oliver twist is a lost 1916 silent film drama produced by jesse lasky and distributed by paramount pictures .

it was directed by james young .

it is based on the famous novel , oliver twist , by charles dickens and the 1912 broadway stage version of the novel .

marie doro had played oliver on broadway in 1912 to much acclaim and was brought in by lasky to reprise her role in this film .

in fact , the main reason this film was made was to showcase doro rather than dickens .

in the play , the parts of nancy , fagin and bill sykes were played by constance collier , nat c. goodwin and lyn harding respectively .

elsie jane wilson who had a supporting part in the play is nancy in the film .

wilson and doro are the only players from the play to appear in this film .

four film versions had been made prior to this film : in 1907 , 1909 and two in 1912 , the year of doro 's stage success .

a later 1922 silent version starred lon chaney and jackie coogan .

oliver twist ( 1916 film )

ad for the 1916 silent film oliver twist starring marie doro the film is lost . | lost films 1915 - 1919 | pinterest | oliver twist , oliver twist film and films
still from the 1916 silent film oliver twist starring marie doro the film is lost . | lost films 1915 - 1919 | pinterest | oliver twist , silent film and films
twist is a 2003 canadian drama film and a retelling of charles dickens ' classic , oliver twist .
film adaptation of charles dickens ' s novel
oliver twist
, which has nancy married to bill sikes .
the film is similar in some ways to seth michael donsky ' s 1996 film twisted made prior to tierney ' s film .
bought up all the prints of the 1916 version , at a cost of $ 50 , 000 , so that no one would try to revive that film once his was released .
twist currently holds a 16 % ' fresh ' rating on rotten tomatoes , with the consensus
despite of [ sic ] its contemporary setting and some strong performances , this is a bland retelling of oliver twist .
[ 1 ]
based on the charles dickens novel oliver twist is about an orphan boy who runs away from a workhouse and meets a pickpocket on the streets of london . oliver is taken in by the pickpocket and he joins a household of young boys who are trained to steal for their master . this version of oliver twist is topped by alec guinness ' s masterly performance of arch - thug fagin .
an orphan named oliver twist meets a pickpocket on the streets of london . from there , he joins a household of boys who are trained to steal for their master .
set in the wake of the 1916 easter rising , a married woman in a small irish village has an affair with a troubled british officer .
future learning and skills – giving everyone the opportunity to build a lifelong relationship with film .
oliver ! -
i shall scream
- mr . bumble woos the widow corney
as in donsky ' s film , the plot of oliver twist is updated to the present day , and moved out of the london poor house onto the streets of a large north american city ( in donsky ' s film it was new york city , and this film it is toronto ) . in addition , the tale is told not from oliver ' s point of view , but rather that of dodge ( nick stahl ) . the prosaically beautiful oliver ( joshua close ) falls into the hands of down - and - out young men . dodge takes oliver under his wing and instructs him in the unforgiving arts of drug abuse and prostitution . oliver develops a crush on dodge and views him as his boyfriend , complicating their friendship . dodge does not reciprocate his feelings , and reacts angrily to oliver ' s kisses and other signs of affection . as oliver ' s innocence dissolves , both young men confront their demons , and ultimately it is dodge who finds he cannot escape his past . dodge is found by his abusive brother around the same time the young men ' s caretaker commits suicide , sending dodge into a violent rage at the film ' s conclusion .
oliver twist , a boy born in the poorhouse , lives on the streets . he meets a young thief called the artful dodger who introduces him to fagin - leader and teacher of a gang of youthful pickpockets . oliver , however grateful for being taken in , is not a thief and cannot live like one .
a growing source of silent era film information . this listing is from the progressive silent film list by carl bennett . copyright © 1999 - 2018 by carl bennett and the silent era company . all rights reserved .
after asking for more gruel , oliver is put in the workhouse cellar , but manages to escape and run away , encountering the artful dodger and joining up with fagin and his gang . bill sikes forces oliver to take part in a burglary , which goes wrong when oliver is shot . the householders take care of oliver , but when bill discovers his whereabouts he plans to kill him . bill ' s wife nancy alerts the police , and she is murdered by bill , who dies during his escape . mr brownlow appears as a friend of oliver ' s late father , who has been searching for him for years to restore oliver ' s inheritance to him .
oliver ' s mother , a penniless outcast , died giving birth to him . as a young boy oliver is brought up in a workhouse , later apprenticed to an uncaring undertaker , and eventually is taken in by a gang of thieves who befriend him for their own purposes . all the while , there are secrets from oliver ' s family history waiting to come to light .
when oliver is in dock being tried for pick - pocketing , after the judge says
oh stand away
the camera becomes an oliver pov shot . just before oliver totally collapses he looks up to the ceiling , ( and therefore so does the camera ) briefly showing the full studio rafters , complete with lights , and the set microphone , and part of the
set ceiling
.
oliver ' s mother , a penniless outcast , died giving birth to him . as a young boy oliver is brought up in a workhouse , later apprenticed to an uncaring undertaker , and eventually is taken in by a gang of thieves who befriend him for their own purposes . all the while , there are secrets from oliver ' s family history waiting to come to light . written by snow leopard
condemned to the workhouse cellar after asking for a second helping of porridge , oliver twist , who never knew his parents , manages to escape and joins fagin ' s band of criminals . then , the brutal bill sikes forces him to take part in a burglary , during which oliver is shot . despite his part in the robbery , oliver is taken in by the burglary victims , who nurse him back to health until bill finds him , and prepares to kill him for ruining his burglary . bill ' s wife nancy alerts the police , though , and they rescue oliver . just before he runs away from the authorities , however , bill , outraged at nancy , murders her . then , bill dies during his escape , after which mr . brownlow , a friend of the boy ' s late father , finds oliver after years of searching , and restores to him all of his father ' s property .
the greatest film triumph of the decade . a matchless cast of screen celebrities supporting jackie in this , his finest achievement . starring the greatest boy actor in the world .
the greatest film triumph of the decade . a matchless cast of screen celebrities supporting jackie in this , his finest achievement . starring the greatest boy actor in the world . see more »
i eagerly popped this dvd into my player because i ' ve always been captivated by early still and motion photography . i was pleased with the beauty of this silent film : some scenes have a brownish color cast resembling a calotype while others look bluish like a cyanotype . this film follows the novel closely , so dickensians and purists should like it . lon chaney is convincing as fagin , and child star jackie coogan - who enjoyed a resurgence later as uncle fester on
the addams family
- earns the sympathy of the viewer . there are the usual histrionics for this period : this is a silent film , and so they come with the territory . highly recommended to those who like silent films . a must - see for dickens devotees and chaney completists .
when it was found without intertitles in the 1970s , the film was restored with the help of jackie coogan and sol lesser . new intertitles were created by blackhawk films . the version now seen on tcm is from a tinted original , with an excellent organ score by john muri , copyright 1975 by the eastin phelan corporation , and with the original opening credits and intertitles which were apparently located after the blackhawk replacements were temporarily substituted , but which are no longer relevant . see more »
empire theatre , ( 3 / 25 / 1912 - circa . 5 / 1912 )
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trippy indie madeline ' s madeline is the movie that lakeith stanfield and boots riley from sorry to bother you want to see the most .
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with jurassic world : fallen kingdom now in cinemas , we take a look at how imdb users rated the films of the franchise . plus , browse exclusive lego® jurassic world playsets , presented by lego .
enjoy a night in with these popular movies available to stream now with prime video .
the new york hat ( 1912 ) - mary pickford , lionel barrymore , lillian gish - d . w . griffith
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urltoken
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leonard maltin classic movie guide , copyright 2005 , 2010 . used by arrangement with penguin group ( usa ) inc .
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please note that this is a database of information on films produced in the silent era of world cinema . this is not a listing of available exhibition prints or home video products , since we currently do not rent or sell either .
early women filmmakers : an international anthology ( 1902 - 1943 ) . films by blaché , weber , dulac and more ! available from amazon
irvin willat’s behind the door ( 1919 ) starring hobart bosworth , jane novak and wallace beery . available from amazon
check out highlights from some of the best recent trailers including mandy , the predator , zoe , and the king of thieves .
lon chaney movie schedule : the phantom of the opera , tell it to the marines , mr . wu
in fifteenth century paris , the brother of the archdeacon plots with the gypsy king to foment a peasant revolt . meanwhile , a freakish hunchback falls in love with the gypsy queen .
a deformed criminal mastermind plans to loot the city of san francisco as well as revenge himself on the doctor who mistakenly amputated his legs .
a bitter clown endeavors to rescue the young woman he loves from the lecherous count who once betrayed him .
a professional clown and a self - indulgent count learn to help each other with their problems , but then become romantic rivals .
in this early collaboration with director tod browning ( dracula , freaks ) , chaney delivers a dual performance of dramatic intensity , starring as ah wing , a kind - hearted student of confucian . . . see full summary »
a sideshow ventriloquist , midget , and strongman form a conspiracy known as
the unholy three
and commit a series of robberies .
the classic dickens tale of an orphan boy who escapes the horrors of the orphanage only to be taken in by a band of thieves and pickpockets .
a romantic rivalry among members of a secret society becomes even tenser when one of the men is assigned to carry out an assassination .
a gang of blackmailers sends a cripple to san francisco to expose a banker they have been blackmailing . however , the cripple meets and falls in love with the banker ' s daughter .
a magician seeks vengeance upon the man who paralyzed him and the illegitimate daughter he sired with the magician ' s wife .
two thieves , the blackbird and west end bertie , fall in love with the same girl , a french nightclub performer named fifi . each man tries to outdo the other to win her heart .
a naive country girl is tricked into a sham marriage by a wealthy womanizer , then must rebuild her life despite the taint of having borne a child out of wedlock .
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featured in lon chaney : a thousand faces ( 2000 ) . see more »
doctor : it ' s all over , mrs . thingummy ! see more »
jermaine fowler and omari hardwick of sorry to bother you take us back in time to the worst jobs of their careers .
explore popular and recently added tv series available to stream now with prime video .
hotel transylvania 3 : summer vacation stars plan their dream summer getaways to some memorable movie settings .
a humble orphan suddenly becomes a gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor .
henry hobson is a successful bootmaker , a widower and a tyrannical father of three daughters . the girls each want to leave their father by getting married , but henry refuses because marriage traditions require him to pay out settlements .
the middle - class family of a young woman cannot understand why she delays in marrying a respectable young man . they know nothing about her long - standing affair with a frenchman .
the passionate friends were in love when young , but separated , and she married an older man . then mary justin meets steven stratton again and they have one last fling together in the alps .
noel coward ' s attempt to show how the ordinary people lived between the wars . just after wwi the gibbons family moves to a nice house in the suburbs . an ordinary sort of life is led by the . . . see full summary »
meeting a stranger in a railway station , a woman is tempted to cheat on her husband .
cultural mistrust and false accusations doom a friendship in british colonial india between an indian doctor , an englishwoman engaged to marry a city magistrate , and an english educator .
charles and his second wife , ruth , are haunted by the spirit of his first wife , elvira . medium madame arcati tries to help things out by contacting the ghost .
an adaptation of the classic dickens tale , where an orphan meets a pickpocket on the streets of london . from there , he joins a household of boys who are trained to steal for their master .
: aye , it is . it is my living . and you ' re the wretch that drove me to them long ago , and that ' ll keep me there , day and night , day and night , day and night !
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this page was last modified on 1 december 2015 , at 08 : 56 .
this article ' s content derived from wikipedia , the free encyclopedia ( see original source ) .


the broken tower is a 2011 american black-and-white student film directed , written , produced , edited by and starring james franco .

the film was made by franco as his masters thesis for his mfa in filmmaking from new york university .

the film is about american poet hart crane .

franco appears in the starring role as crane along with michael shannon as one of crane 's lovers .

the broken tower made its world premiere in april 2011 at boston college .

it was shown at the 2011 los angeles film festival ( laff ) in june and released on dvd in 2012 .

the film includes the recitation by franco of several of crane 's poems both as voice-over additions to the film , as well as actual readings of several poems rendered by franco as portraying crane himself .

the broken tower ( film )

the dark tower is also added in between the central tower and defence against the dark arts tower .
more photos of dave behind the scenes ( just hanging out ) of “the broken tower” with the producer , vince jolivette . movies > the broken tower > behind the scenes x 002 source
the broken tower feels unique as a young man ' s tribute to an adventuresome , doomed soul .
the clock tower , clock tower courtyard , wooden bridge and the sundial garden are added to the back of the school .
now with “the broken tower , ” what were you familiar with first : paul l . mariani’s crane biography which serves as the basis for the film , or crane’s poetry ?
move the sign ; take the bungee cord and broken fork ( v ) .
from writer / director james franco
the broken tower
based on the true life story of poet hart crane . the truth is indecent .
here is the trailer for james franco’s “the broken tower” in which dave stars as young heart crane . the film is now available for download and on demand , but doesn’t come to dvd until march 27th .
a featurette entitled exploring hart crane ( 48 : 20 ) features james franco interviewing three scholars / poets regarding the history of the broken tower ' s subject hart crane . he uses the skype technology to conduct these interviews ( which have been edited together ) . the piece also contains some film clips from the broken tower as edited with dialogue from the three contributing members and franco .
a huge fire has broken out at a tower block in latimer road in west london , with eyewitnesses reporting that they can see residents trapped at the top of the building .
attach the metal logo ; open the tower . take the bronze key ( g ) .
in the book , dumbledore tells harry and hermione that sirius is locked up in professor flitwick ' s office in the west tower , thirteenth window from the right of the tower , but in the film , dumbledore tells harry and hermione that sirius is locked up in the topmost cell of the dark tower .
if one server broken , don ' t worry , it will automatic switch to next server .
place the boy doll , girl doll , and broken heart ( 2 / 2 ) ( h ) .
use the night vision goggles ; take the broken fork and pipe ( 4 / 4 ) ( t ) .
remove the cover ; use the broken fork ( r ) . take the battery and small flashlight ( s ) .
roland and the man in black show down in the dark tower . all images : sony pictures
instead , the film begins at devar - toi , a very important location to the overall mythology of the dark tower series . in both the books as well as the movie , this is the place the armies of the crimson king bring children with strong mental abilities , which they use to try to break the beams that link to the dark tower . if the beams are broken the tower will fall , the gunslinger’s quest will have failed , and darkness will take over the world .
since not every item is alive , all that broken stuff was probably just normal furniture that was already in the castle .
the dark tower film ends with roland destroying devar - toi , which basically means “boom , problem solved . ” the dark tower is no longer under siege , and the danger is over . there almost aren’t words for how much that changes the course of the story’s events .
you’ve since directed “child of god , ” an adaptation of cormac mccarthy’s novel ; a film with no doubt a bigger budget and more riding on it to perform commercial wise . what did you take over from your experience making “the broken tower , ” to “child of god” ?
‘ten meter tower’ appeared at the 2017 sundance film festival . it is part of a series produced by independent filmmakers who have received support from the nonprofit sundance institute .
hart crane : we all know life is a dance of death , but we can still make something of it . the broken tower had a noble premise surrounding the short life of american poet hart crane , who is played by james franco . not only that , the film was written and directed by franco , and while that may sound worthy on paper , the broken tower fails to work on nearly any level . there are a handful of risqué scenes that furthermore adds to the longstanding rumor of james franco ' s sexual orientation , and he delivers a fifteen minute long poetry monologue . yawn . if that is not terrible enough , the film is shot as a
docudrama
and features some of the most scattershot editing ever to be featured on film ; all presented in black and white . the broken tower is the first 2012 - released film i have seen , and will most likely make it on my worst of the year list . read the whole review at urltoken
there are certainly other ways the film squandered its source material , but the point is very clear : it feels like the people behind the dark tower film did not have any interest in retelling king’s story . the film only uses small facets of the world to tell a different , much briefer story , when the real strength of the dark tower is that it’s an epic . whether you’re a fan of the books or not , this truncated version can’t help but disappoint .
the project he’ll be tackling ? the previously announced adaptation of paul l mariani ‘s “ the broken tower , ” a biography of american poet hart crane , who gained popularity with his brooklyn bridge - inspired “ the bridge . ” his last poem was the eponymous ‘broken tower , ’ inspired by crane’s only heterosexual affair ( with peggy crowley ) that has now been widely interpreted as his death ode . crane controversially ended his life by jumping off the steamship ss orizaba while yelling “goodbye , everyone ! ” at the age of 32 .
the dark tower shows some meager promise , but as the first in a proposed series it leaves much to be desired .
this is the first and only film not to feature the title in clouds .
jody martin said he got to the scene just as the first fire engine was arriving at grenfell tower , in latimer road .
[ the dark tower ] resembles nothing so much as a mashup of the lord of the rings and the matrix reimagined for the young adult crowd .
use the rose key and fleur - de - lys key ; take the note , photo , and broken heart ( 1 / 2 ) ( d ) .
it’s theorized that the broken furniture pieces in the west wing are actually unfortunate servants that beast unknowingly destroyed after being cursed . it turns out that’s probably not the case .
the film does not mention about ron receiving a new wand to replace his old broken one . however , ron actually does have a new wand , since there is no spello - tape on his wand and no malfunctions happen .
this is the second time actors timothy spall and richard griffiths appeared in a film together , their first film together having been vatel , released in 2000 .
play the hop ; receive the film roll ( 2 / 2 ) ( h ) .
james franco’s biopic of gay poet hart crane , playing at the los angeles film festival , may serve better as his thesis film than as a commercial release .
but despite earnest attempts , mr . franco can’t bring the fervency of crane’s poetry to life in the extensive recitations . he was far more convincing in the movie “howl” playing allen ginsberg , whose language wasn’t as high - flown . as a result “the broken tower” feels less a movie than an outline for one .
rules weren’t meant to be broken when it comes to tv episode lengths , but these 10 examples — introduced on the very good tv podcast — are clear exceptions .
this is the only film where dumbledore does not say harry potter ' s name .
place the projector part and film roll ( 2 / 2 ) ( i ) .
this is the first film to feature specialised closing credits . the ones in this film are made to look like the marauder ' s map with the cast names accompanied by the
footsteps
.
to those unfamiliar the zombie movie genre , it might seem hard to see how a film like night of the living dead could be regarded as a political film . however , the film is one of the most important cultural records of its era . romero himself has explicitly commented that the film is a document of contemporary social changes . we don’t have to take the director’s word for this , since the film’s political themes are hardly hidden from the audience .
there is a long literary and artistic tradition in which crane figures as a character or muse standing for a certain kind of uncompromising visionary artist ready to sacrifice everything for poetry ,
said langdon hammer , a hart crane scholar at yale who also provides commentary on the dvd of
the broken tower .
while i think the film will be popular among many church - goers as a new arrow in the quiver of apologetics , i doubt many serious biblical scholars will agree with its conclusions . indeed , those conclusions are widely connected to a historical theory which has been carefully negated in scholarship ( even among otherwise orthodox biblical scholars ) . because of this , i fear that the film’s popularity with churches will wind up leaving the church ridiculed for trying to fire another broken arrow at the “white tower establishment” .
marcio and andreia gomes , parents of logan gomes , arrive for a commemoration hearing at the opening of the inquiry into the grenfell tower disaster , in london .
which makes “the broken tower” by no means an easy sit . the abstract structure is challenging and fascinating in equal measure . i’m guessing you didn’t make this with the intention of getting it seen by a wide audience ; it’s a thesis project . were you wary of releasing this , in fear of polorazing your loyal fan base ?
the dark tower movie ends in a very perfunctory manner . again , jake and roland have destroyed dever - toi and possibly the man in black , pretty much saving the dark tower and the world . with jake’s parents dead , he decides to stay with roland in mid - world and become a gunslinger .
no merchandising . editorial use only . no book cover usage . mandatory credit : photo by moviestore collection / rex ( 1609199a ) police story , jackie chan film and television film television police story jackie chan film stills personality 12372269 photograph : moviestore collection / rex
because the first match is the one shown in the film , it is unknown if the games against ravenclaw and slytherin still take place ; as harry doesn ' t receive his new broomstick until the end of the film .
in the book , it takes a while for peter to confess to betraying lily and james potter , while in the film , he confesses almost immediately , as the film versions always cut to the chase .
london fire brigade confirmed that more than 200 fire fighters are tackling the blaze at grenfell tower on the lancaster west estate , with 40 fire engines sent to the location .
the release actually has a few interesting inclusions for fans of the film to dig into . perhaps the biggest spotlight is the
instead , scottie tells her he wants to take a drive in the country and begins driving toward san juan bautista . judy becomes increasingly hysterical as she realizes that scottie suspects her secret . in a rage , scottie drags judy up the steps of the tower , confronting her with her deception . she admits her guilt but claims to still love scottie and begs for his forgiveness . they reach the top and embrace , but are interrupted by the shadowy figure of a nun . judy is so startled by the ghostly figure that she screams and falls from the tower to her death . scottie is left alone in the tower , cured of his acrophobia but broken in every other respect .
in the film , harry ' s two visits to hogsmeade are combined into a single trip .
neither hermione or ron attempt to help hagrid prepare for buckbeak ' s trial in the film .
due to quidditch being mostly written out , cho chang does not appear until the next film .
according to its publicity materials , filmmakers james cameron and alfonso cuaron have described broken horses as
an artistic triumph
and
overwhelming
respectively . it only serves to demonstrate that of the many prodigious talents these esteemed directors possess , film criticism isn ' t among them .
shooting on “the broken tower” will take place throughout new york and begin in mid - november . the restless , talented franco is also working with younger brother dave on an adaptation of charles bukowski ‘s “ ham on rye ” and has adaptations of stephen elliott ‘s “ the adderall diaries ” and d . j . walkdie ‘s “ the holy land ” in the works .
the dark tower avoids the lowest rungs of that ladder . taken on its terms it ' s hardly a disaster , delivering moments of fun on a basic level .
due to quidditch mostly being written out in the film , the part of gryffindor winning the quidditch cup was omitted .
robert delaunay was a cubist who steered away from the still life and the figure , embracing the architectural image of the eiffel tower and the plane as the images of modernity . in his paintings , delaunay was interested in capturing the whole dynamics of the new cult of the machine . in his eiffel tower paintings , delaunay portrayed the tower as it loomed over the city during construction , arising out of it like the new phoenix . in homage to bleriot , the artist celebrates the new dynamism of the new industrial age by painting vibrating discs of color that simulate plane propellers in motion .
arcel’s imdb page attributes the following quote to him : “i have this idea that i wanna make a movie within every genre before i die . ” by directing the dark tower , which blends sci - fi , fantasy , horror , westerns , and more , he could have crossed several genres off the list with one film . instead he made something generic—and in doing so , damaged the dark tower worse than walter did .
in six hundred theaters tonight , viewers will come away from the film with no idea that they have just picked up a broken arrow . they won’t know that the revised egyptian chronology is not a new theory and has been shown to create as many problems for biblical chronology as it solves .
revealed he had sent the broom . in the film , harry receives the firebolt at the end of the film , and although there was no note , hermione shows harry that one of buckbeak ' s feathers came with it .
in “the broken tower” ( his thesis project for nyu’s tisch school of the arts , where he went on to get an m . f . a . in filmmaking ) , franco plays crane , a gay poet known for his difficult , highly stylized work , who took his own life at the age of 32 . shot in black - and - white , franco’s film , like crane’s poetry , is challenging , unconventional and clearly a work of passion .
dumbledore does not say harry potter ' s name at all in the film . this is the only film in which this happens , although harry potter and the deathly hallows : part 1 would not count , due to dumbledore having died near the end of the previous film and flashbacks and voices of dumbledore saying hints and the like .
place the photos . place micheals’ painting ; take the film roll ( 1 / 2 ) ( p ) .
the broken tower was filmed entirely in a traditional
standard
art - house style : low on production - excellence , and high on experimentation . regardless of the outcome , franco has delivered a curious passion project worth experiencing at least once - if only to see for yourself what happens when an inspired performance becomes undersold by weak filmmaking . james franco might be an awesome workaholic and all around cool guy ( which i ' m positive he is ) , but he could use some fine tuning as a director and screenwriter - and hopefully soon . considering how many films he has now completed broken tower comes across as a decidedly uneven outing that never manages to grasp hart crane as if in full bloom .
“listen , people , my band and i are all crying backstage . we’re too broken up to go on . but i just want to tell you , thank you and good night . ”
[ idris ] elba alone can ' t make the dark tower worth watching . but he can make the case , yet again , that he deserves better material than this .
in the first film , the entrance to gryffindor tower is on one end of a hallway . whereas in the film adaptation of harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban and the video game adaptations of harry potter and the order of the phoenix and harry potter and the half - blood prince , it is located on the seventh floor of the grand staircase tower . as the shape of the common room doesn ' t change , one explanation of this change of location may be that these particular stairs were not there in the first movie , and were built to replace the corridor during the summer of 1992 , before harry ' s third year started .
hart crane sure liked to walk around . if there’s an image you’re going to take away from the broken tower , james franco’s take on the modernist poet , it’s crane ( franco ) stalking about new york , or paris , or cuba , or mexico , searching for…something . artistic inspiration ? psychic respite ? a lay from one of the sailors with whom he found fleeting erotic connection ? the camera bobs behind him patiently , recording every step while refusing to speculate on the would - be destination of crane’s multiple , solitary sojourns . franco deserves credit for attempting to understand crane’s interior life by focusing on such interstitial moments . too often , though , the broken tower simply leaves us locked out of crane’s subjective landscape , mistaking furrowed - brow earnestness for insight .
the broken tower is the latest project from james franco ( your highness ) . the film is based upon the autobiography of the poet hart crane as written by paul mariani . crane was considered to be one of america ' s most influential poets following his suicide . the story that is told is one that has revolved around crane ' s struggles to survive as a poet determined to write prose , while also emphasizing his homosexuality and self - destructive behavior . james franco wrote the screenplay , directs , and stars .
with “broken tower , ” crane knew his poetry was difficult . he wrote in a very dense way on purpose , i think because he wanted people to read in a different way . he didn’t want a surface - level reading . i wanted the movie to be loyal to that side of crane , to let the structure and the tone of the movie reflect crane’s work and his personality .
for john irwin , an english professor at johns hopkins , the timing of the movie couldn ' t be better . irwin is the author of
hart crane ' s poetry ,
which became the first major study on crane ' s work in a quarter - century when it was released in december . according to johns hopkins press , the imminent release of
the broken tower
has lifted sales of the book .
new images issued by the grenfell tower inquiry of the kitchen in flat 16 where the fire started on june 14 last year . seventy - one people were killed after the fire tore through the housing block in kensington .
yet franco kept thinking about making a crane movie . he ' d encountered crane ' s name soon after dropping out of ucla , while reading one of bloom ' s books . he bought
the complete poems of hart crane ,
but couldn ' t make sense of it . then he followed the advice of bloom ' s introduction to the edition and read
the broken tower
to understand the context of the poems .
james franco ' s film is tonally flat and a little too impressed with its own elliptical construction .
i recalled this incident to cohen—it’s captured on a documentary film that floats around the internet—and he remembered it well .
in the book , parvati patil ' s boggart is a mummy ; in the film , it is a giant snake .
we don’t have an answer , but we do know the result was a movie that was a major disappointment . here’s a list of ways the dark tower wastes the best aspects of its source material .
there are other worlds than these . stephen king ' s the dark tower , the ambitious and expansive story from one of the world ' s most celebrated authors , makes its launch to the big screen . the last gunslinger , roland deschain ( idris elba ) , has been locked in an eternal battle with walter o ' dim , also known as the man in black ( matthew mcconaughey ) , determined to prevent him from toppling the dark tower , which holds the universe together . with the fate of the worlds at stake , good and evil will collide in the ultimate battle as only roland can defend the tower from the man in black .
in the books , hermione was walking behind harry and ron on their way to charms , but when they get to the class she is gone , and they don ' t know where is until later that day when they find her sleeping on the arithmancy book in the gryffindor tower . none of this happens in the film .
in the books , devar - toi’s destruction is practically part of the climax—something that happens in the middle of the seventh and final book , after roland has been on his grueling journey for , well , the first six books . it’s the end of an incredibly long and arduous ordeal , and part of the climax of the entire series . if there is another dark tower movie , roland can literally stroll to the tower at his leisure .
night of the living dead was george romero’s first feature film and its title has become almost inseparable from its director’s name . this in itself is problematic in that it allows the film’s author to overshadow and even determine the film’s interpretation . night of the living dead certainly encourages auteurist interpretation : romero both wrote and directed the film and is therefore , like the cinema “greats” alfred hitchcock , howard hawks , or john ford , an auteur par excellence . but since the film so clearly and insistently engages with its contemporary social and political milieu , we must also try to understand it in its historical context .
in the film , hermione is with harry when he saves himself , and sirius from the dementors , instead of with buckbeak .
whenever a spell is cast in the film , a faint whistling can be heard . this is the only film in which spells make this noise and are mostly used to signal when simple waves of the wand are actually some kind of spell .
in its complete , cobbled - together cut , the dark tower runs 95 minutes . with apologies to my colleague k . austin collins’s shorter - movie movement , that’s not enough time for a film that was intended to turn a sprawling series of books , totaling roughly 4 , 000 pages , into a tentpole franchise for sony . rather than follow the path traced by the first book , which would have yielded a self - contained story that promised much more to come , the movie is both a sequel to the series and a sweeping distillation of some of its events . adapting dark tower at all is a tall order . adapting dark tower in an hour and a half is impossible .
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 .
in the book , sirius ( in animagus form ) had grabbed ron by the arm and that ron ' s leg was broken when he tried to use one of the whomping willow ' s roots to hold them in place to avoid being dragged off only for the pressure to break his leg . this was changed to ron being grabbed by the leg in the film likely for being too graphic .
most wands have taken different shapes . this is marked as the first film to start making the wands for each character uniquely decorated .
as a critic , i know i’m supposed to do my homework . so let me confess right up front that i did not prepare myself to review “the dark tower , ” the droolingly anticipated film version of stephen king’s multiverse novel series , by consuming all eight books in the series . i had a go at “the gunslinger” [ … ]
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still , franco ' s version of
the broken tower
isn ' t necessarily a perfect introduction to crane . it ' s filmed in black and white , its plot can be hard to follow and its pacing is much slower than most hollywood movies . there are many seemingly aimless silent scenes that follow the back of franco ' s head while he stalks around various streetscapes . some film critics have called these qualities flaws . irwin , though , said he sees them as a reflection of franco ' s desire to be faithful to crane .
the redneck hostility of this language here is reflected in later films about racial hatred in america , such as alan parker’s 1988 film mississippi burning . finally , the way in which the zombies are hung from trees in the final scenes of the film inevitably invokes the racist lynchings of america’s past .
from focus features , the premiere global brand in original and daring cinema , comes focus world . charged with finding the most exciting voices in international and independent film , focus world is proud to bring you the broken tower , from writer / director james franco . hart crane was one of the most important voices in american poetry - but lived a life with as much turmoil as passion . from his early life to his journeys from new york , cuba , and paris , crane ' s story and that of the loves that defined him is told with imaginative empathy , and with a no holds barred performance - in a film as introspective , rebellious , heartbreaking , and honest as crane himself .
while waiting in a holding area for james franco to discuss “ the broken tower ” ( currently available on dvd / vod and opening at new york’s ifc center on friday ) , i can make out everything franco’s saying to another journalist in the next room , despite a closed door and office chatter around me . franco’s not in a shouting match ; he’s just passionately discussing the subject of his first feature to get a theatrical release , the poet hart crane .
the whomping willow is in a different location than it was in chamber of secrets ; in the earlier film , the willow was very close to the school and inside the training grounds . in this film , the willow is a considerable distance from the school , on the side of a slope and amidst rocky terrain .
former chancellor and now editor of the evening standard george osborne tweeted : “just seen this awful tower block fire near my home in w london . my prayers with those affected & heroes tackling it . ”
there are no scenes in diagon alley , in the film , resulting in harry reuniting with ron and hermione in the leaky cauldron lounge .
when harry rides on buckbeak in the film , they fly all the way to the hogwarts lake ; in the book , they fly only once around the paddock in the forbidden forest .
there actually is a point to discussing franco ' s workaholic lifestyle while writing about his latest effort , the broken tower . the film feels amateurish despite the fact that franco has so many directing credits under his belt by now . i was disappointed by his style . the camera - work was shoddy ( unsurprising given what must have been low quality handheld cameras ) . i would have hoped for more from a professional actor worthy of miles of admiration . this film is messy : the camera - shots are often chaotic in style with poor visual techniques and the editing is also weak . when one scene feels ready to end it often extends much further than expected and many scenes feel unfinished and end in a somewhat abrupt fashion .
in the book , hermione is with harry and sirius when they are attacked by the dementors . in the film , she attempts to run after him , but is stopped by snape , forcing her to stay behind with ron , who is not unconcious but has a broken leg and would likely be unable to keep up with harry if he , himself , tried to go after him .
also in the book , harry falls off his broom and cedric catches the snitch . in the film , the hufflepuff seeker is struck by lightning and harry falls off his broom , leaving the snitch apparently uncaught . also in the film , angelina johnson crashes after her broom catches fire which never occurred in the book .
the hogwarts choir doesn ' t exist in the book and the director only added it for the film , however , it was later mentioned in the sixth film as well ( in the scene in which professor flitwick uses
emergency choir practice
as an excuse to escape a conversation with professor slughorn ) .
in the book , harry sat at the table with aunt marge and the dursleys , but in the film , he is just busy at the kitchen counter serving the dursleys and aunt marge .
in the film , after buckbeak’s apparent execution , hermione starts crying and hugs ron while harry comforts her . this never happens in the book .
godard , playing lang’s assistant director in the film , has the last word , heard over the final tracking movement across the sea , a final command to the film crew , “silence , ” as the camera starts rolling — a command that’s then translated into italian . godard’s view of serenity and continuity is necessarily splintered , because the modern world is a tower of babel where languages and discourses compete for mastery over a purity that eludes our grasp . not even silence is unmediated . there’s a french silence , an italian silence , a german silence , and an american silence ; maybe even a greek silence , which the film prefers to remain silent about .
in the film , in hagrid ' s hut a jar of yellow powder breaks which appears to have been thrown by a kind of rock fossil and then another one hits harry on the back of the head . this causes harry to turn and show hagrid that dumbledore , fudge and macnair are coming . in the novel , hagrid just sees the party coming through his window and tells the trio to leave and there is no vase broken .
in the film , this conversation is taken to a private room , with only harry , rosmerta , mcgonagall , and fudge present .
in light of the above comments by fiske and clarke , the violence in romero’s film can be viewed as metaphorical — it stands for the interracial violence of 1960s america and for the horrors of the vietnam war that were so shockingly revealed on american television screens in the late 1960s . in a certain sense , then , the violence of the film may be seen as “realistic’ ; that is , it reflects and comments upon the violence of the period in which the film was made . violence is a theme romero has worked with in all of his zombie films in order to highlight current social injustices . indeed there is in the film a sense of documentary - like verisimilitude , especially in the grainy photographic images of the zombie cull at the end of the film , which recall contemporary photographs of the carnage in vietnam .
in the book the rain during the hufflepuff quidditch match makes it difficult for harry to see until hermione casts impervius on his glasses , in the film , the quidditch players wear goggles .
because that’s where this tower crumbles . “the dark tower” is hollow . it is soulless . it is a film that never quite figured out what it wanted to be , and so elected to be nothing much at all . worst of all , it’s clearly been chopped up by those reported reshoots and test screening edits . there’s a scene with a demon in a house that just ends and much of the final act material features a jake who looks a lot closer to puberty than when the movie began . weird humorous bits feel like they have been spliced in , trying to find as big an audience as possible . and while some may criticize stephen king’s more populist works , that’s a charge that could never be lobbied at the dark tower . these books had vision . they created worlds . they used iconic imagery to explore timeless themes . “the dark tower” plays it so safe and takes so few risks that its greatest sin is in being the one thing those formative books never were for so many people : forgettable .
in the first film , tom , the bartender and landlord of the leaky cauldron was portrayed by derek deadman ; but in this film , deadman has been replaced by a different actor , jim tavaré . there is also a sharp difference between these two portrayals : in the first film , tom appeared quite normal with balding brown hair but in this film , he looks like a hunchback , and is bald . the same is true for the console versions of both the lego games . from the in - universe part of it , one can say that tom simply got older and his mind was weakened by the ageing . it ' s also possible that the original tom was simply a bartender who worked at the leaky cauldron , whereas the one in this film is the one from the books .
the part of bem was created solely for the film , he explains to seamus finnigan what the grim is and also expresses his concern over the dementors effectiveness at catching sirius .
the film ' s cocteau - esque concept is harnessed to some x - files - style paranoia , but it is the dazzling martial arts work that gives the film its special lift . the directors , the wachowski brothers , were already having ideas above their station when they came up with the matrix ( their only previous film , after all , was the sweaty , claustrophobic thriller bound ) . it was the martial arts choreographer yuen woo - ping who helped them reach the next level .
harsh . but it gets more confusing when you see the beast destroy a portrait in the beginning of the movie . this picture looks like the prince as he appears at the end of the film .
this piece contains spoilers for batman v superman : dawn of justice . don’t read it unless you’ve seen the film or don’t care about spoilers
this film should have caused interest in the property to skyrocket . instead , it left this reviewer . . . disinterested in learning more .
. . . an entertaining film that manages to adapt well something that simply seemed unadaptable to the cinema . [ full review in spanish ]
and no wonder : crane ' s life , as it ' s depicted in paul mariani ' s 1999 biography
the broken tower ,
upon which franco ' s movie is based , isn ' t exactly as hollywood - friendly as
the avengers .
harold bloom , perhaps the most famous literary critic alive , has called crane one of the three or four best poets of the 20th century . but crane ' s work is less well - known than that of his contemporaries like william carlos williams and robert frost .
some comments i’ve heard or read online…”it’s a mix between art film and student film . ” to me , that’s just a really easy way to try and describe what it is . i’m an older student for film school . i didn’t need to go to film school to get movies made . i went because it put me in touch with younger filmmakers . it gave me permission to just experiment and try things . you don’t need to be guided by the commercial theatrical marketplace that i’ve been working in as an actor .
however , eyewitnesses have reported that people are still trapped at the top of the building which is believed to have broken out on the second floor and engulfed up to 24 floors above it . small lights that look like torches have been seen by those on the ground , with individuals claiming the building is “close to burning through” .
the film makers included a highland cow during the christmas scenes , likely as a reference to the remote areas of scotland where the castle is supposed to be situated . it may also be as a reference to dufftown , which is mentioned by hermione at one point in the film , for which highlands are known to exist .
i mean for a lot of those films , i worked for a day really as favors . like for “cherry , ” i worked a day because stephen elliott directed it and i optioned two of his books . michael shannon did “the iceman , ” and he was in “the broken tower” and had done one of my student short films , so he basically said to me , “it’s time to do one of my things ! ” so there’s a few things like that , that are kind of misleading .
i shall discuss night of the living dead in relation to the formal categories of genre , structure , and theme , with particular reference to the film’s engagement with the politics of race , gender , and violence . while these time - honoured categories are hardly exhaustive of the film’s meaning , i hope that exploring them will take us some way towards understanding the film’s central concerns and its wider cinematic importance and influence . some of my wider claims about romero’s ideological vision are unoriginal — the exposition of romero as a social critic , for example , has been magnificently achieved by robin wood ( 2003 ) , amongst others . moreover , close readings of the film already exist , most notably the analysis of the film’s “textual and structural” aspects first published in the early 1970s by r . h . w . dillard ( 1987 ) nonetheless , my discussion ( i might almost say disinterment and dissection ) of the film offers some original contributions to the film’s generic , stylistic , and structural analysis and explores some of the reasons for its continuing popularity at a time of renewed cultural and cinematic fascination with zombies .
in the book , aunt marge stays for a couple of nights before she gets blown up . the film makes it seem she blows up the same day she visits .
prisoner of azkaban has the dubious distinction of being , as of 2018 , the lowest - grossing film in the series . it was far from a failure by any means : it generated worldwide box office of us $ 797 million and is currently ranked the 41st highest grossing film of all time . [ 5 ]
by the end , the dark tower can’t seem to decide whether it’s positioning itself for a sequel or content to conclude here . if the movie’s ticket sales match its review scores , a sequel may not be an option . hope for the dark tower faithful ( whose broken hearts will mend ) lies in hollywood’s endless , rolandesque capacity to remake the same stories . this version reportedly cost only $ 66 million , which means that even in the worst case , it won’t bomb badly enough to preclude the possibility of another adaptation attempt . and even if another dark tower movie never gets made , the tv series—which will be written and run by former walking dead showrunner glen mazzara , and in which elba is also supposed to appear—could be better than its big - screen cousin . early indications are that the show , unlike the movie , will wisely pick up at the start of the saga , and a 10 - to 13 - episode order will allow mazzara more time to linger on the rooms of ruin , stairways standing in darkness , and spinning spiders that make mid - world what it is .
in the books , this is very explicitly laid out ; in the movie , it isn’t , but that’s a whole other issue . the issue here is this location is so close , figuratively and literally , to the dark tower itself that putting it in the film at all removes hundreds of pages of potential storylines . the books probably cover years of travel , and now it’s a journey of a couple of weeks at most .
unfortunately , those alternative positions are never fully articulated in the film , nor , for that matter , are any specific problems with the revised chronology . by short handing particular perspectives , the film becomes biased towards rohl’s revised chronological solution , when other solutions could have been discussed . when i asked mahoney media why that was the case , steve law , the film’s co - writer , indicated that test audiences wound up becoming fatigued by “to much information . ” ultimately he indicated that “to us , the emphasis given in the film to the general idea of chronological revision not only was more cinematically engaging , but also has the most explanatory potency . ”
also in the book , marge only floats up to the ceiling , while in the film she uncontrollably floats out of the house , later to be found circling a chimney in sheffield .
hermione is also watching this with ron in the film . in the book harry and ron had not reconciled their problems with hermione yet so she was elsewhere .
james franco ' s arty piece about maverick poet hart crane may serve better as his thesis film than as a commercial release . twitter
james franco ' s
sal ,
a film about the last day in the life of 1950s teen heartthrob sal mineo , was made in 2011 , and it is only now getting a token release . this is franco ' s fifth feature as a director , and in the two years since he shot it in nine days he has made four other features , two documentaries , and two shorts while continuing to act in movies and write short stories and put together art shows . in the fourth feature he directed ,
the broken tower ,
franco cast himself as the great american poet hart crane and made a dreamy black - and - white hash of crane ' s life , filled with student film visuals and dorm - room philosophizing . it was a disgraceful movie , disconnected from any but the most superficial understanding of crane ' s work and life , and franco has only somewhat better luck with
sal ,
a film about a likable but minor actor and icon .
by opening night , that string of postponements and portents had left series loyalists screaming , “face me , ” too ; however ugly the finished film , at least the wait would be over . unfortunately , their fears weren’t unfounded . while it’s not quite as terrible as the prerelease timeline indicated it could be , the dark tower adaptation doesn’t stand on its own or face its source material in a satisfying way .
the dark tower movie , like the dark tower books , is packed with connections to king’s other works : the script goes so far as to rename the series’ psychic ability , “ the touch , ” to “the shine , ” even though there’s already a reference to the shining in an earlier scene . over the course of thousands of book pages , a sprinkling of self - references help impart an impression of interlocking worlds , all joined to the tower and serving the beam . in a 95 - minute movie , it plays as frantic fan service , a distracting scavenger hunt for king creations ; ooh , i spy a low man in a yellow coat . to make those moments more pointless , the viewers who are likeliest to catch all of those easter eggs are also the ones who’ll be most upset by the corners—hell , whole books—cut along the way .
when the gryffindors and slytherins go to their first care of magical creatures lesson in the book they visit the hogwarts hippogriff herd , but in the film buckbeak appears to be the sole hippogriff at hogwarts .
when james franco first came up with the idea to make a movie about the life of american poet hart crane , he had no idea he would wind up writing , directing , producing and starring in it , as he eventually did in
the broken tower ,
which is getting a theatrical release friday . he thought he ' d just want to act . he was fascinated by crane ' s legendarily difficult , brilliant poetry , as well as his personal demons , which led him to alcohol and eventually suicide at age 32 .
in “the broken tower , ” a fragmentary screen biography of crane , written and directed by james franco , who plays the poet , mr . franco speaks those words accompanied by images of the brooklyn bridge . that is the central symbol in crane’s epic poem “the bridge . ” there follows an ungainly simulated sex scene between crane and emile ( michael shannon ) , in which amid much grunting the camera studies the pimples on mr . shannon’s back . the prosaic encounter is so completely antithetical to the rhapsodic mysticism of crane’s love poetry that you wish another director , say kenneth anger , had taken on crane as a subject .
this isn’t all to say future dark tower movies are unsalvageable . . . not that it matters , considering this film’s dire opening weekend box office . but either way , the movie failed to bring stephen king’s masterful storytelling to the screen , which is what fans have loved about this series since the gunslinger was first published in 1982 . and it was a change that benefitted no one and nothing .