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Exclusive: Longtime collaborators and friends, producer Graham King and actor Ray Winstone, are tapping into their East End roots for It’s a F*cking Liberty, a decades-spanning crime drama series currently in the works.

King will executive produce for his Gk Films banner alongside Hayley King. Winstone will also executive produce and may appear on the series, which will be written by Paul Tomalin.

It’s a F*cking Liberty is described as an epic crime family saga that tears through sixty years of London’s East End gangland history. The series is a turbulent rollercoaster following the story of a fierce matriarch’s rise to power in the 1970s through the murderous betrayals of an underworld/criminal network of bent cops, and scheming politicians – diving into numerous subplots spanning the post WWII era, the mainland Ira’s bombing campaigns, and 21st century repercussions.

This marks Graham...

This post contains spoilers from Sunday’s episode of MobLand. Proceed accordingly.

This is probably not the Mother’s Day that Maeve Harrigan envisioned.

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In the latest MobLand, which happened to debut on Mother’s Day in the United States, Maeve was forced to watch one of her children die.

Helen Mirren thinks there should be more movies about real women who have operated as Secret Service agents, instead of adding a female James Bond to that particular cinematic universe.

“The whole concept of James Bond is drenched and born out of profound sexism,” she told The Standard in an interview published Thursday.

“Women have always been a major and incredibly important part of the Secret Service, they always have been,” she continued. “And very brave. If you hear about what women did in the French Resistance, they’re amazingly, unbelievably courageous. So I would tell real stories about extraordinary women who’ve worked in that world.”

Mirren plays a mob wife in the Paramount+ series “MobLand” to her husband portrayed by former Bond actor Pierce Brosnan, who knows a thing or two about crime-related stories. The duo previously co-starred in the movie “The Long Good Friday” in 1990.

“I was...

You’d have to go all the way back to 2000’s Snatch for the last Guy Ritchie project that I awaited with unabashed anticipation.

At the time, Ritchie was coming off of the sleeper success of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and he seemed like one of the freshest young voices in British cinema. Of course, Ritchie followed Snatch with Swept Away, setting off a prolific and unpredictable career of hits and misses (more the latter than the former).

I was astounded, though, by how much I enjoyed Ritchie’s 2024 Netflix series, The Gentleman. Despite my tepid feelings for the source material — Hugh Grant kept that film watchable — and generally tepid feelings for leading man Theo James, I thought The Gentleman was a blast, a well-calibrated mixture of wild supporting performances and high-octane action, held together by Kaya Scodelario’s extremely confident central turn.

The Gentlemen was so much...

Pierce Brosnan was piling on the praise for his MobLand wife Helen Mirren at the U.K. premiere of the Guy Ritchie-directed, ice-cool Paramount series.

The former James Bond star spoke to The Hollywood Reporter on the white carpet in London’s Leicester Square about starring alongside Mirren in his first film, The Long Good Friday (1980). The two reunite in Ritchie’s MobLand — premiering exclusively on Paramount+ on March 30 — as crime couple Conrad and Maeve Harrigan, while Tom Hardy plays their “fixer,” Harry Da Souza.

“We enjoy each other’s company a lot,” Brosnan told THR. “I’m a great admirer of Helen’s work. I think she’s a beautiful woman. I’ve admired her from afar for many years and my first movie was with her — but it wasn’t really with her. I was just somewhere in the film. It’s a movie called The Long Good Friday.

I’m old enough to remember when Jacques Rivette films were the domain of dark-web networks and substandard DVD rips, a conspiratorial network worthy of his cinema. It’s still a little strange seeing that April will feature a 10-film, one-short Criterion Channel program that combines of his canonized masterpieces with decidedly lesser-seens––plus Va Savoir, which I really hope is the recently unearthed four-hour cut for which there’s no substitute. Penélope Cruz is also subject of a retrospective in April, which––more than making me pine for a Rivette collab that never was––will include both Abre Los Ojos and Vanilla Sky, some Almodóvar, and another in the Channel’s ongoing let’s-add-a-Woody-Allen-movie campaign, Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

For themed series, J. Hoberman has curated a series on the dangers of ’60s and ’70s New York that runs from Michael Roemer’s recently restored The Plot Against Harry and...

Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg’s Performance was shot in July 1968, but its release was postponed by a skittish Warner Bros. until August 1970. The timing couldn’t have been better, since the film not only perfectly encapsulates Swinging London’s faith in “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll” but also effectively hammers the last nail in the counterculture’s coffin. As a sort of epilogue to the Rolling Stones’s disastrous concert at Altamont, Performance illustrates precisely what can happen in the void left gaping open when performers stop performing.

The film’s title is aptly overdetermined. Reclusive rock star Turner (Mick Jagger) is obviously one kind of performer. But performer, in British slang, also refers to mobsters like Chas (James Fox). In the film, the worlds that these two men inhabit collide and entwine in fascinating fashion. Over the course of the first half, which is dedicated to delineating...

Drink you milk little kittens, Harris Dickinson has stepped into the Criterion Closet.

Hot off his sexy turn in Halina Reijn’s erotic thriller “Babygirl,” Dickinson still wasn’t able to get co-star Nicole Kidman off his mind as he selected a few Blu-rays to take home. In taking Gus Van Sant’s 1995 satire “To Die For” off the shelf, Dickinson was reminded of a scene that may draw certain parallels to his “Father Figure” moment in “Babygirl.”

“My favorite scene in this is when she’s videoing Joaquin and the other actors, and she’s saying, ‘Move your hips. Now let’s dance. Oh yeah. Come on, guys.’ And she’s trying to get them to move,” Dickinson said of Kidman’s work in the film. “And Joaquin Phoenix’s character is just, like, doing this crazy, like, out-of-time jive. But yeah, Nicole’s incredible in this. I love this film.

Actor known for his menacing, often violent roles in British gangster films, notably The Long Good Friday and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Ph Moriarty, who has died aged 86 after suffering from dementia, came late to acting as he approached 40, but made an indelible impression, most chillingly in two British gangster films. The simmering menace he brought to the screen led one critic to observe that he could “make Hannibal Lecter look like Noddy”.

Distinctive for his moustache, smart grey suit and tie, he was ever present in The Long Good Friday (1980) as Razors, henchman to Bob Hoskins’s brutal underworld property developer, Harold Shand, who seeks to build his empire through the regeneration of London’s Docklands. Moriarty is seen driving Hoskins around on a quest to discover who is threatening this ambition (it turns out to be the Ira).

Stars: Maryam d’Abo, Elle O’Hara, Amber Doig-Thorne, Michaela Longden, Lisa Riesner, Annabelle Lanyon, Paul Barber | Written by Nathan Shepka, Tom Jolliffe | Directed by Nathan Shepka, Andy Crane

[Disclaimer: Nerdly have been involved with The Baby in the Basket behind the scenes for some time now, with our own Phil and Kevin credited as Co-Executive Producers on the film. However… the site and their involvement have had No bearing on the outcome of this review!]

The Baby in the Basket takes its name from one of the best-known stories from the Bible, the tale of Moses being placed in a basket and sent adrift on the Nile, only to be discovered and adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter. However, in this eerie tale, the child left in a basket on the doorstep of St. Augustine’s convent may be anything but divine.

Set in 1942, during the height of World War II, the film takes place on a remote...

P. H. Moriarty has died at the age of 86.The actor - who played 'Hatchet' Harry Lonsdale in 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' - passed away peacefully in the company of his wife.Orchid Cancer, a charity that raises awareness and supports research into male cancer, announced the news on social media.The charity said on Instagram: "We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of P.H. Moriarty, a talented actor best known for his roles in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and The Long Good Friday. A gifted voice actor and a dedicated supporter of Orchid, Patrick’s contributions and unwavering commitment will always be remembered."Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family, friends, and all who had the privilege of knowing him."#phmoriarty (sic)"The London-born star initially worked as a boxer and a docker before he turned his focus towards acting in the 50s.

Guy Ritchie's series starring Tom Hardy and Pierce Brosnan gets a major filming update. The currently untitled series is being filmed under the working title The Associate, and was previously known as The Donovans. The series is described as a global crime TV show centered on two warring families, as well as a "fixer" who is tasked with protecting one of the families. Hardy plays Harry Da Souza, a professional conciliator who works for the Harrigan family. Brosnan plays Conrad Harrigan, leader of a successful Irish crime family. Helen Mirren also stars in the series as Maeve Harrigan, Conrad's wife.

As reported by Deadline, filming has officially begun on the series in London. The show will air on Paramount+ and Showtime, and representatives from the companies spoke about the series to celebrate the start of filming. Chris McCarthy, Paramount Global Co-CEO and President/CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios,...

James Bond is one of the most coveted roles in the industry, with only six actors playing the part in the official film series. With such a limited number of performers spread across six decades, you might expect that each of them would have had a very different journey to "00" status. However, closer inspection reveals that the two most modern Bonds, Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan, had a surprisingly similar path to taking on the part.

Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan presented very different versions of the iconic secret agent. Where Brosnan was unfailingly suave, Craig brought a rugged realism and genuine darkness to the character. Brosnan's movies were often criticized for their over-the-top gadgets and improbable storylines, while Craig's worst Bond moments typically came when the movies took themselves too seriously. In many ways, they represent opposite ends of the Bond spectrum. However, despite bringing very different energies to the character,...

Physical media culture is alive and thriving thanks to the home video tastemakers hailing everywhere from The Criterion Collection to Kino Lorber and the Warner Archive Collection. Each month, IndieWire highlights the best recent and upcoming Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K releases for cinephiles to own now — and to bring ballast and permanence to your moviegoing at a time when streaming windows on classic movies close just as soon as they open.

Get started on putting together your very own Criterion Closet with these eight physical media recommendations each month, comprising recent releases as well as what’s coming in the given month. This month, we highlight Criterion restorations Masahiro Shinoda’s classic kabuki tale of horror “Demon Pond” as well as Harmony Korine‘s breakout slice of a broken-down Midwest “Gummo,” plus John Mackenzie’s crime classic “The Long Good Friday,” and a couple of newer soon-to-be-classics worth having in your library.

Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan are set to feature in Guy Ritchie's upcoming Paramount+ series, The Associate an exciting onscreen partnership that secretly pays of an unconnected 43-year-old gangster drama. Guy Ritchie has quietly become one of Hollywood's busiest filmmakers, with The Associate representing the latest chapter in his career. Despite starting life as a Ray Donovan spinoff entitled The Donovans, the series will now tell a standalone story as well as providing a surprising connection to one of the best-known gangster movies in British film history.

The Associate's story will follow two generations of gangsters, with Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren playing the patriarch and matriarch of an important crime family. Brosnan and Mirren's collaboration is hugely exciting, given their status in the industry. However, it also represents a reunion, 43 years after their collaboration in The Long Good Friday. Similar to Ritchie's project, The Long Good Friday...

Looks like cinephiles will need to make a little more space on their shelves. As has become customary, The Criterion Collection announced its four upcoming December releases today, and you may just need to make room for all of them on your holiday shopping lists. First up, set to be available on December 3, the new 4K restoration of Wim Wenders’ Palme d’Or-winning masterpiece “Paris, Texas,” starring Harry Dean Stanton, Dean Stockwell, and Nastassja Kinski.

In his 1984 review of the reflective western drama, film critic Roger Ebert wrote, “‘Paris, Texas’ is a movie with the kind of passion and willingness to experiment that was more common fifteen years ago than it is now. It has more links with films like ‘Five Easy Pieces’ and ‘Easy Rider’ and ‘Midnight Cowboy,’ than with the slick arcade games that are the box-office winners of the 1980s. It is true, deep, and brilliant.”

On...

The Birmingham setting of Peaky Blinders broke the London-centric mold of British gangster genres in TV and film. The show's focus on Birmingham culture and history gives it a unique and authentic touch. Peaky Blinders showcases that London isn't the only British city with a dark underworld of gangsters.

Until Peaky Blinders came along with its Birmingham-based gangland action, most British gangster films and TV shows were set in and around London. Peaky Blinders revolves around the criminal activities of the titular gang in the immediate aftermath of World War I. The gang was loosely based on a real urban youth gang of the same name, who were active in the city of Birmingham from the 1880s to the 1910s. The series deviates from the real-life history, but one element remains consistent: their hometown.

Look at any classic British gangster movie; theyre almost always set in London. Snatch, Legend, Layer Cake,...

Although somewhat tame by today’s standards, when Monty Python’s Life of Brian was released in 1979, it was considered to be among the most offensive — and blasphemous — films ever made. While no strangers to controversy, Monty Python faced a backlash like never before with their third film, in which they relentlessly mocked organized religion via a biblical epic parody about a man named Brian who is mistaken for the messiah just because he’s Jesus’ neighbor.

Forty-five years after its initial release, Life of Brian is still regarded as a classic, and many consider it to be the best, most sophisticated work the Pythons ever did. Here’s how it all came about, how angry it made everybody and why it’s stood the test of time…

45 Jesus Christ: Lust for Glory

Life of Brian was first conceived when the Pythons were on the publicity tour for Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

The casting in 20th Century Fox's "X-Men" movies was always a mixed bag. Some picks were perfect at bringing the comic character to life — Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler, Kelsey Grammer as Beast, etc. Others were swings and misses — Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, Oscar Isaac as Apocalypse (but really any actor would have struggled inside that makeup), etc. Then there were some in the middle — actors who didn't really match the character on paper but still worked well due to the strength of their performances, like Sir Ian McKellen as Magneto and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.

Marvel first started pursuing an "X-Men" movie in the 1980s, more than a decade before it was finally released. In 1990, Stan Lee and longtime "X-Men" comic book writer Chris Claremont met with James Cameron about him directing the movie, but Cameron was more interested in a "Spider-Man" movie (which...

Pierce Brosnan's role in The Matador showcases his comedic acting chops in a dark crime comedy with Greg Kinnear. Brosnan's departure from his suave James Bond image to play a flawed character earned him critical acclaim. The actor played a crucial role in shaping the physical appearance and emotional depth of his character in the film.

Landing a high-profile role like James Bond can be a blessing and a curse. Look no further than Pierce Brosnan, the sixth actor tapped to play the famous MI6 Secret Service Agent behind Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, and Timothy Dalton. Brosnan portrayed the dashing intelligence agent in four Bond films between 1994 and 2004, resulting in a decade of popular exposure and confining typecast. One year after Brosnan took off the tux, the Irish actor delivered arguably his freest, funniest, and most well-rounded performance in a little movie called The Matador.

There have been a lot of questions surrounding HBO's upcoming "The Penguin" series. The show will see Colin Farrell step into the spotlight after he wowed everyone with his performance as Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot a.k.a. the Penguin in Matt Reeves' "The Batman." Playing a cross between Joe Pesci's Tommy DeVito in "Goodfellas" and Bob Hoskins' Harold Shand in "The Long Good Friday," Farrell was almost unrecognizable in the role. The actor had "unbridled fun" with the character, disappearing behind the extensive prosthetics to bring us a version of the infamous Batman rogue that was much more of a wise guy/crime boss and less of a "hideous penguin man of the sewer" (to borrow a phrase used to describe Danny DeVito's Penguin in "Batman Returns").

But while Farrell was undeniably one of the best things about "The Batman," whether he can sustain an entire premium drama remains to be seen.

Pierce Brosnan's debut film, The Long Good Friday, showcases his versatility and villainous charm. The film, with a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score, marries action and drama, shaping the gangster film genre. Brosnan's role in The Long Good Friday adds menace, contributing to the tension and excellence of the film.

Pierce Brosnan's 1980s gangster movie The Long Good Friday was not only the actor's first film but continues to be a must-see with a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score. Pierce Brosnan's career has largely been shaped by his time as the infamous 007 from 1995-2002. That suave command of the screen has followed him beyond the James Bond films throughout the years, an example being his role as the mystical and logical Dr. Fate in Black Adam.

Though his career seems to be shifting away from action, he retains that presence, something that seemed to have been shaped early on. One particular Brosnan role...

Because Hollywood won’t rest until it’s turned every Terry Gilliam movie into a TV show, Apple TV+ will soon be releasing a Time Bandits series, starring Lisa Kudrow as a temporal plunderer.

While recycling ‘80s films for modern audiences doesn’t always work (I’m looking at you 2014’s RoboCop), this show is produced by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, and judging from the recently-released trailer, it looks like a lot of fun.

Gilliam’s original 1981 Time Bandits was a box-office success when it first came out, and it’s generally regarded to be one of the best children’s fantasy films of its era. But, like much of Gilliam’s work, it was a huge pain in the ass to get made.

As Monty Python fans are well aware, George Harrison put up his own money to fund Life of Brian, mortgaging his home and office when...

Back in 2020, it was announced that Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again director Ol Parker would be following that film up by taking the helm of The Thursday Murder Club, an adaptation of the debut novel by Richard Osman (creator and co-presenter of the BBC quiz show Pointless), for Amblin. Given that Parker’s involvement was announced just days before the pandemic lockdowns, it’s not surprising to hear that iteration of the project didn’t hold together… but The Thursday Murder Club is still moving forward. A couple months ago, word came out that Pierce Brosnan (GoldenEye), Helen Mirren (The Queen), and Ben Kingsley (Iron Man 3) were being eyed for lead roles in the film, which is now coming our way from Home Alone and Harry Potter director Chris Columbus. Now Deadline confirms that Brosnan, Mirren, and Kingsley are on board to star in the film alongside Celia Imrie...

Marking one of their biggest 4K months yet, Criterion has announced a September lineup led by Gregg Araki’s Teen Apocalypse trilogy of The Doom Generation, Nowhere, and Totally F***ed Up in a rather full set, and all but the last in 4K. One of Criterion’s earliest titles, John Mackenzie’s The Long Good Friday, is receiving a sizable 480-to-2,160 upgrade; a more recent addition, Repo Man, also gets upgraded, hopefully fueling further interest for Alex Cox’s recently announced sequel.

On the new-film front, Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers makes the most-enviable home debut possible. And with regard to films I never thought would be presented in such profound resolution, Todd Solondz’s Happiness is given the 4K treatment, at long last supplying a companion to Life During Wartime.

See artwork below and find more details at Criterion:

The post The Criterion Collection’s September Lineup Includes Gregg Araki,...

Editor’s Note: This review was originally published during the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Metrograph Pictures releases “The Kingdom” in select theaters in August.

One of the finest films ever made about organized crime, “The Long Good Friday” (1980) sees the world of a London gangster abruptly destabilized by bomb attacks and murders of his associates. He and his henchmen attempt to uncover the attackers’ identities, all whilst trying not to worry their visitors in town for the weekend, who are members of the American mafia looking to invest in redevelopment in the area. This British mob classic may seem an odd film to evoke up top in a review of a French-language, Corsica-set debut feature. But one of the main strengths of director Julien Colonna’s “The Kingdom” is how it successfully pulls off a loosely similar, paranoia-driven fall-of-an-empire story within the context of a condensed time period.

The time frame...

Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan reunite after 43 years in 'The Thursday Murder Club.' Mirren and Brosnan previously worked together in 'The Long Good Friday.' 'The Thursday Murder Club' will be their first film where they act opposite each other extensively.

A handful of cast members of a highly-anticipated movie were announced in April 2024, and Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan were among the names on the list, reuniting them after they previously appeared in a film that was released 43 years ago. Mirren starred as Victoria in The Long Good Friday, a British action movie directed by John Mackenzie and written by Barrie Keeffe. Meanwhile, Brosnan's character in the film did not have a name and was just credited as an "Ira man," aka a man who belonged to the Irish Republican Army.

The Long Good Friday is available to stream on Max.

The Long Good Friday...

If you were to think about what movies most likely influenced the work of famed English filmmaker Guy Ritchie, it might be tempting to first look at the films of Quentin Tarantino. After all, Quentin Tarantino had breakout success in the early to mid-1990s, thanks to thrilling, darkly comedic, and post-modern crime movies like Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994). Then, later in the 1990s and early 2000s, Guy Ritchie burst onto the film scene on an international scale, thanks to his two earliest feature films, both within the crime genre: 1998's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and 2000's Snatch. It's noteworthy also how both directors made films that felt largely their own, unrestrained from things like studio pressure, and seemingly unaffected by notes or concerns from producers. They did all this with low to moderate budgets, too, and even attracted big-name actors who were well-known for being in blockbusters.

Clockwise from left: The Godfather Part II, Bonnie And Clyde, Goodfellas, The Departed (all images courtesy Warner Bros.)Graphic: The A.V. Club

Gangster movies are loaded with inherently alluring qualities: the vicarious thrill of watching an antihero buck the establishment and take what they want with impunity; the glamorous trappings...

Director Matthew Vaughn believes Taron Egerton would be a better fit for the role of Lex Luthor in the Dcu rather than Wolverine in the MCU. Vaughn thinks major changes need to be made when recasting Wolverine for the MCU. Taron Egerton and Daniel Radcliffe are rumored to make cameo appearances as variants of Wolverine in Deadpool 3.

Kingsman director Matthew Vaughn thinks Taron Egerton would be much better suited to joining the Dcu as Lex Luthor, rather than adding his name to the MCU roster as Wolverine. Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Vaughn declared that Egerton as Superman villain Lex Luthor would be “amazing,” and thinks major changes need to be made when recasting Wolverine.

"I think he'd be better as Lex Luthor. I think he'd be an amazing Luthor. He shouldn't be Wolverine, I don't think. I don't think he's right for it ... Hugh's brilliant as Wolverine,...

Gangsters, mobsters, thugs, and mugs. Organized crime holds the upper tier of the international cinematic commission. “Crime pays,” Edward G. Robinson, who played Rico Bandello in the seminal gangster film Little Caesar (1931), is famous for saying. “But only in the movies.” When a good mob movie is on the table, it is an offer no filmmaker can refuse. There is more intrigue, suspense, violence, mayhem, and madness to be found in the criminal element than any other genre.

“Gone are the days of the gangsters,” audiences heard for years, usually in movies about mobsters. They always rise up, even if they are splattered across the ornate fountains of their gangland mansions in the last frame, like Al Pacino’s Tony Montana in Brian DePalma’s Scarface (1983), or rolling down the steps of a church, dead from a hail of bullets. That’s how James Cagney’s Eddie Bartlett went out in The Roaring Twenties (1939). Now,...

John McVicar died on 6 September 2022 of a heart attack, aged 82. He was a seasoned ex-convict who turned his hand from armed robbery to a career in journalism, writing about crime and justice for the Guardian, the New Statesman and Spiked. However, this biopic is not about McVicar, the autodidact. Instead, it is a crime film about McVicar’s 1968 prison break that’s told with an austere, turn-of-the-’80s aesthetic comparable to Scum, The Black Panther and The Long Good Friday.

Roger Daltrey’s presence may raise questions about McVicar’s seriousness, but this isn’t a lazy rock star vehicle — Daltrey assumes the role with a sinewy attitude that doesn’t want for credibility. Credible too are McVicar’s fellow inmates and the staff who corral them at Hmp Durham, where life is stark but not without goodwill. There is a fair amount of camaraderie, in fact, with conflict rarely going beyond coarse words.

With the festival kicking off tomorrow, Telluride Film Festival has now unveiled its lineup, featuring new films from Jeff Nichols (the first image from which can be seen above), Emerald Fennell, Annie Baker, Andrew Haigh, Yorgos Lanthimos, Justine Triet, Wim Wenders, Kitty Green, Ethan Hawke, and many more.

“Fifty years is a long time to do anything. And while we might be a little biased, we feel the work that Tff does is pretty important,” comments Telluride Film Festival director Julie Huntsinger. “We take the charge of preserving the theatrical experience and promoting film seriously, but with necessary winks here and there. We’re ecstatic to share a program we feel reflects so much of the past fifty years, naturally and organically, films old and new, which stand as a testament to our beloved co-founders Tom Luddy and Bill Pence who are no longer with us.”

• All Of US Strangers...

2023 Festival dedicated to founders Tom Luddy, Bill Pence, Stella Pence, James Card.

Telluride Film Festival has announced its 2023 50th anniversary line-up with Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner Anatomy Of A Fall, and Steve McQueen’s Occupied City on the roster.

The selection, which will play in the Colorado Rockies locale from August 31 to September 4, includes Jeff Nichols’ The Bikeriders, Jonathan Glazer’s Cannes sensation The Zone Of Interest, Pablo Larrain’s El Conde, Kitty Green’s The Royal Hotel, George C. Wolfe’s Rustin, Nyad from Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin,...

Cliff Twemlow is an obscure figure even by British B-movie standards, a handsome, no-nonsense former Manchester nightclub doorman who attempted to create a Hollywood of the north in the early ’80s and ’90s. Born in 1937, a fact he tried to cloud for many years, he was something of a renaissance man: He acted in soaps, he composed lucrative library music, he wrote a novel about a killer pike, and, after a wounding experience with a botched adaptation of his autobiographical novel Tuxedo Warrior, he decided to become a filmmaker himself.

His first production, G.B.H. (1982), was shot on video — the grainy, ugly, analog kind — and it rode on the coattails of the recent hit The Long Good Friday. Twemlow starred as a handsome, no-nonsense Manchester nightclub doorman, hired to protect a local nightclub from a protection racket after returning from a stretch in prison.

The White Bird: A Wonder Story cast has the opportunity to tell a new story in the world of the 2017 movie Wonder, and features an equally impressive lineup as the original. In 2017's Wonder, Auggie Pullman (Jacob Tremblay) was a young boy with a rare facial deformity whose fellow students bully and ostracize him when he tries to start going to a private middle school rather than continue homeschooling. One of these students is a boy named Julian, who torments and bullies Auggie and his own mother even helps persecute Auggie by Photoshopping him out of a class photo because she felt he didn't belong. White Bird: A Wonder Story focuses on Julian after his parents pull him out of school, and he goes to visit his grandmother.

While it seems strange to see a heartless bully as the focus of the story, he is not the main character in...

From Goodfellas’ trigger-happy Tommy DeVito to Scarface’s drug-addled Tony Montana, the crime movie genre is jam-packed with evil gangster characters. Gangster movies are a great vehicle for traditionally villainous characters to take center stage as the protagonist. The Warriors, for instance, has one street gang as the heroes and all the other street gangs as the villains. In any other movie, Pulp Fiction’s Vincent Vega would be the bad guy. But Pulp Fiction puts Vincent in the spotlight. The Irishman similarly wants its audience to empathize with a mafia hitman, because he was forced to whack his best friend.

Some gangster movies have sympathetic protagonists in spite of their chosen professions. Reservoir Dogs’ Mr. White becomes a caring father figure to the bullet-riddled Mr. Orange as he bleeds out in the warehouse. Paul Vitti, the mobster played by Robert De Niro in Analyze This, wins over the audience...

I’ve loved gangster movies since I was four years old and saw Humphrey Bogart and Sylvia Sidney in Dead End (1937) on TV, and Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde (1967) at the movies (My dad pinched a lobby card for me). Every Friday night, a local NYC station ran old crime flicks on a slot called “Tough Guys.” Bogart, James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, and George Raft were the faces over the title. Today that might be Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Wesley Snipes, and James Gandolfini.

The gangster and crime genre produced some of the most influential films in cinema history. Mervyn LeRoy’s Little Caesar (1931), William A. Wellman’s The Public Enemy (1931), and Howard Hawks’ Scarface (1932), get a lot of credit for breaking ground in topics beyond criminality, shattering sexual taboos as well as the boundaries of acceptable visual violence. High Sierra (1941) and White Heat...

Shepka Productions and Flickering Myth have announced that veteran British actors Paul Barber and Annabelle Lanyon have joined the cast of the upcoming gothic horror feature The Baby in the Basket.

Paul Barber is best known for portraying Denzil in the iconic sitcom Only Fools and Horses and Horse in the classic British film The Full Monty – a role he reprises this June for Disney+’s The Full Monty sequel series. Among his other extensive film and TV credits are The Long Good Friday, The Brothers McGregor, Chancer, The 51st State, One Night in Istanbul and Renegades.

Annabelle Lanyon starred alongside Tom Cruise in the role of Oona in Ridley Scott’s 1985 cult classic fantasy Legend and also featured in the British horror Dream Demon and ITV series Quatermass. Recent credits include the horror films Werewolves of the Third Reich and Bite.

The Baby in the Basket also stars Amber Doig-Thorne,...

If you're a 90s kid like me, you probably know Bob Hoskins from playing Smee in "Hook" and private eye Eddie Valiant in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." I even remember him showing up in a standout "Frasier" episode where he played Dr. Crane's abrasive, cigar-addicted gym teacher, Coach Fuller. But if you look beyond his best-known roles, the man was one of the most versatile actors to ever do it. In fact, he started his film career not in charming, family-friendly projects, but by playing a ruthless London gangster.

"The Long Good Friday" is a 1980 crime thriller starring Hoskins as Harold Shand — a crime boss looking to go legit. Over the course of the film, Shand becomes increasingly violent and Hoskins portrays the gangster's struggles with his aggressive impulses with unsettling ease. But as we all now know, the actor was more than capable of playing much more diverse roles,...

Are you a Pierce Brosnan fan looking for a list of his best movies? Look no further! We’ve scoured the internet to compile data from trusted sources like IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes audience scores to determine which movies have truly stood the test of time. In this article, we’ve put together the ultimate Pierce Brosnan movies list, ranked based on box office gross and audience ratings.

Pierce Brendan Brosnan — Also known as James Bond 007, has been captivating audiences for decades with his charming looks, suave demeanor, and incredible acting skills. The Irish-born actor has played some of the most iconic roles in Hollywood history, from the British spy James Bond to the suave art thief in “The Thomas Crown Affair.”

So, what makes a Pierce Brosnan movie great? Is it the action-packed scenes, the witty one-liners, or the heart-melting moments of vulnerability? We’ll be using a combination...

For a director who has a seemingly boundless, whimsical imagination, you almost never hear stories about wonderful times making films directed by Terry Gilliam. He has a reputation as a hard-headed perfectionist and someone not particularly interested in compromising. His films consistently go over schedule and over budget, and getting a finished film on the screen rarely doesn't happen without frequent fights and arguments.

One would think that because Gilliam rose to prominence within a group setting as a member of Monty Python, he would be able to foster a collaborative environment — but he was the soloist within that group, creating the odd, absurd animated sequences for "Flying Circus." He had the leeway to do whatever he wanted and could create his own worlds without limits. When you are directing a multi-million dollar movie with hundreds of people working with you, that just isn't going to be a healthy way to operate,...

Casting movie stars can be a tricky proposition, especially if you're making a big-budget film with unproven talent. In 1987, that's exactly what Kevin Costner was. He'd appeared in three box-office bombs in 1985, and, prior to this, had been cut out of Lawrence Kasdan's Baby Boomer smash "The Big Chill." But after missing out on the more established Don Johnson (who was red hot at the time thanks to "Miami Vice"), Costner wound up being Brian De Palma's Eliot Ness in the hit-hungry director's big-screen rendition of "The Untouchables." And while De Palma had a bit of movie star insurance in Sean Connery as the veteran beat cop Malone, David Mamet's masterful screenplay screamed for a larger-than-life Al Capone.

De Palma only had eyes for Robert De Niro, and he had a history with the actor, having worked with him in the counterculture comedies "Greetings" and "Hi, Mom!

Before he became a world-class director of such projects as the Elton John biopic "Rocketman," Dexter Fletcher was a noted child actor in such high-profile films as "Bugsy Malone" and "The Long Good Friday." One of his most notable roles was as the young assistant to Freddie Jones' amoral Mr. Bytes in David Lynch's lauded 1980 biopic "The Elephant Man." Lynch was so taken by Fletcher's talents that he flew to England in 1982 to meet with the then-16-year-old about possibly playing the lead role of Paul Atreides in the big budget adaptation of Frank Herbert's "Dune." 

As we all know, that part eventually went to 24-year-old movie neophyte...

The post Dexter Fletcher Talks Auditioning For David Lynch's Dune [Exclusive] appeared first on /Film.

Don’t let the near three-hour running time scare you off, because Warner Bros’ The Batman is gripping and primitive. Director, producer and co-scribe Matt Reeves joins us on Hero Nation today to talk about his direction for a Dark Knight detective story, laced with horror, like we’ve near seen before in the history of the franchise.

You can listen to our conversation below:

Before any Batman sequel happens, Reeves says there’s an HBO Max series centering on Colin Farrell’s Penguin which “connects from where we’re leaving the story here.”

Reeves originally conceived a HBO Max Batman spinoff series about a corrupt cop, something like a Prince of the City; a blue who’s battling for his soul. The cop is then reawakened by a rising Gotham City vigilante in a story set in the events before Reeves’ Dark Knight movie. However, the filmmaker was encouraged...

Director Mike Hodges’ Get Carter is the quintessential hard-boiled British crime film. Remarkably influential, it paved the way for like-minded fare such as The Long Good Friday and Mona Lisa. Michael Caine plays Jack Carter, a ruthless London mobster who travels back to his Newcastle hometown to investigate the death of his brother… and woe betide anyone who stands in the way of this cooly efficient killer. The film underperformed at the box office due to poor promotion but is now recognized as one of the finest thrillers of the decade. MGM was fond of blaxploitation remakes, and George Armitage’s 1972 Hit Man borrows a lot from Get Carter, but it wasn’t until 2000 that an actual remake arrived, starring Sylvester Stallone, to dismal effect.

The post Get Carter appeared first on Trailers From Hell.

Denis O’Brien, best known for producing the comedy Monty Python’s Life of Brian with former Beatle George Harrison, died December 3 in a Swindon, UK hospital. He was 80 and passed away from intra-abdominal sepsis, his daughter said.

O’Brien and Harrison’s Handmade Films had a hit right out of the box with the 1979 comedy Life of Brian, a semi-blasphemous story of a young Jewish-Roman man who is born on the same day and next door to Jesus, and is subsequently mistaken for the Messiah. It was banned in several locations or slapped with an X for its outrageous stunts, including a closing sing-along on the cross.

With Monty Python regulars Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Mochael Palin in the cast, the producers thought the film would at best lose money and be a tax write-off. Instead, it was a smash, leading them to explore other films.

Helen Mirren will receive this year’s SAG Life Achievement Award and will be presented with the prize during the 28th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony on February 27.

The award is given annually to an actor who fosters the “finest ideals of the acting profession”.

Oscar, BAFTA and Emmy winning actress Mirren becomes the most decorated SAG Life Achievement recipient with a total of 13 SAG nominations and five SAG Actor wins to her name.

Mirren is currently filming Golda, in the title role of Israel’s first female prime minister Golda Meir, which revealed a first look yesterday. She is also set to host Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses, a four-part competition series premiering on November 28.

Taking her first major film role back in 1969 in Age Of Consent, Mirren broke through in The Long Good Friday in 1980. She received her first Oscar nomination in 1995 for The Madness Of King George...

Icon will next be seen in The Duke.

Helen Mirren has been named as the 57th recipient of the SAG Life Achievement Award and will collect the honour at the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards in Santa Monica on February 27, 2022.

The award is presented annually to an actor who embodies the “finest ideals of the acting profession”. Mirren is the most decorated SAG Life Achievement recipient with a total of 13 SAG Awards nominations and five SAG Awards Actor wins for The Queen, Elisabeth I, Phil Spector, and two for Gosford Park.

The acclaimed British actor won the Oscar for The Queen...

Bucking the trends for ’80s crime films, Neil Jordan’s tale of a low-rung hood attached to a ‘complicated’ call girl becomes a love story about meaningful relationships. Sort of the ‘anti- Travis Bickle,’ Bob Hoskins’ low-class mug discovers emotions and an ability to commit that could even be called Chivalric. Michael Caine chills as an all-too real villain, the boss that doesn’t think Hoskins worthy of a straight answer. Topping it off, cinematographer Roger Pratt makes this possibly the best-looking British crime film in color.

Mona Lisa

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 107

1986 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 104 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September 14, 2021 / 39.95

Starring: Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Caine, Clarke Peters, Sammi Davis, Kate Hardie, Zoe Nathenson.

Cinematography: Roger Pratt

Production Designer: Jamie Leonard

Costume Designer: Louise Frogley

Film Editor: Lesley Walker

Original Music: Michael Kamen

Written by Neil Jordan, David Leland

Produced by Patrick Cassavetti,...