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In a recent video for the movie-focused social media platform Letterboxd, "Alien" and "Gladiator" director Ridley Scott was asked to select his four favorite movies. In a move that a YouTube commenter referred to as "pretty based," one of the films Scott chose was his own 1982 sci-fi classic, "Blade Runner." The director justified the choice by saying the movie "set the pace for many, many, many, many things," and if you've seen a science-fiction movie in the past 40 years, you know that's an accurate statement.

Kurt Russell has not yet worked with Ridley Scott, but he did star in "Soldier," something of a spiritual sequel to Scott's original "Blade Runner." Russell's impressive and extremely long career (he spent his early years working as a young actor for Walt Disney) has been influential in its own ways -- you can see echoes of characters like Snake Plissken, R.J. MacReady, Wyatt Earp,...

From the very early days of cinema, the love triangle has been a staple of romantic comedies and heartbreaking dramas alike. In its classic form, there’s either two guys and two girls both interested in the same girl or guy, who finds themself torn between the two possibilities. Fizzy screwball comedies usually ended with the love triangle resolving in favor of the lead; see, for example, how Katharine Hepburn’s free-spirited heroine in 1938 comedy “Holiday” steals Cary Grant from under the nose of her own sister (Doris Nolan). In dramas, the ending tends to be a tad more bittersweet, leading to iconically devastating moments like Humphrey Bogart saying goodbye to Ingrid Bergman before she hops on a plane to escape to safety with her husband Victor (Paul Henreid) during the climax of “Casablanca.”

However a love triangle ends, its clear why the formula is such a repeating trope in...

There are precious few cinematic romances that can hold a candle to Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund in 1942's "Casablanca." It's a relationship that rekindles after heartbreak and is filled to the brim with complications far beyond the usual romantic drama scope. When Ilsa re-enters Rick's life, he's a bit bitter after being left flat with little more than a Dear John letter. He resents being hurt and has lived his life determined to wall off his emotions so that never happens again. 

To further complicate things, Ilsa happens to be traveling with her husband, a resistance leader named Victor Lazlo (Paul Henreid), who was believed to have been killed by the Nazis but is very much alive and still fighting the good fight. But Rick and Ilsa's love is deep and real and the two can't help but fall back to their old emotions around each other, even as...

Turner Classic Movies has some of the best film programming when it comes to delivering both famous and lesser-known titles. April 7 until 9 has a diverse group of movies playing over the weekend that provides a little bit of something for all audiences who enjoy the channel. Here’s a look at the five best movies airing on TCM.

‘I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang’ (1932) L-r: Paul Muni as James Allen and Noel Francis as Linda | FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images

James Allen (Paul Muni) reenters civilian life after serving in World War I, finding his calling as a construction engineer. He attends a dinner with an acquaintance, only to be forced to commit a robbery at gunpoint. James serves in a Southern chain gang, with inhumane conditions haunting him in the time to follow.

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang earned three Oscar nominations for Best Picture,...

Emma Mackey in Brontë Photo: Bleeker Street We don’t know for sure where Emily Brontë found the inspiration for her characters in Wuthering Heights, but the film Emily imagines the author herself as the starting point for Cathy, the heroine of the seminal novel. Actor Frances O’Connor, in her feature writing and directing debut,...

Robert Donat snagged an Oscar for this sentimental crowdpleaser, a Best Picture nominee in Hollywood’s ‘Golden Year’ of 1939. The genteel chemistry between Donat’s shy schoolteacher and the charming personality Greer Garson broke hearts, and made Ms. Garson one of MGM’s top names for the next decade. It’s one of the studio’s English productions, filmed in the shadow of the coming war. A glowing new digital restoration redeems 70 years of not-so-good TV prints.

Goodbye, Mr. Chips

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1939 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 115 min. / Street Date January 24, 2023 / Available at Amazon.com/ 21.99

Starring: Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn, John Mills, Paul Henreid, Judith Furse.

Cinematography: Freddie Young

Art Director: Alfred Junge

Film Editor: Charles Frend

Original Music: Richard Addinsell

Written by R.C. Sherriff, Claudine West, Eric Maschwitz from the novel by James Hilton

Produced by Victor Saville

Directed by Sam Wood

No, it’s not about the terrible Chips Ahoy!

The electric chemistry between Rick and Ilsa in "Casablanca" is the stuff of cinematic legend. Thanks to the lead performances from Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, the 1943 romantic drama is remembered as a gem of classic Hollywood, its reputation only growing in the 80 years since its initial release. But although the two leads deserve a lion's share of the credit for the success of the film, the devastating love triangle could never have been carried off half as well without the efforts of its third wheel, Victor Laszlo, played by Paul Henreid. An Austrian-born actor who took Hollywood by storm in the early 1940s, his contributions to the role give it an essential sense of balance -- without his commanding presence, the entire romantic equilibrium would be thrown out of whack.

Convincing A Leading Man To Take A Supporting Role

Getting Paul Henreid to take on the role of Victor Laszlo was no small thing.

Audience reactions to "The Exorcist" when it was first released have since passed into cinematic lore, with tales of people passing out and vomiting with fear. When it came to the sequel, "Exorcist II: The Heretic," the crowd's reaction was no less visceral, albeit for very different reasons. According to William Friedkin, people in the theater were so incensed by what they saw that they angrily chased the producers down the street (this should probably be taken with a grain of salt).

To say John Boorman's "Exorcist II" has developed a bad rap is a major understatement. In "The Golden Turkey Awards," a readers' poll of the worst films ever made, it placed second only to Ed Wood's B-movie masterpiece "Plan 9 From Outer Space." This offers an interesting point of comparison as both films are the work of an auteur swinging for the fences despite their limitations: Wood...

Warner Brothers released “Casablanca” in New York on Nov. 26, 1942, which just happened to be Thanksgiving. But the romantic World War II drama starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid was anything but a turkey. To say the New York Times review was effusive is something of an understatement: “Warners here have a picture which makes the spine tingle and the heart take a leap….And they have so combined sentiment, humor and pathos with taut melodrama and bristling intrigue that the result is a highly entertaining and even inspiring film.”

And critical praise and audiences’ adoration continued when it opened in Los Angeles and nationwide in January 1943. It went on to win three Oscars for Best Picture, director for Michael Curtiz and adapted screenplay for Julius J. and Philip Epstein and Howard Koch. Let’s take a look back on the occasion of the 80th anniversary.

As time has gone by,...

Riddle me this: what do the Joker and "Casablanca" have in common? If you answered, "Conrad Veidt," then you've survived the first deathtrap, much like the Dynamic Duo coming out of a cliffhanger ending into the next episode of the 1966 "Batman" TV series.

80 years ago, Veidt received fifth billing in "Casablanca" after Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains. His movie career, however, dates back even further than that to the silent era. In "The Man Who Laughs," the 1928 silent film helmed by German Expressionist director Paul Leni, Veidt shared top billing with Mary Philbin, and the indelible image of his grinning face left a mark on both movie history and comic book history.

The creation of Batman's greatest nemesis, the Joker, is attributed to writer Bill Finger and artists Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson. Over the years, conflicting accounts arose over who really originated the first idea for the character.

Burbank, Calif., September 13, 2022 – Celebrating the 80th anniversary of its 1942 release, the legendary Warner Bros. film Casablanca will be released on Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital on November 8, it was announced today by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Starring Academy Award winners Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, critic Leonard Maltin calls Casablanca “the best Hollywood movie of all time.”

The winner of three Academy Awards® including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, Casablanca was directed by Michael Curtiz from a screenplay by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, and Howard Koch. The screenplay is based on “Everybody Comes to Rick’s”, an unproduced stage play by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison. The film was produced by Hal B. Wallis.

The cast also features Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Dooley Wilson.

Casablanca was voted the screen’s greatest love story and the #3 film of...

“Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine”

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Drive-in in Chaffee, Mo has become another great St. Louis-area place to see old movies (Chaffee is about 120 miles south of St. Louis). This Friday April 8th, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Drive-in is screening Casablanca double feature Citizen Kane. Gates open at 6:30 pm, and the movies begin at 8:00 pm. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Drive-in’s site can be found Here. Their other screen is showing The Hunger Games (PG-13) and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (PG)

I there was ever a film deserved to be considered a classic then Casablanca is it, Even if you haven’t seen it before you’ll recognize much of the dialogue; it is probably the most quoted, and misquoted, film of all time. Humphrey Bogart is excellent in...

Sam Adams, a literary agent whose career began in the postwar years at Warner Bros. and ended with the deal to bring The Handmaid’s Tale to the big screen, has died, according to multiple reports. He was 94.

Adams’ client list included Handmaid’s author Margaret Atwood, the recently-deceased Peter Bogdanovich, Saturday Night Fever director John Badham, TV giant Stephen J. Cannell, Oscar-winner Alvin Sargent, Casablanca star Paul Henreid and Nobel laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer.

Adams got his start in Hollywood delivering messages at Warner Bros. while he was still at Beverly Hills High School. At Warners, he met the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Errol Flynn, Bette Davis and Edgar G. Robinson. His stint at the studio was interrupted by 18 months of active duty in the army.

After the war he turned to journalism, serving stints at the William Randolph Hearst-owned Los Angeles Examiner, the Armed Forces Radio Services,...

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will be taking a trip to Vienna for a six-week programming initiative including a symposium and film series with a distinct cinematic connection to that fabled Austrian city.

The museum announced today the series launch on December 10 and running through January 31. It is designed to explore what the museum describes as the “large community of predominately Jewish, Austrian-born film artists and professionals who helped shape the films and industry of classical era Hollywood.” Titled “Vienna in Hollywood: Emigres and Exiles in the Studio System,” the series is presented in collaboration with the USC Libraries and the USC Max Kade Institute. The Austrian Consulate General in L.A. also is offering support.

Bill Kramer, director and president of the Academy Museum, said: “During the classical Hollywood era, so many beloved films and so many components of the movie industry were developed and shaped by Austrian émigrés,...

A wealthy young woman escapes her tyrannical mother to fall hopelessly in love in this magnificent Hollywood melodrama

The towering 1942 romantic melodrama Now, Voyager, starring Bette Davis and Paul Henreid has been re-released, and its audiences will once again get swept away in the emotional tsunami created by Max Steiner’s orchestral score; the music’s almost outrageous grandiloquence matches the passion and absolute seriousness of the film, and underscores Steiner’s reputation as the Tchaikovsky of the Hollywood golden age. The film was a sensational success and its keynote scene where Henreid suavely lights two cigarettes at once – one for him, one for Davis – was much copied by saucer-eyed fans. Clive James confessed that he attempted it while trying to impress a girl on a date, only for her to say she didn’t smoke, leaving him looking like a walrus.

Charlotte Vale (Davis) is a young woman from...

Retro-active: The Best From The Cinema Retro Archives

“The Lady Vanishes One More Time”

By Raymond Benson

The Criterion Collection has issued a Blu-ray upgrade to a previous winning DVD release—Carol Reed’s World War II suspense adventure, Night Train to Munich. It’s a terrific example of the fine cinema Britain was managing to produce even while at war. Released there in August of 1940, the country was already in the conflict, although the Blitz had not yet occurred.

What’s more striking is its resemblance to Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes (1938) in tone, setting, and even characters. Marketing pushes at the time suggested that Night Train to Munich was a “sequel” to Vanishes, which was an extremely popular movie on both sides of the Atlantic. Night Train is not a sequel, though—it’s more of a remake.

Somebody at the studio must have thought they needed...

Casablanca Welcome to this week's Stay-At-Home Seven. If you're looking for more inspiration, you can read last week's here or hop aboard our Streaming Spotlight on trains.

Casablanca, BBC Four, 8pm, Thursday, September 17 and on BBC iPlayer

Infinitely quotable and featuring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart at the top of their game, there's little wonder Michael Curtiz's film about impossible choices and a reunion between old lovers regularly makes it into lists of favourites. The secondary players are all from the top drawer, too, with Claude Rains, Paul Henreid, Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre all puting in memorable performances. It's the heart of the matter that really makes the film tick, however, and scenes between Bergman and Bogart as economical as well as emotionally rich. Plus, of course, there's the song, As Time Goes By, which gains resonance the more you think about it. Read our full review.

The.

It ends with one of cinema’s most quotable lines of dialogue, as a chain-smoking Bette Davis slyly slows a Paul Henreid in his lukewarm wish to pursue a tenuous romance with her Charlotte Vale exclaiming, “Oh Jerry, don’t let’s ask for the moon. We have the stars.” The film, is of course, Now, Voyager (1942), borrowing its title from the Walt Whitman poem “The Untold Want” and adapted from a novel by Olive Higgins Prouty. It is, perhaps, the most quintessential of Bette Davis’ women’s pictures of her studio era days. If Joan Crawford was the star of melodramas as the woman from the wrong side of the tracks, Davis’ early days as leading lady tended towards women who transformed from ugly ducklings to elegant, ‘party favor’ swans (that is before 1950’s All About Eve would resurrect and revamp her screen image forever, equaled perhaps only by...

Stars: Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Gladys Cooper, Claude Rains, Bonita Granville | Written by Casey Robinson | Directed by Irving Rapper

The secret at the heart of the Boston social scene is Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis) – a shy, repressed, mentally unstable young woman, tortured by her overbearing mother (Gladys Cooper). Charlotte’s older sister (Bonita Granville) arranges for a visit from the esteemed Dr Jaquith (Claude Rains), who recommends a stay at his hospital in Vermont. The retreat proves life changing. Charlotte’s adventurous spirit is awoken, and she takes a voyage to Brazil. En route she meets the unhappily married Jerry (Paul Henreid). The pair fall in love. Having said farewell to Jerry – apparently forever – Charlotte returns home, and finds that while she has been transformed, her increasingly ill mother hasn’t changed at all. It’s now a question of whether Charlotte’s increasing self-confidence can continue in the great yawning mansion,...

This must be an official Bette Davis month… Criterion has two vintage Davis pictures on offer, and TCM is devoted to a roundup of the actress’s work as well. This one qualifies as the all-time champion Women’s Weepie, but one that holds up as a great picture on all levels. Director Irving Rapper guided this best-ever drama, in which a put-upon Ugly Duckling throws off oppressive familial chains and blossoms into a woman of the world. She then makes choices of personal nobility and selflessness, that will challenge anybody’s notions of saint-like deportment. It’s the kind of show normally gets discussed over coffee, not by film critics, so the extras on this one are especially interesting.

Now, Voyager

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 10004

1942 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 117 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date November 26, 2019 / 39.95

Starring: Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Gladys Cooper, Bonita Granville.

‘Mission impossible’ escapism about high-stakes wartime sabotage looks at an authentic, dramatic episode of WW2 — the onslaught of futuristic V-Weapons on London — and then veers into fictional fantasy (think big explosions). George Peppard toughs it out to get free of his MGM contract. Lili Palmer and Barbara Rütting do the heavy lifting, while Sophia Loren is in as a glamorous sidebar. Weirdly, the movie all but lionizes the Germans that develop, test and fire the V-Weapon rockets at England … exaggerating their scientific progress and giving them a strange kind of ‘Right Stuff.’

Operation Crossbow

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1965 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 116 min. / Street Date November 12, 2019 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Sophia Loren, George Peppard, Trevor Howard, John Mills, Richard Johnson, Tom Courtenay, Jeremy Kemp, Anthony Quayle, Lilli Palmer, Barbara Rütting (Rueting), Paul Henreid, Helmut Dantine, Richard Todd, Sylvia Sims, John Fraser, Maurice Denham, Patrick Wymark, Richard Wattis, Allan Cuthbertson, Karel Stepanek,...

Loosey Goosey: Hawley Gets Histrionic with Uneven Melodrama

At the end of Now, Voyager (1942) the chain-smoking Bette Davis delivers her iconic line to Paul Henreid, “Oh Jerry, don’t let’s ask for the moon. We have the stars.” Considered one of the most memorable and quotable lines of dialogue from Hollywood’s Golden Era, it caps Irving Rapper’s hefty melodrama with an immaculate moment which has allowed for the film’s enduring immortality despite the initial mixed critical reception it received upon release, dealing as it did with the troubled but hopeful spinster who finds happiness despite not having everything she wants. A similar legacy could be in order for Noah Hawley’s uneven narrative debut Lucy in the Sky which fashions a similarly complex and superficially charged veneer around Natalie Portman playing a composite of infamous astronaut Lisa Nowak, who in 2007 wore adult diapers as she embarked...

“Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine”

Considered a landmark in American cinema, the romantic Casablanca will enchant as the Slso performs the score live.

Sunday June 23rd at 2pm. Watch all the drama unfold as the Slso performs Max Steiner’s moving score while the timeless film plays on the big screen. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture and lauded as one of the greatest movies of all time by the American Film Institute, Casablanca will sweep you up in the story of Rick and Ilsa’s love. Conducted by Norman Huynh. Ticket Information can be found Here

I there was ever a film deserved to be considered a classic then Casablanca is it, Even if you haven’t seen it before you’ll recognize much of the dialogue; it is probably the most quoted, and misquoted,...

Here’s looking at you, Humphrey Bogart. The Oscar-winning leading man would’ve celebrated his 119th birthday on December 25, 2018. Best known for playing a tough guy with a heart of gold, Bogart made dozens of films before his untimely death in 1957. But how many of those titles are classics? In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 20 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Though it may sound like a bit of Hollywood lore, Bogart was indeed born on Christmas Day, 1899, in New York City. After a short stint in the Navy, he started acting onstage and in films, mostly in bit parts as gangsters who met the wrong end of a bullet.

SEEOscar Best Actor Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History

His big breakthrough came with the Broadway hit “The Petrified Forest,” in which he played a violent bank robber holed up at...

Here’s looking at you, Humphrey Bogart. The Oscar-winning leading man would’ve celebrated his 119th birthday on December 25, 2018. Best known for playing a tough guy with a heart of gold, Bogart made dozens of films before his untimely death in 1957. But how many of those titles are classics? In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 20 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Though it may sound like a bit of Hollywood lore, Bogart was indeed born on Christmas Day, 1899, in New York City. After a short stint in the Navy, he started acting onstage and in films, mostly in bit parts as gangsters who met the wrong end of a bullet.

His big breakthrough came with the Broadway hit “The Petrified Forest,” in which he played a violent bank robber holed up at an isolated diner with a hobo and a waitress. When...

Okay, it's not earth-shaking, but So Young, So Bad (1950) kept me watching, sometimes goggling. It's the penultimate film of quota quickie master Bernard "Mad" Vorhaus, who made cheap and often very skilled work in the U.K., moved to the U.S. and made The Amazing Mr. X, a really stylish and entertaining thriller shot by the great John Alton, then made this, and got blacklisted the following year. He had already left the U.S., having seen the way the wind was blowing, but aside from shooting second unit on William Wyler's Roman Holiday, Vorhaus made only one more movie, an Italian flick called Finishing School which seems to be impossible to get at present. He went into house renovation back in the U.K. and did alright at it, I believe.So, one doesn't necessarily expect earth-shaking from a B-movie talent like Vorhaus, but he was capable of splendid work,...

One of the most jeered-at, overcooked sequels of all time thoroughly deserves its reputation as a train wreck of a movie. In hindsight we see a heap of resources and cinematic fireworks thrown at a project with little chance of survival. ‘There must be a sequel’ spake Warner Bros., and lo Sir John of Boorman stepped up to the plate. I think a lot of the scorn was blowback from the power of the original Friedkin picture, a blockbuster that was just too profane of an act to follow.

Exorcist II: The Heretic

Blu-ray

Scream Factory

1977 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 118 and 102 min. / Collector’s Edition / Street Date September 25, 2018 34.93

Starring: Linda Blair, Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher, Max von Sydow, Kitty Winn, Paul Henreid, James Earl Jones, Ned Beatty, Belinda Beatty, Rose Portillo.

Cinematography: William A. Fraker

Film Editor: Tom Priestley

Special Visual Effects: Bill Hansard, Albert Whitlock, Frank Van Der Veer

Special...

The Ready Room is excited to announce they’re teaming up with Talent Plus and the Mahler Ballroom to present a series of events the likes of which have never been seen before in St. Louis. Tickets can be purchased Here

Join them at the Mahler Ballroom and step into the world of Casablanca. Ben Nordstrom has written and directed immersive theatre pieces which will bring attendees into the film and Ryan Marquez will be performing his own stylized adaptations of music from the film.

This is going to be a swanky cocktail party, with unforgettable programming, and an impeccable venue. And the first drink is free!

I there was ever a film deserved to be considered a classic then Casablanca is it, Even if you haven’t seen it before you’ll recognize much of the dialogue; it is probably the most quoted, and misquoted, film of all time.

Regan MacNeil's story didn't end in Georgetown, it continued in New York City years later in Exorcist II: The Heretic, and Scream Factory has now unveiled the full list of special features for their upcoming Collector's Edition release, including a new interview with actress Linda Blair, a new audio commentary with director John Boorman, and two cuts of the film:

Press Release: Following the enormous box-office success of its supernatural predecessor, Exorcist II: The Heretic premiered in 1977 to deliver another dose of demonic possession to terrified audiences. And, on September 25, 2018, Scream Factory pays homage to this haunting sequel with the ultimate blu-ray collector's edition. The 2-disc set, featuring new 2K scans of both theatrical editions from original film elements, is also loaded with specially-created features including an interview with Linda Blair, audio commentary from director John Boorman and much more.

In Exorcist II: The Heretic, bizarre nightmares plague Regan MacNeil...

Among Martin Scorsese’s directing projects-in-progress are a new television show (“The Caesars”), plus films based on an Oklahoma murder mystery (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) and the life of the 26th U.S. president (“Teddy”). He will also soon reunite with actors who delivered their most-acclaimed performances opposite his lens: “Casino” veteran Sharon Stone will star in a Scorsese film that’s still under wraps, while Robert De Niro’s ninth collaboration with the director — Netflix’s “The Irishman” — will be the priciest film of Scorsese’s career (reported budget: $140 million).

Still, the Oscar winner (“The Departed”) has set aside spare time for his signature cause: film preservation.

In his hometown next month, MoMA will host the second-half of its exhibition, “Martin Scorsese Presents Republic Rediscovered: New Restorations from Paramount Pictures.” The defunct studio Republic Pictures churned out 3,000 films and series, all of which are now property of Paramount.

What, another docu about Nazis? Rüdiger Suchsland’s show tells the entire story — with many rare clips and interesting actor and filmmaker profiles — of the hundreds of state-produced German films made during the Third Reich. It’s the most thorough, informative and eye-opening show on the subject I’ve yet seen. It comes with revelations about some surprising names, like Douglas Sirk and Ingrid Bergman.

Hitler’s Hollywood

DVD

Kino Lorber

2017 / Color & B&W / 1:78 enhanced widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date July 10, 2018 / Hitlers Hollywood: Das deutsche Kino im Zeitalter der Propaganda 1933 – 1945 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Narrated by Udo Kier

With film clips of Hans Albers, Heinz Rühmann, Zarah Leander, Ilse Werner, Marianne Hoppe, Gustaf Gründgens, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Alfred Abel, Lída Baaroví, Willy Fritsch, Gustav Fröhlich, Lilian Harvey, Johannes Heesters, Brigitte Helm, Paul Henreid, Margot Hielscher, Emil Jannings, Pola Negri, Magda Schneider, Kristina Söderbaum, Anton Walbrook.

Film Editor: Ursula Pürrer

Produced by Gunnar Dedio,...

Oscar fever is in full effect, and before you watch this year’s Academy Awards, FilmStruck has a great opportunity for you to study some Oscar history with classic Best Picture titles.

Thanks to Filmstruck’s new partnership with Warner Bros. Digital Networks and TCM Select, the streaming service has added dozens of classic films to its catalog — meaning you can catch up on Oscar winners of years past any time you wish. The service’s vast back catalog now includes some of the most iconic films from the Golden Age of Hollywood — including five classic Best Picture winners that paved the way for modern winners.

They range from some of the most iconic films in Hollywood history (“Casablanca” and “On the Waterfront”) to the not-quite-as-ubiquitous (“The Best Years of Our Lives”). Check out five classic Best Picture winners from the 1940s and ’50s — smack in the middle of Hollywood...

In this edition of Canon Of Film, we look back on Michael Curtiz’s seminal classic, ‘Casablanca‘. For the story behind the genesis of the Canon, you can click here.

Casablanca (1942)

Director: Michael Curtiz

Producer: Hal B. Wallis

Screenplay: Julian J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch based on the play “Everybody Comes to Rick’s,” by Murray Burnett & Joan Alison

I have spent literal weeks of my life where I did nothing but watch ‘Casablanca’. I’ve probably seen it more than any other film, and there’s almost nothing I don’t know about it, and yet, it never fails to enthrall me. It was made as an anti-Nazi propaganda film, and for a while, the film seems like a movie about people on the run, and the underground that’s trying to get them out, and those trying to take advantage of them. Of course,...

Judging from the precision of the characters and the seamless storytelling at hand, it’s incredible to believe that God’s Own Country is director Francis Lee’s debut feature. His story of brooding farmer Johnny (Josh O’Connor) and Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu), the Romanian worker he falls in love with, have all the makings of a legendary romance, something the Brontë’s would’ve written in less oppressive times. Set in misty Yorkshire, the film chronicles the tender romance as Johnny, who has no problem conquering men and women, meets his match in the soft spoken but confident Gheorghe. O’Connor and Secareanu light up the screen together turning short glances and shy smiles into sweeping moments that make this a romance for the ages.

Lee’s film is made even richer by the geographical and societal context he gives it, this isn’t a film about whether the...

Casablanca is back in theatres this month as part of Cineplex's Classic Film SeriesCasablanca is back in theatres this month as part of Cineplex's Classic Film SeriesIngrid Randoja - Cineplex Magazine11/8/2017 1:47:00 Pm

"Here’s looking at you, kid.”“We’ll always have Paris.”“I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

Those are just three memorable lines from 1942’s Casablanca, one of the most loved, and quoted, films in Hollywood history.

Set during World War II, the film stars Humphrey Bogart as cynical American Rick Blaine, who runs a nightclub in Casablanca that’s frequented by spies, soldiers and refugees. Rick’s world is turned upside down when ex-lover Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) — who broke Rick’s heart when she deserted him in Paris years ago — arrives with her freedom-fighter husband Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) and asks Rick for “letters of transit,” which will allow the couple to flee the Nazis.

“Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine”

Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid form one of Hollywood’s most unforgettable love triangles in one of the most well-known – and most quoted – movies ever made: Casablanca. On Sunday, November 12, and Wednesday, November 15, moviegoers everywhere will say, “Here’s looking at you, kid,” when Casablanca returns to cinemas across the country in celebration of the its 75th All screenings, which are part of the TCM Big Screen Classics series from Turner Classic Movies and Fathom Events, will also include specially-produced commentary before and after the feature by TCM Primetime Host Ben Mankiewicz.

Set against the desperate backdrop of the titular Moroccan port city as World War II rages throughout Europe, Casablanca is the unforgettable tale of refugees who will do anything to escape the inexorable advance of Nazi forces and flee to America.

Director Steve Sekely’s hardboiled film noir leans heavily on the talents of star-producer Paul Henreid and camera ace John Alton — the three of them whip up the best gimmick-driven noir thriller of the late ‘forties. Strained coincidences and unlikely events mean nothing when this much talent is concentrated in one movie. It’s also a terrific show for star Joan Bennett, who expresses all the disappointment, despair and angst of a noir femme who knows she’s in for more misery.

The Scar (Hollow Triumph)

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1948 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 83 min. / Street Date April 18, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Paul Henreid, Joan Bennett, Eduard Franz, Leslie Brooks, John Qualen, Mabel Paige, Herbert Rudley, George Chandler, Robert Bice, Henry Brandon, Franklyn Farnum, Thomas Browne Henry, Norma Varden, Jack Webb.

Cinematography: John Alton

Film Editor: Fred Allen

Original Music: Sol Kaplan

Written by Daniel Fuchs from a...

By Doug Oswald

Adolf Hitler shaped history in ways we are still coming to grips with to this day. Our understanding and interpretation of the devastation and evil he inflicted upon the world involves not only warfare but his impact on the lives of individuals who would become his victims. Some of his victims would become refugees, most prominently Jewish and political dissidents who would make their way to America and Hollywood. Their story is told in “Cinema’s Exiles: From Hitler to Hollywood” available on DVD by Warner Home Video.

Hitler’s devastation of Europe resulted in an influx of movie talent to America and their impact is extraordinary. The great German cinema brain drain started in the early 1930s and delivered a variety of cinematic exiles, Jews and non-Jews alike, who fled Nazi Germany to Vienna, Paris and London before making their way eventually to Hollywood. Fritz Lang,...

Entertainment Weekly recently made its (multiple) cover story the return of the TV show Twin Peaks. I don’t know if that’s a good thing, or even if I want to watch it. This is surprising to me since I was a big fan for most of the show’s run.

The show was set in the Pacific Northwest in a small town and was created by David Lynch (writer and director of the movie Blue Velvet) and Mark Frost (one of the main writers of the TV series Hill Street Blues). The show took place in the mythical small town of Twin Peaks, nestled in lumber country, and deals with the townsfolk, many of whom are, well, odd. The show starts with the discovery of high school homecoming queen Laura Palmer who has been murdered. Circumstances draw in the FBI in the person of Special Agent Dale Cooper,...

This month, Cinelinx is taking you on a trip back through time. Join us as we examine how movies have changed over the last 100 years. This week, we're finishing out tour by going back to 1992.

This article is part 4 of 4 in a series.

Read Part 1 Here: Looking Back 100 Years: The Birth of Classic Hollywood

Read Part 2 Here: Looking Back 75 Years: The War on Film

Read Part 3 Here: Looking Back 50 Years: A New Generation Takes Over

On December 26th, 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved. This signalled the formal end of the Cold War, which left the United States as the sole remaining superpower, but did not necessarily usher in an era of peace at home and abroad. This shift in power instead opened a void in eastern Europe and the middle east which would come to be a source of conflict for the next two decades and beyond. A deadly civil war...

This month, Cinelinx is taking you on a trip back through time. Join us as we examine how movies have changed over the last 100 years. This week, we’re going back 75 years to 1942.

This article is part 2 of 4 in a series.

Read Part 1 Here: Looking Back 100 Years: The Birth of Classic Hollywood

It was 1942 and the world was involved in yet another massive war. Nazi Germany was in control of continental Europe, and they were pushing into the Soviet Union. In one of the darkest events in human history, the Nazis’ Holocaust efforts were ramped up with the opening of the concentration camps. On the other side of the world, Japan was invading the island nations of the Pacific as they expanded their domain eastward towards the United States. The Us had just entered the war and its first troops arrived in Europe.

The war affected many aspects of everyday life,...

Titanic, Dirty Dancing, Casablanca and more celebrate big movie anniversaries in 2017!Titanic, Dirty Dancing, Casablanca and more celebrate big movie anniversaries in 2017!Adriana Floridia1/5/2017 4:36:00 Pm

One thing we all look forward to every year is our birthday, and we here at Cineplex like to celebrate the birthdays of movies too!

In 2017, there are tons of memorable films that are hitting milestone ages. While it makes us feel a little old, it also gives us a reason to look back on some of our favourite films and have epic movie marathons (oftentimes, ones where we know all of the lines).

We did some research and compiled a master list of all of the notable films that are celebrating big anniversaries this year. Among the crop are films like Titanic, Blade Runner, The Graduate, and more.

Check out the best movie anniversaries of 2017 below and start planning your movie-themed parties accordingly!

Fly over the moon. Sing in the rain. Fasten your seatbelts. Make an offer no one can refuse. See classic movies on the big screen!

Gene Kelly will sing in the rain, Bette Davis will fasten her seatbelt for a bumpy night, Marlon Brando will make an offer no one can refuse, Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint will scurry across Mount Rushmore, and Elliott and E.T. will fly over the moon – and they’ll do it all on the silver screen in 2017. Today, Fathom Events and TCM announce their continuing partnership to bring monthly screenings of their “TCM Big Screen Classics” series to movie theaters nationwide throughout the year.

For the second consecutive year, “TCM Big Screen Classics” offers film fans an amazing journey into the magic of movies year-round. Beginning in January, the series presents one or more films each month in movie theaters – all accompanied by specially...

Modern spy movies have nothing on this Brit thriller produced just as war broke out -- Rex Harrison, Margaret Lockwood and Paul Henried clash with Nazi agents, and risk a daring escape to Switzerland. The witty screenplay is by the writers of Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes and the director is Carol Reed, in terrific form. Night Train to Munich Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 523 1940 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 95 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September, 2016 / Starring Margaret Lockwood, Rex Harrison, Paul von Hernried, Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne, James Harcourt, Felix Aylmer, Roland Culver, Raymond Huntley, Fritz (Frederick) Valk. Cinematography Otto Kanturek Film Editor R. E. Dearing Written by Sidney Gilliat, Frank Launder story by Gordon Wellesley Produced by Edward Black Directed by Carol Reed

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Alfred Hitchcock's successful series of 1930s spy chase thrillers -- The Man Who Knew Too Much; The 39 Steps --...

Every week we dive into the cream of the crop when it comes to home releases, including Blu-ray and DVDs, as well as recommended deals of the week. Check out our rundown below and return every Tuesday for the best (or most interesting) films one can take home. Note that if you’re looking to support the site, every purchase you make through the links below helps us and is greatly appreciated.

A Bigger Splash (Luca Guadagnino)

Despite a loose script that justifies little, Italian director Luca Guadagnino’s follow-up feature to his glorious melodrama I Am Love is a sweaty, kinetic, dangerously unpredictable ride of a film. One is frustrated by the final stroke of genius that never came, but boy was it fun to spend two hours inside such a whirlwind of desires, mind games, delirious sights and sounds. Based on the 1969 French drama La piscine (The Swimming Pool...

Noir if I can help it! Sultry Lizabeth Scott out-'fatals' every femme we know in this wickedly ruthless tale of unadulterated female venality. Rough creep Dan Duryea meets his match, as do other unfortunate males that get between Liz and a plump bag of blackmail loot. The Film Noir Foundation's restoration is a valiant rescue job, for a worthy 'annihilating melodrama.' Too Late for Tears Blu-ray + DVD Flicker Alley / FIlm Noir Foundation 1949 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 102 min. / Street Date May 17, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Lizabeth Scott, Don DeFore, Dan Duryea, Arthur Kennedy, Kristine Miller, Barry Kelley Cinematography William Mellor Art Direction James Sullivan Film Editor Harry Keller Original Music Dale Butts Written by Roy Huggins from his story Produced by Hunt Stromberg Directed by Byron Haskin

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Who's doing good work for film preservation? The Film Noir Foundation has racked up some impressive rescues and restorations in the last fifteen years or so,...

Merle Oberon films: From empress to duchess in 'Hotel.' Merle Oberon films: From starring to supporting roles Turner Classic Movies' Merle Oberon month comes to an end tonight, March 25, '16, with six movies: Désirée, Hotel, Deep in My Heart, Affectionately Yours, Berlin Express, and Night Song. Oberon's presence alone would have sufficed to make them all worth a look, but they have other qualities to recommend them as well. 'Désirée': First supporting role in two decades Directed by Henry Koster, best remembered for his Deanna Durbin musicals and the 1947 fantasy comedy The Bishop's Wife, Désirée (1954) is a sumptuous production that, thanks to its big-name cast, became a major box office hit upon its release. Marlon Brando is laughably miscast as Napoleon Bonaparte, while Jean Simmons plays the title role, the Corsican Conqueror's one-time fiancée Désirée Clary (later Queen of Sweden and Norway). In a supporting role – her...

By Lee Pfeiffer

Some actresses' performances can be much admired while others you virtually devour. I devour any performance by Bette Davis, who often elevated even middling films to something akin to high art. Such a case is evident in her cult classic Dead Ringer, a 1964 thriller that allowed Davis to give a tour de force performance in a dual role. The film itself has a hokey concept, that of two estranged identical twin sisters who are reunited with deadly consequences. Yet, Davis' former leading man and Now, Voyager co-star Paul Henreid directs this otherwise minor screen effort with great style, affording Davis one of her best late career performances. As Edith, Davis is seen as a down-and-out owner of a skid row bar who is facing financial ruin. She is reunited with her rich sister Margaret at the funeral of Margaret's husband. The two have not been on speaking...

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As The Librarians returns to Syfy UK, we chatted to Noah Wyle about directing, Falling Skies, and Jonathan Frakes peeing in a dumpster…

Since he first appeared as medical student John Carter in the Emergency Room of County General Hospital, Ill., Noah Wyle has specialised in playing a particular type of brainy hero. During his record-breaking tenure in ER, Wyle was notably the first to portray a fictional version of Steve Jobs in biopic Pirates Of Silicon Valley, a part that earned him an invitation from Mr Jobs to play a prank on the audience at the 1999 Macworld Expo.

Among a host of stage and screen roles, Wyle also played the small but memorable role of Dr Monitoff, a science teacher with an interest in parallel universes in 2001's Donnie Darko, followed in 2004 with the part of Flynn Carsen, perpetual student-turned-Indiana-Jones-type in three The Librarian television movies.

Maureen O'Hara: Queen of Technicolor. Maureen O'Hara movies: TCM tribute Veteran actress and Honorary Oscar recipient Maureen O'Hara, who died at age 95 on Oct. 24, '15, in Boise, Idaho, will be remembered by Turner Classic Movies with a 24-hour film tribute on Friday, Nov. 20. At one point known as “The Queen of Technicolor” – alongside “Eastern” star Maria Montez – the red-headed O'Hara (born Maureen FitzSimons on Aug. 17, 1920, in Ranelagh, County Dublin) was featured in more than 50 movies from 1938 to 1971 – in addition to one brief 1991 comeback (Chris Columbus' Only the Lonely). Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne Setting any hint of modesty aside, Maureen O'Hara wrote in her 2004 autobiography (with John Nicoletti), 'Tis Herself, that “I was the only leading lady big enough and tough enough for John Wayne.” Wayne, for his part, once said (as quoted in 'Tis Herself): There's only one woman who has been my friend over the...