LaurenceOlivier Tagged Articles at Cinematical
New Criterion DVDs: Tell Me About It
Filed under: New on DVD », Home Entertainment »
The Criterion Collection releases two new DVDs today, two movies with nothing much in common. They were originally released in theaters almost exactly fifty years apart, in 1941 and 1991. One is an elegant, period romance set during the Napoleonic Wars, and the other is a gritty, modern-day urban cop story. The only thing I can think that makes them kindred spirits is their endings. I can see the two heroes, played by Vivien Leigh in the former and Joe Mantegna in the latter, sitting together at the end of their tales. They're both staring off into space, thinking about what an odd hand life has dealt them, thinking about what lies ahead, if anything. The cop looks over at the lady. "What's your story?" he asks. She might respond, "I used to be somebody." And he might retort, in a New York accent, "Tell me about it."
And maybe she would. Lady Hamilton would tell her heartbreaking story, as seen in That Hamilton Woman (1941), starting life as a lower class nothing on the grim streets of London, but meeting the son of an ambassador and looking forward to the good life. But she discovers that the son is deeply in debt and has "given" her to his father, Sir William Hamilton (Alan Mowbray), a collector of beautiful things. They marry and she becomes "Lady Hamilton," and she begins to enjoy her social life, until a weary soldier, Lord Horatio Nelson (Laurence Olivier) happens into her palatial home, asking for aid in the war against Napoleon. Her husband hems and haws, but Lady Hamilton uses her friendship with the Queen to get Lord Nelson what he needs without delay. From there, the married Lord Nelson and the married Lady Hamilton slowly form a passionate, centuries-spanning, heartbreaking illicit romance. A romance to end all romances.
John Maybury Goes From 'The Edge of Love' to 'Wuthering Heights'
Filed under: Drama », Romance », Casting », Deals », Remakes and Sequels »
Variety reports that John Maybury has signed to direct a new feature film version of Emily Brontë's, Wuthering Heights. Maybury is currently working on the Dylan Thomas film, The Edge of Love (every time I hear that title it just gets worse; sounds like a bad Harlequin novel, but I digress). Olivia Hetreed (Girl with a Pearl Earring) has already written a script, but there is no word on whether she has any changes for the story in mind. Heights was the story of Cathy and Heathcliff. Heathcliff is a rough and low-born hellion and Cathy was a slightly stuck up rich girl. During their time growing up together they find a kind of obsessive love that in the end basically ruins both of them (of course, like most classics, most of the 'good' stuff is clouded in innuendo and metaphor). There is plenty more to it, but if you know the story, then you know that's pretty much the gist of it. At least three feature film versions have already been made from the book, including a surrealist take from Luis Buñuel in 1954. The most famous is the 1939 version starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon. Other attempts starred the 'much maligned Bond' Timothy Dalton and Anna Calder-Marshall. Another version in 1992 starred Ralph Fiennes and Heathcliff and Juliette Binoche in dual roles as Cathy and her daughter. Heights was published way back in 1847, so you have to admire a girl who has the nerve to write such a 'saucy' book in those days. It's not often you come across implications of incest and necrophilia in your classic literature. Production is set to begin this fall and casting has already gotten underway. So stay tuned to Cinematical to find out who our next Cathy and Heathcliff are going to be.
Sleuth Remake Begins Shooting In The UK
Filed under: Drama », Mystery & Suspense », Sony Classics », Remakes and Sequels »
Oddly enough, two of my favorite movie mysteries star Michael Caine. If you haven't seen Deathtrap with Caine and Christopher Reeve, I really recommend it; you'll never look at Superman the same way. The other film is Sleuth with Laurence Olivier as a cuckolded husband who enters into a criminal partnership with his wife's lover (Caine). If you love double-crosses and twists you didn't see coming than these are the movies for you.Back in September, Erik had the news that a remake of Sleuth was in pre-production with Jude Law in Caine's original role, and in a bout of cutesy casting Caine would be returning in Olivier's part. Variety has announced that the film has started shooting on location in England. The remake will work from a script written by Nobel Prize winning author Harold Pinter, and on board to direct is Kenneth Branagh, which answers my question of what he's been up to lately. And, since I'm probably one of the few people who liked Dead Again it will be nice to see him making a film that isn't in iambic pentameter. Law is also producing the film under his Riff Raff Prods. Usually, when a remake is announced you start wondering if it can live up to the original. In this case, the remake seems more like a re-enactment so we'll have to wait and see if it was worth the effort.
Sony Signs Sleuth
Filed under: Mystery & Suspense », Sony Classics », Remakes and Sequels »
Back in September we learned that Jude Law and Michael Caine would be starring in a remake of Anthony Shaffer's Sleuth, which was a popular stage play before Joseph L. Mankiewicz directed a 1972 movie version starring Sir Laurence Olivier and ... Michael Caine.What's (potentially) interesting about this re-do (aside from the fact that Kenneth Branagh is directing and Harold Pinter is writing) is that Mr. Caine will, of course, be stepping into the role originally played by Olivier, while Mr. Law (who has wanted to make this flick for a long time, apparently) will be playing Caine's old role.
For those who don't remember the movie, it's about a veteran writer and a hotshot young actor who spend one twist-filled weekend at a fancy English manor -- but the actor's been canoodling the writer's wife ... and the writer knows it.
Sony Pictures Classics just climbed on board with Branagh and Company, and they seem to be in quite the hurry to get the thing made: Production begins this month.
Today's Unnecessary Remake: The Boys from Brazil
Filed under: Drama », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Deals », Mystery & Suspense », New Line », Universal », Scripts », Newsstand », Brett Ratner », Remakes and Sequels »
For some reason, everyone wants to remake The Boys from Brazil -- Variety reported this morning that the rights to the film were sold at an auction in which New Line ultimately outbid Universal. And, get this: The presence of Brett Ratner on New Line's side was the thing that actually sealed the deal (well, that and the million-plus dollars the studio had on the table). Yes, that's right, rights-owners Granada Films actually thought Ratner's influence would make the remake good. Clearly they've not seen much of his work.The original was released in 1978 and starred Gregory Peck (the obvious choice) as Josef Mengele, hatching an evil plan involving (spoiler coming, but since it's apparently ON THE BACK OF THE DVD BOX, the secret isn't very well-kept) cloning Hitler and killing a bunch of old men. He's foiled by Laurence Olivier, a Nazi-hunter who, because it's what happens in movies, figures out Mengele's plan and arrives just in time to kick his evil, Nazi ass. Oh, and James Mason, Uta Hagen, Bruno Ganz and Steve Guttenberg are all in it, too. Granted, the movie is generally considered sort of a campy mess, but why mess with that sort of bizarre casting magic? Well, if you're New Line, you mess with it because you're all fired up about modernizing (of course) the story, and making the movie in a world full of knowledge about cloning. Hooray.
The remake will be written by Richard Potter and Matthew Stravitz, and it's hoped production will begin as soon as Ratner finishes Rush Hour 3.
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
Directors We Love: Jim Jarmusch
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
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Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
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