Joss Ackland, the British actor known for Lethal Weapon 2, Mighty Ducks and White Mischief, has died. He was 95.
Ackland died peacefully of old age, surrounded by his family Sunday morning, his longtime rep and friend Paul Pearson told The Hollywood Reporter. “He was lucid, erudite and mischievous to the end,” the rep added. “I loved him deeply, and, for me, he is the reason we have the word Magnificent in the dictionary.”
The actor was described as a “beloved father,” in a family statement obtained by BBC. It read, “With his distinctive voice and commanding presence, Ackland brought a unique intensity and gravitas to his role. He will be remembered as one of Britain’s most talented and beloved actors.”
In addition to his film roles in Lethal Weapon 2, Mighty Ducks and White Mischief, Ackland was known for parts in The Hunt for Red October, Daisies in December...
Ackland died peacefully of old age, surrounded by his family Sunday morning, his longtime rep and friend Paul Pearson told The Hollywood Reporter. “He was lucid, erudite and mischievous to the end,” the rep added. “I loved him deeply, and, for me, he is the reason we have the word Magnificent in the dictionary.”
The actor was described as a “beloved father,” in a family statement obtained by BBC. It read, “With his distinctive voice and commanding presence, Ackland brought a unique intensity and gravitas to his role. He will be remembered as one of Britain’s most talented and beloved actors.”
In addition to his film roles in Lethal Weapon 2, Mighty Ducks and White Mischief, Ackland was known for parts in The Hunt for Red October, Daisies in December...
- 11/20/2023
- by Christy Piña
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Blood Beast Terror
Blu-ray
Kino Lorber
1968 / 1.85: 1 / 88 Min.
Starring Peter Cushing, Wanda Ventham, Robert Flemyng
Written by Peter Bryan
Directed by Vernon Sewell
A serene British countryside is rocked by a series of brutal murders with a common thread; each victim has been mutilated and drained of their blood. All eyes are on a nearby university and its resident eccentric, the mysterious Dr. Mallinger, an entomologist with a fascination for Death’s-head moths. His daughter Clare shares his interests but her concerns are more personal than academic—Clare is a shapeshifter, transformed into a deadly butterfly when her blood is up and romance is in the air.
Directed by Vernon Sewell, this not so thrilling thriller features Robert Flemyng as Mallinger, and Wanda Ventham as Clare, whose blank-faced beauty suggests an otherworldly nature or a general lack of enthusiasm for the project—if it’s the latter she’s...
Blu-ray
Kino Lorber
1968 / 1.85: 1 / 88 Min.
Starring Peter Cushing, Wanda Ventham, Robert Flemyng
Written by Peter Bryan
Directed by Vernon Sewell
A serene British countryside is rocked by a series of brutal murders with a common thread; each victim has been mutilated and drained of their blood. All eyes are on a nearby university and its resident eccentric, the mysterious Dr. Mallinger, an entomologist with a fascination for Death’s-head moths. His daughter Clare shares his interests but her concerns are more personal than academic—Clare is a shapeshifter, transformed into a deadly butterfly when her blood is up and romance is in the air.
Directed by Vernon Sewell, this not so thrilling thriller features Robert Flemyng as Mallinger, and Wanda Ventham as Clare, whose blank-faced beauty suggests an otherworldly nature or a general lack of enthusiasm for the project—if it’s the latter she’s...
- 12/3/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
By Lee Pfeiffer
Christopher Lee and Boris Karloff collectively made countless films that varied widely in terms of quality. However, they always brought dignity to every role they performed. Sadly, the two icons of the horror film genre only worked together twice.The first time in the late 1950s in "Corridors of Blood" and the second and last time in what turned out to be the final film of Karloff's career, the 1968 Tigon Films production of "The Crimson Cult" (released in the UK as "Curse of the Crimson Altar" and in some territories as "The Crimson Altar" and "Black Horror"). Karloff barely got through the arduous shoot during a particularly cold and unpleasant British winter. However, always the ultimate professional, he persevered and continued the film until completion, even after having been hospitalized with pneumonia. The result is a film that is not particularly well-loved by horror film fans...
Christopher Lee and Boris Karloff collectively made countless films that varied widely in terms of quality. However, they always brought dignity to every role they performed. Sadly, the two icons of the horror film genre only worked together twice.The first time in the late 1950s in "Corridors of Blood" and the second and last time in what turned out to be the final film of Karloff's career, the 1968 Tigon Films production of "The Crimson Cult" (released in the UK as "Curse of the Crimson Altar" and in some territories as "The Crimson Altar" and "Black Horror"). Karloff barely got through the arduous shoot during a particularly cold and unpleasant British winter. However, always the ultimate professional, he persevered and continued the film until completion, even after having been hospitalized with pneumonia. The result is a film that is not particularly well-loved by horror film fans...
- 6/27/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Although Hammer Films will always be associated with British horror, the studio did have stiff competition. Amicus specialised in the successful horror anthologies and Us counterparts American International Pictures established a permanent UK base in the mid sixties. Other smaller independents took their own bite from the cherry tree of horror with some success, the best known being Tigon Films.
Tigon has received some belated recognition in recent years. Andy Boot’s book on British horror Fragments of Fear devotes a chapter to the company while John Hamilton’s excellent book Beast in the Cellar covers the varied career of Tigon’s charismatic founder Tony Tenser.
Like Hammer’s Sir James Carreras, Tenser was one of the British Film Industry’s great entrepreneurs. Born in London to poor Lithuanian immigrants and a movie fan since childhood, he was an ambitious man with a natural talent for showmanship. Combining shrewd business...
Tigon has received some belated recognition in recent years. Andy Boot’s book on British horror Fragments of Fear devotes a chapter to the company while John Hamilton’s excellent book Beast in the Cellar covers the varied career of Tigon’s charismatic founder Tony Tenser.
Like Hammer’s Sir James Carreras, Tenser was one of the British Film Industry’s great entrepreneurs. Born in London to poor Lithuanian immigrants and a movie fan since childhood, he was an ambitious man with a natural talent for showmanship. Combining shrewd business...
- 2/18/2014
- Shadowlocked
The latest batch of Redemption Films titles on Blu-ray and DVD from Kino are a pair of late period Vernon Sewell shockers from the late '60s-early '70s. The Blood Beast Terror (1968, Spine #14) is a period piece creature feature starring Peter Cushing in one of his least enduring roles, while Sewell's swan song, Burke & Hare (1972, Spine #15) is a significantly more enjoyable film about a pair of notorious British graverobbers, a tale recently adapted with Simon Pegg (Spaced, Shaun of the Dead) and Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings, Rise of the Planet of the Apes) in the title roles. The pair make for an interesting evening of film, but one is vastly superior to the other, and it wouldn't be...
- 8/2/2012
- Screen Anarchy
I got my basic training in British cinema from the late, great William K. Everson, but to the best of my knowledge he never screened The Silver Fleet (1943), starring Ralph Richardson. Its recent DVD release from Vci gave me a chance to see it for the first time, and made me a fan. It is officially a presentation of The Archers, the production unit formed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. That automatically elevates its status, as the credited writer-directors, Vernon Sewell and Gordon Wellesley, had long but generally undistinguished careers. Of that, more later. The Silver Fleet is a stirring tribute to the bravery of the Dutch people, and in particular one man (Richardson)...
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- 3/8/2012
- by Leonard Maltin
- Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Any film featuring either Christopher Lee or Boris Karloff is an instant must-see for horror fans. The two terror titans joined forces the first time in 1958′s Corridors Of Blood, a grimy graverobber/mad doctor opus that took place in 19th century England. Ten years later came their second and final collaboration, Curse Of The Crimson Cult (aka Curse Of The Crimson Altar or simply The Crimson Cult) and this time cult siren Barbara Steele, the reigning queen of horror, joined them as well. With this type of fright wattage, you’d expect Curse Of The Crimson Cult to be some sort of classic much-discussed by monster kids just for the cast alone (it’s even got Michael Gough!), but that’s not the case with this strange but confused brew of devil-worshipping, witches, creepy old mansions with secret passageways torture devices, and ritual sacrifices. It’s considered to be...
- 9/21/2011
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
This isn’t the first time the grisly true-to-life exploits of Burke & Hare have made it to the big screen. In 1960 Donald Pleasance and George Rose were the bumbling duo in John Gilling’s vintage terror treat The Flesh and the Fiends – a film that headlined the illustrious Peter Cushing as a medical doctor who requires corpses for research endeavours. Then in 1972 came the undeservedly forgotten Vernon Sewell version ‘Burke & Hare’ which also played the horror elements dead straight. Now, under the revitalised Ealing Studios banner, John Landis‘ has reinterpreted the infamous West Port Murders of 1827-1828 as a comedic caper staring Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis as the deadly duo who go into a potentially lucrative body snatching business venture – which involves supplying cadavers to Tom Wilkinson’s esteemed medical professor.
It must have been an intriguing proposition; working at a revived Ealing Studios in an attempt to honour...
It must have been an intriguing proposition; working at a revived Ealing Studios in an attempt to honour...
- 2/20/2011
- by Oliver Pfeiffer
- Obsessed with Film
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