“There are some fish that cannot be caught. It’s not that they are faster or stronger than other fish, they’re just touched by something extra.”
Tim Burton’s BIG FISH will be available on 4K ULTRA HD May 4th. Throughout his life Edward Bloom (Ewan McGregor) has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years, portrayed by five-time Best Actor Oscar nominee Albert Finney (Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Erin Brockovich, 2000), he remains a huge mystery to his son, William (Billy Crudup). Now, to get to know the real man, Will begins piecing together a true picture of his father from flashbacks of his amazing adventures in this marvel of a movie.
DISC DETAILS & BONUS MATERIAL 4K ULTRA HD DISC
Newly Remastered in 4K resolution from the original camera negative, with HDR10
All-new Dolby Atmos audio + original theatrical 5.1 audio
BLU-RAY DISC™
Feature presented in HD, sourced from the new 4K master
Tim Burton Audio Commentary, Moderated by Mark Salisbury
The Character’s Journey
Edward Bloom at Large
Amos at the Circus
Fathers and Sons
The Filmmaker’s Path
Tim Burton: Storyteller
A Fairytale World
Creature Features
The Author’s Journey
Original Cast Interviews & Behind the Scenes
Easter Eggs
Theatrical Trailer
CAST AND CREW
Directed By: Tim Burton Screenplay By: John August Based on a Novel by: Daniel Wallace Producers: Richard D. Zanuck, Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks Executive Producer: Arne L. Schmidt Cast: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter, Alison Lohman, Robert Guillaume, Marion Cotillard with Steve Buscemi and Danny DeVito
Although François Truffaut has written that the New Wave began “thanks to Jacquette Rivette,” the films of this masterful French director are not well known. Rivette, like his “Cahiers du Cinéma” colleagues Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol and Éric Rohmer, did graduate to filmmaking but, like Rohmer, was something of a late bloomer as a director.
In 1969, he directed the 4-hour L’amour fou (1969), the now legendary 13-hour Out 1 (1971) (made for French TV in 1970 but never broadcast; edited to a 4-hour feature and retitled Out 1: Spectre (1972)), and the 3-hour Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974), his most entertaining and widely seen picture. In these three films, Rivette began to construct what has come to be called his “House of Fiction”–an enigmatic filmmaking style involving improvisation, ellipsis and considerable narrative experimentation.
Celine and Julie Go Boating
In 1975, Jacques Rivette reunited with Out 1 producer Stéphane Tchal Gadjieff with the idea of a four-film cycle. He would create a quartet of interconnected films, each in a different genre. One was to be a love story, another a Western, and there was to be a fantastical thriller and a musical comedy starring Anna Karina and Jean Marais too.
Ill health intervened, and only two of the films were completed. Duelle (une quarantine) sees Rivette in fantasy territory, cross-pollinating Val Lewton, Jean Cocteau and film noir as the Queen of the Sun (Bulle Ogier) and the Queen of the Night (Juliet Berto) search for a magical diamond in present day. Its parallel film, Noroît (une vengeance), is a pirate tale – and a loose adaptation of The Revenger’s Tragedy – starring Geraldine Chaplin (Nashville, Cría cuervos).
A third film began production – Marie et Julien starring Albert Finney and Leslie Caron – but Rivette succumbed to nervous exhaustion and shooting was abandoned. When he did return to filmmaking, Rivette borrowed some of the elements of Duelle and Noroît and came up with Merry-Go-Round. Joe Dallesandro (Trash, Flesh for Frankenstein) and Maria Schneider (Last Tango in Paris, The Passenger) are summoned to Paris, which leads to one of the most surreal and mysterious tales in a career that was dominated by surrealism and mystery.
On May 23rd, Arrow Video will be releasing THE JACQUES RIVETTE COLLECTION, which contains Bu-ray and standard definition versions ofNOROIT, DUELLE, and THE MERRY-GO-ROUND.
NOROIT (1976)
On an island beach a woman vows to avenge her brother’s death at the hands of a pirate leader. With help, the woman spies on the pirates and then gets a job as bodyguard to the pirate leader.
DUELLE (1976)
The Queen of the Night battles the Queen of the Sun over a magical diamond that will allow the winner to remain on Earth, specifically in modern day Paris.
THE MERRY-GO-ROUND (1981)
Elizabeth sends telegrams to her old boyfriend Ben in NYC and to her younger sister Leo in Rome to join her in Paris, where she is selling her dead father’s estate. When Ben and Leo arrive, a mysterious adventure begins.
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations of all three films from brand new 2K restorations of the films
Original mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-rays)
Optional newly-translated English subtitles for all films
Scenes from a Parallel Life: Jacques Rivette Remembers – archive interview with the director, in which he discusses Duelle (une quarantaine), Noroît (une vengeance) and Merry-Go-Round
Remembering Duelle – Bulle Ogier and Hermine Karagheuz recollect their work on the 1976 feature
Interview with critic Jonathan Rosenbaum, who reported from the sets of both Duelle (une quarantaine) and Noroît (une vengeance)
Exclusive perfect-bound book containing writing on the films by Mary M. Wiles, Brad Stevens and Nick Pinkerton plus a reprint of four on-set reports from Duelle (une quarantaine) and Noroît (une vengeance)
Reversible sleeves with original and newly commissioned artwork by Ignatius Fitzpatr
TWO FOR THE ROAD screens at 10:30am Saturday morning, January 30th at The Hi-Pointe Theater (1005 McCausland Ave., St. Louis, MO 63117). Admission is $10 and this is a fundraiser sponsored by the St. Louis Metropolitan Medical Society Alliance.
Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn star in director Stanley Donen’s TWO FOR THE ROAD, which uses multiple parallel flashbacks to chronicle a couples’ 12-year marriage. The marriage in the present is falling apart as their love for one another dissolves. As they drive through the back roads of France they relive two other times in their lives when the same trip was made under much better circumstances. The cinematic trick of jumping from one road trip to the other is expertly handled. Hepburn and Finney are both terrific in the film. And the movie, released in 1967, captures the mood of the 60s before Nam, the Counterculture, and radical politics so altered the landscape. This 60s is a time of youth and hope and redemption and TWO FOR THE ROAD is an unforgettable film.
Doors open at 10am and there will be a silent auction. Admission is $10. Sponsored by the St. Louis Metropolitan Medical Society Alliance to benefit the Medical Scholars of 5 Missouri Medical schools and Voices of Excellence at Layola Academy in St. Louis
The Hi-Pointe is located at 1005 McCausland Ave., St. Louis, MO 63117. Their website can be found HERE
What’s the one word that really brings a smile to the face of a movie studio executive? Well aside from “profit” that word would probably be “franchise”. That’s a film property that spawns countless sequels and lucrative merchandising. Well SKYFALL celebrates 50 years of the greatest. longest-running film franchise of them all (we’ll see if Harry Potter or “Star Wars” can go five decades): James Bond 007. 1962 saw the release of the first ‘Cubby Broccoli/Harry Saltzman produced feature adaptation based on Ian Fleming’s popular novel ( there was a live US TV version of “Casino Royale” with Barry Nelson as “Jimmy” Bond broadcast in 1954): DR. NO. The series quickly become the main jewel in studio United Artists’ crown. As several pop-culture scholars have stated, the 60’s were the three B’s: Beatles, Batman, and Bond. While the lads from Liverpool broke up by the end of the decade and the Caped Crusader went into a decades long hibernation (the comic books continued, though). the Bond movie series endured, past other spies he inspired on the big screen (James Coburn as Derek Flint, Dean Martin as Matt Helm, etc.) and small (” The Man From UNCLE”, “Get Smart”). And the Bonds films survived the recasting of the hero. Daniel Craig is the sixth 007 over the course of 22 “official” films ( the 1967 CASINO ROYALE and the 1983 NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN are not part of the UA/Broccoli family canon). And after a four-year break ( thanks to some financial struggles with MGM/UA), the gentleman spy is back for this, Bond mission 23. But the times have changed so much in 50 years. Is he past his prime? Should he put away the Walter PPK? Well to quote one of the many advertising tag lines, “He’s got a license to kill…and thrill!”. And Mr. Bond’s newest exploit may be the most thrilling yet!
As SKYFALL begins, we’re thrown right into the conclusion of Bond’s (Craig) dangerous new mission. He and a co-agent, Eve (Naomie Harris) must retrieve a top-secret hard drive. But things do not go as hoped and 007 is missing. Things are also not going well for his superior M (Judi Dench) back in London. After several foreign agents’ identities are compromised, she’s pressured by her boss, Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) to retire. Then an attack on MI6 headquarters prompts the MIA Bond to return. But his time away has left the master spy terribly out of shape. He’ll need to be in top form to speed across the globe in order to eliminate the cyber-terrorist known as Silva (Javier Bardem). Along the way, Bond may face his greatest challenge fighting Silva’s considerable forces and confronting his own past.
For this film Craig is called on to do more than be a clothes “horse”, throw a punch, or draw his weapon. Although he’s superb at all those tasks. We get a Bond that really runs a full range of emotions: angry, arrogant, fearful, unsure, even melancholy. This life as taken a toll on more than just his battered body. Craig is compelling every second he’s on screen whether his piercing blue are zeroed in on an enemy agent or a belligerent beaurocrat. The working over he got in CASINO ROYALE is merely a warm-up for what he must endure here (Craig’s Bond may be the most abused spy ever). And about those action scenes, Craig is one guy you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley (as opposed to a couple Bond actors I won’t name). No wonder some characters in the films refer to him as a “blunt instrument”. But in SKYFALL Craig shows us his very human heart.
The say that a hero’s only as good as his villain and Bardem is spellbinding as the enigmatic Silva, who shares a bit of Bond’s background along with a vendetta against M. We don’t meet him till nearly the half way mark but Silva puts a surprising spin on the 007/master villain first meeting/interrogation scene that’s a staple of this franchise. Their conversation (as Bond is tied to a chair) will have longtime fans buzzing. Bardem is a complex monster, equal parts menacing and pathetic. On the heroes’ side, Fiennes is the proper politico blowhard that doubts Bond initially. He later proves himself. It’s great to see veteran actor Albert Finney who is also wonderful as a tough old duffer who possess a key to Bond’s past. Part of Bond’s support team is re-introduced here with Ben Whishaw as Q, the dispenser (and often inventor) of spy-tech. Bond’s leery of Q’s youth, but the “brute” and the “geek” are soon working side by side. Speaking of side by side, Harris (as Eve) has a wonderful partnership (and some playful flirting) with Craig. A different fliteration occurs between Bond and possible lover/informant Severine (Berenice Marlohe). Yes, she’s alluring but also more than a bit tragic. You know that she’ll be haunting Bond’s dreams for some time. These actresses are great, but the most meaningful relationship may be the one between 007 and his boss M (Dench). They start at odds, but this wears away to mutual respect, and eventually a mother/son devotion and affection. This is Dench’s seventh outing as Bond (counting the four Pierce Brosnan films) and her finest work in the series. There’s been a tradition of “Bond girls”, women who dominate each outing like Ursula Andress in DR. NO or Halle Barry in DIE ANOTHER DIE. In a way, the “girl” here is Dench. They make a wonderful couple who have a true emotional connection well beyond the romantic. Oh, and did I say that this M may be tougher than all the previous M’s combined.
For this adventure, the caretakers of the Bond films have entrusted this entry to an Oscar winning director: Sam Mendes (AMERICAN BEAUTY). There have been many skilled artists directing Bond since Terence Young helmed the first two, DR. NO and the cold war classic FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, and there’s been a few “journeyman” film makers, but few have created such artistic images for a big popcorn flick. From the start we see a starkly lit hallway with Craig’s unmistakeable silouhette bursting from the shadows. Later a sequence of a tuxedo-clad 007 drifting across the waters via canoe to a bright casino is a lush, painterly image. But Mendes’s cameras are there to catch every gasp-inducing frame of some of the best stunt work to grace the series. Luckily the Coen Brother’s gifted cinematographer Roger Deakins highlights the different sequences, whether it’s the neon glow of Hong Kong or the crowded, grimey London “tube” at rush hour. Thomas Newman contributes an expert score that adds a dash of the classic Monty Norman theme just at the right moment. In the tradition of title theme songs, Adele sings (and co-writes) the tune that works well with some great film graphic images. It’s not quite the pop anthems that Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die” and Carly Simon’s “Nobody Does it Better” from THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, but it does evoke the jazzy stylings of Shirley Bassey (most notably GOLDFINGER). Happily the producers have included many nods and winks to earlier Bond flicks for longtime fans. You might say that the overall excellance of this new adventure is the ultimate thank-you to Bond fans of all-ages worldwide. Is this the best Bond? Well my first theatre-going experiences are of seeing that dapper Scotsman named Sean, so he’ll always be my image of the super-cool spy. But this is certainly the best Bond of the last four decades. And SKYFALL is one of the best films of the year. I hoist my vodka martini (shaken..aw you know!) to you, Mr. Bond! Here’s to 50 more years of unmatched screen thrills!
In theaters on August 3rd, check out the second trailer for THE BOURNE LEGACY – introduced by Hawkeye himself, Jeremy Renner.
The narrative architect behind the Bourne film series, Tony Gilroy, takes the helm in the next chapter of the hugely popular espionage franchise that has earned almost $1 billion at the global box office: The Bourne Legacy. The writer/director expands the Bourne universe created by Robert Ludlum with an original story that introduces us to a new hero (Jeremy Renner) whose life-or-death stakes have been triggered by the events of the first three films.
THE BOURNE LEGACY also stars series newcomers Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Stacy Keach and Oscar Isaac, while franchise veterans Albert Finney, Joan Allen, David Strathairn and Scott Glenn reprise their roles.
The first SKYFALL trailer is here! The film, from Albert R. Broccoli’s Eon Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, is directed by Academy Award® winner Sam Mendes and stars Daniel Craig, who returns for his third film as James Bond 007. The screenplay is written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and John Logan. SKYFALL will begin its worldwide roll-out in the UK and Ireland on October 26th, 2012 and in North America on November 9th, 2012.
Daniel Craig is back as James Bond 007 in SKYFALL, the 23rd adventure in the longest-running film franchise of all time. In SKYFALL, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. The film also stars Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Bérénice Marlohe, Albert Finney, Ben Whishaw, Helen McCrory and Rory Kinear.
007 fans can learn more about SKYFALL at the James Bond franchise:
Just listening to Carter Burwell’s score for this film alone is enough to make my day. I just recently watched MILLER’S CROSSING again for the umptee-nth time and I swear to you the DVD menu played in it’s loop for a good 15-20 minutes before I even hit play, listening to the Opening Titles track. Burwell’s score is haunting and enchanting at the same time, drawing from traditional Irish music and notched up with a bit of cinematic flair. The film however, proved somewhat challenging for the Coen Brothers, who suffered writer’s block during the scripting of the film. As a remedy, Joel and Ethan took a few weeks off and in that time wrote a film about writer’s block called BARTON FINK.
The opening scene is very reminiscent of Coppola’s THE GODFATHER, but does so with dignity and yet still has Coen Brothers written all over it. Johnny Caspar (Jon Polito) is asking Leo to have Bernie “taken out” to reconcile an offense, but his request is denied since Bernie pays Leo protection money. The scene sets the tone of the film and makes clear that while this is a genre film, there’s no mistaking that it’s a Coen Brothers film, first and foremost.
MILLER’S CROSSING is easily one of the top ten gangster films of all time, but likely won’t make the majority of the lists. This is due in part to it’s relative lack of notoriety amidst the general public, but is also due in part to an under-appreciation of this fine film. Aside from the music, MILLER’S CROSSING is also an incredibly well shot film, masterfully photographed as if they had an endless supply of golden hours in which to shoot. The film was shot by cinematographer turned director Barry Sonnenfeld, accompanied by Michael R. Miller’s very capable editing.
Perhaps the most powerful in the entire film is the static shot over which the film’s title appears. As the Opening Titles music eases to a close, a bowler (hat) is dropped right-side up on the ground which is covered with the crunchy brown fallen leaves of autumn. A gust of wind kicks up and blows the hat gracefully off into the distance in subtle slow-motion. This scene can be compared to the wind-blown plastic grocery bag scene in AMERICAN BEAUTY (only less effective that the scene in MILLER’S CROSSING) whereas Ricky Fitts finds beauty and meaning in an otherwise insignificant occurrence.
The hat’s little ballet, which later takes on a more significant role in Tom’s story, moves us into the meat of the film. Tom Regan (Gabriel Byrne) struggles to broker peace between two rival crime bosses, but finds himself torn between loyalties as he pursues an affair with crime boss Leo’s (Albert Finney) girl Verna (Marcia Gay Harden). MILLER’S CROSSING takes place during the prohibition era. Leo is the boss of the Irish mob and Johnny Caspar, his rival, is boss of the Italian mob. Tom Regan is the guy in the middle attempting to avoid an all out war between the two families.
John Turturro plays Verna’s slimy, arrogant brother Bernie. He’s hiding out, not staying in one place too long and trying to get Tom Regan to help him out, but no one really likes Bernie except for his sister Verna. Everyone is trying to work the angle of Tom’s debt to Lazarre, knowing he’s in deep, but Tom is a man of principle, which comes in handy as a go-between for mob family talks. Tom has his head on straight, but he’s also too stubborn for his own good at times. Steve Buscemi plays Mink, a neurotic wormy little weasel who’s constantly wound like a spider-monkey with Red Bull flowing intravenously into his veins. Mink is an informant, known for knowing things. J.E. Freeman is great as Eddie Dane, Caspar’s “shadow” and no excuses, get-the-job-done hitman nicknamed The Dane for his intimidating height.
The film also has some great, gritty scenes of mob violence, including one of my favorites being Johnny Caspar’s first attempt to take Leo out, sending two men armed with Tommy Guns to Leo’s house. Caspar’s goons take out Leo’s guard with ease, but find the aging Leo hasn’t lost his wits nor his ability to kick some mobster ass, if necessary. In brilliant Coen Brothers fashion, the entire tense lead-flinging scene is cut to an operatic rendition of “Danny Boy” creating beauty in madness.
MILLER’S CROSSING is certainly a gangster film, but it really draws from many eras and influences in a long history of gangster films. Stylistically, the film is a cross-pollination of the gangster film and film noir. Tom’s dialogue is often written with the sharp and direct dialogue of the anti-hero from classic noir greats. Tom serves as a sort of hard-nosed noir private detective for Leo, working the angles to his own benefit while also mediating the squeeze on Leo for control of the city from Caspar.
When things start to go awry with Leo, Tom finds himself jockeying for a position of security as the tensions between Leo and Caspar thicken. Choosing sides based on what’s best for his own survival, Tom becomes a lone wolf in sheep’s clothing. The forlorn Tom Regan, thrown out to fend for himself, must make one important decision of life and death, in turn weighing his own life in the scales of moral justice. Tom quickly learns that he made the wrong decision and must work twice as hard to survive as a result. In the end, Tom learns to pull the strings, setting the rival pawns in play to take each other out while Tom gets a second chance to make the “right” decision.
Bernie: “Look in your heart.” Tom: “What heart”?
This film is especially enjoyable for the more extreme movie geeks, as I am certain one could classify the Coen Brothers themselves. MILLER’S CROSSING has hidden homages to cinematic masterpieces. The long walk up the steps by Leo’s would-be assassins can imply influence from De Palma’s THE UNTOUCHABLES and the staircase scene, or from Coppola’s incredible montage of rival mafia Don’s being strategically taken out in THE GODFATHER. Watch for the boxing poster that appears in the film. The name Lars Thorwald is printed on the poster, which also happens to be the name of Raymond Burr’s character in Hitchcock’s REAR WINDOW. Or, even the endlessly ringing phone in Tom’s apartment, which is a throwback to Sergio Leone’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA.
MILLER’S CROSSING also features a couple of noteworthy cameos for the most discerning movie geeks out there. Frances McDormand, a frequent player in Coen Brothers films and wife to Joel Coen, appears in a cameo as the mayor’s secretary. Sam Raimi, director of the EVIL DEAD and SPIDER-MAN films and long time friend and colleague of the Coen Brothers, appears in a cameo as the cocky two-pistol wielding tan overcoat-wearing gunman during the massive police gunfight at the Sons of Erin Club.
Having opened in October 1990 in the US, MILLER’S CROSSING is yet another fantastic film that is considered a failure by the studio, which was 20th Century Fox. The film cost an estimated $14 million to make, grossing just over $5 million in the domestic box office. MILLER’S CROSSING was nominated for four obscure awards, winning two of them, but regrettably received no love from Oscar in 1990. The DVD didn’t see the light of day until May 2003, featuring a featurette with Barry Sonnenfeld and cast interviews with Gabriel Byrne, Marcia gay Harden and John Turturro.
