Rian Johnson, the writer and director behind Knives Out and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, loves whodunits, particularly due to “how malleable the genre is,” he shared on X last month. Johnson, who considers Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile (1978) and Evil Under the Sun (1982) touchstone films, excitedly announced the latest sequel, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, will release May 24. Southern-drawl supersleuth Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, is back on the case for the third installment with an all-star cast and brain-teasing case.
As...
As...
- 6/3/2024
- by Kalia Richardson
- Rollingstone.com
As Kenneth Branagh brings his third Hercule Poirot film to theaters with “A Haunting in Venice,” fans of the Agatha Christie character might debate: Who is the best actor to ever play the mustachioed Belgian detective? And which versions simply didn’t work?
We’ve compiled a list of the most notable actors to portray the famously fussy sleuth —from Tony Randall to PBS favorite David Suchet — and ranked them with both how true they are to Christie’s vision and how enjoyable their portrayal is to audience.
MGM
7. Tony Randall (1965)
The “Odd Couple” actor’s one outing as the detective in the Frank Tashlin-directed film “The Alphabet Murders” leans very hard into comedy. The result: Despite the mustache and bald cap and an occasionally passable accent, we get very little of “the little grey cells” character we expect and far more sight gigs and slapstick.
Prime Video
6. John Malkovich...
We’ve compiled a list of the most notable actors to portray the famously fussy sleuth —from Tony Randall to PBS favorite David Suchet — and ranked them with both how true they are to Christie’s vision and how enjoyable their portrayal is to audience.
MGM
7. Tony Randall (1965)
The “Odd Couple” actor’s one outing as the detective in the Frank Tashlin-directed film “The Alphabet Murders” leans very hard into comedy. The result: Despite the mustache and bald cap and an occasionally passable accent, we get very little of “the little grey cells” character we expect and far more sight gigs and slapstick.
Prime Video
6. John Malkovich...
- 9/17/2023
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
So we’re really committing to this cinematic Poirotverse, huh? Ok.
The Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is arguably Agatha Christie’s finest creation, next to her own persona of Agatha Christie, Queen of the Whodunit. He’s been played by everybody from Tony Randall to John Malkovich; Peter Ustinov portrayed the deductive sleuth six times, and David Suchet has made a career out of gifting TV viewers with the definitive take on Christie’s murder-mystery icon. He’s graced 33 novels and 51 short stories, which means that Kenneth Branagh — the actor-filmmaker...
The Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is arguably Agatha Christie’s finest creation, next to her own persona of Agatha Christie, Queen of the Whodunit. He’s been played by everybody from Tony Randall to John Malkovich; Peter Ustinov portrayed the deductive sleuth six times, and David Suchet has made a career out of gifting TV viewers with the definitive take on Christie’s murder-mystery icon. He’s graced 33 novels and 51 short stories, which means that Kenneth Branagh — the actor-filmmaker...
- 9/16/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
There’s no shortage of brilliant detectives in novels, film and television, but one of the greatest — or at least the one with the fanciest facial hair — is Hercule Poirot. The Belgian investigator, created by Agatha Christie, has appeared 33 novels, more than 50 short stories, and has been played by a variety of iconic actors.
But for whatever reason, Poirot has only sporadically appeared on the big screen, with many of his earliest movie appearances being lost to time, while some of his other noteworthy adventures were rewritten as vehicles for Christie’s other beloved creation, Miss Marple.
Here we take a look at the various theatrically-released adventures of Hercule Poirot, from the 1930s to today, and see which of his mysteries were truly worth solving.
Photo credit: Columbia
Honorable Mention: “Murder By Death” (1976)
Neil Simon’s wacky spoof of the supersleuth genre, directed by Robert Moore, features an all-star cast...
But for whatever reason, Poirot has only sporadically appeared on the big screen, with many of his earliest movie appearances being lost to time, while some of his other noteworthy adventures were rewritten as vehicles for Christie’s other beloved creation, Miss Marple.
Here we take a look at the various theatrically-released adventures of Hercule Poirot, from the 1930s to today, and see which of his mysteries were truly worth solving.
Photo credit: Columbia
Honorable Mention: “Murder By Death” (1976)
Neil Simon’s wacky spoof of the supersleuth genre, directed by Robert Moore, features an all-star cast...
- 9/15/2023
- by William Bibbiani
- The Wrap
Marlene Dietrich in Witness For The Prosecution, Albert Finney in Murder On The Orient Express, Maggie Smith in Evil Under The Sun, Kenneth Branagh in Murder On The Orient ExpressGraphic: United Arists/Emi Films/20th Century Fox
It makes sense that filmmakers have been turning to Agatha Christie for source...
It makes sense that filmmakers have been turning to Agatha Christie for source...
- 9/11/2023
- by Cindy White
- avclub.com
If you thought you'd seen the last of Hercule Poirot, think again. Agatha Christie's famous Belgian detective, who has appeared in countless of her mystery novels, returns in "A Haunting in Venice," which is set to premiere on Sept. 15. The movie is based on Christie's 1969 novel "Hallowe'en Party," which revolves around Poirot embroiled in another murder mystery. The original story takes place at a Halloween party, while the upcoming adaptation sees the detective at a séance.
"A Haunting in Venice" coproducer and director Kenneth Branagh is set to reprise his role as Poirot for the third time in the upcoming film. He first made his debut as Poirot in the star-studded 2017 film "Murder on the Orient Express." Five years later, he returned as Poirot in the 2022 movie "Death on the Nile," which also had a stacked cast. The third film in the Branagh trilogy will also feature huge stars...
"A Haunting in Venice" coproducer and director Kenneth Branagh is set to reprise his role as Poirot for the third time in the upcoming film. He first made his debut as Poirot in the star-studded 2017 film "Murder on the Orient Express." Five years later, he returned as Poirot in the 2022 movie "Death on the Nile," which also had a stacked cast. The third film in the Branagh trilogy will also feature huge stars...
- 9/6/2023
- by Michele Mendez
- Popsugar.com
Jane Birkin graced the front pages of most French newspapers on Monday as France mourned the death of the late British actress and singer who enjoyed icon status in the country that she had called home since the late 1960s.
“Our tears can’t change anything,” proclaimed Le Parisien newspaper, which first broke the news of Birkin’s death at the age of 76 on Sunday.
Libération ran with the simple headline “Without Jane”, while regional newspaper Le Maine Libre referred to the late actress as “The Eternal English Bride of France”.
International obituaries have highlighted Birkin’s notorious performance with partner and late bad boy of French pop music Serge Gainsbourg on the 1968 pop song, ‘Je t’aime… moi non plus’, or the fact she inspired the Hermès Birkin bag.
For the French, she was much more.
In a six-page tribute, Libération mused over the reasons for Birkin’s never-ending...
“Our tears can’t change anything,” proclaimed Le Parisien newspaper, which first broke the news of Birkin’s death at the age of 76 on Sunday.
Libération ran with the simple headline “Without Jane”, while regional newspaper Le Maine Libre referred to the late actress as “The Eternal English Bride of France”.
International obituaries have highlighted Birkin’s notorious performance with partner and late bad boy of French pop music Serge Gainsbourg on the 1968 pop song, ‘Je t’aime… moi non plus’, or the fact she inspired the Hermès Birkin bag.
For the French, she was much more.
In a six-page tribute, Libération mused over the reasons for Birkin’s never-ending...
- 7/17/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Birkin’s death has shocked her adopted France over the long Bastille Day weekend.
Anglo-French actress, director and singer Jane Birkin has died at the age of 76.
Born and brought up in the UK, Birkin rose to fame in France in the 1960s with a parallel acting and singing career and became a global fashion icon and a woman’s rights activist. France claimed the naturalised citizen as their own.
Birkin starred in around 70 films including Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 film Blow Up, 1969’s The Swimming Pool opposite Alain Delon and Romy Schneider, Roger Vadim’s Don Juan, Or if Don...
Anglo-French actress, director and singer Jane Birkin has died at the age of 76.
Born and brought up in the UK, Birkin rose to fame in France in the 1960s with a parallel acting and singing career and became a global fashion icon and a woman’s rights activist. France claimed the naturalised citizen as their own.
Birkin starred in around 70 films including Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 film Blow Up, 1969’s The Swimming Pool opposite Alain Delon and Romy Schneider, Roger Vadim’s Don Juan, Or if Don...
- 7/16/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Jane Birkin, the iconic British-born actress, singer and model who became a chart-topping artist in France with her collaborations with then-partner Serge Gainsbourg, has died at the age of 76.
Birkin’s death was announced Sunday by the French culture ministry, which said Birkin was found dead at her Paris home. No cause of death was provided. Birkin recently canceled concerts due to unspecified health reasons; in recent years, she also suffered a stroke and battled leukemia.
French president Emmanuel Macron tweeted Sunday, “Because she embodied freedom, because she sang the...
Birkin’s death was announced Sunday by the French culture ministry, which said Birkin was found dead at her Paris home. No cause of death was provided. Birkin recently canceled concerts due to unspecified health reasons; in recent years, she also suffered a stroke and battled leukemia.
French president Emmanuel Macron tweeted Sunday, “Because she embodied freedom, because she sang the...
- 7/16/2023
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Jane Birkin, the singer and actress who rose to fame in the late 1960s as the lover of French bad boy Serge Gainsbourg and became a beloved figure in her adopted France, has died. She was 76.
The French culture minister announced the news on Sunday following reports in Le Parisien newspaper and Bfm television that said Birkin had been found dead at her home in Paris. She had suffered a mild stroke in 2021.
Although born in London, Birkin would find fame singing in French. Her duet with Gainsbourg on the sexually explicit song “Je t’aime…moi non plus” (which was banned in several countries and condemned by the Vatican) made her a household name around the world.
The song was recorded in 1968, just months after the pair — Birkin, then 22 years old, and Gainsbourg 40 — had first met on the set of the film Slogan, forging a turbulent relationship that would...
The French culture minister announced the news on Sunday following reports in Le Parisien newspaper and Bfm television that said Birkin had been found dead at her home in Paris. She had suffered a mild stroke in 2021.
Although born in London, Birkin would find fame singing in French. Her duet with Gainsbourg on the sexually explicit song “Je t’aime…moi non plus” (which was banned in several countries and condemned by the Vatican) made her a household name around the world.
The song was recorded in 1968, just months after the pair — Birkin, then 22 years old, and Gainsbourg 40 — had first met on the set of the film Slogan, forging a turbulent relationship that would...
- 7/16/2023
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jane Birkin, the English-French star who collaborated with Serge Gainsbourg on the risqué hit “Je T’aime… Moi Non Plus,” died July 16, French media reported. She was 76.
She and Gainsbourg were married from 1968-80 and worked together on “Je T’aime… Moi Non Plus,” released in 1969 – and recorded the year before, six months after they met on the set of the film Slogan. The song topped the UK chart and was Top 5 in several other European countries and Mexico but was not a hit Stateside.
The song, originally written by Gainsbourg for Brigitte Bardot, caused a scandal on its release for its sexual content. It was banned by radio stations across the UK, Italy and Spain, but became an enormous and instantly recognisable hit across the world.
Although born in London and a leading light of “the London scene” of the 1960s, Birkin found fame singing in French — and she...
She and Gainsbourg were married from 1968-80 and worked together on “Je T’aime… Moi Non Plus,” released in 1969 – and recorded the year before, six months after they met on the set of the film Slogan. The song topped the UK chart and was Top 5 in several other European countries and Mexico but was not a hit Stateside.
The song, originally written by Gainsbourg for Brigitte Bardot, caused a scandal on its release for its sexual content. It was banned by radio stations across the UK, Italy and Spain, but became an enormous and instantly recognisable hit across the world.
Although born in London and a leading light of “the London scene” of the 1960s, Birkin found fame singing in French — and she...
- 7/16/2023
- by Caroline Frost
- Deadline Film + TV
The first “Murder Mystery” from 2019, written by James Vanderbilt (“Zodiac”), was a fun star-studded throwback to the 1980s Agatha Christie films like 1982’s “Evil Under the Sun,” with salt of the earth Brooklynites Nick and Audrey Spitz (Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston) thrown into the mix. The script was a smart, genre-savvy affair coupled with Sandler-style lowbrow comedy, a combination that almost worked, but was undone by the lackluster direction by Kyle Newacheck.
Continue reading “Murder Mystery 2” Review: Sandler and Aniston Feed The Rich In This Unnecessary Sequel at The Playlist.
Continue reading “Murder Mystery 2” Review: Sandler and Aniston Feed The Rich In This Unnecessary Sequel at The Playlist.
- 3/31/2023
- by Marya E. Gates
- The Playlist
Major spoilers for Glass Onion, Knives Out, and several Agatha Christie novels.
With Netflix’s Glass Onion, Rian Johnson has produced another highly enjoyable detective story. Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc has the perfect Poirot-inspired blend of likeability, slight ridiculousness, and believably extreme intelligence to anchor this type of tale. The mystery itself is intriguing with well-drawn characters and the same lightness of touch combined with subtle social commentary, and it has one of movie history’s more fun red herring characters just wandering around in the background throughout.
However, if we approach Glass Onion as first and foremost a whodunnit, we cannot deny that its mid-film twist breaks the “rules” of a “Fair Play” whodunnit and tricks the audience in a way that most of the best loved examples of the genre do not.
The rules for a “Fair Play” whodunnit were codified by mystery writer Ronald Knox...
With Netflix’s Glass Onion, Rian Johnson has produced another highly enjoyable detective story. Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc has the perfect Poirot-inspired blend of likeability, slight ridiculousness, and believably extreme intelligence to anchor this type of tale. The mystery itself is intriguing with well-drawn characters and the same lightness of touch combined with subtle social commentary, and it has one of movie history’s more fun red herring characters just wandering around in the background throughout.
However, if we approach Glass Onion as first and foremost a whodunnit, we cannot deny that its mid-film twist breaks the “rules” of a “Fair Play” whodunnit and tricks the audience in a way that most of the best loved examples of the genre do not.
The rules for a “Fair Play” whodunnit were codified by mystery writer Ronald Knox...
- 1/11/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
A good mystery often begins with a clue that’s right out in the open, even if no one recognizes it at first. In a similar way, the extravagant Greek villa that serves as the principal setting for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery impressed production designer Rick Heinrichs when he first visited it early in his location search, but it wasn’t immediately selected for the movie’s game of murder that turns deadly. “It was a place that had a modernist take on classical architecture and had a hierarchy of stairs that led up to it, and I could see us placing a dome on top of it,” Heinrichs tells THR. “But our experience always tells us that the first place is never the one you end up with.” Instead, he conducted “a worldwide search and looked at everything, and it was only then that we fully appreciated the villa we had found.
- 1/9/2023
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When Oscar-winning production designer Rick Heinrichs (“Sleepy Hollow”) was first tasked with designing the titular structure for Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” he treated it like a literal onion, taking the model apart and cutting into it to study the layers. “There was something so cool and architectural about it, that it became part of the design,” he told IndieWire. “You really see the layers of depth in the dome. The metaphor of the Glass Onion works so well and I tried not to invent stuff that wasn’t there.”
For Johnson — whose latest whodunit takes inspiration from such iconic films as “Sleuth,” “The Last of Sheila,” and “Evil Under the Sun” — the metaphor of The Glass Onion was wrapped around the narcissistic, bad-boy mind of tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton). Bron hosts a murder mystery weekend getaway on his private Greek island with his...
For Johnson — whose latest whodunit takes inspiration from such iconic films as “Sleuth,” “The Last of Sheila,” and “Evil Under the Sun” — the metaphor of The Glass Onion was wrapped around the narcissistic, bad-boy mind of tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton). Bron hosts a murder mystery weekend getaway on his private Greek island with his...
- 11/22/2022
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Is A 'Roller Coaster And Not A Crossword Puzzle' — See First Image
Did you miss him? Of course you did! Everyone's favorite private detective with an unparalleled nose for the truth is back and ready for another round of "CSI: KFC" action. After writer/director Rian Johnson promptly reinvigorated the murder-mystery genre with the Oscar-nominated "Knives Out" in 2019, audiences, in no small part due to Daniel Craig's gloriously campy portrayal of Benoit Blanc, immediately looked ahead to the next time we could see the detective doing what he does best — snooping around in everyone else's business, casually making suspects uncomfortable, and using his vast insights to solve all the most complicated crimes.
"Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" is the next buzzworthy installment of Johnson's hit original franchise and now we're getting a fresh look at what the sequel has to offer. If you recall, Netflix scooped up the rights to the second film (and a third!) in a frenzied bidding...
"Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" is the next buzzworthy installment of Johnson's hit original franchise and now we're getting a fresh look at what the sequel has to offer. If you recall, Netflix scooped up the rights to the second film (and a third!) in a frenzied bidding...
- 8/22/2022
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.
Film Forum
To mark the great Alain Resnias’ centennial, a massive retrospective starts with Marienbad, Muriel, Hiroshima, and Je t’aime, je t’aime; The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg screen.
Bam
“Intimate Epics” begins with a print of Yi Yi, Happy Hour, and Ottinger’s Joan of Arc of Mongolia.
Museum of the Moving Image
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Licorice Pizza play back-to-back on 70mm this weekend, while one of cinema’s most unsung heroes—women in Australian cinema—get their due in a new retrospective.
Japan Society
Kore-eda’s After Life is screening on Friday.
Film at Lincoln Center
Three Colors: Blue, Three Colors: White, and a massive retrospective of King Vidor all continue.
Roxy Cinema
The series “Woman as Witch” offers plenty scintillating—prints of Alien 3, Lady Sings the Blues,...
Film Forum
To mark the great Alain Resnias’ centennial, a massive retrospective starts with Marienbad, Muriel, Hiroshima, and Je t’aime, je t’aime; The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg screen.
Bam
“Intimate Epics” begins with a print of Yi Yi, Happy Hour, and Ottinger’s Joan of Arc of Mongolia.
Museum of the Moving Image
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Licorice Pizza play back-to-back on 70mm this weekend, while one of cinema’s most unsung heroes—women in Australian cinema—get their due in a new retrospective.
Japan Society
Kore-eda’s After Life is screening on Friday.
Film at Lincoln Center
Three Colors: Blue, Three Colors: White, and a massive retrospective of King Vidor all continue.
Roxy Cinema
The series “Woman as Witch” offers plenty scintillating—prints of Alien 3, Lady Sings the Blues,...
- 8/11/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Jane Birkin became an icon thanks to a few factors. There was her undeniable beauty, of course, plus the movies and the recording career, most notably with her second husband, the beloved French singer-songwriter and provocateur Serge Gainsbourg. Together, they recorded the much-loved duet “Je T’aime… Moi Non Plus” and had daughter Charlotte, the second of Birkin’s three daughters. And of course, Birkin’s spilled purse on a flight inspired the iconic Birkin bag.
These are all relevant facts to bring up now, because new French-language documentary “Jane by Charlotte,” a portrait of the mother by the daughter, doesn’t discuss them. Perhaps operating under the assumption that no one unfamiliar with Birkin would watch a documentary about her, Gainsbourg instead veers too far to the other extreme, offering almost no context for their unstructured conversations, reminiscences, and chats.
Late in the film, Birkin speaks movingly about the...
These are all relevant facts to bring up now, because new French-language documentary “Jane by Charlotte,” a portrait of the mother by the daughter, doesn’t discuss them. Perhaps operating under the assumption that no one unfamiliar with Birkin would watch a documentary about her, Gainsbourg instead veers too far to the other extreme, offering almost no context for their unstructured conversations, reminiscences, and chats.
Late in the film, Birkin speaks movingly about the...
- 3/17/2022
- by Mark Peikert
- Indiewire
Agatha Christie was born in 1890, and the heyday of movie adaptations of her novels goes quite a ways back. The whole structure and flavor of this sort of delectably engineered whodunit, with its cast of suspects drawn in deliberate broad strokes and its know-it-all detective whose powers of deduction descend directly from Sherlock Holmes, is rooted in the cozy symmetry of the studio-system era. The last big-screen Christie adaptation that could be considered an all-out success, critically and commercially, was probably Sidney Lumet’s 1974 “Murder on the Orient Express,” a lavishly corny and irresistible amusement in which Albert Finney played the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot as a fussbudget egomaniac with pursed lips and hair that resembled an oil slick (he was like Inspector Clouseau with a brain transplant).
“Murder on the Orient Express” was actually an event movie. But the Christie adaptations that followed — “Death on the Nile” (1978), “The Mirror Crack’d...
“Murder on the Orient Express” was actually an event movie. But the Christie adaptations that followed — “Death on the Nile” (1978), “The Mirror Crack’d...
- 2/7/2022
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Not only is the 25th James Bond film “No Time to Die” the last 007 adventure thriller starring Daniel Craig, it’s also the first one directed by an American: Cary Joji Fukunaga. The 44-year-old filmmaker won the Sundance dramatic directing award in 2009 for “Sin Nombre,” was the first Asian-American director to win an Emmy for directing in 2014 for “True Detective” and earned a Peabody in 2015 for “Beasts of No Nation.”
He joins other cutting-edge filmmakers to direct Craig as Bond including Oscar-winning English director Sam Mendes (“American Beauty”) who helmed 2012’s “Skyfall” and 2015’s “Spectre” and indie German filmmaker Marc Forster (2008’s “Quantum of Solace”), who had directed Halle Berry to an Oscar for 2001’s “Monster’s Ball” and Johnny Depp to a nomination for 2004’s “Finding Neverland.”
These three are a far cry from the early Bond directors who were British and had worked their way up the ranks...
He joins other cutting-edge filmmakers to direct Craig as Bond including Oscar-winning English director Sam Mendes (“American Beauty”) who helmed 2012’s “Skyfall” and 2015’s “Spectre” and indie German filmmaker Marc Forster (2008’s “Quantum of Solace”), who had directed Halle Berry to an Oscar for 2001’s “Monster’s Ball” and Johnny Depp to a nomination for 2004’s “Finding Neverland.”
These three are a far cry from the early Bond directors who were British and had worked their way up the ranks...
- 10/8/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Hello, everyone! We have a brand new assortment of horror and sci-fi headed home this week, and there are plenty of offerings that should undoubtedly make for great additions to your Halloween season viewing plans. Universal is showing some love to a trio of classics, as it is set to release John Carpenter’s The Thing as well as Rear Window and Vertigo from Alfred Hitchcock all on 4K Ultra HD today. Kino Lorber has put together new Blu-ray presentations for both The Tomb of Ligeia and Theatre of Blood, and if you’re looking to catch up with some newer horror, both Great White and Slaxx arrive today courtesy of Rlje Films.
Other Blu-ray and DVD releases for September 7th include Lawnmower Man 2: Jobe’s War, Hellbox, Witches of Blackwood, Skinwalker, and War of the God Monsters.
Great White
A blissful tourist trip turns into a nightmare for five...
Other Blu-ray and DVD releases for September 7th include Lawnmower Man 2: Jobe’s War, Hellbox, Witches of Blackwood, Skinwalker, and War of the God Monsters.
Great White
A blissful tourist trip turns into a nightmare for five...
- 9/7/2021
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
This article spoilers for Old.
M. Night Shyalaman’s latest, Old, sees a group of families at a luxury resort taken to a special beach which makes them age incredibly rapidly, to the point that their lives play out in entirety over hardly more than a day. It’s a fascinating and bleak premise inspired by the graphic novel Sandcastle by Frederik Peeters and Pierre Oscar Lévy, which doesn’t exactly sound like it’s in the mold of the queen of detective fiction, Agatha Christie.
But watching the movie, the similarities start to show through. Chatting with Den of Geek just ahead of the film’s cinema release, Shyamalan explains that his new priorities when it comes to moviemaking are to focus on contained stories.
“I’ve been making movies this way since The Visit : very contained movies that I fund,” the writer-director explains. “You would think that...
M. Night Shyalaman’s latest, Old, sees a group of families at a luxury resort taken to a special beach which makes them age incredibly rapidly, to the point that their lives play out in entirety over hardly more than a day. It’s a fascinating and bleak premise inspired by the graphic novel Sandcastle by Frederik Peeters and Pierre Oscar Lévy, which doesn’t exactly sound like it’s in the mold of the queen of detective fiction, Agatha Christie.
But watching the movie, the similarities start to show through. Chatting with Den of Geek just ahead of the film’s cinema release, Shyamalan explains that his new priorities when it comes to moviemaking are to focus on contained stories.
“I’ve been making movies this way since The Visit : very contained movies that I fund,” the writer-director explains. “You would think that...
- 7/27/2021
- by Rosie Fletcher
- Den of Geek
Anthony Powell, a three-time Oscar winner whose costume designs helped bring Indiana Jones to rugged life and Broadway’s Norma Desmond to extravagant excess, died Sunday. He was 85.
The Costume Designers Guild 892 confirmed the news on Monday night, on their official Facebook page. “Legendary English costume designer Anthony Powell passed away last weekend. He will be celebrated in a small, private gathering due to Covid restrictions and is survived by two nieces,” they said. “Anthony Powell’s passion for his work and for his friends was boundless. The Costume Designers Guild sends our condolences to everyone who enjoyed the pleasure of his company and his unforgettable designs.”
Powell, who won a Tony Award for the costumes of 1963’s School for Scandal, received Oscars in 1978 for Death on the Nile and in 1979 for Tess. He had received his first Academy Award for designing the costumes for Maggie Smith’s eccentric Augusta...
The Costume Designers Guild 892 confirmed the news on Monday night, on their official Facebook page. “Legendary English costume designer Anthony Powell passed away last weekend. He will be celebrated in a small, private gathering due to Covid restrictions and is survived by two nieces,” they said. “Anthony Powell’s passion for his work and for his friends was boundless. The Costume Designers Guild sends our condolences to everyone who enjoyed the pleasure of his company and his unforgettable designs.”
Powell, who won a Tony Award for the costumes of 1963’s School for Scandal, received Oscars in 1978 for Death on the Nile and in 1979 for Tess. He had received his first Academy Award for designing the costumes for Maggie Smith’s eccentric Augusta...
- 4/20/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
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By Tim McGlynn
“If you were a man, I’d divorce you!”
Myra Gardener (Sylvia Miles) insults her stage producer husband, Odell (James Mason), with this line in the 1982 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Evil Under the Sun during a spat while vacationing on a fictional Italian island in the Adriatic Sea. They are attempting to entice Broadway legend Arlena Stuart Marshall (Diana Rigg) to appear in their next musical, despite her reputation as a spoiled diva. Evil Under the Sun has recently been released on Blu-ray by the good people at Kino Lorber, who have also seen fit to issue new editions of The Mirror Crack’d and Death on the Nile.
The screenplay, by Anthony Shaffer, is loaded with witty and sometimes randy putdowns that help breathe a bit of life into this rather formulaic whodunit from director Guy Hamilton. When Arlena...
By Tim McGlynn
“If you were a man, I’d divorce you!”
Myra Gardener (Sylvia Miles) insults her stage producer husband, Odell (James Mason), with this line in the 1982 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Evil Under the Sun during a spat while vacationing on a fictional Italian island in the Adriatic Sea. They are attempting to entice Broadway legend Arlena Stuart Marshall (Diana Rigg) to appear in their next musical, despite her reputation as a spoiled diva. Evil Under the Sun has recently been released on Blu-ray by the good people at Kino Lorber, who have also seen fit to issue new editions of The Mirror Crack’d and Death on the Nile.
The screenplay, by Anthony Shaffer, is loaded with witty and sometimes randy putdowns that help breathe a bit of life into this rather formulaic whodunit from director Guy Hamilton. When Arlena...
- 2/10/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Award-winning actress was best known for roles in ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ , ‘The Avengers’ and ‘Game Of Thrones’.
UK actress Diana Rigg, whose prolific career included memorable roles in the James Bond franchise and Game Of Thrones, died today aged 82. She had been diagnosed with cancer in March.
Rigg remained active in recent years and her final performances include Edgar Wright’s Last Night In Soho, set for release in April 2021, and miniseries Black Narcissus, co-produced by the BBC and FX.
Born near Doncaster, England in 1938, Rigg began her career on stage before securing her breakout role in 1965 as...
UK actress Diana Rigg, whose prolific career included memorable roles in the James Bond franchise and Game Of Thrones, died today aged 82. She had been diagnosed with cancer in March.
Rigg remained active in recent years and her final performances include Edgar Wright’s Last Night In Soho, set for release in April 2021, and miniseries Black Narcissus, co-produced by the BBC and FX.
Born near Doncaster, England in 1938, Rigg began her career on stage before securing her breakout role in 1965 as...
- 9/10/2020
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
By Lee Pfeiffer
Dame Diana Rigg, one of Britain's most esteemed actresses, has died from cancer at age 82. In the course of her career, Rigg conquered the mediums of stage, screen and television. She studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London and received praise for her work in classic theater. Perhaps improbably, she became a pop culture icon when she replaced Honor Blackman on the iconic British TV series "The Avengers" in the 1960s. When Blackman left the show to star as Pussy Galore in the 1964 James Bond film "Goldfinger", Rigg introduced the character of Emma Peel, playing opposite Patrick Macnee's John Steed. She became the most notable early female action star on television, practicing martial arts and often attired in provocative leather outfits. In 1969, Rigg followed in Honor Blackman's footsteps by appearing as the female lead in a James Bond film, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service...
Dame Diana Rigg, one of Britain's most esteemed actresses, has died from cancer at age 82. In the course of her career, Rigg conquered the mediums of stage, screen and television. She studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London and received praise for her work in classic theater. Perhaps improbably, she became a pop culture icon when she replaced Honor Blackman on the iconic British TV series "The Avengers" in the 1960s. When Blackman left the show to star as Pussy Galore in the 1964 James Bond film "Goldfinger", Rigg introduced the character of Emma Peel, playing opposite Patrick Macnee's John Steed. She became the most notable early female action star on television, practicing martial arts and often attired in provocative leather outfits. In 1969, Rigg followed in Honor Blackman's footsteps by appearing as the female lead in a James Bond film, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service...
- 9/10/2020
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Diana Rigg — the celebrated British actress with roles in Game of Thrones, The Avengers and the James Bond flick On Her Majesty’s Secret — died Thursday, September 10th, the BBC reports. She was 82.
Rigg’s daughter said she died of cancer after being diagnosed in March. “She spent her last months joyfully reflecting on her extraordinary life, full of love, laughter and a deep pride in her profession,” Rigg’s daughter said.
Rigg had a lengthy and multi-faceted career that included famous turns on television, film and the stage. She...
Rigg’s daughter said she died of cancer after being diagnosed in March. “She spent her last months joyfully reflecting on her extraordinary life, full of love, laughter and a deep pride in her profession,” Rigg’s daughter said.
Rigg had a lengthy and multi-faceted career that included famous turns on television, film and the stage. She...
- 9/10/2020
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Diana Rigg as Mrs Peel in The Avengers
Diana Rigg has died at the age of 82, it has been announced. The actress, who made an indelible impact on British television with her starring role as Mrs Peel in The Avengers and recently won a new generation of fans playing Lady Olenna Tyrell in Game Of Thrones, enjoyed a career that spanned six decades. Her film work included playing the woman who won James Bond's heart in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, taking on Miss Piggy in The Great Muppet Caper, and working with Peter Ustnov and Maggie Smith in Evil Under The Sun.
On the small screen, Rigg won an Emmy for her work as Mrs Danvers in Rebecca, starred in a memorable production of Bleak House, and also made an appearance in Doctor Who. She was highly praised for her stage career, and turned in several memorable performances in...
Diana Rigg has died at the age of 82, it has been announced. The actress, who made an indelible impact on British television with her starring role as Mrs Peel in The Avengers and recently won a new generation of fans playing Lady Olenna Tyrell in Game Of Thrones, enjoyed a career that spanned six decades. Her film work included playing the woman who won James Bond's heart in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, taking on Miss Piggy in The Great Muppet Caper, and working with Peter Ustnov and Maggie Smith in Evil Under The Sun.
On the small screen, Rigg won an Emmy for her work as Mrs Danvers in Rebecca, starred in a memorable production of Bleak House, and also made an appearance in Doctor Who. She was highly praised for her stage career, and turned in several memorable performances in...
- 9/10/2020
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Diana Rigg, the Tony and Emmy winner who splashed into the world of television with her commanding turn as intelligence agent Emma Peel on “The Avengers” in the 1960s and played Lady Olenna Tyrell on “Game of Thrones” decades later, died Thursday at her home in England. She was 82.
Rigg was a venerable figure in Britain’s entertainment industry who worked incessantly on stage, TV and film. She famously thumbed her nose at convention in her private life and in later years seemed to enjoy her status as a grande dame.
“She was a beautiful kind and generous human being that enhanced the lives of all that knew her as well as a great actress. She leaves a great void in my heart,” said Lionel Larner, Rigg’s longtime friend and talent agent.
Having a key role in the biggest TV series of the past decade was a fitting career capper for Rigg.
Rigg was a venerable figure in Britain’s entertainment industry who worked incessantly on stage, TV and film. She famously thumbed her nose at convention in her private life and in later years seemed to enjoy her status as a grande dame.
“She was a beautiful kind and generous human being that enhanced the lives of all that knew her as well as a great actress. She leaves a great void in my heart,” said Lionel Larner, Rigg’s longtime friend and talent agent.
Having a key role in the biggest TV series of the past decade was a fitting career capper for Rigg.
- 9/10/2020
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Habits die hard. It’s Sunday, which is usually the time to list and analyze the weekend’s grosses. However, since almost all theaters are closed, I decided to take a look back to this weekend in 1982 — the year when box-office statistics became part of entertainment reporting.
Almost 40 years ago, coverage wasn’t instantaneous. People had to wait until midweek for reports, which inched closer to real time as the years went on. Here, we have the benefit of hindsight — and the title’s performance might offer us some perspective on how these films informed what Hollywood, and box office, would become.
More from IndieWire'Onward' Leads VOD Charts, but So Far It's the Cheaper Rentals That RuleA Government Bailout for Movie Theaters Is Uncertain, but a Wholly Changed Future Is Not
Since tickets cost three times more now than they did in 1982, I’ve included both the original grosses and...
Almost 40 years ago, coverage wasn’t instantaneous. People had to wait until midweek for reports, which inched closer to real time as the years went on. Here, we have the benefit of hindsight — and the title’s performance might offer us some perspective on how these films informed what Hollywood, and box office, would become.
More from IndieWire'Onward' Leads VOD Charts, but So Far It's the Cheaper Rentals That RuleA Government Bailout for Movie Theaters Is Uncertain, but a Wholly Changed Future Is Not
Since tickets cost three times more now than they did in 1982, I’ve included both the original grosses and...
- 3/22/2020
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
You start with a corpse. A murder has been committed — maybe it’s at a country estate, or on a train, or during a cruise headed to some exotic locale. If the victim is powerful, rich, and possibly hated for a variety of reasons, all the better. You need suspects, each with a motive for wanting said person six feet under. Lastly, and this is important: You’ve gotta have a sleuth. Preferably someone eccentric, with a quirk or a tic; bonus points if you can make the brainiac seem innocent or easily underestimated.
- 12/2/2019
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Lionsgate has debuted a new trailer and final poster for Rian Johnson’s ‘Knives Out’ has landed online featuring an all-star cast all under suspicion.
Related: Knives Out Review – Tiff 2019
Directed by Johnson the cast includes Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Katherine Langford, Lakeith Stanfield, Jaeden Martell, and Christopher Plummer.
Johnson has previously stated that the Christie-based films that serve as his big influences are the “Death on the Nile,” “Evil Under the Sun,” “The Mirror Crack’d,” “Deathtrap” and comedic classics like “Clue” and “Murder by Death”.
Also in trailers – Patrick Wilson stars in trailer for ‘In The Tall Grass’
The film is released November 27. Here’s the trailer.
Knives Out Synopsis
Acclaimed writer and director Rian Johnson pays tribute to mystery mastermind Agatha Christie in Knives Out, a fun, modern-day murder mystery where everyone is a suspect.
Related: Knives Out Review – Tiff 2019
Directed by Johnson the cast includes Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Katherine Langford, Lakeith Stanfield, Jaeden Martell, and Christopher Plummer.
Johnson has previously stated that the Christie-based films that serve as his big influences are the “Death on the Nile,” “Evil Under the Sun,” “The Mirror Crack’d,” “Deathtrap” and comedic classics like “Clue” and “Murder by Death”.
Also in trailers – Patrick Wilson stars in trailer for ‘In The Tall Grass’
The film is released November 27. Here’s the trailer.
Knives Out Synopsis
Acclaimed writer and director Rian Johnson pays tribute to mystery mastermind Agatha Christie in Knives Out, a fun, modern-day murder mystery where everyone is a suspect.
- 9/18/2019
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The new mystery feature "Knives Out" is written and directed by Rian Johnson ("Star Wars: The Last Jedi") starring Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell and Christopher Plummer, opening November 27, 2019:
".... a modern take on the whodunit murder mystery, the film follows a family gathering gone horribly awry...
"...as renowned crime novelist 'Harlan Thrombey' (Plummer) is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday.
"The inquisitive and debonair 'Det. Benoit Blanc' (Craig) is mysteriously enlisted to investigate.
"From Harlan's dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web...
"...of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan's untimely death..."
Cast also includes Riki Lindhome, Edi Patterson, Raúl Castillo, Noah Segan, Frank Oz and M. Emmet Walsh.
Johnson cited several classic mystery thrillers as influences on the film,...
".... a modern take on the whodunit murder mystery, the film follows a family gathering gone horribly awry...
"...as renowned crime novelist 'Harlan Thrombey' (Plummer) is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday.
"The inquisitive and debonair 'Det. Benoit Blanc' (Craig) is mysteriously enlisted to investigate.
"From Harlan's dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web...
"...of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan's untimely death..."
Cast also includes Riki Lindhome, Edi Patterson, Raúl Castillo, Noah Segan, Frank Oz and M. Emmet Walsh.
Johnson cited several classic mystery thrillers as influences on the film,...
- 9/16/2019
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Sneak Peek new footage, plus images from the upcoming mystery feature "Knives Out", written and directed by Rian Johnson ("Star Wars: The Last Jedi") starring Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell and Christopher Plummer, opening November 27, 2019:
".... a modern take on the whodunit murder mystery, the film follows a family gathering gone horribly awry, as renowned crime novelist 'Harlan Thrombey' (Plummer) is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday. The inquisitive and debonair 'Det. Benoit Blanc' (Craig) is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan's dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan's untimely death..."
Cast also includes Riki Lindhome, Edi Patterson, Raúl Castillo, Noah Segan, Frank Oz and M. Emmet Walsh.
Johnson cited several classic mystery...
".... a modern take on the whodunit murder mystery, the film follows a family gathering gone horribly awry, as renowned crime novelist 'Harlan Thrombey' (Plummer) is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday. The inquisitive and debonair 'Det. Benoit Blanc' (Craig) is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan's dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan's untimely death..."
Cast also includes Riki Lindhome, Edi Patterson, Raúl Castillo, Noah Segan, Frank Oz and M. Emmet Walsh.
Johnson cited several classic mystery...
- 7/2/2019
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
The first trailer for Rian Johnson’s ‘Knives Out’ has landed online featuring an all-star cast all under suspicion.
Directed by Johnson the cast includes Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Katherine Langford, Lakeith Stanfield, Jaeden Martell, and Christopher Plummer.
Johnson has previously stated that the Christie-based films that serve as his big influences are the “Death on the Nile,” “Evil Under the Sun,” “The Mirror Crack’d,” “Deathtrap” and comedic classics like “Clue” and “Murder by Death”.
Also in trailers – First trailer for ‘Jumanji: The Next Level’ changes the game
The film is released November 27 in the U.S., followed by November 29 in the UK. Here’s the trailer, followed by the choice synopsis.
Plot:
Acclaimed writer and director Rian Johnson pays tribute to mystery mastermind Agatha Christie in Knives Out, a fun, modern-day murder mystery where everyone is a suspect.
Directed by Johnson the cast includes Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Katherine Langford, Lakeith Stanfield, Jaeden Martell, and Christopher Plummer.
Johnson has previously stated that the Christie-based films that serve as his big influences are the “Death on the Nile,” “Evil Under the Sun,” “The Mirror Crack’d,” “Deathtrap” and comedic classics like “Clue” and “Murder by Death”.
Also in trailers – First trailer for ‘Jumanji: The Next Level’ changes the game
The film is released November 27 in the U.S., followed by November 29 in the UK. Here’s the trailer, followed by the choice synopsis.
Plot:
Acclaimed writer and director Rian Johnson pays tribute to mystery mastermind Agatha Christie in Knives Out, a fun, modern-day murder mystery where everyone is a suspect.
- 7/2/2019
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Tony Sokol Jun 12, 2019
Sylvia Miles was the original Sally on the Dick van Dyke Show, and a fixture of New York's entertainment world.
Iconic New York stage and screen scene-stealer Sylvia Miles died at age 94, according to Variety. Miles created a string of incredibly memorable, very New York characters, often with very little screen time. She was on the screen for six minutes in Midnight Cowboy (1969), about five and a half minutes in Farewell, My Lovely (1975), and she was nominated as Best Supporting Actress for both. She only sold two apartments in Wall Street and its sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Miles had three short scenes selling Amy Irving to the pickle guy in Crossing Delancey.
Her starring role in Andy Warhol's Heat, is no less memorable, though criminally under-watched. A take on the classic Sunset Boulevard, as if any of Warhol's movies weren't, Miles played the Gloria Swanson...
Sylvia Miles was the original Sally on the Dick van Dyke Show, and a fixture of New York's entertainment world.
Iconic New York stage and screen scene-stealer Sylvia Miles died at age 94, according to Variety. Miles created a string of incredibly memorable, very New York characters, often with very little screen time. She was on the screen for six minutes in Midnight Cowboy (1969), about five and a half minutes in Farewell, My Lovely (1975), and she was nominated as Best Supporting Actress for both. She only sold two apartments in Wall Street and its sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Miles had three short scenes selling Amy Irving to the pickle guy in Crossing Delancey.
Her starring role in Andy Warhol's Heat, is no less memorable, though criminally under-watched. A take on the classic Sunset Boulevard, as if any of Warhol's movies weren't, Miles played the Gloria Swanson...
- 6/13/2019
- Den of Geek
Sylvia Miles, a scene-stealing, two-time Oscar nominee for supporting roles in the Best Picture winner “Midnight Cowboy” and “Farewell, My Lovely,” died on Wednesday. She was 94.
Her friend of 25 years, publicist Mauricio Padilha, confirmed her passing to TheWrap, saying Miles died Wednesday while in an ambulance to the hospital on her way from her Manhattan home due to “complications of age.” Padilha described her as “wonderful” and lived “surrounded by everything she loved.”
Miles made a name for herself in “Midnight Cowboy” as a sharp-tongued New York prostitute who manages to hustle Jon Voight’s character as he’s trying to make his own living as an aspiring prostitute and con man. In the brief scene, only about six minutes of screen time in all, she goes from pleasantries to explosive, sobbing histrionics in seconds.
Also Read: Mary Duggar, 'Counting On' Grandmother, Dies at 73
She managed a second Oscar nomination...
Her friend of 25 years, publicist Mauricio Padilha, confirmed her passing to TheWrap, saying Miles died Wednesday while in an ambulance to the hospital on her way from her Manhattan home due to “complications of age.” Padilha described her as “wonderful” and lived “surrounded by everything she loved.”
Miles made a name for herself in “Midnight Cowboy” as a sharp-tongued New York prostitute who manages to hustle Jon Voight’s character as he’s trying to make his own living as an aspiring prostitute and con man. In the brief scene, only about six minutes of screen time in all, she goes from pleasantries to explosive, sobbing histrionics in seconds.
Also Read: Mary Duggar, 'Counting On' Grandmother, Dies at 73
She managed a second Oscar nomination...
- 6/12/2019
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Actress Sylvia Miles, who was Oscar-nominated for “Midnight Cowboy” and “Farewell, My Lovely,” died Wednesday at her home in New York. Her friends, journalist Michael Musto and actress Geraldine Smith, confirmed her death. She was reportedly 94, although she gave various accounts of her age.
Celebrity journalist Musto, who was about to appear with Smith and Miles in an indie film, said, “She was one of my first celebrity interviews (in the 1970s) and was charismatic and career driven. She’d run up to directors at Studio 54 and say ‘Hire me!’ She was very proud of her two Oscar nominations.”
Smith said “Her family was her New York friends,” and related how she had been excited to get back to acting.
Miles’ first major role came in the 1969 film “Midnight Cowboy” alongside Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman. Despite only appearing on screen for about six minutes, her role as Cass earned her an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.
Celebrity journalist Musto, who was about to appear with Smith and Miles in an indie film, said, “She was one of my first celebrity interviews (in the 1970s) and was charismatic and career driven. She’d run up to directors at Studio 54 and say ‘Hire me!’ She was very proud of her two Oscar nominations.”
Smith said “Her family was her New York friends,” and related how she had been excited to get back to acting.
Miles’ first major role came in the 1969 film “Midnight Cowboy” alongside Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman. Despite only appearing on screen for about six minutes, her role as Cass earned her an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.
- 6/12/2019
- by Pat Saperstein and Jordan Moreau
- Variety Film + TV
Chris here. Has everyone caught up to Murder on the Orient Express yet? For yours truly, it was set exactly in the spot in Europe that Clueless said we might be "whelmed" and our Eric Blume felt the same. But that hasn't stopped audiences from turning it into a modest hit, resulting in a global take of over $150 million - and that's enough for Fox to officially kick off a mini-franchise.
The new Agatha Christie Poirot films are keeping in line with the adaptations of the 70s, so next up will be Death on the Nile - expect Evil Under the Sun afterwards should Nile be a success too. Branagh is expected to return as director and star, and Orient Express's screenwriter Michael Green will be back as well. Get ready for more CGI exotic locales and modes of transportation because this one is set on a steamboat in Egypt.
The new Agatha Christie Poirot films are keeping in line with the adaptations of the 70s, so next up will be Death on the Nile - expect Evil Under the Sun afterwards should Nile be a success too. Branagh is expected to return as director and star, and Orient Express's screenwriter Michael Green will be back as well. Get ready for more CGI exotic locales and modes of transportation because this one is set on a steamboat in Egypt.
- 11/21/2017
- by Chris Feil
- FilmExperience
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Guy Hamilton, who transformed James Bond, dies at the age of 93.
Guy Hamilton, best known for the his work on the James Bond movies, Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun, has died at the Hospital Juaneda Miramar in the city of Palma de Mallorca on the Spanish island of Mallorca. He was 93.
Hamilton raised the profile of the James Bond movies through his work with original film 007 actor Sean Connery and Roger Moore, who played the spy starting with Live and Let Die and in 1974's The Man with the Golden Gun, which Hamilton directed.
"Incredibly, incredibly saddened to hear the wonderful director Guy Hamilton has gone to the great cutting room in the sky. 2016 is horrid," Moore wrote on Twitter.
Hamilton worked with Michael Caine on Battle of Britain and Harrison Ford on the 1978 adaptation of Force 10 from Navarone.
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Guy Hamilton, who transformed James Bond, dies at the age of 93.
Guy Hamilton, best known for the his work on the James Bond movies, Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun, has died at the Hospital Juaneda Miramar in the city of Palma de Mallorca on the Spanish island of Mallorca. He was 93.
Hamilton raised the profile of the James Bond movies through his work with original film 007 actor Sean Connery and Roger Moore, who played the spy starting with Live and Let Die and in 1974's The Man with the Golden Gun, which Hamilton directed.
"Incredibly, incredibly saddened to hear the wonderful director Guy Hamilton has gone to the great cutting room in the sky. 2016 is horrid," Moore wrote on Twitter.
Hamilton worked with Michael Caine on Battle of Britain and Harrison Ford on the 1978 adaptation of Force 10 from Navarone.
- 4/21/2016
- Den of Geek
British filmmaker Guy Hamilton has died in Majorca at the age of 93. Hamilton set the template for the James Bond franchise when he helmed 1964's iconic "Goldfinger".
He returned to the franchise in the early 1970s for Sean Connery's final outing with "Diamonds are Forever," and then ushered in Roger Moore's start to the series with "Live and Let Die" and "The Man with the Golden Gun".
In a statement, Bond series producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson say: "We mourn the loss of our dear friend Guy Hamilton who firmly distilled the Bond formula in his much celebrated direction of 'Goldfinger' and continued to entertain audiences with 'Diamonds Are Forever,' 'Live and Let Die' and 'The Man with the Golden Gun.' We celebrate his enormous contribution to the Bond films."
Hamilton's work stretched far beyond Bond as well including directing "Funeral in Berlin,...
He returned to the franchise in the early 1970s for Sean Connery's final outing with "Diamonds are Forever," and then ushered in Roger Moore's start to the series with "Live and Let Die" and "The Man with the Golden Gun".
In a statement, Bond series producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson say: "We mourn the loss of our dear friend Guy Hamilton who firmly distilled the Bond formula in his much celebrated direction of 'Goldfinger' and continued to entertain audiences with 'Diamonds Are Forever,' 'Live and Let Die' and 'The Man with the Golden Gun.' We celebrate his enormous contribution to the Bond films."
Hamilton's work stretched far beyond Bond as well including directing "Funeral in Berlin,...
- 4/21/2016
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Guy Hamilton and Roger Moore on the set of "The Man With the Golden Gun" in Thailand, 1974.
By Lee Pfeiffer
Cinema Retro mourns the loss of director Guy Hamilton, who has passed away at age 93. Guy was an old friend and supporter of our magazine and a wonderful talent and raconteur. Hamilton, though British by birth, spent much of his life in France. After WWII, he entered the film industry in England and served as assistant director to Sir Carol Reed, working on the classic film "The Third Man". He also served as Ad on John Huston's "The African Queen". Gradually, he moved up the ladder to director and helmed such films as "An Inspector Calls", "The Colditz Story" and "The Devil's Disciple", the latter starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier. In 1964 Hamilton was hired to direct the third James Bond film "Goldfinger" and made cinema history.
By Lee Pfeiffer
Cinema Retro mourns the loss of director Guy Hamilton, who has passed away at age 93. Guy was an old friend and supporter of our magazine and a wonderful talent and raconteur. Hamilton, though British by birth, spent much of his life in France. After WWII, he entered the film industry in England and served as assistant director to Sir Carol Reed, working on the classic film "The Third Man". He also served as Ad on John Huston's "The African Queen". Gradually, he moved up the ladder to director and helmed such films as "An Inspector Calls", "The Colditz Story" and "The Devil's Disciple", the latter starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier. In 1964 Hamilton was hired to direct the third James Bond film "Goldfinger" and made cinema history.
- 4/21/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Murder mysteries are so commonplace on TV that each week offers seemingly dozens of them on police procedural series and detective shows. But in the movies, whodunits are surprisingly rare, and really good ones rarer still. There's really only a handful of movies that excel in offering the viewer the pleasure of solving the crime along with a charismatic sleuth, often with an all-star cast of suspects hamming it up as they try not to appear guilty.
One of the best was "Murder on the Orient Express," released 40 years ago this week, on November 24, 1974. Like many films adapted from Agatha Christie novels, this one featured an eccentric but meticulous investigator (in this case, Albert Finney as Belgian epicure Hercule Poirot), a glamorous and claustrophobic setting (here, the famous luxury train from Istanbul to Paris), and a tricky murder plot with an outrageous solution. The film won an Oscar for passenger...
One of the best was "Murder on the Orient Express," released 40 years ago this week, on November 24, 1974. Like many films adapted from Agatha Christie novels, this one featured an eccentric but meticulous investigator (in this case, Albert Finney as Belgian epicure Hercule Poirot), a glamorous and claustrophobic setting (here, the famous luxury train from Istanbul to Paris), and a tricky murder plot with an outrageous solution. The film won an Oscar for passenger...
- 11/28/2014
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
Woody Allen’s latest offering is rather a perplexing beast. Packed to bursting point with talent, played out against an exquisite French Riviera backdrop and benefitting from a witty story, it ought to be fabulous. But it isn’t. Instead Magic In The Moonlight – the story of a skeptical magician and an artful clairvoyant – is something of a conjuring act itself. From an amiable muddle of misdirection, Agatha Christie adaptation aesthetic, lopsided performances and grand affectations, the veteran director still somehow extracts a dazzling ending which warrants applause.
World renowned conjuror Wei Ling Soo is better known to his very few friends as Stanley Crawford (Colin Firth) – an opinionated Englishman with a tangible disdain for the weak, gullible and “mentally defective”. Flattered by the extravagant compliments of lifelong friend and fellow illusionist Howard (Simon McBurney) – and abandoning plans to holiday with his pragmatic fiancée Olivia – Stanley agrees to a trip...
World renowned conjuror Wei Ling Soo is better known to his very few friends as Stanley Crawford (Colin Firth) – an opinionated Englishman with a tangible disdain for the weak, gullible and “mentally defective”. Flattered by the extravagant compliments of lifelong friend and fellow illusionist Howard (Simon McBurney) – and abandoning plans to holiday with his pragmatic fiancée Olivia – Stanley agrees to a trip...
- 9/15/2014
- by Emily Breen
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Mention the name Hercule Poirot and chances are that the first thing that pops into your mind is David Suchet’s moustachioed visage. Suchet, of course, portrayed Agatha Christie’s famous Belgian export for 24 years, from 1989 to 2013, during which time he starred in every major Poirot story that the author wrote. As great as these televisual treats were, though, I have very fond memories of the trio of Poirot movies that are included in this new Blu-ray collection.
Though I never saw them at the cinema, Murder On The Orient Express (1974), Death On The Nile (1978) and Evil Under The Sun (1982) always seemed to crop up on television whenever there was a Bank Holiday (on rotation with The Great Escape (1963) among others) and guaranteed that we as a family would sit together, glued to the screen, no matter how many times we’d seen them.
The first of these three movies,...
Though I never saw them at the cinema, Murder On The Orient Express (1974), Death On The Nile (1978) and Evil Under The Sun (1982) always seemed to crop up on television whenever there was a Bank Holiday (on rotation with The Great Escape (1963) among others) and guaranteed that we as a family would sit together, glued to the screen, no matter how many times we’d seen them.
The first of these three movies,...
- 2/5/2014
- Shadowlocked
(Sidney Lumet, John Guillermin, Guy Hamilton, 1974-82; StudioCanal, PG)
The production partnership of John Brabourne (the Eton-educated seventh Baron Brabourne) and Richard B Goodwin (who started out as a teenage tea boy with the Rank Organisation) is one of the most interesting in the British cinema. Its highlights include David Lean's A Passage to India and the two-part Little Dorrit, but its most popular works were the period Agatha Christie pictures that brought all-star casting and unfashionably high production values to the whodunit and set new standards for the string of TV productions that followed. Brabourne's father-in-law Lord Mountbatten helped secure the rights from Dame Agatha, and the three best are the Hercule Poirot mysteries in this Blu-ray set. Ustinov plays the Belgian sleuth both in John Guillermin's Death on the Nile (1978), scripted by Anthony Shaffer and superbly photographed by Jack Cardiff, and in Guy Hamilton's bland...
The production partnership of John Brabourne (the Eton-educated seventh Baron Brabourne) and Richard B Goodwin (who started out as a teenage tea boy with the Rank Organisation) is one of the most interesting in the British cinema. Its highlights include David Lean's A Passage to India and the two-part Little Dorrit, but its most popular works were the period Agatha Christie pictures that brought all-star casting and unfashionably high production values to the whodunit and set new standards for the string of TV productions that followed. Brabourne's father-in-law Lord Mountbatten helped secure the rights from Dame Agatha, and the three best are the Hercule Poirot mysteries in this Blu-ray set. Ustinov plays the Belgian sleuth both in John Guillermin's Death on the Nile (1978), scripted by Anthony Shaffer and superbly photographed by Jack Cardiff, and in Guy Hamilton's bland...
- 1/26/2014
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
★★★☆☆Hercule Poirot has been a mainstay on British television screens over the past quarter of a century thanks to David Suchet's definitive portrayal of the portly Belgian sleuth. Courtesy of UK distributors StudioCanal, three of the great detective's most widely watched feature-length cases are now available on Blu-ray in a new box set - entitled The Poirot Collection - featuring Albert Finney's Academy Award-nominated turn in Murder on the Orient Express (1974) and two of Peter Ustinov's appearances as Agatha Christie's flatfoot in which he encounters Death on the Nile (1978) and Evil Under the Sun (1982).
- 1/21/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
To mark the release of the Poirot Collection on 20th January, we’ve been given 3 copies to give away on Blu-ray.
The collection brings to life three of Agatha Christie’s best-known novels, with Albert Finney marking the beginning of Poirot’s on screen journey along with Ingrid Bergman (Casablanca) who gives an Oscar® winning performance in Murder on the Orient Express. Death on the Nile sees Peter Ustinov step into Finney’s shoes to great acclaim. Four years later, Ustinov reprises the role alongside some of Britain’s best-loved actresses Jane Birkin, Dame Maggie Smith and Diana Rigg in Evil Under the Sun.
Please note: This competition is open to UK residents only
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Small Print
Open to UK residents only The competition will close 22nd January at 23.59 GMT The winner will be picked at random from entries received No cash alternative is available
The usual...
The collection brings to life three of Agatha Christie’s best-known novels, with Albert Finney marking the beginning of Poirot’s on screen journey along with Ingrid Bergman (Casablanca) who gives an Oscar® winning performance in Murder on the Orient Express. Death on the Nile sees Peter Ustinov step into Finney’s shoes to great acclaim. Four years later, Ustinov reprises the role alongside some of Britain’s best-loved actresses Jane Birkin, Dame Maggie Smith and Diana Rigg in Evil Under the Sun.
Please note: This competition is open to UK residents only
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Small Print
Open to UK residents only The competition will close 22nd January at 23.59 GMT The winner will be picked at random from entries received No cash alternative is available
The usual...
- 1/12/2014
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Doctor Who will hang with one very groovy lady when Dame Diana Rigg aka The Avengers‘ Emma Peel guest-stars on the BBC series next season.
And joining Rigg for her trip with the Time Lord will be her real-life daughter, Rachael Stirling, the BBC reports.
Related | Doctor Who Casts New Companion: Find Out When She’ll Arrive
In an episode filming this week with series star Matt Smith and new companion Jenna-Louise Coleman, Rigg and Stirling will play a Yorkshire local and her daughter, who together share a “dark secret.”
“The first time Rachie and I will be working together...
And joining Rigg for her trip with the Time Lord will be her real-life daughter, Rachael Stirling, the BBC reports.
Related | Doctor Who Casts New Companion: Find Out When She’ll Arrive
In an episode filming this week with series star Matt Smith and new companion Jenna-Louise Coleman, Rigg and Stirling will play a Yorkshire local and her daughter, who together share a “dark secret.”
“The first time Rachie and I will be working together...
- 7/3/2012
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
Creative cinematographer and a key member of the Powell-Pressburger movie production team
Although the cinematographer Christopher Challis, who has died aged 93, was an essential member of the Archers production company of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, he joined them as director of photography at the time of their decline. However, he worked on more of the great British writing-directing team's films than any other cinematographer. These eccentric, extravagant, intelligent and witty fantasies went against the British realist tradition, allowing more scope for a creative cinematographer such as Challis. The sensuous use of Technicolor and flamboyant sets and designs made them closer to the MGM world of Vincente Minnelli and of Stanley Donen, who used Challis on six of his films.
Perhaps Challis's finest achievement was on Powell and Pressburger's The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) which, as he explained, had "no optical effects or tricks. It was all edited in...
Although the cinematographer Christopher Challis, who has died aged 93, was an essential member of the Archers production company of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, he joined them as director of photography at the time of their decline. However, he worked on more of the great British writing-directing team's films than any other cinematographer. These eccentric, extravagant, intelligent and witty fantasies went against the British realist tradition, allowing more scope for a creative cinematographer such as Challis. The sensuous use of Technicolor and flamboyant sets and designs made them closer to the MGM world of Vincente Minnelli and of Stanley Donen, who used Challis on six of his films.
Perhaps Challis's finest achievement was on Powell and Pressburger's The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) which, as he explained, had "no optical effects or tricks. It was all edited in...
- 6/10/2012
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
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