FEATURED POSTS

10 Questions with Shane Briant

The talented British' born actor Shane Briant made his screen debut in the Hammer horror film Demons of the Mind. Since then he's gone on to appear in over 60 films and television productions including Straight On Till Morning (1972), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973), The Mackintosh Man (1973), Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974), Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974), The Naked Civil Servant (1975) and Lady Chatterley's Lover (1981). Currently Briant is focusing his attention on writing fiction and he has recently completed a psychological thriller called Worst Nightmares that will be released May 12th. I've admired his film work for many years so I was thrilled to get the opportunity to ask Shane Briant a few questions about his early movies and current writing projects. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

The Girl On a Motorcycle (1968)

The talented director and cinematographer Jack Cardiff has passed away at the age of 94. As the tributes start to roll out from various news sites and film blogs its become clear to me that most people regard Jack Cardiff as a great cinematographer and have little regard or knowledge of his directing contributions, which is a shame. Cardiff was a brilliant photographer and his groundbreaking contributions to cinematography are well worth celebrating. But his impressive work as a director on films like the wonderful D.H. Lawrence adaptation Sons and Lovers (1960), the entertaining spy thriller The Liquidator (1965), the excellent erotic drama The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968) and the effective horror film The Mutations (1974) is also worthy of applause. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

Favorite DVD Releases of 2008

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but overall 2008 was somewhat of a lackluster year for new Region 1 DVD releases of '60s and '70s era films when compared to the previous two years (See: 2006 and 2007). Some of my favorite DVD companies such as BCI Eclipse and most recently New Yorker Films have folded. Boutique DVD companies are releasing fewer products and what is being released is often of questionable quality. With the failing economy and the rise in popularity of Blu-ray discs, it seems like the number of new worthwhile DVD releases might continue to drop dramatically in 2009. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

Resurrecting Yusaku Matsuda

Toru Murakawa's Resurrection of the Golden Wolf (aka Yomigaeru kinrô; 1979) is a wildly uneven Japanese crime film that left me wishing it had been helmed by another director. The film's script was adapted from a popular novel by Haruhiko Ooyabu and directors like Seijun Suzuki have had great success turning Ooyabu's hard-boiled fiction into films, but Toru Murakawa doesn't have Suzuki's eye for detail or his pop art sensibility. Resurrection of the Golden Wolf runs much too long and the dramatic filler weighs down the action, but even with its flaws the movie still keeps your attention thanks to the star performance of Yusaku Matsuda. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

We Are Controlling Transmission

This year analog broadcasting is coming to an end. On June 12th 2009 television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch permanently to digital. Digital broadcasting promises to provide viewers with a sharper picture and more diverse programming options, but this unavoidable change is forcing millions of people to buy new television sets or opt for getting a converter box that will often cost them $40 or more. I feel for these people because I didn't have complete cable TV Access or a digital television myself until 2007. READ MORE

Happy Birthday Steve McQueen!

by Kimberly Lindbergs | March 24, 2007

Categories | Actors, American Cinema, Steve McQueen

Today would have been Steve McQueen’s 77th birthday and I’m using it as an excuse to post some photos of him since he’s one of my favorite actors and I’ve got a lot photos of him stashed away on my computer for a day like today. Steve was very photogenic and he took a lot of great photos. He also made a lot of great films.

Some of my favorite Steve McQueen movies are The Blob (1958), The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Great Escape (1963), Love With the Proper Stranger (1963), Baby, the Rain Must Fall (1965), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), Sand Pebbles (1966), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), Bullitt (1968), Le Mans (1971), The Getaway (1972) and Papillon (1973), which are all worth a look. I believe all of the McQueen movies I mentioned are easily available on DVD except for Love with the Proper Stranger and The Sand Pebbles which has been discountinued, but The Sand Pebbles is getting re-released by 20th Century Fox later this year in June.

It’s a shame that Love with the Proper Stranger hasn’t been released on DVD yet since it teams up Steve McQueen with Natalie Wood, and they’re a a perfect movie match. It’s hard to think of a cuter couple that Hollywood could have brought together in 1963. Steve worked with a lot of great leading ladies including Lee Remick, Ann-Margret, Tuesday Weld, Candice Bergen, Faye Dunaway, Jacqueline Bisset and real-life partner actress Ali MacGraw, but I think Steve & Natalie have really great on screen chemistry together. Love with the Proper Stranger is a thoughtful film that deals with the complex subject of abortion and Steve & Natalie are both terrific in it. I suppose the subject matter might have something to do with why it hasn’t seen a DVD release yet. Hopefully Love with the Proper Stranger will find it’s way to DVD soon since I think it’s a great movie, but at least you can still find copies of the movie on VHS.

Steve McQueen was the quintessential 60s American actor and I don’t think there have been many other American actors that can match McQueen’s charisma when he’s on screen. When you watch him, you can sense that he was genuinely dangerous, but when he smiles, he can light up the screen. I think he was an irresistible combination of bad boy & little boy lost. That volatile mix somehow appeals to both men & women. Lots of men want to be Steve McQueen and lots of women want to be with Steve McQueen. His last years were troubled, but I think he’ll always be remembered as a great icon of American 60s cinema.