Guest Blogs
Guest's Posts
guest-blogs | FanFare Guests
Guest blogger Blair Kramer writes:
Here's the nitty gritty on GoldenEye:
The laser satellite from Diamonds Are Forever was dusted off, a modern sheen was added, and the ancient 1970s script was brought before the cameras once again in 1995. (In fact, the same script was largely remade again in 2002 with Die Another Day.)
Oh, well. You know what they say: “Do it again, only differently!”
I worked with Mike France, the primary screenwriter of GoldenEye, many years ago. Trust me when I tell you that the world has never known a bigger Bond fan than Mike! Which explains why GoldenEye has all the requisite Sean Connery-era elements.
guest-blogs | FanFare Guests
Guest blogger Greg Ferrara writes:
Whatever one may think of John Landis or Dan Aykroyd as either artists or people, they both deserve kudos for preserving a modern-day performance of "Minnie the Moocher" by Cab Calloway on film in The Blues Brothers (1980). Aykroyd wrote him into the script and Landis gave him full attention for a lavishly filmed performance on stage. Watching the movie the other day and seeing John Belushi and Aykroyd perform with Calloway, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, John Lee Hooker* and Ray Charles, I wondered to myself, "Did they appreciate the talent amassed for this film that would never be together again?"
guest-blogs | FanFare Guests
Guest blogger David Lobosco writes:
I am not an animal lover, but one of my favorite reruns I watched growing up was Lassie. Actress June Lockhart was one of the best things about the corny black and white show. She came from a long acting family, and her mark she left on television should not be underestimated.
Born in New York City in 1925, Lockhart is the daughter of Canadian-born actor Gene Lockhart, who came to prominence on Broadway in 1933 in Ah, Wilderness!, and English-born actress Kathleen Arthur Lockhart. In 1948, Lockhart won a Tony Award for Outstanding Performance by a Newcomer (a category that no longer exists) for her role on Broadway in For Love or Money. In the late 1950s, she guest starred in several popular television Westerns, including Wagon Train and Cimarron City on NBC and Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, and Rawhide on CBS.
guest-blogs | FanFare Guests
Guest blogger Katie writes:
Trying to procrastinate from studying for my exam, I thought of what exactly makes a film a classic film. In this postmodern age, nothing is for certain, so I decided that what defines classics is not authoritative, but personal. Some institutions have certain qualifications that make a movie classic, but what may be a classic film to one person may not be to another. The following five defining characteristics of classic films are just my opinion of what makes them so. You don’t have to agree with these.
After creating this list, I realised they are all extra-filmic. They live outside the film. So, for me, what makes a film classic is not the film itself, but what we make it to be.
One more thing, I consider a true classic film to be made before 1970.
guest-blogs | FanFare Guests
Guest blogger Alex DeLarge presents this look at 1961's The Hustler:
A pool shark leaves the little pond and is soon devoured by a larger fish. Robert Rossen directs this Cimmerian melodrama about a loser whose desire to win almost consumes his humanity, a man who must lose everything to find himself.
Fast Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) is a hustler, a thief with a Cheshire grin whose life is measured by the clacking of cue balls and the long hard miles between dingy hotel rooms. Eddie stubbornly wills himself to believe he’s the best pool player in the land, his raison d’être now defined by conquering the legendary Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason). Eddie learns the high cost of losing...and the higher cost of winning.
guest-blogs | FanFare Guests
Guest blogger Simon Columb writes:
Charlie Chaplin, above anything, was controversial. He was an artist who, through his success, shook the tree and commented on American freedom (The Immigrant) using a character known as "The Little Tramp." Modern Times remains iconic and unforgettable as it was the tramp's final appearance. Created in 1914, the Little Tramp is - and remains - the most iconic character of the silent era. So, it is worth noting that a practically-silent feature film in 1936 was not that common - in fact, Chaplin even wrote a script for the film but decided to throw it out - "famously fearing that the mystery and romanticism of the tramp character would be ruined if he spoke".
The First Shot...
... shows sheep. The shot portrays a herd of sheep squeezing through a gate before dissolving into a group of factory workers ploughing into the work place. Already, seconds in, Chaplin makes his point. Between 1931 and 1932, Chaplin was on an 18-month world-tour. He saw the poverty and problems in the western world - even commenting "Unemployment is the vital question ... Machinery should benefit mankind. It should not spell tragedy and throw [mankind] out of work.". Much like Chaplin's two-reeler's, this film is broken into multiple sections. First we see the famous factory-sequence as Chaplin attempts to work in the monotonous and repetetive environment of factory work - leading to his madness. Each sequence notes a different contradiction or conflict in society. Chaplin, in the factory, is used and abused and hurt (through the testing of a machine that 'cuts out' the lunch hour!!!) and, inevitably perhaps, goes crazy.
guest-blogs | FanFare Guests
Guest blogger Jessica Pickens writes:
Santa Claus. Kris Kringle. Father Christmas. Jolly Ole Saint Nick. Regardless of the name you use, all of these describe the happy, friendly fat man who leaves gifts under our trees on Christmas Eve. Pop culture has built him into a beloved figure and movies depict him as wise and loving of children.
In Miracle on 34th Street (1947), Edmund Gwenn plays the cutest Santa Claus who sings a Dutch song with a little girl, helps Natalie Wood believe, and forgives judges and psychiatrists who try to bring him down. Gwenn was perfect as Kris Kirngle and, as a child, I couldn’t believe anyone could be so mean to Ole St. Nick. This movie made me want to believe in Santa again and finds me saying like Natalie Wood, “I believe, I believe. It’s silly, but I believe.”
guest-blogs | FanFare Guests
Guest blogger Paul writes:
Christmas in Connecticut is a sparkling Christmas comedy starring Dennis Morgan, Barbara Stanwyck, Reginald Gardiner, Sydney Greenstreet, S.Z. Sakall, Una O'Connor, Frank Jenks, and Robert Shayne.
Perhaps one of Barbara Stanwyck's best and most under-rated performances, this is a different type of comedic role for her, a departure from the strong, self-assured characters she played in The Lady Eve and Ball of Fire.
Although she plays a single career woman and thus by definition should be "in control", she manages to get into quite a tangle by constructing a Martha-Stewart-ish fantasy life as a marvelous cook named Elizabeth Lane, living on a farm with her husband and baby while she writes her popular cooking column in the magazine, Smart Housekeeping.
guest-blogs | FanFare Guests
Guest blogger Rick29 writes:
With the holiday season upon us, it only seems appropriate to do a Yuletide version of "The Five Best" series. Between 1938 and 2000 alone, there were over 100 movies centered around Christmas and I'm not even counting films with Christmas scenes such as The Bells of St. Mary's and Meet Me in St. Louis. Picking out a Top 5 was not an easy task and I fully expect to receive some comments on omissions and the rationale for my picks. But, as I've said previously, there's nothing like a good movie discussion!
guest-blogs | FanFare Guests
Guest blogger Katie Scarlett writes:
Sky-diving, bungee-cord jumping, watching a classic musical in a theatre; these are all things that make life a thrilling experience. Everyone should have the experience to watch a vintage film on a big screen with other admirers, and I had that opportunity when I saw The Sound of Music.
For the unfortunate souls who have never seen a classic film on big screen, let me tell you, the only word to describe the relationship between the film and viewers is “intimate.” Seeing every single detail blown up 100 times bigger than you’re normally used to is awe-inspiring, because all those little things were put there for a purpose. The people and objects and landscapes were framed in the screen a certain way, and you’re seeing it how director Robert Wise intended for you to see it – not all crammed or cut on a television screen.
guest-blogs | FanFare Guests
Previously on MovieFanFare guest blogger Karen Burroughs Hannsberry presented an assortment of her favorite film noir quotes. Today she's back with more of her favorite selections of hard-boiled dialogue:
You gotta love the language of film noir. Hard-boiled, cynical, straight to the point and unmistakable — this era of filmmaking offers some of the best quotes in all cinema. Here, I offer for your consideration, Part 2 of my favorite noir quotes — and these ain’t no idle threats . . .
guest-blogs | FanFare Guests
Guest blogger Marsha Collock writes:
Why do we love pre-Code films? Fast pace? Check. Great stories? Check. Great casts? Check again. Oh, come on. Let's be honest. It's the sex, depravity and lingerie!
I consider all pre-Code films guilty pleasures. Each generation seems to think it is the first to discover sex. To be honest, the biggest kick I get out of pre-Code films is the fact that we are seeing depravity and sex before the big Hollywood clean up. It's kind of like watching a movie of your grandparents dirty dancing. Many of the pre-Codes are terrific and have marvelous stars, but I'm being honest when I say I'm in it for the sex, drugs, depravity, slips and frilly undergarments. There.
That being said, Three on a Match, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, is one of my favorite pre-Codes. It has all of the above-mentioned ingredients, plus kidnapping, child neglect and so much more. And - it's all done in 63 minutes. It comes from my favorite 1930s studio, Warner Brothers. Their early 1930s films have that make-it-quick "ripped from today's headlines" look, but are loaded with so much talent that these tawdry stories are elevated to an art form. In 1932, the year of Three on a Match, the Warner's roster consisted of James Cagney, Paul Muni, Edward G. Robinson and our delicious cast of characters.
1 Comment »
