C I N E B E A T S :: At Home With Dirk Bogarde :: March

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

At Home With Dirk Bogarde

by Kimberly Lindbergs | March 29, 2007

Categories | Actors, British Cinema, Dirk Bogarde

Dirk’s Bogarde’s nephew has just launched the Official Dirk Bogarde Website @ http://www.dirkbogarde.co.uk/ and I’ve spent all morning there exploring the site. It’s one of the most impressive websites I’ve ever come across and it does a terrific job of celebrating one of Britain’s greatest actors.

Dirk Bogarde has long been one of my favorite actors and his filmography is really astonishing. Bogarde worked with some of of the greatest filmmakers of the 1950s, 60s & 70s and he gave remarkable performances in numerous films. He was also incredibly good looking so I’m using this occasion as an excuse to post some photos of him.

The new website contains lots of great reading material about the actor, as well as photos and other information, but one of the many highlights is Dirk Bogarde’s home movie collection which you can view online. These home movies give fans of the actor an intimate look at Bogarde’s life with his partner and manager Anthony Forwood.

If you’re interested in Dirk Bogarde or just want to know more about this talented actor, I highly recommend giving the site a look. Just make sure you have a few hours to spare because if you’re anything like me, you’ll definitely want to spend a lot of time there.

7 Comments »

Jeff Duncanson says; March 31, 2007 @ 1:33 pm

Bogarde is indeed a fascinating figure. I have a fondness for a role that a lot of people seem to be pretty indifferent towards - As the troubled Mahler-esque composer in Visconti’s “Death in Venice”.
cinebeats says; March 31, 2007 @ 4:44 pm

I agree that Bogarde was terrific in Death in Venice! I think the films he made with Luchino Visconti (Death in Venice and The Damned) are two of his best. Visconti is one of my favorite directors so I’m fond of most of his films.

Bogarde made challenging work throughout most of his career, which is a rare thing these days. So many great actors end up making terrible films later on in life, but Bogarde was doing some of his best work in movies like The Night Porter when he was 53 and Despair when he was 57. I really admire him for that.
Jeremy says; April 1, 2007 @ 3:18 am

Thanks for that fantastic link. Bogarde is someone that I have been meaning to see more of. I love his work in THE NIGHT PORTER, the underrated MODESTY BLAISE and of course the Visconti pictures but need to see more.
Great photos and again thanks for the link.
cinebeats says; April 1, 2007 @ 11:22 pm

I’ve gotta say - Bogarde is really sexy in The Night Porter! I also loved him in Modesty Blaise. He was a really versatile actor with loads of talent.

I really love all the British films he made with Joseph Losey like The Servant and Accident. Some of my other favorite Bogarde films are Cast a Dark Shadow, Darling, Victim, The Mind Bender and Sebastian, but he made so many great movies. I hope more of his films get DVD releases soon. I’m not sure if Sebastian and Cast a Dark Shadow even had VHS releases, but they’re both terrific.
dom says; April 8, 2007 @ 12:40 am

I saw a 2 part BBC documentary on Dirk B. in which he talked about the “good & bad sides” of his face, he described either the left or the right (can’t remember which) side as looking like a “child killer”. I find his performance in “Death in Venice” to be over cooked, I much prefer it when he’s called upon to be seedy & viperish. Having said that, have you seen “The Password Is Courage” in which he is totally miscast as a butch manly type! I love the scene where he faces a roomful of hostile men looking to beat him up & he challenges them with a “tough guy” look on his face by saying “Come on! I’ll take all of you on!”….Given Dirk’s sexual preference this assumes a significance not intended by the director! Then there’s the leather pants that Roy Ward Baker refuses to talk about from “The Singer Not The Song” & that favourite film of gay men “The Spanish Gardener”. No wonder Fassbinder used him…he’s the British Helmut Berger, or rather Berger is the German Bogarde ( and Bogarde apparently resented Berger whom he appeared alongside…never put 2 queens together in a film!).

I like his turn in “Our Mother’s House”…very seedy. I’d put Denholm Elliot & Dennis Price is in the same mould as Bogarde.
cinebeats says; April 9, 2007 @ 8:06 am

Thanks for the informative comment Dom! I haven’t seen the Bogarde films you mentioned but I’d really love to. Bogarde is an actor that’s fun to watch no matter what movie he’s in.
dom says; April 9, 2007 @ 6:42 pm

I agree, he’s one of those actors that’s always worth watching regardless of the film. Don’t know about the US but here in England the tv channel TCM shows “The Password Is Courage” & “Our Mother’s House” regularly, “Our Mother’s House” has a cast of mostly children, Dirk plays a creepy/funny role menacing the children. In fact he worked well alongside kids, in “The Spanish Gardener” he befriends a lonely boy & then there’s “Death In Venice”.

My dad’s sister lives in Norfolk (England) & apparently she used to see Bogarde now & again walking about with his partner.

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