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John Wayne was a humbled man early in the 1960s. His passion project, "The Alamo," had fallen well short of box office expectations in 1961. An epic Western about the siege of the basement-less San Antonio mission, Wayne directed the film and took its failure personally. He didn't need a hit; even at his lowest point in the 1970s, a Wayne picture at a certain budget level was an automatic greenlight. Still, Wayne was a prideful man who actively tended to his legacy; he was mindful of his fan base, and sought their approval. So Wayne came charging out of his corner in 1962, and knocked out every last naysayer with Howard Hawks' "Hatari!," "How the West Was Won," "The Longest Day" and John Ford's "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."

The Ford movie could've been Wayne's Western swan song, but a rifle-toting Wayne astride a horse still held commercial appeal,...

“Thank you for your service.” The words have become a cliché, but Hollywood has tried long and hard to make them matter. The industry has produced countless films about warfare and those who died for their country (whom we remember this week). But it has had a mixed record on presenting characters suffering the after-effects of putting their lives on the line. They may have survived, but lost comrades and innocence. It is their moment, too.

World War II brought the most cinematic treatment, and one of the directors who himself served — William Wyler — later had the guts to depict the challenges soldiers faced when the fighting stopped. Vietnam was likely the most troublesome to depict, it being the one we lost. Right-winger John Wayne was up first, with “The Green Berets,” gung-ho in flavor. It wasn’t until the late ‘70s that a pair of exceptional movies focused less...

For more than two decades now, Activision’s Call of Duty franchise has continued to be regarded as one of the best and longest-running game franchises out there. The series is known to release a new installment every year. Some even consider the Call of Duty series to be a pillar of the first-person shooter genre.

Call of Duty Vietnam leaked image

While the series has some great games under its banner, the Call of Duty franchise also has a decent number of games that never saw the light of the day. Among them is a third-person shooter Call of Duty: Vietnam. For those clueless, Sledgehammer Games wanted to produce a new experience under Activision’s first-person action franchise around 2011. However, it was later canceled.

Images of canceled Call of Duty: Vietnam leaked online

More than a decade later, the images of this canceled Call of Duty game recently surfaced on the internet.

For his forthcoming one from the heart, Megalopolis, Francis Ford Coppola has once again violated the cardinal rule of the entertainment business: Never invest your own money in the show. Reports are that to bankroll the $120 million epic he has literally mortgaged the farm, or vineyard. The investment is slated to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 14.

We — and he — have all been here before. Coppola last went into hock for another long-aborning and cost-overrunning project, which 45 years ago, almost to the day, also premiered at Cannes: the now legendary Apocalypse Now (1979).

At the time, Coppola was bathing in the afterglow of one of the most astonishing back-to-back double, or triple, plays in the industry’s history: The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather: Part II (1974), the operatic two-part saga of mob family business in which organized crime serves less as a metaphor for American capitalism than its purest expression (“Michael,...

Last year, legendary filmmaker John Carpenter teamed up with Shout! Factory to host a kaiju movie marathon called Masters of Monsters, which consisted of the original Godzilla film, Rodan; Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster, and The War of the Gargantuas. That marathon was re-run earlier this month. Now the folks at Far Out magazine have dug up a 1996 article from Film Comment magazine in which Carpenter named The War of the Gargantuas as “the ultimate Japanese monster movie” – and included it on a list of his seventeen favorite “guilty pleasure” movies. It’s a fun list, so we have it included below, with thanks to this site.

Carpenter started out the Film Comment guilty pleasures article by saying, “I wasn’t raised a Catholic, so guilt never played much of a role in my life. We Methodists don’t worry about guilt all that much. In terms of cinema, however, guilt has always been very important.

On Saturday, November 11, 2023, at 9:00 Pm, History Channel presents an episode of “Beyond the Battlefield” titled “Need for Speed/The Green Berets.” Host Remi Adeleke takes viewers to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, located just outside San Diego, California.

In this episode, Remi Adeleke introduces us to the dedicated men and women of Marine Corps Aviation. We get an inside look at the world of Marine aviators, exploring their training, challenges, and what it takes to become a Marine aviator.

This show offers a unique perspective on the skills and determination required in the world of aviation within the Marine Corps. It’s a chance to learn about the important work carried out by these individuals and the rigorous training that prepares them for their roles.

So, if you’re curious about the world of aviation and the Green Berets, tune in to “Beyond the Battlefield” on the History...

Until the 1980’s, Hollywood had a strange relationship with the Vietnam War. While the war was actually being fought, movies, typically, did not depict the war unless they were something like John Wayne’s The Green Berets. If the war was dealt with, usually it was done metaphorically, or by using another war as a stand-in, such as what happened with 1970’s Mash. This started to change after the war finally ended, with the late seventies seeing the release of three major films – The Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now and Coming Home, Despite their popularity, during the first half of the eighties, when the war was dealt with on-screen it was typically as wish fulfillment, where action stars such as Chuck Norris and Sylvester Stallone single-handedly refought the war, and won, to the delight of audiences.

That all changed when Oliver Stone made Platoon. For the first time, a Vietnam War...

Movie star John Wayne had strong feelings regarding the Vietnam War. Some actors steered clear of making their political beliefs public to avoid alienating moviegoing audiences. However, Wayne and Oscar-winner Jane Fonda stood up for what they thought was right. The Western actor criticized Fonda and her husband, who she called an “idiot,” for their criticisms of the Vietnam War.

John Wayne rallied his support for the Vietnam War John Wayne | Screen Archives/Getty Images

Wayne became synonymous with the image of nationalism within America. He’s frequently criticized for not serving during World War II during the draft, which many of his peers did. This forever put a stain on his hero image, which he then felt that he needed to rectify. As a result, Wayne thought that he served in another way with the feature films that he made that boosted the image of the U.S. military and its citizens.

Movie star John Wayne was familiar with the type of work that went into being a stuntman. He had a deep appreciation for the folks who made the dangerous stunts come to life on the silver screen. However, Wayne had a favorite stuntman whom he deeply respected and enjoyed working with. In fact, they made a total of 32 movies together, making it clear that they had a long history together.

Who was John Wayne’s favorite stuntman? John Wayne | John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images

Wayne had one stuntman that he valued working with above all the rest – Chuck Roberson. He went from working as a police officer to serving in World War II to stuntwork. It all started thanks to a well-known stuntman named Guy Teague, he got his first job in the field at Republic Pictures.

Roberson starred in small roles as an actor, but he also went on...

Actor John Wayne was an expert when it came to understanding the hard work that went into movies. He starred in everything from leading roles in major studio feature films to non-speaking parts in B-movies that he despised making. However, some of the most physically demanding parts turned out to be the most rewarding when the pictures fluttered on the silver screen. Here are five of the most physically demanding movies that Wayne starred in.

‘Stagecoach’ (1939) L-r: Claire Trevor as Dallas and John Wayne as Ringo Kid | Getty Images

Stagecoach boosted Wayne to stardom overnight in 1939, creating a whole new world for the actor. He played Ringo Kid in a story that follows a group of unlikely stagecoach passengers whose journey becomes increasingly difficult with the threat of a dangerous man named Geronimo on the loose.

Wayne came from the world of the props department and had a great appreciation for the world of stunts.

The following contains spoilers for "All Quiet on the Western Front."

The biggest difference between the two theatrical versions of "All Quiet on the Western Front" is the specific perspective they bring to the story of German soldier Paul Bäumer and his friends and fellow enlistees during World War I. There have actually been three adaptations of Erich Maria Remarque's 1929 novel, "All Quiet on the Western Front," but one was a TV movie. The original 1930 theatrical version was the first literary adaptation to win Best Picture and the first film to ever win both that category and Best Director at the 3rd Academy Awards.

Now, over nine decades later, the most recent Netflix adaptation of "All Quiet on the Western Front" has joined the ranks of "Parasite," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," and "Fanny and Alexander" to become one of four foreign-language films with the most wins in Oscar history.

The 1960s were rough on John Wayne. Rebellious Baby Boomers had by and large rejected the conservative star of numerous Westerns and war films, which threw a dent into his reputation as the most bankable actor in Hollywood. He'd survived cancer, but not without losing a lung. He'd also barely survived "The Green Berets," a critically reviled effort at rallying the American populace behind the doomed war effort in Vietnam. He looked every one of his 62 years and then some. If Wayne wanted to extend his career into the 1970s, he had to start playing his age.

This opportunity arrived at the moment he needed it most in the form of Rooster Cogburn, the drunk and surly U.S. Marshal hired by a young girl to hunt down the outlaws who killed her father. As a Western, Charles Portis' "True Grit" was made to order for Wayne. It wasn't revisionist...

Robert Aldrich's great war film "The Dirty Dozen" wasn't the first men-on-a-mission movie, but it is generally held up today at the apotheosis of the form. The tale of the U.S. Army's most vicious convicts getting assigned to a suicide mission deep behind enemy lines during World War II, with the promise of a pardon should they survive, is stocked with the toughest of the tough guys of the late 1960s. Lee Marvin heads up the brass-knuckle ensemble as the no-nonsense Major John Reisman, who's stuck with the unenviable task of shaping up a unit of anti-authoritarian malcontents or straight-up psychopaths. With troublemakers and nose-breakers like Charles Bronson, George Kennedy, Jim Brown, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, and John Cassavetes along for the ride, "The Dirty Dozen" became more than just the perfect "men-on-a-mission" movie: it was the ultimate guy flick.

We call them "Dad Movies" nowadays. They're the...

Movie star John Wayne once expressed his positive thoughts toward Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill. He was known to be politically vocal, unafraid to express his support or disapproval of politicians. Here’s a look at why Wayne thought Churchill was the “most terrific fella of our century.”

John Wayne was vocally anti-communist John Wayne | Martin Mills/Getty Images

Wayne was closely associated with his conservative Republican views. However, he didn’t always think that he aligned with the political party. In fact, Wayne considered himself a liberal before the world reminded him that he held very traditionalist, conservative views.

The Oscar-winning actor frequently expressed anti-communist statements, leaning back on his “super patriot” image. Wayne despised Hollywood figures behind the scenes who infused communist messaging in their filmmaking. High Noon screenwriter Carl Foreman was one of the folks at the top of the list, which largely...

Movie star John Wayne was very particular about his image. He wanted Hollywood and the world beyond the entertainment industry to view him in a specific way. However, Wayne encountered some difficulties along the way that made it increasingly challenging for him to achieve that. Wayne once revealed the “image” that he wanted his longtime fans to view him in.

John Wayne strived for a hero image John Wayne | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Wayne considered patriotism a part of his image and identity. He regularly spoke about politics and other social commentaries, even against some industry advice to keep his mouth shut. As a result, Wayne got into some disagreements when it came to the definition of a hero.

However, his critics poked holes in his past when it was his time to stand up. Wayne didn’t serve during the draft of World War II, while other leading...

Actor John Wayne was passionate about the morals that he instilled in his movies. However, his real-life ones were closely examined and scrutinized because he himself didn’t serve in the U.S. military during the World War II draft. Meanwhile, his fellow male Hollywood leads went off to serve America, while he boosted his career. Nevertheless, Wayne earned a great amount of respect thanks to his films that emphasized nationalist themes and messages.

John Wayne movies represented his American nationalism John Wayne as Sgt. John M. Stryker | Republic Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images

Wayne was primarily known for Western and war movies over the course of his career. He occasionally dipped his toes into other genres, such as dramas with 1952’s The Quiet Man, but it wasn’t the typical project for him. Wayne didn’t serve in the military, but he found a way to bring...

Movie star John Wayne developed a strong understanding of what audiences wanted to see from him in the roles that he chose. However, he also kept a finger on the pulse of the type of films that his peers starred in, and he certainly wasn’t afraid to speak his mind about them. Wayne didn’t care for a Gary Cooper movie that he called a “mockery of America’s highest award for valor.”

John Wayne prioritized movie morals John Wayne | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Wayne held the belief that the movie industry should be a “family business” of sorts. He detested the notion of a ratings system that allowed adult feature films with extreme violence and sexuality to hit silver screens to rely on human curiosity to make money.

The Oscar-winning actor refused to accept notable roles in movies such as High Noon and Blazing Saddles because of their morals.

John Wayne had a strong passion for the movies that he made. He carefully selected the roles that he accepted once he reached stardom. However, Wayne grew tired of playing the same type of characters his critics denounced his talents. The movie star once recalled the moment when he got over the fact that he kept getting typecast.

John Wayne couldn’t escape Western movies John Wayne | Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

Wayne first made a name for himself in Western movies with 1930’s The Big Trail. Raoul Walsh gave him his first shot at making it big, but the film was a box office flop. Next, he had a disappointing contract with Columbia Pictures and a line of B-movies that left him feeling unfulfilled. Wayne played Singin’ Sandy Saunders, which he went as far as to call “embarrassing.”

The movie star finally found his stride with 1939’s Stagecoach, thanks to his mentor,...

In a 1977 New York Times article, director Michael Cimino was asked how big of a role the Vietnam war would play in "The Deer Hunter." He replied, "The war is really incidental to the development of the characters and their story. It's a part of their lives and just that, nothing more. I have no interest in making a 'Vietnam' film, no interest in making a direct political statement."

Released the same year, Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" contemplates the moral ramifications of war whereas "The Deer Hunter" considers how it affects the homefront. "The Deer Hunter" is the story of a group of friends — Michael, Nick, and Steven — that belong to a tight-knit Russian Orthodox community in rural Pennsylvania. With the exception of the infamous Russian roulette scenes, the film focuses on their struggle to assimilate into their community and reconcile their trauma after participating in the Vietnam war.

Movie star John Wayne stepped behind the camera for The Alamo, but not quite for the reasons that one would expect. Similar to many other actors, he pretended not to care about what the critics thought, although their words hurt more than he let on. Wayne directed The Alamo because he didn’t think he was attractive enough to continue his career as an actor into his older years.

John Wayne made ‘The Alamo’ his directorial debut John Wayne | United Artists/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images

Wayne originally started in Hollywood as a prop man for Fox, where he met legendary filmmaker John Ford. Next, he had the opportunity to work on productions, ultimately landing in front of the camera as an actor. There, he managed to capture the hearts of moviegoing audiences across the country.

The iconic Western actor made some of the greatest films the genre has to offer,...

Movie star John Wayne and television actor James Arness were Western icons, but their images grew in vastly different directions. Some viewed Wayne as an American hero, while others criticized him for not serving in World War II during the draft. However, Wayne made several classics, such as The Quiet Man and The Searchers, in collaborations with legendary filmmakers like John Ford.

Meanwhile, Arness served during WWII, earning a Bronze Star Medal and a Purple Heart. He made a name for himself playing U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke, one of the longest-running shows ever to air on television with 20 seasons. He had a much more positive legacy than Wayne left after his death, even though the movie star was once the television actor’s employer before they became good friends.

Nevertheless, Arness was essentially the Wayne of television.

James Arness and John Wayne were underestimated L-r: James Arness...

Movie stars John Wayne and Ronald Reagan both come from the world of acting. While one went into politics, the other certainly wasn’t afraid to speak his mind when it came to political commentary. Wayne represented conservative American ideals and values, slammed communism, and he gained the respect of international leaders, who viewed him as a national icon.

John Wayne and President Ronald Reagan respected each other L-r: Ronald Reagan and John Wayne | Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

Wayne and Reagan crossed paths in Hollywood in more ways than one. Before he served as the president, he served as the president of the Screen Actors Guild. There, he led an actors’ strike in 1960 against the major Hollywood studio executives over the residual payment system, which ultimately went through.

The trades frequently dragged Reagan’s name through the mud, which started to weigh on him. Wayne went out of his way to call his wife,...

Movie actor John Wayne had an undeniable fervor for America and the values he aligned with it. As a result, he defended them the best that he could on the silver screen and with his interactions with those who served. Wayne earned an award for “paying his dues” to America in his own way, as the U.S. government and his peers celebrated him for the same distinction given to George Washington and Thomas Edison.

John Wayne didn’t serve in World War II John Wayne | Images Press/Images/Getty Images

Wayne had an image that was always associated with America, although it aligned with the conservative end of the political spectrum. Therefore, he alienated other moviegoing audiences who disagreed with his values and politics. However, the movie star earned an abundance of criticism after he didn’t follow his fellow Hollywood stars into the fray of World War II. Rather,...

John Wayne only received credit for directing two films throughout his 50-year career, but his fingerprints are all over many of his star vehicles. Having cut his teeth during the silent era under the tutelage of masters like John Ford, King Vidor, and Michael Curtiz, Wayne became an expert in the manufacture of movies. He understood camera placement, framing, how long to hold onto a shot, and when to cut. Though it was Ford who made him a star with 1939's landmark Western "Stagecoach," Wayne is as responsible for burnishing his big-screen image as any of his behind-the-scenes collaborators.

In Scott Eyman's biography "John Wayne: The Life and Legend," the author reveals that The Duke's experience knocking out programmers for Republic Pictures taught him that the difference between a B movie and an A movie was the "difference ... between a quick punch to the jaw and the expression on a face.

As the 1960s drew to a close, John Wayne's macho, man-of-few-words act was wearing thin. Though some of the movies were pretty good (namely "The Sons of Katie Elder" and "El Dorado"), they were tonally and aesthetically indistinguishable from his '50s work. And this was a problem because the Western was undergoing a metamorphosis via the Spaghetti antics of Sergio Leone's "Man with No Name" and the bloody revisionism of Sam Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch." If Boomers were going to check out an oater, they weren't going to bother the outmoded, out-of-step-with-the-times Wayne.

The Duke exacerbated his situation in 1968 by making the jarringly jingoistic "The Green Berets," which sought to boost domestic morale for the Vietnam War. The best that can be said is that it was too outlandishly stupid to be taken seriously on any level, but it most certainly harmed Wayne's image. He was...

John Wayne made a lot of movies over his long career, appearing in 181 credited roles over his lifetime. The Western star is only officially credited with directing two films, though. One is 1960's "The Alley." The other is 1968's "The Green Berets," the rare Vietnam War film that was actually made while the war was still happening. "The Green Berets" was supposed to be based on Robin Moore's 1965 novel of the same name, but Wayne decided to get the U.S. government involved in the production, and the final result was something else entirely – a pro-military propaganda piece.

From the beginning, Wayne wanted to...

The post How The Government Shaped John Wayne's Most Controversial Film appeared first on /Film.

“Two smoldering women made all the danger worthwhile!”… heck, we didn’t even see ’em catch fire. John Wayne is charismatic and Andrew V. McLaglen’s direction is decent for once in this formulaic ‘easy listening’ pot-boiler from the Wayne school of laid-back ’60s entertainment. After winning the Vietnam War, our intrepid action man extinguishes 101 out-of-control oil fires, which appear to happen every twenty minutes. When nothing’s burning, there are plenty of domestic tangles to straighten out with the womenfolk. In support are Katharine Ross, Jim Hutton, Vera Miles, Bruce Cabot and Jay C. Flippen. It’s old-fashioned but not embarrassing — Wayne still has his charm.

Hellfighters

Blu-ray

Mill Creek

1968 / Color/ 2:35 widescreen / 121 min. / Street Date May 4, 2021 / Available from Mill Creek Entertainment / 19.99

Starring: John Wayne, Katharine Ross, Jim Hutton, Vera Miles, Jay C. Flippen, Bruce Cabot, Edward Faulkner, Barbara Stuart, Edmund Hashim, Valentin de Vargas, Frances Fong, Alberto Morin,...

By Lee Pfeiffer

In days of old, there were precious few opportunities to see documentaries about the making of specific films. In 1960, John Wayne hosted "The Spirit of the Alamo", a one-hour publicity special for his epic film. In 1965, the James Bond film "Thunderball" was promoted with a one hour prime time TV special, a strategy that was repeated in 1967 for "You Only Live Twice". However, these were the exceptions. In most cases, "making of" documentaries were short featurettes lasting between five and ten minutes on average. Movie fans would only encounter them by accident. American viewers might catch one of them if a network needed something to fill some time gap, such as a rain delay in a live baseball game. The only way die-hard movie buffs could watch such films on demand required access to a 16mm film projector and the ability to know where to purchase them on the collector's circuit.

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By Mark Cerulli

Mike Henry, the rugged former football player-turned-actor, passed away on January 8, 2021 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease and Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, likely from his heavy physical contact during his years in the NFL playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers and LA Rams. Although not a household name, Henry carved out an impressive career playing heroic roles, most notably Tarzan in three films from 1966 – 68. I remember stumbling across Tarzan And the Valley of Gold on network TV as a kid and being enthralled by this hulking, well-spoken Tarzan who wore a suit in one scene and the traditional loincloth in the next. Henry took over the role of Tarzan from Jock Mahoney Blessed with a chiseled physique that Weintraub crowed looked like it was “sculpted by Michelangelo”, Henry could easily handle the athletic demands of the coveted part.

What Henry...

Apocalypse Now in 4K? After The Wild Bunch this is one title likely to get me to invest in a new format. Francis Coppola & John Milius’ Vietnam War epic may not be perfect, but it’s one of the most exciting movie experiences ever and one of the top achievements of the first film school generation of moviemakers. The release is agreeably all-inclusive: the original Road Show cut and the two revised versions are here along with the excellent making-of feature Hearts of Darkness. Re-tooled and polished up for picture and audio, this qualifies as a prime audio show-off disc too.

Apocalypse Now Final Cut

4K Ultra-hd + Blu-ray + Digital

Lionsgate

1979, 2001, 2019 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 147, 196, 183 min. / 40th Anniversary Edition / 1979 70mm Road Show cut, 2001 Redux cut, 2019 Final Cut versions / Street Date August 27, 2019 /

Starring: Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, Albert Hall, Harrison Ford, Dennis Hopper, G.D. Spradlin,...

Mike Henry, a former NFL linebacker and actor known for playing Tarzan in the 1960s, has died. He was 84.

Henry died Jan. 8 at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank after many years of dealing with chronic traumatic encephalopathy and Parkinson’s disease brought on by the head injuries in the NFL and at the University of Southern California.

He traded football for acting and went on to star in the Tarzan films of the 1960s and worked alongside Burt Reynolds in the “Smokey and the Bandit” movies.

Henry grew up in East Los Angeles. In high school, former city council member John Ferraro saw him play football and facilitated his tryout for USC’s football team. After college, he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, for which he played from 1958 to 1961. Wanting to try his luck with acting, Henry requested a transfer to play for the Los Angeles Rams.

In...

Ernie F. Orsatti, best known for his unforgettable fall through a glass skylight in the 1972 movie The Poseidon Adventure, has died. He was 80 and passed Sept. 12 in La Quinta, Calif. from a hemorrhagic stroke, his son, Noon Orsatti, confirmed.

Ernie Orsatti was born in Beverly Hills on Feb. 13, 1940, to opera singer Inez Gorman and Ernie R. Orsatti, a former professional baseball player and double for Buster Keaton in Sherlock Jr. (1924). The younger Orsatti became a model and competitive swimmer before breaking into show business with appearances in the 1968 film The Acid Eaters and in The Green Berets, starring John Wayne.

He later had roles in the films The Mechanic (1972), The Last American Hero (1973), The Towering Inferno (1974) and Viva Knievel! (1977). He also appeared on TV shows Mannix, The Incredible Hulk, and Hill Street Blues.

In The Poseidon Adventure, the tale of an ocean liner capsized by a huge wave, Orsatti played Terry,...

Storied stuntman Ernie F. Orsatti, who is best known for falling 30 feet through a glass skylight in the 1972 film “The Poseidon Adventure,” has died. He was 80.

The Stunt Players Directory Facebook page confirmed his death, writing: “We are saddened to hear of the passing of legendary stuntman Ernie Orsatti. His impeccable work and contributions to the stunt community will live forever.” His son, Noon Orsatti, told The Hollywood Reporter that his father died on Sep. 12 in La Quinta, Calif., after experiencing a hemorrhagic stroke.

Orsatti got his start as a stuntman while acting in the disaster film “The Poseidon Adventure” in 1972 as Terry, the date of Pamela Sue Martin’s character. The film’s producer, Irwin Allen, informed Orsatti the day before the stunt was scheduled that he was to perform it, even though he had no experience in the field. However, after consulting with the film’s stunt coordinator,...

Spike Lee is following in the footsteps of Martin Scorsese, Noah Baumbach, and Alfonso Cuaron by becoming the latest high profile auteur to partner with Netflix thanks to the upcoming war epic “Da 5 Bloods.” The project is Lee’s first since winning an Oscar for “BlacKkKlansman” and features an ensemble cast that includes Chadwick Boseman, Jonathan Majors, Delroy Lindo, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Mélanie Thierry, and Paul Walter Hauser, among others. Rumor has it “Da 5 Bloods” was lined up to debut in an out of competition slot at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, where Spike Lee was set to serve as president of the competition jury. “BlacKkKlansman” won the Grand Prix at Cannes on its way to six Oscar nominations and $93 million at the global box office, making it one of Lee’s biggest hits to date.

The official synopsis for “Da 5 Bloods” from Netflix...

While there are no summer blockbusters coming to theaters–at least for the next few months–Netflix is soon unveiling one of their biggest movies of the year. After his Oscar-winning BlacKkKlansman, Spike Lee is back with Da 5 Bloods, a 154-minute epic which will arrive on June 12, and now the first trailer has landed.

Starring Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Jean Reno, and Chadwick Boseman, the film follows four black war veterans who return to Vietnam to search for their missing commander and hopefully find treasure. Using a mix of archival footage, present-day, and flashbacks–seemingly all on different formats–the trailer has quite the epic scope with this riff on The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

“I’ve always given homages to films I love in my films,” Lee tells Vanity Fair, revealing nods to Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, as...

Spike Lee has shared the first look at his upcoming Netflix film “Da 5 Bloods,” set to launch on the platform June 5, with Vanity Fair. The movie teams Lee with Chadwick Boseman, Jonathan Majors, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Delroy Lindo, and Clarke Peters, and centers on a group of African American Vietnam veterans who return to the country in search of the remains of their fallen leader, under the hope of possibly finding a buried treasure.

The first look in Vanity Fair reveals that the movie kicks off in 1968, as the five soldiers, while in the war-torn jungle of Vietnam, learn via radio broadcast that Martin Luther King Jr. has been assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. The assassination forces the group to face just how willing they are to fight on behalf of a country that doesn’t appear to care if they live or die.

The haunting consequences of war and...

Sam Mendes’ “1917” opens wide this weekend with high expectations after very strong initial limited engagements. Estimates range from $25 million up to $35 million for its 3,200 theater domestic run, bolstered by Golden Globe wins and mostly favorable reviews. However, that’s not its biggest draw: “1917” is the latest in a century-long history of high-profile war movies that capture both success and prestige, and often become classics.

“1917” is set in the killing fields of northeastern Europe, where for nearly four years Allied and German soldiers slaughtered each other with very little to show for it. World War I paralleled the growth of the movie industry; as film historian Kevin Brownlow noted in his 1979 “The War, the West and the Wilderness,” the war shaped the medium. It advanced its appeal with feature films and early newsreels, as well as technology as battlefield filmmakers improvised to shoot footage.

Flash forward a century and war...

” To set us free. Set us free. Set us free in the world. Free. Free. Free in the world. Set us free! “

The Terrifying 1973 TV Movie Don’T Be Afraid Of The Dark is now Available on Blu-ray from Warner Archives

An old house…a mysterious locked room…a terrifying secret. Elements that make a horror movie memorably chilling get a taut, spooky reworking in Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. Kim Darby (True Grit)and Jim Hutton (The Green Berets) star as Sally and Alex, young marrieds who inherit a crumbling mansion. Despite warnings to leave well enough alone in her new home, Sally unlocks the mysterious room, opens a bricked-up fireplace…and unleashes a horde of hideous whispering, murdering minidemons only she can see and hear. This is the original TV movie that inspired the 2010 theatrical movie starring Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce.

More than 40 years after it was first broadcast,...

We’re less than 10 days away from Halloween now (Yay!), and if you’re on the hunt for some titles to indulge in to finish out your spooky season, this week’s Blu-ray and DVD releases might be of some assistance, as we have a fantastic array of new and old titles coming our way on Tuesday. As far as new horror goes, be sure to check out Chelsea Stardust’s Satanic Panic, Bloodline starring Seann William Scott, The Dead Center featuring Shane Carruth, and if you missed the first season, this week you can finally catch up with NOS4A2.

In terms of older titles, Kino Lorber is showing some love to Parasite 3-D, Phobia, Trilogy of Terror II, and Zoltan… Hound of Satan, and Warner Archive Collection is releasing the original Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark on Blu as well.

Other releases for October 22nd include The Killer of Dolls,...

The online commentary about a Playboy interview unearthed from 1971 shows a lack of education about the western actor, his times and even American history

Dusting itself off after the excitement of Liam Neeson’s racist meltdown, the film world has settled on its next talking point, an old interview of John Wayne, recently dug up, in which the actor is revealed to have been racist and homophobic. ¡Escándalo!

In the interview with Playboy magazine from 1971, the actor born Marion Morrison states, among other things “I believe in white supremacy” and calls Midnight Cowboy “a story about two fags”. Shocking stuff from an actor famous for his contribution to the notoriously liberal cowboys and indians genre, who supported Richard Nixon, and directed The Green Berets in support of the Us Army during the Vietnam war. Who would have thought? While these views appear shocking now, they aren’t a particular point...

They were the funniest valentines. "I was a meditating, vegetarian hippie, and he was a meat-eating, boozing, ultra-famous person," Irene Tsu, 73, exclusively told Closer Weekly of randomly meeting Frank Sinatra at a Miami hotel circa 1970. "That’s how our two-year date started." She made him feel so young. Frank was in his 50s, having recently split from Mia Farrow, and Irene — who'd co-starred with Elvis Presley and John Wayne (The Green Berets) — was in her 20s. "I made him laugh a lot," Irene recalled. "I brought him an elaborate train set from Japan, and we spent hours putting it together, rolling on the floor, laughing, and eating popcorn." Irene in 'Laredo' in 1967 with William Smith. (Photo Credit: Getty Images) Irene and Frank mostly stayed at his Palm Springs, CA home, where he welcomed celeb pals like Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas, and Herb Alpert. "He was so good to his guests — everything you ever wanted,...

In the 1960s, economic high times in the West triggered the rise of so-called “Europuddings,” tortured contractual liaisons between international talents whose feature-film products were often the cinematic equivalent of Esperanto — something intended to appeal to everyone, but so culturally disconnected and artistically generic as to typically wind up pleasing no one.

Today’s emerging equivalent may be represented by “China Salesman,” which is apparently what happens when umpteen private investors (those companies and producers listed below are just the tip of an iceberg) plus the Prc government pool their resources to make a popcorn extravaganza both populist and propagandistic. How that resulted in a largely Africa-set action adventure jumble involving industrial-political espionage, not to mention the inimitable starring combo of Mike Tyson and Steven Seagal (actually billed here as “Steve”), is anyone’s guess. Indeed, a tell-all chronicle about how this movie came into existence might be more compelling than the film itself,...

Filmed in 1959 but not released until Aip picked it up in ’62, The Brain That Wouldn’t Die is a weird little treasure that deserved to be saved from the wreckage. It surpasses all yardsticks of measurement such as taste or talent, and instead floats to the surface on sheer strangeness and a stringent commitment to sleaze. Man cannot live on refinement alone.

Released in May after Aip purchased it and thrown to the wolves on a double feature with Invasion of the Star Creatures, The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (Aka The Head That Wouldn’t Die) came and went like the patrons at a Dusk to Dawn bill by the local drive-in. Mass production on the public domain line ensured faded memories and dimmed shocks until Mystery Science Theater 3000 gave it new life. Regardless of how you’ve come to it, Brain still retains the title of best...

The Green Berets are coming to Netflix. Deadline reports the streaming service has ordered a new TV show called The Green Beret's Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse.The comedy series comes from military veterans Shawn Vance and Daril Fanin and is being described "as a mix of a survival show full of usable survival skills and how-to’s as well as smart low-brow humor." Vance and Fanin will also star in the upcoming show.Read More…...

Now a successful producer, John Wayne tries a big budget action picture with an anti-Communist theme. It’s The Alamo on a ferryboat, set in the far East where the locals are a hungerin’ for Freedom. Wayne is an apolitical adventurer who just feels like savin’ Chinese and kissin’ Lauren Bacall. Ace director William Wellman holds it together — barely.

Blood Alley

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1955 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 115 min. / Street Date July 18, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, Paul Fix, Joy Kim, Berry Kroeger, Mike Mazurki, Wei Ling, Henry Nakamura.

Cinematography: William H. Clothier

Film Editor: Fred McDowell

Original Music: Roy Webb

Written by A.S. Fleischman, from his novel.

Produced by John Wayne

Directed by William Wellman

John Wayne was extremely busy in 1955, starring in movies for big studios as well as for his own company Batjac. He was rated the most popular Hollywood star and was making constant public appearances,...

2016 isn’t done with us yet. Tyrus Wong, the artist who provided the visual inspiration for “Bambi,” died yesterday. Unlike some of the other celebrities who passed away over the course of the last year (and especially the last week), Wong at least lived a full life: He was 106 at the time of his death. The news was announced on his Facebook page.

Read More: ‘The Lion King’ Making-Of Documentary: Remember the Circle of Life with This Laserdisc Glimpse Behind the Scenes

“With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of Tyrus Wong,” reads the post. “Tyrus died peacefully at his home surrounded by his loving daughters Kim, Kay and Tai-Ling. He was 106 years old.” Wong emigrated from China to the Bay Area when he was nine years old, and his concept art for “Bambi” so impressed Disney that they shaped the aesthetic direction of the animated classic around it. He...

Now At A Reduced Price! Only $61.00 Through Amazon...Original Price Was $149.00- Free Shipping For Prime Members.

Time to put up your Dukes! (DVDs, that is!)

DVD Collection Of 40 Warner And Parmount Films Is Largest John Wayne Box Set Ever

Includes Hours Of Special Features And Remarkable Memorabilia

Amazon Buyers Get Exclusive Wayne Belt Buckle

Here is the original press release from when the set was originally made available:

To commemorate one of America’s most iconic film heroes, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will introduce a comprehensive new DVD set -- John Wayne: The Epic Collection -- on May 20. The spring release, just in time for Father’s Day gift-giving, will contain 38 discs with 40 Wayne films (full list below), including The Searchers, once called one of the most influential movies in American history[1] and the film for which Wayne won his Best Actor Academy Award®, True Grit (1969). The collection...

By Lee Pfeiffer

By 1974 John Wayne was in the twilight of his long, distinguished film career that had spanned six decades. Although the genre that we associate him most with, the Western, was still in vogue, the trend among audience preferences had clearly shifted to urban crime dramas. Surprisingly, Wayne had never played a cop or detective - unless you want to count his role in the lamentable "Big Jim McLain", a 1952 Warner Brothers propaganda film that served as a love letter to Sen. Joseph McCarthy. In that turkey, Wayne played an investigator for Huac, the House UnAmerican Activities Committee that served as McCarthy's private police force, presumably searching out commie infiltrators. All they ended up doing was ruining the lives of left-wing people in the arts and academia. Wayne, for his part, remained unapologetic for his support of Huac even after McCarthy's popularity plummeted and he ended his career in shame and disgrace.

There are days where the Internet feels like the most ghoulish game of telephone ever, particularly when the word starts to spread that someone notable has died. Edgar Wright was the first one I saw mention the death of Michael Cimino this afternoon, quoting a Tweet by Cannes luminary Thierry Fremaux, who announced, “Michael Cimino died peacefully, surrounded by his family and these two women who loved him. We loved him also.” Without question, Cimino’s career was defined by one remarkable high and one remarkable low, and to some degree, his career is the perfect illustration of what happened as film culture moved from the ‘70s to the ‘80s, and part of what makes him such a fascinating figure is how questionable every “fact” about him was. Cimino was a mystery in many ways, and when he made his debut as a director with Thunderbolt & Lightfoot, he looked like...

Well, genre fans, we only have four home entertainment releases coming our way this Tuesday, but as the saying goes, they are quality over quantity.

Scream Factory is releasing the ’90s thriller The Crush on Blu-ray this week and we also have two great recent films to look forward to as well: The Wave and Midnight Special. Rounding out this Tuesday’s Blu-ray and DVD offerings is Bayview Entertainment’s DVD release of the ’80s cult classic, Biohazard.

Biohazard (Bayview Entertainment, DVD)

The cult classic returns featuring an all-new 2K 16×9 widescreen film transfer from the original 35mm negative! A group of scientists, army types and a buxom psychic use a variety of methods to suck a bloodthirsty alien out of another dimension. Upon arriving, the little devil blasts his way loose, taking part of a soldiers face along the way. The psychic and her network of friends chase the beast,...