Please note: due to travel obligations, the U.S. office will be closed November 12 and will reopen on November 26. Please continue to order as your normally would and we will begin shipping issues as soon as the office reopens. Thank you!

Standard and Deluxe Editions Now Available.

LOS ANGELES, CA (September 17, 2024) – Legendary composer, conductor and arranger, Henry Mancini recognized that music can be one of the most compelling characters in cinema. His timeless works set the tone and narrative for some of the most unforgettable moments on film. With masterful vision and skillful elegance, Mancini’s scores brought playful fun, dramatic grandeur and heartbreaking tenderness to 20^th century popular music and engaged audiences on a deeply emotional level. Equally engaging is the biographical tale of this celebrated, award-winning composer, The Extraordinary Life of Henry Mancini, a beautifully illustrated story from critically acclaimed animation studio, Fantoons. The graphic novel features a foreword by Hans Zimmer and it is available today, September 17, at retailers everywhere.

Mancini’s name is synonymous with his timeless melodies, “Moon River,” “Peter Gunn,” the Pink Panther Theme, iconic soundtracks to Breakfast at Tiffany’s, 10, Victor Victoria and countless works that defined how musical score could elevate storytelling on film and screen. With many of his hits made classic by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis and decades of iconic artists and a body of work boasting some of the most hummed melodies of all time, Henry Mancini’s catalog earned him four Oscars and twenty Grammy Awards.

Award winning studio, Fantoons is now proud to present the fully authorized story of the legendary Henry Mancini in a new graphic novel written by David Calcano, author of fan-favorite illustrated biographies and books of Rush, Billie Holiday, Motörhead, The Beach Boys, Tenacious D, Iron Maiden, and many others. Featuring a foreword by Hans Zimmer and introduction by Christopher Lennertz, The Extraordinary Life of Henry Mancini is illustrated by Svetlana Palkina, Jorge Mansilla, Lindsay Lee, and Eriana Mirabal in this vibrant telling of the artist’s true story of music, love and passion. A sweeping tale; wider than a mile.

The book features two editions:

Standalone hardcover edition and a limited deluxe edition featuring an interview booklet about Mancini’s influence. Highlights include interviews with film composer legends John Powell and Patrick Doyle, alongside interviews with legendary Disney animation directors John Musker and Ron Clements, as well as business luminaries including Chris Montan (former President of Walt Disney Music) and Richard Kraft (legendary film music agent).

The interview booklet is 26 pages and is released in a beautifully printed format that includes a limited edition 7-inch vinyl record done in conjunction with Quartet Records. Featuring a performance never before available on vinyl from the “Sunflower” score and a beautiful piano demo of the “Love Theme” played by Mancini himself, the vinyl single also includes “Giovanna,” a classic example of Mancini’s famous Touch and of course the Pink Panther theme (from Trail of the Pink Panther). The record features new art from Fantoons Animation Studios.

Book description:

Henry Mancini is one of the most successful and groundbreaking film composers of all time. From the humble beginnings of his father’s flute lessons to standing ovations at the prestigious Hollywood Bowl, this graphic novel by Fantoons beautifully illustrates every step in the journey of Henry Mancini’s pivotal and industry-shaping career.

Each page features vividly painted illustrations, with color that encapsulates each of the many emotions–high and low–of Henry Mancini’s bold, musical adventure.

Audrey Hepburn said, “A movie without music is like an airplane without fuel,” and rightly so. Henry Mancini’s music has left an indelible mark on the film industry, transforming it for generations of new composers to come. Readers can learn the surprising, true stories behind the unforgettable scores of movies such as “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “The Pink Panther,” and even pop-culture TV classics like “Peter Gunn.”

Before winning multiple Grammys, Golden Globes, Academy Awards, and becoming one of the highest-regarded composers in the history of film, step into the shoes of the boy who would bravely set out to change cinema forever.

Get swept away in the majestic, heartwarming, and astonishing symphony that is the extraordinary life of renowned composer Henry Mancini, in this fully illustrated, 180-page, graphic novel.

The Extraordinary Life of Henry Mancini: Official Graphic Novel will be available in hardcover at retailers everywhere for a list price of $29.99 (ISBN: 978-1-97004-7-288) on September 17, 2024.

About Fantoons:

Fantoons Animation Studios is a group of like-minded artists with a shared passion for animation, stories, and music. Founded by director David Calcano almost a decade ago, the vision for the studio was simple: create content surrounding music and tell compelling stories to celebrate it. Fantoons focuses on the artist’s personal stories whether on the road, in the studio, or their personal journey, using sequential storytelling in the form of graphic novels or animated content. Fantoons creative works have received acclaim from Rolling Stone, The Guardian, PROG Magazine, and other notable press outlets. Fantoons recently celebrated their first Webby Award as a 2021 Honoree for Video Animation. As well as winning multiple awards, Fantoons have accumulated over 100+ million views in their content across social platforms, and more than 100 thousand books sold and counting.

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By Todd Garbarini

Conspiracy theories flourish today thanks in large part to the universality of the Internet and, more specifically, the ease with which once can access the World Wide Web. The Dark Web is more than likely a better platform for every “end-of-the-world” worry wart with a grievance huddled in a makeshift bunker to anonymously poke the bear and make themselves heard. Following President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 famous speech which decreed that “…this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth,” NASA set to work to do just that, feeling they owed it to him following his assassination 14 months later. NASA accomplished this feat in a race against the Soviets, but in the years since the 1969 moon landing, conspiracy theorists who generally have a problem with the truthfulness of the United States’s Federal Government, began tossing around the notion that film director Stanley Kubrick was hired to direct the moon landing which they claim was faked on the sets remaining from MGM’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) film shoot. Purported hidden messages that ostensibly appear in his 1980 film The Shining have resulted in more Youtube.com videos than you can shake a stick at, in addition to a feature film, Room 237 (2017), which touches upon this very notion.

Peter Hyams’s Capricorn One, lensed in the early months of 1977 and released on Friday, June 2, 1978, was written off by some critics as a silly thriller with plot holes large enough to fly a spacecraft through. It posits the notion that the Powers That Be (i.e. the Military Industrial Complex), in a bid to keep the space race funded and afloat, need to conquer the next frontier and send American astronauts to the planet Mars, for fear of indifference from American citizens. NASA is ready to send Charles Brubaker (James Brolin), Peter Willis (Sam Waterston), and John Walker (O.J. Simpson) to Mars until the men are pulled right before takeoff by a team headed by Dr. James Kelloway (Hal Holbrook) who explains that forces bigger than NASA want the flight to be a success and have created a set to mimic the Red Planet’s terrain complete with a mock-up of the lunar module. Strong-arming the three men into complicity with the deception, it soon becomes apparent that it would be impossible for them to remain silent regarding their involvement and there is no intention of letting them return to their families, keeping them as prisoners locked away in the desert.

Robert Caulfield (Elliott Gould) is a journalist who is onto the ploy and the Powers That Be are always one step ahead of him. Elliot Whitter (Robert Walden) is a NASA employee who refuses to believe that the transmissions are coming from Mars and disappears after several attempts to air his concerns to Dr. Kelloway. This raises even more suspicion from Caulfield who established a professional rapport with him, only to find that Whitter’s apartment is now inhabited by a woman he has never seen before. Multiple attempts are made on Caulfield’s life, he is framed and arrested and bailed out of jail by his non-believing boss (David Boyle) who then fires him on the spot, however a fellow journalist (Karen Black) comes to his aid.

There are a lot of interesting supporting character actors who appear. Brenda Vaccarro is on hand as Brubaker’s wife who firmly believes that she must go on following the “death” of her husband in the “re-entry accident” to Earth; James Karen is his usual ingratiating self as the Vice President of the United States several years before he appeared in Poltergeist; David Huddleston is Hollis Peaker who politely airs his grievance about the absence of the President of the United States at the launchpad; Lou Frizzell, an actor I always liked from Steven Spielberg’s Duel (1971), Robert Mulligan’s Summer of ’42 (1971) and The Other (1972) and Curtis Harrington’s Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell (1978), is quite moving as a NASA employee who gives the astronauts a Bible to take with them; and Telly Savalas is hilarious as a crop duster pilot who puts his skills to the test for Caulfield in a chase that Alfred Hitchcock would appreciate after the three astronauts escape from the desert by plane, with Brubaker being the sole survivor. The film ends abruptly like a TV-movie, on an image that is probably framed and hanging on Barbara Streisand’s wall. I would have liked the film to go one step further, with Brubaker walking up to Kelloway at his “funeral,” and punching him in the face, just like Sean Connery does to Peter Boyle in the aforementioned Outland.

Imprint, the wonderful Blu-ray label from Down Under, has released the film on Blu-ray in a deluxe, two-disc edition.

Blu-ray Disc One – Theatrical Cut:

The film had its network television debut on Sunday, May 11, 1980, and being that it aired in a two-hour time slot on NBC, was no doubt trimmed as the theatrical cut runs 123 minutes. This is the version that appears on the first Blu-ray, and it includes subtitles. The transfer is adequate given that the film was shot 47 years ago. It retains the film’s Panavision 2.35:1 framing in an anamorphic presentation in 1080p High-Definition.

Ported over from the Lionsgate DVD from 2008, there is a feature-length audio commentary by director Peter Hyams, who would go on to direct Hanover Street in 1979 and the nifty High Noon redo in outer space in Outland (1981) where deception of another kind takes place as the mining colonists on one of Jupiter’s moons all take Polydichloric Euthimol, a drug that makes them work harder until it kills them, and their co-workers all believe they go back to Earth to account for their absence. He talks about the challenges that he encountered on Capricorn One and rightly heaps praise on the performers involved in the film. Most people today will recognize these folks and say, “Hey, I know him/her!”

Flights of Fancy: The Politics of Capricorn One (Standard Definition). This piece runs 17:17 and is a fascinating look at “no-moonies,” a term given to those who believe that the July 1969 moon landing was faked. This notion is debunked by the onscreen interviewers. Director Hyams recounts how he watched the event from his Chicago apartment and how it affected him. He had been a wartime correspondent in Vietnam and saw firsthand how the government was lying to the public. There are also discussions about audience boredom with the space race, something brought to light in Ron Howard’s terrific film Apollo 13 (1995).

What If?: The Making of Capricorn One (Standard Definition). This piece runs 6:51 and is a series of quick on-camera comments from some of the performers in the film and their thoughts on faking a Mars landing.

On Set with Capricorn One (Standard Definition). This piece runs 38:22 and consists of non-narrated, behind-the-scenes raw footage shot in June 1977 in the desert highlighting Brubaker’s encounter with the gas station and the crop duster.

The Photo Gallery (High Definition) contains 95 images from the film displayed during 9:31 of running time. Ironically, when the film was released in 1978, I saw one of the movie poster ads for it in the newspaper which depicts the lunar module and oversized lights and crew people standing around. I was under the erroneous impression that this was a behind-the-scenes shot taken on the set of the film and it made its way into the film’s marketing campaign by accident. Talk about confusion and deception!

The requisite theatrical trailer is in High Definition and is sourced from an old theatrical print and runs 3:09.

Blu-ray Disc Two – Extended Cut

This is an extended cut in high definition of the film that runs 128:30 and has some noticeable differences that make for a different interpretation of the film and is worth watching. There is an audio commentary by film historians Daniel Kremer and Daniel Waters that accompanies this cut, which they announce was recorded on James Brolin’s birthday which was August 27^th. They provide a very fun and informative examination of the film.

Conspiracy Busting (High Definition). This is an onscreen interview with Elliott Gould shot in 2024 and it runs 17:45 with him discussing his history with the director beginning with their collaboration on Busting in 1974. He is perched in front of his DVD collection, and he has a great assortment of titles – some of which he starred in! Love him.

Confessions of an Astronaut’s Wife (High Definition). This is an onscreen interview from 2024 with Brenda Vacarro that runs 13:18 and appears to have been conducted over either Zoom or Skype. She speaks highly of her co-workers and her director and the luck she has had with working with so many wonderful people over the years.

How the Capricorn Was Won: Getting the Greenlight (High Definition). This is an interview with producer Paul Lazarus and runs 26:49 and his experience working with and winning over Sir Lew Grade of ITC Entertainment (remember their logo right before The Muppet Show?) to get the funding for the film. Extremely interesting.

A Lady of Wondrous Abandon: Remembering the Incomparable Karen Black (High Definition). This is a memorial piece for the actress that runs 7:16. People weigh in on her impact on them and in film. I first saw her in Dan Curtis’s 1976 thriller Burnt Offerings and later his 1975 TV-movie Trilogy of Terror, and she was wonderful. Her poignant work in Bob Rafelson’s Five Easy Pieces (1970) opposite Jack Nicholson was heartbreaking.

Orchestrating a Conspiracy (High Definition). I love this piece that runs 18:00 because it discusses the wonderful music of Jerry Goldsmith, whose work I first heard in August 1979 when Logan’s Run (1976) premiered on NBC television. Even as a seven-year-old I could really appreciate his contribution to the film, to say nothing of twenty-three-year-old Jenny Agutter’s side-split “barely there” outfit – Holy Toledo, Batman…I would later hear his work on Outland (1981) and then Poltergeist (1982) which sealed the deal. I was a fan for life.

If you’re any kind of a fan of this film, this is the edition to get. Incomparable.

The region-free Blu-ray can be ordered by clicking here.

Note: Prices are in Australian dollars. Use currency converter for non-Australian orders

SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY

The Emotional Documentary Film on the Life of Actor and Activist Christopher Reeve Arrives for Digital Ownership on November 5

Burbank, CA, November 4, 2024 – Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, the new documentary film featuring never-before-seen home movies and personal archives that recounts the tragic and redemptive story of actor and activist Christopher Reeve, best known for playing Superman in the '70s and '80s films, arrives for purchase Digitally at home on November 5.

Following a life-altering accident, Christopher Reeve persevered, inspiring the world by using his fame to speak of hope and change our perception of paralysis, all while remaining a dedicated activist, actor and filmmaker, devoted dad, and loving husband to Dana, the beating heart of the family.

From the directors of McQueen, Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, the film includes never-before-seen intimate home movies and an extraordinary trove of personal archive material, as well as the first extended interviews ever filmed with Reeve’s three children about their father, and interviews with the A-list Hollywood actors who were Reeve’s colleagues and friends. The film is a moving and vivid cinematic telling of Reeve’s remarkable story.

On November 5, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story will be available for Digital Ownership at home on participating digital platforms where you purchase movies, including Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Fandango At Home, and more.

On November 19, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story will be available for Digital rental via VOD on participating digital platforms where you rent movies.

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is directed by Ian Bonhôte & Peter Ettedgui and features Alexandra Reeves Givens, Matthew Reeve and Will Reeve.  The film is written by Peter Ettedgui and co-written by Ian Bonhôte & Otto Burnham and produced by Lizzie Gillett, Robert Ford and Ian Bonhôte.

BASICS

Digital Ownership: November 5, 2024

Digital Rental: November 19, 2024

Running Time: 104 minutes

Rated: PG-13 for some strong language and thematic elements

Cinema Retro Season 21 is almost here! We anticipate the first issue of the new season, #61, to ship to UK subscribers in December. Subscribers throughout the rest of the world will receive their issue in January.

Please subscribe or new today!

Some of our subscribers wait until all three issues are available before renewing. However, if we sell out of one of the three issues, we will not be able to fulfill the subscription. Therefore, if you subscribe now, you will ensure you will not miss a single issue.

Thanks to our loyal readers worldwide for their continued support!

Dave and Lee

Official Description:

From Bond to Benoit Blanc, few have embodied and excavated a greater variety of masculinities on-screen than Daniel Craig. Coinciding with the premiere of Luca Guadagnino's new film adaptation of William Burroughs's novel, Queer, starring Craig as a sensitive wanderer in mid-century Mexico City, writer Hilton Als sits down with the actor for an enlightening evening of in-depth conversation.

Photo Credit: Sebastian Kim

For more information and tickets, click here.

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Paramount Home Entertainment:

Never give up, never surrender!

Celebrate the 25th anniversary of the beloved sci-fi comedy classic GALAXY QUEST as it arrives for the first time ever on 4K Ultra HD™ December 13, 2024 from Paramount Home Entertainment.

Featuring an out-of-this-world, all-star cast including Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Enrico Colantoni, Daryl Mitchell, Justin Long, Missi Pyle, and Rainn Wilson, this rollicking send-up of sci-fi fanaticism is as funny today as when it premiered in theatres 25 years ago on December 25, 1999. 

Newly remastered under the supervision of director Dean Parisot, GALAXY QUEST is presented in 4K Ultra HD with spectacular Dolby Vision® and HDR-10, as well as with Dolby Atmos® sound for the most immersive home viewing experience.  For its 25th anniversary, the film will be available in a nationwide release and a Limited-Edition SteelBook®, both of which offer access to a Digital copy of the film and over 90 minutes of new and legacy bonus content, including a new Filmmaker Focus with director Dean Parisot reflecting on the film and its enduring popularity.  The 25th anniversary release also includes the previously created Thermian language track. 

Bonus content is detailed below:

Filmmaker Focus with director Dean Parisot—NEW!

· Historical Documents: The Story of Galaxy Quest

· Never Give Up, Never Surrender: The Intrepid Crew of the NSEA Protector

· By Grabthar's Hammer, What Amazing Effects

· Alien School: Creating the Thermian Race

· Actors in Space

· Sigourney Weaver Raps

· Deleted Scenes

· Theatrical Trailer

Synopsis

Years after cancellation, the stars of the television series Galaxy Quest cling to their careers. When a distressed interstellar race mistakes the show for “historical documents,” lead actor Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen) and his crew of has-beens are unwittingly recruited to save the alien race from a genocidal warlord. Featuring an all-star ensemble, including Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell, Justin Long and Rainn Wilson, GALAXY QUEST is a hilarious adventure that boldly goes where no comedy has gone before?

Click here to pre-order 4K  UHD limited edition steelbook.

By Todd Garbarini

Burnt Offerings (1976) is Dan Curtis’s film adaptation of the 1973 novel of the same name by the late Robert Marasco. It’s the novel that reportedly inspired Stephen King to sublimate his experiences as a caretaker at the Stanley Hotel in October 1974 into his second novel The Shining (1977) following Carrie (1974). Much of the plot devices from the former were aped in the latter: a mother and father spend a season in a huge manse with their young son; a large structural abode has a life of its own and thrives off of the life blood of its human dwellers for survival, etc.

Burnt Offerings opened on Wednesday, September 29, 1976 in New York “at Red Carpet Theatres” (as opposed to what, black carpet theatres? Always wondered about that). It is a film that I caught up with five years later on a repeat NBC-TV airing and it became a perennial favorite on many independent stations during the 1980s. When I saw the film on VHS, I was shocked at how much footage was cut from some of its television airings, which is a shame because it moves at a deliberately slow but effective pace.

Bolstered by terrific performances and a better-than-average script, the real star of the film is the Dunsmuir Hellman Historic Estate in Oakland, California, a sprawling 37-room mansion on 50 acres of gorgeous land that belies the dangerous neighborhood that exists to the west of it. If it looks familiar, that is because it has been featured in a handful of other films, most notably as the Morningside mortuary’s exterior in Don Coscarelli’s classic Phantasm (1979) and in the James Bond film A View to a Kill (1985). Here, it has been dressed to look decrepit and creepy. Oliver Reed and Karen Black are Ben and Marian Rolf, a couple who consider renting this incredible dwelling for the summer with their young son, David (Lee H. Montgomery of Ben), and Ben’s Aunt Elizabeth (played brilliantly by Bette Davis). They are greeted at the house by Walker the Handyman (Dub Taylor of those crazy Hubba Bubba commercials from 1980) who introduces them to the renters, two eccentric siblings played wonderfully by Eileen Heckart and Burgess Meredith. They inform the Rolfs that they can rent the house for two months for $900.00(!) if they agree to a slight catch: they must agree to take care of their 85-year-old mother, Mrs. Allardyce, who lives in a room on the top floor. All they have to do is prepare food for her three times a day and leave it in her sitting room. Understandably hesitant to buy into this peculiar “arrangement”, Ben and his family return home. Marian is gung-ho from the get-go, so Ben reluctantly acquiesces to her wish to rent the house and concurs by default with the terms set forth by the Allardyces. These opening introductory scenes set the tone for the rest of the film, as both the Rolf’s and the audience are kept in the dark as to what the owners have up their sleeves.

Returning to the house with Aunt Elizabeth in tow, the Rolf’s engage in some fun banter concerning Elizabeth’s desire to procure a driver’s license. Director Curtis sets up the Rolfs as a family that the audience can relate to and almost feel as though they are along for the ride. When they reach the house, the Rolfs are shocked to find that the Allardyces have left them the keys to the home and are nowhere to be found. As Davey is ordered by his father to unpack the car, Marian attends to Mrs. Allardyce. Despite knocking on her door multiple times and talking to her, the old woman never responds. Marian assumes she’s sleeping.

As the days progress, Davey and his father clean out the pool and fill it with water, while Marian prepares meals for Mrs. Allardyce and becomes more in awe of the old woman’s music box and photo collection, the latter of which is strange in two respects: not only are the photos of people who are of varying age and do not appear related, but none of them are smiling. When Marian listens to the music from the music box, she goes into a dreamlike trance, oblivious to all external sounds. The uneventful settling into the house suddenly takes a U-turn when Ben inexplicably tries to drown Davey in the pool during a maniacal episode of unprovoked rage. Later that night, Ben, contrite and baffled by his own behavior, dreams of his mother’s funeral when he was just a young boy. In the dream, cinema’s scariest chauffeur smiles at him. As the film progresses, a series of near-fatal “accidents” that threaten the very fabric of the family unit and their physical well-being leaves the viewer wondering why they just do not simply leave. It is in this respect, as well as the film’s denouement, where the film triumphs over the novel.

The one image people tend to remember from this film more than any other is Anthony James’ frightening turn as the chauffeur. His smile behind the dark sunglasses is rumored to have made teenage girls scream as they watched it in a theater or, more often than not, at sleepovers.

Dan Curtis, the creator of the popular TV show Dark Shadows, used his TV crew to make this film, much like Alfred Hitchcock did when he filmed his self-proclaimed “fun picture” Psycho (1960). Fortunately, he shot the film with a cinematic eye, which results in some very interesting camerawork by Jacques R. Marquette. He employs the use of low-angle shots with the idea of the theatrical audience in mind, “looking up” at the actors on the screen. I wish that I had seen this film in a theater! If you have the patience to watch a thriller that takes its time, Burnt Offerings is well worth seeing.

Kino Lorber has done right by Burnt Offerings and offers up a beautiful, much improved transfer over the original MGM/UA 2003 DVD which was drab, muted and lacking in detail. Originally scheduled for release on laserdisc in 1997, the project was postponed and eventually scrapped altogether due to MGM’s inability at that time to secure suitable film elements for the transfer. The print used here is fairly free of dirt and the increased resolution from the high definition gives the image a much-needed boost. The film was shot in August 1975 and I originally thought that it was designed with a soft look, but that was just due to the lackluster transfer (the VHS tape, with Macrovision, was even worse!).

The film’s sound, which was problematic on the VHS and DVD transfers, is also much improved. The dialog is now more intelligible and Robert Cobert’s musical score, indubitably one of the creepiest and most frightening scores ever written for a film, fairs far better here, too. The mix is monaural. Kino, for some reason, does not provide subtitles, so if you want them hold onto the 2003 DVD.

A soundtrack album for Burnt Offerings was finally issued in 2011 and is out-of-print, but worth seeking out.

If you love this film as much as I do, purchasing this Blu-ray is a no-brainer. Another thing that Kino Lorber has done, and they really need to be commended on this, is include the original United Artists/Transamerica logo that appears before the film begins. This may not seem like a big deal, but to us die-hard film aficionados, this is a huge deal. Seeing a film from the very start of the first frame is very important, and the studio logo before a film begins is not separate, it is a part of the film viewing experience. The Warner Brothers logo that opens William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (1973) is so integral to the film that as the movie starts, the music begins playing over the studio logo. Billy Goldenberg’s icy music plays over the “Universal/An MCA Company” logo in Steven Spielberg’s Duel as does the underwater machinery in Jaws prior to that film’s start. In the 1980s, it was possible to see these logos before a film’s start as most of the transfers were done from theatrical prints. As we got into the 1990s and the 2000s and telecine transfers became more common, the original studio logos were being replaced with the newer and fancier studio logos. Now, the original studio logos are really in danger of disappearing altogether (Youtube is really the only place to see them). Unless companies like Kino Lorber, which really have the cineastes’ best interests at heart, continue their excellent work of retaining the original film logos, those very logos will become a lost part of cinema history.

The Blu-ray disc includes the following extras:

The theatrical trailer

The first commentary is with Karen Black, Dan Curtis, and the film’s screenwriter William F. Nolan and has been ported over from the original 2003 MGM/UA DVD release. I wish that they all had viewed the film prior to the commentary, as some of their comments are truly unbelievable. This commentary is a riot to listen to.

There is a second commentary on here recorded in 2015 by film historian Richard Harland Smith, and it is one of the most entertaining, insightful and informative commentaries that I have ever listened to. Mr. Smith got me thinking about things that I never thought of before, particularly in regard to Marian’s distancing from her family, and even manages to tie in a discussion about the Vietnam War. He speaks at length about the meaning behind the film’s title in addition to the notion of the “Old Dark House” where evil lurks.

There are onscreen interviews with the late Anthony James (he played the chauffeur), Lee Montgomery (he played Davey) and William F. Nolan (he wrote the screenplay).

Kino Lorber has retained the film’s effective key art for the cover.

Burnt Offerings was the first thriller I ever saw and it made an indelible impression on me that has stayed with me for the past 43 years. A superb release, especially at the end of October!

Click here to order from Amazon

The YouTube channel Old School Cinema makes a convincing case that the Oscars have long been snubbing great westerns. There aren't too many westerns made today, but over the decades it was one of the most popular genres. See if you agree that these chosen films deserved Oscar recognition.

“ADDIE AND MOZE’S ROAD TRIP”

By Raymond Benson

This absolute gem of a film has finally received the Criterion treatment in high definition. Paper Moon was already a delight, but now it’s even more so.

Based on the decently-selling 1971 novel Addie Pray by Joe David Brown, Paramount Pictures had scooped up the rights and had secured John Huston to direct it with Paul Newman starring with one of his daughters. The project fell apart and it was offered to Peter Bogdanovich, who was flying high after the huge successes of The Last Picture Show (1971) and What’s Up, Doc? (1972).

Bogdanovich read the script written by Alvin Sargent and wasn’t particularly thrilled about it. His former wife, Polly Platt, with whom he was still friendly and worked with on previous pictures (she was production designer for three of his recent movies) read it and convinced him to do it. She even suggested Tatum O’Neal as the star. After visiting Ryan O’Neal and Tatum at their Malibu home, Bogdanovich was convinced Tatum could do it, and then went the whole way and asked Ryan to star as well, making it a true father-daughter one-two punch. After rewrites with Sargent on the script, the director then knew the movie had to be made.

Set during the Great Depression of 1930s Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri, the story is the tale of an orphaned girl, Addie (Tatum, who was eight and nine when the picture was made), who meets a dubious con man, Moze (Ryan) at her mother’s funeral. She suspects that he’s really her “daddy.” One thing leads to another, and some locals convince Moze to give Addie a ride to her aunt’s house in St. Joseph. Along the way, Addie witnesses Moze’s attempts at conning strangers out of their money. Moze even convinces the brother of the man who accidentally killed Addie’s mother to give her $200. The mistake he then makes is spending it on a new car. Addie is wise beyond her years, so she extorts him to pay back the money that is legally hers. Thus begins a road trip movie across the Midwest, where the reluctant “father and daughter” participate in more con games, meet a ditzy stripper, Trixie (the fabulous Madeline Kahn) and her teenage black maid, Imogene (P. J. Johnson), get in trouble with the law, and other sometimes hilarious, other times touching, vignettes. One of the overriding questions in the film—Is Moze really Addie’s father?—hangs over the proceedings, and it’s up to the audience to decide the answer.

Paper Moon is easily one of Bogdanovich’s better pictures, the crowning touch of a master trilogy of titles that began with The Last Picture Show. Upon its release, the movie was an immediate box office hit. Tatum O’Neal became the youngest performer ever to win an Oscar—Best Supporting Actress—for her remarkable work. Madeline Kahn was also nominated for Supporting Actress, the script was up for Adapted Screenplay, and the movie’s Sound got the nod. Why it didn’t receive a Best Picture nomination is a mystery, and it’s especially surprising that Ryan O’Neal did not get a nomination. This reviewer believes Paper Moon is the actor’s crowning achievement. But, indeed, the movie belongs to Tatum O’Neal. There are not many child performances in the history of cinema that can touch hers.

The Criterion Collection’s new 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack, looks beautiful in László Kovács’s glorious black and white cinematography. Criterion has released the film in a 2-disk 4K UHD edition (that also includes the Blu-ray and supplements) as well as the single disk Blu-ray. The film comes with the 2003 audio commentary by Bogdanovich, ported over from the Paramount DVD. The director is always an entertaining spokesman with wonderful stories about the making of the movie.

Supplements include a new video essay on the film by Peter Tonguette (Bogdanovich’s biographer), the 2003 Introduction to the film by Bogdanovich, an archival interview with Polly Platt, Platt’s home movies of location scouting, a port-over from 2003 of a three-part “making of” documentary featuring Bogdanovich, Platt, producer Frank Marshall, and Kovács; and an absolutely terrific excerpt from The Johnny Carson Show when Bogdanovich and both O’Neals appeared as guests. The theatrical trailer rounds up the package. An essay by critic Mark Harris appears in the enclosed booklet.

Paper Moon is for fans of director Bogdanovich, Ryan and Tatum O’Neal, 1970s “New Hollywood,” Depression-era tales, and poignant comedy. Highly recommended.

Click here to order from Amazon

By Lee Pfeiffer

Quincy Jones, one of the most famous and distinguished names in the history of modern music, has passed away at age 91. Jones was the very definition of "multi-talented": he composed, conducted, produced and wrote songs. He was the recipient of 28 Grammy Awards and worked with some of the greatest names in the music industry. His collaborations with Michael Jackson produced three hit albums, one of whicn- "Thriller"- is the top-selling record album of all time. Jones also had notable collaborations with Frank Sinatra that showcased both artists at their best. Jones was a top name in composing music for movies and television. Among his memorable creations for T.V. were the classic themes for "Roots", "Sanford and Son" and "Ironside". His film soundtracks include "In the Heat of the Night", "The Getaway", "The Anderson Tapes", "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice", "The Hot Rock", "Mackenna's Gold", "The Italian Job" (1969 version) and "Mirage", among many others. Perhaps his greatest achievement was organizing "We Are the World", the legendary 1985 concert to benefit famine relief. Jones used his clout to get  a "Who's Who" of international music legends together to perform.  For more about his life and career, click here.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Canon Films was a sensation in the movie industry during the 1980s. The ailing company was acquired by partners Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, who quickly brought to the screen an eclectic array of low-to-middle range budgeted films. The company was not interested in producing high art and their range of product ran from exploiting the latest trends (i.e break dancing) to action movies aimed squarely at audiences that weren't too discriminating and who just wanted some fun flicks to indulge in. Sometimes their films sank at the boxoffice but more often than not they returned a good profit. Occasionally, they hit paydirt, as in their successful efforts to make Chuck Norris into a bankable leading man. The studio also became a one-stop employment agency for the aging Charles Bronson, whose glory days with the big studios were over. Cannon Films gave Bronson a new lease on life with a seemingly endless string of urban crime thrillers. Some were lousy (the "Death Wish" sequels) while others proved to be rather good and that Bronson still had the power to attract audiences. Golan and Globus weren't chasing Oscars, just  good return on investment. By the late 1980s, however, the formula was showing signs of stress. The partners decided to go a bit upscale by securing the screen rights to famed adventure novelist Alistair MacLean's 1981 novel "River of Death". The film sank at the boxoffice but, like many Canon films, has enjoyed popularity through home video and streaming. MacLean, who passed away in 1987, was, for a while anyway, a surefire name to attract movie audiences via such high profile titles as  "The Guns of Navarone", "Ice Station Zebra" and "Where Eagles Dare".

"River of Death"  is set in the mid-1960s and presents Canon's in-house hunky action star Michael Dudikoff as John Hamilton, a freelance adventurer-for-hire who is engaged by a disparate group of suspicious people to help them find a legendary lost city deep in the inhospitable Amazon jungle. His primary client is Heinrich Spaatz (Donald Pleasence) who presents himself as a Holocaust survivor who lost his family in the Dachau concentration camp. However, due to a dramatic prologue, we know that "Spaatz" is actually a surviving member of the Nazi high command. Ostensibly, the group is supposed to be investigating the outbreak of a mysterious disease that is devastating a tribe in the jungle. In fact, Spaatz is trying to locate his old nemesis and fellow surviving Nazi big wig Dr. Wolfgang Manteuffel (Robert Vaughn) who had schemed with Spaatz to abscond with treasures of the Third Reich during the hectic final days of the war. However, Manteuffel double-crossed him and left him for dead. Spaatz suspects that the mad doctor is with the tribe, where he is unleashing his quack medical experiments with deadly results. We won't belabor the plot other than to say that the group Hamilton is leading includes two gorgeous blonds and a local American ex-pat Eddie Hiller (L.Q. Jones), who is an expert helicopter pilot who can deliver the group to where they will embark on the Amazon up river by boat. Needless to say, there are plenty of revelations along the way and the streetwise Hamilton is suspicious about the group's motives. They also meet the local corrupt police chief Col. Ricardo Diaz (Herbert Lom), who is determined to find out what the group is really up to.

I have not read MacLean's novel but it becomes clear that it was inspired in part by Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness", as was "Apocalypse Now", which explains why there are similarities between this film and Francis Ford Coppola's classic. Under the competent direction of Steve Carver, the production is better than most Canon fare. The movie was supposed to be shot in Brazil, but the penny-pinching Golan and Globus decided they could shoot it in South Africa for lower costs. That's because South Africa was an international pariah at the time due to its unspeakably cruel apartheid practices. Major movie studios refused to shoot films there, but Carver, claiming his was "non-political" took the job and ended up getting sanctioned by the Director's Guild of America. Carver came to rue his decision before that happened simply because of the inhospitable locations he had to film in. He would later say they were so dangerous that it was amazing no one in the cast and crew was murdered. Nonetheless, this particular Canon film has some higher production values than most of the studio's fare. It also has some genuine suspense and impressive cast. Dudikoff makes for a suitable leading man and he can actually act. The film also benefits from the likes of Pleasence, Lom and Jones, all of whom have meaty roles. Although Robert Vaughn gets second billing, he only appears briefly in the prologue and again at the finale, filling the role of the Colonel Kurtz-like figure who has managed to preside over a tribe of savage warriors. In Manteuffel's case, however, he isn't regarded as the god-like figure Kurtz was. Rather, he enforces his control over the tribe with an army of heavily armed neo-Nazis.

I don't want to overstate the merits of "River of Death" because when one reviews a Canon production, your thumb has to firmly placed on a scale in terms of comparing it to most of their films. However, the movie moves at a brisk pace and contains some genuinely exciting action scenes. In the finale, you get to see an iconic T.V. hero, Napoleon Solo (Vaughn) squaring off against an iconic Bond villain, Ernest Stavro Blofeld (Pleasence). For that memorable moment in pop culture alone, the film is worth viewing.

("River of Death" is currently streaming on Amazon Prime and MGM+.)

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

Norman Lear: His Life & Times, the first comprehensive biography of the eponymous TV pioneer by show business historian, entertainment journalist and author Tripp Whetsell, will be released by Applause Books on November 11th.

Hailed by Publisher’s Weekly as a “fitting tribute to a consequential figure in television history,” it is the first in-depth biography of the iconic writer, producer and social activist, who beginning in the early 1970s, forever altered America’s television landscape with such groundbreaking situation comedies as All in the Family, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons, One Day at a Time and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.

While much has been written about Lear, Whetsell demonstrates there is still a lot more to be learned about “the man in the white hat,” who was arguably the first behind-the-scenes television figure to become a bona fide celebrity in his own right, whose multi-award-winning taboo-busting sitcoms averaged as many as 120 million viewers a week during their peak.

Whetsell currently teaches the only college-level course about Lear and his classic sitcoms at their alma mater, Boston’s Emerson College, in which Lear appeared as a guest via Zoom twice.  He was also the only journalist to interview Lear exclusively for a 40th anniversary retrospective of All in the Family for TV Guide in 2001.

From his birth in New Haven, Connecticut in July 1922 right up until his death in Los Angeles in December 2023 at the age of 101, Lear’s life is told in thorough, meticulous detail with unflinching candor, including:

How his father’s three-year prison sentence when he was just nine years old, coupled by his mother Jeanette’s emotional indifference and hearing the infamously anti-Semitic rhetoric of pro-fascist broadcaster Father Charles Coughlin, would linger in Lear’s psyche for the rest of his life.

How he became one of the highest paid comedy writers in the young medium of television during the early 1950s, penning variety show sketches for the likes of Martin & Lewis, Martha Raye, George Gobel and others.

Lear’s equally prolific turn writing and producing films throughout the 1960s followed—Come Blow Your Horn starring Frank Sinatra, Divorce American Style, starring Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds and The Night They Raided Minsky’s co-starring Jason Robards and Elliot Gould in his first major film appearance.

His many creative and personal battles with network censors and actors Carroll O’Connor, Redd Foxx, John Amos, Esther Rolle, Louise Lasser and others.

His tumultuous first two marriages and complex relationship with longtime producing partner Bud Yorkin.

His decision to walk away from weekly television at the height of his fame and the top of his game in 1978 to devote more time to social activism.

His multiple sitcom comeback attempts in the decades that followed, all of which failed, before finally hitting pay dirt in the early 2020s, first with Latino reboot of One Day at a Time and the three Live in Front of a Studio Audience specials in which his beloved sitcoms were reimagined resulting in Lear becoming the oldest Emmy winner ever two years in a row.

Tripp Whetsell is the author of The Improv: An Oral History the Comedy Club That Revolutionized Stand-Up (with founder Budd Friedman and a Foreword by Jay Leno), which was named one of the best comedy books of 2017 by ABC News, The New York Times and the New York Post.  He is a media studies professor at Emerson College in Boston. As an entertainment journalist, he has covered TV, film, comedy and other aspects of popular culture for more than two decades and his articles have appeared in Vulture, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, VanityFair.com, The Wall Street Journal, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. He lives in New York City and Westhampton Beach, Long Island. Norman Lear: His Life & Times is his fourth book

http://www.normanlearbio.com/

Click here to order.

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Sony Home Entertainment:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“…one of the definitive TV sitcoms of all time.” – Variety

SEINFELD: THE COMPLETE SERIES

The Iconic, Hilarious, Beloved, Emmy® Award-Winning, Yada Yada Yada…

Show About Nothing Finally Debuts on Blu-ray Disc™ and 4K Ultra HD™ Disc December 17th

Celebrating The Series’ 35th Anniversary and 100 Years of Columbia Pictures

CULVER CITY, Calif. (October 30, 2024) – All of the catchphrases, all of the memorable characters, all

of the misunderstandings, all of the unforgettable hilarity of one of the best television shows of all time:

SEINFELD: THE COMPLETE SERIES finally comes to Blu-ray Disc and 4K Ultra HD Disc on

December 17th, just in time for Festivus and other holiday occasions!

Packed with all nine seasons of the historically acclaimed series plus hours of insightful special features—

from deleted scenes to inside looks to cast & crew commentaries and more.

SEINFELD: THE

COMPLETE SERIES is presented in two separate editions: a Blu-ray edition featuring a high definition

presentation of the series in a 1.78 format, and a limited edition 4K Ultra HD edition featuring the entire

series presented in 4K resolution with High Dynamic Range at its original 1.33 aspect ratio.

Long-awaited by fans, SEINFELD: THE COMPLETE SERIES is finally making the leap from standard

definition discs following an extensive and comprehensive 4K upgrade for the series, and is perfectly timed for the series’ 35th anniversary, as well as to conclude the 100th anniversary of Columbia Pictures. In addition to the physical sets, SEINFELD: THE COMPLETE SERIES is also available for purchase at participating digital retailers.

SEINFELD: THE COMPLETE SERIES DISC DETAILS

BLU-RAY EDITION

• 24 Blu-ray Discs

• Episodes presented in 1.78:1 High Definition on Blu-ray Disc; English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Audio

• Special Features include Audio Commentaries, Deleted Scenes, Bloopers, Inside Looks and Alternate

Versions of Select Episodes

4K ULTRA HD EDITION – the 4K Ultra HD set is a limited edition.

• 24 4K Ultra HD Discs

• Episodes presented in 1.33:1 at 4K resolution with HDR10; English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Audio

• Special Features include Audio Commentaries, Deleted Scenes, Bloopers, Inside Looks and Alternate

Versions of Select Episodes

Click here to order from Amazon

Cinema Retro has received the following press release pertaining to the UK limited edition of "Captain Kronos: Vampire Huner" 

LONDON, UK (31/10/24): This Halloween, Hammer Films invites horror fans to experience an unparalleled celebration of the studio’s legendary legacy. The highly anticipated 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray™ release of a brand-new 4K restoration of Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter becomes available for pre-order on Thursday 31^st October, marking the cult classic’s 50th anniversary.

The home entertainment announcement kicks off Hammer Films’ 90th anniversary celebrations including a partnership with Sky Arts for the premiere of Deep Fusion Films’ new documentary Hammer: Heroes, Legends and Monsters, a deep dive into the iconic studio’s legacy which will be shown exclusively on Sky Arts at 9pm on 31^st October. Throughout November, Sky Arts is then screening a selection of classic Hammer horror to honour the 90th anniversary on 9th November.

Hammer Films brings cult classic Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter back to life as the first stunning 4K restoration from the new Hammer team, under John Gore’s leadership. Written and directed by the legendary Brian Clemens (The Avengers, The Professionals) and originally released in 1974, this swashbuckling horror film has been meticulously restored from the original film negatives. It will be celebrating its 50th anniversary with a limited collector’s edition 5-disc set (2 UHD discs and 3 Blu-rays™) enclosed within a high-end, leather-feel slipcase with debossed red foil titling. Available for pre-order on 31st October, the limited collector’s edition features:

• Three presentations of the film: UK Theatrical, US Theatrical and As-Filmed Versions
• Brand-new documentary on Brian Clemens’ life and work by Chris Chapman, featuring interviews with Brian’s colleagues, friends and family
• Brand-new introductions and commentary by Hammer icon and star Caroline Munro and Brian Clemens’ sons, Sam and George
• Previously unseen interviews with Brian Clemens and star Horst Janson
• Brand new artwork by world-renowned artist Graham Humphreys
• High-end collectible packaging featuring the 5 discs, a double-sided poster, art cards, new booklet on the making of this cult classic and 100-page comic featuring a reprint of the Kronos strips from the legendary 1970s magazine The House of Hammer

A film that has only grown in significance since its 1974 release, it mixes swashbuckling action with horror; a bold and innovative departure for Hammer and one that continues to inspire filmmakers today.

This release not only revives a Hammer classic but reaffirms the studio’s commitment to restoring its cinematic treasures for today’s horror enthusiasts and dedicated collectors worldwide.

It is the first 4K restoration from John Gore’s Hammer team and an essential collector’s edition that offers a deep dive into the film’s creation and legacy. With extensive bonus materials, including new rare interviews and archival commentaries, it offers fans an unprecedented look behind the scenes of one of Hammer’s most innovative films.

“Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter represents the adventurous spirit of Hammer in the 1970s - a bold blend of horror, action and fantasy that was ahead of its time. This 4K restoration allows us to finally present the film in its full glory, and I’m thrilled that it’s the first of many Hammer Films restorations.” says John Gore, Hammer Films’ CEO and Chairman.

Leading lady Caroline Munro reflects “I have such fond memories of working on Captain Kronos. It was a true passion project and seeing it restored in 4K is like watching it with new eyes. Fans are in for a real treat with this release - it looks stunning and captures all the excitement we felt making it.”

Sam Clemens, son of writer/director Brian Clemens, echoes this sentiment: “My father was always proud of Captain Kronos. He saw it as a fresh take on the vampire mythos and a character who could have spawned a series. This 4K restoration is the version he would have wanted fans to experience.”

NOTE: WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED THAT THIS VIDEO IS REGION-FREE!

Pre-order the limited edition Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray™ on 31st October at www.hammerfilms.com

Film critic Ann Thompson worked on early John Carpenter movies as a press agent, including the original 1978 horror classic "Halloween". In 2018, Thompson  reunited with the director and actress Jamie Lee Curtis to reminisce about the making of "Halloween", which was made for a relatively small budget and became a boxoffice blockbuster. Carpenter also discusses how his superb remake of "The Thing" made him cynical about working with major studios after it under-performed at the boxoffice- a fate that was blamed on his ambiguous ending to the movie. Click here to read.

Actress Teri Garr has died at age 79. She had been suffering for years from serious illnesses related to multiple sclerosis. Garr had a hard scrabble life beginning with the death of her father when she was 11 years old. Her family moved numerous times before settling in Los Angeles. Garr graduated from North Hollywood High School. She took an interest in acting was ultimately accepted to study at the Actors Studio. She proved to be a good dancer, which helped during the go-go mania days of the 1960s. She was a dancer on "The Sonny and Cher" TV program and appeared as a dancer in numerous Elvis Presley feature films. Garr gained acclaim for her brief but memorable role in Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 classic "The Conversation". Stardom followed when Mel Brooks cast her in his hit comedy "Young Frankenstein". She would later receive praise for her performance in Steven Spielberg's 1977 sci-fi classic "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and an Oscar nomination for the 1982 comedy classic "Tootsie" starring Dustin Hoffman. She also starred opposite Michael Keaton in "Mr. Mom". She would also have a recurring role in the TV series "Friends". (Lee Pfeiffer)

For more about her life and career, click here.

By Nicholas Anez

The most horrifying scene in Robert Aldrich’s 1956 movie, Attack!, occurs when Lieutenant Joe Costa’s arm is crushed by the wheels of a German tank and he screams in excruciating agony. This scene is difficult to watch and some viewers inevitably turn away, their eyes and minds incapable of imagining such unbearable pain. Incredibly, Costa doesn’t die. He forces himself to try to wrench his crushed arm from under the wheels. He has stay alive long enough to fulfill a promise he made to Captain Erskine Cooney. He must stay alive so he can kill Cooney.

Robert Aldrich was a skilled director whose distinctive approach to familiar film genres was overlooked for most of his career, at least in his home country of the United States; in Europe, his expertise was recognized as early as the 1950s, the first decade of his directing career. He began working in Hollywood as a Third Assistant Director in 1941 and was promoted to Second Assistant Director the following year. In 1952, he began his directing career on television in such series as The Doctor, China Smith and Four Star Playhouse. He directed his first feature film in 1953, a low-budget sports drama for M-G-M called Big Leaguer that didn’t make much of an impression. However, in 1954, he directed two major Westerns, Apache and Vera Cruz, that were box-office successes and elevated him to the status of a bankable director.

Over three decades, Aldrich directed 29 movies. He was always a maverick, personally and professionally, which caused many difficulties with studio executives who resented his independence. As a result, he eventually formed his own production company, The Associates and Aldrich, which would allow him the freedom to express his unique personal vision without studio interference. In 1955, two of his films were released. Kiss Me Deadly is a seminal film noir and The Big Knife is a searing indictment of Hollywood that starred Jack Palance in the first of three movies he would make with Aldrich. Neither movie was as commercially successful as the two Westerns but their critical acclaim added to his prestige, though the latter film’s portrait of fictional studio executives didn’t endear him to their real-life counterparts.

Throughout the rest of Aldrich’s career, he directed some great films, including the subject of this article, Attack!, as well as The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), The Grissom Gang (1971), Ulzana’s Raid (1972) and Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977). (Note: These are my personal favorite Aldrich movies. Many critics called The Grissom Gang disgusting and depraved but failed to see the genuine emotion beneath the superficial unpleasantness. Twilight’s Last Gleaming did not draw large audiences but it is a powerful conspiracy thriller about the Vietnam War and, indirectly, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.) He also directed some very good movies such as the above-mentioned Apache, Vera Cruz, The Big Knife and Kiss Me Deadly as well as The Last Sunset (1961), Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and Hush…Hush Sweet Charlotte (1964). In addition, his resumé includes such box-office hits as The Dirty Dozen, (1967), The Longest Yard (1974) and Hustle (1975). (Note: Though these are his most commercially successful movies, I feel that they don’t reflect the intensity of personal commitment that infuses my favorites.) Yes, he made some mediocre movies including The Angry Hills (1959), 4 for Texas (1963), The Killing of Sister George (1968), The Choirboys (1977) and The Frisco Kid (1979) but every great artist makes some mistakes. (Note: Comedies were not Aldrich’s specialty so whatever possessed him to make two humorless Western comedies is a puzzlement.)

Incidentally, detailed analyses of Robert Aldrich’s movies along with his personal opinions about them can be found in the following books: The Films and Career of Robert Aldrich by Edwin T. Arnold (The University of Tennessee Press; 1986), Whatever Happened to Robert Aldrich by Alain Silver and James Ursini (Limelight Editions; 1995) and Robert Aldrich Interviews edited by Eugene L. Miller, Jr. and Edwin T. Arnold (University Press of Mississippi; 2004). These books were helpful in the preparation of this article. My memory has also been of assistance. I was a 14-year-old boy when I first saw Attack! at the Park Theater in Woonsocket RI. The image of that tank rolling over Jack Palance’s arm along with his piercing scream and agonized reaction scared the living daylights out of me. This was probably the director’s intention since he refers to Attack! as an anti-war movie. It certainly made me anti-war. It also helped to make me anti-authoritarian. After I was drafted several years later, I superimposed Eddie Albert’s face on every officer that I encountered and referred to every captain as ‘Erskine.’

Following the formation of his own company and the release of The Big Knife, Aldrich wanted to direct a movie about World War II. His primary objective was to make a movie that portrayed the detrimental effects of war upon individual men and how it leads to extremely commendable acts from some men and extremely contemptible acts from others. After being unable to secure the rights to Irwin Shaw’s novel, The Young Lions, and Norman Mailer’s novel, The Naked and the Dead, Aldrich read Norman A. Brooks’ play, Fragile Fox, and purchased the film rights.

Fragile Fox opened on Broadway on October 10, 1954. The review by ‘Bron’ in Variety mentioned the play’s virtues but emphasized its faults: “Fragile Fox, reportedly based upon the playwright’s personal experiences, is a frequently sturdy melodrama. The story revolves around two lieutenants who are in friction with their two superiors. One is a cowardly drunken captain who is responsible for the deaths of several of his men and the other is a materialistic colonel. Dane Clark brings drive and conviction to the part of Lieutenant Costa. Don Taylor impresses as Lieutenant Woodruff. Andrew Duggan is convincing as Captain Cooney and James Gregory is effective as Colonel Bartlett. However, the humor of the first act is forced and hackneyed. The story picks up speed in the second act but flaws in characterizations curb enthusiasm and interest. Odds are against its box-office success.”

According to Variety, newspaper theater critics provided two affirmative reviews and five negative reviews (including one from the influential Brooks Atkinson in The New York Times) for Fragile Fox. With tickets ranging from $4.60 to $5.75, the play earned $11,000 the first week and $8,500 the second week. In order to hopefully increase attendance, on November 7, Dane Clark and Don Taylor performed a scene from the play on the CBS television variety series, Ed Sullivan’s Toast of the Town. However, audiences continued to decrease. For the seventh week, receipts were only slightly over $7,000. On November 27, the play closed at a loss of approximately $60,000 on a $70,000 investment. (Note: Norman A. Brooks never wrote another play.)

Despite its failure on the stage, Fragile Fox contained themes and characterizations that appealed to Robert Aldrich. Since United Artists had released four of his five previous movies, Aldrich arranged for UA to distribute his war movie which he was producing through his Associate and Aldrich company. The reported budget for the film was $500,000. He financed the film with a bank loan and an advance from United Artists. He signed James Poe, who had scripted The Big Knife, to write the screenplay. After reviewing the script, the Department of Defense and the U.S. Army refused to provide equipment and assistance to Aldrich. Congressman Melvin Price, a member of the Armed Service Committee, accused the Defense Department for its apparent censorship of a movie due to its negative depiction of some Army officers. The American Veterans Committee also criticized the Defense Department for refusing to acknowledge the reality of spineless officers during the war though it had no objection to films that depicted the weaknesses of enlisted men. Nevertheless, Aldrich had to purchase or rent all of the military equipment, including two tanks. Exterior shots were filmed at the Albertson Ranch in Triunfo California. Interiors were filmed at the RKO Studios and Universal Studios. Filming was completed within 31 days in January and February, 1956. The new title given to the movie was Attack!. (Note: Posters for the movie and the trailer include an exclamation point after the title; however, in the actual title credit on screen, there is no exclamation point.)

Incidentally, there is a historical basis for the events depicted in the play and the movie. Aachen was a city in Germany bordering Belgium. In April and May of 1944, Allied air raids reduced much of the city to wreckage. After the air raids, what remained of the city was destroyed by American armed forces and Nazi defenders during the Battle of Aachen which occurred in October 1944. Aachen became the first German city to be occupied by U.S. Army forces. The last major German offensive, known as the Battle of the Bulge, occurred around the Ardennes Forest in Belgium and Luxemburg and lasted for five weeks from December 1944 to January 1945.

James Poe’s adaptation of Brooks’ play is a prime example of how to capture the essence of a play while expanding its potential through the medium of the cinema. And if ever a play was more suited to the screen than to the stage, it was Fragile Fox. However, though Poe’s screenplay is excellent, Robert Aldrich is the auteur behind this movie. Because the story involves extremely tense emotions of the two main characters, director Aldrich is able to highlight these emotions far more effectively with the use of close-ups and the careful placement of characters within each scene. This type of character placement is also of great value in depicting the various relationships that are integral to the development of the story. Aldrich also developed personalities and relationships by filming some scenes from overhead, others though windows and doorways and still others behind precisely-positioned props. Most importantly, battle scenes which could only be related on the stage are depicted with brutal realism on the screen by the director. Fragile Fox probably failed on Broadway because the stage is not the type of medium that can fully depict the horrors and insanity of war that film can so vividly display. And Aldrich superbly emphasizes war’s brutality and senselessness with scenes that explode on the screen with shocking impact.

Robert Aldrich’s direction is assured from the first scene. A title card states simply that the setting is ‘Europe 1944.’ The movie opens in the midst of a battle. A National Guard Infantry Company, Fragile Fox, has been ordered by company commander Captain Erskine Cooney to capture one of the last German strongholds in the town of Aachen. But something is obviously wrong. Sergeant Ingersol and his first squad are pinned down by enemy fire from a German pillbox. The squad leader, Lieutenant Lathrop, has been killed. Ingersol is frantically awaiting the support that Captain Cooney promised. Platoon leader Lieutenant Joe Costa, who sent Lathrop’s squad on a reconnaissance mission, furiously tries to reach Cooney but Cooney refuses to acknowledge his calls for help. As a result, the entire first squad is slaughtered. Lt. Costa harbors his loathing of Cooney from this disastrous battle. This initial sequence unfolds at a rapid pace that displays the fatality of war directly by the explosions that tear human beings apart and symbolically by the image of a helmet rolling down a hill to land next to a single flower.

At Fragile Fox headquarters, Lieutenant Harry Woodruff is the liaison between battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Clyde Bartlett and Captain Cooney. Woodruff is torn between his empathy for Costa and his duties to his military superiors. Woodruff asks Colonel Bartlett to transfer Cooney to a clerical position but Bartlett refuses because he needs to earn the gratitude of Cooney’s father, who is a powerful judge back home. This sequence reveals the opportunism of Bartlett who doesn’t care that Cooney’s incompetence creates a danger to his soldiers. It is also apparent that Cooney thought that by joining the National Guard in his home state he would never come close to combat. Once his company was activated, he sought the protection of his father’s law clerk, Clyde Bartlett, who was willing to shelter Cooney for his own interests. It will become clear that the deaths of the first squad’s 14 men mean nothing to both of them. Cooney is more interested in his supply of bourbon than the lives of his company’s soldiers. And Bartlett is only interested in ensuring his future political prospects by securing a fraudulent citation for Cooney.

Outside of company headquarters, the soldiers of Lt. Costa’s second squad worry that they may suffer the same fate as the first squad. The soldiers include Sergeant Tolliver, Private First Class Bernstein, Private First Class Ricks, Private Snowden and Private Abramowitz, among others. The morale in the platoon is dangerously low because of their contempt of Cooney. Aldrich emphasizes the hopelessness of their situation by their jeers toward Cooney’s orderly, Corporal Jackson. It is obvious that these soldiers feel that they have no recourse against the forces that control their destiny. They place their trust in Lt. Costa who feels responsible for the lives of his men. Costa is the only person who can openly express his feelings about Cooney. He ventilates his anger initially by slamming his hammer into metal in a blacksmith’s shop and then by openly provoking Cooney in the poker game ordered by Bartlett. In this card game, the director gradually builds the tension until the smoldering antagonism between Costa and Cooney verbally and almost physically explodes.

Costa is aware of the corruption of his superiors and openly expresses his rage toward Cooney after the captain orders him to take his squad and test the strength of the Germans in the nearby town of La Nelle. Seething with anger, he tells Cooney that if he fails to provide support for him as he did with Ingersol he will come back and kill him. After Costa discovers that La Nelle is heavily occupied by German forces, Cooney again fails to send reinforcements and the lives of several soldiers of the second squad are snuffed out. Only Costa, Tolliver, Snowden, Bernstein and Ricks are left to take refuge in a farmhouse. After they discover a German officer and soldier hiding in the basement, the enraged Costa expresses his hatred of Cooney by forcing the officer out of the farmhouse to be killed by his own men. Surrounded by superior German forces, Costa orders his men to try to escape by racing back to headquarters.

Costa’s threat to kill Cooney is the first indication of his lapse of judgement not only because it is a court-martial offense but because it could be argued that he is unintentionally ensuring Cooney’s betrayal of his squad. It is obvious by this time that Cooney is so frightened of combat that he will be more than willing to sacrifice another squad to ensure that Costa does not survive to fulfill his threat. Moreover, Costa has tarnished his status as an officer even further when he violates the Geneva Convention mandates by sending the German officer to his death. These examples illustrate Aldrich’s intention to show the effects of war upon good men like Costa. The fact that Costa desperately recites the Hail Mary prayer is still another indication of how his essential piety has been crushed.

Back at Fragile Fox Headquarters, Colonel Bartlett castigates Cooney for his failure to occupy La Nelle, not because of his concern for the slaughtered men but because it makes him look ineffectual to the division commander, General Parsons. Under increased pressure from his protector, Cooney’s consumption of liquor increases and Woodruff shockingly witnesses his mental breakdown. Costa then returns to exact vengeance upon Cooney and only stops when Jackson informs him that the Germans are advancing upon headquarters and that his remaining squad members are besieged in the cellar of a demolished building. He rushes back to join his men and, after destroying one tank with a bazooka, has his traumatic encounter with the second tank. Meanwhile, Woodruff and Jackson take refuge in the cellar with Tolliver, Bernstein and Snowden. Threatened by Bartlett with exposure and imprisonment, Cooney anxiously joins them. A short while later, Costa appears dragging his mangled, blood-soaked, useless arm. He desperately prays to God to find the strength to kill Cooney who cowers in terror. But he collapses and dies, leaving Cooney to smile mercilessly over his body.

This sequence illustrates the consequences of nepotism within the military that places deranged and inept men like Cooney in command positions along with unscrupulous men like Bartlett in higher positions of authority. At one point, Woodruff says that such corruption only exists within their own company and doesn’t represent the U. S. Army. This concession to the Defense Department was apparently not enough to prevent their opposition to the film’s production. The Defense Department apparently didn’t want even a slight suggestion that many men, such as the soldiers of the first and second squads, died needlessly. They wanted families back home to believe that their loved ones died heroically and for a good cause. Of course, such official opposition to the movie would not have occurred if the movie’s assertions were not true.

By this point in the film, Aldrich has intensified the emotions of the characters to a breaking point. Costa’s death is the heart-rending incident that pushes all of the men over the edge. When Tolliver cradles Costa’s lifeless body and openly sobs, Cooney’s sneers infuriate the remaining soldiers. The director emphasizes the religious references at this time to perhaps suggest that Cooney’s fate is now preordained. Prior hints of spirituality were indicated by both Costa and Ricks making the sign of the cross. There was also the prominently displayed picture of Jesus on the wall of the farmhouse. Bernstein was only being partially facetious when he stated that a miracle saved his life. Most egregiously, Costa died with a sin upon his lips by begging God to let him to rot in hell if only he could live long enough to kill Cooney. When Bernstein asks God to forgive Costa for his dying words, the stage is set for Cooney’s overdue punishment.

Aldrich makes it clear, by the placement of each of the men in relation to Cooney and their expressions of revulsion, that God can forgive Costa but they can’t forgive Cooney. As Cooney prepares to surrender to the German forces that he believes are surrounding the cellar, Woodruff disregards his loyalty to the Army and exacts his own brand of justice by shooting Cooney. To appease his conscience, he then expresses his intention to confess his crime to his superiors but Tolliver attempts to relieve him of his guilt by firing another bullet into Cooney’s lifeless body. Bernstein and Jackson follow by also shooting Cooney’s body, thus claiming equal responsibility for the captain’s death. Snowden would undoubtedly have joined them but he had left the cellar to find out why the Germans were no longer in the area.

Justice has been exacted upon Cooney but Bartlett remains unscathed. Cooney was despicable but it was Bartlett who enabled him to cause the deaths of so many men. When Bartlett arrives with reinforcements who have routed the Germans, he informs Woodruff of his intention to award a posthumous medal to Cooney for heroism. He attempts to bribe Woodruff with a promotion if he agrees to sign a statement alleging Cooney’s valor. Woodruff cannot accept this continued deceit and proceeds to report his crime and everything that has preceded it to General Parsons. The movie ends on this apparently hopeful note.

On the surface, this appears to be a morally correct conclusion to the movie. Woodruff is prepared to expose the truth of Bartlett’s dishonesty and Cooney’s cowardice. However, he is forgetting that Tolliver told him truthfully that the officers at his trial will only recognize the fact that he has killed a superior officer and that the precipitating causes will not be admissible evidence. In the Army, there are no absolute truths, only what the superior officers deem to be the truth. Since Bartlett will deny Woodruff’s allegations, the trial officers will undoubtedly believe a colonel over a lieutenant. Furthermore, in order to reveal the truth of Cooney’s death, Woodruff will have to report the culpability of the soldiers who committed their crime to relieve him of his guilt. Thus, Woodruff will be condemning his loyal soldiers to maximum punishment because the Army will not condone under any circumstances the shooting of an officer by enlisted men, even if the victim was already dead. Most egregiously, due to Bartlett’s status as a colonel, he will probably succeed in his awarding of a citation for Cooney and become the son to Judge Cooney that Erskine never could be.

It is possible that Aldrich may have covertly suggested this depressing conclusion. In support of this, Bartlett leaves with an expression of self-satisfaction because he knows that his superior rank will outweigh the truth. In addition, the last image of Costa is his anguished death grimace while Cooney, lying next to him, displays a serene expression. It is perhaps a suggestion that Cooney will prevail even after death and that the corruption within the Army as epitomized by Bartlett is too pervasive. This pessimistic conclusion is not on the screen but enters the minds of some viewers only after reflection.

The hopeful ending is in the movie for 1956 audiences who suffered through four years of World War II. When the movie was released, the war was only 11 years in the past and still a painful memory for Americans, especially those who had lost loved ones in the war. Audiences wanted and needed to believe that officers like Cooney and Bartlett were aberrations. Costa’s heroism and Woodruff’s integrity strengthened their faith in the morality of the U.S. Army. Accordingly, it is possible that General Parsons will believe Woodruff and confirm that the Army is an honorable institution. Perhaps Aldrich, deep in his heart, harbored some degree of hope along with his cynicism and allowed the ambiguity of the film’s ending.

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