Ukrainian-born, Miami-based producer, songwriter, composer, and filmmaker Rostislav Vaynshtok (Terrifier 2), better known as Slavvy, has officially signed on to score All My Friends Are Dead, the upcoming slasher film from Saw IV-3D writer and The Collector director Marcus Dunstan.
All My Friends Are Dead follows a group of close college friends who get a steal on a killer Airbnb for the biggest music festival of the year. A weekend of partying quickly takes a turn for the worst as members of the group are murdered one by one. They soon discover that each one of their deaths directly corresponds to one of the seven deadly sins.
The film, which stars stars Jojo Siwa and Jade Pettyjohn, is currently in post-production.
“I’ve always been a huge fan of the Saw franchise since I was a teenager. Having seen both The Collector and The Collection, and seeing the caliber...
All My Friends Are Dead follows a group of close college friends who get a steal on a killer Airbnb for the biggest music festival of the year. A weekend of partying quickly takes a turn for the worst as members of the group are murdered one by one. They soon discover that each one of their deaths directly corresponds to one of the seven deadly sins.
The film, which stars stars Jojo Siwa and Jade Pettyjohn, is currently in post-production.
“I’ve always been a huge fan of the Saw franchise since I was a teenager. Having seen both The Collector and The Collection, and seeing the caliber...
- 10/17/2023
- by Brad Miska
- bloody-disgusting.com
Johnny Jewel’s latest project is the soundtrack to the Dutch drama film Holly. Before the full Ost is out October 13th via his label Italians Do It Better, he’s shared a preview of it with the lead single “The Witch.” He’s also announced a run of European tour dates, during which he’ll play sets comprising music from his prolific film score discography.
Directed and written by Fien Troch, Holly centers around a 15-year-old girl whose school is largely destroyed by a fire one day after she calls out of class. As her community grieves, they begin to see some unspoken quality in Holly that makes her an unlikely source of support, though perhaps at the sacrifice of her own wellbeing.
“I used music to usher in the unseen elements of Holly’s story,” Jewel says in a press release, citing spine-chilling scores by John Carpenter, Goblin,...
Directed and written by Fien Troch, Holly centers around a 15-year-old girl whose school is largely destroyed by a fire one day after she calls out of class. As her community grieves, they begin to see some unspoken quality in Holly that makes her an unlikely source of support, though perhaps at the sacrifice of her own wellbeing.
“I used music to usher in the unseen elements of Holly’s story,” Jewel says in a press release, citing spine-chilling scores by John Carpenter, Goblin,...
- 9/15/2023
- by Abby Jones
- Consequence - Film News
Johnny Jewel’s latest project is the soundtrack to the Dutch drama film Holly. Before the full Ost is out October 13th via his label Italians Do It Better, he’s shared a preview of it with the lead single “The Witch.” He’s also announced a run of European tour dates, during which he’ll play sets comprising music from his prolific film score discography.
Directed and written by Fien Troch, Holly centers around a 15-year-old girl whose school is largely destroyed by a fire one day after she calls out of class. As her community grieves, they begin to see some unspoken quality in Holly that makes her an unlikely source of support, though perhaps at the sacrifice of her own wellbeing.
“I used music to usher in the unseen elements of Holly’s story,” Jewel says in a press release, citing spine-chilling scores by John Carpenter, Goblin,...
Directed and written by Fien Troch, Holly centers around a 15-year-old girl whose school is largely destroyed by a fire one day after she calls out of class. As her community grieves, they begin to see some unspoken quality in Holly that makes her an unlikely source of support, though perhaps at the sacrifice of her own wellbeing.
“I used music to usher in the unseen elements of Holly’s story,” Jewel says in a press release, citing spine-chilling scores by John Carpenter, Goblin,...
- 9/15/2023
- by Abby Jones
- Consequence - Music
Based on the novel by F. Paul Wilson, Michael Mann’s The Keep took place during World War II as a group of Nazis are forced to turn to a Jewish historian for help in battling an ancient demon they have inadvertently freed from its prison. It looks like a remake of The Keep is in the works, and the news comes from none other than F. Paul Wilson himself.
The Keep – 2 days ago, after a year and a half of lawyering between the "purchaser" and my side at ICM, I signed an option/purchase agreement with Greg Nicotero for the remake of The Keep. Greg is a longtime fan of the book and he's got the chops to do a worthy adaptation.
— F. Paul Wilson (@fpaulwilson) December 15, 2022
“2 days ago, after a year and a half of lawyering between the ‘purchaser’ and my side at ICM, I signed an option...
The Keep – 2 days ago, after a year and a half of lawyering between the "purchaser" and my side at ICM, I signed an option/purchase agreement with Greg Nicotero for the remake of The Keep. Greg is a longtime fan of the book and he's got the chops to do a worthy adaptation.
— F. Paul Wilson (@fpaulwilson) December 15, 2022
“2 days ago, after a year and a half of lawyering between the ‘purchaser’ and my side at ICM, I signed an option...
- 12/15/2022
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly WWF) was enjoying a peak Golden Age in the 1980s with primetime spots featuring larger-than-life wrestlers like Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior who were treated like the rock stars of the day. In a peculiar attempt to possibly capitalize on the sports craze, 1985's "Vision Quest" stars Matthew Modine as a high school wrestler who goes through intense physical training to challenge the undefeated state champion. The film has become a sports cult classic but, at the time, Warner Bros. Pictures may have been a little concerned about the mainstream appeal of a story about tournament-style wrestling that really had nothing to do with the entertaining stage fights of the WWF that were dominating the airwaves.
In what now looks like a savvy move, the soundtrack for "Vision Quest" nabbed a handful of songs from Madonna and the film features a quick but memorable cameo of...
In what now looks like a savvy move, the soundtrack for "Vision Quest" nabbed a handful of songs from Madonna and the film features a quick but memorable cameo of...
- 11/15/2022
- by Drew Tinnin
- Slash Film
“Firestarter”, the new science fiction horror feature, directed by Keith Thomas, starring Zac Efron, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Sydney Lemmon, Kurtwood Smith, John Beasley, Michael Greyeyes and Gloria Reuben, has fizzled out at the box office earning only 3.8 million domestic and 5.8 million worldwide over the weekend:
The original "Firestarter" feature starred Drew Barrymore as 'Charlie McGee', who develops 'pyrokinesis':
"...score 'Andrew' and 'Charlie McGee', are a father-daughter pair on the run from a government agency known as 'The Shop'. During his college years, Andy had participated in a Shop experiment dealing with 'Lot 6', a drug with hallucinogenic effects similar to LSD. The drug gave his future wife, 'Victoria Tomlinson', minor telepathic abilities, and him an autohypnotic mind domination ability known as 'the Push'.
"Both his and Vicky's powers are physiologically limited. In his case, overuse of the Push gives him crippling migraine headaches and minute brain hemorrhages,...
The original "Firestarter" feature starred Drew Barrymore as 'Charlie McGee', who develops 'pyrokinesis':
"...score 'Andrew' and 'Charlie McGee', are a father-daughter pair on the run from a government agency known as 'The Shop'. During his college years, Andy had participated in a Shop experiment dealing with 'Lot 6', a drug with hallucinogenic effects similar to LSD. The drug gave his future wife, 'Victoria Tomlinson', minor telepathic abilities, and him an autohypnotic mind domination ability known as 'the Push'.
"Both his and Vicky's powers are physiologically limited. In his case, overuse of the Push gives him crippling migraine headaches and minute brain hemorrhages,...
- 5/16/2022
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Director Keith Thomas’ “Firestarter” is simply a substandard movie. What more can be said that wouldn’t belabor the point? A remake of Mark L. Lester’s kitschy film adaptation of Stephen King’s same-titled sci-fi horror novel; Thomas’ version, heading straight to Peacock, doesn’t have Drew Barrymore or Martin Sheen or even Tangerine Dream’s music.
Continue reading ‘Firestarter’ Review: A Remake So Loathsome & Embarrassing It Should Be Immediately Extinguished at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Firestarter’ Review: A Remake So Loathsome & Embarrassing It Should Be Immediately Extinguished at The Playlist.
- 5/13/2022
- by Robert Daniels
- The Playlist
“Black as midnight, black as pitch, blacker than the foulest witch.”
Tom Cruise and Tim Curry in Ridley Scott’s Legend (1985) will be available on Blu-ray September 28th from Arrow Video
This is such stuff as dreams are made of. This is Legend.
After changing the face of science fiction cinema forever with Alien and Blade Runner, director Ridley Scott turned his visionary eye to the fantasy genre, teaming with writer William Hjortsberg (Angel Heart) to create a breathtaking cinematic fairytale with one of the screen’s most astonishingly rendered depictions of Evil. In an idyllic, sun-dappled forest, the pure-hearted Jack (Tom Cruise) takes his true love Princess Lili (Mia Sara) to see a pair of unicorns frolicking at the forest’s edge. Little do they know, however, that the Lord of Darkness has dispatched his minions to capture the unicorns and sever their horns so that he may plunge the world into everlasting night.
Tom Cruise and Tim Curry in Ridley Scott’s Legend (1985) will be available on Blu-ray September 28th from Arrow Video
This is such stuff as dreams are made of. This is Legend.
After changing the face of science fiction cinema forever with Alien and Blade Runner, director Ridley Scott turned his visionary eye to the fantasy genre, teaming with writer William Hjortsberg (Angel Heart) to create a breathtaking cinematic fairytale with one of the screen’s most astonishingly rendered depictions of Evil. In an idyllic, sun-dappled forest, the pure-hearted Jack (Tom Cruise) takes his true love Princess Lili (Mia Sara) to see a pair of unicorns frolicking at the forest’s edge. Little do they know, however, that the Lord of Darkness has dispatched his minions to capture the unicorns and sever their horns so that he may plunge the world into everlasting night.
- 9/19/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In the 10 years since the release of Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive,” the lives of two key figures behind its pivotal soundtrack, Johnny Jewel and Cliff Martinez, have changed for the better, thanks to the film.
“Before ‘Drive’ coming out, I was standing by the freeway with a cardboard sign that said, ‘Will score for food,’” jokes “Drive’s” composer, Martinez, a sometimes drummer in Red Hot Chili Peppers, and one of Steven Soderbergh’s go-to composers. “I wasn’t exactly struggling, but I would go for months without work. My popularity ebbs and flows, but for the most part, I’m much more popular than I was before 2011.”
“For those of us in the underground, ‘Drive’ was huge,” says Jewel, who has two key songs on the soundtrack — “Tick of the Clock,” with his former band, the Chromatics, and “Under Your Spell” with his other band, Desire.
“’Drive’ is a niche film,...
“Before ‘Drive’ coming out, I was standing by the freeway with a cardboard sign that said, ‘Will score for food,’” jokes “Drive’s” composer, Martinez, a sometimes drummer in Red Hot Chili Peppers, and one of Steven Soderbergh’s go-to composers. “I wasn’t exactly struggling, but I would go for months without work. My popularity ebbs and flows, but for the most part, I’m much more popular than I was before 2011.”
“For those of us in the underground, ‘Drive’ was huge,” says Jewel, who has two key songs on the soundtrack — “Tick of the Clock,” with his former band, the Chromatics, and “Under Your Spell” with his other band, Desire.
“’Drive’ is a niche film,...
- 9/16/2021
- by Lily Moayeri
- Variety Film + TV
As a child, I first saw a snake with my own two eyes when one of the garter variety slithered through our front lawn and my mom, with a deep abiding fear, called my dad home from the office to slay the beast. (Or shoo it away. Probably that.) I maintain a healthy relationship with snakes: leave me alone and I’ll leave you alone. (I promise I’ll always leave you alone.) Of course, I love to see them in horror movies; the safety of the screen provides nothing but thrills when I know it won’t be coming for me. This brings us to Spasms (1983), a disjointed yet fun film in which a big snake in a big Canadian city wreaks big havoc.
With a troubled production as serpentine as its subject, Spasms saw little theatrical love (or release for that matter) but nested comfortably on video for...
With a troubled production as serpentine as its subject, Spasms saw little theatrical love (or release for that matter) but nested comfortably on video for...
- 8/3/2019
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
Revered progressive electronic act Tangerine Dream have collected previously unheard outtakes, live footage, 5.1 surround sound versions and newly remastered studio tracks for the upcoming box set In Search of Hades: The Virgin Recordings 1973 – 1979, out June 14th via Umc-Virgin. The 16-cd/2-Blu-Ray Ultra Deluxe version collects the band’s seven albums recorded for the Virgin label during their influential streak in the decade: Phaedra, Rubycon, Ricochet, Stratosfear, Encore, Cyclone and Force Majeure.
Also included are two discs of stereo outtakes from the Phaedra sessions at the Manor Studios in Oxfordshire, England,...
Also included are two discs of stereo outtakes from the Phaedra sessions at the Manor Studios in Oxfordshire, England,...
- 4/18/2019
- by Ryan Reed
- Rollingstone.com
Performing vampire slayings on the spot? Yes, please. A trailer and details for Improvised Buffy at the High Stakes Theater Company in NYC headlines today's Highlights. Also: Dis photos and trailer and a Q&A with writer and director James Dylan for [Cargo].
Improvised Buffy and Ticketing Information: "Join us on our very own little slice of the Hellmouth. Buffy fans gather on the first Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. to watch a group of skilled actors and Whedon fanatics make up a live episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the spot. Grab a drink at "The Bronze" bar and get ready for vamp dustings, apocalypses, wiggins, and more!
More Information:
https://www.highstakestheatercompany.com/improvisedbuffy/
Tickets:
improvisedbuffy.com"
---------
Dis Photos and Trailer Revealed: "An ex-soldier with a criminal past takes refuge in the woods. A demonic figure seeks the seed of killers and the blood of...
Improvised Buffy and Ticketing Information: "Join us on our very own little slice of the Hellmouth. Buffy fans gather on the first Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. to watch a group of skilled actors and Whedon fanatics make up a live episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the spot. Grab a drink at "The Bronze" bar and get ready for vamp dustings, apocalypses, wiggins, and more!
More Information:
https://www.highstakestheatercompany.com/improvisedbuffy/
Tickets:
improvisedbuffy.com"
---------
Dis Photos and Trailer Revealed: "An ex-soldier with a criminal past takes refuge in the woods. A demonic figure seeks the seed of killers and the blood of...
- 11/29/2018
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
Gerard Butler hunts bank robbers as La sheriff Big Nick in Den Of Thieves. It’s a surprisingly good heist thriller, Ryan writes...
Gerard Butler and 50 Cent in a film by the screenwriter of London Has Fallen might sound like a match made in straight-to-dvd heaven, but there’s more going on in Den Of Thieves than guns and machismo. Well, there’s still an awful lot of guns and machismo, but writer-director Christian Gudegast’s feature debut is more inspired by the cool thriller trappings of Michael Mann’s Heat than the ultra-violent London Has Fallen.
See related The Walking Dead: Steven Yeun reflects on Glenn The Walking Dead: TV show will not overtake the comics The Walking Dead season 8 episode 8 review: How It's Gotta Be The Walking Dead: season 9 confirmed
In fact, Den Of Thieves seems so heavily inspired by Michael Mann in its opening third...
Gerard Butler and 50 Cent in a film by the screenwriter of London Has Fallen might sound like a match made in straight-to-dvd heaven, but there’s more going on in Den Of Thieves than guns and machismo. Well, there’s still an awful lot of guns and machismo, but writer-director Christian Gudegast’s feature debut is more inspired by the cool thriller trappings of Michael Mann’s Heat than the ultra-violent London Has Fallen.
See related The Walking Dead: Steven Yeun reflects on Glenn The Walking Dead: TV show will not overtake the comics The Walking Dead season 8 episode 8 review: How It's Gotta Be The Walking Dead: season 9 confirmed
In fact, Den Of Thieves seems so heavily inspired by Michael Mann in its opening third...
- 2/2/2018
- Den of Geek
VARÈSE Sarabande Records Announces Stephen King Soundtrack Collection – Limited Edition Box Set Featuring Four Classic Scores On Eight CDs Dreamcatcher (2-cd Deluxe Edition) – James Newton Howard The Stand (2-cd Deluxe Edition) – W.G. Snuffy Walden The Shining (3-cd Set) – Nicholas Pike Firestarter – Tangerine Dream Varèse Sarabande Records is proud to announce …
The post Stephen King Soundtrack Collection – Limited Box Set Details first appeared on Hnn | Horrornews.net 2017 - Official Horror News Site...
The post Stephen King Soundtrack Collection – Limited Box Set Details first appeared on Hnn | Horrornews.net 2017 - Official Horror News Site...
- 11/14/2017
- by Horrornews.net
- Horror News
Seems the capital is rapidly hurtling towards Christmas and so are we. Here’s our pick for this week’s increasingly festive events. Sample some of the UK’s finest music documentaries.Fan of Joe Cocker, Ella Fitzgerald, or Tangerine Dream? Get yourself to the last few days of the fourth-annual Doc ‘n Roll Film Festival which will feature a full roster of global films and a few Q&A sessions with the filmmakers. The festival ends on Nov. 19, so you only have a few days left. (Tickets prices vary) Embrace winter in West London.Over the summer, a little patch of Fulham transformed itself into a beach but this November, the beach morphs into the much more seasonal ‘Winterland’. Think heated winter lodges, fondue, igloos, and four neon-lit curling lanes. Winter is here and we like it. (Tickets from £5) Potter around this magical studio tour.Starting on Nov. 18, the...
- 11/13/2017
- backstage.com
In the course a decade, Joachim Trier has liked to set the bar high. With 2006’s Reprise marking the start, each film has proven more ambitious than the last; his latest, Thelma, continues that trend. It eschews Trier’s quietly dramatic, naturalist approach that characterizes previous works — and that came to a head in 2015 with the ambitious, American-made Louder Than Bombs — and instead finds him venturing into uncharted territories with a genre-blending mix of erotic thriller, supernatural horror, and coming-of-age films.
I found it to be among the best of the main-slate offerings at this years’ New York Film Festival — but, as our review can speak to, how much it succeeds might ultimately depend on your temperament. Whatever your stance on it, Trier’s ambition is palpable, and Thelma contains every reason to be excited for the new directions his career will take in the future.
We spoke to Trier...
I found it to be among the best of the main-slate offerings at this years’ New York Film Festival — but, as our review can speak to, how much it succeeds might ultimately depend on your temperament. Whatever your stance on it, Trier’s ambition is palpable, and Thelma contains every reason to be excited for the new directions his career will take in the future.
We spoke to Trier...
- 11/10/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
If you have been paying any attention to the independent horror scene over the last five years, you are undoubtedly familiar with the work of actor Graham Skipper. From his star-making turn as Dr. Herbert West in the stage version of the Re-Animator musical to his leading man turns in the films of director Joe Begos (Almost Human, The Mind’s Eye) to his role in Jackson Stewart’s Beyond the Gates to seemingly countless supporting roles in everything from Tales of Halloween to Carnage Park to The Devil’s Dolls, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to watch a modern independent horror movie and not have Graham Skipper show up. While I’m always delighted to see him pop up in something I’m watching—I know that for however long he’s on screen, I am in good hands—that kind of ubiquity doesn’t automatically lend itself to talent behind the camera.
- 11/7/2017
- by Patrick Bromley
- DailyDead
The best vampire movie of all time hit theaters 30 years ago. Released the same year as The Lost Boys, Near Dark makes a pretty good case for being the sub-genre’s best. With incredible performances from Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen, a mesmerizing score by Tangerine Dream, and a super cool horror-western feel, Kathryn Bigelow’s film is […]...
- 6/27/2017
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Last month, coverage of the 40th anniversary of Star Wars was understandably extensive, with pop-culture publications, daily newspapers, and TV media commemorating a film that by all rights changed the landscape of Hollywood, for better or worse. Conversely, there will likely be relatively little retrospective celebration for William Friedkin’s Sorcerer or Martin Scorsese’s New York, New York, two terrific films released roughly one month later in the week of June 19-25. Though they weren’t the first examples of New Hollywood directors following huge successes with more difficult works that flopped (Peter Bogdanovich’s secretly lovely At Long Last Love comes to mind), they stood in 1977 as back-to-back examples of talented filmmakers – one Oscar-winning, the other well on his way to becoming the most-acclaimed director of his generation – overreaching and failing after becoming a bit too full of themselves.
That is, of course, an oversimplification, just as the other charge popularized by the likes of Peter Biskind – i.e. George Lucas’ grand space opera and Steven Spielberg’s personal blockbusters killed Hollywood’s interest in movies for adults – is an oversimplification. In all truth, it isn’t surprising that audiences didn’t go for Sorcerer or New York, New York, two especially challenging-for-the-mainstream features that pushed their creators’ aesthetics to greater extremes than before while tracking in subject matter that was pessimistic even for the time. But while both films and their troubled productions saw directors burned by their ambition, they are also exceptional works showcasing how exhilarating it can be when all commercial sense goes out the window.
Friedkin’s Sorcerer can lay more claim to having been actively harmed by the arrival of Lucas’ megahit, arriving exactly one month later, on June 25, and competing for a thrill-seeking crowd. (One theater reportedly pulled Star Wars for Sorcerer for a week, only to replace it when Friedkin’s film failed to lure an audience.) The film, a remake of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s 1953 masterpiece The Wages of Fear, was also hurt by its confusing title — named after one of the trucks transporting dynamite through a dangerous jungle to put out an oil fire — and a budget that ballooned from an initially planned $15 million to $22 million following a difficult production.
Friedkin, hot off the Oscar-winning The French Connection and hugely successful The Exorcist, already had a reputation for his temperament and arrogance. They were in full force on Sorcerer: he clashed with cinematographer Dick Bush, who left halfway through filming, as well as producer David Salven, whom Friedkin fired after fights over the expensive location shoots. Friedkin extensively clashed with Paramount brass, sometimes reasonably (kicking executives off set after perceived interference), sometimes amusingly but questionably (the evil oil execs pictured in the film are actually Gulf & Western’s executive board, and they repaid him by not promoting the film). The jungle shoot itself was hell, with about 50 people quitting following injury or illness while Friedkin himself contracted malaria and lost 50 pounds.
But it’s only appropriate that the making of Sorcerer was so desperate, given the story it tells. Friedkin’s worldview has always been bleak and cynical, and Sorcerer may be the purest expression of that. Its heroes are a hard-bitten New Jersey hood (a spectacularly testy Roy Scheider) hiding out after shooting a mobster’s brother, a crooked French banker (Bruno Cremer) on the run following fraud accusations, a Palestinian terrorist (Amidou) behind a Jerusalem bombing, and a Mexican hitman (Francisco Rabal) who gets in on the job after murdering the fourth driver (Karl John), apparently a fugitive Nazi. The film presents their crimes as facts and without real judgment, their rottenness just another bad part of a burned-out, brutal world.
Where The French Connection and The Exorcist gave viewers visceral thrills early on and some sense of right and wrong (even if it’s fatally compromised), the early action in Sorcerer is more painful, with suicide, terrorism, and the loss of friends and partners forming the four prologues introducing the men at this film’s center. Friedkin then drops us into squalor and despair in a small South American town where the heat and rain are nearly as oppressive as the police state, the work is dangerous and pays little, and the mud seems to soak up any sense of hope. It’s little wonder that they might take up the dangerous assignment of driving through an arduous jungle landscape with unstable explosives that could set off at any moment. When you’ve been driven into no man’s land by your sins, any way out is worth it — no matter how unlikely it is that you’ll survive.
The actual drive up to the oil well doesn’t begin until about halfway through and takes on the tone of an unusually fraught funeral march for the protagonists. Friedkin’s immediate, docurealistic style helps ground the proceedings as set-pieces grow more heightened, most memorably when the drivers guide their trucks over a deteriorating bridge as the river beneath it overflows — the most expensive sequence in the film, as well as the most difficult-to-shoot of Friedkin’s career. As Popeye Doyle’s car chase in The French Connection and Regan & Chris MacNeil getting jerked around in The Exorcist evince, Friedkin always had a gift for making scenes that were already dangerous in conception even more tactile and nerve-wracking. Here, his emphasis on the mechanics of the crossing – the snapping rope and wood – as well as the fragility of the bodies attempting to cross (particularly as one rider steps outside to guide the truck and risks getting thrown off or crushed in the process) make the danger of their situation all the more palpable.
Yet there’s a more existential doom permeating the film compared with the nihilism of his earlier efforts, a more complete melding of his hard-bitten style with expressionistic touches that peppered The Exorcist. Part of that comes from Tangerine Dream’s ethereal score, which accentuates a sense that the elements are set against the drivers. But Friedkin also lends the film’s grungy look a sort of otherworldly menace, whether the camera soars through gorgeous greenery while a fire burns in the background or Scheider envisions a stream of blood soaking the dirt. Even the small moments of beauty (e.g. a butterfly hiding from the rain or a woman briefly dancing with Scheider) seem to tease the protagonists and underline their utter hopelessness. By the time we reach a grim conclusion, Friedkin has taken us through a world without mercy or decency, in which fate mocks even the most resilient of us.
Martin Scorsese’s New York, New York, released just a few days earlier on June 21, was less plausibly affected by the release of Star Wars, and more likely the victim of critics and audiences being put off by its mix of glossy, Vincente Minnelli-esque musicality and aggressive, John Cassavetes-influenced verisimilitude. Scorsese, with the story of a creative and personal relationship collapsing under the weight of jealousy in a postwar environment, sought to bring to the forefront the unhappiness lurking under the surface of films such as Meet Me in St. Louis and My Dream is Yours.
It, like Sorcerer, had a difficult production, with the director battling a severe cocaine addiction while breaking up with then-wife Julia Cameron and carrying out an affair with lead actress Liza Minnelli. The film’s herky-jerky rhythms and circular intensity seem to take cues from that tension, the big-band musical numbers clashing with deliberately repetitive improvisations and screaming matches. Scorsese had mixed realism with melodrama (Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore) and grit with florid formalism (Taxi Driver) previously, and would go on to marry his classic and New Hollywood interests more palatably in Raging Bull. But New York, New York isn’t a marriage so much as it’s a push-pull war, one that’s sometimes exhausting.
Acknowledging the unattainability of Hollywood fantasies makes it no less vital a love letter. Scorsese opens with an astonishing crane shot on V-j Day as Robert De Niro’s Jimmy gets lost in the excitement of a crowd, only to appear under an arrow that both pinpoints and isolates him. De Niro’s first interactions with Minnelli’s Francine, meanwhile, are less a meet-cute, more an ongoing, insistent harassment that eventually wears down her defenses. The entire opening sequence communicates a sense of spiritual and personal emptiness amid celebration, an early warning that not all is well in the postwar era.
De Niro continues playing Jimmy as a halfway point between his insecure, jealous bruiser in Raging Bull and his relentless, obnoxious pest in The King of Comedy, but Scorsese finds some truth in his and Francine’s romance (even as it’s rotting from the inside out) in their musical performances, with the two finding a better balance and greater chemistry as they perform “You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me.” Their partnership flourishes out of a mutual recognition of talent — or, in his case, recognition of greater possible success together. Still, that balance begins to tip whenever Francine asserts herself, as in a scene where she tries to pep up the band following one of Jimmy’s criticisms, only for him to tear her down. And the film’s most gorgeous images undermine any possibility of happiness between the two, with De Niro proposing (badly: “I love you… I mean, I don’t love you. I dig you; I like you a lot”) in front of a fake forest.
Purposefully, the film’s first two hours give more emphasis to Scorsese’s more discursive side, major arguments between Jimmy and Francine getting interrupted by Jimmy’s ability to get into a minor argument with anyone he encounters. It’s in the final third that focus shifts to the director’s inner formalist and New York, New York turns into a proper musical with the remarkably bittersweet “Happy Endings” sequence. Francine’s finally given a chance to flourish as a performer, unhindered by Jimmy’s jealousy, and Scorsese jumps into an unabashedly stagey finale not unlike that of The Band Wagon or An American in Paris.
Yet the climax still reflects the inherent unhappiness in Francine’s life, telling a story of a relationship ended by success, only to double back and conclude with a wish-fulfillment coda that only makes it more painful. We’ve already seen the truth in the lives of Francine and Jimmy, and no rousing performance of “Theme from ‘New York, New York’” is going to change that. Their final encounter twists the knife further, giving one last tease of possible reconciliation before recognizing that it’s impossible, leaving Jimmy with a final, lonely shot echoing that V-j Day opening.
Audiences and critics largely rejected New York, New York and Sorcerer, with neither film making its budget back or earning the raves their makers had come to expect, but time has been kind to both. They haven’t exactly seen widespread reevaluation as their makers’ best works — Sorcerer wouldn’t be too far off for this writer, and Scorsese’s film has its passionate advocates — but they’ve developed cult followings and at least partly shaken off their previous distinctions as merely ambitious follies. Perhaps it’s appropriate that they’re not as widely cited as Taxi Driver and The Exorcist – they’re pricklier than their more popular predecessors, better suited as advanced viewing than introductory works. They may not generate thousands upon thousands of appreciations 40 years later, but they’re there, waiting for curious viewers to make a discovery.
That is, of course, an oversimplification, just as the other charge popularized by the likes of Peter Biskind – i.e. George Lucas’ grand space opera and Steven Spielberg’s personal blockbusters killed Hollywood’s interest in movies for adults – is an oversimplification. In all truth, it isn’t surprising that audiences didn’t go for Sorcerer or New York, New York, two especially challenging-for-the-mainstream features that pushed their creators’ aesthetics to greater extremes than before while tracking in subject matter that was pessimistic even for the time. But while both films and their troubled productions saw directors burned by their ambition, they are also exceptional works showcasing how exhilarating it can be when all commercial sense goes out the window.
Friedkin’s Sorcerer can lay more claim to having been actively harmed by the arrival of Lucas’ megahit, arriving exactly one month later, on June 25, and competing for a thrill-seeking crowd. (One theater reportedly pulled Star Wars for Sorcerer for a week, only to replace it when Friedkin’s film failed to lure an audience.) The film, a remake of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s 1953 masterpiece The Wages of Fear, was also hurt by its confusing title — named after one of the trucks transporting dynamite through a dangerous jungle to put out an oil fire — and a budget that ballooned from an initially planned $15 million to $22 million following a difficult production.
Friedkin, hot off the Oscar-winning The French Connection and hugely successful The Exorcist, already had a reputation for his temperament and arrogance. They were in full force on Sorcerer: he clashed with cinematographer Dick Bush, who left halfway through filming, as well as producer David Salven, whom Friedkin fired after fights over the expensive location shoots. Friedkin extensively clashed with Paramount brass, sometimes reasonably (kicking executives off set after perceived interference), sometimes amusingly but questionably (the evil oil execs pictured in the film are actually Gulf & Western’s executive board, and they repaid him by not promoting the film). The jungle shoot itself was hell, with about 50 people quitting following injury or illness while Friedkin himself contracted malaria and lost 50 pounds.
But it’s only appropriate that the making of Sorcerer was so desperate, given the story it tells. Friedkin’s worldview has always been bleak and cynical, and Sorcerer may be the purest expression of that. Its heroes are a hard-bitten New Jersey hood (a spectacularly testy Roy Scheider) hiding out after shooting a mobster’s brother, a crooked French banker (Bruno Cremer) on the run following fraud accusations, a Palestinian terrorist (Amidou) behind a Jerusalem bombing, and a Mexican hitman (Francisco Rabal) who gets in on the job after murdering the fourth driver (Karl John), apparently a fugitive Nazi. The film presents their crimes as facts and without real judgment, their rottenness just another bad part of a burned-out, brutal world.
Where The French Connection and The Exorcist gave viewers visceral thrills early on and some sense of right and wrong (even if it’s fatally compromised), the early action in Sorcerer is more painful, with suicide, terrorism, and the loss of friends and partners forming the four prologues introducing the men at this film’s center. Friedkin then drops us into squalor and despair in a small South American town where the heat and rain are nearly as oppressive as the police state, the work is dangerous and pays little, and the mud seems to soak up any sense of hope. It’s little wonder that they might take up the dangerous assignment of driving through an arduous jungle landscape with unstable explosives that could set off at any moment. When you’ve been driven into no man’s land by your sins, any way out is worth it — no matter how unlikely it is that you’ll survive.
The actual drive up to the oil well doesn’t begin until about halfway through and takes on the tone of an unusually fraught funeral march for the protagonists. Friedkin’s immediate, docurealistic style helps ground the proceedings as set-pieces grow more heightened, most memorably when the drivers guide their trucks over a deteriorating bridge as the river beneath it overflows — the most expensive sequence in the film, as well as the most difficult-to-shoot of Friedkin’s career. As Popeye Doyle’s car chase in The French Connection and Regan & Chris MacNeil getting jerked around in The Exorcist evince, Friedkin always had a gift for making scenes that were already dangerous in conception even more tactile and nerve-wracking. Here, his emphasis on the mechanics of the crossing – the snapping rope and wood – as well as the fragility of the bodies attempting to cross (particularly as one rider steps outside to guide the truck and risks getting thrown off or crushed in the process) make the danger of their situation all the more palpable.
Yet there’s a more existential doom permeating the film compared with the nihilism of his earlier efforts, a more complete melding of his hard-bitten style with expressionistic touches that peppered The Exorcist. Part of that comes from Tangerine Dream’s ethereal score, which accentuates a sense that the elements are set against the drivers. But Friedkin also lends the film’s grungy look a sort of otherworldly menace, whether the camera soars through gorgeous greenery while a fire burns in the background or Scheider envisions a stream of blood soaking the dirt. Even the small moments of beauty (e.g. a butterfly hiding from the rain or a woman briefly dancing with Scheider) seem to tease the protagonists and underline their utter hopelessness. By the time we reach a grim conclusion, Friedkin has taken us through a world without mercy or decency, in which fate mocks even the most resilient of us.
Martin Scorsese’s New York, New York, released just a few days earlier on June 21, was less plausibly affected by the release of Star Wars, and more likely the victim of critics and audiences being put off by its mix of glossy, Vincente Minnelli-esque musicality and aggressive, John Cassavetes-influenced verisimilitude. Scorsese, with the story of a creative and personal relationship collapsing under the weight of jealousy in a postwar environment, sought to bring to the forefront the unhappiness lurking under the surface of films such as Meet Me in St. Louis and My Dream is Yours.
It, like Sorcerer, had a difficult production, with the director battling a severe cocaine addiction while breaking up with then-wife Julia Cameron and carrying out an affair with lead actress Liza Minnelli. The film’s herky-jerky rhythms and circular intensity seem to take cues from that tension, the big-band musical numbers clashing with deliberately repetitive improvisations and screaming matches. Scorsese had mixed realism with melodrama (Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore) and grit with florid formalism (Taxi Driver) previously, and would go on to marry his classic and New Hollywood interests more palatably in Raging Bull. But New York, New York isn’t a marriage so much as it’s a push-pull war, one that’s sometimes exhausting.
Acknowledging the unattainability of Hollywood fantasies makes it no less vital a love letter. Scorsese opens with an astonishing crane shot on V-j Day as Robert De Niro’s Jimmy gets lost in the excitement of a crowd, only to appear under an arrow that both pinpoints and isolates him. De Niro’s first interactions with Minnelli’s Francine, meanwhile, are less a meet-cute, more an ongoing, insistent harassment that eventually wears down her defenses. The entire opening sequence communicates a sense of spiritual and personal emptiness amid celebration, an early warning that not all is well in the postwar era.
De Niro continues playing Jimmy as a halfway point between his insecure, jealous bruiser in Raging Bull and his relentless, obnoxious pest in The King of Comedy, but Scorsese finds some truth in his and Francine’s romance (even as it’s rotting from the inside out) in their musical performances, with the two finding a better balance and greater chemistry as they perform “You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me.” Their partnership flourishes out of a mutual recognition of talent — or, in his case, recognition of greater possible success together. Still, that balance begins to tip whenever Francine asserts herself, as in a scene where she tries to pep up the band following one of Jimmy’s criticisms, only for him to tear her down. And the film’s most gorgeous images undermine any possibility of happiness between the two, with De Niro proposing (badly: “I love you… I mean, I don’t love you. I dig you; I like you a lot”) in front of a fake forest.
Purposefully, the film’s first two hours give more emphasis to Scorsese’s more discursive side, major arguments between Jimmy and Francine getting interrupted by Jimmy’s ability to get into a minor argument with anyone he encounters. It’s in the final third that focus shifts to the director’s inner formalist and New York, New York turns into a proper musical with the remarkably bittersweet “Happy Endings” sequence. Francine’s finally given a chance to flourish as a performer, unhindered by Jimmy’s jealousy, and Scorsese jumps into an unabashedly stagey finale not unlike that of The Band Wagon or An American in Paris.
Yet the climax still reflects the inherent unhappiness in Francine’s life, telling a story of a relationship ended by success, only to double back and conclude with a wish-fulfillment coda that only makes it more painful. We’ve already seen the truth in the lives of Francine and Jimmy, and no rousing performance of “Theme from ‘New York, New York’” is going to change that. Their final encounter twists the knife further, giving one last tease of possible reconciliation before recognizing that it’s impossible, leaving Jimmy with a final, lonely shot echoing that V-j Day opening.
Audiences and critics largely rejected New York, New York and Sorcerer, with neither film making its budget back or earning the raves their makers had come to expect, but time has been kind to both. They haven’t exactly seen widespread reevaluation as their makers’ best works — Sorcerer wouldn’t be too far off for this writer, and Scorsese’s film has its passionate advocates — but they’ve developed cult followings and at least partly shaken off their previous distinctions as merely ambitious follies. Perhaps it’s appropriate that they’re not as widely cited as Taxi Driver and The Exorcist – they’re pricklier than their more popular predecessors, better suited as advanced viewing than introductory works. They may not generate thousands upon thousands of appreciations 40 years later, but they’re there, waiting for curious viewers to make a discovery.
- 6/21/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
There’s no question that hordes of people will swarm to theaters to see “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” on opening weekend, and most of them will get their money’s worth — it’s yet another visually dazzling comic space opera about intergalactic heroes trading banter in their meandering quest to save the universe. Writer-director James Gunn was already onboard to direct a third entry before this one hit theaters, a signal that this vibrant formula works really well for a lot of people. Unfortunately, the enthusiasm for a big, flashy blockbuster like “Guardians” has the power to overwhelm everything else out there, and drown out memories of other first-rate science fiction storytelling from recent years that still deserves a larger audience. Here are a few of them worth checking out this weekend. Trust us — “Guardians” will be there next weekend, too.
“Beyond the Black Rainbow” (2010)
The first (and...
“Beyond the Black Rainbow” (2010)
The first (and...
- 5/5/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Stars: Donatas Banionis, Natalya Bondarchuk, Anatoli Solonitsyn, Jüri Järvet | Written by Andrei Tarkovsky; Fridrikh Gorenshtein | Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
It’s Will Self’s favourite movie, it spawned a good remake which barely nudged the box office, and it has been described as the Soviet answer to 2001: A Space Odyssey. It combines the laid-back, character-based storytelling of the French New Wave with the trippy impulses of late-60s psychedelia. It is a true cult movie, one which played for decades in Soviet cinemas. But what is Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris actually like to watch? I hesitate to call it a blast – but I would call it beautiful, dense, mesmerising and moving.
On the surface, Kubrick’s 1968 film and Tarkovsky’s 1972 film couldn’t be more different in their approaches (something Tarkovsky himself was keen to point out). While 2001 looks proudly outward, Solaris delves inward, deeply and directly. But what...
It’s Will Self’s favourite movie, it spawned a good remake which barely nudged the box office, and it has been described as the Soviet answer to 2001: A Space Odyssey. It combines the laid-back, character-based storytelling of the French New Wave with the trippy impulses of late-60s psychedelia. It is a true cult movie, one which played for decades in Soviet cinemas. But what is Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris actually like to watch? I hesitate to call it a blast – but I would call it beautiful, dense, mesmerising and moving.
On the surface, Kubrick’s 1968 film and Tarkovsky’s 1972 film couldn’t be more different in their approaches (something Tarkovsky himself was keen to point out). While 2001 looks proudly outward, Solaris delves inward, deeply and directly. But what...
- 4/18/2017
- by Rupert Harvey
- Nerdly
With the glut of Stephen King novels adapted into movies during the early-to-mid 1980s, it became all too easy for certain films to fall through the cracks. It was even easier, in fact, when so many of those movies were high-profile productions made by A-list directors like Stanley Kubrick, David Cronenberg, and John Carpenter. One can understand how a movie like Mark L. Lester’s Firestarter, an adaptation of King’s 1980 novel of the same name, wound up getting overlooked. I’m guilty of it myself, having seen the movie and promptly filed it with the other middle-of-the-pack Stephen King movies. Luckily, Scream Factory has a new Blu-ray that has me reconsidering my opinion and hopefully will allow other horror fans to rediscover a really cool film.
Drew Barrymore plays Charlene “Charlie” McGee, the young daughter of college professor Andy McGee (David Keith). When he was a student, Andy and...
Drew Barrymore plays Charlene “Charlie” McGee, the young daughter of college professor Andy McGee (David Keith). When he was a student, Andy and...
- 4/6/2017
- by Patrick Bromley
- DailyDead
Author: Sean Wilson
As if last year’s nostalgia-infused sensation Stranger Things didn’t make it clear enough, the world is currently going mad for all things eighties. Not the big hair or the shellsuits, mind – rather woozy synthpop, blood-rich neon and anything related to the heyday of creepy body horror.
With Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski’s splattery new gorefest The Void out now, one that gleefully mashes up loving homages to H.P. Lovecraft John Carpenter, David Cronenberg and more, here are the essential throwback horror movies that you need to watch in preparation.
The House of the Devil
Writer/director Ti West is at the forefront of recent revival horror and this deliciously slow-burning spooker remains one of his best. Drawing on the ‘Satanic panic’ craze that swept America during the eighties, it’s the unbearably suspenseful story of a young woman (Jocelin Donahue) whose babysitting job at a creaking,...
As if last year’s nostalgia-infused sensation Stranger Things didn’t make it clear enough, the world is currently going mad for all things eighties. Not the big hair or the shellsuits, mind – rather woozy synthpop, blood-rich neon and anything related to the heyday of creepy body horror.
With Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski’s splattery new gorefest The Void out now, one that gleefully mashes up loving homages to H.P. Lovecraft John Carpenter, David Cronenberg and more, here are the essential throwback horror movies that you need to watch in preparation.
The House of the Devil
Writer/director Ti West is at the forefront of recent revival horror and this deliciously slow-burning spooker remains one of his best. Drawing on the ‘Satanic panic’ craze that swept America during the eighties, it’s the unbearably suspenseful story of a young woman (Jocelin Donahue) whose babysitting job at a creaking,...
- 3/29/2017
- by Sean Wilson
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
If there’s an enduring interest to Firestarter, the 1984 adaptation of Stephen King’s popular horror novel about a child with pyrokinetic capabilities hunted by a secret government organization, it would arguably be the casting of Drew Barrymore as the peculiar child prodigy able who is able to incinerate her antagonists at will or perhaps the superb score from Tangerine Dream.
Continue reading...
Continue reading...
- 3/14/2017
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
This Week in Home VideoGet Ready to Fall in Love With the Funny, Sexy, and Beautifully Independent ‘The Love Witch’Plus 13 more new releases to watch at home this week on Blu-ray/DVD.
Welcome to this week in home video! Click the title to buy a Blu-ray/DVD from Amazon and help support Fsr in the process!
Pick of the WeekThe Love Witch
What is it? A witch visits a small coastal community in search of love with a side of unintended consequences.
Why buy it? Writer/director/producer/composer/editor/production designer/art director/set decorator/costume designer Anna Biller delivers a singular experience with this incredibly stylish, sexy, and scathing tale of a witch in search of love. The film is a colorful, stylized nod to the days of Technicolor romance that manages to be both a take down of a patriarchal society and a loose, fun romp.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: Commentary, featurette, interview, deleted scenes, dance audition]
The...
Welcome to this week in home video! Click the title to buy a Blu-ray/DVD from Amazon and help support Fsr in the process!
Pick of the WeekThe Love Witch
What is it? A witch visits a small coastal community in search of love with a side of unintended consequences.
Why buy it? Writer/director/producer/composer/editor/production designer/art director/set decorator/costume designer Anna Biller delivers a singular experience with this incredibly stylish, sexy, and scathing tale of a witch in search of love. The film is a colorful, stylized nod to the days of Technicolor romance that manages to be both a take down of a patriarchal society and a loose, fun romp.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: Commentary, featurette, interview, deleted scenes, dance audition]
The...
- 3/14/2017
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Well, I hope you guys have been saving your pennies, because there are a lot of great horror and sci-fi titles coming home on March 14th. Scream Factory is giving Firestarter the Collector’s Edition treatment this week, and both Drive-In Massacre and The Skull are being resurrected in HD as well.
If you missed them during their theatrical runs late last year, both The Love Witch and Paul Verhoeven’s award-winning thriller Elle are getting Blu-ray / DVD releases this Tuesday, and Demon Seed is making its way to Blu-ray as well (which I highly recommend watching if you haven't).
Other notable home entertainment titles for March 14th include Passengers, Z Nation Season 3, Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word, Stray Bullets, and The Man Who Could Cheat Death.
Drive-In Massacre (Severin Films, Blu-ray & DVD)
It was one of the few true slasher movies to pre-date Halloween and Friday The 13th,...
If you missed them during their theatrical runs late last year, both The Love Witch and Paul Verhoeven’s award-winning thriller Elle are getting Blu-ray / DVD releases this Tuesday, and Demon Seed is making its way to Blu-ray as well (which I highly recommend watching if you haven't).
Other notable home entertainment titles for March 14th include Passengers, Z Nation Season 3, Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word, Stray Bullets, and The Man Who Could Cheat Death.
Drive-In Massacre (Severin Films, Blu-ray & DVD)
It was one of the few true slasher movies to pre-date Halloween and Friday The 13th,...
- 3/14/2017
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Scream Factory is channeling telekinetic, flammable powers with their Collector's Edition Blu-ray release of Firestarter, and we've been provided with three Blu-ray copies of the Stephen King adaptation to give away to lucky Daily Dead readers.
————
Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) Collector's Edition Blu-ray copy of Firestarter.
How to Enter: We're giving Daily Dead readers multiple chances to enter and win:
1. Instagram: Following us on Instagram during the contest period will give you an automatic contest entry. Make sure to follow us at:
https://www.instagram.com/dailydead/
2. Email: For a chance to win via email, send an email to contest@dailydead.com with the subject “Firestarter Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.
Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on March 17th. This contest is only open to those who are eighteen years of age or older. Only one entry per entry method,...
————
Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) Collector's Edition Blu-ray copy of Firestarter.
How to Enter: We're giving Daily Dead readers multiple chances to enter and win:
1. Instagram: Following us on Instagram during the contest period will give you an automatic contest entry. Make sure to follow us at:
https://www.instagram.com/dailydead/
2. Email: For a chance to win via email, send an email to contest@dailydead.com with the subject “Firestarter Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.
Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on March 17th. This contest is only open to those who are eighteen years of age or older. Only one entry per entry method,...
- 3/11/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
The Shop is going to start making house calls on Tuesday, March 14th with Scream Factory's Collector's Edition Blu-ray release of the 1984 Stephen King adaptation Firestarter, and you can watch Charlene (Drew Barrymore) work her telekinetic magic in a high-def clip and trailer.
Firestarter Collector's Edition Blu-ray: "She has the power to set objects afire with just one glance!
Firestarter, based on the unforgettable best-seller by esteemed horror author Stephen King, chronicles the extraordinary life of Charlene "Charlie" McGee. Eight-year-old Drew Barrymore stars as the child who has the amazing ability to start fires with just a glance. Can her psychic power and the love of her father save her from the threatening government agency, "The Shop," which wants to control her… or destroy her? Filled with blazing special effects and featuring an all-star cast including Martin Sheen, Heather Locklear, Art Carney, Louise Fletcher and George C. Scott, Firestarter...
Firestarter Collector's Edition Blu-ray: "She has the power to set objects afire with just one glance!
Firestarter, based on the unforgettable best-seller by esteemed horror author Stephen King, chronicles the extraordinary life of Charlene "Charlie" McGee. Eight-year-old Drew Barrymore stars as the child who has the amazing ability to start fires with just a glance. Can her psychic power and the love of her father save her from the threatening government agency, "The Shop," which wants to control her… or destroy her? Filled with blazing special effects and featuring an all-star cast including Martin Sheen, Heather Locklear, Art Carney, Louise Fletcher and George C. Scott, Firestarter...
- 3/10/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Seth Metoyer,
MoreHorror.com
A new Collector’s Edition Blu-ray of Firestarter will become available on March 14th, 2017 via Scream Factory.
I'm excited about this one as it's one of my personal favorite Stephen King movie adaptations. Check out all the details below, including a lot of new bonus features.
From The Press Release
Based on the unforgettable best-seller by esteemed horror author Stephen King, Firestarter chronicles the extraordinary life of Charlene "Charlie" McGee. Eight-year-old Drew Barrymore stars as the child who has the amazing ability to start fires with just a glance. Can her psychic power and the love of her father save her from "The Shop," the threatening government agency which wants to control her…or destroy her?
Available March 14th, 2017 from Scream Factory, the Collector’s Edition of Firestarter comes loaded with bonus features, including a new 2k scan of the inter-positive film element, new interviews with director Mark L. Lester,...
MoreHorror.com
A new Collector’s Edition Blu-ray of Firestarter will become available on March 14th, 2017 via Scream Factory.
I'm excited about this one as it's one of my personal favorite Stephen King movie adaptations. Check out all the details below, including a lot of new bonus features.
From The Press Release
Based on the unforgettable best-seller by esteemed horror author Stephen King, Firestarter chronicles the extraordinary life of Charlene "Charlie" McGee. Eight-year-old Drew Barrymore stars as the child who has the amazing ability to start fires with just a glance. Can her psychic power and the love of her father save her from "The Shop," the threatening government agency which wants to control her…or destroy her?
Available March 14th, 2017 from Scream Factory, the Collector’s Edition of Firestarter comes loaded with bonus features, including a new 2k scan of the inter-positive film element, new interviews with director Mark L. Lester,...
- 1/29/2017
- by admin
- MoreHorror
Get ready to run from the Shop, because Scream Factory will unleash their Firestarter Collector’s Edition Blu-ray on March 14th, complete with bonus features that include a new audio commentary by director Mark L. Lester, who reflects on his adaptation of Stephen King’s 1980 novel.
Press Release: Based on the unforgettable best-seller by esteemed horror author Stephen King, Firestarter chronicles the extraordinary life of Charlene “Charlie” McGee. Eight-year-old Drew Barrymore stars as the child who has the amazing ability to start fires with just a glance. Can her psychic power and the love of her father save her from “The Shop,” the threatening government agency which wants to control her…or destroy her? Available March 14th, 2017 from Scream Factory, the Collector’s Edition of Firestarter comes loaded with bonus features, including a new 2k scan of the inter-positive film element, new interviews with director Mark L. Lester, actors Freddie Jones and Drew Snyder,...
Press Release: Based on the unforgettable best-seller by esteemed horror author Stephen King, Firestarter chronicles the extraordinary life of Charlene “Charlie” McGee. Eight-year-old Drew Barrymore stars as the child who has the amazing ability to start fires with just a glance. Can her psychic power and the love of her father save her from “The Shop,” the threatening government agency which wants to control her…or destroy her? Available March 14th, 2017 from Scream Factory, the Collector’s Edition of Firestarter comes loaded with bonus features, including a new 2k scan of the inter-positive film element, new interviews with director Mark L. Lester, actors Freddie Jones and Drew Snyder,...
- 1/25/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Padraig Cotter Jan 5, 2017
Michael Mann has all-but-disowned The Keep. But why? And how has the fanbase kept it going?
Every auteur has a black sheep in their filmography. Something which doesn’t gel with their established style, and was rejected by critics and fans upon release. On this front Spielberg has 1941, Oliver Stone has The Hand, Brian De Palma has Wiseguys and so on.
See related Kevin Feige on Black Panther, female superhero movie Avengers: Infinity War – the first set picture Thor: Ragnarok: the first official synopsis released
Michael Mann has the crown jewel of them all. He's a director best known for his precise, beautifully shot thrillers like Heat, Manhunter or The Insider. So how a director famed for his commitment to realism and methodical research ended up crafting a gothic horror movie set during World War II is anyone’s guess.
That’s what happened with 1983’s The Keep,...
Michael Mann has all-but-disowned The Keep. But why? And how has the fanbase kept it going?
Every auteur has a black sheep in their filmography. Something which doesn’t gel with their established style, and was rejected by critics and fans upon release. On this front Spielberg has 1941, Oliver Stone has The Hand, Brian De Palma has Wiseguys and so on.
See related Kevin Feige on Black Panther, female superhero movie Avengers: Infinity War – the first set picture Thor: Ragnarok: the first official synopsis released
Michael Mann has the crown jewel of them all. He's a director best known for his precise, beautifully shot thrillers like Heat, Manhunter or The Insider. So how a director famed for his commitment to realism and methodical research ended up crafting a gothic horror movie set during World War II is anyone’s guess.
That’s what happened with 1983’s The Keep,...
- 11/2/2016
- Den of Geek
Rebecca Lea Oct 24, 2016
Our lookback at the screen adaptations of Stephen King arrives at 1984's Firestarter...
The film: After they take part in an experiment for an enigmatic organisation called ‘The Shop’, Andy (David Keith) and Vicky (Heather Locklear) discover that they have developed psychic abilities. Andy can influence people to do as he bids, whilst she can read minds. They later get married and have a child together, Charlie (Drew Barrymore), who develops pyrokinesis, capable of setting things alight with little more than a clenched fist and an angry frown. The strength of her powers attracts the attention of The Shop once more and Andy is forced to take his daughter on the run to prevent her powers from falling into their hands.
See related Supergirl season 2 episode 2 review: The Last Children Of Krypton Supergirl season 2 episode 1 review: The Adventures Of Supergirl Supergirl season 2: episode 4 trailer teases alien...
Our lookback at the screen adaptations of Stephen King arrives at 1984's Firestarter...
The film: After they take part in an experiment for an enigmatic organisation called ‘The Shop’, Andy (David Keith) and Vicky (Heather Locklear) discover that they have developed psychic abilities. Andy can influence people to do as he bids, whilst she can read minds. They later get married and have a child together, Charlie (Drew Barrymore), who develops pyrokinesis, capable of setting things alight with little more than a clenched fist and an angry frown. The strength of her powers attracts the attention of The Shop once more and Andy is forced to take his daughter on the run to prevent her powers from falling into their hands.
See related Supergirl season 2 episode 2 review: The Last Children Of Krypton Supergirl season 2 episode 1 review: The Adventures Of Supergirl Supergirl season 2: episode 4 trailer teases alien...
- 10/23/2016
- Den of Geek
Marvel has heard your complaints about McU films being scored with boring, forgettable soundtracks, and will be calling your bluff shortly. Io9 brings word that Marvel has just released the end-credits track for Doctor Strange, composed by Michael Giacchino (Lost, Rogue One).
“The Master Of The Mystic”defies neat definitions, presumably by design. You could say that it sounds like a Tangerine Dream deep cut smashed into Vivaldi’s “Winter Largo.” Or maybe it’s easier to just to say it’s exactly the type of music you’d expect coming from the earbuds of somebody sashaying down Fifth Avenue in a high-collared, red velvet cloak, potato-sized amulet, and layered tunic.
However you wish to describe this refreshingly eclectic sample track, you can listen to the rest when the album becomes available for purchase and streaming on October 21—or on November 4, when Doctor Strange teleports himself into theaters.
“The Master Of The Mystic”defies neat definitions, presumably by design. You could say that it sounds like a Tangerine Dream deep cut smashed into Vivaldi’s “Winter Largo.” Or maybe it’s easier to just to say it’s exactly the type of music you’d expect coming from the earbuds of somebody sashaying down Fifth Avenue in a high-collared, red velvet cloak, potato-sized amulet, and layered tunic.
However you wish to describe this refreshingly eclectic sample track, you can listen to the rest when the album becomes available for purchase and streaming on October 21—or on November 4, when Doctor Strange teleports himself into theaters.
- 10/19/2016
- by B.G. Henne
- avclub.com
Three of the primary Stranger Things cast members – Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas) and Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) – showcased their musical skills during Sunday's Emmy Awards pre-show. The trio performed a spirited cover of Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' 2014 smash "Uptown Funk."
The trio traded off vocals, shaking and pouting through the songs signature "Hot damn!"s. They also showcased some Mars-inspired dance moves, gliding around the stage during the instrumental breaks. Most of the Stranger Things child actors have musical backgrounds. Brown has recorded a series of...
The trio traded off vocals, shaking and pouting through the songs signature "Hot damn!"s. They also showcased some Mars-inspired dance moves, gliding around the stage during the instrumental breaks. Most of the Stranger Things child actors have musical backgrounds. Brown has recorded a series of...
- 9/19/2016
- Rollingstone.com
In today’s Stranger Things bits: Behind-the-scenes photos from season one. Pictures of a familiar set being worked on for season two. Covers of the theme song, including one from Tangerine Dream. The kids being adorable on late night television Find all that and more in all the Strangers Things bits after the jump. Season two of Stranger Things begins […]
The post ‘Stranger Things’ Bits: Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Tangerine Dream, T-Shirts, and More appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘Stranger Things’ Bits: Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Tangerine Dream, T-Shirts, and More appeared first on /Film.
- 9/17/2016
- by Jack Giroux
- Slash Film
In case you haven’t had your fill of “Stranger Things” content, the “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” has you covered. Last night’s episode contained a parody of the popular Netflix series featuring Stephen Colbert as Matthew Modine’s Hawkins laboratory scientist character Dr. Martin Brenner and Millie Bobby Brown playing her character Eleven. In the sketch, Colbert orders Eleven to heat up a burrito in the microwave and levitate it over to the table. “But why, Poppa?” she asks. “Because sometimes you’re hungry and you don’t feel like getting up,” he responds. Then he makes Eleven make a crushed Coca Cola can dance. Watch the sketch below, as well as Colbert’s interview with Brown where she discusses her fears.
Read More: ‘Stranger Things’ Season 2: Netflix Confirms 2017 Premiere, Releases Teaser Trailer
Set in a small Indiana town in 1983, the series follows the mysterious disappearance of...
Read More: ‘Stranger Things’ Season 2: Netflix Confirms 2017 Premiere, Releases Teaser Trailer
Set in a small Indiana town in 1983, the series follows the mysterious disappearance of...
- 9/14/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
The “Stranger Things” score haunts the Netflix series just as profoundly as the Duffer brother’s lush, dark visuals and tension-filled direction. It’s amassed widespread excitement and covers, including a mash-up of the themes from “Stranger Things” and “Twin Peaks.” Now the soundtrack has caught the attention of legendary synth group Tangerine Dream, which released two covers with accompanying retro font that gives a nod to the “Stranger Things” opening credits.
Read More: ‘Stranger Things’ Composers Interview: Duo Discusses Soundtrack, That Haunting Theme Song and More
The creators of the series’ memorable audio backdrop are Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, two members of The Austin-based electric synth-band S U R V I V E which caught the attention of the Duffer brothers. When asked about their inspiration in an interview with Rolling Stone, Dixon cited many movie soundtracks from Tangerine Dream:
“There’s a Tangerine Dream score for ‘Sorcerer’ that’s great.
Read More: ‘Stranger Things’ Composers Interview: Duo Discusses Soundtrack, That Haunting Theme Song and More
The creators of the series’ memorable audio backdrop are Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, two members of The Austin-based electric synth-band S U R V I V E which caught the attention of the Duffer brothers. When asked about their inspiration in an interview with Rolling Stone, Dixon cited many movie soundtracks from Tangerine Dream:
“There’s a Tangerine Dream score for ‘Sorcerer’ that’s great.
- 9/13/2016
- by Zipporah Smith
- Indiewire
Tangerine Dream should be no stranger to any fans of 80’s cinema. I learned about the group via Firestarter, a score that I still love to this day. Lately, there has been a lot of new synth groups and solo acts popping up and its popularity is evident by the craze and appreciation of the music behind Netflix’s sleeper hit, Stranger Things.
As you may know, the show used three of Td’s songs/compositions in its first season. Well, it looks like Tangerine Dream either dug the show or really dug the music by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein (one-half of S U R V I V E) because Tangerine Dream just covered/paid tribute to the main theme of Stranger Things. Take a listen below.
It’s important to note that Tangerine Dream’s lineup has consistently changed. The founding member, Edgar Froese, passed on in January of last year.
As you may know, the show used three of Td’s songs/compositions in its first season. Well, it looks like Tangerine Dream either dug the show or really dug the music by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein (one-half of S U R V I V E) because Tangerine Dream just covered/paid tribute to the main theme of Stranger Things. Take a listen below.
It’s important to note that Tangerine Dream’s lineup has consistently changed. The founding member, Edgar Froese, passed on in January of last year.
- 9/13/2016
- by Andy Triefenbach
- Destroy the Brain
Time, as a poet, or potentially a pretentious policeman, once said, is a flat circle. What once was old is now new again, and vice verse, and few things exemplify that more than “Stranger Things,” the Netflix series that might be the major pop culture phenomenon of the year. It’s an homage to all kinds of 1980s supernatural thrillers and blockbusters, from “E.T.” to “It” and beyond, and has connected in a way that even its makers, the Duffer Brothers, probably never dreamed of.
Continue reading Listen To Tangerine Dream Cover The ‘Stranger Things’ Theme Tune at The Playlist.
Continue reading Listen To Tangerine Dream Cover The ‘Stranger Things’ Theme Tune at The Playlist.
- 9/13/2016
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein's Stranger Things score became one of the most acclaimed elements of the hit Netflix series this summer, with many noting the debt owed to electronic pioneers Tangerine Dream, who famously crafted synth-driven soundtracks for such classic/cult '80s films as Risky Business, Legend, Near Dark and Three O'Clock High in addition to releasing over 100 albums over the course of their nearly five-decade career. "We listen to a lot of Tangerine Dream and they did a ton of soundtracks," said Dixon in a recent interview with Salon. "There’s a few key soundtracks by them that definitely influenced us in a lot of ways, like Thief and Sorcerer." Well, the group clearly caught wind of the reference, as over the last several days the trio -- currently consisting of Thorsten Quaeschning, Hoshiko Yamane and Ulrich Schnauss -- have released three tracks on Soundcloud that pay tribute to the series,...
- 9/12/2016
- by Chris Eggertsen
- Hitfix
A couple of weeks ago, I spent a few days immersed in Netflix’s new original series, Stranger Things. As someone who grew up in the 1980s and ‘90s, the show proved a wonderful exercise in nostalgia; a delightful amalgam of the wide-eyed Spielbergian ingenuousness and nightmarescapes of Stephen King that so informed my youth. From the moment the opening credits began I was hooked and a large part of this had to do with the show’s opening theme music. Composed by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, members of the Austin-based electronic outfit Survive, the show’s theme immediately brings us into the curious world of Stranger Things. Analog synthesizer motifs creep in and out of the mix, pulsating ominously, intoning dread. A percussive heartbeat simmers underneath, propelling us forward into awaiting disaster and, paradoxically, backward to another time and place. When combined with the show’s titles—its...
- 8/22/2016
- MUBI
One of the most consistently-praised elements of Netflix's breakaway hit Stranger Things is the series' use of music, from Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein's pulsing, synth-driven theme song to the period-specific pop tunes that dominate the soundtrack. Except...are said tunes actually period-specific? No, as it turns out! After a very serious, in-depth investigation on Google, I discovered that a number of the tracks featured in the series are in fact anachronistic -- i.e. released after 1983, the year in which Stranger Things is set. This is shocking, I know, but we all have to accept it. Breathe and remain calm as you browse the full list of non-period-accurate songs from the series below. Note: For added context, each entry is additionally marked "diegetic" (music that exists within the narrative realm of the show, i.e. that can be heard by the characters) or "non-diegetic" (music that exists outside...
- 8/19/2016
- by Chris Eggertsen
- Hitfix
I’ve been back from my Oregon vacation for a couple of weeks now, and though the getaway was a good and necessary one, I’m still in the process of mentally unpacking from a week and a half of relaxing and thinking mostly only about things I wanted to think about. (I also discovered a blackberry cider brewed in the region, the source of a specific sort of relaxation that I’m still finding myself pining for.) It hasn’t helped that our time off and immediate time back coincided with the bombast and general insanity of the Republic National Convention, followed immediately by the disarray and sense of restored hope that bookended the Democrats’ week-long party. The extremity of emotions engendered by those two events, coupled with a profoundly unsettling worry over the base level of our current political discourse and where it may lead this country, hasn...
- 8/7/2016
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
Stranger Things, Netflix's mega-popular sci-fi/horror series, thrives on Eighties pop-culture nostalgia. The mixtapes shared between the series' characters Jonathan Byers and younger brother Will are an emotional anchor of the show's first season. Now a real mixtape, inspired by the series, has been released, NME reports.
DJ Yoda released an eclectic mixtape, which weaves period-friendly alt-rock (the Smiths' "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out"), progressive electronica (Tangerine Dream's "Beach Scene") and New Wave (Modern English's "I Melt With You") with other classic tracks and samples of Stranger Things dialogue.
DJ Yoda released an eclectic mixtape, which weaves period-friendly alt-rock (the Smiths' "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out"), progressive electronica (Tangerine Dream's "Beach Scene") and New Wave (Modern English's "I Melt With You") with other classic tracks and samples of Stranger Things dialogue.
- 8/1/2016
- Rollingstone.com
The winning filmmaker will become a candidate for May Project of the Month. That winner will be in the running for Project of the Year. The four projects up for this week's Project of the Week are listed below (with descriptions courtesy of the filmmakers). You can vote at the bottom of the page. A Song for You: The Austin City Limits Story: From Willie Nelson to Wilco, Ray Charles to Radiohead, "A Song for You" offers an all-access pass to the longest running music show in American television history. Tangerine Dream: A full-length documentary about the pioneers of electronic music: Tangerine Dream. Windows: Two isolated women bond by sharing their lives from a distance through their apartment windows. They are blocks apart, but despite their efforts, will never meet. Two women. Two windows. Two realities. Nobody Knows Anything (except William Goldman): Screenwriter. Novelist. Playwright. The inside story...
- 5/20/2016
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
Rushes collects news, articles, images, videos and more for a weekly roundup of essential items from the world of film.NEWSLiam Neeson in Martin Scorsese's SilenceWe're still waiting for Martin Scorsese's new film set in 17th century Japan, Silence (an adaptation of the same book Masahiro Shinoda's 1971 film is based on), but things may be moving quickly for his next project, the long-in-gestation The Irishman, set to star Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci. We'll believe it when we see it, but we sure want to see it!Cannes begins! If this week's Rushes seems a bit threadbare, it's because we've arrive at the Cannes Film Festival and can't think of anything else. Stay tuned on the Notebook for our festival coverage.Recommended VIEWINGOur very favorite video essayist, Tag Gallagher, has made a new one for Sight & Sound on Raoul Walsh's classic noir western,...
- 5/11/2016
- MUBI
Two thieves tell each other eerie stories to pass the time in Gerard Lough’s Night People, a new anthology film hitting VOD on May 9th. For our latest Q&A feature, we caught up with Lough to discuss the making of his directorial feature film debut.
Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, Gerard. When and how did you first come up with the idea for your new film, Night People?
Gerard Lough: Anthology films were very much a fixture of my childhood at Halloween, as they always seemed to be shown on TV at the time and I always liked the idea of getting three stories for the price of one, each of them with the fat trimmed off, that would hit the ground running. Anthology shows were also very much on the go at that time but seemed to die out, so...
Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, Gerard. When and how did you first come up with the idea for your new film, Night People?
Gerard Lough: Anthology films were very much a fixture of my childhood at Halloween, as they always seemed to be shown on TV at the time and I always liked the idea of getting three stories for the price of one, each of them with the fat trimmed off, that would hit the ground running. Anthology shows were also very much on the go at that time but seemed to die out, so...
- 4/15/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
They say that April showers bring May flowers, but this month is bringing a veritable downpour of excellent things to stream. The eagerly anticipated second seasons of Netflix's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Amazon's Catastrophe top the list of new arrivals; on the film front, we've got a high-school thriller for the ages and a gangster saga worthy of The Godfather. Here are our picks for the 10 best things to queue from your couch this month.
Breathe (Netflix, 4/1)
American viewers might know her best as the girl who burned down the...
Breathe (Netflix, 4/1)
American viewers might know her best as the girl who burned down the...
- 4/1/2016
- Rollingstone.com
After stumbling across a positive review of this 1983 science fiction oddity on Letterboxd, I put my fingers to researchin' and discovered the entire film is available watch online. In short, it's a fantastic, weird and a fascinating forgotten gem that fans of cult genre movies will appreciate checking out.
Wavelength stars real life rock star Cherie Currie ("The Runaways") as a psychic who can link with a group of alien children who are stranded on earth. The synth soundtrack is also a standout by 80's mainstay Tangerine Dream, whose OSTs I generally don't like.
Synopsis:
Two young lovers learn that a small group of child-like space aliens are marooned on Earth and are being held prisoner at a top secret military faci [Continued ...]...
Wavelength stars real life rock star Cherie Currie ("The Runaways") as a psychic who can link with a group of alien children who are stranded on earth. The synth soundtrack is also a standout by 80's mainstay Tangerine Dream, whose OSTs I generally don't like.
Synopsis:
Two young lovers learn that a small group of child-like space aliens are marooned on Earth and are being held prisoner at a top secret military faci [Continued ...]...
- 3/21/2016
- QuietEarth.us
The Us one sheet for Michael Mann’s 1981 debut feature Thief—which screens tonight and all weekend at BAMcinématek to kick off their retrospective "Heat & Vice: The Films of Michael Mann"—is an unusual design for its era. The colorful script title treatment is echt 80s of course, but the posterized monochrome portrait of James Caan overlaid over a photographic image of sparks from blowtorches (the titular character’s tool of choice) is something I haven’t seen before. It gives the poster an unusual three dimensional look, though at first glance those glowing goggles make it look more like a sci-fi film.Thief was released on March 27, 1981 and was damned with faint praise in The New York Times by Vincent Canby:“Mr. Mann may well become a very good theatrical film maker but, among other things, he's going to have to learn how to edit himself, to resist the...
- 2/6/2016
- by Adrian Curry
- MUBI
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