Song of the South (1946)

Song of the South is a 1946 feature film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film is based on the Uncle Remus cycle of stories by Joel Chandler Harris. The live actors provide a sentimental frame story, in which Uncle Remus relates the folk tales of the adventures of Brer Rabbit and his friends. These anthropomorphic animal characters appear in animation. The hit song from the film was "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", which won the 1947 Academy Award for Best Song and is frequently used as part of Disney's montage themes, and which has become widely-used in popular culture. The film inspired the Disney theme park attraction Splash Mountain.

The film has never been released in its entirety on home video in the USA, because of content which Disney executives believe would be construed by some as racist toward black people, and is thus subject to much rumor. Some portions of this film have been issued on VHS and DVD as part of either compilations or special editions of Disney films.

There are three animated segments in the movie (in all, they last a total of 25 minutes). These animated sequences were also shown as stand-alone cartoon features on the Disney television show. Each of these segments features at least one song that is heard in the various versions of Splash Mountain:

• "Brer Rabbit Runs Away": about 8 minutes, including the song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah".
• "The Tar Baby": about 12 minutes, interrupted with a short live action scene about two thirds of the way into the cartoon, including the song "How Do You Do?"
• "Brer Rabbit's Laughing Place": about 5 minutes and the only segment that doesn't use Uncle Remus as an intro to its main story, including the song "Everybody's Got a Laughing Place"

The last couple of minutes of the movie contain animation, as most of the cartoon characters show up in a live-action world to meet the live-action characters (a combination of live-action and animation) as they all sing "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", and in the last seconds of the movie, the real world is slowly merged into an animated variation as the main protagonists walk off into the sunset.

Even early in the film's production, there was concern that the material would encounter controversy. As the writing of the screenplay was getting under way, Disney publicist Vern Caldwell wrote to producer Perce Pearce that "The negro situation is a dangerous one. Between the negro haters and the negro lovers there are many chances to run afoul of situations that could run the gamut all the way from the nasty to the controversial."

When the film was first released, the NAACP acknowledged "the remarkable artistic merit" of the film, but decried the "impression it gives of an idyllic master-slave relationship."

Although the film has been re-released in theaters several times (most recently in 1986), Disney Enterprises has avoided making the complete version of the film directly available on home video in the United States because the frame story was deemed controversial by studio management. Film critic Roger Ebert, who normally disdains any attempt to keep films from any audience, has supported the non-release position, claiming that most Disney films become a part of the consciousness of American children, who take films more literally than do adults. However, he favors allowing film students to have access to the film.

Despite rumors of a imminent DVD release, Disney CEO Robert Iger stated on March 10, 2006 at a Disney Shareholder Meeting that it had been decided that the company would not re-release it for the time being. At the annual shareholders meeting in March 2007, Iger announced that the company was reconsidering the decision, and have decided to look into the possibility of releasing the film. In May 2007, it was again reported that the Disney company has chosen not to release the film. However, rumors to the contrary continued to surface. In March 2010, Disney CEO Robert Iger reiterated that there are no current plans to release the movie on DVD, calling the film 'antiquated' and 'fairly offensive'.

Disney Enterprises has allowed key portions of the film to be issued on many VHS and DVD compilation videos in the U.S., as well as on the long-running Walt Disney anthology television series. Most recently, the "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" number and some of the animated portion of the movie were issued on the Alice in Wonderland 2-DVD Special Edition set, although in that instance this was originally incorporated as part of a 1950 Walt Disney TV special included on the DVD which promoted the then-forthcoming Alice in Wonderland film.

The film has been released on video in its entirety in various European, Latin American and Asian countries—in the UK it was released on PAL VHS tape, and in Japan (where under Japanese copyright law it is in the public domain) it appeared on NTSC VHS, BETA and laserdisc with subtitles, while a NTSC laserdisc was bootlegged in Hong Kong from the UK PAL videotape. Despite the Hong Kong laserdisc being NTSC, it has a 4% faster running time due to its PAL source, and thus also suffers from "frame ghosting". While most foreign releases of the film are almost direct translations of the English title (Canción del Sur in Spanish, Mélodie du Sud in French, Melodie Van Het Zuiden in Dutch, Sången om södern in Swedish, A Canção do Sul in Portuguese, and Etelän laulu in Finnish), the German title Onkel Remus' Wunderland translates to "Uncle Remus' Wonderland", the Italian title I Racconti Dello Zio Tom translates to "The Stories of Uncle Tom", and the Norwegian title Onkel Remus forteller translates roughly to "Uncle Remus tells stories".

Despite the film's lack of home video release directly to consumers in the United States, audio from the film—both the musical soundtrack and dialogue—were made widely available to the public from the time of the film's debut up through the late 1970s. In particular, many Book-and-Record sets were released, alternately featuring the animated portions of the film or summaries of the film as a whole. Additionally, bootleg copies of the film in NTSC format, converted either from the UK PAL videotape or from a Dutch version based on the laserdisc, with subtitles made by amateurs, are widely available and have been sold in the United States at retail outlets and on online auctions with no legal action being taken by the Disney corporation.

25th Hour (2002)

25th Hour is a 2002 American drama film directed by Spike Lee and is based on the novel The 25th Hour written by David Benioff, who also wrote the screenplay. The film stars Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson, Anna Paquin, and Brian Cox. Norton plays Montgomery "Monty" Brogan, a convicted drug dealer who has one last day of freedom before beginning a seven-year prison sentence.

It is Monty Brogan's last day of freedom before he begins serving a 7 year long sentence for dealing drugs. He plans to spend his last night with his childhood friends Jacob Elinsky and Frank Slaughtery, his girlfriend Naturelle, and his father, James.

At a night club, Jacob runs into one of his students, Mary, who goes with them into the club. Monty and Frank discuss what will happen to him in prison, and Frank promises him that they'll open a bar together once he is released. Frank and Naturelle also discuss how Monty got to this position, but Frank accuses her of not doing anything because she got used to the life his drug money afforded. He then insinuates that it might have been her who tipped off the cops. Monty and Kostya then go to speak to a group of Russian mobsters, run by Uncle Nikolai, who gives Monty some advice on how to survive in prison. Then it is revealed that it was Kostya who sold Monty out. Monty decides to leave, asserting that he will never come back and leaving Kostya at the hands of the gangsters.

While all this is happening, Jacob kisses Mary, but her stunned reaction shows Jacob that making a move on her was a mistake. He leaves, shellshocked. They all leave the club and go to a park, where Monty gives Doyle to Jacob. Monty then admits that he is terrified of being raped in prison, and asks Frank to beat him up, saying if he goes in looking ugly he might have a chance at survival. Frank refuses to do it, even after continued verbal goading by Monty, until Monty feigns an attack on Jacob. Frank reluctantly beats up Monty, giving him a black eye, broken nose, and a lot of cuts and bruises to his face. Monty then leaves his friends for the last time, as Jacob comforts a hysterically sobbing Frank.

Back home, Monty's father arrives and says that he will take him to Otisville. As his father drives him to the prison, Monty is given one last sight of freedom. Together, they envision a future where he escapes imprisonment, reunites with Naturelle, starts a family, and grows old. However, Monty submits himself to his final fate.

Slick Manhattan drug dealer Monty Brogan (Edward Norton) has 24 hours of freedom before starting a seven-year stretch in the slammer.

The Russian mob fear he's going to give them up, he wonders if his girlfriend gave him up, and his friends have given up. Philip Seymour Hoffman's naive teacher is preoccupied with an alluring student, and Barry Pepper's Wall Street suit figures Monty's getting what he deserves.

It's their final night together, and they plan to get steaming drunk...

Spike Lee's 2002 joint is about choice. Not just in Monty's dilemma over whether to stay or scarper, but his earlier decision to make easy, illegal money - and the tacit complicity of his loved ones, from lover Rosario Dawson to dad Brian Cox.

It is also about the choice facing America, post-September 11th. From the opening credits - a New York nightscape with spotlights standing in for the Twin Towers - "25th Hour" sets its stall as a picture with subtext. Brogan is the United States. (Hammering the point home, his apartment is decorated with a poster for the famously allegorical "Cool Hand Luke".)

This may all sound terribly worthy, but far from it. The message underlies but never overpowers a moving, witty character piece. The time-limited, pressure cooker environment brings to mind Lee's "He Got Game" and "Do the Right Thing", and the director showcases his admirable ability to capture moments of emotional substance through striking visual style (Hoffman's post-kiss scene is a classic).

David Benioff's honest, intelligent script - from his own novel - nails the resentment and love which characterise lifelong friendships, and captures the volatile, vital nature of seemingly inconsequential banter (recalling another movie about choice, friendship and redemption: Hal Ashby's 1973 classic "The Last Detail"). It feels true.

The slightly overblown finale can't quite fulfill the preceding promise, but this is still Lee's best picture in years. Powerful and uplifting, "25th Hour" is well worth two of yours.

c a s a f o r t e

star wars propaganda

The Queen of Spades (1949)

The Queen of Spades (1949) is a fantasy-horror film based on a short story of the same name by Alexander Pushkin. It stars Anton Walbrook, Edith Evans and Yvonne Mitchell. A poor Russian officer tries to learn the secret of an aged countess's success at the card table.

Despite a limited budget, it was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best British Film. It was also entered into the 1949 Cannes Film Festival.

Hermann, an ethnic German, is an officer of the engineers in the Imperial Russian army. He constantly watches the other officers gamble, but never plays himself. One night Tomsky tells a story about his grandmother, a elderly countess. Many years ago, in France, she lost a fortune at cards, and then won it back, with the secret of the three winning cards, which she learned from the notorious Count of St. Germain. Hermann becomes obsessed with obtaining the secret.

The countess (who is now 87 years old) has a young ward, Lizaveta Ivanovna. Hermann sends love letters to Lizaveta, and persuades her to let him into the house. There Hermann accosts the countess, demanding the secret. She first tells him that story was a joke, but Hermann refuses to believe her. He repeats his demands, but she does not speak. He draws a pistol and threatens her, and the old lady dies of fright; only later is it revealed that the pistol was empty. He escapes from the house with the aid of Lizaveta, who is disgusted to learn that his professions of love were a mask for greed.

Hermann attends the funeral of the countess, and is terrified to see the countess open her eyes in the coffin and look at him. Later that night, the ghost of the countess appears. The ghost names the secret three cards (three, seven, ace), tells him he must play just once each night, and then orders him to marry Lizaveta. Hermann takes his entire savings to Tchekalinsky's salon, where wealthy men gamble for high stakes. On the first night, he bets it all on the three and wins. On the second night, he wins on the seven. On the third night, he bets on the ace - but when cards are shown, he finds he has bet on the Queen of Spades, rather than the ace, and loses everything. When the Queen appears to wink at him, he flees in terror.

Hermann goes mad and is committed to an asylum.

He is in the Obuhovsky hospital, room Number Seventeen; he does not answer any questions, but keeps muttering with astonishing rapidity: 'Three, seven, ace! three, seven, queen!'

Bond 23 updates

According to the industry blog Deadline, "American Beauty" director Sam Mendes has taken himself out of the running to direct "The Hunger Games", the first in a trilogy of apocalyptic survival stories.

The director who has been in talks to direct Bond 23, and prior to the production halt was on the team as a consultant, was amongst David Slade and Gary Ross as possible directors for the feature film adaptation.

A Deadline source says that Medes took himself out of the running "because the MGM picture is clearing up and it looks like production on 007 could begin by late summer or early fall, 2011 with Mendes at the helm and Daniel Craig back in the Aston Martin."

from MI6

Happy Birthday!

In Memoriam : Claude Chabrol (1930-2010)

searching for SECONDS (1966)

John Frankenheimer's chilling vision of middle-aged malaise concerns 50ish banker, Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph). Bored with his wife and comfortably retired life, Arthur happens to run into Charlie Evans (Murray Hamilton), an old friend he believed to be dead. He gives Arthur a tip on a secret organization called The Company, run by the Old Man (Will Geer). For a hefty fee, they offer to provide the old with entirely new, vigorous bodies, through a mysterious form of plastic surgery, and with completely new identities. Arthur signs on and finds himself transformed into the much younger Anitochus "Tony" Wilson (Rock Hudson). After a suitably middle-aged corpse has been burned to cover his disappearance, Tony is relocated to an idyllic Malibu beach community, where he already has a reputation as an artist. He begins a relationship with the vivacious Norma Marcus (Salome Jens) and is happy for a time, before discovering that she's one of The Company's employees. As he peels back the layers from his other neighbors, he begins to realize that nothing is as it seems. This incisive twist on the Faust legend, a mordant commentary on the American obsession with youth, features Hudson in what is possibly his finest performance, as a man cast in a part he despises. Hudson's sense of irony, then necessarily private, is now public. The great cinematographer James Wong Howe creates a sense of quiet horror through a skillful variation of lenses.

lightrees

In Memoriam : Clive Donner (1926-2010)

landscapes of the mind : A NEW FORM

pop!

Stephen O. Frankfurt titles for 'To Kill A Mockingbird'

As Elmer Bernstein's gentle theme is played note by note on a piano, the camera peers inside an old cigar box to reveal such childhood treasures as a broken watch, a pair of good-luck pennies, some marbles and a whistle. While a small girl hums, we see her hand using a crayon to draw a bird. So begins the film version of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), with its evocative and influential title sequence designed by Stephen O. Frankfurt.

Though born and raised in the Bronx, the Hollywood connection somehow always seemed to be in the background of Frankfurt, and in the early 1960's he got a call from producer Alan J. Pakula, who admired his commercials. Pakula asked him to try his hand at the main titles for "To Kill A Mockingbird.” Frankfurt worked closely with sound expert Tony Schwartz, his associate on many commercials. The Show Magazine critic led off his review of the film with the observation that "the titles that adorn ‘To Kill A Mockingbird' are about as striking as anything...yet devised.” Later when Charles Bludhorn of Gulf & Western's Paramount presented him with the "Rosemary's Baby" project, Frankfurt's cinema scope was greatly enlarged as he directed the entire campaign—titles and trailer, posters and all media advertising. ''Hollywood said we were breaking all the rules," Frankfurt points out now, "and I explained that was my aim precisely.” For "Rosemary's Baby,” essentially a horror film, Frankfurt decided that the most startling way to surprise his audience was by not showing the baby but by hearing it and superimposing an empty baby carriage on Mia Farrow's face. The copy says simply: "Pray for Rosemary's Baby.” Since then he has been associated with such eminently successful feature productions as "Network," "Arthur," "Emmanuelle," "Superman," "All That Jazz,” "Kramer vs. Kramer," "Sophie's Choice," "That's Entertainment,” and "Alien," totaling more than 55 in all.

Two Asteroids passed by Earth

Two asteroids, several meters in diameter and in unrelated orbits, passed within the moon's distance of Earth yesterday, Wednesday, Sept. 8.

Both asteroids were observable near closest approach to Earth with moderate-sized amateur telescopes. Neither of these objects had a chance of hitting Earth. A 10-meter-sized near-Earth asteroid from the undiscovered population of about 50 million would be expected to pass almost daily within a lunar distance, and one might strike Earth's atmosphere about every 10 years on average.

The Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona, discovered both objects on the morning of Sunday, Sept. 5, during a routine monitoring of the skies. The Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusset, first received the observations Sunday morning, determined preliminary orbits and concluded that both objects would pass within the distance of the moon about three days after their discovery.

Near-Earth asteroid 2010 RX30 is estimated to be 32 to 65 feet (10 to 20 meters) in size and passed within 0.6 lunar distances of Earth (about 154,000 miles, or 248,000 kilometers) at 2:51 a.m. PDT (5:51 a.m. EDT) Wednesday. The second object, 2010 RF12, estimated to be 20 to 46 feet (6 to 14 meters) in size, passed within 0.2 lunar distances (about 49,088 miles or 79,000 kilometers) a few hours later at 2:12 p.m. PDT (5:12 pm EDT).

AURORA BOREALIS 08.09.2010

In Memoriam - PS

September's here again.....

Searching for Atticus Finch

by Adam Spector

In 2003, the American Film Institute named Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird as the top movie hero of all time, ahead of such stalwarts as James Bond and Indiana Jones. Curious choice, I thought at the time, and quickly forgot about it. In recent weeks, I have been pondering the Finch selection more and more. And it’s no mystery why it’s come to mind.

The furor regarding the “Ground Zero Mosque”has grown increasingly frightening. Newt Gingrich equated building this mosque to letting Nazis put up a sign next to the Holocaust Museum. He and others also compared it to building a Japanese center at Pearl Harbor. Several days ago a mob protesting the mosque shouted at a man wearing an Islamic style skullcap. The fact that this man was not actually Muslim was irrelevant; he just happened to be a convenient target for the mob’s hatred. Now a gubernatorial candidate in New York is calling for an investigation into the mosque’s financing.

The mob shouting at the “Muslim” brought to mind a pivotal moment in To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus Finch, a lawyer in a small Georgia town, is defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused of molesting a white woman. This is rural Jim Crow Georgia in the 1920s, and the mere accusation against a black man is proof of guilt to most of the white community. Not content to wait for the trial, a white mob forms to lynch Robinson. An unarmed Atticus, who was with Tom at the time, would have had every reason to leave, but he doesn’t. He holds his ground until the mob leaves. Later, in court, Atticus proves that Tom could not have committed the crime. Unfortunately, the evidence does not matter to the all white jury.

On the surface, equating the To Kill a Mockingbird story to current events would be a stretch. Thankfully, with the mosque debate there’s no talk of anyone being lynched or not receiving a fair trial. But racism and hate are relative to their times. In the 1920s South, lynchings were commonplace. In fact, attempts to pass an anti-lynching law were defeated in the U.S. Congress through the 1930s. And it was much later before black people could serve on juries in the South or receive anything resembling a fair trial.

Over the years, racism and bigotry grew more subtle. While overt segregation may have dissipated, what remained were unspoken “gentlemen’s agreements” banning blacks, non-whites and other minorities from joining certain colleges, organizations, professions and communities. Eventually black people were allowed to move into certain areas, only for them to find that the whites had moved away.

In this century prejudice has changed again, largely due to the tragedy of 9/11. While it was a specific radical Islamic sect, Al-Qaeda, that carried out the attack, too many of us believe that all Muslims are guilty, or, at the very least, are suspicious. Sure, they can build a mosque, just not there, many people say, as if location was really the only issue. Indeed, protests have broken out not only near Ground Zero, but near proposed mosque sites all over the US.

What would Atticus Finch say if he were here? Perhaps he would point out that, as with Tom Robinson, the facts don’t support the fears. First of all, the mosque would not be at Ground Zero but a couple of blocks away. The World Trade Center site is hallowed ground, but is the whole neighborhood? According to Time magazine, there are “are two strip clubs that sit within a block of Ground Zero, but are not seen as a threat to the land's hallowed nature.” There’s also peep shows and an off-track betting house nearby. The proposed site itself was previously occupied not by the Twin Towers but by the Burlington Coat Factory.

More importantly, there is no evidence linking the group planning the Cordoba Initiative's Park51 project (an Islamic community center including a mosque but also having many other features, including a swimming pool), with any terrorist organization. In fact, the mosque’s imam, while hardly perfect, has often spoken out against terrorism and radical Islamic factions. Finally, there is already a mosque in the neighborhood, which has existed without incident and certainly without causing insult to the families of those who died on 9/11.

The specific details, as important as they are, are not the full measure of the case here, just as they weren’t for Atticus Finch. To Atticus, just as critical was Tom Robinson’s right to a fair trial. As he put it: “In this country, our courts are the great levelers. In our courts, all men are created equal. I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and of our jury system - that's no ideal to me. That is a living, working reality!” Atticus believed in Tom Robinson’s rights as an American and as a human being. To him those rights did not vanish because Tom was unpopular or because he was different. To Atticus it did not matter that his own community, including his friends and neighbors, were against him. What mattered to him was the Constitution, justice, and basic fairness. In another scene, he told his daughter, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view ... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” Those words are sorely needed now.

While the current situation is far different from what Atticus Finch faced, his principles are just as relevant. If the rights delineated in the Constitution are to mean anything, they must apply to everyone, not just people we like or people who are like us. They must apply to all areas of America, not just places some think are suitable. They must apply even when times are difficult. They must apply even when they fly in the face of popular opinion. A friend of mine said it best: “Either we believe in freedom of religion or we don’t.” There’s no sometimes here.

In heated times, when we are afraid, it’s easy to lose sight of who we are and what values America holds sacred. One clear example is forcing Japanese-Americans into internment camps during World War II, but there are many other instances. Our country was founded in part by settlers looking to avoid religious persecution. The freedom to practice religion freely helped draw Catholics, Jews, and yes, Muslims to America. In many ways this freedom has been strengthened as legal discrimination has dissipated. But during a crisis, it’s all too easy to cower back in fear and to let paranoia trump justice and fairness. That’s when some Americans target other Americans whose only crime is sharing the same religion as the 9/11 terrorists. It’s times like these when I wish someone like Atticus Finch could remind us of what we should be standing for.

Obviously my wish will go unfulfilled. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Gregory Peck’s stout, resolute portrayal of Atticus made it clear to audiences that he was on the side of truth and justice. While the other characters in the movie may doubt Atticus, we sitting at home or in the theater cannot doubt Peck’s moral authority.

Real life, as always, is more complicated. There are those speaking out, whether it's reporters spotlighting how the Taliban is using the resistance to the mosque as a recruiting tool, or a few politicians, such as Jerrold Nadler and Orrin Hatch, willing to buck public sentiment. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been an unwavering advocate for the Park 51 project. Still, there’s no one out there with the force or moral clarity of Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. I suppose that’s the tough part. It can’t be one man speaking up for the Constitution, be it the right to due process or the right to religious freedom. It must be all of us. The principles and convictions of Atticus Finch must exist not just on the screen but in our hearts, and, more importantly, in our actions.

Crack in the World (1965)

Crack in the World is an American science-fiction disaster movie filmed in Spain and released by Paramount Pictures.

An international consortium of scientists, operating as Project Inner Space in Tanganyika, Africa, is trying to tap into the Earth's geothermal energy by drilling a very deep hole down to the Earth's core. The scientists are foiled by an extremely dense layer of material at the boundary between the two. To penetrate the barrier and reach the magma below, they intend to detonate an atomic device at the bottom of the hole.

The leader of the project, Dr. Stephen Sorenson (Dana Andrews), who is (secretly) dying of cancer, believes that the atomic device will burn its way through the barrier, but the project's chief geologist, Dr. Ted Rampion (Kieron Moore), is convinced that the lower layers of the crust have been weakened by decades of underground nuclear tests, and that the detonation could produce a massive crack that would threaten the very existence of Earth.

The atomic device is used and Rampion's fears prove justified, as the crust of the Earth develops an enormous crack that progresses rapidly.

Sorenson discovers that there was a huge signature of hydrogen underground, which turned the small conventional atomic explosion into a huge thermonuclear one that was millions of times more powerful. Another atomic device is used in the hope of stopping the crack, but it only reverses the crack's direction. Eventually the crack returns to its starting point at the test site, and a huge chunk of the planet outlined by the crack is expected to be thrown out into space. Sorenson remains at the underground control center to record the event despite pleas by his wife Maggie to evacuate with the rest of the project staff. She and Rampion barely escape in time to observe the birth of a second moon.

Lucky Number Slevin (2006)

Lucky Number Slevin is a 2006 crime thriller film written by Jason Smilovic, directed by Paul McGuigan and starring Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Stanley Tucci, and Lucy Liu. Set in New York City, the plot focuses on the paths of Slevin Kelevra (Hartnett), Lindsey (Liu), two feuding crime lords known as The Boss (Freeman) and The Rabbi (Kingsley), and a mysterious hitman known as Mr. Goodkat (Willis).

Over the film's opening credits, two bookies are ambushed in separate locations and murdered, their ledgers stolen from their bodies by unseen killers. Elsewhere, a man walks out of a downtown building, and is shot by a sniper.

Later, at a bus terminal, a young man, Nick Fisher, is approached by a man in a wheelchair, Goodkat (Bruce Willis), who tells the story of Max. Around twenty years ago, Max bet borrowed money on a fixed horse race. The mobsters financing the fix discovered others betting on it, leading them to murder Max, his wife, and his son. Goodkat concludes the story and he promptly snaps the man's neck, and puts him in the back of a truck.

In New York City, Slevin Kelevra (Josh Hartnett) answers the door to his friend Nick Fisher’s apartment. He meets Nick’s neighbor Lindsey (Lucy Liu), who ducks into Fisher's apartment to borrow some sugar. Slevin relates that he is visiting after some recent bad luck and that when he arrived in New York he was mugged. He confesses he has not seen Nick, and that the apartment was unlocked when he arrived. Lindsey suggests that maybe Nick is missing, and that she and Slevin should investigate together later.

Moments later, after Lindsey leaves for work, Slevin is kidnapped by two henchmen. They take him to The Boss, a powerful crime lord who has mistaken Slevin for Nick. The Boss orders Slevin to repay Nick's debt. As an alternative to payment, he offers Slevin the option of murdering his Jewish rival Schlomo The Rabbi’s homosexual son, Yitzchok The Fairy, in retaliation for the Rabbi's apparent involvement in the death of the Boss' son. After he leaves, Goodkat steps out of the shadows, revealing his involvement with The Boss.

Slevin returns to the apartment and Lindsey shows up again. They plan to go on a date later that night, and after Lindsey leaves, Slevin is kidnapped again, this time by The Rabbi's gang. The Rabbi also mistakes Slevin for Nick and demands he pays Nick's sizeable debt to him. As Slevin leaves, Goodkat comes out from hiding in the Rabbi's penthouse.

Slevin returns to the Boss and agrees to kill The Fairy. The Boss gives him three days, and he recommends that Slevin approach The Fairy romantically, as he is a homosexual. Intercut with this conversation, Goodkat tells the Boss that he will kill Slevin and the Fairy when they are together, and that he will make it look like a suicide. Slevin and Lindsey go out to dinner, where they survey The Fairy. Excusing himself, Slevin approaches The Fairy in the restrooms and exchanges phone numbers for a future date. Returning home, Slevin spends the night in Lindsey's apartment.

In the morning, Slevin is hassled by Brikowski and his men, and is later picked up by The Boss' henchmen. As they leave, The Rabbi's henchmen are shown to have been shot. That night, Slevin visits The Fairy at his apartment and shoots him. Goodkat appears while The Fairy is dying and shoots him again. As Slevin goes to get the body of the young man from the bus terminal that Goodkat killed earlier, Goodkat kills The Fairy's bodyguards. They then get rid of the evidence by blowing up the apartment.

Goodkat visits the Boss, killing his bodyguards and taking him hostage, while Slevin kidnaps the Rabbi. Hours later, both the Boss and the Rabbi awaken, restrained to chairs in the Boss' penthouse. Their squabbles are interrupted by Slevin, who explains how the bookies were killed in order to find a name in each book who owed the bosses money: Nick Fisher. Slevin murdered the Boss's son, and Goodkat manipulated the resulting gang warfare and job offers to allow Slevin to gain access to both crime lords. Slevin reveals that the story of Max is that of himself and his father. Goodkat was hired to kill Slevin, but he spared him instead. It is also revealed that the Rabbi and the Boss were the ones who killed Max, and that Detective Brikowski killed Slevin’s mother. As payback, Slevin asphyxiates them in the same manner his father was killed. Meanwhile, Goodkat appears at the morgue where Lindsey works and shoots her to protect his identity. Later, Detective Brikowski is shot and killed by Slevin.

Sometime later at the bus terminal, Slevin looks up to see Lindsey. They embrace and it is revealed that Slevin knew Goodkat would try to kill her, so they staged her death. Looking around, Slevin sees Goodkat, and he convinces him to spare her and leave.

The film closes with Goodkat and the young Slevin shortly after Max's death. Goodkat takes Slevin into his car and tells him that it will be a long time before they can return to New York.

Summer Holidays

Happy Birthday!

T r o n ( 1 9 8 2 - 2 0 1 0 )

In memoriam : Suso Cecchi d'Amico (1914-2010)

Creator (1985)

Creator is a 1985 film directed by Ivan Passer, starring Peter O'Toole, Vincent Spano, Mariel Hemingway, and Virginia Madsen. It is based on a book of the same title by Jeremy Leven.

This romantic, melancholy tale stars Peter O'Toole as Professor Harry Wolper, a lonely eccentric who has dedicated decades of research to cloning his long-dead wife Lucy from a culture of living tissue. To this end, he enlists the services of likeable Graduate assistant Boris (Vincent Spano), who is initially baffled by the professor's endless rants about God, Science and "The Big Picture." After Wolper posts bills seeking a human egg donor, his wish is granted by the vivacious young Meli (Mariel Hemingway), in whom the professor soon discovers a more willing convert to his grand design... and perhaps a love more immediate and real than the one he lost.

Boris eventually manages to come around to "The Big Picture" himself when Wolper points him in the direction of another graduate, Barbara (Virginia Madsen). Despite opting for a platonic relationship to better determine if they are ideally matched, Boris and Barbara soon fall deeply in love, realizing that they are soul-mates as the professor had predicted. Tragedy strikes, however, when a brain hemorrhage renders Barbara comatose, and Wolper's nemesis Dr. Sid Kuhlenbeck (David Ogden Stiers) persuades the university to shut down Harry's private cloning laboratory.

Meli forces Wolper to choose between her love and his misplaced longing for his dead wife... and his answer is suddenly made clear when he witnesses Boris's heartfelt determination to bring his own true love back to the land of the living. Written by Jeremy Leven (based on his own novel), this is a flawed but engaging comedy which proves that a well-written story can incorporate traditional science fiction elements as more than a mere plot device and actually enhance the humanity of the characters.

The Graf Zeppelin

Eumir Deodato : Spirit of Summer

In memoriam : Alan Hume (1924-2010)

The Making of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"

The McGuffin

McGuffin by Hitchcock from isaac niemand on Vimeo.

Director Christopher Nolan says the James Bond movies had a strong influence on his new movie Inception.

The sci-fi thriller, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, had its UK premiere in London on Thursday night. It follows a team of thieves who steal secrets from other people's dreams.

"The Bond influence on the film was very intentional because, for me, growing up with the Bond films - they've always stood for grand-scale action," said Nolan, who also directed The Dark Knight and Batman Begins.

Critics have praised the film's blend of mind-bending action sequences and emotional punch. Some have hailed it as Nolan's "masterpiece".

Like the Bond films, Inception was shot in various locations around the globe including Morocco, France, Japan and Canada.

The cast includes Michael Caine, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy and Marion Cotillard.

Nolan said the Bond films had always "stood for the promise of being taken to some place bigger than you could have imagined".

He added: "In dealing with the human mind and dreams, my mind naturally gravitates towards the Bond films as that sort of expression of cinematic potential.

"By the end of the film you feel that Inception could go anywhere and do anything."

Nolan kept a veil of secrecy around the plot of Inception while it was being shot last year.

"We like to keep the experience fresh for the audience, so we don't send out scripts willy-nilly. We keep things a little close to the chest," he said.

Nolan was non-committal when asked if he would now be turning his attention to a third Batman film and a new Superman project.

"I'm first going to be turning my attention to having a holiday, because I've just finished the film and I need a couple of weeks off.

"And then I'm going to figure out what's next and what we'll be doing in that direction," he said.

The Wild Geese (1978)

The Wild Geese is a British 1978 film about a group of mercenaries in Africa. It stars Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris and Hardy Krüger. The film was the result of a long-held ambition of its producer Euan Lloyd to make an all-star adventure film similar to The Guns of Navarone or Where Eagles Dare.

The film was based on an unpublished novel titled The Thin White Line by Daniel Carney. The film was re-named The Wild Geese after a 17th-century Irish mercenary army (see Flight of the Wild Geese) and Carney's novel was subsequently published under that title by Corgi Books.

The novel was based upon rumors and speculation following the 1968 landing of a mysterious aeroplane in Rhodesia, which was said to have been loaded with mercenaries and "an African President" believed to have been a dying Moise Tshombe.

Principal filming took place in South Africa, with additional studio filming at Twickenham Film Studios in Middlesex. The 'rugby' scenes were filmed over a period of two days at Marble Hill Park in Twickenham with extras drafted in from nearby Teddington boys school. Marble Hill Close nearby Marble Hill Park was also filmed. The fictional country is said to lie on the border with Burundi; Rwanda and Zambia are also mentioned to be close by.

United Artists were enthusiastic about the film, but insisted Lloyd give the director's job to Michael Winner. Lloyd refused and instead chose Andrew V. McLaglen, son of Victor McLaglen a British-born American previously known mainly for making westerns. Euan Lloyd had a friendship with John Ford who recommended McLaglen to direct the film. The finance for the film was raised partly by pre-selling it to distributors based on the script and the names of the stars who were set to appear. This would later become a more common practice in the film industry, but was unusual at the time.

The music, by Roy Budd, originally included an overture and end title music, but both of these were replaced by "Flight of the Wild Geese", written and performed by Joan Armatrading. All three pieces are included on the soundtrack album, as well as the song "Dogs of War" (which was included in the movie without the vocals). The soundtrack was originally released by A&M Records then later released under licence as a Cinephile DVD.

Although Lloyd had both Richard Burton and Roger Moore in mind for their respective roles from a relatively early stage, other casting decisions were more difficult. As the mercenaries were mostly composed of military veterans (some of whom had fought under Faulkner's command before), it was necessary to cast a number of older actors and extras into these physically demanding roles. A number of veterans and actual mercenary soldiers appeared in the film.

Irish actor Stephen Boyd, a close friend of Lloyd's, was originally set to star as Sandy Young, the Sergeant Major who trains the mercenaries before their mission. However, Boyd died shortly before filming commenced and Jack Watson was chosen as a late replacement. He had previously played a similar role in McLaglen's film The Devil's Brigade (1968).

Lloyd had offered the part of the banker Matherson to his friend Joseph Cotten. However, scheduling difficulties meant that he also had to be replaced, this time by Stewart Granger. This was Granger's first film part since 1967.

Burt Lancaster originally hoped to play the part of 'Rafer Janders' who in Carney's book was an American living in London. However, Lancaster wanted the part substantially altered and enlarged. The producers instead chose Richard Harris.

Hardy Krüger was not the first actor considered for the role of 'Pieter Coetzee'. Producer Lloyd originally thought of Peter van Eyck and even Curd Jürgens, but felt that "Hardy seemed to fit." Krüger was also impressed by the script scenes played with Limbani.

Lloyd hesitated before offering the role of 'Witty' (the homosexual medic) to his longtime friend Kenneth Griffith, due to the controversial nature of the role. When finally approached, Griffith said "Some of my dearest friends in the world are homosexuals!" and accepted the part.

Percy Herbert, who played the role of 'Keith', was a veteran of World War II, in which he had been wounded in the defence of Singapore, then captured by the Imperial Japanese Army and interned in a POW camp.

Alan Ladd's son David Ladd and Stanley Baker's son Glyn Baker had roles in the film.

Ian Yule, who played 'Tosh Donaldson', had been a real mercenary in Africa in the 1960s and '70s.He was cast locally in South Africa. He then brought his former commanding officer, Michael "Mad Mike" Hoare, who had led the actual Wild Geese mercenary troops in the Congo Crisis of the 1960s, to be the technical advisor for the film. Yule also acted as a technical advisor for the film.

Rosalind Lloyd, who played 'Heather', is Euan Lloyd's daughter. Her mother, actress Jane Hylton, played 'Mrs. Young'.

Bond 23 : better news (from MI6)

James Bond will die another day, much to the disappointment of the tabloid media it would seem. Since the Daily Mirror exaggerated old news about the 23rd 007 adventure being suspended (while MGM find a new owner and solve their debt crisis) to the film being 'axed', the rags, blogs and fan sites were were set alight this week with claims that the series was dead and Daniel Craig's tenure was over.

Not so.

Insiders have been busy leaking to the trade press that the story is false and nothing has changed - the production is simply still on ice until MGM (or its eventual owner) can officially commit budget and green-light the project. Sources close to Craig have also confirmed this position.

While Sony, Fox, and Warner Bros would love to grab the EON Productions franchise, Deadline London was "told reliably that as long as MGM's debt restructuring is preceded by a pre-packaged bankruptcy, Bond isn't going anywhere."

It Takes Two To Tango

Danjaq owns the rights and trademarks to the James Bond film series. MGM took control of half of Danjaq when the studio bought United Artists, who had bought their share from Bond producer Harry Saltzman back in December 1975. The other half is owned by EON Productions.

A source integral to the Bond franchise told the site, “You are absolutely right, there is no new news. Development will resume once MGM is viable again, as Danjaq can't go anywhere without them. So all bets are off. No idea when this will get resolved.”

The report continues, "While the studio's beleaguered backers unwisely allowed MGM and its library to languish by not making new movies and benching MGM's creative and marketing/distribution executives while it staged a futile sales auction that attracted bottom-fishing bids, MGM has made sure to meets the minimum obligations to its two gems, James Bond and The Hobbit. The studio is mulling whether to change its lethargic strategy and free up money for back-to-back Hobbit films to keep the first film on track for a December 2012 release. That's because Peter Jackson is willing to direct the films but might not if those release dates get pushed. There is no such ticking clock on 007."

Deadline was told that both director Sam Mendes and James Bond star Daniel Craig "fully plan to come back to James Bond after MGM sorts itself out."

Bond 23 sad news....

ICN is reporting that apparently all development on the latest James Bond film has been stopped and the project is dead -- this coming after an announcement back in April that the production was on indefinite hold. If the studio can't get a Bond film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Frost/Nixon scribe Peter Morgan off the ground, then things seem very dire indeed.

Thirteen Ghosts (2001)

Thirteen Ghosts (also known as Thir13en Ghosts or 13 Ghosts) is a 2001 American horror film directed by Steve Beck. It is a remake of the 1960 film of the same name by William Castle. It follows the remake of another one of Castle's films, House on Haunted Hill.

Ghost hunter Cyrus Kriticos (F. Murray Abraham) and his neurotic psychic assistant Dennis Rafkin (Matthew Lillard) lead a team on a mission to capture a spirit, called the Juggernaut, in a junkyard. Several of the men are killed during the ensuing fight, including Cyrus himself. However, the team is able to catch the ghost.

Arthur Kriticos (Tony Shalhoub), an embittered and naïve mathematician who is also a widower, is informed by the estate lawyer of his uncle Cyrus, Ben Moss (JR Bourne), that he has inherited a mansion. Arthur and his financially insecure family plan to move into this mansion with his two children, Kathy (Shannon Elizabeth) and Bobby (Alec Roberts). Their babysitter/nanny Maggie (Rah Digga) accompanies the family.

Dennis Rafkin, disguised as a power company employee, meets the family and Benjamin as they tour the mansion. The residence is made almost entirely of glass. It contains Latin phrases etched on floors and movable glass walls, along with priceless artifacts. Arthur and his family are eager about inheriting this new home, and while Arthur is discussing financial matters with the attorney, Kathy and Bobby venture off on their own to explore the mansion. After seeing several ghosts in the basement, Dennis frantically runs upstairs to warn Arthur about the home he is about to own. Moss assures Arthur that Dennis is crazy and should be ignored. Dennis tells Arthur that there are twelve spirits imprisoned in the house, held captive by the spells written throughout the residence.

Ben Moss is seen sneaking off to collect a valise of money which was intended to be payment. However, upon taking the money, he activates a mechanism set up by Cyrus that seals the entrance and releases the ghosts, one by one.

The twelve ghosts that make up the fictional "Black Zodiac" each have their own unique back stories:

• The First Born Son - The Firstborn Son is the ghost of Billy Michaels, a boy who was a fan of cowboy films. One day, a neighbor found a real steel arrow in his parents' closet. He challenged Billy to a duel, with Billy using a toy gun. However, his plaything was no match for the arrow, and he died when the neighbor shot it through the back of his head. In death, Billy is in his cowboy suit and holding a tomahawk, with the arrow still protruding from his head. His ghost whispers "I want to play."
• The Torso - The Torso is the ghost of a gambler called Jimmy "The Gambler" Gambino. He spent most of his days on the track, making bets and brainwashed into winning. One day, he made a deal with a rich business man, and so sealed his fate. When he bet heavily on a boxing match and lost, he tried to renege his bet and slip out of town. The mob and the winning boxer, to whom he owed money, caught up with Gambino and cut him into several pieces, wrapping them in cellophane and dumping the corpse into the ocean. His ghost is just his torso, trying to walk around on its hands, while his head lies nearby screaming within the cellophane.
• The Bound Woman - The Bound Woman was a cheerleader named Susan LeGrow, who was born privileged and had a penchant for seducing men and tossing them away. This left a long trail of broken hearts. When her boyfriend found her cheating he strangled her and killed the other boy. He buried her body at the 50-yard line of the local football field. The boyfriend was convicted and sentenced to death; before his execution, he was quoted as saying, "The bitch broke my heart, so I broke her neck." Her ghost is in her prom dress, hanging suspended by the strangling implements with her arms tied behind her back.
• The Withered Lover - The Withered Lover is Jean Kriticos, Arthur's wife. She was burned severely saving her family from a devastating house fire, and later died of her wounds in the hospital. Her ghost initially appears in a hospital gown, hooked up to an IV pole and showing severe burns on her face. Unlike the other ghosts, she is not a vengeful spirit, electing to help her family rather than show malevolence. At the end of the movie, she appears fully healed and in her normal clothing.
• The Torn Prince - The Torn Prince is the ghost of Royce Clayton, born in 1940, who was a gifted baseball star in high school, albeit with attitude issues and a superiority complex. In 1957 he was challenged by a greaser named Johnny to a drag race, but was killed as his car spun out of control and flipped over; the cause of the accident was a cut brake line. He was buried in a plot of earth that overlooked the baseball diamond. His ghost carries a baseball bat, and in the background of his cube, his wrecked car can be seen. Half of his body is torn to shreds from when he was dragged under the car.
• The Angry Princess - The Angry Princess is Dana Newman, who did not believe in her own natural beauty. Abusive boyfriends fueled her low self-esteem, which led to much unneeded plastic surgery for imagined defects. Eventually she got a job working for a plastic surgeon, getting paid in treatments rather than cash. Alone at the clinic one night, she tried to perform surgery on herself, but wound up blinding herself in one eye and permanently mutilating herself beyond saving. She committed suicide in the bathtub by slashing her body repeatedly with a butcher knife. When she was found, people noted that she was as beautiful in death as she had been in life. Her ghost is naked, still carrying the knife she killed herself with and showing all the wounds, and the inside walls of her cube are splattered with her blood. In her bathroom scene, the phrase "I'm sorry" is visible on the floor in blood; subtitles also reveal that the blurred, hissing speech that announces her arrival is her whispering "I'm sorry." This was written on her suicide note.
• The Pilgrimess - The Pilgrimess is the ghost of Isabella Smith, an Englishwoman who traveled across the Atlantic and settled in New England during colonial times. She was an outsider to the town she moved into, and this isolated her from the other townsfolk. She was found guilty of witchcraft after livestock began to die mysteriously; when she emerged from a burning barn completely unharmed, she was sentenced to the stocks (pillory) with no food or drink until she died. As a ghost, she is still locked into her stocks.
• The Great Child and The Dire Mother - The Dire Mother is the ghost of Margaret Shelburne, who was an attraction in a carnival due to her being only three feet tall. She was raped by the "Tall Man," another carnival freak. Her son, Harold (the Great Child), was born as a result of that rape; he eventually weighed over 300 pounds (136 kg). Harold, spoiled, was raised as his mother's protector and kept a child-like mindset, to the point that he wore diapers his entire life. One day some of the carnival employees decided to play a little practical joke on Harold, and kidnapped his mother. Enraged, he set out to look for her, but when he caught up with the culprits, he found that his mother had accidentally suffocated to death in the bag that she was kept in. Harold killed the kidnappers with an ax, keeping their remains and displaying them for paying customers. Later, when the owner of the carnival found out what Harold had done, he ordered a mob of people to tear Harold apart. Their ghosts are always together, and Harold still wields the ax and wears a bib stained with food that his mother has spoon-fed to him. An alternate version of the story is told in the DVD commentary: It was said that their deaths were caused by the Great Child rolling over on the Dire Mother while asleep, thus suffocating her, then him starving to death.
• The Hammer - The Hammer is the ghost of a blacksmith, George Markley, who lived in a small town in the 1890s. He was wrongfully accused of stealing, and when threatened with exile, refused to leave town. A gang led by his accuser hanged his wife and children and burned their bodies; in revenge, George used his sledgehammer to beat the culprits to death. He was then subjected to a cruel form of frontier justice by the townsfolk, being chained to a tree and executed by having railroad spikes driven into his body with his own sledgehammer. As a final touch, they cut off his hand and attached the sledgehammer - handle and all - to the hand that was cut off. His ghost is seen with the railroad spikes protruding from his body and a sledgehammer for a left hand.
• The Jackal - The Jackal is the ghost of Ryan Kuhn, who was born in 1887 to a prostitute. Ryan had an insatiable lust for women, rape, and murdering prostitutes. Wanting to be cured, he committed himself to Borehamwood Asylum, but after attacking a nurse, he was put in a straitjacket and thrown in a padded room. After years of this imprisonment, he went completely insane, scratching at the walls so violently that his fingernails were torn completely off. The doctors kept him permanently bound in his straitjacket, tying it tighter when he acted out, causing his limbs to contort horribly. Still fighting to free himself, Ryan gnawed through the jacket until the doctors finally locked his head in a metal cage and sealed him away in the dark basement cell. There, he grew to hate any kind of human contact, screaming madly and cowering whenever approached. When a fire broke out in the asylum, everyone but Ryan escaped. He chose to stay behind and face the fire. As a ghost, his arms are free from his jacket, and the bars of his cage are ripped outwards.
• The Juggernaut - The Juggernaut is the ghost of a serial killer named Horace "Breaker" Mahoney. Standing seven feet tall, he was of such grotesque height and appearance that everyone ostracized him as a child. His mother abandoned him at birth, so his father raised him, putting him to work in the junkyard crushing old cars. After his father died, Horace was left on his own, and soon went mad. He would pick up female hitchhikers and drive them back to his junkyard, then tear them apart with his bare hands and feed them to his dogs. One day he picked up an undercover female police officer, who called for backup, bringing a SWAT team to surround the junkyard. Since close combat was impossible, the police instead struck the yard, and arrested the giant. However, Horace broke free from the cuffs, and three officers lost their lives. Quickly, five SWAT officers took out their guns and brought Horace down in a hail of bullets. When he finally went down, they shot an extra round into him, just to be safe. His ghost still shows bullet holes all over his clothing, and the round that finished him.
• The thirteenth is Arthur . He had to be alive to be sacrificed into the eye of the devil and then die saving his family.