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Showing results for tags 'Director'.
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Here's to Carl Reiner, one of three comedians who seemed to have an infinite lifespan (along with Mel Brooks and Dick Van Dyke). --- "The Dick van Dyke Show" (DonRocks) -
I watched this (amateur-ish) Top 10-Ever listicle of Stanley Kubrick films, and came to the following conclusion, with which some may disagree: Of the Top 10, exactly 3 were on my "Best Ever" list: "Dr. Strangelove," (1964) "2001," (1968), and "A Clockwork Orange" (1971). The others - all of them - were on my "Really Good" list, but not my "Best Ever" list (I haven't seen "Lolita" (1962) or "Barry Lyndon" (1975)). What do others think? (The list itself is unimportant, and nothing more than a starting point for this thread.)
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I just saw "Cool Hand Luke" for the second time - it is a fantastic film, difficult to watch due to its cruelty. Rod Steiger won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1968 - Sidney Poitier deserved it more within the same film ("In the Heat of the Night"), and Newman deserved it more still for "Cool Hand Luke." Newman's 1987 Best Actor Award for "The Color of Money" was a make-up call for past transgressions, plain and simple - that movie was pedestrian, and handing Newman the Oscar was something akin to a "Lifetime Achievement Award."
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There is the artist, and then there is the man. The Little Tramp and the Refugees Who Loved, Then Loathed Him, by Dove Barbanel, December 29, 2017, on nytimes.com. -
Nov 30, 2014 - "In Conversation: Chris Rock" by Frank Rich on vulture.com This is a good interview. One thing that was incredibly poignant to me was Chris Rock's description of black people needing teeth pulled in Andrews, SC.
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In case anyone hasn't noticed, I've been compensating for a lifetime of not having watched television, and a decade of not having watched films - and I've been compensating in a big way. Completely organically, I've discovered a gentleman named Robert Butler - a man whom I'd certainly never heard of before, and a man whom I suspect is a household name only within the industry. However, here's why every single person with the slightest bit of interest in television (and film) should be instantly familiar with the name Robert Butler. Let's take *just* the pilot episodes he directed, and nothing else. I reiterate: These are the pilot episodes only - look what we have here: Nov 27, 1988: Star Trek - "The Cage" (Butler completed this work in Feb, 1965, but it didn't air for over 23 years; it was shown in a different form as "The Menagerie," of which he directed Part Two.) Sep 17, 1965: Hogan's Heroes - "The Informer" (This is the only one out of 168 episodes to be filmed in black-and-white.) Jan 12, 1966: Batman - "Hi Diddle Riddle" (The first appearance of Frank Gorshin as The Riddler.) May 9, 1975: The Blue Knight - "The Blue Knight" was a TV movie which served as the pilot for this crime series starring George Kennedy. Jan 15, 1981: Hill Street Blues - "Hill Street Station" - Do you see how formidable this list is becoming? Oct 1, 1982: Remington Steele - "Tempered Steele" - A relatively minor series, but still made it to 94 episodes. Mar 3, 1985: Moonlighting - "Moonlighting" - Bruce Willis, anyone? May 11, 1991: Sisters - "Moving In, Moving Out, Moving On" - This seemingly "small" series had 127 episodes. Sep 12, 1993: Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman - "Pilot" - Teri Hatcher Butler also directed many episodes of "The Dick Van Dyke Show," and essentially began Kurt Russell's career - he also did a *lot* more than I've listed here (I've listed only the pilots that he directed). I think that *just* directing the pilot of "Star Trek" is enough to make Butler famous, but considering everything he did on top of that? This man is an absolute legend - and I'd never even heard of him. Sometimes it takes a non-expert to shed light on a subject, and I hope I've done that here - Mr. Butler deserves it.
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Considering how many threads we have on both our Film Forum and our Television Forum by the Master of Suspense, the great Alfred Hitchcock, it's absurd that he doesn't have his own thread. To date, we have threads for: 1927 - "The Lodger - a Story of the London Fog" - (Ivor Novello) 1934 - "The Man Who Knew Too Much" - (Leslie Banks, Edna Best, Peter Lorre) 1940 - "Rebecca" (Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine) 1941 - "Suspicion" - (Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine) 1943 - "Shadow of a Doubt" - (Joseph Cotten) 1946 - "Notorious" - (Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains) 1948 - "Rope" - (James Stewart) 1954 - "Rear Window" - (James Stewart, Grace Kelly) 1955 - "To Catch a Thief" - (Cary Grant, Grace Kelly) 1956 - "The Wrong Man" - (Henry Fonda) 1956 - "The Man Who Knew Too Much" - (James Stewart, Doris Day) 1958 - "Vertigo" - (James Stewart, Kim Novak) 1960 - "Psycho" - (Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Janet Leigh) 1963 - "The Birds" (Rod Taylor, Tippi Hendren) 1964 - "Marnie" - (Sean Connery, Tippi Hedren) 1955-1962 - "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (very much of a work in progress) 1962-1965 - "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (this thread will be split into two one day) 2015 - "Hitchcock/Truffaut" (Documentary about the 1962 interview between the two directors) And, for your amusement: Alfred Hitchcock, Lee Meriwether (Miss America 1955!), and two other guests on "What's My Line?"
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Thing is, I *loved* J.J. Abrams' 2009 "Star Trek" film, and thought it really set the stage for a new generation of Star Trek fans - honoring the original characters, while replacing them with fresh blood. I didn't realize he was the person who directed "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" until later on, and I think he didn't accomplish the same thing with Star Wars as he did with Star Trek (although I haven't seen "Star Trek: Into Darkness," which I'm told is more of a "for-the-masses" movie). Knowing it was Abrams who directed "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" makes me doubly disappointed. Other than Harrison Ford, the use of the original characters was very much of a token appendage. I'm very much of a "Star Wars" fan, too, and that's why I'm so disappointed. That said, I guess I haven't seen one in ... gosh, I don't even know how long it has been, even though this is the seventh installment. I read where there are already plans for an eighth and ninth in the next couple of years, and I suppose this is a classic example of artistry selling out for money. I cherish the 1977 "Star Wars" every bit as much as I do "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Al Dente, you might be interested in knowing that Abrams guest-starred in the "Ratings Guy" episode of "Family Guy." I'm a sucker, so I'll probably rethink and reconsider my initial impression of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," but my first impressions of the arts in general - wine, movies, music - often turn out to be my ultimate landing pad. Abrams has a long and impressive resume, but he seems to be most talented in one particular area: making blockbusters, and although that's the measuring stick for success by most standards, it means absolutely nothing to me. Some might think of my "graduated from the masses" lament in my "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" post as some sort of humble brag, but it isn't in the least: It *sucks* not being able to enjoy what others do, and it's very much like me saying, "I wish I could be devoutly religious." Who on earth *wouldn't* want to take comfort in knowing that there's a benevolent God ready-and-waiting to take care of you after this life is over?
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Didn't care for the Harry Potter movies. Hated Robin Hood. But Dr. Lazarus? Hans Gruber? Oh, no... -
A couple of us are doing an Ingmar Bergman retrospective, and will be starting with his earliest work, "Torment" (also known as "Frenzy" and "Hets," 1944), then working forward towards his later works, in order. If anyone wants to join in the discussion, please feel free. The discussions are here: 1944 ¨Torment¨ (aka ¨Hets" and ¨Frenzy¨) 1946 ¨Crisis¨ (aka ¨Kris¨) The only legitimate place I've found Torment is on Hulu Plus which offers a free week, followed by $7.99 a month. There are probably foreign websites that offer it as well, but I'm taking the legitimate route. However you view it, please feel free to share your thoughts (each movie will get its own thread). This is a good chance to familiarize yourself with one of the greatest directors in history, and it can be done at your leisure. Well, why not? Note that Bergman didn't directly direct (I think that's a phrase) Torment, but it's regarded as his first directorial work, and he wrote the screenplay as well. Berman was born in Uppsala, Sweden in 1918: and passed away in Fí¥rö, Sweeden in 2007. Fí¥rö is a tiny island off a slightly larger island called Gotland, itself off the coast of southeast Sweden - it is, needless to say, quite remote:
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I'm in that minority too.
