producer hal r. makelim intended the peacemaker to be the first of a series of low-budget productions .

according to merlin , who played the villain , shooting took only " seven or ten days . "

although the film featured some successful character actors like hugh sanders in supporting roles , none of the performers qualified as marquee names ; in fact , at this point in his career , star james mitchell was known only as a dancer ( despite some dramatic roles at mgm ) .

while makelim tried to compensate for these problems by marketing the film to a religious audience — the local clergymen were invited to the film 's premiere in wichita -- the peacemaker enjoyed only sporadic distribution and was not widely reviewed .

makelim managed to produce only one more film , valerie ( 1957 ) , and mitchell would not make another film appearance until the turning point ( 1977 ) .

the peacemaker ( 1956 film )

the thunder child : thursday at williamsburg film festival 2006 . jan merlin on the peacemaker
an artifact of the atomic age , the 1956 big budget film , the conqueror could be considered just another costly hollywood mistake .
the peacemaker ( 1956 ) is a western film directed by ted post and starring james mitchell , rosemarie bowe , and jan merlin . hal richards based the script on the novel of the same name by richard poole .
howard hugh’s film , the conquerer ( 1956 ) was a big budget flop and nearby nuclear testing was blamed for 91 or 220 of the film cast suffering from cancer in subsequent years .
please look closely at the photo ( this is the exact poster you are buying ) . this collectible half - sheet poster , printed in 1956 to promote theatrical release of the peacemaker , is not a reproduction or a reprint .
this is an original half - sheet movie poster from 1956 for the peacemaker starring james mitchell , rosemarie bowe , jan merlin , jess barker , hugh sanders , robert armstrong , and taylor holmes . ted post directed the cowboy western .
after the film was over , jan merlin came to the front of the room give a brief talk . questions in
. rosemarie bowe was married to stack from 1956 until his death in 2003 . she acted in only a few movies and briefly in television . ]
strictly a b affair , but not that bad if you don’t mind the preachy nature of the film .
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jan began by speaking of hal r . makelim . this was the first film makelim produced .
some of her tv and film credits include : tv : blake ' s seven - gambit ( chenie ) [ 1978 ] [ see picture , above right , in which sylvia coleridge , mrs butterworth from a little learning , also starred ] the onedin line ( ada gamble ) [ 1976 ] on the buses - bye bye blakey ( lady doctor ) [ 1972 ] tracey and me ( dorothy ) [ 1956 ] two ' s company [ 1956 ] film : home sweet home [ 1945 ] nicolette is the sister of nicolas roeg , the famous film director , who directed performance , don ' t look now , the witches and the man who fell to earth .
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work on the film progressed with a degree of enthusiasm that should accompany a blockbuster . principle outdoor photography took place near st . george , utah , during the summer of 1954 . john wayne went on a crash diet for his role . the local community was wildly enthusiastic at having a big budget film crew in their midst . the film used many locals as extras , including native north americans as horseback warriors . hughes bankrolled the shipment of sixty tons of sand and soil from the area to hollywood for use in retakes .
this entry was posted in agnes moorehead , atomic radio , dick powell , howard hughes , john wayne , the conqueror and tagged agnes moorehead , atomic fallout , atomic radio , dick powell , film star cancer , howard hughes , pedro armendariz , susan hayward , the conqueror , worst film of all time . bookmark the permalink .
one thing that can be said for legendary tycoon howard hughes : when he made a mistake , it tended to be an incredibly costly mistake . the film had a $ 6 , 000 , 000 budget , and a domestic gross of just $ 4 , 500 , 000 ; an almost textbook definition of a failed movie . hughes felt bad enough about the mistakes on the film that he bought every existing print of the film for $ 12 million and kept it from view until 1974 .
the conqueror was the last film with which howard hughes involved himself . the movie’s high cost was one of the final factors in the demise of rko studios . along with another cold war fable , ice station zebra , it was one of the films that howard hughes watched repeatedly during the isolated madness of his final years .
the parson allays the fears of the townsfolk when they learn of his past , wins a brawl with viggo then nurses him back to health , and spends most of the film encouraging his congregation to love — not kill — their neighbors .
the posters and lobby cards offered by original film art were printed specifically for use in a movie theaters . we do not sell any reprints or reproductions .
the conqueror was a lousy film . it appears on several lists the “worst films of all time . ” it is a story based on the life of the mongol warrior temujin , whom history remembers as ghengis khan . marlon brando was the intended lead when the script was written . it eventually wound up in the hands of radio and movie star dick powell .
virginia mayo and joel mccrea meet a tragic end in this 1949 western directed by raoul walsh and based on his 1941 film ,
high sierra .
answer
the st . george area was within 135 miles of the nevada test range . although no test detonations occurred during production of the film , 11 atomic explosions took place the previous year , including two exceptionally “dirty” above ground tests with high degrees of fall out . the dunes around st . george were natural collecting areas for wind - borne material , including fallout . the dunes were also the preferred location for many of the movies very dusty action scenes .
the film marked the directorial debut of ted post , who later worked with clint eastwood on the rawhide series . when eastwood returned to the u . s . as a mega star from his stints in spaghetti westerns , post directed some of his big - budget films , including hang ‘em high . rosemary bowe was the wife of actor robert stack .
along with all american john wayne cast as the mongol leader , susan hayward came on board as a red - headed tartar princess and the picture’s love interest . very creditable supporting roles went to pedro armendariz and radio and film star agnes moorehead .
there were , of course , many other factors behind these cancer deaths than spending the summer of 1954 near the nevada test range . agnes moorehead was a heavy smoker . unfiltered cigarettes were as much a part of john wayne’s screen persona as his colt peacemaker . however , of the conqueror’ s production company of 220 people , 91 contracted some form cancer by 1981 ( statistically , a group that size should see around 30 cases of cancer . ) this number does not include the high incidence of cancer among the families of the stars who spent that summer in st . george . the residents of that area of utah have an inexplicably high rate of cancer , as well .
i looked good horizontal , ya ? know . they once in a while gave me a chance to be a good fella . i was a nice fella in a film called
the rest of the cast includes rosemarie bowe as ann davis , the shopkeeper’s daughter who falls for the preacher ; and dorothy patrick as edith sawyer , who angers her dad by falling for and marrying halcomb , the leader of the ranchers .
he did the best he could with this film . as you can see he had some real fine actors in it . robert armstrong . . . i was still green enough in hollywood so that when i saw robert armstrong on the set i was in awe of him . this is the guy who was in
james mitchell , who played the parson , was a broadway musical star , dancer and actor . . . he came out to hollywood to do film acting . i think he did a darn good job in the picture . [ james mitchell may be best known to today ' s audiences as palmer cortlandt in the soap opera
mitchell is a gunslinger turned preacher who has put down his weapons in favor of wisdom and the lord ' s word in this small western with religious overtones . he gets mixed up in a feud between the farmers and ranchers , but ultimately brings law to the land . the first film directed by ted post , who would later direct clint eastwood in hang ' em high .
after ending his association with nbc radio’s richard diamond , private detective , powell began directing films . john wayne was near the end of a three film contract with hughes’ rko studios , and came to powell’s office to review scripts . at some point , powell left the office for a few minutes , and the duke began perusing the conqueror . he expressed enthusiasm for the project when powell returned to the office . powell would later comment “who am i to turn down john wayne ? ”
click on the icons for new features in the thunder child . radiation theater : 1950s sci fi movies discussion boards the sand rock sentinel : ripped from the headlines of 1950s sci fi films
a former gunfighter who went to prison but then took up religion arrives in a western town as the new preacher . there he finds a feud between the ranchers and the farmers . the railroad agent is after the ranchers land and has his men causing all the trouble . the new preacher sets out to bring the two sides together and he says he will not need a gun .
above : two images of paul seed [ with him in the second is robert reegan as sholakh ] as the graff vynda k in the doctor who : the ribos operation [ 1978 ] .
of all the men the parson tries to save from violence , it’s the gunman viggo he identifies with the most . he sees himself in the youngster , and figures he still might be toting a gun for the highest bidder if he hadn’t been thrown in jail and found religion as a result .
when john wayne heard about armendariz’ suicide , he commented “i don’t blame pete . i’d have done the same thing . ” wayne’s doctors diagnosed lung - cancer in 1964 , which the duke battled nobly . his entire left lung and four ribs had to be removed , and he was declared cancer free . he would continue to work , including a physically demanding role in the 1969 cold war classic the green berets . john wayne’s final film was the eerily prescient ; the shootist centered on an aging gunfighter suffering the ravages of cancer . wayne died of stomach cancer in 1979 .
the time when the preacher walked out with the dead man that i ? d shot , and he carried him out in his arms . . . well , ted framed the shot so that you saw the dead man in his arms while the preacher ? s talking , but the dead man ? s breathing . i don ? t know whether you caught that
before eastenders , derek had various roles in series such as the governor ( deputy governor - garry marshall ) , the bill , the detectives , crime monthly , shoestring , target , dempsey and makepeace , the professionals , the duchess of duke street and doctor who . derek has notched up eight appearances in doctor who , as an extra , stuntman and most significantly as mitchell in the classic 1977 story image of the fendahl . ( his other doctor who ' s were the romans , the massacre , the highlanders , the web of fear , inferno , the mind of evil and the claws of axos . ) derek has also starred in the films : piggy bank [ 1997 ] and boston kick out [ 1994 ] .
below . change permissionsreadwriteexecuteusergroupother a couple of years ago the smithsonian was cleaning out closets , they came across the head , and they contacted the family in florida - and they had a family burial plot there , where the boy ? s body was buried after he was hung . and they returned the head , so the family could put it in the family plot .
tom and i were hired for the picture . . . he was supposed to play the good fella . . . lieutenant or whatever it was , and i was supposed to play the bad guy , the bad soldier . and during the course of the picture the bad soldier would carry the lieutenant around because the lieutenant got blinded after they landed . . . he got hit in the face . and the producers looked at us and tom was about this much taller than me , and he was going to be the good guy , and i was going to carry him around through the picture ? that wouldn ? t work . so the producers kind of said , ? look , fellas , would you mind if we changed parts ? ?
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that little town didn ? t exist . they had two stages down at the hal roach studios , and they ? d opened the ends of ? em so the two of them were one huge stage . they built the town
a former gunfighter who went to prison but then took up religion arrives in a western town as the new preacher . there he finds a feud between the ranchers and the farmers . the railroad . . . see full summary »
heather emmanuel heather appears as tessa in the 1975 doctor who story , the android invasion , one of the operatives at the devesham space research centre [ see below left ] . she was also a regular play school presenter , had minor roles in two carry on films [ up the jungle and again doctor ] and appeared variously as nurses and lab assistants in the professionals , the andromeda breakthrough and danger man . she is still acting today .
the blood was . . . sometimes it was a mixture they made up in the makeup department , but it had a tendency to stain the clothes permanently . i had a nice jacket i once wore , it was my own . . . they stained it forever , i was sorry i ? d let ? em use it . but sometimes they ? d use chocolate syrup when it was a black - and - white film . then when we went to color why they had to use color , so they tried ketchup for a while , they were better off to have the makeup department mix up the stuff .
no , i write books now . i write some film books , i write about films , but mostly i write novels . they ? re all based on people i know , places i ? ve been . if i write about africa every word of it is based on what i ? ve really seen and its described in its entirety . the languages of the countries i ? ve been in are in the books . if i ? m writing about the philippines you get tagalog , their philipino language . if i write about africa you get arabic , bantu , all the other . . . swahili . i love doing books like that .
buzzing comedies such as the spy who dumped me await you in our summer movie guide . check in for all the info you need .
after the picture was done hal mikelim bought himself a combination restaurant and bowling alley . i ? ve forgotten where it was , but i did go to see him there . he was going to convert it into a studio , a film stage , and he was going to shoot pictures in it . i went out to see him because he was interested in having me do some more pictures for him .
alan halley alan halley has principally worked in the theatre since his role in survivors , although he did appear in the blake ' s seven episode pressure point ( see below ) and the series blore m . p . in 1989 .
i had a wonderful time in those days . i loved playing the bad guy because he ? s the engine of the show . he causes - that ? s why the picture ? s made . it ? s about the troubles he ? s started or got into or whatever . . . and i didn ? t care about riding off in the sunset with the girl , i wanted to get in there and have a lot of fun . you enjoy yourself being rotten . . . it ? s a wonderful way to make a living .
based on the novel by richard poole . screenplay by hal richards and jay ingram
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i ran into dick boone ? s son , peter about two years ago . i ? d never met him . . . young fella , and i got to talking with him . he never knew that his father had once been a dancer . i said , ? wait . ? the next time i saw him i had a photograph of his father in the dance pose with the bunch of us . he ? s busy kicking me in the ribs and i ? m on the floor with the other people , and i also gave him a copy of the
when finished , click save or cancel we got a letter from the great - great - great grandson of one of that boy ? s sisters . they still lived in florida . and he wanted a copy of the book . and he got it . and he let us know that the head of the confederate boy - payne he was called - was removed after the hanging . in those days they ? d study the criminal head and brain and what not . and it was in a jar at the smithsonian , and it was off in some closet somewhere .
one of my recent books , which is a favorite of mine , was a book about the lincoln assassination . i wrote it from the point of view of the young rebel soldier who was hung for being one of the conspirators . but it ? s written from his point of view , and therefore you never read about the actual assassination , because we ? ve all read about that a thousand times .
or not . he sometimes . . he ? d get confused about what to do and the lighting men up above would call down and give him a suggestion . and i was getting angrier and angrier and of course it showed within the character , who was supposed to be kind of an angry fella . every once in a while you ? d see me - the eyes were blazing because i was angry with ted at some dumb thing he might have done . but ted was a good director , he wound up doing a lot of good work . but that was his beginning as a film director .
james mitchell is parson terrell butler , an ex - gunslinger turned preacher who’s determined to cleanse the town of penbrook with the good word rather than a fast gun .
the man behind the feuding is gray arnett ( herbert patterson ) , who wants to scare the ranchers off their land , then snatch it up at bargain prices . he has his own fast gun ( jan merlin as viggo tomlin ) working for him .
, which was shooting . . . was going to shoot , in boston . and i went to boston , and while i was there , i was playing a kid of about 15 in that , i was actually much older , i was about 26 , and after the day ? s shooting i ? d go off in the bar with the rest of the fellas and get a drink , and the rest of the kids who were in the show would go back to the hotel with their mommies , and the director looked at me and said , ? how old are you ? ? and i said , ? well , i ? m 26 . ? he says , ? well , you could play yorself as the older part , ? and i said ? of course . ? he said , ? you ? re going to hollywood . ?
paul seed paul seed went on to play the villainous graff vynda k in doctor who : the ribos operation [ see below ] the following year . during the rehearsal period for this story , it was actually paul ' s dog that bit tom baker ' s face . tom ' s ' wound ' can be clearly seen in this and the following story , the pirate planet . paul gave up acting pretty soon after he started out and become an accomplished tv director instead . some of his directing credits ( many of which are for award winning series ) include : house of cards , to play the king , murder rooms , playing the field , a rather english marriage and a touch of frost .
the poster measures 22” x 28” and is in very good condition with minor edge and fold wear . the poster was folded at the time of printing however it has been stored flat for many years and will be rolled for shipping in a rigid , tube mailer .
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i wish i had known that because . . . it would have been a wonderful tag in the book , but instead i tagged the book with what the defense attorney had to say about him , because the papers at the time , and everything you read about him , describe this monster of a person , this killer , this real awful person , which he was not . that he was illiterate , which he was not . he was the son of a baptist minister . the family owned slaves , they moved to florida from alabama . he was well - educated . he was nice enough , and charming enough so that when he was a captive , having been wounded , and he was a captive of the union army , they allowed him to help tend the wounded . and when he was eventually put in prison his guards found him so charming and delightful , they really , really really liked him , and the picture of him , you would swear it was taken of some young kid today , who could have been in the movies .
he steps into the middle of a land war between cattlemen led by lathe sawyer ( hugh sanders ) and farmers led by ed halcomb ( jess barker ) . seems when the railroad came through , it wound up with one mile of land on either side of the tracks and sold that land to farmers when ranchers couldn’t meet the asking price , robbing them of land where they used to graze their cattle .
i heard about some kind of space show they were going to be shooting for television . i went over to see them . i guess i must have been about the first one they saw . i was the first one cast , and then they had me remain and read with other actors and they cast finally the other two fellows who were going to be the permanent people , frankie thomas , one of ? em .
parson : “quoting the scriptures with every breath doesn’t make a man any better or worse . it’s what’s inside — the way a man secretly thinks — that’s what he is , no matter what his mouth declares . ”
you asked how i got out to hollywood . i was down to my last 15 cents after i ? d finished the schooling , and i ? d tried auditioning for shows and hadn ? t gotten anywhere . they called me from the school and said that joshua logan , who had just directed the biggest hit in town ,
generally tea , sometimes coca cola . generally it was tea . . . all about the same color . .
well , yeah . i loved westerns mostly because you could get dusty and they weren ? t forever at you with a powder puff and making you look pretty . you could get as grungy as you wanted , especially being the heavy . a lot of times i ? d be playing the grungy heavy and i ? m better looking than the hero was . i think because of all the grungy stuff , you know , it was more interesting .
i ? d been doing . . . when i got out of the navy nobody needed torpedomen so i was looking for something to do . . . i got into summer stock theater by accident . i was very handy , i was able to paint and draw , i was a pretty good carpenter . i got me a job building sets for a summer theater , and in the course of that summer i watched those actors and i thought , ? i could do that , ? and i ? d been told about a school called the neighborhood playhouse school of the theater . i went around to see them . . . and the fella there , who was a big time teacher , named sanford meisner . i didn ? t know it at the time , i was raw out of the navy , for heaven ? s sake , i still had a chip on my shoulder , and he was supposed to be practically godlike in the theater school business , he was supposed to be the best teacher around .
that ? s the fun of being an actor and writing a book . both fields marry each other in the work . you can get inside your characters ? heads in a different way . you can write them emotionally rather than just descriptively .
gary arnett , about viggo being a hired gun for the farmers : “you don’t fight rifles with a willow stick . ”
but today the tendency is to show you these psychotics who hate themselves and they hate the way they live . they wouldn ? t stand a chance of robbing a bank because everybody ? d say ,
out . you ? re cuckoo .
i guess he wound up just running the restaurant and bowling alley - i lost track of him , never saw him again .
i went down to the theater and fifteen million actors were there waiting to be seen . we went in small groups , progressively smaller groups . they ? d say , ? well , you guys stay and you guys go . ? and finally i was in a group of four . the stage was dark , and they were silent out there for a while , and then we heard them say , ? well , take off your shirts , boys . ? so we took off our shirts to show what are physiques looked like , and there was again silence , and then the fellow came walking up to the apron of the stage and it was josh logan . he looked up at me and he said . ? i ? ve got a young fellow leaving the cast of
he said , ? you ? ll see it tonight , and you ? ll rehearse tomorrow . ? the next day was saturday . ? rehearse tomorrow with the stage manager , and you ? ll go on tomorrow night . ? and that was my first show , a broadway show . i stayed with that for two years . after two years . . the cast asked for a raise . the producers all said , ? well , gee fellas , we ? d love to have money put by for a rainy day , but we just can ? t see it .
from that day on everybody in the cast began looking for another job .
it was extraordinary to reach back into time , which i love doing , i did that with the african books . you get back into that era , and you really live in that era , so when you ? re writing it , to be called at the end of the day to come to dinner , or get disturbed , it ? s like . . . suddenly being pulled out of a totally different period of time and brought back to life and everything looks strange because you ? re living within the era .
name the 2010 western that featured peter dinklage of
game of thrones
and jason priestly of 90210 fame in supporting roles . answer
as background . today you have extras who shuffle around . . . they ? re just waiting for lunch . they ? re not doing any acting . if they do , it ? s pretty rare to see . it ? s because they ? ve been ordered without any . . . big shouts - do this , do that . you didn ' t have to get these people to act then . . . they knew how to work as extras in film . they were old professionals , and that ? s what they did for a living . they were wonderful to work with .
that stage , brought in dirt for the horses to ride on , and lit it all for daylight or night , whichever . it was a pleasure to work there , ya know . here i was in the hal roach studios , for heaven ' s sake - when you went in to work there you passed a swimming pool and on the side of the building next to it was a bronze plaque that said it was dedicated to laurel and hardy , who did most of their water jokes in that thing . later on - not much later on - they paved it over and made a parking lot out of it for the studio . i was kind of upset with that .
one of the little teachers at the school had a modern dance company , she worked with martha graham . martha taught us to dance . this little lady asked dick and i whether we ? d like to be in her dance company . she was going to do something for the young women ? s jewish association , and we said sure , we were going to get paid twenty - three dollars per performance .
. and he was a television director . poor ted , this was his very first movie . and we had some problems with him , because the poor guy was shooting as if he was shooting for television . he headed right into the scene , he wanted you to see the faces and all , as if you were going to be looking at a little , tiny screen . but we were being shown in theaters .
jan brought the talk to a close with a few more words , then thanked us for coming , and there was a round of applause .
if you really think about it , the westerns have changed so much since those times . if you watched those extras , we still had extras who
i become them . i become them . if i ? m writing from their point of view i become them . which , is peculiar to say , but that ? s what i mean about getting into the emotional parts of them , it ? s the only way i can reach them , i have to find out why they would think or say or do whatever they do , i have to find the thing that creates those characters . it ? s the same thing you do when you ? re acting . . . when you ? re playing a heavy you ? re not playing a
actress agnes moorehead was one of the first to express concern about rumors over “radioactive germs” near the filming sites . shortly after agnes moorehead’s final role in radio mystery theater , moorehead died of uterine cancer in 1972 . director dick powell died of cancerous lymphoma in 1963 . pedro armendariz received diagnosis of cancer of the kidney in 1960 , and committed suicide when his condition became terminal in 1963 . susan hayward passed away in 1975 from pneumonia related to complications due to brain cancer .
nicolette roeg nicolette starred in many west end musicals before she turned her attention to television . her most celebrated stage performance was as nancy in the 1966 production of oliver ! . jon pertwee was also in the cast as fagin . this performance can be heard on lp . other lps featuring nicolette include the pajama game , in which she sings ' hernando ' s hideaway ' , belle and two cities . [ nicolette is pictured , below left , during her musical heyday ] .
rosemarie bowe was later married to bob stack . stack would come around and watch us rehearse . [ robert stack is most famous for the role of elliott ness in
but it just never worked out , because when they released this picture , the time had passed for the kind of . . . . that ? s a real old time western . that ? s not the kind of westerns you have today . there was no psychoanalyzing , there were no dirty words in it . you didn ? t see too much blood at all . and people were just genuine moral people . and we don ? t make pictures like that anymore . and when the picture came out they were already exposed to a different kind of western . they wanted blood and gore . they wanted something different . . . so his dream didn ? t work out .
i stayed with that show for only three years . i just couldn ? t take it . i . . . just didn ? t want to be a space cadet . they began to show cartoons in the sunday papers of tom corbett , space cadet , and i thought , ? i don ? t want to end up being like the fellas who played tarzan or dick tracy , that ? s all they ever played , ? so i left the show , and i took my wife i had then , who has since died , i took her off to africa for a while , came back . they asked me to come back to the show and i wasn ? t getting any offers from anybody else , so i went back to the show for a short time again , but i knew i shouldn ? t stay , so i quit again , permanently .
derek martin derek is now best known for his current role as long suffering dad , charlie slater , in the bbc soap eastenders . [ picture below left © steve lewis . ]
we looked at each other and laughed because he always wanted to play a bad guy and i always wanted to play a good guy . he said , ? sure , fine . ? we didn ? t even have to change the contracts . that ? s the way we did that picture . tom was a nice fella to work with . he was a good man .
the ingenious mrs behn ( lord greville ) 1997 private ear and public eye ( charles ) 1988 wife begins at forty ( lead ) 1987 having a ball ( ritchie ) 1983 what the butler saw ( sgt match ) 1983 bedroom farce ( nick ) 1981 stage struck ( robert ) 1981 clouds ( ed ) 1980 outside edge ( denis ) 1980 alan now lives in maidstone and performs many tv voiceovers .
viggo tomlin : “it’s a funny town stranger . man can live long or die sudden . ” parson : “i’ve heard that before . just what does this depend on ? ” viggo tomlin : “simple , friend . just watch the ground before your feet . folks have been known to live for months that way . ” parson : “why you’re a light in the darkness ? a bit dim and uncertain . but still a light . ”
savecancelclosedick and i were living off of our fifty - two / twenty club . you got $ 20 dollars for 52 weeks from the government while you were going to school , and we ? d do anything to make some money .
this picture ? i think we did it in about seven or ten days . the outdoor scenes were shot in chatsworth , i believe , but all of that town stuff was done inside those . . . great big stages put together .
but writing it this way you ? ve got a totally different aspect . because its told entirely through the confederate ? s point of view , and how he got involved with j . wilkes booth and how he came to his sad end . i like that book , a lot .
. i was just in awe of him . . . i couldn ? t go up and say , ? gee , i saw that movie . i thought you were wonderful in it and i ? m so proud to be in the picture with you . ? i never got to say it .
review . he was astounded , he just couldn ? t believe it . but it wouldn ? t have been something that dick would brag about . but we did it for the 23 bucks . we were grateful . we didn ? t keep it up , though , she had to replace us .
it was . . . yeah , i guess it might have been cheaper , because you didn ? t have to pay for transportation somewhere , lugging all that equipment back and forth , lugging the actors and extras back and forth , having food trucks sent out . you cut a lot of money that way .
dick and i were . . . we were fresh out of service , we didn ? t take much guff from this teacher who was supposed to be the greatest thing in show business . we were there and we thought it was lovely to be there with these young girls who wanted to be actresses and they were simply delightful . they were college age girls , came from wealthy families and beautiful to look at , it was a grand time to be in school .
agnes moorehead arthur q . bryan bea benaderet bill thompson billy mills and his orchestra bing crosby bob hope charlie mccarthy daniel sutter ( director ) director ) don quinn ( writer ) don wilson earle ross edgar bergen fred allen fred collins ( announcer ) gale gordon great gildersleeve harlow wilcox harold peary isabel randolph jack benny jack webb jim jordan john laing ( announcer ) johnny dollar lillian randolph louise erickson lucille ball marian jordan nbc chimes obituary old time radio orson welles our miss brooks phil leslie ( writer ) radio history richard legrand serial shirley mitchell suspense ! the king ' s men walter tetley war bonds william welch ( producer )
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, that i ? d seen as a kid , i thought he was really a marvel .
- terrall butler - ann davis - viggo tomlin - ed halcomb - lathe sawyer - gray arnett - edith sawyer - mr . wren - sheriff ben seale - elijah maddox - sam davis - doc runyan - walt kemper - miss smith - cowpuncher
i was deep into my bad guy times . i played ten years of being everybody ? s bad cowboy , ten years of being everybody ? s gangster , ten years of everybody ? s nazi or middle - european or russian . . .
he wanted to know why i wanted to be an actor and i . . . i had no answer . i said , ? i don ? t know . ? but nevertheless he accepted me . to my surprise we had people like . . . dick boone was studying there , eli wallach , marion seldes , she ? s a big broadway star now . . . a lot of good types came out of there .
we joined her company , and we worked with her , rehearsing with her for about a month or so , and kind of crazy numbers and dances and funny costumes . dick had a kind of toga drag that he wore . he had lines to say that he did with great elocution and gestures . . . and . . . it was . . . well , let ? s face it . . . we got panned by dance magazine .
, was casting a new show , and they were looking for military types , and they figured i might go down and try out for it .
jan merlin far left , henry fonda far right , mr . roberts . ( click for enlarged , entire photo ) photo courtesy jan merlin
he said , ? have you seen it ? ? i said ? no . ?
i came out to hollywood , and i never left . after i got to hollywood i never stopped working . it was a good move to have made . and that ? s how i got to hollywood .
when you ? re writing your books do you see yourself as an actor inside them , or you ? re strictly . . . ?
, you ? re playing a guy who thinks he ? s right . you ? re playing a guy who thinks , ? hey , i ? m somebody . i ? m pretty good . that ? s why they ? re so arrogant . they ? re so . . . everybody finds them so vicious , because they ? re enjoying it , they ? re enjoying their lives .
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leonard maltin classic movie guide , copyright 2005 , 2010 . used by arrangement with penguin group ( usa ) inc .
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cast : james mitchell … parson butler rosemarie bowe … ann davis jess barker … ed halcomb hugh sanders … lathe sawyer herbert patterson … gray arnett dorothy patrick … edith sawyer jan merlin … viggo tomlin taylor holmes … mr . wren robert armstrong … sheriff ben seale philip tonge … elijah maddox david mcmahon … sam davis wheaton chambers … doc runyan jack holland … walt kemper
bart allison ( randolph scott ) to rancher morley chase in 1957 ' s decision at sundown : “where i come from , we don’t find it cause to celebrate when a man acts like a man . ”
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[ below left : alan halley today , © caroline harris . below right : alan as arle ( with martin connor as berg ) in blake ' s seven - pressure point ( 1979 ) ] .
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romance ( romance x ) is a 1999 french art house film written and directed by catherine breillat .

it stars caroline ducey , pornographic actor rocco siffredi , sagamore stévenin and françois berléand .

the film features explicit copulation scenes , especially one showing caroline ducey 's coitus with rocco siffredi .

romance is one of several arthouse films featuring explicit , unsimulated sex , such as the brown bunny ( 2003 ) , 9 songs ( 2004 ) , all about anna ( 2005 ) , and shortbus ( 2006 ) .

romance ( 1999 film )

featured in superstar / random hearts / boys don ' t cry / the limey / romance ( 1999 ) . see more »
love is desolate . romance is temporary . sex is forever . see more »
my secret romance - cap 1 . ( sub español ) - debo irme . . .
just the way i like my christmastime / romance stories . . . sappy and sweet !
provisions of the classification ( publications , films and computer games ) amendment bill ( no . 2 ) 1999 ( april 2000 )
romance was originally released in 1999 and caused something of a stir amongst critics and audiences alike due to its sexually graphic content , but romance isn’t a film meant to titillate or excite . instead it’s a film that’s meant to explore the difference between the physical and the emotional , what it means to love and not be loved in the same way in return and how context is key when it comes to what is deemed acceptable in the confines of a relationship .
toronto international film festival the website for the toronto international film festival . check out the latest film news and links to the bell lightbox , the film reference library , cinematheque ontario , sprockets , reel learning , film circuit , canada ' s top ten , and related features .
browse television , film , short film , music video , web series , documentary , drama and more categories .
david cronenberg a profile of celebrated canadian writer and film director david cronenberg . from the toronto international film group .
so overall , romance is a little bit underwhelming on pretty much all fronts . there is a story there but lars von trier has taken it and made a more interesting and entertaining film out of it , and when it comes down to it romance isn’t actually a very enjoyable film to watch . it’s more arthouse than pornography and for all of its flaws it is shot very well but the dreary dialogue and metaphysical pondering bog down what should have been a much more exciting journey of discovery . unless you’re a euro - cinema completist or an arthouse aficionado the appeal of romance may be severely limited .
the film was originally entitled ( and broadcast ) as
music from the heart .
subsequently , the name was changed to
a song from the heart
to avoid confusion with music of the heart ( 1999 ) , which was released the same year .
classification ( publications , films and computer games ) amendment bill 1998 and the classification ( publications , films and computer games ) charges bill 1998 ( april 1999 ) - available in zipped format from the committee ' s page .
a widow ' s daughter writes to santa claus , asking for her mother to find love again . when a struggling writer receives the letter , he finds new inspiration and the beginnings of a romance .
romance can ' t be easily shrugged off . breillat and her brave actors take us places we haven ' t been . for the audience , as well as marie , it ' s a journey that has few signposts .
in the 1840s , cranford is ruled by the ladies . they adore good gossip ; and romance and change is in the air , as the unwelcome grasp of the industrial revolution rapidly approaches their beloved rural market - town .
it seems 1999 really was the year heath ledger broke through – this was the film that put him on the map in australia and led to 10 things i hate about you . two hands is also a brilliant , if unknown , film in its own right , a tightly told crime thriller with a surreal edge , featuring ledger as jimmy , a small - time crook who ends up deep in debt to serious gangsters .
isobel plans a storybook christmas with her boyfriend , including a cottage in the northwest and a bucket list of holiday traditions . but when he goes awol , the list proves challenging and a tempting new romance turns her life upside down .
the classification ( publications , films and computer games ) amendment bill ( no . 2 ) 1999 introduced into parliament on the 8 december 1999 would have removed the ' x ' classification for films and videos and create a new classification - ' nve ' ( non - violent erotica ) . the bill was referred to the senate legal and constitutional legislation committee to determine the reasons for the change and its possible effects . the committee reported in april 2000 and its report is available from the committee ' s home page . the committee recommended that the bill be passed without amendment .
the film wavers between being a philosophical treatise on women and one about a woman ' s passions .
douglas fetherling , ed . , documents in canadian film ( toronto : broadview press , 1988 ) .
wyndham wise , ed . , take one ' s essential guide to canadian film ( 2001 ) .
the legislative basis for the regulatory regime for online content is the broadcasting services amendment ( online services ) act 1999 . this legislation was preceded by a number of reports from the australian broadcasting authority ( aba ) and parliamentary committees . a good description of this background , together with access to the reports , can be found at this aba page .
^ anne gillain ,
profile of a filmmaker : catherine breillat
beyond french feminisms : debates on women , politics and culture in france , 1981 - 2001 , edited by roger célestin et al . new york : macmillan ( 2003 ) : 202 . catherine breillat ' s
film romance had received much praise - - and criticism - - the previous year for using a porn - film actor and a scene showing a nonsimulated sexual act , including a shot of an erection in the foreground .
a dark and mystery - filled drama about a 70s hippy ( danielle cormack ) who falls in love with a vietnam vet ( kevin smith ) . but has fate brought them together , only in order to drive them apart ? and what exactly happened to their child ? this twist - filled tale of seances , damaged people , and conflicting versions of truth marked the directorial debut of short filmmaker christine parker . at the 1999 new zealand film awards , channelling baby was nominated in six categories , including best actress and best original screenplay . read more about the film here .
in december 1996 the government announced that it would establish community assessment panels to ensure that classification decisions reflected community standards . the scheme involves three panels , each of around twenty people of varying age and background , who view and classify a selection of films that have already been classified by the oflc . the attorney - general announced an extension of the scheme in january 1999 .
a director struggles to film a difficult , intimate sex scene between two actors who happen to hate each other .
an interview with writer / director boots riley about his incendiary new film ,
sorry to bother you .
no self - respecting liberal sophisticate can ever profess himself either shocked or aroused by explicit sex on screen : these are the two unbreakable taboos . what everyone always does is airily dismiss this sort of material as
boring
, and this haughty , if sometimes disingenuous dismissal may be the fate of catherine breillat ' s romance . that would not be fair . caroline ducey does not have the charisma and self - possession of , say , catherine denueve in belle de jour , but the film is never as dire or embarrassing as nine and a half weeks or last tango in paris , and does not deserve to join them in the dustbin of cinema history . romance has many brilliant and bizarre moments , particularly the brutally explicit imagery juxtaposing the penetrations of sex and childbirth .
( 1922 ) — were not as profitable as his first , they were not failures . only his last film —
sandra gathercole , “the best film policy this country never had , ” cinema canada ( june 1978 ) , 28–31 .
katherine monk , weird sex and snowshoes : and other canadian film phenomena ( vancouver : raincoast books , 2001 ) .
of course the film is french . it is said that for the french , wine takes the place of flirting , dining takes the place of seduction , smoking takes the place of foreplay and talking takes the place of sex .
romance
is so analytical that you sometimes get the feeling marie is putting herself through her sexual encounters simply to get material for her journal . these poor guys aren ' t lovers , they ' re case studies .
the canadian cooperation project helps to explain why , during the 1940s and 1950s , there was virtually no feature film production in canada outside of québec ( see the cinema of québec ) . however , thanks to the economic boom in canada following the second world war , a number of small , independent producers began to establish themselves , making primarily industrial films and shorts . in 1941 , nat taylor founded the trade magazine canadian film weekly , and in recognition of the nascent private film sector , the canadian film awards were established in 1949 . ( the canadian film awards would become the genie awards in 1980 and the canadian screen awards in 2012 . ) the inaugural presentation was held in ottawa , and crawley films of ottawa won the first film of the year award for the short film , the loon ' s necklace ( 1949 ) .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
national film board of canada watch full - length films , clips , and trailers - all free for home viewing . scroll down the page to see links to online animated shorts and films in other categories . from the national film board of canada .
when the show featured a storyline centered on mills ' sister , we got to see two black women in an action / adventure setting , fighting the bad guys instead of waiting to be rescued or seduced . it was exactly the kind of diverse casting i had been waiting for since 1999 , when the issue hit a crisis point as the broadcast networks offered a fall slate of new tv shows without a single character of color .
perfectly capturing one of film’s most iconic stars , it’s easy to forget that downey jr . was only in his mid - 20s while portraying the man . he brings an emotional maturity to perfectly complement the physical performance , elevating this film above the usual biographies .
this list collects every film from the starting list that became they shoot pictures don ' t they ' s 1000 greatest films . this…
one of the most significant events in canadian film history was the establishment of the national film board of canada ( nfb ) . in 1938 , the federal government commissioned scottish filmmaker john grierson — who had coined the term “documentary , ” and had been head of the empire marketing board and the general post office in britain — to study the state of film production in canada . he wrote a report that year that led to the creation of the nfb in may 1939 , and was named the board’s first film commissioner in october 1939 .
the sex scenes that caused so much controversy back in 1999 don’t seem as shocking as they were probably intended to be , granted , we’ve had fifteen years of other films pushing the boundaries as far as explicit sex goes but except for a very close - up ejaculation shot there is very little here likely to cause too much offence – although there is a birth scene that feels like it was designed totally to shock but just feels unnecessary – especially when put up against other extreme movies like baise moi or nymphomaniac , a film that has similar themes but fleshes them out in a more satisfactory way .
the visuals are incredible , proving once again why film is the transcendent visual medium , and how a picture can explore so much more than words . rounding off the film , and truly cementing it as worthy of watching , is a tremendous performance from don cheadle as the homicidal mouse , a friend of washington’s who acts as a spark to the powder keg situation . he steals the film with his performance .
zero’s unique problem creates a real dramatic and intriguing puzzle for the writers to work round , but in fact it becomes the film’s strength .
apply the film classification system administered by the classification board and ensure that films classified as m or ma are shown only at designated times .
only one english canadian feature film was made in the 1940s — bush pilot ( 1946 ) , an imitation of hollywood’s captains of the clouds ( 1942 ) . a print of the film was restored by the national archives ( now library and archives canada ) and tmn television network .
ledger is a magnetic presence and carries the film , although he is ably supported by romantic interest rose byrne . the film undercuts its gritty , serious edge by having jimmy’s dead older brother act as a zombie guardian angel throughout , firmly putting the film into tongue in cheek territory , but also playing up the realism of the grimier side of sydney well . a searing soundtrack led by the mighty powderfinger doesn’t hurt , either .
i would say this film would qualify as pornography if it were the least bit erotic , but it isn’t . i have heard it compared to
) and the world’s first movie studio to rely entirely on artificial light ( in new york city ) , it is almost impossible to speak of a canadian film industry at the birth of cinema . the first public screening of a film in canada took place on 28 june 1896 , in
making full use of its american wilderness location , this film has style , panache and the right amount of crazy you’d expect from the talent involved .
manjunath pendakur , canadian dreams and american control : the political economy of the canadian film industry ( detroit : wayne state university press , 1990 ) .
told via a series of non - linear flashbacks , the film traces the career of slade and his collaborator / lover curt wild ( ewan mcgregor ) . a surreal citizen kane - inspired visual feast , the film is dazzling , metaphorical , and hallucinatory . working as a better biopic of the talents of the 70s then a straightforward film ever could , velvet goldmine is the best representation of glam - rock we’ll ever likely to see on - screen .
romance ,
written and directed by catherine breillat , became notorious on the festival circuit this autumn because it is an intelligent , radical film by a woman , and at the same time it contains explicit nudity and , as nearly as we can tell , actual sex . it is not arousing or pornographic , because the sex isn ' t presented in an erotic way ; it ' s more like a documentary of a dogged woman ' s forced march toward orgasm , a goal she is not sure she values . marie narrates the film herself and also seems to be reading pages from her journal ; she is baffled by herself , baffled by men , baffled by sex . even after climax , her hand closes on air .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
australia ' s censorship system is often the subject of controversy . in recent years there has been debate over the classification of films such as hannibal , lolita and romance , as well as the proposal to replace the ' x ' category with ' nve ' ( non - violent erotica ) and the introduction of internet censorship . there have also been recent changes to the censorship legislation and a review of the classification guidelines is currently being undertaken .
or maybe that’s not quite what it is about as writer / director catherine breillat never really makes a clear point with the film . the story , such that it is , does show promise in several different places as marie strives to break free from her asexual partner , in the physical sense at least , but with the way the character is written the film becomes very frustrating as marie wants sex , then she doesn’t , then she does but not looking at who is doing the deed , and so on . it may be part of her journey of dicovery but the slow pace and marie’s flip - flopping decisions carry on right up until the end of the film and then there’s no real resolution . yes , there’s an ending but what does it mean ? why did it have to go the way it did ? not sure and , based on the narrative of romance , neither is catherine breillat .
morris , magder and handling . r . the canadian encyclopedia . ( 2012 ) . history of the canadian film industry . retrieved july 9 , 2018 from urltoken
morris , magder and handling . r . the canadian encyclopedia . ( 2012 ) . history of the canadian film industry . retrieved july 9 , 2018 from urltoken
pierre véronneau , peter morris , piers handling . 2012 . history of the canadian film industry . the canadian encyclopedia urltoken ( accessed july 9 , 2018 ) .
a new aggressiveness took hold within the industry as priorities shifted from the low - budget , cultural film to higher - budget , commercial projects . this policy shift came under scrutiny after the critic robert fulford ( writing under the name marshall delaney ) wrote a scathing review of david cronenberg ’s cfdc - funded horror film shivers in the september 1975 edition of saturday night magazine . the review , titled “you should know how bad this film is . after all , you paid for it , ” declared , “if using public money to produce films like this is the only way that english canada can have a film industry , then perhaps english canada should not have a film industry . ” a furious debate was sparked in the house of commons over the use of tax - payer dollars to fund films .
although , the development of feature filmmaking in canada was still sputtering , pioneering work was being done at the nfb . by the late 1950s , norman mclaren had won eight canadian film awards , two major prizes at the berlin international film festival , an academy award for his short film neighbours ( 1952 ) and an oscar nomination for a chairy tale ( 1957 ) . the board’s unit b was putting out work of consistent quality and the candid eye series was producing groundbreaking direct cinema films .
further initiatives were taken to assist in the marketing and promotion of english canadian feature films , an area always perceived as the industry’s achilles heel . amid the monumental missed opportunities of the failed québec cinema act and the film products importation bill , telefilm created the feature film fund in 1986 . in 1998 , the organization increased the broadcast fund to $ 60 million and created the feature film distribution fund , which introduced lines of credit for canadian companies to draw from in order to distribute films internationally .
peter urquhart , 1979 : reading the tax shelter boom in canadian film history , department of art history and communication studies , mcgill university ( montréal , 2004 ) .
usually i am completely taken in by films with naked women and lots of sex , but with catherine breillat ' s romance - not so much . the title is completely misleading . there ' s actually very little romance to be found . instead , we are witness to a woman ' s spiraling decline into self - degradation as she chisels away the last remnants of her self - respect through an endless parade of carnal encounters . the problem here isn ' t with the direction or the performances , it ' s the shallowness of the material . there ' s no balance . there ' s not a single likeable character in the lot . it ' s difficult to care about characters you don ' t like and this screenplay never gives us a reason to like any of them . maybe that ' s exactly what breillat wants , she wants to populate her work with distasteful beings that you can ' t identify with or relate to . if so then i have to believe that her target audiences are serial killers and sadomasochistic sociopaths . this film is dark , pessimistic and depressing , anything but romantic .
at its peak in 1925 , the ompb distributed 1 , 500 reels of film per month , using 28mm , non - theatrical safety stock in order to avoid the fire hazard posed by 35mm nitrate stock . its distribution system became outdated in the late 1920s when 16mm film stock replaced 28mm . after becoming inefficient and irrelevant , the ompb was shut down in october 1934 . however , it established a legacy of government involvement in canadian filmmaking which would become a defining feature of the canadian film industry .
other prominent women filmmakers emerged with their own distinctive visions . mina shum ' s delightful double happiness ( 1994 ) captured the dilemma of a young chinese - canadian woman , played by sandra oh , trying to escape the traditions of her rapacious family , while talented newcomer lynne stopkewich managed a highly successful adaptation of a barbara gowdy short story with her debut feature , kissed ( 1996 ) , a dark romance that focusses on the love life of a young necrophiliac , played by molly parker .
morris , peter , magder , ted and handling , piers . 2012 . history of the canadian film industry . the canadian encyclopedia urltoken ( accessed july 9 , 2018 ) .
a small confession . i saw this film before i ever saw the tv show . and i like it a lot . featuring a cast of such luminaries as kiefer sutherland , david bowie and chris isaak , the film was panned for being boring , incomprehensible and of limited appeal . all valid complaints , but in a way , they’re missing the point .
toy soldiers ’ strength isn’t in the outlandish plot , featuring colombian terrorists , but in the young ensemble cast , featuring sean astin and wil wheaton ( wesley crusher made a film ! ) , whose on - screen chemistry allows the film to crackle with wit , tension , and excitement in all the right places . our full lookback at the movie is here .
this film hit around the time everyone thought brad pitt was just a pretty face , rather than the actual truth that he’s one of our more talented actors working today . however , it sadly meant that this incredibly good film was dismissed by the majority of cinema goers , who wrongly believed it to be more female audience baiting fare . how wrong they were .
peter morris , ted magder and piers handling .
history of the canadian film industry .
in the canadian encyclopedia . historica canada , 1985— . article published january 11 , 2012
pierre véronneau , peter morris , piers handling , r . the canadian encyclopedia . ( 2012 ) . history of the canadian film industry . retrieved july 9 , 2018 , from urltoken
for more on waterworld , incidentally , check out our interview with director kevin reynolds , where he goes into more detail about how many were slating the film even before it was finished .
pierre véronneau , peter morris , piers handling .
history of the canadian film industry
in the canadian encyclopedia . historica canada , 1985– . article published january 10 , 2012 . urltoken
in 2011 , telefilm announced a new system to measure the success of canadian films , one that takes into account the sales of a film’s worldwide rights and gives points based on film festival appearances and awards , as well as the amount of private investment a film generates . in 2013 , a group led by robert lantos that included david cronenberg , atom egoyan , paul gross and former alliance ceo victor loewy attempted to launch starlight , a television channel devoted to canadian movies . however , the proposed channel died when it was denied mandatory distribution by the crtc .
the film is often discussed in the context of censorship , but in fact it has not been cut : the bbfc have earnestly decreed that this is because it is
very french
. ( breillat herself caused a minor sensation at the edinburgh film festival this summer , declaring that censorship was a male urge , and the x certificate was linked to the x chromosome . )
in 2006 the québec comedy bon cop bad cop grossed nearly $ 12 million , making it the most successful canadian film at the domestic box office to date . in 2010 , resident evil : afterlife 3d , a co - production with germany , became the top - grossing canadian film of all time , surpassing porky ' s with a worldwide box office of $ 250 million .
morris , peter , ted magder and piers handling .
history of the canadian film industry
. the canadian encyclopedia . toronto : historica canada , 2012 . web . 11 jan 2012 .
morris , peter , ted magder and piers handling .
history of the canadian film industry
. the canadian encyclopedia . toronto : historica canada , 2012 . web . 11 jan 2012 .
, created the most controversy . the sex scenes in the film turned it into an overnight sensation . kent went on to direct two more features on the west coast before moving to montréal .
with so much going on in that decade , and so many quality films vying for attention , it’s only natural that some have fallen by the wayside , or didn’t get the widespread recognition they deserved . or perhaps a few were dismissed upon release as expensive failures , but deserve to be reassessed several years down the line ? either way , here’s den of geek’s choice of the top 50 underrated films of the 90s . the only caveat for inclusion is that they had to be english language , and released theatrically between 1990 - 1999 . oh , and judging by their wealth of entries below , starring bill paxton . steve martin or , weirdly , seth green…
meg ryan inexplicably has three roles in the film , hanks is at his slapstick comic goofy best , while the film’s insane plot sweeps you along in its melodrama . there is so much fun to be have that you end up loving the daft premise , the inherent whimsy , and the occasionally corny sentiment . it’s fun , it’s exciting , and utterly unlike any big budget rom - com made before or since .
theatre ownership was traditionally the most lucrative sector of the film industry , with the theatre owner typically taking 50 per cent of every ticket sold . because of the high cost of film production , widespread distribution is vital to a film ' s commercial success . in the 1920s , the major hollywood studios ( paramount , rko , 20th century fox , mgm and warner bros . ) adopted a vertically - integrated model of ownership , combining production and distribution under one umbrella . the majors then aligned themselves with the large national theatre chains in order to guarantee an outlet for their product , in some cases purchasing theatre chains outright .
under the constitution the commonwealth government has the power to make laws with regard to telecommunications ( including broadcasting ) and imported material , but not locally produced matter . the latter is under the jurisdiction of the state governments . censorship provisions have thus varied according to the nature of the material ( tv , film , print etc . ) and the state or territory . a commonwealth film censorship board was first established under the provisions of the customs act in 1917 . in 1949 western australia , queensland and tasmania signed agreements with the commonwealth to delegate their film censorship powers and functions to the commonwealth . the other states eventually followed suit .
personally , i think this film should be on everyone’s list of favourite films , but time and time again i’m amazed by the amount of people , including coen brothers fans , who haven’t seen this masterpiece . based loosely on the works of pulp writer dashiell hammett , this film noir set in prohibition - era america details a power struggle between two rival gangs , in which gabriel byrne finds himself in the middle of .
a complex film within a film , the simple set - up of a rich man bored with his life becoming entangled in a game which may or may not be real acts as a launch - pad for fincher to have a lot of fun . the game rewards repeat watches in a way few films do , as each viewing offers new clues and perspectives on what is or is not reality for michael douglas’s lead character .
the growth of canadian nationalism around the first world war promoted a brief flurry in canadian production and other aspects of the film industry . the first widely released canadian newsreels appeared , and feature film production expanded , as did the canadian - owned allen theatres chain and associated distribution companies . the motion picture bureaus established by the ontario government in 1917 , and the federal government in 1918 , also contributed to the boom in activity .
t must have been a while since mainstream cinema audiences were invited to view a young woman submitting to be tied up by an older man ( her employer , as it happens ) , the cord tied between her legs , through her vagina and pulled up good and tight : the unlovely impress of rope on genitalia represented in unforgiving close - up . then the young woman interrupts the process in tears , not through rage at phallocentric oppression in life and art - nothing so dated - but rather anger at her own timid refusal of this adventure and naturally a vertiginous sense of the profound
enigma
in female sexuality . this is the burden and the song of romance , catherine breillat ' s opaque essay in eroticism , a film controversial for its explicit portrayal of male arousal : a pink orchard of erect penises .
i’m going to come out and say it : jackie brown may well be quentin tarantino’s best film . it’s certainly his most confident – the one and only time where he let the film tell its own story , free from any tricks or genre play . it was a shame that jackie brown was so poorly received , as it pushed tarantino further down his pastiche / homage path , which is starting to veer into self - parody .
pierre véronneau , peter morris , piers handling
history of the canadian film industry
the canadian encyclopedia . eds . andrew mcintosh and wyndham wise . toronto : historica canada , 2012 . web . 9 jul . 2018 .
kevin spacey’s debut film as a director is a classic underrated movie worthy of your recognition . pretty much ignored and dismissed upon release ( even earning faye dunaway a razzie nomination ) , it’s actually a well - acted and tightly put together crime film , only let down by its script . matt dillon , gary sinise , and william fichtner are robbers who flee to a bar after a hold - up goes wrong and then seemingly cornered by the police .
in the early 1980s , the film industry in canada was on shaky ground , almost wholly dependent upon government financing and unable to secure screen time in canadian theatres . francis fox , the liberal federal minister of communications , issued the national film and video policy in 1984 , and the cfdc was transformed into telefilm canada with a $ 35 - million broadcast program development fund to reflect its new dual orientation : funding television programs as well as theatrical feature films .
there is a fantasy scene in
romance
where a woman ' s body is divided by a wall . on one side , from the waist down , she is in a brothel . on the other side , from the waist up , in a delivery room . what is the message of the scene ? don ' t be too sure you know . i know i don ' t . it isn ' t some kind of simplistic message linking childbirth with misuse by men . the woman having the fantasy isn ' t really against the activities on either side of the wall . maybe the scene is intended as an illustration of her own confusion about sex .
i enjoyed ( not exactly the right word ) this film more than a real young girl , as i felt it had more to say about intimacy , the lack thereof , and the lengths we are willing to go to obtain it .
european film industries also faced the threat of hollywood domination in the 1920s , but most governments moved quickly to protect their domestic industries by controlling ownership of exhibition and distribution companies , or by stimulating national production . canada took no comparable action .
beginning in the early 1970s , regional film cooperatives — such as the toronto filmmakers co - op ( 1971–79 ) , the atlantic filmmakers cooperative in halifax ( 1974– ) and the winnipeg film group ( 1974– ) — began to train young filmmakers who remained committed to the concept of a cultural cinema . from the early 1980s to the late 1990s , a generation of talented independent filmmakers began to emerge , further aided by the introduction in the mid - 1980s of provincial funding agencies .
ultimately , after going to extreme lengths in her quest to make paul the lover she wants him to be , marie comes to some conclusions about where the power in the relationship lies . because the film has , up to this point , been chock full of images that stretch the boundaries of what can be depicted in a “mainstream” film , the ( ahem ) climax must be even farther beyond the pale . it doesn’t disappoint , as the exclamations among the audience i was in proved .
catherine breillat ' s career has been a treatise on sexuality and womanhood , even her films that aren ' t explicity sexual like sleeping beauty or abuse of weakness are informed by things like menstruation and sub / domme flourishes . romance falls easily in line with pictures of her past like a real young girl as it is very overtly about a woman ' s sexuality and how it connects itself with her feelings of love from her celibate ( unless for child rearing ) boyfriend whom she loves dearly , but becomes increasingly frustrated with as time passes . her relationship with him leads her into many trysts with her other men that finally ends with her on the other end of sexual punishment with a man whose ideas of sexuality…
however , the situation is definitely not what they initially think it is , and every character has a role to play in the proceedings . with a leading trio of that calibre , it’s easy to see where the film gets its power from , as the intensity of the performances really is something to behold , if occasionally veering into a melodrama . spacey keeps things at a tight pace though ( the film clocks in at 97 mins ) , and the energy and claustrophobia of the piece really is exemplary .
after 1912 , film companies in several canadian cities began producing fiction as well as factual films . in halifax , the canadian bioscope company made the first canadian feature , evangeline ( 1913 ) , based on the longfellow poem about the expulsion of the acadians . it was a critical and financial success . the company made several other less successful films before folding in 1915 . the british american film company of montréal , one of several short - lived companies in that city , produced the battle of the long sault ( 1913 ) . in toronto , the conness till film company made several comedy and adventure films from 1914–15 , and in windsor , on , the all red feature company produced the war pigeon ( 1914 ) , a drama about the war of 1812 .
while massively panned upon initial release , and subject to well - documented production troubles , it seems that after every new film released in the alien franchise , alien 3 keeps on looking like a better and better movie by comparison . but is it just the fact that the following movies were either so poor ( resurrection , alien vs predator ) or baffling ( prometheus ) that makes alien 3 seem like a worthy alien film ? not quite , as david fincher’s debut genuinely stands up as a great ( if flawed ) sci - fi horror film with engaging and thought - provoking themes , as well as being a worthy follow - up to alien and aliens . it couldn’t match those films , but it tries to do its own thing , and succeeds with aplomb .
and yet the film has an icy fascination . perhaps it is a test of how men and women relate to eroticism on the screen . i know few men who like it much ( sure proof it is not pornographic ) . women defend it in feminist terms , but you have the strangest feeling they ' re not saying what they really think . at a screening at the toronto film festival there was some laughter , almost all female , but i couldn ' t tell if it was nervous , or knowing .
looking back at hollywood mega - star will smith’s career , it is probably this film which laid the bedrock for his future success . very simply , without his stand - out performance in six degrees of separation , smith would have been regarded as nothing more than a popular tv star / rapper trying his luck in a few films . that he aced this dramatic role so well made the film industry sit up and take note , and led to his becoming one of the most bankable stars of the last few decades .
douglas himself offers one of his finest performances , getting the audience to genuinely invest in a billionaire with the perfect life , and fincher’s control of dramatic suspense , wit and pulp conventions is second to none . we revisited the film in more detail , here .
shot in mexico and slovakia , the film looks great , and you can tell that pearce and carlyle are clearly relishing their roles . the sense of isolation heightens the tension , and the incredible score by michael nyman and damon albarn only adds to this ominous mood .
with a viable , emerging industry beginning to produce critically acclaimed films , and with english and french filmmakers looking to government to protect their fledgling interests , in 1967 the federal government took a significant step towards investing in a domestic industry by creating the canadian film development corporation ( cfdc , now telefilm canada ) , funded with $ 10 million to develop a feature film industry that would last . however , the cfdc only concerned itself with production , and did not attempt to break the stranglehold american interests had over canadian commercial distribution or exhibition .
what is alienating , though , is catherine breillat ' s pedantic insistence on the oppressive and all - important mystery of female sexuality . there is something cold in her vision : the notion of simple pleasure is sacrificed to this brow - furrowing pursuit of a meaning which infinitely recedes . marie is always fretting :
i am a hole - i disappear in proportion to the cock taking me .
really ? well , marie , i would say you ' re not getting out enough , but that can ' t be the problem . peering into a supposed mise en abyme of female sexuality is a killjoy approach which renders simple , unexamined pleasure inauthentic . finally , audiences may revolt - not at romance ' s explicitness , but at its strange whiff of puritanism .
full disclosure – i didn’t like this film when i first saw it . in fact , i’ve never even been much of a kubrick fan . perhaps it’s because i’m getting older , but i’m gradually going through the back catalogue and really appreciating his work . case in point : his last film , notorious for featuring a sexed up tom cruise and nicole kidman . i was left bored and unimpressed on my first few viewings , but catching it again recently i can definitely see what kubrick was trying to achieve , and how close he came to making it work .
the deadline hollywood blog reported on this year ' s event , held in october for more than 150 people including representatives from the top talent agencies in town , def jam recordings co - founder russell simmons , and top executives from several fox - owned tv and film business divisions .
fourteen years on , and the film more than holds up , long outlasting initial criticism that it was marketed at an audience far too young for its violent themes . as well as a young kirsten dunst , the film’s notable acting talent is in the voice roles of the toys . tommy lee jones is chip hazard , leader of the gung - ho and ultimately villainous commando elite , while frank langella plays archer , leader of the peaceful and noble gorgonites . with stunning special effects , mini - mayhem , and exciting set - pieces , small soldiers is a treat .
does live up to its hype . it’s got explicit sex all over the place . body parts engaged in activities normally limited to videos the local blockbuster won’t carry are on full display . it’s all treated very unlike anything in american film . the way nudity and sex is handled is refreshingly unrestrained .
another tense crime thriller stunningly overlooked on release , it was only the word of mouth success of one false move on video that led to it gaining a theatrical run ( can you imagine that happening today ? ) , propelling it into the hearts of many , including legendary film critic gene siskel .
we ' ve con air to thank for this film . yep , while screenwriter scott rosenberg was waiting to hear back about his script for the soon - to - be action classic , he realised he was more interested in the story of his friends’ lives , and their angst as they turned 30 .
for a film to qualify as canadian , it had to be at least 75 minutes long , have at least one producer and two - thirds of the “above the line” creative team who were canadian , and perform at least 75 per cent of the production and post - production services in canada . the tax shelter approach echoed the conclusion of the tompkins report , issued by the secretary of state in 1976 , which argued that , since american control of canada’s theatrical marketplace made it virtually impossible for canadian films to turn a profit domestically , the canadian film industry should focus instead on producing commercial products for export .
remember when katie holmes was cool ? well she was once , and it was in this film . told in non - linear fashion and across several different viewpoints , this doug liman - directed comedy thriller was dismissed by some as ‘junior pulp fiction ’ , but it’s actually much better than that description might imply .
from the beginning , the regulation of film content , distribution and exhibition was a provincial matter , with each province setting its own standards and practices . in 1911 , ontario established the first board of censors in north america and manitoba passed an act that delegated film censorship to the city of winnipeg . british columbia , alberta and québec established active censor boards in 1913 , and manitoba founded a proper provincial board in 1916 . ontario ' s board , considered to set the gold standard across north american jurisdictions , banned the excessive display of the american flag when the united states failed to join the war effort in europe until 1917 .
a decision against the us cartel would have been a historic turning point for the future of filmmaking in canada . apart from the work of associated screen news and government production ( which also suffered funding cutbacks during the depression ) , by the 1930s the canadian film industry had become virtually a branch plant of hollywood .
this optimistic period of expansion was led by a number of enterprising producers : george brownridge , principal promoter of canada ' s first film studio , adanac films ( opened in trenton , on , in 1917 ) and producer of three features including the anti - communist the great shadow ( 1919 ) ; léo - ernest ouimet , a producer , exhibitor and distributor who established the country ' s first film exchange in 1903 and opened canada ' s first luxury theatre in montréal in 1907 ; blaine irish , head of filmcraft industries , producer of the feature satan ' s paradise ( 1922 ) and of two successful theatrical short film series ; bernard norrish , first head of the canadian government motion picture bureau and later head of associated screen news ; charles and len roos , producers , directors and cameramen of many films , including the feature self defence ( 1916 ) ; and a . d .
cowboy
kean , an early cameraman and producer .
had a very different impact on the film industry in québec , where the limited market for french - language films provided investors with no incentive to invest in them . as manjunath pendakur has explained , “in 1978 and 1979 , two - thirds of the films made in québec were produced without benefit of the tax shelter . film directors who in the 1960s helped put canada on the world map — such as claude jutra , gilles carle , michel brault , denys arcand — were unable to get financing to make any french - language films . ” only three per cent of feature films produced in canada from 1978 to 1981 were in french .
in 1997 atom egoyan ' s the sweet hereafter won the grand jury prize , the international critics prize and the ecumenical award at the cannes film festival , making it the most honoured canadian film ever to play the festival . it was nominated for academy awards for adapted screenplay and best director , the first for a canadian director . in 2001 , zacharias kunuk ’s atanarjuat ( the fast runner ) , the first dramatic feature to be shot entirely in inuktituk with an all - inuit cast , won the caméra d ' or at cannes . in 2004 , denys arcand ‘s les invasions barbares / the barbarian invasions ( 2003 ) won the academy award for best foreign language film , another first for a canadian . four canadian films in the next eight years earned oscar nominations in the same category : mehta’s water ( 2006 ) ; villeneuve’s incendies ( 2010 ) ; falardeau’s monsieur lazhar ( 2011 ) ; and kim nguyen ’s rebelle ( war witch ) ( 2012 ) .
the first time i saw this film , i was bored . rewatching it ten years later , i was seriously impressed . a sci - fi tale set in a future where gene - coding is rife , and parents can buy their children’s future success before birth , ethan hawke plays vincent , a non - modified human attempting to get on the space program . a film / tech - noir , the plot details vincent’s attempts to evade being found out , while using genetic samples from a paralysed ‘valid’ ( a career best jude law ) to do so , while also evading the attentions of an ongoing murder investigation at the gattaca space program .
for those unaware of the greatness of toy soldiers , let me explain it thusly . imagine home alone but with terrorists instead of inept burglars , and rebellious prep school boys instead of a precocious blonde child . interested ? good , then throw out the slapstick comedy and you’ve got yourself a high - concept 90s action film .
what makes this film so incredible , though , is nick nolte’s hulking , dominating performance as mike brennan . pot - bellied and moustached , nolte owns the screen with a powerful intensity , making an unlikeable character mesmerising and unforgettable . you’ll find yourself thinking about his titanic performance long after the credits roll , it’s that good .