Classics »
Michael Fassbender Goes From One Bronte To the Next
Filed under: Classics, Drama, Independent, Romance, Casting, Mystery & Suspense, Focus Features, Newsstand
The Brontes are all the rage for adaptation right now. It's undoubtedly due to Edward and Bella bestowing their favor on Wuthering Heights, and had they chosen Great Expectations, perhaps we'd see Dickens adaptations flinging themselves to the big screen. I love corsets and cravats, so I'm not going to complain, and I'm certainly not going to whine if Cary Fukunaga gets this cast for Jane Eyre. Variety is reporting that Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska are in talks to play Jane and Rochester for Fukunaga, and oh, how torrid it would be!This is actually the second time Fassbender has circled a Bronte adaptation. Last May, he was said to be in talks for Wuthering Heights, but Ed Westwick stepped into that particular waistcoat. It's a shame. I think Fassbender would have made an excellent Heathcliff, and may have been the first one to actually snarl, bang his head against a tree, and slap people convincingly. But he will make a very simmering Rochester, and is the only actor who could top Toby Stephens' wonderful turn in 2006.
Wasikowska is still a bit of a dark horse. She's becoming one of those much-discussed names, but most of us have yet to really meet her until Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland hits theaters. She's very pretty, but is just "ordinary" (if that doesn't sound too terrible) enough to fit the part of plain Jane, and as an Aussie, she'll be able to turn on an English accent better than Ellen Page. If this is the Jane Eyre that makes it to the screen, I'll be happy. Let the eerie screams, mysterious fires, and lingering looks commence.
'Captain Nemo' Is Dead in the Water at Disney
Filed under: Action, Classics, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Executive shifts, Disney, Scripts, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels
The klaxons are sounding for the Nautilus and Captain Nemo's origin story. Variety reports that Disney has quietly shelved the project, and McG has been released from duty in order to seek better fortune ashore. The project was scheduled to begin production this February, and was on a fast track under Dick Cook. But as you probably remember, Cook was shown the door a few months ago. Many of Disney's big projects seem to be left dangling as stars like Johnny Depp decide whether they're sailing or staying ashore. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo is just the latest, though Disney insists big popcorn flicks will still be a focus for them.
Leagues had already been a revolving door of rumors, with Will Smith said to be in the running to play Nemo. Justin Marks was originally penning the script, but was replaced by Randall Wallace this past July. Variety reports that the project was being penned by Bill Marsilli, so presumably Wallace was off as well. While it's not unusual to have three screenwriters on a project, it doesn't sound like this submarine had a reliable captain. Perhaps the Nautilus will sail again as a proper steampunk picture that explores his romantic Indian past, and not a slapdash summerfest.
Cinematical Seven: Classic Hollywood Battles of The Sexes
Filed under: Classics, Fandom, Cinematical Seven, Trailers and Clips
The battle of the sexes is alive and well in Hollywood, and whether it is the subject of a rom-com or an indie flick, audiences love to watch a good ol' fashioned throw down. But what makes a 'battle of the sexes' comedy a tricky proposition is that someone has to lose. So how do you make your audience (who is for the most part, female) accept the idea that a strong and feisty gal has learned the error of her ways and has 'surrendered to love''? Granted, it was a heck of a lot easier when they were making these movies in the '30s and '40s and marriage was the inevitable 'happy ending' for most gals.
Today, The Ugly Truth has been released on DVD and just like a million films to go before it, the story centers on a man and a woman who 'meet cute', fight a lot, and then fall in love -- and just like every other film, the whole thing hinges on the happy couple. When you're covering well trod ground like a battle of the sexes comedy, the charm and likability of your leads are your bread and butter -- and on a personal note, I just don't think Truth pulled it off, and I never got that charge from watching Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler engage in a little 'verbal foreplay'.
So at risk of sounding like somebody's grandmother, I decided that when it comes to the battle of the sexes comedy, nobody did it better than classic Hollywood, and it didn't matter whether it was during the hay day of screwball comedies or gritty films noir. That's why this Cinematical Seven is dedicated to those classic Hollywood couples that could battle with the best of them, but unlike Heigl and Butler, their chemistry became the stuff of movie legend.
After the jump; seven classic couples that are all-time champs when it comes to the battle of the sexes....
Free Flick of the Day: Spartacus
Filed under: Classics, Home Entertainment
"You can't put words back in your mouth. What you can do, is spread false gossip so people think that everything that's been said is untrue ... It's like the end of Spartacus. I have seen that movie half a dozen times and I still don't know who the real Spartacus is. And that is what makes that movie a classic whodunnit." -- The OfficeI know very well there isn't a single Cinematical reader who doesn't know who the real Spartacus is. There's probably little children who haven't even seen Stanley Kubrick's Roman epic who know who the real Spartacus is because the movie has become such a cultural touchstone. But just because it's ubiquitous doesn't mean you shouldn't sit down and watch the movie again, especially since it's playing for free on SlashControl. Its lengthy runtime might make it a little uncomfortable to view on your laptop, but just make sure you have plenty of snacks and drinks, and you should be just fine.
Spartacus is quite dated (this is the era of filmmaking when no one thought flattops and beehives would be out of place in any time period), and Howard Fast's version of the myth was skewed toward his own political beliefs. But it's still a pretty brutal movie, and runs counter to Hollywood's vision today in that it makes the ending worse than the history. Eyewitnesses claim Spartacus died in battle. No one really knows, as his body was never recovered, but history is reasonably certain he wasn't one of the 6,600 crucified along the Via Appia. But Hollywood brutally chose to put him among them, and didn't even spare his wife and infant son the sight. That final farewell between Spartacus and Varinia traumatized me as a kid (it has to be one of the first movies I saw where the good guy didn't win), and still gets me every time.
Watch Spartacus now on SlashControl!
Scenes We Love: Miller's Crossing
Filed under: Classics, Noir, Mystery & Suspense, Scenes We Love
In the Great Coen Debates that occur among film fans, there's one that I never feel gets enough love: Miller's Crossing. It's probably my favorite next to The Big Lebowski. The film is deliciously dark and dreary (you can watch this in summer and still feel cold), but punctuated by that startling Coens humor. The dialogue and character quirks are not as exaggerated as they are in other Coen films, and when a character does get theatrical, it's appropriate to the setting. These are thugs who find themselves in positions of great wealth and power, after all, and they'll never know quite how to behave in the real world.
The film has a level of tension I don't think the Coens matched until No Country For Old Men. Tom's white-knuckle walk into Miller's Crossing is probably my favorite scene (actually, it's difficult to pick just one), but it doesn't appear to be on YouTube. So, here's another moment of violence that just doesn't go the way you think it will, and features the best use of Danny Boy in history. I really want to believe that the gramophone is a nod to Sean Connery's death scene in The Untouchables, but I suspect it's a noir standard that ushered many a mobster and cop into his grave.
Free Flick of the Day: Charade
Filed under: Classics, Comedy, Home Entertainment
I hate saying "They just don't make movies like they used to" because it really yearns for a golden age that I don't believe ever truly existed in Hollywood. Every age has had its share of studio dreck, every decade has its gems, and audiences have always complained that movies were better in a mystical "back then." But with a film like Charade, the grumpy adage rings true. They don't make movies like this anymore. But luckily they did once upon a time, and you can watch this one on SlashControl. If you've never seen Charade, you are in for a dizzying treat. I won't describe the plot too much as the knots are half the fun. The rest of the charm rests solely on the shoulders of Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant, who are thrown together in a plot of intrigue, romance, politics, and war crimes. Despite all the deaths and danger, the movie is light, charming, and very, very funny. And the clothes! If it's a Hepburn and Grant movie, you know Givenchy will be a silent cast member. Marvel at the way everyone manages to do action scenes in crisp and beautiful outfits. Go get acquainted with a classic (if it isn't your friend already), and long for the days when they made a lot of things (suits, luggage, and dialogue) a little bit better than today.
Watch Charade now on SlashControl.
Lost Charlie Chaplin Film Pops Up on eBay
Filed under: Classics, Fandom, Newsstand
One day, a man named Morace Park is surfing around eBay, looking for antiques, when he's intrigued by an item listed as an "old film." Housed in a funky antique tin, the man bids and wins it for the super-reasonable price of £3.20. He buys and sells antiques, so when the package arrives, it sits around for a bit. When he finally gets around to opening it, he unfurls some of the film to see what it is. The title reads: Charlie Chaplin in Zepped.Yes, folks, as a story in the Guardian attests, this is a forgotten film that there's no record of. Almost seven minutes long, the short "is a mixture of footage of Chaplin and exuberant animation that reminded Park of Monty Python sequences." Park's neighbor John Dyer says: "It starts with live shots of Chaplin. It then turns into a dreamscape. We see a Zeppelin bombing attack. And then we see Chaplin taking the mickey out of the Zeppelin, at the time a powerful instrument of terror." They deduce that the film is a propaganda piece from the first World War. Park and Dyer have traveled to Los Angeles to learn more about the short, with filmmaker Hammad Khan recording their journey for a documentary.
One has got to assume that whoever sold it never bothered to open the film and see what this "old film" was. Just goes to show you -- old cinematic junk on eBay can lead to stunning discoveries, and never be so lazy as to not see what a film is before selling it.
Free Flick of the Day: Night of the Living Dead
If there were any justice, George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968) would be counted as one of the great movie debuts of all time. (Yes, up there next to Citizen Kane.) In some quarters it is, but the fact that it's a horror film and the fact that it has languished for decades in the public domain (and many, many cheap, sub-par VHS tapes and DVDs) counts against it. Not to mention that younger zombie fans that come to the movie for the first time will most likely be surprised -- and probably disappointed -- as to how slow and thoughtful it really is. But if you consider things besides gore and terror to be important in your horror movies, then Night of the Living Dead endures, not just as one of the great genre movies of all time, but one of the greatest movies ever made, period. (It's currently ranked at #260 on the list of the 1000 greatest movies of all time at They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?.)
Night of the Living Dead achieved several notable things during its time. Firstly, it established an artistic tone and a directorial signature that Romero would carry through the rest of his career, up to the present day. Secondly, it was an independent film (produced, of all places, in Pittsburgh) long before "independent film" came to be a marketing term. It was made by a cast and crew of people who genuinely wanted to make it, and -- somehow -- it was actually distributed and shown in theaters. Thirdly, by casting an African-American (the late Duane Jones) in its lead role, by introducing the "basement versus the ground floor" conflict, and by featuring gun-toting rednecks as the clean-up crew, it managed to subtly suggest a few ideas about America at the time, and indeed, it still suggests a few things about America in 2009.
Watch Night of the Living Dead on SlashControl!
Free Flick of the Day: For A Few Dollars More
Filed under: Classics, Quentin Tarantino, Home Entertainment, Western
I think the mania for Sergio Leone is stronger than it's ever been. It's undoubtedly due to the championing of Quentin Tarantino, and films like Sukiyaki Western Django and The Good, the Bad and the Weird, which are driving fans to seek out where they borrowed their serapes and squints from. There also seems to simply be a hunger for good adventure stories and rugged antiheroes, and there's no better place to get sated than Leone's films. If you feel like spending two hours in the broiling sun with a man who'll shoot you as soon as look at you, then you'll love today's free flick: For A Few Dollars More.For A Few Dollars More might be my favorite of the Dollars Trilogy. I love them all on their own merits, but this installment stands on its own (I hate saying it, but Fistful is decidedly less cool after multiple viewings of Yojimbo), and is less operatic than The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. More also tips the balance thanks to the way it adds a little to the Man with No Name. Here, he's dubbed Monco (Spanish / Italian for maimed) due to the way he keeps his right hand hidden, and he doesn't just ride quietly out of the dust. Now he has a trail in a score of bloody newspaper clippings which suggests he could afford more than one serape. Ennio Morricone fans will also appreciate the little flourish he gave to Monco's gun hand
Even if you hate Westerns, you should watch it. Leone called his films "fairy tales for adults," and that's really what they are. They feel like every genre rolled in one, and have been borrowed from 1965 onward. Fans of everything from Tarantino to Pirates of the Caribbean will see something they recognize here.
Watch For A Few Dollars More on SlashControl!
Free Flick of the Day: His Girl Friday
Filed under: Classics, Home Entertainment
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By now, you've had your fill of ghosts, goblins, and things that go bump in the night. You've cleaned up pumpkin guts, peeled off your skin along with your spirit gum prosthetics, hoping OxyClean gets fake blood stains out of your carpet. You need a movie with class, wit, and Cary Grant. You need Howard Hawks' classic His Girl Friday, which is playing right now on SlashControl. There's nothing I can say about this movie that hasn't already been said. Rosalind Russell's Hildegard "Hildy" Johnson remains one of the gutsiest heroines to ever grace the silver screen, and the fact that Cary Grant's Walter Burns loves her for her byline makes him one of the sexiest men of all time. The romance, the scheming, and the race to the presses will still leave you dizzy and laughing. Oh, and let's not forget the clothes. Oh, to spend a day looking as impeccable and sharp as Johnson ... ! I fully intended this to be an anti-Halloween selection, but I imagine it could inspire my fellow females to look for pinstripes and fedoras for next year's festivities.
This movie is especially poignant to watch now in the waning days of the newspaper industry. It's very sad to think of movies like Friday and State of Play being period pieces beyond clothing, hairstyles, and politics. While I have confidence that journalism will find its fast talking feet again, there will always be something romantic about the presses. At least they've been preserved in the background of so many movies as good as His Girl Friday.
Watch His Girl Friday on SlashControl right now!
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