SPIELBERG PROMISES NO MORE TINKERING WITH HIS FILMS
During an audience Q & A, director Steven Spielberg got to the heart of the matter (and also kinda dinged his pal George Lucas) when he said that altering a film after the fact is “robbing the people of their memories of the movie.” That’s exactly right. As I’ve mentioned before, if a filmmaker wants to tinker, fine. Spielberg rejiggered “E.T.” for the 2002 DVD release but did the right thing and also included the original theatrical cut. No one can argue with that. But I will say that it’s a good sign he regrets touching the film at all.
Forget the prequels, forget Jar-Jar, forget “NOOOOooo” — forget all that. What George Lucas is doing by selfishly refusing to allow one of the most feverish fan bases in film history to own an original cut of the first “Star Wars” trilogy, is mean-spirited and selfish.
Just because you have the right to do something doesn’t make it right.
Moreover, why mess with the original trilogy, which was almost perfect? If Lucas wants to make something better, “Howard the Duck” might be a good place to start. Fix what needs fixing, not what isn’t broken.
P.S. You’ll like this.
The A.V. Club offers up an excellent run-through of the Oscar-winner’s career. Whenever I think of Robertson, though, it’s always as the sinister CIA chief in “Three Days of the Condor.” His final monologue/explanation as to why the Redford character (and therefore the movie itself) might be a little too morally self-righteous for anyone’s own good, is unforgettable. First off, you don’t expect THE Cliff Robertson to be a bad guy. It really was a piece of genius casting by director Sydney Pollack. And the actor sells that final moment so well it adds an unsettling but very satisfying and intelligent layer to what was already a satisfying and intelligent film. For my money, that’s the scene that locks down “Condor” as a classic.
It would be interesting to find out if that’s what the liberal Pollack and Redford really wanted from this moment, or if it was something closer to Oliver Stone accidentally encouraging people to become stockbrokers with “Wall Street.”
NETFLIX BACKS OFF STREAMING RESTRICTIONS?
Last week, Netflix subscribers attempting to stream on more than one device at a time under a single subscription found themselves blocked by Netflix and told that they would have to pay for multiple subscriptions if they want to do this.
Now Netflix claims that was a technical error.
For years, Netflix has made almost no mistakes and now between the handling of the recent price hike and this “technical error’ the ill will they’re building leaves them vulnerable. Today, we’re Netflix customers because they’re the only game in town, which means another player could steal us away.
Netflix might have a terrific technical business model but they suck at creating brand loyalty.
TODAY’S STARS POSING AS CLASSIC STARS IS A REALLY, REALLY BAD IDEA
Why go out of your way to show how lacking you are?
Man alive, has it really been 25 years since I saw Bob Seger in 1985? Oh wait, that’s 26(!) years.
Think about how many hit songs this man has. So many that classic rock stations probably couldn’t survive without him.
It was a memorable concert, however, if only because Seger live sounds exactly like Seger over your stereo system. At least at the concert I saw, he didn’t deviate from his recordings for even a beat. No extended guitar or drum solos, not a word out of place. It was like paying $30 to sit in the grass and listen to his greatest hits CD surrounded by the smell of marijuana. In other words: awesome.
Good to have him back.
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QUICK HITS
‘LES MISERABLES’ THE MUSICAL MOVIE IN 3D?
‘POINT BREAK’ IS OLD ENOUGH FOR A REMAKE?
AWESOME CLIP OF AUDIENCE REACTION TO ICONIC ‘HALLOWEEN’ SCENE
‘HANNIBAL’ TO CONTINUE RUINING HIS LEGACY ON TELEVISION?
PHOTOS FROM THE MOVIE WITH THE BEST TITLE SINCE ‘HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN’
‘SOPRANOS’ CREATOR DAVID CHASE MAKES DIRECTORIAL DEBUT…
TV PILOTS AS GOOD AS SUMMER MOVIES
VINTAGE CLIP: SEAN CONNERY DESCRIBES GUNS OF JAMES BOND
20 BEST TV SERIES FINALES EVER (HARD TO DISAGREE WITH #1)
SEVEN SCI-FI FILMS THAT DESERVE ANOTHER CHANCE
THE TERMINATOR SNUBS CAPTAIN KIRK?
SIX BEST POP CULTURE REFERENCES TO ‘STAR WARS’
‘HAPPY GILMORE’ MEETS ‘THE MIGHTY DUCKS’
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CLASSIC PICK FOR TUESDAY, SEPT 13
FMC:
12:15am EST: BLOOD AND WINE (1997) –A wine dealer (Jack Nicholson) finds his life spinning out of control after he steals a million dollar diamond necklace and becomes alienated from his wife (Judy Davis). Jennifer Lopez falls into the web of deceit. Cast: Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine, Judy Davis, Jennifer Lopez. Director: Bob Rafelson
One of those interesting, character-driven indie films from the ’90s when character-driven indie films were still interesting. To be honest with you, all I remember about the flick is liking it and, of course, being impressed with the stellar cast.
Looking forward to another look.
–Please send tips/suggestions/requests to jnolte@breitbart.com
–Please thank ScottDS (again) for many of today’s awesome quick hits…
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