caravan of courage : an ewok adventure ( originally broadcast as the ewok adventure ) is a 1984 american television film based in the star wars universe .

it is the first of two spin-off films featuring the ewoks from return of the jedi .

the film , which is set on the moon of endor some time after the ewoks animated series but before the events of return of the jedi , focuses on the struggles of a brother and sister trying to locate their parents who have been kidnapped by a monster known as the gorax .

caravan of courage : an ewok adventure

this is the trailer for the 1984 ewok adventure also called the caravan of courage .
caravan of courage is the ewok adventure star wars would rather you ' d forget .
george lucas ( 1984 ) . caravan of courage : an ewok adventure ( tv movie ) . lucasfilm .
caravan of courage : an ewok adventure and the battle for endor are currently out of print , but can be found on amazon and youtube .
star wars ewok adventures : caravan of courage / battle for endor
2004 dvd .
star wars ewok adventures : caravan of courage / the battle for endor ( dvd , . . .
holoka , chris ( november 25 , 2014 ) . 30th anniversary for caravan of courage : an ewok adventure . theforce . net . retrieved on november 26 , 2014 .
george lucas’ earliest documented crime was caravan of courage : an ewok adventure , though it is for his subsequent acts of gross criminality against cinema that he has become best known .
the film that george lucas chose next ( as producer and writer ) was an ewok adventure ( renamed to caravan of courage : an ewok adventure for overseas theatrical release ) . thus began the spate of petty crime that would turn into unbridled evil over the next twenty years .
while watching the first star wars ewok movie ; caravan of courage : an ewok adventure i noticed that one of the main characters was called mace . this of course made me think of mace windu from episodes i - iii .
at least
caravan of courage
is better than the star wars holiday special .
a . caravan of courage score composed by peter bernstein and conducted by harry rabinowitz .
it was a somewhat awkward encounter because he had a poster for previous star wars offshoot caravan of courage : an ewok adventure stuck on his wall and didn’t want lucas to see it .
star wars galaxies : an empire divided ( 2 . mmorpg . in the game , the player has the opportunity to encounter the gorax and the gorax species , as seen in the ewok adventure . release . in its overseas theatrical release , it was rechristened caravan of courage : an ewok adventure .
features : presented in its original 1 . available subtitles : english . available audio tracks : english ( dolby digital 2 . surround ) dvd includes both caravan of courage ( aka the ewok adventure ) and the battle for endor . caravan of courage : an ewok adventure was one of four films to be juried - awarded emmys for outstanding special visual effects at the 3 .
goldberg , lee ( december 1984 ) . the ewok adventure . starlog 89 .
wicket the ewok first appeared in
return of the jedi
and later went on to star in
caravan of courage .
the ewok adventures , now known as caravan of courage : an ewok adventure , was released on november 25 , 1984 . the tv movie ' s popularity with younger audiences led to emmy nominations and a sequel in 1985 ( ewok adventures : the battle for endor ) .
title caravan of courage - an ewok adventure year 1984 distributor ( s ) 20th century fox film co . ltd classified date ( s ) 14 / 11 / 1984 approved footage 8703 + 12 bbfc reference aff021724
the ewok adventure ( 1984 ) . nytimes . com . retrieved on december 24 , 2013 .
goldberg , lee ( january 1985 ) . john korty : director of the ewok adventure . starlog 90 .
cranna is the only actor who participated in both the ewok films and animated series ; he voiced widdle in caravan of courage , and teebo in the second season of ewoks .
the ewok adventure ( 1984 ) aka caravan of courage . star wars tv movie spinoff . stars : aubree miller , warwick davis . director - john korty . moria - the science - fiction , horror and fantasy film review .
chances of resurrection ? if you know where to look ( we don’t ) , you can apparently find this whole game online . if you’re really desperate for some furry spin - off action , there was also a tv movie entitled caravan of courage : an ewok adventure in 1984 .
for those old enough to remember , today marks the 30th anniversary of the first televised ewok movie — yes , the first — there were two – called the ewok adventure ( or caravan of courage ) . airing in the us on the evening of november 25 , 1984 ( and subsequently screened theatrically in select theaters abroad at christmas ) , it was followed in 1985 by battle for endor , which continued the adventures of cindel towani , the young girl marooned on endor in the first ewok adventure ( the original title before caravan of courage was added ) .
episode 56 : an ewok adventure with eric walker . skywalking through neverland . urltoken ( november 25 , 2014 ) . retrieved on november 29 , 2014 .
star wars ewok adventures caravan of courage / the battle for endor . double feature ( dvd , 2004 ) . • rare titles and out of print releases ! fine print • from my collection !
star wars ewok adventures : caravan of courage / the battle for endor ( double feature ) on dvd . case & artwork are in great shape . the battle for endor ( 1985 ) .
taking off right where the last one ( caravan of courage : an ewok adventure ( 1984 ) left off , this is somewhat darker in tone from opening . where as the first film spent its time rescuing our little heroine , cindel’s ( aubree miller ) parents from an ogre , they are quickly dispatched along with her older brother and hero of the last film , mace , leaving her orphaned and on the run from an evil band of marauders along with ewok , wicket .
an original french poster made to promote the television special the ewok adventures : caravan of courage . this poster was designed by artist drew struzan and features characters and events from the film . showing minimal signs of wear , this poster is in overall great condition .
ewoks was the official soundtrack album to the films caravan of courage : an ewok adventure ( 1984 ) and ewoks : the battle for endor ( 1985 ) . the album was released on lp by varése sarabande and lucasfilm ltd . on december 8 , 1986 . only about half an hour of music from the two films was presented due to lp capacity limitations . for caravan of courage , the music was composed by peter bernstein and conducted by harry rabinowitz , whereas bernstein both composed and conducted the score for the battle for endor .
this is the star wars : ewok adventures dvd from 2004 containing both made - for - tv ewok movies ,
caravan of courage ( 1984 )
and
the battle for endor ( 1985 )
on a double - sided dvd . in great shape .
i loved caravan of courage . had it on vhs . watched it to hell and back . can ' t remember a single fucking thing about it .
chekhov ' s gun : the gifts the shaman ewok gives the caravan before they leave come in handy several times on the trip .
caravan of courage : an ewok adventure ( originally released as the ewok adventure ) is a 1984 made - for - tv movie directed by john korty from a script by bob carrau and story by george lucas . it focuses on a family of humans who have been shipwrecked on the forest moon of endor . after the parents are kidnapped by the gorax , their children team up with the ewoks in a quest to rescue them . the film was followed by 1985 ' s ewoks : the battle for endor .
if you loved the worst aspects of return of the jedi then you ' ll love the ewok adventures caravan of courage and battle for endor . gareth and andy round off their star wars season by looking back at these two furry tv movies .
rogue one marks an unusual development in the star wars cinematic universe , a stand - alone story that isn’t about the skywalker family . this new installment in the saga isn’t wholly unprecedented , however : in 1984 , lucasfilm cobbled together caravan of courage : an ewok adventure , a live - action tv movie starring everyone’s least favorite return of the jedi side characters . a sequel , the battle for endor , arrived soon after .
in 1984 , lucas gifted the world with
the ewok adventure ,
now known more popularly as
caravan of courage : an ewok adventure .
the made - for - tv film is the story of a brother and sister stranded on endor , lost without their parents on the forest moon . the movie did manage to snag a prime - time emmy for outstanding special visual effects , but rightfully lost out in the outstanding children ' s program category to a special episode of american playhouse about a world war ii orphan .
with the second death star destroyed and the empire in shambles , the star wars franchise had nowhere left to go in the ' 80s - except to television . this dvd presents the two star wars made - for - tv movies , “the ewok adventure : caravan of courage” and “ewoks : the battle for endor” .
on november 23 , 2004 , lucasfilm and 20th century fox released the film on dvd—this time with its theatrical title of caravan of courage : an ewok adventure . the dvd presents the film in its original 1 . 33 : 1 aspect ratio with a dolby digital 2 . 0 english audio track and english subtitles . the release was billed as star wars : ewok adventures , a
double feature
of caravan of courage and its sequel , ewoks : the battle for endor . the disc itself is double - sided , featuring one film on each side . it featured no extras , only the films themselves . [ 28 ]
up for sale is the dvd star wars ewok aventures - caravan of courage and the battle for endor . the dvd is in excellent shape with no nicks and scratches . the dvd case and artwork are also in excellent . . .
( star wars ewok adventures dvd . includes 2 features . 1 ) caravan of courage and 2 ) the battle for endor . cd and case are in excellent condition . don ' t miss out on this rare and oop dvd .
these three films , in order of release , are the star wars holiday special ( 1978 ) , the caravan of courage ( 1984 ) and the battle for endor ( 1985 ) .
1 . one of the early working titles for the ewok adventure was “the ewok holiday special” — no big surprise this was changed after fan and critical response to 1978’s star wars holiday special was less than , uh , cheerful .
in the mid - 1980s , two made - for - tv movies based on the star wars franchise were created : the ewok adventure ( 1984 ) , later retitled caravan of courage : an ewok adventure , and ewoks : the battle for endor ( 1985 ) . they star a young child , cindel , whose family has crash - landed on endor , and wicket , the ewok who befriended leia in return of the jedi . the success of these movies led to an animated series , ewoks , which ran for two seasons . the main character , cindel , got a cameo much later in an expanded universe novel as a reporter , and teek was featured in the safety video for star tours when rex was still the pilot .
caravan of courage : an ewok story came out in 1984 , one year after return of the jedi , and it brought back everyone’s favorite star wars character : wicket the ewok . the movie focuses on characters in the star wars universe that audiences generally agreed were the least interesting part of the original trilogy : the ewoks . it was somehow successful enough to lead to another tv ewok film , ewoks : the battle for endor , one year later .
caravan of courage
is a great reminder about just how creepy the ewok faces look . they are also brutal warriors , willing to brandish knives at children and ruthlessly battle creatures 10 times their size . some of them wear skulls on their heads .
an uncharted - style adventure game charting many of his finest exploits , maybe including a few familiar ones , would have been a dream for han fans .
technically speaking this disc has already been released . however , the current release features the first film in its overseas incarnation called
caravan of courage ,
it would be nice if a future release also contained the american tv version called
the ewok adventure .
not to mention some material on the making of these films would be welcome !
those cuddly courageous ewoks from return of the jedi are back in their own adventure . see more »
the ewok adventure debuted on abc on november 25 , 1984 as the
abc sunday night movie
. [ 23 ] [ 2 ] some radio stations broadcast a simultaneous audio track in order to create a stereo experience for viewers . [ 24 ] it received the second - highest ratings that year for an abc movie . [ 2 ] it later aired on the disney channel . [ 25 ] the film was also given a theatrical release in europe under the title caravan of courage : an ewok adventure . [ 13 ] for the ending credits of the french edition of the film , the peter bernstein score was substituted with an original song by french singer dorothée . [ 26 ]
the clan : the ewok tribe appears to be a variation of this trope .
to mark the release of rogue one and to spread public awareness about the existence of this remarkable film , slate ’s joshua keating and jacob brogan revisited caravan of courage for the first time since their childhoods .
lucas conceived of the idea of an ewoks hour long television special , but was extremely hesitant to let the production be handled by anyone outside of lucasfilm . lucas had had his fingers burned on the critically disastrous star wars holiday special some years earlier when he let someone else handle his baby . he determined that he had enough of a story to make an ewok adventure into a two hour tv movie ; an ewok adventure , and intended to ensure that this time he had total control over the production , an idea that today would scare the hell out of anyone , but in 1984 probably sounded awesome .
you are bidding on the rare star wars ewok adventure two movie dvd . this is a must see for any star wars fan . two movies in one .
now that disney has their money grubbing hands on star wars , a terrifying number of spin - offs are in the works , but we would all be remiss to forget that turning secondary characters into headliners started in a time far , far away ( 1984 ) with caravan of courage : an ewok adventure . that is unless you count the star wars christmas special , but the less we say about that the better .
beginning in 1984 , random house released a series of tie - in children ' s books that continued the adventures of the ewoks from the film , many of which also used the subtitle
an ewok adventure .
in 1985 , two children ' s book adaptations were released : random house ' s the ewoks and the lost children and buena vista records ' s book - and - record the ewok adventure . in 1986 , lucasfilm released an official soundtrack , which included selections from peter bernstein ' s scores for both ewok films . [ 27 ]
cnet ' s amanda kooser watches the cheesy 1984 movie
caravan of courage
again so you don ' t have to . and she ' ll never see ewoks the same way again .
you ' ll live the adventure . . . you ' ll love it ' s heroes .
wicket was featured as a main character in the television movies caravan of courage : an ewok adventure in 1984 and ewoks : the battle for endor in 1985 . in both movies , wicket was played by davis and voiced by darryl henriques . wicket was also a main character in the animated television series star wars : ewoks from 1985–1986 , with jim henshaw voicing wicket in the first season and denny delk voicing wicket in the second .
just one year later , to accompany the record breaking showing of the ewok adventure ( 467 , a . k . a . caravan of courage here in the uk ) , buena vista rolled out the read - along adventure adaptation ( in the states only , not in the uk ) followed in 1985 by ewoks : the battle for endor ( 470 ) . filled with hard - to - find images , these two adaptations of the television movies are among the very best of the releases and tough to locate .
“everyone loves the underdog , don’t they ? to look at an ewok , you’d assume…you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover . to look at , they were little and cute and furry , but they were big in spirit and courage and got on with the job in hand , and people liked that . it’s a combination of things . they’re quite mystical , there’s a little bit of magic in caravan of courage . they’re in touch with that earthy stuff .
wicket was featured as a main character in the television movies caravan of courage : an ewok adventure in 1984 and ewoks : the battle for endor in 1985 . in both movies , wicket was played by davis and voiced by darryl henriques . wicket was also a main character in the animated television series star wars : ewoks from 1985 - 1986 , with jim henshaw voicing wicket in the first season and denny delk voicing wicket in the second .
there ' s a ton of incomprehensible ewok dialogue . there ' s an ewok hang glider that looks like the wright brothers built it during a fever dream . there ' s a naughty goat . there ' s a daring rescue followed by even more ewok grunting . and that ' s just the beginning .
i was willing to put my young star wars idealism on the line and watch
caravan of courage
as an adult . i ' m doing this for you , so you don ' t have to . i don ' t remember if i saw
caravan of courage
when it first aired , so i ' m coming into this fresh . i want to see if my childhood passion for all things ewok has stood the test of time and to give myself a small refresher on the star wars universe before
the force awakens
opens next week .
not to worry — there are still a few bits of trivia to chew on from the first ewok adventure , which we recently dug out of the old lucasfilm production and marketing files . here are nine :
3 . four - year - old aubree miller , who played cindel towani , was a local actress from nearby sebastopol , california . the ewok adventure was her first movie role .
keating : for all his flaws as a storyteller , i find lucas’ genuine love of ewoks kind of endearing . i watched this movie a day after rogue one , which in my view fails by thinking that violence and humorlessness are the same thing as seriousness . i was considering mounting an extreme slatepitch arguing that caravan of courage is better than rogue one . i can’t do that . rogue one is a competently directed movie starring world - class actors , and caravan of courage is hot garbage . but i ultimately find caravan of courage ’s approach to the star wars universe more appealing . better that than the way the new movies treat it as some kind of religious text . basically , what i’m saying is : rogue one needed more ewoks .
6 . the ewok actors all wore baby - blue pajamas under their costumes .
what happened ? under a shroud of mystery , parker brothers ( the game’s developers ) only opted to release death star battle , and left their other return of the jedi tie - in ewok adventure on the shelf .
keating : caravan of courage takes place some time before jedi . that doesn’t really make any sense since the ewoks have learned some english by the end of the movie , which they definitely don’t know by the time the rebels show up .
like most things in this universe , caravan of courage : an ewok adventure is at least marginally better than the star wars holiday special . but it’s still pretty terrible . this made - for - tv movie is about the towani family , who crash - land on the forest moon of endor and run into the dead - eyed murder bears called the ewoks . when the human parents are kidnapped by an evil beast called the gorax , it’s up to their annoying ragamuffin kids to team up with those murder bears , trudge across the landscape , and eventually save the day .
a grown - up wicket remembers four adventures from his youth in the ewok village .
i was watching the first star wars ewok movie
- my sincerest condolences .
return of the ewok is a campy , weird , and fascinating piece of marketing for the final installment of the trilogy . understandably it does not have an official release , only being viewable via bootlegs .
pirani , adam ( december 1985 ) . warwick davis : return of the ewok . starlog 101 .
wicket would return the following year in a sequel to caravan of courage : ewok adventure , helping cindel and new allies noa ( wilfred brimley ) and teek defeat king terak and his sanyassan marauders in the 1985 tv movie ewoks : the battle for endor . this film strengthened the bonds between wicket and cindel , with wicket rescuing his family and learning to speak some galactic basic ( which he may have forgotten in return of the jedi ) . [ 9 ]
streeter , michael . eric walker : ewok adventurer . retrieved on october 31 , 2013 .
oh boy , here comes wicket the ewok a . k . a arnold drummond with fur
caravan of courage is pretty dull but it ' s also very transparently made for babies . i haven ' t seen the second one in many years but that opening battle that kills off almost all of the cast from the first movie is some hardcore shit .
ewok adventure was developed around the time of return of the jedi for the atari 2600 , with dropping rocks on imperials ( causing them to explode ) from the comfort of your glider taking up most of the game play . the end goal is taking down an imperial base , we’ve learned . up there is clip from the game which has emerged online .
while the caravan of courage ultimately feels like a childhood coming of age story that fits comfortably in the star wars mythos , the battle for endor takes a few decidedly odd turns . this film sees most of same actors all reprise their roles from the caravan of courage , and begins in a peaceful time in the ewok village where the towani family is preparing to leave on their newly - repaired starcruiser . however the story quickly takes a dramatic turn leaving the towani parents and mace all dead when the village is attacked by sanyassan marauders led by a witch named charal . cindel and wicket are kidnapped along with several covered wagons full of ewok prisoners . managing to escape through a hole in the floor of the prison wagon , cindel and wicket separate from the group and begin their own adventure . they flee from the sanyassan marauders through the forest , eventually escaping their pursuers .
warwick davis ( wicket the ewok ) - some heart warming moments from a star wars event .
o ' connor , john j . ( november 23 , 1984 ) . tv weekend ; ' the ewok adventure , ' sunday movie on abc . wikipedia : the new york times . retrieved on january 5 , 2016 .
write something about yourself . no need to be fancy , just an overview .
with the swift turnaround of movies from screen to home video formats and downloads it’s likely that the days of the read - along adventure are over , but like 7″ records , cassettes , and 8 - tracks , they’re a part of the fabric of star wars . the media may be retired , but the adventure is far from over .
the ewok movies proved an opportunity for ilm to hone a technique from 2 . a space odyssey . the technique , used in photographing matte paintings , is called latent image matte painting .
wicket next featured in a starring role in the 1984 tv film caravan of courage : an ewok adventure ( chronologically set before return of the jedi ) . in the film , he accompanies stranded brother and sister mace and cindel towani as he and his band of ewoks help find and rescue mace and cindel ' s missing parents from the giant gorax . in the movie , wicket is revealed to be the son of deej and shodu , and has two older brothers , weechee and widdle . [ 7 ] the film , its sequel , and the animated series are no longer considered to be official star wars canon after disney acquired lucasfilm . [ 8 ]
der wolf feart raid an eine der t antiquariat ; disneyana . single choice test lesetext
2 . the ewok adventure was shot entirely in marin county , home of skywalker ranch . much of the action was shot five miles from skywalker in a public parkland called roy’s redwoods — a space which contains 300 - year - old sequoias , the oldest in the area .
“people who alter or destroy works of art and our cultural heritage for profit or an exercise of power are barbarians . ”
this movie is the vapor of the star wars franchise . nothing about caravan of courage is notable , and only half - remembered notions about a little speed freak that looks like snarf from thundercats poke out of your memory a week after watching it . it’s not painful to sit through . it’s just a very bad movie .
i can ' t make this decision for you .
caravan of courage
is a must - see for star wars completists . if you saw it as a child , it might be best to just leave it at that and cherish your hazy , fading , rosy - hued memories of the movie .
4 . if the narrator of the ewok adventure sounds familiar , you probably remember him from another holiday special , albeit one much more famous – 1964’s rudolph , the red - nosed reindeer , narrated by burl ives ( who played sam the snowman in the special ) .
the main thing that stands out about caravan of courage is just how disgustingly cutesy and saccharine sweet it is . there should be a warning for diabetics on each scene featuring wicket bonding with the girl cindel . in fact just watching any of these scenes is enough to make you want to vomit your organs out of your nose .
admittedly , the ewok adventure movies aren’t remembered for much these days , apart from a couple mentionable footnotes — caravan of courage introduced the saga’s first mace , mace towani , older brother to cindel — and battle for endor starred wilford brimley , the only bespectacled star wars character filmed in live action to date . ( okay , saul dann from the star wars holiday special donned specs in a couple shots , which i seemed to block from memory — can you blame me ? ) since there was little merchandising associated with the ewok movies , and the dvd release of the movies several years back was accompanied by muted fanfare , these movies are easily overshadowed by the rest of the star wars experience .
courage , loyalty and love are the strongest forces in the universe .
if burl ives said it , it must be true .
to us , that sounds like an ingenious cross - medium marketing ploy and , potentially , a whole lot of fun . selling high and buying low would earn rewards , while the threat of imperial entanglements added an element of danger to proceedings .
in 2004 , the movies were released on a double - feature dvd under the title star wars ewok adventures .
good god i was remember of the ewoks cartoon from when i was a kid but never knew these live action ewok movies existed .
9 . joe johnston , who famously was the chief concept designer on the original star wars trilogy , was also production designer on the ewok adventure . he not only created the overall look of the ewoks with george lucas , he also penned a children’s book on the woodland furballs : the adventures of teebo .
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nah . . . just kidding . it ' s the making of star wars caravan of courage an ewok adventure . tell lucasfilm and disney you want the movies released for a whole new generation on blu - ray and dvd ! sign the petition ! tell them you want it released with all the extras like the making of , deleted scenes and commentaries . disclaimer : all names and related items of star wars and disney are registered trademarked and copyright lucasfilm ltd and the walt disney company and their respective trademark and copyright holders , all rights reserved . this intended for entertainment and information purposes only . all original content is the intellectual property of walker media group , all rights reserved . no part of this video may be repurposed , reproduced , redistributed or rebroadcasted without the written permission of walker media group .
urltoken is a property of mandatory media , llc , an evolve media , llc company . ©2018 all rights reserved .
was an executive producer of the box office bomb howard the duck . he disowned the film shortly after its release .
i always liked battle for endor as a kid , and i don ' t remember anything about caravan of courage . to me though the fairy tale aspect fits in perfectly with an eu story , since star wars is a fantasy tale to begin with . like with rogue one now , they ' re pointless and inconsequential to the main story , but get to do something different with the star wars universe .
as you may expect , caravan of courage is aiming for the younger crowd . if you thought the ewok scenes in return of the jedi were insufferable , get ready for an overdose of lucas’ idea of pre - jar jar cute sidekicks . quite a bit of the movie is spent watching these guys do silly things . at the very least , though , the performers are good for what they’re doing . warwick davis , the child actor who famously portrayed the main ewok in return of the jedi , returns as wicket , and he’s clearly into the role , but it’s really hard to find fault in what is ultimately a pantomime performance . the other actors in the ewok costumes are just as good as can be expected , and i guess when you put them next to the two human leads in this film , they do actually manage to come off as somewhat charming creatures .
wicket w . warrick is a fictional character from the star wars franchise , first introduced and portrayed by warwick davis in the 1983 film return of the jedi . he subsequently appeared in two made - for - television movies , an animated series , and promotional media for star wars from 1983 to 1986 . wicket is a diminutive teddy bear - like creature known as an ewok , living on the forest moon of endor and eventually participating in the battle of endor as an ally of the rebel alliance .
the hell with rogue one , han solo , obi - wan kenobi - an epic ewok trilogy on the scale of the hobbit and lord of the rings directed by mel gibson with their dialogue completely in ewokese and no humans . that is what i want .
as well as the 2015 special edition of insider , james burns and i also had the opportunity to catch up with warwick on the 19th episode of radio 1138 , which celebrated the 30th anniversary of caravan of courage and his participation in the force awakens . just like eric and aubree , warwick had great memories of his time on the production and explained just why he thinks the ewoks were so massively popular .
these two ewok adventures recount the years before the battle of endor . in ' caravan of courage ' , when the towani family crash their starcruiser onto the planet endor , the children , cindel and mace , are separated from their parents , who have been kidnapped by the evil monster gorax . now they must rescue their parents , but first they endeavour to befriend the shy , resourceful ewoks , whose aid will prove integral to their operation . in ' the battle for endor ' , the group must defend the ewok community from the invasion of a foreign enemy . cindel and the ewok wicket escape into the forest , where they meet a couple of people who , like them , have been stranded on the forest moon planet after an accident in their star cruiser . together the group does battle with the invaders , and tries to find a way off endor .
what ' s fun about
caravan of courage
is the opportunity to settle into life on endor and enjoy sights like a llama , shaggy ponies and a ferret in the ewok village . if you thought endor was just a big forest , you ' d be wrong . there ' s a desert landscape full of acid pools and dry lakes . what ' s not so great is the pervasive cheesiness , sight gags , slow pacing , stilted acting and silly plot .
caravan of courage is a basic story . on the forest moon of endor , the starcruiser of the towani family lies wrecked . the towani family ( catarine , jeremitt , mace , and cindel ) are stranded . when catarine and jeremitt are taken by a giant mouse - faced monster ( the gorax ) , the children are found by the an ewok and they all make friends and eventually go on a quest to rescue the parents from the mouse - faced monster . the film debuted as a holiday television special , airing on abc on november 25 , 1984 and was released overseas in the cinema .
brogan : the ewoks’ language acquisition in this film may be its most unlikely element : they learn to speak with such ease that the linguist from arrival would be jealous . by the time the sequel starts , wicket is basically speaking in complete sentences . ultimately , that’s one of the few things that carries over from the first ewok film to the second , since the filmmakers kill off cindel’s entire family in the first few minutes , rendering her efforts in caravan of courage moot .
with the swift turn - around of movies from screen to home video formats and downloads it’s likely that the days of the read - along adventure are largely over , but like 7″ records , cassettes and 8 - tracks it’s a part of the fabric of star wars , a vessel that carried the spirit of the star wars universe and its inhabitant to the kids of the 70’s and 80’s . the media is retired , but the adventure is far from over .
5 . eyelids for sleeping ewoks had to be created by ilm for the ewok adventure , since the original masks used in return of the jedi did not have any . a recent blu - ray release for return of the jedi would digitally add them , however , allowing the dry - eyed heroes to blink for the first time .
walker was initially unaware he was auditioning for george lucas . an interview with the casting team led to an on - camera try - out , “but it wasn’t until the final screen test that i realised what the film was , ” he laughs . “they brought out an ewok attached to a stick — it didn’t have an actor in it — to see if aubree would be afraid of it , but she thought it was cute and hugged it . so they didn’t have a problem there . ” lucas came up with caravan of courage ’s story , with screenplay duties going to bob carrau , at the time working for lucas as amanda’s nanny . the director was john korty , a veteran filmmaker and animator who’d been an influence on both lucas and francis ford coppola , and for a time rented space at coppola’s american zoetrope . several of the rest of the crew — production designer joe johnston , special - effects artist phil tippett , many of the ewoks themselves — came straight from return of the jedi . the redwood forests around lucas’ skywalker ranch in marin county , california , again played the part of endor .
the main focal point of this new ewok species was to be wicket wystri warrick , a small young male scout and warrior . generally considered to be the most well known of the ewoks , wicket would be given the lead role in almost all subsequent ewok related media released after return of the jedi . [ 2 ]
during the celebration iv opening ceremonies , the cast of
star wars in 30 minutes
performed a skit called
lucasfilm in five minutes 1983 - 2005
, in which they re - enacted segments or imitated elements from all major lucasfilm productions from 1983 to 2005 . both ewok films were included in the act . [ 33 ] in 2009 , urltoken celebrated the 25th anniversary of the ewok films with a series of articles covering various aspects of each . [ 27 ] rogue one : a star wars story director gareth edwards had a caravan of courage poster in his office while making that film , [ 34 ] reportedly as a reminder of past star wars spin - off films . [ 35 ]
the two ewok movies ( sometimes billed as “the great ewok adventures” ) attempted to profit from the popularity of the lovable but bloodthirsty and warlike teddy bears residing on the forest moon of endor . they feature returning characters like wicket warrick ( warwick davis of course reprises his role ) and expand on the previous used ewok suits to add more characters and relationships within the village ( logray the medicine man , chief chirpa , paploo , and many more ) .
to us , rebel agent sounds like a ground - level first person shooter , while rebel warrior sounds more combat - based . rebel jedi / jedi rebel , in our humble opinion , sounds tantalisingly like an action adventure title where your own jedi wades into the rebel cause .
the effects are quite good as are the production values for an 80’s family fantasy adventure , though star wars , this is not . the ewoks seem to be able to channel a more straight forward magic than the more plausible force , but the ewoks themselves felt very consistent .
keating : if these movies were made today , i wonder whether the ewoks would have elicited some of the same online blowback that greeted avatar ’s depiction of “indigenous” aliens . in the original ( brutal ) new york times review of return of the jedi , vincent canby describes “teddy - bear - like creatures called ewoks , which serve the functions once left to friendly pygmies in old tarzan movies . ” this is only highlighted more in caravan of courage by the david attenborough–style faux - ethnographic narration—by burl “big daddy” ives , no less—in the early scenes depicting ewok village life .
j . j . abrams’ the force awakens is heralding a new star wars era in which the numbered episodes will alternate with standalone spin - off adventures , making for a film per year . but the ewok adventures caravan of courage and the battle for endor demonstrate that the side stories are hardly a new idea . made to capitalise on the popularity of the warrior teddy bears among star wars ’ younger fans , they were also , more sentimentally , a gift from george lucas to his young daughter , amanda .
later on , back at the ewok village , mace says goodbye to izrina , and the towani and warrick families hold a celebration .
i don ' t blame the star wars powers for these cheesy movies . the ewoks were a huge deal . my brother and i had matching brown ewok stuffed toys . my brother even agreed to trade his security blanket for his ewok . this was serious stuff .
chances of resurrection ? well , ea - owned company visceral games snared amy hennig ( who creative - directed and wrote uncharted ) for an unspecified next - gen star wars game in april 2014 . could this be a han solo adventure ? we’ll be sure to shout about it as soon as we hear anything .
what was it ? star wars : attack squadrons is an interesting member of this list , not least because it stands as an actual disney - led gaming project which didn’t make the cut , as opposed to the reams of lucasarts ideas that were cancelled in the prior takeover .
after leaving ilm , i began shopping for a network that might be interested in airing such a production . abc , cbs , and nbc all told me that a half - hour film didn’t interest them , although abc said if we could fill a two - hour movie of the week slot , they’d be interested . so we went with them , and our canvas grew bigger . the little , half - hour project we had in mind was now a two - hour primetime tv movie . george conceived the story of the film that became caravan of courage : an ewok adventure with writer bob carrau , who wrote the shooting script . as far as i know , no consideration was given to using any other star wars theme characters such as luke , han , leia , or chewie . the film was intended to represent a standalone time and situation .
wicket the ewok and his friends agree to help two shipwrecked human children , mace and cindel , on a quest to find their parents .
“george lucas came on board [ to direct ] one week of pick - up shots . i actually have the first day reshoot call sheet that lists him as the director , for which i understand a production assistant got into trouble , as it was taken off the second day’s call sheet . so the actual comeback into directing by george lucas was not on episode i but on caravan of courage .
our bet ? that rise of the rebellion would have been one of the many projects touted to bridge the gap between revenge of the sith ( where all hope seemed lost ) and a new hope ( where the rebellion very much existed ) . we can imagine an adventure game , maybe with a stealthy ‘hide from the storm - troopers’ element existing in that time period nicely .
starring warwick davis , aubree miller and eric walker , the film — using old - school techniques , even for 1984 — was made on a thrifty budget of $ 3 million and shot largely around marin county and in the mighty redwood forests of california between june and august of ’84 . scheduled to accommodate the young casts school work , lucasfilm even gave davis and walker a camera with the instructions to shoot a behind the scenes documentary , very much in the vein of warwick’s return of the ewok mockumentary , made during the production of jedi 2 years before . the film was released theatrically here in the uk and europe , where it’s better known as caravan of courage .
ewoks are irrepressible and ridiculous , squabbling like toddlers themselves and cheering each other along . through two spin - off tv films – caravan of courage and battle for endor , both of which saw the ewoks save two tow - haired kids from evil magicians – and a cartoon series , the ewoks became breakout stars . kids almost universally love them on first viewing , and anyone who claims otherwise is lying .
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the caravan of courage features three main characters , cindel , a young girl who crash landed on endor with her family , mace , cindel’s brother , and wicket the ewok . this alone sets the caravan of courage apart from the current six canon star wars movies in that it features a female lead . the strength of cindel as a character can be readily debated , but she generally shows that she can hold her own in a fight . in her first meeting with the ewoks , in fact , although they brandish spears at cindel she maintains eye contact , she makes a quick diplomatic decision to not fight . and when mace “comes to her rescue” he blunders , believing that she cannot hold her own he bursts in to stop the ewoks , but finds instead that cindel has already befriended them . cindel diffused the threat of the ewoks efficiently , and was brought to the village as a friend , while mace was brought tied down as a prisoner initially .
i ' m not yet mentally ready to watch the second spin - off ,
ewoks : the battle for endor ,
which came out in 1985 . there ' s a lot of carnage involved , and i can ' t handle any more ewok - talk just yet . hold me , obi - wan kenobi , and protect me from the ewoks . i ' m not saying i will never watch
battle for endor ,
but i ' m going to have to give myself at least a year to recover from
caravan of courage .
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( 1983 ) hyperspace members can download an edited version of this short film , which was shot during the production of
return of the jedi .
the full version has yet to be made available
viewers are treated to a knife - wielding ewok , an impulsive and violent human boy , a sick and helpless little girl and a giant stop - motion rat / bear / razorback creature . actually , the stop - motion stuff is pretty cool . the rest of it , not so much .
soon we meet qui - gon jin ( liam neeson ) and obi - wan kenobi ( ewan macgregor ) and the childish adventure begins . my first thought as a 20 year old was , ‘was star wars really this childish ? the answer : no . it was a family adventure and it wasn’t as high brow as many fans would like to believe but it wasn’t anything like this either .
the film was released on vhs and laserdisc in 1 . mgm under the original title . the film was released on dvd as a double feature collection with its sequel , ewoks : the battle for endor , on november 2 . the release was a single double - sided disc , with one film on each side . for this release , the film bore theatrical release title , caravan of courage .
this ewok - soaked film gives me a new appreciation for the pacing , characters and special effects in the original star wars trilogy . it ' s much easier to embrace and be engaged by the fast - paced adventures of luke skywalker , han solo and princess leia than it is to trudge along with a couple of kids and their ewok buddies .


mikey and nicky is a 1976 american film written and directed by elaine may and starring peter falk and john cassavetes .

the supporting cast features ned beatty and noted acting teacher sanford meisner .

mikey and nicky

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john cassavetes and peter falk star in “mikey and nicky , ” a drama of friendship and betrayal .
the impeccably played mikey & nicky moves with such certainty and glory that it emerges as an underrated masterpiece .
when mikey and nicky are talking on the street after the fight , the sleeve of mikey ' s jacket changes between being close to and far from his tie .
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“mikey and nicky” follows the friends as they wander in aimless desperation around a neon‐lit city , and as we learn eventually that mikey is , in fact , the finger , man .
[ video essay ] elaine may wrote and directed
mikey and nicky
( 1976 ) as a feminist think piece driven by her volatile male characters .
mikey and nicky finds two of the most inventive american actors of their generation riffing off of each other to provide a relatively thorough series of observations about the difficulties of male friendship .
the sense of dread that pervades mikey and nicky is almost unbearable . in this dog eat dog world , all women are portrayed as cognitively impaired bitches , violence is pervasive , and social relationships are physically and psychologically abusive .
later in the evening , mikey angrily accuses nicky of having nicknamed him “the echo” for always saying everything twice . but so do nicky and everyone else in the film . miss may used to write that kind of dialogue to be funny . this time she means to be serious but the method isn ' t good enough .
nick is desperate , holed up in a cheap hotel , suffering from an ulcer and convinced that a local mobster wants him killed . he calls mikey , his friend since childhood , but when mikey arrives . . .
nicky ( john cassavetes ) , convinced that his bosses have put out a contract on his life , summons mikey ( peter falk ) to his hideout in a fleabag hotel . nicky needs help . he ' s scared out of his wits . he ' s coming apart at the seams . he ' s afraid of being murdered but his ulcer is killing him anyway . he isn ' t sure he can trust mikey , but if he can ' t trust mikey , he can ' t trust anybody .
when mikey arrives at the hotel , nicky at first refuses to let him in , but then he relents . the two men embrace . they are in tears . they clutch each other . they laugh . they cry . they argue . they reconcile . mikey tries to be reasonable with his distraught friend .
elaine may ' s first two films , “a new leaf’ and “the heartbreak kid , ” were comedies of sometimes inspired and often touching lunacy , mostly about , t : the uncertain progress of romantic love between men and women . her third film , “mikey and nicky , ” which opened yesterday at the little carnegie , issomthing else entirely .
nicky and mikey are not godfathers but godsons , family men who , like children , depend on the big boss , not merely for their livelihoods but for their lives . their fearful yet proud loyalty to the mob causes trouble at home . even when the men are alone together , their lives with women are in the foreground , and may shares the women’s perspectives throughout . at heart , the movie is a portrait of two marriages : nicky’s , to jan ( joyce van patten ) , from whom he’s separated because of his carousing , and mikey’s , to annie ( rose arrick ) , to whom he’s both deeply devoted and wantonly abrasive . both men take their frustrations out on a fragile woman , nellie ( carol grace ) , nicky’s occasional lover , whom they treat with contempt and brutality—and who calls them on it .
when he hears that the mob have a contract out on him , smalltime hood nicky ( john cassavetes ) calls his old friend mikey ( peter falk ) and asks for help . the two go on the run , but cracks begin to appear in their friendship and it becomes apparent that one of them has betrayed the other . written and directed by elaine may .
it ' s written and directed by elaine may but this feels like an auxiliary cassavettes film . somehow his gangster sagas are engaging no matter how slow they are . the friendship that mikey and nicky have is mined from the real life friendship of cassavettes and falk . and since we ' ve already seen these two in films before it feels like yet another hangout a la husbands , albeit in a more purposeful and digestible form .
since they were kids , it’s always been the same : nicky ( john cassavetes ) gets in trouble , and mikey ( peter falk ) bails him out . this time , however , there’s a price on nicky’s head , so the guys have to keep on the move over the course of one night in the lower depths of philadelphia . it’s tempting to call this the best cassavetes movie that cassavetes didn’t make , but director elaine may brings a mordant humor all her own to this meeting of geniuses .
i would recommend that you by the region1 dvd of mikey & nicky . ; the us edition really has a restored print , not just says so on the cover . it ' s in widescreen 1 . 85 : 1 , has some interviews with the filmmakers , and a restoration documentary . the movie itself is one of the most original us movies from the seventies .
need proof the world isn ' t as great as it used to be ( in regards to movie - going options anyway ) ? at one point cassevetes as nicky gets the urge to go to the movies .
it ' s after midnight , where are you going to go to the movies ?
peter falk ' s mikey asks .
though we are told more than once that the cassavetes character is a charmer and that he has always treated his friends rottenly , including mikey , there ' s no evidence in the performance that nicky is charming in any way . nor do we believe that mikey is a jerk , as he ' s supposed to be . both ‘actors are , in fact , as interchangeable in their characters as are their character names . it ' s significant , i think , that as i write this review i have to keep referring to my notes to remember which ‐actor which
nick is desperate , holed up in a cheap hotel , suffering from an ulcer and convinced that a local mob boss wants him killed . desperate , he calls mikey , his friend since childhood and a fellow gangster . so begins a long night…
this movie also has a understated performance from the great william hickey . it may look like a cassavetes movie , but the dialogue is definitely elaine may . it has a great emotional arc , and has snappy dialogue . [ kinney ] is that him ? [ mikey ] no . [ kinney ] hey , you sure ? [ mikey ] yes i ' m sure . you wanna shoot him just in case ?
elaine may began in second city where she formed a successful comedy team with mike nichols . she earned a drama desk award for her play adaptation ; wrote , directed and performed in a new leaf ; directed the heartbreak kid ( the original ) ; wrote and directed mikey & nicky and ishtar ; received an oscar nomination for writing heaven can wait ; reunited with nichols to write the birdcage and primary colors ( a bafta - winner ) ; and worked with producer julian schlossberg on six new york productions . she has done other things , but this is enough .
“mikey and nicky , ” which miss may wrote as well as directed , takes place in one approximately 12‐hour period . it involves a lot of self‐conscious exposition that never quite succeeds in telling us , all we have a decent right to know . it ' s about a couple of small‐time los angeles hoods who ' ve grown up together , joined the same mob and now , on this particular night , find their lifelong relationship passing in front of our eyes in aggressive close‐up .
3 1 / 2 out of 5 stars . mikey & nicky felt like a diet version of a cassavetes film . not necessarily a bad thing but for as great of a movie about friendship as this is , i almost ( elaine may pulled this off ) feel if cassavetes directed this himself it would ' ve had more of a kick behind it . still raw at times ( namely towards the powerful ending ) cassavetes and falk are as always great together .
short portions of the film‐come to vivid life , especially toward the end . there ' s a very funny , typically urban confrontation between mr . cassavetes and an officious’ lady on a bus who doesn ' t want to start up with his “element , ” and a fine sequence in an all‐black bar whose patrons take mikey and nicky for white cops . not so good is a sequence in a neighborhood bar where miss may ' s camera keeps panning across the great faces of the real‐life ( i ' m sure ) customers as if she were showing us hinder temcarvings .
nick is desperate , holed up in a cheap hotel , suffering from an ulcer and convinced that a local mobster wants him killed . he calls mikey , his friend since childhood , but when mikey arrives , nick won ' t let him in : his moods swing . so begins a long night as mike tries to take care of nick , calm him down and get him out of town . their sojourn - on foot and in a city bus - takes them to a bar , a club , toward a movie theater , to the cemetery where nick ' s mom is buried , and to nick ' s girlfriend ' s apartment . tempers fray and the friendship is tested . meanwhile , a hit man who ' s getting information from someone is indeed looking for nick .
m1key and nicky , directed and written by elaine may ; orocuced by micnael hausman : executive producer , bud austin ; director of photography , victor j . kemper ; editor , john carter ; music , john strauss ; distributed by paramount pictures . running time : 118 minutes . at the little carnegie theater , 57th street , east of seventh avenue . this film has been rated r :
glenn has published two books of reviews , and has been writing and researching for tcm since 2004 .
nickey ( john cassavetes ) is a small - time jewish gangster in trouble with the mob . he calls on his lifelong friend mikey ( peter falk ) for help . during the night the two spend together , the power of their friendship is undermined by their mutual nastiness and pressing financial concerns . elaine may ' s script was allegedly taken from an episode in the life of her uncle .
is a professor of english and creative writing at the college of william and mary . she is the author of
there ' s the all night place that shows double features . has the candy bar that stays open and serves ice cream sandwiches .
later when a hitman played by ned beatty goes looking for nicky at this theater , we see that it ' s playing a kung fu movie . so you ' re telling me that in 1973 philadelphia there was an all - night movie theater that had ice cream sandwiches and kung fu double features ? get right out…
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perhaps the greatest
buddy film
ever . falk and cassavetes create characters of unforgettable depth and passion . outstanding .
❉ he is also a regular contributor for urltoken , a site dedicated to providing the best news and analysis on viral marketing and arg campaigns for films and other forms of entertainment .
❉ nick clement presents his assessments of cinematic gems and cult oddities . this week , elaine may directs falk and cassavetes .
the script is a + + + and so funny , and of course cassavetes and falk rule . very fortunate to see this for the first time on the big screen on 35mm !
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, and coauthor with her husband , sam kashner , of books on oscar levant , george reeves , and the relationship between elizabeth taylor and richard burton . she lives in williamsburg , virginia .
mike nichols and elaine may recorded only three albums during their performing years , but their cool , dry , and exacting style remains enthralling .
starring john cassavetes and peter falk , as well as ned beatty , sanford meisner , joyce van patten , and m . emmet walsh .
, it ' s 1970s cinematic male bonding at its most rueful . when doomed nicky visits his estranged wife ( joyce van patten ) and apologizes , saying
i went to work for you , not for me ,
he might be any businessman who grabbed for the brass ring and neglected his family in the process ; later , when he goes into an all - night candy store and asks for the sweets he enjoyed as a boy , there ' s the between - the - lines sadness of a man trying to regain the lost innocence of his youth . it ' s an understated moment in a movie that sometimes verges on being over the top .
eric kohn and anne thompson discuss their favorite films of the year so far . they also debate several new releases and share some streaming recommendations .
cassavettes and falk together for two hours . . . need i say more ?
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. he is the host and producer of the arthur lyons film noir festival in palm springs , california , and director - treasurer of the film noir foundation .
an underrated little movie about small - time crooks and killers . cassavetes and falk are at their naturalistic best . a must for fans of gritty new york movies .
is illustrated with 170 photos from the actor ' s private life and professional career .
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two low level hoods and childhood buddies spit philosophy in elaine may ' s blackly comic and brutally honest genre turn , the penultimate film in her all too brief career as new hollywood auteur . cassavetes and falk play the odd couple who , over the course of an hour and three quarters , probe the frailty and hidden resentment at the heart of their floundering bromance . well deserves a place alongside ' the killing of a chinese bookie ' and ' mean streets ' in the annals of great unconventional gangster pictures of the ' 70s
. ' reviewing independently since 1998 , the savant database has grown to over five thousand reviews and articles , and become one of the most respected and sought - out review pages on the web for news and opinions about classic films on disc . readership boomed when the page trailers from hell picked up glenn ' s reviews as featured content in 2015 .
. in other words , it has equal parts mid - life crisis and violent betrayal .
: unlike reviews , comments are considered temporary and may be deleted / purged without notice .
henry fonda and james stewart were two of the biggest stars in hollywood for forty years . they became friends and then roommates as stage actors in new york , and when they began making films in hollywood , they roomed together again . between them they made such memorable films as
the actress and director both love the genre , but as they told indiewire , they also knew it needed to be retrofitted to tell the true story of catherine weldon and sitting bull .
a powerful dark tale that is emotional and profound in its unsentimental characterization of lowly underworld figures .
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tcm members and supporters get 20 % off the entry fee and special arrangements have been made for the films to be produced under the sag - aftra short film agreement . discount code : tcm2018
punctuating tab ' s on - screen presence are rare film clips and provocative interviews with friends and co - stars including john waters , clint eastwood , george takei , debbie reynolds , robert wagner , portia de rossi , noah wyle , connie stevens , robert osborne , and dozens more .
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, for which scorsese received emmy awards for outstanding directing for nonfiction programming and outstanding nonfiction special . scorsese ' s inventiveness , bold vision , and mastery of the form have solidified his place in cinematic history .
the best film i have seen about male bonding , and its directed by a woman . the exchanges between cassavetes and falk felt so raw and real that i was pretty surprised when i heard this wasn ' t improvised . while she is very sympathetic towards her characters , so much so that she treads the very fine line between sympathy and misogyny , her view of male bonding is far more bleak . whatever the love one has for each other , the sheer influence of money and power strangles both of them , which is why the final shot in the film remains very affecting and lingers long after the film is over .
this one stands out in elaine may ' s mainly comical oeuvre as an intriguing drama about the fragility of friendship and the trust that ' s linked to it . john cassavetes and peter falk , friends in real life , collaborated succesfully a couple of times before and succeeded in delivering a realistic tragedy of betrayal .
. . . it ' s difficult not to admire the performances and may ' s dialogue . . .
a couple of lowlifes excavate their friendship and to that end whether they can ever overcome their own selfishness .
lane and schoenbrun discuss how her interest in morgellons disease patients ( “the pain of others” ) and his exploration of the slenderman myth ( “a self - induced hallucination” ) led them to make archival films from youtubes .
the grapes of wrath , mister roberts , twelve angry men , and on golden pond ; and mr . smith goes to washington , destry rides again , the philadelphia story , it ' s a wonderful life , vertigo
and that’s what makes her such an interesting subject of study . in a hollywood even more male - dominated than today , may blazed her own short , highly erratic trail as a director and left four films : the compromised debut ; the bittersweet hit ; the neglected classic ; and the notorious flop . let’s take a look .
, biographer and film historian scott eyman spoke with fonda ' s widow and children as well as three of stewart ' s children , plus actors and directors who had worked with the men - - in addition to doing extensive archival research to get the full details of their time together . this is not another hollywood story , but a fascinating portrait of an extraordinary friendship that lasted through war , marriages , children , careers , and everything else .
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in honor of the just released criterion collection ' s magnificent 4k blu - ray restoration of director john ford ' s beloved classic
oung mr . lincoln producer / host dick dinman showcases his chat with the prolific director andrew v . mclaglen who knew director ford both intimately and professionally from the early ' 30s until ford ' s demise in the ' 70s and andrew relates some never before heard and frequently hilarious stories about this charismatic yet crotchety and unpredictable cinema giant .
the duo’s rowdy , overheated friendship was forged in a painful childhood , memories of which are forced to the surface under mortal pressure , along with bitter grudges . their bromantic bonds are stretched by the frantic , conflict - riddled nighttime ramble . this yields a chaotic blend of comedy and horror , tenderness and brutality , self - revealing intimacy and brazen power plays .
may details her protagonists’ ugliness along with their reckless , depraved beauty . she captures her freewheeling , pugnacious actors—their street poetry and wild antics , their grim whispers and furious cries—with a loose intensity and an engaged but critical distance . cassavetes , his head down , his forehead like the prow of a near - wreck , and falk , with his canny nervousness , blaze a trail of trouble that , in its emotional extremes , distills a lifetime of frustrated energy into a single deadly night . ♦
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kino lorber ' s kl classics division adds a new 2k blu - ray restoration of howard hughes ' incendiary and controversial western epic the outlaw to their impressive list of film classic home video releases and to celebrate the occasion producer / host dick dinman revisits his previous chat with the late outlaw sensation jane russell which is presented uncut and unedited for the very first time .
addresses this underrepresentation by giving filmmakers the platform to collaborate and tell unique stories to help change the way you view disability .
) and tiffany smith anoa ' i , vp entertainment diversity , inclusion & communications , cbs entertainment . additional mentors tba .
in fact may’s creativity , her considerable strength of will and her personal charisma are quasi - legendary in showbiz circles . (
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throughout the 1950s , tab hunter reigned as hollywood ' s ultimate heartthrob . in dozens of films , and in the pages of countless magazines , hunter ' s astonishing looks and golden - boy sex appeal drove his fans to screaming , delirious frenzy , solidifying him the prototype for all young matinee idols to come . bristling against being just another pretty face and wanting to be taken seriously , hunter was one of the few to be able to transcend pin - up boy status . he earned his stripes as an actor to become a major movie star and recording artist . but throughout his years of stardom , hunter had a secret . he was gay , and spent his hollywood years in a precarious closet that repeatedly threatened to implode and destroy him . decades later , hunter ' s dramatic , turbulent and ultimately inspiring life story has become an explosive documentary feature .
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producer / host dick dinman and warner home video ' s senior vice president of classic and theatrical marketing george feltenstein celebrate the warner archive ' s lustrously restored blu - ray release of the hanging tree one of legendary superstar gary cooper ' s most unjustly forgotten masterworks and actress joan leslie ( who at the tender age of 16 costarred with cooper in sergeant york ) and acclaimed director michael anderson ( who directed cooper ' s final two films ) regale dick with their praise of cooper ' s uniquely invisible acting technique .
may’s judgment on manhood is harsh : it entails renunciation , submission , humiliation , and the willingness to betray and to break the relationships forged in the heat of male bonding . or , to be a man , one must stop being one of the guys .
a former union activist and veteran endorsed by bernie sanders has a chance to win the district represented for twenty years by paul ryan .
not a typical mob movie , they are more of a side story . the real story is basically shot like a case study of two friends . it was a good movie and it was nice to see peter falk in a different type role , since this was the columbo era . it shows a friend pushing his other to the breaking point through deceit and selfishness . it had very good acting and you could believe the bond between falk and casavetes . the end has a nice build up with a sudden but warranted end .
, and gave them the freedom to stray from the script where they saw fit . as with cassavetes ' movies , some mistakenly think
in the first biography of this colorful , instinctual artist , alan k . rode illuminates the life and work of one of the film industry ' s most complex figures . he begins by exploring the director ' s early life and career in his native hungary , revealing how curtiz shaped the earliest days of silent cinema in europe as he acted in , produced , and directed scores of films before immigrating to the united states in 1926 . in hollywood , curtiz earned a reputation for his explosive tantrums and his difficulty communicating in english . however , few directors elicited more memorable portrayals from their casts , and ten different actors delivered oscar® - nominated performances under his direction .
a varied background helps add perspective to glenn ' s reviews ; from the ucla film school he worked in special effects , and then moved on to tv commercial work , and trailers for the cannon group . a long stint with mgm / ua home video led to editing large - scale dvd extras and other special projects . he began writing for the web in 1997 as ' mgm video savant . ' working with the film curators at mgm , glenn helped detect and produced the restoration of the original ending of the film noir classic
the warner archive has just released on blu - ray legendary director fritz lang ' s last two american - made edge - of - your - seat thrillers while the city sleeps and beyond a reasonable doubt in their original wide screen superscope incarnations and popular film noir author and tcm host eddie muller rejoins producer / host dick dinman as they both salute the unjustly underrated star of both films , dana andrews .
. few of wayne ' s following films would have the brilliance or the cachet of a john ford western but , taken collectively , the careers of these two men changed movie making in ways that endure to this day . drawing on previously untapped caches of letters and personal documents , nancy schoenberger dramatically narrates a complicated , poignant , and iconic friendship , and the lasting legacy of that friendship on american culture .
trippy indie madeline ' s madeline is the movie that lakeith stanfield and boots riley from sorry to bother you want to see the most .
guarantee the perfect movie night with tickets from fandango . find theater showtimes , watch trailers , read reviews and buy movie tickets in advance .
without placing it into the context of cassavetes ' movies as a director . may cast him and falk , who had starred in cassavetes '
challenges audiences with its relentlessly raw and probing tale , and took a stylistic cue from the independent movies directed by one of its stars , john cassavetes . even in the director - friendly 1970s , may ' s independent - minded production didn ' t fly with the studio heads .
rather , she alluded to the production indirectly : “all this misplaced visual gloss doesn’t compensate for what’s missing : comic energy . ” in any case , she wasn’t alone , and she was far from the most negative ; and may , lamentably , has never directed a movie again .
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this is one of those tricky films that was able to find the perfect balance between dangerous plotting , character based comedy , and genuine heart .
❉ nick clement is a freelance writer , having contributed to variety magazine , hollywood - elsewhere , awards daily , back to the movies , and taste of cinema . he’s currently writing a book about the works of filmmaker tony scott , and co - operates the website podcasting them softly .
was unscripted ; the cast followed the script , but were allowed to go
off the page
and extend the scenes , as falk and cassavetes often did ( may used multiple cameras set - ups to capture such moments ) . her movie feels pitched somewhere between the wounded masculinity of
not to be overlooked is marshall ' s dedication helping hundreds of amputees and vets during wwii . he was more candid about himself in these situations , and made a tremendous hit with the men . while marshall cast his spell on moviegoers , he was adamant about one thing .
i
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buddy thriller elaine may wrote and directed for paramount in the mid - 1970s . while may ' s previous movies as a director were the offbeat comedies
the award - winning dick dinman ' s dvd classics corner on the air is the only show devoted to golden age movie classics as they become available on dvd and blu - ray . your producer / host dick dinman includes a generous selection of classic scenes , classic film music and one - on - one interviews with stars , producers , and directors . to hear these as well as other dvd classics corner on the air shows please go to
vic damone , the legendary singer who came up in the big band era and saw his popularity as a crooner develop into a long career as a recording artist , nightclub entertainer , actor and radio - tv presenter , died february 11 , 2018 in miami beach , fl at the age of 89 .
. after an incredible year on the film festival circuit and a theatrical run across fifty cities in the united states , the acclaimed documentary will be available to rent or own from all major retailers . based on hunter ' s new york times best selling memoir , producer allan glaser and director jeffrey schwarz (
turner classic movies is proud to honor our late host , robert osborne , with the creation of the robert osborne award . this annual award will be presented at the tcm classic film festival to an individual whose work has helped keep the cultural heritage of classic films alive and thriving for generations to come . osborne served as the host of turner classic movies for 23 years , and his passion for film and wealth of knowledge as a film historian helped preserve the legacy of classic film . for the inaugural award , tcm will celebrate world - renowned filmmaker director martin scorsese and his longtime dedication to preserving and protecting motion picture history at the ninth annual festival . this presentation will be made as part of the official opening night gala at the tcl chinese theatre imax .
an image in a government briefing book helped a state department official see “the forest for the trees” in the west bank—and then was shared with the president .
we are continually improving the quality of our text archives . please send feedback , error reports , and suggestions to archive _ feedback @ nytimes . com .
offers unprecedented access to the man behind the marquee smile , who shares first hand what it was like to be a manufactured movie star during the golden age of hollywood and the consequences of being someone totally different from his studio image . the film traces hunter ' s dizzying rise to hollywood super - stardom , his secret life in an era when being openly gay was unthinkable , and his ultimate triumph when the limelight finally passed him by and true love won .
what is the statute of limitations on a notorious flop ? elaine may ’s “ ishtar ” finally gets a north american blu - ray release this week ( the rest of the world has had the dvd since 2004 ) , a release that was itself delayed by two and a half years from its originally mooted date of january 2011—an ironic echo of the protracted and painful post - production process the film went through back in 1986 / 87 . but then , nothing about the production and release of “ishtar” was simple , just as there is nothing particularly straightforward about its brilliant , elusive and often “difficult” writer / director .
in an episode dedicated to the show within the show , “glow” illustrates its grand capacity for storytelling , and the very good tv podcast breaks down how .
the unbeatable combination of john cassavetes and peter falk , this time both on the same side of the camera with elaine may in the director ' s chair . written and directed by elaine may . starring john cassavetes , peter falk , ned beatty , rose arrick , carol grace , joyce van patten . . .
) have assembled dozens of past and present hollywood stars , and most importantly the man himself , to talk frankly about being a survivor of the hollywood roller coaster . the blu - ray & dvd will be available nationwide at all major retailers , with autographed copies only available on tab hunter ' s official website ,
( 1954 ) - - was in many ways the anti - auteur . during his unprecedented twenty - seven - year tenure at warner bros . , he directed swashbuckling adventures , westerns , musicals , war epics , historical dramas , horror films , melodramas , comedies , and film noir masterpieces . the director ' s staggering output of 180 films surpasses that of the legendary john ford and exceeds the combined total of films directed by george cukor , victor fleming , and howard hawks .
richard brody began writing for the new yorker in 1999 , and has contributed articles about the directors françois truffaut , jean - luc godard , and samuel fuller . he writes about movies in his blog for newyorker . com . he is the author of “everything is cinema : the working life of jean - luc godard . ”
never miss a big new yorker story again . sign up for this week’s issue and get an e - mail every week with the stories you have to read .
ugh , the only thought that comes up to my mind right now is : men . but that ' s utterly stupid because i feel like i ' m ignoring the fact that a woman wrote and directed this , and that me not liking the characters and not being able to connect with the story , or at least to put my subjectivity aside to appreciate it , says more about me than the actual film . anyway , not feeling this one but i ' m not rating it .
got scant , blink - and - you ' ll - miss - it theatrical play in 1976 , with paramount merely satisfying its contractual obligations to release the movie . it later had a similarly spotty arthouse re - release in a may - shortened version during the late 1980s . now that version is out on dvd from home vision entertainment , replete with interviews with producer michael hausman and cinematographer victor j . kemper that speak copiously to may ' s blend of cockamamie obsession and inspired artistic perfectionism .
scorsese ' s career began in new york city at nyu where he made a series of short films . in 1968 , he wrote and directed his debut feature ,
they got along famously , with a shared interest in elaborate practical jokes and model airplanes , among other things . fonda was a liberal democrat , stewart a conservative republican , but after one memorable blow - up over politics , they agreed never to discuss that subject again . fonda was a ladies ' man who was married five times ; stewart remained married to the same woman for forty - five years . both men volunteered during world war ii and were decorated for their service . when stewart returned home , still unmarried , he once again moved in with fonda , his wife , and his two children , jane and peter , who knew him as uncle jimmy .
founded by martin scorsese in 1990 , the film foundation has helped restore over 800 films , making available classic and independent films thought to be lost . in 2007 , scorsese expanded the film foundation ' s work globally , creating the world cinema project , which has preserved , restored , and distributed over 30 films from over 20 countries .
these actors cassavetes and falk are an excellent combo . the story is good has a great plot . the ending is not what you expect . i like this movie .
peter falk and john cassavetes are a pair of bar flies  with the former hired by an underworld boss ( ned beatty ) to lure the latter to his death .
plus : tributes to ford from lee marvin , roddy mcdowell , richard widmark , robert wagner , charlton heston , james stewart , jack lemmon and maureen o ' hara .
did , spent over 2 years editing , traded lawsuits with paramount and at one point was even accused of hiding cans of film from the studio . when the dust cleared ,
one in five americans have a disability , making it today ' s largest minority , yet far too often their important and varied stories go untold . . . until now !
elaine , elaine , you crazy cook . fresh from my experience on a new leaf i just had to check out what else she had in store , and this doesn ' t disappoint . elaine may lets the two fantastic leads just have at it , often letting camera ( s , there were plenty of them , and cinematographers to boot ) roll , in the hopes of catching improvised gold . it didn ' t excactly help her standing with producers and studios , as budgets never really entered into her equations , it seems .
( 1955 ) . like many pop crooners , damone was unmoored by the rise of rock - n - roll in the early 1960s , though he segued successfully into the casino circuit in the 1970s , where he remained active and in fine voice until his retirement following a stroke in 2001 . though never a cultural institution like sinatra or nat
king
cole , vic damone ' s rich baritone provided him with a slew of hits in the 1950s and a career on stage that compared with and even outlasted many of his contemporaries .
' s biographies on kay francis , virginia bruce , ann harding , ruth chatterton , george brent and sylvia sidney made the
best of the year
category in various publications .
elaine may . . . is a political filmmaker . one of the slipperiest , most allegorical films i ' ve seen , from an era when those attributes were garden variety . out - conversations the conversation . these characters change face so regularly , identity is a misnomer . between this and ishtar , no one felt intrigue and the nihilism of human endeavor like may .
in philadelphia , a small - time bookie who stole mob money is in hiding and he begs a childhood friend to help him evade the hit - man who ' s on his trail .
, ” said of may “elaine was too formidable , one of the most intelligent , beautiful , and witty women i had ever met . i hoped i would never see her again . ” )
really glad i gave this one a watch . the grittiest of 70 ' s gritty movies . everything was dirty and sweaty . every shirt collar was stretched out . i needed a shower after watching .
a common friend ' s sudden death brings three men , married with children , to reconsider their lives and ultimately leave together . but mindless enthusiasm for regained freedom will be . . . see full summary »
for over twenty years john ford and john wayne were a blockbuster hollywood team , turning out many of the finest western films ever made . their most productive years saw the release of one iconic film after another :
several supporting actors have i some good moments , including ned beatty , who plays the hired‐ ' murderer who worries about the cost of the gasoline he ' s using up , and carol grace , who is superb as slightly dimwitted girlfriend of mr . cassavetes . what mr . , cassavetes and mr . falk do , though , exists beyond the fringe of film criticism . they just seem to be carrying . cinmaking elaborate actorish fusses—
two terrible lounge singers get booked to play a gig in a moroccan hotel but somehow become pawns in an international power play between the cia , the emir of ishtar , and the rebels trying to overthrow his regime .
judged by a noted and diverse group of entertainment industry talent , films are not required to include disability in the storyline , but must include at least one person with a disability in front of or behind the camera .
the idea of the director of “ishtar” being worried about having her name attached to something that someone else “fucks up” may seem kind of paradoxical , but it’s oddly in line with what we can conclude about may’s style of filmmaking—as imperfect as the results may seem , may’s attitude was jealously perfectionist . almost all of her films had issues with creative control : may wanted more of it , the studio and the producers frequently wanted to give her less , and cost overruns and missed release dates were usually the result . but to give may her due , there’s no sense in which she owns her successes more than her failures—she may have subsequently voiced suspicions that producers on “ishtar” had a personal beef with beatty that contributed to their sabotaging its release , but her response to the derision and ignominy that greeted the film was as honest as it was final : she never directed another film .
. he has been awarded the william k . everson award for film history by the national board of review . he teaches film history at the university of miami and lives in west palm beach with his wife , lynn .
finally got back on my cassavetes kick with this film . well , admittedly this film isn ' t actually written or directed by cassavetes but it stars him and peter falk and is very much in the same vein as his work so i included it in my viewing plans . quite good really although i was perhaps a little tired when i started which isn ' t a great idea for these types of films . - 18 / 06 / 2008
three days into his miami honeymoon , new york jewish lenny meets tall , blonde kelly . this confirms him in his opinion that he has made a serious mistake and he decides he wants kelly . . . see full summary »
considering the gross overextension of the shoot and the indulgence of the actors , . . . it makes perfect sense that the movie feels like the result of a game of 52 pick - up rather than the realization of a design .
was something else entirely - a dark night of the soul suffered through by two philadelphia gangsters and lifelong friends , one of whom just may be helping their bosses carry out a hit on the other . unlike the comedies before it ,
no less a figure than frank sinatra once proclaimed singer vic damone as possessing the
best pipes in the business ,
which he parlayed into a popular recording career in the late 1940s and 1950s with such hits as
you ' re breaking my heart ,
again
and
my heart cries for you ,
among many other lush romantic ballads . damone also enjoyed a secondary career as an actor , largely as lovestruck youth in such hollywood musicals as
for the annual , weekend - long competition , april 13 - 15 . entry deadline : april 11 , 2018 . entrants are given 55 hours to write and produce a 3 - 5 minute short film based on an assigned genre .
thanks to terry teachout , at about last night , for his post linking to an effervescent time capsule : a 1960 appearance on “what’s my line ? ” by mike nichols and elaine may , then a comedy duo and not yet movie directors . nichols’s directing career continues , if fitfully ( his last movie was “charlie wilson’s war , ” from 2007 ) ; may’s , the greater , if briefer , career , was killed by a masterpiece , “ishtar , ” in 1987 .
( 1951 ) . after scoring one more top 5 hit with
my truly truly fair
in 1951 , damone was inducted into the army , where he served until 1953 . mercury kept him in the spotlight during this period by releasing a steady string of material recorded by damone prior to his tour of duty , including the top 10 hits
here in my heart
( 1952 ) and
april in portugal
and
ebb tide ,
both in 1953 .
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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 .
henry graham lives the life of a playboy . when his lawyer tells him one day that his lifestyle has consumed all his funds , he needs an idea to avoid climbing down the social ladder . so he intends to marry a rich woman and - murder her .
movies and tv shows are certified fresh with a steady tomatometer of 75 % or higher after a set amount of reviews ( 80 for wide - release movies , 40 for limited - release movies , 20 for tv shows ) , including 5 reviews from top critics .
i’ve already happily linked to online copies of two elaine may films on feature friday— the heartbreak kid ( 1972 ) and a new leaf ( 1971 ) , both still up at youtube . now i’m happy to link to a third ; i like elaine may that much .
a gentleman ,
he insisted .
to me the term implies artificiality - - a studied pose , and i ' m damned if i ' m artificial !
as the late robert osborne aptly stated ,
marshall ' s personal story is a fascinating one .
this is one of my favorite films of all time . falk and cassavettes are incredible but elaine may deserves more respect then she gets for her work directing this . just because it ' s nothing like her comedies i honestly think some people suppose cassavettes ghost - directed it or something .
rode also investigates curtiz ' s dramatic personal life , discussing his enduring creative partnership with his wife , screenwriter bess meredyth , as well as his numerous affairs and children born of his extramarital relationships . his meticulously researched biography provides a nuanced understanding of one of the most talented filmmakers of hollywood ' s golden age .
. ” in a vanity fair piece from earlier this year , the first substantial press interview the famously publicity - shy may has given since 1967 , she implied that , far from it being a source of rancor , that’s kind of how she likes it : “you can make a deal if you’re going to do the original writing . but if you’re going to do the original re - writing , you can’t . no matter how much you write , what you write , you’re still a hired gun , and you have no control… the only time i really ever took credit was when i worked with mike… because i knew him , and i thought probably he won’t fuck it up . ”