THIERRY ATTARD'S DOUBLE FEATURE: Cinema

Showing posts with label Cinema. Show all posts

Monday, 5 January 2026

VAN DER VALK/PAS DE FRONTIÈRE POUR L'INSPECTEUR (1972-1975)

A Dutch detective investigates through Europe.

Created by English novelist Nicolas Freeling (1927-2003), Simon "Piet" Van der Valk is a cynical and intuitive Amsterdam police commissioner. Married to Arlette, a French woman, the Commissaris appeared in 11 books from 1962 to 1989. Freeling spent most of his life in continental Europe and he was an admirer of Belgian author Georges Simenon. Van der Valk is often compared to Maigret.

On-screen, Piet Van der Valk was first portrayed by German actor Wolfgang Kieling in the British film Amsterdam Affair (1968). The best remembered version is the Thames Television series Van der Valk (1972-1973, 1977, 1991-1992), starring Barry Foster. Bryan Marshall played the character in Because of the Cats/Niet voor de poezen, a Dutch-Belgian movie released in 1973. Since 2020, Marc Warren (Hustle) plays the detective in Van der Valk for ITV. In 1971, German theatre and cinema director Peter Zadek (Ich bin ein Elefant, Madame) wanted to adapt Nicolas Freeling's Van der Valk novel Gun Before Butter (1963) as a feature film (1).

Peter Zadek spent some years in England, where he directed a short film (2) and worked for the BBC. He talked about his idea to Ernest Liesenhoff, head of the Munich production company Iduna Film and suggested him to make Gun Before Butter in English for a cinema release abroad. Lord Michael Birkett, a British producer, was hired on the project (3). Liesenhoff exec produced the movie and WDR co-financed it for a premiere on German Television. English actor Frank Finlay (Casanova, Cromwell) was cast as Van der Valk. German-born British screenwriter Robert Muller (Mystery and Imagination, Die Gentlemen bitten zur Kasse) wrote the scenario with Peter Zadek.

In the 1950s, Van der Valk investigates the murder of Meinard Stam, a rich fortysomething man stabbed in Amsterdam. He meets again with Lucienne Engelbert, a young woman who now works at a gas station in Belgium. Meinard Stam's money came from butter trafficking. Peter Zadek wanted Austrian actress Elisabeth Stepanek to play Lucienne but Michael Birkett and Robert Muller believed she wasn't suitable for the role, which went to English actress Cyd Hayman (4). Françoise Prévost was chosen for the key part of Arlette. Also with Franco-Belgian actor Pierre Vaneck (Aux frontières du possible) as Stam, the ex-French cinema icon Françoise Arnoul (Solange de Winter), Oscar Homolka (Samson), Günter Lamprecht, etc. Music by Peter Schirmann.

Cinematography by Walter Lassally (Zorba the Greek, Tom Jones). Editing by Max Benedict (Tarzan goes to India). Ambitious, Gun Before Butter was shot from February to March 1972 in the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Venlo), Germany and Belgium (including Blankenberge). The excellent 93-minute movie, carried by Frank Finlay's performance, first aired on WDR as Van der Valk und das Mädchen on October 5, 1972. The release in theaters was cancelled when it occured that Nicolas Freeling's literary agent sold simultaneously the rights of the novel to Iduna Film and the rights of the Van der Valk character to Thames Television (for original stories), much to the discontent of the latter (5). Austrian television ORF showed Van der Valk und das Mädchen on November 27, 1974.

Following the success of Gun Before Butter, WDR and ORF greenlit Van der Valk und die Reichen. Frank Finlay and Françoise Prévost returned in this outstanding 95-minute TV movie adapted from the novel The King of the Rainy Country (1965) by Robert Muller (6) and helmed by a young German director named Wolfgang Petersen. Petersen directed seven Tatort, the crime drama collection of ARD, between 1971 and 1977. Das Boot (1981) and The Neverending Story (1984) led him to Hollywood for which he did In the Line of Fire (1993) or Air Force One (1997). Iduna Film produced Van der Valk und die Reichen with Austrian company Schönbrunn-Film. The shooting took place at the beginning of 1973 in Amsterdam, Cologne, Innsbruck, Kitzbühel and the federal state of Burgenland (Austria).

Piet Van der Valk is on temporary secondment for a special assignment which requires absolute discretion. He's asked to find Jean-Claude Marschal, the heir of a big corporation, who vanished suddenly. Van der Valk interrogates Anne-Marie, Marschal's wife. The case is linked to the disappearance of a young girl during the Cologne carnival. With Judy Winter (Anne-Marie), Helmut Käutner (Canisius), Hans Helmut Dickow (Stössl), Rudolf Strobl (Tappeiner), Marte Harell (Miss Kramer) Erich Padalewski (Serak), Otto Ambros... Exec produced by Robert Siepen and Nils Nilson. Music by Nils Sustrate. Cinematography by Jörg Michael Baldenius. Editing by Liselotte Klimitscheck. WDR aired Van der Valk und die Reichen on December 26, 1973.

Frank Finlay was very busy during the 1970s with movies or series such as Shaft in Africa (1973), The Three Musketeers (1973) and its sequel The Four Musketeers (1974), Bouquet of Barbed Wire (1976) or Murder by Decree (1978). However, the actor starred in a third Van der Valk. Françoise Prévost came back too as Arlette. Produced by ORTF (Office de radiodiffusion-télévision française) with Iduna-Film for the Deuxième chaîne and WDR, Van der Valk und die Toten was announced in January 1974. Adapted from the book Double-Barrel (1964) by Robert Muller, the 95-minute TV movie was filmed in the Netherlands in Spring 1974 by a French crew under the direction of Marcel Cravenne (L'éducation sentimentale, Les enquêtes du commissaire Maigret).

Van der Valk is sent to Zwinderen, where the residents are terrorized by anonymous letters and Arlette is obliged to follow him. Only the mayor and his secretary know the motive of their presence. The detective is intrigued by Berenson, a recluse Holocaust survivor. Jacques Monod, often cast as a "bigwig", is the mayor. With Odile Versois (Miss Lindberg), Hans Christian Blech (Berenson), Danielle Girard (The mayor's wife), Vernon Dobtcheff (Reinders), Dominique MacAvoy (Betty's sister), Alan Adair (Prosecutor), René Arrieu (Dairy manager), Jacques Alric (Policeman), André Jaud (Police sergeant), Andrée Champeaux (Mrs Barkhuis) and Eva Simonet (Betty Reinders). Produced by Nicole Flipo, Jean Baudot and Raymond Houlette. Editing by André Chaudagne and Claudine Thoreau.

Cinematography by Albert Schimel. Betty Willemetz is the sound illustrator for ORTF. The end title music is Camptown Races (Version 2) by The Dave Brubeck Quartet. The brilliant Van der Valk und die Toten premiered in Germany on SWF and SDR on June 7, 1975. Three more films were planned but that was the last one. ORTF was dismantled in December 1974 and the Frank Finlay version of Van der Valk, distributed by Beta Film, arrived in France in 1975-1976 on Antenne 2 as Pas de frontière pour l'inspecteur (7). The ex-Deuxième chaîne began with Le bouc émissaire (Van der Valk und die Toten) on September 13, 1975. Discrétion absolue (Van der Valk und die Reichen) followed on November the 1st, 1975 and Le milieu n'est pas tendre (Van der Valk und das Mädchen) was shown on January the 1st, 1976.

Frank Finlay was dubbed in French by Guy Tréjan and Françoise Prévost by Michèle Bardollet. Pierre Cholodenko wrote the French dialogues of Le milieu n'est pas tendre and Discrétion absolue. Robert Scipion penned those of Le bouc émissaire. Pas de frontière pour l'inspecteur was actually preceded in France by the Thames Television Van der Valk, aired by TF1 from July 5, 1975. Frank Finlay pursued a long and eclectic career.

(1) (3) (4) Peter Zadek, Die heißen Jahre (2006).

(2) Simon (1954), with Sean Connery.

(5) Peter Zadek, Die heißen Jahre (2006) + https://www.webofstories.com/play/walter.lassally/227

(6) Eleanor Wolquitt is credited by some sources, including IMDb, for the "concept".

(7) Aka Pas de frontières pour l'inspecteur.

http://frankfinlay.net/index.html
https://cult-tv-lounge.blogspot.com/2025/03/van-der-valk-season-1-1972.html

Thursday, 28 March 2024

FRENCH GIRL (2024)

A New York teacher follows his French Canadian girlfriend to Quebec, where she's offered a job opportunity, and gets to know her family.

The bottom line: Bonne cuisine.

French Girl is a Canadian rom-com movie written and directed by James A. Woods and Nicholas Wright, the scribe duo of Independence Day: Resurgence (2016). It stars American actor and filmmaker Zach Braff (Wish I Was Here, Garden State, Scrubs), Canadian actress Évelyne Brochu (Dans l'ombre, Orphan Black) and American actress and singer Vanessa Hudgens (The Princess Switch, High Scool Musical).

Gordon Kinski (Braff) is an anxious, Shakespeare-loving, middle school English teacher. He lives in New York City with his chef girlfriend, Sophie Tremblay (Brochu), who's from Quebec. Celebrity restaurateur Ruby Collins (Hudgens), an old acquaintance of Sophie, comes to New York to ask her to interview for the executive chef position at Château Frontenac in Quebec City. Gordon accepts to follow his girlfriend in French Canada for the summer and he's eager to make a good impression to her family.

It doesn't start well when Sophie's parents (Luc Picard and Isabelle Vincent) see Gordon for the first time at the airport. Then, he meets Sophie's MMA fighter brother Junior (Antoine Olivier Pilon, Mommy) and the rest of the family. Sophie never told Gordon that Ruby Collins is her former lover. Past the cliche-esque French songs and the gags around the grandmother's dementia, French Girl is what a culture shock version of Meet the Parents would look like if helmed by Woody Allen for Hallmark.

Of course, Zach Braff plays his clumsy but sympathetic character with perfection, alongside the charming Évelyne Brochu as the definitely not French Sophie in a postcard Quebec City (thank you, Château Frontenac). Vanessa Hudgens' name-dropping kitchen superstar has a funny singing moment. French Girl is a pleasant comedy with a very good cast (William Fichtner is hilarious as Gordon's father). This is priceless in those uncertain times. Also with Charlotte Aubin, Muriel Dutil, Ed Weeks, etc. Special appearance by MMA fighter Georges Saint-Pierre.

Produced by Caramel Films in association with Crave. Valérie d'Auteuil and André Rouleau are the producers. Anders Bard, Noah Segal, Laurie May, Tim Ringuette, Omar Chalabi, James A. Woods and Nicholas Wright are the executive producers. Original music by Scott Price. Cinematography by Jean-François Lord. Editing by Yann Thibaudeau. Produced with the participation of Telefilm Canada, Québec Film and Television Tax Credit Gestion Sodec, Sodec and The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. Distributed by Elevation Pictures and Republic Pictures (Paramount).

https://www.elevationpictures.com/
https://www.lesoleil.com/arts/cinema/2024/03/12/chez-les-beaux-parents-un-new-yorkais-a-quebec-DXINYJNVUJBC7OFNBLVO3A44DA/
https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/DFHD/page_nhs_fra.aspx?id=676 (Château Frontenac)

Tuesday, 12 December 2023

ÇA RETOURNE! (PHILIPPE LOMBARD, ÉDITIONS LA TENGO)

Film and TV specialist Philippe Lombard wrote books on The Persuaders, Starsky and Hutch, The Pink Panther, OSS 117, Tintin, Michel Audiard, Louis de Funès, Quentin Tarantino and many more. In Ça retourne!, published by Éditions La Tengo, he achieves the impossible: to take his readers on an exciting journey through the eternal repetition of cinema history.

After Ça tourne mal!, Ça tourne mal... à Hollywood!, Ça c'est tourné près de chez vous! and Ça tourne mal... à la télé!, a tetralogy about behind the scenes of cinema and television under a thematic angle, Philippe Lombard explores several decades of movie sequels, remakes and sagas in a "spin-off" astutely titled Ça retourne!. After all, the author writes in his foreword that he owes some of his first emotions as a moviegoer to film series. Remaking films first came as an industrial necessity right from the creation of cinema. Then, movie audiences were invited to come back quickly in the theaters with the invention of serials (The Purple Mask, Les Vampires, The Masked Rider...) and the arrival of recurring characters such as Maciste, "The Tramp" played by Charlie Chaplin, or Zorro.

From the 1930s, Universal gave sequels to Dracula, Frankenstein and its other monsters. The Invisible Man, Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan and even Lassie took part in the Second World War. Film series and remakes continued to prosper throughout the 20th century to the present day, where superheroes and Disney's live-action treatment of their animated classics epitomize the trend. In a chapter about directors and remakes, Philippe Lombard examines the filmographies of Marcel Pagnol, Akira Kurosawa, Quentin Tarantino (for his influences), Frank Capra, Alfred Hitchcock, etc. "Franchises" can exceed their sell-by date, like Dracula (with Christopher Lee), The Pink Panther (with or without Peter Sellers), Emmanuelle (with two "m" or just one), Death Wish or Freddy.

In France, Jean-Luc Godard "destroyed" the Lemmy Caution movies with Alphaville (1965) (1). La cage aux folles triumphed on the Parisian stage in 1973 before becoming three movies co-produced with Italy between 1978 and 1985 and an American version (The Birdcage, 1996). The U.S. love to remake French movies, see The Woman in Red in 1984 (Un éléphant, ça trompe énormément, 1976) or Three Men and a Baby in 1987 (Trois hommes et un couffin, 1985). Sometimes, imitation is discussed in court (The Last Shark, Running Man, Lock Out). Philippe Lombard also looks at the "Turksploitation" phenomenon and the curious case of the fake Terence Hill and Bud Spencer. Ça retourne! concludes with the evocation of Raiders!, a fan film based on Raiders of the Lost Ark.

As always with a book by Philippe Lombard, Ça retourne! is well researched, smartly thought, pleasantly written and tremendously interesting. French illustrator and graphic artist Mr Choubi (real name Patrick Chevalier) is behind the astounding artistic design of the book. Philippe Lombard is a regular collaborator for the magazine Schnock and other publications.

(1) Seven French films (1952-1963) based on the novels written by Peter Cheyney. Directed by Bernard Borderie, they starred American actor Eddie Constantine as Lemmy Caution. He reprised the role for Alphaville.

https://www.la-tengo.com/index.php?post/2023/11/07/Ca-retourne-!-Philippe-Lombard

https://philippelombard.e-monsite.com/
https://boutique.la-tengo.com/9-schnock

https://www.amazon.fr/Ca-retourne-histoire-suites-remakes/dp/235461280X/?_encoding=UTF8

See also:

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2022/12/ca-tourne-mal-la-tele-philippe-lombard.html (Ça tourne mal... à la télé!)

https://thierryattard.blogspot.com/2008/06/pleins-feux-sur-la-panthere-rose.html (Review in French only)

Monday, 17 April 2023

MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS (COMBO BLU-RAY + DVD, ELEPHANT FILMS)

In the 16th century, Mary Stuart and Elizabeth I of England, two queens with different temperaments, are engaged in a remote yet merciless confrontation. Mary, Queen of Scots is an outstanding 1971 historical film, starring Vanessa Redgrave as the title character and Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth.

It is now available in France in a combo Blu-Ray/DVD (All Zone) from Elephant Films.

The story of Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587) inspired cinema as from 1895 with The Execution of Mary Queen of Scots. Katharine Hepburn played the monarch in John Ford's Mary of Scotland (1936). Alexander Mackendrick, director of The Man in the White Suit (1951) and The Ladykillers (1955), wanted to do a film about Mary Stuart since the 1950s. From 1967 to 1969, he worked on a movie project for Universal due to star Mia Farrow but it was cancelled just before production started (1). At the end of 1969, Universal released Anne of the Thousand Days, an adaptation of the play by Maxwell Anderson on the life of Anne Boleyn (1501-1536) co-written by scriptwriter John Hale and directed by Charles Jarrott. Both mostly worked for television until then.

The second wife of King Henry VIII (and mother of Elizabeth I) was portrayed by Geneviève Bujold, alongside Richard Burton as the king. The film was made in England by Hal B. Wallis, the Hollywood titan behind Casablanca (1942) for Warner Bros and the Elvis Presley movies at Paramount Pictures. Anglophile, he even produced the British historical drama Becket (1964) when at Paramount. After the U.K. box office success of Anne of the Thousand Days, Hal Wallis developed a follow-up centered on Mary Stuart and Elizabeth I (Anne Boleyn's daughter, 1533-1603): Mary, Queen of Scots, written by John Hale and helmed by Charles Jarrott. Like playwrights Friedrich Schiller (Maria Stuart, 1800) and Robert Bolt (Vivat! Vivat Regina!, 1970) before him, John Hale took liberties with history. He imagined a couple of encounters between the two queens though they actually never met. Hal Wallis and Universal wanted Geneviève Bujold to play Mary but she turned down the role, which finally went to Vanessa Redgrave (The Devils, Isadora, Blow-Up).

Glenda Jackson (The Music Lovers, Women in Love) became once again Queen Elizabeth I after the BBC serial Elizabeth R (1971), whose first episode was penned by John Hale. The shooting of Mary, Queen of Scots, took place at Shepperton Studios and on location in France (Château de Chenonceau), Scotland (Hermitage Castle), Northumberland (Alnwick Castle and Bamburgh Castle) and Sussex (Parham House) (2). Mary, Queen of Scotland returns to her country in 1560, after the death of her husband Francis II of France. Scotland is poorer than when Mary left and spilt between Protestantism and Catholicism. She must deal with the ambitions of her half-brother, James Stuart, Earl of Moray. Meanwhile, Elizabeth I fears that her scottish cousin will claim the throne of England and pledges that Mary Stuart will become heir to the English throne if she marries Lord Dudley, Elizabeth's favourite. She sends him to Scotland with the younger Lord Darnley, knowing well that Mary will fall for the latter.

The two exceptional actresses of Mary, Queen of Scots are surrounded by a solid cast, which includes Patrick McGoohan (The Prisoner) as James and a young Timothy Dalton as Lord Darnley in another period film after The Lion in Winter (1968), Wuthering Heights (1970) and Cromwell (1970). There's also Nigel Davenport, Trevor Howard, Ian Holm, Daniel Massey, etc. John Barry was chosen by Hal Wallis to compose and conduct the great score of Mary, Queen of Scots and he worked again with the producer on Follow Me/The Public Eye (1972). Vivre Et Mourir is performed by Vanessa Redgrave. The Marie Stuart, reine d'Écosse combo Blu-Ray/DVD from Elephant Films allows to appreciate the superb cinematography by Christopher Challis (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), the costumes designed by Margaret Furse and the competent direction of Charles Jarrott.

After Mary, Queen of Scots, Jarrott directed Lost Horizon (1973), the now cult Condorman (1981), the excellent The Amateur (1981) or the miniseries Till We Meet Again (1989). From 1992 to 2015, Glenda Jackson took a break from acting to become a Member of the British Parliament (and a junior minister in Tony Blair's government). Amusingly, Vanessa Redgrave played Elizabeth I in Anonymous (2011). The Marie Stuart, reine d'Écosse combo Blu-Ray/DVD from Elephant Films contains Mary, Queen of Scots, in English and in French (with French and English subtitles), a very interesting presentation of the movie by cinema specialist Justin Kwedi, a trailer of the film and the trailers of other titles from Elephant Films in the same collection: Isadora (1968) and the recently released Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) and Follow Me. In 2018, Alexander Mackendrick's Mary, Queen of Scots was adapted as a BBC radio drama narrated by Glenda Jackson.

(1) https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/jun/04/3
(2) https://www.movie-locations.com/movies/m/Mary-Queen-Of-Scots.php

https://fr.shopping.rakuten.com/mfp/shop/5556785/marie-stuart-reine-d-ecosse?pid=10079840252&sellerLogin=ElephantFilm
http://www.elephantfilms.com/
https://fr.shopping.rakuten.com/boutique/ElephantFilm

See also:

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2023/04/follow-methe-public-eye-combo-blu-ray.html (Follow Me)
https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2023/03/thoroughly-modern-millie-combo-blu-ray.html (Thoroughly Modern Millie)

Monday, 3 April 2023

FOLLOW ME/THE PUBLIC EYE (COMBO BLU-RAY + DVD, ELEPHANT FILMS)

[Favourite of the Month] Follow Me is a delightful British romantic comedy film released in 1972 and led by the brilliant Mia Farrow, Topol and Michael Jayston.

This gem, titled Sentimentalement vôtre in French, is now available in France in a combo Blu-Ray/DVD (Region B) from Elephant Films.

Follow Me is based on a short play by English playwright and screenwriter Peter Shaffer (Equus, Amadeus) called The Public Eye. This one-act comedy about a jealous chartered accountant, his wife and a private detective, had its premiere in London in 1962. It was part of a double bill with The Private Ear, another play in one act written by Shaffer. Both opened on Broadway the following year and raised the interest of Hollywood mogul Ross Hunter. For Universal, he produced the Douglas Sirk melodramas Magnificent Obsession (1954) and Imitation of Life (1959) and the Rock Hudson-Doris Day comedies Pillow Talk (1959), Lover Come Back (1961) and Send Me No Flowers (1964).

Hunter bought the rights of The Public Eye in 1964 but it took years to turn the play into a film. Hired to direct, Mike Nichols was too busy finishing Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). Julie Andrews was to star but had to withdraw because of the delay, though she worked with Ross Hunter on Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). Later, the producer made a deal with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton but the couple couldn't agree upon a director. At least he managed to adapt The Private Ear as The Pad (and How to Use It) (1966). In 1970, Ross Hunter announced that American actress Mia Farrow (Rosemary's Baby) would play the young wife in The Public Eye but he left Universal. Hal Wallis, the Hollywood titan behind Casablanca (1942) for Warner Bros and the Elvis Presley movies at Paramount, brought the project to fruition.

Associated with Universal since 1969, Hal Wallis produced Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) and Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) in England for the company. He stayed in the country, where Mia Farrow lived with her then husband conductor André Previn, to make The Public Eye (titled Follow Me in the United Kingdom) at Shepperton Studios. Peter Shaffer adapted his own play and the producer asked Carol Reed, the director of The Third Man (1949) and Oliver! (1968), to helm. Israeli actor and singer Chaim Topol, known as Topol, was cast as the private detective. Topol became globally famous thanks to the role of Tevye the milkman in the 1967 West End production of the stage musical Fieddler on the Roof and its 1971 film version. English actor Michael Jayston, a familiar face to British TV viewers (The Power Game) who starred as Nicholas II in Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), was chosen to play the husband.

Charles Sidley (Jayston) is an uptight London-based chartered accountant who married Belinda (Mia Farrow), a free-spirited Californian waitress. He thinks Belinda is having an affair because she's never at home during the day. He talks to a private investigation agency, which sends him an eccentric Greek detective named Julian Cristoforou (Topol). Follow Me/The Public Eye is blessed with Peter Shaffer's finely chiselled dialogues and the wonderful performances from its perfect trio of stars. Carol Reed and director of photography Christopher Challis (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) take us on a both comical and sentimental tour of the British capital and various locations, including the Windsor Safari Park and Sutton Place. Belinda spends her afternoons watching some Hammer films in a cinema until Julian shows her Franco Zefirelli's Romeo and Juliet (1968).

The music by John Barry is sublime. Thelma Keating sings Follow Follow, the beautiful song composed by Barry with lyricist Don Black. Follow Me was edited by Anne V. Coates (Lawrence of Arabia). Mia Farrow continued to shine in The Great Gatsby (1974), Death on the Nile (1978) or The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985). Topol pursued a long career on stage, mostly in his signature role, and played in the films Flash Gordon (1980) and For Your Eyes Only (1981) and in the miniseries The Winds of War (1983). After Follow Me, Michael Jayston went on working on stage, for the cinema (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Internecine Project...) and for television: The Merchant of Venice, Jane Eyre, Thriller, Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy, Doctor Who, etc. Follow Me was Carol Reed's final movie.

The Sentimentalement vôtre combo Blu-Ray/DVD from Elephant Films contains Follow Me in English and in French (with French and English subtitles), an interview with movie critic and American cinema specialist Samuel Blumenfeld, a trailer of the film and the trailers of other titles from Elephant Films in the same collection: Isadora (1968) and the recently released Mary, Queen of Scots and Thoroughly Modern Millie.

https://fr.shopping.rakuten.com/offer/buy/10079839267/sentimentalement-votre-combo-blu-ray-dvd.html
http://www.elephantfilms.com/
https://fr.shopping.rakuten.com/boutique/ElephantFilm
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/mar/09/topol-obituary

Tuesday, 21 March 2023

THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE (COMBO BLU-RAY + DVD, ELEPHANT FILMS)

[Favourite of the Month] Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) is a joyfully entertaining American musical film directed by George Roy Hill and starring the great Julie Andrews.

It is now available in France in an indispensable combo Blu-Ray/DVD (All Zone) from Elephant Films.

Thoroughly Modern Millie was born from an idea of Ross Hunter, a Hollywood mogul associated with Universal. For the studio, he produced the Douglas Sirk melodramas Magnificent Obsession (1954) and Imitation of Life (1959) and the Rock Hudson-Doris Day comedies Pillow Talk (1959), Lover Come Back (1961) and Send Me No Flowers (1964). Hunter wanted to make a movie based on The Boy Friend, a 1953 West End musical set in the "Roaring Twenties". The Boy Friend opened on Broadway the following year and marked the American debut of English actress and singer Julie Andrews. Andrews starred in Broadway musicals My Fair Lady (1956) and Camelot (1960) before becoming a household name with the film Mary Poppins (1964). She confirmed her movie star status with The Sound of Music (1965) and Torn Curtain (1966).

Ross Hunter finally gave up buying the rights of The Boy Friend from MGM (which tried to adapt it in 1956) because too expensive and decided to do his own version, with Julie Andrews in the main role... Thoroughly Modern Millie, a musical comedy whose development was announced as of 1964. Richard Morris (The Unsikable Molly Brown, a 1960 musical) wrote the script and the casting of Julie Andrews was confirmed in 1966. George Roy Hill, who directed Peter Sellers in The World of Henry Orient (1964) and Julie Andrews in Hawaii (1966), was hired to helm the movie. Mary Tyler Moore (The Dick Van Dyke Show), Carol Channing (the musical Hello Dolly), James Fox (The Chase, The Servant), John Gavin (Spartacus, Psycho) and Beatrice Lillie joined the main cast. Elmer Bernstein (The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven) composed the music and André Previn scored the musical numbers. The original songs were composed by Sammy Cahn and James Van Heusen (who worked for Frank Sinatra) and Jay Thompson. There are standards of the 1910s and 1920s too, such as Jazz Baby.

New York City, 1922. Millie Dillmount (Julie Andrews) is a young independent woman who wants to become a stenographer to a rich boss and then marry him. She befriends a naive aspiring actress named Miss Dorothy Brown (Mary Tyler Moore). Miss Dorothy checks into the hotel where Millie lives, the Priscilla Hotel for single ladies. She tells Mrs Meers, the hotel house mother (Beatrice Lillie), she's an orphan. Millie and Dorothy ignore that Mrs Meers runs a white slavery ring. At a dance, Millie meets Jimmy Smith (James Fox), a carefree paper clip salesman who borrowed his employer's roadster. After a crazy ride in the streets they kiss but Millie is determined to pursue her goal. She finds a job at Sincere Trust Insurance and decides that she'll marry her new boss, Trevor Graydon (John Gavin). Later, Jimmy introduces Millie and Miss Dorothy to the wealthy and eccentric Long Island widow Muzzy Van Hossmere (Carol Channing). Neville Phillips, co-author of a British stage musical called Chrysanthemum (1956), noted some similarities between the latter and the plot of Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Julie Andrews shines in this $6.000.000 pastiche of the 1920s. Her tap dance with the charming Mary Tyler Moore's is one of the highlights of the film. From 1970 to 1977, Moore starred in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, a sitcom she produced through her company MTM Enterprises (founded in 1969 with her then husband at the time Grant Tinker). MTM was behind hits like The Bob Newhart Show (1972-1978) or Hill Street Blues (1981-1987). The excellent James Fox doesn't sing in Thoroughly Modern Millie, because it's actually Jimmy Bryant who provided the singing voice of Jimmy Smith (1). Carol Channing is divine and John Gavin, a frequent leading man for Ross Hunter, does self-parody with perfection. Beatrice Lillie, dubbed "the funniest woman in the world", plays a live action Wile E. Coyote. Cavada Humphrey is hilarious as Miss Flannery, the office manager.

George Roy Hill creatively plays with silent movie intertitles, pays homage to Harold Lloyd and has fun with biplanes. Not only the director studied music at university but he had his pilot license. After the success of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Hill returned to the 1920s with both The Sting (1973) and the aviation film The Great Waldo Pepper (1975). The running gags of Thoroughly Modern Millie (the laundry basket, the elevator, the taxi...) are irresistible. Choreographer Joe Layton helmed the splendid musical sequences, assisted with Jay Thompson and Buddy Schwab. Though the movie was shot mostly in the Universal backlot, the sets by Alexander Golitzen and George C. Webb (with Howard Bristol) are absolutely superb. French costume designer Jean Louis designed the gowns. Cinematographer Russell Metty was briefly replaced by Russell Harlan (uncredited). Stuart Gilmore edited the film.

The depiction of the Chinese community in Thoroughly Modern Millie definitely didn't age well. Mrs Meers's henchmen (credited "Oriental 1" and "Oriental 2") are in fact played by two American actors of Japanese origin, Jack Soo and Noriyuki "Pat" Morita. Soo was a singer and actor later known for his role of Detective Nick Yemana in 101 episodes of Barney Miller (1975-1982). Pat Morita rose to fame as Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi in several seasons of Happy Days (1974-1984). He became a pop culture icon as Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid movies. Morita was also Ohara in the eponymous series (1987-1988). Korean-American Philip Ahn plays Tea, Muzzy's head butler. He's remembered for the character of Master Kan in Kung Fu (1972-1975). The gorgeous Technicolor of the enchanting Thoroughly Modern Millie is duly celebrated in the combo Blue Ray/DVD from Elephant Films. This is the "Roadshow" edition (141 minutes), with the overture, intermission and exit music.

The film is in English and in French (with French and English subtitles). Bonus material consists of an interview with movie critic and American cinema specialist Samuel Blumenfeld, an interview with cinema specialist Gilles Gressard, a trailer of Thoroughly Modern Millie and the trailers of some other titles of Elephant Films in the same collection: Isadora (1968) and the recently released Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) and Follow Me! (1972). The long time collaboration between Ross Hunter and Universal ended in 1970. The Boy Friend became a MGM film in 1971 and Thoroughly Modern Millie was turned into a musical in 2002.

(1) Jimmy Bryant was also the singing voice of Richard Beymer in West Side Story (1961).

https://fr.shopping.rakuten.com/mfp/shop/9231629/millie?pid=10079840263&sellerLogin=ElephantFilm&fbclid=IwAR19rVF2GmO_hgl95sandlBzBtA9gYN2FszmADMbWGe99lIXHiVxFAY2CcY
http://www.elephantfilms.com/
https://fr.shopping.rakuten.com/boutique/ElephantFilm

See also:

https://maxmcmanus.com/2018/09/13/the-maker-of-the-most-glamorous-films-of-the-fifties-and-sixties-a-ross-hunter-production/
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/carol-channing-dead-hello-dolly-broadway-age-died-thoroughly-modern-millie-gentlemen-prefer-blondes-a8730691.html

Saturday, 1 September 2018

PREVIOUSLY ON THIS BLOG

So...

REVIEWS

Monday, 13 August 2018

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - FALLOUT (2018)

Tom Cruise returns as IMF superspy Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible - Fallout, the new installment of the Mission: Impossible film series. His frequent collaborator Christopher McQuarrie, who helmed the previous movie (Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, 2015), is back too for this direct sequel.

The bottom line: Simply the Best.

Impossible Mission Force agent Ethan Hunt is haunted by the memory of anarchist Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), a former adversary. The surviving members of The Syndicate, Lane's terrorist organization, have formed a group called The Apostles. Three plutonium cores are part of their plans, which involve a shadowy figure named John Lark. Ethan goes to Berlin with Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and Benjamin "Benji" Dunn (Simon Pegg) to intercept the cores. The mission goes wrong, obliging them to obtain information from an expert who worked with The Apostles to assemble three portable nuclear bombs.

Against the will of IMF secretary Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin), CIA director Erica Sloane (Angela Bassett) assigns August Walker (Henry Cavill) of the agency's Special Activities Division to keep an eye on the team. Ethan and agent Walker HALO jump to reach the Grand Palais in Paris, where John Lark must buy the plutonium at a fundraiser party given by arms dealer Alanna Mitsopolis, aka "The White Widow" (Vanessa Kirby). MI6 and ex-Syndicate operative Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) resurfaces but Hunt cannot trust her, nor the CIA, as he's confronted to Solomon Lane once again. And the life of his estranged wife Julia (Michelle Monaghan) is threatened. From the streets of the French capital to the mountains of Kashmir, via London, the IMF races against time to prevent a global catastrophe.

Launched in 1996, the Mission: Impossible spy action movie franchise is based on the 1966-1973 namesake television series created by Bruce Geller. Its success lies mainly in the will of actor/producer Tom Cruise to perform the most spectacular stunts by himself (he's still in top shape at 56). Despite some past controversies, Cruise sure knows how to meet the expectations of his public and even exceed them. The well established formula of the big screen Mission: Impossible consists in Ethan Hunt running (often literally) to find a thing in order to save the world. His mission, already presumed impossible, turns out not as planned and his status is jeopardized. Thankfully, Hunt can count on his various teammates. Especially the anxious Benji, who largely provides the humour, and the grumpy Luther.

Written by its director Christopher McQuarrie, Mission: Impossible - Fallout has enough twists and turns to keep Ethan Hunt busy between the mandatory mind-blowing sequences in the sky, on a motorcycle, on roofs, etc. Though the script doesn't pretend to be a John le Carré novel, the personal stakes are higher for our proto-Jack Bauer. Punctuated with a discrete dose of derision, Fallout reminds of the golden era of the James Bond films before Daniel Craig and doesn't forget nods to both the TV series and its predecessors. After Dubai and Vienna, it's the turn of Paris to be the focus of a Mission: Impossible, a choice with a particular resonance because of the terrorist attacks which struck the city in 2015. Of course, Paris was the playground of the legendary French film star Jean-Paul Belmondo, who did his own stunts too.

English actor Sean Harris is beyond impressive in the role of Hunt's worst nightmare. Rebecca Ferguson is great as Ilsa, the kickass leading lady. Female characterization wasn't the forte of Mission: Impossible before her arrival. Alec Baldwin's sympathetic secretary Hunley does a (little) bit of field work. Henry Cavill, who plays the untrustworthy CIA watch dog August Walker, is a perfect addition to the franchise. Like Vanessa Kirby and Angela Bassett. Scottish composer Lorne Balfe, who succeeds Joe Kraemer and Michael Giacchino, did an excellent job with the soundtrack. Aaron Becker designed the superb main title and curtain call sequences. Distributed by Paramount Pictures. Cinematography by Rob Hardy. Film editing by Eddie Hamilton.

Released on August 1 in France.

https://www.slashfilm.com/christopher-mcquarrie-interview-2/

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2015/08/mission-impossible-rogue-nation-2015.html

Monday, 2 July 2018

LAST MONTH ON THIS BLOG

So...

REVIEWS

- Midsomer Murders - Series 20:

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2018/06/midsomer-murders-series-20-episode-2.html (Episode 2)

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2018/06/midsomer-murders-series-20-episode-1.html (Episode 1)

- Darkman - Édition Ultime (L'Atelier d'images):

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2018/06/darkman-edition-ultime-latelier-dimages.html

Friday, 8 June 2018

DARKMAN - ÉDITION ULTIME (L'ATELIER D'IMAGES)

Before American filmmaker Sam Raimi adapted Spider-Man in a big screen trilogy (2002-2007), he made his first major studio picture with a superhero of his own: Darkman (1990). This amazing movie spawned two direct-to-video sequels, Darkman II: The Return of Durant (1995) and Darkman III: Die Darkman Die (1996). They were preceded by an attempt to launch a TV series in 1992.

In November 2017, the French home video company L'Atelier d'images released Darkman - Édition Ultime, a limited edition (2 Blu-Ray discs + 1 DVD) containing Darkman, Darkman II, Darkman III, the comic book Darkman Vs. Army of Darkness (for the first time in French) and more than 3½ hours of bonus material. On June 5, 2018, L'Atelier d'images released Darkman on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Dr. Peyton Westlake experiments a synthethic skin for burn victims but it disaggregates after 99 minutes. He's about to find a solution when his assistant and him are attacked by sadistic mobster Robert G. Durant and his thugs. Durant wants a memorandum forgotten by Peyton's girlfriend Julie Hastings, an attorney. This document proves that real estate developer Louis Strack Jr. used corruption for his "City of the Future". Severely burnt and disfigured, Westlake is brought (as a John Doe) to a hospital where he undergoes radical surgery. Now he no longer feels pain because of his severed nerve endings and his strength is considerably enhanced by adrenaline flows, at the price of his mental stability. Presumed dead, Peyton Westlake plots his revenge in a condemned factory. With the artificial skin he can take any face he wants, including his own, but only for 99 minutes.

Darkman originated from the desire of Sam Raimi, then a young independent director behind cult films The Evil Dead (1981) and Evil Dead II (1987), to adapt Batman or The Shadow. Unable to secure their rights, Raimi decided to create a superhero. Inspired by those classic characters and films like The Phantom of the Opera and The Elephant Man, he got the idea of a man who could change his face for a short story which became a 40-page film treatment. Raimi also paid homage to the Universal monsters of the 1930s and 1940s. Universal Pictures liked the pitch, the budget was set in the $8-12 million range and Darkman went into pre-production (1). Chuck Pfarrer (Navy Seals), Sam Raimi and his brother Ivan Raimi (2), Daniel Goldin and Joshua Goldin worked on the screenplay.

The director wanted his longtime friend Bruce Campbell (Ash in the Evil Dead films) to play Peyton but the studio vetoed. Irish actor Liam Neeson, not yet a household name, was cast and Raimi gave Bruce Campbell a superb cameo at the end. Gary Oldman and Bill Paxton were considered. Julia Roberts almost played Julie before reaching stardom with Pretty Woman (1990). Frances McDormand, Oscar nominee for Mississipi Burning (1988) and friend of Raimi, got the part. For the villains, Sam Raimi chose Australian actor Colin Friels as Strack and Larry Drake as the sinister Robert G. Durant. He thought Drake looked like Edward G. Robinson and he actually didn't watch L.A. Law (1986-1994), where the actor caught attention as Benny Stulwicz. Danny Elfman, who scored comic book movies Batman (1989) and Dick Tracy (1990), composed a soundtrack both mysterious and tragic.

Produced by Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert's Renaissance Pictures for Universal, the action-packed thriller came as an unique take on the superhero genre thanks to the director's style and inventivity, his dark humour and a perfect cast. Liam Neeson's performance as a humanist turned into a monstruously scarred antihero reaches shakespearean heights. The helicopter scene and the final showdown are memorable. Darkman performed very well at the box office and even more on home video. In 1992, Universal Television produced an unaired 22-minute pilot/demo for a potential TV series but the Fox channel didn't pick it up. Written by Robert Eisele (The Equalizer) and directed by Brian Grant, Darkman retold the origins of the character with some changes. English actor Christopher Bowen (Le Roi Mystère) (3) starred as Peyton Westlake. Larry Drake reprised his role of Robert G. Durant.

Universal wasn't interested in funding a sequel to the film until they decided to follow the example of Disney's The Return of Jafar (1994), the hit direct-to-video sequel of Aladdin (1992), and bypass theaters. The studio financed, partly through its television division, a home video "double bill" of the dark vigilante. Helmed by experimented TV director/cinematographer Bradford May, Darkman II: The Return of Durant and Darkman III: Die Darkman Die were filmed back-to-back in Toronto in winter 1993-1994 for almost $5 million (4). They were released in 1995 and 1996 respectively. Larry Drake came back as Durant but he wasn't available immediately so Darkman III was shot first. South African born actor Arnold Vosloo was asked to play Peyton Westlake while he was filming John Woo's Hard Target (1993), co-produced by Renaissance Pictures.

In Darkman II, Peyton befriends David Brinkman, a scientist who found a solution to disintegration of the synthetic skin. His old enemy Robert G. Durant awakes from coma and projects to rule the criminal underworld with the help of Dr. Hathaway, the mad inventor of a particle-beam gun. Durant wants Brinkman's building but David doesn't wish to sell and the gangster gets him killed. Peyton must protect Brinkman's sister Laurie. Written by Steven McKay (Hard to Kill), Robert Eisele and Lawrence Hertzog (creator of the 1995-1996 series Nowhere Man), The Return of Durant is carried by the top billing Larry Drake and tries to emulate Raimi's style with some cartoonish moments. Arnold Vosloo is a honourable successor to Liam Neeson. Except for Hathaway (the great Canadian actor Lawrence Dane), the secondary characters are quite insignificant. Like the reporter played by Kim Delaney, who quickly disappears. Renee O'Connor (Laurie Brinkman) later co-starred in Xena: Warrior Princess (1995-2001) as Gabrielle.

Penned by screenwriting duo Michael Colleary and Mike Werb, Darkman III would definitely have made a better TV pilot than the 1992 demo. Dr. Bridget Thorne, one of the physicians who saved Westlake's life after the attack by Durant and his men, offers Peyton to repair his nervous system but corrupt businessman Peter Rooker wants Darkman's strength for his profit. Jeff Fahey (The Lawnmower man) makes an excellent new villain and the late Darlanne Fluegel (Crime Story, To Live and Die in L.A.) is brilliant as Thorne. Roxann Dawson (Angela Rooker) played B'Elanna Torres in Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001). The supporting cast is filled with familiar faces like Nigel Bennett (Forever Knight) or Von Flores. The music of the two direct-to-video sequels was composed by Randy Miller.

Blu-Ray Disc 1 of Darkman - Édition ultime is comprised of Darkman (French dubbing + Original dialogue track), a conversation between journalists Julien Dupuy et Stéphane Moïssakis, interviews of production designer Randy Ser and art director Philip Dagort, interviews of Liam Neeson and Frances McDormand, interviews of Dan Bell and Danny Hicks (Durant's henchmen Paulie and Skip), and an interview of makeup designer Tony Gardner. The Larry Drake interview is refreshing (Durant's crush, the "pilot") and even moving as the talented actor died in 2016. There are interviews of Sam Raimi, Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand and Colin Friels for the film's release, a "Making Of", trailers and TV spots, storyboards and photo galleries. Blu-Ray Disc 2 is comprised of Darkman II & III (French dubbing + Original dialogue track) with their trailers. The DVD of the Édition Ultime has Darkman and the trailers of the three films. All the bonus material is subbed in French.

(1) Fangoria #96 (Sept 1990). It ended up at an estimated $16 million.
(2) In Darkman, their brother Ted Raimi plays Rick.
(3) Christopher Bowen played the eponymous 19th century vigilante in this 1991 four-part French drama based on a novel by Gaston Leroux (author of The Phantom of the Opera). His very good performance looks like an audition for the role of Darkman.
(4) Cinefantastique v25n06-v26n01 (Dec 1994).

http://www.latelierdimages.fr/darkman-edition-ultime/
https://www.dvdfr.com/dvd/f163751-darkman.html (Darkman - June 2018 French Blu-Ray, with details about the bonus material)

See also:

http://www.indiewire.com/2013/03/classical-filmmaking-the-theme-that-drives-all-of-sam-raimis-movies-128305/

Thursday, 8 March 2018

MASTER SPY (MEESTERSPION, 2016)

[Favourite of the Month] A young boy discovers a secret agent cryogenized forty years ago. Directed by Pieter van Rijn, Master Spy (MeesterSpion) is a wonderfully pleasant Dutch adventure/comedy movie for the whole family.

Released in the Netherlands during autumn 2016, the film has become a favourite of children's film festivals. Master Spy can be watched since last month in France on the channels of Canal +.

The bottom line: 007 meets John Hughes.

1973. Simon Floret, a dashing agent of the NGD (Nederlandse Geheime Dienst, a fictional Dutch secret service), is on assignment in a coastal hotel where a "Diner diplomatique" is given. Assisted by tech whiz Lexie, his mission is to take photos of a traitor who sells information to the Soviets. Much to his surprise, the man he's looking for is a colleague named Freek Dekker. Simon escapes with his photographic proofs but Freek shoots him a poisoned dart before he can tell Lexie where he hid them. Her only solution is to cryogenize Floret until she finds an antidote.

40 years later, Tim de Wolf, aged 10, and his little sister, move to the old seaside hotel bought by their parents and Tim must do his best to adjust to his new home. Chased by three classmates, he unexpectedly finds a secret basement where Simon Floret lies in a cryogenic chamber. As the box opens, the young boy breaks by accident the antidote left by Lexie. Back in a world which has changed a lot, the master spy needs help from Tim to contact the NGD and get another dose of antidote. But there's a problem: the boss of the secret service is none other than Freek Dekker, the traitor.

Master Spy (MeesterSpion) was written by Tijs van Marle, a scriptwriter behind two successful children movie franchises: Mister Twister (Mees Kees), launched in 2012 and based on the books by Mirjam Oldenhave. And the film adaptations of Tosca Menten's Dummy the Mummy books (Dummie de Mummie) since 2014. Pieter van Rijn directed several television series, including Flikken Maastricht (2007-2017) and Celblock H (2014-2017), the Dutch adaptation of the Australian drama Wentworth. He also helmed movies like Pluk van de petteflet (co-directed by Ben Sombogaart), a 2004 adaptation of the book by Annie M.G. Schmidt, and Familieweekend (2016).

Simon Floret carries on his mission after a 40-year interruption, with outdated gadgets and a very special car. Not a BMW roadster but an irresistible 1970s blue DAF 44 having something more. TV, stage and movie actor Beau Schneider, well-known by Dutch viewers for his role in Goede tijden, slechte tijden, plays the secret agent in a blend of elegance and (soft) derision. Simon is a tenacious Roger Moore kind of James Bond who has a little bit of Inspector Clouseau's clumsiness. This fish out of water in tuxedo finds welcome allies in the enthusiastic Tim, played by Stijn van der Plas, and "Lexie", who now sells flowers under her true name Alexandra Markies (Lieneke Le Roux).

Aus Greidanus sr (De Zaak Menten) portrays Directeur Dekker. One of the actor's sons, Kay Greidanus, was cast as the younger Freek in the pre-credit sequence. Presenter and actress Nienke de la Rive Box is Karin MacKenton, a NGD agent with a dog problem. Fun and smart, MeesterSpion can be enjoyed by both children and adults. There are nods to North by Northwest, Mission: Impossible or Get Smart. The NGD logo reminds of SHIELD and U.N.C.L.E. The NGD security guards and Freek's idiotic Russian goons seem straight out of a Home Alone film. The excellent Bondian music was composed by Matthijs Kieboom and Martijn Schimmer. The cool title song Give You All I Got is performed by Maan, winner of The Voice of Holland in 2016.

Also starring Simone van Bennekom (Young Lexie), Patrick Stoof (Leonard de Wolf), Cynthia Abma (Tine de Wolf), Bianca Krijgsman (Juf), Frits Lambrechts (Henk), Mike Weerts, Fabian Jansen & Steef Cuijpers (Security guards), Ad van Kempen (Henk's brother), Liz Vergeer (Eefje de Wolf), Brennan Wilkes (Tommie), Brian Worm (Dave), Julian Ras (Jules), Leonid Vlasov (Serguei), Oleg Kovalev (Boris), etc. Produced by PV Pictures with Avrotros and the support of CoBo and Netherlands Film Production Incentive. Cinematography by Joris Kerbosch. Editing by Michiel Boesveldt. Production designed by Dimitri Merkoulov. Costumes by Margriet Procee. Title design by Brat Ljatifi (Brat Creative).

Distributed by Entertainment One. Master Spy won the Gryphon 6+ award at the Giffoni Film Festival 2017 and the Jule Price at Kinder Film Fest Münster 2017. Dutch author of young readers books Marcel van Driel wrote the novelization (published by Van Goor).

http://www.pvpictures.nl/films/meesterspion/
http://tijsvanmarle.nl/
http://www.beauschneider.com/

See also:

http://www.marcelvandriel.nl/
http://maanofficial.nl/

Monday, 27 February 2017

PALM TREES IN THE SNOW (FRENCH REGION 2 DVD)

Palm trees in the Snow (Palmeras en la nieve) is a 2015 Spanish film directed by Fernando González Molina and based on the homonymous novel by Luz Gabás.

This powerful romantic period drama, starring Mario Casas and Adriana Ugarte (The Time in Between), is available on French Region 2 DVD and Blu-Ray from Koba Films since February 1.

1954. Kilian de Rabaltué (Mario Casas) and Jacobo de Rabaltué (Alain Hernández), two brothers, leave their home in the snowy mountains of Huesca, in northern Spain. They must join their father Anton (Emilio Gutiérrez Caba) on the island of Fernando Póo, a Spanish colony (presently Bioko in Equatorial Guinea), in order to work with him on a cocoa plantation. Half a century later in Huesca, Kilian's niece Clarence (Adriana Ugarte) discovers a fragment of an old letter which shows that her aged and declining uncle has been secretly sending money to a family in the island. She decides to travel to the former Spanish Guinea to learn more.

Published in 2012, Palm trees in the Snow (Palmeras en la nieve) is the first novel of Luz Gabás. The following year, Warner Bros. España announced a movie adaption of the bestseller by director Fernando González Molina and scriptwriter Sergio G. Sánchez, with Mario Casas in the starring role. Molina and Casas previously worked together on Three Steps Above Heaven (Tres metros sobre el cielo, 2010) and its sequel I Want You (Tengo ganas de ti, 2012) (1), the first Hot School (Fuga de cerebros, 2009), and on TV series El Barco (2011-2013) and Los hombres de Paco (2005-2010).

Sergio G. Sánchez penned The Impossible (Lo imposible, 2012) and The Orphanage (El orfanato, 2007). Set against the mostly unknown backdrop of Spain's colonial history, Palmeras en la nieve alternates between the younger Killian's love story with young black nurse Bisila (Berta Vázquez) and the journey of his niece Clarence into the secrets of her family. Noted for her TV work with The Time in Between (El Tiempo entre Costuras, 2013-2014), Stolen Children (Niños robados, 2013) and The Lady (La Señora, 2008-2010), but also films like Lo contrario al amor (2011), Adriana Ugarte shines as Clarence de Rabaltué. Last year she starred in Pedro Almodóvar's Julieta.

Palm trees in the Snow was shot during 13 weeks from 2014 to 2015 in the Canary Islands, Colombia, and Huesca. 70 actors, more than 2.200 extras and 250 technicians worked on this €10.000.000 epic production from Nostromo Pictures with Dynamo Producciones, Atresmedia Cine, Telefónica Studios and Warner Bros. España. The rest of the cast includes Macarena Garcia (Julia), French actor Djedje Apali (Young and Beautiful) as Iniko, Daniel Grao (Sin Identidad) as Manuel, Fernando Cayo (Garuz), Celso Bugallo (Older Kilian), Petra Martinez (Older Julia), Luis Callejo (El Barco) as Gregorio, etc. The music was composed by Lucas Vidal.

Distributed by Film Factory Entertainment and released for Christmas 2015 in Spain, Palmeras en la nieve rightfully conquered the local box office (2). In France, the film arrived last year on Netflix. The DVD from Koba contains the 163-minute film in French and Spanish, subtitled or not, plus bonus material (a presentation and an interview with director Fernando González Molina). Three Steps Above Heaven and I Want You are also available on French Region 2 DVD and Blu-Ray from Koba Films.

(1) Based on Italian author Federico Moccia's novels Tre metri sopra il cielo (2004) and Ho voglia di te (2006).
(2) http://vertele.eldiario.es/verteletv/actualidad/Palmeras-segundo-estreno-espanol-millones_0_1751824833.html + http://variety.com/2016/film/global/atresmedia-warners-palm-trees-dislodges-star-wars-from-spanish-b-o-no-1-berth-1201679878/

http://www.kobafilms.fr/films/467-palmiers-dans-la-neige-3344428064174.html
http://www.kobafilms.fr/films/468-palmiers-dans-la-neige-blu-ray-3344428064181.html

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2017/02/the-time-in-betweenel-tiempo-entre.html (The Time in Between/ El Tiempo entre Costuras)