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)
August 14th, 2009
Peter Greenaway, one of cinema’s most enigmatic and striking auteurs, returns to U.S. screens in October with “Rembrandt’s J’accuse,” his labyrinthine account of the intrigue behind the 17th century artist’s “The Night Watch.”
In an extract from her new autobiography which appears this week in Granta, journalist Lynn Barber writes about how the short memoir of her life as a 16-year-old in 1961, published by Granta in 2003, became a major film and meditates on the perils of writing from memory. Directed by Lone Scherfig, written by Nick Hornby and starring Peter Sarsgaard and Carey Mulligan, “An Education” arrives in the States in October.
Opening in New York today and then gradually moving across North America , “Cloud 9,” the latest film from director Andreas Dresen, examines a 67-year-old married woman’s intimate relationship with her 76-year-old lover.
Isabelle Huppert chats openly with The Telegraph in conjunction with the release of her latest film, “Home.” Huppert — described by the paper with the dynamic bon mot, “French cinema’s most beloved psychopath” — revels in her penchant for provocative roles, noting that in a hypothetical, atypical role she might have to revert to type because “half-way through my romantic comedy I probably wouldn’t be able to stop myself from doing something a little bit,” she bites her lip, “bleak - or dark.”
One Film Wonder: In 1984, Woody Allen starred in his madcap “Broadway Danny Rose” in the titular role of a luckless talent agent whose prize client is lounge singer Lou Canova, played by Nick Apollo Forte. Mia Farrow’s Tina Vitale joins the fun, as do the mob. The 71-year-old Forte is still an active performer with an official website where he describes himself as a “Pianist, Banjo, Vocalist & Composer – Actor, Humorist & Entertainer.” There is a link on his website to purchase the only movie in which he has appeared.
Posted in Beyond the Reel |
Tagged An Education, Andreas Dresen, Broadway Danny Rose, Carey Mulligan, Cloud 9, Granta, Home, Isabelle Huppert, Lone Scherfig, Lynn Barber, Mia Farrow, Nick Apollo Forte, Nick Hornby, One Film Wonder, Peter Greenaway, Peter Sarsgaard, Rembrandt’s J’accuse, The Telegraph, Woody Allen |
Comments (0)