rhinoceros is a 1974 american comedy film based on the play rhinocéros by eugène ionesco .

the film was produced and released as part of the american film theatre , which adapted theatrical works for a subscription-driven cinema series .

rhinoceros ( film )

with the headline : film : absurdity of ionesco ' s ‘rhinoceros’ is reduced in transition to screen .
we are a creative international film production company , passionate about creative and powerful storytelling through film .
“rhinoceros” is the fourth in the american film theater ' s series of eight films based on stage plays . it may well be the least interesting .
there are no critic reviews yet for rhinoceros . keep checking rotten tomatoes for updates !
in the lesson , point of view : rhinoceros , students write a journal entry in which they imagine themselves as the rhinoceros and describe its journey to a new preserve .
the mission of autonomous rhinoceros is to discover stories around the world and share them through film for the purpose of awareness and positive impact for all involved .
i am presently going through the characters referenced in woody allen’s film “midnight in paris . ” luis bunuel is a surrealist film director that is responsible for the film “belle de jour” which francis schaeffer discusses below .
buñuel is a surrealist , making the dream sequences in this film a treat for the eye . eventually the guests take morphine which adds more surrealism to the film .
originally an absurdist play by eugene ionesco , rhinoceros tells the story of a french town plagued by rhinoceroses .
i admit the whole film is pretty dull and uninteresting accept for the first 35min of the film . i realise that contradicts what i just said but its true , most…
none of the film was shot in , or near , fargo , north dakota .
calling all actors and crew . . . film set protocols seminar 07 / 28 / 2018
rhinoceros is being presented in association with the castillo theatre and performances will be wednesdays through saturdays at 7 : 30 pm , with matinees saturday & sunday at 2 pm . rhinoceros is set to play a limited off - broadway engagement through october 8th .
four films seen . four still to be released . with the two‐day run here earlier this week of tom o ' horgan ' s film version of ionesco ' s “rhinoceros , ” the american film theater has reached the halfway mark in its first subscription season designed to bring culture to the otherwise depressed , that is , the american moviegoer .
i really wish there was more to say about this film , but it leaves you a little speechless .
the exquisite blu - ray transfer makes an argument for the film’s remarkable production design and audio / visual construction .
rhinoceros eyes
is a terrible title for a movie  but in this case it ' s fitting . not only does it refer to a plot device that drives the story , but it ' s also indicative of how peculiar the film is .
every thursday , chris robinson takes a look at films from animation’s past . this week he screens jan lenica ' s 1965 classic , rhinoceros .
in a film class my partner and i did a video presentation on the film belle de jour and the filmmaker luis bunuel . bunuel was a surrealist , so if the video doesn’t quite makes sense , its not supposed to .
“people who try to hang onto their individuality always come to a bad end , ” says stanley ( gene wilder ) in the last act of “rhinoceros , ” the american film theater ' s screen version of the eugene ionesco play that opened at selected theaters here yesterday .
won the 1961 tony award for best actor in a play for
rhinoceros
as john , and re - created his role in this filmed production .
distinguished israeli actor , gera sandler , has joined the cast of the upcoming yiddish world premiere of eugene ionesco ' s rhinoceros in the role of dudard .
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 .
regarding her documentary , filush told pnc “i just wanted to create some kind of awareness campaign on the rhinoceros beetle since i felt like there was nothing out there in the community . and i felt , what better way to spread awareness than through film ? ” in the film , filush says she covers the background of the rhino beetles , how they came to guam , and how the community can help lessen their numbers .
a boozing young man in love with his co - worker finds that everyone around him , even his pompous and condescending best friend , is changing into a rhinoceros .
in
rhinoceros eyes ,
michael pitt plays chep , a hollywood
prop shop
employee . chep is a loner until he meets fran ( paige turco ) .
consequently , you could almost see this one becoming some sort of cult film . after all , the same thing happened to the similar style - over - substance 2001 film - festival hit
donnie darko
( although
darko
had more going for it ) .
examples : death of a gunfighter ( 1969 ) , let ' s get harry ( 1986 ) , the shrimp on the barbie ( 1990 ) , and the last film with the ironic alias : an alan smithee film : burn , hollywood , burn ( 1997 ) .
fargo is a 1996 oscar - winning american crime drama film produced , directed , written , and edited by brothers joel and ethan coen . it is the original film that inspired the 2014 tv adaptation of the same name in which the coen ' s serve as executive producers .
“rhinoceros , ” which had a middling run on broadway in 1961 , is not ideal film material , being an example of the kind of theater of the absurd that should be played like old‐time farce within a stylized , three‐sided set or , perhaps , within no set at all . even though the film never shows us any real rhinoceroses , the realism of the movie camera is undeniable . it reduces things absurd to the status of the merely silly .
the first third is very entertaining and delightfully absurd . zero mostel ' s gradual metamorphosis into a rhinoceros is a cinematic tour - de - force , where he completely takes over the film . when he is not on the scene any longer , it slows down and doesn ' t engage so much , unfortunately .
the stills gallery contains 18 black & white and colour images including behind - the - scenes shots . there are two posters for the film .
example : star wars episode ii : attack of the clones ( 2002 ) , the first feature ' film ' shot using digital video cinematography , isn ' t really a film - an anachronistic term in this case ; in the civil war film , glory ( 1989 ) , one of the kids in the film wears what appears to be a swatch watch ; or in lawrence of arabia ( 1962 ) , a u . s . browning air - cooled machine gun is oddly featured before its time ; or the use of 1873 colt peacemakers in red river ( 1948 )
overall rhinoceros demonstrates one of the great advantages of the american film theatre’s ethos to preserve vital and edgy experimental theatre , preserving a play that would otherwise be rarely performed and capturing a magnificent original stage performance by zero mostel . the absurdist nature of the play will certainly not be to everyone’s taste and the wacky seventies treatment will be off - putting to many , but the film effectively puts across the themes of the play and is often very funny in a way that is rarely seen in cinema . the film is well presented on dvd , with good picture and sound quality and the usual fine selection of supporting extra features .
produced by the american film theater and based upon an absurdist play by eugene ionesco , this film tells the farcical tale of a group of people who must reassess their pasts and futures after they begin turning into rhinoceroses . only one of their peers , a mild - mannered clerk , remains the same .
nearly 60 years since its premiere , the darkly comedic and terrifying rhinoceros is making its yiddish language debut with a translation by eli rosen . the sublime is merged with the ridiculous in this savage commentary on the human condition , in which an individual citizen of a small town watches his friends turn into rhinoceros es one by one until he alone stands unchanged . the cast of rhinoceros also features alec burko , amy coleman , macha fogel , malky goldman , sean griffin , chezky israeli , david mandelbaum , caraid o ' brien , eli rosen , luzer twersky , and melissa weisz .
in the film “midnight in paris” the character gil discusses the future movie “the exterminating angel” by bunuel with bunuel . below is a review of that movie .
as part of her presentation , filush showed rotarians her very first film , “beat the beetle , ” which she first showcased at festpac in 2015 , adding a fun and uplifting mood to the informative documentary . coconut rhinoceros beetles were initially discovered on guam in 2007 , and have been damaging the island’s coconut trees and continued to show signs of resilience to eradication attempts .
adriana and gil are seen above walking together in the movie “midnight in paris . ” adriana was a fictional character who was picasso’s mistress in the film . earlier she had been modigliani’s mistress and later georges braque’s mistress before moving on to picasso according to the film story line . actually picasso had taken girls from others [ … ]
gera sandler ' s numerous film credits include jellyfish , a film unfinished and a tale of love and darkness . for 12 years , he was one of the leading actors in the yiddish theatre in israel . his prominent roles include nathan rothschild in the musical the rothschilds , hershl in simple story and yasha mazor in the magician of lublin .
mr . ionesco apparently wants us to see “rhinoceros” as a parable about conformity and the contagion that could convert supposedly moral , rational people into the ecstatically mindless mobs that idolized hitler as the last word in authority figures .
gene wilder , however , and surprisingly , is simply too mawkish . his reactions seem to pour molasses into the gears of this movie . if someone else had played the role , perhaps
rhinoceros
would have worked .
durée : 1 h 44 min . contient aussi : présentation par ely landau ( 6 min ) , interview avec tom o ' horgan ( 26 min ) , bandes - annonces , texte de michael feingold
eugene o ' neill and rhinoceros
, galerie de photos et notes de production . adapté de la pièce de théâtre du même nom . cop . : american film theatre distributing corporation , 1974 .
eugene ionesco ( 1909 - 1994 ) was one of the foremost figures of the french avant - garde theatre . among his most popular plays are rhinoceros , the bald soprano , the lesson , the chairs , and the killer .
the pseudonym used by directors who refuse to put their name on a film and want to disassociate themselves , usually when they believe their control or vision has been co - opted by the studio ( i . e . , the film could have been recut , mutilated and altered against their wishes ) ; aka alan smithee jr . , allan smithee , or allen smithee
stanley , the mild . mannered , virtually identity‐less office clerk , has admittedly had a terrifying time . he finds himself the only human being in a world where everyone else , for various reasons , is electing to turn into a rhinoceros .
chep ' s feelings of isolation don ' t help . he refuses to fraternize with his co - workers or leave the shop , except when he goes to the movies . but that changes when he meets fran ( paige turco ) , a movie production designer who comes into the shop one day looking for rhinoceros eyes . real ones . which the shop does have , but unfortunately they ' ve already been loaned out to another film .
ok , this is one weird film that i caught very late one night , i only decided to see it because it had gene wilder in it , who is one of the funniest men in history . i was totally surprised by how bizarre it was . the plot is about zero mostel and gene wilder talking and all these people turn into ( unseen ) rhinoceros ' . later on the story goes from zany comedy to mild horror as our ' heroes ' try to stop themselves from turning into rhinoceros ' . . . if you ' re in a good mood you could find some enjoyment out of this , but if you like your films straightforward then avoid this like the plague .
something that would have been an interesting 10 minute short film overstretched to feature length that is only barely watchable because of its cast . supposed to be theatre of the absurd but its just absurd .
a still from disney ' s full - length animated feature film , snow white and the seven dwarfs ( 1937 ) . also the hand - drawn colorful laser - beams in the star wars films .
darius khondji ’s cinematography evokes to the hilt the gorgeously inviting paris of so many people’s imaginations ( while conveniently ignoring the rest ) , and the film has the concision and snappy pace of allen’s best work .
from this dream , eric was encouraged to draw our auto the rhino and his bird . then he took it further – he decided to apply his passion for film and storytelling to sharing the stories of others .
performances are set to begin september 7th , with the opening on thursday , september 14th at the castillo theatre , 543 west 42 street ( between tenth & eleventh aves . ) new yiddish rep ' s rare revival of rhinoceros will be performed in yiddish with english supertitles .
due to unregulated hunting and poaching , the black rhinoceros has become an endangered species across the african continent . in an effort to preserve the remaining rhinos and repopulate the species , wildlife preserves have been created . the black rhinoceros now thrives in the south african national park system . in order to spread the success of the south african preserve to other regions , rhinos from this sanctuary are being relocated to other preserves across the continent . in this video from nature , learn about the factors taken into consideration to release the black rhino back into the wild .
. this impression is reinforced by gene wilder’s typically eccentric performance in what would normally be considered the central role of béranger , re - named as stanley for the aft film . he is however upstaged by zero mostel as his neighbour john . mostel , reprising his broadway stage role is simply magnificent , relishing every little gesture and intonation . his transformation into a rhinoceros , done without the aid of make - up or special effects , is one of the great moments of the aft programme of films .
( you will notice in the last part of the 14 minute clip above , it shows how the movie “belle de jour” ends . even though her husband has been shot three times which was the result of the horrible friends she had associated with , he is pictured in her dreams as recovering from his wheel chair and blindness and he gladly kisses her . francis schaeffer in his film series shows how this film was appealing to “nonreason” to answer our problems . )
a type of film that rejects traditional narrative in favor of using poetic form ( color , motion , sound , irrational images , etc . ) to convey its meaning or feeling ; aka non - linear ; see also avant - garde
with the exception of peter hall ' s fine production of “the homecoming , ” which works so well as a film that you don ' t pay any attention to its theatrical seams , the aft looks to be produoing a new type of film—one that may not ultimately be in the greatest demand . the aft is manufacturing the coffee table movie , something that is supposed to establish one ' s intellectual credentials by physical association . purchase tickets but give them to your friends .
guam – local filmmaker sarah filush was the guest speaker at the rotary club of tumon bay’s weekly meeting at the pacific star resort and spa , where she took the opportunity to speak of her passion for modern - day storytelling through film .
filush is currently trying to gain funding to officially release the film to the community . filush’s other projects , rock the vote guam and kids from chuuk : the movie , can be viewed on her youtube channel by searching “sarah filush . ”
with the exception of “the homecoming , ” none of the aft productions has been quite the play it was written to be , or the film it is presented as being . none of the plays has been grossly “opened up , ” except for “rhinoceros . ” they ' ve pretty much stuck to their original theatrical locales , but they ' ve been photographed in that dumb tennis‐match style—the back‐and‐forth cutting from one medium close‐up to another—that has about as much to do . with the original theatrical experience as the intermissions with which the filing are presented .
rhinoceros eyes
features one of the more aloof main characters in recent memory , chep ( michael pitt ) , an employee in a hollywood
prop shop
who is slowly losing his mind  he imagines that some of the props have been assembling themselves into humanlike form and talk to him .
rhinoceros eyes
is rated r for violence ( a beating , a mutilation and some disturbing imagery ) , occasional use of strong sexual profanity , simulated sex , brief male and female nudity , some crude sexual talk and use of vulgar slang terms , and brief gore . running time : 92 minutes .
it’s a bit of a story . founder eric j . trujillo had a dream a while back , in which a cartoon of a rhinoceros starred . what stood out the most was that the rhinoceros seemed totally independent and ‘autonomous’ , yet always had a tiny bird on his back . you know , those little birds that in real life , practically live on the back of rhinoceroses . they pick off the little gnats and insects and who knows what else . they’re nourished and get a ride , the rhino seems to like it , and the two benefit one another by being themselves and doing what they do best .
in spite of a lot of clumsy , badly choreographed slapstick , in spite of some nice music by galt macdermot and an extremely attractive performance by gene wilder , who plays the leading role , zero mostel still is the riveting object of attention in the film . the reasons are that mostel is an audaciously surprising actor , even when you think you know his style , and that “rhinoceros” is a far from interesting play . how much more provocative would have been screen versions ( if possible ) of ionesco ' s “the bald soprano” and “the chairs
?
plays aren ' t films and films aren ' t plays , and three of the four aft productions to date have landed in a no man ' s land between theater and film . with the exception of “the homecoming , ” they do not record for posterity great theatrical performances , and they do not add anything to one ' s cinematic experience . almost any five‐minute segment of robert altman ' s “the long goodbye” is a greater artistic experience ( pardon my language ) than any 60‐minute segment of the aft ' s “iceman , ” “a delicate balance” “rhinoceros . ”
after this apprenticeship , buñuel shot and directed a 16 - minute short , un chien andalou , with salvador dalí . the film , financed by buñuel’s mother , [ 42 ] consists of a series of startling images of a freudian nature , [ 43 ] starting with a woman’s eyeball being sliced open with a razor blade . un chien andalou was enthusiastically received by the burgeoning french surrealist movement of the time [ 44 ] and continues to be shown regularly in film societies to this day . [ 45 ]
surrealism definition . a movement in art and literature that flourished in the early twentieth century . surrealism aimed at expressing imaginative dreams and visions free from conscious rational control . salvador dali was an influential surrealist painter ; jean cocteau was a master of surrealist film .
the worst of the aft ventures so far has been the o ' horgan version of “rhinoceros , ” which is not great ionesco , and not great theater of the absurd , to begin with . o ' horgan , perhaps in desperation , has taken this slight and fuzzy parable , about’ a civilization where people break their necks
originally an absurdist play by eugene ionesco , rhinoceros tells the story of a french town plagued by rhinoceroses . these are not ordinary rhinoceroses , but people who have been victims of
rhinoceritis .
or is it something else entirely ? but , why are they turning into rhinoceroses and what is ionesco trying to tell us about society ?
rhinoceros is a nightmare comedy about a society that chooses to follow the herd and become rhinoceroses . the original play by eugene ionesco is a thinly - veiled attack on romanian and french extremist politics in the wake of their nationalist conformity during world war ii . former liberals became recruiters of the legion , and everybody started demonizing the jews .
but do they always come to . a bad end ? stanley , the hero of “rhinoceros , ” is an unreliable mouthpiece in an unreliable metaphor so grossly overdirected by tom o ' horgan that you might get the idea mr . o ' horgan thought he was making a movie for an audience made up entirely of rhinoceroses instead of people .
as weird and off - putting as portions of the film are , the most serious problem is pitt ' s performance . for some reason , he appears to be channeling crispin glover . ( to paraphrase the
highlander
movies :
there can be only one !
)
the above clip is from the film series by francis schaeffer “how should we then live ? ” below is an outline of the 8th episode on the impressionists and the age of fragmentation . the third part discusses surrealist films like belle de jour that mixes our reality with our day dreams .
rhinoceros marks the second yiddish world premiere at new yiddish rep , following their groundbreaking production of god of vengeance last season which scored a new york times critics ' pick . new yiddish rep is dedicated to creating modern theater which speaks to a diverse contemporary audience , including those who never might have thought they could connect to a performance in a language other than their own .
francis schaeffer was a christian philosopher who studied culture and made observations about people’s worldview . below we will see three short clips from his film series “how should we then live ? ” and i have included an outline . if you enjoy this work of schaeffer then you might want to refer back to posts i did on paul gauguin and henri de toulouse lautrec who are also in the film “midnight in paris . ” both gauguin and lautrec are from the 1890’s and they believed the golden period was not the 1890’s , but the renaissance according to a scene in the movie “midnight in paris . ”
belle de jour presentation in a film class my partner and i did a video presentation on the film belle de jour and the filmmaker luis bunuel . bunuel was a surrealist , so if the video doesn’t quite makes sense , its not supposed to . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ i am presently going through the characters referenced in woody allen’s [ … ]
get to know the faces behind our storytelling discoveries and film - creating ways . and yes , there’s auto the rhino ; a cartoon rhino , that is . but no , we don’t have a real rhino on the team . they prefer to run wild and free , and we do too .
there were some parts of this that i loved , others that i just kinda enjoyed . the film is definitely based on a play , and most of the scenes are long drawn out conversations . it uses the film medium at most wisely in the beginning 20 or so minutes , as it adds odd musical queues and does interesting things with parallel action , while still keeping an absurdist bend . some of the scenes , especially later on , just feel like fairly point - and - shoot recreations of the play , but are still very funny . the movie stays weird throughout and the performances are all great .
seen in new york so far have been o ' neill ' s “the iceman cometh , ” directed by john frankenheimer , pinter ' s “the homecoming , ” directed by peter hall , albee ' s “a delicate balance , ” directed by tony richardson and , most recently , “rhinoceros . ” upcoming are “luther , ” “butley , ” “lost in the stars” and “the three sisters . ”
we are always in the process of becoming . life is a process . to stop is to die . the search for self is at the core of every lenica film . his protagonists ( think jan lenica as performed by buster keaton through beckett and ionesco and gilliam ) travel through a world of violence , paranoia , anxiety , and absurdity . they do not know how to , nor sure they want to , fit into an increasingly dehumanized society . lenica’s characters encounter various forms of oppression in the face of paranoia ( rhinoceros ) , language ( a ) , exile ( labyrinth ) , humans , and even themselves . each character is simply trying to define and establish a unique blip on life’s map .
… . when his first film ( un chien andalou ) was released , buñuel became the first filmmaker to be officially welcomed into the ranks of the surrealists by the movement’s leader andré breton , an event recalled by film historian georges sadoul : “breton had convoked the creators to our usual venue [ the café radio ] … one summer’s evening . dalí had the large eyes , grace , and timidity of a gazelle . to us , buñuel , big and athletic , his black eyes protruding a little , seemed exactly like he always is in un chien andalou , meticulously honing the razor that will slice the open eye in two . ”
the shooting ( or re - shooting ) of a film ' s ending for its theatrical release , usually enforced by the studio for any number of reasons ( because of test audience preview results , controversial or unpopular subject matter , to provide a ' happy ' ending , etc . ) . see also director ' s cut
that isn ' t exactly the way the aft is described by henry t . weinstein , the organization ' s vice president in charge of creative affairs . he says its aim is to bring “to audiences everywhere great works ‘ of the theater , performed by consummate artists , under the guidance of major directors , on film . ”
the name given to the prestigious film awards presented each year by ampas ( the academy of motion picture arts and sciences , or simply ' the academy ' ) , a professional honorary organization within the industry , since 1927 . the annual awards show , in slang , is sometimes referred to as a kudo - cast , see also oscars
related to different optical imaging effects ; refers to a method of intentionally distorting and creating a wide screen image with standard film , using a conversion process or a special lens on the camera and projector to produce different magnifications in the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the picture ; an anamorphic image usually appears
squished
horizontally , while retaining its full vertical resolution ; see also aspect ratio and the trade name cinemascope . many studios produced anamorphic lenses , using other trade names such as panavision , technovision , and technirama . on the right are examples of anamorphic imaging effects from the film blade ( 1998 ) ( with an aspect ratio of 2 : 35 . 1 ) .
2011 roger arpajou / sony pictures classics lea seydoux as gabrielle in “midnight in paris . ” adriana and gil are seen above walking together in the movie “midnight in paris . ” adriana was a fictional character who was picasso’s mistress in the film . earlier she had been georges braque’s mistress before moving on to picasso according to [ … ]
mr . o ' horgan ' s direction has the effect of exposing all of the play ' s weaknesses and none of its merits . it is clumsily inventive and obtrusive . the same was true of his only other film , “futz , ” though it was probably responsible for his huge stage successes , “hair” and “jesus christ superstar . ”
ionesco ' s tale of the herd is played in high 70 ' s style , but its message of the perils of conformity is timelessly ( and hilariously ) worked out by wilder , mostel , and o ' horgan . ionesco ' s language is an intricate pas de deux , bristling and baroque : ionesco is the anti - mamet . mostel ' s range here is incredible . he can go from a grace note struck on the upper octave of a pianoforte to an exploding oil refinery in an instant . rhinoceros would be the last big canvas this big comic would work on before his passing just three years later . mostel , who knew something of the political implications of art , puts on the thick hide of the rhino like a kid glove . what had originated as a european anti - fascist satire now finds its tongue in a sometimes glum attack on corporate conformity , but the rhinoceros horn still gores deep .
given the current political climate , lenica’s work suddenly seems striking fresh again . rhinoceros ( 1965 ) , based on the 1959 play by eugene ionesco , follows a kind but slacker / drunkard named berenger . as he drinks in a café – before returning late to his dull office job - berenger begins to notice that everyone is turning into rhinos . eventually finding himself alone , berenger struggles with the emergence of his own passing rhino features has he defiantly struggles to maintain his individuality .
the lesson is both very small and very fuzzy . it is so determinedly out of focus that one begins to wonder whether the playwright had any ideas in mind at all and , if he did , whether they work out the way he intended , stanley talks in clichés about “humanity” and “standards” and is , at heart , quite as ignorant as the rhinoceros he disdains . he also has a lot less fun than they do . all of which adds up to a philosophical so‐what .
it was over too soon . landau couldn ' t have launched at a worse moment . the indie film movement was still a decade off , and the audience members who had long complained that they wanted quality fare turned out not to be around when it was . aft folded after only two seasons , and those unique productions were lost until recently in a maze of mergers of successor companies .
however , as written , these super - elite 0 . 00001 percenters are straw figures ready to be burnt at the stake of white ' s and arteta’s righteous indignation . even if one agrees with the disgust they feel at this privileged , entitled class’ complacency and complicity , a little more subtlety and a more nuanced approach to the dynamics of this culture clash would have made the film that little bit more effective .
the presentation of one art form through another medium ; a film based upon , derived from ( or adapted from ) a stage play ( or from another medium such as a short story , book , article , history , novel , video game , comic strip / book , etc . ) which basically preserves both the setting and dialogue of the original ; can be in the form of a script ( screenplay ) or a proposal treatment
rhinoceros this was a hard film for me to figure out . i rented this movie because gene wilder was in it and i always knew him to be funny , also i am a collector of kino international films and this is one out of there catalog . usually i have given all there films a 4 plus stars , but this not be the case for this movie . i just couldn ? t wait for it to be over , and came within seconds of shutting it off completely , but i had the day off from work , it was raining outside and i figured what the heck . in this movie people are turning into rhinoceroses , now i am not sure but many have said it represents american people turning in to cattle in real life and just flowing with the crowd rather then standing up for there rights and what is right from wrong , and i can see that , similar story line to 1984 . i just couldn ? t get into this one , maybe you can . 1 star .
grant has serious misgivings about bringing beatriz to the table since one of the guests is power client douglas strutt ( john lithgow ) , a famously opinionated , unabashedly capitalist hotel and golf - course magnate whose resemblance to donald trump is surely not accidental . that said , lithgow’s bragging , boorish captain of industry , who asks beatriz if she entered the country legally , boasts about having shot a rhinoceros on safari in africa and couldn’t give a damn if his ventures poison the environment and ruin lives , still comes across as more savvy and likable than the newly sworn - in potus .
the script was written in six days at dalí’s home in cadaqués . in a letter to a friend written in february 1929 , buñuel described the writing process : “we had to look for the plot line . dalí said to me , ‘i dreamed last night of ants swarming around in my hands’ , and i said , ‘good lord , and i dreamed that i had sliced somebody or other’s eye . there’s the film , let’s go and make it . ' ” [ 46 ]
the o ' horgan rhinoceros is often wondrously dark . stanley , a listless accountant with a listless accountant ' s name , swills booze to forget his dead - end life . he ' s an organization man who hates his organization , a buttondown rebel without a cause . his friend john ( mostel ) dishes up advice for john , but john continues to mope , disengaged from the thudding repetitiveness of his interchangeable days . there ' s daisy , a lovely co - worker , who he admires , but stanley is so mired in self - contempt that his love for her is lost in a forest of ledgers and memos .
the following film notes were prepared for the new york state writers institute by kevin jack hagopian , senior lecturer in media studies at pennsylvania state university : impresario ely landau ' s idea seemed inspired : what if a discriminating national movie audience could be persuaded to invest its ticket money upfront , in a program of superior adaptations of significant dramatic works ? the money could be used to finance production down the line , and the lucky viewers wouldn ' t pay much more than they would for ordinary films .
“the iceman cometh” is a tremendous , primal theatrical experience , but was it really necessary to film it again just so we could have the dubious pleasure of witnessing lee marvin fail in the key role as hickey ? it was nice seeing robert ryan and fredric march in this version , but nothing can convince me that it was worth doing if , in the archives somewhere , there exists a print of that extraordinary tv tape version directed by sidney lumet , produced by worthington miner and starring jason robards .
based on a play by eugene lonesco , this film is pretty odd if you know nothing of the material its based on . i don ' t know the play a tall so i did find the plot strange indeed and i can see why it was a failure upon release . this is a shame of course as all the sequences with wilder and mostel are pure epic comic genius ! . their facial expressions and body language is fantastic and show two men of comedy , one at his peak and one reaching his peak .
mr . o ' horgan attempts to jazz up the film with music by galt macdermot ( “hair” ) , which is nice but superfluous , and with low comedy routines that he photographs in ways guaranteed to make them unfunny . the grace and continuity of a series of pratfalls are broken up into a lot of different , isolated shots . his feel for slapstick is as solemn as that of an archeologist photographing the individual bones of a dinosaur . for reasons best kept to himself the director also introduces into lonesco a comparatively lyric dream sequence .
thus , the american film theater . from 1973 to 1975 , fourteen plays were filmed . looking back , many seem far too good to be true . edward albee ' s a delicate balance , with katherine hepburn , paul scofield , and lee remick ? o ' neill ' s the iceman cometh , with lee marvin and robert ryan , and directed by live television veteran john frankenheimer ? but it happened . this spring , the writers institute pays tribute to landau ' s labor of love with a selection of the aft films , including homecoming and the seldom seen philadelphia , here i come .
for years i ' ve wished that there were some organization that would have as its function the presevation on film of great theatrical occasions . i think of laurette taylor in “the glass menagerie , ” tallulah bankhead and fredric march and florence eldridge in “the skin of our teeth , ” tallulah again in “the little foxes , ” laurence olivier and vivien leigh doing their backto‐back “cleopatras , ” ethel merman shooting that stuffed seagull in “annie get your gun . ” i mean the simplest kind of preservation : the performance photographed , preferably from a fixed position , with no close‐ups , no alternating two‐shots , no cinematic junk .
i didn ' t know this existed , or i likely would have watched it in high school and told everybody that it was my favorite movie . it addresses an issue that i was fond of back then ( conformity , the same issue my movie are you asleep ? addressed so elegantly and professionally ) , and i liked ionesco . we even ( incredibly ) read ionesco ' s the sand box in another class taught by the teacher who taught the class i made my movie for . no wonder that nut case was my favorite teacher . anyway , rhinoceros . ionesco ? gene wilder ? i expected to dig this one , but it was way too long , way too stupid ( read : it misses
absurd
and hits stupid squarely between the eyes ) , and way too…
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venue : cannes film festival ( opening night , out of competition ) opens : may 20 ( sony pictures classics ) production : mediapro , versatil cinema , gravier prods . , pontchartrain prods . ) cast : owen wilson , rachel mcadams , marion cotillard , michael sheen , kathy bates , adrien brody , carla bruni , nina arianda , kurt fuller , tom hiddleston , alison pill , lea seydoux , corey stoll director - screenwriter : woody allen producers : letty aronson , stephen tenenbaum , jaume roures executive producers : javier mendez director of photography : darius khondji production designer : anne seibel costume designer : sonia grande editor : alisa lepselter rated pg - 13 , 94 minutes
given the dinner - party premise , the film is expectedly heavy on talk , but arteta avoids monologue monotony by cutting away frequently to his ensemble’s faces in repose as they listen to the others . each and every one masterfully deploys a full arsenal of subtle moues , grimaces and side - eye glances to hint at private feelings that may or may not be in accord with the consensus around the table . britton’s eye twitches and fluttering gestures of horror as her party starts to go wrong are a thing of beauty to behold , as are landecker’s embarrassed eye rolls and sevigny ' s and duplass ' impish smirks . even john early as the simpering caterer seems to be snickering inwardly as the evening implodes .
plays up the absurdity and it can often be very funny , but it leaves its message a little vague , unspecified and abstract .
. each of the releases contains a substantial number of relevant and high quality extra features .
the picture quality is quite good on this aft release , possibly the best of those so far released . colours are warm and rich , showing a good level of detail . there is a slight hint of grain in some scenes , but by and large , the image is clear and sharp with only occasional marks on the print . the picture remains stable with little sign of any digital artefacts .
the audio is reasonably clear throughout . there is a low level of background noise , some roughness and sibilance at times , but the dialogue remains clear and audible at all times .
there are no hard of hearing subtitles on the feature or on the extra material .
the director reflects on what the play means to him , the performances of wilder and mostel and the filmmaking decisions that were made in adapting a theatre of the absurd play to the screen .
contains quotes from the playwright on rhinoceritis and the value of art in society .
looks at the variety of the comedian’s stage and screen performance , with some interview excerpts . in
, the director offers some thoughts on the play and on translating theatre to cinema .
” , by michael feingold , the chief theatre critic for the village voice , provides some biographical details on ionesco and the theatre of the absurd , and the playwright’s place in the académie française .
a thank you to subscribers at the end of the first season of films , the producer reflects on the ideal of the afts aim to preserve theatre on screen and takes a look over what films had been made so far .
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directed by tom o ' horgan ( united states / uk / canada , 1973 , 104 minutes , color , dvd ) starring : zero mostel……… . john gene wilder……… . stanley karen black……… . daisy joe silver
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jermaine fowler and omari hardwick of sorry to bother you take us back in time to the worst jobs of their careers .
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the younger brother of the consulting detective tries to steal sherlock ' s glory by solving an important case assisted by an eccentric scotland yard detective and a lovely but suspicious actress .
george has been in a mental hospital for three years and is finally ready to go out into the real world again . eddie dash , a dedicated con man , is supposed to keep him out of trouble , but . . . see full summary »
on a long - distance train trip , a man finds romance but also finds himself in danger of being killed , or at least pushed off the train .
harry evers and marvin ellison have been playing poker thursday nights with their friends for years . when a disagreement breaks up the game , they decide to continue meeting and doing . . . see full summary »
a neurotic baker travels to hollywood to attend a talent search for an actor to rival the great valentino . although not an actor , through blind luck he succeeds , to a certain degree .
a sex comedy anthology containing four stories , each from a different country ( england , france , the u . s . , and italy ) .
just before the salem witch trials , an embittered old woman , who has learned witchcraft , teams up with the devil , and brings a scarecrow to life as part of her diabolical revenge on the judge who was once her lover .
two mismatched sets of identical twins , one aristocrat , one peasant , mistakenly exchange identities on the eve of the french revolution .
in dublin , a working class family has been unsuccessful in convincing their son to get a real job : the son prefers his job of scooping up horse ' s dung and selling it for flower gardens . an . . . see full summary »
set up and wrongfully accused , two best friends will be sent to prison for a crime they didn ' t commit . however , no prison cell could keep them locked in .
completely innocent man , michael jordon , is drawn into a web of government secrets when a girl carrying a mysterious package gets into a taxi with him . when she ' s later murdered , michael becomes the chief suspect and goes on the run .
20th century fox studios - 10201 pico blvd . , century city , los angeles , california , usa
: i hate the taste of alcohol , but if i don ' t drink , i feel awful .
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his best friend john ( zero mostel ) , a fastidious , prissy man who always carries a pocket mirror and an extra necktie , has transformed himself right in front of stanley ' s eyes . at first it seemed only that john had a pesky virus . his voice sounded hoarse and he was irritable . later there was no doubt what was happening when , between whimpers , john began to paw the floor , snort angrily and exclaim that he really didn ' t hate people , he was simply indifferent to them .
daisy ( karen black ) , stanley ' s girl , tries to hold out but she too eventually gives in to the call of the wild : she can ' t resist the tremendous energy emanating from all the rhinoceroses now charging through the streets of the town that , in julian barry ' s adaptation of ionesco , is situated not in france but in “anywhere , u . s . a . ”
considering the material , and considering the obstacles they had to act around , through and over , the performers come off very well . mr . mostel , comparatively subdued , is extremely funny , whether he is outlining the regime stanley is to follow to become a cultivated man , or whether he is slipping unaware into the early stages of rhinoceritis , munching the leaves of a potted plant .
mr . wilder has an innate sweetness that neutralizes a lot of the dumbness of stanley , a character called berenger in the play but renamed in the movie , i suspect , to evoke unfairly the shade of the late great stan laurel . miss black , like mr . mostel , succesfully created a cartoon character out of pure flesh and blood , hers being a variation on little orphan annie , though not so articulate .


the land ( hangul : 토지 ; rr : toji ) is a 1974 south korean film directed by kim soo-yong .

it was chosen as best film at the grand bell awards .

the land ( 1974 film )

london – the 11th annual kinoteka polish film festival will open with the u . k . premier of andrzej wajda ’s 1974 classic the promised land ( ziemia obiecana ) .
the exiled settler alexander ilyin persuades the goldmines owner trifon perfilyev to sponsor the expedition dedicated to the searches of
sannikov land
, a legendary warm land behind the polar circle .
indigenous ( aboriginal ) peoples are the original inhabitants of the land that is now canada .
browse television , film , short film , music video , web series , documentary , drama and more categories .
: for a thirsty man in a dry land , you gotta lotta talk .
a family is thrown back in time and must survive in a dinosaur dominated land .
the adventures of a boy trapped in a fantastic land with a dragon friend and a witch enemy .
following the film’s release in the fall of 1974 , québec - presse film critic robert lévesque called it “the first true masterpiece of québec cinema , ” an opinion that was widely shared . les ordres also became the first film to win the annual critics award from the québec association of film critics . the film was not without its critics , however . in a 1974 issue of cinéma québec , flq member pierre vallières called the film “politically and morally unacceptable” due to the way it “totally uproots the drama from the causes and their true context . ” he criticized brault for not including the names of james cross , pierre laporte and the victims themselves , and for de - politicizing the reality of the crisis “in favour of a kafkaesque melodrama in which the actors are struggling helplessly in the absolute mystery of their oppression . ”
the film’s politically sensitive subject matter made it difficult to finance . despite initial encouragement from the national film board ’s director of production pierre gauvreau , the nfb rejected the project in may 1971 . the canadian film development corporation ( cfdc , now telefilm canada ) also turned it down before approving a fourth draft of the screenplay in 1973 and agreeing to finance part of the film’s $ 250 , 000 budget . at the time of the film’s release , brault stated that he did not set out to make a film about the october crisis per se , but rather “a film about humiliation . ”
the marshalls find half a diary from a former human resident of the land of the lost that might hold the key to returning to the real world .
the film ' s claustrophobic , cyclical , bleak mood surrounding the heroic quest of the detective struck a responsive chord after the scandalous watergate era of the early 1970s . the film ' s two puzzling mysteries and tragedies - family - related and water - related - are beautifully interwoven together . the water - rights scandal at the heart of the film expresses how ecological rape of the land has occurred in outrageous land - development schemes that redirect the water ' s flow . it reminds viewers that the days of abundant natural resources ( and life - giving water that turns a forbidden wilderness into a plentiful garden ) are past - the land has become barren due to the selfish manipulations of rich and powerful businessmen .
the marshalls learn that their arrival in the land of the lost created a paradox in the door of time that ' s preventing enik from returning home .
poland ' s official submission to the 1976 ' s oscar to the best foreign language film category .
a selection of iconic māori tv , film and music video for . . .
. his second feature film was a funny man starring nikolaj lie kaas . zandvliet will next direct an action film about the kursk submarine disaster for luc besson ' s europacorp .
( 1973 ) . instead , universal pushed the film back to february 1974 . it also abandoned plans to platform the film , which meant starting with just a few theaters in key cities and letting the audience build slowly . not having faith in the picture , however , it switched to a wider opening , a sign at the time that it was just trying to burn the film off quickly . despite strong reviews , the film fared poorly because it didn ' t have a chance to build word - of - mouth with more discerning audiences . it turned a small profit , but did not do the kind of business universal had expected for a film starring a top box - office star like
chinatown ( 1974 ) is a superb , private eye mystery and modern - day film noir thriller . its original , award - winning screenplay by robert towne is a throwback that pays homage to the best hollywood film noirs from the pens of dashiell hammett and raymond chandler in the 30s and 40s . the film declined to provide a tagline , instead choosing imagery over words on its poster , which featured in 40 ' s art deco , the detective - his back facing the viewer , smoking a cigarette , with the smoke emanating from it forming the visage of the heroine , signifying the setting , the mood , and symbolism of the film without uttering a single phrase .
the film is a skillful blend of mystery , romance , suspense , and hard boiled detective / film noir genre elements - especially embodied in the maltese falcon ( 1941 ) ( by director john huston who acts in this film ) and the big sleep ( 1946 ) . this revisionist noir film was the first production of legendary paramount studios head ( and ex - actor ) robert evans , a flamboyant hollywood figure who later in 1994 published a juicy autobiography , the kid stays in the picture that was made into a documentary film in 2002 .
molly malene stensgaard was born in copenhagen , where she graduated in film editing from the danish film school . she has worked on almost all of lars von trier ' s projects from the series the kingdom , to the idiots , dancer in the dark , dogville , manderlay , the boss of it all , melancholia and nymphomaniac . from 2006 to 2010 she was commissioning editor for feature films at the danish film institute , and was a member of the 2007 berlin film festival ' s jury .
described by the guardian as “a shattering indictment of the misuse of power , ” michel brault’s les ordres is a poetic and lucid docudrama based on the experiences of 50 people who were detained during the october crisis . widely regarded as one of the best canadian films ever made , it won four canadian film awards — including direction , original screenplay and film of the year — and remains the only canadian film to receive the award for best director at the cannes film festival . in 2016 it was named one of 150 essential works in canadian cinema history in a poll conducted by the toronto international film festival ( tiff ) .
a scene from the hit 2004 tv drama ` ` land
( toji ) inspired by the epic novel of the same name by park kyung - ni . / courtesy of sbs
, new york , 2011 . museum of modern art film archive . © patricia johanson . photo : courtesy the artist
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 .
camilla hjelm knudsen was born in 1974 in denmark . after studying photography at the danish school of photography fatamorgana , and new york ' s international center of photography ( icp ) , knudsen studied cinematography at the national danish film school . one of her first movies as co - director and cinematographer was angels of brooklyn , for which she shared the danish film award for best long documentary with martin zandvliet , her husband . her credits include daniel espinosa1s outside love and annette k . olesen ' s 2008 little soldier , for which she won the best cinematography award at the valladolid international film festival .
, 1968 ( still ) . 16mm film transferred to video , 5 min . edited by joanna alexander ,
the story appeared as a movie in 1974 , starring veteran actor lee soon - jae . it inspired three television soaps in 1979 , 1986 and 2004 respectively . the latest version was particularly significant as it followed the publication of the fifth and final episode of the epic work in 1994 .
born in 1971 in fredericia , denmark , martin zandvliet started his film career as an editor , working on documentaries . his first film as a director , angels of brooklyn , won the danish film award for best long documentary and was selected for various festivals including toronto and nyon . following several shorts as a writer - director , zandvliet directed his first feature film in 2009 , the acclaimed applause starring paprika steen , and produced by mikael rieks , who also produced
mikael rieks is one of denmark ' s most renowned producers . born in 1969 , he was educated at the copenhagen film and media school . he started his producing - career at the youth and children department of the danish broadcasting corporation and produced television hits such as the power of the spirits , on the edge of the world and the emmy nominated show fc nerds , before switching in 2001 to feature films . while at nordisk film production he produced the acclaimed ghosts of cité soleil , karla ' s world and overcoming . in 2008 rieks created the film company koncern film . one of its first productions was martin zandvliet ' s debut feature film applause , followed by zandvliet no . 1 box - office danish hit a funny man . in 2012 rieks returned to nordisk film with a number of prestigious projects .
mikkel følsgaard studied at the national theatre school , and went on to win the best actor award at the berlin film festival for his portrayal of king christian vii in nicolaj arcel ' s 2012 oscar - nominated film a royal affair . he has since gained acclaim for his role in the tv series the legacy . additional film credits include frederikke aspöck ' s rosita and kasper barfoed ' s summer of 92 .
in 1974 a director , a screenwriter , and a producer ( robert evans , who for once deserves a few of the plaudits he ' s apportioned himself ) could decide to beat a genre senseless and then dump it in the wilds of greek tragedy .
the film ultimately serves as a condemnation of unseen power structures . as hot docs film festival programmer michelle latimer has written , “brault’s masterpiece captures the terror of the victims and is a revealing examination of political oppression and the deterioration of democracy . the script… communicates the fear and humiliation experienced when power is exploited . ” as difficult to watch as it is rewarding to analyse , les ordres stands out as one of the most arresting viewing experiences in canadian film history .
￼les levine , systems burn - off × residual software , 1969 / 2012 . 1 , 000 copies each of thirty - one photographs ( taken at the march 1969 opening of “earth art , ” andrew dickson white museum of art , cornell university , ithaca , new york ) , jell - o , and chewing gum . recreated for “ends of the earth : land art to 1974” at the museum of contemporary art , los angeles , 2012 . dimensions variable . courtesy the artist
the program also promises interactive film workshops , a roman polanski - inspired filmmaking competition and cuisine by the polish society of chefs and pastry chefs available throughout the festival at the riverside cafe .
this short documentary offers a portrait of a group of women who led their community , the largest reserve in canada , six nations of the grand river reserve , in an historic blockade to protect their land .
wyndham wise , ed . , take one ' s essential guide to canadian film ( university of toronto press , 2001 ) .
during world war i , a german u - boat sinks a british ship and takes the survivors on board . after it takes a wrong turn , the submarine takes them to the unknown land of caprona , where they find dinosaurs and neanderthals .
after winning four canadian film awards in the fall of 1974 , les ordres screened in competition at the cannes film festival , where michel brault became the first ( and only ) canadian to win the prize for best director . les ordres was named one of the top 10 canadian films of all time in polls conducted by the toronto international film festival in 1984 , 1993 , 2004 and 2015 , and is considered one of the major works of québec cinema . in 1996 , it was one of 10 films honoured with postage stamps by canada post to commemorate 100 years of cinema in canada . in 2016 , it was named one of 150 essential works in canadian cinema history by a poll of 200 media professionals conducted by tiff , library and archives canada , the cinémathèque québécoise and the cinematheque in vancouver in anticipation of the canada 150 celebrations in 2017 .
this year’s closing night concert event at the barbican is andy vote l presents : kleksploitation , billed as a visual journey in to the film music by composer andrzej korzynski .
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…
born 1963 in cologne , stefanie bieker started her career at the residenz theatre in munich . following a degree in costume design in hamburg she worked as a costume designer for numerous television and film productions , including the ww2 drama lore by cate shortland for which she was nominated for the german film award and australian aacta award in 2013 .
park ' s most celebrated novel ` ` toji ' ' ( land ) was adapted onscreen numerous times . it is often considered a timeless historical novel , and even a cartoon version was published last year . told in five parts over 16 volumes , it portrays the social climate of the early 20th century . but tracing the lives , loves and sorrow of peasants and nobilities , ` ` land ' ' features universal themes that still appeal to people today .
the disappearance of the leading actor from the film ' s set worries its director andrzej . he embarks on a journey to look out for the actor with a young actor and missing actor ' s wife and mistress .
polanski ' s film suggests that the rules of the game are written in some strange , untranslatable language , and that everyone ' s an alien and , ultimately , a victim .
jake meets with cross , who abruptly asks jake if he has slept with evelyn , which he has not . cross then probes jake for information , finally hiring him to find hollis’s missing girlfriend . later , in the hall of records , jake discovers that farmland is being sold rapidly in the valley’s drought area . jake drives into the valley , where a farmer confesses that , rather than secretly irrigating the farm , officials from the city regularly come in to poison his water and blow up his tanks . jake realizes that cross and the land speculators have been fabricating the drought in order to force farmers into quickly selling their land at low prices . after the dam hollis opposed is built , the area will become fertile again and cross and the other new landowners will be able to sell the land at an enormous profit .
roman polanski ' s american made film , first since rosemary ' s baby shows him again in total command of talent and physical filmmaking elements .
an excellent , classic film that is suspenseful , well - filmed , and features enjoyable twists and turns . jack nicholson is terrific - - as usual .
18 - year - old louis hofmann ' s screen career started in 2009 with his role as tom sawyer , in the film of the same name , for which he won the bunte new faces award . in 2015 he won the bavarian film award for best newcomer for freistatt , and can next be seen in alone in berlin , vincent perez ' adaptation of hans fallada ' s international bestslandofminer .
gitte malling was born in copenhagen in 1974 . she graduated from the royal danish academy of fine arts in 2006 and has since been working as art director and production designer on several danish tv series , short and feature films . malling debuted as production designer in 2007 on outside love and has since worked on productions such as take the trash , awakening , love & rage .
this one season series was inspired by the two part swedish theatrical film saga of poor farmers coming to america to avoid famine and an authoritarian regime , released in the us as
the emmigrants ,
and
the new land .
it was not unusual for tv to cash in on the success of theatrical movies . some like mash used the same characters , some like
alias smith and jones
flattered through imitation (
butch cassidy and the sundance kid
) . the tv series ,
tyhe new land ,
was somewhat in between . it did not use the characters from the films , but it used the setting and general idea . also the films it was modeled on did well in the us as foreign films go , but they were not the popular hits the other two films mentioned were . i remember this series being a far above average drama , and not overly sentimental in the manner of
little house on theprairie .
i suspect it did not have enough action to interest fans of traditional westerns .
this nfu film visits the remote urewera to explore the world of the tūhoe people . their independence and identity have been challenged by historical tensions with pākehā , and now modernity — as ‘children of the mist’ leave for education and jobs ( at the mill , in the city ) . a tribal outpost in auckland is visited , along with law student james milroy . at a ruatoki festival the debate is whether young people should manage tribal affairs . for director conon fraser the film ( partly narrated by tūhoe ) revisited the subject of his last looking at new zealand episode .
“another problem that occurred during the filming was that the actor john mcenery , who played the u - boat captain , did his whole part as a send - up and wrecked a lot of the tension of the film because , in our version of the script , the german was more - or - less the central character . we didn’t want the usual burroughs 1916 ranting hun , so we made him the philosophical core of the film . we gave him speeches and everything , we made him a ‘sensitive kraut’ but mcenery played the whole thing for laughs . they had to re - dub all his dialogue with anton diffring . most of the action in the film came from our script up until two - thirds through . they improved on the beginning by making cuts – we made as many as we could because most of the book is all in that bloody submarine with them taking turns in taking it over . ”
unrealized projects have been a source of some discussion lately , particularly through hans ulrich obrist’s book / exhibition unbuilt roads . given the spatial and economic limitations faced by many artists , the relevance of the proposal as an artistic medium could continue to expand , and the examples present in “ends of the earth” feel especially compelling . for me , it was great to see the original works and documentation in this exhibition , but inclusions like the superstudio collages , which envision a massive , gridded superstructure covering the earth’s surface , communicated more about the expectations and desires of that era . the diagrams and texts for the unrealized projects in “ends of the earth” best demonstrate the possibility and excitement present at the birth of land art , revealing the utopian spirit and boundlessness of this era . the brashness of these projects , unswayed by their own impossibility , provides a model for the exhibition itself , which succeeds in presenting a definitive survey of land art , despite spatial and proximate limitation .
as world war two comes to an end , a group of german pows , boys rather than men , are captured by the danish army and forced to engage in a deadly task - to defuse and clear land mines from the danish coastline . with little or no training , the boys soon discover that the war is far from over . inspired by real events ,
on february 28 , 2006 , members of the iroquois confederacy blockaded a highway near caledonia , ontario to prevent a housing development on land that falls within their traditional territories . the ensuing confrontation made national headlines for months . less well - known is the crucial role of the clan mothers of the community who set the rules for conduct . when the community ' s chiefs ask people to abandon the barricades , it is the clan mothers who overrule them , leading a cultural reawakening in their traditionally matriarchal community .
writer robert towne ' s screenplay was partially based on a true los angeles scandal in the early part of the 20th century ( the story of the nefarious 1908 owens valley ' rape ' and scandalous san fernando valley land - grab by speculators ) . the film ' s character , hollis mulwray , was loosely derived from la ' s real - life water engineer william mulholland ( the general manager of la ' s bureau of water works and supply ) , who orchestrated the purchase of water rights and the piping of water from the high sierras into los angeles by an aqueduct that flowed through the now - valuable san fernando valley north of la . the name of the character hollis mulwray was a clever anagram for
mulholland
. the evil character of noah cross was a reference to the biblical noah ( and the torrential flood that devastated mankind ) .
before gittes can speak to hollis mulwray , he is sarcastically told that he is
welcome to try .
the commissioner has unexpectedly and mysteriously drowned in the middle of la ' s summer drought . his body is dragged up , in their view , from the remote , empty , fresh - water reservoir outside los angeles . the victim of an apparent accidental drowning according to escobar , the fall knocked him unconscious and his body was washed down the entire length of the run - off channel . mulwray is missing his glasses and one shoe , and his bow - tie is crooked . [ or was he the victim of profit - seeking , land - hungry opportunists whom he opposed , who are buying up thousands of acres of artificially - created drought land ? ]
in 1976 , a young woman in krakow is making her diploma film , looking behind the scenes at the life of a 1950s bricklayer , birkut , who was briefly a proletariat hero , at how that heroism was . . . see full summary »
a private detective , jake gittes , hired to investigate an adultery case , stumbles on the plot of a murder involving incest and the privatization of water through state and municipal corruption , land use and real estate . if he doesn ' t drop the case at once he faces threats of legal action , but he pursues it anyway , slowly uncovering a vast conspiracy .
an extremely complex film noir full of mystery and intelligent twists that keep us always guessing and trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle , while its brilliant script is only matched by polanski ' s excellent direction and jack nicholson ' s nuanced performance .
the investigation of a routine story by a detective uncovers secrets under many layers , facades , red herrings , and networks of corruption , conspiracy and deception . the film contains numerous plot reversals and twists ( many of which regard the private eye ' s client and her family ) , fistfights and some violence , and many changes of scene . as the hero unravels the complicated , elusive facts , he flippantly and self - confidently offers pat explanations for the deeply - flowing corruption he unearths , and then finds he must continually revise his inaccurate pronouncements after uncovering further evidence . his efforts to separate good from evil - to save the good and punish the evil - ultimately fail in the metaphoric ( and then real ) world of chinatown by the film ' s climax . [ the film ' s title , according to towne , referred to a ' state of mind ' rather than an actual geographic place . ]
mr jonny first arrives to the wild west to present the art of the cinematograph .
the original valley grab was the owne river valley scandal of 1908 , mirrored in the 1930s by towne . in the preface to his oscar - winning screenplay , he recalls : “my wife , julie , returned to the hotel one afternoon with two quilts and a public library copy of carey mcwilliams’ southern california country , an island on the land - - and with it the crime that formed the basis of chinatown . ” mcwilliams , for decades the editor of the nation , presented towne not only with information about the original land and water grab , but also evoked the old los angeles , a city born in a desert where no city logically should be found . the screenplay explains , “either you bring the water to l . a . or you bring l . a . to the water . ” john a . alonzo ’s cinematography , which got one of the movie’s 11 oscar nominations , evokes the l . a . you can glimpse in the backgrounds of old movies , where the sun beats down on streets that are too wide , and buildings seem more defiant than proud . ( notice the shot where the bright sun falls on the fedoras of gittes and two cops , casting their eyes into shadows like black masks . )
after the capitulation of nazi germany , the british liberation forces offered the danish government the opportunity to enlist german pows to defuse mines along the length of the danish western coastline .
“chinatown” was seen as a neo - noir when it was released - - an update on an old genre . now years have passed and film history blurs a little , and it seems to settle easily beside the original noirs . that is a compliment .
the film marked french - born polish director roman polanski ' s return to hollywood five years after the gruesome 1969 manson murders that took the life of his actress wife sharon tate . polanski opted to use a bleak ending rather than the more hopeful finale in the original screenplay , presumably because of his life ' s tragedies . only a few years later , in 1978 , he would be indicted and convicted with the 1977 statutory rape ( and drugging ) of a 13 year - old girl ( later identified as samantha geimer ) while at the home of star / actor jack nicholson ( absent at the time ) , and had to flee to europe as a fugitive . this was polanski ' s last film made on location in the us .
` ` daughters of pharmacist kim ' ' also inspired film and tv adaptations . this family drama is about a pharmacist and his four very different daughters , slightly reminiscent of louisa may alcott ' s ` ` little women . ' '
yet the bogart character is never merely cold . his detachment masks romanticism , which is why he’s able to idealize bad women . his characters have more education and sensitivity than they need for their line of work . he wrote the rules ; later actors were able to slip into the role of noir detective like pulling on a comfortable sweater . but great actors don’t follow rules , they illustrate them . jack nicholson ’s character j . j . gittes , who is in every scene of “chinatown” ( 1974 ) , takes the bogart line and gentles it down . he plays a nice , sad man .
malte grunert was born in 1967 in berlin . after attending law school at the fu in berlin , he started out in the film industry producing documentaries , before moving into tv drama working for various companies including bavaria film and clt ufa . from 2006 until 2009 , grunert was head of the feature division at studio hamburg and went on to found amusement park film in 2009 . he has produced and co - produced 11 feature films to date , among them perfect sense , directed by david mackenzie and starring ewan mcgregor and eva green . he also executive produced mackenzie ' s
rock ' n roll romantic comedy
tonight you ' re mine , filmed entirely on site at the t in the park festival . most recently grunert produced a most wanted man , based on john le carré ' s novel and directed by anton corbijn , starring the late philip seymour hoffman , willem dafoe and rachel mcadams . he also co - produced mike leigh ' s mr . turner , which premiered in competition at the 2014 cannes film festival . his next project is the british / german co - production remainder , video artist omer fast ' s debut based on a novel by tom mccarthy , starring tom sturridge .
like most noir stories , “chinatown” ends in a flurry of revelation . all is explained , relationships are redefined , and justice is done - - or not . towne writes of “my eventual conflict with roman and enduring disappointment over the literal and ghoulishly bleak climax” of the movie . certainly the wrong people are alive ( and dead ) at the end of the film , but i am not sure polanski was wrong . he made the movie just five years after his wife , sharon tate , was one of the victims of the manson gang , and can be excused for tilting toward despair . if the film had been made 10 years later , the studio might have insisted on an upbeat ending , but it was produced during that brief window when robert evans oversaw a series of paramount’s best films , including “ the godfather . ”
simone bär founded the
castingstudio
in 1990 . her extensive database and great talent for spotting ingenues has made her a much sought after casting agent for german and international productions . bär was in charge of the german casting of the monuments men , the book thief , the grand budapest hotel , the reader and a most wanted man among others as well as michael haneke ' s the white ribbon and christian petzold ' s phoenix . in 2002 simone bär received the german film award for casting .
jake arranges a final showdown with cross at the mulwray mansion , showing him evidence of both the land grab and the murder . mulvihill , who accompanied cross , holds a gun to jake’s head and forces him to lead them to chinatown and the girl . cross finds the pair on the verge of escaping and pleads with evelyn to hand katherine over to him . instead , evelyn pulls a gun on cross , shooting him in the arm before attempting to flee with katherine in their car . the police , ignoring jake’s claims that cross is the true criminal , fire on the car and end up killing evelyn . cross then takes katherine away , and lieutenant escobar orders the stunned jake to go home .
jake tells evelyn mulwray what he has learned about this scheme , and the two discover that cross and his associates at the albacore club , a private association of the wealthy and powerful , are hiding the scheme by purchasing the land in the name of the residents of a local rest home of which they are benefactors . returning to the mulwray home , jake and evelyn wind up in bed together . while lying there , , evelyn receives a phone call and leaves the house suddenly . jake secretly trails her to an unfamiliar house , where the young blond woman he saw earlier with hollis is lying on a bed , apparently restrained . jake confronts evelyn about the woman , and evelyn says that she is her sister .
“i try to be as professional as possible in whatever i do , but i knew it would be silly to get too serious about a film like this . anyway , before jim and i started , as i wanted to do the best i could for the film , i asked amicus , ‘what’s the budget ? what can you afford to do ? ’ because if we knew what they could afford we could write the script accordingly . and they said , ‘oh , don’t worry about that’ . and they kept saying that , so in the end we just had to write the script in the dark as far as the budget was concerned and , as a result , about five hundred bleeding dinosaurs came down to one glove puppet . but working on that film was in no way as traumatic as the final programme experience had been because i had no personal involvement with it , none at all . i insisted at the beginning that we do one script , one version , and that would be it , and that was the way we did it . we delivered the script and we got the money…after some time . i think they finally paid us in monthly installments . ”
less impressive was the pterodactyl used in the sequence in which a caveman is snatched up and carried away . “that we weren’t very pleased with . it worked all right in the film though . we built a full - sized model which was suspended from a crane , for the shot where it swoops down and picks him up , and for the shot showing it flying off with the man in its mouth , we used a smaller model . the man was a model in that shot too , and he contained a mechanism that moved his arms and legs . ” possibly the best effects in the film involve the german submarine , which was a model over twenty feet in length . “there were four of us working on that . we built the sub and filmed it in the largest tank at the studio . it moved on an underwater track and we were underwater ourselves a lot of the time shooting it . we lived like fish for about six weeks filming that thing ! ”
as the title gives away , the dominant inspiration was lewis carroll ' s ' alice ' s adventures in wonderland ' ( 1865 ) , and its sequel ' through the looking - glass ' ( 1872 ) . these were inspired choices , thanks not only to the audience ' s likely familiarity with the text ( even if they hadn ' t read either book , a high - profile feature film adaptation was released over 1972 ' s christmas season ) , but also the number of relevant metaphors that could be extracted from the material .
after an inventively surreal first half , the film turns into an animated slideshow illustrating the regulations ' practical impact , from the basic requirement that all labels need to have a description , a list of ingredients and a contact address , to more detailed explanations and exemptions ( some staples like butter and cheese are regulated separately ) . other highlighted issues include a ban on depicting ingredients not included in the product and the importance of verifiability in making claims about a specific food .
this crime is eventually revealed as an attempt to buy up the san fernando valley cheaply by diverting water so that its orange growers go broke . then that water and more water , obtained through bribery and corruption , will turn the valley green and create wealth . the valley has long been seen as a key to california fortunes : i remember joel mccrea telling me that on his first day as a movie actor , will rogers offered two words of advice : “buy land . ” mccrea bought in the valley and died a rich man , but he was in the second wave of speculation .
smaller columns are headed :
j . j . gittes hired by suspicious spouse ,
and
chief ' s use of funds for el macondo love nest being investigated .
the newspaper is being read by gittes seated in a barber ' s chair during a beautifying haircut . the barber barney ( george justin ) makes an off - hand reference to jake ' s near - star status in the center of the film industry :
this animated film was sponsored by the ministry of agriculture , fisheries and food , and was intended to explain to housewives , consumer groups and older schoolchildren the impact of the labelling of food regulations 1970 , which came into force on 1 january 1973 . this extended the provisions of the food and drugs act 1955 , which required food to be wholesome , fit to eat , and
of the nature , quality and substance demanded
, and the food hygiene ( general ) regulations act 1968 , which made more specific requirements about hygiene standards in food manufacture .
i wasn ' t sure what to expect from this film . fellow fans of steven spielberg advised me to see
sugarland express ,
so i bought the dvd . i ' m glad i did it as it is one of spielberg ' s best . he should have made films more along the lines of
duel ,
jaws
and the above film . being based upon a true story is a feather in the films cap . the two main characters - played by goldie hawn and william atherton - are very sympathetic in spite of their circumstances . she is planning to find their baby boy so they can be re - united . he is a convict serving a light sentence . they both help his breaking out of jail and after taking a police officer hostage , they lead the police of texas on a state wide chase . the wife and her convict husband race against time so they can find their son . this has thoughtful moments and it isn ' t a hard - hitting film . there is some violence but it ' s fairly mild and minimal . the pace is good and the tension is sustained throughout . ben johnson does well as one of the senior police officers who leads the dragnet . he is a tough man but he isn ' t totally lacking in compassion . the direction is some of the best from steven spielberg .
according to historian thomas tram pedersen , the exact number of the losses will never be known due to the chaos of the first months of peace . there are discrepancies between the danish and german records .
although the film audience and jake ' s operatives are aware of the woman ( by the camera ' s angle ) , jake is the last to learn of her presence . he turns and meets the client behind him - the real mrs . evelyn mulwray ( faye dunaway ) , a beautiful , cool socialite in a blue outfit [ looking remarkably like joan crawford from an earlier era ] who is not amused by his joke or by his smearing of her husband ' s reputation in the newspaper . ( she is not the same woman who had hired him a few days earlier to spy on mr . mulwray . )
in 1839 , the revolt of mende captives aboard a spanish owned ship causes a major controversy in the united states when the ship is captured off the coast of long island . the courts must decide whether the mende are slaves or legally free .
through the barber ' s window , a car overheats ( water in its pressurized radiator blows out as steam from under the hood ) during la ' s hot summer . [ the image symbolizes what happens when water , the major focus of attention in the film , is subjected to extreme temperatures and pressures . ] jake also becomes hot - headed when he must defend his sleazy profession ( of nosing into other people ' s personal affairs ) to another shop customer ( doc erickson ) who is employed by the first national bank mortgage department :
the marshalls - widowed ranger father rick , and his two children will and holly - are on an outdoor expedition like they have many times before . while rafting on this trip , an earthquake opens up a chasm resulting in them tumbling across some raging rapids and over an unknown waterfall . they end up alive but in a world unfamiliar to them , a world they will ultimately coin the land of the lost . it is inhabited by creatures some they have never seen or heard of , and some which no longer exist in the world they knew back home , creatures such as dinosaurs . they will find that some of these creatures are friendly , and some of them which they need to stay away from for their lives . as they eke out a life in this strange land , they try to understand what got them here so that they can make their way back home , that process which is fraught with its own dangers based on the unknowns of what is on the path to home . what they are also initially unaware of is that rick ' s brother , fellow ranger . . .
the 11th annual event will run march 7 through 17 across british capital venues including the barbican , tate modern , the national gallery and the institute of contemporary arts .
not only american films are classics , remember that . a ( russian ) all - star cast and interesting plot makes this movie both likable and irresistible . it ' s sort of an
atlantis
story here , with a group of people setting out to find a lost ( previously assumed ) fantasy land and upon reaching it , not knowing how to deal with the customs of the place , have to deal with all too real consequences . the plot itself is enticing enough , but the acting is incredible and the theme song is most memorable . i haven ' t read the the book , so i can ' t honestly compare it to the movie , but speaking for myself , i know this will be one movie i can and will never forget .
to force german pows to defuse mines was a violation of the 1929 convention relating to the treatment of prisoners of war prior to the amendment to the geneva conventions of 1949 . by calling the german pows ' voluntarily surrendered enemy personnel ' british and danish commands bypassed the rules of the convention .
joel basman started his career in 2004 as a cocky teenager in the weekly swiss soap opera lüthi und blanc . in 2007 he played an autistic boy in tobias ineichen ' s jimmie , and won the 2008 shooting star award for his performance as a russian teenager in luftibus by dominique de rivaz . basman went on to play the part of bertel in the controversial german mini - series generation war . earlier this year he won the german film award for best supporting actor for his performance in when we were dreaming .
after interviewing 50 people who were detained , director michel brault used their experiences to construct composite characters to convey what happened to them during the crisis . shot in the signature direct - cinema documentary style that brault played a central role in developing , the film has the look and feel of a documentary but directly announces that it is not ; the actors introduce themselves by name before going into character to recount the experiences of people who were arrested . scenes based on actuality are shot in black and white , while those that are fictionalized are filmed in colour .
the hard - boiled private eye coolly strolls a few steps ahead of the audience .
the marshalls meet enik , an intelligent , time - traveling relative of the sleestak .
check out highlights from some of the best recent trailers including mandy , the predator , zoe , and the king of thieves .
the film ' s credits play under a sepia - colored art deco background in the old 1 : 33 screen format , suggesting the bygone era from the past - one of yellowed photographs , the early days of hollywood ' s sound pictures , amber - preserved fossils , or images drained of their color . a haunting , melancholy trumpet solo provides the musical backdrop for the title sequence . set in 1937 , the first scene opens in the upscale office of a los angeles private detective - hero , an overdressed character named j . j . ( jake ) gittes ( jack nicholson ) . he ' s a former cop who now specializes in investigations involving messy , ' dirty ' divorce cases and extra - marital affairs .
“i’m a great fan of harryhausen’s work but there are some people who aren’t , so i can’t always say to a film company , ‘i think you should get harryhausen . ’ besides , he’s always busy with his own films , and jim danforth – the other animation specialist – is always busy too . with the land that time forgot we couldn’t get involved in animating models ourselves because it takes so long , it means spending a year of your life just animating models . and apart from harryhausen , there’s not really anyone in england set - up to do model animation . if you start on a medium - budget picture , the company concerned just can’t afford to set you up in such a specialist operation either , whereas harryhausen can set himself up whenever he wants . he gets paid a lot of money to do it and he does it very successfully . there’s no - one to beat him , really . ”
one of his distraught clients named curly ( burt young ) is in his office , groaning while looking at the incriminating evidence - black and white photographs of his wife ( probably also groaning ) and awkwardly having adulterous sex with another half - clothed man in the woods . [ this is the first instance in the film of seeing ' evidence , ' ' proof ' or facts in a case that can easily be misunderstood or misread . he voyeuristically flips through the pictures - creating a peep - show effect . ] curly is so upset that he throws the pictures into the air and grabs the venetian blinds . the self - assured , unperturbed jake understands his agonized pain and commiserates with him , but cooly and detachedly cautions him to stop gnawing on the newly - installed fixtures :
sinbad and the vizier of marabia , followed by evil magician koura , seek the three golden tablets that can gain them access to the ancient temple of the oracle of all knowledge .
at one of their largest meeting houses [ in ruatoki ] plans for establishing a pine forest are discussed : the affairs of the future dealt with in the manner of the past .
go behind the scenes of the mission : impossible movies , check out the latest videos and trailers , and see which spy movies topped the box office in our mission : impossible guide .
gittes drives up the long , expansive driveway to the mulwray mansion , tended by at least four asian servants - all from chinatown itself : an oriental butler ( james hong ) who shuts the front door on gittes , a chauffeur polishing evelyn ' s car in the driveway , an asian housemaid ( beulah quo ) , and an asian gardener ( jerry fujikawa ) . in the rear of the palatial house is a fish pond and fountain - a strange anomaly in the midst of a drought . the gardener mumbles as he removes a clump of dead vegetation :
bad for glass .
[ because he pronounces his r ' s like l ' s , he has really mumbled :
bad for the grass ,
referring to the destructive effects of the salt water in the pool on garden plant growth . ] something shiny in the bottom of the goldfish pool attracts gittes ' eye , but he is not able to fish out the glinting object when mrs . mulwray approaches . [ although the object is a key piece of evidence , the film evolves through a deceptive maze as clues are slowly revealed - nothing is ever given away . the viewer shares gittes ' own blind perceptions and circuitous search for the truth . ]