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Only one episode remains until Dr. Robby and the medical team at The Pitt finish out their long, chaotic shift. Before that, however, the first season's penultimate episode introduced two new characters into the fold that series star and executive producer Noah Wyle was very excited for. The first was a cameo for the Chucky fans, as Brad Dourif reunited on-screen with his daughter Fiona Dourif to play the in-universe father to her character, Dr. Cassie McKay. The other, meanwhile, gave some added depth to Robby, with Brothers & Sisters star Sarah Jane Morris stepping in to play the senior attending physician's ex-girlfriend, Janey. In an interview with TV Line, Wyle discussed both the personal and in-universe importance of bringing the two actors on board before the season finale.

Episode 14 of The Pitt, titled "8:00 P.M.," sees the emergency room team still dealing with the fallout of the mass shooting at PittFest,...

Mystery solved… well, sort of: The penultimate episode of The Pitt stopped short of revealing the identity of the PittFest shooter, but cleared troubled teen David of any wrongdoing.

Roughly a third of the way through Episode 14, chief medical officer Gloria informed the emergency department that S.W.A.T. found the shooter, already dead, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. His identity and his motive remain unknown — but to Dana’s point, “Does it matter?”

More from TVLineHas <em>The Pitt’</em>s Dr. Robby Reached His Breaking Point? Noah Wyle Unpacks Devastating Last Scene in Episode 13TVLine’s Performer of the...

NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.

Brooklyn Center for Theatre Research

Éric Rohmer’s A Tale of Autumn screens on Sunday courtesy of Amnesiascope and Rohmer Fits.

Roxy Cinema

A 35mm print of Silent Hill shows Friday and Saturday, as does a Radiohead-scored Nosferatu; the latter day brings Apocalypse Now: Final Cut and a print of Love Streams; Francis Ford Coppola’s Tetro screens on Sunday.

Anthology Film Archives

A Brad Dourif retrospective includes the actor in-person for Wise Blood on Saturday and Horseplayer on Sunday; films by Dreyer play in “Essential Cinema.”

IFC Center

The Guy Maddin series “Forbidden Rooms” begins; black-and-white restoration of Johnny Mnemonic and Julian Schnabel’s Basquiat play, as does a 40th-anniversary restoration of Paris, Texas; Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch play late.

Museum of Modern Art...

In a career that lasted four decades, the great character actor Ned Beatty worked with a number of the greatest film directors in history, starting out with John Boorman and 1972’s “Deliverance,” in which he made his spectacular screen debut. From there, he went on to work with such screen legends as Robert Altman, Sidney Lumet, John Huston, Mike Nichols and Spike Lee.

Beatty was nominated for an Academy Award for 1976’s “Network,” directed by Lumet, as well as a Golden Globe Award nomination for portraying an Irish tenor in 1991’s “Hear My Song.” Beatty did not appear in films until he was 35 years old and was immediately pegged as a character actor, a category in which he flourished. His other film credits include “Nashville,” “Superman,” “Wise Blood” and “Toy Story 3.” He died in 2021.

Tour our photo gallery ranking his 12 greatest screen performances from worst to best.

Ethan Hawke’s Wildcat won’t tell you much about what Flannery O’Connor accomplished. The audience won’t learn about O’Connor’s place in the literary world, the larger culture, or alongside other consciously Catholic fiction writers like Graham Greene. There’s a worthy determination to the way that Wildcat sees O’Connor’s world almost entirely from her mystical, pain-rattled perspective. But by limiting the film’s viewpoint so strictly, Hawke and co-screenwriter Shelby Gaines miss an opportunity to introduce O’Connor to a wider audience.

Hawke’s gnomic biopic opens with a 24-year-old O’Connor (Maya Hawke) trying to make it in New York, circa 1950. Having won a literary prize while attending the prestigious Iowa Writers Workshop, she’s trying to get her first novel, Wise Blood, published. But O’Connor, incapable of small talk or artistic compromise, isn’t a striving literary ingenue working the angles and currying favor.

"An inquiry into the broken nature of grace." Oscope Labs has revealed an official trailer for Wildcat, the latest feature film directed by beloved American actor Ethan Hawke, following up his feature Blaze from 2018. This one originally premiered at the 2023 Telluride & Toronto Film Festivals last year, with stops at Zurich & Stockholm as well. This time it's a family affair - it follows the life of writer Flannery O'Connor while she was struggling to publish her first novel (titled "Wise Blood" published in 1952), starring Ethan's own daughter Maya Hawke as Flannery. Directed & co-written by 4-time Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke, Wildcat invites viewers to weave in & out of celebrated Southern Gothic writer Flannery O'Connor's mind as she ponders the great questions of her writing: Can scandalous art still serve God? Does suffering precede all greatness? Can illness be a blessing? Some intriguing ideas. The film also stars Laura Linney, Philip Ettinger,...

Benedict Fitzgerald, the co-writer of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, has died. He was 74.

Fitzgerald died Jan. 17 after a long illness at his home in Marsala, Sicily, his cousin Nancy Morgan Ritter told The Hollywood Reporter.

Best known for his work on Gibson’s 2004 Biblical epic, the highest-grossing Christian film, as well as the highest-grossing independent film of all time, Fitzgerald’s other credits include co-writing the screenplay for John Huston’s Wise Blood (1979), the adaptation of Flannery O’Connor’s novel.

Born on March 9, 1949, in New York, Fitzgerald was born into a literary household. His deeply Catholic mother, Sally, was a writer and editor and his father, Robert, was a poet, United States Poet Laureate (1984-1985), critic, and famed translator of classic ancient Greek and Latin texts, who was responsible for perhaps the most well-known translation of Homer’s The Odyssey.

In the late 1950s, Fitzgerald’s family...

Screenwriter Benedict Fitzgerald has passed away.

Per Variety, Fitzgerald died on Jan. 17 in Marsala, Sicily, with his passing confirmed by his cousin, Nancy Ritter. It's noted in the report that Fitzgerald died after suffering from a "long illness." He was 74 years old.

Benedict Fitzgerald, 'The Passion of the Christ' Co-Screenwriter, Dies at 74 https://t.co/C80PqfUu0P — Variety (@Variety) January 21, 2024

Fitzgerald had several notable works to his name, but he may be best known as the co-writer of The Passion of the Christ, given the immense levels of success achieved by the film. Released in 2004, the biblical drama was written by Fitzgerald alongside director Mel Gibson. Depicting the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (Jim Caviezel), the film made huge money at the box office and still holds the record for the highest-grossing R-rated movie released in the United States.

"I was in a state of abject fear most...

Benedict Fitzgerald, best known as the screenwriter of The Passion of the Christ, died at home in Marsala, Sicily after a long illness on January 17, 2024. He was 74 and no cause of death was given by his family.

He first won acclaim for his screenplay adaptation of Flannery O’Connor’s novel Wise Blood, cowritten with his brother, Michael. The film, produced in 1979 by Michael and Kathy Fitzgerald and directed by John Huston, starred Brad Dourif, Harry Dean Stanton, and Ned Beatty.

Fitzgerald specialized in literary adaptions, among them Zelda, (starring Natasha Richardson and Timothy Hutton) in 1993; Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness in 1993 (starring John Malkovich); a television mini-series of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood in 1996 and Moby Dick in 1998 (starring Patrick Stewart as Ahab and nominated for 5 primetime Emmy awards).

The Passion Of The Christ (2004), the...

Benedict Fitzgerald, co-screenwriter of “The Passion of the Christ,” died Jan. 17 in Marsala, Sicily, after a long illness, his cousin Nancy Ritter told Variety. He was 74.

Fitzgerald co-wrote 2004’s “The Passion of the Christ” with director and producer Mel Gibson. The biblical epic remains the highest-grossing independent film of all time.

Fitzgerald first received acclaim for his screenplay adaptation of the Flannery O’Connor novel “Wise Blood,” which he co-wrote with his brother Michael. Michael and Kathy Fitzgerald produced the John Huston-directed film, which starred Brad Dourif, Harry Dean Stanton and Ned Beatty.

“Wise Blood” marked the beginning of Fitzgerald’s many literary adaptations, including 1993’s “Zelda” with Natasha Richardson and Timothy Hutton, and Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” (1993), starring John Malkovich. He wrote the miniseries adaptations of Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood” (1996) and Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick” (1998), starring Patrick Stewart as Captain Ahab. Both series were nominated for several Emmy Awards.

I remember hearing Judd Apatow say he cast his daughter, Maude Apatow, in The King of Staten Island because it gave him partial excuse to spend time with her in the middle of an active period of her life where she was often away. I’m going to assume this was basically the entire impetus behind Ethan Hawke and his daughter Maya’s film collaboration Wildcat, as there’s going to be a lot of ‘splainin’ to do––sinking to the level of Marvel’s Moon Knight is no longer Hawke’s greatest crime against the moving image.

Upon opening with a deeply unfunny fake trailer for a hothouse ’60s melodrama about the film’s subject, Flannery O’Connor, my heart sank. Wildcat is a film of one misguided choice after another, the difficulty in articulating the creative process through non-corny means leading Hawke down a path straying from conventional drama,...

No canceled flights were going to stop Ethan Hawke from making it to the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of his latest film, Wildcat. The actor’s daughter Maya Hawke, who stars in the film, received clearance to support the film during the SAG-AFTRA strike, which lit more of a fire under him to make it there, even if it meant hopping on a Greyhound bus.

“Three flights canceled, then I was like, ‘I’m not gonna miss this because of some airport,'” Hawke told People on the TIFF red carpet.

Maya Hawke has established herself as an accomplished and talented actress, despite the challenge of being overshadowed by her famous parents. She has appeared in multiple film projects and joined the cast of Stranger Things, proving her versatility and rising success in Hollywood. Maya Hawke has faced criticism and negativity due to her lineage, but she remains resilient and focused on her career, even collaborating with her father on a biographical film.

Maya Hawke has proven many times that she is way more than just the daughter of two amazing actors. However, for the Stranger Things star, it is still hard to step out of the shadows of her parents Ethan Hawke and Uma Thruman, especially with social media's recent obsession with the concept of nepo babies in Hollywood.

Hawke made her acting debut in the BBC's 2017 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic Little Women, playing the legendary Jo March.

Sometimes when you finish reading a good novel or collection of short stories, you look forward to picking it up again it in a year or two or 20, to reenter its world and discover new wisdom in its powers of observation, new flashes of light in its turns of phrase. Ethan Hawke’s Wildcat casts a similar spell, so rich is it in detail and nuance and creative juice. Drawing upon the distinctive voice of Flannery O’Connor, it’s a sublime portrait of a great writer, a movie I can’t wait to see again for its visual elegance, its electric leaps between an author’s life and her work, and the delicious, playful intensity of all the performances, with Maya Hawke and Laura Linney each taking on a half-dozen interconnected roles.

At one point in Wildcat, Flannery, embodied with terrific wit and feeling by Maya Hawke, rails against the...

Maya Hawke is set to take a leading role in a biopic about one of America's most indelible writers. According to Deadline, the "Stranger Things" and "Do Revenge" actor is set to star in and executive produce the film "Wildcat," which her father Ethan Hawke will direct and produce. "Wildcat" will tell the story of 20th-century Southern writer Flannery O'Connor, whose disturbing, religion-fueled Southern Gothic stories like "A Good Man is Hard To Find" and the novel "Wise Blood" remain literary mainstays to this day.

Maya Hawke will reportedly star as a young O'Connor in the stage before she published her first novel in 1952. The film is apparently a passion project for the star, with Ethan Hawke telling Deadline, "Maya has been working hard for years to put this project together, and we're grateful for the opportunity to introduce a new generation of filmgoers to the genius of Flannery O'Connor.

Ethan Hawke is keeping it all in the family with his latest film, “Wildcat.”

Based on the life of novelist Flannery O’Connor, the biopic film stars Maya Hawke as the Southern writer. Ethan directs, produces, and co-wrote the script along with Shelby Gaines, as Variety first reported.

“Maya has been working hard for years to put this project together, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to introduce a new generation of filmgoers to the genius of Flannery O’Connor,” Ethan said, while also sharing a first look at the production on Instagram. “Her work explores themes important to all artists — the intersection of creativity and faith, the blurred relationship between imagination and reality.”

Ethan previously starred opposite Maya on limited series “The Good Lord Bird.” Maya executive produces “Wildcat” through her Under the Influence Productions. Principal photography for the film began January 10 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Per the official synopsis,...

Ethan Hawke has started production on “Wildcat,” a look at the life of Flannery O’Connor that stars Maya Hawke as the Southern writer. He’s assembled an ensemble of heavy hitters that also includes Oscar-nominee Laura Linney (“You Can Count on Me”), Philip Ettinger (“First Reformed”), Rafael Casal (“Blindspotting”), Steve Zahn (“White Lotus”), Cooper Hoffman (“Licorice Pizza”), Willa Fitzgerald (“Reacher”), Alessandro Nivola (“The Many Saints of Newark”) and Vincent D’Onofrio (“Law & Order: Criminal Intent”).

In addition to directing the film, Ethan Hawke produces and also co-wrote the script with Shelby Gaines. “Wildcat” is produced by Joe Goodman of Good Country Pictures, Ryan Hawke and Ethan Hawke of Under the Influence Productions, Cory Pyke of Renovo Media Group and Kevin Downes and Jon Erwin and Daryl Lefever of Kingdom Story Company. Executive producers include Eric Groth and David Kingland of Renovo Media Group alongside Maya Hawke through Under the Influence Productions.

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

The Hottest August (Brett Story)

Where better than New York City to make a structuralist film? Cities are iterative, their street grids diagrams of theme and variation, and New York most of all—with its streets and avenues named for numbers and letters and states and cities and presidents and Revolutionary War generals spanning an archipelago, intersecting at a million little data points at which to measure class, race, culture, history, architecture and infrastructure. And time, too—from this human density emerge daily and seasonal rituals, a set of biorhythms, reliable as the earth’s, against which to mark gradual shifts and momentary fashions. Summer is for lounging on fire escapes, always, and, today, for Mister Softee. Yesterday it was shaved ice.

Next month’s lineup at The Criterion Channel has been unveiled, featuring no shortage of excellent offerings. Leading the pack is a massive, 20-film retrospective dedicated to John Huston, featuring a mix of greatest and lesser-appreciated works, including Fat City, The Dead, Wise Blood, The Man Who Would Be King, and Key Largo. (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre will join the series on October 1.)

Also in the lineup is series on the works of Budd Boetticher (specifically his Randolph Scott-starring Ranown westerns), Ephraim Asili, Josephine Baker, Nikos Papatakis, Jean Harlow, Lee Isaac Chung (pre-Minari), Mani Kaul, and Michelle Parkerson.

The sparkling new restoration of La Piscine will also debut, along with Amores perros, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s To the Ends of the Earth, Cate Shortland’s Lore, both Oxhide films, Moonstruck, and much more.

See the full list of August titles below and more on The Criterion Channel.

Abigail Harm,...

Researchers used Ct scans to prove the authenticity of a shrunken head used the 1979 film Wise Blood, confirming that it is made with real human remains. The South American tsantsa was previously in the Mercer University natural history collection in Macon, Georgia, and was brought to the U.S. from Ecuador by a now-dead faculty […]

The post Shrunken Head Used In ‘Wise Blood’ Proven To Be Made Of Human Tissue appeared first on uInterview.

Richard Donner’s first feature post- Superman is a complete switcheroo — a small-scale character piece that delivers an impressive lineup of engaging actors. John Savage leads a ‘different’ ensemble of the walking wounded, that congregates at a neighborhood bar. Are friends the best therapy? The movie has a positive sports theme, and the way its characters overcome physical limits and psychological damage feels uplifting, never phony. Diana Scarwid earned an Oscar nomination, and the unappreciated Amy Wright is a heartbreaker in a strong, uncompromised role.

Inside Moves

Blu-ray

Scorpion Releasing

1980 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 113 min. / Street Date December 10, 2019 / 19.89

Starring: John Savage, David Morse, Diana Scarwid, Amy Wright, Tony Burton, Harold Sylvester, Bill Henderson, Steve Kahan, Jack O’Leary, Bert Remsen, Harold Russell, Pepe Serna.

Cinematography: Laszlo Kovacs

Film Editor: Frank Moriss

Original Music: John Barry

Written by Valerie Curtin, Barry Levinson from a novel by Todd Walton

Produced by R.W. Goodwin, Mark M. Tanz...

Ahead of its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, Stephen Maxwell Johnson’s “High Ground” has found a U.S. home with Samuel Goldwyn. The film, headlined by Simon Baker, is represented in international markets by pan-European group Playtime and is having a gala screening at the festival.

Set in 1919, “High Ground” tells the story of former WWI sniper Travis, who is now a policeman in the vast and remote landscape of Northern Australia. He loses control of an operation, resulting in the massacre of an indigenous tribe.

While his superiors decide to bury the truth, the experience leaves a scar on Travis’ conscience, but he’s forced to return there 12 years later on a mission to track down an Aboriginal outlaw. Travis soon realizes the young man he’s chasing is the only known survivor of the massacre.

“High Ground” shot on location in the world heritage-listed Kakadu...

Around 20 French companies are attending the last major international market of the year, which gets under way today in Santa Monica. Today, the curtain rises on the 40th Afm (American Film Market), which will unspool in Santa Monica until 13 November, and as is their wont, the French international sales agents have a huge number of trump cards on their slates that they fully intend to play at the event. Here is an overview of the most enticing films and projects that are sure to tempt distributors from all around the world. Playtime will be unveiling the market premiere of The Breitner Commando by Abdel Raouf Dafri (see the news), and will be selling Wise Blood by Belgium’s Bouli Lanners (see the article), which is currently being shot, based on...

Bouli Lanners, the Belgian actor-director of “The Giants” and “Eldorado,” is teaming with “Peaky Blinders” helmer Tim Mielants to direct “Wise Blood,” an English-language film that will star “Game of Thrones” actor Michelle Fairley and Julian Glover.

“Wise Blood” is a Belgian-Scottish-French co-production between Versus Production, Barry Crerar, and Playtime, which will handle international sales on the film. The project was first reported in Le Film Français.

On top of writing and co-directing “Wise Blood,” Lanners will star as Phil, a robust middle-aged man living in a Presbyterian community on the Isle of Lewis, in northern Scotland. One night, Phil suffers a stroke, causing him to lose his memory. Millie, a fellow Presbyterian who takes care of him, tells him falsely that they were secretly in love before his accident. As the pair “rekindle” their love affair, Millie fears Phil will one day recover his memory and discover her lie.

Today, the Belgian director kicks off the shoot for his first English-language film, which he is co-directing with Tim Mielants. Today, Belgian director Bouli Lanners is in Scotland to begin the shoot for Wise Blood, his new film, which he is co-directing with Flemish helmer Tim Mielants. The film is a passionate love story set in the heart of the Presbyterian community and the spectacular and unforgiving landscapes of the Isle of Lewis, off Scotland’s north-western coast. Phil, a stout 55-year-old Belgian man, lives and works on the Isle of Lewis, the northernmost island of the Outer Hebrides, northwest of Scotland. One evening, he suffers a stroke and loses his memory. Millie, also aged 55, whom Phil works for and who is a member of the small Presbyterian community on the island, has to take care of him. She ends up confessing to him that they were secretly lovers. Rediscovering.

The Walloon investment fund will throw its weight behind the Belgian director’s first English-language effort, which is being staged by Versus Production. For its third session of 2019, Wallimage has chosen to support nine new projects: two series, three documentaries and four fiction features, including Wise Blood, the new film by actor-director Bouli Lanners, set to be shot in Scotland, in the English language. Wise Blood tells the story of a forbidden love between a man (Lanners) and a woman (Gina McKee) in a small Presbyterian community in the north of Scotland. The movie will be co-directed by Flemish director Tim Mielants, who made a name for himself thanks to his work on an array of international series and who has just been handed the Best Director Award at Karlovy Vary for his feature debut, Patrick. Wise Blood, produced by Versus Production (Belgium), is...

Happy 82nd birthday to the great Ned Beatty, born on July 6, 1937! In a career that lasted four decades, the now-retired Beatty worked with a number of the greatest film directors in history, starting out with John Boorman and 1972’s “Deliverance,” in which he made his spectacular screen debut. From there, he went on to work with such screen legends as Robert Altman, Sidney Lumet, John Huston, Mike Nichols and Spike Lee.

SEESpike Lee movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best

Beatty was nominated for an Academy Award for 1976’s “Network,” directed by Lumet, as well as a Golden Globe Award nomination for portraying an Irish tenor in 1991’s “Hear My Song.” Beatty did not appear in films until he was 35 years old and was immediately pegged as a character actor, a category in which he flourished. His other film credits include “Nashville,” “Superman,” “Wise Blood” and “Toy Story 3.

Taken line by line, the conversational lyrics of Natalie Mering, aka: Weyes Blood —pronounced “Wise Blood,” a moniker taken from the Flannery O’Connor novel — seem straightforward, sober, and frequently inspirational. We hear from someone who “drank a lot of coffee today,” who recognizes that “some of us go astray,” who wants “something to believe.” Someone who tells a lover “we love our love.” Someone who believes “you’ll learn to get by/ cause you got what it takes.”

But as they pile up, these statements turn cryptic, contradictory, and uncertain,...

Weyes Blood's latest music video for "Everyday" turns into a bloodbath and is a tribute to the classic slasher films of the 1980s. Natalie Mering has been making music under the Weyes Blood moniker, which she took from the Flannery O'Connor novel Wise Blood, for nearly a decade now and is preparing to release her new album on Sub Pop records, titles Titanic Rising. The album, which drops on April 5th, is her first with the classic label.

Upon first glance at Weyes Blood's "Everyday" video, something isn't right. The song is light and happy, but the visuals are dark, even though nothing really happens at the beginning. A group of young friends meets at a cabin in the woods to party and everything is going great until a mystery killer starts slashing guests one-by-one. Everybody is killed except for Weyes Blood by the end of the video, leading to...

“Lucky” was never the first word that came to mind when you saw Harry Dean Stanton. On the contrary, it always seemed like he had survived something terrible. Even in the movies he shot during the ’60s and ’70s, it already looked like 90 years of life had swept through him like a windstorm, leaving just enough skin on his bones to keep the cigarette smoke from blowing out through his teeth. Stanton wasn’t cast as lucky men, but as men who appeared to have been sucked dry at some point along the way. He was typecast that way from birth, a living synonym for emptiness, and his hollowed out performance in “Paris, Texas” would eventually seal the deal.

Stanton didn’t have a problem with that. Although he died with more than 200 credits to his name, it often felt like he wasn’t playing his characters so much as his characters were playing him,...

Wim Wenders with his Paris, Texas stars Harry Dean Stanton and Nastassja Kinski Photo: Wim Wenders Foundation

The Quad Cinema in New York this Friday will kick off their retrospective, Also Starring Harry Dean Stanton, which has an impressive list of 21 films. Some of the highlights include Bertrand Tavernier's Death Watch; John Huston's Wise Blood; Ridley Scott's Alien; John Carpenter's Escape From New York and Christine; Alex Cox's Repo Man; Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas; Robert Altman's adaptation of Sam Shepard's Fool For Love; Howard Deutch's Pretty In Pink; Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation Of Christ; David Lynch's The Straight Story, and Twister, directed by Michael Almereyda.

Bertrand Tavernier's Death Watch stars Romy Schneider, Harvey Keitel, Max von Sydow, and Harry Dean Stanton Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Bill Norton's Cisco Pike, starring Kris Kristofferson in the title role with Gene Hackman,...

Tributes have been pouring in for Harry Dean Stanton, who died yesterday at 91 after a six-decade career that saw him steal scenes in movies as varied as “Pretty in Pink,” “Repo Man,” and “The Godfather Part II.” Stanton left behind a huge number of friends and colleagues, many of whom have taken to social media to honor the late performer.

Read More:Harry Dean Stanton’s Best Performances: An IndieWire Tribute to ‘Paris, Texas,’ ‘Pretty in Pink,’ ‘Twin Peaks,’ and More

Harry Dean Stanton had the best line in Christine: "I'm selling' this shithole and buyin' a condo." Rest in peace, HD. You were great.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) September 15, 2017

But also 'Wild At Heart', 'Straight Time', 'Escape From New York', 'Two Lane Blacktop', 'Wise Blood', 'Christine' and many others still. pic.twitter.com/4eEVgOR2e8

— edgarwright (@edgarwright) September 15, 2017

Harry Dean Stanton...

Harry Dean Stanton, the legendary character actor and offbeat leading man who starred in Repo Man, Paris, Texas, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me and Big Love in a career that spanned over seven decades, has died at the age of 91.

Stanton died of natural causes in Los Angeles, Variety reports, with TMZ adding that the actor died peacefully Friday afternoon at the city's Cedars-Sinai Hospital.

Director David Lynch, who cast Stanton in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Wild at Heart, The Straight Story and the recent Twin Peaks: The Return,...

Richard Condon and John Huston’s show is like a gangland version of Moonstruck, bouncing effortlessly between earnest romanticism and cynical satire. Hit man Jack Nicholson is a brass-knuckle Romeo, and Kathleen Turner’s mysterious bicoastal Juliet has nothing but surprises for him. Near the end of his career, Huston’s direction is as assured as can be.

Prizzi’s Honor

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1985 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 130 min. / Street Date August 29, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Street Date September 16, 2003 / 14.95

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner, Robert Loggia, John Randolph, William Hickey, Lee Richardson, Anjelica Huston.

Cinematography: Andrzej Bartkowiak

Production Designer: Dennis Washington

Film Editors: Kaja Fehr, Rudi Fehr

Original Music: Alex North

Written by Janet Roach, Richard Condon from his novel

Produced by John Foreman

Directed by John Huston

Who said that John Huston slacked off in his later years? True, his Annie could be fairly re-titled as Gambling Debts Paid,...

For decades, the Southern Gothic genre has dominated the depiction of American life. Authors like Mark Twain, William Faulkner, and Carson McCullers have depicted the American South as an almost mystical region where the fear of God hovers thickly in the air and madness pricks at everyone’s overheated minds. One of the most disturbing practitioners of this genre is Flannery O’Connor, but the author never accepted it as her own. O’Connor insisted that her stories were simply depictions of Southern life as it really was, grotesqueries and all—her intention was not to unsettle or evoke horror. For someone who did not witness this environment firsthand, it’s hard to accept that this is simply a look at how Southern life is; because her stories are truly so horrifying.

One of her most famous stories, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” has the dawning-nightmare effect of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery.

Is it a modern classic? I think so. Lawrence Kasdan’s best movie embraces characters often lampooned or dismissed, or stereotyped as kooks — introverts, extroverts, people trying to make personal connections and those trying to avoid them. William Hurt finds his best role and Geena Davis won an Oscar for hers; thirty years later the entire cast feel like beloved friends.

The Accidental Tourist

Blu-ray

The Warner Archive Collection

1988 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 121 min. / Street Date May 8, 2017 / Available from the The Warner Archive Collection Movies Store 29.95

Starring: William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Geena Davis, Amy Wright, David Ogden Stiers, Ed Begley Jr., Bill Pullman.

Cinematography: John Bailey

Production Designer: Bo Welch

Film Editor: Carol Littleton

Original Music: John Williams

Written by Frank Galatiand Lawrence Kasdan

from the book by Anne Tyler

Produced by Phyllis Carlyle, Michael Grillo, Lawrence Kasdan, John Malkovich, Charles Okun

Directed by Lawrence Kasdan

Some of my favorite movies...

The feature debut of writer-director Peter Hurd, The Control Group features Academy Award Nominee Brad Dourif (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Curse of Chucky) as, a mad scientist working out of a locked-down insane asylum that harbors teenagers, who they plan to experiment on.

The DVD includes a Behind the Scenes documentary and director’s commentary.

Trapped in an abandoned insane asylum, five college students and the rogue scientists who abducted them must band together when a supernatural threat appears.

Check out this terrifying trailer for The Control Group:

Now you can own The Control Group DVD. We Are Movie Geeks has Four copies to give away. All you have to do is leave a comment answering this question: What is your favorite movie starring Brad Dourif ? (mine is Wise Blood!). It’s so easy!

Good Luck!

Official Rules:

1. You Must Be A Us Resident. Prize Will...

She could never be a saint, but she thought she could be a martyr if they killed her quick.—Flannery O’Connor The mist uncovers Japanese soldiers as well as the grim sight of severed heads by the side of the hot springs where Catholic priests are being tortured. A priest kneels down in horror, almost catatonic, unable to bring himself to believe in the evilness of these men, the men of the Inquisitor. Why are these priests, who came to this “swamp of Japan” to spread the Word of the Lord, suffering so immensely on the hands of these soldiers?To the modern, secular audience, the theme of Silence (2016) is of great irony: the all-powerful Catholic Church, the institution that spread terror across Europe for 700 years with her bonfires and witch hunts and enforcing an almost maddening outlook at faith and personal behavior, comes to an unconquerable land where...

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In Charles Laughton’s Night of the Hunter Robert Mitchum murders Shelly Winters and terrorizes her children. What is his chosen profession?

Preacher Traveling Salesman Detective Correct

Phony preachers and corrupt Christians were an ongoing theme in Southern Gothics.

Incorrect

Question 2 of 10 2. Question

Based on Erskine Caldwell’s steamy Southern yarn and starring Robert Ryan, God’s Little Acre features...

John Huston was one of the greatest mid-century (or ever) American directors. He directed The Maltese Falcon, The African Queen, Key Largo, Prizzi's Honor, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Annie, and The Misfits, among others. Huston had previously been an opera singer, and enjoyed a healthy acting career as well when he choose to venture to the other side of the camera, with stints in Chinatown, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, Wise Blood, and voice overs and narration for animated films such as The Black Cauldron and The Return of the King. And of course, he fathered actors Anjelica and Danny Huston. Today, we're going to delve into the Criterion Collection's recent blu-ray release of one of Huston's finest noirs, The Asphalt Jungle. Starring the manly Sterling Hayden, Jean Hagen (so good here), Louis...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

For the tenth year in a row, David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson index entries at their blog that can serve as supplements to their landmark textbook, Film Art: An Introduction. More in this books roundup: Stuart Klawans on John Huston's adaptation of Flannery O’Connor’s first novel, Wise Blood; Nadin Mai on two collections, one on Pedro Costa, the other on Béla Tarr; Nathan Heller's appreciation of Hitchcock/Truffaut; Max Nelson on novelist Richard Price and HBO's The Night Of; editor Robert Gottlieb on working with Lauren Bacall; Amy Schumer on her favorite books and adaptations—and more. » - David Hudson...

For the tenth year in a row, David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson index entries at their blog that can serve as supplements to their landmark textbook, Film Art: An Introduction. More in this books roundup: Stuart Klawans on John Huston's adaptation of Flannery O’Connor’s first novel, Wise Blood; Nadin Mai on two collections, one on Pedro Costa, the other on Béla Tarr; Nathan Heller's appreciation of Hitchcock/Truffaut; Max Nelson on novelist Richard Price and HBO's The Night Of; editor Robert Gottlieb on working with Lauren Bacall; Amy Schumer on her favorite books and adaptations—and more. » - David Hudson...

This time on the podcast, Ryan is joined by Scott Nye, David Blakeslee, Mark Hurne and Trevor Berrett to present their Blu-ray upgrade wish lists for 2016.

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Episode Links Past Wish List Episodes Episode 63.9 – Disc 3 – Top Criterion Blu-ray Upgrades for 2011 Episode 110 – Criterion Collection Blu-ray Upgrade Wish List for 2012 Episode 136 – Criterion Collection Blu-ray Upgrade Wish List for 2013 Episode 146 – Criterion Collection Blu-ray Upgrade Wish List for 2014 Episode 154 – Criterion Collection Blu-ray Upgrade Wish List for 2015 David’s list Wise Blood Onibaba 4 By Agnes Varda Mark’s list Les Enfants Terribles Viridiana The Adventures of Antoine Doinel Ryan’s list: Monsters and Madmen The Lower Depths Jeanne Dielman Scott’s list Complete Mr. Arkadin When A Woman Ascends The Stairs A Film Trilogy by Ingmar Bergman Trevor’s list An Angel at My Table Pepe le Moko Twenty-Four Eyes Episode Credits Ryan Gallagher (Twitter / Website) David Blakeslee (Twitter / Website) Scott...

HitFix's recent spate of "Best Year in Film History" pieces inevitably spurred some furious debate among our readers, with some making compelling arguments for years not included in our pieces (2007 and 1968 were particularly popular choices) and others openly expressing their bewilderment at the inclusion of others (let's just say 2012 took a beating). In the interest of giving voice to your comments, below we've rounded up a few of the most thoughtful, passionate, surprising and occasionally incendiary responses to our pieces, including my own (I advocated for The Year of Our Lynch 2001, which is obviously the best). Here we go... Superstar commenter "A History of Matt," making an argument for 1968: The Graduate. Bullit. The Odd Couple. The Lion in Winter. Planet of the Apes. The Thomas Crown Affair. Funny Girl. Rosemary's Baby. And of course, 2001, A Space Odyssey. And that's only a taste of the greatness of that year. "Lothar the Flatulant,...

"Charlie Brackett summed it up beautifully, I think, when he said that in Europe you could open a picture with clouds, dissolve slowly to clouds, and dissolve again to more clouds. In America, though, he said, you open with clouds, you then dissolve to an airplane, and in the next shot the airplane's gotta explode." —John Sturges

“The black sky was underpinned with long silver streaks that looked like scaffolding and depth on depth behind it were thousands of stars that all seemed to be moving very slowly as if they were about some vast construction work that involved the whole universe and would take all time to complete. No one was paying attention to the sky.” —Flannery O'Connor, Wise Blood

Who'd be a haruspex? In ancient Rome, members of this holy profession pored over the entrails of freshly slaughtered animals, seeking portents among blood and guts. Divination as a...

I'm not sure what it is about Aussie horror, but I love almost all of it. And I certainly love the three movies that Severin Films has announced to Blu-ray later this year. Those looking to junk their DVD editions of Patrick, Thirst, and Dead Kids (aka Strange Behavior) can rejoice!

From the Press Release:

The original killer in a coma classic Patrick hits Blu-ray from Severin Films on 3/11/14

Aussie horror favorites Thirst & Dead Kids will also be issued in Blu/DVD Combos

In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s while films like My Brilliant Career and Breaker Morant were putting Australia’s ‘New Wave’ on the map, a depraved generation of young Aussie filmmakers was putting a very different kind of movie on screens. Three ‘Ozploitation’ horrors, Patrick, Dead Kids & Thirst, will have their Blu-ray debut from Severin Films, while their sub-label Intervision will issue the definitive compilation Ozploitation Trailer Explosion.

Here it is; Sound On Sight’s list of our favourite soundtracks released this year. Usually we post a list of 10 to 15 picks, but this time, we decided to only publish five. With that said, we also recorded a bonus Sound On Sight podcast to complement this very article. In it, Simon Howell and I chose 10 of the best tracks from 10 of the best soundtracks for your listening pleasure. You can listen to the podcast here.

Soundtracks that make an appearance on the podcast include Her, The Bling Ring, Afternoon Delight, Sightseers, Frances Ha, Spring Breakers, The World’s End, and Drinking Buddies.

Last year, the soundtrack to Rick Alverson’s cheekily titled The Comedy topped our list. This year, another hipster-indie gem does the same. Here is our list of the top 5 soundtracks of 2013.

****

5. American Hustle

While Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times Bad Times” was used in the first...

‘Paradise: Faith’ screenings in Los Angeles and New York draw Catholic protests (photo: Maria Hofstätter in ‘Paradise: Faith’) "Oh boy. People are picketing our box office in protest of Paradise Faith." That’s a tweet by Cinefamily, referring to the Wednesday, August 28, 2013, screening of Ulrich Seidl’s Paradise: Faith at the Silent Movie Theater in West Hollywood. Part two of Seidl’s "Paradise" trilogy — which began with the Cannes Film Festival entry Paradise: Love and ends with Paradise: Hope — Paradise: Faith was co-written by Seidl and Veronika Franz. The stark drama revolves around a Viennese woman (Maria Hofstätter) who happens to be both the wife of a paraplegic Muslim man (Nabil Saleh) and an ardent Catholic, along the lines of the religiously demented Hazel Motes from Flannery O’Connor’s Wise Blood. Ulrich Seidl: More merciless than Michael Haneke "Mr. Seidl’s eye is even more merciless — some would...

Joss Whedon's California-set Much Ado, filmed in black and white over 12 days, is a charming and witty triumph

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There was a great fear in the 1960s and 70s that various respected directors who'd moved into making epics and blockbusters would be unable to return, even occasionally, to more modest productions. Some of them didn't, most notably David Lean. Some of them did, most impressively John Huston with Fat City, Wise Blood and The Dead. The same query was raised over Francis Ford Coppola and, more recently, hangs over Christopher Nolan. But the 49-year-old Joss Whedon has triumphantly answered the question.

After scripting Buffy the Vampire Slayer for TV and the first Toy Story for the cinema, Whedon rose fairly rapidly to direct The Avengers with a budget of $220m. His producers apparently insisted that between the long shooting schedule on...

Natural Selection: Potrykus’ Debuts a Worthwhile yet Ragged Effort

Aligned with similarly titled works that capture mankind’s possibility to regress to a more primitive, mammalian state under pressure, everywhere from Eugene O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape to Jesper Ganslandt’s more recent, 2009 film, The Ape, indie filmmaker Joel Potrykus brings us young man malaise with his feature debut, Ape. Hailing from Michigan, Potrykus, like his protagonist, operates far from either centered entertainment metropolis in the Us, and his film suggests a different rhythm than that displayed from more prestigiously located emerging artists. Unfortunately, the film, particularly the first half, feels incredibly amateurish and sluggish, and creaks along like nails on the chalkboard until eventually finding a workable rhythm that manages to find a voice despite the obviously extreme budgetary constraints.

Trevor Newandyke (Joshua Burge) has one sole ambition in life, and that is to be a successful stand-up comedian.