Film_Fatale
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Posts posted by Film_Fatale
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*Turner Classic Movies pick for July 7, 2008: The Bishop's Wife*
POSTED July 6, 6:05 PM
?The Bishop?s Wife,? TCM, Monday, July 7, 2 p.m. (EST)
?The Bishop?s Wife? (1947) isn?t a great movie by any means, but it is a prime example of the type of escapist trifle that Hollywood used to do so well.
Cary Grant stars as an angel named Dudley who arrives on earth to help the troubled marriage of Bishop Henry Brougham (David Niven) who has been neglecting his wife Julia (Loretta Young) while being preoccupied with raising funds for the building of a new church. Dudley?s attempts to play celestial marital counselor are complicated, however, by Julia?s growing attraction to him.
Supporting the leads are two of Hollywood?s most accomplished scene-stealers: James Gleason and Monty Woolley.
As a Christmas time fantasy, ?The Bishop?s Wife? doesn?t match the caliber of ?It?s a Wonderful Life? or ?Miracle on 34th Street,? but it still remains an enjoyable bit of whimsy.
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> {quote:title=tobitz wrote:}{quote}
> FF! Who starred in the version you saw on Broadway, if I may ask?
Well it was the 2000 revival, so it must have been Craig Bierko. But I wouldn't have remembered his name without looking it up.
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Happy b-day, Janet Leigh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(July 6, 19278 - Oct. 3, 2004)
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001463/
Happy b-day, Ned Beatty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(July 6, 1937)
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I think it's one of my favorite non-MGM movie musicals, and I also liked watching it on Broadway a few years ago. B-)
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Asterix fans with multi-region players, rejoice!!
Pathe Distribution Limited have announced the UK Region 2 DVD release of *Asterix at the Olympic Games* on 25th August 2008 priced at ?15.99. This live-action Asterix adventure stars Clovis Cornillac as the diminutive Gaul (though he doesn?t look all that small in this live-action adventure) and Gerard Depardieu as Obelix. Together they travel to Greece to win the Olympic Games, all in aid of young Gaul Alafolix (Stephane Rousseau) who is trying to win the heart of the Greek Princess Irina.
Extras (if any) are TBC.
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I had no idea he'd done voice work for TINTIN. Thanks for sharing!
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www.examiner.com
*Turner Classic Movies pick for July 6, 2008: Casablanca*
?Casablanca,? TCM, Sunday, July 6, 12 noon (EST)
When asked if many of the things that go right while making a movie are accidents, Orson Welles replied that most of the things that go right are accidents.
No movie personifies this better than ?Casablanca? (1942), a hastily thrown together Warner Brothers wartime romance that was constantly being rewritten during production.
The result was arguably Hollywood?s greatest romantic drama, definitely the best propaganda film to come out of World War II and the picture that transformed former character actor Humphrey Bogart into one of the movies? most popular leading men. It?s also one of the few films that won the Oscar for Best Picture that actually deserved it.
Set in Nazi-occupied Africa, ?Casablanca? revolves around the romantic triangle of Rick Blaine (Bogart), mysterious night club owner who has accidentally come into possession of letters of transit; resistance leader Victor Lazlo (Paul Henreid) who desperately needs those letters to escape the Nazis; and Laslo?s wife, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), who was Rick?s mistress in Paris years earlier.
Add to the mix the visually stylish direction of Michael Curtiz, the witty dialogue by Howard Koch and Julius and Philip Epstein, the chiaroscuro black-and-white photography by Arthur Edeson and the to-die-for supporting cast including Claude Rains (who has the script?s best lines as corrupt police Capt. Renault), Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet, S.Z. Sakall, Dooley Wilson and Conrad Veidt (as the villain, Nazi Major Strasser) and you have one of Hollywood?s most influential movies and beloved classics. (The first ?Star Wars? film especially owed much to ?Casablanca.?)
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Entschuldigung Sie mein schlechtes Deutsch, bitte.... I googled "bairish" and it said something about Austria.
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Ah, ?sterreich?
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> {quote:title=RonaldDHawkins wrote:}{quote}
> I'm thinking not all of TCM product would be great in HDTV, but some of the MGM classics would seem to crying for HDTV presentation, whether it's "American in Paris," "Gone With the Wind" of "The Wizard of Oz."
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> And, when TCM gives us those wonderful weeks leading up to the Oscars we've seen more and more movies that would benefit from HDTV such as "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" that aired last year.
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> I'm getting ready to watch "1776" on TCM. I love the movie, but I'm not sure if it would benefit from being HDTV.
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There is no reason I can think of why any movie wouldn't benefit from being in HDTV, provided you have a semi-decent video transfer. Why would an old television standard, closer to what they had in the 50's, be better for a film?
Let's be clear here, I think HDTV comes a lot closer to capturing the picture quality of 35mm film projection, of translating that to a home-video format. So any movie that was filmed in 35mm and for which a 35mm source (negative, or even a print) is available, in theory should look better in HD format.
This may also mean that the film grain is going to be more noticeable, but that isn't a flaw as many people think -- it IS what film was always supposed to look like! (Unfortunately some home video companies seem to think it's something that should be toned down with digital manipulation!).
But the real problem is that it takes time and money to do a good transfer that's going to look good in HD format, especially for the classics, and how much of a commercial gamble it might be (beyond the most prominent classic titles) remains to be seen.
The fact that so many classic films remain unavailable on conventional DVD, let alone any HD format, isn't encouraging.
If the studios don't expect to get a return on their investment, they won't have any incentive to dedicate the resources necessary to make their classic film libraries available on an HD format - be it an HDTV channel, Blu-Ray discs, or any kind of future downloading or video-on-demand technology.
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I still prefer the original *3:10 to Yuma*, although the remake was sorta half-decent by the standards of most Hollywood movies these days...
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> {quote:title=MissGoddess wrote:}{quote}
> I am STILL trying to find The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry, having never seen it and I also recommend Death of a Scoundrel.
MissG I checked this title and it was released on VHS and laserdisc, so it should be possible to find a used copy somewhere...
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I'd take Judy Garland's ruby slippers from *The Wizard of Oz*, or Orson Wells' Rosebud sled from *Citizen Kane*, the original *Maltese Falcon* statuette, or the piano Sam used in *Casablanca*.
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> {quote:title=TikiSoo wrote:}{quote}
> I listen to TCM all day while working (artist/painter) and recognize actors by their voices. I have found Gene Kelly and John Garfield have almost IDENTICAL voices!
Good point, I never thought of that.
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That's good to know, shearerchic
And for everyone who collects R2 DVDs:
BFI have announced the UK DVD release of *Les Demoiselles de Rochefort* on 28th July 2008 priced at ?22.99. Following the success of *Les Parapulies de Cherbourg* (1964), Jacques Demy went on to make *Les Demoiselles de Rochefort*, a large scale tribute to the Hollywood musical featuring screen legend Gene Kelly. Released in the UK on DVD for the first time by the BFI, the 1996 restoration is presented in a 2-disc set that also features an hour long documentary by Agn?s Varda and other special extras.
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> {quote:title=hamradio wrote:}{quote}
> To TCM and to all the members, have a Happy 4th of July!
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Thank you, love that smiley, and happy 4th to everyone! B-)
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Happy b-day, Eve Marie Saint!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(July 4, 1924)
Happy b-day, Stephen Boyd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(July 4, 1931 - June 2, 1977)
Happy b-day, Gina Lollobrigida!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(July 4, 1927)
Happy b-day, Gloria Stuart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(July 4, 1910)
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You're welcome, Andrea, and happy 4th of July!
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> {quote:title=scsu1975 wrote:}{quote}
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Separated at birth, I tell ya!
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Now that's how to celebrate the 4th of July! B-)
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Your grandparents from Germany? Sprechen Sie Deutsch?
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> {quote:title=filmlover wrote:}{quote}
> *CELLULOID KID, I HAVE TRIED TO BE NICE...*
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> Not only do you repost things that have already been posted..."Metropolis" was already posted here by film fatale...I posted the Robin Hood info a page back...now you are copying your own posts, for you already listed the Godfather contest a page back!!!!!
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> I will ask again, politely, *one last time,* please check previous posts before you list an item. The "Search" feature works very well!
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> If you ignore this and continue the way you have, I will contact TCM to get you banned completely from the DVD news and reviews areas. Doing so may also affect you from being able to post in the regular forums. Think about it.
Well said, enough spamming already.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080703/ap_on_en_tv/obit_harmon
*Larry Harmon, longtime Bozo the Clown, dead at 83*
By JOHN ROGERS
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES - Larry Harmon, who turned the character Bozo the Clown into a show business staple that delighted children for more than a half-century, died Thursday of congestive heart failure. He was 83.
His publicist, Jerry Digney, told The Associated Press he died at his home.
Although not the original Bozo, Harmon portrayed the popular clown in countless appearances and, as an entrepreneur, he licensed the character to others, particularly dozens of television stations around the country. The stations in turn hired actors to be their local Bozos.
"You might say, in a way, I was cloning BTC (Bozo the Clown) before anybody else out there got around to cloning DNA," Harmon told the AP in a 1996 interview.
"Bozo is a combination of the wonderful wisdom of the adult and the childlike ways in all of us," Harmon said.
Pinto Colvig, who also provided the voice for Walt Disney's Goofy, originated Bozo the Clown when Capitol Records introduced a series of children's records in 1946. Harmon would later meet his alter ego while answering a casting call to make personal appearances as a clown to promote the records.
He got that job and eventually bought the rights to Bozo. Along the way, he embellished Bozo's distinctive look: the orange-tufted hair, the bulbous nose, the outlandish red, white and blue costume.
"I felt if I could plant my size 83AAA shoes on this planet, (people) would never be able to forget those footprints," he said.
Susan Harmon, his wife of 29 years, indicated Harmon was the perfect fit for Bozo.
"He was the most optimistic man I ever met. He always saw a bright side; he always had something good to say about everybody. He was the love of my life," she said Thursday.
The business ? combining animation, licensing of the character, and personal appearances ? made millions, as Harmon trained more than 200 Bozos over the years to represent him in local markets.
"I'm looking for that sparkle in the eyes, that emotion, feeling, directness, warmth. That is so important," he said of his criteria for becoming a Bozo.
The Chicago version of Bozo ran on WGN-TV in Chicago for 40 years and was seen in many other cities after cable television transformed WGN into a superstation.
Bozo ? portrayed in Chicago for many years by Bob Bell ? was so popular that the waiting list for tickets to a TV show eventually stretched to a decade, prompting the station to stop taking reservations for 10 years. On the day in 1990 when WGN started taking reservations again, it took just five hours to book the show for five more years. The phone company reported more than 27 million phone call attempts had been made.
By the time the show bowed out in Chicago, in 2001, it was the last locally produced version. Harmon said at the time that he hoped to develop a new cable or network show, as well as a Bozo feature film.
He became caught up in a minor controversy in 2004 when the International Clown Hall of Fame in Milwaukee took down a plaque honoring him as Bozo and formally endorsed Colvig for creating the role. Harmon denied ever misrepresenting Bozo's history.
He said he was claiming credit only for what he added to the character ? "What I sound like, what I look like, what I walk like" ? and what he did to popularize Bozo.
"Isn't it a shame the credit that was given to me for the work I have done, they arbitrarily take it down, like I didn't do anything for the last 52 years," he told the AP at the time.
Harmon protected Bozo's reputation with a vengeance, while embracing those who poked good-natured fun at the clown.
As Bozo's influence spread through popular culture, his very name became a synonym for clownish behavior.
"It takes a lot of effort and energy to keep a character that old fresh so kids today still know about him and want to buy the products," Karen Raugust, executive editor of The Licensing Letter, a New York-based trade publication, said in 1996.
A normal character runs its course in three to five years, Raugust said. "Harmon's is a classic character. It's been around 50 years."
On New Year's Day 1996, Harmon dressed up as Bozo for the first time in 10 years, appearing in the Rose Parade in Pasadena.
The crowd reaction, he recalled, "was deafening."
"They kept yelling, `Bozo, Bozo, love you, love you.' I shed more crocodile tears for five miles in four hours than I realized I had," he said. "I still get goose bumps."
Born in Toledo, Ohio, Harmon became interested in theater while studying at the University of Southern California.
"Bozo is a star, an entertainer, bigger than life," Harmon once said. "People see him as Mr. Bozo, somebody you can relate to, touch and laugh with."
Besides his wife, Harmon is survived by his son, Jeff Harmon, and daughters Lori Harmon, Marci Breth-Carabet and Leslie Breth.
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Associated Press writers Polly Anderson in New York and Robert Jablon in Los Angeles contributed to this story.
Upcoming Releases
in Classic Film DVD Reviews
Posted
Universal Studios Home Video have announced the Region 1 DVD release of *Touch of Evil* (50th Anniversary Edition) on 7th October 2008 priced at $26.98 SRP. Orson Welles? film noir portrait of corruption and morally-compromised obsessions returns to DVD as a two-disc set including the restored version, the theatrical version and a preview version of the main feature complete with extras. Also included as part of the package is a replication of Orson Welles' legendary 58-page memo to the studio.
Disc 1: Restored Version
* 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
* English DD2.0 Mono
* English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles
* Bringing Evil to Life
* Evil Lost & Found
* Audio Commentary featuring Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh and Restoration Producer Rick Schmidlin
* Audio Commentary featuring Restoration Producer Rick Schmidlin
* Theatrical Trailer
Disc 2: Theatrical & Preview Versions
* 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
* English DD2.0 Mono
* English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles
* Theatrical Version: Audio Commentary featuring Writer / Filmmaker F.X. Feeny
* Preview Version: Audio Commentary featuring Welles Historians Joanthan Rosenbaum and James Naremore