Displaying items by tag: Masterworks of American Avantgarde Experimental Film 19201970

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All right, let’s start with good news about CBS’ recent restoration of My Fair Lady. As we’ve been reporting, CBS has told us the title was delayed until the Fall. Playbill is now reporting that the My Fair Lady: 50th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray will officially street on 10/27. Why October? Well, the film originally premiered in New York on 10/21, followed by Los Angeles on 10/28 back in 1964.  [Read on here…] 

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We’re starting the day with sad news I’m afraid. The legendary British actors Sir Christopher Lee and Ron Moody have both passed away today.

Lee made his name early, playing Count Dracula and other characters for Hammer Films. His Wikipedia page lists appearances in some 206 films, not to mention numerous TV, stage, and even video game roles. Over the years, he’s played Death, both Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes, Frankenstein’s Creature, Fu Manchu, Lord Summerisle, and King Haggard. Bond fans will surely remember him as the villain Francisco Scaramanga from The Man with the Golden Gun. Younger Star Wars prequel fans were likely introduced to him as Count Dooku. Of course, his last great role was the wizard Saruman the White in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films. But Lee lived an adventurous life beyond stage and screen as well. He apparently hunted Nazis during world war II as a member of Churchill’s so-called “Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.” He even recorded a symphonic metal concept album called Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross. Now that’s a helluva life. You can read more here via The Telegraph and The New York Times.  Lee was 93.  [Read on here…]

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We’ve got a couple things for you today to close out the week. First though, I wanted to direct you all to our own Michael Coate’s latest History, Legacy & Showmanship column, which we posted yesterday, which features a great look back at The Empire Strikes Back in celebration of the film’s 35th anniversary (which was yesterday). Michael offers lots of extensively-researched details about the film’s initial theatrical release, as well as production trivia, a summary of critic reviews, and even a great new roundtable interview with cinema historians about the film. Do give it a look – I think you’ll really enjoy it.  [Read on here…]