Here’s one that really benefits from its 4K upgrade — Terry Gilliam’s dense visuals look great with Roger Pratt’s exacting cinematography. Is this really a thinking man’s science fiction hit, or did audiences mainly want to get a look at Brad Pitt in a new mode, playing a weird motormouthed eccentric? Bruce Willis and Madeleine Stowe star in a time-puzzle thriller adaptation of Chris Marker’s La jetée.
12 Monkeys 4K
4K Ultra HD
Arrow Video
1995 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 129 min. / Special Edition / Street Date April 26, 2022 / Available from Amazon / 49.95
Starring: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Jon Seda, Frank Gorshin, David Morse, Christopher Plummer.
Cinematography: Roger Pratt
Film Editor: Mick Audsley
Original Music: Paul Buckmaster
Production Design: Jeffrey Beecroft
Art Direction: Wm Ladd Skinner
Written by David Webb Peoples, Janet Peoples from the film La jetée by Chris Marker
Produced by Charles Roven
Directed by Terry Gilliam
Not...
12 Monkeys 4K
4K Ultra HD
Arrow Video
1995 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 129 min. / Special Edition / Street Date April 26, 2022 / Available from Amazon / 49.95
Starring: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Jon Seda, Frank Gorshin, David Morse, Christopher Plummer.
Cinematography: Roger Pratt
Film Editor: Mick Audsley
Original Music: Paul Buckmaster
Production Design: Jeffrey Beecroft
Art Direction: Wm Ladd Skinner
Written by David Webb Peoples, Janet Peoples from the film La jetée by Chris Marker
Produced by Charles Roven
Directed by Terry Gilliam
Not...
- 5/7/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Bucking the trends for ’80s crime films, Neil Jordan’s tale of a low-rung hood attached to a ‘complicated’ call girl becomes a love story about meaningful relationships. Sort of the ‘anti- Travis Bickle,’ Bob Hoskins’ low-class mug discovers emotions and an ability to commit that could even be called Chivalric. Michael Caine chills as an all-too real villain, the boss that doesn’t think Hoskins worthy of a straight answer. Topping it off, cinematographer Roger Pratt makes this possibly the best-looking British crime film in color.
Mona Lisa
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 107
1986 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 104 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September 14, 2021 / 39.95
Starring: Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Caine, Clarke Peters, Sammi Davis, Kate Hardie, Zoe Nathenson.
Cinematography: Roger Pratt
Production Designer: Jamie Leonard
Costume Designer: Louise Frogley
Film Editor: Lesley Walker
Original Music: Michael Kamen
Written by Neil Jordan, David Leland
Produced by Patrick Cassavetti,...
Mona Lisa
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 107
1986 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 104 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September 14, 2021 / 39.95
Starring: Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Caine, Clarke Peters, Sammi Davis, Kate Hardie, Zoe Nathenson.
Cinematography: Roger Pratt
Production Designer: Jamie Leonard
Costume Designer: Louise Frogley
Film Editor: Lesley Walker
Original Music: Michael Kamen
Written by Neil Jordan, David Leland
Produced by Patrick Cassavetti,...
- 9/18/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
All products and services featured by IndieWire are independently selected by IndieWire editors. However, IndieWire may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Each month, the Criterion Collection gives us a new batch of digitally remastered movies from across the globe. If you’re looking to discover new classics, or maybe check out an old favorite, try the vast collection of gems the Criterion Collection has to offer. The upcoming releases for the month of September (and a couple from October) range from drama to horror, film noir, and more. To help with your love of discovering films, we’ve put together a list of films that have been restored like never before and contain exclusive bonus content. The roster not only contains great options for your next movie night, but great gift options as well.
Each month, the Criterion Collection gives us a new batch of digitally remastered movies from across the globe. If you’re looking to discover new classics, or maybe check out an old favorite, try the vast collection of gems the Criterion Collection has to offer. The upcoming releases for the month of September (and a couple from October) range from drama to horror, film noir, and more. To help with your love of discovering films, we’ve put together a list of films that have been restored like never before and contain exclusive bonus content. The roster not only contains great options for your next movie night, but great gift options as well.
- 9/4/2021
- by Angel Saunders
- Indiewire
Suddenly thirty years ago doesn’t seem that long back, especially as so much from that era is being resurrected, repurposed, and remembered. This month we celebrate the anniversary of Tim Burton’s Batman and Warner Home Entertainment is offering up all four films from that period in spiffy new 4K Uhd editions (a box set collection will be out in September). We will look at those DVDs divided in half, the two Burton films now and tomorrow the pair from director Joel Schumacher.
It’s been argued that this film made super-heroes palatable to Hollywood once more, although it can be said it took until 2008 before that became a reality. What we did get was this film coming after mainstream media began recognizing comic books had “grown up”. In 1989, we already had Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight, Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons’ The Watchmen, etc. set the table and get people to pay attention.
It’s been argued that this film made super-heroes palatable to Hollywood once more, although it can be said it took until 2008 before that became a reality. What we did get was this film coming after mainstream media began recognizing comic books had “grown up”. In 1989, we already had Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight, Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons’ The Watchmen, etc. set the table and get people to pay attention.
- 6/3/2019
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
Duo received outstanding contribution awards at separate events.
Bafta presented special awards to Sue Bruce-Smith and Roger Pratt at separate events this weekend.
Bruce-Smith, deputy director at Film4, was recognised for her outstanding contribution to British cinema during a tribute evening at Bafta’s London HQ on Friday 18 January.
Alison Thompson, co-president of Cornerstone Films, presented Bruce-Smith with her award. Speakers included Bafta-winning producer and former head of Film4 Tessa Ross, director of Film4 Daniel Battsek, deputy CEO of BFI Ben Roberts and producer Gail Egan. Also in attendance were Steve McQueen, Kevin Macdonald, Alison Owen, Liz Karlsen and Ed Guiney.
Bafta presented special awards to Sue Bruce-Smith and Roger Pratt at separate events this weekend.
Bruce-Smith, deputy director at Film4, was recognised for her outstanding contribution to British cinema during a tribute evening at Bafta’s London HQ on Friday 18 January.
Alison Thompson, co-president of Cornerstone Films, presented Bruce-Smith with her award. Speakers included Bafta-winning producer and former head of Film4 Tessa Ross, director of Film4 Daniel Battsek, deputy CEO of BFI Ben Roberts and producer Gail Egan. Also in attendance were Steve McQueen, Kevin Macdonald, Alison Owen, Liz Karlsen and Ed Guiney.
- 1/21/2019
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
BAFTA has presented Special Awards to longstanding Film4 executive Sue Bruce-Smith and DoP Roger Pratt (Batman). Bruce-Smith, Deputy Director at Film4, was recognized with a Special Award for her outstanding contribution to British cinema with speakers at a Friday event including former Film4 boss Tessa Ross, BFI Deputy CEO Ben Roberts, producer Gail Egan, and current Film4 boss Daniel Battsek. Bruce-Smith, who has worked on movies including Slumdog Millionaire, 12 Years A Slave, Under The Skin, and The Favourite, said, “Over the last 30 years, from my somewhat fluky start in the business, I have developed a real love of independent film, film’s power and the collaborative process required for its creation. The world seems such a strange place at the moment and the arts – and within that film – has such an important role to play. I am very grateful to BAFTA for this Award and for prompting me to...
- 1/21/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Terry Gilliam’s second big-star ‘retrench’ movie benefits from his fertile imagination, and his handling of an overly complicated sci-fi script. Did happy audiences respond to the film’s second-hand time travel complexities, or did they just like seeing Brad Pitt in a new mode, playing a weird motormouthed eccentric?
Twelve Monkeys
Blu-ray
Arrow Video USA
1995 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 129 min. / Street Date October 30, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Jon Seda, Frank Gorshin, David Morse, Christopher Plummer.
Cinematography: Roger Pratt
Film Editor: Mick Audsley
Original Music: Paul Buckmaster
Written by David Webb Peoples, Janet Peoples from the film La jetée by Chris Marker
Produced by Charles Roven
Directed by Terry Gilliam
Nowadays nobody seems capable of making a Sci-fi thriller, not even one for children, that doesn’t have a dauntingly complex storyline filled with ironic contradictions. The Fate of the World is always at stake, and our saviors...
Twelve Monkeys
Blu-ray
Arrow Video USA
1995 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 129 min. / Street Date October 30, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Jon Seda, Frank Gorshin, David Morse, Christopher Plummer.
Cinematography: Roger Pratt
Film Editor: Mick Audsley
Original Music: Paul Buckmaster
Written by David Webb Peoples, Janet Peoples from the film La jetée by Chris Marker
Produced by Charles Roven
Directed by Terry Gilliam
Nowadays nobody seems capable of making a Sci-fi thriller, not even one for children, that doesn’t have a dauntingly complex storyline filled with ironic contradictions. The Fate of the World is always at stake, and our saviors...
- 10/23/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Nobody stands up for Britons in the lower class trenches like the fierce, opinionated and outright brilliant Mike Leigh; his unusual writing and directing method yields terrific results in his first feature made for TV. And the early performances of Tim Roth, Phil Daniels and Gary Oldman should be the stuff of acting legend, ’80s style.
Meantime
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 890
1984 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 107 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date August 15, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Marion Bailey, Phil Daniels, Tim Roth, Pam Ferris, Jeff Robert, Alfred Molina, Gary Oldman, Tilly Vosburgh, Eileen Davies, Peter Wight.
Cinematography: Roger Pratt
Film Editor: Lesley Walker
Original Music: Andrew Dickson
Produced by Graham Benson
Devised and Directed by Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh is something of an acquired taste, but I have to say that I haven’t forgotten anything of his that I’ve seen. There are of course his ‘special’ period recreations of Topsy-Turvy and Mr. Turner,...
Meantime
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 890
1984 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 107 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date August 15, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Marion Bailey, Phil Daniels, Tim Roth, Pam Ferris, Jeff Robert, Alfred Molina, Gary Oldman, Tilly Vosburgh, Eileen Davies, Peter Wight.
Cinematography: Roger Pratt
Film Editor: Lesley Walker
Original Music: Andrew Dickson
Produced by Graham Benson
Devised and Directed by Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh is something of an acquired taste, but I have to say that I haven’t forgotten anything of his that I’ve seen. There are of course his ‘special’ period recreations of Topsy-Turvy and Mr. Turner,...
- 8/12/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Late summer is all about reflection over at The Criterion Collection, as the library is spending August offering up a handful of unsung classics and new look at some longtime favorites.
Michael Curitz’s “The Breaking Point,” a mostly overlooked Hemingway adaptation, starring John Garfield and Patricia Neal, will be available on Blu-ray for the first time, while Sacha Guitry’s “La poison” arrives on home video for the first time ever. Elsewhere, Mike Leigh’s revelatory “Meantime” is getting a 2K restoration, all the better to enjoy the early work of Tim Roth and Gary Oldman. That’s not all for Oldman fans, however, as Alex Cox’s “Sid & Nancy” hits the collection with a brand new 4K digital restoration. Finally, Walter Matthau stars in the charming comedy “Hopscotch,” also available on Blu-ray in a 2K digital restoration.
Below is the complete list of August additions, with descriptions provided by Criterion.
Michael Curitz’s “The Breaking Point,” a mostly overlooked Hemingway adaptation, starring John Garfield and Patricia Neal, will be available on Blu-ray for the first time, while Sacha Guitry’s “La poison” arrives on home video for the first time ever. Elsewhere, Mike Leigh’s revelatory “Meantime” is getting a 2K restoration, all the better to enjoy the early work of Tim Roth and Gary Oldman. That’s not all for Oldman fans, however, as Alex Cox’s “Sid & Nancy” hits the collection with a brand new 4K digital restoration. Finally, Walter Matthau stars in the charming comedy “Hopscotch,” also available on Blu-ray in a 2K digital restoration.
Below is the complete list of August additions, with descriptions provided by Criterion.
- 5/16/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The ‘Deadwood’ creator comes aboard a potential third season.
It’s been a long, strange trip to be sure, and we’re not exactly there yet, but it would seem that the dark spot of gritty storytelling on the horizon could just be the long-awaited and thought-ill-fated third season of the HBO series True Detective.
Following abysmal second season ratings and response, Nic Pizzolatto’s crime-centric character study seemed destined for the televisual graveyard. Since season two bowed, there’s been no word either way as to the fate of True Detective, it’s just been sitting there in our cultural cloud, suspended in network ether. Most folks, myself included, have considered the show dead for at least a year of its two-year hiatus; Pizzolatto signing an additional development deal with HBO in 2016 seemed to be the final nail in the coffin, but then out of pretty much nowhere EW today dropped a pair of exclusive bombshells...
It’s been a long, strange trip to be sure, and we’re not exactly there yet, but it would seem that the dark spot of gritty storytelling on the horizon could just be the long-awaited and thought-ill-fated third season of the HBO series True Detective.
Following abysmal second season ratings and response, Nic Pizzolatto’s crime-centric character study seemed destined for the televisual graveyard. Since season two bowed, there’s been no word either way as to the fate of True Detective, it’s just been sitting there in our cultural cloud, suspended in network ether. Most folks, myself included, have considered the show dead for at least a year of its two-year hiatus; Pizzolatto signing an additional development deal with HBO in 2016 seemed to be the final nail in the coffin, but then out of pretty much nowhere EW today dropped a pair of exclusive bombshells...
- 3/28/2017
- by H. Perry Horton
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Plus: A news and article roundup and five perfect shots
If it’s Monday, then it’s time for a new week of episodes from our One Perfect Podcast channel.
Up first and dropping today, the latest installment of After the Credits, our new kind of review show with Columnist Matthew Monagle. This week Matthew is once again joined by Fsr Chief Film Critic Rob Hunter, and the film up for discussion is the Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds sci-fi freak-out Life.
Then, coming up on Wednesday it’s the newest episode of Shot by Shot in which myself, Fsr Video Content Editor H. Perry Horton, and One Perfect Shot founder Geoff Todd will be discussing the cinematography of the most adrenaline-fueled action film of all-time, Mad Max: Fury Road.
And finally, Fsr head honcho Neil Miller is back on Friday with another episode of The Big Idea, his weekly take on the biggest media and entertainment news...
If it’s Monday, then it’s time for a new week of episodes from our One Perfect Podcast channel.
Up first and dropping today, the latest installment of After the Credits, our new kind of review show with Columnist Matthew Monagle. This week Matthew is once again joined by Fsr Chief Film Critic Rob Hunter, and the film up for discussion is the Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds sci-fi freak-out Life.
Then, coming up on Wednesday it’s the newest episode of Shot by Shot in which myself, Fsr Video Content Editor H. Perry Horton, and One Perfect Shot founder Geoff Todd will be discussing the cinematography of the most adrenaline-fueled action film of all-time, Mad Max: Fury Road.
And finally, Fsr head honcho Neil Miller is back on Friday with another episode of The Big Idea, his weekly take on the biggest media and entertainment news...
- 3/27/2017
- by H. Perry Horton
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
It’s hard to believe something like 1991’s The Fisher King was a studio backed effort. An anomaly both as a mainstream cinematic event and within Gilliam’s own idiosyncratic filmography, the film received as much panning as praise upon its theatrical release (shortly after a premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where it was part of a three way tie with Zhang Yimou and Philippe Garrel for the Silver Lion). In the decades since, the film has garnered something of a cult following, as have many of Gilliam’s earlier works of note, filled with an often unbridled zaniness necessitating time to marinate for full appreciation. Stuffed to the point of emotional, narrative, and logical imbalance, there are as many moments of beauty as inelegance. But Gilliam’s ambitious odd-couple outfit, based on a script from Richard Lagravenese, revels in its own unique flavoring.
Radio shock jock Jack (Jeff Bridges...
Radio shock jock Jack (Jeff Bridges...
- 6/23/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Exclusive: UK sales outfit boards psychological thriller ahead of Toronto.
London-based sales outfit Parkland Pictures has boarded world rights to Steve Reeves’s thriller, Keeping Rosy, which will play at Dinard Film Festival (Oct 8-12).
Parkland will introduce the film to international buyers at Toronto.
Maxine Peake stars as a career-driven woman who is passed over for a long-expected promotion, leading to frustration which boils over with dire consequences.
The film also stars The Inbetweeners’ Blake Harrison and was produced by Richard Holmes (Eden Lake, Waking Ned), his third collaboration with French producer Isabelle Georgeaux after Jadoo and Resistance.
It marks Reeves’ first feature film, accompanied by DoP Roger Pratt (Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, Chocolat) and composer Stephen Warbeck (Shakespeare in Love, Billy Elliot).
The deal was negotiated by John Cairns and Pierre-Louis Manes-Murphy for Parkland Pictures and by Richard Holmes and Isabelle Georgeaux on behalf of Redemption Films.
London-based sales outfit Parkland Pictures has boarded world rights to Steve Reeves’s thriller, Keeping Rosy, which will play at Dinard Film Festival (Oct 8-12).
Parkland will introduce the film to international buyers at Toronto.
Maxine Peake stars as a career-driven woman who is passed over for a long-expected promotion, leading to frustration which boils over with dire consequences.
The film also stars The Inbetweeners’ Blake Harrison and was produced by Richard Holmes (Eden Lake, Waking Ned), his third collaboration with French producer Isabelle Georgeaux after Jadoo and Resistance.
It marks Reeves’ first feature film, accompanied by DoP Roger Pratt (Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, Chocolat) and composer Stephen Warbeck (Shakespeare in Love, Billy Elliot).
The deal was negotiated by John Cairns and Pierre-Louis Manes-Murphy for Parkland Pictures and by Richard Holmes and Isabelle Georgeaux on behalf of Redemption Films.
- 8/20/2014
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Peake gives weight to a rather televisual thriller about a career woman's sudden downfall
Hats off to Maxine Peake for lending core character credibility to this neatly contrived tale of accidental killing and unexpected adoption. Having been passed over for a promotion, brittle careerist Charlotte takes out her frustration on the home help, with life-changing consequences. Despite Roger Pratt's handsome widescreen framing this remains an essentially televisual affair, but there are chilly thrills to be had as director Steve Reeves and co-writer Mike Oughton make good on the promise of the award-winning short Taking Life.
Continue reading...
Hats off to Maxine Peake for lending core character credibility to this neatly contrived tale of accidental killing and unexpected adoption. Having been passed over for a promotion, brittle careerist Charlotte takes out her frustration on the home help, with life-changing consequences. Despite Roger Pratt's handsome widescreen framing this remains an essentially televisual affair, but there are chilly thrills to be had as director Steve Reeves and co-writer Mike Oughton make good on the promise of the award-winning short Taking Life.
Continue reading...
- 6/28/2014
- by Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
- The Guardian - Film News
Tim Burton's Batman was released 25 years ago. Ryan looks back at how it overcame a media backlash to become a defining 80s blockbuster...
Feature
There may have been a point, in late 1988, where Tim Burton began to wonder whether he'd bitten off more than he could chew.
Sure, the 30-year-old director had made feature films before - namely Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and Beetlejuice - but those films were relatively low-budget. Small-scale. Made outside the glare of public and Hollywood studio scrutiny.
Batman, on the other hand, was being put together with a blinding media spotlight trained on it. Warner Bros had set aside somewhere around $30m to adapt DC Comics' beloved Caped Crusader for the silver screen, and both journalists and fans were following every step of its production with keen interest.
Most worryingly, as production on Batman got underway in October 1988, a vocal proportion of those fans were decidedly unhappy.
Feature
There may have been a point, in late 1988, where Tim Burton began to wonder whether he'd bitten off more than he could chew.
Sure, the 30-year-old director had made feature films before - namely Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and Beetlejuice - but those films were relatively low-budget. Small-scale. Made outside the glare of public and Hollywood studio scrutiny.
Batman, on the other hand, was being put together with a blinding media spotlight trained on it. Warner Bros had set aside somewhere around $30m to adapt DC Comics' beloved Caped Crusader for the silver screen, and both journalists and fans were following every step of its production with keen interest.
Most worryingly, as production on Batman got underway in October 1988, a vocal proportion of those fans were decidedly unhappy.
- 6/20/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Filmmaker Geoff Todd's Twitter account, @OnePerfectShot, is our new No.1 destination for a daily fix of movie geekiness.
The account's mission is to "honour cinema's past and (hopefully) inspire a new generation of perfect shots" and features stunning stills from classic movies. And Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.
Here are our personal 14 favourite shots:
1. North by Northwest
Perfect shot from North By Northwest (1959) DoP: Robert Burks | Dir: Alfred Hitchcock pic.twitter.com/q67FGcM6m9
— Perfect Shots (@OnePerfectShot) May 5, 2014
2. Badlands
Perfect shot from Badlands (1973) Cinematography:Tak Fujimoto (et al) | Dir:Terrence Malick pic.twitter.com/ufNKGp9EU4
— Perfect Shots (@OnePerfectShot) May 4, 2014
3. Reservoir Dogs
Perfect shot from Reservoir Dogs (1992) DoP: Andrzej Sekula - Dir: Quentin Tarantino pic.twitter.com/Zhrq1QjMK4
— Perfect Shots (@OnePerfectShot) May 4, 2014
4. Psycho
Perfect shot from Psycho (1960) DoP: John L. Russell - Dir: Alfred Hitchcock pic.twitter.com/3XEtsmadki
— Perfect Shots (@OnePerfectShot) May 2, 2014
5. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom...
The account's mission is to "honour cinema's past and (hopefully) inspire a new generation of perfect shots" and features stunning stills from classic movies. And Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.
Here are our personal 14 favourite shots:
1. North by Northwest
Perfect shot from North By Northwest (1959) DoP: Robert Burks | Dir: Alfred Hitchcock pic.twitter.com/q67FGcM6m9
— Perfect Shots (@OnePerfectShot) May 5, 2014
2. Badlands
Perfect shot from Badlands (1973) Cinematography:Tak Fujimoto (et al) | Dir:Terrence Malick pic.twitter.com/ufNKGp9EU4
— Perfect Shots (@OnePerfectShot) May 4, 2014
3. Reservoir Dogs
Perfect shot from Reservoir Dogs (1992) DoP: Andrzej Sekula - Dir: Quentin Tarantino pic.twitter.com/Zhrq1QjMK4
— Perfect Shots (@OnePerfectShot) May 4, 2014
4. Psycho
Perfect shot from Psycho (1960) DoP: John L. Russell - Dir: Alfred Hitchcock pic.twitter.com/3XEtsmadki
— Perfect Shots (@OnePerfectShot) May 2, 2014
5. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom...
- 5/6/2014
- Digital Spy
Dr. Jane Roscoe has been recently appointed as the new Director of The London Film School. She will take over from current Director Ben Gibson in August.
Jane Roscoe comes to The London Film School with over 20 years experience as an academic and broadcaster in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. At the Australian Film, Television & Radio School, she launched the Centre for Screen Studies & Research, and led a number of large-scale industry-focussed research projects. She has been Network Programmer at Australia's Sbs Television, and was responsible for launching Sbs Two. More recently, as the UK-based Head of International Content at Sbs, she acquired world feature films in a wide variety of languages, and brokered an impressive slate of international co-productions. She is a regular industry and academic commentator, and has published extensively on screen audiences, documentary and mock documentary.
Mike Leigh, Chair of Governors, said, “Jane is passionate about film education and innovation, and we are delighted that she is to join us to lead Lfs into our exciting new phase."
Jane Roscoe said, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead Lfs as it approaches its 60th anniversary. The move to the Barbican will further enhance the School's ability to educate for creativity, and stay connected to a fast changing film industry. It's going to be an exciting and challenging journey .”
The London Film School combines its status as a major international conservatoire with its role as one of the two leading British graduate film schools supported by Creative Skillset and the BFI.
At the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, films by Lfs graduates are represented in all the official sections – in Competition, Mr Turner, written and directed by Mike Leigh; In Un Certain Regard, Xenia, directed by Panos H. Koutras and The Salt of the Earth, co-directed by Lfs graduate Juliano Ribeiro Salgado with Wim Wenders; in Shorts Competition, Lfs graduation film Leidi, directed by Simón Mesa Soto, one of only nine films chosen from 3,450 short films to compete for the Short Film Palme d’Or. Newton I. Aduaka is one of fifteen directors selected for the tenth edition of the Cinefondation Atelier co-production showcase, with his latest feature Oil on Water. Lfs graduate Aygul Bakanova, who was a participant on the Cannes Residence programme, is screening in Directors’ Fortnight, with the Nordic Film Factory short film Void, co-directed with Milad Alami.
In December, Lfs announced its first major funding from Creative Skillset towards the development of its plans to transfer its operations from Covent Garden to a new site within the Barbican Centre in the City of London. The move is planned for 2016, when the school will also celebrate its 60th birthday.
The London Film School
Founded in 1956, Lfs is one of the world's longest established graduate filmmaking schools. It is constituted as an international conservatoire with 70% of its Ma Filmmaking students coming from outside the UK. The School offers a core 2-year Ma Filmmaking , a 1-year Ma Screenwriting , a 1-year Ma International Film Business and a PhD Film by Practice with the University of Exeter, plus around 50 Continuous Professional Development courses each year as Lfs Workshops .
Lfs has been selected by Creative Skillset, the UK government agency for audio-visual training, as one of three ‘Film Academies’, accredited as a centre of excellence.
Lfs graduates are established in film and television production in more than eighty countries and include Mike Leigh, Michael Mann, Duncan Jones, Tak Fujimoto, Roger Pratt, Ueli Steiger, Iain Smith, Horace Ove, Ho Yim, Danny Huston, Franc Roddam, Brad Anderson, Ann Hui, Marius Holst and Bill Douglas.
In 2013, Lfs films had 232 festival entries across 179 events, winning 43 prizes, nominations or special mentions. The tally breaks Lfs records for global visibility and graduate success. The list covers Toronto, Venice, Tribeca, San Sebastian, Clermont Ferrand, The London Film Festival, San Francisco, the BAFTAs and the Student Academy Awards.
More info at www.lfs.org.uk
.
Jane Roscoe comes to The London Film School with over 20 years experience as an academic and broadcaster in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. At the Australian Film, Television & Radio School, she launched the Centre for Screen Studies & Research, and led a number of large-scale industry-focussed research projects. She has been Network Programmer at Australia's Sbs Television, and was responsible for launching Sbs Two. More recently, as the UK-based Head of International Content at Sbs, she acquired world feature films in a wide variety of languages, and brokered an impressive slate of international co-productions. She is a regular industry and academic commentator, and has published extensively on screen audiences, documentary and mock documentary.
Mike Leigh, Chair of Governors, said, “Jane is passionate about film education and innovation, and we are delighted that she is to join us to lead Lfs into our exciting new phase."
Jane Roscoe said, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead Lfs as it approaches its 60th anniversary. The move to the Barbican will further enhance the School's ability to educate for creativity, and stay connected to a fast changing film industry. It's going to be an exciting and challenging journey .”
The London Film School combines its status as a major international conservatoire with its role as one of the two leading British graduate film schools supported by Creative Skillset and the BFI.
At the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, films by Lfs graduates are represented in all the official sections – in Competition, Mr Turner, written and directed by Mike Leigh; In Un Certain Regard, Xenia, directed by Panos H. Koutras and The Salt of the Earth, co-directed by Lfs graduate Juliano Ribeiro Salgado with Wim Wenders; in Shorts Competition, Lfs graduation film Leidi, directed by Simón Mesa Soto, one of only nine films chosen from 3,450 short films to compete for the Short Film Palme d’Or. Newton I. Aduaka is one of fifteen directors selected for the tenth edition of the Cinefondation Atelier co-production showcase, with his latest feature Oil on Water. Lfs graduate Aygul Bakanova, who was a participant on the Cannes Residence programme, is screening in Directors’ Fortnight, with the Nordic Film Factory short film Void, co-directed with Milad Alami.
In December, Lfs announced its first major funding from Creative Skillset towards the development of its plans to transfer its operations from Covent Garden to a new site within the Barbican Centre in the City of London. The move is planned for 2016, when the school will also celebrate its 60th birthday.
The London Film School
Founded in 1956, Lfs is one of the world's longest established graduate filmmaking schools. It is constituted as an international conservatoire with 70% of its Ma Filmmaking students coming from outside the UK. The School offers a core 2-year Ma Filmmaking , a 1-year Ma Screenwriting , a 1-year Ma International Film Business and a PhD Film by Practice with the University of Exeter, plus around 50 Continuous Professional Development courses each year as Lfs Workshops .
Lfs has been selected by Creative Skillset, the UK government agency for audio-visual training, as one of three ‘Film Academies’, accredited as a centre of excellence.
Lfs graduates are established in film and television production in more than eighty countries and include Mike Leigh, Michael Mann, Duncan Jones, Tak Fujimoto, Roger Pratt, Ueli Steiger, Iain Smith, Horace Ove, Ho Yim, Danny Huston, Franc Roddam, Brad Anderson, Ann Hui, Marius Holst and Bill Douglas.
In 2013, Lfs films had 232 festival entries across 179 events, winning 43 prizes, nominations or special mentions. The tally breaks Lfs records for global visibility and graduate success. The list covers Toronto, Venice, Tribeca, San Sebastian, Clermont Ferrand, The London Film Festival, San Francisco, the BAFTAs and the Student Academy Awards.
More info at www.lfs.org.uk
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- 5/3/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Terry Gilliam is making a comeback this year. In July, the ex-Monty Python animator will reunite with his Flying Circus colleagues for an O2 residency. Before then, though, Gilliam returns to dystopian sci-fi with The Zero Theorem, a film whose patchwork aesthetic can't help but recall his 1985 masterpiece, Brazil.
Apt really, considering how prescient his visionary fable has become. Never mind the imminent World Cup. Gilliam's Brazil – a land where the authorities wield information as a weapon and where dreams are shackled by callous austerity – is even more pertinent to life in 2014.
What is Brazil? It's the story of clerk Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce), whose diligence in resolving a messy, fatal paperwork trail brings him into contact with Jill (Kim Greist) – the girl who haunts his dreams of combat with a giant baby-faced samurai, and who may or may not be a terrorist.
Where is Brazil? "Somewhere in the 20th century,...
Apt really, considering how prescient his visionary fable has become. Never mind the imminent World Cup. Gilliam's Brazil – a land where the authorities wield information as a weapon and where dreams are shackled by callous austerity – is even more pertinent to life in 2014.
What is Brazil? It's the story of clerk Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce), whose diligence in resolving a messy, fatal paperwork trail brings him into contact with Jill (Kim Greist) – the girl who haunts his dreams of combat with a giant baby-faced samurai, and who may or may not be a terrorist.
Where is Brazil? "Somewhere in the 20th century,...
- 3/8/2014
- Digital Spy
To celebrate the 30th anniversary, re-live every side-splitting comedic moment, every outrageous vignette and every tasteless joke, as Monty Python’S The Meaning Of Life commands your attention once again. The classic Python film will debut on Blu-ray™ on October 8, 2013 with Digital Copy & UltraViolet™, and is packed with extra features including a nostalgic cast reunion featurette The Meaning of Monty Python: 30th Anniversary Reunion, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
The Meaning of Life brought all the loyal Pythonites back together, sharing writing responsibilities as they returned to their much loved sketch show format, with Terry Jones directing and John Goldstone producing. Bringing to life roles ranging from The Grim Reaper to the legendary Mr. Creosote are John Cleese (Faulty Towers; A Fish Called Wanda) Terry Gilliam (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; Brazil), Eric Idle (What About Dick?, Shrek the Third), Terry Jones (Life of Brian, Monty Python and the Holy Grail...
The Meaning of Life brought all the loyal Pythonites back together, sharing writing responsibilities as they returned to their much loved sketch show format, with Terry Jones directing and John Goldstone producing. Bringing to life roles ranging from The Grim Reaper to the legendary Mr. Creosote are John Cleese (Faulty Towers; A Fish Called Wanda) Terry Gilliam (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; Brazil), Eric Idle (What About Dick?, Shrek the Third), Terry Jones (Life of Brian, Monty Python and the Holy Grail...
- 5/30/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Chicago – Sci-fi film buffs in the Windy City are invited to attend an April marathon bursting with cinematic gems. “Sci-Fi Spectacular 6” kicks off at noon Saturday, April 28, at the Portage Theater, 4050 N. Milwaukee Ave. It showcases over 14 hours of beloved features, shorts and rare trailers as they were originally intended to be experienced—on the big screen.
Two major highlights at this year’s event are key masterpieces in the career of Terry Gilliam. 1985’s “Brazil” creates an unforgettable portrait of a dystopian future both amusingly absurdist and unsettlingly provocative. Jonathan Pryce stars alongside Kim Greist, Ian Holm and Robert De Niro, while cinematographer Roger Pratt and production designer Norman Garwood provide unforgettable imagery. Equally mesmerizing is Gilliam’s 1995 thriller “12 Monkeys,” in which a grizzled convict (Bruce Willis) travels back in time to prevent a man-made virus from destroying the future. Brad Pitt’s Oscar-nominated turn as a crazed virus...
Two major highlights at this year’s event are key masterpieces in the career of Terry Gilliam. 1985’s “Brazil” creates an unforgettable portrait of a dystopian future both amusingly absurdist and unsettlingly provocative. Jonathan Pryce stars alongside Kim Greist, Ian Holm and Robert De Niro, while cinematographer Roger Pratt and production designer Norman Garwood provide unforgettable imagery. Equally mesmerizing is Gilliam’s 1995 thriller “12 Monkeys,” in which a grizzled convict (Bruce Willis) travels back in time to prevent a man-made virus from destroying the future. Brad Pitt’s Oscar-nominated turn as a crazed virus...
- 4/24/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Back in 1984 the director of Rocky, John Avildsen, had another surprise success with the not dissimilar Karate Kid, the tale of an Italian-American schoolboy relocating from New Jersey to Los Angeles and learning to hold his own with local bullies trained in martial arts by an ex-Special Forces thug. With help from a wise, gentle old Okinawa-born janitor, he becomes junior karate champ of San Fernando Valley. In this near-identical remake an African-American widow is transferred by her employers from Detroit to Beijing, her 12-year-old son's vicious oppressors are Chinese schoolmates and his teacher Jackie Chan. The new film is even longer than the original and far more violent. Jaden Smith (whose movie-star parents are the film's co-producers) is less likeable than Ralph Macchio, and Chan has the pawky humour but lacks the gravitas (or the significant backstory) of Pat Morita in the 1994 version. The British cinematographer Roger Pratt, whose films include Batman,...
- 7/31/2010
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Daniel-san and Mr. Miyagi each retain a special place in the hearts of movie audiences. The original Karate Kid is something of a minor classic of 1980s cinema and an emblem of pop nostalgia. Harald Zwart’s remake takes the principle idea of a young troubled kid being taught honour and kick-ass skills by an elderly dude and ramps it up to eleven.
Jaden Smith has a very tough role to deal with. He not only has to convey a range of emotional issues with believability, but step up to the plate and deliver some highly nuanced fight scenes.
Jackie Chan, in turn, gives a sedate and emotional performance, which we’ve not seen quite so much of before. Whether that’s good or bad is something to think about. He mopes about and has a ‘back story’ explaining all the moping. Is it remotely interesting? Is it balls! The...
Jaden Smith has a very tough role to deal with. He not only has to convey a range of emotional issues with believability, but step up to the plate and deliver some highly nuanced fight scenes.
Jackie Chan, in turn, gives a sedate and emotional performance, which we’ve not seen quite so much of before. Whether that’s good or bad is something to think about. He mopes about and has a ‘back story’ explaining all the moping. Is it remotely interesting? Is it balls! The...
- 7/25/2010
- by Martyn Conterio
- FilmShaft.com
In 1951, Graham Greene's* The End of the Affair was published. Inspired by his own affair with Lady Catherine Walston, the novel was set in post-World War II London, and followed a writer whose affair with a woman is rekindled when her husband makes his acquaintance a few years later. Their affair had ended abruptly, and he had never gotten the answer why. The novel has all the romantic trappings, but with Greene's pen and the story's links to reality, Affair reads more like a character study revolving around love than an all-out romantic drama.
The first film was made shortly after the book's release -- the 1955 Edward Dmytryk film starring Deborah Kerr, Van Johnson, Peter Cushing, and John Mills. Half a century later, Neil Jordan decided to revisit the story with Ralph Fiennes, Julianne Moore, and Stephen Rea in 1999. Fiennes played Bendrix, the writer, Moore was his once-mistress, and Rea played the husband.
The first film was made shortly after the book's release -- the 1955 Edward Dmytryk film starring Deborah Kerr, Van Johnson, Peter Cushing, and John Mills. Half a century later, Neil Jordan decided to revisit the story with Ralph Fiennes, Julianne Moore, and Stephen Rea in 1999. Fiennes played Bendrix, the writer, Moore was his once-mistress, and Rea played the husband.
- 2/22/2010
- by Monika Bartyzel
- Cinematical
There are many theories, ideas or should I say 'schools of thought' on how the world would end. At the height of the Cold War, nuclear annihilation ranks at the very top. While others argue it will not be man who will destroy the world (directly) but - an epidemic of global proportions (most probably from a potent strain of virus - think: I am Legend) or severe climactic change (another ice age perhaps? That would be Day After Tommorow right?) or mechanical uprising (The Terminator, anyone?) or even attack from the outside - conquering aliens (Mars Attacks!) or perhaps an asteroid. And let's not forget zombies!
- - -
- - - Inspired by the upcoming release of Roland Emmerich's latest disaster epic 2012, tMF listed down 10 of the most fascinating 'end of the world' movies.
Before looking at the list, you need to know that it's not based...
- - -
- - - Inspired by the upcoming release of Roland Emmerich's latest disaster epic 2012, tMF listed down 10 of the most fascinating 'end of the world' movies.
Before looking at the list, you need to know that it's not based...
- 11/8/2009
- by modelwatcher@gmail.com (Jed Medina)
- The Movie Fanatic
There are many theories, ideas or should I say 'schools of thought' on how the world would end. At the height of the Cold War, nuclear annihilation ranks at the very top. While others argue it will not be man who will destroy the world (directly) but - an epidemic of global proportions (most probably from a potent strain of virus - think: I am Legend) or severe climactic change (another ice age perhaps? That would be Day After Tommorow right?) or mechanical uprising (The Terminator, anyone?) or even attack from the outside - conquering aliens (Mars Attacks!) or perhaps an asteroid. And let's not forget zombies!
- - -
- - - Inspired by the upcoming release of Roland Emmerich's latest disaster epic 2012, tMF listed down 10 of the most fascinating 'end of the world' movies.
Before looking at the list, you need to know that it's not based...
- - -
- - - Inspired by the upcoming release of Roland Emmerich's latest disaster epic 2012, tMF listed down 10 of the most fascinating 'end of the world' movies.
Before looking at the list, you need to know that it's not based...
- 11/8/2009
- by modelwatcher@gmail.com (Jed Medina)
- The Movie Fanatic
There are many theories, ideas or should I say 'schools of thought' on how the world would end. At the height of the Cold War, nuclear annihilation ranks at the very top. While others argue it will not be man who will destroy the world (directly) but - an epidemic of global proportions (most probably from a potent strain of virus - think: I am Legend) or severe climactic change (another ice age perhaps? That would be Day After Tommorow right?) or mechanical uprising (The Terminator, anyone?) or even attack from the outside - conquering aliens (Mars Attacks!) or perhaps an asteroid. And let's not forget zombies!
- - -
- - - Inspired by the upcoming release of Roland Emmerich's latest disaster epic 2012, tMF listed down 10 of the most fascinating 'end of the world' movies.
Before looking at the list, you need to know that it's not based...
- - -
- - - Inspired by the upcoming release of Roland Emmerich's latest disaster epic 2012, tMF listed down 10 of the most fascinating 'end of the world' movies.
Before looking at the list, you need to know that it's not based...
- 11/8/2009
- by modelwatcher@gmail.com (Jed Medina)
- The Movie Fanatic
There are many theories, ideas or should I say 'schools of thought' on how the world would end. At the height of the Cold War, nuclear annihilation ranks at the very top. While others argue it will not be man who will destroy the world (directly) but - an epidemic of global proportions (most probably from a potent strain of virus - think: I am Legend) or severe climactic change (another ice age perhaps? That would be Day After Tommorow right?) or mechanical uprising (The Terminator, anyone?) or even attack from the outside - conquering aliens (Mars Attacks!) or perhaps an asteroid. And let's not forget zombies!
- - -
- - - Inspired by the upcoming release of Roland Emmerich's latest disaster epic 2012, tMF listed down 10 of the most fascinating 'end of the world' movies.
Before looking at the list, you need to know that it's not based...
- - -
- - - Inspired by the upcoming release of Roland Emmerich's latest disaster epic 2012, tMF listed down 10 of the most fascinating 'end of the world' movies.
Before looking at the list, you need to know that it's not based...
- 11/8/2009
- by modelwatcher@gmail.com (Jed Medina)
- The Movie Fanatic
Jose here with a bit of history and the movies. The title of this post appears in Winston Churchill's WWII memoir The Gathering Storm, but might as well describe Sarah Miles; Julianne Moore's character in The End of the Affair.
The 1999 film, based on Graham Greene's semi-autobiographical novel takes place in WWII London where Sarah, who is married, has an affair with writer Maurice Bendrix (Ralph Fiennes) until the Blitz provokes the film's title.
You see, it was 69 years ago today that the German Air Force began bombing England for almost a whole year. Once it began, London was bombed continuously for 57 days. One one of those days Sarah faces her greatest fear.
During one of their illicit rendezvous, she sees Maurice leave the room as the bomb alarms fill the city. A sudden blast (and a chance for cinematographer Roger Pratt to shine) makes Maurice disappear...
The 1999 film, based on Graham Greene's semi-autobiographical novel takes place in WWII London where Sarah, who is married, has an affair with writer Maurice Bendrix (Ralph Fiennes) until the Blitz provokes the film's title.
You see, it was 69 years ago today that the German Air Force began bombing England for almost a whole year. Once it began, London was bombed continuously for 57 days. One one of those days Sarah faces her greatest fear.
During one of their illicit rendezvous, she sees Maurice leave the room as the bomb alarms fill the city. A sudden blast (and a chance for cinematographer Roger Pratt to shine) makes Maurice disappear...
- 9/8/2009
- by Jose
- FilmExperience
Oliver Parker seems to have a “thing” for the works of Oscar Wilde – having already made two films based on the legendary Irish wit’s plays: The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband. This time, Wilde’s first and only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is up for cinematic treatment.
A gothic horror-tinged morality story laced with Wilde’s rapier wit; the film adaptation is, like the doomed protagonist of the title, not the most faithful of creatures – even part of the title has been discarded. Now it is simply Dorian Gray.
Parker’s film is successful in allowing the once frowned upon homosexual undertones of Wilde’s novel to be more explicit – indeed in one scene Basil Hallward (Ben Chaplin), the painter of the infamous portrait – is seduced into sexual acts by the magnetic Dorian. As the endless nights of passion and partying go on, Wilde...
A gothic horror-tinged morality story laced with Wilde’s rapier wit; the film adaptation is, like the doomed protagonist of the title, not the most faithful of creatures – even part of the title has been discarded. Now it is simply Dorian Gray.
Parker’s film is successful in allowing the once frowned upon homosexual undertones of Wilde’s novel to be more explicit – indeed in one scene Basil Hallward (Ben Chaplin), the painter of the infamous portrait – is seduced into sexual acts by the magnetic Dorian. As the endless nights of passion and partying go on, Wilde...
- 9/8/2009
- by Craig Sharp
- FilmShaft.com
Oliver Parker seems to have a “thing” for the works of Oscar Wilde – having already made two films based on the legendary Irish wit’s plays: The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband. This time, Wilde’s first and only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is up for cinematic treatment.
A gothic horror-tinged morality story laced with Wilde’s rapier wit; the film adaptation is, like the doomed protagonist of the title, not the most faithful of creatures – even part of the title has been discarded. Now it is simply Dorian Gray.
Parker’s film is successful in allowing the once frowned upon homosexual undertones of Wilde’s novel to be more explicit – indeed in one scene Basil Hallward (Ben Chaplin), the painter of the infamous portrait – is seduced into sexual acts by the magnetic Dorian. As the endless nights of passion and partying go on, Wilde...
A gothic horror-tinged morality story laced with Wilde’s rapier wit; the film adaptation is, like the doomed protagonist of the title, not the most faithful of creatures – even part of the title has been discarded. Now it is simply Dorian Gray.
Parker’s film is successful in allowing the once frowned upon homosexual undertones of Wilde’s novel to be more explicit – indeed in one scene Basil Hallward (Ben Chaplin), the painter of the infamous portrait – is seduced into sexual acts by the magnetic Dorian. As the endless nights of passion and partying go on, Wilde...
- 9/8/2009
- by Martyn Conterio
- FilmShaft.com
Oliver Parker seems to have a “thing” for the works of Oscar Wilde – having already made two films based on the legendary Irish wit’s plays: The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband. This time, Wilde’s first and only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is up for cinematic treatment.
A gothic horror-tinged morality story laced with Wilde’s rapier wit; the film adaptation is, like the doomed protagonist of the title, not the most faithful of creatures – even part of the title has been discarded. Now it is simply Dorian Gray.
Parker’s film is successful in allowing the once frowned upon homosexual undertones of Wilde’s novel to be more explicit – indeed in one scene Basil Hallward (Ben Chaplin), the painter of the infamous portrait – is seduced into sexual acts by the magnetic Dorian. As the endless nights of passion and partying go on, Wilde...
A gothic horror-tinged morality story laced with Wilde’s rapier wit; the film adaptation is, like the doomed protagonist of the title, not the most faithful of creatures – even part of the title has been discarded. Now it is simply Dorian Gray.
Parker’s film is successful in allowing the once frowned upon homosexual undertones of Wilde’s novel to be more explicit – indeed in one scene Basil Hallward (Ben Chaplin), the painter of the infamous portrait – is seduced into sexual acts by the magnetic Dorian. As the endless nights of passion and partying go on, Wilde...
- 9/8/2009
- by Martyn Conterio
- FilmShaft.com
The tale of Dorian Gray is one that has been told many times over the years and in many different variations. The character comes from a Victorian Era novel written by Oscar Wilde called The Picture of Dorian Gray, about a handsome young man who sells his soul so that he may never lose his good looks. He indulges in sex, drugs and murder but with each act, a painting of him changes to reflect a disfigurement of some sort, revealing his hidden secret. There is new take on the story directed by Oliver Parker (The Importance of Being Earnest, St. Trinian's, Othello), that stars Prince Caspian himself, Ben Barnes, along with Colin Firth and Rachel Hurd-Wood. An international trailer has arrived online and while the music is a bit over the top, the Victorian Era setting and lush cinematography by Roger Pratt (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,...
- 7/28/2009
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
Let’s make no bones about it: I absolutely loved Inkheart. The single stand out element was Roger Pratt’s cinematography, which is just about unbelievable in places, though it was definitely a well written, well directed and brilliantly cast film. Like or lump Brendan Fraser, he was in the mind of Cornelia Funke when she wrote the source novel and therefore it’s hardly surprising he fits the role well, and Helen Mirrren, Andy Serkis and particularly Jim Broadbent all absolutely nail the tone and flavour required for this kind of fantasy. I’m very pleased to report then, that even a week before the film’s Us opening, at least one sequel, maybe two, are looking rather likely indeed.
Harry Potter fansite The Snitchseeker spoke to Funke and report that “screenplays have already been written for the two sequels in the Inkworld series – Inkspell and Inkdeath – and the...
Harry Potter fansite The Snitchseeker spoke to Funke and report that “screenplays have already been written for the two sequels in the Inkworld series – Inkspell and Inkdeath – and the...
- 1/15/2009
- by Brendon Connelly
- Slash Film
Image: http://www.snitchseeker.com/gallery/albums/userpics/64838/Inkheart_logo.jpg (http://www.inkheartmovie.com) SnitchSeeker recently sat down with the cast and crew of the soon-to-be-released Inkheart to discuss the ties between their film and Harry Potter. We also interviewed world-renowned author Cornelia Funke, who wrote the Inkworld series, and discovered her thoughts about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling. Here's a quick synopsis of Inkheart for those of you who have been living under a rock. ---Quote--- Mortimer “Mo” Folchart and his 12-year-old daughter, Meggie, share an extraordinary gift for bringing characters from books to life when they read aloud. But there is a danger: When a character is brought to life from a book, a real person disappears into its pages. On one of their trips to a secondhand book shop, Mo locates a book he’s been searching for since Meggie was three years old, when her mother,...
- 1/14/2009
- by katiebell
- Snitchseeker.com
Troy, a tale of heroism and ignominious defeat, unfolds on a grand scale with an armada of 1,000 ships, vast armies, huge egos and volcanic passions. At least that's the movie's design. As executed by director Wolfgang Petersen, who should have the right background for films about war and men under stress, Troy is a protracted and uninvolving affair in which men battle over issues that audiences may struggle to find compelling, and no central figure emerges to take command of the film.
Clearly, Warner Bros. backed this expensive movie -- reportedly as costly as $175 million -- in the hope of throwing a Gladiator-like toga party at the boxoffice. Casting blond and newly buffed Brad Pitt as sullen Greek hero Achilles certainly boosts its chances worldwide, but the battles tend to look like those body pileups in rugby matches, and the drama remains stubbornly unfocused and remote. Warners may also have a tough job selling male audiences conditioned by video-game combat on a movie where soldiers beat on one another with primitive Bronze Age weapons.
Troy is "inspired" by The Iliad, Homer's epic poem about the Greek siege of Troy. The filmmakers chose that word carefully. Not only does much of their story derive from ancient literary sources other than Homer and the script often take extreme liberties with Greek mythology, but Petersen and writer David Benioff jettison Zeus and the whole Olympian cosmos. Yes, this version of The Iliad is godless.
Admittedly, it's virtually impossible to simulate onscreen the wildly dysfunctional family of self-centered immortals that compose Greek polytheism. But to remove the gods from what is, after all, a Greek myth is to gut your story. By playing down the divine, you lose the story's sense of fate, destiny and tragedy.
These people believe in their gods. When a hero fights "like a god," many genuinely wonder if he might not be born of a god and therefore undefeatable. And a leader who heeds seers and omens looks foolish rather than wise, as he does in Homer. This is a key element of the ancients' psychology, and it turns up missing here.
Instead, you have Hollywood god Pitt preening before the camera as long-haired Achilles, who fights for no one but himself and the future glory of his name. His opposite number and defender of Troy is Eric Bana's Hector -- here, as in Homer, the tale's most sympathetic figure. But the film domesticates him too much. While there is nothing wrong with viewing Hector as a man of family and honor, he spends too much time indoors. Bana is not a particularly athletic actor, so his fighting looks staged. Nor does the script ever allow him to flush with anger or take charge of his own destiny.
The legendary war circa 1200 B.C. ignites, of course, when Paris (a much too pretty Orlando Bloom), Prince of Troy and Hector's younger brother, steals away Helen (Diane Kruger), the much younger wife of Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson), the brutish King of Sparta. Menelaus' wily brother, Agamemnon (Brian Cox), King of the Mycenaeans, unites the tribes of Greece to attack Troy not so much to expunge family dishonor as to bring into his empire the previously unsacked citadel that is Troy. Inside that walled city, aging King Priam (Peter O'Toole) counts on its massive walls, his son Hector and the god Apollo -- oops, never mind about Apollo -- to protect his people.
Petersen's big sequences -- the CG armada, the massive battles between surging armies and the trickery of the Trojan horse (borrowed from The Aeneid) -- are impressive in long shots but lack power and terror in their details. When the screen clears for individual matchups, things improve, but this kind of hand-to-hand combat is heavy going and brutal rather than nimble and exciting.
The film's more intimate scenes between generals in conflict or families in peril bog down with strained, even corny dialogue and static action. When Paris slips into Helen's bedroom as her husband revels downstairs and she pouts, Last night was a mistake, the film veers off course into bedroom comedy. When Agamemnon and Menelaus rage against their generals or the world, you sense their thuggery but never their cunning.
The actors give robust performances, but Benioff's characters lack complexity. A few, such as Sean Bean's Odysseus and O'Toole's magisterial king, manage to suggest people with balance in their lives and a tinge of self-doubt. The rest, like today's politicos, stay stridently "on message," never deviating from their elemental selves and without much growth or inner conflict.
Pitt's Achilles is almost amusingly self-involved. He is mentally writing the Legend of Achilles even as he performs heroic deeds. Indeed, he confronts Hector on the first day while storming the beach but fails to engage him in battle. It's too early to kill princes, he haughtily declares.
There is a good scene between O'Toole and Pitt late in the movie, and the look on O'Toole's face as he watches his city burn is simply fine acting. But mostly the film lacks memorable scenes or even memorable moments.
Nigel Phelps' art design is all over the place. While no one knows what Troy looked like, the archeology here is Old Hollywood. Troy is vaguely pre-Islam Middle Eastern, with exteriors reminiscent of D.W. Griffith's Babylon sequence in Intolerance and interiors Cecil B. DeMille would have loved. The fire-lit banquet hall in Sparta looks medieval, but the costumes read Roman.
James Horner's music has the requisite sweep and majesty for an epic, and Roger Pratt's cinematography, while relying too much on helicopter shots, helps bring the ancient world to life.
TROY
Warner Bros. Pictures
A Radiant production in association with Plan B
Credits:
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Screenwriter: David Benioff
Inspired by The Iliad by: Homer
Producers: Wolfgang Petersen, Diana Rathbun, Colin Wilson
Director of photography: Roger Pratt
Production designer: Nigel Phelps
Music: James Horner
Co-producer: Winston Azzopardi
Costume designer: Bob Ringwood
Editor: Peter Honess
Cast:
Achilles: Brad Pitt
Hector: Eric Bana
Paris: Orlando Bloom
Helen: Diane Kruger
Agamemnon: Brian Cox
Odysseus: Sean Bean
Menelaus: Brendan Gleeson
Priam: Peter O'Toole
Briseis: Rose Byrne
Andromache: Saffron Burrows
Thetis: Julie Christie
Running time -- 163 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Clearly, Warner Bros. backed this expensive movie -- reportedly as costly as $175 million -- in the hope of throwing a Gladiator-like toga party at the boxoffice. Casting blond and newly buffed Brad Pitt as sullen Greek hero Achilles certainly boosts its chances worldwide, but the battles tend to look like those body pileups in rugby matches, and the drama remains stubbornly unfocused and remote. Warners may also have a tough job selling male audiences conditioned by video-game combat on a movie where soldiers beat on one another with primitive Bronze Age weapons.
Troy is "inspired" by The Iliad, Homer's epic poem about the Greek siege of Troy. The filmmakers chose that word carefully. Not only does much of their story derive from ancient literary sources other than Homer and the script often take extreme liberties with Greek mythology, but Petersen and writer David Benioff jettison Zeus and the whole Olympian cosmos. Yes, this version of The Iliad is godless.
Admittedly, it's virtually impossible to simulate onscreen the wildly dysfunctional family of self-centered immortals that compose Greek polytheism. But to remove the gods from what is, after all, a Greek myth is to gut your story. By playing down the divine, you lose the story's sense of fate, destiny and tragedy.
These people believe in their gods. When a hero fights "like a god," many genuinely wonder if he might not be born of a god and therefore undefeatable. And a leader who heeds seers and omens looks foolish rather than wise, as he does in Homer. This is a key element of the ancients' psychology, and it turns up missing here.
Instead, you have Hollywood god Pitt preening before the camera as long-haired Achilles, who fights for no one but himself and the future glory of his name. His opposite number and defender of Troy is Eric Bana's Hector -- here, as in Homer, the tale's most sympathetic figure. But the film domesticates him too much. While there is nothing wrong with viewing Hector as a man of family and honor, he spends too much time indoors. Bana is not a particularly athletic actor, so his fighting looks staged. Nor does the script ever allow him to flush with anger or take charge of his own destiny.
The legendary war circa 1200 B.C. ignites, of course, when Paris (a much too pretty Orlando Bloom), Prince of Troy and Hector's younger brother, steals away Helen (Diane Kruger), the much younger wife of Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson), the brutish King of Sparta. Menelaus' wily brother, Agamemnon (Brian Cox), King of the Mycenaeans, unites the tribes of Greece to attack Troy not so much to expunge family dishonor as to bring into his empire the previously unsacked citadel that is Troy. Inside that walled city, aging King Priam (Peter O'Toole) counts on its massive walls, his son Hector and the god Apollo -- oops, never mind about Apollo -- to protect his people.
Petersen's big sequences -- the CG armada, the massive battles between surging armies and the trickery of the Trojan horse (borrowed from The Aeneid) -- are impressive in long shots but lack power and terror in their details. When the screen clears for individual matchups, things improve, but this kind of hand-to-hand combat is heavy going and brutal rather than nimble and exciting.
The film's more intimate scenes between generals in conflict or families in peril bog down with strained, even corny dialogue and static action. When Paris slips into Helen's bedroom as her husband revels downstairs and she pouts, Last night was a mistake, the film veers off course into bedroom comedy. When Agamemnon and Menelaus rage against their generals or the world, you sense their thuggery but never their cunning.
The actors give robust performances, but Benioff's characters lack complexity. A few, such as Sean Bean's Odysseus and O'Toole's magisterial king, manage to suggest people with balance in their lives and a tinge of self-doubt. The rest, like today's politicos, stay stridently "on message," never deviating from their elemental selves and without much growth or inner conflict.
Pitt's Achilles is almost amusingly self-involved. He is mentally writing the Legend of Achilles even as he performs heroic deeds. Indeed, he confronts Hector on the first day while storming the beach but fails to engage him in battle. It's too early to kill princes, he haughtily declares.
There is a good scene between O'Toole and Pitt late in the movie, and the look on O'Toole's face as he watches his city burn is simply fine acting. But mostly the film lacks memorable scenes or even memorable moments.
Nigel Phelps' art design is all over the place. While no one knows what Troy looked like, the archeology here is Old Hollywood. Troy is vaguely pre-Islam Middle Eastern, with exteriors reminiscent of D.W. Griffith's Babylon sequence in Intolerance and interiors Cecil B. DeMille would have loved. The fire-lit banquet hall in Sparta looks medieval, but the costumes read Roman.
James Horner's music has the requisite sweep and majesty for an epic, and Roger Pratt's cinematography, while relying too much on helicopter shots, helps bring the ancient world to life.
TROY
Warner Bros. Pictures
A Radiant production in association with Plan B
Credits:
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Screenwriter: David Benioff
Inspired by The Iliad by: Homer
Producers: Wolfgang Petersen, Diana Rathbun, Colin Wilson
Director of photography: Roger Pratt
Production designer: Nigel Phelps
Music: James Horner
Co-producer: Winston Azzopardi
Costume designer: Bob Ringwood
Editor: Peter Honess
Cast:
Achilles: Brad Pitt
Hector: Eric Bana
Paris: Orlando Bloom
Helen: Diane Kruger
Agamemnon: Brian Cox
Odysseus: Sean Bean
Menelaus: Brendan Gleeson
Priam: Peter O'Toole
Briseis: Rose Byrne
Andromache: Saffron Burrows
Thetis: Julie Christie
Running time -- 163 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 6/11/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Warner Bros.
Alan Rickman, noted alchemist of stage and screen, knows the real magicians of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."
The second Potter film presented "a real opportunity for the craftspeople of the industry to show what they can do -- in a big way," Rickman says on the DVD version of "Chamber". "It's a fantastic demonstration".
Alas, the wizards of Below the Line will have to find another DVD on which to unveil the secrets behind creations such as the fiery Phoenix, Dobby the downcast house-elf and the film's giant snakes and spiders.
Like the first "Potter" DVD, "Chamber" stays true to Potter's legions of young fans, with games, happy-face interviews and trivia tests for tweens and their younger siblings. There's no uneasy mix of techie and kiddie extras, as has become standard on DVDs for effects-laden films ("Star Wars", "Ice Age", "Spider-Man"). Grown-up muggles need not apply for this semester at Hogwarts.
Warner Bros. has released "Chamber" as a two-disc set in widescreen (enhanced for 16x9) and full-screen. Both retail for $29.95. The 161-minute film looks great, as in theaters, with medieval ambers and black-magic blacks effectively conveying the second installment's darker tone. Skin tones are especially pleasing. Most of the murk that haunted the first "Potter" film's darker scenes has done a disappearing act.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 EX mix comes in English and Spanish, crisply delivering the high-volume jolts as Harry hurls spells and battles the beasts of the underworld. Directional effects are used with reserve, enhancing their impact when finally unleashed (check out the surround at 1:48, when Harry hurls a hungry spider across your living room.)
Menu art alternates between Gothic creepy and castle-fire warmth. Fortunately, navigation links don't call for as much needless casting about as last time out.
The DVD for "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" cruelly locked its deleted scenes behind a time-consuming game. "Phoenix" rises above that, providing direct access to 19 outtakes. Most are snippets, but director Chris Columbus unlocks a few telling scenes: a creepy visit to a shop with Lucius Malfoy and his son; a bit of school politics as classmates gossip about Harry's true intentions; and some nice one-on-ones between Potter and Hagraid and Hermione and Professor Lockhart.
"Potter" author J.K. Rowling and American screenwriter Steve Kloves talk about the project in a fairly informative interview apparently taken from British television.
"I just steal her best stuff", Kloves says.
"And I don't sue", Rowling shoots right back.
While Rowling indicates that she's told Kloves more about her closely guarded plot lines than anyone else, he still gets his information about the series' direction on a "need to know" basis.
"The hardest thing for me is, I'm writing a story to which I do not know the end," he says. "I keep hoping that (Rowling) will slip up and tell me something."
The duo say the amount of interaction needed on "Chamber" was significantly less than on the first "Potter" film because of its linear plot. Both agree that the next film, "The Prisoner of Azkaban", due next year, should be the best in the series, playing off major new characters.
Aside from the Rowling-Kloves piece, the cast interviews are securely canned.
Richard Harris, who died in October, raves about the actors-rep atmosphere on Columbus' set. "I've never seen a day of pressure," the headmaster says. "We trust each other". The DVD has no mention of Harris' passing.
Jason Isaacs, who debuted as the white-haired villain Professor Malfoy, says he was amazed to find his onscreen son Draco, an "unpleasant little slimeball," is in reality "a tremendously charming young man." The actor, Tom Felton, and star Daniel Radcliffe are, in fact, good pals, Isaacs reveals.
Richard Griffiths, who plays Potter's cluelessly abusive uncle, raves about Radcliffe's progress since the first film, in which he was a "schoolboy" who had to be told everything. "He's grown amazingly in his understanding of how to move around the camera," Griffiths says. "It's wonderful to watch him open up."
Kenneth Branagh, who limns the blowhard dandy Professor Lockhart, says he was made most to feel at home on the set by the trio of young stars: Radcliffe, Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley). A clip of the kids horsing around shows them looking every bit the Fab Three.
Studio craftsmen do get a nod on the DVD. The classy featurette "Build the Scene" gives youngsters a proper lesson in the logistics of filmmaking ("It starts with a script ..".). The docu covers cinematography, sets, costumes, visual effects and other details rarely found in extras for young people. The featurette should be required viewing in middle schools across the Potter kingdom.
Columbus talks about the "snakelike quality" he sought in the camerawork, playing off one of the film's major themes. A clip shows the director in a pas de deux with a particularly versatile Steadicam operator that allowed Columbus to capture the exact union of images and movement that he sought.
Cinematographer Roger Pratt, whose mission was to convey the dread found in the Chamber of Secrets, says, "I think dark is a mood -- how you achieve it might not entail less light." Instead, Pratt worked with perspective, creating the illusion that hallways and stairways go on into infinity.
John Williams runs a clip of a scene without his music, and then with it, making the case for syrupy strings as conveyors of emotion.
The DVD's so-so games include an "Evil Dead"-like visit to the Forbidden Forest and a maze that rewards victors with an interactive tour of the Chamber of Secrets.
Other extras include production sketches, a build-it-yourself slide show of photos from the film, a preview of the DVD-ROM features and a noninteractive demo of the Electronic Arts video game.
Alan Rickman, noted alchemist of stage and screen, knows the real magicians of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."
The second Potter film presented "a real opportunity for the craftspeople of the industry to show what they can do -- in a big way," Rickman says on the DVD version of "Chamber". "It's a fantastic demonstration".
Alas, the wizards of Below the Line will have to find another DVD on which to unveil the secrets behind creations such as the fiery Phoenix, Dobby the downcast house-elf and the film's giant snakes and spiders.
Like the first "Potter" DVD, "Chamber" stays true to Potter's legions of young fans, with games, happy-face interviews and trivia tests for tweens and their younger siblings. There's no uneasy mix of techie and kiddie extras, as has become standard on DVDs for effects-laden films ("Star Wars", "Ice Age", "Spider-Man"). Grown-up muggles need not apply for this semester at Hogwarts.
Warner Bros. has released "Chamber" as a two-disc set in widescreen (enhanced for 16x9) and full-screen. Both retail for $29.95. The 161-minute film looks great, as in theaters, with medieval ambers and black-magic blacks effectively conveying the second installment's darker tone. Skin tones are especially pleasing. Most of the murk that haunted the first "Potter" film's darker scenes has done a disappearing act.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 EX mix comes in English and Spanish, crisply delivering the high-volume jolts as Harry hurls spells and battles the beasts of the underworld. Directional effects are used with reserve, enhancing their impact when finally unleashed (check out the surround at 1:48, when Harry hurls a hungry spider across your living room.)
Menu art alternates between Gothic creepy and castle-fire warmth. Fortunately, navigation links don't call for as much needless casting about as last time out.
The DVD for "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" cruelly locked its deleted scenes behind a time-consuming game. "Phoenix" rises above that, providing direct access to 19 outtakes. Most are snippets, but director Chris Columbus unlocks a few telling scenes: a creepy visit to a shop with Lucius Malfoy and his son; a bit of school politics as classmates gossip about Harry's true intentions; and some nice one-on-ones between Potter and Hagraid and Hermione and Professor Lockhart.
"Potter" author J.K. Rowling and American screenwriter Steve Kloves talk about the project in a fairly informative interview apparently taken from British television.
"I just steal her best stuff", Kloves says.
"And I don't sue", Rowling shoots right back.
While Rowling indicates that she's told Kloves more about her closely guarded plot lines than anyone else, he still gets his information about the series' direction on a "need to know" basis.
"The hardest thing for me is, I'm writing a story to which I do not know the end," he says. "I keep hoping that (Rowling) will slip up and tell me something."
The duo say the amount of interaction needed on "Chamber" was significantly less than on the first "Potter" film because of its linear plot. Both agree that the next film, "The Prisoner of Azkaban", due next year, should be the best in the series, playing off major new characters.
Aside from the Rowling-Kloves piece, the cast interviews are securely canned.
Richard Harris, who died in October, raves about the actors-rep atmosphere on Columbus' set. "I've never seen a day of pressure," the headmaster says. "We trust each other". The DVD has no mention of Harris' passing.
Jason Isaacs, who debuted as the white-haired villain Professor Malfoy, says he was amazed to find his onscreen son Draco, an "unpleasant little slimeball," is in reality "a tremendously charming young man." The actor, Tom Felton, and star Daniel Radcliffe are, in fact, good pals, Isaacs reveals.
Richard Griffiths, who plays Potter's cluelessly abusive uncle, raves about Radcliffe's progress since the first film, in which he was a "schoolboy" who had to be told everything. "He's grown amazingly in his understanding of how to move around the camera," Griffiths says. "It's wonderful to watch him open up."
Kenneth Branagh, who limns the blowhard dandy Professor Lockhart, says he was made most to feel at home on the set by the trio of young stars: Radcliffe, Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley). A clip of the kids horsing around shows them looking every bit the Fab Three.
Studio craftsmen do get a nod on the DVD. The classy featurette "Build the Scene" gives youngsters a proper lesson in the logistics of filmmaking ("It starts with a script ..".). The docu covers cinematography, sets, costumes, visual effects and other details rarely found in extras for young people. The featurette should be required viewing in middle schools across the Potter kingdom.
Columbus talks about the "snakelike quality" he sought in the camerawork, playing off one of the film's major themes. A clip shows the director in a pas de deux with a particularly versatile Steadicam operator that allowed Columbus to capture the exact union of images and movement that he sought.
Cinematographer Roger Pratt, whose mission was to convey the dread found in the Chamber of Secrets, says, "I think dark is a mood -- how you achieve it might not entail less light." Instead, Pratt worked with perspective, creating the illusion that hallways and stairways go on into infinity.
John Williams runs a clip of a scene without his music, and then with it, making the case for syrupy strings as conveyors of emotion.
The DVD's so-so games include an "Evil Dead"-like visit to the Forbidden Forest and a maze that rewards victors with an interactive tour of the Chamber of Secrets.
Other extras include production sketches, a build-it-yourself slide show of photos from the film, a preview of the DVD-ROM features and a noninteractive demo of the Electronic Arts video game.
- 4/22/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
FORT LAUDERDALE -- Richard Attenborough, who has concentrated largely on true-life biographical dramas during his directing career, has chosen one of his more quirky and intriguing subjects with his latest effort, about a famous 1930s Canadian half-breed Indian trapper, hunter, writer and environmentalist who, it was revealed after his death, was actually a full Englishman.
Although "Grey Owl" ultimately fails to fully mine the myriad possible resonances of its often fascinating tale, it is always an interesting and beautifully crafted film that deserves to be seen. Recently released in Canada, it is still awaiting U.S. distribution, despite having Pierce Brosnan in the starring role. The film recently served as the opening-night attraction at the 14th Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) International Film Festival.
The story, told in flashback, begins with the title character being confronted by a reporter about his identity as he is about to make one of his celebrated live appearances. It seems that several years earlier, Grey Owl was a trapper and hunter content to live an isolated experience in the rugged terrain of Northern Ontario. His life changes with the arrival of Anahareo, or Pony (Annie Galipeau), a beautiful young Mohawk who desperately wants him to acquaint her with traditional Indian ways. Although highly resistant at first, Grey Owl falls victim to her charms, and soon the pair are living together, their romantic bond sealed when he dramatically rescues her after a scary plunge into an icy lake.
Although Grey Owl has spent his life killing animals, he has a sudden epiphany, thanks to the tenderhearted Pony and the arrival of an adorable pair of baby beavers, orphaned thanks to one of his traps. Soon, the reticent Indian, who has previously dabbled in magazine writing, changes his life completely, devoting himself to championing the preservation of the environment and becoming a best-selling author. Dubbed a "modern Hiawatha," Grey Owl becomes a literary sensation and the best-known Indian in the world. But, as the film ultimately reveals, he is not an Indian at all, but rather Archie Belaney, an Englishman who was raised by his two loving aunts and decided to remake himself and assume a completely new identity.
His secret was not revealed until after his death in 1938.
Although there are some beautifully written scenes, such as the ineffably touching reunion between Archie and his now elderly aunts, the screenplay by William Nicholson ("Shadowlands") doesn't fully convey all of the complexities of this curious story. And its concentration on the love affair between Grey Owl and Pony is a bit of a miscalculation, especially since Galipeau, lovely as she is, isn't quite up to carrying so much of the film. But Attenborough is certainly successful in depicting the details of Grey Owl's lifestyle and the beauty of the landscape he worked so hard to preserve, and Roger Pratt's widescreen lensing of the rugged locations is consistently gorgeous.
Brosnan takes more than a little getting used to as the title character, though his performance, if not his physicality, is ultimately quite credible. It's hard not to think, though, that the actor was cast more for his international boxoffice appeal than for his suitability. Galipeau tries hard and brings a lissome physicality to her role, but her limited acting abilities and irritating vocal inflections prove distracting.
GREY OWL
Largo Entertainment
Credits: Director: Richard Attenborough; Screenplay: William Nicholson; Producers:Richard Attenborough, Jake Eberts, Claude Leger; Co-producer: Diana Hawkins; Executive producer: Lenny Young; Director of photography: Roger Pratt; Production designer: Anthony Pratt; Editor: Lesley Walker; Music: George Fenton. Cast: Grey Owl/Archie Belaney: Pierce Brosnan; Anahareo (Pony): Annie Galipeau; Ned White Bear: Nathaniel Arcand; Walter Perry: Charles Powell; Ada Belaney: Stephanie Cole; Carrie Belaney: Renee Asherson. MPAA rating: PG-13. Color/stereo. Running time -- 115 minutes.
Although "Grey Owl" ultimately fails to fully mine the myriad possible resonances of its often fascinating tale, it is always an interesting and beautifully crafted film that deserves to be seen. Recently released in Canada, it is still awaiting U.S. distribution, despite having Pierce Brosnan in the starring role. The film recently served as the opening-night attraction at the 14th Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) International Film Festival.
The story, told in flashback, begins with the title character being confronted by a reporter about his identity as he is about to make one of his celebrated live appearances. It seems that several years earlier, Grey Owl was a trapper and hunter content to live an isolated experience in the rugged terrain of Northern Ontario. His life changes with the arrival of Anahareo, or Pony (Annie Galipeau), a beautiful young Mohawk who desperately wants him to acquaint her with traditional Indian ways. Although highly resistant at first, Grey Owl falls victim to her charms, and soon the pair are living together, their romantic bond sealed when he dramatically rescues her after a scary plunge into an icy lake.
Although Grey Owl has spent his life killing animals, he has a sudden epiphany, thanks to the tenderhearted Pony and the arrival of an adorable pair of baby beavers, orphaned thanks to one of his traps. Soon, the reticent Indian, who has previously dabbled in magazine writing, changes his life completely, devoting himself to championing the preservation of the environment and becoming a best-selling author. Dubbed a "modern Hiawatha," Grey Owl becomes a literary sensation and the best-known Indian in the world. But, as the film ultimately reveals, he is not an Indian at all, but rather Archie Belaney, an Englishman who was raised by his two loving aunts and decided to remake himself and assume a completely new identity.
His secret was not revealed until after his death in 1938.
Although there are some beautifully written scenes, such as the ineffably touching reunion between Archie and his now elderly aunts, the screenplay by William Nicholson ("Shadowlands") doesn't fully convey all of the complexities of this curious story. And its concentration on the love affair between Grey Owl and Pony is a bit of a miscalculation, especially since Galipeau, lovely as she is, isn't quite up to carrying so much of the film. But Attenborough is certainly successful in depicting the details of Grey Owl's lifestyle and the beauty of the landscape he worked so hard to preserve, and Roger Pratt's widescreen lensing of the rugged locations is consistently gorgeous.
Brosnan takes more than a little getting used to as the title character, though his performance, if not his physicality, is ultimately quite credible. It's hard not to think, though, that the actor was cast more for his international boxoffice appeal than for his suitability. Galipeau tries hard and brings a lissome physicality to her role, but her limited acting abilities and irritating vocal inflections prove distracting.
GREY OWL
Largo Entertainment
Credits: Director: Richard Attenborough; Screenplay: William Nicholson; Producers:Richard Attenborough, Jake Eberts, Claude Leger; Co-producer: Diana Hawkins; Executive producer: Lenny Young; Director of photography: Roger Pratt; Production designer: Anthony Pratt; Editor: Lesley Walker; Music: George Fenton. Cast: Grey Owl/Archie Belaney: Pierce Brosnan; Anahareo (Pony): Annie Galipeau; Ned White Bear: Nathaniel Arcand; Walter Perry: Charles Powell; Ada Belaney: Stephanie Cole; Carrie Belaney: Renee Asherson. MPAA rating: PG-13. Color/stereo. Running time -- 115 minutes.
- 11/16/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A visionary filmmaker, Gilliam has few competitors in terms of sheer inventiveness and visual imagination. In each of his films, he constructs a universe that overwhelms the senses with bravura production design, but in the process neglects dramatic logic and narrative coherence, basic principles that would make his stories more involving and meaningful. Gilliam’s work is long on sensibility, short on sense.
A dark and somber sci-fier in the mold of “Blade Runner,” Terry Gilliam’s “12 Monkeys” is a spectacular mess, an excessively complicated film that attempts to be timely by blending a “virus” thriller with a post-apocalyptic anti-science drama. Gilliam’s seventh feature is neither as visually compelling as “Brazil” nor as emotionally gripping as “The Fisher King.” A cast boasting two of Hollywood’s hottest stars, Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt, should elevate pic’s visibility in the crowded holiday season, but ambitious, big-budget effort will ultimately prove a B.
A dark and somber sci-fier in the mold of “Blade Runner,” Terry Gilliam’s “12 Monkeys” is a spectacular mess, an excessively complicated film that attempts to be timely by blending a “virus” thriller with a post-apocalyptic anti-science drama. Gilliam’s seventh feature is neither as visually compelling as “Brazil” nor as emotionally gripping as “The Fisher King.” A cast boasting two of Hollywood’s hottest stars, Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt, should elevate pic’s visibility in the crowded holiday season, but ambitious, big-budget effort will ultimately prove a B.
- 12/22/1995
- by Emanuel Levy
- Variety Film + TV
Penelope Ann Miller stars as Margaret Harwood, the half-American 28-year-old daughter of an upper-class London wine merchant (Ian Richardson). While examining an estate cellar in Scotland, she comes across a bottle from 1811 (the title year), and her father promptly sells it to an American millionaire (Shane Rimmer) who sends his good-looking, beer-loving troubleshooter, Oliver Plexico (Tim Daly).
Unluckily for Oliver and Margaret, the Scottish castle is also home to a threesome of evil scientists headed by the charmingly villainous Philippe Louis Jourdan), and when Oliver and Margaret stumble across a corpse in the wine cellar, they soon have the scientists after them.
This kind of farcical thriller needs more bad guys, of course, and gets them in the shape of a local thug and his dear old mom (Julia McCarthy) and another band of henchman headed by a smooth talker (Art Malik) working for another oenophile tycoon. However, the three different mobs, rather than meshing into a comic mess, ply their evil plans in polite, but not very funny order.
There's no sense of escalating chaos, although the film clearly counts on evoking that kind of hysteria.
The romantic relationship between Margaret and Oliver doesn't fare much better, going from bickering rivalry to cooing affection as if on autopilot.
Their early exchanges are not quite funny enough, the later ones not quite passionate enough.
The backgrounds, which include climactic chases on the Riviera, are fitfully integrated into the action. The aforementioned lake, the Castle Green's valley home and the French cliffsides play nice roles whenever they are allowed to, but too much of the action unfolds in anonymous suites and rooms.
YEAR OF THE COMET
A Columbia Pictures Release
Castle Rock Entertainment
in association with New Line Cinema
Producer Nigel Wooll
Director Peter Yates
Writer William Goldman
Director of photography Roger Pratt, B.S.C.
Editor Ray Lovejoy
Production designer Anthony Pratt
Casting Noel Davis, Jeremy Zimmerman, Pam Dixon C.S.A.
Music Hummie Mann
Color/Dolby
Cast:
Margaret Harwood Penelope Ann Miller
Oliver Plexico Tim Daly
Philippe Louis Jourdan
Running time -- 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
Unluckily for Oliver and Margaret, the Scottish castle is also home to a threesome of evil scientists headed by the charmingly villainous Philippe Louis Jourdan), and when Oliver and Margaret stumble across a corpse in the wine cellar, they soon have the scientists after them.
This kind of farcical thriller needs more bad guys, of course, and gets them in the shape of a local thug and his dear old mom (Julia McCarthy) and another band of henchman headed by a smooth talker (Art Malik) working for another oenophile tycoon. However, the three different mobs, rather than meshing into a comic mess, ply their evil plans in polite, but not very funny order.
There's no sense of escalating chaos, although the film clearly counts on evoking that kind of hysteria.
The romantic relationship between Margaret and Oliver doesn't fare much better, going from bickering rivalry to cooing affection as if on autopilot.
Their early exchanges are not quite funny enough, the later ones not quite passionate enough.
The backgrounds, which include climactic chases on the Riviera, are fitfully integrated into the action. The aforementioned lake, the Castle Green's valley home and the French cliffsides play nice roles whenever they are allowed to, but too much of the action unfolds in anonymous suites and rooms.
YEAR OF THE COMET
A Columbia Pictures Release
Castle Rock Entertainment
in association with New Line Cinema
Producer Nigel Wooll
Director Peter Yates
Writer William Goldman
Director of photography Roger Pratt, B.S.C.
Editor Ray Lovejoy
Production designer Anthony Pratt
Casting Noel Davis, Jeremy Zimmerman, Pam Dixon C.S.A.
Music Hummie Mann
Color/Dolby
Cast:
Margaret Harwood Penelope Ann Miller
Oliver Plexico Tim Daly
Philippe Louis Jourdan
Running time -- 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
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