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Dog Soldiers and The Descent director Neil Marshall has worked with actress/co-writer Charlotte Kirk on his three most recent films, The Reckoning, The Lair, and Duchess, and they’re continuing their collaboration on the upcoming psychological thriller Compulsion. Deadline reports that Saban Films has secured the domestic distribution rights to the film – and while a release date has not yet been announced, a first look image has been unveiled. You can check that out at the bottom of this article.

With a script written by Marshall, Compulsion is said to be inspired by the old school erotic thrillers of the ’80s and ’90s, like Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct, and Single White Female. This one centers on the dynamically twisted relationship between two women, as both become embroiled in a series of horrific murders on the island of Malta. Kirk stars in the film alongside Anna-Maria Sieklucka, who starred in...

Warning: Major Spoilers ahead for Presumed Innocent episode 7!

Director Greg Yaitanes drew inspiration from films like JFK for the intense courtroom scene between Rusty and Tommy in Presumed Innocent episode 7. The focus was on giving the courtroom energy to avoid any tedium despite the scene consisting of questioning and testimony. Using single-camera shots enhanced Gyllenhaal's performance in key scenes, an important factor to making the episode stand out.

Presumed Innocent director Greg Yaitanes has explained the intense courtroom battle between Rusty and Tommy in episode 7, revealing more details about the scene's production. Presumed Innocent episode 7 sees Rusty take the stand for the first time, with a mental battle going on between him and Tommy as he leads his own defense while testifying. The scene in question ends up being a high-octane battle of the minds between the pair, with the prosecuting lawyer ultimately coming out on top.

Speaking with Variety,...

Elizabeth Hubbard, who appeared 14 times on Broadway and had long runs as Dr. Althea Davis and the cutthroat Lucinda Walsh on the daytime soap operas The Doctors and As the World Turns, respectively, has died. She was 89.

Hubbard died Saturday of cancer at her home in Roxbury, Connecticut, her son, Jeremy Bennett, told The Hollywood Reporter.

On the big screen, Hubbard played the gynecologist girlfriend of Gene Hackman’s character in I Never Sang for My Father (1970) and appeared in The Bell Jar (1979), Ordinary People (1980), Cold River (1982) and Center Stage (2000).

She portrayed Dr. Althea on NBC’s The Doctors from 1964-82 and the manipulating mogul Lucinda on CBS’ As the World Turns from 1984 until the show’s conclusion in September 2010. (Lucinda and Larry Bryggman’s John Dixon headed off to Amsterdam at the end.)

“I’ve been so lucky playing Lucinda — a character who could do anything,” she told TV Guide in 2010. “She could lie,...

Trigger Warning: The following article references violence and sexual assault.There are many obstacles when adapting the story of a true crime to the big screen. It seems that ethical dilemmas, for one, are secondary to an audiences’ thirst for evil. In the case of Leopold and Loeb, there have been a number of attempts at bringing their depravity to the silver screen, with Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope (1948) and Richard Fleischer’s Compulsion (1959) being two of the more well-known depictions. The former is noteworthy for Hitchcock’s attempt at shooting the “fictionalized account” in a single take. It’s not an entirely pointless exercise, bringing a sense of claustrophobia and positioning the audience as knowing dinner guests following the deceit in real time. Fleischer doesn’t lead with camera tricks, but he uses the power of Orson Welles and a script that is pretty darn close to fact. So close,...

Michael Constantine, who played Gus, the father of Nia Vardalos’ Toula Portokalos in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” by far the highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time, died on Aug. 31. He was 94.

Constantine’s agent confirmed the news of his death to Variety. He died of natural causes.

“My Big Fat Greek Wedding” scored a domestic gross of $241 million in 2002; No. 2 on the list is “What Women Want” with $183 million. The film drew a SAG Awards nomination for outstanding performance by the cast of a theatrical motion picture.

As Roger Ebert recounted, Constantine’s Gus “specializes in finding the Greek root for any word (even ‘kimono’), and delivers a toast in which he explains that ‘Miller’ goes back to the Greek word for apple, and ‘Portokalos’ is based on the Greek word for oranges, and so, he concludes triumphantly, ‘In the end, we’re all fruits.’ ”

Variety said: “Constantine fares...

Daniel Day-Lewis is arguably the most famous method actor in the history of film. The world-renowned actor has a tendency to show up once every few years, shoot a movie, collect his awards and hibernate until his next classic film is booked. Related: Daniel Day-Lewis Reveals His ‘Compulsion’ To Quit Acting Day-Lewis, 60, has gone to extreme […]...

Los Angeles – We can’t rebuild him, but we can honor him. Richard Anderson, best known for portraying Oscar Goldman, the aide de camp of Steve Austin (Lee Majors) in “The Six Million Man,” died on August 31st, 2017 at age 91. The versatile character actor was one of the few remaining performers that came up through the old studio system, in this case the dream factory known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Richard Anderson in Chicago, 2010

Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Richard Anderson was born in New Jersey, and was an Army veteran of World War II. He started out in the mailroom at MGM shortly after the end of the war, and became a contract player for the studio after Cary Grant took an interest in his career. His major film debut was “The Magnificent Yankee” (1950), followed by “Scaramouche” (1952) and “Forbidden Planet” (1956). He made 24 films for MGM. His...

Turner Classic Movies continues with its Gay Hollywood presentations tonight and tomorrow morning, June 8–9. Seven movies will be shown about, featuring, directed, or produced by the following: Cole Porter, Lorenz Hart, Farley Granger, John Dall, Edmund Goulding, W. Somerset Maughan, Clifton Webb, Montgomery Clift, Raymond Burr, Charles Walters, DeWitt Bodeen, and Harriet Parsons. (One assumes that it's a mere coincidence that gay rumor subjects Cary Grant and Tyrone Power are also featured.) Night and Day (1946), which could also be considered part of TCM's homage to birthday girl Alexis Smith, who would have turned 96 today, is a Cole Porter biopic starring Cary Grant as a posh, heterosexualized version of Porter. As the warning goes, any similaries to real-life people and/or events found in Night and Day are a mere coincidence. The same goes for Words and Music (1948), a highly fictionalized version of the Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart musical partnership.

The book was raw & dirty, and did you read what that girl did with that guy on page 167? Racking up a stack of Oscar nominations, Peyton Place became one of the big hits of its year, launched the careers of several young actors, and proved that Hollywood could pasteurize most any so-called un-filmable book. Lana Turner is the nominal star but the leading actress is Diane Varsi, in her film debut.

Peyton Place

Blu-ray

Twilight Time

1957 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 157 min. / Street Date March 14, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95

Starring: Lana Turner, Hope Lange, Arthur Kennedy, Lloyd Nolan, Lee Philips, Terry Moore, Russ Tamblyn, Betty Field, David Nelson, Leon Ames, Mildred Dunnock.

Cinematography William Mellor

Art Direction Jack Martin Smith, Lyle R. Wheeler

Film Editor David Bretherton

Original Music Franz Waxman

Written by John Michael Hayes from the book by Grace Metalious

Produced by Jerry Wald

Directed by Mark Robson

What’s this,...

This classy Fox production was considered the epitome of sick film subject matter in the pre- Psycho year of 1959, the true story of jazz-age thrill killers Leopold & Loeb. Dean Stockwell and Bradford Dillman are the nihilistic child murderers; Orson Welles stops the show with his portrayal of Clarence Darrow, going under a different name.

Compulsion

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1959 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 103 min. / Street Date March 7, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Orson Welles, Dean Stockwell, Diane Varsi, Bradford Dillman, E.G. Marshall, Richard Anderson, Robert F. Simon, Edward Binns, Gavid McLeod, Russ Bender, Peter Brocco.

Cinematography: William C. Mellor

Film Editor: William Reynolds

Original Music: Lionel Newman

Written by Richard Murphy from a novel by Meyer Levin

Produced by Richard D. Zanuck

Directed by Richard Fleischer

Movies about serial killers and psychos with exotic agendas were much different before Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, which hit America in 1960 like a thrown brick.

True-Crime Terror! Richard Fleischer and Edward Anhalt’s riveting serial killer makes extensive use of split- and multi-screen imagery. One of the most infamous murder sprees on record fudges some facts but still impresses as a novel approach.

The Boston Strangler

Blu-ray

Twilight Time

1968 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 116 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95

Starring Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda, George Kennedy, Mike Kellin, Hurd Hatfield, Murray Hamilton, Jeff Corey, Sally Kellerman, George Furth

Cinematography Richard H. Kline

Art Direction Richard Day, Jack Martin Smith

Film Editor Marion Rothman

Written by Edward Anhalt from the book by Gerold Frank

Produced by Robert Fryer

Directed by Richard Fleischer

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Twelve years ago i wasn’t all that impressed with The Boston Strangler. I thought it too slick and felt that its noted multi-screen sequences were a trick gimmick. I appreciate it more now — except for the name cast,...

Next month, Netflix has a wide variety of films — modern to classic, animated to live action, Oscar winners to romantic comedies — and we’ve picked seven that you should watch once they’re made available on the streaming service. Enjoy.

Read More: 7 Films New to Netflix to Watch In November 2016, Including ‘Boyhood’ and ‘The Jungle Book’

1. “National Lampoon’s Animal House” (available December 1)

John Landis’ 1978 classic college comedy follows the rowdy Delta Tau Chi fraternity’s battle to remain on campus after they provoked the ire of the conniving Dean of the college. Features John Belushi in his most anarchic performance, toga parties, and sing-a-longs to “Louie Louie” and “Shout!”

2. “Waking Life” (available December 1)

Richard Linklater’s 2001 film “Waking Life” examines a bevy of philosophical issues — the nature of dreams, the limitations of consciousness and the meaning of life — in a surreal, rotoscoped dreamscape that demands the viewer’s mind to take flight.

By Todd Garbarini

The Ahrya Fine Arts Theater in Los Angeles will be presenting a fun-filled weekend of six science fiction classics from Friday, April 15th to Sunday, April 17th. Several cast members from the films are scheduled to appear in person at respective screenings, so read on for more information:

From the press release:

Anniversary Classics Sci-Fi Weekend

Part of our Anniversary Classics series. For details, visit: www.laemmle.com/ac.

Re-visit the Golden Age of the Science Fiction Film as Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series presents Sci-fi Weekend, a festival of six classic films April 15-17 at the Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills.

It was dawn of the Atomic Age and the Cold War, as Communist and nuclear war paranoia swept onto the nation’s movie screens to both terrify and entertain the American public. All the favorite icons are here: Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet,...

Photo by Donnacha Kenny"Congratulations, Tom; you're one of the lucky eight per cent!" —Stir of Echoes (1999)Joliet, Illinois is probably the American city which more people have dreamed more fervently of escaping than any other. But after spending four hours in 'Prison Town'—long synonymous far and wide with incarceration—I was sad to leave; I'll be glad one day to return. Fortunately, such matters are questions of personal choice. Many of the area's residents, including those not serving custodial sentences, have little realistic option but to remain—trapped by personal, social and/or economic circumstances that can feel as confining as any 6-by-8 cell. "Joliet, or "J-Town", is racially diverse and is known as a crime-ridden city, although the area has shown much improvement since the 1990's... The east side is generally known as the ghetto side and the west side is known as middle class, even though...

A must-see for students of Hollywood and would-be producers, Laurent Bouzereau’s inside-the-movie-biz documentary “Don’t Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. Zanuck,” will be released on DVD this September, via Turner Classic Movies. Zanuck, the son of legendary 20th Century Fox co-founder and executive Darryl F. Zanuck, produced his first film, “Compulsion,” before he turned 25. He became president of a struggling Fox a few years later, only to be fired by his father, which led the younger Zanuck to jump to rival Warner Bros. as Executive Vice President. Richard Zanuck was the subject early in his career of one of the best Hollywood books ever written, John Gregory Dunne's "The Studio." (Read Anne Thompson's New York Times interview with Zanuck here.) Richard Zanuck later joined with the late David Brown to produce many of Steven Spielberg’s early movies, such as “The Sugarland Express” and “Jaws,...

To recall the cinema of Charles Bronson, one can’t get far without referencing his sterling epoch in 1970s era American film, a period eclipsed mightily by the star’s work with director Michael Winner. Kino Lorber resurrects one of the star’s lesser remembered titles, Mr. Majestyk, a 1974 action flick written by the great Elmore Leonard and directed by the illustrious Richard Fleischer, known for a varied career that included a penchant for true crime related titles (Compulsion; The Boston Strangler; 10 Rillington Place), and famed adaptations of pulpy novels, like Soylent Green and the infamous Mandingo. Unfortunately, Fleisher’s title opened one week prior to the juggernaut known as Death Wish back in July of 1974, and has perhaps been unfairly overshadowed ever since.

Bronson stars as Vince Majestyk, a humble melon farmer whose only desire is to harvest his crop of watermelons. A Vietnam veteran, Majestyk steps to in...

On a special day of shooting writer-director Jose Prendes’ Divine Tragedies with the fantastic Ken Foree, Dread Central was invited to watch some... well… shooting. In the scene they were about to film, Foree’s character gets shot. Whether he lives or dies, we can’t say...

But here’s what Prendes had to say:

Dread Central: So, tell us how you assembled this amazing cast!

Jose Prendes: Ken Foree and Barbara Crampton were always on our list, but we never thought we could get them, or thought they would be into it, because the roles are very stylized. Especially Barbara's role, which is very unique, and she hasn't really played anything like that before. So for her to call me up and say, 'This is a really disturbing script but it would make such a lovely movie and I want to be a part of it,' really means a lot.

Richard D. Zanuck, who unfortunately passed away last July, was one of the highest ranking producers in Hollywood. The man’s career started with Compulsion, and his greatest hits include Cocoon, Driving Miss Daisy, Planet Of The Apes, The French Connection, The Sound Of Music and Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland.

On May 8th, Turner Classic Movies is dedicating a night to Richard D. Zanuck, with the premiere of a new documentary entitled Don’T Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story Of Richard D. Zanuck. The documentary premieres at 8 Pm, with an encore at 11:30 Pm. TCM is making it a Zanuck night, with Driving Miss Daisy at 9:45 Pm, Cocoon at 1:15 Am, Compulsion at 3:30 Am.

The film is written, produced and directed by Laurent Bouzereau (A Night At The Movies) and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank and Amblin Television.

Chicago – Two mercurial and classic film actors appeared last summer at the Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, and between them have a wealth of impressive film titles on their resumes. Sean Young (“Bladerunner”) and Dean Stockwell (“Blue Velvet”) also represent different eras of cinema history.

While making an appearance at the event they talked to HollywoodChicago.com, and sat for portraits with photographer Joe Arce. This year’s Wizard World Chicago Comic Con will take place August 8th-11th, 2013, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill.

Sean Young of “Bladerunner,” “Stripes,” “No Way Out”

Sean Young has had both an exceptional career and one laced with controversy. She was born in Kentucky, but eventually found her way to the School of American Ballet in New York City. She began her show business ambitions as a dancer and a model, before landing a role in “Jane Austin in...

The so-called "studio system" is long finished in Hollywood ... but not on Turner Classic Movies.

For the 2013 edition of the channel's annual "31 Days of Oscar" festival of films that either won or were nominated for Academy Awards, a different studio will be showcased each day or group of days. First up, starting Friday, Feb. 1: four-and-a-half days devoted to Warner Bros. and such Best Picture winners as "Casablanca" and "My Fair Lady," plus honored performances including Jack Lemmon's in "Mister Roberts" and Elizabeth Taylor's in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

"I think it's fascinating to see how many important films a studio like Warner Bros. had," principal TCM host Robert Osborne tells Zap2it, "whereas a studio like Columbia, you might not think of that way. I still think of Columbia as one Rita Hayworth movie a year, or maybe one a year directed by Frank Capra in the '30s.

Hollywood producer and president of 20th Century Fox who made his name with Jaws

Despite the fact that the giant shadow of his father, the legendary movie mogul Darryl F Zanuck, loomed large over him for most of his life, Richard Zanuck, who has died of a heart attack aged 77, triumphantly overcame inferences of nepotism and wisecracks such as "the son also rises", to become one of the most successful Hollywood producers in the last 50 years. His reputation was due initially to Jaws (1975), among the highest grossing movies up to that time, and he was a key figure in launching the career of its director, Steven Spielberg. Zanuck was Oscar-nominated for Jaws and won the Academy Award for best picture with Driving Miss Daisy (1989).

Born in Los Angeles, Zanuck seemed destined to enter show business. He was the third child and only son of the co-founder and head of 20th Century Fox,...

Los Angeles – Producer Richard D. Zanuck was a Prince of Hollywood. The son of Darryl Zanuck – the founder of 20th Century Fox Studios and one of the early movie moguls – Richard nevertheless made his own mark in the business, producing iconic and Oscar winning films such as “The Sting” (1973), “Jaws” (1975) and “Driving Miss Daisy” (1992). Zanuck died Friday of a heart attack, according to his publicist Jeff Sanderson. He was 77.

Producer Richard Zanuck on Set with Mia Wasikowska in Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland”

Photo Credit: © Walt Disney Pictures

Richard Zanuck talked to HollywoodChicago.com in 2010, upon the release on Blu-ray of the Tim Burton directed “Alice in Wonderland,” which he produced. I asked him about his relationship with Burton, since he also produced the director’s remakes of “Planet of the Apes” (2001), “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (2005) and the recent “Dark Shadows” (2012). He simply said, “What Tim brings is great imagination.

Oscar-winning Hollywood executive's other hits included The Sound of Music, The French Connection and Tim Burton's films

Richard D Zanuck, the Oscar-winning American film producer behind Jaws and Driving Miss Daisy, has died aged 77 at his home in Beverly Hills.

Zanuck also produced a string of Tim Burton fantasies. He was the son of the famed 20th Century Fox boss Darryl F Zanuck, who named him at age 28 as Fox's head of production, making him Hollywood's then youngest ever studio boss.

Richard D Zanuck spent the bulk of his 50-year career as an independent producer and earned numerous awards, including the Academy Award he shared with his wife and collaborator, Lili Fini Zanuck, for their work on Driving Miss Daisy. He also won the Irving G Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his work with longtime associate David Brown.

Steven Spielberg, with whom Zanuck collaborated on Jaws,...

Richard Zanuck, who died today at 77, was one of the most famous and longest-working producers in Hollywood. He was born into the industry. His father, Darryl Zanuck, co-founded 20th Century Fox in 1933 and served as its vice-president in charge of production. Richard produced his first film, Richard Fleischer’s Compulsion, in 1959, when he was 24. Three years later, with 20th Century Fox in chaos over the expensive fiasco of the Elizabeth Taylor epic Cleopatra, Darryl Zanuck persuaded the studio’s board of directors to empower him as chairman, and named his son president of the company. Richard ...

Producer Richard D Zanuck died today at his Los Angeles home. He is believed to have suffered a heart attack. As well as being the force behind some highly acclaimed films, he was known and loved for his optimism, his instinctive ability to identify a hit, and his dedication to being closely involved with films from beginning to end.

Zanuck, who learned his craft from his father Darryl, one of early Hollywood's most powerful figures, was responsible for hits like Jaws, Driving Miss Daisy, Deep Impact and recent remake Clash Of The Titans. He had a particularly close relationship with director Tim Burton, working with him on six films, including Sweeney Todd and Big Fish. His independent career as a producer began in 1959 when he worked on Compulsion with Orsion Wells, and his final film, Hidden, will be released next year.

Zanuck is survived by his wife Lili,...

Retro-active: The Best Articles From Cinema Retro's Archives

Bradford Dillman: A Compulsively Watchable Actor

By Harvey Chartrand

In a career that has spanned 43 years, Bradford Dillman accumulated more than 500 film and TV credits. The slim, handsome and patrician Dillman may have been the busiest actor in Hollywood during the late sixties and early seventies, working non-stop for years. In 1971 alone, Dillman starred in seven full-length feature films. And this protean output doesn’t include guest appearances on six TV shows that same year.

Yale-educated Dillman first drew good notices in the early 1950s on the Broadway stage and in live TV shows, such as Climax and Kraft Television Theatre. After making theatrical history playing Edmund Tyrone in the first-ever production of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night in 1956, Dillman landed the role of blueblood psychopath Artie Straus in the crime-and-punishment thriller Compulsion (1959), for which he...

We know the greats; movies like Metropolis (1927), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Star Wars (1977).

And there are those films which maybe didn’t achieve cinematic greatness, but through their inexhaustible watchability became genre touchstones, lesser classics but classics nonetheless, like The War of the Worlds (1953), Godzilla (1954), Them! (1954), The Time Machine (1960).

In the realm of science fiction cinema, those are the cream (and below that, maybe the half and half). But sci fi is one of those genres which has often too readily leant itself to – not to torture an analogy — producing nonfat dairy substitute.

During the first, great wave of sci fi movies in the 1950s, the target audience was kids and teens. There wasn’t a lot in the way of “serious” sci fi. Most of it was churned out quick and cheap; drive-in fodder, grist for the Saturday matinee mill.

By the early 1960s,...

Katharine Hepburn, Rossano Brazzi in Oscar nominee (but not DGA nominee) David Lean's Summertime DGA Awards vs. Academy Awards 1948-1952: Odd Men Out George Cukor, John Huston, Vincente Minnelli 1953 DGA (12) Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, Above and Beyond Walter Lang, Call Me Madam Daniel Mann, Come Back, Little Sheba Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Julius Caesar Henry Koster, The Robe Jean Negulesco, Titanic George Sidney, Young Bess DGA/AMPAS George Stevens, Shane Charles Walters, Lili Billy Wilder, Stalag 17 William Wyler, Roman Holiday Fred Zinnemann, From Here to Eternity   1954 DGA (16) Edward Dmytryk, The Caine Mutiny Alfred Hitchcock, Dial M for Murder Robert Wise, Executive Suite Anthony Mann, The Glenn Miller Story Samuel Fuller, Hell and High Water Henry King, King of Khyber Rifles Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, Knock on Wood Don Siegel, Riot in Cell Block 11 Stanley Donen, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers George Cukor, A Star Is Born Jean Negulesco,...

The films that weren't even given a shot at winning best picture

• Charles Saatchi: my love affair with Orson Welles

Here, in no particular order, is Charles Saatchi's list of the post-1950 films that should have been nominated for a best film Oscar. Tell us your picks below.

North by Northwest

The African Queen

Paths of Glory

Spartacus

Hud

What's Up Doc?

The Manchurian Candidate

The Big Country

Scarface

Vertigo

Kill Bill

Parenthood

Reversal of Fortune

Harold and Maude

Being There

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

Lost in America

Minority Report

Jurassic Park

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Heat

Once Upon a Time in America

Seven

The Searchers

Psycho

Rear Window

The Producers

Toy Story

Some Like It Hot

2001: A Space Odyssey

Lolita

The Shining

Touch of Evil

Gran Torino

Beetlejuice

Edward Scissorhands

Raising Arizona

Advise and Consent

Mean Streets

King of Comedy

Reservoir Dogs

Manhattan

Crimes and Misdemeanors...

A remake of Straw Dogs reminds us that 1971, which also spawned A Clockwork Orange and 10 Rillington Place, was a wonderful annus horribilis of shock cinema in Britain

Recently, in honour of this week's release of the Straw Dogs remake, an interviewer from Film 2011 listened to me indulgently while I rambled on the subject of 1971 And All That.

1971 was the year of highly controversial and violent movies like Sam Peckinpah's original Straw Dogs and Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. It was also the year of Dirty Harry, and I have myself blogged about William Friedkin's 1971 film The French Connection, a pretty brutal film positively drenched in 1971-ness. What was it that made the year 1971 the annus mirabilis (or horribilis) of shock cinema in Britain? It could have been something to do with the fact that this was the year of John Trevelyan's retirement as a markedly liberal director of...

(1959, 12, Second Sight)

As a student in the 1930s, Richard Fleischer switched from medicine to drama and later, between skilful genre movies and historical blockbusters, he directed four remarkable studies of famous, real-life murderers, all male, all insane : The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (1955), Compulsion, The Boston Strangler (1968) and 10 Rillington Place (1971). Unlike the others, Compulsion is in black and white and adapted from a novel by Meyer Levin, but despite changing the characters' names and inventing some subsidiary figures, it sticks closely to the notorious 1924 case of Nathan Leopold (Dean Stockwell) and Richard Loeb (Bradford Dillman). Brilliant University of Chicago graduate students from wealthy Jewish families, they murdered a 14-year-old schoolboy as a way of establishing their indifference as Nietzschean supermen to conventional morality. Orson Welles dominates the film as Clarence Darrow, the great liberal attorney who defended them, his flowery 12-hour speech reduced to 10 minutes. The same case...

Mother

DVD & Blu-Ray, Optimum

You can tell a lot about a movie from its opening shot. Here, a glum, rather ordinary woman in her late 60s wanders into a remote area. Checking no one is around to see her, she steals a few precious moments while enjoying a guilty dance. This deceptively simple, low-key shot tells us plenty: this woman has lived a life, and she's a person – not just an "old person". Most of all, it tells us the director really knows what he's doing; this will be a story that, although unconventional in delivery, will be well-told and engaging. That last fact won't be news to anyone who has seen Korean director Bong Joon-ho's previous films, such as the merciless police procedural thriller Memories Of Murder or his off-kilter monster movie The Host. The mother of the title (the incredible Kim Hye-ja) has her life turned upside down...

Chicago – In Hollywood studio royalty, there might be no one as royal as Richard D. Zanuck. Besides being the son of Darryl F. Zanuck, one of the founders of the movie studio system, Richard Zanuck has made his own mark as producer of “Jaws,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” and Tim Burton’s 3-D “Alice in Wonderland.”

Zanuck was born into the movies through his famous father, who founded the 20th Century Fox studio. His first major film job was in 1959, when at the age of 24 he produced “Compulsion,” which starred Orson Welles. He became president of his father’s studio during the transitional times of the 1960s and ‘70s, and went on to produce – with David Brown – Steven Spielberg’s first film, “Sugarland Express.”

The legendary Jaws [1975] followed, as well as the Best Picture Oscar for Driving Miss Daisy [1989]. Other notable films include “Cocoon” [1985], “Mulholland Falls” [1996], “Deep Impact” [1998] and “Road to Perdition...

If we could kiss, cuddle, and embrace Shout! Factory until we both weep, I think that we would. After reading the following news, we're fairly certain you'll want to join in on our video induced love fest.

From the Press Release

Just when you thought it was safe to take a dip in the water again…they’re baaaack! This summer rediscover two enduring Roger Corman underwater thrillers filled with unstoppable action and edge-of-your-seat suspense as Joe Dante’s Piranha and Humanoids from the Deep, directed by Barbara Peters, debut August 3, 2010 for the first time on Special Edition Blu-ray and DVD from Shout! Factory, in association with New Horizons Picture Corporation. These two definitive Special Edition home entertainment releases from Roger Corman’s Cult Classics are sure to cause a feeding frenzy among thrill seekers and loyal fans of Roger Corman and Joe Dante. Piranha Special Edition offers two highly...

Black, white and creepy all over: you need only watch the first four minutes of Compulsion to get a serious dose of disturbing behavior. Watch the whole thing and you'll be treated to a story that's so wildly whacked out and psychologically troubling that it's still intriguing and unsettling today, even though it was made in 1959. And - as if this intense psycho thriller could get any creepier - it's inspired by a true story.

Directed by Richard Fleischer and Richard D. Zanuck's first foray into producing, Compulsion is based on the rather infamous 1924 Leopold Loeb murder case from Chicago. Since this is a movie where the audience knows whodunit all along, forgive me if I jump right into the details. Leopold and Loeb were wealthy, academically advanced teenagers enrolled in the University of Chicago who were convicted of killing a younger teenage boy and sentenced to life in...

Cinematic birthdays for Nov. 19th, this time with lighter loafers.

1889 Clifton Webb, reportedly as out as an actor could be back in the day but Oscar never gave him their top prize. They never give out actors the statue. Sad, but true. Classic films include Oscar favorites like Laura and Three Coins in the Fountain (review) but he's most famous for playing Mr. Belvedere, the uptight gentlemen bachelor of a certain obvious if unspoken persuasion. I saw the first of the three Belvedere films Sitting Pretty (1948) a few years ago and it was quite an... unh... time capsule.

1933 Larry King, asker of inane questions

1942 Calvin Klein makes pretty things

1938 Ted Turner took Jane Fonda away from me (the movies... same thing) ages ago and I've never forgiven him.

1954 Kathleen Quinlan an actress I don't really get

1958 Charlie Kaufman mindbender

1961 Meg Ryan have you ever noticed how people turn on actresses...

Black, white and creepy all over: you need only watch the first four minutes of Compulsion to get a serious dose of disturbing behavior. Watch the whole thing and you'll be treated to a story that's so wildly whacked out and psychologically troubling that it's still intriguing and unsettling today, even though it was made in 1959. And - as if this intense psycho thriller could get any creepier - it's inspired by a true story.

Compulsion is based on the rather infamous 1924 Leopold Loeb murder case from Chicago. Since this is a movie where the audience knows whodunit all along, forgive me if I jump right into the details. Leopold and Loeb were wealthy, academically advanced teenagers enrolled in the University of Chicago who were convicted of killing a younger teenage boy and sentenced to life in prison after a widely publicized trial. Why did they do it? Why did they kidnap a random boy,...

The New York Times has confirmed that Broadway vet Mandy Patinkin will star in the new play about a man's obsession with the diary of Anne Frank by Rinne Groff, currently titled Compulsion. The play will make its premiere at Yale Repertory Theater next year. Patinkin will reportedly star as a character inspired by Meyer Levin, the journalist and screenwriter who assisted in publicizing the existence of the diary, and who believed that the opportunity to turn it into a play had been stolen from him.