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It is a time-honored tradition in Hollywood that at a certain point of a movie star's career, they'll give an interview during which they'll reveal, "What I'd really like to do is direct." If what they'd also like to do is win an Oscar, it's not the worst idea. Established actors Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, Richard Attenborough, Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson, and Ron Howard all earned the Academy Award for Best Director, so the allure is there. Whether they've the talent and temperament to call the shots behind the camera is something you can't know until they give it a shot. Unless that person is Gary Busey.

The movie star's desire to direct wasn't so much of a thing in the 1940s and 1950s. If actors had aspirations beyond on-screen renown, they generally wanted to produce. This is what the biggest star of this period, John Wayne, did...

Gene Hackman, the versatile leading man renowned for his smoldering performance as hard-nosed New York City narc Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in The French Connection, has died. He was 95.

The much-admired two-time Oscar winner and his second wife, Betsy Hackman, 64, were found dead Wednesday at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They had lived in a gated community northeast of the city since the 1980s.

In a statement to the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said, “We can confirm that both Gene Hackman and his wife were found deceased Wednesday afternoon at their residence on Sunset Trail.” One of their three dogs also died.

A search warrant ruled that the deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.”

His daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie, and granddaughter Annie noted in a statement that Hackman was “loved and admired by millions around...

The Batman and The Penguin offer a very grounded interpretation of Gotham City. While the version in DC Comics sees all sorts of superheroes and vigilantes flying around fighting absurd supervillains (like Calendar Man), Matt Reeves' take on Gotham has grounded the city in reality. The Penguin itself takes obvious inspiration from classic crime dramas like Goodfellas, The Godfather, and HBO's own The Sopranos. But Reeves' Gotham as a whole was inspired by William Friedkin's The French Connection.

In an exclusive interview with MovieWeb, The Penguin production designer Kalina Ivanov explained how Matt Reeves and showrunner Lauren LeFranc wanted their version of Gotham to be inspired by Friedkin's timeless '70s classic. "[Something] that Matt said to us and Lauren was that he really wanted us to look at The French Connection," Ivanov said. Reeves' version of Gotham was inspired by a 1980s version of New York. While The French Connection...

TCM is honoring William Friedkin's career with a two-night event showcasing five of his best films, including The French Connection and The Exorcist. Friedkin had a successful Hollywood career, directing acclaimed films across various genres such as Sorcerer and Killer Joe. Hollywood mourned Friedkin's death and praised his genius and influence, with collaborators and actors from The Exorcist speaking highly of him.

Turner Classic Movies will celebrate the life and career of the late, great William Friedkin with a two-night event. TCM's tribute will showcase five films, the first three airing on Thursday, September 14, and the remaining two airing Sunday, November 26. September's event will feature The French Connection, To Live and Die in L.A., and The Boys in the Band; while November's event kicks off with the TCM premiere of Friedkin Uncut, a documentary about Friedkin's life and work, and concludes with The Exorcist.

Early in his career, Friedkin...

William Friedkin was, simply put, a legend.

His technical prowess, mastery of tone and commitment to storytelling were unparalleled. And so was his willingness to push the boundaries of what was acceptable. It wasn’t that he was merely challenging good taste; it was that he wanted to go beyond what had come before. And sometimes that made people very uncomfortable. Friedkin’s career is largely defined by this kind of artful provocation, and it makes his passing — especially in the current age of pre-packaged, vacuum-sealed mass entertainment — all the more devastating. We didn’t just lose one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation; we lost an outspoken advocate for the kind of movies they just don’t make anymore.

Thankfully, Friedkin left behind a bounty of modern classics – movies that become richer, more rewarding, and, yes, more provocative, the more times you watch them. Here are seven of his most essential,...

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

From the beginning, Wayne wanted to...

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

Cinema Retro's Todd Garbarini with Sonny Grosso at a screening of The French Connection in 2010.

By Todd Garbarini

Salvatore Anthony Grosso, known affectionately as Sonny Grosso, passed away on Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at the age of 89. If his name doesn’t ring a bell, his work most assuredly did. Mr. Grosso was originally a New York City police detective who was the partner of Detective Eddie Egan. These two gentlemen both, on a hunch, broke up an organized crime ring which resulted in the seizure of 112 pounds of heroin. This then-unprecedented bust in 1961 provided the basis for the 1969 Robin Moore chronicle of their exploits, The French Connection, and was made into the Oscar-winning classic film of the same name two years later, resulting in a Best Picture win for producer Philip D’Antoni, Best Director for William Friedkin, Best Actor for Gene Hackman (he personified Eddie Egan’s Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle...

We examine the real story behind The French Connection, and look at how police procedural flicks were never the same afterward.

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The French Connection is a seminal work in cop movies. It was that first sniff that hooked the moviegoing public on Hollywood’s war on drugs. It changed the look and the dynamic of law enforcement on film by focusing on the worn heels and tires of street-level surveillance. The movie should be boring with all that waiting around and stealthy shadowing, but the pacing and the performances keep it moving at a breakneck pace comparable to chasing a subway. The French Connection is probably the closest Hollywood has come to a true on-the-street crime procedural in a blockbuster. Things that are cliché in cop movies now were invented here.

The French Connection screeched into theaters in 1971. It was directed by William Friedkin, produced by Philip D'Antoni,...

As he has before, Edgar Chaput has inspired me with one of his pieces, this one – part of Sos’s recent Bond Fest — concerning the loopy 1967 Casino Royale. As I commented on Edgar’s piece, I didn’t disagree that Royale was a royal mess after having passed through the hands of one director after another (and one screenwriter after another as well). Mess though it was, however, I found it – as I wrote – a “fascinating mess.” Maybe that’s just a holdover from seeing it as a 12-year-old when so much about the movie seemed so dizzyingly novel at the time: it’s casual sexuality, bawdy humor, wink-to-the-audience jokes, hallucinogenic visuals, Burt Bacharach’s poptastic score. In a way, the fact that the movie didn’t make much sense and caromed from one directorial style to another only added to the sensory overload it unloaded on a pre-adolescent.

What...

I looked for him, but he was gone. I checked the boozy dives and the greasy spoons and the street corners where the not-nice girls hang out.

Nothing.

He was gone.

Tall guy, fedora, trench coat. You must’ve seen him. Usually smoking. He was always hanging around, poking his nose where it didn’t belong and usually getting it punched.

A real wisenheimer, too, always cracking wise.

You see him, you call. And if I find out you’ve been holding back…

If you don’t miss that kind of patois, you’re either too young to remember it, or you’ve got a tin ear. God knows, I miss it.

Back in May, some of you might remember I interviewed Road to Perdition author Max Allan Collins (http://www.soundonsight.org/max-allan-collins-road-to-perdition-on-carrying-on-mickey-spillanes-legacy/). A lot of the discussion had to do with his connection with one of the giants of private eye fiction,...

There are all kinds of producers: hucksters, hustlers, con men and schlockmeisters. Some are in it for the glory, some like to walk the red carpet with a starlet on their arm. For some, the biggest award is a box office hit and it doesn’t matter what kind of crap they throw on the screen to earn it. There are producers like Harvey Weinstein who will spend more money to promote himself to an Oscar win than he does on actually making the Oscar-winning film. And there are producers like Joel Silver who once said the only proper role for women in film was either as a dead body or naked.

And there are those – who, to be honest, may also have a touch of all of this – who are mainly driven by a desire to make good movies. Like Dick Zanuck.

I don’t think anyone will argue...

There are all kinds of producers: hucksters, hustlers, con men and schlockmeisters. Some are in it for the glory, some like to walk the red carpet with a starlet on their arm. For some, the biggest award is a box office hit and it doesn’t matter what kind of crap they throw on the screen to earn it. There are producers like Harvey Weinstein who will spend more money to promote himself to an Oscar win than he does on actually making the Oscar-winning film. And there are producers like Joel Silver who once said the only proper role for women in film was either as a dead body or naked.

And there are those – who, to be honest, may also have a touch of all of this – who are mainly driven by a desire to make good movies. Like Dick Zanuck.

I don’t think anyone will argue...

A Planet Fury-approved selection of notable genre releases for April.

Night Gallery: Season 3 DVD Available Now

The third and final season (1972–73) of Rod Serling’s underrated series finally comes to DVD. Season 3 (with episodes downsized to half an hour) is generally considered inferior to the first two years, but it still contains several classic episodes. Best of all, Jim Benson and Scott Skelton, co-authors of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery: An After-Hours Tour, helped put together a “lost” episode featuring four segments that were heavily altered for syndication. Guest stars this season include Mickey Rooney, Vincent Price, Burgess Meredith and gorgeous Joanna Pettet (The Evil).

Thou Shalt Not Kill… Except (1985) Blu-ray/DVD combo Available Now

One of the last great exploitation films of the ‘80s to receive wide theatrical distribution, this gonzo action/horror hybrid from director Josh Becker features many names from the Evil Dead team, both...

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Swedish release poster for The French Connection.

Cinema Retro columnist Todd Garbarini was invited by the Film Forum to an advance screening of a remastered print of The French Connection. Here is his report:

NYPD is the name of the festival of New York-based films currently screening at Manhattan’s repertoire theater, the Film Forum. Originally mounted at the same time in 2001, the festival was interrupted by the terrorist attacks on that fateful Tuesday morning.

Among the screenings is a nine-day engagement of William Friedkin’s Oscar-winning The French Connection from 1971 which runs from September 14 – 22. Nominated for eight Academy Awards and scoring golden statues for Best Picture, Best Director (Friedkin), Best Actor (Gene Hackman), Best Screenplay (Ernest Tidyman’s adaptation of Robin Moore’s book), and Best Editing (Jerry Greenberg), The French Connection is a masterpiece of visual storytelling loosely based upon the...

Hurricane Irene is coming. So, why not enjoy your weekend hibernation with a new music video. Well, this indoor activity only applies to you east coasters, but west coasters, you should also check out the clip, regardless of the weather. Our first video to introduce you to is that of Pale’d track, “That Stinking Feeling”. The quartet consists of vocalist and guitarist, Calvin Stanley, guitarist and keyboardist, Robin Moore, bassist, Stephen Wesson and drummer, Travis Middour. In the video for “That Stinking Feeling”, the four put on a dramatic rock performance that ideally correlates with the tune’s theatrical vibe. The dark imagery of the band performing the tune intertwines flawlessly...

(Celebrating award week with a look at one of Oscar’s most notable champions: The French Connection. Thirty-nine years ago, Connection – besides being one of the biggest hits of the 1970s – was the top winner at the Academy Awards walking away with gold for Best Picture [collected by producer Phil D’Antoni], Director [William Friedkin], Actor [Gene Hackman], Adapted Screenplay [by Ernest Tidyman], and Editing [Gerald Greenburg].)

“I grew up in a world where Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney …these were the heroes. Not the cops. Cops were the bad guys. Or they were stumbling around, couldn’t find their asses with both hands.”

So says Sonny Grosso, and it is a screen icongraphy he has worked hard to change. Grosso-Jacobson Communications has produced over 750 hours of programming for network and premium and basic cable television in its thirty-odd years. Though its output has run from Pee Wee’s Playhouse to adventure fare like Counterstrike, the most acclaimed of the company’s offerings...

By Todd Garbarini

The French Connection was screened Friday evening at the Walter Reade Theater in New York in a beautiful 35mm print. Part of a series of films that won Oscars and were filmed in the Big Apple, the series continues on Saturday with screenings of Klute, The Subject Was Roses (Ulu Grosbard in person), Kramer Vs. Kramer (Stanley Jaffe in person), and Raging Bull. Sunday will see screenings of The Godfather and Annie Hall.

Film director William Friedkin was on hand following the screening of his 1971 film to entertain the audience with anecdotes and answer questions about what went on behind the scenes. Joining the Oscar-winning director onstage was former New York City Police Detective Salvatore “Sonny” Grosso who, with his former partner Eddie Egan, helped break the actual 1961 French Connection case upon which the film is based, and who played the role of Klein in the film.

Oscar-winning director William Friedkin.

In July of 1997, I conducted the first of two lengthy interviews with director William Friedkin, regarded by many as the "enfant terrible" of the so-called "Easy Riders and Raging Bulls" generation of filmmakers who, for one brief, shining moment, seemed to reinvent American cinema in the late '60s thru the late '70s. Meeting Friedkin was something of a milestone for me at the time: I was still in my 20s, had been writing for Venice Magazine less than a year, and "Billy," as he likes people to call him, was the first person I interviewed who was one of my childhood heroes--a filmmaker whose one-sheets hung on my bedroom walls when I was growing up.

Below are the two interviews, conducted a decade apart from one another, and posted in reverse chronology. In both, Billy reveals a cunning intellect, a sometimes abrasive personal style,...

Chicago – Why some films are released on Blu-ray while others languish unavailable even on standard DVD can be quite mysterious. Take for example the recent release of John Wayne’s controversial war film “The Green Berets,” a slice of war propaganda designed to pump up American support of our involvement in Vietnam. Why this movie? Why now? Whatever the reason, I’m all for more classics on Blu-ray and WB holds the rights to many so I’d like to support more releases like “The Green Berets,” even if there are hundreds of better films that could have been picked first.

Blu-Ray Rating: 2.5/5.0

Is it possible that someone has sense of humor enough to time the release of “The Green Berets” with last month’s release of “Inglourious Basterds,” Quentin Tarantino’s WWII film about the power of propaganda? Or even that seeing that movie last summer reminded someone of Wayne’s,...

Joe Kubert is one of the legendary figures of the comic book industry, known as much for his famed art school as he is the artist of books like “Sgt. Rock” and “Hawkman.” He had narrowly missed World War II — and in fact one of his earliest jobs was working on “The Spirit” when Will Eisner was drafted — but in the early 50’s the creator’s number was called, and he joined the Korean conflict. The following interview is from 2001, where we discuss his wartime experiences, his involvement with war comics and…his connection to the Three Stooges? Yup. Read on, as we honor our fallen veterans.

You were in your teens in 1947. Do you remember where you were when Pearl Harbor was attacked?

I recall that rather vividly. I was in my early teens. I was born in 1926, so I was about 15 and was already working as a cartoonist.