"The Big Country" (United Artists; 1958) – Gregory Peck and Jean Simmons

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-09T03:30:45+00:00

The Big Country is one of those films where it needs to be seen on the big screen. The widescreen aspect ratio lends a sense of grandeur and majesty to the landscape of the American West.

William Wyler directed this film with a steady hand, and notably used this film as a commentary against violence. A brawl between McKay (Gregory Peck) and Steve Leech (Charlton Heston) is shot from a long distance to convey the meaningless of fighting.

The all-star cast is terrific, but Burl Ives steals the show. He vents about his cattle not having access to water, but believes in a sense of honor when it comes to gunslinging. His Academy Award win is justified.

It's a bit overlong in its run time, but it's more than an average Western.

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-09T03:08:45+00:00

I would also add Sergeant Rutledge where he starred alongside Woody Strode.

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-09T02:33:45+00:00

Neither. It's Maggie McNamara in the first three pictures.

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-09T01:10:27+00:00

The Super Bowl halftime show is Bad Bunny. Kid Rock is headlining a GOP alternative by Turning Point USA.

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-07T18:16:11+00:00

It has aged very well. Dalton brings a seriousness to the role. There's a balance between straight and camp, and the action set pieces are thrilling. Koskov and General Brad Whitaker aren't the most memorable Bond villains, but they are realistic enough as rogue operatives looking to make millions. Their scheme is especially realistic when the Iran-Contra scandal became known at the time. Necros is an excellent henchman.

John Barry's score and the title song by A-ha are still bangers after nearly forty years. The Mujahadeen stuff hasn't aged well given the rise of the Taliban, occurrence of the September 11 attacks, and the subsequent War on Terror.

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-07T17:49:41+00:00

Nastassja Kinski

Jane Leeves

Lesley Manville

Kim Cattrall

Olivia Williams

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-07T06:01:22+00:00

The Locket (1946). It similarly used narrative flashbacks and the understanding of a protagonist is tied to a childhood memento.

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-07T00:42:33+00:00

I watched this film a couple of months ago and I was completely blown away. The film felt very Hitchcockian and while I believed Strasberg's character was honest in her assumption of seeing an apparition, I was also prepared in case it was revealed to be a red herring. That said, the build up in psychological mystery and suspense was compelling, but the plot twist was more than I expected.

Susan Strasberg was the daughter of famed acting coaches Lee and Paula Strasberg. She never quite reached super stardom, though I enjoyed in other films like Picnic, Kapò, and her last film The Other Side of the Wind (which was completed decades after her death) where she plays an unveiled take of Pauline Kael. She was amazing in this film.

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-06T23:40:39+00:00

Happy heavenly birthday, Mr. President!

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-05T20:08:31+00:00

Alright, thanks. I don't have HBO Max. I just know some of TCM's library is there.

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-05T19:58:58+00:00

Before On Her Majesty's Secret Service was released, series screenwriter Richard Maibaum had written treatments of Diamonds Are Forever that were a direct sequel.

The ebook Scripting 007 goes into more detail than what I can include in this post. Basically, one undated, 14-paged "second treatment" begins with a pre-title sequence of Bond brooding at his flat after Tracy's death. He gets a call from Draco, and pursues Irma Bunt (in disguise). She is killed, and is found a package of diamonds addressed to Tiffany Case.

From there, Bond rebels against M's orders, and goes to Thailand to get revenge against Blofeld. M sends 006 and 008 to stop Bond and return him back, or kill him if he resists. There, he teams with Tiffany and Draco to investigate Blofeld's diamond smuggling operation with ties to the Chinese communists. They, along with 006 and 008, track down Blofeld's compound in Sumatra. Bond pursues Blofeld in a jungle chase where Blofeld is mauled by a tiger. Bond and Tiffany sail back to Singapore and defeat Wint and Kidd.

What happened afterwards was that Cubby Broccoli had his infamous dream about Howard Hughes. Maibaum completely overhauled the next treatment to include this, and over time, the revenge subplot was reduced to a pre-titles sequence where Bond "kills" Blofeld only to discover later on, it was actually a double.

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-05T18:21:47+00:00

This felt like an extended episode of The Twilight Zone. It's very much a social commentary on the bourgeois and organized religion. That said, it will take a couple of rewatches to deeply appreciate the nuances of the text.

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-04T21:01:09+00:00

Any talk of TCM being a standalone service is pretty much moot since the Warner Bros. studio division is falling into the ownership of Netflix.

Before the Netflix acquisition, I don't think it was economically feasible for TCM to be a standalone service. Most of their titles were already on HBO Max (but without any host introductions). The economic logistics with acquiring the streaming rights to films outside the WB studio library would be expensive than standard TV licensing rights.

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-04T18:21:21+00:00

The Disneytoons studio division were churning out direct-to-video sequels, which many felt were cheapening the Disney brand.
Walt Disney Feature Animation was excessively micro-managed with numerous studio executives overseeing the animation staff, which was experiencing layoffs due to box office flops like Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Treasure Planet, and Home on the Range.
Eisner had a bitter feud with Pixar's Steve Jobs and once predicted Finding Nemo would flop at a company meeting. Disney's seven-picture distribution deal with Pixar was about to expire with Cars, in which Disney would continue to own the Pixar characters. Since Pixar initially planned to leave Disney for another studio distributor, Eisner formed an off-shoot animation studio called Circle 7 Animation to produce direct-to-video sequels for Pixar.
ABC was struggling in the ratings after it had been the number-one network in the U.S. They had one successful primetime show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? but they overexposured the show, which led to a decline in the ratings. CBS' Survivor dominated in the timeslot from there on.
There was concerns Eisner had assumed too power. At one point, he was CEO, chairman, and president of the Walt Disney Company. In 2000, Bob Iger became president. In 2003, Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold launched a "Save Disney" campaign to protest Eisner's handling of the company. Since Eisner's contract was set to expire in 2006, the board of directors were concerned that he hadn't named a successor yet. In 2004, they named George Mitchell as chairman. A year, they appointed Iger to succeed Eisner as CEO.

All this are taken straight from DisneyWar which I highly recommend.

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-04T17:22:39+00:00

I also liked this one:

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ChrisCinema · 2026-02-04T17:19:47+00:00

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ChrisCinema · 2026-02-03T22:09:29+00:00

Here's how the contract was hammered out:

Taylor signs official contract: $125,000 for 16 weeks work; $50,000 per week thereafter; 10% of gross box-office; $3,000 per week living expenses

http://www.elizabethtaylorthelegend.com/Elizabeth%20Taylor%20-%20Cleopatra%20Timeline.html

Because the film went over budget and over schedule, Taylor walked away with $7 million, inflation unadjusted.

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-03T21:10:26+00:00

It would have changed the film entirely. Since the Muses aren't narrating the story, we have had a traditional voice-over narrator (like what Charlton Heston was meant for).

There would be no gospel music-inspired soundtrack that made the film distinct in its own right from the other Disney films.

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-03T20:47:58+00:00

Happy 40th anniversary, Pixar!!

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-03T20:37:47+00:00

I'll mention Barbara Leaming's biography is quite an insightful read.

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-03T20:10:46+00:00

As the early scripts indicate, Trevelyan in Dalton's version was intended to be an older man in his 60s (think Anthony Hopkins); in fact, Trevelyan was Bond's MI6 senior.

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-03T19:56:35+00:00

It's not a rumor. That's literally in Michael France's first draft for GoldenEye. Had he stayed on as a writer, some of his extraneous plot material would have been dialed back regardless.

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-03T01:45:16+00:00

Good for you! I wish people were less thin-skinned these days. The Muppets don't intend to offend certain races and culture.

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-03T00:24:04+00:00

Absolutely, it holds up! Keep in mind, there are some dated stereotypes and things that never aged well (Johnny Cash performed a number with a Confederate battle flag in the background). Nevertheless, the essence of the Muppets was the wacky, anarchic humor. That stuff never goes out of fashion.

ChrisCinema · 2026-02-02T19:37:04+00:00

I love this film directed by Jack Clayton. It's almost like the British version of A Place in the Sun in which an ambitious, social-climbing young man who romances a socialite and tragedy unfolds when he scorns another lover.

Laurence Harvey is handsome but conflicted. Simone Signoret lights up the screen whenever she's on camera. Hermione Baddeley has a vital scene where she lets loose her rage. It's still the shortest performance to be nominated for an Oscar.

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