Episode 164 – SUCKER PUNCH / Elizabeth Taylor / TOPSY-TURVY
In this week’s show Gareth and I discuss in some detail the new ‘video games as movie’ SUCKER PUNCH, the work of Elizabeth Taylor and one of Mike Leigh’s few period pieces TOPSY-TURVY.
Episode 160 – John Barry Remembered / SOMEWHERE / THE GREY ZONE
Here it is – our tribute to the great John Barry as well as an investigation of the new Sofia Coppola film SOMEWHERE and a look back at Tim Blake Nelson’s THE GREY ZONE.
Goodnight Sweet Prince
La Strada, Nights of Cabiria, Danger: Diabolik, Barbarella, Waterloo, Serpico, Death Wish, Three Days of the Condor, King Kong, Flash Gordon, Ragtime, Conan the Barbarian, Dead Zone, Dune, Year of the Dragon, Blue Velvet, Manhunter, Evil Dead 2, The Bedroom Window, Bound, Hannibal and a hundred more.
Tomorrow's Show: PRINCE OF PERSIA, Some Thoughts on F FOR FAKE and We Say Goodbye to Dennis Hopper
Update – June 3rd: We’ve recorded the show – but it’s over two hours long – as always I’ll my best to tighten it up folks – the eps should online by tomorrow at the latest – really. UPDATE – June 2nd: A thousand apologies TFT fans – I completely forgot that yours truly is spending today [...]
Budd Schulberg, The Writer of 'On the Waterfront' has Died – What Kind of Man Was He?
I once talked to Budd Schulberg, who died yesterday, on the phone; a mutual friend put us in touch in the Fall of 2003 – I was eager to put on an event to mark the 50th anniversary of ‘On the Waterfront’, and, innocent/enthusiastic/grasping and annoying film fan that I was, figured I should just [...]
Karl Malden
So, here’s the thing about Karl Malden. Best role? Playing a liberationist priest in ‘On the Waterfront’. The priest may not know that he’s a liberationist, but Malden does. It’s an astonishing, grounded, fiery performance of balanced light and heat. It makes you want to believe. Last role? Playing a priest in ‘The West Wing’. [...]
You asked, so here it is: My Complete Sent-from-the-future review of 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'
I had a dream the other night in which I was visited by my The Film Talk co-host Jett Loe as an old man –he didn’t seem to remember me; but he gave me a transcript of a statement which he asked me to read on the show. I duly complied, but demand for a [...]
David Carradine and Haskell Wexler – Film Making as Collaboration
Film Making is a collaborative art. Want proof? Check out this description of this ‘Bound for Glory’ panel gone awry, (link courtesy of Higgins who made my day with this link), featuring the late David Carradine and revered cinematographer Haskell Wexler: Bound for Hell, Or Glory? David Carradine and the Feistiest Film Panel Ever In [...]
David Carradine Has Left Us
Sad to report, but David Carradine has left us: Actor David Carradine found dead The bluntness of the report above and the url of this post belies his gentle presence on screen. If you haven’t seen his work I recommend a double bill of ‘Bound for Glory’ and ‘Death Race 2000′.
RIP: Dom De Luise
Not known for the subtlety of his performances, nor of course does it matter, Dom De Luise played a significant part in my childhood movie experiences, on the basis of performances in two films which, if I watched them today may or may not hold up to critical enquiry. ‘Cannonball Run’ (1 + 2) provided [...]
No one Photographed Red Like Jack Cardiff
‘Black Narcissus’ Jack Cardiff has died, at the magnificent age of 94. He shot his last motion picture work only two years ago; and not only was he working til very late on in life, according to people who knew him, was one of the film world’s true gentlemen. It’s hard to think of anyone [...]
Maurice Jarre
At Christmas 1985 I was given three cassettes to play on my new mono Walkman. One of them I forget, another was Lionel Richie’s ‘Dancing on the Ceiling’, and the third the soundtrack to ‘Mad Max-Beyond Thunderdome’, songs by Tina Turner, score by Maurice Jarre. (You may remember ‘We Don’t Need Another Hero’. How could [...]
Penelope Cruz was Robbed. By Penelope Cruz.
Through the magic of Netflix Watch Instantly – which seems to be delivering much better quality image than it used to – tonight I saw one of the films I had been eager to catch last year but missed due to unhelpful film distribution patterns/other commitments/laziness. ‘Elegy’, a film based on a Philip Roth story, [...]
Gene Siskel – Gone These 10 Years Now
Via The Screengrab comes this lovely reminiscence by Roger Ebert of his foil, and partner of many years, Gene Siskel, who passed away, this day, 10 years ago: Remembering Gene Growing up I watched Sneak Previews religiously; I loved the chemistry between Gene and co-host Roger and I always wished the show was longer – [...]
And Khan, too
We lost Patrick McGoohan yesterday and Ricardo Montalban today. There are a few actors who had long careers but will always be defined by one or two roles – ‘Fantasy Island’ and ‘Star Trek II’ being the obvious candidates for Montalban, although I have a soft spot for him in ‘The Naked Gun’. A long [...]
Patrick McGoohan Has Finally Escaped the Village
From the Guardian. The Prisoner was a favorite of mine growing up – I’ll update this post later with my thoughts. – Hammer into Anvil below; all the episodes of the Prisoner can be found here. – The good Dr. has found this nice piece on Patrick: Patrick McGoohan, 1928-2009 – Nice little story from [...]
Bob Wilkins – Rest in Peace
As a little kid growing up in Oakland – somehow managed to stay up late on Saturday nights and watch Bob Wilkins hosting Creature Features. He passed away yesterday and I find myself melancholy at the thought of Bob not being around anymore. To my 7-year-old-eyes Creature Features was forbidden cinema. Bob himself would often [...]
Harold Pinter is Silent
“As a citizen I must ask, what is true, what is false.”
Sam Bottoms Has Gotten Off the Boat
Sorry to report that Sam Bottoms has gotten off the Boat. He will be missed. To me he always had the demeanor of someone not ‘in the film’. He was from an outside reality – not part of the construct of the screen. When this didn’t work, it didn’t work; but in film’s like Apocalypse [...]
savage by name
‘the savages’ has a joke for a title, in that it implies we haven’t progressed much as a race since the prehistoric times when throwing bones in the air was the height of creativity, or even more recently, when the european medieval homicide rate was 50% in some places (you had a one in two [...]
George Carlin – R.I.P.
A virtuoso comedian, (and an always enjoyable presence at the movies). Professor Doctor Gareth Higgins and I will talk about George on ‘TFT – Part 26′, airing July 4th. Here’s a routine via stavorosthewonderchicken: “You can’t be afraid of words that speak the truth. I don’t like words that hide the truth. I don’t like [...]
The Film Talk – Part 21 – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull!
Films Reviewed This Week: Indiana Jones and Temple of the Crystal Skull / Ryan’s Daughter Other Topics of Interest in the Conversation: Sydney Pollack, Contact, 2010, Forbin – the Colossus Project, Leo McKern, Zodiac, Starman, the Socratic Dialog, Carl Sagan, Helen Mirran, 70mm, CGI, Trevor Howard. The Film Talk – Part 21 – Indiana Jones [...]
The Film Talk – Part 17 – 10,000 B.C Needed Heston
In which Jett Loe and Gareth Higgins apologize profusely for producing a depressing show; along the way discussing the life of Charlton Heston, Soylent Green, the 10 Commandments, NCIS, 10,000 B.C., Almost an Angel, Ace in the Hole, Some Like it Hot, Stanley R. Greenberg and his daughter, Roland Emmerich and Omar Sharif. The Film [...]
