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Tom Cruise is reportedly not happy with another star rising through the ranks in Hollywood. The report from RadarOnline says that he allegedly can’t stand the success that Pedro Pascal is enjoying in Hollywood right now. The insider who spoke to Radar shared that Cruise didn’t want to lose his title of being the world’s biggest star.

Interestingly, Cruise and Pascal are represented by the same agency, CAA. The source claimed that while Pascal couldn’t care less about his stardom, Cruise is allegedly “ultra-intense” about things. The source shared that Cruise wasn’t happy with how much effort CAA is putting behind Pascal to make him a major star.

Alfred Hitchcock: The Ultimate Collection gathers 15 films by Alfred Hitchcock (1942–1976) in a 15-disc 4K Blu-ray set from Universal, arriving Oct 14. Titles include Saboteur, Shadow of a Doubt, Rope, Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, The Birds and Family Plot. Featuring principal performers such as James Stewart, Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Janet Leigh, Anthony Perkins, Tippi Hedren, Sean Connery and Kim Novak. The films are presented on 4K Blu-ray with High Dynamic Range (HDR10) and for The Man Who Knew Too Much, the original Perspecta audio track is used. Inside there will be a beautifully produced 64-page collectible booklet with storyboards, photographs and archival materials. The set is packed with...

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we sometimes talk about movie stars! We sometimes talk about movie directors! Today, we talk about both! Specifically, the B-Sides of the Mission: Impossible franchise.

It’s just Conor and I today folks, waxing poetic on Tom Cruise’s legendary franchise and the B-Sides that we were inspired to discuss. We’ve chosen one for each of the Mission movies. It’s also July 3rd on the day this episode is published, so happy 63rd birthday Tom Cruise!

For the first Mission: Impossible, we speak on The Avengers from 1998. An adaptation of the popular British television series from the ‘60s, director Jeremiah S. Chechik’s film was dismantled in post-production, slashed to ribbons following bad test screenings. The final product runs well under ninety minutes and is hard to understand. It sits on the other end of blockbusters in the ‘90s adapted from hit televisions from yesteryear.

The brilliant career of New Wave icons the B-52’s will be chronicled in a lavish new box set, The Warner and Reprise Years, which will bring together the nine albums they recorded for the label from 1979 to 1992. The set, which arrives on June 20 in celebration of Pride Month, collects each album in newly remastered, colored vinyl pressings: their 1979 debut The B-52’s (on yellow vinyl), 1980’s Wild Planet (red), the 1981 remix record Party Mix! (green), the 1982 EP Mesopotamia (blue), 1983’s Whammy! (smokey), 1986’s Bouncing Off the Satellites (pink), their...

House of David is Prime Video's new take on a biblical epic, focusing on the rise of David and set in Israel during 1000 BC. The series has not necessarily been met with widespread acclaim, as critics have been mixed on it. However, audiences have latched onto the new Amazon series, garnering it 22 million viewers in its first 17 days. It's been a hit for the streamer, but a startling revelation made by fans during the latest episode may put some people off from the hit series.

In the opening moments of the sixth episode of the first season of House of David, a pretty extensive origin sequence for Goliath is revealed. It depicts a giant man with large wings meeting a woman. The scale is unlike anything the show has leaned into before, even for a Prime Video production. The creator behind the show, Jon Erwin, has confirmed that AI was...

Quick LinksAlfred Hitchcock’s Torn Curtain Was Released Before MPAA Ratings ExistedJulie Andrews Starred in Torn Curtain 2 Years After Winning the Oscar for Disney’s Mary PoppinsCritics Thought Hitchcock’s Turn Curtain Was More of the Same

By the 1960s, director Alfred Hitchcock had been making films for decades. A holdover from the silent era, Hitchcock saw major changes in the film industry happen in real-time. And he was able to weather these hurdles to great success. However, in the mid-20th century, movies were changing once again and Hitchcock's films were perceived by some critics as becoming formulaic. Even though Hitchcock was still attracting some of the biggest talent of the day, he was certainly staying well within his niche. On top of his film career, the directorial icon was also juggling a hit TV by this point.

In 1966, when Hitchcock released Torn Curtain, he was entering another stage of filmmaking in the industry.

As curators of independent film, we here at Directors Notes have seen first hand the existential fear which has been forced into the minds of filmmakers having suddenly been confronted by rapidly developing generative AI tools. After surreptitiously slurping up all of their work, locking it up in proprietor models and attempting to sell it back to them, or worse, those who cut the cheques for their creative endeavours – looking at you Coca Cola – it’s no wonder that AI is viewed with suspicion and outright hostility by some. But does that make the technology an all or nothing, choose your side front in a boycotting battle or another tool in your creative arsenal? Case in point for the latter comes from director Chris Boyle of London-based mixed-media studio Private Island who in their brain melting satirical short Meme, Myself and A.I. turn the tools conceptually against themselves while also...

Leonard Engelman, who lobbied the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to install a makeup branch and served as its first governor when they did so, died Thursday at 88 in Northridge Hospital Medical Center.

His death was confirmed by the Cinema Makeup School in Los Angeles, but no cause has been given.

Engelman worked on such films as Rocky IV, The Princess Diaries, Batman & Robin and How the Grinch Stole Christmas and did Cher’s makeup for more than 30 years.

He also served as an Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences VP and board member for many years.

Born in Burbank, he was the son of a Hollywood makeup artist. Engelman graduated from Burbank High School, and received his first film credit on Alfred Hitchcock’s Topaz (1969).

Engelman received Emmy nominations in 1972 for an episode of Night Gallery and in 2001 for the miniseries Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. He...

Leonard Engelman, the esteemed makeup artist who worked on films including Rocky IV, The Princess Diaries, Batman & Robin and How the Grinch Stole Christmas and did Cher’s makeup for more than 30 years, has died. He was 83.

Engelman died Thursday at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, his wife of 42 years, artist Esther Engelman, told The Hollywood Reporter. The cause of death is unclear, she said.

The son of a Hollywood makeup artist, Engelman labored for a long time to convince the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to install a makeup branch, as those artisans had always been “at-large” members. And when it did so in 2006, he was elected its first governor. Later, he worked to have hairstylists added.

He also served as an Academy vice president and board member for many years.

Engelman received Emmy nominations in 1972 for an episode of Night Gallery and in 2001 for the miniseries Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis,...

When putting together a list of the 25 Best Alfred Hitchcock Movies, it’s like plunging into a spectacular alternate universe of wit, verve, and style. The director of “Rear Window,” “Vertigo,” “North by Northwest,” and “Psycho” has a body of work so deep there are endless ways you can parse it: Maybe you could focus on his obsession with mothers, his approach to time, or the way food and painting pop up throughout his films.

But on a basic level, you also run into a challenge with Hitchcock you face with few other filmmakers, full-stop: The Master of Suspense is one of the rare directors to have a filmography with both the volume and the quality to credibly field a Top 25. With what other filmmakers can you do that? John Ford, certainly (Ford had the most films in our recent list of the 100 Greatest Westerns). Godard or Fassbinder perhaps? They...

When you think of the great directors in cinema history – Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Alfred Hitchcock, etc. – chances are the first films that come to mind are Goodfellas, Jaws and Vertigo. But every brilliant filmmaker has their duds. Now, Rolling Stone – you know, the publication that doesn’t think Roseanne and Bill Cosby had historic shows just because of their wrongdoings – has put out a list of the 50 worst movies by some of the most renowned directors…And yes, they have missed the mark considerably.

In the list, titled “50 Terrible Movies by Great Directors”, there are plenty of bottom-barrel films, those that are absolutely anomalies in otherwise remarkable careers. We wouldn’t argue that man-child family comedy Jack (#1) isn’t Francis Ford Coppola’s worst movie or that Rob Reiner’s North (#2) wasn’t worthy of Roger Ebert’s famed “hated, hated, hated, hated, hated” review. Those guys didn’t...

Born 125 years ago, Alfred Hitchcock’s unparalleled body of work is a towering influence on virtually every corner of filmmaking. But what new insights can we gain into his process? Alfred Hitchcock’s Storyboards, a new book arriving next week by novelist and Hitchcock scholar Tony Lee Moral, contains a wealth of knowledge as it pertains to the Master of Suspense’s thought process. Ahead of its release from Titan Books, we’re delighted to share exclusive storyboards and more from the book, as well as a chat with the author.

Focusing on the storyboards for nine of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic movies––Vertigo, The Birds, Psycho, North by Northwest, The 39 Steps, Torn Curtain, Marnie, Shadow of a Doubt, and Spellbound––the coffee-table book includes never-before-published images and incisive text putting the material in context and examining the role the pieces played in some of the most unforgettable scenes in cinema.

The holiday season is here and that means there are lots of new releases coming out just in time to make the season bright. Below are some of the picks coming out sure to make the movie fan in your life smile. Whether it is an upgrade to a 4K edition, a reliable Blu-ray, or a special edition Box Set, this list has something for everyone!

One disclaimer: Deals as good as these can be fickle, so there’s no telling if and when a money-saving opportunity might end or if the price may change. So if you want something – snap that shit up quick! Don’t wait, only to have Festivus roll around and discover you’ve nothing to give or the price suddenly changed and you no longer have the bread. And remember that if you want to support JoBlo.com, please make all your purchases by initially clicking through our links,...

Quick Links Best Light Cones For Topaz & Numby Best Relics, Ornaments, & Stats For Topaz & Numby Best Team Comps For Topaz & Numby Skill Priority For Topaz & Numby

If you give the best build and team comp to Topaz and Numby in Honkai: Star Rail, the odds are that you will significantly improve the character’s damage output and increase your own general appreciation of the game. The duo, centered around Topaz, is a 5-star character that uses Fire as their main element and follows the Path of the Hunt. Along with Jingliu, Topaz was introduced as a playable character in Honkai: Star Rail 1.4. She was also first introduced as an Npc during the update’s contents, as she had not yet debuted in HoYoverse’s popular turn-based RPG through story missions or limited-time events.

Though she had been featured in the artworks for some Light Cones, Topaz was mainly unknown until her official announcement.

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

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection: Volume 3 4K Uhd Box Set from Universal

Five more Alfred Hitchcock movies are coming to 4K Ultra HD: Rope, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Torn Curtain, Topaz, and Frenzy. They’ll be available both individually ($19.99) and together in the third volume of The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection box set ($69.98) on October 31 via Universal.

1948’s Rope stars James Stewart, John Dall, and Farley Granger. 1956’s The Man Who Knew Too Much stars James Stewart and Doris Day. 1966’s Torn Curtain stars Paul Newman and Julie Andrews. 1969’s Topaz stars Frederick Stafford, Dany Robin, and John Forsythe. 1972’s Frenzy stars Jon Finch, Alec McCowen, and Barry Foster.

All five thrillers have...

In The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom there are tons of weapons to choose from, and the Weapon Fusion ability further expands the options for players to anything they could dream of. Players are now only limited by their imagination and with that, many are looking for ways to take advantage of crafting elemental weapons.

One element in particular that can be fun to play with in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is electricity. There are several items Link can use to make electric weapons and all of them can be incredibly helpful when taking on enemies, especially those that are significantly stronger.

Yellow Chuchu Jelly Arrows

Chuchu Jelly in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is one of the easiest fuse materials to come across. There are several variations all over Hyrule and the different colors indicate different potential elemental properties. For example, Yellow Chuchu Jelly indicates an electrical property.

An upcoming one-shot from Idw Publishing will mark the 900th English-language comic to feature Sonic the Hedgehog. That unprecedented landmark not only counts the comics from the current Idw run, but also runs from previous publishers including Archie Comics, Fleetway Editions, Sega and Grandreams.

Releasing in August, Sonic the Hedgehog's 900th Adventure will focus on the eponymous hero and his friends passing the dangerous gemstone known as the Warp Topaz back and forth like some deadly game of hot potato before everything is warped into oblivion. The one-shot features numerous writers including Aaron Hammerstrom, Daniel Barnes, and Ian Flynn to tell this story across six parts. The art for Sonic the Hedgehog 900th Adventure is provided by line artist Mauro Fonseca, inkers Rik Mack and Matt Froese, and colorists Reggie Graham and Nathalie Fourdraine. The issue will include covers by artists Tracy Yardley, Yuji Uekawa, Evan Stanely, Adam Bryce Thomas,...

Bengaluru, May 23 (Ians) Tech major Infosys on Tuesday launched Topaz — an AI-first set of services, solutions and platforms using generative AI technologies to empower global firms, the company announced.

Topaz helps amplify the potential of humans, enterprises and communities to tap into the next generation of opportunities to create value from unprecedented innovations, connected ecosystems and pervasive efficiencies.

Infosys said Topaz was developed using its own applied AI framework to develop an AI-first core to power business, delivering cognitive solutions and intuitive experiences that revitalise growth. It potentially has more than 12,000 AI use cases, over 150 pre-trained models and more than 10 platforms.

“Infosys Topaz is helping us amplify the potential of people — both our own and our clients. We are seeing strong interest from our clients for efficiency and productivity-enhancing programmes, even as businesses are keen to secure their future growth,” said Salil Parekh, CEO & MD, Infosys, in a statement.

“Our...

Director/Tfh Guru Allan Arkush discusses his favorite year in film, 1975, with Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Rules of the Game (1939)

Le Boucher (1970)

Last Year At Marienbad (1961)

Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982)

Topaz (1969)

Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

Hollywood Boulevard (1976) – Jon Davison’s trailer commentary

The Innocents (1961) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary

The Earrings of Madame De… (1953)

Rope (1948) – Darren Bousman’s trailer commentary

Make Way For Tomorrow (1937)

The Awful Truth (1937) – Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Duck Soup (1933) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Going My Way (1944)

Nashville (1975) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Dan Perri’s trailer commentary

M*A*S*H (1970)

Shampoo (1975) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Bonnie And Clyde (1967) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

The Nada Gang (1975)

Get Crazy (1983) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary

Night Moves (1975) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Dog Day Afternoon (1975) – Katt Shea’s trailer...

Michel Subor, a French actor who rose to international acclaim for his lead performance in Jean-Luc Godard’s 1963 feature “Le Petit Soldat” and his narration for François Truffaut’s 1962 romance “Jules et Jim,” died on Monday in a French hospital following a car accident. He was 86 years old.

News of Subor’s death was shared by director Claire Denis on her Instagram and reported by the daily French newspaper Libération. Subor and Denis had collaborated numerous times over the past decades, with their partnership beginning with Subor’s performance in Denis’ 1999 feature “Beau Travail.”

“Michel Subor, the big little soldier is dead,” Denis wrote. Her words have been translated from French. “Our Bruno, the commander.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Claire Denis (@clairedenis6)

Born Mischa Subotzki in Paris, France on Feb. 2, 1935, Subor was raised by parents who had immigrated from the Soviet Union a few years earlier.

With a career that spanned over 50 years, Alfred Hitchcock is an undisputed master of cinema. With around 55 feature films on his resume, it is extremely hard to narrow them down to a list of 15 -- and that's before you even get to ranking them. 

Hitchcock charted the political turmoil of the 20th century as it was unfolding; with his pre-war espionage thrillers "The 39 Steps" (1935) and "Sabotage" (1936), his examinations of the effects of World War II on the human condition in "Lifeboat" (1944) and "Notorious" (1946), and his takes on the Cold War in "Torn Curtain" (1966) and "Topaz" (1969). He worked with some of...

The post Alfred Hitchcock's 15 best films ranked appeared first on /Film.

Bones star Emily Deschanel discusses a few of her favorite films with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Shining (1980) – Adam Rifkin’s trailer commentary

Dumb And Dumber (1994)

Dude, Where’s My Car? (2000)

This Is Spinal Tap (1984) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Crusoe (1988)

Watership Down (1978)

Gandhi (1982)

Small Soldiers (1998)

Waiting For Guffman (1996)

Best In Show (2000) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary

Vertigo (1958) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review,

Marnie (1964) – Dan Irleand’s trailer commentary, Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing recommendation

La Femme Nikita (1991)

Psycho (1960) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing recommendation

Psycho (1998) – Ti West’s trailer commentary

Citizen Kane (1941) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Rear Window (1954) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Topaz (1969)

Foreign Correspondent (1940) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary

North By Northwest (1959)

Notorious (1946) – John Landis’s trailer commentary,...

Listening to an Israel Nash album can be like embarking on a vision quest. Nestled in between the guitar and drums, you can almost hear the wisp of the wind and the sounds of nature. When it’s over, you’re somehow changed. The singer-songwriter’s new album Topaz is the best example of that experience yet.

Produced by Nash and the Black Pumas’ Adrian Quesada in a Quonset hut studio Nash built on his property, Topaz is rooted in the dreamy Texas Hill Country that Nash calls home. There...

Whether it’s coming out of Nashville, New York, L.A., or points in between, there’s no shortage of fresh tunes, especially from artists who have yet to become household names. Rolling Stone Country selects some of the best new music releases from country and Americana artists. (Check out last week’s best songs.)

Tiera featuring Breland, “Miles”

Singer-songwriter Tiera flexes her melodic and vocal muscles on the easygoing new single “Miles,” a duet with the shapeshifting singer Breland, of “My Truck” fame. Rather than trunk-rattling country-trap, it’s...

The narrative feature “Coda” and the documentary “Summer of Soul” swept the top categories at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, winning the Grand Jury Prizes and also taking the audience awards in the U.S. dramatic and documentary competitions.

“Coda,” director Sian Heder’s coming-of-age story in which Emilia Jones plays the only hearing member of a deaf family, also won an award for its ensemble, many of them deaf actors who performed in ASL. Its wins come three days after the film set a record for the largest sale in Sundance history, a $25 million deal with Apple.

“Summer of Soul,” which like “Coda” screened on the festival’s opening night, is a documentary by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson built around long-unseen concert footage from the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, a six-weekend event that first-time director Questlove uses as a launching pad to explore race relations and Black culture in that tumultuous time.

Special Bonus Episode – Author/filmmaker/Hitchcock Laurent Bouzereau expert discusses five Hitchcock movies he wishes got more love.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (2020)

Rear Window (1954)

Psycho (1960)

Vertigo (1958)

The Birds (1963)

Matinee (1993)

Marnie (1964)

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

Rope (1948)

Dial M For Murder (1954)

Dr. No (1962)

Family Plot (1976)

Explorers (1985)

Body Double (1984)

Stage Fright (1950)

Scrooge (1951)

The Wrong Man (1956)

Citizen Kane (1941)

The Trouble With Harry (1955)

Suspicion (1941)

Torn Curtain (1966)

North By Northwest (1959)

Topaz (1969)

Foreign Correspondent (1940)

Young And Innocent (1937)

Waltzes from Vienna (1934)

Under Capricorn (1949)

Jamaica Inn (1939)

Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Other Notable Items

Laurent’s book Alma Hitchcock: The Woman Behind The Man (2004)

The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection Blu-ray collection (2020)

Thomas Narcejac

James Stewart

Laurent’s Five Came Back TV series (2014)

Kim Novak

Vera Miles

Grace Kelly

Tippi Hedren

Cary Grant

Alain Resnais

Ray Milland

Anthony Dawson

The Tower Theater in Philadelphia

Bruce Dern

Rod Taylor

Jessica Tandy

Craig Wasson

Suzanne Pleshette...

Piccoli worked with Jean-Luc Godard, Luis Buñuel, Jean Renoir and Alfred Hitchcock.

French actor Michel Piccoli, star of Jean-Luc Godard’s 1963 classic Contempt, has died aged 94.

His family confirmed the news to French media on Monday (May 18).

In a career spanning more than 70 years and 200 films, some of Piccoli’s other memorable roles included six films with Luis Buñuel including The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie and Belle de Jour, Jean Renoir’s French Cancan, Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Doulos, Alfred Hitchcock’s Topaz and five features with Claude Sautet.

Piccoli won the best actor prize at the 1980 Cannes Film...

The saying goes that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; and while that may hold true for the originator, it can often hide the imitator’s intentions behind an aesthetic curtain too hard to see through. Luckily this is not the case with Richard Franklin’s Road Games (1981), a taut yet humorous highway take on Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window. While it is a loving homage, it has a light touch even in its tensest moments that renders it beguiling.

Released by Avco Embassy Pictures stateside in November, Road Games’ production sputtered along before hitting full speed, getting veteran actor Stacy Keach on board, and then despite protests from Australians who wanted them to shop local, snagging Jamie Lee Curtis as well. The film received some positive notices (so much so it got him the job helming Psycho II), hailing Franklin’s efforts to create a classy thriller amongst the Australian outback; unfortunately,...

With the Academy Awards just around the corner, it’s time to talk about the “who didn’ts” — the actors who never won an Oscas, let alone received a nomination-as well as classic films that never saw Oscar gold. And there are plenty of who didn’t filmmakers. Countless legendary directors didn’t win Oscars or even earn nominations.

Martin Scorsese, who is one of the most influential, acclaimed directors of the past 50 years has only won for directing 2006’s Best Picture winner “The Departed.” Though his 1976 masterpiece “Taxi Driver” was nominated for Best Picture, he didn’t earn an Oscar nomination for Best Director. He first got his first directing nomination for his 1980 masterwork “Raging Bull,” but lost to Robert Redford for “Ordinary People.”

Scorsese has received a lot of Oscar love. As far as producing, writing and directing, he’s received 14 nominations. And this year, he’s nominated...

Although Alfred Hitchcock was working with Ernest Lehman on the script for a project titled The Short Night at the time of Hitch’s death, this light-hearted suspense thriller proved to be his final outing. In retrospect it’s not viewed as equal to his best efforts, but he was 77 when he made it and it’s actually a bit hipper than the preceding Topaz and Torn Curtain.

The post Family Plot appeared first on Trailers From Hell.

October 1st can't come fast enough as Universal is set to release The House of Hitchcock Collection limited Blu-ray set. The set will contain 15 iconic Alfred Hitchcock movies from the acclaimed director's illustrious career including Psycho, The Birds, Rear Window, Vertigo and North by Northwest, 7 episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, 3 episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and over 15 hours of bonus features. Limited edition extras include blueprints of the infamous Psycho house, movie poster art cards for all the films, a booklet about Hitchcock's work, all housed inside a replica of the Psycho house.

The House of Hitchcock blu-ray set movies:Saboteur (1942)Shadow of a Doubt (1943)Rope (1948)Rear Window (1954)The Trouble with Harry (1955)The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)Vertigo (1958)North by Northwest (1959)Psycho (1960)The Birds (1963)Marnie (1964)Torn Curtain (1966)Topaz (1969)Frenzy (1972)Family Plot (1976)

The House of Hitchcock blu-ray set extras:&#8226 7 TV Episodes from Alfred Hitchcock Presents&#8226 3 TV Episodes from The...

In the last shot of Alfred Hitchcock’s final (and underrated) “Family Plot,” impostor-psychic-turned-kidnapper Barbara Harris looks straight at the camera and winks. It was only time in Hitchcock’s career that he broke down the fourth wall, and the gesture felt like his goodbye to his fans.

Harris died August 21 at 83 of lung cancer. Her notable roles included “A Thousand Clowns,” “Nashville,” “The Seduction of Joe Tynan,” and a supporting actor Oscar nomination for “Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?” But for Hitchcock fans, her death reminds us that 42 years have passed since the master’s last film, and fewer of his actors are still alive.

It’s nearly impossible to track every actor who appeared in his work. (Anyone from Hitchcock’s early British films would have had to be a very small child.) However, there are still a number...

Marvel Studios' Thor: Ragnarok the God of Thunder's third installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, electrified both audiences and critics alike reaching over $845M at the global box office. Now the colorful cosmic adventure, loaded with action, humor, drama and spectacle, bursts into homes Digitally in HD and 4K Ultra HD, and Movies Anywhere, on Feb. 20 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On-Demand on March. 6. Marvel has unveiled a new trailer for this DVD and Blu-ray release, along with a sneak peek that features one of the movie's most memorable scenes, the humorous beginning of the gladiator match on Sakaar between Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).

In Marvel Studios' Thor: Ragnarok, Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok, the destruction of his...

Universal has released a highly impressive Blu-ray set, "The Alfred Hitchcock Collection", on Blu-ray. The set contains fifteen special editions of the Master's top films as well as ten original episodes of "The Alfred Hitchcock Presents" television series. The set is packed with 15 hours of bonus extras and includes an illustrated, 58-page collector's booklet with extremely rare international poster art and film stills. Films included in the set are:

Psycho The Birds Vertigo Rear Window North by Northwest The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 version) Marnie Saboteur Shadow of a Doubt Rope The Trouble with Harry Topaz Frenzy  Torn Curtain Family Plot. 

 

Holiday gifts like this don't get any more impressive (or sinister) for the movie lover in your life.

Click Here To Order From Amazon...

By Lee Pfeiffer

German actress Karin Dor has died at age 79. She had been in a nursing home since suffering the severe aftereffects of a fall last year. Dor was a popular presence in European cinema. She began acting in the 1950s and became a well-known star in the 1960s. She frequently collaborated with her husband, Austrian director Harald Reinl. She appeared in several of the popular German "Winnetou"  westerns and well as German crime programs on television. In 1967 she achieved a new level of fame when she was cast as Helga Brandt, the sultry Spectre agent who seduces Sean Connery's James Bond before attempting to kill him in the 1967 blockbuster "You Only Live Twice". Dor's character suffered a memorable fate when her employer, Spectre chieftain Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Donald Pleasence) ensures she drops into his piranha-filled moat. She later had a leading role in Alfred Hitchcock's 1969 spy...

Karin Dor, who played the red-haired villainess Helga Brandt in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice, died Monday in a nursing home in Munich, her son told the Bild newspaper. She was 79.

The German beauty also had a key role as a revolutionary in the Alfred Hitchcock Cuban missile crisis thriller Topaz (1969) and appeared opposite Christopher Lee in The Invisible Dr. Mabuse (1962), one of more than a dozen films she made with her then-husband, Austrian director Harald Reinl.

In her most famous role, Dor worked for the evil Blofeld (Donald Pleasence) as...

He’s fast on his feet, quick with a gun, and faster with the to-die-for beauties that only existed in the swinging ’60s. The superspy exploits of Oss 117 were too big for just one actor, so meet all three iterations of the man they called Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath . . . seriously.

Oss 117 Five Film Collection

Blu-ray

Oss 117 Is Unleashed; Oss 117: Panic in Bangkok; Oss 117: Mission For a Killer; Oss 117: Mission to Tokyo; Oss 117: Double Agent

Kl Studio Classics

1963-1968 / B&W and Color / 1:85 widescreen + 2:35 widescreen / 528 min. / Street Date September 26, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 59.95

Starring: Kerwin Matthews, Nadia Sanders, Irina Demick, Daniel Emilfork; Kerwin Matthews, Pier Angeli, Robert Hossein; Frederick Stafford, Mylène Demongeot, Perrette Pradier, Dominique Wilms, Raymond Pellegrin, Annie Anderson; Frederick Stafford, Marina Vlad, Jitsuko Yoshimura; John Gavin, Margaret Lee, Curd Jurgens, Luciana Paluzzi, Rosalba Neri, Robert Hossein, George Eastman.

Cinematography: Raymond Pierre Lemoigne...

Dailies is a round-up of essential film writing, news bits, videos, and other highlights from across the Internet. If you’d like to submit a piece for consideration, get in touch with us in the comments below or on Twitter at @TheFilmStage.

Jan Nemec‘s last film, The Wolf from Royal Vineyard Street, Roberto Andò‘s The Confessions, Anthropoid, and more will premiere at the 2016 Karlovy Vary Festival.

Watch a trailer for an upcoming concert in Denmark featuring the music of Lars von Trier‘s film:

The New York Asian Film Festival 2016 has unveiled its full line-up.

Tim Robbins reflects on working with Robert Altman in The Player, now on Criterion:

Slate highlights the 50 greatest movies by black directors:

Despite everything, black filmmakers have produced art on screen that is just as daring, original, influential, and essential as the heralded works of Welles, Coppola, Antonioni, Kurosawa, and other nonblack directors.

Kent Jones with Gone Girl director David Fincher: "I don't think David was responding to Vertigo …" Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Wes Anderson, Arnaud Desplechin, James Gray, Olivier Assayas, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Richard Linklater, Peter Bogdanovich and Paul Schrader with a narration by Bob Balaban, come together in Kent Jones' rhythmic Hitchcock/Truffaut, to discuss Alfred Hitchcock and François Truffaut.

John Huston's Let There Be Light, Fincher's The Social Network, Se7en and The Game, Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom narrator and Truffaut's interpreter in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, the defector in Topaz, Psycho and Janet Leigh, Vertigo and Brian De Palma's commitment to Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow for their film De Palma come to light in my conversation with the New York Film Festival Director of Programming Kent Jones.

Alfred Hitchcock in thought with François Truffaut

Hitchcock/Truffaut makes you...

Two obscure Robert Wise titles reach Blu-ray release this month, both direct follow-ups to some of the auteur’s more iconic works. First up is 1962’s Two for the Seesaw, a romantic drama headlined by Robert Mitchum and Shirley MacLaine following the famed 1961 title West Side Story. But the decade prior would fine Wise unveiling one of his most stilted efforts, The Captive City (1952), a sort-of noir procedural which followed his sci-fi social commentary The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Providing John Forsythe with his first starring role (a performer who would find his most famous roles decades later on television, as Blake Carrington in “Dynasty,” and of course, the famous voice in “Charlie’s Angels”), it has to be one of the most unenthusiastic renderings of organized crime ever committed to celluloid. A scrappy journalist defies the mob ruled police force and a slick Mafia boss in a tired...

Ahead of American Ultra’s release in UK cinemas, we look at the rise of the stoner in film, from the 30s to the present...

"The motion picture you are about to witness may startle you. It would not have been possible, otherwise, to sufficiently emphasize the frightful toll of the new drug menace which is destroying the youth of America in alarmingly increasing numbers. Marihuana is that drug - a violent narcotic - an unspeakable scourge - the Real Public Enemy Number One!

So reads the opening crawl to the now infamous film Reefer Madness. Originally released in 1936, it was designed as a hard-hitting expose of marijuana and its inherent dangers. The drug could cause "violent, uncontrollable laughter," the movie's introduction read. It could induce "dangerous hallucinations," "monstrous extravagances," all eventually leading to "shocking acts of physical violence... ending often in incurable insanity."

Reefer Madness was one of many...

Step back in time 46 years with us to 1969. Alfred Hitchcock, fresh off “Topaz,” was entering the very tail end of his career. He had two more films in his future — “Frenzy" and "Family Plot” — but his best work was well behind him. Nevertheless, he was (and still is) a legendary director, one of the best of the best to have graced cinema, and his mind was as much (if not more) a treasure trove of movie history, information, and advice than ever. One afternoon those many years ago, Hitch sat down with actor-writer-director Bryan Forbes (“The Stepford Wives,” screenplay for “Chaplin”) in the National Film Theatre in London to discuss movies and answer questions from an audience of cinephiles. Fortunately, for those of us too young or otherwise unable to have attended, Eyes on Cinema has uploaded an 18-minute recording of interview. Forbes kicked off the interview — after a quick...

I can’t think of any director whose had more of an influence on film and television than Alfred Hitchcock. The man made some terrific films, knew how to market them (and himself), and inspired countless people around the world to enter the world of film.

Today’s Amazon.com deal of the day is perfect for the Hitchcock fan in all of us! Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection on Blu-ray, which normally goes for close to $200, is on sale today for $98.99! The collection includes Saboteur, Shadow of a Doubt, Rope, Rear Window, The Trouble with Harry, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, The Birds, Marnie, Torn Curtain, Topaz, Frenzy, and Family Plot. That’s 15 films people! It’s never too early to start Christmas shopping.

Update: Deal is now over, I hope you got it while you could!

Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece...

One Blu-ray collection I do not own, but am really tempted to pull the trigger on right now is the Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection as Amazon has dropped the price down to $98.99. The set includes 15 of Hitchcock's films including classics such as Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, The Birds and Rope and all the special features that come with them. Msrp on the collection is $299.98 and the sale ends at midnight tonight so if you're looking to pick it up you better hustle. Here's the complete listing of movies that come on the set and you can click here to pick it up for yourself and take a look at all the features it includes. Saboteur Shadow of a Doubt Rope Rear Window The Trouble with Harry The Man Who Knew Too Much Vertigo North by Northwest Psycho The Birds Marnie Torn Curtain Topaz Frenzy Family Plot...

Any Hitchcock fan has no doubt looked carefully while watching one of his movies in order to spot his infamous cameos. Hitchcock’s earlier cameos are especially hard to catch, and so Youtube user Morgan T. Rhys put together this video compiling every cameo Alfred Hitchcock ever made.

Hitchcock made a total of 39 self-referential cameos in his films over a 50 year period. Four of his films featured two cameo appearances (The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog UK), Suspicion, Rope, and Under Capricorn). Two recurring themes featured Hitchcock carrying a musical instrument, and using public transportation.

The films are as follows:

The Lodger (1927), Easy Virtue (1928), Blackmail (1929),Murder! (1930), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39 Steps (1935),Sabotage (1936), Young and Innocent (1937), The Lady Vanishes (1938), Rebecca(1940), Foreign Correspondent (1940), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941), Suspicion (1941),Saboteur (1942), Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Lifeboat (1944), Spellbound (1945),Notorious (1946), The Paradine Case (1947), Rope (1948), Under Capricorn (1949),Stage Fright (1950), Strangers on a Train...

Combining a festering sense of dread with sassy, Tarantino-esque dialogue, this Hitchcockian outback thriller has lost none of its menace

Alfred Hitchcock had many appreciators and imitators, but few directors could legitimately claim to being a true "student" or "scholar" of the master of suspense. Australian filmmaker Richard Franklin was a rare exception.

Franklins first in-person interaction with Hitchcock literally took place in a school. In the late 1960s, Hitch as if to reinforce his reputation for twists and surprises unexpectedly took up an offer extended by the young film aficionado to speak to students at the University of Southern California. Franklin would visit the set of two Hitchcock films (1968s Topaz and 1976s Family Plot) and in 1983 direct the underappreciated Psycho II, returning Anthony Perkins as a much older Norman Bates.

Continue reading...

Frenzy

Written by Anthony Shaffer

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

UK, 1972

Family Plot

Written by Ernest Lehman

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

USA, 1976

There are some who opt for Alfred Hitchcock’s British years as his finest, taking into account his earliest silent features through Jamaica Inn in 1939. On the other hand, many regard the peak years in America as the Master of Suspense’s finest era, with films from Rebecca in 1940 to Marnie in 1964. Both have valid points to make and there are unquestionably several great works during each phase of the filmmaker’s career. Few, however, would rank Hitchcock’s final four films among his best. In a way, this is unfair, their lowly stature no doubt due to the masterworks that preceded them; with the films Hitchcock made before, the bar was set unassailably high. Taken apart from the imposing excellence of these earlier classics, these concluding films are solid movies.

It’s that holiday season again, although if you didn’t know it you’d think it had started right after Halloween…Wrong! Wait for the gosh forsaken month people. Folks in my neighbourhood had their Christmas lights up in early November and I know someone else who had their tree up around the same time! It’s madness I tells ya, madness.

Anyway, we here at City of Films want to do our part to help out. Perhaps you’re acquainted with some lovers of cinema, maybe you’re dating or married to one. Whatever the relationship may be, sometimes it’s hard to figure out just what to get them. So in a first Ever coming together of all the contributing members of The City of Films…we present…The City of Films Super Happy Christmas Gift Guide!

We’ve each chosen a handful of items that we would want for Christmas,...

Curve, Leicester

Rudkin's darkly riveting play brilliantly demonstrates the way Hitchcock's art is the key to his life

Plays and films about the private life of Alfred Hitchcock are a growth industry. But David Rudkin can justly claim to have got there with first with an award-winning 1993 radio play with an Eliotesque title. Out of that has emerged this reconceived stage piece, commissioned by New Perspectives, which turns out to be a darkly riveting study of a film-maker who turned what his wife terms his "crazy inner life" into public entertainment.

Rudkin uses an adventurous form to explore the dreams and desires of a Hitch ("I have no cock," he Freudianly quips) who is imprisoned in his director's chair. As the pudgy auteur pursues an archetypal Hitchcock situation in which a man silently tracks an unknown woman, he is invaded by memories. We see glimpses of the mother who...

Ranking Alfred Hitchcock’s famous movies from Best to Worst is always going to be a highly controversial endeavour. His filmography is so vast and he has many many popular pictures – not just the big ones like Vertigo and Rear Window, but he has cult followings for films such as Rope, Marnie and Life Boat. It is an impossible task to satisfy all of his fans.

I have tried in this feature to represent a wide range of Hitchcock pictures from his oeuvre. I have not ranked them according to my personal preference, but to a preference that I think will satisfy the majority of his fans. I have also decided to keep it to just ten movies.

It has not been an easy task and I doubt that it will please everyone but you can add your comments and dissent into the box below.

10. Topaz (1969)

Topaz is based on...