MetaFilter posts tagged with movies

The script is always better than the movie

philip-random — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:50:34 -0800

7 scripts you gotta read Who is Mystery Man and where does he find this stuff? Early drafts, never-mades, and even a link to Stanley Kubrick's Napoleon: The Greatest Movie Never Made (Hardcover) ... just in case you've got a spare $700 sitting around. The text book features the complete original treatment, essays examining the screenplay in historical and dramatic contexts, an essay by Jean Tulard on Napoleon in cinema, and a transcript of interviews Kubrick conducted with Oxford professor Felix Markham. The culmination of years of research and preparation, this unique publication offers readers a chance to experience the creative process of one of cinema s greatest talents as well as a fascinating exploration of the enigmatic figure that was Napoleon Bonaparte. Previously.

Jerry Fielding

Joe Beese — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:29:15 -0800

Jerry Fielding (1922-1980) was one of cinema's most distinctive voices in the 1960s and especially '70s, the perfect musical complement to the films of Sam Peckinpah*, Michael Winner, Clint Eastwood and others. His scores are marked by modernism and intricate orchestrations but also a poetic beauty and intensity—an appropriate accompaniment to the decade's strange and often sad (but never sentimental) criminals and antiheroes, be they in westerns (The Wild Bunch) or crime films. He was, however, capable of numerous styles (he was a former Vegas bandleader), and wrote a great number of scores (from sticoms to dramas to sci-fi) for television. - Film Score Monthly This bootleg version of Fielding's soundtrack to Donald Cammell's Demon Seed ends with a 40 minute assemblage of snippets from the recording sessions that provide a unique look at the creation of such a work - as well as Fielding's reaction to his father's suggestion that he become bar mitzvahed. (previously)

Voddler riding the hype as the Spotify for Video-On-Demand

filthy light thief — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:34:11 -0800

Last year, Spotify made news as a revelation in music availability, by providing ad-supported free access or paid subscriptions to more than 6 million streaming songs. This year, Sweden is the home to another streaming media landmark, with Voddler. Currently limited to Sweden but with goals of reaching the world, the streaming video-on-demand provider was well-received, but initial movie selection did not impress all. That should change, as Voddler recently expanded the potential list of movies when they signed The Walt Disney Company Ltd and Paramount Pictures, netting access to the Disney assets and the Paramount library. A deal with Sony may be forthcoming. Videos are accessed with stand-alone software, which is available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. The company released a new interface screenshot recently, and older screenshots and details have been compiled for people without access to the system.

Telling lies about Poliwood

philip-random — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:34:58 -0800

As I write this, I realize I am about to do something that, for the most part, is never done. I am going to criticize a critic. Filmmakers are never supposed to respond to a critic about their work. It's an unspoken rule of engagement. But in this case, I feel compelled. Barry Levinson (film maker) versus Alessandra Stanley (TV critic for the New York Times) on the topic of her getting her facts WRONG about his latest film Poliwood an "essay" which looks at celebrity involvement in the 2008 Democratic and Republican national conventions. Apparently, this is not the first time Ms. Stanley has got it wrong, wrong, wrong.

Movies with Stingers (Post Credit Scenes)

Effigy2000 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:54:59 -0800

What's After the Credits? is a handy website which tells you if a movie, television show or video game has any extra or special scenes during the credits or post credits, known 'in the biz' as a Stinger. And if after checking out those websites you're tired of just reading about these post-credit scenes, check out a whole bunch of them by following this link to Youtube.

Name That Movie

TimTypeZed — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:26:01 -0800

Name That Movie The illustrator, Paul Rogers, description of his project: I started a series of drawings in my sketchbook, it's a kind of visual quiz of great movies. Each series is a sequence of six drawings of shots from classic films (in the order they appear on screen.) No portraits of movie stars, just iconic images from the film.

Flight 93: "A Lot of Fun!" --Richard Roeper

not_on_display — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:55:43 -0800

[FlickrPoolFilter] Crappy Bootleg DVD Covers: Here, you will find Tom Cruise's hit movie, Pepe Likes Tacos. In this universe, Star Wars features Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dustin Hoffman stars in Lost in Translation; witches, pirates, and hobbits inhabit the same world. Titles are improved upon. Reviews are refreshingly frank (if they make any sense at all). Your DVD may also contain subtitles in French, Chinese, Spamsoc, or Martian. (Don't say there was no warning.) Remember, kids: Piracy Creates Jobs!

More than 50 years of the big red blobby thing

filthy light thief — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:46:20 -0800

What's 51 years old and made of silicone with red food dye? The Blob, best known for it's work in The Blob, an independent film released in 1958, with Steve McQueen's second movie role (following Never Love a Stranger, which was released earlier that same year). The movie has been considered the definitive '50s film about a town that won't listen to the kids until it's too late (as noted in a review for the Criterion laserdisc release), with a super-catchy theme song (extended single version and b-side Saturday Night in Tiajuana) that was Burt Bacharach's third US hit song. (See more: theatrical trailer, full film on Veoh, full film as YouTube playlist) Times change, and so do monsters, and things got a bit wacky in the 1970s, with Beware! The Blob (aka Son of Blob; wiki, trailer, full film). The sequel played more to the slapstick comedy than the sci-fi/horror spectrum of things. Thirty years after the original, The Blob was remade in 1988 (wiki, trailer, full film), and is supposedly being re-created by Rob Zombie, though his statement about reviving The Blob without "the big red blobby thing" has people asking, then why remake The Blob? (previous blobby goodness) The Blob was not intended to be about Communism, according to the film's producer, Jack Harris, when he was interviewed at BlobFest VIII in 2007. BlobFest started as a fundraiser in 1999 to restore The Colonial Theater, a prominent feature of the original film. Since the first fundraiser, the event has become an annual celebration of All Things The Blob, including a scream competition, run-out re-enactment, Shorty Film Contest, and more. For gobs more on (classic version of) The Blob, see TheBlobSite.

Create An Effect

netbros — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:09:21 -0800

Just Add New Zealanders — a compilation of short-form film, music videos, movie trailers, and interactive promos. Check out the locations section for photos of the world-class scenic beauty New Zealand is famous for.

Early Animated Films, Lost and Found

filthy light thief — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:02:23 -0800

While some might believe that Walt Disney had the first feature-length animated film with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in 1937, the Disney film is the fourth animated feature-length film, and was two decades late for first place. The first two animated feature-length films were directed by an Italian in Argentia in 1917 and 1918, though all prints of those films are presumed lost or destroyed. The third animated full-length feature, Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed (The Adventures of Prince Achmed), came out the same year that the first two were lost to fire. This third animated film was a silhouette animation made by a German artist named Lotte Reiniger. The original negatives are considered lost, but a supposedly first-generation positive (from the camera negative) remains and the film has been restored from this stock (full film with limited subtitles, 5 minute preview with English subtitles and the full film viewable with Veoh plug-in). More information and videos inside. The first animated feature film was El Apóstol, followed by Sin dejar rastros, both written and directed by Quirino Cristiani. His career in film was limited to 27 years in film (1916-1943), but rather notable for early animation firsts. Cristiani's last major film, Peludópolis, was the first full-length animated motion picture with sound, presented with sound-on-disc. The only known prints of his first films were destroyed in a fire in 1926, and his final work was also lost to fire, this time in 1961, giving Cristiani two films on a list of Top 50 Lost Films of All Time. Lotte Reiniger was born in 1899, and she was fascinated by Chinese silhouette puppets from an early age (shadow puppetry previously). She created her first shadow theater at the age of six, and ultimately had a career that spanned 60 years (1919-1979, not counting her early credits going back to 1916) and some 70 film credits to her name. Her most recalled accomplishment was creating the first German animated film, Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed. The animation was made with cardboard and thin sheets of lead, and color tinting. Reiniger wrote about the process of creating and restoring the film (PDF, Google html cache), and she noted that the complete original Wolfgang Zeller accompanying score was preserved in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Silhouette puppetry of a sort lives on in a new mini-series, The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello. The series currently consists of four episodes (called "voyages") that are set in a the world of steampunk aeronautics, utilizing a silhouette animation style that has been likened to The Adventures of Prince Achmed. The first voyage, Jasper Morello and the Lost Airship is on YouTube in full (previously). Unlike Anthony Lucas' earlier stop-motion animation, the Mysterious Geographic Explorations are a mix of 3D computer graphics, photographic composition and miniatures. The Gothia Gazette has more information on the series. This rambling journey through early animation and silhouette work was set off by Tor Books, who have laid claim to October as Steampunk Month on their website. The Jasper Morello video was one of three animations, the other two being shorts (#2: The Aeronaut {also on mtvU with sharper sound, but also watermarks} by Nicholas Lombardo; #3: Komedi - A Gentelan's Duel, by Blur Studios, who were mentioned previously twice). Selections from the List of Lotte Reinger works 1920 - Das Geheimnis der Marquise (MP4) (The Marquise's Secret) for Nivea skin cream 1954 - Cinderella (10:29), The Little Chimneysweep (9:53), The Frog Prince (10:24) 1955 - Hansel and Gretel (10:32), Jack and the Beanstock (from the beginning, missing the first minute, and a bit of the end) 1971 - The Art of Lotte Reiniger (17:02), featuring Ms. Reiniger herself, creating silhouette puppets and describing the process Extra links Previously: steampunkery, Czech animator Karel Zeman, German animator Hans Fischerkoesen Etcetera: Bullet Bill and Bob-Omb as Victorian gentlemen Bonus video: Grand Drive "Firefly" (4:05), music video with shadow-puppet animation inspired by Lotte Reiniger, produced by Trunk Animation

Classic Cinema Online

Turtles all the way down — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:28:11 -0800

Classic Cinema Online. A ton of old movies watchable in an embedded player.

This movie is rife with the stench of back bacon!

Horace Rumpole — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:11:32 -0800

From Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe to Zombie Nightmare, Canuxploitation is your guide to the world of Canadian B-movies. Via the always indispensable (and occasionally NSFW) Mondo Digital.

Eleanor Powell

Joe Beese — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:00:02 -0800

Eleanor Powell was born to dance. Ann Miller - who named Powell as the inspiration for her dancing career - credited the popularity of Powell's late-30s films with helping keeping MGM from bankruptcy. The quality of her dancing even intimidated co-star Fred Astaire - who wrote in his autobiography: She 'put 'em down like a man', no ricky-ticky-sissy stuff with Ellie. She really knocked out a tap dance in a class by herself.

Heroes only slightly less evil than villains

amyms — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:01:37 -0800

In their heyday in the 1960s and '70s, "spaghetti westerns" redefined a genre. The Spaghetti Western Database has a Beginner's Guide to the Spaghetti Western, a tribute to Sergio Leone, and Top 20 viewing lists, including Quentin Tarantino's favorites. A Fistful of Pasta has its own Essential Top 20 and an article about Spaghetti Westerns and Politics. Shobary's Spaghetti Westerns has trailers and bloopers. More on the history of the subgenre from Images Journal. More to explore at A Fistful of Westerns.

Mos Eisley spaceport... It's a-

Artw — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:07:52 -0800

Classic Movie Lines, with Peter Serafinowicz. Now with Mos Eisley spaceport re-edit.

Scream Dracula Scream

Artw — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:13:26 -0800

Chris Sims of the Invincible Super-Blog has tangled with the undead before, most notably with The Annotated Anita Blake, but now he's taking on the big daddy with the cape and the fangs: It's Dracula Week! Over on Comics Alliance Chris lists Dracula's Greatest Comics Appearances, then back on ISB he's followed up with Batman versus Dracula and Dracula versus Superman. Now he's taking on Dracula in his ultimate, most 70s form. Behold... BLACULA!

New York, You've Changed

monospace — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:32:31 -0800

A New York City film location scout (mentioned before, here and here) revisits the scenes of the movie Taxi Driver (1976) and compares them to what's there now. Previously, he covered the movie Ghost Busters (1984).

Matt Helm

Joe Beese — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:37:37 -0800

Matt Helm is a fictional character created by author Donald Hamilton. He is a U.S. government counter-agent—a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary sense of the term as used in spy thrillers. ... The character appeared in 27 books over a 33-year period beginning in 1960... A movie series was made in the mid-to-late 1960s starring Dean Martin... the series bore no resemblance at all to the character, atmosphere, or themes of Hamilton's original books, nor to the hard-edged action of Bond. One reason was the attitude of the filmmakers that the only way to compete with the Bond films was to parody them. - Wikipedia (links may be mildly NSFW) We reported earlier this year that the messy breakup of Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures may have killed the director's opportunity to bring the swinging, pulp fiction super-spy, Matt Helm, back to the big screen... a source close to the project tells us a new director has his hands on the project — none other than Gary Ross, writer-director of "Pleasantville" and "Seabiscuit"... - The Playlist The first - and by all accounts the best - of the Dean Martin films is The Silencers. It can be viewed in its entirety here. Don't miss the opening credits - featuring Elmer Bernstein's razzmatazz score and a bombshell performance by Cyd Charisse. (previously)

Movies shot in Toronto but set somewhere else – now with pictures

joeclark — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:20:58 -0800

Paul Giamatti and Matt Damon star in Resident Hunting: Shoot ’Em Up by the Dozen 2. For decades, Toronto has been a cheap, versatile city in which to shoot movies. Most of the time, Toronto pretends to be some other place – mostly New York. Using DVD screencaps, city blog Torontoist takes a sightseeing tour through over 50 films shot in Toronto that mostly pretend to be set somewhere else, from (yes) Good Will Hunting to the HBO version of Grey Gardens. Ironic favourites: Detroit Rock City, Hollywoodland, American Psycho. Not listed, but definitely shot here: Chicago.

i don't wanna editorialize this thing but I'm just saying soul survivors was actually pretty decent okay

kittens for breakfast — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:28:55 -0800

Early or not, Rotten Tomatoes brings us the 100 worst films of the decade.

Damn, there's too much static.

flatluigi — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:03:58 -0800

No Signal - A montage of cellphones in horror movies. _{(link via waxy, who has an archive of more montages like these here)}

The greatest teen exploitation flick ever, 30 years later

mediareport — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:26:30 -0800

OVER THE EDGE: An Oral History of the Greatest Teen Rebellion Movie of All Time Vice Magazine gets Matt Dillon (it was his first movie) and a bunch of other cast and crew together for a detailed oral history of Kurt Cobain's favorite flick and "the Apocalypse Now of teen films." Buried by Orion on its original 1979 release, in part because of violence in theaters which had just shown The Warriors, it found a big cult following among kids with HBO in the early 80s. Co-writer Tim Hunter would later go on to direct River's Edge. Part 1 Part 2 etc. More details 1981 Vincent Canby NYT review 2001 Village Voice chat with director Jonathan Kaplan

Relationship violence as art

gillyflower — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:24:37 -0800

Apache (a-POSH) dancing (French, not Native American), popular in Paris in the early parts of the 20th century, pitted a male and a female dancer against each other in over-the-top--and sometimes hawt--mock violence. Related in some ways to the tango, the Apache dance emphasizes realistic-looking violence and is said to re-enact an argument between a pimp and prostitute. How did it come to be called Apache? Apocryphally, from the name of a Parisian street gang given to violence so savage it was compared to the activities of the Indian tribe. Weapons could be involved, and each partner gave as good as he got. Its popularity spread through streets, nightclubs and cabarets, and it was seen on stage and screen. Rudolf Valentino faked the tango, but was an expert Apache dancer. Can be somewhat hard to watch if your kind of dancing is the type of thing you see on "Dancing with the Stars". But Apache has its own artistry (and lots of acrobatics), even in the later, more comical stylized movie settings. And people are still dancing Apache, albeit usually in a more PC style.

a BRANDO in the life

philip-random — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:07:48 -0800

Single Link Marlon Brando Beatles Mashup

Bavarian Film Studios in Munich

Brosef K — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:33:00 -0800

Hitchcock's first in 1925. Kubrick in 1957. Sturges in 1963. Bergman, Huston, Ophüls, and Wilder. Sound of Music in 1965. Willy Wonka in 1971. Also, Monty Python made their Fliegender Zirkus specials there in 1971 and 1972. Film history and all that. Sure. But to my mind, the best part of the Bavarian Film Studios is being able to go inside the actual submarine from Das Boot. Or you can ride on that flying dog thing from Neverending Story... if that's how you roll.