Seasons Greetings from myself & Ann-Margret!
Posted in December 2011 …
Interview with Marcus Hearn
This week I interviewed Official Hammer Films Historian, Marcus Hearn about his new book The Hammer Vault: Treasures From the Archive of Hammer Films for TCM’s Movie Morlocks blog. We discussed many topics including Hammer’s enduring legacy and their upcoming adaptation of THE WOMAN IN BLACK, which is scheduled for release in February of 2012. Continue reading »
Exploring the Warner Archives with Cinebeats
I’ve been preoccupied with holiday plans and while doing some Christmas shopping for myself I recently noticed that some of the films I’ve written about on Cinebeats over the last 6 years have been released on DVD by the fine folks at the Warner Archives. When I originally wrote about the films they were only available on VHS and the prints were often muddy or just plain awful so these new DVDs are particularly welcome. For easy reference I thought I’d compile a list of Warner Archive titles that have been featured at Cinebeats. Continue reading »
Favorite Film Related Books of 2011 (Part II.)
The second half of my two-part list highlighting my ‘Favorite Film Related Books of 2011′ is now available to read at The Movie Morlocks. It includes Shock It To Me: Golden Ghouls of the Golden Gate, Cinema Sex Sirens and The Hammer Vault: Treasures From the Archives of Hammer Films. Continue reading »
Spencer Tracy & Katharine Hepburn
Spotted this beautiful old painting of Spencer Tracy & Katharine Hepburn in an antique shop yesterday and was tempted to buy it even though I have nowhere to hang it. Makes me wish I owned my own repertory movie palace where I could display movie memorabilia as spectacular as this.
Favorite Film Related Books of 2011 (Part I.)
The first half of my two-part list of Favorite Film Related Books of 2011 has been posted at The Movie Morlocks. It includes Rick Goldschmidt’s Rankin/Bass Mad Monster Party book as well as the new lush coffee table book Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design and Tom Lisanti’s Dueling Harlows: Race to the Silver Screen. Continue reading »
Ken Russell 1927-2011
The news about Ken Russell’s death hit me hard. Just last week the great man actually took the time to befriend me on Twitter (I’d been following him there for a year or more). I exchanged a brief note with him and got the opportunity to tell him I was honored that he had taken the time to follow me. And I hope that he knew he was one of my favorite directors. Continue reading »
The Strawberry Statement (1970)
Stuart Hagmann’s THE STRAWBERRY STATEMENT (1970) is often dismissed today as a dated relic of the early ‘70s. During its initial release it was singled out for being exploitive and failing to be a straightforward adaptation of the book it was based on. Many critics claimed that Stuart Hagmann’s direction was erratic and too creative for its own good, which supposedly diminished the film’s political message. When I recently set aside some time to watch THE STRAWBERRY STATEMENT I prepared myself for the worst. I expected to see a confusing, opportunistic, dated and laughable Hollywood film made to cash in on the political zeitgeist of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. But I came away from the movie with an entirely different opinion and immediately understood why it had been nominated for a Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1970 and walked away with a Jury Prize. Continue reading »
