Posts Tagged ‘One Film Wonder’
April 16th, 2010
The first film completed by Merchant Ivory Productions since the death of producer Ismail Merchant in 2005, The City of Your Final Destination is the latest work from director James Ivory. Based on the Peter Cameron novel, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, the motion picture, which opens today, stars Norma Aleandro, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anthony Hopkins and Laura Linney.
Jeremy Sheldon reveals “Cinema’s Invisible Art” in Granta.
The debut film from director Duncan Ward, Boogie Woogie boasts a massive ensemble cast — Gillian Anderson, Alan Cumming, Heather Graham, Danny Huston, Christopher Lee, Joanna Lumley, Charlotte Rampling, Amanda Seyfried, and Stellan Skarsgård, et al. Based on the novel by Danny Moynihan, who also wrote the script, Boogie Woogie will be released in North America beginning April 23.
Steven Zeitchik at the L.A. Times blog, 24 Frames, muses “If you thought ‘Bad Lieutenant’ was nutty…”
One Film Wonder: An acclaimed soprano of the first half of the twentieth century, Jarmila Novotná appeared in only one film which was a not a musical, based on a musical theme or cast her in a singing role. Born in Prague in 1907, Novotná debuted at the city’s opera house in 1925, before embarking on a singing career throughout Europe. During the 1930s, while based in Berlin and Vienna, she starred in a succession of music-based films. Novotná began a 16-year reign in 1940 at New York City’s Metropolitan Opera.
In 1948, following a 12-year gap since her last film, Novotná starred in her only non-singing, non-musical role in Fred Zinnemann’s The Search. She portrayed Hannah Malik, a Czech concentration camp survivor, who seeks the son she been separated from in post-World War II Germany. Starring Montgomery Clift as a G.I. helping the young Czech boy (Ivan Jandl) locate Malik, The Search, which was filmed on-location in war-ravaged German cites, was a critical and audience favorite. Following The Search, she appeared in 1951’s The Great Caruso and made a number of television appearances during the decade. Novotná retired from her singing career in 1956 and died in New York City in 1994.
Posted in Beyond the Reel |
Tagged 24 Frames, Alan Cumming, Amanda Seyfried, Anthony Hopkins, Boogie Woogie, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Charlotte Rampling, Christopher Lee, Danny Huston, Danny Moynihan, Duncan Ward, Fred Zinnemann, Gillian Anderson, Granta, Heather Graham, Ismail Merchant, Ivan Jandl, James Ivory, Jarmila Novotná, Jeremy Sheldon, Joanna Lumley, LA Times, Laura Linney, Merchant Ivory Productions, Montgomery Clift, Norma Aleandro, One Film Wonder, Peter Cameron, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Stellan Skarsgård, Steven Zeitchik, The City of Your Final Destination, The Great Caruso, The Search |
Comments (0)
April 2nd, 2010
Oscilloscope Laboratories today releases The Thorn in the Heart, a familial documentary from Michel Gondry.
Melissa Silverstein of Women & Hollywood notes that Generation Kill director Susanna White “makes her feature film directing debut at 49,” and links to several stories regarding the director of Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, including The Times’ Jeff Dawson’s feature on “Britain’s own Kathryn Bigelow.”
Layer Cake and Stardust director Matthew Vaughn will Kick-Ass in North America, beginning April 16.
Ryan Little of the Washington City Paper presents “No Preciousness, No Waiting: A Chat with The Exploding Girl’s Zoe Kazan.”
One Film Wonder: The only principal cast member of the film M*A*S*H to reprise his role on the television show, Gary Burghoff has appeared in only 5 feature films — and none since 1995 — before withdrawing from Hollywood.
Three years before appearing in the Oscar-winning satirical masterpiece, Burghoff originated the title role in 1967’s off-Broadway musical You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. (Incidentally, Bob Balaban played Linus.) In 1972, he then began a seven-season stint as the beloved Corporal “Radar” O’Reilly before leaving the series in 1979 with an Emmy Award in tow. During the 1970s Burghoff had also become a game show mainstay. After a 20-year hiatus from motion pictures since 1971’s B.S. I Love You, he appeared in 1991’s Doubles, starred in the roles of Fleck and Lady Esmerelda and co-directed 1992’s Small Kill, and acted in 1995’s Behind the Waterfall. Burghoff is an established songwriter, jazz drummer and painter of wildlife motifs.
Posted in Beyond the Reel |
Tagged B.S. I Love You, Behind the Waterfall, Bob Balaban, Doubles, Gary Burghoff, Generation Kill, Jeff Dawson, Kathryn Bigelow, Kick-Ass, Layer Cake, M*A*S*H, Matthew Vaughn, Melissa Silverstein, Michel Gondry, Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, One Film Wonder, Oscilloscope Laboratories, Ryan Little, Small Kill, Stardust, Susanna White, The Exploding Girl, The Thorn in the Heart, The Times, Washington City Paper, Women & Hollywood, Zoe Kazan |
Comments (0)
March 6th, 2010
The only nominee for this year’s Academy Award for Animated Feature Film still awaiting wide release in North America, The Secret of Kells, from the directing duo of Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey, will begin trickling into theaters beginning March 12.
The Baltimore Sun’s Chris Kaltenbach is “Getting back to Mo’Nique’s Baltimore roots.”
A box office boffo throughout mainland Europe and a bit of a film festival sensation stateside, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo opens in the UK on March 12 and in the United States a week later. Based on the posthumously best selling novels by Stieg Larsson, the detective thriller is directed by Niels Arden Oplev and stars Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace. The predictably inevitable Hollywood remake is in the works.
In his weekly The Forgotten column at The Auteurs, David Cairns is “trousering the ghost” with an appealingly florid tale about a distinctly eccentric slice of British comic surrealism, 1980’s Sir Henry at Rawlinson End.
One Film Wonder: Dalton Trumbo was an accomplished screenwriter and novelist who became one of Hollywood’s most appreciated writers in the first half of the 1940s with a succession of successful screenplays, including Kitty Foyle and Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo. In 1947, at a career apex, Trumbo was compelled to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee of the U.S. Congress. Trumbo refused to answer questions; subsequently, he was convicted of contempt of Congress and jailed for 11 months in 1950.
Following his release, Trumbo and his family moved to Mexico, where he continued to write screenplays during the decade, but never with his name in the credits. He used no less than six nom de plumes between 1950 and 1958. One of those pseudonyms, Ian McLellan Hunter — an actual writer of indistinct films in the 1940s and television thereafter — received the Oscar for Best Writing of a Motion Picture for Roman Holiday in the spring of 1954. The pseudonym used for 1956’s The Brave One — Robert Rich, which was simply the name of a relative of the film’s producers — won the 1957 Academy Award for Best Story. When the baneful blacklist abated, Trumbo returned to penning credited screenplays, including Spartacus and Exodus.
(Trumbo was presented with his Oscar for The Brave One in May 1975. A ceremony to honor Trumbo with his Academy Award for Roman Holiday was held in May 1993; Trumbo died in September 1976.)
In 1971, Trumbo directed his only film, Johnny Got His Gun, which was based on his 1939 pacifistic novel about a profoundly wounded WWI solider. Starring Timothy Bottoms, Jason Robards and Donald Sutherland – and including trivia-intriguing performances by David Soul and Tony Geary – the film is claustrophobic, powerful, and indelible. The 1972 Cannes Film Festival jury bestowed two awards on the movie which quickly secured cult status. Johnny Got His Gun underwent a renaissance of interest in 1989 when footage from the film was utilized heavily in Metallica’s first ever video for “One” from the …And Justice for All album.
Posted in Beyond the Reel |
Tagged Baltimore Sun, Chris Kaltenbach, Dalton Trumbo, David Cairns, David Soul, Donald Sutherland, Exodus, Ian McLellan Hunter, Jason Robards, Johnny Got His Gun, Kitty Foyle, Michael Nyqvist, Mo'Nique, Niels Arden Oplev, Noomi Rapace, Nora Twomey, One Film Wonder, Robert Rich, Roman Holiday, Sir Henry at Rawlinson End, Spartacus, The Auteurs, The Brave One, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Secret of Kells, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, Timothy Bottoms, Tomm Moore, Tony Geary |
Comments (0)
January 31st, 2010
Infidelity and vengeance intersect at the core of Malcolm Venville’s debut feature-film, “44 Inch Chest.” Expanding this weekend to New York, Washington D.C. and additional California venues, with more openings in the coming months, the film is written by the “Sexy Beast” screenwriting duo Louis Mellis and David Scinto. “44 Inch Chest” reunites “Sexy Beast” co-stars Ray Winstone and Ian McShane in a cast which includes John Hurt, Tom Wilkinson, Joanne Whalley, Stephen Dillane, and Melvil Poupaud. Steven Berkoff makes an appearance in a part which, undoubtedly, will not be spooky in the slightest.
Bob Grimm of Tucson Weekly believes “Jesus needs to step in and stop all these lame biblical films.”
Exploring themes of family and identity, the documentary “Off and Running” from director Nicole Opper has been crisscrossing North America at festival screenings for almost a year. Subtitled “An American Coming of Age Story,” the film focuses on a Brooklyn family with an inquisitive, adoptive teenaged daughter.
Dunno Y . . . Na Jaane Kyun promises Bollywood’s first gay kiss, reports The Times.
One Film Wonder: One of the most illustrious acting teachers of the 20th century, whose students are a roster of Hollywood’s greatest movie icons — James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, Paul Newman, et al.– Lee Strasberg appeared in only 8 films as a credited cast member during a film career spanning 44 years. A foremost exponent of “Method Acting,” he co-founded the Group Theatre in 1931 and became director of the Actors Studio in 1951. In 1974, at the age of 73, he played Hyman Roth in “The Godfather: Part II” and received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor. Following his unexpected success, he made several films in the decade, including “…And Justice for All,” “Boardwalk,” and “Going in Style.” But Strasberg’s delicate performance as the intelligent and honor bound Roth resonates most strongly, especially as he counsels Michael Corleone, played by former student Al Pacino, that “this is the business we’ve chosen.”
Posted in Beyond the Reel |
Tagged 44 Inch Chest, Al Pacino, Boardwalk, Bob Grimm, David Scinto, Dunno Y . . . Na Jaane Kyun, Going in Style, Ian McShane, James Dean, Joanne Whalley, John Hurt, Lee Strasberg, Louis Mellis, Malcolm Venville, Marilyn Monroe, Melvil Poupaud, Montgomery Clift, Nicole Opper, Off and Running, One Film Wonder, Paul Newman, Ray Winstone, Sexy Beast, Stephen Dillane, Steven Berkoff, The Godfather: Part II, The Times, Tom Wilkinson, Tucson Weekly, …And Justice for All |
Comments (0)
December 4th, 2009
Nominated earlier this week for two Film Independent Spirit Awards, “Zero Bridge” is the feature-film debut from director and screenwriter Tariq Tapa which is currently screening across the globe.
Jack Stevenson at Bright Light Film Journal uncovers the story of “Porno to the People –The Danish Revolution That Liberated America.”
Based on the book by Steve McVicker, “I Love You Phillip Morris” stars Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor as cell mates and soul mates. With a February 2010 release date, the film is the first directorial effort from “Cats & Dogs” and “Bad Santa” screenwriters Glenn Ficarra and John Requa.
One Film Wonder: Born in Nova Scotia, Harold Russell was a U.S. Army instructor at Camp MacKall in North Carolina when he lost both his hands from a TNT explosion in 1944. Afterwards, Russell appeared in an Army training film which was seen by director William Wyler, who cast the non-professional actor in “The Best Years of Our Lives” in the role of Homer Parrish. The 1946 film — which chronicled the adjustment of three American soldiers (including Frederic March and Dana Andrews) to post-war life upon their return to their Midwestern hometown — won 7 Oscars, including Best Picture. Russell earned the Best Actor in a Supporting Role accolade and also received an Honorary Oscar “for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance in ‘The Best Years of Our Lives.’” He is still the only person to win two Oscars for the same performance. With a university business degree earned following his appearance in the film, Russell became immersed in advocating for veterans’ groups. After a 34-year gap, Russell appeared in his second film, 1980s “Inside Moves.” He had roles in two other films: 1990s “Payback” and 1997’s “Dogtown.” Russell died in 2002.
Posted in Beyond the Reel |
Tagged Bad Santa, Bright Lights Film Journal, Cats & Dogs, Dana Andrews, Dogtown, Ewan McGregor, Frederic March, Glenn Ficarra, Harold Russell, I Love You Phillip Morris, Inside Moves, Jack Stevenson, Jim Carrey, John Requa, One Film Wonder, Payback, Steve McVicker, Tariq Tapa, The Best Years of Our Lives, William Wyler, Zero Bridge |
Comments (0)
November 20th, 2009
Colin Firth stars as “A Single Man” in Tom Ford’s first film which opens next month. The cast includes Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode and Nicholas Hoult.
Bill Nighy reveals to Patrick Barkham of The Guardian that “I am not suddenly the greatest actor in the world.”
Willem Dafoe, Chloë Sevigny, Brad Dourif and Michael Shannon appear in Werner Herzog’s “My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done.” Inspired by a true crime event, the film reaches theaters in North America beginning next month.
Min Lee of The Associate Press writes about Lou Ye and his latest film, “Spring Fever” as “Banned director brings romance film to Hong Kong.” Strand Releasing will present the film in the United States.
One Film Wonder: The exceedingly influential French director Jean Vigo had a brief film career totaling only four projects. He directed his first short film, “À propos de Nice” at the age of 25 in 1930. The following year he shot an experimental film recording the movements of French swimming sensation Jean Taris in the water. In 1933, he made “Zero for Conduct,” a 41-minute boarding school drama. The next year, he released his only feature-length film, “L’Atalante,” the cinematically important tale of a jealous canal barge captain and his new bride. (The film’s cinematographer was Boris Kaufman, who twenty years later would begin a Hollywood career which included filming “On the Waterfront,” “12 Angry Men,” and “The Pawnbroker.”) In October 1934, a month after the release of “L’Atalante,” Vigo died, aged 29, of complications from tuberculosis. Both France and Spain bestow annual directing awards in his name. In France, the Prix Jean Vigo has been given to directors such as Alain Resnais, Jean-Luc Godard and Olivier Assayas.
Posted in Beyond the Reel |
Tagged 12 Angry Men, À propos de Nice, A Single Man, Alain Resnais, Bill Nighy, Boris Kaufman, Brad Dourif, Chloë Sevigny, Colin Firth, Jean Vigo, Jean-Luc Godard, Julianne Moore, L'Atalante, Lou Ye, Matthew Goode, Michael Shannon, Min Lee, My Son My Son What Have Ye Done, Nicholas Hoult, Olivier Assayas, On the Waterfront, One Film Wonder, Patrick Barkham, Spring Fever, Strand Releasing, The Associated Press, The Guardian, The Pawnbroker, Tom Ford, Werner Herzog, Willem Dafoe, Zero for Conduct |
Comments (0)
November 13th, 2009
Posted in Beyond the Reel |
Tagged Aaron Johnson, Anne-Marie Duff, Ben Foster, Christine Lennon, Gary Oldman, I'm Not There, Indiewire, Jena Malone, Kristin Scott Thomas, Nowhere Boy, One Film Wonder, Oren Moverman, Peter Knegt, Robin Wright, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Sam Taylor Wood, Samantha Morton, Sunday Independent, The Messenger, Tim Roth, Tom Stoppard, Woody Harrelson |
Comments (0)
November 6th, 2009
Posted in Beyond the Reel |
Tagged A Town Called Panic, Alice Guy Blanché, Andrea Arnold, Andy Bichlbaum, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cineaste, Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, Dan Lybarger, Fish Tank, J. Hoberman, Katie Jarvis, Michael Fassbender, One Film Wonder, Red Road, Stéphane Aubier, The Village Voice, The Yes Men, Vincent Patar, Wilt Chamberlain |
Comments (0)
October 30th, 2009
The tireless Clint Eastwood returns in December with “Invictus,” which chronicles the five years from Nelson Mandela’s release from prison to his prominent role as President of South Africa to unify South Africa through the hosting of the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Morgan Freeman portrays Mandela and Matt Damon plays Francois Piennar, the victorious South African team captain.
Mark Macaskill of The Times discovers that “Robert Carlyle fans can buy a role in his new film.”
Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, and Kodi Smit-McPhee appear in November in the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road,” directed by John Hillcoat, who helmed 2005’s vastly impressive “The Proposition.”
“Antichrist” star Charlotte Gainsbourg reveals to Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle that “on the balance, all the naked things and the sex scenes were nothing compared to the grieving scenes.”
One Film Wonder: In 1980, South African director Jamie Uys made “The Gods Must Be Crazy,” which centered on Xi, a Saho bushman in the Kalahari Desert, who discovers a soft drink bottle and embarks on a journey to discard it. As “The Gods Must Be Crazy” was financed with South African government funds at a time of an international embargo, the film was marketed as a Botswanan film. Describing the work as a “highly popular and distorted film,” Canadian anthropologist Richard Lee noted in his book “The Dobe, Ju/hoansi” that “The Gods Must Be Crazy” inaccurately “tried to portray the Ju/’hoansi as pristine hunter-gatherers ‘untouched’ by civilization.” The film became a world-wide sensation. In North America, interest began in midnight movie houses, with the movie earning expanding distribution in 1984 and grossing more than $30 million.
Xi was portrayed by N!xau, a San, one of the indigenous peoples living in the region classified presently as South Africa and Namibia. Born circa 1944, he was paid a reported few hundred dollars for his performance in the film. For the 1989 sequel, “The Gods Must Be Crazy II,” he negotiated a purported salary in the hundreds of thousands. N!xau appeared in only 4 other films, each one of them a sequel in the “The Gods Must Be Crazy” franchise; the last three, which were not directed by Uys, were set in Hong Kong and filmed in Cantonese. A herdsman, he returned to Tsumkwe in the Otjozondjua region of Namibia to live on his farm with his family. N!xau died in 2003.
Posted in Beyond the Reel |
Tagged Antichrist, Charlize Theron, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Clint Eastwood, Cormac McCarthy, Invictus, Jamie Uys, John Hillcoat, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Mark Macaskill, Matt Damon, Mick LaSalle, Morgan Freeman, N!xau, One Film Wonder, Robert Carlyle, San Francisco Chronicle, The Gods Must Be Crazy, The Gods Must Be Crazy II, The Proposition, The Road, The Times, Viggo Mortensen |
Comments (0)
October 23rd, 2009
Opening today in North America, “Ong Bak 2” is the latest extravaganza starring Thai martial arts actor Tony Jaa. Co-directed by Jaa and long-time Thai director and stunt coordinator Panna Rittikrai, the film was infamously embroiled in production disputes during its making.
Jim Schembri of The Age in Melbourne discovers that the Aboriginal-language drama “Samson and Delilah makes tilt at Oscar.”
Carla Gugino, Adrianne Palicki, and Connie Britton are amongst the extensive cast appearing in Sebastian Gutierrez’s “Women in Trouble,” which debuts on November 13th in the States.
Tim Robey of The Telegraph chronicles “Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca: rows, rivalries and a movie classic.”
One Film Wonder: A U.S. Army soldier from Battle Creek, Michigan, who assisted in the liberation of Italy during World War II, John Kitzmiller remained in the country after the war and started acting in Italian films. He appeared in 45 European movies during his career. Kitzmiller was bestowed with the Best Actor accolade at the 1957 Cannes Film Festival for his performance as Sgt. Jim in the Slovenian war film, “Valley of Peace.” He was the first black actor to receive the award. (Incidentally, Paul Newman would win it the next year for “The Long, Hot Summer,” Forest Whitaker in 1988 for “Bird.”)
Kitzmiller appeared in only two English-language films: 1958’s “The Naked Earth” and the first James Bond film, 1962’s “Dr. No.” Credited as John Kitzmuller, he portrayed Quarrel, the Cayman Islander fisherman and CIA associate who assists Bond in his investigation of Dr. No’s island, Crab Key. Kitzmiller died in Rome in 1965 at the age of 51.
Posted in Beyond the Reel |
Tagged Adrianne Palicki, Alfred Hitchcock, Bird, Carla Gugino, Connie Britton, Dr. No, Forest Whitaker, Jim Schembri, John Kitzmiller, One Film Wonder, Ong Bak 2, Panna Rittikrai, Paul Newman, Rebecca, Samson and Delilah, Sebastian Gutierrez, The Age, The Long Hot Summer, The Naked Earth, The Telegraph, Tim Robey, Tony Jaa, Valley of Peace, Women in Trouble |
Comments (0)