British publicist and marketing consultant Freddie Ross Hancock, whose clients included Sophia Loren, Julie Andrews and Benny Hill, and helped bring the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to New York, has died in the city at the age of 92.
Born Freda Ross in 1930 in North London, she learned the public relations business working for the Holland America cruise line for two years, after which she joined the Universal Film Corporation of America as assistant head of publicity in the U.K.
In the early 1950s she set up her own publicity firm, Freda Ross Associates, representing performers such as Benny Hill, Dick Emery, Bob Monkhouse, Terry Scott and Hugh Lloyd. She met comedian and actor Tony Hancock in 1954 when she was 24, and persuaded him to take her on as his publicist.
In 1959 Ross and Hancock began an affair, although he was married, but they lived together openly from...
Born Freda Ross in 1930 in North London, she learned the public relations business working for the Holland America cruise line for two years, after which she joined the Universal Film Corporation of America as assistant head of publicity in the U.K.
In the early 1950s she set up her own publicity firm, Freda Ross Associates, representing performers such as Benny Hill, Dick Emery, Bob Monkhouse, Terry Scott and Hugh Lloyd. She met comedian and actor Tony Hancock in 1954 when she was 24, and persuaded him to take her on as his publicist.
In 1959 Ross and Hancock began an affair, although he was married, but they lived together openly from...
- 12/9/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Freddie Ross Hancock, the British marketing consultant and publicist who represented Sophia Loren, Julie Andrews, Benny Hill, Theodore Bikel and Jim Dale and helped bring the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to New York, has died. She was 92.
Ross Hancock died Sunday at her home in Manhattan, friend and former Warner Bros. executive Luke Fontneau announced.
Another of her clients was popular English comedian and actor Tony Hancock. They began a romantic relationship in 1957 while he was married and wed in December 1965, but soon after she filed for divorce, he died by suicide in 1968 at age 44.
After Hancock’s death, she moved to the U.S., where she worked as an acquisitions executive for American Video Films, served as vice chairman of the U.S. wing of the Royal Television Society and consulted for companies including Miramax.
She was honored as...
Freddie Ross Hancock, the British marketing consultant and publicist who represented Sophia Loren, Julie Andrews, Benny Hill, Theodore Bikel and Jim Dale and helped bring the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to New York, has died. She was 92.
Ross Hancock died Sunday at her home in Manhattan, friend and former Warner Bros. executive Luke Fontneau announced.
Another of her clients was popular English comedian and actor Tony Hancock. They began a romantic relationship in 1957 while he was married and wed in December 1965, but soon after she filed for divorce, he died by suicide in 1968 at age 44.
After Hancock’s death, she moved to the U.S., where she worked as an acquisitions executive for American Video Films, served as vice chairman of the U.S. wing of the Royal Television Society and consulted for companies including Miramax.
She was honored as...
- 11/28/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Douglas Rain, the Canadian actor and narrator best known for voicing the role of Hal 9000 in Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey,” has died at age 90. The Stratford Festival, which Rain co-founded in 1952, confirmed his passing. Rain died from natural causes in Stratford, Ontario.
“Canadian theatre has lost one of its greatest talents and a guiding light in its development,” the Stratford Festival artistic director Antoni Cimolino said in a press release. “Douglas Rain was that rare artist: an actor deeply admired by other actors.”
Rain voiced Hal 9000 in Kubrick’s “2001” and the sequel, “2010: The Year We Make Contact,” directed by Peter Hyams. The actor also received a Tony nomination in 1972 for his role in Robert Bolt’s production of “Vivat! Vivat! Regina!” Rain recorded his voice work on “2001” in post-production. The actor was not cast as the intelligent robot until late in production. Radio broadcaster Alistair Cooke...
“Canadian theatre has lost one of its greatest talents and a guiding light in its development,” the Stratford Festival artistic director Antoni Cimolino said in a press release. “Douglas Rain was that rare artist: an actor deeply admired by other actors.”
Rain voiced Hal 9000 in Kubrick’s “2001” and the sequel, “2010: The Year We Make Contact,” directed by Peter Hyams. The actor also received a Tony nomination in 1972 for his role in Robert Bolt’s production of “Vivat! Vivat! Regina!” Rain recorded his voice work on “2001” in post-production. The actor was not cast as the intelligent robot until late in production. Radio broadcaster Alistair Cooke...
- 11/12/2018
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
You don't get to be the longest-running children's show in U.S. TV history by doing the same thing over and over. So even though parents who grew up watching Sesame Street can still see old favorites like Big Bird, things on the street have changed since the show debuted 45 years ago on Nov. 10, 1969. Cookie Monster now exercises self-control and sometimes eats fruits and vegetables. Millions of kids watch the show on phones and computers instead of TV. And there's less time spent on the street with human characters. They're just not energetic enough for today's viewers. In Britain, a BBC kids' show,...
- 11/3/2014
- by Associated Press
- PEOPLE.com
You don't get to be the longest-running children's show in U.S. TV history by doing the same thing over and over. So even though parents who grew up watching Sesame Street can still see old favorites like Big Bird, things on the street have changed since the show debuted 45 years ago on Nov. 10, 1969. Cookie Monster now exercises self-control and sometimes eats fruits and vegetables. Millions of kids watch the show on phones and computers instead of TV. And there's less time spent on the street with human characters. They're just not energetic enough for today's viewers. In Britain, a BBC kids' show,...
- 11/3/2014
- by Associated Press
- PEOPLE.com
Cassandra Peterson is back and shes all decked out in that sexy Elvira getup. The legendary horror host will make a move to the subscription based Hulu this year for the new series 13 Nights of Elvira. Shell reprise her dual roles of Alistair Cooke and Roger Ebert. Expect the Personification of Instant Gratification to bring her quick wit and silly puns to the broadcast it wouldnt be an Elvira production without them...
- 10/16/2014
- Best-Horror-Movies.com
Hulu’s heart is on fire for Elvira. The Mistress of Dark is headed to the subscription-based and (perhaps soon-to-be slightly less) ad-supported “premium streaming TV destination” for a brand new series this Halloween season. 13 Nights of Elvira will feature Cassandra Peterson once again suited up in what very well may be the original stereotypical sexy girl’s Halloween costume to reprise her dual roles of Alistair Cooke and Roger Ebert for the B grade horror movie set. The program is a streaming iteration of Peterson’s cult classic Elvira’s Movie Macabre (which is also currently available on Hulu), and will feature pithy intros, and poignant, punny commentary from the self-proclaimed Personification of Instant Gratification. Elvira will playfully praise and skewer the following terrifically terrible flicks on the daily starting October 19: Cannibal Women In The Avocado Jungle of Death, Puppet Master, Demonic Toys, Hobgoblins, The Gingerdead Man, Dollman,...
- 10/9/2014
- by Joshua Cohen
- Tubefilter.com
As a new BBC4 drama examines the turbulent relationship between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, we take a look at how it played out in the pages of the Guardian and Observer
Though Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were once one of Hollywood's hottest couples, their relationship was controversial from the start. When they met on the set of Cleopatra in 1962, they were both married to other people, and their 'immoral' behaviour so incensed the film's producers, Twentieth Century Fox, that the company sued the couple for $50m, while the Us State Department considered revoking Burton's work visa. Cleopatra opened to poor reviews, although Alistair Cooke blamed that on snobbery.
Despite all the drama, their wedding in March 1964 barely warranted a mention on the Guardian's front page. Theirs was a tempestuous marriage. In an article for the Observer Review in 1971, Burton summed up their bond, writing: "I love Elizabeth to the point of idolatry.
Though Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were once one of Hollywood's hottest couples, their relationship was controversial from the start. When they met on the set of Cleopatra in 1962, they were both married to other people, and their 'immoral' behaviour so incensed the film's producers, Twentieth Century Fox, that the company sued the couple for $50m, while the Us State Department considered revoking Burton's work visa. Cleopatra opened to poor reviews, although Alistair Cooke blamed that on snobbery.
Despite all the drama, their wedding in March 1964 barely warranted a mention on the Guardian's front page. Theirs was a tempestuous marriage. In an article for the Observer Review in 1971, Burton summed up their bond, writing: "I love Elizabeth to the point of idolatry.
- 7/23/2013
- by Katy Stoddard
- The Guardian - Film News
DVD Release Date: Sept. 2, 2013
Price: DVD $199.99
Studio: StarVista/Time Life
Vicki Lawrence (ctr.) is Thelma Mae Crowley Harper in Mama's Family.
Mama’s Family: The Complete Series stars Vicki Lawrence and features all 130 episodes of the syndicated TV comedy series that ran for six seasons from 1983-1990.
Based upon the wildly-popular sketch “The Family” which aired on The Carol Burnett Show in 1974, the television show stars Ms. Lawrence as the blue-haired, purse-lipped, 65-year-old Thelma Mae Crowley Harper, an indelible, abrasive and smart-alecky widow.
Set in the fictional city of Raytown, Mama’s Family revolves around the dysfunctional escapades of the Harper clan, headed by formidable matriarch, Mama Harper, along with her journalist sister, Fran (Rue McClanahan, TV’s The Golden Girls), who lives with her; her youngest son, Vint (Ken Berry, TV’s F-Troop), who moves in with his two teenagers after he is evicted; and Naomi (Dorothy Lyman, TV...
Price: DVD $199.99
Studio: StarVista/Time Life
Vicki Lawrence (ctr.) is Thelma Mae Crowley Harper in Mama's Family.
Mama’s Family: The Complete Series stars Vicki Lawrence and features all 130 episodes of the syndicated TV comedy series that ran for six seasons from 1983-1990.
Based upon the wildly-popular sketch “The Family” which aired on The Carol Burnett Show in 1974, the television show stars Ms. Lawrence as the blue-haired, purse-lipped, 65-year-old Thelma Mae Crowley Harper, an indelible, abrasive and smart-alecky widow.
Set in the fictional city of Raytown, Mama’s Family revolves around the dysfunctional escapades of the Harper clan, headed by formidable matriarch, Mama Harper, along with her journalist sister, Fran (Rue McClanahan, TV’s The Golden Girls), who lives with her; her youngest son, Vint (Ken Berry, TV’s F-Troop), who moves in with his two teenagers after he is evicted; and Naomi (Dorothy Lyman, TV...
- 7/9/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Los Angeles – Jonathan Winters, one of the most influential comedians of the past two generations, has died of natural causes on April 11th at his home in Montecito, California. His characteristic schizophrenic comic style inspired modern funnymen like Robin Williams, George Carlin and Jim Carrey. He was 87 years old.
The career of Jonathan Winters spanned from 1948 to the present, during which his freaky, energetic expression of humor had its own unique form. A fixture on such legendary television shows such as “The Tonight Show” (with both Jack Paar and Johnny Carson), “The Dean Martin Show” and “Hollywood Squares,” Winters would often appear as his alter ego Maude Frickert, a sharp tongued old lady character. It wasn’t just an act, as during his early career he spent time in mental institutions, and was diagnosed with manic depression.
Jonathan Winters as Lennie Pike in ‘It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad...
The career of Jonathan Winters spanned from 1948 to the present, during which his freaky, energetic expression of humor had its own unique form. A fixture on such legendary television shows such as “The Tonight Show” (with both Jack Paar and Johnny Carson), “The Dean Martin Show” and “Hollywood Squares,” Winters would often appear as his alter ego Maude Frickert, a sharp tongued old lady character. It wasn’t just an act, as during his early career he spent time in mental institutions, and was diagnosed with manic depression.
Jonathan Winters as Lennie Pike in ‘It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad...
- 4/12/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
BBC radio producer who created the serial Journey into Space
The BBC radio producer and writer Charles Chilton, who has died aged 95, created a classic radio serial, Journey into Space, various series exploring the America of the past, and the one-off programme that eventually took to stage and screen as Oh! What a Lovely War. At the start of his career, radio could still attract audiences greater than those for television, and as well as producing popular comedy series such as The Goon Show and Take It from Here, Chilton devised some of its most distinctive material.
The first series of Journey into Space, broadcast in 1953, was described as "groundbreaking". "Well, it has to be," Chilton laughed in response. It took Captain Jet Morgan, played by the future MP Andrew Faulds, and his crew to the moon. They went on to Mars in the remaining two parts of the trilogy,...
The BBC radio producer and writer Charles Chilton, who has died aged 95, created a classic radio serial, Journey into Space, various series exploring the America of the past, and the one-off programme that eventually took to stage and screen as Oh! What a Lovely War. At the start of his career, radio could still attract audiences greater than those for television, and as well as producing popular comedy series such as The Goon Show and Take It from Here, Chilton devised some of its most distinctive material.
The first series of Journey into Space, broadcast in 1953, was described as "groundbreaking". "Well, it has to be," Chilton laughed in response. It took Captain Jet Morgan, played by the future MP Andrew Faulds, and his crew to the moon. They went on to Mars in the remaining two parts of the trilogy,...
- 1/14/2013
- by David Rayvern Allen
- The Guardian - Film News
Every episode Laura Linney introduces "Downton Abbey" ... but why? The Huffington Post took that question to Masterpiece, "Downton Abbey's" producers.
"Alistair Cooke, the longtime host of Masterpiece Theatre, used to describe himself as the headwaiter, leading guests to a fabulous meal," Rebecca Eaton, Masterpiece executive producer, said in a statement. "We feel that hosts create an atmosphere and provide context for the programs that follow. When Masterpiece did its rebranding in 2008, the series was divided into three seasons. We decided that having a different host for each season would help to differentiate the programming for the audience. Laura Linney is an elegant and classic as the dramas she introduces."
Watch Laura Linney introduce the "Downton Abbey" Season 3 premiere below.
"Downton Abbey" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. Est on PBS.
Watch Downton Abbey Season 3, Episode 1 on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.
"Alistair Cooke, the longtime host of Masterpiece Theatre, used to describe himself as the headwaiter, leading guests to a fabulous meal," Rebecca Eaton, Masterpiece executive producer, said in a statement. "We feel that hosts create an atmosphere and provide context for the programs that follow. When Masterpiece did its rebranding in 2008, the series was divided into three seasons. We decided that having a different host for each season would help to differentiate the programming for the audience. Laura Linney is an elegant and classic as the dramas she introduces."
Watch Laura Linney introduce the "Downton Abbey" Season 3 premiere below.
"Downton Abbey" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. Est on PBS.
Watch Downton Abbey Season 3, Episode 1 on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.
- 1/7/2013
- by Chris Harnick
- Huffington Post
The Heineken product placement in Skyfall is all very well but our hero is clearly bombed, James bombed
✒ I saw the new Bond film, Skyfall, at the weekend, and enjoyed it mightily. But there were one or two puzzles that I can mention without spoiling it for those who haven't seen it. Heineken paid a fortune for product placement, and you do see a couple of Heineken cases during the car chase. But when Bond is drinking it, he has his fingers over the name on the label, and is clearly a boozy wreck. Does Heineken want to send the message, "the lager for drunken sots"?
There were no Americans at all, and there was no scene in America, but lots in China. Has Hollywood finally decided that's where the big money is? Oh, and I think I've spotted the baddie for Bond film 24, and I'd be interested to know...
✒ I saw the new Bond film, Skyfall, at the weekend, and enjoyed it mightily. But there were one or two puzzles that I can mention without spoiling it for those who haven't seen it. Heineken paid a fortune for product placement, and you do see a couple of Heineken cases during the car chase. But when Bond is drinking it, he has his fingers over the name on the label, and is clearly a boozy wreck. Does Heineken want to send the message, "the lager for drunken sots"?
There were no Americans at all, and there was no scene in America, but lots in China. Has Hollywood finally decided that's where the big money is? Oh, and I think I've spotted the baddie for Bond film 24, and I'd be interested to know...
- 11/3/2012
- by Simon Hoggart
- The Guardian - Film News
In the new Winter 2012 issue of Filmmaker, editor Scott Macaulay talks with Joachim Trier about Oslo, August 31, Joshua Marston (The Forgiveness of Blood) and Braden King (Here) talk about shooting in eastern Europe, Stephen Garrett offers advice on making a winning trailer and Lance Weiler: "Within a few years, most things — from cars to appliances to toys — will be able to wirelessly interface with the Internet. Think of them as objects in search of a story."
Birthdays and anniversaries. In the Guardian, Henry K Miller suggests that you might well consider today the 100th anniversary of film criticism — at least in the UK. Referring to a 1937 piece by Alistair Cooke, he notes that "the not entirely reliable consensus had it that Wg Faulkner, of the London Evening News, was author of the 'first regular criticisms of films in any British newspaper.' Faulkner, the paper's local government correspondent, had...
Birthdays and anniversaries. In the Guardian, Henry K Miller suggests that you might well consider today the 100th anniversary of film criticism — at least in the UK. Referring to a 1937 piece by Alistair Cooke, he notes that "the not entirely reliable consensus had it that Wg Faulkner, of the London Evening News, was author of the 'first regular criticisms of films in any British newspaper.' Faulkner, the paper's local government correspondent, had...
- 1/17/2012
- MUBI
London Evening News correspondent Wg Faulkner, who began a regular 'kinema' column on 17 January 1912, gets the credit as the UK's first film critic. What's surprising is how little has changed since then
The early film critics, wrote Alistair Cooke in 1937, were presented with a new art form, unencumbered by tradition, and free "to define the movies with no more misgivings than Aristotle defined tragedy". Or at least they would have been, but the press lost interest once the novelty wore off, and so "through a trick of snobbery the simple Aristotelian lost his chance". This lapse did not pass without comment. While "every theatre play is accorded the honour of a press notice", complained the trade paper Kinematograph Weekly as late as 1918, the "perfunctory sort of acknowledgement" given the likes of The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance was "obviously written by people who bring to the kinema the prejudiced...
The early film critics, wrote Alistair Cooke in 1937, were presented with a new art form, unencumbered by tradition, and free "to define the movies with no more misgivings than Aristotle defined tragedy". Or at least they would have been, but the press lost interest once the novelty wore off, and so "through a trick of snobbery the simple Aristotelian lost his chance". This lapse did not pass without comment. While "every theatre play is accorded the honour of a press notice", complained the trade paper Kinematograph Weekly as late as 1918, the "perfunctory sort of acknowledgement" given the likes of The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance was "obviously written by people who bring to the kinema the prejudiced...
- 1/17/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
Originally published in the Guardian on 16 December 1966
New York, December 15
Walt Disney, the Pied Piper of Hollywood, who made a mountain of money out of a mouse, died today in Burbank, California at the age of 65. There was very little in the early life of Walter Elias Disney to show that he would emerge by his twenty-fifth birthday as the most revolutionary motion picture talent after Chaplin. The vital statistics, padded out from newspaper files, suggest a boyhood as corny as Kansas in August.
A Midwestern upbringing, the son of a carpenter who tried his hand at farming (so as to introduce the young Walt to a menagerie of adorable animals), a full stretch of grade school, an incomplete spell in high school, a boy of little scholarship and lively appetite for games who picked up pin-money in winter as a newspaper delivery boy, in summer as a candy butcher...
New York, December 15
Walt Disney, the Pied Piper of Hollywood, who made a mountain of money out of a mouse, died today in Burbank, California at the age of 65. There was very little in the early life of Walter Elias Disney to show that he would emerge by his twenty-fifth birthday as the most revolutionary motion picture talent after Chaplin. The vital statistics, padded out from newspaper files, suggest a boyhood as corny as Kansas in August.
A Midwestern upbringing, the son of a carpenter who tried his hand at farming (so as to introduce the young Walt to a menagerie of adorable animals), a full stretch of grade school, an incomplete spell in high school, a boy of little scholarship and lively appetite for games who picked up pin-money in winter as a newspaper delivery boy, in summer as a candy butcher...
- 12/16/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
DVD Playhouse—August 2011
By Allen Gardner
High And Low (Criterion) Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 adaptation of Ed McBain’s novel King’s Ransom is a multi-layered masterpiece of suspense and one of the best portraits ever of class warfare in post-ww II Japan. Toshiro Mifune stars as a wealthy businessman who finds himself in a moral quandary when his chauffer’s son is kidnapped by ruthless thugs who think the boy is Mifune’s. Beautifully realized on every level. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince; Documentary on film’s production; Interview with Mifune from 1984; Trailers and teaser. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 4.0 surround.
Leon Morin, Priest (Criterion) One of French maestro Jean-Pierre Melville’s rare non-crime-oriented films, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo as a devoted cleric who is lusted after by the women of a small village in Nazi-occupied France. When Fr. Morin finds himself drawn to a...
By Allen Gardner
High And Low (Criterion) Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 adaptation of Ed McBain’s novel King’s Ransom is a multi-layered masterpiece of suspense and one of the best portraits ever of class warfare in post-ww II Japan. Toshiro Mifune stars as a wealthy businessman who finds himself in a moral quandary when his chauffer’s son is kidnapped by ruthless thugs who think the boy is Mifune’s. Beautifully realized on every level. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince; Documentary on film’s production; Interview with Mifune from 1984; Trailers and teaser. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 4.0 surround.
Leon Morin, Priest (Criterion) One of French maestro Jean-Pierre Melville’s rare non-crime-oriented films, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo as a devoted cleric who is lusted after by the women of a small village in Nazi-occupied France. When Fr. Morin finds himself drawn to a...
- 8/8/2011
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Rochester, NY - Ever wonder why schools today stink compared to decades ago? Every think tank moron has their dubious reasonings that appeases their corporate masters. But the truth is extraordinarily simple: Schools dumped their education films.
Do you remember those days when the gym teacher had to pad out health class by wheeling in the 16mm projector from the Av department? They’d thread up classic tales about your body, narcotics, driving safety and manners. Things which kids nowadays can’t seem to handle.
When the Vcr arrived in schools, the 16mm projector was quickly dumped as teaching tool.
Where did these classic films go? Many arrived at the city dump. However a few lucky tens of thousands found themselves on the racks of the Av Geeks Archive. This repository of cinematic education is overseen by Skip Elsheimer. He started collecting the films after I moved out of the infamous PineHaus.
Do you remember those days when the gym teacher had to pad out health class by wheeling in the 16mm projector from the Av department? They’d thread up classic tales about your body, narcotics, driving safety and manners. Things which kids nowadays can’t seem to handle.
When the Vcr arrived in schools, the 16mm projector was quickly dumped as teaching tool.
Where did these classic films go? Many arrived at the city dump. However a few lucky tens of thousands found themselves on the racks of the Av Geeks Archive. This repository of cinematic education is overseen by Skip Elsheimer. He started collecting the films after I moved out of the infamous PineHaus.
- 3/7/2011
- by UncaScroogeMcD
Humphrey Bogart's Philip Marlowe is tough without a gun and lethal with a wisecrack in this irresistible rerelease
First released in 1946 and now being revived for selected screenings around the country and an extended run at the National Film Theatre, The Big Sleep is a film of infinite interest. In its famously knowing trailer, Humphrey Bogart walks into the Hollywood Public Library and asks for "a good mystery like The Maltese Falcon". A librarian gives him a copy of what is misleadingly described as "Raymond Chandler's latest", adding: "What a picture that'll make!" Well, it did, and the result can be approached from a number of distinct and complementary directions.
First, it's a Warner Brothers production, made at the height of Hollywood's big studio era and announced by Warner's logo, which looks like a federal badge of social responsibility. Jack L Warner, who'd headed the studio since the early 1920s,...
First released in 1946 and now being revived for selected screenings around the country and an extended run at the National Film Theatre, The Big Sleep is a film of infinite interest. In its famously knowing trailer, Humphrey Bogart walks into the Hollywood Public Library and asks for "a good mystery like The Maltese Falcon". A librarian gives him a copy of what is misleadingly described as "Raymond Chandler's latest", adding: "What a picture that'll make!" Well, it did, and the result can be approached from a number of distinct and complementary directions.
First, it's a Warner Brothers production, made at the height of Hollywood's big studio era and announced by Warner's logo, which looks like a federal badge of social responsibility. Jack L Warner, who'd headed the studio since the early 1920s,...
- 1/2/2011
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
DVD Playhouse December 2010
By
Allen Gardner
America Lost And Found: The Bbs Story (Criterion) Perhaps the best DVD box set released this year, this ultimate cinefile stocking stuffer offered up by Criterion, the Rolls-Royce of home video labels, features seven seminal works from the late ‘60s-early ‘70s that were brought to life by cutting edge producers Bert Schneider, Steve Blauner and director/producer Bob Rafelson, the principals of Bbs Productions. In chronological order: Head (1968) star the Monkees, the manufactured (by Rafelson, et al), American answer to the Beatles who, like it or not, did make an impact on popular culture, particularly in this utterly surreal piece of cinematic anarchy (co-written by Jack Nicholson, who has a cameo), which was largely dismissed upon its initial release, but is now regarded as a counterculture classic. Easy Rider (1969) is arguably regarded as the seminal ‘60s picture, about two hippie drug dealers (director Dennis Hopper...
By
Allen Gardner
America Lost And Found: The Bbs Story (Criterion) Perhaps the best DVD box set released this year, this ultimate cinefile stocking stuffer offered up by Criterion, the Rolls-Royce of home video labels, features seven seminal works from the late ‘60s-early ‘70s that were brought to life by cutting edge producers Bert Schneider, Steve Blauner and director/producer Bob Rafelson, the principals of Bbs Productions. In chronological order: Head (1968) star the Monkees, the manufactured (by Rafelson, et al), American answer to the Beatles who, like it or not, did make an impact on popular culture, particularly in this utterly surreal piece of cinematic anarchy (co-written by Jack Nicholson, who has a cameo), which was largely dismissed upon its initial release, but is now regarded as a counterculture classic. Easy Rider (1969) is arguably regarded as the seminal ‘60s picture, about two hippie drug dealers (director Dennis Hopper...
- 12/20/2010
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Modern Times Written and Directed by: Charlie Chaplin Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman I'm sort of at a loss for what I could possibly add to the 74 year conversation on Modern Times that has preceded the release of this Criterion Collection blu ray. It's certainly a classic and has been studied and written about by people way sharper than myself. As expected with most Criterion releases, this edition of the film comes packed with a fair number of supplemental materials, so perhaps I can focus on how this release might have enhanced my enjoyment and perception of Charlie Chaplin's hilarious and timeless comedy. The interesting thing about Modern Times is it requires very little internal calibration in order to be fully enjoyed. What I mean is I find that most comedies of the first half of the 20th century require a slight adjustment for tone, style, and...
- 11/26/2010
- by Jay C.
- FilmJunk
About two years ago I started watching Charlie Chaplin films for the first time. I watched City Lights, The Great Dictator, The Kid, The Gold Rush and, of course, Modern Times. I didn't instantly take to his style of comedy or commentary, not the same as I instantly fell in love with Buster Keaton's work in The General, but as I watched each film my appreciation began to grow.
With only a few films under my belt when it comes to Chaplin and Keaton, I would probably still place myself more in Keaton's camp than Chaplin's. But with the thought of Criterion potentially adding the rest of Chaplin's classic features to their collection, and if the Blu-ray releases are as spectacular as their treatment of Modern Times, that won't stop me from wanting more, more, more.
Modern Times is the first Chaplin feature Criterion has added to their collection,...
With only a few films under my belt when it comes to Chaplin and Keaton, I would probably still place myself more in Keaton's camp than Chaplin's. But with the thought of Criterion potentially adding the rest of Chaplin's classic features to their collection, and if the Blu-ray releases are as spectacular as their treatment of Modern Times, that won't stop me from wanting more, more, more.
Modern Times is the first Chaplin feature Criterion has added to their collection,...
- 11/22/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Chicago – There’s a scene early in “Modern Times” in which Charlie Chaplin’s timeless Little Tramp character has been so mentally and physically damaged by the routine he’s been forced to do over and over again on an assembly line that he can’t stop moving his arms in the same repetitive motion. As he tries to turn everything that looks like it can be turned with a wrench, the routine perfectly captures the genius of Chaplin in its duality. Not only is it a commentary on how men are being destroyed by the machine of industry but it’s damn funny at the same time.
DVD Rating: 5.0/5.0
Very few people in the history of film have been able to use comedy in the way Chaplin could. Not only was he one of the best physical comedians of all time but he was also incredibly subversive, challenging the...
DVD Rating: 5.0/5.0
Very few people in the history of film have been able to use comedy in the way Chaplin could. Not only was he one of the best physical comedians of all time but he was also incredibly subversive, challenging the...
- 11/19/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
A look at what's new on DVD today:
"Modern Times"
Directed by Charlie Chaplin
Released by Criterion Collection
Granted, Warner Brothers released an extensive two-disc collection of arguably Charlie Chaplin's finest film back in 2003, but Criterion Collection is bringing the silent comedian to Blu-ray for the first time with a newly remastered edition of the Depression-era classic with an array of special features including the Dardenne brothers' 2003 tribute to the film, the 1916 two-reeler "The Rink," the Alistair Cooke home movie with Chaplin and Pauline Goddard, "All at Sea," two deleted sequences from the film, a new featurette on the film's special effects with Ben Burtt and Craig Barron and much more.
"Avatar: Extended Collector's Edition"
Directed by James Cameron
Released by Fox Home Entertainment
After a bare bones edition was released in April, James Cameron's box office world-beater receives a three-disc set with all the bells and...
"Modern Times"
Directed by Charlie Chaplin
Released by Criterion Collection
Granted, Warner Brothers released an extensive two-disc collection of arguably Charlie Chaplin's finest film back in 2003, but Criterion Collection is bringing the silent comedian to Blu-ray for the first time with a newly remastered edition of the Depression-era classic with an array of special features including the Dardenne brothers' 2003 tribute to the film, the 1916 two-reeler "The Rink," the Alistair Cooke home movie with Chaplin and Pauline Goddard, "All at Sea," two deleted sequences from the film, a new featurette on the film's special effects with Ben Burtt and Craig Barron and much more.
"Avatar: Extended Collector's Edition"
Directed by James Cameron
Released by Fox Home Entertainment
After a bare bones edition was released in April, James Cameron's box office world-beater receives a three-disc set with all the bells and...
- 11/16/2010
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
There is a trend these days amongst some film goers, in which they actively avoid trailers, as well as any kind of plot spoilers regarding upcoming films. I won’t go so far as to say that this is a recent trend, but it has certainly appeared on my radar a lot over the past few years. People want to keep that magic of the surprise, when it comes to upcoming media. At the same time, there is an abundance of information about everything media related thanks to the internet.
One aspect of the Criterion Collection that we all have come to accept, and learn to love in a holiday package opening sense, is their secrecy regarding upcoming releases. We have joked about how they are almost at Apple-like levels of secrecy, and when something gets out, Criterion fans jump on it.
I think we all want to know what...
One aspect of the Criterion Collection that we all have come to accept, and learn to love in a holiday package opening sense, is their secrecy regarding upcoming releases. We have joked about how they are almost at Apple-like levels of secrecy, and when something gets out, Criterion fans jump on it.
I think we all want to know what...
- 8/16/2010
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
Charlie Chaplin Home Movie Gets First Us ShowingsJohn CurranMONTPELIER, Vt. – As she sorted through her father Alistair Cooke's belongings after his death, Susan Cooke Kittredge came across something odd: an old 8 mm film canister with yellow tape spelling out "Chaplin film."What she found inside was intriguing: "All at Sea," an 11-minute home movie shot by a 24-year-old Cooke on a 1933 yacht cruise that included silent film great Charlie Chaplin, his "Modern Times" co-star Paulette Goddard and Alistair Cooke.The black-and-white silent film, which shows a relaxed Chaplin aboard his boat "Panacea" miming Greta Garbo, the Prince of Wales and Napoleon, was apparently never seen, ending up amid piles of books, manuscripts and other knickknacks in the New York apartment where he lived for 55 years before his death."This is something that's intrigued people for a long time," said Chaplin expert Frank Scheide, a University of Arkansas professor who...
- 4/9/2010
- backstage.com
What I’m reviewing at present is William Shakespeare’s four-hour King Lear, presented as a seventy-three minute 1953 television special. If that doesn’t interest you in the slightest, I empathize. There’s the back button.
If you’re still here, I’ll let you in on the star of this Historic Omnibus Production from the Archive of American Television. It’s Orson Welles, in an awesome beard and a crown, with a badass cane and a royal bearskin coat, and he sits on his throne for nearly half the runtime, his thundering guffaws echoing as mighty quakes throughout your living room.
To clarify the matter of the runtime, all of the sequences actually pertaining to King Lear have been retained, and presented without act headings or other structural breakdowns. The entire subplot, which makes up the majority of the original text, has been eradicated.
Keep in mind whilst passing judgment,...
If you’re still here, I’ll let you in on the star of this Historic Omnibus Production from the Archive of American Television. It’s Orson Welles, in an awesome beard and a crown, with a badass cane and a royal bearskin coat, and he sits on his throne for nearly half the runtime, his thundering guffaws echoing as mighty quakes throughout your living room.
To clarify the matter of the runtime, all of the sequences actually pertaining to King Lear have been retained, and presented without act headings or other structural breakdowns. The entire subplot, which makes up the majority of the original text, has been eradicated.
Keep in mind whilst passing judgment,...
- 2/17/2010
- by Saul Berenbaum
- JustPressPlay.net
The Archive of American Television brings together the appearances of conductor Leonard Bernstein from the beloved television series Omnibus. Omnibus hosted by Alistair Cooke brought viewing audiences experiences in culture, the sciences and the performing arts during the 1950.s, and Leonard Bernstein was a favorite guest presenting programs on music. For a generation of Americans, Leonard Bernstein is the face and voice of orchestral music. He was the first person to show us what the conductor does, how much work goes into conducting and presenting a piece of orchestral music. His sense of humor and ability to teach through his words and actions made us all appreciate the music we heard, and helped us to understand the different styles within...
- 2/1/2010
- by June L.
- Monsters and Critics
From Masterpiece Theatre to the late Jade Goody: the decline of British TV as evidenced in season 3 of Big Brother. By Lee Pfeiffer
In a move that is sure to give hope to anyone in England with an I.Q. bigger than their collar size, Channel 4 has announced that the present season of Big Brother will be the last. The decision is certain to cause panic amidst the ranks of slackers, opportunists, pretentious phonies and other gold-diggers for whom the show allowed hope to spring eternal that one could make a career from not actually doing anything. Big Brother will have lasted an astonishing eleven seasons and in the process saw an American off-spring. There was a time America imported Shakespeare and Alistair Cooke from England, but, alas, in recent years we can't even create our own junk: we have to import it from the UK. The once-vaunted British...
In a move that is sure to give hope to anyone in England with an I.Q. bigger than their collar size, Channel 4 has announced that the present season of Big Brother will be the last. The decision is certain to cause panic amidst the ranks of slackers, opportunists, pretentious phonies and other gold-diggers for whom the show allowed hope to spring eternal that one could make a career from not actually doing anything. Big Brother will have lasted an astonishing eleven seasons and in the process saw an American off-spring. There was a time America imported Shakespeare and Alistair Cooke from England, but, alas, in recent years we can't even create our own junk: we have to import it from the UK. The once-vaunted British...
- 8/26/2009
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Paul Newman was one of the titans of 20th century film. He won huge acclaim in a series of Hollywood classics. But acting was only part of his story - he was also a devoted husband and father, a political activist and a philanthropist
Alistair Cooke, a very shrewd film critic, once wrote of 'stage acting as a form of sculpture and film acting as a performance with the face only - the best film actors do best with the eyes only'. He was writing about Edward G Robinson, Henry Fonda, Jean Gabin and Spencer Tracy. But Paul Newman, who has died at his home in Connecticut aged 83, belongs in that illustrious company.
Although a number of his finest pictures were in black and white (The Hustler, for example, perhaps his best film), what comes most immediately to mind when we think of him are those deep blue eyes that variously sparkle,...
Alistair Cooke, a very shrewd film critic, once wrote of 'stage acting as a form of sculpture and film acting as a performance with the face only - the best film actors do best with the eyes only'. He was writing about Edward G Robinson, Henry Fonda, Jean Gabin and Spencer Tracy. But Paul Newman, who has died at his home in Connecticut aged 83, belongs in that illustrious company.
Although a number of his finest pictures were in black and white (The Hustler, for example, perhaps his best film), what comes most immediately to mind when we think of him are those deep blue eyes that variously sparkle,...
- 9/27/2008
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Late broadcaster Alistair Cooke's daughter testified on Monday at the trial of the man accused of stealing and chopping up her father's body.
Chris Aldorasi is charged with being part of a group who dismembered bodies at funeral homes and sold them for transplants and medical testing.
Aldorasi and the group's alleged ringleader Michael Mastromarino stand accused of forging consent forms to obtain the bodies.
Cooke's body was taken by the group after his death in 2004, at the age of 95. His daughter Susan Kittredge told a New York court that her father would never have allowed his body to be cut up and donated, and she didn't sign consent forms, which bore the signature of a fictitious Susan Quint.
Aldorasi claims he was duped by Mastromarino. The case continues.
Cooke was born in Britain, but spent most of his adult life in America. He was most famous in his native U.K. for his Letters From America radio series.
Chris Aldorasi is charged with being part of a group who dismembered bodies at funeral homes and sold them for transplants and medical testing.
Aldorasi and the group's alleged ringleader Michael Mastromarino stand accused of forging consent forms to obtain the bodies.
Cooke's body was taken by the group after his death in 2004, at the age of 95. His daughter Susan Kittredge told a New York court that her father would never have allowed his body to be cut up and donated, and she didn't sign consent forms, which bore the signature of a fictitious Susan Quint.
Aldorasi claims he was duped by Mastromarino. The case continues.
Cooke was born in Britain, but spent most of his adult life in America. He was most famous in his native U.K. for his Letters From America radio series.
- 4/1/2008
- WENN
LONDON -- Former BBC broadcaster Alistair Cooke, who was famous in the United States as host of Omnibus in the 1950s and Masterpiece Theatre in the 1970s and '80s, died Tuesday at his New York home. He was 95. No cause of death was given. The Britain-born American citizen broadcast a 15-minute weekly news commentary, Letter From America, on BBC Radio for 58 years, recording his last one this month (HR 3/3). The show, which began in 1946, had more than 2,500 editions, making it the longest-running radio program in the world. "I can no longer continue my 'Letter From America, ' " Cooke said in a statement released by the BBC at the time. "I have had much enjoyment in doing these talks and hope that some of it has passed over to the listeners, to all of whom I now say thank you for your loyalty and goodbye."...
- 3/31/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
LONDON -- Veteran BBC broadcaster Alistair Cooke, who was famous in the United States as host of Omnibus in the '50s and Masterpiece Theater in the '70s and '80s, died at his New York home Tuesday. He was 95. The British-born American citizen broadcast a 15-minute news commentary, Letter From America on BBC Radio for 58 years, recording his last one earlier this month (HR 03/03). The show, which began in 1946, had more than 2,500 editions, making it the longest-running radio program in the world. "I can no longer continue my 'Letter From America, '" Cooke said in a statement released at the time by the BBC. "I have had much enjoyment in doing these talks and hope that some of it has passed over to the listeners, to all of whom I now say thank you for your loyalty, and goodbye." Tributes to Cooke, whose distinctive voice and broadcasting style bridged American and British society since his arrival in Manhattan in 1937, flowed in Tuesday after the BBC announced his death. "He was really one of the greatest broadcasters of all time," said British Prime Minister Tony Blair. "I was a big fan. I thought they were extraordinary essays. They brought an enormous amount of insight and understanding to the world. We shall feel his loss very keenly indeed."...
- 3/30/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
LONDON -- The longest-running radio program in the world came to an end Tuesday when Alistair Cooke, 95, announced his retirement from BBC Radio 4's 58-year-old Letter from America on doctor's orders. "I can no longer continue my 'Letter From America, '" Cooke said in a statement released by the BBC. "Throughout 58 years, I have had much enjoyment in doing these talks and hope that some of it has passed over to the listeners, to all of whom I now say thank you for your loyalty, and goodbye." Transplanted Englishman Cooke, who typed his weekly Letter from a Manhattan apartment overlooking Central Park since 1946, became famous in America as the host of Masterpiece Theatre on PBS from 1971-1992, introducing British dramatic series with his distinctive voice.
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.