tarzan and the mermaids is a 1948 adventure film based on the tarzan character created by edgar rice burroughs .

directed by robert florey , it was the last of twelve tarzan movies to star johnny weissmuller in the title role .

it was also the first tarzan film since 1939 not to feature the character boy , adopted son of tarzan and jane .

( boy was described in the film as being away at school , and the character never returned to the series . )

tarzan and the mermaids

tarzan and the mermaids - - ( movie clip ) tarzan go . . .
the tarzan collection starring johnny weissmuller , vol . 2 tarzan triumphs , tarzan ' s desert mystery , tarzan and the amazons , tarzan and the leopard woman , tarzan and the huntress , tarzan and the mermaids
tarzan and the mermaids starring johnny weissmuller ~ no . 12 rko 1948 ~ 68 minutes
tarzan , the ape man ( 1932 ) . the production that started the weissmuller / tarzan series .
1948 tarzan and the mermaids ( 68 minutes - dvd ) johnny weissmuller . brenda joyce . tarzan travels to aquatania , a forbidden island land , to free its people from a corrupt high priest . tarzan dives from a perilously high cliff and battles a giant octopus before unmasking aquatania ' s pagan god and saving the day .
as if saying
and now something completely different
we come to tarzan and the mermaids , which relocates tarzan to the part of africa just inland from sunny acapulco . rko under howard hughes did quite a few mexican co - productions and this entry was shot on what looks like an expensive location . robert florey takes over for kurt neumann and his touch can be felt in some stylized sequences involving the fearsome living god balu . what it lacks in action - - there are few standard jungle thrills here - - tarzan and the mermaids makes up in novelty .
benji ( john laurenz ) is the local postman and jane ( brenday joyce ) and tarzan ( johnny weissmuller ) are hoping he ' ll bring a letter from
boy ,
who ' s off in england at school , and he doesn ' t notice runaway princess mara ( linda christain ) fixing her boat , in tarzan and the mermaids , 1948 . >
after
tarzan ' s new york adventure ,
mgm tired of the series and weissmuller took his loin cloth over to rko , where he made six more ape man adventures including
tarzan triumphs
( 1943 ) ,
tarzan ' s desert mystery
( 1943 ) ,
tarzan and the amazons
( 1945 ) ,
tarzan and the leopard woman
( 1946 ) ,
tarzan and the huntress
( 1947 ) and
tarzan and the mermaids
( 1948 ) . ( overweight , weissmuller left the tarzan series , but not the cinematic jungle . he strolled over to columbia pictures to star as jungle jim in a series of cheapos that lasted until 1955 . ) rko went on to produce six more tarzan movies , five starring lex barker and one with gordon scott . none of the rko films has been issued on video .
it was filmed in mexico . interior and underwater tank shots for mermaids were filmed at the churubusco studios in mexico city . exterior scenes were shot at several locations in and around acapulco on mexico ' s pacific coast .
boy unknowingly informs the less scrupulous members of the party of the existence of gold in tarzan ' s jungle and the adventure begins . the safari , along with jane and boy , are captured by natives and tarzan ( with the elephants ) must save his family .
up in arms ( 1944 ) ( as a goldwyn girl ) ~ tarzan and the mermaids ( 1948 ) ~ show boat ( 1951 ) ~ slaves of babylon ( 1953 ) ~ the v . i . p . s ( 1963 ) ~ the world ' s gold ( 1967 )
tarzan and the mermaids
has everything that has made the tarzans a hardy perennial these many years and a bit more . settings and scenery are spectacular and the thrills include , in addition to the customary jungle action , skin diving and swimming sequences , an underwater battle between johnny weissmuller and an octopus and a generous display of slightly - garbed femme shapeliness . . . results , especially the underwater shots are alone worth the price of admission . tarzans are invariably good box office and this one promises to outgross its predecessors .
johnny weissmuller ( title character ) is in fact fishing , this time accidentally catching runaway princess mara ( linda christian ) , whom jane ( brenda joyce ) is perfectly happy to welcome , benji ( john laurenz ) with singing commentary , in tarzan and the mermaids , 1948 .
johnny weissmuller ( title character ) is in fact fishing , this time accidentally catching runaway princess mara ( linda christian ) , whom jane ( brenda joyce ) is perfectly happy to welcome , benji ( john laurenz ) with singing commentary , in tarzan and the mermaids , 1948 . >
the idyllic life of tarzan and jane is challenged by men on safari who come seeking ivory , and come seeking jane as well .
tarzan ' s jungle home , and his family , jane and boy , are threatened by men greedy for gold .
tarzan and jane try to keep a woman from being forced to marry a con artist .
1947 tarzan and the huntress ( 72 minutes - dvd ) johnny weissmuller . brenda joyce . johnny sheffield . animal trappers come to capture animals for the zoos . they want more than they are legally allowed and have king farrod , a friend of tarzan ' s , killed to avoid the quota . tarzan gets involved and rescues the animals and makes sure the king ' s son , prince suli assumes the throne .
tarzan ' s secret treasure ( 1941 ) . tarzan battles gold hunters who hold jane and boy hostage . o ' sullivan reprises her role of jane .
[ note : tarzan films stretch into the silent film era back to 1918 . ] many actors have portrayed tarzan , mostly on the big screen , including :
i think everybody remembers this one . tarzan in a suit ! with the exception of the scene where tarzan dives off the bridge ( and an unnecessarily racist phone gag ) , i like everything about this movie .
tarzan and jane go to new york to rescue boy after he is kidnapped into a circus .
like any other teenager , robbie spent her high school years in various part - time jobs . she worked at subway , at a surf store and at a burleigh heads restaurant called mermaids , “because my mum’s boyfriend at the time owned it , ” she laughs .
if you ' re really into tarzan , there are several other versions available on video . the first screen tarzan , elmo lincoln , can be seen in the silent
tarzan , the mighty .
there ' s also
tarzan the fearless
( 1933 ) starring buster crabbe , and
tarzan and the green goddess
starring herman brix . both films were edited from 12 - chapter serials .
greystoke : the legend of tarzan , lord of the apes ,
released in 1983 , may be the closest to match burroughs ' conception . it ' s available on video , as is the incredibly inept version starring bo derek .
the first tarzan movie , tarzan of the apes ( 1917 ) starring elmo lincoln was shot at the atchafalaya river delta near morgan city , louisiana . a tourist attraction at 725 myrtle street now commemorates the spot .
1936 tarzan escapes ( 95 minutes - video , vcd , dvd ) johnny weissmuller . maureen o ' sullivan . jane ' s cousins hire an unscrupulous guide to help them find tarzan . they want to inform jane of a large inheritance she has received . the guide , on the other hand , wants to capture tarzan and make an exhibit of him . once again the safari is surrounded and captured by hostile natives and , with the help of the elephants , tarzan must rescue them .
weissmuller ' s white marble grave can be seen to the left of this “tarzan” stela .
paul sawtell did most of the music for the earlier rko tarzans but howard hughes must have liked this show because none other than dimitri tiomkin provides the stirring score . it sounds in some aspects like a mini - version of the fall of the roman empire and really dresses up the action and ritual scenes . most of the movie plays outdoors but the interior of balu ' s lair has nice , atmospheric shadow work . considering that the ' jungle adventure ' genre was at this time the domain of some of the cheapest filmmaking in hollywood , i don ' t see how tarzan and the mermaids could have earned back even a fraction of its cost .
tarzan collection tarzan and the mermaids , etc . dvd : urltoken johnny weissmuller , brenda joyce , george zucco , andrea palma , fernando wagner , edward ashley , john laurenz , gustavo rojo , matthew boulton , linda christian , stephen berne , silvia derbez , kurt neumann , robert florey , joseph noriega , albert depina , carroll young , edgar rice burroughs , hans jacoby , marjorie l . pfaelzer : dvd & blu - ray
this entry is short and sweet , with little time wasted on standard tarzan schtick . tarzan and boy befriend a beautiful desert horse , only to have it seized by otto kruger ' s bad guy . smart - talking connie bryce and tarzan never become an item , but her patter makes for some amusing dialogue scenes .
the tarzan character in the person of scott returned to mgm in 1957 for a new well - made series in technicolor . scott starred in four of the films , none of which has been released on video . there is one scott / tarzan
feature
floating around on video . it ' s a black - and - white effort called
tarzan and the trappers
and is put together from three episodes of a proposed tarzan tv series that never made it .
watch the film trailer for
the legend of tarzan ,
starring alexander skarsgrd , margot robbie and christoph waltz . photo : warner bros . pictures
zandra , white princess of a lost civilization , comes to tarzan for help when nazis invade the jungle with plans to conquer her people and take their wealth . tarzan , the isolationist , . . . see full summary »
this sets up the famous
tarzan - jane
introductory conversation between them which involves lots of pointing , jabbing , and prodding . ( their conversation has been notoriously misquoted , and is not
me tarzan . you jane .
)
much of tarzan and the amazons omits tarzan ' s direct involvement . he ' s sort of a
father knows nothing
type , slamming the door on boy ' s curiosity about the scientists and their various ' scopes : telescopes , microscopes and binoculars . tarzan is jealous of boy ' s contact with the learned outsiders but we know all along that his decision not to help the expedition is wise . the scientists begin in a spirit of curiosity but bad guy ballister soon turns the trip into a treasure raid . tarzan dealt with that problem in every mgm show , and knows that strangers with guns and noble causes are not to be trusted . i vote we put tarzan in charge of our national parks and wildlife preserves .
nazis invade the jungle to loot the mineral treasures of the secret city of palandria . colonel von reichart ( stanley ridges ) forces the natives to work the mines , and kills the brother of the beautiful zandra ( frances gifford ) . she goes to tarzan for help . tarzan and boy have aided a german who has parachuted off course with the nazis ' only radio . cheta keeps swiping the radio ' s antenna coil , preventing the invaders from calling for reinforcements . boy and zandra try to convince tarzan to join in the fight , but only when tarzan becomes aware of nazi treachery ( and realizes that they ' re the same aggressors mentioned in jane ' s letters from london ) does he commit to the fray .
this was the first tarzan film to make extensive use of singing and dancing . it features a musical score by the brilliant film composer , dimitri tiomkin .
tarzan escapes ( 1936 ) . a hunter captures tarzan and wants to take him to london as an exhibit . by the time this one was filmed , hollywood ' s production code had gotten stiffer and o ' sullivan was ordered to coverup .
now tarzan make war !
shouts weissmuller as he lunges forward , knife in hand . we ' re told that wartime audiences whooped in approval when their fantasy hero tarzan discarded his isolationist instincts to strike back against the nazi invaders . tarzan triumphs is trim and violent . . . and gave wartime audiences the exact escapist thrills they craved .
1945 tarzan and the amazons ( 76 minutes - dvd ) johnny weissmuller . brenda joyce . johnny sheffield . jane returns , but she isn ' t miss o ' sullivan . an archaeological team arrives in search of the lost amazon city of palmeria . tarzan refuses to help them , but they trick boy into helping them and go on anyway . tarzan saves both the city ' s relics and boy in the nick of time .
a letter from jane , who is nursing british troops , asks tarzan ' s help in obtaining a malaria serum extractable from jungle plants . tarzan and boy set out across the desert looking for the . . . see full summary »
the rko library is full of restoration surprises , in that plenty of pictures that by rights should be printed to death can be made to look fine , while some minor productions have problems . the first four titles in this set look very good and are obviously from prime elements . tarzan and the huntress and tarzan and the mermaids take a sudden downturn in quality , as if the only materials available were dupes two or three generations removed . one possible explanation is that some or all of these films were redistributed by other companies after the 1958 demise of rko ; perhaps the original negatives of those two titles were damaged , or simply lost . parts of huntress are a little contrasty and washed out , and the tracks don ' t sound quite as clean . the quality dip is only apparent because the other four titles look so good . savant wasn ' t seriously bothered , but hardcore tarzan fans may have a different attitude .
cheetah , the chimpanzee who plays tarzan ' s simian sidekick in this and many another tarzan movie , lived to the ripe old age of 79 ( the same age as johnny weissmuller was when he died ) . in addition to his recurring role in tarzan pictures , cheetah also
moonlighted
as kimbbo the chimp in several of monogram ' s bomba films .
tarzan thus becomes the protector of the wild . kids must have roared with approval when he and boy and wreak havoc with the safari , like good little terrorists . they swipe the hunters ' guns , free the trapped animals and break a few necks here and there . when push comes to shove , an elephant stampede settles the dispute , kicking villains off cliffs and turning a few into jungle pancakes . oh , the fantasy part comes when the usurper gets his just desserts and an appropriate & benign sovereign is returned to the throne . we wonder why tarzan doesn ' t just unite all the tribes , secret societies and hidden cities of amazons together into a federation of tarzanian principalities ( ftp ) , and tell the europeans and yankees to go blow their noses .
tarzan ' s new york adventure ( 1942 ) . one of the most enjoyable films of the series . animal trappers take boy to new york with tarzan and jane in hot pursuit . there are many humorous scenes of the ape man trying to cope with life in the big apple .
1946 tarzan and the leopard woman ( 72 minutes - dvd ) johnny weissmuller . brenda joyce . johnny sheffield . trader caravans are being ambushed by an evil leopard cult . their leader is the beautiful , but deadly , priestess lea . her twisted little brother is sent to spy on tarzan and his family . . . providing the perfect foil for boy . tarzan rescues four teachers , boy , and jane from the cult in a crashing finish .
this is a fantastic adventure film ! weissmuller is easily the best known of the movie tarzan ' s and does a great job ( even if tarzan isn ' t portrayed as the intelligent guy he is in the books ) . what can i say about maureen o ' sullivan ? she is jane ; intelligent , sexy and quite capable of taking care of herself ( until she meets tarzan ) . . .
a group of archaeologists asks tarzan to help them find an ancient city in a hidden valley of women . he refuses , but boy is tricked into doing the job . the queen of the women asks tarzan to help them .
tarzan the ape man ( 1932 ) is the first feature - length talking ( sound ) version of the tarzan series . the tarzan saga was based upon the original ' lord of the jungle ' characters created by novelist edgar rice burroughs . the tar - zan character ( called various titles through the years , including john clayton , lord bloomstoke ( greystoke ) ) , first appeared in late 1912 in all - story magazine .
1943 tarzan triumphs ( 78 minutes - dvd ) johnny weissmuller . frances gifford . johnny sheffield . tarzan battles the nazis as they try to enslave the hidden city of palandria . jane has returned to london to be with her sick mother , but boy manages to get captured .
now tarzan make war !
declares tarzan before he begins to pick off the germans one by one .
later , a safari arrives looking for the lost plane . the safari , jane and boy manage to get captured by ( you guessed it ) hostile natives and , after a breathtaking escape by boy , are rescued by tarzan and his elephant friends .
mad love ( 1935 ) ~ lost horizon ( 1937 ) ~ mr . smith goes to washington ( 1939 ) ~ the corsican brothers ( 1941 ) ~ the bridge of san luis rey ( 1944 ) ~ it ' s a wonderful life ( 1946 ) ( rejected by capra and not heard until the late ' 80s ) ~ tarzan and the mermaids ( 1948 ) ( suite 4 : 30 ) ~ high noon ( 1952 ~ the high and the mighty ( 1954 ) ~ giant ( 1956 ) ~ the alamo ( 1960 ) ~ the guns of navarone ( 1961 ) ~ town without pity ( 1961 ) ~ 55 days at peking ( 1963 )
“there is no ‘me tarzan , you jane’ situation , ” laughs robbie . she describes her character as “fiercely independent and incredibly capable . there is actually a line in the film where tarzan says ‘scream for me’ and jane is like , ‘what ? like a damsel ? ’ and i spit in his face . ”
johnny weissmuller . maureen o ' sullivan . now we ' re talking ! jane tags along with her father and his partner as they safari in search of the mysterious elephant graveyard . once they are deep in the jungle , tarzan
discovers
jane and promptly kidnaps her . they , quickly , fall in love and then the action begins . the safari is captured by a tribe of pygmies and tarzan must rescue them - with the help of his friends , the elephants .
1942 tarzan ' s new york adventure ( 71 minutes - video , vcd , dvd ) johnny weissmuller . maureen o ' sullivan . johnny sheffield . believing tarzan and jane are dead , boy is kidnapped / taken to new york city , where he is put to work in a circus . tarzan and jane track him down and must fight for his custody in court . that doesn ' t go well so tarzan takes it upon himself ( with the help of the elephants ) to get boy back .
1939 tarzan finds a son ( 90 minutes - video , vcd , dvd ) johnny weissmuller . maureen o ' sullivan . johnny sheffield . a small plane crashes in the jungle , its only survivor a baby boy . the baby is rescued by cheetah and taken to tarzan ' s home . he and jane raise the child as their own and name him boy .
this film introduced the chimpanzee chetah , and provided the weissmuller yodel yell ( produced by mgm ' s sound department ) , although the ape - call originated in a 1929 part - talkie serial ( starring frank merrill ) . it also marked the first of six tarzan movies starring both johnny weissmuller and irish - born actress maureen o ' sullivan ( between 1932 and 1942 ) . they are universally acknowledged as the most loved and famous of the many tarzan characters . their series of six films included the following :
an expedition seeking to bring jane back to civilization , and tarzan into captivity , gets more than it ' s bargained for .
the kids are of course waiting for the big action to commence , and tarzan triumphs has the typical escape scenes ( a helpful chimpanzee is a must ) followed by a full - scale revolt and battle . tarzan knocks over a storm trooper and gives his machine pistol to a palandrian , shouting
shoot nahzees !
the fact that they are nazis allows a higher degree of sadism than expected , as noted when tarzan cooly tricks the main baddie into falling into a lion pit . agonized screams are provided for the amusement of all .
you’d think with hanging out with tarzan some jungle smarts would rub off on you .
ivory poachers , headed by lyra the she - devil , vargo and fidel , capture a native tribe to carry their loot . tarzan intervenes and is captured . jane is also captured and believed killed , so . . . see full summary »
, and he also moved the production to mexico giving the film a very latin american feel .
much more interesting is young miscreant kimba ' s deceitful trickery in tarzan ' s home . all tears and whining , he ' s really waiting for the right moment to cut out jane ' s heart . jane and tarzan are pretty amusing as they ignore kimba ' s repeated sneaky looks and duplicitous actions . young tommy cook also played the young john garfield in humoresque the same year .
that feisty spirit is in evidence as i chat to the 25 - year - old in a cream and peach suite at the beverly hills hotel , where we are meeting to discuss her latest film , the legend of tarzan . all smiles and enthusiasm , robbie bounds over to the sofa , leaps onto the cushions and wraps her arms around her knees .
in her latest project , the legend of tarzan , robbie plays a very different version of jane than the stereotypical “damsel in distress” depiction . engrossing and exciting , the film thankfully avoids tired , sexist hollywood clichés .
tarzan returns to the mgm formula for an episode dealing with cruel animal poachers , and ends up providing an almost literal analogy for the ' new ' politics of the third world . after all the hot - cha girl - watching to be found in the last two installments , the only female action to be found is cheta repeatedly stealing the purse and compact of the bad lady animal hunter .
the patented tarzan thrills are all here , and chances are that many kids didn ' t notice much of a difference in the shows . the signature yell is gone , along with the ' jungle rhythm ' main title , but those mgm touches were getting old along with the constant vine - swinging and animal battles . the rko series has vines but tarzan doesn ' t use them for cross - country jaunts , just for the occasional swoop or two .
johnny weissmuller ' s last tarzan film is a pretty mundane adventure with a lot of padded scenes and unneccesary songs . johnny himself had gotten pretty hefty and doesn ' t look too convincing as the king of the jungle . brenda joyce is as lovely as ever , sporting her sexy two piece outfit again . newcomer linda christian is also nice to look at . the film doesn ' t pick up steam until the climax when tarzan makes a spectacular cliff dive and saves jane and co . from death at the hands of the phony god . strictly of interest as a curio of weissmuller ' s last go round as tarzan .
on a beautiful and remote island , the beautiful maiden mara has been promised in marriage to their god . she escapes however and eventually makes her way deep into the jungle . there she is found by tarzan who takes him home to jane and cheetah . boy is away studying in england . mara is afraid her people will come after her and they eventually find her and forcibly return her to her home where their high priest is intent on marrying her to their god . tarzan comes to the rescue .
back in nyaga the commissioner consults with the local pearl expert who unfortunately just happens to be varga . realizing things must be going bad back in aquatania varga and his goons rush back , sneak in and retrieve the balu costume , and through palanth , orders that the intruders be killed . tarzan is able to fight his way passed a large octopus , sneaks up behind varga to rip - off the mask and to give us one of the biggest anti - climactic endings in the franchise’s history . once their god is revealed to be just a man the aquatigan’s turn on palanth , tearing him apart , and then tarzan punches out varga , sending the villain to his deaths on the rocks below .
1943 tarzan ' s desert mystery ( 70 minutes - dvd ) johnny weissmuller . nancy kelly . johnny sheffield . jane sends a request for tarzan ' s fever medicine to aide allied soldiers who have contracted jungle fever . tarzan and boy journey across a great desert to retrieve the vines needed for the medicine . they get mixed up in a spy plot involving an arab prince , a wild stallion , and a beautiful american performer .
tarzan finds a son ( 1939 ) . this film introduced johnny sheffield as
boy ,
whom tarzan rescues from a plane wreck and eventually adopts . five years later a search party arrives in the jungle to look for boy with the intention of eliminating him . sheffield remained with the series until the late 1940s , then became bomba the jungle boy for monogram pictures .
1934 tarzan and his mate ( 93 minutes - video w / extended footage , vcd , dvd ) johnny weissmuller . maureen o ' sullivan . after barely surviving the first time around , holt decides to return to the elephant graveyard . he and his partner are hoping tarzan will help them , but when he refuses they go it alone .
tarzan finally gets involved when the action is over . the movie doesn ' t go soft on the violence . several amazons are shot dead while perforating the retreating raiders with well - aimed arrows . boy is sentenced to die at noon , and learns a lesson in doing what dad says without asking questions . in triumphs tarzan watched the head nazi being torn to bits , with the identical observation the victim had made earlier :
in the jungle , the strong win .
here tarzan comes up against the worst of the gold thieves , and allows them to sink into a quagmire without lifting a finger . by returning a couple of sacred gold objects to palmeria , tarzan somehow squares accounts with the queen , even though her sacred treasure vault has been trashed and crucial icons dinged up . and we don ' t even get to see boy receive the whipping he deserves - - he ' s single - handedly brought on the deaths of at least a dozen people !
tarzan and his mate ( 1934 ) . it is considered by many as the best of the weismuller efforts . certainly the production is much smoother than the first entry and the music score is first - rate . this one is best - known for maureen o ' sullivan prancing around the jungle in a scanty costume . for voyeurs , the video version includes an underwater nude scene previously censored from the original theatrical release .
an african tribe devoted to the leopard cult is dedicated to preventing civilization from moving further into africa . tarzan fights them when the cult first attacks a caravan and next . . . see full summary »
they soon find themselves surrounded by hostile natives and must fight for their lives . they don ' t do a very good job of it , but tarzan ( and the elephants ) arrive just in time to save jane .
the ' poison ' of profit is immediately felt in the tarzan household , where only tarzan and cheta are immune to the temptations of the outsiders . jane rather lamely sees no harm in the project :
the animals will be in nice , clean zoos !
( para . ) . as for boy , the little jerk steals two lion cubs from their ma and trades them for a & * # % flashlight . the movie makes a mother nature statement worthy of gorgo with one image of the lionness standing in silhouette , staring across the water where her cubs disappeared .
she adds , “it’s like the indiana jones or pirates of the caribbean films , an epic action - adventure , a crazy , beautiful world and the characters are real and raw . ”
amiably goofy
is a good way to describe tarzan and the mermaids , a barely digested omelet of mixed fantasy motifs . the annoyingly infantile benji ( not a dog ) gives forth with instant ballads , like sir lancelot of i walked with a zombie , only this is africa , not the west indies . george zucco struts his stuff on what appears to be an authentic aztec pyramid instead of an egyptian fake , and there ' s not a tana leaf in sight . beautiful young linda christian joins other mexican cast members in replaying a quickie version of bird of paradise minus the volcano . balu is a fairly impressive quasi - aztec deity ( and not a singing bear ) .
johnny weissmuller ' s tenure as a big screen tarzan , first for mgm and then at rko , lasted seventeen years and a dozen feature films and cost him three wives ( the second ,
mexican spitfire
lupe velez ) . when the former olympic gold medal swimmer reported for duty in acapulco to film
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this last weissmuller tarzan movie is unlike all the previous movies , it has a lot of singing done by a guy named benji that is rather corny . it also is filmed in mexico and uses many of the locals as the aquatanians , you will see diving from the cliffs of acapulco and temple ruins used . one thing to watch for is the cliff dive that tarzan does , in real life a stunt double did that and lost his life in the filming . another curious thing is tarzan wears sandals in parts of this movie , sometimes they are on and sometimes missing ! there is also a fight with an octopus . you will also notice cheetah is much smaller that earlier monkeys used . for tarzan fans this one is worth a look but if it probably the weakest of the 12 movies that weissmuller did . i think they should have titled this movie tarzan takes a vacation in mexico as that is how it appears .
the prisoners are taken before palanth but before they can be sentenced to death balu strides in , much to palanth’s surprise as varga was off running the nyaga trading post end of the operation and so couldn’t possibly be in the costume . much to palanth’s consternation balu and indicates that the prisoners should all be set free , including mara . palanth learns that it was tarzan posing as the god and confronts the ape man , “ if my people knew anyone posed as balu , they would destroy him . ” tarzan counters with , “if people know balu a man , they destroy you . ” check and mate . it’s great when the series remembers that tarzan is a smart and canny foe and not one to be screwed with . as often is the case in this series just when my faith is restored in the character something monumentally stupid will happen . in this case it’s the idiotic decision for everyone to stay in aquatania for partying and aquatic sporting events . have none of these bozos heard the term “ getting out when the getting’s good . ” neither the villains nor the heroes have any sense of when it’s best to cut and run .
tarzan triumphs might have been called
tarzan versus the swastika
, as it boils down to a grade - school primer on nazi villainy . the paratroops move in and betray the kindness of their hosts by enslaving all of palandria . the leering commander ( stanley ridges is always good ) offers to allow zandra to be his ' companion ' but she begs off .
“they needed a girl and he said , ‘come and audition . ’” robbie got the part , went on to appear in a series of unpaid commercials and “one thing led to another” .
johnny weissmuller ' s last tarzan film is a pretty mundane adventure with a lot of padded scenes and unneccesary songs . johnny himself had gotten . . .
a year later she beat the likes of olivia wilde , amber heard and jessica biel to the role of naomi lapaglia , the wife of leonardo dicaprio’s avaricious banker jordan belfort in the wolf of wall street . rave reviews followed and robbie suddenly found herself in the same league as jennifer lawrence and emma stone .
warners ' the tarzan collection starring johnny weissmuller , vol . 2 moves on to tarzan ' s rko years , when his waistline expands and his face looks chubby . the six films here represented are usually considered inferior to the earlier mgm efforts , but they have their own charm ; they tend to be shorter and introduce always - welcome external elements like rampaging nazis , a prehistoric monster or two , strange lost cities and plenty of va - voom 40s jungle princesses . in fact , the titles of the last four installments feature tropical - type sirens . tarzan trades monosyllabic niceties with these temptresses and even swims with one of them , but his heart remains with jane .
we get our first glimpse of the infamous tarzan treehouse . jane is wearing more clothing this time around but she is still breathtaking .
boy is away at school in england . the high priest is trying to force a young girl to marry an evil pearl trader posing as the god balu . she escapes , is recaptured and is finally rescued by tarzan and jane who reunite her with her chosen fiance .
right - there ' s a movie to be reviewed here . aquanetta is only a cog in the works of a plot that looks to be lifted from the story of captain sleeman ' s uncovering of the kali cult in india , as portrayed in the stranglers of bombay and the pierce brosnan period adventure film the deceivers . the leopard men prey on caravans , bringing home the booty to their corrupt cult leaders . the killers ' little scheme is thwarted by the usual tarzan - boy - cheta combination , with cheta using a knife to cut tarzan ' s bonds right during the concluding death ceremony .
at west point , 1857 , in the conceit of wally kline and . . .
benji ( john laurenz ) is the local postman and jane ( brenday . . .
aside from a fun octopus fight this last weissmuller tarzan film was a bit of a disappointment , and a sad note to end his twelve picture run on .
tarzan battles a giant spider that has to be seen to be believed . . . . . . .
in accordance with his wishes , a recording of weissmuller ' s famous tarzan cry was played as his coffin was lowered into the ground .
tarzan and the leopard woman begins on an unpromising note , with tarzan and family on a shopping trip in a local arab town . . . tarzan ' s remote escarpment seems to be only a day or so away from the edge of the sahara desert . the british overseers of the territory ( it ' s assumed that africa rightly belongs to the brits ) are spreading their sphere of influence to a more remote principality , and we ' re shown an english school with four ( gorgeous ) young teachers preparing to help the natives become proper english subjects . happily , the episode soon turns into a giddy tale of a feral death - cult run by an honest to - ayesha jungle queen , played by the gorgeous aquanetta . i can see older males pushing kids out of the way to get to the box office for this one !
as it ' s if tarzan , jane and boy aren ' t incredible enough , this film forces us to believe that tarzan has moved somewhat closer to sea level in this last sequel to the tarzan series of films . a new cast member , benji , the calypso singing mailman has arrived along with the aquatanians , a tribe of south pacific like people who believe in
balu
the god that comes alive whenever possible . what more is there to say ? it ' s unbelievable from start to finish !
most people view the tarzan johnny weissmuller played as accidental comedic . . lacking personality . . bland . 9 movies as the character in 16 years . . not . . .
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the film is also romantic , but with a twist . “tarzan and jane are a team , ” says robbie . “she wants him , but doesn’t need him . jane can take care of herself and is constantly getting out of danger on her own . ”
on their way to greet jane ( brenda joyce ) on her return from england , tarzan and boy come to the aid of athena ( shirley o ' hara ) and return her to the forbidden , top secret , beware - the - dogs mountaintop city of palmeria . jane ' s archaeologist friend sir guy henderson ( henry stephenson ) finds a gold wristlet that cheta has palmed and his expedition heads for tarzan ' s camp to convince him to lead them to palmeria . tarzan has pledged the amazon queen ( mme . maria ouspenskaya ) to stay mum and refuses , but boy gets it into his head to defy his dad . taken prisoner by the amazons , the explorers talk themselves out of a death sentence but are confined to life imprisonment . when boy asks athena to help them escape , ballister ( barton maclane ) , the rough leader of the group , goes ballistic and loots the amazon ' s golden riches .
tarzan the ape man - - as created by edgar rice burroughs - - had been educated at one of the finest universities in the world and spoke perfect english . there was none of that
me tarzan , you jane
stuff . but hollywood never could resist putting its own stamp on a character . so when former olympic swimmer johnny weissmuller was hired by mgm to play tarzan in its 1932 film , the scriptwriters made him into a heroic oaf . much to burrough ' s chagrin , the public loved mgm ' s version . it was one of the biggest hits of that year . you can see that one and others thanks to mgm / ua .
nancy kelly heads back to civilization with all the jungle medicine jane needs , and tarzan has made a new friend . on the other hand , i ' d really like to see a london post - script scene in which connie delivers the goods to jane . . . jane ' s never had the problem of a female competitor ( where is that wedding ring , jane - o ? ) and these rko pictures would seem to tempt tarzan with plenty of enticing jungle man - bait .
there are no serious complaints though . “look , it’s all part and parcel of the job , and there are downsides to everything , ” she adds .
eventually the aquatigan task force catches up to mara , and after a brief struggle she is captured and taken back to aquatania . tarzan is able to track the abductors all the way back to aquatania , and after a little snooping around has figured out the whole “ false god ” con going on . meanwhile benji returns to the treehouse with the british inspector - general ( matthew boulton ) and then when tiko shows up they all decide to head to aquatania . so jane , a calypso singer , an inspector , and a love sick aquatigan , all completely unarmed , make their way to aquatania where they are immediately captured .
tarzan and jane befriend mara who then gives jane a large flawless black pearl worth a small fortune , but our heroes do not like to except gifts so they decide it’d be best to have the pearl taken to commissioner ( edward ashley ) in nyaga , where it could be used to fund the construction of a school or hospital . the person given the job of delivering the pearl to nyaga is benji ( john laurenz ) , a latin american singing postal carrier who had brought a message to jane and tarzan from boy who are told is getting schooled back in england . the calypso singing lothario benji character is one of the big tip - offs that this film was shot mostly in mexico as he and most of the cast are latin american , and the terrain looks nothing like africa .
they forge ahead on their journey even though the uneasy natives must be whipped to proceed . they follow the tracks of an elephant herd to the edge of a wide river . there , after building two rafts , in an exciting scene , they cross the hippo - infested river . the herd of hippos capsizes one of the rafts , causing the deaths of two of the men by crocodiles . as they are threatened by the large animals - which follow them up the other side of the river bank - they hear the strange jungle cry twice more , and the hippos appear to back off and return to the river in obedience to the sound .
the tarzan collection vol . 2 gives edgar rice burroughs and johnny weissmuller fans the rko releases they want , yet is as plain - wrap a presentation that i ' ve seen from warners so far . the quick menus simply lead to the features , chapter selections and choice of subtitles , a satisfactory arrangement for those of us that don ' t need another clip - show featurette .
the story follows tarzan , who was raised in the african jungle but is now living in victorian london as john clayton ( lord greystoke ) with his wife , jane . john is sent on a trade mission back into the congo and becomes embroiled in a deadly revenge plot . robbie took the role “because it was very different from the other stuff i’ve done” .
once again , tarzan ' s africa seems to be populated with every kind of human except blacks ; these generic natives are similar to those shown in fantasies about southeast asia or the pacific isles - - dark , but not of african descent . i wonder what happened to all those bloodthirsty tribes of maniac savages that shot people full of arrows and hacked them to bits back in tarzan and his mate ?
the quintessential adventure film tells the exciting story of a difficult african trek to the fabled elephants ' burial grounds , where vast amounts of valuable ivory tusks are thought to be located . traders are exploring and searching for the unexplored burial place beyond the mutia escarpment - a mysterious , wall - like barrier of mountains . there are superstitious beliefs among the natives that the escarpment is sacred and anyone who looks or ventures beyond the escarpment faces death by the
witchmen of the tribe .
while the group is preparing to set up camp , they notice a jungle - yelling , vine - swinging , illiterate ( unspeaking and mono - syllabic ) , loin - clothed , but gentle , childlike , and protective ape man - tarzan ( johnny weissmuller ) . when distracted by savage pygmies , jane is suddenly kidnapped by tarzan - he whisks her away , carrying her back to his tree home among a group of apes . she screams and kicks as he carries her into the treetops . she is terrified of the heights , begging him :
hold on to me .
when one of the giant apes approaches , tarzan clearly doesn ' t understand her words as she screams hysterically :
oh , he ' s coming at me ! oh , don ' t let him take me ,
but tarzan protects her . she meets the chimp chetah for the first time - in a gesture of friendliness , he puts his arm on her shoulder . they are both curious about what she is wearing , until they are threatened by a leopard from below . tarzan leaps on the threatening animal and kills it .
tarzan® is the property of edgar rice burroughs , inc . , tarzana ca this independent reference to , and appreciation of , the tarzan movies is copyright © 1995 - 2011 matt winans originally posted in october 1995 - last modified 01 july 2011 send comments / criticisms / fan mail to web - host maintained in memorial to matt winans ( 1964 - 2008 ) tarzan movie guide ( d / b / a brady world ) is a participant in the amazon services llc associates program , an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon . com .
with jane still away , tarzan goes off on a rather clever change - of - pace adventure . this time the babe along for the ride is nancy kelly , future mother of the evil rhoda in the bad seed . the story offers an interesting new locale , an inventive story , and some welcome gruesome thrills . new to the series is associate producer kurt neumann ( the fly , kronos ) , who would direct three subsequent entries .
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interestingly , while her co - star alexander skarsgård ( who plays tarzan ) is semi - naked for half the film , robbie gets to keep her clothes on .
filmed in mexico ( mainly acapulco ) with an ambitious music score by dimitri tiomkin , this is less of a jungle adventure than most tarzan films as water and swimming sequences dominate . the spectacular scenery is the film ' s main asset as the story is a slow - moving affair in which tarzan helps a native girl ( linda christian ) from being forced into marriage to a phoney island god . the highlight is a breathtaking sequence of cliff diving , during the shooting of which johnny weissmuller ' s double , angel garcia , was killed . this was weissmuller ' s 12th and last screen portrayal of tarzan although he was to return to serial heroics as comic - strip character jungle jim soon after .
after tarzan carries her and swings her to another part of the treetops , he grabs her again and she screams repeatedly :
let me go ,
but she cannot escape his powerful grasp . when she is finally released , jane sleeps in tarzan ' s tree house / home for the night . he has provided her with a leopard skin to sleep on and made a screen around her with vines . next to her covered home , he stretches out on a large tree bough to sleep . when he awakens the next morning , he grabs her again , and she screams hysterically , but she falls into tarzan ' s arms for protection when the giant ape threatens one more time . she thanks him with a simple :
thank you . . . thank you for protecting me .
a beautiful , young girl becomes caught in tarzan ' s net while he is fishing . she is mara , who has fled from the pearl - fishing village of aquatania to escape marriage to palanth , who poses as the living - god , balu . balu ' s henchmen recapture mara and return her to balu ' s temple on taboo island . tarzan follows in an effort to rescue her .
“we were one of those families whose doors were always open and there was constantly someone walking in and out , ” she says .
a satisfying development would be to have boy prove his mettle by going mano - a - mano with kimba while tarzan takes on the rest of the leopard cult , but the movie doesn ' t work out that way . it ' s certainly exciting and violent , although we miss not having a scene of the evil lea trying out her wiles on our loin - clothed hero . . . in the later hercules movies it was always , uh , stimulating to see glamorous dishes like gianna marie canale and sylvia lopez salivate over the musclebound steve reeves . tarzan ' s relationship with jane here isn ' t all that exciting !


stretch is a 2014 american comedy crime film written and directed by joe carnahan .

the film stars patrick wilson , ed helms , an uncredited chris pine , james badge dale , brooklyn decker , and jessica alba .

the film was released on video on demand on october 7 , 2014 by universal pictures .

stretch ( 2014 film )

u . s . - based stretch film producer sigma stretch film recently installed two stretch film lines , including a five - layer blown stretch film line at its facility in belleville , ont .
guys . rest assured . you will all see stretch , on the big screen , in 2014 .
gary comenas ,
jonas mekas and the film - makers ' cinematheque
, urltoken , 2014 .
kuhn , markus & schmidt , johann n . :
narration in film ( revised version ; uploaded 22 april 2014 )
relativity will be the domestic distributor and will release the film internationally through its network of foreign output partners . the film is targeted for an april 11 , 2014 release date .
according to sigma , the two production lines will support growing business ; the cast film line has been in production since october 2013 , and the blown film line for belleville will be in production in early 2014 .
18 - 23 july 2014 allrollex® 1500 mm 5 - layer cast stretch film line 1000 kg / h net output equipped with no . 1 allspeedy® winder for the production of manual , automatic and jumbo reels more than 5 lines have been installed in a few months
allrollex® - 3000 mm will be on demo show on november 10 - 21 , 2014 in our novara factory . come to see the line running !
stretch offers more narration than a morgan freeman film festival , one of several pot holes it jumps over without a ramp .
are you ready to see our new allrollex® cast stretch film lines ? july is time to come and see our new allrollex® cast stretch film lines . again and again : allrollex® two lines of this series will be on demo in our facilities :
andrew v . uroskie , between the black box and the white cube : expanded cinema and postwar art , university of chicago press , 2014 , 288 pp .
paul hegarty ,
expanding cinema
, ch 1 in hegarty , rumour and radiation : sound in video art , bloomsbury academic , 2014 , pp 19 - 31 .
stretch
hits amazon and itunes on october 7 and vod on october 14 .
sigma stretch film is a division of the sigma plastics group . founded in 1978 , sigma is said to be the largest privately held film extrusion group in the u . s . comprised of 13 divisions , 39 plants and employing 4 , 500 people , sigma stretch film has five north american plants with four in the u . s . and one in belleville .
stretch feels like the dots joined from what was left on carnaghan ' s drawing board .
stretch is still in the pre - production phase , but will start shooting this summer to meet the march 21 , 2014 opening just announced by universal . that date pits the movie against some stiff competition ; both the highly anticipated ya adaptation divergent and the muppets sequel are slotted for that weekend .
stretch thinks it’s so damn clever , and is totally self - satisfied with its over - written dialogue . it’s complacent with its “fucks” and temper - tantrum rantings . stretch hollers , and stretch pontificates . think that’s harsh ? in one moment , pine waxes philosophical about being a firestarter to stretch , while sitting in the back of the long black car . then he starts a fire , setting the limo ablaze and conceptually reigniting stretch’s life . sweet metaphor , bro .
film culture 43 :
expanded arts
, ed . jonas mekas , new york : film culture , winter 1966 , 12 pp .
chill - roll unit with no . 2 cooled rollers with primary chill roll diam . 1400 mm allowing the production of super power stretch film at the highest speed and quality
the director of smokin ' aces and the grey crafts a rolling snowball of utter carnage in stretch .
looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing stretch near you .
call him stretch . kevin’s his real name , but stretch is what kevin asks people to call him . is it because he’s stretched so thin ? stretch is a bummed out , burned - out limo driver in los angeles . yes , his name is stretch , one of those obtuse single - name guys like bullet or kojak or batman . here , stretch is patrick wilson . he talks a lot during his own film . so very much . he talks an irritatingly obvious amount . for example , when a competing limo driver shows up at stretch’s bungled pick - up for a seemingly insane david hasselhoff ( a real cameo ) , he offers up this crackling observation of his competitor :
chicago’s epidemic of gun violence is exploited in a film that revels in bloodshed .
8 : 30pm not my type ( doors open at 8pm for the film ) . allow about 30 minutes for opening speeches . film will start around 9pm .
the opening night film may be attended without attending the reception . doors open at 8 : 00pm for patrons who are attending the film but not the reception .
metz , christian ( 1966 ) . “la grande syntagmatique du film narratif . ”
sellors , paul c . ( 2007 ) . “collective authorship in film . ”
5 - layer cast stretch film line up to 1250 kg / h net output equipped with no . 2 allspeedy® winders with individual control on each winding unit production of manual , automatic and jumbo reels
stretch thinks it ' s so damn clever , and is totally self - satisfied with its over - written dialogue .
stretch is a bold , bonkers and completely brilliant blast of creative energy from joe carnahan at his most gleefully unrestrained .
point of view in the cinema . a theory of narration and subjectivity in classical film
a universal spokesperson declined to comment on when or whether stretch will get a theatrical release . blum also declined to comment .
if you’re looking for context , stretch is available oct . 7 on itunes and amazon and oct . 14 on vod .
erzählsituationen in literatur und film . ein modell zur vergleichenden analyse von literarischen texten und filmischen adaptionen
the lines – the second is a five - layer cast stretch film line installed at sigma’s facility in shelbyville , ky . – are manufactured by gloucester engineering co . inc . , which is headquartered in gloucester , mass .
patrick wilson stars in the offbeat comedy stretch . the story follows a limo driver named stretch who picks up an eccentric millionaire who offers to payoff stretch ' s gambling debts if he sticks with him throughout a wild night of debauchery . co - starring jessica alba , ed helms , and chris pine , the film has a pretty good cast . however , the script is weak and doesn ' t seem to know where it ' s going most of the time . and , a lot of the crazy shenanigans seem random and contrived . stretch is a bit of fun , but it ' s also messy and unfocused .
earlier this year , i wondered if 2014 would be the year that folks stopped being shocked that people of color watch films . to make that point , i looked to films that had largely minority casts or were marketed to audiences of color . this report suggests that even more evidence is elsewhere .
short film screening ( 108 min ) saturday 28th - 10 : 30am - one screening only . preceded at 10am by a petit déjeuner ( french breakfast ) . free with short film screening admission !
international underground film festival , nft , london , 14 - 20 sep 1970 . organised by the robert street arts lab , the co - op , the other cinema and other independent film distributors .
up to date as of july 7th , 2018 ( give or take a film or three ) .
in a rare setback for jason blum and his blumhouse productions , universal pictures has scrapped plans to release the patrick wilson comedy - thriller stretch theatrically in march , and the producer has made an unsuccessful effort to find another distributor for the film .
star is no longer attached . the tay - tay camp is claiming “it was our choice” to pull out of the film , but in fact a project insider told deadline months ago right after lautner’s lionsgate film
early cinema , experimental film , expanded cinema , video art , live cinema , film labs , media archives , community television , demoscene , vjing , vvvv , live coding . see also artists ' cultures .
stretch
is a truly enjoyable oddity , a movie that was too brash , too weird , too idiosyncratic for a major release , but one that should settle into a nice , long shelf life .
stretch
is a wild ride , and one very much worth going on .
james badge dale plays a determined fbi agent , jessica alba plays stretch’s sweet - as - can - be dispatch agent , ed helms plays karl , a figment of stretch’s imagination and one more crazy aspect of the film overall and “blink or you’ll miss them” cameos from the likes of shaun white and norman reedus add to the fun and be on the lookout for randy couture , he’s in there .
tulane drama review 11 ( 1 ) :
film & theatre
, aug 1966 . [ 13 ]
we ' re talking , specifically , about the trailer for his upcoming film
stretch ,
starring patrick wilson as a limo driver wrenched from his mundane life by the desperate need to pay off $ 6 , 000 in gambling debts in one day .
for those of you who knock twitter , i wish i could show you the hundreds of tweets pouring in right now on behalf of stretch . tremendous .
an interview with writer / director boots riley about his incendiary new film ,
sorry to bother you .
the sacramento french film festival is proud to present a selection of shorts from france , in collaboration with unifrance .
black , david a . ( 1986 ) . “genette and film : narrative level in the fiction cinema . ”
werner nekes ,
some notes on some expanded films
, international underground film festival , london , 1970 .
bruno lessard ,
missed encounters : film theory and expanded cinema
, refractory blog , 26 dec 2008 .
the film is an obnoxious cartoon version of hollywood noir , but carnahan has the chops to keep it moving quickly .
grodal , torben ( 2005 ) . “film narrative . ” d . herman et al . ( eds . ) .
broken taboos , subjective truths . forms and functions of unreliable narration in contemporary american cinema . a contribution to film narratology
perhaps most surprising among the unreleased is stretch , a joe carnahan - directed comedic thriller starring patrick wilson . the film was to hit theaters nationwide march 21 but , in an apparently unprecedented move , universal pulled it weeks before release . blum tried to sell it elsewhere without success .
in stretch , wilson plays a chauffeur who picks up a difficult and devious billionaire , played in a cameo by chris pine . as the night goes on , their interaction leads to dangerous encounters . jessica alba , brooklyn decker , ed helms and ray liotta also appear in the film .
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so there’s your set up and it goes on from there , if you’re in , you’re in , if you’re not then just stay away , stretch isn’t for you .
it’s not marlowe , that’s for sure . it’s not even thompson . what is this ? wait , why would stretch , let alone any person , talk like this ?
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 .
guys . bottom line . stretch is fucking great . it ' s funny . it ' s touching . it ' s unique and @ patrickwilson73 is absolutely brilliant in it .
both films will be presented this year as part of the short film screening on saturday , june 28 , 10 : 30am .
carolee schneemann ,
expanded cinema : free form recollections of new york
, international underground film festival , london , 1970 .
i ' ve been waiting far too long to see joe carnahan ' s stretch to finally be released . i had been following joe ' s twitter practically religiously as he was filming it a while back , and i was absolutely gutted when the film was dumped momentarily by universal pictures . maybe universal thought the film was too much of a gamble , which is crazy , considering this film was shot on a low budget , and even the lowest possible expectations at the box office would ' ve turned this film into a profit . i ' ll talk more on that later , but for now , i just want to know what the fuck did i watch ? majority of comedies are designated…
the veteran filmmaking reflects on his career in film and television , making the transition to directing , and his collaborations with spike lee .
fulton , helen ( 2005 ) . “film narrative and visual cohesion . ” h . fulton et al . ( eds . ) .
gaut , berys ( 1997 ) . “film authorship and collaboration . ” r . allen & m . smith ( eds . ) .
scholes , robert ( 1985 ) . “narration and narrativity in film . ” g . mast et al . ( eds . ) .
tolton , c . d . e . ( 1984 ) . “narration in film and prose fiction : a mise au point . ”
james badge dale ( “the lone ranger” ) has joined the cast of universal and blumhouse prods . ’ action - comedy “ stretch , ” opposite patrick wilson , ed helms and chris pine .
one of the most controversial issues in film narratology concerns the role of the narrator as an instrument of narrative mediation . this reflects the difficulty of specifying the narrative process in general and , more than any other question , reveals the limits of literary narrativity when applied to film studies .
peter weibel ,
expanded cinema : material films , film actions ( without film ) , project and concept films
, in beyond art : a third culture . a comparative study in cultures , art and science in 20th century austria and hungary , ed . weibel , 2005 .
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10am petit déjeuner ( french breakfast ) with filmmaker / actor olivier rosemberg - lobby of the crest theatre . free with short film screening admission .
pine is another standout in the film , who dons long hair and a ridiculous beard , acting partly as stretch’s bonkers life coach and partly as the impetus for the insanity that our protagonist falls into . he’s almost unrecognizable , in fact , bucking the rather vanilla characters he’s been stuck playing since taking over the role of captain kirk in 2009 .
stretch armstrong is the classic action hero figure first launched by hasbro in 1976 and re - launched in the 90’s , sold successfully throughout north america and in markets across the world . the original stretch’s unique design broke free of traditional action figures , as he could be stretched over and over and always returned back to his original size . the nostalgic toy is considered to be rare and collectible to this day .
stretch goes clean , things are going well with candice until she reveals she’s dumping him for the quarterback of the cleveland browns . adding insult to injury a new limo service has moved into town and stretch’s boss is nervous and decided it’s time to pick off a few clients . within the next 15 minutes or so , stretch learns he has only a few hours to pay back a $ 6 , 000 gambling debt , he’s late to picking up david hasselhoff ( playing himself ) , witness to an armed convenience store robbery leaving bullet holes in his vehicle and he’s picking up ray liotta ( playing himself ) . after all of this he meets roger karos ( chris pine ) a coked out , nymphomaniac billionaire being hunted by the fbi for fraud who’s attempting to skip town and stretch just so happens to be his ride .
. a combined love of acting and movie watching inspired him to write his first short film , pourquoi je fais ça ? ( why did i do that ? ) . after the huge success of this debut , he directed his second film , j’en rêve encore , in which he also stars .
deleyto , celestino ( 1996 ) . “focalisation in film narrative . ” s . onega & j . á . garcía landa ( eds . ) .
expanded cinemas exploding
, in film unframed : a history of austrian avant - garde cinema , ed . peter tscherkassky , vienna , 2012 .
when it tries to talk tough , playing fast and loose with a “dude’s crazy night” concept , stretch runs out of gas quickly . the last act settles down only after too much ground is covered , when you quit trying to keep up . it’s then that the film finally crystallizes its nutty , willful plot twists , and quits with all the narration .
produced for universal , stretch got its theatrical release swiped out from under it , and now it’s found its way exclusively to vod . but if the studio executives wanted another smokin’ aces —which found enough appreciators to inspire a direct - to - video prequel—they should have been happy with what they got . the film is an obnoxious cartoon version of hollywood noir , but carnahan has the chops to keep it moving quickly , deftly orchestrating a plot that keeps adding new layers of complication and intrigue . it’s a backhanded sort of praise to say stretch is a movie that goes nowhere fast .
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…
just a shame that i predicted the ending about 15 minutes in , it didn’t gel with the wild , unpredictable nature of the rest of the film .
schlickers , sabine ( 2009 ) . “focalization , ocularization and auricularization in film and literature . ” p . hühn et al . ( eds . ) .
the only other significant issue i took with the movie was its pervasive voiceover from stretch ; though it does offer some laughs here and there , it’s oftentimes overbearing and takes attention away from the character interaction on screen .
a spiritual and stylistic successor to smokin’ aces , complete with bugnuts chris pune performance , the film is fun and breezy and knows not to overstay its welcome .
annabel nicolson ,
artist as filmmaker
, art and artists , dec 1972 ; repr . in a perspective on english avant - garde film , 1978 .
universal pictures will no longer be releasing director joe carnahan’s low - budget action comedy , stretch , in wide release this march as initially planned . as first reported by the hollywood reporter , the studio opted out of its initial plans to distribute the film starring patrick wilson nationwide — an endeavor that can cost upwards of $ 30 million in marketing costs — after seeing the finished product .
wilson’s never seemed so beat , and you’ll know why . ed helms is a ghost haunting stretch . stretch encounters the dumbest voices and accents imaginable via cops and mobsters . cheap rock and synth music pervades ; an m83 “outro” knock - off happens , likely because this baby went straight to video with limited budget . chris pine is an eccentric billionaire , sporting little more than a child’s tiger backpack , a jockstrap , and an enormous beard and wig .
exhibition , walker art center , minneapolis . synchronised film projectors on 2 sides of suspended screen , 16 mm colour , sound . 300 x 600 x 1250 cm .
landscape in film and video exhibition and events , lfmc / air gallery / b2 gallery , london , 1983 . curated by michael o ' pray and jez welsh .
expanded cinema : film as spectacle , event and performance exhibition , hmkv , dortmund , 10 - 26 sep 2004 . curated by mark webber . featured 32 artists .
x - screen : film installations and actions in the 1960s and 1970s , ed . matthias michalka , cologne : walther könig , 2004 . kotz ' s essay .
nicole brenez ,
improvised notes on french expanded cinema
, trans . franck le gac , millenium film journal 43 / 44 ( summer / fall 2005 ) .
joe carnahan’s latest , stretch , is a snowball of carnage and comedy that reaches deep into the writer / director’s hollywood rolodex for a movie that’s full of entertaining cameos and memorable characters . if you’re familiar with his similar 2006 flick smokin’ aces , you’ll know what sort of debauchery to expect in stretch – but this time around , carnahan was sure to lace his script with bigger ideas than guns and girls , tossing in a heaping dose of heart to boot .
thankfully , carnahan doesn’t spend too much time playing the cameo game , instead using them to establish the reality stretch exists in before heaping the movie entirely upon the shoulders of wilson . a task that the actor is absolutely up for .
stretch hits a dumpster and the driver ' s airbag deploys on the limo . he later drives the car . the fuel pumps on most newer cars shut down when the airbag deploys , which would prevent the car from going far .
stretch gets off to such a hectic , abrasive start that many viewers will wish to jump out immediately . stick with [ patrick wilson ' s frazzled chauffeur ] , though , and his surreal escapades turn out to be surprisingly entertaining .
hard luck limo driver stretch ( patrick wilson ) is struggling to go straight and pay off a debt to his bookie when he picks up a crazed passenger ( chris pine ) whose sought - after ledger implicates some seriously dangerous criminals .
with his boss intent on firing him – his ass constantly being saved by dispatcher charlie ( jessica alba ) – stretch uses his last day on the job to run errands for a bizarro billionaire named karos ( chris pine ) on the promise of his gambling debts getting paid off . accompanied by the imaginary ghost of suicidal former co - worker karl ( ed helms ) , stretch winds up on a bats * * * crazy adventure that spirals out of control very quickly .
carnahan effortlessly builds the stakes for stretch , though there are points when the character is a little too disconnected from reality for the story’s own good , losing the very thin thread of believability that the whole movie is walking like a tightrope . carnahan falters at points on things like this , but generally speaking he does a fine job of making sure we buy these series of events as plausible , even in the cocaine - and - adrenaline fueled hyperkinetic world that stretch presents .
bach , manuela ( 1999 ) . “dead men―dead narrators : überlegungen zu erzählern und subjektivität im film . ” w . grünzweig & a . solbach ( eds . ) .
( beverly hills , calif . ) january 30 , 2012 –relativity media has partnered with global branded play company hasbro , inc . [ nasdaq - has ] to develop and produce a live - action tent - pole film based on stretch armstrong , the iconic action hero figure launched in the 1970s , it was announced today by relativity’s co - president , tucker tooley and hasbro’s president and ceo , brian goldner .
“stretch armstrong is a great example of hasbro’s rich portfolio of intellectual properties that we are continuing to develop globally , ” said goldner , “we are excited to partner with relativity on this movie as they are a growing and innovative studio . ”
a mile a minute kinda film that exhausts and excites while still following a believable ( barely ) storyline . some surprising cameos that add a certain goofiness work quite well too .
film as a largely syncretistic , hybrid and multimodal form of aesthetic communication and bears a number of generic characteristics which are tied to the history and capacities of its narrative constituents .
gunning , tom ( 1986 ) . “the cinema of attraction : early film , its spectator , and the avant - garde . ” ph . rosen ( ed . ) .
sheldon renan ,
expanded cinema
, ch 6 in renan , an introduction to the american underground film , new york : dutton , 1967 , pp 227 - 257 .
stretch was originally intended for a theatrical run , but the studio ( universal ) spiked it and has kicked it to a vod release . it’s exactly the type of disrespect its lead character would expect and , after a rough road , overcome .
i think it ' s as good or better than my best film & say that from the bottom of my heart . this movie will make it to you , trust me .
future cinema : the cinematic imaginary after film exhibition , zkm , karlsruhe , 16 nov 2002 - 30 mar 2003 . curated by jeffrey shaw and peter weibel . 635pp catalogue published .
one can ' t help but read the film - which was dropped by its studio , and is now available digitally - as an expression of everything carnahan hates about the movie business .
the film ' s absurd and often offensive humour will win you over . it ' s not big and it ' s not clever , but it will raise a smile or two .
the film begins by introducing us to a cocaine - fueled limo driver named stretch ( patrick wilson ) , as he’s t - boned by a car running a red light . he’s promptly sent airborne through his driver side window , landing relatively unharmed on the pavement . he walks to see how the driver of the other vehicle is , which is when he meets the beautiful candice ( brooklyn decker ) and thus begins a year - long relationship .
hard luck limo driver stretch ( patrick wilson ) is struggling to go straight and pay off a debt to his bookie when he picks up a crazed passenger ( chris pine ) whose sought - after ledger implicates some seriously dangerous criminals . ~ jason buchanan , rovi
stretch is the film that had universal second - guessing it ' s chances in theaters earlier this year , despite its minuscule budget ( $ 5 million ) . because of this , the small little genre fill was disowned by the studio and dumped onto the vod platform . now i can see why they could have gotten cold feet . the film is full of batshit crazy imagery and situations that most people will just dismiss almost immediately . it ' s not your usual studio affair , that ' s for sure . but , i feel like this would have easily made back its budget , just with the popularity of its cast alone .
wilson has long since proven himself to be a hell of a utility player ; he’s taken on every genre in the last five years or so , but his role as stretch just might be his best yet . he’s crumbling and pathetic without losing the sympathy of the viewer , and you can’t help but root for him once he finally gets himself in order and takes charge of the situation . he plays up the “regular guy in extraordinary circumstances” fantastically , giving stretch an air of humanity that lets us feel every punch he takes .
entertaining action movie starring patrick wilson ( who also narrates the film ) as stretch , a wannabe actor who ' s passing time as a limo driver until he gets his big break . he ' s a recovering alcoholic , recovering drug addict and recovering gambling addict . his day turns to shit when he ' s told he must pay up his remaining 6 grand gambling debts by midnight . no clue how to come up with the money on time he decides to take a job driving an eccentric millionaire around for the day and when he asks for a few extras not in stretch ' s job description he is more than happy to oblige in the hope of receiving a huge tip . the plot of this movie doesn ' t really…
stretch ( patrick wilson ) is a failed , broken - hearted actor - turned - la - limo - driver with a history of addiction and a $ 6 , 000 gambling debt that needs paying by midnight before he finds himself with some broken bones , or worse .
carnahan doesn’t skimp on the action either , though he keeps it very small scale and contained . there’s nothing here that’s gratuitous ; the movie is so focused on stretch’s story that all of the action is built from that characters’ actions and the movie is better for it .
the five - layer cast stretch film line includes four contracool extruders equipped with pib injection that feed a cloeren feed block and auto die , gloucester said . also included is a casting unit with temperature control unit ( tcu ) and a 1002 - ds surface - center winder with dual overlapping single turrets . the line is enhanced with resin vacuum loading , loss - in - weight blending , gauging , profile control and a trim reprocessing system all controlled by the extrol 6032 control system .
according to the trade paper , and confirmed by ew , carnahan and his producer jason blum tried shopping the under - $ 5 million movie to other studios looking for a wide release . when none of the other studios bit on the expansive release strategy the producers wanted for the film described as “cool , offbeat and little , ” the film - making team returned to universal where blum houses his production company .
that’s really the biggest bummer associated with “stretch , ” that this movie , as flawed and sometimes patience - straining as it can be , isn’t being shown on the big screen . this is the perfect audience movie , or at least the perfect fantastic fest movie , and for a certain crowd it would have been irresistible . it’s easy to see this blossoming into a cult classic of sorts , especially if it has an actual physical release somewhere down the line ( it seems like the kind of movie you physically pass off to an adventurous friend ) . as it stands now , “stretch” is a truly enjoyable oddity , a movie that was too brash , too weird , too idiosyncratic for a major release , but one that should settle into a nice , long shelf life . “stretch” is a wild ride , and one very much worth going on . [ b + ]
stretch , directed by joe carnahan ( the a - team , the grey ) on a budget under $ 5 million , was set to be released march 21 in the u . s . but that has been canceled , according to sources , and blum , who has a rich first - look development deal with universal , was permitted to shop the film to other distributors . having failed to strike a deal , the film now has reverted to universal , where a source says the studio and filmmakers will explore
creative
options for releasing it . blum ' s low - cost model allows for such decisions when it appears that the expense of releasing a movie theatrically might not be justified by the returns .
kuhn , markus ( 2009 ) . “film narratology : who tells ? who shows ? who focalizes ? narrative mediation in self - reflexive fiction films . ” p . hühn et al . ( eds . ) .
the five - layer blown stretch silage film line includes five contracool extruders equipped with pib injection feeding a low profile five - layer ibc die and air ring . also included are a bubble cage , traversanip oscillating primary nip roll with composite roller collapsing frame , secondary nip roll , and a dual turret 1002 - d surface - center winder . the line is enhanced with resin vacuum loading , feed throat gravimetric blending , and a trim reprocessing system all controlled by the extrol 6032 control system , and containerized controls .
underneath all of the zany car chases , drug sniffing , and strip clubs is a familiar story about a regular guy rising above his circumstances as he grasps for something greater . stretch manages to remain endearing on a character level ; it never relies on its crassness or surprise cameos to keep you entertained .
peter weibel ,
expanded cinema , video and virtual environments
, in future cinema : the cinematic imaginary after film , eds . jeffrey shaw and peter weibel , mit press , 2003 , pp 110 - 124 .
when the golden boy of the limo world ( ed helms ) sticks a gun in his mouth and blasts his brains all over the rich corinthian leather , we’re unsure if kevin , who goes by the nickname stretch , secretly admires his resolve . he’s certainly spooked that one day he’ll suffer the same fate .
jackie hatfield ,
expanded cinema and narrative : some reasons for a review of the avant - garde debates around narrativity
, millennium film journal 39 - 40 :
hidden currents
, new york , winter 2003 .
joe carnahan ‘s stretch reminds me a lot of michael mann ‘s collateral . the operating word there being “reminds” as in this is the b - movie , bat - shit crazy , balls - to - the - wall red - headed step child of collateral . and i mean that in the nicest way possible .
, limousine driver bruno kirby is relentlessly yapping to the band , offering his literary criticism of sammy davis jr’s autobiography , until the clients in the backseat finally raise the partition window to block out the sound . joe carnahan’s new film
new cinema festival i [ aka
expanded cinema survey
,
expanded cinema festival
] , film - makers ' cinematheque , new york , 1 - 30 nov 1965 . [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ]
john g . hanhardt ,
the passion for perceiving : expanded forms of film and video art
, art journal 45 ( 3 ) :
video : the reflexive medium
, autumn 1985 , pp 213 - 216 .
the movie opens with wilson talking , in voice over , about the nature of fate and destiny and how this really doesn’t apply . like that unforgettable bumper sticker , the central message of “stretch” seems to be “shit happens , ” even while veering into truly insane territory , with crisscrossing narrative threads that intersect at every twist and turn . carnahan may be a cynic , but there’s an element of almost magical realism to the outrageousness housed within the over - inflated bouncy castle of the film . there’s also the whole meta - textual element of “stretch , ” wherein the movie investigates what it means to be an actor . not only is the title character a former thespian , but a number of characters act like they’re someone else and the fact that the movie has a character who is driving a limo through a series of bizarre tableaus bears more than a passing resemblance to leo carax ‘s recent masterpiece “ holy motors . ” this movie isn’t as complex or emotional as that film , but there seems to be a similar attempt to boil down the essence of the human experience into a series of comic vignettes .
the studio is set to distribute the blum - produced , joe carnahan - directed stretch , an action comedy starring patrick wilson . ed helms and chris pine have also signed on in recent weeks , and now brooklyn decker has come aboard as well . get details on her character and the new release date after the jump .
while spacey chit - chatted about all sorts of things , he was there to talk about the film tax credits . he acknowledged the controversy , according to a recording obtained by the post , and asked the lawmakers for their support .
consider the films that qualify as jason blum undead : area 51 , from peli , has been in postproduction since 2009 at paramount . at universal , where blum is in the final stretch of a three - year deal , only one film has been released to date , the purge ( a hit with a sequel due in june ) . four films that long have finished shooting are not getting a theatrical release , and no plan is in place to release them on - demand . four more films are in postproduction , two with release dates and two without .
film , in general , is a narrative medium , or , at least , a medium of many narrative capacities . nearly every film , except specific types of experimental films and documentaries , includes at least a few basic narrative structures . this applies especially , but not only , to feature films . if we take the representation of a change of state as a basic necessary condition for narrativity—and thus follow a broad definition of narrativity—moving pictures have at least two basic possibilities of narrative representation : a ) to represent motions ( and therefore changes ) within one shot ; b ) to confront two ( or more ) comparable states through the combination of shots into sequences ( i . e . the process of editing or montage in terms of classical film theory ) . both modes of narrative representation have a visual and an auditive dimension , as virtually every sound film has a visual and an auditory channel addressing the spectator’s sense of vision and sense of hearing .
deep beneath the snotty showboating is a funny concept : a black comedy about competing limo drivers and l . a . ’s vanity - driven , liar - loving culture . when stretch wants to have a laugh and mock the shallows of the city of angels , it’s amusing , like a second - tier fx sitcom about dicks .
—a cartoonish action comedy about a hollywood limo driver having the worst day of his life—when it was supposed to come out in theaters back in march . i ' m a fan of the film ' s writer - director , joe carnahan (
saving the image : art after film , eds . pavel büchler and tanya leighton , glasgow : centre for contemporary arts ( cca ) , and manchester : manchester metropolitan university , 2003 , 264 pp . bellour ' s essay . [ 10 ]
it’s one of those movies where the night seems to roll into infinity , encapsulated not by the traditional three - act structure , but by a series of comic misadventures . in “stretch” those adventures involve , among other things , hookers dressed in scary halloween costumes , gangsters , weird sex parties , a mysterious briefcase , undercover federal agents ( led by
“we are absolutely thrilled to partner with hasbro , a company whose global reach and ability to innovate has made them immensely successful in the arena of brand re - imagination– as evidenced by their legacy of creating such franchises as transformers and g . i . joe , ” said tooley , “we look forward to bringing stretch armstrong to audiences worldwide . ”
we don’t really know what interstellar travel looks like , so all bets are off . if you compare interstellar to gravity , it is a much harder film to make . we know what it is like to be in earth orbit , the mechanics are pretty simple , so gravity could get the physics right with the correct advice . interstellar wants to examine bigger issues , much of the science is unknown and if you stretch it beyond plausibility - as you always do in a movie like this , you are bound to end up with things not supported by current scientific knowledge . it’s just a hard job !
director catherine hardwicke ( twilight ) also says she enjoyed making her rock - music thriller plush for blumhouse , even though the film only had a desultory opening in theaters in october and took in a paltry $ 3 , 000 . still , writes hardwicke in an email , she found blum to be
super - enthusiastic and supportive
and takes the film ' s disappointing performance in stride :
i ' m interested in exploring new release models in the future … new ways to reach an audience .
i registered just to review this underrated film . another reviewer summed this film up so perfectly i have to restate it : the film begins exactly as it should , and continues exactly the way you want it to right to the end . it is the sort of movie that would have been at home in 1985 - - down on his luck protagonist has an increasingly awful night that turns into a rampage through la . it is funny without ever being stupid or gross , which probably explains its ranking . in a time when big name stars are putting out such comedic , big screen
gems
as the bizarrely unfunny toilet - humored
a million ways to die in the west ,
it is a flashback to films that were funny without being dumb .
the film will be produced by relativity’s ceo , ryan kavanaugh ( the fighter ) , hasbro’s goldner ( transformers ) and bennett schneir , senior vice president and managing director , motion pictures ( battleship ) . tooley ( immortals ) will serve as executive producer .
in the lobby of the crest theatre , immediately following the closing film . dessert on closing night by mother . open bar : bubbly by barefoot wine & bubbly , water by perrier , café by coffee works . music by dj christophe & the jazz report
the two approaches depend on which scholarly perspective is preferred : either how far narrative principles can be limited to questions of narrativity alone , or whether the affordabilities of the medium have conclusive consequences for its narrative capacities . it is our view that the position most suitable for a narrative theory of film lies in between these approaches . approaches that put their main focus on media - unbound narrative strategies should be confronted with questions of mediality . furthermore , approaches that concentrate overwhelmingly on questions of mediality should match their results with general narrative theories . if , for example , we take established narratological concepts such as focalization , order or diegetic level as a point of departure to develop a systematic model for narratological film analysis , we have to discuss the potentials and limitations of each category in terms of mediality and modify these concepts accordingly ( kuhn 2011 : 7ff . ) . consistently , due to the hybrid and multimodal nature of film , an approach that examines narrative in film is per se more complex than a theory of literary narration ( 9 ) .
in this case , however , the film in question never will be released in theaters , and there is no plan to release it on - demand . and recently , the bar for reaping a share of profit appears to have gone up : on one project now in postproduction , the pool will not begin to fill unless the movie grosses $ 50 million . it will top out when and if the film grosses $ 70 million . the maximum that can go into the pool remains the same , $ 250 , 000 .
carnahan goes big here ; the world of stretch is an amplified hollywood . we’re introduced to the limo - driving world as the drivers assist actors like norman reedus , david hassellhoff , and ray liotta with tasks that range from running props back to studio lots to disposing of dead hookers . these guys are all great sports , poking fun of themselves with no regret .
with the exception of the character narrator and the cinematic device of the voice - over , the traces of a narrating agency are virtually invisible , so that the term “film narrator” is employed as hardly more than a metaphor . disagreements over terminology sprung up from the beginnings of film theory . thus the term “film language , ” if not used for a system of signs as was done by the formalists , bore the implication that there must also be a “speaker” of such a language . modeling cinema after literature in this way , however , runs counter to cinema as an independent art form . for this reason , ėjxenbaum transferred the structuring of cinematographic meaning to “new conditions of perceptions” : it is the viewer who moves “to the construction of internal speech” ( [ 1926 ] 1973 : 123 ) .
for anyone the least bit familiar with carnahan’s work , stretch will come as no surprise . carnahan could easily be described as a director interested in masculinity . he’s a “tough guy” cinema director , making the movie equivalent to beef jerky . i like beef jerky and i like carnahan’s films . i like the outlandish nature of his movies , the “anything can happen” narratives , and he consistently brings actors along for the ride that are just as willing and excited about starring in something crazy . while his films such as narc and the grey show he can also delve competently into serious cinema , his movies such as smokin’ aces and even the a - team show he knows how to have a little fun , stretch falls comfortably into that latter category .
james badge dale ( “the lone ranger” ) has joined the cast of universal and blumhouse prods . ’ action - comedy “stretch , ” opposite patrick wilson , ed helms and chris pine . joe carnahan is directing with shooting starting in los angeles on june 30 for “strech , ” which universal will release in north america on march 21 . jason blum is producing through [ … ]
lest you believe a sex scene between gorgeous actors is glamorous , this video is here to disabuse you of that notion : a clip from behind the scenes of the upcoming movie stretch shows brooklyn decker and patrick wilson engaging in fictional coitus , and while they quickly snap into character to get it on , the before and after that reveals the uncomfortable reality of filming a sex scene .
in a statement to thr , blum says : “our model is completely transparent - - we keep budgets low to give directors creative freedom and let them take risks . we only make money when the films go wide , but we are proud of every film we do . ”
there’s a nice veneer of mathematics in the film – for example , the equations on the board are textbook general relativity equations , which is nice for a science geek . later on , the script suggests the equations don’t work because scientists don’t understand how gravity and quantum mechanics work together , and that’s fair enough . but the film resolves this by sending a robot down into a black hole to send back “quantum data” - that doesn’t really make any sense . it sounds like something they just made up as a plot device with no physics behind it .
when maryland started its current film tax credit program a few years ago , supporters wanted the state to set aside at least $ 15 million each year to reimburse television and movie producers who choose to film in the state , creating thousands of jobs , pumping money into the local economy and creating a buzz that can attract tourists . they only got $ 7 . 5 million per year , so now the state’s movie czars have to come crawling back to annapolis each year to ask for more money . last year they scored $ 25 million . this year they want at least $ 18 . 5 million .
like us , nic doesn ' t buy it , and he ' s impatient with being observed in a locked room while damon rations out information . so he macgyvers himself some escape strategies and starts moving this film away from less - is - more territory , toward something closer to action mode . without giving the story ' s sometimes confusing surprises away , one can say that the film breaks free of the hospital , with damon and company chasing nic while he struggles to make sense of what he sees and to understand why his friends , with whom he reconnects , are behaving like whacked - out shadows of themselves .
inside ( à l ' intérieur , 87 min ) 2007 - alexandre bustillo & julien maury saturday , june 28 - 11 : 45pm - one screening only ! q & a with jason alley , around coffee and pastries follows the screening . ( warning ! this film contains violent , gory and scary scenes . )
still , universal’s decision to bail on its initial wide - release strategy casts a pall over the film , one carnahan ( the a - team and the grey ) tried to rectify tuesday evening on twitter . the director declined to comment to ew , as did universal , but you can read carnahan’s twitter rant below .