Let's talk about Films
Here the links to my top from 2016. Some titles are from 2015. They were late additions on North American screens. Some reviews were written by my Colleagues at Cinetalk.net
Follow the Links:
Caini (Romania) https://cinetalk.net/2016/10/12/fnc-2016-caini-dogs/
Ja-olga-hepnarova (Czech Republic) https://cinetalk.net/2016/07/24/fantasia-2016-ja-olga-hepnarova/ Continue reading
for Cinetalk.net
It is always fascinating how film scores helped shape modern music. Through the years many rock musicians paid tribute to film composers. Here’s a little sample:
1) Django – Italian version (L. Bacalov) performed by Joe Preston
Bassist to such cult acts of Doom metal as Sunn O)), The Melvins and Earth, Joe Preston (a decade before Quentin Tarantino) paid hommage to Luis Bacalov opening song to Sergio Corbucci’s 1966 classic using the Italian version which wasn’t retain in the final cut of the film but made it on releases of the score. Preston (under the name The Thrones) is a one man band, his bass activating the midi equipment surrounding him.
2) Cape Fear (B. Herrmann) performed by Fantomas
The Supergroup Fantomas (made of members of Mr Bungle, Slayers and The Melvins) released an album of film music covers titled Director’s Cut. This is their rendition of Bernard Herrmann’s music to British 1960 cult classic Cape Fear as well as Continue reading
Pascal Grenier for Cinetalk.net
Arthur Hiller (November 13, 1923 – August 17, 2016) passed away at the age of 92 years old. Born in Alberta, Hiller started with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) before moving to NBC and later-on becoming a pretty successful Hollywood director over a 50-year career. Best-known for Love Story, which was nominated for seven Oscars in 1971, Hiller was always considered a solid Hollywood craftsman. He also served as president of the Directors Guild of America for a few years as well as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1993 to 1997.
The Out-of-Towners (1970)
An Ohio sales executive hopes for a higher position within a company and travels to New York City with his wife for the job interview but things go wrong from the start and lead to many misadventures in Manhattan.
Written for the screen by famous playwright Neil Simon, this is one enjoyable adventure-comedy that paved the way to a successful formula that Hiller re-used in Continue reading
for Cinetalk.net
Before becoming an Art-house favorite while working in France, with his two classics That Most Important Thing: Love (1975) and Possession (1981), Andrzej Zulawski left his mark in his native Poland (when born, in 1940, the territory was in fact part of Ukraine). Time to rediscover three rather unconventional films.
1 Third part of the night (Trzecia czesc nocy – 1971)
Andrzej Zulawski’s first feature as a director, after working as assistant director to Oscar winner Andrzej Wajda, is set during World War II German occupation.
A Young man who’s wife, mother and son were slaughtered by German soldiers tries to join the resistance. Upon falling in love again, he Continue reading
for Cinetalk.net
Genre favorite Bud Spencer died on June 27th. Born Carlo Pedersoli, he made his mark within Italian Popular Cinema with his infamous duet with Terence Hill (born Mario Girotti) as they appeared together in 18 films. He became a well-known international star in the 1970s and it continued throughout the mid-80s. Spencer also had numerous stand-alone Euro film hits. Adding comical and physical elements (with huge brawls and fist fight sequences) to action films for all audiences, he proved Continue reading
