vertigo Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Making The (Up) Grade: North By Northwest
Filed under: Warner Brothers », Fandom », Home Entertainment »
Initially I planned to make North by Northwest a title revisited in my "Shelf Life" column, but I decided against it when I realized that most folks just love that movie to death, including myself, so seeing whether it's still good would be purely redundant. But the new Blu-ray released by Warner Brothers also didn't seem like it warranted a question of whether or not it was superior to its predecessors thanks to a wealth of bonus content – that is, until I discovered that in fact some of it was on previous versions, no doubt leaving longtime fans with a quandary whether or not to shell out a few more shekels to see one of their favorite Alfred Hitchcock films in high-definition.
As such, North by Northwest is the overdue subject of this week's "Making The (Up) Grade," and I spare no effort examining the past, present and future of this film's home video incarnations.
What's Already Available:
Top 250 Movies as a Subway Map
Filed under: Fandom », Lists », Images »
Here's a different way of thinking about well-known movies: imagine each one is a stop on a subway line! Designed by David Honnorat and posted at Vodkaster, the cinematic subway map is based on the top 250 movies as voted by IMDb users on June 19 (which, I suppose, is why The Hangover made it). Honnorat created 16 different imaginary subway lines, including "Universally Acclaimed Masterpiece," "Political drama," "Drama about tolerance," "Dark and weird drama," and other, more traditional categories, and then placed each film on one of the lines. He asked: "How would you go from Alien to North by Northwest without crossing The Godfather: Part II? Which station have you not visited yet?"
The placement of movies on the map can be amusing (Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction side by side with Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America on the gangster line) as well as bizarre yet strangely fitting (Se7en sitting at the intersection of Vertigo, Rashomon, Nosferatu, and Let the Right One In). Click through to see the big map and roll around a bit. Like all subway maps, it's confusing at first but starts to make more sense as you follow the lines from station to station. What's your favorite cinematic subway line?
[ via Geek Tyrant ]
Five Vertigo Comic Titles DC Need To Make Into Movies
Filed under: Deals », Warner Brothers », Movie Marketing », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
If you're not a fan of comic book flicks, it's going to be an interesting couple of years at the movies for you. Between Marvel and Disney joining forces, and DC having started their own media conglomerate (as Elisabeth told us just last week), there is no escaping the ink and panel crowd. But there's an upside if you're especially sick of superheroes, because during a conversation between MTV and the head of the newly formed DC Entertainment, Diane Nelson, she hinted that DC is planning something a little different in the world of comic book movies. Splashpage recently spoke with the woman of the hour, and she told them that not only will DC be putting some lapsed titles back into the pipeline (leaving us to speculate on whether or not Wonder Woman will get her film debut), but that the so-called 'lesser known' titles of the Vertigo universe could be getting a big-screen makeover as well.
According to Nelson, Warners will be the main arm of the film component of the new initiative, but like most business dealings in the Dream Factory, Nelson was pretty light on the details. What she did say was the following: "Vertigo is an area of great interest to me. It is even less well tapped than other parts of DC, and could potentially offer amazing stories" Now, a few of Vertigo's titles are already in movie development (like Preacher and the occasional rumblings of a Constantine aka Hellblazer sequel), but most of those projects haven't made much progress.
After the jump: the trouble with Vertigo, and some of the titles I would like to see on the big screen...
Sylvain White Takes Over 'The Losers'
Filed under: Action », Deals », Warner Brothers », DIY/Filmmaking », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
So remember back in 2007 when no one could understand why Warner Bros. had chosen to hire Tim Story (Taxi) to direct a feature film version of Vertigo's The Losers? Well, it looks like WB might have come to the same conclusion as we did because Variety reports that Story has now been replaced by Sylvain White. Personally, I haven't been able to wrap my head around either of WB's choices for the comic book flick. It is nothing against either one of these guys, but keep in mind that White directed Stomp the Yard and I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer .The Losers was originally a DC title about a group of WWII bad-a**es, but in 2003, Andy Diggle revived the title with a few minor changes for Vertigo. The 'new' Losers still centered on a Special Forces team, but the story was now set in the 1990's with the team reporting to the C.I.A. and a mysterious handler known as Max. When the team is betrayed by Max during a dangerous operation and left for dead, the group reunites for revenge.
White has already been setting up some other 'fan boy friendly' projects for 2009, and even though he won't be heading to Castlevania any time soon, there is still his adaptation of Frank Miller's Ronin for WB, and the futuristic thriller Static for Columbia Pictures. James Vanderbilt (Wolverine, Spiderman 4) has already completed the Losers script for Warner Bros, and even though the jury might still out on White's skills, at least Vanderbilt has enough comic book cred for the both of them.
Let's just keep our fingers crossed that White has left his mall sensibilities behind him for good, because I don't think I could take a teen version of The Losers -- could you?
Universal Announces Three New Hitchcock Discs
Filed under: Classics », Drama », Horror », Thrillers », Noir », Mystery & Suspense », Universal », Home Entertainment »
I've lost count of how many times these movies have been released on DVD, but (wow) I don't own any of 'em yet, so here's a perfect excuse. DVDActive has the (very thorough) information on Universal's upcoming "Legacy Series" editions of (ready?) Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, Vertigo, and Psycho! Each package is a two-disc affair, complete with all sorts of goodies both old and new. (Yes, I love film historian audio commentaries. Sue me.)Street date for all three releases is October 7, and if you'd like a complete listing of what each disc offers you can click one of these: Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho. Also from Universal Home Video on October 7 ... it isn't Hitchcock, but it sure is awesome: Orson Welles' 1958 mega-classic Touch of Evil, which is a whole lot more than one impressive tracking shot, believe me. Like the Hitch titles, Touch will come complete with all sorts of new bells and whistles. Plus all four of the DVD covers are all sorts of retro-cool. Can't wait to dig through these discs.
Fan Rant: The Trouble With Today's Spoofs
Filed under: Comedy », New Releases », Fan Rant »
As Scott pointed out in his review, you need not fear that this week's Superhero Movie is another brainchild of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, whose satanic perversions of the parody genre -- Date Movie, Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans -- have been terrorizing unsuspecting audiences every year since 2006. Superhero Movie was actually directed by Craig Mazin, a protégé of the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker dream team responsible for Airplane! and The Naked Gun, and produced by David Zucker himself. But it, too, is plagued -- albeit to a much lesser degree -- by what's turning out to be the problem with the entire modern generation of spoofs going back to Scary Movie: relentless pop culture specificity.
The basest incarnations of this, of course, are the Friedberg-Seltzer monstrosities, which may be worthless as comedies but which could prove valuable to historians because they indicate precisely what dominated the American zeitgeist in the few months before their release. It's too generous to call these films' vulgar spasms "jokes," but to the extent that's what they are, they depend entirely on either audience members' awareness of US Weekly-type factoids such as Britney Spears' shaving her head or their recall of particular scenes and characters in recent box-office hits. That's not to say that these kinds of jokes can't be funny -- the problem with Friedberg and Seltzer, as others have pointed out, is that they think throwing something current on the screen ("Look, Paris Hilton!") constitutes humor. But they do limit comedies' universal appeal and staying power.
'Married Life' Pic Released, Revealing a 40s-Style Rachel McAdams
Filed under: Drama », Independent », Thrillers », Sony Classics », Movie Marketing », New York », Images », Cinematical Indie »
When I saw Ira Sachs' Married Life at the New York Film Festival last fall, I had a lot of problems with it. But one thing I didn't have any complaints about is how gorgeous Rachel McAdams looks in the film. And now, thanks to Rope of Silicon, you can see for yourself how amazing the actress looks as a '40s-era blonde beauty. My favorite photo is the third, in which McAdams almost looks like a dead-ringer for Kim Novak in Vertigo. But I'd be fine with looking at any of them. In fact, I'm not just a fan of the way McAdams looks in the film; I also love the three-piece style of Chris Cooper, the open-collared playboy thing that Pierce Brosnan has going on and the partially see-through top that Patricia Clarkson wears in the second-to-last pic. (Clarkson is so stunning in the film, she actually gives McAdams a run for her money, and makes it hard to believe Cooper would cheat on her with anyone.) But aside from simply looking terrific, all four of the stars of Married Life give wonderful performances, as usual. The film, which opens in limited release March 7, is based on John Bingham's 1953 pulp novel Five Roundabouts to Heaven. Cooper and Clarkson play a married couple, and Cooper's character has a mistress (McAdams). He makes the mistake, though, of introducing the girl to his best friend, played by Brosnan. Not knowing that his mistress is having another affair with his best friend, Cooper's character decides to murder his wife, because it's a more humane thing to do than break her heart. It's a very Hitchcockian plot, which makes sense since Bingham's books were adapted into episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. And it's a good enough movie to recommend, especially because of those great-looking actors. I just wish that Sony Classics would do away with Brosnan's awful and unnecessary voice-over before releasing the movie into theaters.
I'm Not A Director (Yet), But I Play One on MySpace ...
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Independent », Thrillers », Shorts », Tech Stuff », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Contests »
If you've ever sat through a dreadful film and thought to yourself "Man, I could do a better job directing than (insert name of hack director here)," then this announcement might be just what you've been waiting for. According to Variety, social networking site MySpace is joining forces with production companies Film4 and Vertigo Films to give one lucky MySpace member a shot at directing a feature film. Before you go hitting your browser to fire up your MySpace page in all its eclectic glory, one word of warning -- you can only participate this time if you happen to live in the United Kingdom. Yes, that's in Europe. Sorry.The lucky winner of the contest, dubbed the "MySpace Movie Mashup," will be picked by a combination of celebrity jury -- which includes such actual celebs as actress Sienna Miller and director Anthony Minghella -- and an online tally of votes from the winning director's short films on MySpace. After the director is selected, MySpace users will then be invited to contribute to the development, casting and marketing decisions for the film, which is scheduled to shoot in October for a Summer 2008 release. The competition will be officially launched Feb. 7 at a party in central London.
Even though this is only for those of you who live in the UK I have a hard time believing that it will continue that way for very long. If this first contest is even remotely successful and yields any sort of decent product, they would have to consider doing a version here in the US. After all, this is where MySpace started and where we have more wanna-be directors than any other country in the world. So, be patient and get your short films ready. Our time is gonna come soon enough.
Vertigo Remakes Yet Another Asian Horror Film
Filed under: Foreign Language », Horror », Thrillers », Deals », Newsstand », Remakes and Sequels », Cinematical Indie »
So here I was thinking we had all seen the last of the remakes. We've had curses, ghosts, bad plumbing, and soggy little girls climbing out of TV sets -- the whole kit and caboodle. It looks like I spoke too soon though, because Vertigo Entertainment (producers of The Grudge and The Ring remakes) are at it again.The Hollywood Reporter announced that Vertigo will produce an English language remake of the popular Filipino horror film Sigaw (The Echo). The story revolves around an ex-con who manages to awaken a curse when he interferes with an abusive cop and his family. The new script is being written by Eric Bernt and the original director, Yam Laranas, is on board to direct again.
Since English language remakes of Asian horror have worked at the box office before; I won't be surprised if Sigaw isn't the last of the horror imports. You have to wonder though how these movies will hold up as compared to the current crop of horror films -- curses and ghosts haven't exactly been a staple of the genre lately. Does anyone else think it's time to give these remakes a rest? Or, do they serve as a nice alternative for people who enjoy a good scare but not necessarily a high body count?
[via Dark Horizons]
Vintage Image of the Day: Happy Birthday, Hitch
Filed under: Classics », Drama », Thrillers », Noir », Mystery & Suspense », Fandom », Vintage Image of the Day »
Had Alfred Hitchcock been remarkably long-lived, he would have turned 107 today (in reality, he died at 81 in 1980). A brilliant self-promoter whose wonderfully droll way of talking about his career and works created a character -- we'll call him Hitch -- whose fame extended above and beyond even that of his films, Hitchcock had a remarkably light touch as a director. Able to move with no apparent effort from clever humor (The Lady Vanishes) to intense psychological horror (Vertigo, Psycho) and forbidden homoeroticism (Strangers on a Train, Rope), he left behind a complex legacy, arguably still unmatched among mainstream directors.
While I love a wide-range of his films (my favorites are probably Strangers on a Train, Shadow of a Doubt and Lady Vanishes; I'm terrible person for not really liking Vertigo), the best thing about Hitchcock for me is listening to him talk. I remember seeing a documentary (no idea what it was called, sorry) in which he discussed raising tension on his movies. He explained his approach by planting a theoretical bomb under a cinematic desk, and then letting the man working there go about his daily business: Talking on the phone, signing checks, going over his schedule. Within the film, everyday life is occurring, but the audience, Hitchcock said -- in his distinctive slow, emphatic way -- is frantic, muttering "But there's a bomb ... under ... the desk!" at the screen. The obvious glee with which he told that story is, for me, what's so endearing about Hitch -- he got as big a kick out of the nastiness in his films as we do.
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