NOT DEAD YET: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY (2016) by PHIL COLLINS (2016, Century, 448pp) ∗∗∗∗∗ Phil Collins tells his life story as he would put it, “warts and all”. It is a fascintating, touching, funny and sad read showing how his dedication to his career resulted in domestic disharmony and ultimately psychological issues, alcoholism and failing health. A…
Month: October 2016
Film Review – CHISUM (1970)
Chisum (1970; USA; Technicolor; 111m) ∗∗∗½ d. Andrew V. McLaglen; w. Andrew J. Fenady; ph. William H. Clothier; m. Dominic Frontiere. Cast: John Wayne, Forrest Tucker, Christopher George, Ben Johnson, Glenn Corbett, Bruce Cabot, Andrew Prine, Patric Knowles, Richard Jaeckel, John Agar, Lynda Day George, Pamela McMyler, Lloyd Battista, Robert Donner, Geoffrey Deuel. Cattle baron…
Film Review – BANANAS (1971)
Bananas (1971; USA; Colour; 82m) ∗∗∗½ d. Woody Allen; w. Woody Allen, Mickey Rose; ph. Andrew M. Costikyan; m. Marvin Hamlisch. Cast: Woody Allen, Louise Lasser, Carlos Montalban, Natividad Abascal, Jacobo Morales, Miguel Angel Suarez, David Ortiz, Rene Enriquez, Jack Axelrod, Howard Cosell. When a bumbling New Yorker is dumped by his activist girlfriend, he…
Phil Collins announces mini-tour in 2017
Phil Collins has been slowly returning to the limelight over the last year. Firstly there was the staggered re-issuing of his back catalogue with recreations of the original covers and an additional CD with rarities, B-sides and live tracks for each album. Then there was the release this week on The Singles – a collection…
Film Review – McCLOUD (1970)
McCloud (TV) (1970; USA; Technicolor; 98m) ∗∗∗ d. Richard A. Colla; w. Stanford Whitmore, Richard Levinson, William Link; ph. Ben Colman; m. David Shire. Cast: Dennis Weaver, Craig Stevens, Peter Mark Richman, Diana Muldaur, Terry Carter, Mario Alcalde, Raul Julia, Shelly Novack, Julie Newmar, Michael Bow, Nefti Millet, Kathy Stritch, Albert Popwell. A marshal from…
Book Review – FLOWER POWER (1968) by Ernest Tidyman
FLOWER POWER by ERNEST TIDYMAN (1968, The Paperback Library, 160pp) ∗∗∗ Blurb: Phyllis Greenfield was sweet sixteen – and never been stoned. Life was passing her by. So she ran away from her comfortable home in Cleveland, Ohio, and went to Haight-Ashbury to make the Underground Scene. There she met Furman, a young Black acid-head who wanted to be…
Film Review – RIO BRAVO (1959)
Rio Bravo (1959; USA; Technicolor; 141m) ∗∗∗∗∗ d. Howard Hawks; w. Jules Furthman, Leigh Brackett; ph. Russell Harlan; m. Dimitri Tiomkin. Cast: John Wayne, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond, Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson, John Russell, Ricky Nelson, Claude Akins, Bob Steele, Myron Healey, Estelita Rodriguez, Malcolm Atterbury, Yakima Canutt, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, Bing Russell. A small-town…
Film Review – DUEL (1971)
Duel (TV) (1971; USA; Technicolor; 89m) ∗∗∗∗ d. Steven Spielberg; w. Richard Matheson; ph. Jack A. Marta; m. Billy Goldenberg. Cast: Dennis Weaver, Eddie Firestone, Gene Dynarski, Tim Herbert, Jacqueline Scott, Lou Frizzell, Lucille Benson, Dale Van Sickel, Dick Whittington, Charles Seel, Alexander Lockwood, Amy Douglass, Carey Loftin, Shirley O’Hara, Shawn Steinman. A business commuter…
Film Review – THE NICE GUYS (2016)
Nice Guys, The (2015; USA; Colour; 116m) ∗∗∗ d. Shane Black; w. Shane Black, Anthony Bagarozzi; ph. Philippe Rousselot; m. David Buckley, John Ottman. Cast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Matt Bomer, Kim Basinger, Margaret Qualley, Keith David, Beau Knapp, Yaya DaCosta, Ty Simpkins, Jack Kilmer, Hannibal Buress. In Los Angeles in 1977, a private investigator…
TV Review – CRISIS IN SIX SCENES (2016)
Crisis in Six Scenes (TVS) (2016; USA; Colour, 6 episodes; 140m) ∗∗∗ d. Woody Allen; w. Woody Allen; pr. Helen Robin; exec pr. Erika Aronson; ph. Eigil Bryld. Cast: Woody Allen, Elaine May, Miley Cyrus, John Magaro, Rachel Brosnahan, Michael Rappaport. A comedy that takes place in the 1960’s during turbulent times in the United States and a…