Edwards had nowhere to go but back to television. If you play the ponies wrong, you too can be a loser.
In 1971, Edwards starred as a psychiatrist in Matt Lincoln, a clear attempt to recreate the magic of Ben Casey; it failed after one abbreviated season. In the meantime Edwards had married (twice) and fathered three kids; with movie and now even TV stardom eluding him, he’d tried all of those goals he enumerated in 1965. Directing worked its way back to the top of the list. One of the last Matt Lincoln episodes was his first directing credit in five years, and his deal with Universal (which produced the series) extended to the closest thing to an auteur effort in Edwards’s videography. Maneater (1973), starring Ben Gazzara and Sheree North, was the first project that Edwards directed without also acting in. He originated the telefilm himself. The story idea about tigers on the loose came from a crony and former stand-in, George Fraser, who had been an animal trainer, and Edwards wrote the teleplay with another member of his entourage, an occasional Ben Casey writer named Marcus Demian. (Horror master Jimmy Sangster did a credited rewrite.) Cecil Smith, TV critic for The Los Angeles Times, wrote that Edwards “builds a fine sense of tension” in his direction, but Maneater earned little attention and mixed reviews.
According to Foster, Edwards expressed a preference for directing over acting more than once, and “tried to develop a couple of things,” but Maneater became the only film or television project that he would originate. During the seventies, Edwards’s always precarious personal life took a nose-dive. He’d been to several psychiatrists to try to control his gambling, but always ended up ditching the sessions and heading to the track. Foster divorced him after nearly a decade of marriage, because of the gambling, and in 1976 he filed for bankruptcy.
It’s likely that most of Edwards’s directing credits after Maneater were undertaken primarily out of financial necessity. He enjoyed a parallel career going back and forth between acting and directing, but most of the directing gigs came from producer friends; Edwards never established himself as a sought-after director. Nearly all of his episodic directing during the seventies and eighties traces back to either David Gerber, Aaron Spelling (a pal since the sixties who called Edwards his “itty-bitty buddy,” and with whom Edwards shared a business manager), or Glen A. Larson (at whose Hawaii estate Edwards married his third wife in 1980).
Most of those shows, with the exception of Gerber’s Police Story, can be charitably called junk, and Edwards was no longer the biggest wheel on the set but, now, just another down-on-his-luck journeyman director. Ten years after the impossible object that is “If You Play Your Cards Right, You Too Can Be a Loser,” do we find anything of the old exuberant Vince Edwards, cineaste, in the likes of Larson’s pablum? Surprisingly, yes – if only a glimmer.
It’s harder to analyze performance in the likes of BJ and the Bear and The Fall Guy than in Ben Casey. Most of the shows Edwards directed in the seventies emphasize action and spectacle over character-driven drama. Of the seven Edwards-directed segments I was able to view, the most accomplished performance came from a young actress: Anne Lockhart (below), playing the guilt-ridden girlfriend of a villain in a two-part Hardy Boys.
Lockhart also turns up in Edwards’s Battlestar: Galactica two-parter, “The Living Legend” (which inspired perhaps the high point of Ronald D. Moore’s remake of that series, making it, in hindsight, the most significant of Edwards’s later directing efforts), giving a less polished performance but still a striking, sexy one. Lloyd Bridges, the primary guest star in “The Living Legend,” does all the things you’ve seen Bridges do a hundred times before, but Edwards assists him with a shadowy entrance that foreshadows the direction his character will turn:
Edwards’s other excursion into the Battlestar empire was a single episode of Galactica 1980, “The Super Scouts Part 1.” In one shot Edwards revives the familiar right-angle positioning of actors that he used repeatedly in Ben Casey:
“Super Scouts” also brings back another favorite Casey tic, the slow circling pan, which is why this child actor ends up addressing Lorne Greene over his shoulder in their scenes together:
Greene and the boy have scenes together on the same set in the second half of this two-parter, which was directed not by Edwards but by Sigmund Neufeld, Jr. While the gauzy fog filter is used there, too, the camera remains static in Neufeld’s scenes. Thus Galactica serves as a rare petri dish in which elements of house style (the filter) can be distinguished from choices made by individual directors (the camera movement).
There are new techniques, not evident during Ben Casey, that Edwards favors in the seventies shows. Here’s a close-up of Lorne Greene from “The Living Legend” in which the actor is positioned toward one side of the frame while others bustle out-of-focus in the background in the other half of the image:
A nearly identical set-up occurs at least three times in Edwards’s episode of BJ and the Bear, “Silent Night, Unholy Night.” Edwards also displays a facility for staging action in real locations, something that Ben Casey – which very rarely left the soundstage – afforded little opportunity to do. Scenes shot in a bank and a department store in “The Super Scouts Part 1” and on the USC campus in Edwards’s episode of David Cassidy – Man Undercover capture more of the flavor of those locations than one typically observes in television location shoots. The “Super Scouts” sequence in which Barry Van Dyke “accidentally” robs a bank builds a unexpected amount of tension as it progresses. As a standalone sequence, it’s more effective than the banal story into which it’s integrated.
Edwards’s rebirth as a TV director fizzled out in the early eighties. There was one outlier, an In the Heat of the Night episode in 1990, and then nothing. According to Linda Foster, he never defeated his addiction to gambling. “He never was going to be a serious filmmaker, because he was too interested in the sixth race at Santa Anita,” said Mark Rydell, who noticed Edwards’s divided focus even as he began preparing for his first turn as a director. “He was a little bit like a rabbit running around rabbit holes. I don’t think he had the patience and discipline to see things through half the time. And he’d get frustrated and take himself off to the racetrack,” said Foster.
“The ultimate satisfaction in film is the director’s. I love it,” said Edwards in 1973, in what may have been his final recorded statement on the subject. “But it’s two months’ work for two weeks’ pay. As an actor, you come in to do an 11-day TV movie, take the money and run. You can’t do that as a director. At least I can’t. I have to be involved every step of the way through post-production up until it’s on the air.”
*
Sources (in addition to linked text above): Dwight Whitney, “Anybody Know What Kind of Mood Vince-Baby Is in Today?” TV Guide, April 4, 1964; Whitney, “Vince Baby Plays It Cool,” TV Guide, February 18, 1967; Cecil Smith, “Will Ben Casey Make a Comeback?” Los Angeles Times, December 6, 1973; Kathy Kersh interview in Tom Lisanti and Louis Paul, Film Fatales: Women in Espionage Films and Television, 1962-1973 (McFarland, 2002); John Meredyth Lucas, Eighty Odd Years in Hollywood: Memoir of a Career in Film and Television (McFarland, 2004); and July 2013 telephone interviews with Patricia Hyland Tackett, Mark Rydell, and Linda Foster Winter.
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https://awfj.org/blog/2007/05/18/mark-rydell-talks-even-money-with-jennifer-merin/
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en
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Mark Rydell talks “Even Money” with Jennifer Merin – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS
|
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2007-05-18T00:00:00
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en
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https://awfj.org/blog/2007/05/18/mark-rydell-talks-even-money-with-jennifer-merin/
|
In Even Money, acclaimed director Mark Rydell, known as an actors director, casts Danny DeVito, Kim Basinger and Forrest Whitaker as characters whose lives reflect the harsh consequences of adaptation to gambling. The film is Rydells first theatrical release in more than a decade.
Its tough in todays market to maintain your integrity, says Rydell, but luckily Ive managed to do it. Its hard to find substantive material that deals with human beings. When you do, its worthwhile pursuing that project.
When I read the first draft of Even Money, (first-time writer) Robert Tannens deep examination of the characters impressed me, and I liked his interweaving of four stories that come together in the end– thats a style that gained popularity with the films of Robert Altman, who was a very good friend of mine. Even Money was filmed in the spirit of Altman.
MERIN: How did you change that first draft?
RYDELL: Robert Tannen, whos a very skilled young man, and I went over the material syllable by syllable, examining each scenes intent and the way it was executed. We worked together to solve problems, improve situations. And, we kept writing even while we were shooting– because a films a living thing, it changes as you work on it, particularly during the shooting process, when actors of immense talent bring that talent to the set. Suddenly things you might have thought inviolate become infused with their gifts, and you have to be elastic enough to examine something you hadnt perceived before and embrace change.
For example, Grant Sullivan (cast as a bookie) is a professional fighter. Originally, the script didnt have that profession for him. We rewrote to give him opportunity to demonstrate his special skills which work for the part– hes a man whos struggling with his violence because hes fallen in love and wants to do the right thing. With the Magician, Danny DeVitos part, we added his ambition, his need for a resurgence in this career– that fed his relationship with Basinger. You discover these things as you work on the material.
So many talents come together in making a film. A directors a kind of a father figure guide always looking for ideas to execute the film in the best way possible. You never know where ideas are going to originate– a great idea can come from a craft service guy. You have to leave yourself open to continual development of the material.
MERIN: I find your comparison of directors to father figures interesting. Many women directors speak of themselves as Earth mothers, but many male directors whom Ive interviewed identify themselves as army commanders. Your have a decidedly different approach, Id say .
RYDELL: Director doesnt have to be army commanders, although that element enters into it because directors are natural born leaders, and the barometer of their skill is their ability to engage everyone working with them– 50 to 100 crew, 30 cast members– and get them aiming for the same target. When your concept is defined and clarified for everyone, you take them on a trip. You include them in the journey, instead of using them like a commander uses an army– which implies, in my mind, lack of communication. Im a fan of communication. Good ideas come from everyone. Im going to get the credit for them anyway, so Im very happy to accept the generosity and creativity of the people with whom I work.
MERIN: Even Money explores the world of gamblers. What are you saying about that ethos?
RYDELL: Its rather shallow to say gambling is awful. Whats really going on? Relationships, lives, aspirations– marriages can be destroyed by gambling. People whore hungry to invest themselves in a better future take risks, perhaps, that theyre not prepared for. We illuminate their lives, show what happens to them.
MERIN: How does Even Money fit into your filmography?
RYDELL: Thats an interesting question, because this film has few predecessors. Some people say its the Crash about gambling, but its its own thing.
Its unusual to see a film these days thats about human beings. Studios are not making these kinds of films since theyre targeting young audiences– 13 and 14 year olds– who produce hundred million dollar weekends. The attention is focused on technology and dazzle, and very little substance. These days, studios tell you bring us a tent pole picture– like Spiderman, something that produces huge revenue. They want a circus– or a crude vulgar comedy. Its very hard to sell to the majors now– though its hard, too, to condemn them for trying to meet their financial goals. But it lacks soul.
I take my role as a director very seriously. I find it a kind of noble profession. Therere very few professions where you can sit people all over the world in dark rooms and try to show them what you think is the truth about human behavior and perhaps even change or enlighten people. I dont mean to be self-aggrandizing here, but you do have an opportunity to illuminate truths that they might never be exposed to otherwise. I take my responsibility quite seriously. I think its a really powerful profession. Unfortunately, the way the industry has change since corporate entities, market research and pursuit of the bottom line– the dollar– rule, and the sense of responsibility and artistic aspiration have diminished so much, its very hard to be a serious director today.
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https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/henry-fonda-favourite-most-hated-movies/
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en
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Henry Fonda picks his favourite and most “hated”, movies
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2022-08-12T07:00:25+01:00
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Henry Fonda is the star of the classic Sergio Leone movie 'Once Upon a Time in the West' which also starred Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale and Frank Wolff..
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en
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/favicon.ico
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Far Out Magazine
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https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/henry-fonda-favourite-most-hated-movies/
|
Acknowledged as one of the earliest and most celebrated Hollywood actors of the 20th century, the American screen icon Henry Fonda captured the attention of the industry from the 1930s through to the 1970s. Throughout this period, Fonda was fortunate enough to work with some of the finest minds of modern cinema, including Sidney Lumet, Mark Rydell, Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford, among many others.
One of his most successful collaborations came in 1968 when he worked alongside the iconic Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone for the seminal western classic Once Upon a Time in the West. Appearing beside the likes of Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale and Frank Wolff, Fonda helped to create one of the finest and most intricate movies of the genre, inspiring countless filmmakers to come.
One such filmmaker was Quentin Tarantino who became enamoured with the work of Leone from a young age. Speaking to The Spectator in 2019, the director even stated, “The movie that made me consider filmmaking, the movie that showed me how a director does what he does, how a director can control a movie through his camera, is Once Upon a Time in the West…I found myself completely fascinated, thinking: ‘That’s how you do it.’ It ended up creating an aesthetic in my mind”.
Fonda’s career is sprinkled with such similar classics that remain indelibly tied to the history of American cinema, with Once Upon a Time in the West merely being one of many celebrated classics.
For the actor himself, however, Fonda has his own picks for his favourite roles, revealing all in a conversation with Dick Cavett in 1972. Jumping straight into it, the actor states, “12 Angry Men has to be on the list because that’s my Easy Rider, I produced it…I’m proud of that on more than one level,” presumably linking his own film to the bohemian indie classic due to the fact that his son, Peter Fonda, both starred in and produced the 1960 movie.
Moving beyond the well-known courtroom drama, 12 Angry Men, Fonda adds, “I think Grapes of Wrath has to be on the list,” before his reasoning is interrupted by an impromptu round of applause. After the rapturous response, he adds, “because it’s become a minor classic, but that’s only two and, I’m beginning to stutter, I made about 76,” speaking to his impressive filmography that includes over 100 total credits.
Taken aback at the omission of one particular movie, Cavett states, “You haven’t mentioned Mister Roberts right away,” to which Fonda recoils in disagreement. Explaining why he leaves the celebrated movie off his list of favourites, he states, “When you’ve done a play as long as I did Mister Roberts, I did it for four years, 1600/1700 performances, you become a purest about that play, and I wasn’t the only one. Everybody that was involved with that play, we hated the picture because it took liberties”.
Loving 12 Angry Men and Grapes of Wrath but looking back on Mister Roberts with a certain amount of disdain, Henry Fonda will forever go down in history as one of the greatest classical American actors.
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https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Christopher_Rydell
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en
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Christopher Rydell
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Christopher Rydell is an American former actor. The son of film director Mark Rydell and actress Joanne Linville, Rydell is best known for his starring role in Dario Argento's Trauma and for his role as Danny Leonard in the musical film For the Boys. He has appeared in a number of his father's films, including Harry and Walter Go to New York and On Golden Pond.
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en
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Wikiwand
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https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Christopher_Rydell
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Christopher Rydell (born November 16, 1963) is an American former actor. The son of film director Mark Rydell and actress Joanne Linville, Rydell is best known for his starring role in Dario Argento's Trauma and for his role as Danny Leonard in the musical film For the Boys. He has appeared in a number of his father's films, including Harry and Walter Go to New York and On Golden Pond.[1]
Quick Facts Born, Occupation ...
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dbpedia
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https://www.historyforsale.com/mark-rydell-autographed-signed-photograph/dc20402
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en
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Mark Rydell - Autographed Signed Photograph
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Mark Rydell - Autographed Signed Photograph - Item 20402. Shown in Yankees cap on promotional photo for On Golden Pond, the film which gained him an Oscar nominationPhotograph signed: 'Mark/Rydell'. B/w, 8x10. Promotional photo for On Golden Pond, captioned in lower margin. Mark Rydell (b. Shop for Mark Rydell related autographs, signed photographs, historical documents and manuscripts from the world's largest collection. Every purchase includes our industry recognized COA. Worldwide shipping available.
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HistoryForSale - Autographs, Collectibles & Memorabilia
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Customers who fail to complete purchase after an offer has been accepted will lose their ability to make any future offers.
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6000
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dbpedia
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3
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https://trailersfromhell.com/televisions-lost-classics-vol-one-john-cassavetes/
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en
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Television's Lost Classics Vol One: John Cassavetes
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2019-02-02T16:46:45+00:00
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John Cassavetes springs forth as a major 1950s talent in these two 'Primetime Special' dramatic plays broadcast live on ABC and CBS. Crime in the Streets is the Reginald Rose classic directed by Sidney Lumet; No Right to Kill is a 'culture for the masses' adaptation of Crime and Punishment. Cassavetes' co-stars are Robert Preston, Glenda Farrell, Terry Moore and Robert H. Harris.
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en
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Trailers From Hell
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https://trailersfromhell.com/televisions-lost-classics-vol-one-john-cassavetes/
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John Cassavetes springs forth as a major 1950s talent in these two ‘Primetime Special’ dramatic plays broadcast live on ABC and CBS. Crime in the Streets is the Reginald Rose classic directed by Sidney Lumet; No Right to Kill is a ‘culture for the masses’ adaptation of Crime and Punishment. Cassavetes’ co-stars are Robert Preston, Glenda Farrell, Terry Moore and Robert H. Harris.
Television’s Lost Classics
Volume One John Cassavetes
Crime in the Streets; No Right to Kill
Blu-ray
VCI
1955-’56 / B&W / 1:33 Kinescope / 2 x 60 min. / Street Date September 11, 2018 / 18.99 (Amazon)
Starring: John Cassavetes, Robert Preston, Glenda Farrell, Mark Rydell, Terry Moore, Robert H. Harris.
Directed by Sidney Lumet and Buzz Kulik
Remember the movie Network, when William Holden’s character says he’s going to write a glowing memoir about his ‘good old days’ in the Golden Era of Live TV in New York? That was in 1975, just fifteen years after the bubble burst, when network TV turned away from live theater in favor of expensive TV shows shot on film and videotape. Frequently referenced but not that often revived, the supposed classics of Live TV drama are remembered now more through their various feature film adaptations, like Marty, Days of Wine and Roses and No Time for Sergeants. In many cases a ‘legendary’ TV performance was eclipsed by the casting of a different actor for the film: how many people are aware of the great work of, say, Nancy Marchand in TV’s Marty? It’s not as frustrating as the fate handed down to Broadway stars now less well known because of movie re-casting.
Although there are other examples, so far the best set of ‘classic’ Live TV greats is a Criterion disc called The Golden Age of Television, which includes Marty, Patterns, No Time for Sergeants, A Wind from the South, Requiem for a Heavyweight, Bang the Drum Slowly, The Comedian and Days of Wine and Roses. Just last year, VCI and Jeff Joseph/Sabucat launched a new Blu-ray project called Television’s Lost Classics. Volume One contains two hour-long TV shows starring John Cassavetes. From 1955 comes Crime in the Streets; it’s followed by 1956’s No Right to Kill. Both shows have been remastered from B&W Kinescopes and thus have an ‘unusual’ appearance today. More on that below.
First broadcast on ABC’s ‘The Elgin Hour,’ Crime in the Streets is the original TV production from which came Don Siegel’s memorable 1956 feature film from Allied Artists, which also starred John Cassavetes. The TV production is a simplified affair lacking Siegel’s dramatic editing (its knife-fight rumble was an obvious influence on West Side Story) but just as moving. The title was likely inspired by the newspaper reaction to juvenile delinquency as a simple police problem. Taking the cue of Stewart Stern and Nicholas Ray in Rebel without a Cause, writer Reginald Rose distills the classic ’50s TV drama view of delinquency: products of a hostile environment, teen hoodlums express themselves with violence because they feel hemmed in by poverty, social & class oppression, a ‘rigged system,’ etc. Whatever the merits of this liberal argument, it proved very popular in progressive times. The very capable live TV director is none other than Sidney Lumet, who in 1955 helmed scores of broadcast productions large and small. He only has the one big set to worry about — Frankie’s room, the big street, the candy store — and handles them well.
John Cassavetes had already played in seven or eight TV shows, with leading roles in two or three. In Crime in the Streets he’s Frankie Dane, a teen seething with uncontrollable hatred. Frankie terrorizes his mother (pre-Code veteran Glenda Farrell) and little brother Richie (child actor and future composer Van Dyke Parks), and brutalizes his cohort in the ‘Hornets’ gang, Lou (future director Mark Rydell). The first words out of Frankie’s mouth are “We’re gonna kill him!”, and the whole show concerns Frankie’s plan to murder an elderly neighbor who turned a gang member in to the police.
Cassavetes impressed all with his brooding, vicious portrait of an all-too familiar potential killer. His mother’s despair does nothing, and neither does the nosy counsel of the social worker Ben Wagner (first-billed Robert Preston). Wagner’s attempts to talk Frankie through his rage might influence the boy, but they mostly provide a conduit to explain to confused viewers the modern psychological approach to delinquents: beating them or locking them up no longer work, so let’s try a little understanding. That humanist notion would soon become a painful cliché, making excuses for murderous SOBs and coining painful wishful-thinking catchphrases: “Yes, yes, ten dead and gallons of blood everywhere. But it’s not little Charlie Manson’s problem — it’s OUR problem.”
As expected, the live New York TV drama on view is very theatrical, but Rose’s dialogue works well and the emotions ring true. The show covers all bases by averting disaster through a sentimental breakthrough, which is not overdone. Kid actor Van Dyke Parks’ final plea: “Frankie, I’m your brother!” stings the heart. Anybody watching would think, a) John Cassavetes is a scary guy, and b) he’s got a promising future.
There are no complaints with Sidney Lumet’s direction, except that the set doesn’t cooperate with his chosen visual motif to end segments — Frankie and Ben take long walks away from the camera into an alley, with the idea that they should be disappearing into a vanishing point. This is meant to mirror the final shot, when Ben and Frankie walk away down the sidewalk together. But the alley set is more of a boxed-in area than a corridor, and the TV studio switcher must fade before Frankie or Ben collide with the back wall.
Among the sparse cast are Will Kuluva as the owner of the candy store (was Arthur Laurents watching?) and none other than future Jet David Winters as ‘Glasses,’ a jive-dancing street kid. Hmmm. That means that West Side Story is Romeo and Juliet + Crime in the Streets + The Bowery Boys (for the Jets’ stylized street lingo).
No Right to Kill is the fourth of 34 episodes of the TV series ‘Climax!’ directed by the even busier Buzz Kulik, whose career would stay mainly on TV with some notable theatrical exceptions — Warning Shot, Riot. It’s an inescapably pretentious adaptation of Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, updated to — where else — the crowded, impoverished streets of lower Manhattan. Writer Victor Wolfson does a creditable job, even if some elements are unduly strained.
In place of a violent, emotionally troubled juvenile delinquent, this time John Cassavetes is a violent, emotionally troubled unemployed writer. Broke and suffering, McCloud whines at his landlady and causes trouble in a bar run by Angelo (Joe Mantell of Marty and Chinatown). He forms a desperate emotional relationship with the barmaid Lisa (established Hollywood actress Terry Moore) even as he criticizes her lack of schooling. Enraged by the greedy, suspicious attitude of a lady pawnbroker, McCloud knifes her to death for no reason at all, and then begins broadcasting his guilt in small ways. Detective Porfear (Robert H. Harris of America America and How to Make a Monster) senses McCloud’s involvement right away. He invites the younger man to his apartment, to discuss the writer’s one published item, which happens to be about Nietzsche’s theory of privileged supermen. McCloud’s inherent guilt becomes apparent almost immediately.
Some TV dramas of the period try to be controversial, but put forward very conventional ideas. From its title forward, No Right to Kill assures viewers of a moral viewpoint. Victor Wolfson’s script works over some overwrought lower-class archetypes (miserly pawnbroker, bar-girl with bad diction, ethnic neighbor, etc.) and then gives both Cassavetes and Harris’s detective some fancy lines to read, which they do well. We can just hear the Climax producers claiming victory, simply for having delivered Great Art to the unwashed masses TV public.
Buzz Kulik’s direction is energetic and complex. The street scenes involve camera moves through dozens of actors walking, sitting, selling, playing; a cocktail party has a nice feel of being within a crowd. As we presume that these shows were performed life, the fluidity of this particular episode is impressive. The usual desperation feeling — will someone blow a line? will a boom mike dip into frame? — just isn’t there. There are many more sets than in Crime in the Streets and a great many more extras with business to perform.
Terry Moore is quite good as the inarticulate girl who drifts away from the unhappy Joe Mantell, claiming that the troubled Cassavetes ‘needs her.’ Cassavetes has no trouble expressing guilty confusion, masked with intellectual arrogance, but I’m not sure Dostoevsky would be applauding the interpretation. There’s never any question that the tragedy’s first commitment is to a law and order mindset.
One detail is a a surprise — it might be unintentional, or perhaps the show was just put together in too much of a rush. The Robert H. Harris character’s invite for McCloud to come to his apartment reads strongly as a gay pickup. There are even a couple of provocative lines of dialogue in the apartment scene. But Harris’s Porfear is supposed to be a New York detective? He lives in a swank pad, and has a butler who answers the door for him.
VCI’s Blu-ray of Television’s Lost Classics Volume One John Cassavetes is a welcome return to oft-discussed but seldom revived TV history. Sabucat’s restoration of both shows is exemplary. We’re treated to all the oddities of Kinescopes, an arrangement by which, as the live shows were broadcast, they were simultaneously filmed off of high-quality TV monitors. The process allowed re-broadcasts as well as the obvious ability to record the shows. Videotape is said to have been introduced in 1956, but I believe it took a couple of years for it to be fully implemented. Because there was more than one 2″ videotape format, earlier Kinescopes are more accessible than some later live shows recorded on the new video machines.
These Kinescopes are of a high quality, but still show some flaws. The field is sometimes not flat — items and people at the edges of the frame change shape or become skinny. The picture occasionally warps in weird ways, and the line structure can become coarse for a second or two. But in both shows we see a good depth of field and good camera work in general. The audio is also uniform and clear.
The presentations show the entire 60-minute broadcast version of both shows, including commercial breaks, sponsor intros and outros. Station and network signage are accomplished with plain flat artwork shot off an easel. One disclaimer says that certain parts of the shows are pre-recorded, but that might just be the filmed title sequences and parts of commercials. The commercials reveal a lot about early television. The ‘Elgin Hour’ is naturally named after its sponsor, a maker of a line of not very impressive-looking watches. Those TV spots are pre-filmed, and likely broadcast on the fly from a telecine setup. The Elgin sales pitch is repetitive, slow, and boring, and make the watches look cheap.
The TV spots for the ‘Climax!’ show look to be broadcast on the fly from another studio set. Actor William Lundigan dishes out reams of happy General Motors sales talk, only faltering once or twice on a set with several cars set up and fully lit. A female model does Vanna White duty as he explains how the windows roll down (!), etc. Each hour-long show gets in four spots, each at least a minute long — at the beginning, at each of two act breaks, and at the end. One show ends with a crazy preview of an upcoming show, with the next week’s actors. Is it on film? Did the actors drop in live, to perform twenty seconds of script lines? It’s difficult to be sure.
Finally, this Volume One presentation finishes with a pretty surprising NSFW extra, a ten-minute blooper reel with edited outtakes from Reginald Rose’s TV show The Defenders, with E.G. Marshall and Robert Reed, and a later TV show called The Nurses. It must have been a real eye-opener for an all-adult wrap party, for the clips show the actors in stage waits or mugging, ‘reacting’ to bits of striptease, etc.. More surprising are the colorful obscenities that pop up when somebody blows a line, especially actor Marshall. The bloopers use profanity I didn’t know was even that common back then. They must have waited until the wrap party guests had a couple of drinks in them, to spring this reel.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Television’s Lost Classics Volume One John Cassavetes
Blu-ray rates:
TV shows: Very Good
Video: Very Good
Sound: Very Good
Supplements: Blooper Reel
Deaf and Hearing-impaired Friendly? YES; Subtitles: English (feature only)
Packaging: Keep case
Reviewed: January 30, 2019
(5919tele)
Visit CineSavant’s Main Column Page
Glenn Erickson answers most reader mail: cinesavant@gmail.com
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https://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/the-fox-1967-mark-rydell/
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en
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The Fox (1967) Mark Rydell
|
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2016-02-01T00:00:00
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Mark Rydell’s The Fox was released in Canada in December of 1967. Two months later, in early February, it opened in the U.S. I remember seeing the film back then with a full house of other filmgoers at the Festival theater in New York City. It's based on an early novella by D.H. Lawrence, best known for…
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en
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https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/d7aa46c18fcbc9e958d920117d48842da9864b7cf29fa6a6bdc6b1715f25f45a?s=32
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Twenty Four Frames
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https://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/the-fox-1967-mark-rydell/
|
Mark Rydell’s The Fox was released in Canada in December of 1967. Two months later, in early February, it opened in the U.S. I remember seeing the film back then with a full house of other filmgoers at the Festival theater in New York City. It’s based on an early novella by D.H. Lawrence, best known for the erotic Lady’s Chatterley’s Lover, a book just about every high school boy back in the day secretly read.
In the mid to late sixties, The Motion Picture Production Code was in disarray. Films like Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Pawnbroker and Blow-Up were chipping away at the code’s hold on filmmakers, opening up a door for more mature stories to reach the screen. British Producer Raymond Stross was one filmmaker who wanted to continue to stretch the boundaries of what was acceptable on the screen. He also wanted to find a project that would star his wife; actress, and former Miss Great Britain (1950), Anne Heywood. Stross and Heywood had previously collaborated in films like The Brain and Ninety Degrees in the Shade. The Fox would be their third collaboration and their most controversial up to that point in time.
With the making of The Fox, Stross did stretch the boundaries, and pushed a lot of buttons in the process. The film included scenes of nudity, lesbianism and masturbation. Watched today, it may film seem mild, but back in ‘67/’68 it was pretty strong stuff. With the new rating system still months away, the film was Suggested for Mature Audiences. After the rating system went into effect, The Fox was given an “R.” Later on, it was changed to PG-13. Two reasons for the change. First, by future standards the scenes were not as graphic as what would come later, and second, the film more importantly was edited to chip away at some of the more suggestive scenes and in the process diluting the power of the film. Subsequently, if you have seen The Fox in recent years, most likely you are seeing the edited version.
The film is basically a three character study. Jill Banford (Sandy Dennis) and Ellen March (Anne Heywood) are two women who wanted to get away from the craziness of city life. They live and work a farm in the rural Canadian countryside. Jill takes care of the household chores whereas Ellen does the tougher farm work, including trying to hunt a fox who has been raiding their chicken coop. There are hints that Jill and Ellen’s relationship may be more than just the two working the farm together. While Jill is happy with their rural life, Ellen has become lonely and frustrated.
Their quiet world changes with the unexpected arrival of Paul (Keir Dullea), a seaman on leave, who explains to the women his grandfather once owned the farm. With no place to go, he volunteers to stay awhile and help out with the heavier farm work. Jill appreciatively agrees while Ellen needs to be persuaded. Paul is attracted to Ellen and while Ellen is at first reluctant they soon begin having an affair. The two fall in love, announcing to Jill they plan to marry and leave the farm. Jill becomes upset. Before the couple leave the farm, an unexpected accident sadly resolves the conflict.
The screenplay, by Lewis John Carlino (The Great Santini, Seconds) and Howard Koch (Casablanca, Mission to Moscow, The Letter), modernizes Lawrence’s short novel to the modern day late 1960‘s. Additionally, they moved the story from England to an isolated farm in rural Canada. Finally, they made Lawrence’s novella a more graphic story though managing to keep the author’s concept mostly intact.
The late Sandy Dennis was a terrific actress, but unfortunately the role she has here requires her to be a high-pitched, annoying, whiney, overly dependent irritant. Her voice is like nails screeching on a blackboard. Pauline Kael wrote she, “made an acting style out of postnasal drip.” One wonders just what Anne Heywood’s Ellen saw in her. Kier Dullea’s Paul comes across as self-confident, you might even say smug and opinionated. He has no doubts about himself. At one point he even questions Jill on why she’s a lesbian noting she’s not bad looking and has nice legs. Dullea is good, however, I found his character very likable. That leaves Anne Heywood as Ellen who arguably gives the strongest performance of the cast. Reserved and lonely, she allows herself to be become prey to Paul’s seduction.
The film is beautifully photographed by cinematographer William A. Fraker (Rosemary’s Baby, Bullitt). Director Mark Rydell, a former actor (Crime in the Streets, The Long Goodbye), does a nice job turning this quiet, sometimes slow paced tale into an arty work of quiet beauty. This was Rydell’s first feature film as a director. He honed his skills in television doing shows like Mr. Novak, Ben Casey, The Fugitive and Gunsmoke. Rydell would go on to direct other films including The Rose, On Golden Pond, The Reivers and The Cowboys among others.
The husband and wife team of Raymond Stross and Anne Heywood would go on to make other controversial films including I Want What I Want (sex change) and Good Night, Miss Wyckoff (rape, interracial sex), neither of which were very good nor are deservedly very well known.
This is my contribution to the O CANADA BLOGATION. For more entries in this series check out the link below.
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https://universalcinema.ca/robert-altmans-re-invention-of-private-eye-in-the-long-goodbye/
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invention of Private Eye in The Long Goodbye
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[
"Ali Moosavi"
] |
2021-03-21T19:38:55+00:00
|
unique description of people and places. Take this introduction about a new visitor to Marlowe’s house in The Long Goodbye
|
en
|
Universal Cinema
|
https://universalcinema.ca/robert-altmans-re-invention-of-private-eye-in-the-long-goodbye/
|
Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe is one of the best loved and most enduring of private eyes. Chandler’s plots can sometimes be confusing. Howard Hawks recounts that when making The Big Sleep (1946), they contacted Chandler to determine who was the murderer and even he wasn’t sure! What makes the Chandler books so endearing is not their plots but Chandler / Marlowe’s dialogues, full of whimsical observations and wisecracks, and unique description of people and places. Take this introduction about a new visitor to Marlowe’s house in The Long Goodbye:
You could tell by his eyes that he was plastered to the hairline, but otherwise he looked like any other nice young man in a dinner jacket who had been spending too much money in a joint that exists for that purpose and for no other. From his voice and articulation you wouldn’t have known he had had anything stronger than orange juice to drink.
One way to retain the Chandler/ Marlowe observations is to use voiceover by the actor playing Marlowe. A good example of this is the 1975 Farewell, My Lovely with Robert Mitchum as Philip Marlowe, which opens with the following voiceover by Mitchum:
This past spring was the first that I felt tired and realized I was growing old. Maybe it was the rotten weather we’d had in L.A. Maybe the rotten cases I’d had. Mostly chasing a few missing husbands and then chasing their wives once I found them, in order to get paid. Or maybe it was just the plain fact that I am tired and growing old.
In addition to being a novelist, Raymond Chandler was also a scriptwriter. His screenplays include Double Indemnity (1944), The Blue Dahlia (1946) and Strangers on a Train (1950). The Long Goodbye was written in 1953, after the aforementioned scripts. Perhaps for whenever the book was turned to a movie and for whoever was going to write and direct it, Chandler provides a clear self-description of Marlowe in The Long Goodbye:
I’m a licensed private investigator and have been for quite a while. I’m a lone wolf, unmarried, getting middle-aged, and not rich. I’ve been in jail more than once and I don’t do divorce business. I like liquor and women and chess and a few other things. The cops don’t like me too well, but I know a couple I get along with. I’m a native son, born in Santa Rosa, both parents dead, no brothers or sisters, and when I get knocked off in a dark alley sometime, if it happens, as it could to anyone in my business, nobody will feel that the bottom has dropped out of his or her life.
In his 1973 Marlowe movie, The Long Goodbye, maverick director Robert Altman shakes up this particular genre and, in the process, reinvents Philip Marlow. Altman dispenses with voiceovers, relocates the story from the fifties to the seventies and Marlowe is no longer the tough, no-nonsense character. Altman’s Marlowe, as played by Elliot Gould, is a wisecracking guy who uses words, rather than punches, to strike those unfriendly to him. He always has a tie around his neck and a cigarette in his hand. He lives with an Indian cat who only eats curry flavoured cat food. His neighbours are a group of young girls who like to dance in the nude and for whom Marlowe does errands.
The Long Goodbye has a theme song of the same title, very much in tune with the film noir genre. This song can be heard throughout the film in various forms, a singer singing it in a lounge, being played on the radio, a character humming it or played on the soundtrack. However, Altman opens and closes the movie with the thirties song Hooray for Hollywood to emphasize the camp and Hollywood nature of the film’s atmosphere. There are other pointers highlighting the closeness of the locality of the picture to Hollywood. A security guard for a private residence greets visitors with imitations of actors such as James Cagney and Barbara Stanwyck.
The plot is a standard private eye story. Marlowe is hired by a femme fatal (Nina van Pallandt) to find her missing husband, an author (Sterling Hayden, a veteran of the classic film noirs such as The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing). This leads to a web of intrigue, deception and murder involving the disappearance of an old friend (Jim Bouton), a mob boss (Mark Rydell, himself a director of films such as On Golden Pond), a suspicious psychiatrist (Altman regular, Henry Gibson), and the cops. The Long Goodbye’s script was written by Leigh Bracket, who also wrote the script for The Big Sleep. For Altman though the plot is secondary. He is more interested in form rather than content. Typically, there are overlapping conversations or, if Altman is not that interested in the dialogue, it is drowned by external noise or in one case he cuts away from a conversation to a funeral procession.
Altman’s most influential collaborator in this film is cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond. In some of the shots, we see two characters having a conversation in the foreground and another character far away in the background, typically seen through a window. Altman and Zsigmond make LA one of the film’s main characters. Shots have the sea in the background, reflections in the glass and creative use of the zoom and wide-angle lenses. These further highlight the complications of the plot and add to the noir atmosphere.
Film buffs can spot Robert Altman as an ambulance driver and Arnold Schwarzenegger as one of the heavies. The Long Goodbye is a film for which the saying “there’s more than meets the eye” is quite apt and it repays repeat viewings. The ending is reminiscent of another noir classic, The Third Man. It is neither happy nor sad and perfectly in tune with the book’s theme and title. As Chandler/ Marlowe notes in the book:
To say goodbye is to die a little.
|
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6000
|
dbpedia
|
3
| 15
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https://travsd.wordpress.com/2024/06/04/breaking-down-bruce-dern/
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en
|
Breaking Down Bruce Dern
|
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2024-06-04T00:00:00
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Have no fear, I have no intention of taking down or running down the idiosyncratic genius of Bruce MacLeish Dern (b. 1936). The title refers to the fact that this post will divide aspects of his life and career into categories for the purposes of analysis, for there are many themes that run throughout. I…
|
en
|
(Travalanche)
|
https://travsd.wordpress.com/2024/06/04/breaking-down-bruce-dern/
|
Have no fear, I have no intention of taking down or running down the idiosyncratic genius of Bruce MacLeish Dern (b. 1936). The title refers to the fact that this post will divide aspects of his life and career into categories for the purposes of analysis, for there are many themes that run throughout.
I associate Dern especially with psychopath roles, especially characters who seem to have crawled out of the backwoods. As Tom in The Great Gatsby (1974), I long thought he was miscast, but when you plunge into his background, it turns out that in that part he was typecast. If the beady, vacant, too-close-together eyes, high-sloping forehead, rat-like nose, and unsettling, crooked grin suggest inbreeding to you, it turns out that it’s more like the King Charles kind. His two principal great-grandfathers were self-made, wealthy men (John Dern was the President of a gold mine; Andrew MacLeish was director of a major department store and co-founder of the University of Chicago). The poet and Librarian of Congress Archibald MacLeish was Dern’s great uncle. His grandfather George Dern was U.S. Secretary of War and Governor of Utah. His father, John Dern was a law partner of Adlai Stevenson; Stevenson was Bruce Dern’s Godfather. Dern grew up in the tony suburbs of Chicago and was a track star at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dern went on to study at the Actor’s Studio with Lee Strasberg and Elia Kazan, becoming a particular protege of the latter. Kazan directed him on Broadway in the original 1959 production of Sweet Bird of Youth and the 1960 movie Wild River. Other early significant stage work included the 1958 Philadelphia premiere of Waiting for Godot (as Estragon) and a 1958 Broadway revival of Shadow of a Gunman. Rightly or wrongly, I’ve always included him in a possibly unfair mental category of “Method Acting Crazies”, actors who push psychological barriers to their outer limits and take real risks, people like Brando, Rod Steiger, James Dean, Dennis Hopper, and many another, both then and now. His performance in Tattoo (1981) especially conjures Steiger, being a kind of mash-up of things like No Way to Treat a Lady (1968) and The Illustrated Man (1969). Dern often played characters who were a terrifying combination of dumb and cowardly, the kind of petty animals who will sink to anything, shoot a man in the back, mistreat women and children. I am of just the right age to have been deeply affected by his devastating role in Mark Rydell’s coming of age movie The Cowboys (1972). How could anyone be hunky-dory with humankind after experiencing the truth of that daring performance? For it falls within the limits of known and recognizable human behavior.
Another outgrowth of Dern’s Method training, I believe (and it’s hard to know the extent the degree to which he controls it), is his tendency to convert all of his dialogue into his own words. Frequent collaborator Jack Nicholson dubbed these improvised alterations “Dernsies”. His own speech patterns are really quirky and easy to identify. Those who have heard the real guy speak in interviews have surely observed that he customarily retrofits his movie lines into his own voice.
Starting in the early ’60s Dern worked a lot in dramatic TV series, playing the kinds of drifters and creeps that became his stock in trade. The arc of his future career was set in things like a 1964 episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour where he plays a wanderer named Jesse who terrorizes a farm couple played by Teresa Wright and Pat Buttram. Hitchcock also gave him a small but important role as a drunken, rapey sailor in Marnie that same year. Hitchcock clearly relished Dern’s offbeat qualities. Hitch cast him opposite Barbara Harris as a lead in his very last film The Family Plot (1976, pictured above). In that one, Dern went against type and it’s very fun to watch as he is clearly making an attempt to echo the long-chain of Hitchcock’s humorous double-chase heroes dating all the way back to the director’s British films. All the business with the pipe, for example, reminds me in particular of Michael Redgrave in The Lady Vanishes (1938).
That same eventful year of 1964, Dern was also in the Hitchcockesque Robert Aldrich film Hush…Hush Sweet Charlotte, one of the numerous popular movies of the day that owed a lot stylistically to Psycho. Surprisingly there are relatively few horror films per se in Dern’s body of work, and what there is came much later, when he did things like the 1999 remake of The Haunting, as well as Swamp Devil (2008), The Hole (2009), Twixt (2011), Coffin Baby (2013), and Bloodline Killer (2024). Instead, to my mind, Dern’s niche seems to consist of bringing the horror to other genres. His two primary associations in terms of genre are: 1) Vietnam era/counterculture/low budget exploitation; and 2) westerns.
In 1966 Dern began his association with AIP, leading to many collaborations with Roger Corman, Jack Nicholson, Peter Fonda, and by extension Fonda’s sister Jane. This side of his career gives us things like The Wild Angels (1966), The Trip (1967), The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (1967), Psych-Out (1968), The Cycle Savages (1969), They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969), Bloody Mama (1970), The Rebel Rousers (1970), The Thing With Two Heads (1971), Drive He Said (1971), and The King of Marvin Gardens (1972). Later, he would play men damaged by the Vietnam War in things like John Frankenheimer’s Bloody Sunday (1977) and Hal Ashby’s Coming Home (1978). Not long ago I watched a talk show interview with Dern that was recorded not long after the latter film, where he seemed to be under the misapprehension that his Oscar nominated performance would elevate him to the status of a leading man. But of course the leading man in that movie was Jon Voigt. Dern’s attempt to be one (opposite Ann-Margret) in Middle Age Crazy (1980) was widely panned. His next movie? Was Tattoo.
Even before he started making those biker movies though, Dern had begun his association with the western. Initially he guest starred on TV series like Wagon Train, The Virginian, Gunsmoke, Rawhide, Bonanza, and The Big Valley. This led to films like The War Wagon (1967), Waterhole No. 3 (1967), Will Penny (1967), Hang ‘Em High (1968), Support Your Local Sheriff (1969), The Cowboys (1972), Pat Garret and Billy the Kid (1973), Posse (1975), Harry Tracy: The Last of the Wild Bunch (1982), Wild Bill (1995) and dozens of others.
Some of Dern’s best known roles though have been unicorn-like. In Douglas Trumbull’s Silent Running (1972), a follow-up of sorts to the special effects breakthroughs of 2001: A Space Odyssey, he carried an entire movie in a virtual solo turn, a kind of rare tour de force of the sort few actors get to attempt. Other examples include Michael Ritchie’s beauty pageant satire Smile (1975), Walter Hill’s The Driver (1978), and Jason Miller’s sports drama That Championship Season (1982).
The ’80s were a relatively fallow period for Dern, while during the same decade, his daughter Laura became a star. Towards the end of the decade he began to get cast more smartly again, often in roles that recalled the first phase of his career. He also began to be seen regularly again in major films, although often in smaller roles. Some from this period include 1969 (1988), The ‘Burbs (1989), After Dark My Sweet (1990), Mulholland Falls (1996), All the Pretty Horses (2000) and Monster (2003). From 2006 through 2011 he had a plum recurring role on the HBO series Big Love. Quentin Tarantino employed him in Django Unchained (2012), The Hateful Eight (2015) and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), stunt casting him as George Spahn in the latter.
In 2013 Alexander Payne, who had directed Dern’s daughter Laura in Citizen Ruth (1996) and his old cohort Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt (2002), cast him as lead in Nebraska, earning him a Best Actor Oscar after over 50 years in the business. (He had previously been nominated for Best Supporting in Coming Home). I found an amusing (because true) quote from Dern on the subject of Peter Fonda: “I’m sorry, man, he just can’t act. He never bothered to sit and learn. He never studied…Now I don’t begrudge the fact that he has talent. But he’s not an actor, by any stretch of the imagination.” Right on the money. But even so, it seems to me that Nebraska has much in common with at least two Fonda vehicles, Wanda Nevada (1979) and Ulee’s Gold (1997). And for that matter, Easy Rider (1969)! Loveable wackos on Quixotic American road trips!
Dern has played dozens of subsequent roles over the past decade. 2017 was a particularly interesting year, one in which his movies included the western bio-pic Hickok, The Lears (in which he played a sit-com version of King Lear opposite Anthony Michael Hall and Sean Astin), and Chappaquidick, in which he played Joe Kennedy. At present, he can be seen in a recurring role on the Apple TV+ series Palm Royale, starring his daughter Laura, Kristen Wiig, Josh Lucas, Allison Janney, Carol Burnett et al.
Over 200 screen credits and still going! Crazy like a fox!
|
|||||
6000
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dbpedia
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2
| 59
|
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/intersection-1994
|
en
|
Intersection movie review & film summary (1994)
|
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Maybe my problem was that somehow I got it stuck in my head that "Intersection" was a Thriller. If I'd known it was a Weeper, I wouldn't have wept, but at
|
en
|
Roger Ebert
|
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/intersection-1994
|
Maybe my problem was that somehow I got it stuck in my head that “Intersection” was a Thriller. If I’d known it was a Weeper, I wouldn’t have wept, but at least I wouldn’t have been waiting for an hour for someone to pull out an ice pick.
The movie is a belated reminder of one of the unmourned genres of earlier years, the Shaggy Lover Story, in which a doomed romance is told against a backdrop of impending heartbreak. The twist at the end is supposed to send you out of the theater blowing your nose, but the people around me seemed more concerned with clearing their sinuses.
“Intersection” stars Richard Gere as an architect who is torn between two women: his wife, who is cold but uninteresting, and his lover, who is warm but uninteresting. Gere is not interesting either.
The only thing these characters have to talk about are the problems manufactured for them by the screenplay. No other conversations on any other subject amount to more than filler between crises.
Gere and his estranged wife Sally (Sharon Stone) are partners in an architectural firm. Their marriage, seen in laborious flashbacks, is a “business partnership,” he complains, in which she runs the business and he has the ideas. He meets a journalist named Olivia (Lolita Davidovich), falls in love, moves out on his wife and daughter, and begins to talk about the new house he will build for himself and Olivia.
But . . . should he? Is he still attracted to Sally? He doesn’t seem to know. Does he feel guilt about leaving his daughter? Sometimes. Does Olivia understand him? Yes. But, darn it all, things are so complicated! Martin Landau, his associate at work, tells him: “You have a wife and child in one place, a lover in another place . . . that’s just plain messy. Keep everything under one roof. That’s a basic rule of architecture.” I am sure people talk like this somewhere. I don’t want to go there.
I also don’t want to give away the ending of the movie. That means I can’t give away the beginning, either, because the whole movie is one long flashback within which are contained shorter flashbacks, all setting the stage for near-death visions. As nearly as I can tell, only about five minutes of the movie is supposed to take place in the present.
All of these observations pale by comparison to the film’s central problem, which is that director Mark Rydell and writers David Rayfiel and Marshall Brickman have not given us characters of the slightest interest. Stone plays the wife like a woman with a migraine, Davidovich plays the lover like a good sport, and Gere plays the man in the middle as if life would be a lot easier if he hadn’t ever met either woman.
All three people share a strange characteristic common to many Hollywood films: All of their behavior is linked directly to the plot. Unlike the people in European films, they have no lives, no ideas, no questions, no quirks, no real jobs, aside from the plot.
(Precious little architecture or journalism gets performed in this movie.) The movie isn’t even very good at handling ancient staples like marital fights: Gere and Stone have a weirdly off-center, badly timed argument that leads up to the old dependable Packing A Bag And Moving Out Scene (played by him this time). It’s so unconvincing we’re reduced to noticing that after he grabs three unspecified items from a drawer and throws them onto the bed, the drawer is empty. Must be the drawer where he keeps his Packing A Bag clothes.
|
|||||
6000
|
dbpedia
|
0
| 56
|
https://variety.com/2001/tv/reviews/james-dean-2-1200469657/
|
en
|
James Dean
|
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[
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] | null |
[
"Phil Gallo"
] |
2001-08-02T22:48:39+00:00
|
Lengthy in its gestation as a Warner Bros. pic and still grand in its ambition as a cable TV movie, "James Dean" offers a personal look at one of America's greatest icons, courtesy of director Mark Rydell and star James Franco. It's a hushed project that finds its grandeur in the cinematic approach from director of photography Robbie Greenberg, who gives pic the look of a bigscreen rather than a television project.
|
en
|
Variety
|
https://variety.com/2001/tv/reviews/james-dean-2-1200469657/
|
Lengthy in its gestation as a Warner Bros. pic and still grand in its ambition as a cable TV movie, “James Dean” offers a personal look at one of America’s greatest icons, courtesy of director Mark Rydell and star James Franco. It’s a hushed project that finds its grandeur in the cinematic approach from director of photography Robbie Greenberg, who gives pic the look of a bigscreen rather than a television project. Viewers don’t necessarily walk away teeming with new insights into the prototypical teen rebel, and some facts about Dean’s life are shortchanged, yet as a individual portrait of an artist who refused to become part of the system, Franco’s achievement is considerable.
Plaudits are deserved all around for not starting with the September 1955 car crash that claimed Dean’s life and then flashing back to some childhood incident. “James Dean” starts where it should — with the youngster soliciting a role in a movie, in this case “East of Eden,” directed by Elia Kazan (Enrico Colantoni).
Popular on Variety
The script by playwright Israel Horovitz finds its emotional center in Dean’s quest for his father’s love and attention — a key thematic device in Dean’s two most famous pictures, “East of Eden” and “Rebel Without a Cause.” Dad and son were separated when Dean was 9, following the death of his mother, after which he moved to Indiana from Santa Monica to live with an aunt and uncle.
Michael Moriarty plays Dean’s father, Winton, with a restrained emotional frigidity and Dean reacts as his “Rebel” character Jim Stark would — through violent confrontation.
As he travels to New York and gets accepted into the Actors Studio, and on to Hollywood to do movies, Dean is portrayed as almost visionary, an actor so dedicated to his craft that he will indeed surpass Marlon Brando as America’s greatest.
Horovitz’s script insinuates the audience is already familiar with Dean’s filmic personas and how America has come to define the actor through only three prominent roles; pic could have delved deeper into more of Dean’s personal reflection after “Rebel” earned him the tag of America’s No. 1 teenager. Similarly, it’s unclear how comfortable the actor was with his move into an adult character in “Giant,” his final film.
Franco plays Dean as a socially awkward sort. He slouches, mumbles and irritates many of the people around him, but collectively these less-than attractive traits pique the interests of fellow actors, directors, acting coaches and studio moguls. He gets on Jack Warner’s nerves and that’s about it. He has no trouble making friends with Martin Landau (Sam Gould) and getting Kazan to see his side when it comes to playing a scene. A scene with Raymond Massey (Edward Herrmann) nicely juxtaposes old school-new school acting styles of the 1950s.
Romance with actress Pier Angeli (Valentina Cervi) seems to be the most dramatically enhanced aspect of the picture. These scenes eliminate any hints of homosexuality, a topic that is treated short and sweet as innuendo, and even that’s done in a joking manner.
Location and time-period shots are so strong that scenes shot on the lot have an air of falseness. Actors seemingly are cast according to fluidity within a role rather than any resemblance they may have to the real people. John Frizzell’s music can get mighty big and weepy at times, but for the most part it’s just doing its job of enhancing a scene.
|
|||||
6000
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dbpedia
|
2
| 18
|
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Mark-Rydell
|
en
|
Mark Rydell: Movies, Photos, Videos, News, Biography & Birthday
|
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https://static.toiimg.com/imagenext/medley-topic/thumb/photo/image/show/83/Mark-Rydell?imgsize=7820
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[] | null |
Mark Rydell: Check out the list of all Mark Rydell movies along with photos, videos, biography and birthday. Also find latest Mark Rydell news on Times of India.
|
en
|
The Times of India
|
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Mark-Rydell
|
Rajasthan horror: Minor gangraped in Jodhpur's Mahatma Gandhi Hospital
tnn / Aug 28, 2024, 09:24 (IST)
Two contractual sanitary workers from Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in Jodhpur were arrested for raping a 15-year-old girl who had left home after an argument. The girl was found at the hospital on Monday. The police identified the culprits through CCTV footage and confirmed the incident with a medical examination. This is Jodhpur's fourth similar case in two weeks.
What Modi can learn from Gowda in the run-up to J&K polls
timesofindia.com / Aug 27, 2024, 16:57 (IST)
The 1996 assembly election in the state was similarly held after a long hiatus, nearly 10 years, under challenging circumstances. This is how HD Deve Gowda ensured free and fair polls
'Deleting messages not a crime': What SC said while granting bail to K Kavitha
tnn / Aug 28, 2024, 07:56 (IST)
The Supreme Court observed that deleting messages and formatting phones is a normal behavior, and does not amount to tampering with evidence, in response to allegations by CBI and ED against BRS leader K Kavitha. The court noted that changing phones and giving old ones to others isn't criminal conduct.
'Send Rs 500 for cab?': SC files complaint against scammer impersonating CJI
timesofindia.com / Aug 28, 2024, 08:05 (IST)
A complaint was filed with the Delhi Police's cyber unit against a social media account impersonating Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud. The impersonator asked for money from a user, claiming to be stranded at Connaught Place. Supreme Court authorities took swift action and filed an FIR with the cyber branch after noticing the viral post.
Shakib to continue playing for Bangladesh amid legal proceedings
timesofindia.com / Aug 28, 2024, 08:54 (IST)
The Bangladesh Cricket Board announced that Shakib Al Hasan will remain a part of the national team despite being named in a murder case FIR. Shakib is set to play for Surrey in England and rejoin the national squad in India. The BCB stated no guilt has been proven yet and will provide legal assistance if necessary.
How we can use our wallets to make India safer for women
Aug 27, 2024, 20:45 (IST)
Kolkata rape-murder has created a groundswell for women’s safety. Philanthropists stepping in to help organisations in the field have an important role to play if change is to happen
Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu: I get called "Sanghi" and at least I am happy it is a ...
timesofindia.com / Aug 28, 2024, 08:45 (IST)
Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu clashed with 'TheLiverDoc' on X over the benefits of walking barefoot, which the doctor dismissed as pseudoscience. Vembu responded by criticizing arrogant doctors and the use of 'boomer' as an insult in India, noting its American roots. The debate sparked a series of heated exchanges.
India inks Rs 837 crore deal for 73k more US assault rifles amid tensions with China
tnn / Aug 28, 2024, 08:11 (IST)
India inks a deal for 73,000 SiG Sauer assault rifles from the US, supplementing an earlier purchase of 72,400 rifles. This Rs 837 crore procurement will equip troops along borders with China and Pakistan. Delays in producing AK-203 rifles in India have necessitated these acquisitions, though domestic production has now commenced.
|
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6000
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dbpedia
|
1
| 36
|
http://thehollywoodinterview.blogspot.com/2009/06/mark-rydell-directing-john-wayne-in.html
|
en
|
The Hollywood Interview: MARK RYDELL REMEMBERS KILLING JOHN WAYNE...AND BETTE MIDLER!
|
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Cvo4jwbe8wE/Sjl3jdyp6MI/AAAAAAAAClM/iJbROS4jh6c/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/Rydell+Wayne+2.jpg
|
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|
[] |
[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[] | null |
(Mark Rydell directing John Wayne in The Cowboys , above.) By Jon Zelazny (Note: This interview is also appearing at Eight Million Stories...
|
en
|
http://thehollywoodinterview.blogspot.com/favicon.ico
|
http://thehollywoodinterview.blogspot.com/2009/06/mark-rydell-directing-john-wayne-in.html
| ||||
6000
|
dbpedia
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0
| 6
|
https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mark-rydell/
|
en
|
Director, Actor, Producer
|
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[
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[] | null |
Mark Rydell is an American actor, film director and producer. He has directed many Academy Award-nominated films including The Fox, The Reivers, Cinderella Li
|
en
|
https://www.tvinsider.com/wp-content/themes/tv/images/favicon.ico
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TV Insider
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https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mark-rydell/
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A former jazz pianist who appeared on Broadway and TV before beginning his directing career with series such as "Ben Casey," "I Spy" and "Gunsmoke," Rydell earned critical acclaim for his debut feature, "The Fox" (1968). He also won plaudits for his helming of "Cinderella Liberty" (1973) and "The Rose" (1979). "On Golden Pond" (1981), a typical film, in that it displayed its director's fondness for sentiment and nostalgia, earned him an Oscar nomination as Best Director.
Rydell has subsequently made films only occasionally, some ("The River" 1984) doing fairly well with critics, while others ("Intersection" 1994 and the somewhat overly maligned "For the Boys" 1991) did less well with critics and public alike.
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A Message To Our Fans
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https://www.amazon.co.uk/prime-video/actor/Lonny-Chapman/amzn1.dv.gti.95f55ddf-d10b-46a4-ade8-a87e69f57b15/
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Lonny Chapman: Movies, TV, and Bio
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Browse Lonny Chapman movies and TV shows available on Prime Video and begin streaming right away to your favorite device.
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en
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https://www.amazon.co.uk/prime-video/actor/Lonny-Chapman/amzn1.dv.gti.95f55ddf-d10b-46a4-ade8-a87e69f57b15/
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Utilitarian actor Lonny Chapman remains one of those highly familiar character faces to which you can't quite place the name. While he appeared in over 30 films and well over 300 TV programs over a five-decade career, the theater remained his first and foremost passion and for which he is best remembered. From 1973 until his death 34 years later, he was artistic director of the Group Repertory Theatre (GRT), a North Hollywood non-profit acting organization for which he also served as producer, writer, director and actor. It was a place to which scores and scores of L.A.-based actors would, and did, call "home". The facility, which is still running today, was renamed the Lonny Chapman Group Repertory Theatre (LCGRT) in 1999 in loving tribute.
He was born Lon Leonard Chapman on October 1, 1920, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but grew up in the city of Joplin, Missouri. His interest in acting started while fairly young. Following his graduations from Joplin High School (1938) and Joplin Junior College (1940), the athletically-inclined Lonny attended the University of Oklahoma on a track scholarship. The bombing of Pearl Harbor, however, interrupted his college studies, joining the Marines the very next day. He saw major action in the South Pacific, including Guadalcanal. During his 5-year tour of duty, he contracted malaria; frequent recurrences would plague him the rest of his life. The track star returned to his Oklahoma college following war duty and graduated with a BFA in Drama in 1947.
While at college Lonny became best friends with actor Dennis Weaver, who was also a talented track-and-field athlete and fellow drama student. The two young hopefuls hitchhiked together to New York City where they began their respective careers. Within a year (1948) Lonny was appearing as "Wiley" in the Chicago company of "Mister Roberts", directed by Joshua Logan. The year after that, he made his Broadway debut in "The Closing Door", directed by Lee Strasberg. During this time, he also established strong ties with the prestigious Group Theatre and Actors Studio. It was at the Actors Studio that he forged lifelong friendships with director Mark Rydell, and character actors Martin Landau, R.G. Armstrong, Pat Hingle and Logan Ramsey, among others.
Arguably, the peak of Lonny's early stage career occurred in 1950, when he co-starred in the award-winning drama "Come Back, Little Sheba", William Inge's first play to be produced on Broadway. Art imitated life in this case as Lonny portrayed the second lead role of "Turk", a college student and star athlete. Coincidentally, friend Dennis Weaver became his understudy and eventually took over the role. Starring Tony winners Shirley Booth and Sidney Blackmer, only Ms. Booth went on to recreate her role in the film version for which she won the Oscar. Lonny, who had yet to make a movie, was replaced by the already-established Richard Jaeckel as "Turk" in the film version.
Lonny continued to solidify his reputation on Broadway with "The Chase" (1952), produced and directed by José Ferrer and starring Actors Studio exponents Kim Stanley and Kim Hunter; "Whistler's Grandmother" (1952), co-starring Josephine Hull; "The Ladies of the Corridor" (1953), directed by renowned "Group Theatre" member Harold Clurman; and the Horton Foote-penned "The Traveling Lady" (1954), again starring Ms. Stanley. Elsewhere, he earned excellent notices as "Tom" opposite Franchot Tone's "Joe" in a revival of William Saroyan's "The Time of Your Life" and as the "Gentleman Caller" in the first national tour of "The Glass Menagerie" starring Helen Hayes. By this time, Lonny had begun appearing on early TV, making his debut in an episode of Captain Video and His Cartoon Rangers (1956). His first film was a featured role in the tuneful Doris Day/Frank Sinatra drama Young at Heart (1954) in which he shared secondary scenes with Elisabeth Fraser. Actor Studio preeminent Elia Kazan took a strong liking to Lonny as an actor and looked for no one else to play the role of "Roy", the auto mechanic, in the classic John Steinbeck film East of Eden (1955), which catapulted James Dean to cult status. Kazan then gave Lonny a plum role in his film Baby Doll (1956).
In the late 1950s, Chapman began to show promise as a mover and shaker in the theater. In 1959, and for eight seasons following, he and co-founder Curt Conway devoted their summer seasons to the Cecilwood Theatre in Fishkill, New York, where he directed over 80 productions and performed in nearly thirty. Those up-and-comers who received their Equity union card under his guidance included Barbra Streisand, Dustin Hoffman and Robert Duvall. As a playwright, Lonny saw two of his own works produced off-Broadway -- "The Buffalo Skinner" and "Cry of the Raindrop".
Lonny migrated to Los Angeles in the 1960s in order to pursue film and TV roles and, along with Martin Landau, helped form the West branch of the Actors Studio out there. His gritty look, trademark dusky voice, earnest demeanor and solid Midwest upbringing was his meal ticket for getting Hollywood work. Tailor-made for earthy, blue-collar roles, he was most at home playing unpretentious folk. One would be hard-pressed to see him donning tie and tails in highly elegant settings when he obviously appeared more at home in a plaid shirt with rolled up sleeves or, at the most, a tweed sport coat with loose tie. He provided stark authenticity to a number of westerns, crimers and small-town dramas. In Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963), he portrayed the concerned diner operator who tends to Tippi Hedren's head wound after her first gull attack. He subsequently played a secondary but pivotal role in director/friend Mark Rydell's picture The Reivers (1969) set in Mississippi with Steve McQueen, and also one of Sally Field's chauvinistic bosses in the down-home drama Norma Rae (1979). He showed remarkable versatility with a top, change-of-pace supporting part in the early Woody Allen comedy classic Take the Money and Run (1969).
In 1973, he formed the Group Repertory Theatre and served as its first and only artistic director (until his death). Under his strong leadership, the non-profit organization staged over 350 productions, 45 of which were world premieres of original works. Sean Penn and Jennifer Tilly are former members of the company.
Quite visible on TV, he appeared to good advantage in prime-time programming. Headlining one TV series that never got firmly off the ground, The Investigator (1958), in which he played a private detective, he also co-starred with William Shatner and Jessica Walter in the "Law and Order" precursor For the People (1965). During the 60s, 70s and 80s, the gruff, bushy-browed actor could always be spotted somewhere on a topnotch crime show (Perry Mason (1957), The Defenders (1961) (recurring role), Judd for the Defense (1967), Mission: Impossible (1966), Mannix (1967), Ironside (1967), Quincy, M.E. (1976), Matlock (1986)). He was given just as much footage sitting tall in the saddle in various western series (Laredo (1965), The Rifleman (1958), The Virginian (1962), Bonanza (1959)). He also appeared more than a few times on Gunsmoke (1955) and McCloud (1970), which starred his good friend Dennis Weaver. One particular highlight was his patriarchal role in an above-par TV-movie adaptation of The Rainmaker (1982) co-starring Tommy Lee Jones and Tuesday Weld.
A modest, down-to-earth kind of guy with a generous heart and spirit who preferred not to call attention to himself, Chapman was a sturdy film and TV presence over the years playing a hefty number of heroes, villains, boss types and confidantes. Although he worked consistently throughout the years, he never found the one role that might have moved him up the pecking order and propel him to the very top of the character echelon. In the twilight of his film career, he showed eerie countenance in his elderly watchman role in Nightwatch (1997), and last graced the screen as an octogenarian in Reindeer Games (2000), directed by John Frankenheimer and The Hunted (2003), directed by William Friedkin.
The last few years of his life were marred by failing health and the increasingly frail actor had to eventually be placed in a Sherman Oaks (California) care facility. He died there of complications from pneumonia and heart disease a little more than a week after his 87th birthday, on October 12, 2007. He was survived by his steadfast wife (of nearly 65 years), the former Erma Dean Gibbons, and their son Wyley Dean.
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https://theasc.com/news/25-eclectic-films-announced-for-2021-national-film-registry-preservation
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The American Society of Cinematographers
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2021-12-14T08:40:00-08:00
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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Selena, Sounder, Cooley High, A Nightmare on Elm Street and WALL•E among titles selected for…
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en
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The American Society of Cinematographers
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https://theasc.com/news/25-eclectic-films-announced-for-2021-national-film-registry-preservation
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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Selena, Sounder, Cooley High, A Nightmare on Elm Street and WALL•E among titles selected for preservation — the work of nine ASC members included.
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced today the annual selection of 25 influential motion pictures to be inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Selected for their cultural, historic or aesthetic importance to preserve the nation’s film heritage, the newest selections include epic trilogies, major roles for Jennifer Lopez and Cicely Tyson, extraordinary animated features, comedy and music, and films that took on racially-motivated violence against people of color decades ago.
Of note, the 2021 collection includes films shot by nine ASC members: John A. Alonzo, Robert Burks, Jordan Cronenweth, Ernest Haller, Judy Irola, Edward Lachman, Andrew Lesnie, Sandi Sissel and Vilmos Zsigmond.
Here are the 25 selected films in chronological order (with cinematographers credited where possible):
Ringling Brothers Parade Film (1902) DoP: Unknown
Jubilo (1919) DoP: Marcel Le Picard
The Flying Ace (1926) DoP: Unknown
Hellbound Train (1930) DoPs: James and Eloyce Gist
Flowers and Trees (1932) Animation
Strangers on a Train (1951) DoP: Robert Burks, ASC
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) DoP: Ernest Haller, ASC
Evergreen (1965) DoP: John De Bella
Requiem-29 (1970) DoP: Unknown
The Murder of Fred Hampton (1971) DoP: Howard Alk, Mike Gray
Pink Flamingos (1972) DoP: John Waters
Sounder (1972) DoP: John A. Alonzo, ASC
The Long Goodbye (1973) DoP: Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC, HSC
Cooley High (1975) DoP: Paul Vombrack
Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979) DoP: Tom Schamp
Chicana (1979) DoP: Sylvia Morales
The Wobblies (1979) DoPs: Judy Irola, ASC and Sandi Sissel, ASC
Star Wars Episode VI — Return of the Jedi (1983) DoP: Alan Hume, BSC
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) DoP: Jacques Haitkin
Stop Making Sense (1984) DoP: Jordan Cronenweth, ASC
Who Killed Vincent Chin? (1987) DoP: Kyle Kibbe
The Watermelon Woman (1996) DoP: Michelle Crenshaw
Selena (1997) DoP: Edward Lachman, ASC
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) DoP: Andrew Lesnie, ASC, ACS
WALL•E (2008) Animation DoPs: Jeremy Lasky, Danielle Feinberg
(You’ll find our report on the 2020 Film Registry list here, and 2019 here.)
The Library of Congress release further notes:
The 2021 selections represent one of the most diverse classes of films to enter the registry, with movies dating back nearly 120 years and representing the work of Hollywood studios, independent filmmakers, documentarians, women directors, filmmakers of color, students and the silent era of film. The selections bring the number of films in the registry to 825, representing a portion of the 1.7 million films in the Library’s collections.
“Films help reflect our cultural history and creativity — and show us new ways of looking at ourselves — though movies haven’t always been deemed worthy of preservation. The National Film Registry will preserve our cinematic heritage, and we are proud to add 25 more films this year,” said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. “The Library of Congress will work with our partners in the film community to ensure these films are preserved for generations to come.”
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will host a television special Friday, Dec. 17, starting at 8 p.m. ET to screen a selection of motion pictures named to the registry this year. Hayden will join TCM host and film historian Jacqueline Stewart, who is chair of the National Film Preservation Board, to discuss the films. Also, select titles from 30 years of the National Film Registry are freely available online in the National Screening Room.
Two films selected for the registry drew significant public support this year through online nominations. The original Star Wars trilogy’s third release from “a galaxy far, far away” in 1983 drew the most public votes for Star Wars Episode VI — Return of the Jedi, while the kickoff to another epic trilogy of films, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring from 2001, based on the beloved stories of J.R.R. Tolkien, also earned strong public support.
“In 1951, Professor Tolkien expressed the wish that ‘... other minds and hands, wielding paint and music and drama...’ might one day come to the world of middle-earth. And they did — actors and artists, composers and musicians, linguists and digital wizards — a myriad of talent came together to bring his vast work of imagination to life on the screen,” said the filmmaking team of Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. “It is a great honor to have The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring selected this year by the National Film Registry. We are proud to be part of an archive that celebrates and preserves the art of visual storytelling, for generations to come.”
Two innovative animated features from different eras also join the registry this year. Disney’s Flowers and Trees, which was released in the dark days of the Great Depression in 1932, showcased the magic of cinema with birds singing and trees in full color. It was the first three-strip Technicolor film shown to the public and set a new standard.
Some 76 years later, Pixar Animation Studios would release a unique masterpiece with 2008’s WALL•E,combining animation, science fiction, an ecological cautionary tale and a charming robot love story. The film would go on to win the Oscar for Outstanding Animated Feature.
Reflecting a Diverse Nation
Several films explore stories from the nation’s diverse communities that often carry universal themes. Selena, the 1997 biographical film of Tejana star Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, starred Jennifer Lopez, in her first major movie role, and Edward James Olmos. Directed by Gregory Nava, it told the story of the young singer’s rise to fame in her family band and her tragic death, at 23, when she was shot to death by the head of her fan club after a dispute. Selena’s life, music and the film became touchstones in Latin American culture, and her infectious appeal crossed over to audiences of all kinds.
Olmos, who played Abraham, the father and manager of the band, said the movie stands out as a universal family story that happens to be about Mexican-Americans along the Texas-Mexico border. “It will stand the test of time,” Olmos told the Library. “(It’s) a masterpiece because it allows people to learn about themselves by watching other peoples’ culture.”
In the 1970s, Michael Schultz was a young director when he was brought on to direct Cooley High, a touching 1975 comedy about a group of Black friends enjoying their last year of high school in the Cabrini Green neighborhood in Chicago. Affectionate, rowdy and innocent about teenage life, it stood in contrast to the Blaxploitation movies of the era. This year, Cooley joins the registry as well.
Despite a tight budget and shooting schedule, the movie caught on with audiences and remains a time-capsule portrait of teenagers coming of age in a difficult place. It’s been called a classic of Black cinema. Schultz said he never doubted the film’s potential. “The one thing I knew about Cooley High was that it was unique, it was exciting,” he said. “It would open up people to a new world.”
California-based director Sylvia Morales was incredulous when she got the call that her 1979 documentary Chicana, was included on this year’s registry class. “Initially, I didn’t believe it,” she said.
Chicana is a 22-minute collage of artworks, still photographs and documentary footage about the struggles of Chicana women over the long course of history and the work they have put in to gain basic rights and wages. That film, and her subsequent career, grew out of Morales’ youthful desire to see people like her on the silver screen. “I loved the movies, and so I decided early on, when I was a teenager, that I was going to make some movies and put some Mexicans in it,” she said. “I think it's the struggle that's important, and that's what Chicana is. It's the struggle to be whoever you are."
Filmmakers Address Racially-Motivated Violence
Three films included on this year’s list directly addressed one of the most pressing issues of the day: racially-motivated violence against people of color. The Murder of Fred Hampton from 1971, Who Killed Vincent Chin? from 1987, and Requiem-29 from 1970 told stories of violence against Black, Asian and Hispanic Americans, respectively. These films are particularly important to preserve, said Stewart, who is chief artistic and programming officer at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. “We strive to look at the range of films, those that are entertaining and inspiring, but also those films that raise more difficult questions, titles that get us to recognize that films are documents of our complex social and political history and that their preservation is absolutely essential if we're going to look honestly at our past,” Stewart said.
Taking the three films together — all made decades ago, but just as relevant now as then — “help us to see just how powerful cinematic representations of these issues can be, because films not only document social problems but they can also be catalysts for change."
Silent Films that Challenged Stereotypes
The oldest film in this year’s registry class is a recently restored 3-minute actuality recording from 1902 showing a Ringling Brothers circus parade in Indianapolis. One reason why the film was selected for preservation is it also shows, by accident, a rare glimpse of a prosperous northern Black community at the turn of the 20th century. African Americans were rarely shown in films of that era and then only in caricature or mocking depictions.
Two more silent films from the early 20th century selected this year also portray Black Americans without the degrading stereotypes common to the era.
The Flying Ace, from 1926, is a straightforward romance set in the daring new world of aviation. It was made by the Norman Film Manufacturing Company of Jacksonville, Florida, an important producer of “race films” — movies made specifically for Black audiences. Although owned by Richard Norman, a white man, the studio’s films tended to portray a world in which whites, and thus racism, was absent.
“The Flying Ace is a really special film because it represents Black technical expertise and bravery,” said Stewart. “It has been said that future Tuskegee Airmen were inspired when they saw this film in their youth.”
The fact that it was also so successful with audiences, she said, helps document that there was a “thriving African American movie culture during the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s. It’s miraculous, considering how few prints of these films were made, that this film survives.”
Hellbound Train, a silent film from 1930, is a staunchly Christian film, made by the evangelical couple of James and Eloyce Gist. Until recently, it was an overlooked milestone in Black cinema and now joins the registry. Its obvious plot — the Gists were amateur filmmakers, using untrained actors — was to scare sinners straight. It was played in churches and fairgrounds to accompany the Gists’ sermons.
It depicts a train with each car dedicated to particular sins — dancing, drinking, adultery — being conducted by Satan himself. The print was painstakingly reassembled from more than 100 reels of 16mm at the Library by filmmaker S. Torriano Berry, preserving this early example of guerilla filmmaking carried out with a missionary zeal.
In 2013, the Library released a report that determined 70 percent of the nation’s silent feature films have been lost forever and only 14 percent exist in their original format.
In Focus: The 2021 National Film Registry
(alphabetical order)
Chicana (1979)
Producer/director Sylvia Morales created Chicana, a 22-minute collage of artworks, stills, documentary footage, narration and testimonies, to provide a counterpart to earlier film accounts of Mexican and Mexican-American history that all but erased women’s lives from their narratives. Centering on successive struggles by women from the pre-Columbian era to the present to combat exploitation, break out of cultural stereotypes, and organize for national independence, women’s education, and the rights of workers, Chicana resurrects an arresting array of proto-feminist icons to inspire Chicana feminists with role models from their cultural past. In 1977, Morales, an artist and cinematographer who had worked at KABC in Los Angeles and was enrolled in UCLA’s film school, became enthralled with a slide show created by Chicano Studies teacher Anna Nieto-Gómez that included a history of Mexican women of which Morales was unaware. With Nieto-Gómez’s support, Morales conducted additional research with Cynthia Honesto, hired composer Carmen Moreno to score the film and renowned actress Carmen Zapata to narrate it, shot documentary footage, and recorded interviews with Chicana activists Dolores Huerta, Alicia Escalante, and Francisca Flores to incorporate as voice-overs into the film. Acknowledged as a brilliant and pioneering feminist Latina critique, Chicana has served as a stepping stone for Morales’ distinguished career as a writer and director of acclaimed cable and public television documentary and fiction productions. UCLA has digitally scanned the best surviving picture sources for interim preservation purposes and hopes to turn this provisional work into a full restoration effort.
Cooley High (1975)
NPR has called Cooley High a “classic of black cinema” and “a touchstone for filmmakers like John Singleton and Spike Lee.” Set in Chicago’s Cabrini Green housing project, Cooley is — at least at its start — a coming-of-age comedy about African American friends making the most of their halcyon high school days. But they soon find their lives and futures threatened when a small scuffle at a party escalates and projects them into a series of legal jeopardies. Though often compared to 1973’s American Graffiti, Cooley stands beautifully on its own thanks to its unique sensibilities, the taut direction of Michael Schultz and the incredible naturalistic acting styles of its entire cast — which included Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Garrett Morris and Glynn Turman. Made on a small budget, Cooley would become one of the biggest critical and commercial successes of 1975. Retooled, Cooley High would also serve as the genesis for the successful TV sitcom What’s Happening!!
Evergreen (1965)
Before co-founding The Doors and the band learning their craft in Los Angeles clubs such as London Fog and Whisky a Go, Ray Manzarek attended UCLA’s Film School, where he met fellow film student Jim Morrison. While at UCLA, credited as Raymond D. Manzarek, he created the student film Evergreen, about a jazz musician (Henry Crismonde) and his romance with an art student (played by Manzarek’s then girlfriend and future wife Dorothy Fujikawa). Manzarek was always a huge fan of the potential of cinema. He once noted, “Film is the art form of the 20th century, combining photography, music, acting, writing, everything. Everything that I was interested in all came together with that one art form.” In Evergreen, which has been called a “12-minute, West Coast, cool jazz, cinematic tryst,” one can definitely spot the influence of the French New Wave and filmmakers such as Jean Luc Godard. The film’s title reportedly comes from the Beat literary magazine, The Evergreen Review, and Evergreen features music by Herbie Mann/The Bill Evans Trio and the Jazz Crusaders. The location shots of mid-1960s Los Angeles comprise a magical time capsule of their own. Fujikawa sums up the impact of film on Manzarek and Morrison: “I think film informed his work and Jim’s work throughout their musical careers,” she said. “They always thought of their songs as cinematic expressions. They were always sort of little stories that were dramatic and told a story with music. In that way they were cinematic songs.” The film has been digitally restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
Flowers and Trees (1932)
In the darkest days of the Great Depression, audiences welcomed a diversion when they went to theaters. Studios responded with Busby Berkeley musicals, risqué pre-Code films and trippy animations such as the Fleischer Studios’ Betty Boop cartoons. Those attending the 1932 premiere of Disney’s Flowers and Treeswatched birds singing and trees awakening, all in spectacular hues: Flowers and Trees was the first three-strip Technicolor film shown to the public, and the dawning of a new era. The overwhelming response convinced Walt Disney to make all future Silly Symphony shorts in color and a few years later came features like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Even today, the hand-drawn animation and vibrant Technicolor continues to charm and dazzle, showing new audiences the magic cinema can bring.
The Flying Ace (1926)
The Norman Film Manufacturing Company of Jacksonville, Florida, was an important producer of “race films,” movies made specifically for Black audiences. Although owned by Richard Norman, a white man, the studio’s films tended to portray a world in which whites, and thus racism, was completely absent and Black relationships are at the center of the story. The Flying Ace is an excellent example, a romance-in-the-skies drama with a compelling cast, including Kathryn Boyd playing a character inspired by Bessie Colman, the first African American woman pilot.
Hellbound Train (1930)
This surreal and mesmerizing allegorical film by traveling evangelists James and Eloyce Gist is an important and, until recently, overlooked milestone in Black cinema. Painstakingly reassembled from more than 100 reels of 16mm at the Library of Congress by filmmaker S. Torriano Berry, this early example of independent community filmmaking is a fierce and entertaining condemnation of sinfulness with Satan portrayed as a tempting conductor. The Gists showed this silent film in Black churches accompanied by a sermon and religious music.
Jubilo (1919)
In the third film of his illustrious motion picture career, humorist and cowboy philosopher Will Rogers enacted the easy-going, likable tramp Jubilo, named after a Civil War song in which enslaved people using stereotypical dialect celebrate their hoped for emancipation. Theater organists and pianists no doubt played the tune repeatedly throughout the picture, and for years afterwards, it became a signature song for Rogers, a multiracial member of the Cherokee nation who often portrayed a comic trickster common in both African American and Native American cultures. Despite its predictable plot, Jubilo was distinguished by the uniquely human character Rogers created and the title cards he authored that gave national audiences a taste of the topical remarks he would casually toss off from the stage as he entertained New York audiences with his roping and horseback riding tricks. One card, appearing after his character spends a night trying to fix an automobile, satirizes Henry Ford’s recently unsuccessful political ambitions with the line, “No wonder he wasn’t elected to the Senate with everyone owning one of these.” Reviewers praised Rogers’ “wonderfully natural creation” and “rugged sense of humor,” and a few years later, director Erich von Stroheim commended Rogers’ pictures for their character-driven realism, a desired quality he found otherwise lacking in most of Hollywood’s more plot-dominated productions. The film is preserved by the Museum of Modern Art.
The Long Goodbye (1973)
In The Long Goodbye, Elliott Gould, star of such counterculture classics as M*A*S*H* and Little Murders, brings Raymond Chandler’s iconic depression-era detective Philip Marlowe into a contemporary Hollywood-infused setting where his moral compass seems anachronistic. Robert Altman directed this richly complex, iconoclastic and highly entertaining detective mystery with a script by Leigh Brackett, who had co-authored the screenplay of the film noir classic The Big Sleep, in which Humphrey Bogart epitomized Chandler’s hard-nosed individualist hero for an earlier generation. The inspired, non-traditional cast, some of whom Altman encouraged to create their own characters and lines, includes Sterling Hayden, Jim Bouton, Nina van Pallandt, Mark Rydell and Henry Gibson. Shot by pictorially-inclined cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond near the beginning of his illustrious career, The Long Goodbye employs unsettling, ever-moving camerawork and compositions that masterfully utilize the transparent and reflective surfaces common in southern California modernist architecture. Altman and Zsigmond’s technique allows viewers to eavesdrop on a corrupt world of trivial pursuits and shocking violence that has left many of its inhabitants impotent, indifferent or deeply scarred. Gould’s repeated signature line, “It’s OK with me,” resonates throughout until Chandler’s shining knight ends the film with a morally ambiguous resolution. Zsigmond won the National Society of Film Critics’ award for best cinematographer for his work in The Long Goodbye.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Director Peter Jackson kicked off his epic trilogy of films of J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved oeuvre with this 2001 film. From its visually stunning depiction of Middle-Earth to his large, expert, all-star casting (Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, John Rhys-Davies, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee and Andy Serkis), Jackson and company created a respectful, literate adaptation of one of the world’s most cherished series of written works. Key to making all this magic work and the story of Hobbits surprisingly human are the heartfelt performances (led by Wood as Frodo and McKellen as Gandalf). The combination of magnificent production values and scenes filmed in spectacular New Zealand locations made this a must-see, particularly on wide screens in a cinema.
The Murder of Fred Hampton (1971)
This documentary profiles the final year in the life of Fred Hampton, the 21-year old charismatic leader of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. The first half shows Hampton making speeches, passionately urging armed militancy, as well as non-violent advocacy, to confront poverty, protest police brutality and build coalitions to broaden the message of the party from “Power to the People” to “All power to all people.” During production, Hampton and Mark Clark were killed in a police raid, and the film transitions to an investigation of their deaths and the motives of authorities local and beyond. The New York Times, while admitting the film had flaws and certainly was unabashedly biased, assesses that the footage and TV documentation “constitute a remarkable, if uneven, case history. It is, in sum, an unleavened indictment of Edward V. Hanrahan, the Illinois state's attorney, the policemen in the raid and the Chicago political establishment. The film was restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
The great horror maestro Wes Craven, as both writer and director, gave a generation of teens (of all ages) terminal insomnia with this imaginative and intense slasher scare fest. Freddy Krueger (played by soon-to-be legend Robert Englund) is the burn-scarred ghost of a psychopathic child killer, now returned to haunt your dreams and take his revenge! Heather Langenkamp stars as the heroic Nancy, who figures out who Freddy is and must be the one to stop him. Also in the cast: Johnny Depp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley and Charles Fleischer. Made on a budget under $2 million, Elm Street became a box office sensation and has inspired numerous sequels (including a film that pitted Freddy against Jason of the Friday the 13th films), a 2010 remake, a TV series, books, comic books and videogames, making it one of the most successful film franchises in the history of any cinematic genre. The film established New Line Cinema as a major force in film production with some calling New Line “The House That Freddy Built.”
Pink Flamingos (1972)
The movie poster tells the story: drag icon Divine, resplendent in a red gown, hair and makeup at glorious extremes, perched on a cloud and brandishing a pistol, beneath the tagline “An Exercise in Poor Taste.” Baltimore favorite son John Waters’ delirious fantasia centers on the search for the “filthiest person alive” and succeeds, but not before having a lot of outrageous fun along the way. This cult classic has been embraced by a generation of filmmakers and is considered a landmark in queer cinema.
Requiem-29 (1970)
UCLA's Ethno-Communications Program's first collective student film had intended to capture the East Los Angeles Chicano Moratorium Against the War in Vietnam, Aug. 29, 1970, but the film turns into a requiem for slain journalist and movement icon, Ruben Salazar. The film shows footage of the march, the brutal police response and resulting chaos interspersed with scenes from the rather callous and superficial inquest. Filmmakers attached to the project have confirmed that the original elements for the film disappeared over 40 years ago. The UCLA Film and Television Archive has facilitated a 4k scan of the surviving faded 16mm print for preservation purposes and hopes to turn this provisional work into a full restoration effort.
Return Of The Jedi (1983) aka Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
The original Star Wars trilogy reached its first apex with this film, the third release in the “a galaxy far, far away” trifecta. Directed by Richard Marquand, from a story by, of course, George Lucas, Jedi launches Lucas’ original, legendary characters — Luke, Leia, Han Solo, C-3PO, R2-D2 and others — on a series of new adventures, which takes fans from the planet of Tatooine to the deep forests of Endor. Populated by intriguing new characters — including Ewoks and the gluttonous Jabba the Hutt — and filled with the series’ trademark humor, heart, thrills and chills, Jedi, though perhaps not quite up to the lofty standards of its two predecessors, still ranks as an unquestioned masterpiece of fantasy, adventure and wonder.
Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979)
Very few other stand-up comedy stars had ever taken their sets to the big screen and presented themselves and their comedic vision so fully, and in a manner so raw, so unadorned, and unedited. The great Richard Pryor did it four times. This riotous performance, recorded at the Terrace Theatre in Long Beach, California, is quintessential Richard Pryor: shocking, thought-provoking, proudly un-PC and, undeniably hilarious. Already, a legend in the world of stand-up comedy, this film — as straightforward in its title as Pryor is in his delivery — cemented Pryor’s status as a comedian’s comedian and one of the most vital voices in the history of American humor.
Ringling Brothers Parade Film (1902)
Recently restored by the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, this 3-minute actuality recording of a circus parade in Indianapolis in 1902 accidentally provides a rare glimpse of a prosperous northern Black community at the turn of the century. African Americans rarely appear in films of that era, and then only in caricature or as mocking distortions through a white lens. Actuality films indelibly capture time and place (fashions, ceremonies, locations soon to disappear, behavior at large events and the key daily routines of life), sometimes unexpectedly so as in this delightful gem.
Selena (1997)
In her first major film role, Jennifer Lopez’s performance in Selena captures the talent, beauty, youthful spirit and many of the reasons why Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was so beloved and on her way to becoming one of the biggest stars in the world. Already the first and most successful female Tejana music singer, Selena’s growing popularity in both Mexican and American music and fashion paved the way for many of today’s biggest pop stars, including Jennifer Lopez herself. Directed and written by Gregory Nava, Selena is the official autobiographic film authorized by the Quintanilla family. Selena’s father, Abraham Quintanilla, serves as a producer and is played by Edward James Olmos in the movie. Olmos has said that there were moments on the set when Selena’s father would excuse himself and quietly cry in the corner because of the fresh emotions of her death and because many events were so accurately portrayed. The final montage of the movie features real footage and photos of Selena’s life.
Sounder (1972)
Cicely Tyson and Paul Winfield shine as a sharecropper couple trying to get by during the Great Depression in the rural South. Directed by Martin Ritt, the story follows the family’s pre-teen son (played by Kevin Hooks) as he is thrust into becoming the "man of the family.” Critic Stanley Kaufman wrote that Ritt "is one of the most underrated American directors, superbly competent and quietly imaginative," and this understated brilliance and love for the humanity of ordinary folks is on glorious and moving display in Sounder. Taj Mahal both acted in the film and composed the score.
Stop Making Sense (1984)
The seminal New York-born rock/new wave/punk/post-punk band, the Talking Heads, were captured at the height of their powers in this now iconic concert film. Led by their charismatic frontman David Byrne, the Talking Heads tear through some of their most famous songs in this tight 88-minute performance. Selections include: ”Once in a Lifetime,” “Burning Down the House,” “Psycho Killer,” “Life During Wartime” and, from Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth’s side project, the Tom Tom Club, a spirited rendition of “Genius of Love.” Nearly as inventive visually as it is sonically, the film is directed by Jonathan Demme who, wisely, keeps his camera tightly focused on the stage, leaving the music and band members (and the members’ own unique theatrics) to speak completely for themselves. Leonard Maltin has called Stop Making Sense, “one of the greatest rock movies ever made.” It is infectious and the quintessential get-up-and-dance experience.
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Wildly imitated but never topped, this riveting 1951 Hitchcock classic tells of two men who, having met on the titular train, hatch a plan to “swap” murders, each killing someone the other knows and, thereby, giving the other an air-tight alibi. Farley Granger thinks the whole plan a joke while Robert Walker subsequently commits a murder and demands Granger keep his part of the deal. This thriller contains strong supporting performances by Marion Lorne, Ruth Roman and Patricia Hitchcock and, of course, by the Master of Suspense’s signature, extraordinary visuals: from a tense tennis match to a wild, out-of-control merry-go-round finale, with a monogrammed cigarette lighter serving as one of Hitchcock’s trademark “MacGuffins.”
WALL•E (2008)
Wowing critics and audiences of all ages alike, Pixar Animation Studios has had an unrivaled run of cinematic masterpieces, including the marvelously unique WALL•E (2008). Fresh off the monster hit Finding Nemo(2003), director Andrew Stanton created an incredible blend of animation, science fiction, ecological cautionary tale, and a charming robot love story. It is the tale of a lovable, lonely trash-collecting robot, WALL•E (standing for Waste Allocation Load Lifter: Earth Class), who, one day, meets, quite literally, his Eve. A triumph even by Pixar standards, the film uses skillful animation, imaginative set design (and remarkably little dialogue) to craft two deeply affecting characters who transcend their “mechanics” to tell a universal story of friendship and love. Comic relief is provided by M-O (Microbe Obliterator), a truly obsessed neat freak cleaning robot ever on the search for “foreign contaminants.” The film won the Oscar in 2009 for Outstanding Animated Feature.
The Watermelon Woman (1996)
This is the first feature film by Cheryl Dunye, one of the most important of African American, queer and lesbian directors. The director herself stars as Cheryl, a 20-something lesbian struggling to make a documentary about Fae Richards, a beautiful and elusive 1930s actress popularly known as The Watermelon Woman. The title of the film is a nod to Melvin Van Peebles’ 1970 The Watermelon Man. In Watermelon Woman, the aspiring director explores the erasure of Black women from film history, as it dovetails with her own exploration of her identity as a Black lesbian seeking love and validation. The film was a new queer cinema landmark. Of why she became a filmmaker, Dunye, during a 2018 interview at Indiana University, recalls attending a screening of She’s Gotta Have It in Philadelphia and the follow-up Q&A with director Spike Lee. Many in the audience planned to slam Lee over his controversial sexualized female protagonist. Lee answered that it was his film and he will represent the characters as he wishes, and he noted that if you wanted to change how African American women are represented, go make your own film. Dunye took that suggestion, and we are the richer for that decision. The film was restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Despite a memorable, long-running feud, two of classic cinema’s greatest grand dames united for the first, and only, time in this 1962 horror dark comedy which delves into the redundant worlds of fading film stardom and the macabre. Directed by Robert Aldrich, Baby Jane recounts the tattered lives of two now aged former stars: the dominating Baby Jane (played by Bette Davis) and her disabled sister Blanche (played by Joan Crawford) as they live out their lives in a decaying mansion, loathing one another as Jane torments Blanche. The film, even today, remains vivid and often uncomfortably terrifying. Along with showcasing two powerhouse actresses, Baby Jane ignited — for better or worse — the “psycho-biddy” subgenre: films featuring older female stars in similar, grand ghoul enterprises.
Who Killed Vincent Chin? (1987)
In 1982, Vincent Chin, a 27-year old Chinese American, was beaten to death with a baseball bat in Detroit by two white auto workers. Detroit during that period was a cauldron of racism against Asian Americans, amid the decline of the U.S. auto industry as Americans elected to buy Japanese cars. Those who killed Chin likely assumed he was Japanese. In the end, the two men were found guilty of manslaughter but given probated sentences and served no jail time. Directors Christine Choy and Renee Tajima-Peña’s Academy Award-nominated documentary examines this appalling miscarriage of justice and the multiple issues it raises including how irresponsible media can increase the risk of violence against ethnic minority communities. According to co-director Choy, the film’s key elements involve: (1) this being one of the very first civil rights case involving an Asian American (2) how the case mobilized many Asian Americans in the country, (3) Though the Chin side lost the case but also raised an incredible amount of consciousness about the civil rights issue involving all people of color and (4) The ultimate question of why the system failed and what have we learned from this? The film was restored by The Academy Film Archive and The Film Foundation.
The Wobblies (1979)
“Solidarity! All for One and One for All!” Founded in Chicago in 1905, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) took to organizing unskilled workers into one big union and changed the course of American history. This compelling documentary of the IWW (or “The Wobblies” as they were known) tells the story of workers in factories, sawmills, wheat fields, forests, mines and on the docks as they organize and demand better wages, healthcare, overtime pay and safer working conditions. In some respects, men and women, Black and white, skilled and unskilled workers joining a union and speaking their minds seems so long ago, but in other ways, the film mirrors today’s headlines, depicting a nation torn by corporate greed. Filmmakers Deborah Shaffer and Stewart Bird weave history, archival film footage, interviews with former workers (now in their 80s and 90s), cartoons, original art, and classic Wobbly songs (many written by Joe Hill) to pay tribute to the legacy of these rebels who paved the way and risked their lives for the many of the rights that we still have today. The film was restored by the Museum of Modern Art.
About the National Film Registry
Under the terms of the National Film Preservation Act, each year the Librarian of Congress names to the National Film Registry 25 motion pictures that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant. The films must be at least 10 years old. More information about the National Film Registry can be found at loc.gov/film.
The Librarian makes the annual registry selections after conferring with the distinguished members of the National Film Preservation Board and a cadre of Library specialists. Also considered were more than 6,100 titles nominated by the public. Nominations for next yearwill be accepted through Aug. 15, 2022.
In addition to advising the Librarian of Congress on the annual selection of titles to the National Film Registry, the board provides counsel on national preservation planning policy.
Many titles named to the registry have already been preserved by the copyright holders, filmmakers or other archives. In cases where a selected title has not already been preserved, the Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center works to ensure that the film will be preserved by some entity and available for future generations, either through the Library’s motion picture preservation program or through collaborative ventures with other archives, motion picture studios and independent filmmakers.
The center is located at the Library’s Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia, a state-of-the-art facility where the nation’s library acquires, preserves and provides access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of films, television programs, radio broadcasts and sound recordings (loc.gov/avconservation/). It is home to more than 9.2 million collection items.
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Golden Globes
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2023-10-25T15:29:04+00:00
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Mortimer “Mark” Rydell (born March 23, 1928 in New York City) directed The Fox (1967) from the 1923 novella by D.H. Lawrence, The Reivers (1969) with ...
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Golden Globes
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https://goldenglobes.com/person/mark-rydell/
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Golden Globes, LLC (“Golden Globes”) uses first and third-party technologies to enable PMC and third-parties to collect information about you and your interactions with our sites and services (including clicks, cursor movements and screen recordings). Learn more HERE. By continuing to use our sites or services, you agree to our Terms of Use (including the class action waiver and arbitration provisions) and Privacy Policy, which have recently changed.
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https://reverseshot.org/features/2667/connected_gilda_pakeezah
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Reverse Shot
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Museum of the Moving Image presents Reverse Shot: a different angle on moving images—past, present, and future
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Reverse Shot
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https://reverseshot.org/features/2667/connected_gilda_pakeezah
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In this new weekly column, Connected, one writer will send another a new piece of writing about a film they have been watching and pondering over, in the hopes that this will prompt a connection—emotional, thematic, historical, or analytical—to a different film the other has been watching or is inspired to rewatch. This ongoing column will be in the spirit of many past Reverse Shot symposiums, in which writers found connections between seemingly disparate cinematic works, and it will also help us maintain personal connection among our writers and our readers at this uncertain moment.
Gilda
These days, messages will pop up on my phone more frequently than usual asking if I’m in the position to video chat. “Are you decent?” Chances are that I’m not, though I’ve developed a quick routine to feign composure from the shoulders up. As my computer’s camera light turns green and I prepare myself to greet whoever’s on the other end with a smile and a casual remark about how I’m “hanging in there,” I think of the ultimate on-screen entrance: Rita Hayworth’s transcendent hair-flip in Gilda (1946). Gilda’s husband has brought a visitor to her dressing room, and poses the same query to his bride: “Gilda, are you decent?” Hayworth’s iconic curls burst into view as she tosses her head back like a slingshot before situating herself into the center of the frame: “Me?” she responds, with her exaggerated air of naiveté. It’s not an entrance into a room, but into the film itself, and an announcement that from this point on, while Gilda may be viewed as an object to be possessed, this movie belongs to her.
Having grown up with a more “demure” genre of Hollywood starlet (Judy Garland, Debbie Reynolds, Julie Andrews), I had never seen a Rita Hayworth film until this month. But now, deep into my downright unglamorous isolation, I found myself longing for a particular kind of panache that only she could provide. It being my first time, the effect of Gilda’s entrance on me was exponentially greater—I nearly jumped out of my seat. While director Charles Vidor amplified Hayworth’s sensuality, dressing her in glamorous waist-hugging, shoulder-baring gowns, Gilda’s on-screen “handlers” do everything in their power to contain her raw sexual energy. At first, the story of Gilda belongs to Johnny Farrell, a gambling drifter played by an impish—and rather charmless—Glenn Ford. Finding himself down on his luck in Buenos Aires, Farrell secures a job as a glorified security guard at an illegal casino owned by the sophisticated but sinister Ballin Mundson (George Macready), who is conducting even greater nefarious dealings behind his office doors (something to do with masterminding a tungsten monopoly, but no matter). The real meat of the story emerges 18 minutes in, when Gilda arrives. Her face suddenly drops as she seems to recognize Johnny. It turns out they were an item once upon a time, and that she betrayed him—though we never find out exactly how. Now, through a series of coincidences some might classify as “fate,” the two have ambled back into each other’s lives, both still harboring a profound sense of hatred for one another so deep that it borders on love.
Once Gilda arrives on the scene, Johnny takes it upon himself to hide her wildly flirtatious behavior from Mundson—ostensibly to protect his boss’s reputation, but perhaps more because he can’t stand to see her flirting with anyone but him. While Gilda effortlessly shrugs off Johnny’s attempts to pin her down, her confidence belies her captivity. Gilda is a “kept woman” in every sense of the term. Gilda may have knowingly handed herself over to Mundson in return for a lavish life, but she hints that she didn’t have much of a choice. “I was down and out, he picked me up, put me back on my feet,” Johnny says, defending his current position as one of Mundson’s hangers-on. “Now isn’t that an amazing coincidence Johnny?” Gilda replies. “That’s practically the story of my life.”
Gilda’s story is a familiar one, though her character is far more complicated, and far less calculating, than the traditional femmes fatales seen in noirs from the same period. She has become embroiled with a rich, ruthless husband more as a survival tactic than a get-rich-quick scheme. Like his signature cane, which, with the push of a button, becomes a deadly sword, Mundson can turn on a dime—one moment serving as a doting husband helping with a stubborn zipper, the next threatening her not to make any “mistakes”—vaguely alluding to potential lapses in fidelity. This month alone I’ve watched a handful of films featuring similar characters—women who may be deemed “gold-diggers” but who have in fact been forced to align themselves with abusive men, faced with alternatives that are far worse. Gloria Grahame’s Debby in The Big Heat (1953) comes to mind, as she dances around a terrifying Lee Marvin and his violent temper—he ultimately explodes, with an infamous episode involving a pot of hot coffee. Grahame, at this point playing to type, also appears in Human Desire (1954) as a wife living in fear of her husband’s violent outbursts. She doesn’t dare leave him—he’s threatened to frame her for a murder he committed if she does. In The Long Goodbye (1973) Mark Rydell’s Marty Augustine wields a broken coke bottle to disfigure his girlfriend (Jo Ann Brody) as a show of strength.
Johnny uses every trick in the book to keep tabs on Gilda, refusing to see her himself but enlisting his men to watch her at all times. “Every night she got all dressed up . . . and waited,” Johnny narrates in voiceover as Gilda paces around an empty apartment (a relatable situation, to say the least). But any attempt to keep Gilda contained is bound to fail, and it’s not long before she’s back at the casino, this time on stage. It’s another iconic moment: she performs “Put the Blame on Mame” to adoring onlookers, stripping off a glove and tossing it into the crowd (not advisable at this time). Even as Johnny reels her back in, violently chiding her for her exhibitionism, it’s inspiring to see that when Gilda breaks out of isolation, she does so in a big way. —Susannah Gruder
Pakeezah
Sue, I am delighted by your description of your isolation as “downright unglamorous” and your quick and casual approach to readying yourself for video calls. A phenomenon I believe we’re all still comprehending—and whose cultural effects will only become clear in the aftermath of all this—is the fact that most of our social interaction is now flattened to the rectangle of a screen and the contours of our faces, the revealing language of bodies, presence, and touch removed from the equation. My face suddenly feels overly important as an alibi of my presence and attentiveness in virtual meetings, each casual look or expression invested with meaning. But as someone who occasionally feels uncomfortable within her body, I’ve also found homebound isolation a little, dare I say it, freeing. To have how I dress or look have little bearing on my daily professional or personal interactions; to be able to control, to a great extent, when I’d like to be seen or not seen—it’s all been perversely liberating, which of course says less about our present circumstances than it does about our general way of things. What use is glamor, beauty, vanity during a pandemic?
Strangely though, in my home-viewing, I’ve hungrily sought out these very qualities. A couple weeks ago, I rewatched Satyajit Ray’s The Music Room, yearning to melt into the film’s tragic, feudal opulence. One sequence stayed with me long after: the Kathak performance halfway through the film, whose crescendo—a frenzied montage between the beats of the tabla and the dancer’s anklet-clad feet striking the floor—coincides with the news of the death of the protagonist’s wife and child. I was so enraptured by the scene’s perfect storm of music, emotion, and narrative that it sent me down a rabbit hole of Hindi melodramas centered on tawaifs: sophisticated courtesans trained in music, dance, theater, and literature who catered to Indian nobles, especially during the Mughal period. In history, tawaifs were highly educated and esteemed as custodians of the arts and the rules of etiquette; in most Indian movies, however, they’re portrayed as naive, fallen women craving respectability and marriage. Their most famous performances, which form the centerpieces of these films, are often abject cries for acceptance or love. These song-and-dance numbers have become catnip for me; I’m spellbound by their innuendo-laden lyrics, the lustrous costumes, the lavish mise-en-scène, and most of all, the heroines who essay the tawaifs: Madhubala in Mughal-e-Azam (1960), Rekha in Umrao Jaan (1981), Vyjayanthimala in Devdas (1955), Madhuri Dixit in the latter’s 2002 remake. I can lose myself in the delicate faces of these actresses and the stories they tell with just a flash of their eyes or the coquettish raise of a brow, withholding yet wielding desire. They’re pure examples of star texts—of figures that feel larger-than-life even on the small screen.
Inspired by your late discovery of Gilda, I decided to watch a classic tawaif film I’d never seen before, but whose songs are inscribed in my memory: Pakeezah (1972), a kind of apotheosis of the genre, known for the grandeur of its set design, the tortured story of its production, and the peerless beauty and grace—or ada, in Urdu—of its star, Meena Kumari. Known as the “Tragedy Queen,” Kumari was born to a Muslim family as Mahjabeen Bano, but—like her contemporaries Madhubala (Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi) and Dilip Kumar (Muhammad Yusuf Khan)—rose to fame under a Hinduized stage name, becoming one of Hindi cinema’s first superstar heroines. She was a Renaissance woman, accomplished as an actor, dancer, singer, and Urdu poet, writing under the pseudonym Naaz. Kumari was the third wife of the director Kamal Amrohi, who began Pakeezah as a monument—a cinematic Taj Mahal, as he described it—to his love. A film of megalomaniacal technical ambition, Pakeezah began shooting in the late 1950s, and involved many locations, exorbitant studio sets, and one of the first uses of Cinemascope in India. Four years into production, Amrohi and Kumari broke up, following which Kumari developed health issues and succumbed to alcoholism. A few years later, at Amrohi’s urging, the couple reunited to complete the film, which took three more years. In the interim, the original composer and cinematographer of the film had died and Kumari had become too unwell to finish some of the dance scenes, necessitating a body double and some strategic uses of the veil. Nevertheless, the film premiered to great pomp in Mumbai in February 1972. Then, a few weeks later, Kumari passed away.
A great and troubled beauty, and a grand and troubled production—a perfect maelstrom of Bombay glamor and decay, soaked through and through with pathos. The story is convoluted yet, at its core, exceedingly simple: a gifted courtesan claims her right to love beyond her station. In the fable-like prologue, set in a dimly lit court, a tawaif named Nargis (Kumari) performs while a magisterial narrator tells us that “countless admirers spurned by her sit at her feet as she dances.” Soon, Nargis is “rescued” and wed by a nobleman but turned away in disgust by his father. Devastated, she runs away to a cemetery, where, nine months later, she dies giving birth to a girl. The daughter, Sahibjaan (Kumari again), is raised by Nargis’s sister who vows to protect her from her mother’s fate and sends her to live and work at a palace in Delhi, where she’s renowned for her singing and dancing and coveted by local aristocrats. But a chance encounter on a train with a strange man, Salim (a tall, dark, and handsome Raaj Kapoor), changes things forever. Enamored of her henna-stained feet—i.e. her instruments of choice—he leaves her a note as she sleeps, asking her to never let her beautiful feet touch the ground and be soiled. Sahibjaan clings to this message and its promise of a transcendent love.
The plot goes on, twisting and turning with coincidences and divine interventions for a full two hours and 34 minutes: a lecherous nobleman buys Sahibjaan for a night of pleasure on a boat, during which an accident occurs (involving elephants), leaving her stranded on a shore, where she’s reunited with Salim by chance. She elopes with him, then leaves him when she’s ridiculed by the townspeople, and then, finally invited to dance at Salim’s wedding, she’s recognized by his uncle, who turns out to be her father. (Read all that over a couple times, if you need).
An alternate—and in some ways, more faithful—account of Pakeezah could consist of just descriptions of its many moments and scenes of transfixing beauty, which seem to exist for their own sake, stilling and splintering the narrative into perfect synergies of light, color, and movement: a tawaif’s twinned reflection in the sunglasses of a nobleman; Kumari (as Nargis) dancing around a flame in the film’s prologue, glittering like a moth in her bejeweled white outfit; Chowk, the street in Lucknow city where the courtesans all live and perform, a fantasia of vibrant colors, twirling women, and raucous conversation; and Kumari’s silhouette, seen through a curtain, her breast meeting the sun as she rises from sleep.
And speaking of grand entrances—when Kumari walks towards her audience in the palace in Delhi, framed by its ornate, lamp-lit facade, my heart stopped. Dressed in gorgeous green silk and golden jewelry, she moves in with a sway in her hips, just late enough that her arrival feels anticipated, then seats herself and surveys the gathered men with one single rove of her eyes, both arrogant and impish. Beauty is both power and prison in Pakeezah, a duality Kumari embodies with great feeling. The film operates within a pointedly patriarchal framework of possession and redemption (the title refers to the name Salim confers to Sahibjaan, meaning “purity”), but in submitting to Kumari’s glamor in her song-and-dance sequences, the camera seems to free the demure and sentimental Sahibjaan, bringing her to irrepressible life. Kumari was blessed with an ethereal face, angel-like yet roiled by real human emotion, but it’s what she does with it that makes her such an arresting figure on screen. Drawing on the restrained expressiveness of Kathak, her dances are a battalion of gazes—fired here, there, and back—while she ventriloquizes lines like “These are the men who lifted my veil” and “I shall see the arrows of your glances.” She oozes sensuality and demands desire, toying with the veil and its permutations of seeing and being seen, while the camera cuts frequently to close-ups of her perfectly lined, painted eyes.
But in a stirring speech towards the end of the film, Sahibjaan seems to deliver a cutting rebuke to the film’s aesthetic obsessions—including with herself. Kumari’s own troubles at the time of shooting, and her impending death, add poignancy to these lines. “We women are living corpses,” Sahibjaan says, “adorned and embalmed. Our graves are not covered, they are gaping open.”
Is she dead or alive? —Devika Girish
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2018-07-05T07:17:26+00:00
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Posts about Mark Rydell written by NotesonFilm1
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en
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First Impressions
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https://notesonfilm1.com/tag/mark-rydell/
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The Long Goodbye is by now an acknowledged classic. It wasn’t always so. As Pauline Kael writes in her 1973 review, ‘It’s a knockout of a movie that has taken eight months to arrive in New York because after being badly reviewed in Los Angeles last March and after being badly received (perfect irony) it folded out of town. It’s probably the best American movie ever made that almost didn’t open in New York.’ Charles Champlin, one of the initial culprits, titled his review ‘A Private Eye’s Honour Blackened’. But as early as 1974, Stewart Garrett in Film Quarterly was already underlining its importance and influence: ‘‘the masterwork of America’s most interesting working director….In watching Chinatown, one can feel The Long Goodbye lurking behind it with the latent force of a foregone conclusion’. All I want to do here is add my praise, point to a couple of aspects of the film’s particular brilliance, and also indicate some problems with the film that its biggest fans have been too quick to gloss over.
The movie begins and ends with an extract from the song ‘Hooray for Hollywood’, a nod to dreamland and part of the film’s homage to noir and the detective genre. Elliot Gould is a different Marlowe than Humphrey Bogart, looser, gentler, even more addicted to tobacco, with cigarettes constantly dangling from his thick, sensuous lips. The car he drives, the apartment building he lives in, the bars he frequents, all conjure up the forties. But the LA he moves through, a character of its own in this film (the skyline, the highways, the all-night supermarkets, Malibu), with the women in the apartment next door making hash brownies, practicing yoga, and dancing topless, all point to the film’s present. And that interplay between past and present, figured through the casting of Elliot Gould as the central character, is one of joys of the film.
Gould’s Marlow, unkempt, seeming to offer a wry, disbelieving and humours look at everything he sees, is convincingly single, marginal, and over-reliant on his cat for company. He is the most unkempt and bedraggled of leading man: loose, irreverent but convincingly embodying someone who carries the night with him like a halo; a knight errant reeking of stale tobacco, too much booze and too little sleep. His friend Terry Lennox (Jim Bouten) calls hims a born loser.
David Thomson writes of how Altman ‘spends the whole film concentrating on the way Elliott Gould moves, murmurs, sighs, and allows silence or stillness to prevail’. And this at a time when as Pauline Kael writes in her review of the film, by 1973 , ‘Audiences may have felt that they’d already had it with Elliot Gould; the young men who looked like him in 1971 have got cleaned up and barbered and turned into Mark Spitz. But it actually adds poignancy to the film that Gould himself is already an anachronism…Gould comes back with his best performance yet. It’s his movie.’ It certainly is. Next to M*A*S*H and Bob &Carol&Ted&Alice, it’s also become the one he’s most associated with.
The first few scenes in the film dazzle. The whole sequence with the cat at the beginning where Marlowe gets up to feed it, the cat jumping from counter, to fridge, and onto Marlowe’s shoulder is disarming and rather wondrous. Even those who don’t love cats will be charmed. But the scene also conveys quite a bit about who Marlowe is: someone lonely, who relies on cats for company; someone responsible and loving who cares that the cat is well fed and willing to go out in the middle of the night to buy the cat’s preferred brand; a good neighbour too, prepared to get the brownie mix the women next door ask for and unwilling to charge them for it: a gent or a chump? The choices Altman makes to show and tell us the story are constantly surprising, witty and wondrous on their own. See above, a minor example, that begins inside the apartment, showing us the city’s skyline, then the women, then the women in the city, before dollying down, something that looks like a peek at a little leg action before showing us, perfectly framed, Marlowe arriving in his vintage car.
In The Long Goodbye much is filmed through windows, which sometimes look onto something else, allowing action to happen on at least two planes. However the dominant use of this is to show the play of what’s happening between foreground and background, with the pane of glass, allowing partial sight of what’s beyond the glass and the reflection itself only partially showing what’s in front of it; and both together still only adding up to two partial views that don’t make a whole but which suggest there’s a background to things, and things themselves are but pale reflections of a greater underlying reality. You can see an example of this in the still above, from the the interrogation scene at the police station with the two way mirror. It’s a beautiful, expressive composition. According to Richard K. Ferncase, ‘the photography by Vilmos Zsigmond is unlike the heavy chiaroscuro of traditional noir’. However, as evident in the still above, whilst it might be unlike, it certainly nods to and references it. In fact it’s part of a series of references: the gatekeeper who does imitations of James Stewart, Walter Brennan, Barbara Stanwyck etc; the way Marlowe lights matches a la Walter Neff, the hospital scene where it seems like the Invisible Man or Bogart before his plastic surgery in Dark Passage, etc.
This must be one of Vilmos Zsigmond’s greatest achievements as a cinematographer. Garret writes of how, ‘Altman accentuated the smog-drenched haze of his landscape by slightly overexposing, or ‘fogging’ the entire print.’ Ferncase admires the ‘diaphanous ozone of pastel hues, blue shadowns, and highlights of shimmering gossamer’ Zsigmond created by post-flashing the film. Zsigmond himself attributes this to a low budget: ‘We…flashed the film heavily, even more than we flashed it on McCabe. And the reason was basically because we didn’t have a big budget there for big lights and all that. So we were really very creative about how, with the little amount of equipment that we had, how we are going to do a movie in a professional way. A couple of things we invented on that movie — like flashing fifty per cent, which is way over the top. But by doing that we didn’t have to hardly use any lights when go from outside or inside and go outside again.’.
Robert Reed Altman notes how, ‘On Long Goodbye the camera never stopped moving. The minute the dolly stopped the camera started zooming. At the end of the zoom it would dolly and then it would zoom again, and it just kept moving. Why did he do it? Just to give the story a felling, a mood, to keep the audience an an edge’. Zsigmond describes how this came to be, ”On Images, when we wanted to have something strange going on, because the woman is crazy, we decided to do this thing — zooming and moving sideways. And zooming, and dollying sideways. Or zooming forward. What is missing? Up and down! So we had to be able to go up and down, dolly sideways, back and forth, and zoom in and out. Then we made The Long Goodbye and Robert said, ‘Remember that scene we shot in Images? Let’s shoot this movie all that way’.
They did. But it’s worth remarking that whilst Altman was happy to let actors improvise and to grab and use anything useful or interesting that happened to pass by the camera’s path (the funeral procession, the dogs fucking in Mexico, etc.), the use of the camera seems to me to be highly conscious and controlled. See the scene below when Marlowe brings Roger Wade (a magnificent Sterling Hayden, like wounded lion on its last legs) home to his wife.
In the scene above Marlowe has just brought Wade back home to his wife Eileen (Nina van Pallandt), who’d hired Marlowe to do just that. As Marlowe heads to the beach, note how they’re both filmed outside a window, Wade cornered into the left side of the frame, his wife on the right; the palm trees reflected on the glass but outside. Inside the house is dark, the conversation pointed. In the next shot we get closer to Wade but stil framed within frames, encased in his situation, with window shades acting like bars behind him. In the third shot, we get closer to where the first shot was but Wade seems even murkier, hidden. When Eileen says ‘milk, is that what you really want,’ The camera zooms in, first on him, then her, then him, and as he walks over to her, we see Marlow behind a second window in the back. So we are seeing a domestic scene through a window, sunny California reflected in the palms in front, in the surf behind, something dark happening inside the house, and Marlow, pondering outside, for the moment their plaything, and playing on the surf behind, seen through two sets of glass. Much of the scene will be played like that until Wade goes to join Marlowe outside. Brilliantly evocative images, vey expressive of the characters, their situation and their dynamic, and they seem to me to be perfectly controlled to express just that. In fact that series of images evoke what the film’s about (see below)
The scene where the Wades and Marlowe are gathered together for the first time, rhymes with their last one. This time it’s Marlowe and Eileen who talk, and the discussion is about the husband, who as the camera zooms past Eileen and Marlowe’s conversation, and through the window, we see heading, fully dressed, into the ocean. The camera cuts to them from the outside, once more seeing through a window, but the darkness is on the outside now, and we don’t hear what they’re saying. What we hear now is the sounds of night on the beach — the waves, the surf — , and what we see, clearly and without mediation is Wade letting the surf engulf him. It’s a perfect riposte to the first scene, taking elements of the same style, but accentuating different ones — analogous to the way the film uses ‘The Long Goodbye’ song but in completely different arrangements as the film unfolds –, and creating a series of images that remain beautiful and startling in themselves but beautifully express what’s going on, what’s led to this. Had I extended the scene longer, you’d be able to see Eileen and Marlow also engulfed by the sea, the Doberman prancing by the shore, and that indelible image of the dog returning only with Wade’s walking stick. It’s great.
Schwarzenegger makes an uncredited appearance in The Long Goodbye, screaming for attention by flexing his tits, and looking considerably shorter than Elliot Gould. An interesting contrast between a characteristic leading man of the 70s and how what that represents gave way to Schwarzenegger’s dominance in the 80s and 90s, and what that in turn came to represent. But though this is a fun moment in the film, its also what I liked least about it: i.e. the stunt casting. Nina van Pallandt is beautiful and she’s ok. But think of what Faye Dunaway might have brought to the role. Director Mark Rydell as gangster Marty Augustine is also ok but imagine Joe Pesci. As to Jim Bouton, a former ballplayer and TV presenter as Terry Lennox, to say that he’s wooden is to praise too highly. There’s a place in in cinema for this type of casting– and a history of much success — but see what a talented pro like David Carradine brings to the prison scene — not to mention Sterling Hayden and Elliot Gould both so great — and imagine the dimensions skilled and talented actors might have brought to the movie. The Long Goodbye is great in spite of, not because of, the casting of these small but important roles.
Many thanks to Dave Stewart for bringing this Jack Davis ‘Mad’-esque poster of the film to my attention:
*The Vilmos Zsigmond and Robert Reed Altman quotes are taken from Mitchell Zuckoff’s great book on Altman, Robert Altman: The Oral Biography, New York, Knopg, 2009.
José Arroyo
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The original trailer for the French release in 1970 promised that Les choses de la vie/ The Things of Life would be ‘about people, people like you, people to whom things happen, things of life: beautiful, sweet, stupid; things of life that make life worth living’. If the ‘you’ referred to is an ideal ‘you’ – richer, more glamorous, more beautiful – then, the film delivers on that promise.
Les choses de la vie begins with an image of the wheel of a car in a field. We realise that a car has crashed in a rural motorway. Inside the car is Pierre (Michel Piccoli), a successful architect. As he drifts in an out of consciousness, we find out what his life has amounted to, what has been important to him: Catherine (Lea Massari), his wife, whom he’s separated from but who he still has unresolved feelings for; Helène (Romy Schneider), the mistress who adores him but whom he finds a bit clingy and demanding; the son, suddenly grown-up and growing more distant by the day; his parents; the problems with his job; the things he did wrong and might never get a chance to fix; flashes of joy experienced whilst sailing with his family or kissing his mistress in a meadow.
Les choses de la vie could so easily be soap opera; could so easily have become what its American re-make, Intersections (Mark Rydell, USA, 1994), turned out to be: a glossy, glamorous melodrama with people one couldn’t relate to and that remained at one remove, as if the pretty-ness of the image was a glass barrier to feeling. Yet, Sautet’s film is something else: even more exquisite to look, but here the look providing a lens through which to see a complex life in a way that is much deeper, much finer.
It’s a poetic film, sad, with an emphasis on feeling and on thought rather than on action; where things are felt but hidden, half-said, mis-articulated; where the narrative shows all the complexities that the characters cannot themselves express, may not yet know, may in fact be trying to hide; a film where things are expressed visually and aurally, as befits a film.
The film is structured around the car-crash, spectacularly choreographed by Gérard Streiff and shown in a variety of ways depending on the mood the film is intent on conveying when it returns to it, as it does throughout the film; it’s the event that anchors the narrative and permits it to drift off in fragments whilst still being experienced as linear; it works as memory, as drifting thought, but it at all times makes sense to the viewer.
We sometimes see it in slow motion, or with the film speeded up, or even with the film being run backward; and when we return to the accident, we sometimes cut to the witnesses of the crash, sometimes to an event in Pierre’s life; sometimes just to his point-of-view as he’s trying to make sense of what’s happened to him. In one instance we see a shiny black boot, stepping on a gorgeous ground of green grass, poppies and little blue flowers. As Pierre tries to focus, and at the very moment in which he realizes he might die, he can still see beauty amongst the black.
One can understand why Sautet thought Jacqueline Thiédot, chief editor, important enough to come first at the end credits. The film is a masterpiece of editing. But really, the film is a masterpiece for many reasons.
It’s full of wonderful moments: the two scenes where Pierre and Helène discuss their relationship, first in the elevator and then in the car, where the shadows as the elevator ascends through floors, or the lime yellow of passing traffic, create a murkiness, a lack of clarity, that symbolizes all of the mis-communication, the pain of Helène’s honest and vulnerable expression in the light, or lack of light, of Pierre’s inability to express his own emotions, in the light, or lack of light, of his silence.
Or the wonderful close-up of Romy Schneider at the auction (see clip below), where one can see exactly why Pierre fell in love with her; or those moments of bliss sailing, never to be repeated, already in the past as the image fades to white; or the exquisite pan around the wedding banquet where the dream of what might have been suddenly turns into the nightmarish realization of what actually is in one sweeping camera movement. This is the work of a truly great director.
Sautet here also enjoys the collaboration of an extraordinary team. Not only the aforementioned Thiédot but also an intricate screenplay based on the novel by Paul Guimard which Sautet superbly knitted together with Guimard, Sandro Continenza and Jean-Loup Dabadie, who would later write at least dialogue for many of Sautet’s other films (including the marvellous César et Rosalie). Jean Boffety is director of photography and responsible for very beautiful and evocative images with a lighting design that signifies; one in which, things are half shown as they are half-spoken, capable of great beauty in that wonderful Eastman colour that picks up primary colours and makes them almost shine (sadly it is also the process most prone to fade and turn to red ). Also the camera renders the space almost sculptural in the way that it frames all that happens as spaces of changeable feeling and meaning; all this greatly aided by Phillipe Sarde’s very beautiful score (the film itself is almost structured as a fugue).
A popular success, Les choses de la vie was the 8th highest earning film of its year with 2,959, 682 admissions. It won the Louis Delluc Prize for Best Film in 1970. It was also nominated for Golden Palm at 1970 Cannes Film Festival. The film would revitalise the careers of Sautet and Schneider and lead to many future collaborations between them, including Max et les ferrailleurs/ Max and the Junkmen and César et Rosalie, both superb. Les choses de la vie was remade in Hollywood as Intersections directed by Mark Rydell and with Richard Gere, Sharon Stone, Lolita Davidovitch. It might be worth noting that the performances of Piccoli, Schneider and Masari are so great they completely eclipse any memory of the American actors, which I saw first. Courrèges did Romy’s chic, career-girl A-line mini-dresses. Lovely.
To my knowledge, Les choses de la vie is not available in the UK or the US with English sub-titles. I hope someone does something about it soon. It’s only a matter of time before Sautet’s great works are re-disovered. Les choses de la vie is one of them.
José Arroyo
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https://www.enr.com/toplists/2019-Top-250-International-Contractors-1
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ENR’s 2019 Top 250 International Contractors 1-100
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The global construction market is sluggish and has been for several years. After enjoying boom years from 2012 to 2014, the bubble burst, leaving international contractors scrambling.
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en
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/favicon/apple-icon-57x57.png
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https://www.enr.com/toplists/2019-Top-250-International-Contractors-1
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August 2019
The global construction market is sluggish and has been for several years. After enjoying boom years from 2012 to 2014, the bubble burst, leaving international contractors scrambling. This stagnation has created a severe buyer’s market that has had negative, and in some cases final, consequences for firms.
The table below shows only rankings and firm name. For the complete data list see the following links.
Companies are ranked according to construction revenue generated outside of each company’s home country in 2018 in U.S. $ millions. Firms not ranked last year are designated **. Some markets may not add up to 100% due to omission of "other" miscellaneous market category and rounding. NA=Not available. †=Includes revenue of subsidiaries, the names of which now are available through www.ENR.com.
ENR’s 2019 Top 250 International Contractors
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https://www.stripes.com/migration/new-barracks-on-the-way-in-vicenza-1.13703
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New barracks on the way in Vicenza
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https://www.stripes.com/migration/migrated.image.18739_111612628.jpg/alternates/LANDSCAPE_480/This%20former%20parking%20lot%20and%20vehicle%20inspection%20are
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Construction is under way on two barracks on base that are projected to add accommodations for about 300 soldiers in late 2005. The two sites, which make up a project valued at more than 20.2 million euros, are part of a wave of new construction going on around the base. But it’s the first time in at least three decades that new living accommodations will go up on base.
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en
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/favicon.ico
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Stars and Stripes
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https://www.stripes.com/migration/new-barracks-on-the-way-in-vicenza-1.13703
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VICENZA, Italy — It’ll take a few years, but some soldiers at Caserma Ederle will eventually be able to move into new digs.
Construction is under way on two barracks on base that are projected to add accommodations for about 300 soldiers in late 2005. The two sites, which make up a project valued at more than 20.2 million euros, are part of a wave of new construction going on around the base. But it’s the first time in at least three decades that new living accommodations will go up on base.
“It will conform to the Army’s One plus One barracks standard,” said Chris Menia, supervisory general engineer for the Navy’s resident officer in charge of construction. The Navy is in charge of American military construction projects throughout Italy.
Two soldiers will share a common kitchen and bathroom and each will have his own bedroom. Kitchens will feature a refrigerator, cooking area and microwave. Rooms feature tile floors, air conditioning and ceiling fans as well as wiring so soldiers can plug in telephones, computers and televisions.
There also will be a few suites in one of the barracks for higher enlisted single soldiers, Menia said.
Each of the four-story buildings will also have common rooms, including areas for larger-scale cooking and laundry. They’ll also feature a mud room where soldiers can clean off their gear and a secure place to store weapons.
Basketball courts, picnic areas and parking spaces will also be constructed outside the barracks.
Currently, there’s room for about 1,100 soldiers to live on base. Dozens of military families live in the nearby Villagio housing area. Caserma Ederle isn’t as crowded as it would be these days, because most of the 173rd Airborne Brigade is deployed to Iraq.
The new barracks are designated for members of the 173rd. One is set to open in July 2005, with the other debuting four months later. Impresa Pizzarotti & Co. of Parma is handling the construction.
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https://rocketreach.co/impresa-pizzarotti-c-spa-management_b5e81f33f42e86a5
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en
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Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. Management Team
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Mauro Pirondi (CFO) | Alberto Milvio (Chief Financial Officer) | Francesco Zappalà (Chief Financial Officer - Chile) | View more for Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. >>>
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(Cuel R., Bonifacio M., Grosselle M.) Knowledge Nodes: the Reification of Organizational Communities. The Pizzarotti Case Study
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DOI: 10.3217/jucs-010-03-0227
Knowledge Nodes: the Reification of Organizational Communities.
The Pizzarotti Case Study1
Roberta Cuel
(Department of Computer and Management Sciences, University of Trento, Italy
roberta.cuel@economia.unitn.it
Department of Computer Sciences, University of Verona, Italy
cuel@sci.univr.it)
Matteo Bonifacio
(University of Trento, Italy
bonifacio@science.unitn.it)
Mirko Grosselle
(Department of Computer and Management Sciences, University of Trento, Italy
mirkgros@cs.unitn.it)
Abstract: In our work a new approach, the Distributed Knowledge Management (DKM) approach, is used and organizations are seen as constellations of communities, which "own" local knowledge and exchange it through meaning negotiation coordination processes. In order to reify communities within a DKM system, the concept of Knowledge Node (KN) is used and then applied in a case study: a complex Italian national firm, the Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. All communities of practices are unveiled and reified as KNs within a high level architecture of a DKM system. In this paper it is argued that, even if knowledge has to be organized and made useful to the whole organization, there are types of knowledge that must be managed in an autonomous way, and the DKM approach is a good system to deal with coordination/negotiation processes.
Key Words: Distributed Knowledge Management, Communities, Knowledge Nodes
Category: H.4.2, C.2.4
1 Introduction
Most KM systems aim at creating large, homogeneous knowledge repositories, in which corporate knowledge is made explicit, unified, represented and organized according to a unique - supposedly shared - conceptual schema (e.g. an ontology, a classification system) [Davenport et al., 1998], [Borghoff and Pareschi, 1998]. In this work it used the DKM approach [Bonifacio et al., 2002d] in which it is argued that traditional KM systems, and in particular the unique and objective conceptualization of corporate knowledge, are incompatible with the very nature of knowledge, and consequently are often deserted by users. The DKM approach is based on two main principles: the principle of autonomy, which grants organizational units a high degree of semantic autonomy in managing their local knowledge (perspective making [Boland and R.V.Tenkasi, 1995], or single loop learning [Argyris, 1999]), and the principle of coordination, which allows each organizational unit to exchange knowledge with other units through processes of perspective taking [Boland and R.V.Tenkasi, 1995] or double loop learning [Argyris, 1999].
1A short version of this article was presented at the I-KNOW '03 (Graz, Austria, July 2-4, 2003).
Therefore, complex knowledge-based organizations can be seen as "constellations" of local "knowledges", that is to say organizational units either formal (e.g. divisions, market sectors) or informal (e.g. interest groups, teams) exhibiting some degree of semantic autonomy, namely the ability to manage knowledge locally and to develop a specialized perspective on the world through social interaction, participation and reification processes [Wenger, 1998].
A KM system, which supports both the principles of autonomy and coordination, and is based on the DKM approach, is called DKM system, which considers local heterogeneity, and negotiation/coordintation of different conceptual schemas [Bouquet et al., 2002], as potential sources of new insights/ideas and innovations which are the basis of organizational learning and adaptability.
2 Knowledge Nodes as organizational units
In order to develop a DKM system within a firm, the new concept of Knowledge Node [Bonifacio et al., 2002a] is adopted to reify organizational units.
As shown in figure 1, each KN represents a semantically autonomous unit composed, in other word a community of practice, by:
a knowledge owner: an individual or a collective entity that has the capability of managing its own knowledge (e.g. worker, manager, team, community, office);
a system of artifacts: the system of procedures, activities, documents, archives, technologies, languages, and so on, used by the knowledge owner to manage local knowledge in a way that best suits its environmental condition and its needs;
a context: an explicit representation of a knowledge owner's perspective (or personal conceptual schema).
Therefore a DKM system is composed by a "constellation of KNs" (see figure 2), each one managing knowledge in an autonomous way, and exchanging knowledge through negotiation/coordination processes. One of the most suitable technological solutions for a DKM system is the creation of a peer to peer system, in which each peer has the characteristics of a KN [Bonifacio et al., 2002e]2 .
2This architecture is under development as part of EDAMOK (http://edamok.itc.it/), a joint project carried out by the Institute for Scientific and Technological Research (IRST, Trento) and by the University of Trento (Italy).
Figure 1: Knowledge Node
Figure 2: A DKM system composed by KNs
3 The case study: Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A.
In order to develop a DKM system within the firm, an effective methodology of analysis is needed. As described in [Cuel, 2003 a] and in [Cuel, 2003b] this methodology has to focus the attention on two relevant aspects based on the two DKM's principles:
identify the borders of existing KNs within the firm, namely organizational units which exhibit some degree of semantic autonomy (principle of autonomy);
identify the way in which knowledge is exchanged across the whole organization through negotiation/coordination processes (principle of coordination).
This methodology has been applied to a complex Italian building industry, the Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. The aims of the analysis were:
to develop a high level architecture of KM systems based on the DKM approach, unveiling KNs and their relations;
to figure out which kind of knowledge can be managed within an autonomous organizational unit and how it can be made available to others.
Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. has a complex organizational model because of the nature of the product and the characteristics of the sector. Production processes need to be localized in the areas in which the product is created, therefore building yards are spread out over the country and in Europe. The central offices are organized as services which support the production (e.g. the security office, the quality office, the administration office), and since they are located in the same building, each service has its own organization and structure.
To unveil KNs we made ethnographic interviews with 36 workers selected in different offices and in 16 different roles, and we visited 3 different building yards. This analysis allowed us to unveil KNs looking at knowledge owners, the systems of artifacts, the contexts and, more importantly, the kind of knowledge that is exchanged within a community and the way in which people negotiate/coordinate knowledge across the whole organization. Each building yard must solve specific problems which are connected with the kind of production, and other environmental factors (e.g. the weather, local costumers and suppliers); and each service office has its own structure and its own way of working which expresses semantic autonomy. Each one of them is managed in an autonomous way, and a specialized system of artifacts are used in the way that best suits local needs. Moreover, in this analysis some other cross-organizational communities, which exhibit some degree of semantic autonomy, have been discovered: the group of project managers and the group of yard managers. These groups are not formally recognized by the firm, and are composed by workers (belonging to several other units) who need to manage knowledge according to a particular conceptual schema, and to use a personalized system of artifacts in order to work. For instance, the project managers communicate all together in an informal way (e.g. phone-calls, discussions over a cup of coffee) to develop common knowledge and a shared conceptualization schema that are used to develop new projects; they share systems of artifacts (such as specific timetables) and a specific language (such as technical words) which allow them to manage their work.
Within each organizational unit (e.g. offices in the central building, and building yards), people, through their work, exhibit some degree of semantic autonomy (e.g. by developing their system of artifacts, different working and problems solving practices, using specialized and personalized languages), thus the Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. might be seen as a constellation of communities of practices (CoPs). Therefore, local building yards, centralized offices and cross-organizational communities have been unveiled and reified as KNs.
Figure 3: DKM system of Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A.
We observed that concepts as quality, security and so on, are perceived - and related processes are developed - in different ways. For example, on one hand, in the "Barilla" building yard, the quality control process is not a daily activity managed by dedicated resources and it has no specific schedules. On the other hand, in the "Fontanellato" building yard, the quality control is one of the most important processes. In particular, every days workers have to control the quality of products and activities and periodically they meet all together to discuss new quality procedures.
As shown above, in our analysis, we focused the attention on identifying the way in which knowledge is exchanged across the whole organization. These processes are often unveiled through negotiation/coordination processes such as workflows management systems, shared artifacts, and institutionalized practices within the firm (e.g. software procedures, modules for requests, periodic meetings). From a KM perspective, the Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. has historically developed standardized and shared knowledge repositories (which are managed according to a set of common and supposedly shared conceptual schemas) with the aim to manage a unique version of data, and to coordinate all the organizational processes. These schemas include, for example, shared taxonomies to classify suppliers, and project documentation or quality procedures developed and managed by the Electronic Data Processes (EDP) office.
Indeed, during an interview, the responsible of EDP office said that his work consists in controlling data and information workflows developed within the organization. Workers ask to develop personalized systems which support some specific processes, but the management and the EDP office are worried about the coherence and the transparency of information. Thus centralized procedure are developed and used across the whole organization but offices and building yards are still asking to use specialized procedures which suit local needs.
We discovered that the centralized KM system has been developed according to the need, expressed by the management, to coordinate each organizational unit creating a common and shared knowledge system, and developing standardized knowledge exchanging processes. Such approach, that was reified in the design of collaborative repositories and workflow applications, revealed some weaknesses which are basically rooted into the distributed nature of knowledge introduced above. As observed during an interview with a manager, if in a building yard a new type of stone-mason's hammer is needed, workers have to draw up a buying request form, then send it (through a document management system, which will store all the information into the enterprize knowledge repository) to the purchasing office which will provide the requested tool. The buying request process is a centralized workflow, developed to deal with the centralized repository and to coordinate all the buying processes of the whole organization. From a KM point of view we can say that the buying request successfully reflected a unique conceptualization schema according to which knowledge is stored and organized within the enterprize knowledge repository.
In our analysis we discovered that quite often the buying request process, although technically correct, is not enough to obtain a good result. In particular, every time the tool requires specific characteristics, the requester and the company buyer need to exchange additional contextual information using informal communication channels which are not officially considered in the collaborative system. In the analysis it has been emerged that most of the time the buying request refers to a non standard forniture (such as a special hummer, a new mechanism, . . . ), and in the most of the cases the purchasing office is not able to understand the real needs of requesters. Phone calls, meetings or emails are necessary to establish a coordination process based on meaning negotiation through which workers attempt to make clear "what they mean by what". These communication processes between company peers (who are part of different offices or CoPs) are not formalized by the buying work-flow, and are developed according to the personal perspectives of the actors. In other words, formalized processes of knowledge exchange are constantly supported by informal and personalized meaning negotiation/coordination processes which allow people to understand each other, and to effectively achieve their goals.
As shown in this example, and as depicted in our analysis, most of the knowledge exchange processes, developed within the Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A., are not able to create a unique understanding on the meaning of what is communicated. Therefore the KM system has to take into account the need expressed by organizational entities to manage knowledge with some degree of autonomy while enabling coordination processes across different KNs.
As described in figure 3, we suggest a DKM system which is composed by an enterprize knowledge repository (centralized applications which are organized according to the firm's conceptual schema) and a constellation of KNs which autonomously manage local knowledge, and exchange it, through personalized meaning negotiation/coordination processes.
According to this view, the Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. has recently accepted that current knowledge exchange practices and artifacts are, as a matter of fact, characterized by a strong need of autonomy that must be sustained and compensated focusing on coordination rather than standardization. For example, in terms of artifacts, groupware tools are being customized and used in a way that clearly mirrors how work and knowledge is actually organized within and across different KNs. In fact each yard, office and team is now able to instantiate and maintain its own local repository and work-flow processes. Organizational procedures are gradually being redesigned accordingly, allowing each yard, for example, to autonomously manage some core processes, such as purchase of specific materials, or the recruitment of specialized workers. For example in the Modena SCARL different views are used on a common DB, such as general notes, services, production, visits, security, quality, and so on. As a consequence, the EDP office and IT consultants will now focus their efforts in designing coordination/translation processes across heterogeneous nodes of content, document work-flows, categorization and taxonomies rather than developing shared and standardized procedures. The EDP office is now developing two different systems in which information about human resources, dedicated to administrative function, are managed in the central offices and in the building yards. These two applications refers to the same domain of data but manage them through different schemas.
4 Conclusions
Through our interviews, we focused the attention on different kind of knowledge which is needed and exchanged within the firm. In particular, we proved that even if some kind of knowledge has to be centralized, organized, and managed by EDP office according to a common and shared conceptual schema, there are other types of knowledge that must be managed in an autonomous way and have to be negotiated and coordinated every time.
Finally the DKM system we proposed in figure 3, seems to be more effective than other traditional and centralized systems, because it allows people to manage knowledge according to personal views, and it seems to be more consistent with how knowledge is actually managed by people. In conclusion the Impresa Pizzarotti & C S.p.A. is developing both new personalized and local procedures which allow CoPs to manage knowledge in the way they prefer; and new centralized procedures, which enable workers to contribute to the common and shared organizational knowledge.
References
[Argyris, 1999] Argyris, C. (1999). Teaching Smart People How to Learn. Harvard business review.
[Boland and R.V.Tenkasi, 1995] Boland, J., and Tenkasi, R.V. (1995). Perspective Making and Perspective Taking in Communities of Knowing. Organization Science, 6(4):350-372.
[Bonifacio et al., 2002a] Bonifacio, M., Bouquet, P., and Cuel, R. (2002a). Knowledge Nodes: the Building Blocks of a Distributed Approach to Knowledge Management. Journal of Universal Computer Science, 8(6):652-661. Springer Pub. & Co.
[Bonifacio et al., 2002d] Bonifacio, M., Bouquet, P., and Traverso, P. (2002d). Enabling Distributed Knowledge Management. Managerial and Technological Implications. Novatica and Informatik/Informatique, III(1).
[Bonifacio et al., 2002e] Bonifacio, M., Cuel, R., Mameli, G., and Nori, M. (8-10 October 2002e). A Peer-to-Peer Architecture for Distributed Knowledge Management. In Proceedings of 3rd International Symposium on Multi-Agent Systems, Large Complex Systems, and E-Businesses (MALCEB'2002)., Erfurt/Thuringia, Germany.
[Borghoff and Pareschi, 1998] Borghoff, U. M. and Pareschi, R. (1998). Information Technology for Knowledge Management. Springer.
[Bouquet et al., 2002] Bouquet, P., DonÂa, A., Serafini, L., and Zanobini, S. (2002). Contextualized Local Ontologies Specification via CTXML. In Bouquet, P., editor, Working Notes of the AAAI-02 workshop on Meaning Negotiation. Edmonton (Canada). July 28, 2002. AAAI, AAAI Press.
[Cuel, 2003a] Cuel, R. (2003). A Knowledge-Oriented Analysis of Organizations. Knowledge Nodes: the Building Blocks of a Distributed Knowledge Management Approach. Proceedings of Doctoral Consortium (DCEIS 2003)., Angers - France.
[Cuel, 2003b] Cuel, R. (2003) A New Methodology for Distributed Knowledge Management Analysis. Proceedings of I-KNOW '03 - `Industry meets Science' (I-KNOW 2003)., Graz - Austria. Springer Pub. & Co.
[Davenport et al., 1998] Davenport, T. H., Long, D. W. D., and Beers, M. C. (1998). Successful Knowledge Management Projects. Sloan Management Review, 39(2).
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https://www.marinelink.com/news/rina-appoints-carlo-luzzatto-next-ceo-509292
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RINA Appoints Carlo Luzzatto as Next CEO
|
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2023-11-07T19:27:32+00:00
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Carlo Luzzatto has been appointed as the future CEO and General Director of classification society RINA.The appointment is…
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https://www.marinelink.com/news/rina-appoints-carlo-luzzatto-next-ceo-509292
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Carlo Luzzatto has been appointed as the future CEO and General Director of classification society RINA.
The appointment is set to be formalized by the end of 2023, coinciding with Fondo Italiano d'Investimento's acquisition of a minority stake up to 33% in RINA S.p.A. This transition aligns with the joint growth objectives established with Fondo Italiano d'Investimento, reinforcing the Group's intention to make its stock market debut within the next 3-5 years.
Ugo Salerno will continue to play an integral role in the running of the company, retaining his position as Executive President.
Educated at some of the world's top business schools, Luzzatto was appointed after a comprehensive selection process that included many elite Italian managers and was managed by Egon Zehnder, the world's largest private executive search company. Luzzatto brings over 30 years of experience from the energy, aerospace, and infrastructure sectors. Throughout his distinguished career, he has held senior leadership positions - both in Italy and internationally - at public and private companies, including General Electric, Ansaldo Energia, Chromalloy, and Impresa Pizzarotti.
Paolo d’Amico, Chairman of Registro Italiano Navale, stated: "We are very pleased to welcome Carlo Luzzatto, who will be appointed CEO of RINA S.p.A. during the next Board of Directors. We are confident that Luzzatto, as CEO, and Salerno, in the role of Executive President, will provide further momentum to RINA's already brilliant growth trajectory."
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Cortina 2026 approves construction plans for Winter Olympics sliding venue despite risks and IOC opposition
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[
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[
"Robert Livingstone"
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2024-01-31T17:39:27+00:00
|
Milan-Cortina 2026 approves construction plans for Winter Olympics sliding venue despite risks and IOC opposition GamesBids.com Olympics
|
en
|
GamesBids.com
|
https://gamesbids.com/eng/winter-olympic-bids/future-winter-bids/milan-cortina-2026-approves-construction-plans-for-winter-olympics-sliding-venue-despite-risks-and-ioc-opposition/
|
The Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games organizing committee Tuesday approved plans for the construction of a new sliding facility in Cortina d’Ampezzo, but there is still no guarantee that the venue will be constructed or be approved for the Games.
The on-again, off-again plans to rebuild the dilapidated Eugenio Monti Sliding Track that was originally constructed for the 1956 Winter Olympics received only a single bidder earlier this month following two tenders for the work expected to cost 81.6 million euros (USD 88.7 million). Organizers say they are confident that the preparation of the new venue will be successful and fulfill the original Games masterplan, leaving a positive legacy for national sliding teams and residents in the region.
Nothing can move forward until a contract is signed with engineering firm Impresa Pizzarotti, something that organizers hope to accomplish in February to keep all of the events in Italy and not have to stage one across the border for the first time Winter Olympics history.
“It is not acceptable for the bobsled races to take place outside Italy,” Deputy Premier Antonio Tajan wrote on X (formerly Twitter) Tuesday adding “We will do everything to achieve the goal.”
But the unfinalized contract, inherent project risks and opposition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) – that has promised a final decision “by the 31st of January” – have forced organizers to continue considering a plan B.
Earlier this month IOC Executive Director Christophe Dubi told reporters “we, from the very beginning felt that this venue was extremely complex in terms of cost, in terms of legacy, in terms of timing, and we have promoted the use of an existing track.”
The sliding track used for bobsled, skeleton and luge at Italy’s Turin 2006 Winter Games has since been mothballed, casting more doubt on the legacy potential of a costly track in Cortina that even the international sports federations believe is unnecessary considering the number of other existing tracks scattered around the globe.
Milan-Cortina has promised that the track will be ready for testing by October 2024 and certified no later than March 2025 – an extremely aggressive and potentially record-breaking schedule for the complicated project. That will also leave limited time for test events ahead of the Games less than a year later in February 2026.
Any delay could instantly end the hope for Olympic sliding in Cortina, and tight timelines are often linked with skyrocketing costs.
Sliding tracks are unique and sometimes dangerous, and rigorous testing is required to iron out wrinkles that could be lethal. Despite it being certified two years in advance Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed in a training crash on the Whistler sliding track just ahead of the opening ceremony for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games. Track modifications were made within hours before competition to help reduce speeds and add safety measures.
As requested by the IOC, Italian organizers reached out to other selected tracks for proposals in December and several responded with interest including from nearby St. Moritz, Switzerland and Innsbruck, Austria. Even if the new Cortina track moves forward, one or more of these proposals will be retained in case of delays or failures in the risky project.
1932 and 1980 Winter Games host Lake Placid also submitted a proposal despite being an ocean apart from Italy.
The bid project manager from the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority Darcy Rowe Norfolk told GamesBids.com “the Winter Olympic Games of today require creative approaches, and perhaps, safety nets.”
“We are hopefully to be Italy’s helping hand as together, we won’t just help host the Games, as a cross nation family formed by legacy, we’ll make history with both being hosts for the third time.”
To address legacy Lake Placid officials said they would name turn 7 in honor of Italian bobsledder Eugenio Monti who won the 1961 World Championship on the U.S. track, and they would welcome the Italian team to use the facility as their home training track.
But many Italians are vehement in their desire for a viable national track for the culturally significant sliding sports.
Many questions remain unanswered, but with the arrival of the end of January milestone to finalize plans, the next step is up to the IOC.
|
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883
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dbpedia
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3
| 57
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https://seenews.com/news/pizzarotti-tapped-as-main-contractor-on-portonovi-resort-project-in-montenegro-report-499582
|
en
|
Pizzarotti tapped as main contractor on Portonovi resort project in Montenegro - report
|
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[] |
[
""
] | null |
[
"Maja Garaca"
] |
2015-10-30T14:18:38.057962
|
Pizzarotti tapped as main contractor on Portonovi resort project in Montenegro - report
|
en
|
/_next/static/media/android_chrome_512_512.1b3ebaf9.png
|
SeeNews
|
https://seenews.com/news/pizzarotti-tapped-as-main-contractor-on-portonovi-resort-project-in-montenegro-report-1081714
| |||||
883
|
dbpedia
|
0
| 5
|
https://inrecruiting.intervieweb.it/impresapizzarotti/jobs/risk-management-specialist-parma-342704/en/
|
en
|
RISK MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST
|
[
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[] |
[] |
[
""
] | null |
[] | null |
Pizzarotti C. S.p.A., an International Contractor with major infrastructural project in Italy and abroad, is looking for a Risk Management Specialist
|
favicon.ico
|
https://inrecruiting.intervieweb.it/app.php?module=annunci&LAC=impresapizzarotti&l=risk-management-specialist-parma-342704&lang=en
|
GENERAL PRIVACY POLICY FOR THE USERS OF Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A.
Collection and use of information
Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. collects information and data that users choose to provide; Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. also collects information related to access of users in order to identify, solve problems and improve offered services.
The purpose of the collection and the use of information are those of the autonomous reporting by candidates towards clients and partners of Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A., which are interested in searching and recruiting human resources, through the information of curricula vitae and profiles voluntarily entered by the candidates themselves.
The information that users choose to insert on the Portal will be consulted, used and classified by other individuals/ organizations that can have access, as holders of rights guaranteed by the partnership or customer relationship with Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A..
Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. performs all necessary operations to ensure that the information are placed in a safe and protected environment, trying to restrict access to the database and distributing rights to users with adequate methods, but can not guarantee that unauthorized individuals/ organizations will not have access through an irregular method.
Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A., moreover, can not control the ways in which the authorized users catalog and transfer the information downloaded from the database, therefore it is user's responsibility to ensure that sensitive information are not inserted in Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. Portal.
Information provided by the Users are used by Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. to deliver offered products and services and to develop the Portal; some of our services may include the display of customized contents and advertising messages.
Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. may use the user's information to contact him/ her about Portal updates, to conduct surveys and for informative communications (with the possibility for the user to refuse the consent) and related to its services, including updates of the software used.
Communication of collected information
Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. may share information provided by users with third parties that support the delivery of its products and the performance of its services towards the users. These third parties may not use these information for purposes other than assistance and support in providing these products and services.
The information gathered can be shared if this is required by law. The information gathered on our web sites are cataloged in whole or in part in Italy and are subject to Italian law.
Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. may disclose or transfer information if its business is sold or acquired.
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The user can review, correct or delete its personal information at any time; to perform these operations, user can enter in his/ her private area, click on the Profile and/ or User Settings button and make all necessary changes.
The above information about the users will be deleted, but logs and other user demographic and statistical information could be kept, maintaining an archived copy of these information anonymously.
If the personal information of the users have been consulted by other individuals/ organizations before the revisions and deletions, Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. can not perform the deletion of previous information on their systems.i.
Other relevant information and insights
Please consult the full version of the Privacy Statement and the Privacy Policy for more information. Our sites are not suitable for persons aged under 18 years old.
Contacts
|
||||||
883
|
dbpedia
|
3
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https://www.lexxion.eu/en/stateaidpost/the-interpretation-of-conflicting-norms-regarding-the-validity-of-state-aid-infolding-contracts-must-be-consistent-with-the-safeguard-of-individual-rights-created-by-eu-state-aid-law-c-505-14-klausn/
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en
|
Safeguard of Individual Rights
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"Emanuela Matei"
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2015-12-03T12:28:59+01:00
|
The preliminary ruling of the CJEU in the present case may pass by without special notice. At first sight a conflict between German law rule of res judicata and the obligation imposed on national courts by Article 108(3) TFEU could be projected.
|
en
|
Lexxion
|
https://www.lexxion.eu/en/stateaidpost/the-interpretation-of-conflicting-norms-regarding-the-validity-of-state-aid-infolding-contracts-must-be-consistent-with-the-safeguard-of-individual-rights-created-by-eu-state-aid-law-c-505-14-klausn/
|
The following blog post is another contributory piece by Emanuela Matei, Associate Researcher at the Centre of European Legal Studies, Bucharest. Matei holds a Juris Master in European Business Law (Lund University, June 2012), a Magister legum (Lund University, June 2010) and a BSc in Economics & Business Administration (Lund University, June 2009). We are very glad to welcome her on the blog today.
1. Introduction
The preliminary ruling of the CJEU in the present case may pass by without special notice. At first sight a conflict between German law rule of res judicata and the obligation imposed on national courts by Article 108(3) TFEU could be projected. A deeper examination can reveal nonetheless that the actual conflict arose within the national legal system between the German jurisprudence on the implementation of Article 108(3) TFEU that has established the nullity of contracts that entail State aid and the provisions of German code of civil procedure that prohibit the review of a judicial decision upholding the validity of those contracts.
2. Facts
The Klausner Group and the Land of Nordrhein-Westfalen concluded an agreement concerning the selling of fixed quantities of wood during 2007 to 2014 and afterwards, they also signed a ‘framework sales contract’. In 2008 the Land annulled the contracts and ceased to deliver wood to Klausner Holz. The buyer brought an action against the annulment of the wood sales contract and the German court ruled in favour of the plaintiff, thus upholding the validity of the contract. The validity of the contracts was later endorsed by a judgment issued on 3 December 2012 by the Court of Appeal. This judgment has attained value of res judicata.
Subsequently, Klausner Holz brought an action against the buyer seeking the following remedies:
Payment of damages in respect of the failure to supply wood in 2009 amounting EUR 54 million,
Supply of approximately 1.5 million cubic metres of pine wood in performance of the contracts at issue for the period between 2010 and February 2013
Access to information concerning the financial conditions offered to the five largest purchasers of resinous wood of cut pine wood from the Land between 2010 and 2013.
Against these claims the Land construed a defence contending that the EU law prevents the execution of the contracts at issue, since they constitute unlawful ‘State aid’ within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU read in conjunction with Article 108(3) TFEU.
In 2013 the Commission received a number of complaints against the non-notified allegedly incompatible aid granted by the Land via these wood sales contracts. Germany reported as well the presence of an unlawful aid. Relying on the Commission Notice on the enforcement of State aid law by national courts, the court seized with the action for damages and sent a letter to the Commission requesting a clarification.
The referring court agrees basically with the Land that the contracts constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU, especially because of the advantage given to Klausner Holz using State resources and the failure to comply with the market economy seller test. Moreover, according to the German jurisprudence, a private law contract that grants State aid in breach of the standstill clause must be regarded as null and void. However, the value of res judicata of the judgment of 3 December 2012 prevents the referring court to draw such consequences from the breach of the standstill clause in Article 108(3) TFEU.
Paragraph 322(1) of the Code of civil procedure entitled ‘Substantive legal finality of the judgment’ decrees as follows: ‘Judgments are able to become res judicata only in so far as a ruling has been given on the claims supporting the plaintiff’s application or on the counterclaims supporting the defendant’s rejoinder’.
Confronted with two apparently conflicting obligations, the court requested a prejudicial ruling for the following question:
‘In civil proceedings concerning the performance of a civil-law contract granting aid, does EU law, in particular Articles 107 TFEU and 108 TFEU and the principle of effectiveness, require that a final declaratory judgment under civil law which has been delivered in the same case and which confirms that the civil-law contract remains in force, without any consideration of the law on aid, be disregarded if under national law the performance of the contract cannot otherwise be prevented?’
3. CJEU judgement of 11 November 2015
The CJEU initiated its reasoning by underscoring the function and the role of the Article 108 (3) TFEU and the shared competence of national courts and the Commission within the framework of State aid control.[1] The assessment of compatibility is an exercise falling within the exclusive competence of the Commission, while the national courts shall ensure the safeguarding of the rights of individuals faced with a possible breach by State authorities of the prohibition laid down by Article 108(3) TFEU.[2] In order to determine whether a breach of the standstill clause has occurred, the national court must interpret and apply the concept of aid contained in Article 107(1) TFEU.[3]
The immediate enforceability of the prohibition in Article 108(3) TFEU extends to all aid which has been implemented without being notified.[4] The validity of the measures giving effect to the aid, the recovery of unlawful aid and the adoption of interim measures must be examined by the national court in order to provide the appropriate remedies for the unlawful implementation of the aid.[5] The national court is authorised to suspend the implementation, order recovery of payments made before the notification of aid or before the adoption of a final decision on its compatibility or take any other provisional measures that aim to safeguard the interests of the parties and the effectiveness of the Commission’s final decision.[6]
In the present case, the national court examined the measure in question and came to the conclusion that it constitutes unlawful aid, though it considered that its obligation to ensure the effectiveness of EU law and the protection of individual interests could not be fulfilled. The value of res judicata of the declaratory judgment of Oberlandesgericht Hamm prevented the national court to comply with its obligations derived from the Treaties.
The CJEU observed that the res judicata had treated a different matter and it did not involve a State aid examination. Furthermore, the sole aim of the dispute that gave rise to the declaratory judgment of the Oberlandesgericht Hamm was to obtain a ruling that the wood sales contracts remained in force, despite the fact that the seller had rescinded them. The purpose of the dispute before the referring court was to obtain remedies for the premature cancellation of this sales contract.
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According to the national court, the value of res judicata prevented not only the re-examination of the issues decided by the judgment in question, but also the raising of questions, which could have been raised in an earlier action and which were not so raised. In relation to the same type of national provisions, the CJEU decided that it was for the national court to interpret the provisions of national law in a manner that ensured the implementation of Union law.[7] The CJEU cites from its ruling in Impact in order to remind that the principle of interpreting national law in conformity with EU law has certain limitations.
The obligation on a national court to refer to the content of a directive when interpreting and applying the relevant rules of domestic law is limited by general principles of law, particularly those of legal certainty and non-retroactivity, and that obligation cannot serve as the basis for an interpretation of national law contra legem.[8]
The referring court believed that it had to deal with such a limitation, pointing out that national law grants no discretion to depart from the pronouncement imposed by res judicata. However, the principle of conform interpretation ‘requires national courts to do whatever lies within their jurisdiction, taking the whole body of domestic law into consideration and applying the interpretative methods recognised by domestic law, with a view to ensuring that the directive in question is fully effective and achieving an outcome consistent with the objective pursued by it’.[9]
The CJEU states that the national court is responsible for conceiving a conform interpretation that would satisfy the requirements of effective application of the Article 108(3) TFEU.[10] It is not necessary to rule on the validity of the wood sales contracts, but it would be enough to order a measure such as the temporary suspension of the contracts at issue until the adoption of the Commission final decision.
The CJEU pointed out that the formulation used by Paragraph 322(1) of the Code of civil procedure seems to limit the value of res judicata to the scope of claims and counterclaims that have been presented and examined during the proceedings that generated that final ruling.
In order to ensure stability of the law and legal relations, as well as the sound administration of justice, it is important that judicial decisions which have become definitive after all rights of appeal have been exhausted or after expiry of the time-limits provided for in that regard can no longer be called into question.[11]
The Union law does not necessarily require a judicial body to review a judgment having the value of res judicata in order to take into account the interpretation of a relevant provision of EU law adopted by the Court after delivery of that judgment.[12] (Author’s emphasis) The national procedural rules shall be equivalent with those governing similar domestic situations (principle of equivalence) and be framed in such a way as enabling the exercise of rights conferred by EU law (principle of effectiveness).[13] A declaration that the contracts forming the aid are in force, despite the fact that the Commission may find them to be incompatible with the internal market would distort the division of powers between the national courts and the Commission within the framework of State aid control.[14] Such a result would not be consistent with the principle of effectiveness.[15]
‘A significant obstacle to the effective application of EU law and, in particular, a principle as fundamental as that of the control of State aid cannot be justified either by the principle of res judicata or by the principle of legal certainty’.[16]
In circumstances such as those at issue in the main proceedings, the application of a rule of national law, which enshrines the principle of res judicata, in a manner that prevents the national court to draw all the consequences from the breach of the standstill clause in Article 108(3) TFEU is precluded by EU law. The circumstances of the case refer to a situation, where the referring court acknowledges the presence of unlawful aid embedded in contracts forming the subject-matter of the dispute before it, but its possibilities to adopt preventive measures are limited by a national judicial decision that has held that the contracts shall remain in force.
4. Comments
a) The standstill prohibition constitutes an integral part of the legal system of the Member States
In contrast to ordinary international treaties, the treaties of the EU established a new legal order for the benefit of which the sovereign rights of the Member States have been narrowed in a large range of fields, and the subjects of which comprise not only those States, but also their nationals.[17] The primacy of EU law over the laws of the Member States is directly derived from the character of EU law as independent source of law.[18] Within the exercise of its jurisdiction, a national court, which is entitled to apply provisions of EU law must give full effect to those provisions, if necessary refusing of its own motion to apply any conflicting provision of national legislation.[19]
‘A Member State’s obligation under the [Treaty], which is neither subject to any conditions nor, as regards its execution or effect, to the adoption of any measure either by the States or by the Commission, is legally complete and consequently capable of producing direct effects on the relations between Member States and individuals. Such an obligation becomes an integral part of the legal system of the Member States, and thus forms part of their own law, and directly concerns their nationals in whose favour it has created individual rights which national courts must protect’[20].
The obligation of non-implementation laid down in Article 108(3) TFEU and the consequent protection of individuals must be observed for the entire period during which the prohibition remains in force.[21] The competence of national courts to examine a measure that may constitute unlawful State aid before the Commission has decided on the compatibility of that aid is an immediate implication of the direct effect of the Article 108(3) TFEU.[22]
b) An internal conflict of norms solved by applying the principle of conform interpretation
The limitation of the duty of conform interpretation that excludes an interpretation contra legem of the national law has been defined in relation to cases, where the implementation of provisions of EU law that lacked direct effect had to be tuned with apparently contradictory rules of national law.[23] The key case is Adeneler, decision which brought a clarification to the Mangold ruling expounding that during the period prescribed for transposition of a directive, the Member States to which it is addressed must refrain from taking any measures liable to seriously compromise the attainment of the result prescribed by it.[24] The obligation to refrain from taking such measures applies to the national courts as much as to any other State authority.[25]
In Klausner Holz, the CJEU finds that during the period of time comprised between the allegedly unlawful implementation of State aid and the issue of the Commission final decision, the national courts must refrain from taking any measures liable to seriously compromise the attainment of the result prescribed by that final decision. In relation to State aid enforcement the obligation to refrain from potentially harmful actions is derived from the Article 108(3) TFEU, which must be given full effect by the national court, if necessary refusing of its own motion to apply any conflicting provision of national legislation.
The role and the objectives of the Article 108(3) TFEU are construed to deal specifically with the situations that may occur in the anticipation of a final decision issued by the Commission. The Article 108(3) TFEU makes integral part of the national legal systems and it is anchored in the principle of legal certainty, exactly as the principle of res judicata. In this light, the interpretation given to the obligation to refer to the content of EU law, when interpreting and applying the relevant rules of domestic law cannot be seen as equivalent with the obligation to refuse to apply them established by the constant case law flowing from the Simmenthal decision.
Accordingly any provision of a national legal system and any legislative, administrative or judicial practice which might impair the effectiveness of [Union] law by withholding from the national court having jurisdiction to apply such law the power to do everything necessary at the moment of its application to set aside national legislative provisions which might prevent [Union] rules from having full force and effect are incompatible with those requirements which are the very essence of [Union] law.[26]
Even if such an impediment to the full effectiveness of Union law were only temporary, the conflicting national provisions shall be set aside.[27] The Oberlandesgericht Hamm did not identify the presence of State aid and ruled only on the civil matter of validity of contracts. The court of first instance, Landgericht Münster seized with the action for damages brought by Klausner Holz against the Land has now to adjudicate the dispute, while being confronted with a situation, where the duty to give full effect to Article 108(3) TFEU as settled by the German relevant jurisprudence ordered that the contracts shall be regarded as null and void, while in the same time a final judgement required it to recognise the validity of those contracts.
The CJEU points out in its preliminary ruling in the present case that a temporary suspension of the contracts until the adoption of the Commission decision would enable the referring court to satisfy its obligations under the third sentence of Article 108(3) TFEU without actually ruling on the validity of the contracts at issue.[28] At this stage, there is no direct and unavoidable confrontation between the duty to give full effect to the standstill obligation under EU law and the national law provisions embodying the principle of res judicata.
If the decision of the Commission finds eventually that the contracts entail unlawful State aid that must be recovered, the new circumstances would be analogous with those in Lucchini and the court will have to declare the nullity of those contractual clauses that grant State aid. In accordance with the principle of primacy, the provisions of the founding Treaties have the effect of rendering automatically inapplicable any conflicting provision of national law, no matter if the latter is prior or subsequent to the rule of law of the Union.[29] However, the contracts at issue may remain valid, even if certain clauses such as the onus not to make other sales at prices lower than those set in the agreement may entail State aid and the validity of such clauses would run contrary to the obligation to give full effect to EU law.
The obligation to sell fixed quantities of wood during 2007 to 2014 at a price that would be paid by a market economy seller could nonetheless be maintained. The recovery of aid can only refer to the difference between the market price and the lower price paid by an aid beneficiary. The duty to give full effect to Article 108(3) TFEU does not imply an obligation to regard a private law contract that grants State aid in breach of the standstill responsibility to be null and void, but only calls for suspensory measures in the anticipation of a final Commission decision.
Moreover, in the aftermath of an eventual negative State aid decision, the matter whether or not the contract must be regarded as null and void in its entirety must be adjudicated under the German law applicable on contractual obligations. The State aid rules stipulate only the obligation to recover the unlawful advantage and a prohibition to allow such advantages to be granted in the future in order to avoid an irreparable damage of the competitive position of Klausner Holz’s competitors.
At first sight, the conflict appears to occur between a general principle of German law and an obligation derived from EU law. The CJEU seems to show courtesy to the national legal principles by adding an extra level of examination making use of the principle of interpreting national law in conformity with EU law, which previously has only been applicable for the implementation of EU law provisions that lacked direct effect. The standstill duty has nonetheless direct effect and Klausner Holz’s competitors may bring an action for damages against the Land for the unlawful grant of aid, if the Commission decision establishes the presence of such illegal and incompatible State aid.
However, as found already in Costa v ENEL[30], the standstill duty has become ‘an integral part of the legal system of the Member States, and thus forms part of their own law’. The referring court is seized to find a solution to a conflict of norms of national law. The first norm has been developed by the German jurisprudence implementing the Article 108(3) TFEU and the second norm is derived from the body of general principles of German law. The conflict takes place between the requirement to regard the contracts as null and void and the rule embodied by Paragraph 322(1) of the Code of civil procedure that prohibits the review of the judicial final decision that upheld the validity of those contracts. The additional level of examination relying on the principle of interpreting national law in conformity with EU law lays down an obligation to take into consideration the whole body of domestic law and apply the interpretative methods recognised by it, with a view to ensuring that EU law is fully effective and to achieving an outcome consistent with the objective pursued by it, which is the preservation of the individual rights created by Article 108(3) TFEU.
—————————————————————————
[1] Case C‑284/12 Deutsche Lufthansa EU:C:2013:755 [25-27].
[2] Deutsche Lufthansa, n (1), [28].
[3] See, to that effect, Case C‑354/90 Fédération nationale du commerce extérieur des produits alimentaires and Syndicat national des négociants et transformateurs de saumon EU:C:1991:440 [9] and [10].
[4] Deutsche Lufthansa, n (1), [29].
[5] Deutsche Lufthansa, n (1), [30].
[6] See, by analogy, Deutsche Lufthansa, n (1), [43] and C‑27/13 Flughafen Lübeck EU:C:2014:240 [26].
[7] C‑119/05 Lucchini EU:C:2007:434 [60].
[8] C‑268/06 Impact EU:C:2008:223 [100].
[9] C‑282/10 Dominguez EU:C:2012:33 [27].
[10] Dominguez, (n 9), [31].
[11] Case C‑2/08 Fallimento Olimpiclub EU:C:2009:506 [22] and Case C‑69/14 Târșia EU:C:2015:662 [28].
[12] Târșia, (n 11), [38].
[13] Fallimento Olimpiclub (n 11) [24] and C‑213/13 Impresa Pizzarotti EU:C:2014:2067 [54].
[14] Case C-505/14 Klausner Holz ECLI:EU:C:2015:742 [44].
[15] Klausner Holz, (n 14), [45].
[16] Idem.
[17] Opinion 2/13, ECLI:EU:C:2014:2454 [157] and Case 6/64 Costa EU:C:1964:66, p. 593.
[18] Costa, (n 17), p. 594.
[19] Lucchini, (n 7), [61].
[20] Costa, (n 17), p. 593.
[21] Case 120/73 Lorenz ECLI:EU:C:1973:152 [8].
[22] Klausner Holz, (n 14), [23].
[23] Case C-212/04 Adeneler ECLI:EU:C:2006:443 [110].
[24] Adeneler, (n 23), [121].
[25] Adeneler, (n 23), [122]. It must be observed nonetheless that this obligation was derived from the Article 288(3) TFEU read in conjunction with Article 4(3) TEU.
[26] Case 106/77 Simmenthal ECLI:EU:C:1978:49 [22]. See also, Joined Cases C‑188/10 and C‑189/10 Melki and Abdeli ECLI:EU:C:2010:363 [44], Case C‑409/06 Winner Wetten ECLI:EU:C:2010:503 [56] and Case C‑617/10 Åkerberg ECLI:EU:C:2013:105 [46].
[27] Simmenthal (n 26), [23].
[28] Klausner Holz, (n 14), [35].
[29] Simmenthal, (n 26), [17] and Case C‑213/89 Factortame and Others ECLI:EU:C:1990:257 [19].
[30] Costa, (n 20).
[Photo by Gordon from flickr.com]
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dbpedia
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0
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https://tunnellingjournal.com/salini-impregilo-enters-norwegian-market/
|
en
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Salini Impregilo enters Norwegian market
|
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"Tris Thomas",
"Tunnelling Journal"
] |
2019-10-16T10:06:18+00:00
|
Salini Impregilo has entered the Norwegian market for the first time with the signing of a €388M civil works contract to upgrade a 13.6km section of a rail line between the towns of Nykirke and Barkaker south of Oslo. Salini Impregilo, which heads a joint-venture with Impresa Pizzarotti & C with a 51% stake
|
en
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The Tunnelling Journal
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https://tunnellingjournal.com/salini-impregilo-enters-norwegian-market/
|
Salini Impregilo has entered the Norwegian market for the first time with the signing of a €388M civil works contract to upgrade a 13.6km section of a rail line between the towns of Nykirke and Barkaker south of Oslo. Salini Impregilo, which heads a joint-venture with Impresa Pizzarotti & C with a 51% stake, won the contract from Bane NOR, the state-owned company responsible for Norway’s railway infrastructure.
Under the terms of the contract, set to be completed by 2022, Salini Impregilo and its joint-venture partner will design and build a double-track line, including two bridges, three tunnels totalling some 5km in length, and a station near the town of Skoppum.
The project is on the Vestfold Line, which is being modernised to reduce travel times and increase railway passenger capacity. Once completed, travel time between Oslo and Tønsberg will be about an hour, with a frequency of up to four trains an hour in either direction.
The contract is the latest effort by the Group to expand in countries that are investing in infrastructure and carry a lower risk profile, such as Australia and the United States.
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| 18
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https://m.realnoevremya.com/articles/1995-5-investors-become-interested-in-construction-of-a-bridge-across-kama-river-in-tatarstan
|
en
|
Italian developer of Disneyland Paris reaches the bridge over the Kama river in Tatarstan?
|
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[
"Maria Gorozhaninova"
] |
2017-11-28T09:00:00+03:00
|
The largest Italian company, Pizzarotti, becomes interested in still abstract infrastructure project near the village of Sokolki in Tatarstan
|
en
|
/favicon-16x16.png
|
https://realnoevremya.com/articles/1995-5-investors-become-interested-in-construction-of-a-bridge-across-kama-river-in-tatarstan
|
Already five investors, including the largest Italian company Pizzarotti, have become interested in still abstract infrastructure project near the village of Sokolki in Tatarstan
As it became known to Realnoe Vremya, the Italian company Pizzarotti, which built Disneyland Paris, is interested in the project for construction of a bridge across the Kama river near the village of Sokolka in Tatarstan. But there are another four investors snapping at its heels. Meanwhile, the infrastructure project itself is being at the stage of possible work start on land planning.
There are already five investors looking at the bridge in Sokolka
The ranks of investors interested in the construction of a new bridge over the Kama river in the village of Sokolka have grown. As Minister of Transport and Road Management of Tatarstan Lenar Safin told Realnoe Vremya, at least four investors, in addition to Eurasian Development Bank, have expressed a desire to become a partner in implementation of one of the largest infrastructure projects in Tatarstan.
''Of course, there is a number of suggestions — the Centre for Project Finance is ready to participate in this project, as well as the Eurasian Development Bank, VTB Bank, Vnesheconombank, and Italian partners have reached us – it is the company Pizzarotti. Therefore, we will consider all options, but I do not exclude that there may be other solutions. The project is priority, and we are being engaged in it,'' assured the interlocutor of the edition.
It is still a long time before project realization. Photo: Roman Khasaev
However, it is still a long time before the project implementation, Safin says. Last week, President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov at the I Forum of the Volga Federal District on public-private partnership 'Investments in infrastructure' stated that it has been conducted only a bridge feasibility study so far. As the minister of transport and road economy of Tatarstan explained to our edition, the project feasibility study was finished already in 2016. This year it is planned to decide with the territory where the construction will take place.
''The feasibility study was completed last year by the St. Petersburg Institute. This year we plan to start work on planning the territory. Accordingly, within the plan it should be identified to whom exactly the land belongs, to reserve it for further construction,'' said Safin.
According to him, they have yet to determine a financial model, and then design work is to begin. The interlocutor does not reveal the time of commencement and completion of the construction yet.
Adventures of Italians in Russia
If everything is clear with the Eurasian Cooperation Bank, Centre for Project Finance, VTB and Vneshprombank, then the Italian company Pizzarotti interested in the project is little known in the region. We are talking about the largest Italian construction group Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. The company is engaged in construction of infrastructure, including bridges, roads, tunnels, airports and health care facilities. Among the successful projects of the Italians there are Disneyland and the tunnel in Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.
In June 2016, Pizzarotti signed an agreement on public-private partnership in the presence of President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Renzi. Photo: kremlin.ru
The concern is entering the Russian market with several infrastructure projects. As reported by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), in June 2016 the fund together with Gazprombank and Pizzarotti signed an agreement on public-private partnership in the presence of President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Renzi. The agreement provided that the RDIF with the Italian company will act as investors of the project for design, construction and technical operation of medical-rehabilitation building of the municipal hospital No. 40 in St. Petersburg. The role of Gazprombank in the project consists in advising, organization of financing and lending.
In May 2017, Pizzarotti signed another agreement in the framework of PPP — this time for construction of two health care facilities in Chelyabinsk Oblast. In addition, in April of this year it became known that the Italian company won the tender for the construction of an amusement park at VDNKh in Moscow.
Disneyland is among the successful projects of the Italian company. Photo: pizzarotti.it
Bridge in the future
Already a year and a half ago Lenar Safin told that in 2017 it could begin implementation of the project for the construction of a bridge across the Kama river near the village of Sokolka. The minister estimated the construction of a motorway with the bridge at more than 50 billion rubles.
In March of this year, the Federal Road Transport Agency of Russia reported that it expected an application of the Republic of Tatarstan for provision of additional financial support for the construction of roads and bridges within public-private partnerships. In July, Deputy Minister of Transport and Road Economy of Tatarstan Artyom Chukin explained to Realnoe Vremya that the application would be filed after they developed a financial model of the project and concluded an agreement with the investor.
''But in order to reach an agreement with the investor, we need to work out all the financial issues of the project: what investments will be, how much the investor is ready to invest in this project, how do they asses it,'' Chukin commented.
The construction of the bridge is planned in the framework of the largest transportation project of Tatarstan on transformation of the entire infrastructure of the Kama river region, which was presented to the public at the Gaidar Forum in January 2016. That time it was said that the development of the Kama territory was hindered due to traffic congestion problem and low traffic capacity.
By Maria Gorozhaninova
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https://www.linkedin.com/company/ghella-s.p.a/life/ourspecialprojects
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Ghella: Life
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Ghella | 55,280 followers on LinkedIn. Leave a better world for future generations | With a history of more than 150 years, our spirit of exploration has been firmly established since the company’s foundation in 1894. Today we are a global reality of primary importance in the construction of large public projects.
Specialized in underground excavation, spanning 5 generations, we have successfully constructed over 190 tunnels and connected more than 1,000 kilometers of subways, railways, highways, and hydraulic projects.
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LinkedIn and 3rd parties use essential and non-essential cookies to provide, secure, analyze and improve our Services, and to show you relevant ads (including professional and job ads) on and off LinkedIn. Learn more in our Cookie Policy.
Select Accept to consent or Reject to decline non-essential cookies for this use. You can update your choices at any time in your settings.
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https://www.theceomagazine.com/executive-interviews/construction-trades/michele-pizzarotti/
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Michele Pizzarotti, Deputy Chairman of Impresa Pizzarotti
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[
"The CEO Magazine",
"Words - Sharon Masige"
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2018-08-20T04:35:54+00:00
|
For Impresa Pizzarotti Deputy Chairman Michele Pizzarotti, honesty and dedication are the foundations of the family construction business.
|
en
|
//static.theceomagazine.net/content/logos/favicon.ico
|
The CEO Magazine
|
https://www.theceomagazine.com/executive-interviews/construction-trades/michele-pizzarotti/
|
Parma, Italy, may be known for parmesan cheese, prosciutto di Parma and handmade pasta, but it is also home to one of the country’s leading construction companies: Impresa Pizzarotti. The family business was founded by Gino Pizzarotti in 1910, with one of its first projects being the construction of a church in Cisa Pass. Since then, the company has been involved in construction works that include Paris Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle and Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris.
Impresa Pizzarotti Deputy Chairman – and fourth-generation family member – Michele Pizzarotti, finds joy in developing infrastructure for everyday use. “In my job, you have a lot of issues to face every day, but this just drives my passion and curiosity,” Michele tells The CEO Magazine<. “I’m fascinated by the opportunity to create industrial initiatives that may have a positive impact on ordinary people.” “I’m fascinated with the opportunity to create industrial initiatives that may have a positive impact on ordinary people.”
The company conducts construction works for a broad range of industries including hospitals, factories, residential properties, railways, motorways and water treatment facilities. A standout project example is the new Milan Trade Fair complex. The building was designed by Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas and includes 80 conference rooms, 25 bars and 20 restaurants. Its iconic feature is a large canopy named ‘veil’, made from glass and mirrored stainless steel. The veil reflects the natural landscape, with structures that emulate waves, craters and hills.
One of Impresa Pizzarotti’s innovative projects is the photovoltaic power plant above the Catania–Syracuse highway in Sicily. Not only did the business construct the 25-kilometre highway itself – which included four kilometres of viaducts and 2.8 kilometres of artificial tunnels – it built the solar plant as well. The 13.2 megawatt grid-connected plant is made up of four solar fields: the Campana, San Fratello, Cozzo Battaglia Nord and Cozzo Battaglia Sud, and Michele says it was “something very new” for the country.
With the company still going strong after more than a century, Michele attributes its success largely to the family’s management practices and values. “It’s our strategy to not distribute dividends and this has generated a high amount of capital for the Group, with a Group equity of around €500 million,” he says.
[/img]
“We work hard, we guarantee high quality to our clients and we are honest with them,” says Michele of their values. “Good relationships need a lot of respect between people. If someone wants to become a part of our company, they have to be honest and completely dedicated to the job.”
Over the years, Michele has been impressed by the company’s capabilities beyond Italy’s borders. “We have a presence in France, a country that is very difficult to enter because you have construction companies with a turnover much higher than ours,” he explains. “But we were still able to win some contracts, and I think we should be very proud of this achievement.”
Further, Impresa Pizzarotti has spread its reach to South America, the Middle East, Poland, Romania, Russia and, more recently, Australia, where it entered into an agreement in 2017 with RF Holdings to create a tier-one joint venture construction company, Roberts Pizzarotti.
“We are becoming very attractive to people around the world because we’re a family-owned business that is also multinational, with a long history and a lot of experience.”
Now the company is setting its sights on other markets such as the US. However, Michele acknowledges that entering new markets comes with several obstacles.
“At a personal level, I inherited the same drive my grandfather and father had to achieve success,” Michele muses. “And this is important because there are a lot of challenges. It’s more difficult now than in the past. Competition is high and prices are low. If you have an activity where the profit margin is not so high, you have to be near perfect.”
We work hard, we guarantee high quality to our clients and we are honest with them.”
And perfect Impresa Pizzarotti strives to be. Michele is honoured by the recognition the company has already received around the world for its projects. “We are very proud to have received so many certificates of excellence from our national and international clients,” Michele says. “This means recognition of all the work our employees have done to create such a company.”
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https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/5/2973
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en
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Inspection and Structural Rehabilitation of an Existing Masonry Arch Railway Bridge
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[
"Francesco Bencardino",
"Roberta Curto",
"Vincenzo Scavelli"
] |
2023-02-25T00:00:00
|
Masonry arch bridges are important structures of road and rail networks around the world. Over several decades of service life, they suffer deterioration and damage. In order to preserve their functioning, it is necessary to carry out a seismic vulnerability analysis to verify the current level of safety and, if necessary, take action to reach the standard required by current codes. For these reasons, a structural analysis of the existing railway bridge built with masonry arches, located on the San Nicola–Avigliano Lucania line in Potenza, Italy, was carried out. The seismic vulnerability of the bridge was assessed using the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) method by subjecting a properly discretized three-dimensional model of the entire structure to a non-adaptive nonlinear static analysis (pushover). The obtained results do not meet the minimums suggested by current European Standards. Therefore, a traditional structural rehabilitation intervention was designed and modeled. The intrados of the arches and the bridge piers were reinforced with a thin reinforced concrete slab and reinforced concrete jackets, respectively, all connected to the existing structure by steel bar connectors. By re-performing the pushover analysis of the reinforced structure using FEA software, it was observed that the new risk indexes satisfy the seismic vulnerability verification. Thus, the proposed structural rehabilitation is a valid, but not unique, solution to the problem affecting the existing masonry arch bridge analyzed in this study.
|
en
|
MDPI
|
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/5/2973
|
1
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy
2
Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A., 43121 Parma, PR, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(5), 2973; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13052973
Submission received: 9 January 2023 / Revised: 19 February 2023 / Accepted: 23 February 2023 / Published: 25 February 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Existing Bridges: From Inspection to Structural Rehabilitation)
Abstract
:
Masonry arch bridges are important structures of road and rail networks around the world. Over several decades of service life, they suffer deterioration and damage. In order to preserve their functioning, it is necessary to carry out a seismic vulnerability analysis to verify the current level of safety and, if necessary, take action to reach the standard required by current codes. For these reasons, a structural analysis of the existing railway bridge built with masonry arches, located on the San Nicola–Avigliano Lucania line in Potenza, Italy, was carried out. The seismic vulnerability of the bridge was assessed using the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) method by subjecting a properly discretized three-dimensional model of the entire structure to a non-adaptive nonlinear static analysis (pushover). The obtained results do not meet the minimums suggested by current European Standards. Therefore, a traditional structural rehabilitation intervention was designed and modeled. The intrados of the arches and the bridge piers were reinforced with a thin reinforced concrete slab and reinforced concrete jackets, respectively, all connected to the existing structure by steel bar connectors. By re-performing the pushover analysis of the reinforced structure using FEA software, it was observed that the new risk indexes satisfy the seismic vulnerability verification. Thus, the proposed structural rehabilitation is a valid, but not unique, solution to the problem affecting the existing masonry arch bridge analyzed in this study.
1. Introduction
Existing masonry arch bridges are of great importance for road and rail networks and are also invaluable as they are part of architectural and cultural heritage. These ancient structures were designed many years ago according to semi-empirical rules based on a few simplified mechanical principles; however, their structural performance is exceptional in most cases [1]. However, at present, the safety and utilization of these existing bridges are in danger due to several factors. The performance deficit may be due to progressive damage from external actions, natural deterioration including material decay, structural inadequacy, events such as earthquakes, but also increased loads and vehicle speeds to which bridges originally designed for wagon passage are subjected. Therefore, a realistic and rigorous seismic structural assessment of masonry arch bridges is essential to preserve their functionality and cultural, economic, and strategic importance and vulnerability. It is necessary to carry out a seismic vulnerability analysis of these structures in order to upgrade them to the safety standard required by current codes if necessary. The relevance and effects of this problem are better highlighted if we consider the number of existing masonry arch bridges in the national and international territory that are used by the railway network. In Italy alone, there are about 56,000 of them, differentiated by arch type, number, and span length. Currently, there is a large body of literature analyzing the collapse of masonry arch bridges and masonry arches in general [2,3,4], reporting different structural models built according to different levels of accuracy and simplifications. In fact, the difficulty of representing the behavior of the resisting material and skeleton sometimes requires the use of a simplified but effective structural model suitable for the specific case. The methodologies developed can be based on limit analysis, nonlinear incremental techniques for two-dimensional arches, and Finite Element Models (FEMs) for three-dimensional arches, which allow both a complete description of the bridge geometry and detailed constitutive models.
This paper falls within the field of engineering applications aimed at infrastructure engineering and proposes a methodology of analysis for seismic vulnerability assessment and suggests a valid and effective solution for the structural rehabilitation of an Italian masonry arch railway bridge. A structural analysis of the arch bridge under static and seismic actions in the current and future strengthened state was carried out on a three-dimensional FEM generated using Midas FEA NX software [5]. The detailed FE model is essential for conducting the nonlinear nonadaptive static analysis (pushover), which also takes into account uncertainties in the material properties and seismic input of the masonry arch bridge [6,7]. Pushover analyses are common and widely used to evaluate global structure response and nonlinear collapse mechanisms because they are less complex than nonlinear dynamic analysis [8]. In fact, the latter is considerably computationally expensive and requires careful selection of seismic input data, since the results are strictly influenced by their choice.
Therefore, this study shows a useful methodology of analysis for the seismic performance evaluation of an existing masonry arch bridge and proposes a viable structural rehabilitation solution by using traditional materials and techniques.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Bridge Location and Historical Background
The masonry arch bridge situated on the Altamura-Avigliano Lucania-Potenza railway line, managed by Ferrovie Appulo Lucane, is located at 84 + 703 km. It is in Potenza (PZ) and it crosses the Tiera stream, a tributary of the Basento river.
It has proved impossible to correctly trace the construction history of this work due to inadequate, vague, and contradictory information. However, it is certain that the history of the Appulo Lucane railway began in 1915, initially called Mediterranea Calabro Lucane. The Acerenza–Avigliano Lucania line (Figure 1a), where the bridge is located, was opened on 26 May 1930. Over the years, concrete plasterwork on the intrados of the vault and on the archivolt was made (Figure 1b). There are no reports concerning this work that can explain the reason for this added plasterwork and the exact period of its realization.
2.2. Geometrical Data and Materials
A complete new geometric survey was carried out, allowing defining the entire geometry of the bridge and the type of materials used to produce parts and components. The bridge (Figure 2a) is overall 30.25 m long and it extends on three round arched spans, each span being 8.40 m with a rise of 4.20 m. In the transversal direction, the spans have a deck of 4.60 m. The arches are 0.60 m thick and are made of solid brick masonry and lime mortar (Figure 2b). The piers measure 3.85 m from the foundation to the springing. In the longitudinal direction, they are 1.80 m thick corresponding to the ground level and 1.50 m corresponding to the springing section. In the transversal direction, they have a constant length of 4.00 m. Moreover, they are equipped with semi-circular upstream and downstream rostrum of 0.75 m radius. Both rostrum and piers are made of squared stone blocks. The abutments have the same height as the piers; they are 3.00 m in the longitudinal direction and 4.00 m in the transversal direction. The abutments of the bridge, like the piers, are made of squared stone blocks. The spandrels have a minimum height of 0.40 m at the keystone and a maximum height of 5.20 m at the piers and abutments.
The thickness is constant and it is 1.00 m. The spandrels are made of masonry with square stone blocks (Figure 2b). The abutments and backfill consist of messy stone masonry. The shallow foundations consist of pads formed by parallelepipeds masonry squared stone blocks. They have a height of 1.30 m and a cantilever with respect to the piers and abutments of 0.30 m both in the longitudinal and transversal directions.
A frontal view of the bridge is given in Figure 3 and the section in the longitudinal direction is given in Figure 4.
2.3. Mechanical Properties of Materials
The geometric survey was accompanied by extensive investigations and tests in order to reach a knowledge level (KL2), which indicates a normal knowledge of geometry, materials, and details according to Eurocode 8 [10]. This KL2 corresponds to a confidence factor CF = 1.20 (as specified in Table 3.1 of the Eurocode 8, Part 3 [10]).
The design values of the mechanical parameters used in the analyses were calculated by dividing the average values, obtained from Table C8.5.1 chapter 8 of the Italian Standard [11], by CF = 1.20. The design values are given in Table 1. For the purpose of the calculation, the abutments were considered only in terms of mass, neglecting their possible seismic-resistant capacity.
2.4. Modeling Assumptions
Using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software, predictive computational models of actual structure can be built. The knowledge of various information, such as material properties, applied loads, and constraints, makes it possible to predict the behavior of existing structures, often with high accuracy levels. The accuracy that can be achieved is closely related to the used FE mesh; this procedure is called mesh refinement metric.
In this case, the bridge has been modeled using an appropriate FE mesh with an 8-node solid brick finite elements, with refinement at the vaults (Figure 5a), in order to reduce the error in these particular regions and obtain a sufficiently accurate mesh without overburdening the model.
The masonry was modeled using the Total Strain Crack Model (TSC), which is suitable for simulating the behavior of brittle materials such as masonry or concrete. Specifically, it was decided to use a linear constitutive model for the tensile behavior and a parabolic constitutive model for the compression behavior (Figure 5b). These constitutive models are uniquely defined once the following parameters are assigned: tensile strength (ft) and compressive strength (fc) of squared stone block masonry and solid brick and lime mortar masonry; compressive fracture energy (Gc); tensile fracture energy (Gf); mesh size (h).
3. Seismic Vulnerability Analysis and Results
For the assessment of the global seismic behavior of the bridge, it was decided to perform the nonlinear non-adaptive static analysis (pushover). The latter is the most comprehensive procedure to study the complex structural behavior during an earthquake, since more information can be obtained than conventional linear approaches [13]. An in-depth review of the research on nonlinear static seismic analysis procedures can be found in the FEMA 440 document [14].
The analysis of the Italian masonry arch railway bridge was carried out considering the two main directions of the bridge according to the dominant bridge behavior and mode shapes: the longitudinal one, i.e., parallel to the axis of the tracks, and the transversal one, orthogonal to the previous one.
For each direction, two force distributions were considered, proportional to the main modal shape (Group1) and proportional to the mass (Group2), as required by Norme Tecniche per le Costruzioni, chapter 7 [15].
The capacity curve of the structure is described by the base shear force versus displacement at a suitable control point. In this case study, only one control point was considered. Then, the complex structural behavior analyzed with the MDOF (multi-degree-of-freedom) capacity curves are converted into the response of an equivalent bilinear SDOF (single-degree-of-freedom) system.
3.1. Modal Analysis
The basic assumption is that the response of the structure is dominated by a single mode of vibration for each of the two main directions. Therefore, in order to identify the main mode shape, for each considered direction, the first step was a modal analysis. Figure 6 shows the main mode shape in the longitudinal and transverse directions.
3.2. Pushover Analysis
Once the main mode shapes were known, four separate pushover analyses were performed: the first in the longitudinal direction, proportional to the mode (Push. long. mode); the second in the longitudinal direction, proportional to the masses (Push. long. masses); the third in the transversal direction, proportional to the mode (Push. transv. mode); the fourth in the transversal direction, proportional to the masses (Push. transv. masses). Each analysis provides an ante operam capacity curve (Figure 7 and Figure 8). Having identified the MDOF capacity curves, these were transformed into bilinear SDOF curves using the peak areas equivalence criterion (Figure 9 and Figure 10). Indeed, the area of the capacity curve of the SDOF system exactly reproduces the strain energy of the MDOF system.
3.3. Result of Pushover Analysis
According to current codes [10,11], verification of the nonlinear static analysis is satisfied if the following relation (1) is valid for each performed analysis:
U m a x ≥ d m a x
(1)
where Umax is the displacement capacity of the structure and dmax is the required displacement of the actual MDOF system. This displacement is obtained by multiplying the required displacement of the equivalent system d max * by the modal participation factor Γ (dmax = Γ d max * ). The required displacement of the equivalent system is a function of the initial proper period associated with the elastic range T* and it is evaluated using Equation (2) if T* ≥ Tc or Equation (3) if T* ≤ Tc:
d m a x * = d e , m a x * = S D e ( T * )
(2)
d m a x * = S D e ( T * ) q * [ 1 + ( q * − 1 ) T C T * ] ≥ S D e ( T * )
(3)
q * = S e ( T * ) F y * m *
(4)
According to the Italian Standard [11], the behavior factor q* must be less than 3 for life-saving limit state (SLV); otherwise, the assessment result must be considered negative.
The obtained values of Umax for the four MDOF capacity curves are the following:
MDOF Capacity Curve Push. long. mode: Umax = 7.6 mm;
MDOF Capacity Curve Push. long. masses: Umax = 10.4 mm;
MDOF Capacity Curve Push. trans. mode: Umax = 7.1 mm;
MDOF Capacity Curve Push. trans. masses: Umax = 7.2 mm.
To evaluate d max * , the q* values were calculated:
equivalent bilinear Push. long. mode: q* = 2.2 < 3;
equivalent bilinear Push. long. masses: q* = 1.53 < 3;
equivalent bilinear Push. trans. mode: q* = 3.88 > 3;
equivalent bilinear Push. trans. masses: q* = 1.25 < 3.
Because in the case of Push. trans. mode q* = 3.88 > 3, the verification in terms of displacement is “not satisfied”.
3.4. Seismic Vulnerability in Terms of Acceleration
According to chapter 2.12.3.2 of the RFI (Rete Ferroviaria Italiana) Manual [16] and Italian Standard (Cir. no. 7, chapter 8) [11], seismic vulnerability verification is satisfied if:
ζ E , m i n ≥ 1
(5)
where ζE,min is the minimum seismic risk index among those associated with local and global collapse mechanisms.
3.4.1. Global Risk Indexes
The generic risk index is given by the ratio of the peak ground acceleration leading to the collapse of the bridge, ag,C (seismic capacity), to the peak ground acceleration at the site where the structure rises, ag,D (seismic demand). To assess the seismic capacity, an iterative procedure was performed to identify, for the four pushover analyses, the seismic spectrum for which the demand dmax equals the displacement capacity Umax (capacity spectrum) and the corresponding value of the behavior factor q*.
The obtained results are reported in Table 2.
3.4.2. Local Risk Indexes
Local collapse mechanisms are not identified by the global analysis; consequently, they must be verified separately. In the present case, one possible local mechanism is spandrel walls overturning. The calculation of the risk index associated with this mechanism was conducted using the linear kinematic approach and reference was made only to the SLV (life-saving limit state) as allowed by Italian Standards [11,15].
To simplify the calculation, as suggested in chapter 2.12.3.2.2.5 of the RFI Manual [15], the spandrel wall was transformed into an equivalent rectangular wall (Figure 11) with length L = 30.25 m, equal to the effective length of the spandrel, and height hm equal to the ratio between the area of the spandrel At = 46.6 m2 and its length L. After performing the calculations, a risk index associated with the overturning mechanism of the spandrel wall 𝜁E, loc = 3.9 was obtained.
3.4.3. Seismic Vulnerability Verification
Once the global and local seismic risk indexes were known, it was possible to apply the above Equation (5), obtaining 𝜁E,min = 0.51 < 1. Since 𝜁E,min < 1, the seismic vulnerability verification of the bridge ante operam is “not satisfied”.
4. Design of Structural Rehabilitation
The risk index obtained was less than the unit, meaning that the existing structure, in its ante operam configuration, is unable to withstand the design seismic action.
Therefore, the need arises to design reinforcement interventions in order to achieve a seismic upgrading of the bridge obtaining a risk index greater than or equal to the unit.
After a careful evaluation of different possible reinforcement techniques, the following traditional types of reinforced concrete (RC) interventions were selected:
RC linings 30 cm thick on the intrados of the arches and on the vertical load-bearing elements (Figure 12 and Figure 13);
RC jacketing of the piers 30 cm thick along a height of 1.00 m (Figure 12 and Figure 13).
In order to ensure the functionality of the structural intervention, the linings and jacketing will be connected to the existing structure using steel bars with a diameter of 14 mm (ϕ 14), chemically anchored using cement-based resin.
4.1. New Modeling Assumption
The linings and jacketing were modeled using FE solid of the 8-node brick type to which the mechanical properties of class C25/30 concrete were assigned (Figure 14a). The steel reinforcements (of the linings and jacketing) and the anchor bars to the existing structure (ϕ 14) were modeled through the use of one-dimensional FE called strengthening elements (Figure 14b) which are able to be “embedded” in the FE solids, representing concrete and masonry.
To the one-dimensional FE were assigned the mechanical properties of B450C steel (fyk = 450 N/mm2: characteristic yield strength; γs = 1.15: partial factor for reinforcing steel; fyd = 391.3 N/mm2: design yield strength; k: ratio of tensile strength to the yield stress of the steel; Es = 200 GPa: design value of the elasticity modulus; ftd: design value of tensile strength; εuk: characteristic strain of steel reinforcement at maximum force; εud: design strain of steel reinforcement at maximum force, according to Eurocode 2 [17] and shown in Figure 15).
4.2. Constitutive Models
The same constitutive model used for the masonry was assigned to the concrete; in particular, a linear law for the tension behavior and a parabolic law for the compression behavior (Figure 5b). This choice is appropriate because the TSC model is suitable for simulating the behavior of brittle materials such as concrete and masonry. As for steel a bilinear hardening, the constitutive model was used both in tension and compression (Figure 15).
4.3. Post Operam Modal Analysis
The seismic rehabilitation intervention was implemented in the FE model and a modal analysis of the post operam bridge was carried out in order to identify the new main modal shape for each of the two considered directions (Figure 16).
4.4. Post Operam Pushover Analysis
Once the new main mode shapes were known, the four post operam pushover analyses were carried out. The four obtained capacity curves compared with those obtained before rehabilitation are shown in Figure 17 and Figure 18. As can be seen, the rehabilitation intervention leads to an improvement in both strength and ultimate displacement. Having identified the post operam MDOF capacity curves, these were transformed into the post operam bilinear SDOF curves through the peak areas equivalence criterion (Figure 19 and Figure 20).
4.5. Check Post Operam Pushover Analysis
In order to identify the d max * values, the bilinear capacity curves were compared with the ADRS (Acceleration Displacement Response Spectrum) seismic spectrum. This comparison shows that for the four post operam pushover analyses, T* < TB. Therefore, for all cases, Equation (3) should be used for seismic verification. Table 3 shows the verification results. As required by current codes, having obtained Umax > dmax for each pushover analysis performed, the verification in terms of displacement is “satisfied”.
4.6. Post Operam Seismic Vulnerability
For the calculation of the global post operam risk indexes, the same iterative procedure used previously was carried out, obtaining 𝜁E,min = 1.38 at the push analysis. transv. mode. Since no spandrel wall reinforcement interventions were performed, as they were not necessary, the post operam local risk index is the same as the ante operam one.
Result of the Post Operam Assessment
Once the post operam risk indexes were known, Equation (5) was reapplied, obtaining 𝜁E,min = 1.38 > 1. With 𝜁E,min > 1, the seismic vulnerability check of the upgraded bridge is “satisfied”.
4.7. Checking of the Injected Anchors
Finally, the check of the injected anchors was performed. The strength of these depends on the mechanical properties of the used mortar, the characteristics of the steel bar, the anchorage length, the diameter of the hole, and the mechanical properties of the masonry. Different failure mechanisms can be developed: collapse by sliding of the bar, collapse by sliding of the mortar bulb, or collapse by detachment of the masonry cone [18]. The assessment of the anchorages can be considered satisfied if the anchorage length is sufficient to avoid the activation of these mechanisms. This result was achieved assuming the anchorage lengths (lbm) shown in Figure 21.
5. Conclusions
In this paper, a practical procedure has been used in order to evaluate the seismic safety level of existing masonry arch railway bridges. Specifically, the aim of the research was to conduct a seismic vulnerability study of the arch bridge located on the San Nicola–Avignano Lucania line. After taking appropriate measurements to acquire the necessary information on geometry, materials, and details to obtain a normal knowledge level (KL2), a three-dimensional model was created with the aid of suitable FE software.
The tools available in the software made it possible to model the geometry of the bridge quickly and easily, to create an accurate mesh without overweighting the model, and to adopt a constitutive model suitable for simulating the behavior of brittle materials such as masonry. The seismic performance of the existing masonry arch railway bridge was evaluated using nonlinear non-adaptive static analysis (pushover). The results of the analysis provided risk indexes that did not meet the minimums required by the current codes.
In this regard, an intervention on the existing structure was studied, modeled, and analyzed using traditional rehabilitation techniques. The proposed seismic rehabilitation solution proved to be valid and effective, leading to the verification of the seismic performance. The linings and the jacketing work in tension; the former counteract hinge opening at the intrados due to actions in the longitudinal plane, and the latter counteract hinge opening at the base of the piers due to actions in the transversal plane.
The proposed structural analysis methodology proved to be a valid tool, able to carry out a judgment of the seismic performance of an existing masonry arch bridge using a suitable risk index.
The authors want to highlight that the possible solutions for seismic rehabilitation through the use of traditional and/or innovative materials and techniques are different and each requires specific modeling and analyses. For these reasons, the proposed solution, which is not unique, cannot be generalized for every existing bridge, because the various characteristics and problems must be properly analyzed to identify and define the appropriate methodology.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, F.B.; Validation, R.C. and V.S.; Formal analysis, F.B., R.C. and V.S.; Investigation, V.S.; Data curation, F.B.; Writing—original draft, R.C. and V.S.; Writing—review & editing, F.B.; Supervision, F.B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This research received no external funding. The activities developed in this scientific work were carried out during the PhD course XXXVII cycle (R. Curto), PON R&I 2014-2020, Azione IV.5 “Green”.
Institutional Review Board Statement
Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement
Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement
Data are contained within the article.
Acknowledgments
The study developed in this scientific work was carried out during a master’s degree thesis (V. Scavelli) at the University of Calabria.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
References
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Figure 1. (a) Acerenza–Avigliano Lucania line inaugurated on 26 May 1930 [9]. (b) Concrete coating at the bottom of the vault.
Figure 2. (a) Photo of the arch bridge. (b) Building materials of piers, spandrels, and arches.
Figure 3. Frontal view of the bridge.
Figure 4. Longitudinal section.
Figure 5. (a) Geometric model of the bridge. (b) Parabolic (left) and linear (right) constitutive model [12].
Figure 6. (a) Main mode shape in longitudinal direction (T = 0.25 s). (b) Main mode shape in transverse direction (T = 0.24 s).
Figure 7. (a) Push. long. mode: Pre operam MDOF capacity curve. (b) Push. long. masses: Pre operam MDOF capacity curve.
Figure 8. (a) Push. transv. mode: Pre operam MDOF capacity curve. (b) Push. transv. masses: Pre operam MDOF capacity curve.
Figure 9. (a) Push. long. mode: Pre operam equivalent bilinear. (b) Push. long. masses: Pre operam equivalent bilinear.
Figure 10. (a) Push. transv. mode: Pre operam equivalent bilinear. (b) Push. transv. masses: Pre operam equivalent bilinear.
Figure 11. Schematization of the forces acting on the spandrel wall during the seismic event.
Figure 12. Frontal view of the post operam bridge.
Figure 13. Section in longitudinal direction post operam.
Figure 14. (a) Geometric model of the post operam bridge. (b) Geometric model of the reinforcements and anchors.
Figure 15. Idealized and design stress–strain diagrams for reinforcing steel.
Figure 16. (a) Post operam main mode shape in longitudinal direction (T = 0.158 s); (b) post operam main mode shape in transverse direction (T = 0.147 s).
Figure 17. (a) Push. long. mode: pre and post operam MDOF capacity curve. (b) Push. long. masses: pre and post operam MDOF capacity curve.
Figure 18. (a) Push. trans. mode: pre and post operam MDOF capacity curve. (b) Push. trans. masses: pre and post operam MDOF capacity curve.
Figure 19. (a) Push. long. mode: post operam equivalent bilinear. (b) Push. long. masses: post operam equivalent bilinear.
Figure 20. (a) Push. trans. mode: post operam equivalent bilinear. (b) Push. trans. masses: post operam equivalent bilinear.
Figure 21. Anchor length values.
Table 1. Design values of mechanical parameters of masonry elements.
ElementMasonry Typologyfd
(N/mm2)τ0d
(N/mm2)fv0d
(N/mm2)Ed
(N/mm2)Gd
(N/mm2)w
(kN/m3)Abutment, piles, spandrels, foundationssquare stone block masonry5.830.090.19237579322Archessolid brick masonry and lime mortar2.880.080.17125041718Backfill disordered rubble stone masonry1.250.02-72526319
Table 2. Capacity spectrum parameters and risk indexes.
Pushover AnalysisTR (a)
(Years)q*F0 (b)TC*
(s)ag,C
(g)ag,D
(g)ζEPush. long. mode2991.812.4150.3550.1670.2020.83Push. long. masses8161.782.4390.3940.2460.2021.22Push. trans. mode1041.942.3890.3330.1030.2020.51Push. trans. masses4651.242.4450.3630.2000.2020.99
Table 3. Results check of post operam pushover analysis.
Pushover Analysisq* q ass * (a)Displacement Demand d max *
(mm) dmax
(mm)Umax
(mm)Push. long. mode1.131.13 d m a x * = S D e ( T * ) q a s s * [ 1 + ( q a s s * − 1 ) T C T * ] ≥ S D e ( T * ) 4.485.6510.4Push. long. masses0.801.004.525.7013.5Push. trans. mode1.261.265.926.8111.0Push. trans. masses0.681.002.282.6212.3
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Bencardino, F.; Curto, R.; Scavelli, V. Inspection and Structural Rehabilitation of an Existing Masonry Arch Railway Bridge. Appl. Sci. 2023, 13, 2973. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13052973
AMA Style
Bencardino F, Curto R, Scavelli V. Inspection and Structural Rehabilitation of an Existing Masonry Arch Railway Bridge. Applied Sciences. 2023; 13(5):2973. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13052973
Chicago/Turabian Style
Bencardino, Francesco, Roberta Curto, and Vincenzo Scavelli. 2023. "Inspection and Structural Rehabilitation of an Existing Masonry Arch Railway Bridge" Applied Sciences 13, no. 5: 2973. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13052973
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2022-06-19T20:17:10+03:00
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By Majd Othman KUWAIT: The New Maternity Hospital is the first medical project in the Middle East that has one specialty, built at a cost of KD 220 million. In...
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en
|
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KuwaitTimes
|
https://kuwaittimes.com/kuwaits-new-maternity-hospital-to-be-ready-in-first-quarter-of-2023
|
By Majd Othman
KUWAIT: The New Maternity Hospital is the first medical project in the Middle East that has one specialty, built at a cost of KD 220 million. In cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Public Works in Kuwait, the hospital is three times larger than the old one and expected to be ready by the first quarter of 2023.
Kuwait Times spoke with Meshaal Al-Enezi, Project Engineer at the New Maternity Hospital, about the project's details.
Kuwait Times: Where is the project located and how many floors and departments does it have?
Meshaal Al-Enezi
Meshaal Al-Enezi: The project is located in the Al-Sabah medical zone opposite the existing maternity hospital in a prime location on the Arabian Gulf coast, and comprises of four main buildings interlinked by air-conditioned bridges. The main hospital consists of a basement and a six-floor podium topped by three towers ranging from 13 to 17 floors. The outpatient building consists of two car parks, a basement, ground and five floors. The multistorey car park consists of two basements, ground, five floors and a shaded parking roof. The central utilities building houses all MEP equipment and is connected to the main hospital building through a 51-m-long services tunnel.
The New Maternity Hospital is a state-of-the-art specialized hospital having all clinical and non-clinical departments related to obstetrics and gynecology diagnostics and treatment including an emergency ward, laboratories, pharmacies, radiology, intensive care units for adults and neonatal patients, outpatient clinics and nutrition services, besides the administration, engineering and general services support departments.
KT: Going deeper into the details of the projects, who are the people involved in the construction, and why this design?
Enezi: The parties involved in the design and construction of this project are:
End-user/beneficiary: Ministry of Health
Client: Ministry of Public Works
Consultant for design review and full onsite supervision: Pan Arab Consulting Engineering
Main Contractor and Designer: Impresa Pizzarotti Co, assisted by a consortium of international healthcare consultants, Studio Altery, local consultant S Al-Marzouk and AbiHanna SSH.
65 specialized subcontractors executing all kinds of works including medical equipment and medical and non-medical furnishings.
KT: What are the tasks and works of the projects? What are the phases involved?
Enezi: The project is a design and build project. It has six main phases, specifically concept design, schematic design, design development, final design, and then the ongoing construction phase, followed by completion of works and handing over to MoH in the operation and maintenance phase.
The Generator building of the hospital.
KT: What are the obstacles you faced during the project and how did you manage to overcome them?
Enezi: The COVID-19 pandemic had negative implications on the project's progress due to manpower issues, no new work visas, full and partial area closures, expats' entry restrictions and delays in air and sea freight.
KT: What about the number of MPW employees on the project site, the percentage of Kuwaitis, and the site's needs for new employees?
Enezi: The MPW supervision team consists of around 45 Kuwaiti engineers with different specializations and years of experience, which are enough for the project.
KT: Why are such projects important for Kuwait? What does it mean for the New Kuwait 2035 vision?
Enezi: Healthcare projects, in general, are of prime importance for the wellbeing of the Kuwait population, and the NMH project is one of the projects registered in the five-year development plan. It is considered one of the basic components of the 2035 vision in the development of the healthcare infrastructure sector.
KT: What is the significance of the design? How many years did it take to build?
Enezi: The unique architectural concept design of this project took good advantage of the prime location of the site on the Gulf coast, giving 80 percent of the 460 patients' private suites direct view of the Gulf's waters. The total duration to build the project is around five years, including a one-year extension for COVID-19 delays.
KT: What is the interior design style of the structure and the total area of the construction site?
Enezi: The project's interior has adopted a state-of-the-art contemporary design for healthcare facilities with a selective color scheme for each tower to meet the local culture and maternity needs. The total site area is around 60,000 sq m with a total built-up area of 237,000 sq m, making it a mega project.
New Maternity Hospital overlooking the Arabian Gulf.
KT: What makes the project different and unique from other current building projects?
Enezi: Healthcare projects are generally different from traditional buildings, and a specialized maternity hospital is unique from other projects. The functional space planning, construction material and furnishings are in strict compliance with international special healthcare codes like FGI and MoH infection control codes.
KT: What stages the project has and what is the final stage for completion? Can you give a brief about them?
Enezi: As explained earlier, this is a design and build project where the contractor has to develop the contract's concept design into detailed designs through four design stages (concept, schematic, development and final designs), followed by the construction and furnishing stage, at the end of which the project is handed over to the Ministry of Health. The final contractual stage of the project after handing over is the two years of operational maintenance for all works and three years of maintenance for medical equipment.
KT: What are the security and safety rules in the project?
Enezi: A comprehensive program of security and safety procedures has been adopted for the project in accordance with the regulations and laws in force in Kuwait, as well as international regulations for security and safety procedures. The project is also provided with the latest security and safety systems, such as cameras that monitor entrances and exits around the clock, doors to suites that work with the magnetic card system, and a protection and tracking system for newborns.
KT: How were the infrastructure and international standards established in the project?
Enezi: By building a network of internal roads of all kinds and pedestrian paths, drinking water, irrigation and firefighting networks and the sewage network. The diversity of water treatments for the different types of polluted wastewater from laboratories, operating rooms, kitchens and others is taken into account before it is discharged into the main network.
We also built a rainwater and surface water drainage network, central networks for compressed air and medical gases and liquid oxygen, energy services for permanent and emergency electricity to all parts of the hospital from diesel and fuel generators, and communication services including Internet, telephone communications, surveillance cameras and security and safety systems.
|
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https://theorg.com/org/impresa-pizzarotti-c-s-p-a/org-chart/dino-cavallante
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Dino Cavallante - Project Director at Pizzarotti
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Dino Cavallante has extensive experience in project management and engineering in various countries.
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THE ORG
|
https://theorg.com/org/impresa-pizzarotti-c-s-p-a/org-chart/dino-cavallante
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Dino Cavallante has extensive experience in project management and engineering in various countries. From 2019 to the present, Cavallante served as a Project Director at Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A., overseeing engineering, procurement, and construction projects in Serbia and Dubai. Prior to this, Cavallante worked as a Project Manager at Gruppo ICM, where they managed projects in Kenya, Qatar, and Cape Verde. Dino also worked as a Civil Design Engineer at idroesse infrastrutture spa in 2003.
Dino Cavallante holds a Specializing II level Master's Degree in Contract, Claim and Delay Management in Construction Works from Scuola Master F.lli Pesenti-Politecnico di Milano, which they completed from 2019 to 2020. Prior to this, they obtained a Master's Degree (M.Sc.) in Civil Engineering with a specialization in Hydraulics from Università degli Studi di Padova, which they pursued from 1995 to 2002. Dino also holds a Scientific high school leaving certificate from a Scientific Lyceum, completed between 1990 and 1995. Additionally, they have received certifications in Leadership and Change from The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 2022, Project Management Professional (PMP®) from the Project Management Institute in May 2017, and a Qualification to practice as a Professional Engineer from Università degli Studi di Padova in 2002.
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Website Cardpostage
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cartolina dalla vacanza
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Vacanza Costiera Amalfitana Vacanze a Positano in hotel a prezzi economici - Music - francaise - viaggi - Musica - vocaboli voc name
Agriturismo Toscana Trascorri una vacanza nella natura incontaminata della Toscana, tra Arezzo e Siena. Cartoline. lubiam - deutsche -
chicago - singer - ulla - ulix - chico - zorn - spano - zorneng - ruski - med - nomivie
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883
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https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-franchise-signed-for-new-entry-road-to-jerusalem-1001257998
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en
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Franchise signed for new entry road to Jerusalem
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2018-10-25T15:26:00
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The 5-kilometer Highway 16 will connect Highway 1 to Jerusalem's western and southern neighborhoods.
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en
|
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-franchise-signed-for-new-entry-road-to-jerusalem-1001257998
|
A franchise agreement has been signed in the public-private partnership (PPP) tender for the Highway 16 project - a new entry road into Jerusalem. Representing the state, the Ministry of Finance accountant general department, the Ministry of Transport, and the National Road Safety Authority signed the agreement with Shapir-Pizzarotti, a company owned in equal shares by Shapir Engineering (TASE: SPEN) and Italian company Impresa Pizzarotti, for planning, financing, and constructing Highway 16. Shapir-Pizzarotti will also maintain and operate the road for 25 years. Construction will begin in 2019, with the road being opened to traffic in 2022-2023.
The new road, the cost of which is projected at over NIS 1 billion, will be another important entry road into the capital, connecting Highway 1 with Jerusalem's western and southern neighborhoods. The five-kilometer road will include two tunnels - one each under the Yefe Nof and Har Nof neighborhoods - and three interchanges: one each in the vicinity of Motza (Highway 1), Nahal Revida (Givat Shaul), and Shmuel Beyth Street in Jerusalem (near Shaare Zedek Medical Center). The road will significantly improve access to Jerusalem, relieve traffic congestion, and reduce travel times.
Two months ago, the inter-ministerial tenders committee for the Highway 16 project, headed by deputy Accountant General Nehemia Kind and composed of representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Transport, the National Road Safety Authority, National Transport Infrastructure Company (Netivei Israel), the Jerusalem municipality, and government company Inbal, announced that the bid by Shapir-Pizzarotti, one of the six groups competing in the tender, had been selected as the winner. The bids consisted of the amount of the construction grant to be paid by the state. Shapir-Pizarotti's bid was NIS 50 million.
Accountant General Rony Hizkiyahu said, "Highway 16, a PPP project, will be another one of the successful PPP transportation projects, which include the Jerusalem light rail, Highway 431, the Cross-Israel Highway, and the Carmel Tunnels. Additional infrastructure projects in transportation, energy, water, and the environment will take place in the coming years in the framework of the 2030 infrastructure development plan."
Minister of Transport Yisrael Katz said, "Highway 16 is a nationally important project that will substantially improve access to Jerusalem and provide another entry road to the capital from the west. The road, which will be built and maintained in accordance with international standards, will relieve traffic congestion at the entrance to the capital, reduce driving time, and cut down on air pollution. It will bring Jerusalem up to the transportation standards of capital cities in developed countries."
Netivei Israel general manager Nissim Perez said, "Following the reopening of Highway 1 to traffic, construction of Highway 16, will significantly reduce traffic congestion at the entrance to Jerusalem and improve the welfare of the city's residents and visitors."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 25, 2018
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2018
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2017-07-18T08:20:41+00:00
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Impresa Pizzarotti & C.S.p.A Business Brochure - EME Outlook Issue 19
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/favicon.ico
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Issuu
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https://issuu.com/outlookpublishing/docs/impresa-pizzarotti
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Welcome to Issuu’s blog: home to product news, tips, resources, interviews (and more) related to content marketing and publishing.
Here you'll find an answer to your question.
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“Arena del Futuro” Demonstrates Capability of Dynamic Inductive Recharging Technology for Electric Vehicles
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“Arena del Futuro” (“Arena of the Future”) circuit built by A35 Brebemi in collaboration with Stellantis and other partners field tests revolutionary dynamic induction electric charging for EVs
Testing with Fiat New 500 shows that Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWPT) simplifies the customer approach to electric mobility by removing range anxiety and supports decarbonization and environmental sustainability
Results show that DWPT enables a battery electric vehicle (BEV) like the New 500 to travel at typical highway speeds without consuming the energy stored in its battery
Stellantis is committed to cutting-edge freedom of mobility as part of its Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan
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https://www.media.stellantis.com/em-en/corporate-communications/press/arena-del-futuro-demonstrates-capability-of-dynamic-inductive-recharging-technology-for-electric-vehicles
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“Arena del Futuro” (“Arena of the Future”) circuit built by A35 Brebemi in collaboration with Stellantis and other partners field tests revolutionary dynamic induction electric charging for EVs
Testing with Fiat New 500 shows that Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWPT) simplifies the customer approach to electric mobility by removing range anxiety and supports decarbonization and environmental sustainability
Results show that DWPT enables a battery electric vehicle (BEV) like the New 500 to travel at typical highway speeds without consuming the energy stored in its battery
Stellantis is committed to cutting-edge freedom of mobility as part of its Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan
AMSTERDAM, June 10, 2022 – After months of testing at the “Arena del Futuro” circuit, Stellantis, together with its project partners, today demonstrated in Chiari, Italy, the capability of Dynamic Wireless Power transfer (DWPT) technology to wirelessly recharge electric vehicles (EVs) as they travel over specially equipped, dedicated road lanes.
DWPT is a system of coils positioned under the asphalt that transfers energy directly to cars, trucks and buses without the need to stop at charging stations to refill the battery. The technology can be adapted for all vehicles equipped with a special “receiver” that transfers the energy incoming from the road infrastructure directly to the electric motor, extending the range, while conserving the vehicle battery charge.
The pilot project of Stellantis and all partners involved is coordinated by A35 Brebemi, a company owned by the global transportation infrastructure operator Aleatica that focuses on sustainable and innovative mobility solutions.
“Our long-term strategic plan, Dare Forward 2030, is based on the premise of bringing ‘cutting-edge freedom of mobility’ to all and this project is the very essence of where we’re headed as a company,” said Anne-Lise Richard, Head of Global e-Mobility Business Unit, Stellantis. “Working with this incredible group of partners, we have proven that inductive recharging technology can power our electrified future. These joint projects are exciting steps as we work to achieve longer battery lifespan, lower range anxiety, greater energy efficiency, smaller battery size, outstanding performance and lower weight and cost.”
Work at “Arena del Futuro” shows that a BEV, like the Fiat New 500 outfitted to test the system, can travel at typical highway speeds without consuming the energy stored in its battery. Tests are showing that the efficiency of the energy flow from the asphalt to the car is comparable to the typical efficiency of fast charging stations, so the driver does not need to stop to recharge. Furthermore, measurements on magnetic field intensity prove that there is no impact on the driver and passengers.
At the event in Chiari, a Maserati Grecale Folgore was displayed to announce Maserati’s upcoming involvement in the project. Folgore identifies the full electric version of Maserati, which will electrify its entire product range by 2025. The Grecale Folgore will be outfitted and run on the "Arena del Futuro” circuit to collect data and deploy a detailed performance analysis.
“Arena del Futuro” is powered by direct current (DC), which offers several concrete and unique advantages, including:
Reducing the power losses in the energy distribution process;
Guaranteeing a direct integration with renewable energy sources without the need to convert DC into AC;
Allowing the use of thinner cables than the AC current distribution with evident advantages in terms of packaging, weight and harmonic pollution; and,
Using aluminum cables for current distribution, which is easier to source, costs half compared to copper, and is lighter and easier to recycle in a circular economy business model.
DWPT is one of the technologies intended to simplify the customer approach to electric mobility and ultimately to respond in a tangible way to the requirements for decarbonization and environmental sustainability in the mobility sector. Time magazine cited in-road inductive charging system behind “Arena del Futuro” as one of the 100 most important inventions of 2021.
These goals are achievable thanks to the innovative technologies offered by 5G, IoT (Internet of Things) and AI-based application solutions, which facilitate the exchange of information between the vehicle and the system management platform, increasing road safety and travel efficiency. Inductive energy transfer of DWPT means there are no exposed cables, keeping the road surface safe for people to walk on.
The technology attracts interest for commercial development globally due to its versatility in its dynamic and static inductive versions. In addition to being useful on roads and motorways, it is also suitable when combined with other infrastructures like harbors, airports, and parking lots.
# # #
About Stellantis
Stellantis N.V. (NYSE / MTA / Euronext Paris: STLA) is one of the world’s leading automakers and a mobility provider. Its storied and iconic brands embody the passion of their visionary founders and today’s customers in their innovative products and services, including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep®, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, Vauxhall, Free2move and Leasys. Powered by our diversity, we lead the way the world moves – aspiring to become the greatest sustainable mobility tech company, not the biggest, while creating added value for all stakeholders as well as the communities in which it operates. For more information, visit www.stellantis.com.
Twitter @Stellantis Facebook Stellantis LinkedIn Stellantis YouTube Stellantis
For more information, contact:
Manuela BATTEZZATO – Manuela.battezzato@stellantis.com
communications@stellantis.com
www.stellantis.com
Profile of project partners
A35 Brebemi-Aleatica motorway
The A35 Brebemi-Aleatica is the direct motorway link between Brescia and Milan, the fastest and safest route between the two cities. Active since 23 July 2014, the infrastructure extends 62.1 km to which the Castegnato toll booth and the ramps for interconnection with the A4 motorway have been added. The motorway can be reached from the city of Brescia via the A4 motorway (taking the exit ramp after Brescia Ovest in the direction of the A35 Milan-Linate), the Tangenziale Sud of Brescia and the SP19 or using the new A21 (Corda Molle). There are six toll booths on the motorway: Chiari Ovest, Calcio, Romano di Lombardia, Bariano, Caravaggio and Treviglio. After passing the last toll booth at Treviglio, you enter the A58 Tangenziale Est Esterna Milano (TEEM), which allows the A35 Brebemi to reach the A1 at Melegnano, the A4 at Agrate, Linate and the Milan Metropolitan Area via two junctions, on the right, Pozzuolo Martesana and on the left, Liscate, which exit respectively onto the SP103 Cassanese and the SP14 Rivoltana. A35 Brebemi has received important international awards, in the US and the UK, as the best infrastructure project financing and the best European project bond.
Aleatica is a leading global operator and developer of transportation assets headquartered in Madrid with annual revenues of c. €810m and ca 3,000 employees worldwide. The company currently manages 20 concessions - 16 highways, 2 ports, 1 light railway line and 1 airport - across seven countries in Europe and Latin America (Spain, Italy, UK, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile). Aleatica is wholly owned by IFM Global Infrastructure Fund, which is advised by IFM Investors, a global institutional fund with c. EUR 181 billion under management as of March 31, 2022.
ABB
ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a leading global technology company that energizes the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future. By connecting software to its electrification, robotics, automation and motion portfolio, ABB pushes the boundaries of technology to drive performance to new levels. With a history of excellence stretching back more than 130 years, ABB’s success is driven by about 105,000 talented employees in over 100 countries. www.abb.com
ABB is a world leader in electric vehicle infrastructure, offering the full range of charging and electrification solutions for electric cars, electric and hybrid buses, vans, trucks, ships and railways. ABB entered the e-mobility market back in 2010, and today has sold more than 460,000 electric vehicle chargers across more than 88 markets.
ABB is the title partner in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, an international racing series for fully electric single-seater racecars. It brings together ABB, a global leader in electric vehicle fast-charging with the world’s first fully electric international motorsport class, who have a shared commitment to drive progress towards a more sustainable future. The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is more than a race, it enables us to push the boundaries of technology, which can be transferred from the race track to real-world situations, helping to preserve resources and enable a low-carbon society.
Electreon
ElectReon is a global leader in wireless charging technology for a full range of Electric Vehicles (EVs) and has developed a range of solutions to support charging in any mode - parked, slow-moving and driving at speed. The company accelerates the world's transition to electric mobility by leveraging existing road infrastructure and its proprietary wireless charging technology to eliminate range anxiety, lower total costs of EV ownership and reduce battery capacity - making it one of the most environmentally sustainable, scalable and compelling charging solutions available today. For cities and fleet operators, ElectReon offers a shared, invisible "Charging as a Service" platform enabling cost effective electrification of public, commercial and autonomous fleets with minimal batteries and smooth and continuous operation.
FIAMM
FIAMM Energy Technology is a multinational company engaged in the production and distribution of batteries for automotive and industrial use. It was established following the separation of the automotive and industrial lead-acid battery business from the FIAMM Group. In order to be close to its customers' needs, FIAMM Energy Technology has numerous sales and technical offices (including Italy, Germany, Great Britain, Slovakia, France, Spain, Dubai, USA, Singapore, Malaysia and China) and a widespread network of importers and distributors, and operates with a staff of one thousand people. For more information on FIAMM, please visit: www.fiamm.com
IVECO
IVECO is a brand of CNH Industrial N.V., a global leader in the capital goods industry, listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CNHI) and on the Mercato Telematico Azionario, organised and managed by Italian Stock Exchange (MI: CNHI). IVECO designs, builds and markets a wide range of light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles and quarry/construction vehicles.
The wide product range includes the Daily, a vehicle covering 3.3 to 7.2 tonnes of total weight on the ground, the Eurocargo, from 6 to 19 tonnes, for the heavy segment over 16 tonnes, the Trakker (dedicated to off-road activities) and the IVECO WAY range with the IVECO S-WAY version for on-road missions and the IVECO X-WAY for light off-road missions. It also manufactures quarry-construction vehicles and special vehicles under the IVECO Astra brand.
IVECO employs around 21,000 people and produces vehicles equipped with the most advanced technologies in 7 countries around the world, in Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and Latin America. 4,200 sales and service outlets in more than 160 countries provide technical support wherever there is an IVECO vehicle at work.
For more information on IVECO: www.iveco.com
For more information on CNH Industrial: www.cnhindustrial.com
IVECO BUS
IVECO BUS is a brand of CNH Industrial N.V., a world leader in capital goods listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Italian Stock Exchange in Milan.
A major player in public transport and one of the leading bus manufacturers in Europe, IVECO BUS designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of vehicles to meet all the needs of public and private operators:
- school, intercity and tourist buses;
- standard and articulated city buses, including BRT versions;
- minibuses for all passenger transport missions.
IVECO BUS has extensive experience in alternative energy vehicles and is now able to offer a complete range of vehicles in terms of both compressed natural gas - fully compatible with biomethane - and electromobility, to meet all types of transport needs.
Therefore IVECO BUS is an ideal partner to tackle the many challenges of sustainable mobility.
IVECO BUS employs over 5,000 people in three production units, in Annonay and Rorthais, France, and in Vysoké Myto, Czech Republic. In Italy it is operational at the Brescia plant, where Daily Minibuses are made.
The broad IVECO BUS and IVECO service network guarantees worldwide assistance wherever an IVECO BUS vehicle is at work.
Mapei
Founded in Milan in 1937, Mapei is a world leader in the production of chemicals for the building industry and it has contributed to the construction of the most important examples of architecture and infrastructure on a global level. With 90 subsidiaries in 57 countries and 88 production facilities in 36 different nations, the group employs more than 10,500 people worldwide. In 2019, the Mapei Group posted a consolidated turnover of 2.8 billion euro. The company’s success is based on specialisation, internationalisation, R&D, and sustainability.
www.mapei.it
Politecnico di Milano
The Politecnico is a scientific-technological university that prepares engineers, architects and designers. The University has always focused on the quality and innovation of its teaching and research, developing a fruitful relationship with the world of business and manufacturing by means of experimental research and technological transfer. Increasingly linked to didactics, research is a priority commitment that allows the Politecnico di Milano to achieve high quality results at an international level and to ensure dialogue between the university and the world of business. Research also constitutes a path parallel to that of cooperation and alliances with the industrial system.
Familiarity with their prospective world of work is a vital requirement for the preparation of students. Being able to relate to the needs of the manufacturing and industrial world and public administration, helps research to follow new paths and deal with the need for constant rapid innovation. Its alliance with the industrial world, in many cases promoted by Fondazione Politecnico and by consortia to which the Politecnico belongs, enables the university to fuel the industries typical of the districts it operates in and stimulate their development.
The challenge being met today projects this tradition with strong local roots out beyond the borders of Italy, in a relationship being developed first and foremost on a European level with the objective of contributing to the creation of a “single market” for professional preparation. The Politecnico is part of several research and training projects, in collaboration with the most qualified European and international universities, from North America to Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe. Today, the push to internationalise sees the Politecnico di Milano part of the European and world network of leading technical universities and it offers many exchange programmes, double degrees and a variety of study courses taught entirely in English.
Pizzarotti
Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. was founded in 1910 as a sole proprietorship by Gino Pizzarotti and, since then, it has evolved continually thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit that has distinguished four generations of the Pizzarotti family.
Relentless research into innovation and technological excellence are the cornerstones on which the family has built and continues to grow the group’s success story. Since the late fifties, it has consolidated its presence in the building sector, making its name as one of the most important and best qualified Italian general contractors thanks to the realisation of large public works for both state bodies and major private Italian companies. Its commitment and ability to deliver widely diverse projects have also led to renown on foreign markets, where it started to work in the seventies, and it is today recognised as a benchmark in terms of knowhow and construction capacity.
Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. realises large-scale projects and projects, having developed diversified competences in various sectors in years of experience. Its range of services include design, construction and also management in concession of works such as transport infrastructures, motorways, railways, tunnels, bridges, dams, hydraulic structures, real estate, hotels, hospitals, prefabs and renovation work, all carried out to fully respect and protect the environment.
Prysmian
Prysmian Group is the global leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry. With almost 140 years’ experience, a turnover of more than 10 billion euro, about 28,000 employees in over 50 countries and 104 production plants, the group boasts a solid presence on technologically advanced markets and delivers the widest range of products, services, technologies and knowhow. It manufactures underground and submarine cables for power transmission and distribution, special cables for applications in different industries and medium and low voltage cables for the construction and infrastructure sector. It also produces telecom cables and accessories for voice, video and data transmission, with a comprehensive range of optical fibres, optical and copper cables and connectivity systems. Prysmian is a public company, listed on the Italian Stock Exchange in the FTSE MIB index.
Stellantis
Stellantis N.V. (NYSE / MTA / Euronext Paris: STLA) is one of the world's leading automakers and a mobility provider. Its storied and iconic brands embody the passion of their visionary founders and today’s customers in their innovative products and services, including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep®, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, Vauxhall, Free2move and Leasys. Powered by our diversity, we lead the way the world moves – aspiring to become the greatest sustainable mobility tech company, not the biggest, while creating added value for all stakeholders as well as the communities in which it operates. For more information, visit www.stellantis.com.
TIM
TIM is the leading group in Italy and Brazil in the ICT sector. It develops fixed, mobile and cloud infrastructures and data centres and offers services and products for communications and entertainment, placing itself at the forefront of digital technologies
The Group uses specialised factories that offer integrated digital solutions for citizens, businesses and public administrations, also in partnership with groups of primary importance: Noovle is TIM's cloud company, Olivetti is its digital hub that focuses on the development of solutions for the Internet of Things, Telsy operates in the cybersecurity sector, and Sparkle creates and provides infrastructure and international services. In Brazil, TIM Brasil is one of the main players in the South American communications market and leader in 4G coverage. The Group has championed environmental protection and social inclusion objectives while developing its business with the aim of achieving a tangible and relevant impact and becoming carbon neutral in 2030. Its Operation Digital Renaissance-the first large free school on the internet-promotes the dissemination of digital skills useful for the development of Italy, while Fondazione TIM supports projects of great social interest.
gruppotim.it
Roma Tre University
Founded in 1992, Roma Tre is one of the youngest Italian universities. Its ‘youth’ is also a strength that has been and continues to be a forceful driver for its rapid, dynamic growth, which sees the university now able to boast some 34,000 students from all over Italy. Its 13 departments offer 76 degree courses, including three-year bachelor’s, five-year master’s and five or six-year integrated master’s degrees, 24 research doctorates and 43 post-graduate courses.
The many strengths on which the prestige of its large student and scientific community is based include the consistency of its courses accompanied by attention to new methodologies and communication languages; its openness towards the international community thanks to the Erasmus programme, numerous double and joint degrees and important international research; the recognised “Excellence” of 4 departments in particular (Law, Engineering, Mathematics and Physics, and Science) and its commitment to issues of environmental sustainability and eco-sustainable design.
Roma Tre’s founding values include the promotion and organisation of international research, higher education and the development and dissemination of knowledge, environmental protection, international solidarity, gender equality, and the recognition and motivation of merit. The university’s teaching and research constantly interact across disciplines to address a global world and thus promote the updating and enrichment of knowledge, and combine with third-stream activities as a vehicle for technological transfer and local development. The international dimension is a strategic element for the university, which, among others, adheres to the inspirational principles and instruments of the Magna Charta Universitatum and to the European Research and Higher Education Area, embracing its principles and tools.
Parma University
Parma University is a state university with a millenary history, having been founded during the 11th century, and its primary activities are education, research and third stream, namely the transferral of knowledge to the community. Today it has over 30,000 students and approximately 1,700 members of teaching, research and technical-admin staff.
Its many student services, attention to quality education, innovation, research and the needs of the labour market make it one of the most important and well-known universities in Europe.
Its complete range of 96 courses include three-year bachelor’s, five-year master’s and five or six-year integrated master’s degrees, doctorates, specialisation schools and advanced specialisation courses.
Internationally relevant scientific research is carried out at the university and excellences include discoveries regarding mirror neurons in the neuroscience sphere, research in the field of information engineering that led to the conception of autonomous (driverless) vehicles, and research in the fields of mathematics and food.
Press Contacts
Autostrada A35 Brebemi-Aleatica
Andrea Cucchetti +39 3495554664
acucchetti@consiliumcom.it
ABB
Gian Filippo D’Oriano +39 3351302779
Gian-filippo.doriano@it.abb.com
Electreon
Charlie Levine +972 585818433
charlie@electreon.com
FIAMM Energy Technology
Simona Bravi +39 3351833449
sbravi@consiliumcom.it
IVECO – IVECO Bus
Sara Buosi, +39 335 7995028
ivecopressoffice@cnhind.com
sara.buosi@iveco.com
MAPEI
Daniela Pradella +39 348 2586205
press@mapei.it
d.pradella@mapei.it
Pizzarotti
Adele Oppici +39 0521.202.321
oppicia@pizzarotti.it
Politecnico di Milano
Media Relations
Tel. +39 02 2399 2229
Cell +39 366 62 11 436
relazionimedia@polimi.it
Prysmian
Andrea Andreoni +39 3401998783
andrea.andreoni@prysmiangroup.com
Stellantis
Manuela Battezzato
manuela.battezzato@stellantis.com
TIM Press Office
+39 06 3688 2610
https://www.gruppotim.it/media
Twitter: @TIMnewsroom
Università Roma Tre
Alessandro Santelli, +39 328 1089731
ufficio.comunicazione@uniroma3.it
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7 Top Construction Company in Italy (2024)
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"Nazanin Ghodsian"
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2024-02-08T04:30:16+00:00
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Let's Explore how Construction Sector in Italy is Currently Placed Sixth Globally, and Data from Recent Years Indicates that the Sector is Expanding Once More by this List of Top 7 Construction Company in Italy...
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Neuroject
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https://neuroject.com/construction-company-in-italy/
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The construction industry plays a critical role in the Italian economy, employing over 3 million people and contributing over £110 billion to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Notwithstanding the obstacles presented by the epidemic, the industry has demonstrated resilience and growth. Indeed, the construction company in Italy is currently placed sixth globally, and data from recent years indicates that the sector is expanding once more.
U.S. exporters are very interested in Italy, which has the 12th largest global construction market outside of the United States. Although they may not always meet Italian requirements for aesthetic design—which is crucial even for materials and components that end users do not often see—U.S. building products are known for their quality and dependability in Italy. Because the construction company in Italy views itself as a global leader on par with the US industry, it is open to considering novel or innovative goods and solutions.
End users, the public sector, and Italian businesses are becoming more and more interested in sustainability. Products with high “green” performance characteristics have opportunities in areas like improving indoor air quality and saving energy and water. The LEED guidelines of the Green Building Council, which have their roots in the United States, are becoming increasingly popular in Italy and are being considered by many architects when designing new, energy-efficient buildings. The goal of the European Green Deal is to increase the energy efficiency of both public and private buildings. Another factor driving the demand for more energy-efficient buildings is the rise in the number of Italian businesses applying ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) standards.
Construction Company in Italy Segmentation by Sectors
Commercial construction, industrial construction, infrastructure construction, energy and utilities construction, institutional construction, and residential building are the main segments of the Italian construction market.
Commercial Construction: This industry’s project types include office buildings, retail stores, outdoor recreation centers, leisure and hospitality structures, and other commercial developments. Throughout the projection period, investment in retail, office, data center, and leisure and hospitality facilities will propel the expansion of the commercial sector.
Industrial Construction: This field includes waste processing facilities, manufacturing facilities, chemical and pharmaceutical plants, and facilities for the production and processing of metals and other materials. Growth in the sector will be driven by the development of automotive manufacturing projects starting in 2025.
Infrastructure Construction: The project types in this sector include rail infrastructure, road infrastructure, and other infrastructure projects. The nation’s transportation infrastructure will be developed with funding from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). Throughout the projection period, this will help the sector’s growth.
Construction Related to Energy and Utilities: Project categories in this field include telecommunications, sewage and water infrastructure, oil and gas, and electricity and power. The expansion of the sector between 2024 and 2027 will be propelled by the government’s emphasis on the building of energy infrastructure, especially renewable energy infrastructure.
Institutional Construction: This industry encompasses research facilities, religious buildings, educational buildings, healthcare buildings, and institutional buildings. From 2025 to the end of the forecast period, investments in projects related to education, healthcare, museums, and research buildings will drive the expansion of the institutional construction sector.
Residential Construction: This industry consists of both single-family and multi-family dwelling projects. Investments in housing developments by the public and private sectors will propel the sector’s expansion starting in 2026.
7 Top Construction Company in Italy
Here is a list of 7 top construction companies in Italy worth knowing about:
1. Saipem
The industry leader in oil and gas construction is the Italian engineering and construction firm Saipem. Established in 1957, the company has activities in more than 70 countries worldwide, with its headquarters located in Milan, Italy. Formerly, Saipem was a division of Eni, an Italian energy provider.
Drilling services, floating production units, offshore and onshore engineering and construction, and drilling services are among the business segments in which Saipem works. The majority of its building activity and income comes from offshore engineering and construction combined.
This construction company in Italy’s considerable experience in the planning and building of subsea infrastructure, pipelines, and offshore oil and gas platforms is one of its advantages. Additionally, Saipem has a track record of completing big, complicated projects in difficult settings like deepwater and the Arctic.
The business must contend with competition from other engineering and construction companies, especially those in Asia, whose lower labor costs enable them to offer lower prices.
Saipem has been concentrating on expanding its business into infrastructure and renewable energy projects to overcome these obstacles. The corporation has been aggressively chasing contracts for infrastructure projects like ports, roadways, and airports, in addition to offshore wind and geothermal energy projects.
2. Webuild
Large-scale infrastructure projects are the area of expertise for the Italian engineering and construction firm Webuild (previously Salini Impregilo). The business was established in 2014 as a result of the union of Salini and Impregilo, two organizations with extensive backgrounds in engineering and construction.
This construction company in Italy is involved in multiple business categories, such as energy, infrastructure, and civil engineering. The business is well renowned for its proficiency in building huge, intricate infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges, dams, and tunnels.
This construction company in Italy’s proven ability to complete big projects on schedule and within budget is one of its advantages. Numerous well-known projects, including as the extension of the Panama Canal, the Genoa Bridge in Italy, and the Riyadh Metro in Saudi Arabia, have been effectively completed by the corporation.
Webuild operates in more than 50 countries, giving it a global reach as well. A sizeable amount of the company’s revenue comes from its overseas businesses, which also have a solid track record of adjusting to regional laws and market situations.
3. Maire Tecnimont
An engineering and technology company with headquarters in Italy, this construction company in Italy offers a range of services for the infrastructure and energy industries. With a presence in over 40 countries, the corporation is a global player, listed on the Milan Stock Exchange.
The two primary business segments of Maire Tecnimont are Technology & Licensing (T&L) and Engineering & Construction (E&C). The E&C section is responsible for the engineering, design, and construction of infrastructure and industrial plants for a range of industries, including renewable energy, petrochemicals, and oil and gas. The T&L sector offers clients in the same industries proprietary technologies under license.
In terms of geography, this construction company in Italy is active in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific. The energy and infrastructure industries, where the company is well-positioned for significant expansion in the upcoming years, are markets in which it is well-established. Furthermore, the company has established a robust network of alliances and joint ventures with regional businesses across multiple nations, enabling it to capitalize on local knowledge and grow its operations.
To grow its business in the energy transition space, this construction company in Italy has chosen a strategic course that centers on solutions for the circular economy and renewable energy. The corporation has already accomplished a great deal in this regard with several solar and wind-generating projects. Additionally, the corporation has embraced a sustainable business strategy, placing a high priority on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in all aspects of its operations.
Other international engineering and technology companies including TechnipFMC, Fluor, and Saipem compete with Maire Tecnimont. Nonetheless, the company has a competitive edge in the changing market thanks to its strong market presence in the infrastructure and energy sectors and its emphasis on renewable energy.
4. Bonatti
This construction company in Italy has made a name for itself as a major participant in the world of oil and gas. The company’s international reach, solid financial standing, and energy industry experience are its main advantages. However, because of its lack of diversification and reliance on the oil and gas sector, Bonatti is also susceptible to market concerns.
To mitigate these risks, Bonatti can look for chances in the infrastructure development and renewable energy sectors. These prospects coincide with the rising need in emerging nations for infrastructure development and sustainable energy. By venturing into these domains, Bonatti might capitalize on its proficiency in the energy sector and broaden its sources of income.
The organization has created state-of-the-art technology and solutions to maximize project sustainability and efficiency. For instance, Bonatti International has created a modular construction method that enables pipeline and plant installation to be completed more quickly and effectively. In addition, the business prioritizes sustainability in its operations and has taken steps to lessen its impact on the environment and carbon emissions.
5. ASTM
This construction company in Italy is involved in several industries, including transportation and mobility technology, infrastructure engineering and construction, and motorway management. Their business approach incorporates a range of competencies that encompass every aspect of the infrastructure sector’s operations and value chain. With concessions over 6,200 km of managed road in Italy, Brazil (via EcoRodovias), and the UK, the Group is the world’s second-largest operator of toll roads.
SINA, the engineering division of the Group, and ITINERA, a major player in the development of transportation infrastructure and civil construction projects worldwide, handle the design and construction of large-scale infrastructure. Via Halmar International, ITINERA is also present in the US market.
Through SINELEC, a business that specializes in the design, development, and management of advanced security, info-mobility, toll-collecting systems, and ITS, the Group is involved in the technology sector. ASTM is under the management and coordination of Ardian, a private investment business, and Nuova Argo Finanziaria, a holding company under the administration of Aurelia – Gavio Group.
6. SICIM
This construction company in Italy offers engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services for infrastructure and power generation projects in addition to the oil and gas sector. Since its founding in 1962, the business has grown internationally, now operating in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
This construction company in Italy has established long-term partnerships and contracts with significant clients including Eni, Shell, and BP because of its proven track record of completing complicated projects on schedule and within budget. The whole value chain, from design and feasibility studies to construction and commissioning, is covered by Sicim SpA’s expertise.
The organization has created cutting-edge solutions to maximize project sustainability and efficiency. For instance, Sicim SpA has used renewable energy sources to lessen the environmental effect of its operations and digital technologies to enhance project management and cut costs.
7. Impresa Pizzarotti & C.
This construction company in Italy, Impresa Pizzarotti & C. SpA has been in business for more than a century. The business offers a variety of services, such as infrastructure development, building construction, and civil engineering. The corporation has constructed highways, bridges, airports, and other infrastructure both domestically and abroad, among other projects.
The EPC general contractor has a solid track record of completing projects on schedule and has built a solid reputation for superior craftsmanship. Due to its experience and knowledge, the organization can take on challenging projects and finish them on schedule and under budget.
One of the first construction companies in Italy to receive quality system certification in 1996 was Impresa Pizzarotti & C. SpA. The company currently follows the UNI EN ISO 9001/2008 standard. This quality system has been integrated with work safety and environmental management since 2005. The business has received certification of adherence for both the “health and safety management system and organization OHSAS 18001/2007 standard” and the “environmental management system and organization” (UNI EN ISO 14001/2004).
This construction company in Italy worked to renew its qualification for the execution of public works under law DPR 34/2000 through Protos SOA SpA. This gives the corporation unrestricted permission to create and build up to an VIII grade classification in 26 separate categories, 19 of which have unlimited permission.
Conclusion
With a noticeable gain in market share, construction company in Italy has been one of the most important growth sectors in the Italian construction industry. Given that the government has pledged to make significant investments in the nation’s infrastructure in the upcoming years, this trend is anticipated to continue.
The NRRP of Italy allows €32.1 billion for sustainable mobility, which includes funds for the completion of rail freight corridors and the integration of other regions into the high-speed rail network. The strategy aims to enhance environmentally friendly local transportation by expanding bike lanes, metros, trams, and zero-emission buses. This entails building hydrogen refueling facilities for automobile and train transportation as well as electric charging stations across the nation. Additionally, funds are allocated to “green” Italy’s ports. American businesses that have the goods, services, and expertise to improve logistics and transportation and make them more sustainable and intelligent may have opportunities.
Between now and 2026, Italy plans to invest €9.2 billion to upgrade and expand its ports. A significant portion of this funding is intended for dredging, new breakwaters, and enhanced connectivity to road and rail networks to expand the size of ships that Italy’s principal container ports can accommodate. Additional funding will go toward digitalization-based initiatives that will increase port security, efficiency, and sustainability. This increased public spending may help American businesses who have creative ideas in these fields.
Resources:
Trade | Statista | GIIResearch | MordorIntelligence | Linkedin | BlackRidgeResearch | GlobalData
For all the pictures: Freepik
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Class society RINA to have a new CEO
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[
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[
"Nick Blenkey"
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2023-11-17T17:21:55+00:00
|
Genoa, Italy, headquartered classification society RINA (Registro Italiano Navale) is to have a new CEO. Carlo Luzatto
|
en
|
/appicons/favicon.png
|
Marine Log
|
https://www.marinelog.com/news/class-society-rina-to-have-a-new-ceo/
|
Written by Nick Blenkey
Genoa, Italy, headquartered classification society RINA (Registro Italiano Navale) is to have a new CEO. Carlo Luzatto is set to step into the role following the close of an investment that will see Fondo Italiano d’Investimento aquire a minority stake up to 33% in RINA S.p.A. Luzzato will take over from Ugo Salerno, who will remain in office as executive president and will continue to play an integral role in the running of the company.
RINA says that the leadership transition is “a natural progression in the group’s global growth journey and comes at a time of significant momentum for the company with a clear focus on pursuing its strategic plan, streamlining processes, and evolving towards business models and services that are increasingly centered on innovation and ESG principles.”
Luzzatto was appointed after a comprehensive selection process and has over thirty years of experience in the energy, aerospace, and infrastructure sectors. in his career, he has held senior leadership positions – both in Italy and internationally – at public and private companies, including General Electric, Ansaldo Energia, Chromalloy, and Impresa Pizzarotti.
Shipowner Paolo d’Amico, Chairman of Registro Italiano Navale, stated: “We are very pleased to welcome Carlo Luzzatto, who will be appointed CEO of RINA S.p.A. during the next Board of Directors. We are confident that Luzzatto, as CEO, and Salerno, in the role of executive president, will provide further momentum to RINA’s already brilliant growth trajectory”.
Davide Bertone, CEO of Fondo Italiano d’Investimento, remarked: “Carlo Luzzatto has the essential expertise and experience for the next growth phase of RINA. Together with Ugo Salerno and Registro Italiano Navale, we are delighted to secure his commitment and look forward to welcoming him on board immediately”.
|
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883
|
dbpedia
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0
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/adgecogroup/5703301774
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Impresa Pizzarotti Visit 01
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2024-08-10T15:38:34.899000+00:00
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Visit of Lidio Giordani G.M. Foreign Operation Impresa Pizzarotti & C.S.P.A. with Mohamed Dekkak Chairman of ADGECO Group
|
en
|
https://combo.staticflickr.com/pw/favicon.ico
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Flickr
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/adgecogroup/5703301774
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Visit of Lidio Giordani G.M. Foreign Operation Impresa Pizzarotti & C.S.P.A. with Mohamed Dekkak Chairman of ADGECO Group
|
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883
|
dbpedia
|
3
| 21
|
https://www.effera.no/en/artikler/effera-har-inngatt-kontrakt-med-italienske-impresa-pizzarotti/
|
en
|
Effera har inngått kontrakt med italienske Impresa Pizzarotti
|
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2020-08-05T07:50:00+00:00
|
Effera fortsetter veksten
|
en
|
effera.no
|
https://www.effera.no/en/artikler/effera-har-inngatt-kontrakt-med-italienske-impresa-pizzarotti/
|
Effera has entered into a contract with Italian Impresa Pizzarotti
Effera continues to grow
Euro Disney, Charles De Gaulle Airport and the church Cisa Pass, Tuscany, are just a bunch of famous constructions where Impresa Pizzarotti has played a central role. The company was established in Parma by Gino Pizzarotti and has already built up over 100 years of proud history. From their humble beginnings in 1910, they are today represented in over 20 countries with an impressive portfolio.
In Norway, they collaborate with another Italian company, Salini Impregilo. Together, they will deliver a new double track on the Vestfold line for Bane NOR between Nykirke and Barkåker, a contract with a value of as much as 3.6 billion.
The contract the Italians have signed with Bane NOR involves the construction of two bridges, three tunnels of a total of 5.3 km, and a new Skoppum station about 1.3 km southwest of today's Skoppum station. We will deliver our standard solutions under construction, including tracking of machines and personnel, WiFi coverage, geofence and digital UHF radios.
"Motivating to sign our first contract with an Italian company, especially when you know their history and the influence of famous and important buildings in Europe. We have spent a lot of time getting in position to deliver our solutions during the construction of the Vestfold line, and it is very satisfying to see that the large and international players choose Effera » says Glenn Rånå, senior salesman in Effera
Rånå and the rest of the sales department have had some busy months and it is noticeable throughout the organization. The first half of 2020 has been very eventful and there is no indication that the autumn will be any different.
"Being part of a growing company means that a lot happens, all the time. This is how we want it to be. Sales is the temperature gauge of how the market perceives our products, and with the current sales rate, I can do nothing but give kudos to the product department with us. They supply for dice roll six » says Frank Wehus, Head of Business Development at Effera.
|
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883
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dbpedia
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2
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https://en.vijesti.me/news-b/economy-d/146399/gvozdenovic-income-from-tourism-800-million-euros
|
en
|
Gvozdenović: Income from tourism 800 million euros
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2016-01-09T10:00:22
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Ryanair still flies to Brussels and London, and the announced arrival of EasyJet with flights to Manchester and London this year is also of great importance. During ...
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|
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vijesti.me
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https://en.vijesti.me/news-b/economy-d/146399/gvozdenovic-income-from-tourism-800-million-euros
|
In the entire last year, an income of about 800 million euros is expected from tourism, as well as 1,75 million tourists, 15 percent more than in 2014, announced the Minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism, Branimir Gvozdenović.
He said that the Ministry expects over 11 million overnight stays.
"I appreciate that it is important to emphasize that this growth trend was not focused exclusively on the season, but continued in the postseason. In October alone, there was an increase in the number of tourists of 7,14 percent, or 16,15 percent when it comes to overnight stays. So, some of the main characteristics of the period behind us were both the increase in traffic and the extended season," said Gvozdenović in an interview with the Mina-business agency.
He said that the focus was not exclusively on the coast and the sun and sea concept, so from the beginning of last year until November, the National Parks recorded an increase in the number of visitors by as much as 30 percent.
"These figures are an indication of exceptional efforts to promote and improve the offer. Therefore, I must also mention that last year we received a great recognition from Lonely Planet, when Kotor was on the first place in the list of ten cities that should be visited during this year", announced Gvozdenović.
In previous years, Washington, Paris, San Francisco, London and New York received this award.
Gvozdenović said that better connections with, among other things, Western and Central Europe and Scandinavia will continue to be among the Ministry's priorities.
"Ryanair continues to fly to Brussels and London, and the announced arrival of EasyJet with flights to Manchester and London this year is also of great importance. Discussions are underway with several interested airlines from the Middle East, including Fly Dubai, with the same goal , and their final results will be known in the upcoming period," stated Gvozdenović.
He reminded that the visa regime has been significantly improved, while the infrastructural development of the airport is a special subject of attention.
"I have already announced that, according to the analyzes of the World Travel and Tourism Council, it is expected that tourist arrivals in the Mediterranean will grow by around ten million new arrivals per year until 2030, so we have an opportunity that should be used wisely, leading the development of Montenegro as a tourist destination towards high quality accommodation and service, diversified offers and good connections", Gvozdenović assessed.
Commenting on the expectations for this year's winter tourist season, Gvozdenović said that significant efforts have been made to ensure that as many ski centers as possible are in operation.
"This year, tourists will have at their disposal Savin kuk and Javorovača in Žabljak, Kolašin 1450 in Kolašin, Vučje in Nikšić, Turjak in Rozaje. In addition to the ski resort, there are also baby lifts at Ivani Koriti, near Šavnik, Mojkovac, Bijelo Polje and Žabljak," said Gvozdenović.
He said that the winter tourist season is often mistakenly identified with two S's - Snow, Skiing.
"One of our strategic goals is precisely that the complementary facilities provide caterers and hoteliers with as much independence as possible from weather conditions, but also be a quality addition to the offer even when there is snow," explained Gvozdenović.
One of the good examples, he said, is the Vučje Ski Center with its Snow Dance festival event.
"This is precisely why we will concentrate on the development of the incentive program for the construction of complementary contents in the following action. At the same time, as the tourist offer must be richer with numerous manifestations and events in progress, but also out of season, it is planned that significant funds will be allocated to support manifestations, above all in the period before and after the main tourist season", Gvozdenović announced.
He said that as part of the extension of the season, a novelty for schools and caterers is the organization of ski schools during February and March in Žabljak, Kolašin, Vučje and Ivanovi Koriti, and, as he announced, there will be increased inspection supervision during the season.
"An important element of support is the encouragement of financial institutions to define favorable credit funds for tourism companies, which would enable tourism operators to define the offer at reduced prices," believes Gvozdenović.
When it comes to accommodation facilities in the north, he added that one of the possible models and courses of action is that the facilities that are currently not in operation are given to the management of hotel companies, which have the ability to organize the operation of these facilities.
"Finally, the already mentioned planned development of tourist zones in the northern region can represent a serious chance for a more dynamic development of this part of Montenegro. Prerequisites for the formation of tourist zones are amendments to the Law on Tourism, as well as the provision of adequate support from the budget of Montenegro," said Gvozdenović.
He reminded that last year the construction works started on the construction of facilities within the Luštica Bay tourist resort.
»"Uštica Development is in negotiations with several hotel operators and it is planned that the construction of the first hotel within the complex will begin in the first months of this year. We are in intensive communication with the investor with the aim of speeding up the construction of the golf course", announced Gvozdenović.
He added that last year, the first building permit was issued for the construction of the Portonovi settlement in Kumbor, and the renowned Italian company Impresa Pizzarotti was chosen as the main contractor.
"It is expected that work on the construction of the One and Only hotel complex will begin soon, and work on the construction of the marina has also begun. It is worth reminding that this will be the first One and Only hotel in Europe, which is of great importance for further promotion of our tourist product and attracting renowned investors", assessed Gvozdenović.
According to Gvozdenović, the Porto Montenegro project, with the luxurious Regent Hotel, which in the last year and a half alone has won 17 international awards and hosted almost ten thousand tourists, already has its own life on the domestic and international tourist scene.
"According to the data of the Adriatic Marinas company, the total investments so far are estimated at close to 420 million euros, and the total number of employees last year, including seasonal workers, is close to 1,4 thousand. And this project shows that Montenegro is leading a good policy, which relies on a favorable business environment and the top quality of our country's tourist offer", stated Gvozdenović.
He reminded that the Ministry has also launched a number of projects aimed at the successful valorization of the space included in the spatial plan for Bjelasica and Komov, and the development of two ski resorts, Kolašin 1600 and Cmiljača in Bijelo Polje, has been designated as a priority.
Gvozdenović added that funds have been allocated for their development.
Also, as he said, the Government has allocated funds for the development of existing and new ski resorts in the capital budget, with an emphasis on Žarska, Savin Kuk and Hajla.
"Aware of the need to further increase efforts to valorize the north, we are working on developing special tourist zones in which the infrastructure necessary for the development of tourist content will be provided through the incentive policy," said Gvozdenović.
The implementation of the above, as well as the highway construction project, as he assessed, are an important prerequisite for ensuring the feasibility of projects in that part of the country.
"It is quite expected that, in a large number of investment contracts, there are those whose realization, due to internal or external circumstances, is not realized according to the planned dynamics. Our role here is to speed up the processes if it is possible, or to end them if it is not, in a way that, to the maximum possible extent, will reduce the negative effects", announced Gvozdenović.
He added that some of the biggest investments in tourism are being realized with the planned dynamics.
"Public invitations for a number of tourism projects are also underway, and I appreciate that we can really be satisfied with what has been achieved. At the same time, of course, we have to keep in mind that development and competitiveness strengthen or weaken, depending on whether all relevant parties make a full contribution to these processes," said Gvozdenvić.
When it comes to the activities of the Ministry in the tourism sector this year, Gvozdenović said that the supervision and control of privatization contracts is one of the important segments of generating quality in that area.
"With the aim of further improving the infrastructure and quality preparation of the seasons, we are planning to prepare a model proposal for the formation of the joint-stock company "Skijališta" of Montenegro", said Gvozdenović.
As part of activities to improve air accessibility, he said that the arrival of the British company EasyJet has already been announced.
"Based on the communications with several interested airlines and tour operators, during this year we can expect the introduction of new airline routes to the markets of central, western and northern Europe, as well as Israel and the countries of the Middle East", stated Gvozdenović.
He said that a great deal of work is expected this year to further improve the business environment through amendments to relevant laws in the field of tourism, hospitality, and building construction.
"What I would single out is the expectation of the adoption of a new law on spatial planning and construction of buildings. I am convinced that with it we will create an excellent basis for further improvement of the business environment, but what we have emphasized with these changes is the visual arrangement and integration of buildings into the space." , Gvozdenović believes.
He added that absolute transparency of the planning, design and construction process is foreseen, given that all planning documents, urban-technical conditions and permits, as well as reports on the revision of planning documents, will be public.
"For us, an important issue that will be treated by this law and that requires significant improvement is access to facilities in public use by persons with reduced mobility and with disabilities," said Gvozdenović.
He explained that the aforementioned amendments to the law foresee the introduction of an electronic system in the process of planning and construction of buildings, which would enable monitoring of the entire process, as well as reducing the time of issuing permits by half compared to the previous deadline.
"Of course, work on the adoption of planning documentation is a prerequisite for high-quality valorization of space, and we will also treat this issue seriously and dedicatedly," added Gvozdenović.
He said that this year it is planned to continue the implementation of numerous projects in the environment and climate change.
"This year, we expect the completion and commissioning of a significant number of projects related to the construction of sewage networks, waste water treatment plants and sewage sludge treatment," announced Gvozdenović.
He also said that the protection of the Ulcinj Saltworks, as a particularly valuable ecosystem on a European scale, is expected through the achievement of formal protection at the international level as a Ramsar area, the adoption of the Protection Study and the Spatial-Urban Plan for the Municipality of Ulcinj.
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https://structurae.net/en/structures/a-22-motorway-italy
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en
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A 22 Motorway (Italy) (Rovereto/Carpi, 1974)
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A 22 Motorway (Italy) is a motorway / freeway / interstate that was built from 1964 until 1974. The project is located in Sterzing, Brixen and Bolzano/Bozen, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy.
|
en
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/apple-icon-57x57.png
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Structurae
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https://structurae.net/en/structures/a-22-motorway-italy
|
TheAutostrada A22 (Italian:Autostrada del Brennero, Autobrennero, German:Brennerautobahn) is one of the most important motorways in Italy, as it connects Pianura padana, the city of Modena and the A1 motorway to Austria through the Brenner Pass, located in the municipality of Brenner.
The operator of the road is Autostrada del Brennero S.p.A..
History
Yet in 1949, during the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, it was designed a route, identified as E56, leading from Scandinavia to the southernmost point of Italy. The current Autobrennero track was already part of that route plan.
The next step for the fulfillment of the project was the foundation of Autostrada del Brennero S.p.A., on 20 February 1959, that two years later was given the concession for the building and the following management of the highway. Autostrada del Brennero S.p.A. is still the company which curates A22 infrastructure. The motorway track was initially designed by Bruno and Lino Gentilini, assisted by senator Guido de Unterrichter. The first plan was then edited, and it was made up by two carriageway, 7,5 × 2 metres each. The project Verona-Brenner was approved by ANAS on 25 January 1962, while the segment Verona-Modena was approved during the following year. Later on, several plots of land had to be dispossessed, underpasses and flyovers had to be built (for both roads and railroads), 307 kilometers of power lines and 74 km of telephone lines even had to be moved away. It all required about 23 billion lira.
In 1963 it was approved the definitive track plan and, also thanks to international loans, the realization began. The first segment open to the public – 50 km between Bolzano and Trento – was inaugurated on 21 December 1968. The first motorway traffic between Italy and Austria occurred on 5 April 1971.
After the opening of other segments, the highway could be considered as definitely completed on 11 April 1974, with the inauguration of the section between Chiusa and Bolzano, resulting the most complicated one due to the complex infrastructural and engineering work. Overall, at that time 21 entrance-and-exit toll booth and 12 service stations were opened.
At that time the overall cost of A22 amounted to 243 721 821 000 lire, so about 780 millions lire per kilometer. Just in 1984 highway A22 managed to have its first net profit.
During the years, the expressway A22 had been subjected to few track modifications; mostly, toll booth have been opened or closed. For instance:
"Bressanone sud – Zona industriale (= industrial area)": opened just for the ones heading north or coming from north. It is expected the opening toward the other direction, too;
"Trento sud": opened on 3 May 2011, costed 17,5 million euro, including the new bridge above Adige;
"Trento centro (= center)": only the highway exits (not entrance ones) have been closed since 23 May 2011.
Nowadays, the motorway consists of 313,5 km of track, with 23 entrance toll booth, 22 exit toll booth, 6 security centers, 6 service centers, and 22 gas stations.
Features
With a total of 313 km of highway track, A22 originates near Modena, at the interchange on motorway A1, not far from Modena Nord toll booth. After Modena, the motorway traverses the whole Pianura padana, overshooting Carpi and Mantua, in the real Po Valley heart. In Verona A22 crosses highway A4, afterwards it settles in the Adige Valley, in parallel to Lake Garda. It goes past Rovereto, then passing through Trento and Bolzano. From here, it sets inside the Isarco Valley (known in German as 'Eisacktal'), tighter than Po and Adige valleys. Therefore, here A22 twists and turns through the valley, easily overtaking Bressanone and then going over Vipiteno toll booth. Finally, A22 reaches the Brenner Pass in Brennero, where it gets the Austrian border and comes to its end. Here, the passageway Modena-Munich goes on crossing the boundary, following the Austrian A13 Brenner Autobahn. As it clearly appears, A22 is a strongly important highway for connections and transports between Southern and Northern Europe, designed on a track studied and planned to make use of one of the lowest mountain passes in the Alps, the Brenner Pass – one of the busiest borders in Europe – located at only 1375 m above sea level.
Statistical studies calculated that this expressway moves 30–40 thousands vehicles per day (among them, approssimately about 1/3 are heavy vehicles), with higher peaks during holiday transfers; sometimes the circulation of traffic comes to stand still, because of this congestion, causing several serious brakings, queues and small accidents and rear-end collisions, also due to the limitation of the track at just two lanes. To avoid these problems, it is suggested and incentivized the use of intermodal freight transport for the heavy vehicles, taking them onto specific wagons or boxcars, and the conveyance abroad from Verona by railway.
A22 guardrails, whose brown colour is very typical, are made in Corten Steel, an alloy showing elevated corrosion resistance rates and high mechanical strength.
Traffic news in Trentino-Alto Adige are provided by Radio NBC (in Italian) and radio Südtirol 1 (in German), whereas in the remaining section are broadcast by radio Pico.
Track
The highway is complexively 315 km long: the track begins nearby Modena, at the junction with A1 motorway, and vertically crosses the whole Northern Italy, finally reaching at the Brenner Pass, along the Austrian border. Once over the boundary, the expressway is connected with A13 Austrian motorway (Brennerautobahn A13, Innsbruck-Brenner). A22 highway passes through four Italian regions (Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, Lombardia, Emilia-Romagna). The management of the road has been assigned since its construction to specific concessionaires and motorway maintenance companies.
European roads
A22 highway, inside the network of European roads, is part for its entire track of the north–south route E45, connecting Karesuando and Gela. The main intersection with the west–east routes is with E70 (in that point represented by Italian motorway A4) in Verona.
Works and projects
Dynamic lane
In the section between Trento Sud and Rovereto Nord, is ongoing the experimentation of the so-called "third dynamic lane", which includes the use of the breakdown lane as a normal drive lane when occurring particular situations such as traffic congestions. This is signalled to drivers by determined lightning Variable-message signs along the route: they display green arrows if the breakdown lane is usable as a normal lane, oblique yellow arrows if the third lane is being shut down, and red crosses if the third lane is closed and can be used only in case of emergency. This project includes the use of the dynamic lane technique also in the segment between Bolzano Sud and Verona Nord Tollbooths, where it is scheduled to take place the interchange with the third permanent lane (which is going to be built) up to the intersection with motorway A1 in Modena.
Third lane
By 2016 the work for the realisation of the third motorway lane in the segment between Verona Nord toll booth and the intersection with highway A1 in Modena Nord had begun. In this last section, the interchange will be enlarged enough to satisfy the needs of the constantly rising traffic. Moreover, it will be already prearranged for the future add-on towards Sassuolo (through a beltway). For this extension of the motorway, no land expropriations are planned to be brought. Instead, the already present 11 meters of central reservation between the two carriageways will be used. This intervention also provides for the widening of the hard shoulder of about one meter. Furthermore, it is planned the building of lay-by stopping places every 500 meters.
Beltway Campogalliano-Sassuolo
The project about the elongation of the A22 heading South, from the junction of Campogalliano to Sassuolo, 14 km long and provided with 6 tollbooths, has been approved in 2005 by ANAS Governing Body. The beginning of the work, which has been subcontracted to the temporary enterprise association Autocs (made up by Autostrada del Brennero spa, Coopsette, Impresa Pizzarotti & C., Cordioli, Edilizia Wipptal, Oberosler, and Consorzio stabile Coseam Italia), is due in May 2018. Works will last four years, for a total amount of 516 million euro.
The executive project provides for the realisation of 25,5 km of road in total, 14 km of which represented by the above-mentioned highway add-on Campogalliano-Sassuolo, 6 km constituting the new Rubiera south bypass (with extra 1,4 km for the joint), and 3,6 km for the joint with Modena ring road. Two viaducts are planned to be built to cross river Secchia (814 m) and to overpass via Emilia and Milano-Bologna railway beam (621 m), and two underground tunnels to shield the natural oasis in Colombarone di Formigine, in addition to 15 underpasses and 12 flyovers for the secondary traffic stream.
Ti.Bre. (beltway with A15)
Ti.Bre project (Italian acronym for Tyrrhenian-Brenner) includes the lengthening of highway A15 La Spezia-Parma northbound, from Fontevivo (Parma Ovest) to Nogarole Rocca tollbooth on A22, consisting in 85 km in total.
In March 2017, 12 km out of the 85 km planned were under construction, for a total amount of 2,7 billion euro. The link ends in San Quirico di Trecasali (Parma).
Trento Sud toll booth
On 3 May 2011 Trento Sud tollbooth was opened, and it allowed to redirect the traffic circulation on Trento orbital road whenever the motorway is partially or totally shut down. However, alongside with the opening of Trento Sud tollbooth, Trento Centro (= center) one has been closed outbound.
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883
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0
| 58
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https://apnews.com/article/bobsled-track-contract-milan-cortina-olympics-d2832f3556df20ef6c61c1ca3494bbb2
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en
|
Milan-Cortina organizers sign deal to rebuild 2026 Winter Olympics sliding track amid IOC standoff
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2024-02-02T16:40:59+00:00
|
The local organizing committee for the 2026 Winter Olympics has signed a contract to rebuild a century-old bobsled track in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
|
en
|
/apple-touch-icon.png
|
AP News
|
https://apnews.com/article/bobsled-track-contract-milan-cortina-olympics-d2832f3556df20ef6c61c1ca3494bbb2
|
MILAN (AP) — Barely two years before the start of the 2026 Winter Olympics, the local organizing committee signed a contract on Friday to rebuild a century-old bobsled track in Cortina d’Ampezzo, putting “a full stop” on a saga that has Italy’s Finance Minister starting to regret backing the bid.
The contract is with Parma-based construction company Impresa Pizzarotti & C., which has offered to rebuild the Cortina track for 81.6 million euros ($88 million). It has said work will start on Feb 19.
The committee for the Milan-Cortina Games announced on Tuesday its decision to move forward with plans amid a standoff with the International Olympic Committee, which wants an existing foreign venue in neighboring Austria or Switzerland used instead to cut costs. But the Italian government does not want to finance a foreign venue.
“The choice puts a full stop on it and attests to the extreme determination of this government to finish all the woks for the Games in the best way and in Italy,” a statement read.
“Transport Minister Matteo Salvini and Sports Minister Andrea Abodi confirm that with great satisfaction.”
Next Tuesday will mark exactly two years before the opening ceremony in Milan, but the Cortina track has to be ready before then. There is less than a year before IOC-mandated test events, and the Milan-Cortina committee is aware that “under no circumstances” can the new track be certified after March 2025.
No sliding track has been built recently in such a short timeframe and organizers are continuing negotiations for an eventual Plan B — likely in a neighboring country — that would require added budget.
There is the risk that if it is not ready in time the committee will have to spend more, while still paying to rebuild the Cortina track that would not be used for the Olympics.
“The Olympics don’t come every two years, they’re coming in 2026 and then they won’t come again, and I’m beginning to regret backing it, because I feel the responsibility,” Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said.
Giorgetti was speaking at a meeting in Sondrio, in the Valtellina valley that is also home to Bormio where the men’s skiing is slated to take place.
He added that an electronic sign should be placed “at the entrance to Valtellina that shows how many days are left to make us understand the necessary urgency.”
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Latest List of Top 7 Italian Construction Companies [2023]
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A compiled list of the biggest Engineering Procurement & Construction companies in Italy that are responsible for driving the Italian construction industry forward.
|
en
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../images/app/favicon/favicon.ico
|
https://www.blackridgeresearch.com/blog/list-of-largest-top-construction-epc-companies-contractors-in-italy-italia
|
Don't miss out on the latest key industry and project news, as well as our expertly curated selection of insightful blogs.
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883
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dbpedia
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https://www.bnamericas.com/en/news/epm-qualifies-12-firms-for-new-hidroituango-tender
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en
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EPM qualifies 12 firms for new Hidroituango tender
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Bids for the contract are due in late June, according to Colombia's largest multi-utility.
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en
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BNamericas.com
|
https://www.bnamericas.com/en/news/epm-qualifies-12-firms-for-new-hidroituango-tender
|
39,000+ global companies doing business in the region.
Analysis, reports, news and interviews about your industry in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
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883
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dbpedia
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https://www.railwaygazette.com/metros/paris-opening-doubles-length-of-metro-line-11/66740.article
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en
|
Paris opening doubles length of metro Line 11
|
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[
"Metro Report International"
] |
2024-06-14T00:00:00
|
FRANCE: The length of the Paris metro’s rubber-tyred Line 11 is almost doubled with the opening of a 6 km six-station extension from Mairie-des-Lilas to Rosny-Bois-Perrier.
|
en
|
/magazine/dest/graphics/favicons/favicon-32x32.png
|
Railway Gazette International
|
https://www.railwaygazette.com/metros/paris-opening-doubles-length-of-metro-line-11/66740.article
|
FRANCE: The length of the Paris metro’s rubber-tyred Line 11 was almost doubled with the opening on June 13 of a 6 km six-station extension from Mairie-des-Lilas to Rosny-Bois-Perrier.
The maximum speed on the extension is 70 km/h, giving an end-to-end journey time of 25 min for the 14 km from Rosny to the central hub at Châtelet, compared with around 55 min previously.
The extension is expected to carry 85 000 passengers/day. It currently offers an interchange with RER E at Rosny-Bois-Perrier. From 2027 it will connect with tram T1 at Romainville-Carnot, and from 2031 with Grand Paris Express orbital Line 15 at Rosny-Bois-Perrier; these two stations are expected to become the busiest on the extension.
The line now has 500 staff, including 200 drivers and 240 at stations.
Construction
The main civil works were undertaken by a joint venture of NGE, Demathieu & Bard Construction, Impresa Pizzarotti, Implenia, GTS, Franki Foundations and Atlas Fondations.
The contract awarded in 2016 included the construction of four stations — La Dhuys, Montreuil-Hôpital, Romainville-Carnot and Serge Gainsbourg — three ancillary structures and 3·8 km of bored tunnel. Some of the stations were built as rectangular boxes up to 30 m deep, but limited surface space at La Dhuys and Romainville required the excavation of horizontal caverns 50 m and 60 m long.
Razel-Bec and Sefi Intrafor built the station at Rosny-Bois-Perrier and a further 1⋅6 km of tunnel using diaphragm walls.
NGE subsidiary TSO installed the railway systems.
Coteaux-Beauclair station was designed by architect Marc Mimram. It is situated on a 650 m viaduct accessed by a 5·5% gradient. Pierre Florent, RATP’s Managing Director of the Line 11 extension project, told Metro Report International at the opening celebrations that this was close to the maximum gradient for a rubber-tyred metro.
Alstom has supplied 32 five-car MP14 trainsets with a capacity of 562 passengers to operate on Line 11. These provided a 40% decrease in energy consumption and a 25% increase in capacity compared with the ageing MP59 sets they replaced.
A further seven trainsets are to be delivered by early 2025, which will enable headways to be reduced from 2 min 10 sec to 1 min 45 sec.
Alstom also supplied the Octys CBTC onboard equipment for GoA2 operation, while Siemens Mobility provided the lineside systems.
Costs
The extension has cost €1·084bn to build, plus €214m for upgrading the original Line 11. This was funded by the Ile-de-France region, Société du Grand Paris, the national government, Seine-Saint-Denis département, RATP and the city of Paris.
The 39 MP14 trainsets cost €310m, funded by transport authority Ile-de-France-Mobilités and operator RATP (26%). The annual operating costs which will be covered by IdFM are put at €27m.
|
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883
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dbpedia
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3
| 56
|
https://www.foxsports.com/articles/winter/milancortina-organizers-sign-deal-to-rebuild-2026-winter-olympics-sliding-track-amid-ioc-standoff
|
en
|
Milan-Cortina organizers sign deal to rebuild 2026 Winter Olympics sliding track amid IOC standoff
|
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2024-02-02T11:40:58-05:00
|
The local organizing committee for the 2026 Winter Olympics has signed a contract to rebuild a century-old bobsled track in Cortina d’Ampezzo
|
en
|
/apple-touch-icon.png
|
FOX Sports
|
https://www.foxsports.com/articles/winter/milancortina-organizers-sign-deal-to-rebuild-2026-winter-olympics-sliding-track-amid-ioc-standoff
|
Associated Press
MILAN (AP) — Barely two years before the start of the 2026 Winter Olympics, the local organizing committee signed a contract on Friday to rebuild a century-old bobsled track in Cortina d’Ampezzo, putting "a full stop” on a saga that has Italy’s Finance Minister starting to regret backing the bid.
The contract is with Parma-based construction company Impresa Pizzarotti & C., which has offered to rebuild the Cortina track for 81.6 million euros ($88 million). It has said work will start on Feb 19.
The committee for the Milan-Cortina Games announced on Tuesday its decision to move forward with plans amid a standoff with the International Olympic Committee, which wants an existing foreign venue in neighboring Austria or Switzerland used instead to cut costs. But the Italian government does not want to finance a foreign venue.
“The choice puts a full stop on it and attests to the extreme determination of this government to finish all the woks for the Games in the best way and in Italy,” a statement read.
“Transport Minister Matteo Salvini and Sports Minister Andrea Abodi confirm that with great satisfaction.”
Next Tuesday will mark exactly two years before the opening ceremony in Milan, but the Cortina track has to be ready before then. There is less than a year before IOC-mandated test events, and the Milan-Cortina committee is aware that “under no circumstances” can the new track be certified after March 2025.
No sliding track has been built recently in such a short timeframe and organizers are continuing negotiations for an eventual Plan B — likely in a neighboring country — that would require added budget.
There is the risk that if it is not ready in time the committee will have to spend more, while still paying to rebuild the Cortina track that would not be used for the Olympics.
“The Olympics don’t come every two years, they’re coming in 2026 and then they won’t come again, and I’m beginning to regret backing it, because I feel the responsibility,” Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said.
Giorgetti was speaking at a meeting in Sondrio, in the Valtellina valley that is also home to Bormio where the men’s skiing is slated to take place.
He added that an electronic sign should be placed “at the entrance to Valtellina that shows how many days are left to make us understand the necessary urgency.”
___
AP coverage of the Paris Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
|
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NAVFAC Style Guide
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https://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/sports/local-sports/2024/06/lake-placid-still-in-running-for-2026-sliding-bid/
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en
|
Lake Placid still in running for 2026 sliding bid
|
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"Local Sports",
"Lake Placid still in running for 2026 sliding bidSports",
"Lake Placid still in running for 2026 sliding bidWinter Olympic Sports",
"Lake Placid still in running for 2026 sliding bid"
] | null |
[] |
2024-06-18T00:00:00
|
LAKE PLACID — The Lake Placid-New York state bid to host the sliding competitions for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano-Cortina, Italy is still in t
|
en
|
https://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/wp-content/themes/coreV2/favicon.ico
|
https://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/sports/local-sports/2024/06/lake-placid-still-in-running-for-2026-sliding-bid/
|
Lake Placid’s bid is one of just three other potential host sites, which also include St. Moritz, Switzerland and Igls/Innbruck, Austria, sited as a “Plan B” option if the century-old sliding track in Cortina d’Ampezzo is not completed by March 2025.
The Milan-Cortina Organizing Committee recently asked the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to provide additional information to its “Plan B” solution for the Lake Placid-New York sliding bid, according to Norfolk.
While Norfolk said she wasn’t able to release the updated bid yet, because she wasn’t able to verify if the Milan-Cortina Organizing committee had reviewed the second bid, she noted that it contains more information and details.
“The athletes village and transportation, scheduling from one location to another and how that would look,” she said on Monday. “As well as preliminary budget information.”
The original bid, which was released in December 2023, provides different concepts that have some similarities to the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games.
ORDA’s Olympic Jumping Complex and Olympic Sports Complex General Manager Rebecca Dayton said the biggest thing working against Lake Placid’s bid is geography.
“The two other tracks we’re competing against are close to Milan-Cortina, but they both have their challenges as well,” she said on Sunday. “We think we have put together a pretty aggressive campaign and plan to balance out that travel issue with charter flights.
“Now, we’ll wait and see what they decide,” Dayton added. “But I think we’ve done a lot of good work and we’ve talked to a lot of people, and people now as we get closer to a deciding point people pay more attention to those details and hopefully we’ll do well.”
Dayton hopes that the 2026 Olympic sliding events will be in Cortina. If the bid were to be selected it would be the first in Winter Olympic history to have events held outside the host nation.
“We all want them to have a track because that’s what is best for the health of the sport,” she said. “If that can’t happen, we’d like to be considered because we think we do a good job. We think we can do a good job in this case and we have a lot of experience from what we learned from FISU. We’re well set up. It’s exciting to be one of the final three and be considered.”
The International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation president and chair of Winter Sports of the International Olympic Committee, Ivo Ferriani, said he feels confident that the Italian organizing committee for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina will deliver the track on time.
“Of course the timing is very tight,” Ferriani said on Sunday. “The company is working very hard. Today we are confident.”
The Milan-Cortina Organizing committee officially signed a contract on Feb. 2 with Parma-based construction company Impresa Pizzarotti & C. to build the track rebuild a century-old bobsled track in Cortina d’Ampezzo, which closed in 2008.
As of May 29, the first corner of the track, which is about 15 meters in length, was completed. The sliding track at the Cortina Sliding Center will have 16 curves and a length of 1,400 meters with a height difference of 107 meters. Ferriani expects the construction to accelerate.
“They will understand how to do it quickly and after the first corner they will do the other corners much faster,” he said. “At the moment we have a Plan A, and we’ll see in the future. We have to always be positive and I’m sure the Italian government will give all their best to deliver the track on time.”
Normunds Kotans, representative of the Organizing Committee for Milano-Cortina 2026, provided an update on the status of construction work on the sliding track in Cortina on the second day of the 72nd International Luge Federation (FIL) Congress in Lake Placid Saturday.
“The construction of the Olympic track in Cortina is progressing. So far, significant progress has been made,” Kotans said in a statement.
According to the FIL, he explained the Olympic track and pointed out three tunnels and track sections such as “Labirinto” in the middle section and the historically well-known curves “Antelao” and “Cristallo” in the lower part of the track.
“We want to ensure that the Olympic Games take place in Cortina and will complete our luge track in time,” Kotans said.
The FIL Track Construction Commission will meet again on June 26. The goal is for the FIL and IBSF to officially approve the the track in the spring of 2025, followed by an international training week in the fall of 2025.
“I’ll be there in June 26 and we’ll check again,” Ferriani said. “Believe me, we won’t give up. We will check every month what’s happened there. We’ll see, but again we’re confident.”
In each of the past four Olympic Winter Games, sliding tracks have been built specifically for the Games. All four took years of preparation and no sliding track has been built recently in such a short timeframe.
The Cortina sliding track will likely require test events. Test events have become a higher priority task following the death of 21-year-old Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili in a training crash hours before the start of the opening ceremony for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
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Olympic board to rebuild bobsled track in Italy for 2026 Games and keep open 'Plan B'
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Company offers to reconstruct century-old Cortina track for $89M US
The local organizing committee for the 2026 Winter Olympics decided Tuesday to move forward with rebuilding a century-old bobsled track in Cortina d'Ampezzo but will also keep open a "Plan B" in case the new venue is not ready by March 2025.
The committee said following a board meeting its plans hinge on signing a contract with Parma-based construction company Impresa Pizzarotti & C., which has offered to rebuild the Cortina track for 81.6 million euros ($89 million US).
If the contract for the sliding centre is signed "it would confirm the original masterplan" for the Olympics, the Milan-Cortina committee said, adding that the new venue "would revive Cortina's long tradition in these sports and help future generations."
The announcement comes amid a standoff with the International Olympic Committee, which wants an existing foreign venue in neighbouring Austria or Switzerland used instead to cut costs. But the Italian government does not want to finance a foreign venue.
"It is not acceptable for the bobsled races to take place outside Italy," Deputy Premier Antonio Tajani said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. "We will do everything to achieve the goal."
Construction would start with less than two years to go before the Milan-Cortina Games, and less than a year before IOC-mandated test events.
No sliding track has been built recently in such a short timeframe and test events have taken on even greater importance following the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili in a training crash hours before the start of the opening ceremony for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
"Considering the negative views of the IOC and the international federations, which are concerned about the timeframe that the project would require, and considering advice from SIMICO [the company in charge of infrastructure for the games], the board has decided not to interrupt dialogue with other existing and functioning venues," the local organizing committee said.
The committee has also asked chairman Andrea Varnier "to continue negotiations or an eventual Plan B that would require added budget."
Under no circumstances, the Milan-Cortina committee pointed out, can the new track be certified after March 2025.
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