News

Tom Verlaine, frontman and guitarist for seminal NYC punk band Television, has died at 73.

The New York Times reported that the punk pioneer died Saturday in Manhattan. Jesse Paris Smith, daughter of Verlaine’s ex and frequent collaborator Patti Smith, told the outlet that Verlaine died “following a brief illness.”

Born Thomas Miller in Denville, New Jersey, he met Richard Meyers at a boarding school in Delaware, with the two moving to New York City and changing their names to Tom Verlaine and Richard Hell, respectively, to form the band Neon Boys along with drummer Billy Ficca.

Read More: David Crosby, Legendary Musician Of The Byrds And Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Dead At 81

That band didn’t last, but then reformed as Television, adding guitarist Richard Lloyd. Television quickly became the darlings of the budding NYC punk scene, gaining a following with performances at legendary clubs CBGBs and Max’s Kansas City.

Tom Verlaine, the frontman of the band Television, which heavily influenced the New York punk rock scene in the 1970s, has died. He was 73.

The Hollywood Reporter learned on Saturday that the guitarist and songwriter died following a short illness in New York City, surrounded by close friends.

Born in New Jersey on Dec. 13, 1949, by the name of Thomas Miller, Verlaine grew up during most of his childhood in Wilmington, Delaware. Around five years after he moved to New York City in 1968, the musician founded the band Television in 1973 with Richard Hell, Billy Ficca and Richard Lloyd. Fred Smith was brought in after Hell departed the band two years later.

After eventually signing with Elektra Records, the band released its debut album, Marquee Moon, in early 1977. While the album got the attention of critics, it didn’t bode well for American audiences, but it did reach the charts in the U.

Tom Verlaine, singer and guitarist for punk legends Television who crafted the band’s 1977 masterpiece Marquee Moon, has died at the age of 73.

Jesse Paris Smith, the daughter of Patti Smith, confirmed Verlaine’s death following a “brief illness” to Rolling Stone on Saturday. “He died peacefully in New York City, surrounded by close friends. His vision and his imagination will be missed,” Smith wrote.

“This is a time when all seemed possible,” Patti Smith wrote in a tribute on Instagram, which included a photo of her and Verlaine. “Farewell Tom,...

Tom Verlaine, whose Television band was one of the more influential groups on the New York Punk scene in the 1980s, died today at 73 in Manhattan.

Jesse Paris Smith, the daughter of Patti Smith, announced the death, attributing it to “after a brief illness” in her statement. .

Television was not a huge commercial success, but Verlaine was a vast influence on guitarists of the era, and continued on as a solo artist after the group broke up after two albums.

Verlaine was the band’s lead singer and did most of the songwriting. His deep lyrics and the group’s somewhat ethereal sound made them a favorite of those who wanted some art with their rock. The former Thomas Miller adopted the name of poet Paul Verlaine as an added touch.

Signed to Elektra Records, Television’s first major label album, Marquee Moon, arrived in 1977. Increasing tensions between Verlaine and...

It starts in the 1800s. That’s when the first residential schools were opened across Canada as a means of “beating the Indian” out of Indigenous children. The front-facing narrative was always education, but the thousands of bodies found in unmarked graves and devastating psychological toll endured by survivors of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse prove otherwise. And while writer-director Marie Clements never shies away from showing that generational trauma as it pertains to Aline Spears and her extended family, she’s also unafraid to depict the callous sense of superiority that allowed such an abomination of policy to continue for almost 200 years. Look no further than Father Jacobs (Rémy Girard) regaling his guests with the particulars of his scientific experimentations using starvation for compliance.

Much like the television show Pachinko, Clements’ Bones of Crows fluidly travels through time to present Spears’ life in the most impactful way possible. We...

Barbara Steele has one of her better performance showcases in Camillo Mastrocinque’s classy ghost story with a somewhat dispiriting twist. Steele’s fan-collectors won’t need extra encouragement, as she’s in most every scene and gets to play a variety of moods from delicate to seductive to outright poisonous. Quality performances flatter a flawed screenplay, and the fine direction and attentive cinematography clearly inspired Steele to give it everything she had. Severin’s quality HD transfer is everything we’d want, with dual language tracks and good extras including a Kat Ellinger commentary and a second track featuring stellar input from Ms. Steele herself.

An Angel for Satan

Blu-ray

Severin Films

1966 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date October 26, 2021 / 34.95

Starring: Barbara Steele, Anthony Steffen, Claudio Gora, Mario Brega, Marina Berti, Ursula Davis, Vassili Karis, Aldo Berti, Betty Delon, Antonio Corevi, Antonio Acqua, Livia Rossetti, Halina Zalewska, Giovanna Lenzi.

Hello, dear readers! To paraphrase a popular movie, “We’re in the Endgame now,” as Halloween is now merely only a few days away. If you’re looking for some last-minute viewing ideas to get you to the spooky season finish line, we definitely have a great array of choices heading home on Tuesday. The biggest recommendation that I can personally make in regard to perfect Halloween movie experiences is the Wnuf Halloween Special, which is getting a killer Blu-ray release tomorrow. Arrow Films is giving Dario Argento’s Deep Red a 4K upgrade this week, too, and Severin Films is showing love to both An Angel for Satan and Beyond Darkness.

Other releases for October 26th include Don’t Breathe 2, The Amazing Mr. X, Boardinghouse, Eye of the Devil, Skull: The Mask, Frankenstein’s Daughter, and Underworld: Limited Edition 5-Movie Collection.

The Amazing Mr. X: Special Edition

An atmospheric masterpiece,...

The EuroCrypt of Christopher Lee

Blu ray – Region Free

Severin Films

1962-72

Starring Christopher Lee, Thorley Walters, Karin Dor

Cinematography by Ernst W. Kalinke, Angelo Baistrocchi

Directed by Terence Fisher, Harald Reinl

While Hammer Studios depended on bosoms and blood to rejuvenate a listless horror industry, their new contract player had some high octane ideas of his own. His name was Christopher Lee and though the hulking actor towered above the crew and co-stars, he proved shockingly agile as the newborn creature in 1957’s The Curse of Frankenstein. No matter how hospitable or well-tailored, his Dracula was a clear and present danger—fleet of foot and supernaturally strong. And in 1959’s The Mummy, he turned the slow-moving immortal into an Olympian killing machine, outpacing his victims like an undead Usain Bolt.

Making the scene just as the sixties were racing into view, Lee’s express lane monsters ignored musty gothic...

After Blue (Paradis sale)The lineup for the 2021 festival has been revealed, including new films by Bertrand Mandico, Axelle Ropert, Abel Ferrara and others, alongside retrospectives and tributes, and much more.Piazza GRANDEBeckett (Ferdinando Cito Filomarino)Free Guy (Shawn Levy)Heat (Michael Mann)Hinterland (Stefan Ruzowitzky)Ida Red (John Swab)Monte Verità (Stefan Jäger)National Lampoon's Animal House (John Landis)Respect (Liesl Tommy)Rose (Aurélie Saada)Sinkhole (Kim Ji-hoon)The Alleys (Bassel Ghandour)The Terminator (James Cameron)Vortex (Gaspar Noé)Yaya e Lennie — The Walking Liberty (Alessandro Rak)Tomorrow My Love (Gitanjali Rao)Lynx (Laurent Geslin)Zeros and OnesCONCORSO INTERNAZIONALEAfter Blue (Paradis sale) (Bertrand Mandico)Al Naher (The River) (Ghassan Salhab)Espíritu sagrado (The Sacred Spirit) (Chema García Ibarra)Gerda (Natalya Kudryashova)I giganti (The Giants) (Bonifacio Angius)Jiao ma teng hui (A New Old Play) (Jiongjiong Qiu)Juju StoriesLa Place d'une autre (Secret Name) (Aurélia Georges)Leynilögga (Cop Secret...

“From Dracula to Jedi master, Bond villain to a Metal god, Christopher Lee’s 70-year career was rich, varied and often, pretty weird.”

—The Guardian

The Eurocrypt Of Christopher Lee Blu-ray Collection is now available from Severin. The set can be ordered directly from Severin Here.

8 Blu-ray Collection Featuring 5 Classic European Films, A TV Anthology, Disc Of Rare Interviews + Book & Soundtrack CD

He remains one of the most beloved horror/fantasy icons in US/UK pop culture history, but Christopher Lee delivered several of the most compelling, acclaimed and bizarre performances of his entire career in 1960s Europe. The Eurocrypt Of Christopher Lee brings together five of these Lee classics – the 1964 gothic shocker Crypt Of The Vampire; the 1964 cult hit Castle Of The Living Dead co-starring an unknown Donald Sutherland; 1962’s celebrated Sherlock Holmes And The Deadly Necklace; 1967’s lurid favorite The Torture Chamber Of Dr. Sadism and the rarely-seen...

Recently, CBS served up the new,official synopsis/spoilers for their upcoming "Blue Bloods" episode 6 of season 6. The episode is entitled, "Rush To Judgement," and it turns out that we're going to see some very interesting stuff go down as Jamie sparks up a Five-o investigation on him after getting caught possibly doing some illegal stuff on camera, and more. In the new,6th episode press release: Internal Affairs Investigates Jamie After He's Caught On Camera Committing What Could Be Perceived As Police Brutality, On "Blue Bloods," Friday, Oct. 30. Press release number 2: When Jamie will get caught on camera committing what could be construed as police brutality at an anti-policy demonstration, Frank will be forced to turn the case over to Internal Affairs. Also, Danny and Baez are going to investigate a rape case involving a civil rights attorney who claims the charges were drummed up in retaliation for the investigation into Jaime.

A brand new “Canadian Indie Film Series” is being launched in 2015 helmed by Canadian cinema event distributor Mei Group and Canadian Indie distributor A71 Entertainment.

The team has secured a commitment from Landmark Cinemas Canada - 17 screens across the country to host "Canadian Indie Night" the first Wednesday of every month beginning in March 2015. The series will also utilize Mei's growing Canadian Alternative Cinema Network of theaters for event and limited run showings.

“The goal of the series is to provide audiences and film fans with wider access to the growing number of internationally recognized indie films that are being produced in this country," says Chad Maker, President of A71 Entertainment. "There's a new breed of extremely talented storytellers emerging in Canada and this series has the ability to celebrate and promote them to audiences across the country..”

"We are extremely delighted to bring Canadian films to audiences through Landmark and our growing list of alternative cinemas," adds Thomas Miller, President of Mei. "We have had great success with our opera, ballet, Shakespeare, art and concert series, and are excited to now include Canadian feature films to the Mei stream of content."

"It's Landmark's 50th year as an exhibitor in Canada and we have a number of exciting things planned for this year, so adding the “Indie Film Series” to our anniversary celebration is a great fit. As supporters of Canadian Film, and independent film, we think this is a very exciting venture," said Kevin Norman, Vice-President, Filmed Entertainment Landmark Cinemas Canada.

The series will launch with a web portal in January geared towards film-goers and indie theater owners, as well as in-theater promotion and trailers highlighting the upcoming titles for 2015. A71 and Mei are currently in discussion with several Canadian independent distributors and producers to secure additional titles for the series.

About Media Events International (Mei Group):

Mei Group is a Canadian distribution company dedicated to bringing unique alternative programming to its network of over 40 independent cinemas, performing arts centers, and colleges and universities as well as over 30 Landmark Cinemas Canada across the country. Mei specializes in all the major categories of the performing arts – including opera, ballet, theater, art, concerts and now Canadian feature films.

About A71 Entertainment Inc.:

A71 Entertainment Inc. is a new distributor on the Canadian feature film landscape. The company, founded by Chad Maker, David Miller and Kirk Comrie in 2013, is focused on bringing high-quality festival films to theaters. Its fourth release, "It Was You Charlie," launched in August of this year. A71 has also released "Blackbird,""The Husband" and "Algonquin." Upcoming releases include the award-winning "Siddarth" and the recent Tiff Top Ten selection "In Her Place"

.About Landmark Cinemas Canada:

Landmark Cinemas Canada is the second largest motion picture theater exhibition company in Canada, and 10th largest in North America. Landmark Cinemas Canada owns and operates 48 theaters with 331 screens, including five IMAX®, four 'Extra' and the new extra large 'Xtreme' screen theater, featuring the first installation in Canada of Barco's Auro 11.1 3D immersive sound. Landmark Cinemas provides state of the art digital movie going experiences, including the best box office hits and alternative content. Located now throughout Western Canada, Ontario and the Yukon Territory, we are proud of our ability to be engaged in our communities at the local level.

Above: Pedro Costa's Horse Money

The Locarno Film Festival has announced their lineup for the 67th edition, taking place this August between the 6th and 16th. It speaks for itself, but, um, wow...

"Every film festival, be it small or large, claims to offer, if not an account of the state of things, then an updated map of the art form and the world it seeks to represent. This cartography should show both the major routes and the byways, along with essential places to visit and those that are more unusual. The Festival del film Locarno is no exception to the rule, and I think that looking through the program you will be able to distinguish the route map for this edition." — Carlo Chatrian, Artistic Director

Above: Matías Piñeiro's The Princess of France

Concorso Internazionale (Official Competition)

A Blast (Syllas Tzoumerkas, Greece/Germany/Netherlands)

Alive (Jungbum Park, South Korea)

Horse Money (Pedro Costa,...