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It’s understandable that most movie and TV fans remember Maggie Smith for her dynamic work in the “Harry Potter” films and “Downton Abbey.” More recent and far more widely seen in their time, they are worthy examples of her outstanding work.

But unknown to even some of the most knowledgeable cinephiles is most of her screen work before the 1980s beyond her two Oscar wins (Best Actress for “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” and Supporting Actress for “California Suite”). Her passing at 89 represents a chance to look back at not only roles that conveyed her later brilliance but also, in some cases, present a broader range than what became the standard — though always with nuance and distinctiveness — Maggie Smith role of later years.

When reviewing her film career until at least 2008, it’s critical to remember that she was first and foremost a stage actor. She joined Laurence Olivier...

Cinema isn’t a beauty contest, but if it were, Alain Delon surely would have won the title of the 1960s’ most handsome actor.

That’s a subjective call, of course, and as such, Delon is the kind of figure about whom writers tend to fall back on the word “arguably” — as in, “arguably the most handsome” — which is kind of a cop-out, as it leaves the argument to somebody else. When it comes to Delon, plenty have made the case. I loved Anthony Lane’s longform analysis of Delon’s allure in The New Yorker earlier this year. And none other than Jane Fonda, who co-starred with Delon in 1964’s “Joy House,” described him as “the most beautiful human being.”

The French star, who died Sunday, made more than 100 movies in a career that spanned 50 years, but for that one transformative decade in film history — beginning with the Patricia Highsmith...

Count Dracula (1977) on BBC was the most faithful adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, focusing on realism and accuracy over sensationalism. Director Philip Saville crafted a nuanced, gritty TV movie of Dracula, with standout performances, like Louis Jourdan as Count Dracula. Despite some minor changes in character relationships, Count Dracula stayed closest to the original gothic masterpiece by Bram Stoker.

Bram Stoker's 1897 Dracula has become a staple of the screen since its first adaptation by director Tod Browning in 1931, which placed Bela Lugosi in a career-defining role. Since then, there have been multiple screen adaptations of the work and over 80 movies featuring the 'Prince of Darkness' in some role. Some of these adaptations became great commercial and critical successes, such as Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 movie Bram Stokers Dracula.

Many movie adaptations have taken liberties with the source material, crafting a sensational and engaging rendition to draw audiences into the theater.

Former Fear the Walking Dead star Colman Domingo expresses interest in playing a villain in the James Bond franchise. The star, who was recently nominated for an Oscar for Rustin, says he would like to play roles unlike those he's held before. Domingo's experience playing complex characters and his recent Oscar nomination make him a fitting choice for a memorable Bond villain.

Former Walking Dead star Colman Domingo has expressed his interest in being a villain in the James Bond franchise. In addition to playing Victor Strand on all eight seasons of the spinoff show Fear the Walking Dead, Domingo has starred in a variety of movies including The Color Purple, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and 2021's Candyman. He also played civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in 2023's Rustin, for which he was recently nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Variety recently spoke with Colman Domingo...

Long before every conceivable comic book character received a film adaptation in the hopes of becoming the next blockbuster, there was Superman. While box office returns diminished over the course of four movies, the Man of Steel’s big-screen success heralded a crop of other superhero movies. Producers Benjamin Melniker and Michael E. Uslan swooped in to acquire the film rights to DC Comics’ other most well-known character, Batman (and they remain executive producers on every Batman movie), along with a more obscure title, Swamp Thing.

Not unlike a common trajectory in the modern comic book movie boom – in which filmmakers who have proven themselves in the genre space are given the keys to superhero properties – Wes Craven was enlisted to write and direct 1982’s Swamp Thing despite his unfamiliarity with the source material. While he would go on to make a name for himself with A Nightmare on Elm Street next,...

The cult-classic 1982 film Swamp Thing, based on the DC Comics character and directed by acclaimed horror filmmaker Wes Craven, will soon be available in 4K.

Per ComicBook, Mvd Visual is releasing a special collector's edition of Swamp Thing that restores and upgrades the movie to a 4K restoration. The product includes a 16-bit scan of the original camera negative and packages in both the theatrical cut that debuted in the United States as well as the unrated international version, both of which have received the upgrade. The 4K Ultra HD version also includes optional commentary of Craven discussing the project as well as a separate audio track of the makeup artist William Munn talking about the process of creating the titular monster. The standard Blu-ray features special featurettes including interviews with Len Wein, the creator of Swamp Thing, actress Adrienne Barbeau, behind-the-scenes photos and the original theatrical trailer.

Related: Vincent...

Veering sharply away from the visceral horror that put him on the map, Wes Craven followed up the game-changing The Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes with the one-two punch of the silly, surreal Deadly Blessing and the comic-book adaptation Swamp Thing. An enjoyable enough romp if taken as an amiably lunk-headed action flick, Swamp Thing starts off with an effectively mounted first act that soon gives way to a lot of splashing around in the swamps, punctuated with some incongruously poetic (and oddly endearing) Beauty and the Beast-type moments, and liberally peppered with all the airboat crashes and cigar-chomping David Hess close-ups you could ever want. Add to that running tally Adrienne Barbeau doffing her wardrobe for some tastefully lensed skinny-dipping and an ultra-suave, Nietzsche-spouting turn from Louis Jourdan as villainous Dr. Anton Arcane and it all adds up to a surefire cult film in the making.

Mvd Entertainment will release Swamp Thing on July 25th , presenting 4K Uhd and Blu-ray editions that contain both the US theatrical PG cut, along with the unrated international version of the film:

Press Release: Swamp Thing is an American superhero horror film written and directed by Wes Craven, based on the DC Comics character of the same name created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson. It tells the story of a brilliant scientist, Dr. Alec Holland and a government agent, Alice Cable who have developed a secret formula that could end world hunger and change civilization forever. Little do they know, however, that their arch nemesis, Arcane is plotting to steal the serum for his own selfish schemes. Looting the lab and kidnapping Cable, Arcane douses Holland with the chemicals and leaves him for dead in the swamp. Mutated by his own formula, Holland becomes “Swamp Thing” - a half...

Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products announced each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

Swamp Thing 4K Uhd from Mvd

Swamp Thing will be released on 4K Ultra HD on July 25 via Mvd, leading its new 4K LaserVision Collection. (A Blu-ray edition will also be available as part of the Mvd Rewind Collection.) A slipcover and mini poster are included.

Both the PG-rated US version and the unrated international version of the film have been newly restored in 16-bit 4K from the original camera negative with Dolby VIsion/Hdr and DTS-hd Master Audio 2.0 Mono.

Based on the DC Comics character created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, the 1982 superhero horror film is written and directed by master of horror Wes Craven. Louis Jourdan and Adrienne Barbeau star with Ray Wise,...

It’s a big news week for our old pal Swamp Thing. DC Studios head James Gunn announced that a Swamp Thing movie will be part of the first slate of DC films he will be producing as he reboots the DC Universe. The next day, we heard that Logan director James Mangold is in early talks to direct the Swamp Thing movie. This morning, we released a Revisited episode that looks back at director Wes Craven’s 1982 version of Swamp Thing (you can watch that in the embed above). And now Mvd Entertainment is gearing up to give the 1989 sequel The Return of Swamp Thing a 4K Uhd release! The release date is February 7th, and copies can be pre-ordered at This Link.

Directed by Jim Wynorski from a screenplay by Neil Cuthbert and Grant Morris, The Return of Swamp Thing has the following synopsis: After her mother’s mysterious death,...

Just a couple days ago, DC Studios head James Gunn announced that a Swamp Thing movie will be part of the first slate of DC films he will be producing as he reboots the DC Universe. Yesterday, we heard that Logan director James Mangold is in early talks to direct the Swamp Thing movie. So today seemed like the perfect time to release a new episode in the Revisited video series that looks back at the 1982 film adaptation of Swamp Thing (watch it Here). To find out all about the version of Swamp Thing that reached theatres over forty years ago, check out the video embedded above.

The 1982 Swamp Thing was written and directed by legendary genre filmmaker Wes Craven. His film has the following synopsis: Deep in Florida’s darkest everglades, a brilliant scientist, Dr. Alec Holland, and a sexy government agent, Alice Cable, have developed a secret formula...

Cult classic The Return of Swamp Thing is getting a 4K Uhd release this month from Lightyear Entertainment, in celebration of the film's 35th annivesrary, and we have an exclusive clip just for Daily Dead readers!

In time to commemorate its landmark 35th anniversary, everyone’s favorite muck-encrusted plant man is back in a special edition of The Return Of Swamp Thing featuring a stunning new 4K restoration! The must-see sequel to the original cult classic based on the award-winning DC Comics series has been restored from the original interpositive with Dolby Vision Hdr mastering for an optimal viewing experience. On February 7, 2023, Lightyear Entertainment will deliver the fan-favorite genre film on a extras-laden, two-disc 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray set, and via digital outlets for purchase, with rental to follow.

In The Return Of Swamp Thing, Swampy falls for sexy Abigail Arcane, stepdaughter to the world’s maddest scientist, Dr. Anton Arcane.

Italian film legend Gina Lollobrigida, who achieved international stardom during the 1950s and was dubbed “the most beautiful woman in the world” after the title of one of her movies, died in Rome on Monday, her agent said. She was 95.

The agent, Paola Comin, didn’t provide details. Lollobrigida had surgery in September to repair a thigh bone broken in a fall. She returned home and said she had quickly resumed walking.

A drawn portrait of the diva graced a 1954 cover of Time magazine, which likened her to a “goddess” in an article about Italian movie-making. More than a half-century later, Lollobrigida still turned heads with her brown, curly hair and statuesque figure, and preferred to be called an actress instead of the gender-neutral term actor.

Read More: Evel Knievel’s Son Robbie Dies At Age 60 After Pancreatic Cancer Battle

“Lollo,” as she was lovingly nicknamed by Italians, began making...

Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products released each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

The Return of Swamp Thing 4K Uhd from Lightyear Entertainment

I don’t think anyone was expecting to see The Return of Swamp Thing on 4K Ultra HD, especially before Wes Craven’s 1982 original, but it’s coming February 7 from Lightyear Entertainment.

Based on the DC Comics character, the 1989 sequel is directed by Jim Wynorski and written by Neil Cuthbert and Grant Morris. Louis Jourdan, Heather Locklear, Sarah Douglas, and Dick Durock star.

The film been newly restored in 4K from the original interpositive with Dolby Vision Hdr and original 2.0 and 5.1 stereo audio. Special features include two audio commentaries, interviews with Wynorski, Cirino, Rosenthal, and producer Michael Uslan, promotional videos, and more.

Creature from the...

Believe it or not, there once was a time when James Bond movies were fun. And more than fun, Bond himself had fun in them! As difficult as it is to sometimes imagine after Daniel Craig, James Bond was previously a character of high camp and sheepish boarding school humor. And no actor ever better personified that side of Bond than Roger Moore.

Moore was the third actor to portray Bond in Eon Productions’ 007 series, although for many (particularly those who came of age in the ‘70s and ‘80s) he remains the definitive portrayal. With the naturally debonair demeanor, the ease with which he delivers a pun, and ever the boyish twinkle in his eye, Moore was the first Bond who seemed naturally at home in his elite lifestyle. Whereas Sean Connery and George Lazenby could be rough around the edges, suggesting they had to claim their refined place in polite society,...

"On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is a movie that used to be a punchline, and the name of its star, George Lazenby, a joke. Back in the '80s, there were only two "real" choices for best Bond, and they were Roger Moore or Sean Connery. Bringing in Lazenby was like suggesting that Captain Decker could be up to Kirk or Picard standards on "Star Trek." Yet, over the years, and as more Bond films have been released, suddenly it's gaining respect again. By Rotten Tomatoes rankings, it's even a top 10 film!

Part of that reassessment is that Bond no longer feels like a choice between macho Sean Connery and knowingly corny Roger Moore. We've Seen Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton, and Daniel Craig take a crack, and Lazenby's mix of Connery machismo with a bit of Moore-like humor (and a hint of tragedy) now falls better on a spectrum than into a binary.

This article contains No Time to Die spoilers.

The name’s Bond, James Bond. It’s one of the most iconic lines in cinema, said canonically by six actors to date. And each 007 performer has surely offered an interesting and distinctive interpretation of the character, helping to build the franchise’s overall allure decade after decade, and generation after generation. Yet almost as important as these movies’ heroes are their villains; the scheming megalomaniacs who transformed the 60-year-old Bond franchise into a cinematic legend.

Right down to the first Bond film released by Eon Productions in 1962, Dr. No, a mission’s target has been as nearly important as the man in the tux. After all, Dr. No isn’t named after James. Twenty-five movies later that feels still vital, with the most popular entry of Daniel Craig’s tenure, 2012’s Skyfall, being remembered as much for Javier Bardem’s demonic...

On the surface, Cassie Bowden (Kaley Cuoco) is a very successful airline stewardess. The protagonist of HBO Max’s juicy, fun comedy series “The Flight Attendant” lives in New York City and has the primo routes in Europe and in Asia. But she’s also a drunk and quite frankly, a slut. And when she wakes up in bed in her hotel room in Bangkok, she discovers the man she spent the night with who had been her flight is dead with his throat slashed. It’s a delicious eight-season flight with Cuoco and the series earning nominations for the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild Awards and Critics Choice honors. And it’s expected to be a shoo-in for multiple Emmy nominations.

Over the decades, flight attendants have been depicted in movies and on TV from a Madonna to a whore and everything in between. Of course, the most...

Fear No Evil / Ritual of Evil

Blu ray

Kino Lorber

1969, 1970 / 196 Min. / 1:33.1

Starring Louis Jourdan, Wilfred Hyde-White, Bradford Dillman

Cinematography by Andrew J. McIntyre, Lionel Lindon

Directed by Paul Wendkos, Robert Day

Just as she hops into bed with Charles Aznavour in Shoot the Piano Player, Michèle Mercier exclaims, “Television is a cinema that you can see at home.” Et voilà—from Michèle’s lips to Studio City’s ear, Hollywood responded with a new kind of home entertainment, movies made exclusively for TV. The first examples of this awkward hybrid began to appear in the mid-sixties, but it wasn’t the first time the small-screen tried to expand its horizons; CBS beat movie studios to the punch with Playhouse 90‘s original productions of The Miracle Worker in 1957 and Judgment at Nuremberg in 1959. And there was the occasional holiday treat like NBC’s The Pied Piper of Hamelin starring Van Johnson...

Our Halloween episode! The legendary actor and star of Shudder’s The Mortuary Collection talks about his favorite horror movies from his childhood.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Mortuary Collection (2020), now streaming on Shudder!

Nightmare Cinema (2019)

We Come In Pieces: The Rebirth of the Horror Anthology Film (2014)

Bad Boys (1983)

Gentle Giant (1967)

Gone In 60 Seconds (1974)

The Green Slime (1969)

Battle Royale (2000)

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Tarzan’s Three Challenges (1963)

The Professionals (1966)

Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1966)

Ultraman (1967)

Batman (1966)

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

Horror of Dracula (1958)

The Brides of Dracula (1960)

Psycho (1960)

Jack The Ripper (1959)

Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)

The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1974)

Count Dracula (1977)

Son of Dracula (1943)

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

The Haunting (1963)

The Haunting (1999)

The Others (2001)

The Babysitter Murders (2015)

Halloween (1978)

Frankenstein (1931)

King Kong (1933)

Scanners (1981)

Wisconsin Death Trip (1999)

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

The Bride (1985)

Young Frankenstein (1974)

The Love Bug (1968)

Son of Frankenstein (1939)

Son of Kong (1933)

The Road Back (1937)

Crimson Peak...

Contains Dracula episode 1-3 spoilers

Bela Lugosi’s aside, Castle Dracula can often be a let-down, says Arwel W Jones. Tasked with creating his own take on the Transylvanian fortress for 2020 three-part adaptation Dracula, the production designer rewatched countless versions of the story. “You’d see this magnificent castle from afar, and then, due to budget restrictions I assume, you’d end up disappointed by the interior. As you get closer to the front door and the entranceway, it always tended to be a slightly smaller deal.”

For the BBC/Netflix series written by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss and starring Claes Bang in the title role, Jones had to make the castle a big deal. “Scale was one of my mantras. I wanted to convey the scale of the castle, to give a sense of awe, and then for it to carry on inside with a feeling of unease.

Netflix's Dracula has proven to be a divisive adaptation of Bram Stoker's iconic horror masterpiece. Whatever its pitfalls for fans of the genre, one thing is certain; its a love song to the Prince of Darkness. There are references to every prominent cinematic version of Dracula's story, from the classic Hammer Studios films of the '50s and '60s, to the Francis Ford Coppola's romantic tragedy of the early '90s.

Related: 5 Things Netflix's Dracula Got Right (& 5 It Could've Done Better)

Whether subtly (Claes Bang channeling Bela Lugosi's continental charm) or obvious (shot-for-shot replications of Louis Jourdan's Count Dracula), it honors all those who came before it sporting the cape and fangs. But just as it pays homage to its predecessors, it must also chart its own course, and considering Dracula has been featured in over 200 films, the changes seem not only creatively bold but artistically necessary.

Robert “Bob” Ullman, a longtime Broadway and Off Broadway press agent whose career spanned Ethel Merman, A Chorus Line, Curse of the Starving Class and many others, died of cardiac arrest on July 31 in Bayshore, Long Island, New York. He was 97.

His death was announced by longtime friend (and former Broadway press agent) Rev. Joshua Ellis.

Among the many Broadway productions on which Ullman worked were Ethel Merman and Mary Martin: Together on Broadway, A Chorus Line (from workshop to Public Theater to Broadway), Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in The Visit, Lauren Bacall in Cactus Flower, The Dining Room, Driving Miss Daisy, Sunday in the Park with George, and over 150 additional Broadway and off-Broadway plays and musicals.

Actors and theater greats with whom Ullman worked include Tallulah Bankhead, Luise Rainer, James Dean, Dame Edith Evans, Geraldine Page, Phil Silvers, Bert Lahr, Rosemary Harris, James Earl Jones, Sam Waterston, Colleen Dewhurst,...

“See Rome And Find A Husband!”

By Raymond Benson

The title of this review is admittedly facetious, but let’s be honest—it’s what this movie is about!

The time is 1954, the Eisenhower years, and America is at the crossroads of remaining in a conservative, sexually repressed era in which women, regardless if they had a career or not, were supposed to be more interested in finding husbands. Things wouldn’t change until the revolutionary 1960s. Hollywood mainstream pictures perpetuated this notion in the 50s with fare like Three Coins in the Fountain, an extremely popular romantic comedy upon its release. In fact, it received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.

Three American women, Frances (Dorothy McGuire), Anita (Jean Peters), and Maria (Maggie McNamara), all have jobs working for an American company located in Rome, Italy. One would think that would be fulfilling enough… but, no, all three...

Doris Day has died at age 97, her foundation said early on May 13. The actress, singer, and activist was one of the last legends of classic Hollywood, and her intense privacy for the last 30 years of her life only enhanced her mystique.

Day was 22 when she recorded her first number-one hit with “Sentimental Journey;” her final acting credit was the TV series “The Doris Day Show,” which ended its run in 1973. But what she packed into those 30 years is extraordinary: nearly 40 movies and five Billboard #1 hits. Although she started to withdraw from Hollywood in the ’70s, followed by the brief run of a Christian Broadcasting Network talk show in 1985-86, it always felt like there was more to discover in her body of work.

That talk show, “Doris Day’s Best Friends,” was legendary in its own right. In 1985, Rock Hudson, Day’s co-star in frothy comedies such as “Pillow Talk” and “Lover Come Back,...

Ah, yes — it’s a hot day in 1954, so what could be better than a cool movie theater projecting beautiful Italian scenery onto an Eee-Nor-Mous CinemaScope screen, and Frank Sinatra warbling an Oscar-winning tune. The simple escapism of Fox’s ‘three girls find love’ epic makes Rome look like a welcoming haven for carefree Americans — the stars park their car anywhere, and admire the fancy fountains without a single competing tourist to bother them: “It’s the favorable exchange rate!”

Three Coins in the Fountain

Blu-ray

Twilight Time

1954 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 102 min. / Street Date April 16, 2019 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95

Starring: Clifton Webb, Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters, Louis Jourdan, Maggie McNamara, Rossano Brazzi.

Cinematography: Milton R. Krasner

Film Editor: William Reynolds

Original Music: Jule Styne, Victor Young

Written by John Patrick from the novel by John H. Secondari

Produced by Sol C. Siegel

Directed by Jean Negulesco

Back...

[To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the cult classic Heathers, we're celebrating all week long with "Heathers of Horror" special features highlighting our favorite horror performances by women with the same name as the iconic clique from the 1989 dark comedy! Check here to catch up on all of our Heathers Week special features!]

Zoom! Pow! Zap! These are the familiar utterances of my childhood, as comic book heroes on the screen were given over to the less ethereal and the more pragmatic: diamond thieves, bank robbers, maybe the occasional mad scientist to remind you of the fantastical origins of the material. Wes Craven’s Swamp Thing (1982) had certain campy elements, but didn’t completely reach that sugar-coated rush I was looking for. Jim Wynorski’s The Return of Swamp Thing (1989), however, is overflowing with teeth-rotting material that my inner 10-year-old craves.

Let’s be clear: I’m down with the grittier iterations of comic books that have boomed at...

The first 15 years of the Academy Awards were banquet held at various swanky hotels in Los Angeles from the Blossom Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt, the Cocoanut Grove and Fiesta Room at the Ambassador and the Sala D’Doro and the Biltmore Bowl at the Biltmore.

Because the ceremony had grown in attendance and importance, the Oscars finally graduated its 16thyear on March 2, 1944 moving to the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, which then had a capacity of 2,258.

When the ranks of academy members grew two-fold, the Oscars moved to the Shrine Auditorium for the 19thand 20thceremonies. The Shrine was so big-it holds 6,700 seats-the general public was even invited to buy tickets.

But everything changed with the 21stceremony which took place on March 24, 1949. The studio decided to withdraw financial support for the Academy Awards “in order to remove rumors that they had been trying to exert their influence on votes,” explained Robert...

Lisa Immordino Vreeland‬ on Rupert Everett as the voice of Cecil Beaton for Love, Cecil: "I always wanted him. That was my first instinct. I love him." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

In the second half of my conversation with the director of Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict and Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel, Lisa Immordino Vreeland discusses more about her latest documentary Love, Cecil and the connections to Rupert Everett, Robin Muir, and Paul Lyon-Maris.

We also spoke about Cecil Beaton as the production and costume designer for Vincente Minnelli's Gigi with Leslie Caron and Louis Jourdan, his stormy relationship with George Cukor on My Fair Lady, a Manolo Blahnik comment quoting Beaton on a Gary Cooper photograph, and an upcoming Truman Capote project.

‪Lisa Immordino Vreeland‬ on Cecil Beaton: "What interested me was that he really wanted to put everything on a stage. His whole life...

Mvd Entertainment Group is heading back to the bog this May with their special Blu-ray release of Jim Wynorski's The Return of Swamp Thing. The fifth release in Mvd's Rewind Collection, The Return of Swamp Thing will include a 2K transfer of the 1989 movie, a new audio commentary, and several fresh interviews that are detailed in the full list of bonus features:

From Mvd Rewind Collection's Facebook Page: "Mvd Rewind Collection #5 is The Return Of Swamp Thing! Street Date is May 8, 2018.

This one has been driving me crazy because everytime I think we are done with adding bonus material, the head of Lightyear Entertainment keeps bringing me more. Now this is subject to change, but I think what we have below is what will be on the release. It's jam packed and I'm super stoked to get this on Blu-ray.

America’S Favorite Superhero Is Back In Action!

After her mother's mysterious death,...

This devastating romantic melodrama is Max Ophüls’ best American picture — perhaps because it seems so European? It’s probably Joan Fontaine’s finest hour as well, and Louis Jourdan comes across as a great actor in a part perfect for his screen personality. The theme could be called, ‘No regrets,’ but also, ‘Everything is to be regretted.’

Letter from an Unknown Woman

Blu-ray

Olive Signature

1948 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 87 min. / Street Date December 5, 2017 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98

Starring: Joan Fontaine, Louis Jourdan, Mady Christians, Marcel Journet, Art Smith, Carol Yorke, Howard Freeman, John Good, Leo B. Pessin, Erskine Sanford, Otto Waldis, Sonja Bryden.

Cinematography: Franz Planer

Film Editor: Ted J. Kent

Original Music: Daniele Amfitheatrof

Written by Howard Koch from a story by Stefan Zweig

Produced by John Houseman

Directed by Max Ophüls

A young woman’s romantic nature goes beyond all limits, probing the nature of True Love.

By Jeremy Carr

Alfred Hitchcock may have directed The Paradine Case, the 1947 adaptation of Robert Smythe Hichens’ 1933 novel, but the film is most clearly a David O. Selznick production. It was his coveted property, he wrote the screenplay (with contributions from Alma Reville, James Bridie, and an uncredited Ben Hecht), and the movie itself discloses far more of its producer’s temperament than it does its director’s. The Paradine Case was, in fact, the last film made by the British-born master as part of his seven-year contract with Selznick, and by most accounts, Hitchcock’s heart just wasn’t in it. Unfortunately, it shows.

But this is no slipshod motion picture. Selznick spared no expense—the completed film cost almost as much as Gone with the Wind—and the entire project is built on quality and class. Set in London, in “the recent past,” The Paradine Case stars an...

Nick Aldwinckle Jul 20, 2017

Our latest round up of genre DVDs and Blu-rays is here, with Wes Craven, Creepozoids, Dario Argento and more...

With the DC cinematic universe currently riding high on the coattails of Wonder Woman, Patty Jenkins’ megahit antidote to the miserablism of messrs Bats and Soops, it would seem churlish to point out that company’s past failures. Things being as they are, though, with the recent release of a camp classic on Blu-ray, it’s time to do precisely that.

The sequel to Wes Craven’s 1982 superhero effort that was more Toxie than Alan Moore, Jim Wynorski’s 1989 adaptation of the tale of scientist turned mutant bog creature Alec Holland, slyly monikered The Return Of Swamp Thing, cranks the ridiculousness dial right up to 'comedy horror' level. As Swampy meets the love of his life, Abigail – Heather (Locklear) be thy name – and battles the evil Anton Arcane (Louis Jourdan,...

Tony Sokol Jun 20, 2017

Dracula is returning to England. Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat are in talks to produce new series for BBC...

Sherlock creators Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat have detected another classic novel to sink their teeth into. Bram Stoker’s Dracula begins with a real estate deal. Jonathan Harker secures the Transylvanian count some scattered properties in Whitby, England, where he can kick off his cape and hide his native soil. Those hiding places are discovered through some stiff detective work. 127 years after the 1897 publication of the classic horror novel, the quintessential vampire will be returning to England. Moffat and Gatiss are in negotiations with the BBC to create a new Dracula miniseries.

See related Steven Spielberg's Duel: An Appreciation Top 10 Simon Pegg film and TV roles Zak Penn interview: Atari: Game Over, Ready Player One

Dracula will be the first time Moffat and Gatiss have collaborated since Sherlock aired its long awaited season 4 earlier this year. The future of Sherlock has not yet been decided. Work on the new Dracula series will begin after Moffat finishes his sixth and final season on Doctor Who.

Dracula has been adapted for stage, screen and TV many times. Stoker wrote the first theatrical version. It was first adapted to film by F. W. Murnau in Nosferatu in 1922. Bela Lugosi went from stage to screen when he starred in the 1931 Universal Studios classic. The BBC produced the TV movie Count Dracula, starring Louis Jourdan in 1977.

Gatiss is on record as a fan of the 1958 Hammer Horror version of Dracula, which starred Christopher Lee as the count and Peter Cushing as Dr. Van Helsing. Moffat took on classic horror in 2007 when he wrote the series Jekyll. Gatiss played Dracula in a full-cast audio play from Big Finish in 2016.

There is no word on whether Dracula will be set in modern day England.

Source: Variety...

This isn’t the only Alfred Hitchcock film for which the love does not flow freely, but his 1947 final spin on the David O. Selznick-go-round is more a subject for study than Hitch’s usual fun suspense ride. Gregory Peck looks unhappy opposite Selznick ‘discovery’ Alida Valli, while an utterly top-flight cast tries to bring life to mostly irrelevant characters. Who comes off best? Young Louis Jourdan, that’s who.

The Paradine Case

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1947 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 125 min. / Street Date May 30, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring Gregory Peck, Alida Valli, Ann Todd, Charles Laughton, Louis Jourdan, Ethel Barrymore, Joan Tetzel.

Cinematography Lee Garmes

Production Designer J. McMillan Johnson

Film Editors John Faure, Hal C. Kern

Original Music Franz Waxman

Writing credits James Bridie, Alma Reville, David O. Selznick from the novel by Robert Hichens

Produced by David O. Selznick

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

There...

Love in the Afternoon

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1957 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 130 min. / Street Date February 7, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring Gary Cooper, Audrey Hepburn, Maurice Chevalier, John McGiver, Van Doude, Lise Bourdin, Louis Jourdan, Betty Schneider.

Cinematography: William C. Mellor

Film Editor: Leonid Azar

Art Direction: Alexandre Trauner

Adapted Music: Franz Waxman

Written by: Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond from a novel by Claude Anet

Produced and Directed by Billy Wilder

A favorite of Billy Wilder-philes, Love in the Afternoon is a strong expression of the ‘romantic-Lubitsch’ vein in Wilder’s work. It’s essentially a return to the early ’30s Lubitsch comedies with Maurice Chevalier, but played in a more bittersweet Viennese register. It’s also Wilder’s first collaboration with the comedy screenwriter I.A.L. Diamond. Together they fashion the predominantly verbal comedy machine that will carry them through three or four big hits, and a few losers that have become classics anyway.

'Ben-Hur' 1959 with Stephen Boyd and Charlton Heston: TCM's '31 Days of Oscar.' '31 Days of Oscar': 'Lawrence of Arabia' and 'Ben-Hur' are in, Paramount stars are out Today, Feb. 1, '16, Turner Classic Movies is kicking off the 21st edition of its “31 Days of Oscar.” While the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is being vociferously reviled for its “lack of diversity” – more on that appallingly myopic, self-serving, and double-standard-embracing furore in an upcoming post – TCM is celebrating nearly nine decades of the Academy Awards. That's the good news. The disappointing news is that if you're expecting to find rare Paramount, Universal, or Fox/20th Century Fox entries in the mix, you're out of luck. So, missing from the TCM schedule are, among others: Best Actress nominees Ruth Chatterton in Sarah and Son, Nancy Carroll in The Devil's Holiday, Claudette Colbert in Private Worlds. Unofficial Best Actor...

Exclusive: SAG-aftra is holding $48 million in unclaimed residuals for more than 96,000 performers it can't locate, many of whom die without ever knowing that the union is holding their money. At Saturday night's SAG Awards gala, nearly 60% of the 42 actors honored during the In Memoriam tribute were owed money when they died including David Bowie, Leonard Nimoy, Omar Sharif, Christopher Lee, Robert Loggia and Louis Jourdan. Abe Vigoda, who died last week, was also owed…...

Exclusive: SAG-aftra is holding $48 million in unclaimed residuals for more than 96,000 performers it can't locate, many of whom die without ever knowing that the union is holding their money. At Saturday night's SAG Awards gala, nearly 60% of the 42 actors honored during the In Memoriam tribute were owed money when they died including David Bowie, Leonard Nimoy, Omar Sharif, Christopher Lee, Robert Loggia and Louis Jourdan. Abe Vigoda, who died last week, was also owed…...

Danièle Delorme: 'Gigi' 1949 actress and pioneering female film producer. Danièle Delorme: 'Gigi' 1949 actress was pioneering woman producer, politically minded 'femme engagée' Danièle Delorme, who died on Oct. 17, '15, at the age of 89 in Paris, is best remembered as the first actress to incarnate Colette's teenage courtesan-to-be Gigi and for playing Jean Rochefort's about-to-be-cuckolded wife in the international box office hit Pardon Mon Affaire. Yet few are aware that Delorme was featured in nearly 60 films – three of which, including Gigi, directed by France's sole major woman filmmaker of the '40s and '50s – in addition to more than 20 stage plays and a dozen television productions in a show business career spanning seven decades. Even fewer realize that Delorme was also a pioneering woman film producer, working in that capacity for more than half a century. Or that she was what in French is called a femme engagée...

Yesterday, a report surfaced that revealed a few of the actors and actresses being considered for key roles in Warner Bros.' Justice League Dark. While nothing is set in stone yet, Colin Farrell is reportedly being eyed to play John Constantine, along with Ewan McGregor, while Monica Bellucci is the top choice to play Madame Xanadu and Ron Perlman is being eyed to play Swamp Thing. Today we have yet another casting rumor from Heroic Hollywood, which claims that Ben Mendelsohn (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) is being eyed for the main villain role, Anton Arcane. While it doesn't seem that an official offer has been made, the actor's involvement may hinge on one key factor.

The actor will reportedly consider taking on the role, but that will depend on who Warner Bros. chooses to direct Justice League Dark. Guillermo del Toro wrote the script and he was...

There has been a string of casting rumors recently for Warner Bros.' Justice League Dark film. Some of those actors included Ron Perlman as Swamp Thing, and Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor being eyed for Constantine. Heroic Hollywood is now reporting that Ben Mendelsohn is being looked at for the role of the villain, Anton Arcane.

Created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, Anton Arcane is considered Swamp Thing's arch nemesis. Anton Arcane is a mad scientist obsessed with gaining immortality which has led him to create monstrous creatures known as "Un-Men" as well as other monstrous biogenetic experimentations involving the dead.  Back in the day, Louis Jourdan portrayed Anton Arcane in the 1982 movie version of Swamp Thing for director Wes Craven. Jourdan also reprised the role in the 1989 sequel The Return of Swamp Thing.

With all this information starting leak out, it sounds like Warner Bros. is...

Christoph Waltz has picked up two Oscars for diabolical roles in Quentin Tarantino films, so it's no surprise he's a perfect fit in "Spectre," where he plays a diabolical nemesis to James Bond. But there's something striking about Waltz menacing Daniel Craig; like Louis Jourdan as Kamal Khan in "Octopussy," he's one of the few Bond villains to be as dapper and debonair as the hero himself. That led us to an essay question: Could Christoph Waltz play James Bond?  In our interview with Waltz in Mexico City, the actor said that in order to take over the role of 007, there'd have to be some serious character changes. "If there's like a dangerous situation that needs to be solved by jumping onto a helicopter that's about to take off, I would let it go," Waltz said. "We could continue in an interesting, meaningful discussion somewhere in a cafe."  We also...

Following James Bond’s out of this world experience in the financially successful (665 million, adjusted for inflation) if artistically vapid Moonraker, the series’ sole producer, Albert Broccoli, thought it best to venture in a different direction, one that would feel slightly more grounded, all the while still playing on the strengths of his star: cool wit, affable mannerism and charm. A new director in John Glenn was now on board, who would go on to direct every single entry from the 80s, including Timothy Dalton’s two adventures. A new production designer in Peter Lamont was also now in charge of sets. Both had worked their way up in the ‘Bond family business’ so to speak, and, along with the leftover story elements from the far grittier Ian Fleming novels, the 007 films of the early 80s would take on a different tone and feel from the voodoo, space travel and...

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Jokers, circus masters and demonic dolls. Which TV characters terrify you? Den Of Geek asked its writers that very question…

The subconscious is a terrible place; dark, mysterious and peopled by spectres from the past. As a bit of a laugh then, we sent our writers journeying into theirs and asked them to drag out any TV terrors they found lurking in the shadows.

Some television fears had been ensconced there since childhood, others were more recent tenants. Some were morally terrifying; human beings with icy hearts capable of atrocities, others were simply… atrocities.

Join us as we count down in order of terror from the sort-of-creepy to the downright terrifying, the 50 TV characters that, for whatever reason, give our writers chills. It’s by no means an exhaustive list, so feel free to fill in gaps by adding your own peculiar television nightmares below…

50. Charn -...

It is with a heavy heart that we at Shadowlocked give a fond farewell to one of the true masters of modern horror. Wes Craven has passed away at the age of 76 after a long battle with brain cancer.

Born on August 2, 1939 in Cleveland, Ohio. He received an undergraduate degree in English and Psychology from Wheaton College in Illinois and a master's degree in Philosophy and Writing from Johns Hopkins University. He then started out a teacher at Westminster College and then Clarkson College of Technology before getting his first job in the film industry, working as a sound editor for a post-production company in New York City. Craven claimed that he then worked on "numerous" hardcore X-rated films, mostly in editing and writing.

In 1972, Craven got his shot at his first directorial effort with Last House on the Left, a tale of a family who takes revenge on the...

Ann-Margret movies: From sex kitten to two-time Oscar nominee. Ann-Margret: 'Carnal Knowledge' and 'Tommy' proved that 'sex symbol' was a remarkable actress Ann-Margret, the '60s star who went from sex kitten to respected actress and two-time Oscar nominee, is Turner Classic Movies' star today, Aug. 13, '15. As part of its “Summer Under the Stars” series, TCM is showing this evening the movies that earned Ann-Margret her Academy Award nods: Mike Nichols' Carnal Knowledge (1971) and Ken Russell's Tommy (1975). Written by Jules Feiffer, and starring Jack Nicholson and Art Garfunkel, the downbeat – some have found it misogynistic; others have praised it for presenting American men as chauvinistic pigs – Carnal Knowledge is one of the precursors of “adult Hollywood moviemaking,” a rare species that, propelled by the success of disparate arthouse fare such as Vilgot Sjöman's I Am Curious (Yellow) and Costa-Gavras' Z, briefly flourished from...

Theodore Bikel. Theodore Bikel dead at 91: Oscar-nominated actor and folk singer best known for stage musicals 'The Sound of Music,' 'Fiddler on the Roof' Folk singer, social and union activist, and stage, film, and television actor Theodore Bikel, best remembered for starring in the Broadway musical The Sound of Music and, throughout the U.S., in Fiddler on the Roof, died Monday morning (July 20, '15) of "natural causes" at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. The Austrian-born Bikel – as Theodore Meir Bikel on May 2, 1924, in Vienna, to Yiddish-speaking Eastern European parents – was 91. Fled Hitler Thanks to his well-connected Zionist father, six months after the German annexation of Austria in March 1938 ("they were greeted with jubilation by the local populace," he would recall in 2012), the 14-year-old Bikel and his family fled to Palestine, at the time a British protectorate. While there, the teenager began acting on stage,...

Ron Moody as Fagin in 'Oliver!' based on Charles Dickens' 'Oliver Twist.' Ron Moody as Fagin in Dickens musical 'Oliver!': Box office and critical hit (See previous post: "Ron Moody: 'Oliver!' Actor, Academy Award Nominee Dead at 91.") Although British made, Oliver! turned out to be an elephantine release along the lines of – exclamation point or no – Gypsy, Star!, Hello Dolly!, and other Hollywood mega-musicals from the mid'-50s to the early '70s.[1] But however bloated and conventional the final result, and a cast whose best-known name was that of director Carol Reed's nephew, Oliver Reed, Oliver! found countless fans.[2] The mostly British production became a huge financial and critical success in the U.S. at a time when star-studded mega-musicals had become perilous – at times downright disastrous – ventures.[3] Upon the American release of Oliver! in Dec. 1968, frequently acerbic The...

We've arrived at Roger Moore's penultimate Bond. But isn't it about time somebody fought Octopussy's corner?

After the comedown of For Your Eyes Only, the series is back on a high. A very good-natured, occasionally thrilling escapade that boasts an impressive roster of villains, a finely developed heroine, unusually meaty roles for series stalwarts General Gogol and Q, a nuclear bomb and a gloriously stupid title. Yes, Roger Moore has aged to the point where counting the wrinkles is a legitimate distraction. And many valid criticisms can be levelled about plot and credibility. But the good outweighs, or certainly overwhelms, the bad in Octopussy. Still, he really should have quit after this one.

The Villain: Kamal Khan got his break by winning the talent competition Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar - and that was just the beginning. 2012 hit Ishk Sufiana launched Khan into stardom and he bagged...