The joyous, infectious, and iconic screen adaptation of the classic stage musical is the next stop in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film as I return to the musical chapter of the book. Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Jaws, Star Wars, these and a few select other films were staples of the 1970s. You…
Tag: 50s
Walk the Line (2005) – James Mangold
Joaquin Phoenix brings the legendary Man in Black, Johnny Cash to life in this biographical drama that is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Sound of Music. The film gives an unflinching look at the life and times of the musician, from his…
Quantum Leap (1993) – Blood Moon and Return of the Evil Leaper
It’s 10 March, 1975 and Sam (Scott Bakula) finds himself under a Blood Moon. Written by Tommy Thompson the episode first screened on 9 February,1993. As Nigel Corrington, Sam finds himself in the form of an eccentric artist who takes on a number of vampiric affectations, and who Al (Dean Stockwell) believes is the living…
Tremors (1990) – Ron Underwood
The work of producer Gale Anne Hurd is my next port of call in the Sci-Fi Chronicles book, I’ve previously covered her work with James Cameron, so that left some of her other films to take a look at, and I loved that I got to start with Tremors. This fun, creature feature that hearkens…
Show Boat (1936) – James Whale
The recommendations from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of Oklahoma! gets underway with the 1936 adaptation of the Hammerstein stage musical, Show Boat. Directed by James Whale, who, one year previous, directed the iconic Bride of Frankenstein, the tale follows a young woman, Magnolia aka Nola (Irene Dunne)…
Superman: The Animated Series (1997) – The Prometheon, Speed Demons and Livewire
Superman (Tim Daly) finds more trouble in outer space this week as he encounters The Prometheon. This episode aired on 12 September, 1997, and features another great voice cast joining Daly’s Superman, and Dana Delaney’s Lois Lane. Superman encounters a giant creature (Frank Welker) bound to an asteroid in space, when it breaks loose it…
Batman: The Animated Series (1998) – Old Wounds, Legends of the Dark Knight and Girls’ Night Out
So what happened to cause Nightwing (Loren Lester) to have a falling out with Batman (Kevin Conroy) and Batgirl (Tara Strong) and has caused their relationship to be so strained since the beginning of the new series? We find out in Old Wounds, which aired 3 October, 1998, as Dick Grayson aka Nightwing, reveals…
The Iron Giant (1999) – Brad Bird
The Sci-Fi Chronicles now brings me Brad Bird’s now classic animated tale of a young boy, Hogarth Hughes (Eli Marienthal) who meets a robot (Vin Diesel) from outer space, and the government agent, Kent Mansley (Christopher McDonald) who is trying to capture them. Set in the late 50s, the film gives adult viewers an…
Tarantula (1955) – Jack Arnold
My time with director Jack Arnold continues, thanks to the Sci-Fi Chronicles. This time around, we find ourselves int he middle of the desert menaced by a giant spider. But don’t worry, things work out in the end, and we’re all saved by Clint Eastwood. Really. Near a small desert town, Professor Gerald Deemer…
The Thing (2011) – Matthijs van Heijningen jr.
The Sci-Fi Chronicles book brings me to the remake/reboot/prequel to one of my all time favorite John Carpenter films, The Thing. I love both previous cinematic incarnations of this film, the paranoia and isolation that permeates the story and characters of Carpenter’s film, and the crackling dialogue and pacing of the 50s version, The Thing From Another World. So…
The Mind Reels 