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New York -- Robert Vaughn, the debonair, Oscar-nominated actor whose many film roles were eclipsed by his hugely popular turn in television’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E., has died. He was 83.

Vaughn died Friday morning after a brief battle with acute leukemia, according to his manager, Matthew Sullivan.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was an immediate hit, particularly with young people, when it debuted on NBC 1964. It was part of an avalanche of secret agent shows (I Spy, Mission: Impossible, Secret Agent), spoofs (Get Smart), books (The Spy Who Came in From the Cold) and even songs (Secret Agent Man) inspired by the James Bond films.

Vaughn’s urbane superspy Napoleon Solo teamed with Scottish actor David McCallum’s Illya Kuryakin, a soft-spoken, Russian-born agent.

Photos: Stars We've Lost In Recent Years

The pair, who had put aside Cold War differences for a greater good, worked together each week for the mysterious U.N.C.L.E. (United...

The day monster kids have dreaded for some time has arrived. Mournful, nostalgic, and melancholy – it’s the end of an era for more than one generation of horror fans. It seemed like Christopher Lee would live through all eternity, but unlike some of the characters he played, there’s no bringing him back to life this time. He made it to 93 and went out on a high note, appearing in the final Hobbit film just this past winter. He had an amazing career of fantastic performances and remains the greatest villain actor in film history. Rip to the last classic horror star and thank you for all the monster memories.

Christopher Lee was married to his wife Birgit (Gitte) for 54 years.

Here, according to Movie Geeks Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Sam Moffitt, and myself, are Christopher Lee’s ten best roles.

10. Frankenstein

It’s only fitting that The Curse Of Frankenstein,...

Richard Johnson (far right) in the 1963 supernatural masterpiece "The Haunting" with Claire Bloom, Russ Tamblyn and Julie Harris.

 

By Lee Pfeiffer

Cinema Retro mourns the loss of our friend, actor Richard Johnson, who has passed away at age 87. Johnson was a classically trained actor, having attended Rada and was also one of the founding members of the Royal Shakespeare Company. His acting career was interrupted by service in the Royal Navy during WWII but Johnson resumed his profession at the end of the war. He alternated between playing small parts in feature films and leading roles in stage productions. In 1959, he got his first significant screen role starring with Frank Sinatra and young Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson in the WWII film "Never So Few".  He was initially offered the role of James Bond but turned down the opportunity. He later told Cinema Retro that he had no regrets because...

R.I.P Dr. Markway. I recently watched British actor Richard Johnson as Bulldog Drummond in Deadlier Than The Male, a tough and stylish Bond pastiche from 1967 with an odd Avengers twist. His Drummond was suave and sophisticated and I wasn’t surprised to read that Johnson was (one of many to be) considered for 007. And I was thinking just last night when I was watching Insidious 3 that I wished I was instead watching a better-crafted, genuinely creepy horror story like The Haunting (1963), which starred also Johnson. The actor had a varied career, starring in diverse roles ranging from Caius Cassius opposite Charlton Heston in Julius Caesar (1970) to Dr. Menard in Lucio Fulci’s unforgettable Zombie in 1979. Richard Johnson died in London yesterday at age 87.

From The BBC News:

British actor Richard Johnson, whose career spanned film, theatre and TV, has died aged 87, his family has said. Johnson made...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Sam Moffitt, and Tom Stockman

The film career of legendary English actor Sir Christopher Lee began in 1948 and continues to the present day. Lee is best known for his roles in horror films, especially the string of seven Dracula movies he starred in for Hammer Studios between 1958 and 1974, but be may be best known to younger audiences for his roles in the Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films. Almost all of the roles that Lee has played have been villains and here, according to We Are Movie Geeks, are his ten best.

10. Frankenstein

It’s only fitting that The Curse Of Frankenstein, the film that truly began England’s Hammer Studios’ theatrical run of full color gothic horror epics, should team (well, they’re both in the 1948 Hamlet, but have no scenes together) their greatest stars, Peter Cushing as Baron Victor Frankenstein...

There are two new players on the Game of Thrones board in season three portrayed by a pair of respected actors: Wildling leader Mance Rayder (Ciarán Hinds) and Tyrell matriarch Lady Olenna (Diana Rigg).

When it came to finding Rayder, Thrones producers sought a strong, rugged and charismatic actor. Rayder, a former member of the Night’s Watch, has managed to unite all the disparate tribes of the North. Yet author George R.R. Martin’s saga also subverts readers’ expectations by depicting Rayder as a rather unremarkable-looking man who can pass for an unassuming and wily musician.

“Of all the various kings vying for power,...

It's hard to believe that HBO's "Game of Thrones" has only been on the air for two seasons; it feels as though we've been living with the show for much longer.

Of course, the creator of the "Game of Thrones" book series, George R.R. Martin, has been conjuring the world of Westeros for more than two decades. The first book in the series came out 16 years ago, so the long-standing attachment many people have to that world isn't too odd. But there's no denying that the HBO show, which debuted in 2011, brought Martin's saga to a much wider audience.

Why is that saga so resonant, on screen or on the page? What is it about the novels and the TV show that make those Medieval-esque fantasy worlds so compelling to people who live in societies that appear to be very different? What techniques and strategies does Martin use to bring...

If you’ve been watching USA’s Political Animals then you might see why the folks over at HBO’s Game of Thrones thought Ciarán Hinds would nicely as Mance Rayder, the “King Beyond the Wall” who presides over the Free Folk north of the Wall. In Animals, Hinds plays a Bill Clinton-George Bush hybrid womanizer who miraculously spent two terms as president despite his hard-living lifestyle and lack of common sense. But Hinds is not a stranger to leadership roles nor HBO. Fans of Rome may remember him as Gaius Julius Caesar and he’s shown up recently in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, John Carter, and The Debt. EW broke the news earlier today. If you’re not caught up with GoT, then beware of spoilers below.

The Ireland native will return to his native birthplace of Belfast, where GoT shoots and sets up its production and...

"Game of Thrones" has cast Ciaran Hinds to play Mance Rayder, the King Beyond the Wall, in the fantasy drama's upcoming third season. Hinds, who's finishing up a stint on USA's "Political Animals" playing a very thinly-disguised version of Bill Clinton, has had practice wielding a sword and shield on HBO, as he played Julius Caesar on "Rome."  Mance was discussed frequently in the show's second season, but never seen. Hinds joins a new wave of "GoT" actors, including Diana Rigg and Mackenzie Crook. The third season will premiere on March 31, 2013.

Belfast native Ciarán Hinds — best known to TV viewers as Rome’s Julius Caesar but currently wrapping a run as Political Animals ex-potus Bud Hammond — has been tapped by HBO’s Game of Thrones to play the pivotal role of Mance Rayder, EW.com reports.

Per the Song of Ice and Fire novels, Mance was a loyal member of the Night’s Watch until he broke his vows and went to live with the wildings. There, he rose to an influential position, ultimately becoming regarded as The King Beyond the Wall.

I come to praise Sword & Sandal movies -- not to bury them. But with Wrath of the Titans and the Sword & Sandal/sci-fi mash-up John Carter not exactly setting the world on fire -- along with recent disappointments like Immortals and Conan -- it's getting more difficult by the day to believe that the Sword & Sandal movie can survive the recent fumbling of this otherwise great genre. And that's a shame, because the Sword & Sandal movie -- known for its gladiatorial games, pagan orgies, depraved emperors, and the occasional snarling cyclops -- may represent the most colorful and enduring movie genre of all time. So for the uninitiated, what exactly is a Sword & Sandal movie? Like its cousin the Biblical epic, a Sword & Sandal movie -- or 'peplum,' named after a type of ancient Greek garment -- is typically set in the ancient Mediterranean world, and dramatizes the fight for freedom.

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, what better way is there to celebrate than with a cosy night in with your loved one? With this in mind, the Blu-ray Disc Association has selected its top ten romantic films for you to enjoy, which are all available now in stunning high definition.

All these titles could highly recommended for Valentine’s Day viewing;

Romeo and Juliet

(20th Century Fox)

Enjoy a classic love story this year: Baz Luhrmann’s adaption of Shakespeare’s timeless tale of the two star-crossed lovers is a perfect accompaniment to any Valentine’s Day. Leonardo DiCaprio and Clare Danes’ on screen chemistry is electrifying in this commercially and critically lauded film.

Buy it Here.

Mamma Mia

(Universal)

Make a song and dance of your loved ones with the light-hearted classic Mamma Mia. A celebration of family, friends and loves old and new, this film has something for romantics everywhere.

Michael Gough, the actor who portrayed Bruce Wayne's servant and confidant Alfred Pennyworth in four Batman films, passed away Thursday at 94 years of age. While most of us knew Gough for his key roles in Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever and Batman and Robin, the British actor was a Tony and BAFTA award winning performer who also lent his talents to well-known films like The Boys From Brazil, Top Secret, Out of Africa and versions of The Phantom of the Opera, Alice in Wonderland, Julius Caesar and many more. He'd been acting since the late 1940s right into this decade. Gough was one of the most prolific actors out there and he'll surely be missed.

Michael Gough, the man known around the world as the most recognisable cinematic incarnation of Batman’s loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth during the 1980s and ‘90s, has died at the age of 94. But beyond his time spent cocking a disapproving yet paternal eyebrow at the likes of Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney, Gough was an accomplished actor on the stage and screen.Born in Malaysia in 1916, Gough launched his career on television, starring in BBC TV movie Androcles and the Lion. He then made the leap to the big screen with two films, both in 1948 – Anna Karenina and Blanche Fury.His time on screen saw him tackle everything from Shakespeare plays (Richard III, Julius Caesar and more) to Dh Lawrence adaptations (Women in Love) to epics such as Out of Africa. He also tapped his comedy side as Dr Paul Flammond in Top Secret!But when Tim Burton...

A renowned Scottish actor and director, he regularly commentated on state occasions for BBC television

Tom Fleming, who has died of cancer aged 82, was an outstanding figure in the Scottish theatre of the second half of the 20th century, the first television "face" of Jesus of Nazareth in a 1953 mini-series, and well known as a BBC television and radio commentator at many royal and ceremonial occasions since he first broadcast, for the BBC, during the Queen's coronation in 1953.

He was a Baptist lay preacher, a deeply private man of great moral integrity and stature. This much was clear not only on stage but also as he spoke in his flawless, rich and velvety baritone voice at the funerals of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the Queen Mother. So assiduous was he in his properly felt sense of duty that he declined the invitation to appear in a play by Mikhail Bulgakov...

Christopher Cazenove, who has died of septicaemia aged 64, always dreamed of being a film star, although his father – a brigadier in the Coldstream Guards – wanted him to follow in his military footsteps. Ironically, when Cazenove fulfilled his acting ambitions, he made his name as the blue-eyed, clean-cut hero Lieutenant Richard Gaunt in The Regiment (1972-73). The drama series, following a 1970 pilot, traced the fortunes of the Cotswolds Regiment at the turn of the 19th century – from the Boer War to service in India – through the lives of two families, the Gaunts and the Brights. Cazenove's fame was confirmed when he was featured on the cover of Radio Times.

The old Etonian seemed happy to become typecast playing aristocrats. On television, he was also seen in Jennie, Lady Randolph Churchill (1974) as George Cornwallis-West, a...

DVD Playhouse—August 2009

By

Allen Gardner

Watchmen—Director’S Cut (Warner Bros.) Director Zack Snyder’s film of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ landmark graphic novel is as worthy an adaptation of a great book that has ever been filmed. In an alternative version of the year 1985, Richard Nixon is serving his third term as President and super heroes have been outlawed by a congressional act, in spite of the fact that two of the most high-profile “masks,” Dr. Manhattan (Billy Cruddup) and The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) helped the U.S. win the Vietnam War. When The Comedian is found murdered, many former heroes become concerned that a conspiracy is afoot to assassinate retired costumed crime fighters. Former masks Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman) and still-operating Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley, in an Oscar-worthy turn) launch an investigation of their own, all while the Pentagon’s “Doomsday...