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 »
Peter Sellers and Claudine Longet in The Party (1968) I recently wrote a piece about The Party (1968) for the newest issue of Screening the Past that you can read online. Issue #30 of Screening the Past is a tribute to the late director Blake Edwards and The Party is my favorite Edwards’ film. I … Continue reading »
Two of my favorite people: Director Joseph Losey & actor Dirk Bogarde Today marks what would have been Joseph Losey’s 102 birthday. Unfortunately very few of us live that long and Losey died in 1984 at age 75. Lately critics around the world seem to be rediscovering his work and rethinking their opinion of the … Continue reading »
Happy Holidays from Cinebeats & Julie Christie! ‘Tis the season. I’ve been preoccupied with home renovations, work and holiday plans lately so I haven’t had a lot of free time to watch movies or blog and I don’t think I’ll be updating much in December. In an effort to keep things interesting here at Cinebeats … Continue reading »
I recently watched Clive Donner’s teenage sex farce Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (1967) for the first time. Soon afterward I learned that the director had died at age 84 so in tribute to Donner I decided to write about the film for TCM this week. I really enjoyed Here We Go Round … Continue reading »
From my newest post at TCM’s Movie Morlocks Blog: “This week the BFI (British Film Institute) launched a new campaign called “Rescue the Hitchcock 9” that asks the public to help them rescue 9 of Alfred Hitchcock’s earliest films. The original movies were shot on nitrate film, which is notorious for its incendiary properties. Nitrate … Continue reading »
Takashi Shimura and Toshiro Mifune in Stray Dog (1949) Stray Dog (1949) was the ninth film made by Japanese director Akira Kurosawa and I think it’s one of his very best. Like many of my favorite Kurosawa films, Stray Dog features no rogue samurai or mad emperors and it’s set in modern Japan instead of … Continue reading »
Emilio Vieyra (1920-2010) I recently learned that director Emilio Vieyra passed away on January 25th at age 89 thanks to a tribute to the director written by Robert Monell for his blog. As Robert pointed out, Emilio Vieyra was often referred to as the “Roger Corman of Argentina” because he also produced and wrote his … Continue reading »
I was gutted by the news of Paul Naschy’s death today due to complications from cancer. He was 75 years old and had a very full and productive life but I didn’t realize he was so ill. Naschy directed and appeared in some of my favorite Spanish horror films and as I’ve mentioned before, I … Continue reading »
One of my favorite filmmakers will be getting an Honorary Oscar this year! Surprising news came out of Hollywood this morning when the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that Roger Corman, along with actress Lauren Bacall and cinematographer Gordon Willis will all be recipients of a much deserved Lifetime Achievement Award. Disappointingly, … Continue reading »
Hal Ashby on the set of Harold and Maude (1971) With the exception of Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman and John Cassavetes, I can’t think of many other directors who have had more influence on modern American cinema in recent years than Hal Ashby. And yet, Ashby’s name still remains relatively unknown among the general film-going … Continue reading »
I’m not in the Directors’ Guild, not in any guild. I just don’t want anyone telling me what to do, or what I can not do. – Ted V. Mikels I’ve expressed my admiration for B-movie maestro Ted. V. Mikels before when discussing the life of Mikels’ starlet Tura Satana as well as Mikels’ ode … Continue reading »
Akira Kobayashi in Yasuharu Hasebe’s Black Tight Killers (1966) While I was trying to compile a post for the Japanese Cinema Blogathon currently happening at Wildgrounds I read the sad news that one of my favorite Japanese directors, Yasuharu Hasebe, has died after he contracted pneumonia on June 14th. Hasebe was 77 years old, but … Continue reading »
Sad news this morning from India. Bollywood legend Feroz Khan has died at age 69 due to complications from cancer. Feroz Khan is beloved by Bollywood fans for his work as a director and actor who appeared in many of his own productions such as Apradh (1972), Dharmatma (1975), Qurbani (1979), Janbaaz (1986) and Yalgaar … Continue reading »
Jack Cardiff with Marianne Faithfull on the set of The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968) The talented director and cinematographer Jack Cardiff has passed away at the age of 94. As the tributes start to roll out from various news sites and film blogs its become clear to me that most people regard Jack Cardiff … Continue reading »
