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Few holiday films are as nostalgic as the Rankin Bass Christmas specials, introducing the beloved Rankin Bass holiday characters like Frosty, Rudolph, and more to the screen. This popular holiday collection began in the 1960s and was run by directors and studio heads, Arthur Rankin Bass Jr. and Jules Bass, who created eighteen of these nostalgic films until their disbanding in 2001.

From the 1960s to today, Rankin Bass Christmas films are still some of the most commonly played, well-known holiday films. In fact, their 1964 production of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer made history as the longest-running Christmas special of all time (Smithsonian Magazine). Characteristic by their use of puppets, stop-motion animation, original holiday songs, and meaningful lessons, it's no surprise why Rankin Bass has remained a classic throughout the generations. For adults as well as children, the best Rankin Bass films have something entertaining to offer all, whether it be an...

John C. Reilly, the Oscar-nominated actor whose film credits seem to include at least one movie on any person’s list of all-time favorites, is in a good mood when we connect by phone two days before Thanksgiving, and says he’s about to buy his turkey.

“I’m the rotisserie king of Thanksgiving,” he explains. “If you rotisserie a turkey, it goes well every time. It sort of self-bastes — it’s a very good cooking method for big turkeys.”

It’s not hard, after a few minutes of talking about the holiday spirit,...

As much as I love Star Wars, it was not much of a part of my childhood. I saw the original trilogy one long Saturday when I was thirteen and was hooked as soon as Darth Vader arrived on the screen. But I had the luck to first meet the Ewoks in the 1985 film Ewoks: The Battle for Endor. However, I had never seen Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure until recently. With the film turning 40 this year, let's look back on it with an adult fan's appreciation for childlike wonder.

Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure is a delight for new fans 40 years later

The message I remember from The Battle of Endor is that bravery is important, but you don't have to be brave on your own. I gleaned the same meaning from Caravan of Courage and love it. The story is by George Lucas, so it feels...

In a major shift of holiday programming, NBC has gained the rights to broadcast two beloved animated Christmas specials starting this season. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman will return to NBC after long runs on CBS. Rudolph, which first aired on NBC in 1964, will celebrate its 60th anniversary with a broadcast on December 6. Frosty the Snowman will make its NBC debut on December 5.

Rudolph is the story of a young reindeer bullied for his glowing nose. Narrated by Burl Ives, it follows Rudolph as he journeys with outcasts Hermey the elf and prospector Yukon Cornelius. They encounter dangers like the Abominable Snow Monster but also find the Island of Misfit Toys. Rudolph proves his worth guiding Santa’s sleigh through a storm. For 52 years it aired on CBS, but NBC will now show the 75-minute Rankin/Bass production on its anniversary date.

Frosty the Snowman is a...

The Christmas classic holiday special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is returning to NBC after more than five decades at CBS.

The 75-minute telecast will air Friday, Dec. 6 at 8 p.m., the exact same date it premiered in 1964 as part of the “General Electric Fantasy Hour” on NBC. Rudolph ran on NBC from 1964 through 1971 before moving to CBS.

The classic stop motion animated special offers the perspective of Rudolph, who’s told he could not play in any Reindeer Games due to his glowing nose. Rudolph sets out on a fantastic journey where he meets Hermey the elf, prospector Yukon Cornelius and a host of Misfit Toys, all while trying to hide from the Abominable Snow Monster.

The story is narrated by Burl Ives, who plays Sam the Snowman and whose iconic recording of the “Rudolph” song has become part of the culture.

NBC will also air another Christmas classic, Frosty the Snowman,...

A holiday TV staple is switching channels this year from the first time in half a century: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer will air on NBC this December after airing on CBS every year since 1972, NBC announced on Friday.

A special 75-minute edition of Rudolph will air Friday, Dec. 6 at 8/7c on NBC to mark its 60th anniversary. The stop-motion animated classic based on the beloved Christmas carol is closely associated with CBS, but it actually debuted on NBC back in 1964, airing there until it moved to CBS eight years later.

More from TVLineSNL's John Mulaney Spoofs Real-Life Politician With an...

In Chris Columbus' holiday musical "The Christmas Chronicles 2," Kurt Russell plays Santa Claus, a jolly tough guy living in connubial bliss with Mrs. Claus (Goldie Hawn) at the North Pole. The film reunites Santa with Kate (Darby Camp) and Jack (Jahzir Bruno), the stars from the first film. While they visit the cozy Claus home, a bitter ex-elf named Belsnickel (Julian Dennison) attempts to steal a magical Christmas Tree Star from Santa's village, throwing the future of Christmas into question. Santa, you see, needs the star to freeze time on Christmas night and provide the power needed to keep his village running. It will be up to the kids and the Clauses to recruit the help of Turkish forest elves (represented by Malcolm McDowell) and retrieve the stolen star. 

The film has a notable scene in an airport where Russell got to sing a huge soul number called "The Spirit of Christmas...

At the inaugural Academy Awards in 1929, native Pennsylvanian Janet Gaynor made history as the first American-born performer to win an Oscar by taking the Best Actress prize for her body of work in “7th Heaven,” “Street Angel,” and “Sunrise.” Over the subsequent 95 years, 215 more thespians originating from the United States won the academy’s favor, meaning the country has now produced 68.1% of all individual acting Oscar recipients. Considering the last decade alone, the rate of such winners is even higher, at 70.3%.

At this point, 96.8% of American-born acting Oscar victors have hailed from one of 34 actual states. Of those constituting the remainder, three originated from the federal District of Columbia, while four were born in the territory of Puerto Rico. New York (home to 49 winners) is the most common birth state among the entire group, followed by California (34), Illinois (13), Massachusetts (11), and Pennsylvania (11).

Bearing in mind our specific birthplace focus, the 16 states...

Randy Sparks, whose group the New Christy Minstrels was a huge part of the folk revival of the early 1960s, died February 11 at an assisted-living facility in San Diego. He was 90.

His son, Kevin, confirmed the death to The New York Times. Sparks was living on his 168-acre ranch in Jenny Lind, CA, until a few days before his death.

The New Christy Minstrels were constantly on TV in the 1960s and sold an estimated 2 million albums in their first three years. The group’s first album, Presenting the New Christy Minstrels, won the Grammy Award for best performance by a chorus and stayed on the Billboard albums chart for two years.

The group’s 1963 LP Ramblin’ made the Top 15 and was its only gold disc. The holiday set Merry Christmas! also was a hit that year, Today hit No. 9 in 1964, becoming the Christys’ lone Top 10 album. It featured music...

The Violent Night soundtrack features a festive collection of classic carols and contemporary hits, adding to the wild style of the movie's bloody mayhem. Despite its violence, Violent Night captures the spirit of Christmas and presents its own twisted version, making it a fun holiday treat. Each song in the soundtrack is strategically placed throughout the film, accompanying key moments and adding depth to the story's chaotic events.

Though it is filled with more bloody violence and R-rated humor than most other Christmas movies, the Violent Night soundtrack is a very festive collection of holiday music, drawing from classic carols and contemporary hits. The songs accompany Santa Claus (David Harbour), as he stumbles into a Christmas Eve robbery. There, he battles his way through a barrage of violent thieves, vowing to rescue a young child, Trudy Lightstone, held hostage inside her father's family home. The Violent Night soundtrack has a...

Have you looked at the Billboard Hot 100 lately? If not, you’re in for a treat. The Christmas classics have flooded in and shaken everything up, making for one slightly surreal snow globe that features Doja Cat, Bing Crosby, Burl Ives, and Gunna all rocking around the same tree. Speaking of which: Sixty-five years after its release, Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” is finally at Number One. In another 65 years, “Cruel Summer” will probably still be in the Top 10. If we’re lucky, Jason Aldean’s “Try...

Classic Western films have had a significant impact on modern pop culture, influencing the work of recognized and praised directors today. Many classic Westerns subvert the genre's tropes and characteristics, offering fresh perspectives and storytelling methods that still hold up in modern times. The diverse range of classic Western films provides great entertainment for both devoted fans of the genre and newcomers, with timeless themes and engaging characters.

While the Western genre comes with an extensive list of films, many classics within the genre are still enjoyable for modern audiences today. The emergence of the golden age of the Western genre in pop culture is roughly credited to the late 1930s. With such a long-running genre, it's easy to see how the staple tropes and characteristics of the Western might have started to feel repetitive over the years.

However, many classic Western films are credited with changing the genre itself...

With the insane games that the various streaming platforms are pulling in terms of removing content from their services (sometimes projects that were made specifically for those platforms), an added emphasis has been placed on home video. And with good reason. The only way you can insure that the movies you love will be around is by owning them on Blu-ray. Thankfully the home video labels have been stepping up their game, with deluxe packages overflowing with extras and feature films presented in their best possible format.

Here are the biggest and best releases on Blu-ray, DVD and 4K in August 2023.

Marvel Studios

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”

Ready for one last ride? Writer/director James Gunn, who is now overseeing DC Studios at Warner Bros., returned for the third part of his “Guardians of the Galaxy” saga. This time around, the Guardians, led by Star Lord (Chris Pratt...

Two of the best films of the year also happen to feature two of the best soundtracks of the year and as each enters a wide release today, the scores are now available to stream in full. Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City boasts an epic soundtrack of 25 songs amounting to over 70 minutes, featuring Alexandre Desplat, Jarvis Cocker, Big Crosby, Les Paul, Burl Ives, Tex Ritter, Les Baxter, and many more.

Then, Grizzly Bear’s Christopher Bear and Daniel Rossen reunited to score Celine Song’s debut Past Lives, clocking in at 16 tracks around 40 minutes, also including the end credits track “Quiet Eyes” by Sharon Van Etten and Zachary Dawes. “What a pleasure it was to score this film with [Rossen] and make music I feel very connected with,” said Bear. “Celine Song is a force and had such incredible vision and execution.”

Luke Hicks said in his Cannes review of Asteroid City,...

Wes Anderson’s latest endeavor Asteroid City is making its crash-landing into theaters this Friday, June 23rd, and it has a fitting soundtrack to match. As a preview, Jarvis Cocker has shared one of his contributions to the film called “Dear Alien (Who Art In Heaven),” a single he wrote with Anderson and his former Pulp bandmate Richard Hawley. The song also features Seu Jorge, who was prominently featured on the soundtrack for Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

Considering Asteroid City takes place in a desert town in 1955, the soundtrack comes chock-full of period-setting tunes like classic bluegrass and country as well as mid-century pop. Along with a couple of originals from Cocker are songs by Bing Crosby, The Springfields (featuring a young Dusty Springfield), Burl Ives, Tex Ritter, and many more, as well as a score by Alexandre Desplat.

Cocker is just one of many voices...

The Western genre is full of great movies, even without the works of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. When considering which films deserve to be counted as the greatest Westerns of all time, it becomes clear that a rather significant portion of them featured either Eastwood or Wayne. The biggest Western actors of their respective eras, Eastwood and Wayne contributed much to the popularity of the genre and enjoyed top billing in a multitude of highly-respected Western films.

While both Eastwood and Wayne have starred in their fair share of Western classics, they alone didn’t drive the success of the genre. When Westerns were at their peak, Hollywood had plenty of bankable stars capable of delivering critical and commercial hits. Randolph Scott, Burt Lancaster, James Stewart, Joel McCrea, and Glenn Ford were among the many names behind the most popular Western films, many of which being on par with...

After spending a couple awards cycles on the sidelines, A24 reemerged this year with more Oscar nominations than any other studio–18 between six films: “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “The Whale,” “Aftersun,” “Causeway,” “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On,” and “Close.” The arthouse label is positioned to set an even more staggering record, though. If Oscar night, as it did in 2022, repeats both the SAG and DGA Awards–in other words, if “Eeaao” takes Best Actress (Michelle Yeoh), Best Supporting Actor (Ke Huy Quan), Best Supporting Actress (Jamie Lee Curtis), Best Director (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), and Best Picture, while Best Actor goes to “The Whale” (Brendan Fraser)–A24 will become the first studio in history to make a clean sweep of the top categories.

See Ke Huy Quan (‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’) on a comeback 30 years in the making: ‘I don’t take for granted for a second,...

With the holidays upon us, movie lovers will likely return to a few Christmas classics, like Home Alone or Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer. There's nothing quite like curling up with some hot chocolate or other favorite holiday-themed beverage and enjoying the ambiance created by these timeless favorites. Some have been spreading holiday cheer for the better part of a century, while others made their mark only recently.

Over the years, the influence of these films has stretched further than television screens. Some of the songs written specifically for these Christmas movies have begun to stand on their own, becoming just as much a staple for holiday radio stations as they were for their films. From "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" to "Where Are You Christmas," several iconic songs were first heard in a movie and have since become holiday favorites.

"Christmas Time Is Here" - A Charlie Brown Christmas...

Jules Bass, who produced and directed a number of classic animated holiday specials like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, has died at the age of 87, his publicist confirms to our sister site Variety.

Bass is most famous for his collaborations with Arthur Rankin Jr., including the 1964 stop-motion animated special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which Bass co-produced. The retelling of the famous Christmas carol narrated by Burl Ives became a beloved annual tradition for TV viewers and still runs each year on CBS. Rankin/Bass followed up that success with 1968’s The Little Drummer Boy, 1970’s Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town...

Jules Bass, whose work as a producer and director of stop-motion and animated television specials such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town and The Year Without A Santa Claus has become an integral part of the holiday season for generations, died today in Rye, New York, of age-related illnesses. He was 87.

His death was confirmed by publicist Jennifer Fisherman Ruff.

Bass was working in advertising in New York City when, in 1960, he teamed up with an art director at ABC named Arthur Rankin Jr. to form a film production company called Videocraft International. The company was launched with the 1960 series The New Adventures of Pinocchio, utilizing traditional animation, but found its breakthrough success in 1964 with the stop-motion classic Rudolph, featuring the voice of Burl Ives as Sam the Snowman.

Rankin died in 2014 at 89.

Based on the Gene Autry hit song of 1949, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer...

Jules Bass, the animator, producer, director and composer whose work included stop-motion holiday television specials like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Frosty the Snowman” and “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town,” died at the age of 87 on Tuesday at an assisted living facility in Rye, New York, publicist Jennifer Fisherman-Ruff confirmed.

The three prominent holiday specials, “Rudolph,” voiced by Burl Ives, “Frosty” starring Jackie Vernon and Jimmy Durante and “Santa Claus,” voiced by Fred Astaire and Mickey Rooney, all debuted during the 1960s and 1970s. In the decades since, the specials have become staples of seasonal holiday programming on television.

Bass was known for his longstanding creative partnership with director Arthur Rankin Jr., who died in 2014 at 89. The two pushed many productions through their banner Rankin/Bass Productions, which was known for its laborious cel-animated, stop-motion films that took long periods of time to turn into full-length features.

Bass and Rankin...

Click here to read the full article.

Jules Bass, the animator, producer, director and composer who partnered with Arthur Rankin Jr. on the stop-motion holiday TV specials Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town, has died. He was 87.

Bass died Tuesday at an assisted living facility in Rye, New York, publicist Jennifer Fisherman Ruff told The Hollywood Reporter.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, based on the song popularized by Gene Autry and featuring the voice of Burl Ives, debuted in 1964. Frosty the Snowman, starring Jackie Vernon and Jimmy Durante, bowed in 1969, and Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town, starring Fred Astaire, premiered in 1970. All three have remained strong television draws through the decades.

Rankin/Bass Productions’ cel-animated, stop-motion features were farmed out to Japanese animators and were painstaking to make, with thousands of still photos of their characters’ incremental movements put together at 24 frames...

Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products released each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

Nosferatu & Metaluna Mutant Action Figures from Super 7

Super 7 will add Nosferatu and This Island Earth’s Metaluna Mutant to its Ultimates action figure line in October 2023. They’re available to pre-order for 54.99. Shipping is free with the code FALLFREE22.

Nosferatu comes with three interchangeable heads, eight interchangeable hands, rat, and key ring, while Metaluna Mutant includes two interchangeable heads and four interchangeable hands. Each 7” figure is packaged in a slipcase-style collector’s box.

Halloween Posters from Vice Press

Vice Press has released Halloween 24×36 lithograph prints by Florey. Two variants are available: one with an autumnal, daytime aesthetic and the other with a spooky, nighttime atmosphere. My favorite detail is the subtle reflection of Michael Myers’ mask in the window.

Disney’s live-action Pinocchio Image: Photo courtesy of Disney Enterprises, Inc. What is it about Pinocchio, the story of a marionette puppet who wants to become a real boy, that makes filmmakers keep coming back to it, again and again? There are dozens of film adaptations floating out there, dating...

220413_TTYOL_g011.0437853_RC Idris Elba stars as The Djinn and Tilda Swinton as Alithea Binnie in director George Miller’s film Three Thousand Years Of Longing A Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film Photo credit: Courtesy of Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures Inc. © 2022 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved

As the seasons march toward Fall, many begin to lapse into the doldrums, since the excitement of exotic getaways is set aside. Perhaps a bit of magic will perk them up, or as with this new film, a whole lot of magic. Well, one of its two central characters is a magical creature of myth, one that’s not unfamiliar to the movie audiences though really a touchstone of the fantasy sitcom “fad” of the 1960s. Now that really began in the “stars” with Ray Walston’s “Uncle Martin” Aka “My Favorite Martian”, followed by Elizabeth Montgomery’s spellcasting Samantha Stevens in “Bewitched”. And then there was Jeannie,...

William Wyler was a three-time Oscar winner who crafted several classics during Hollywood’s Golden Age, adapting his style to a wide variety of genres. Let’s take a look back at 20 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Born in 1902 in Germany, Wyler immigrated to the U.S. when his cousin, Universal Studios chief Carl Laemmle, hired him as an errand boy. He quickly moved up the ranks, directing shorts during the silent era before transitioning into features. It was with the advent of sound that he hit his stride, displaying an ear for dialogue that would serve him well in lofty literary adaptations produced by his longtime partner, independent mogul Samuel Goldwyn.

Wyler quickly became an Oscar mainstay, earning a record-breaking 12 nominations for Best Director: “Dodsworth” (1936), “Wuthering Heights” (1939), “The Letter” (1940), “The Little Foxes” (1941), “Mrs. Miniver” (1942), “The Best Years of Our Lives” (1946), “The Heiress” (1949), “Detective Story” (1951), “Roman Holiday...

Netflix is developing a miniseries based on John Steinbeck’s massive 700-page novel “East of Eden,” as reported on Tuesday. Florence Pugh is the first cast member announced, though it is unclear who she’ll be playing. (Will a modern spin change the story—a California tale loosely based on the Biblical trope of Cain and Abel—into the story of two sisters? Crazier things have happened!)

The most exciting news, however, is how this production is “keeping it in the family,” so to speak. Zoe Kazan has been announced as writer and executive producer. Her grandfather, the legendary Elia Kazan, directed the 1955 adaptation starring James Dean, Raymond Massey, Julie Harris, Burl Ives, and Jo Van Fleet, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Kazan was nominated for Best Director, Paul Osborn was nominated for Best Screenplay, and Dean was nominated for Best Actor, posthumously.

Zoe Kazan’s last...

By Lee Pfeiffer

Kino Lorber has released the 1964 comedy "The Brass Bottle" on Blu-ray. The film appears to have been the inspiration for the hit TV series "I Dream of Jeannie" which starred Barbara Eden as the sultry title character. Some cinephiles argue that the film and TV series have nothing to do with one another, but it seems to me that if you make a movie with Barbara Eden and a genie from a brass bottle, than it's more than a coincidence that a TV series starring Eden featuring a genie and a brass bottle soon appears. It is true that Eden does appear as the female lead in the feature film, but in a very down-to-earth role as Sylvia, the fiancee of aspiring-but-unsuccessful architect Harold Ventimore (Tony Randall). Sorry, guys, no navel-gazing to be had here.The premise of the plot is as old as the pyramids: Harold...

The Brass Bottle

Blu ray

Kino Lorber

1964/ Color / 1.85:1 / 89 Minutes

Starring Tony Randall, Burl Ives, Barbara Eden

Directed by Harry Keller

Possessed of a commanding baritone and an even more elegant delivery, Tony Randall was a natural for radio, cutting his teeth as program announcer for Wtag in Worcester before landing the role of a two-fisted detective in the early ’40s with I Love a Mystery. It was a voice—silky but full of import—ideal for Shakespeare in the Park yet the actor’s nervous-nelly demeanor would make him a standard bearer for light comedy. After flaunting his versatility in Broadway’s Inherit the Wind and television’s Mr. Peepers, Randall laid down an actor’s gauntlet with his gender-bending, shape-shifting turn as a mysterious carny barker in 7 Faces of Dr. Lao. Based on Charles G. Finney’s 1935 satire—a cynical diatribe transformed into a cozy fantasy by George...

As Christmas playlists continue their usual December boom on streaming platforms and on the radio, Adele nevertheless maintains her hold on the number-one spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart and the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the tracking week that ended on December 9. Read more on Billboard.com.

Adele’s “30” remains at number-one for the third week in a row on the Billboard 200 with 193,000 equivalent album units based on combined album sales, track sales, and online streaming performance. That’s down 33% from last week, but it’s still the best third week for any album since Drake‘s “Scorpion” more than three years ago. And “30” has some breathing room from the holiday onslaught. Taylor Swift‘s re-recorded “Red” maintains its number-two position, while Polo G‘s deluxe addition of “Hall of Fame” jumps to number-three.

SEETop 30 best Christmas songs ever, ranked, including tunes from Bing Crosby, Mariah Carey,...

Rolling Stone interview series Unknown Legends features long-form conversations between senior writer Andy Greene and veteran musicians who have toured and recorded alongside icons for years, if not decades. All are renowned in the business, but some are less well known to the general public. Here, these artists tell their complete stories, giving an up-close look at life on music’s A list. This edition features pedal-steel guitarist Greg Leisz.

Greg Leisz’s list of credits is so incredibly long and varied that it’s almost hard to believe it...

Dated but good-humoured, this 1967 adaptation includes all the era’s popular elements, from villain Terry-Thomas to penny-farthings in haystacks

There’s an serious outbreak of top hats and mutton chops in this amiable adaptation of Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon, originally released in 1967, when the real world was gearing up for the Apollo moonshot a couple of years later. Produced by the prolific Harry Towers, it adopted the rambling wacky-races format that had proved enduringly popular throughout the 1950s and 60s; most recently with the 1965 hit Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, which it shamelessly capitalised on with its US title (Those Fantastic Flying Fools) as well as redeplying the ubiquitous Terry-Thomas, who played yet another moustache-twirling cad.

Rocket to the Moon is watchable in a bored-Sunday-afternoon sort of way: it’s about whether an international consortium, led by Burl Ives (as Phineas T Barnum) and Dennis Price,...

As we wrap up the month of March, we have one final round of horror and sci-fi home media releases on tap before we start looking towards April and beyond, and I hope you have your wallets ready, because this week’s slate of titles is a budget killer, no doubt. Arrow Video is celebrating the 40th anniversary of An American Werewolf in London this year with a brand new limited edition Steelbook, and Warner Archives is showing some love to a few older titles this Tuesday as well: Isle of the Dead and The Bermuda Depths.

Vinegar Syndrome is keeping busy with a handful of new releases this week, too, including The Fear, Nightmare Weekend, Graduation Day, and Hitcher in the Dark. Severin Films is also celebrating a pair of films from Álex de la Iglesia with their Special Edition Blus for The Day of the Beast and Perdita Durango,...

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By Todd Garbarini

Tsugunobo Kotani is a film director whose name does not roll off the tongue throughout film circles. A handful of titles to his credit consist of Hatsukoi (1975), The Last Dinosaur (1977), The Ivory Ape (1980), and The Bloody Bushido Blade (1981), and there are a good number of Japanese-language titles that appear in his early filmography. An Internet search of “Tom Kotani,” the Americanized variant of Tsugunobo and the director’s name as it appears in some of his movies, yields even less information. While most people may not recognize him, there is a small but significant percentage of film viewers, yours truly included, who have been deeply affected by one of his films in particular: the made-for-television undersea effort The Bermuda Depths. Filmed in the British Overseas Territory of the Bermudas in 1977, The Bermuda Depths is mysterious for several reasons. It is...

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By Todd Garbarini

Tsugunobo Kotani is a film director whose name does not roll off the tongue throughout film circles. A handful of titles to his credit consist of Hatsukoi (1975), The Last Dinosaur (1977), The Ivory Ape (1980), and The Bloody Bushido Blade (1981), and there are a good number of Japanese-language titles that appear in his early filmography. An Internet search of “Tom Kotani,” the Americanized variant of Tsugunobo and the director’s name as it appears in some of his movies, yields even less information. While most people may not recognize him, there is a small but significant percentage of film viewers, yours truly included, who have been deeply affected by one of his films in particular: the made-for-television undersea effort The Bermuda Depths. Filmed in the British Overseas Territory of the Bermudas in 1977, The Bermuda Depths is mysterious for several reasons. It is...

The Bermuda Depths (1978) is now available on Blu-ray from Warner Archive

What secret lurks 20,000 feet below the waves in the paranormal realm called the Bermuda Triangle? That’s the question a scientist (Burl Ives), his student (Carl Weathers) and a young man (Leigh McCloskey) haunted by nightmarish memories of his Bermuda childhood ask themselves. The answer involves a beauty (Connie Sellecca) who has sold her soul for eternal youth and a giant sea turtle that leaves death in its wake. Eerie and hypnotic, The Bermuda Depths was produced by Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass (The Year Without a Santa Claus), who meld their imaginative fantasy style with the live-action horror genre.

Special Features: Includes Both the 1.33:1 US Broadcast Television Version and the 1.85:1 International Theatrical Version; New Audio Commentary by Author/ Film Historian Amanda Reyes (Are You in the House Alone? A TV Movie Compendium: 1964-1999) and Kindertrauma co-founder Lance Vaughan.

Two fine actors volley for advantage across 90 minutes in the tastily insidious little melodrama Next Door (Nebenan). Stepping behind the camera for the first time while also remaining in front of it, Daniel Bruhl shows a sure grip on this mostly two-handed bar room encounter between an international film star (played by Bruhl himself) and a portly older fellow (Babylon Berlin’s Peter Kurth in a terrific turn) who knows far too much about the actor’s private life for comfort. This sharp-minded and engrossing drama of wits and secrets succeeds both in keeping the audience keen to know what’s really going on here and achieving lift-off for Bruhl’s directorial career if he seeks one.

A smart, crowd-pleasing choice (albeit remotely) for the 2021 Berlin Film Festival competition, this is an unusual film in that you’d swear was originally written as...

Recently, short Best Actor-nominated performances have been scarce at the Oscars. The average screen time of the past decade’s nominees is over 80 minutes, and only a handful of them have not reached one hour. Still, performances that fall under 60 minutes make up nearly one third of the category’s nominees, with plenty boasting much less time. Here is a look at the 10 shortest of all (and here are the 10 shortest winners):

10. Humphrey Bogart (“The Caine Mutiny”)

28 minutes, 22 seconds (22.79% of the film)

Bogart’s third and final Best Actor nomination came in 1955 for his portrayal of tyrannical Naval commander Philip Queeg. Though he is absent from the first quarter of the film and appears on screen for less than 30 minutes, he was classified as a lead. In the decades since, several actors have also been placed in the lead category for relatively short villainous roles, including Michael Douglas (“Wall Street...

Let’s face it: a killer Santa is never not going to look kind of funny. Every entry of the Silent Night, Deadly Night saga knows this (although indignant protestors in 1984 apparently did not). And each opts to deal with this fundamental visual quandary in a markedly different way.

In the original 1984 film, the Santa costume is subverted into a symbol of intrinsic evil, as seen through the eyes of poor Billy Chapman (Robert Brian Wilson). Billy, who looks more like a Patriots linebacker than he does Burl Ives, eventually dons the Santa suit and is subsumed by his own dark thoughts. Try as it might to paint him as a sinister figure by making him muscular and shrouding him in shadow, though, he still looks patently absurd. By Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 3: Better Watch Out! (1989), the homicidal maniac of the second installment, Billy’s little brother Ricky,...

It is staggering to think that Sophia Loren has been making movies for 70 years, initially appearing uncredited in such films as 1950’s “Tototarzan” and “Quo Vadis” before becoming a full-fledged star in mentor Vittorio De Sica’s 1954 comedy anthology “The Gold of Naples.” And she became the first performer to win an Oscar for a foreign language film for De Sica’s harrowing World War II drama “Two Women,” which opened in the U.S. in 1961. She received two more Oscar nominations for Italian productions: DeSica’s “Marriage Italian Style” and Ettore Scala’s 1977 “A Special Day.”

After a decade’s hiatus from features, Loren has made a triumphant return to film in her son Edoardo Ponti’s poignant “The Life Ahead,” currently streaming on Netflix. The 86-year-old actress has received some of the strongest reviews of her career and loud Oscar buzz for her performance as an aged prostitute...

by Cláudio Alves

In 1958, Burl Ives won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Some cinephiles would, understandably, assume that the great honor came to him as a reward for his legendary turn as Big Daddy in the silver screen adaptation of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. It wasn't so, however. Burl Ives did indeed win his Oscar for playing the impassioned patriarch of some portentous American clan, but it was for a story set in the arid landscapes of the Far West rather than the humid heat of Mississippi. The winning movie was William Wyler's The Big Country, a sublime epic of its genre whose taste for cruelty is only matched by the lushness of its score. It's not a well-remembered flick despite its quality, and, while great, Ives' supporting turn pales in comparison to what he did as Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof...

Christmas music continued to rule the Rolling Stone Top 100 Songs Chart this week, with holiday fare occupying nine of the Top Ten and 18 of the Top 20 spots on the chart. The biggest holiday song, of course, was — and maybe always will be — Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which racked up an additional 47 million streams in the latest tracking week.

Brenda Lee provided Carey with respectable competition, earning more than 41 million streams on “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” Bobby Helms’ version of “Jingle Bell Rock” also amassed more than 40 million streams.

The big music news of the holiday season has been Mariah Carey‘s long-awaited rise to number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 with her modern standard “All I Want for Christmas is You.” But a rising yuletide lifts all boats. So while Carey spends a second straight week at number-one on the chart dated December 28, she’s not the only one getting a big Christmas bump.

There are actually four holiday songs in the top 10 this week (watch the countdown above). Following right behind Carey in the number-two spot is Brenda Lee‘s classic “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” The 75-year-old singer released the song back in 1958 — like Carey she was in her 20s at the time — and its rise this week means it’s now higher than it has ever been on the chart. If it manages to overtake “All I Want” before the holiday season is over, it would...

Robert Walker Jr., son of actors Robert Walker and Jennifer Jones, died Thursday, his family confirmed to the official website for the television show “Star Trek.” He was 79.

Walker Jr. is best remembered for playing the titular Charlie Evans in the “Star Trek” episode “Charlie X” from the show’s first season in 1966. His character was a teenage social misfit with psychic powers. The episode was written by D.C. Fontana who also died earlier this week.

Walker Jr. also starred in a handful of 1960s pictures including “Ensign Pulver” with Burl Ives and Walter Matthau, and “Young Billy Young.”

He was born in Queens, New York in 1940, by which time his father was just launching his career as an actor. Walker Sr. was of course best known for playing the role of murderous psychopath Bruno Antony in Alfred Hitchcok’s “Strangers on a Train.” The film was released shortly before...

How does Hollywood sell a gritty, realistic western? With a sexy shot of star Tina Louise! Viewers will be surprised: this fine western is a showcase for the elemental ruthlessness we associate with director André de Toth — its convincing snowbound setting is so intense, we can almost feel the cold. Slick writer Philip Yordan sets up an impossible conflict as a blizzard moves in on a tiny town… Robert Ryan must sort out his feelings for the town beauty Tina Louise, as he negotiates with the he-boss of the killer crooks, Burl Ives. It looks as if Ryan has no choice but to volunteer for a suicide journey — but nature has the last word.

Day of the Outlaw

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1959 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 92 min. / Street Date August 27, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Robert Ryan, Burl Ives, Tina Louise, Alan Marshal, Venetia Stevenson, David Nelson, Nehemiah Persoff, Jack Lambert,...

Robert “Bob” Ullman, a longtime Broadway and Off Broadway press agent whose career spanned Ethel Merman, A Chorus Line, Curse of the Starving Class and many others, died of cardiac arrest on July 31 in Bayshore, Long Island, New York. He was 97.

His death was announced by longtime friend (and former Broadway press agent) Rev. Joshua Ellis.

Among the many Broadway productions on which Ullman worked were Ethel Merman and Mary Martin: Together on Broadway, A Chorus Line (from workshop to Public Theater to Broadway), Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in The Visit, Lauren Bacall in Cactus Flower, The Dining Room, Driving Miss Daisy, Sunday in the Park with George, and over 150 additional Broadway and off-Broadway plays and musicals.

Actors and theater greats with whom Ullman worked include Tallulah Bankhead, Luise Rainer, James Dean, Dame Edith Evans, Geraldine Page, Phil Silvers, Bert Lahr, Rosemary Harris, James Earl Jones, Sam Waterston, Colleen Dewhurst,...

William Wyler would’ve celebrated his 117th birthday on July 1, 2019. The three-time Oscar winner crafted several classics during Hollywood’s Golden Age, adapting his style to a wide variety of genres. In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 20 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Born in 1902 in Germany, Wyler immigrated to the U.S. when his cousin, Universal Studios chief Carl Laemmle, hired him as an errand boy. He quickly moved up the ranks, directing shorts during the silent era before transitioning into features. It was with the advent of sound that he hit his stride, displaying an ear for dialogue that would serve him well in lofty literary adaptations produced by his longtime partner, independent mogul Samuel Goldwyn.

SEEBette Davis movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best

Wyler quickly became an Oscar mainstay, earning a record-breaking 12 nominations for Best Director: “Dodsworth...

Tom Jennings, a retired Hollywood talent agent and casting director, was killed in a household fire on Bainbridge Island in Washington State on April 18, his family announced Tuesday. He was 81.

Jennings’ notable clients during his long career included Julian Fellowes, Burl Ives, Lee Van Cleef and Gene Simmons.

Along with partner Walter Beakel, he founded the boutique talent agency Beakel and Jennings in 1976.

Also Read: Peggy Lipton of 'Mod Squad' and 'Twin Peaks' Dies at 72

Born in Evanston, Illinois in 1937, Jennings grew up in Santa Barbara, California, and later attended Hanover College in Indiana before serving in the Marine corps. He began his career in Hollywood in the late 1950s as an agency assistant to Bing Crosby at Artists Agency Corporation, later moving on to General Artists where he assisted Bill Sargent with the cult music series “The Teenage Music International.”

Following his departure from General Artists in the early ’60s,...

Retired Hollywood talent agent and casting director Tom Jennings has died. He was 81.

Jennings lost his life in an accidental house fire on Bainbridge Island in Washington state on April 18, his family said in a statement to Deadline.

According to the Kitsap Sun newspaper, the fire broke out in a condominium unit that Jennings shared with his wife Jill. The fire department later determined the blaze was caused by a candle that set a couch on fire. The Jennings attempted to extinguish the flames but were unsuccessful. Jill made it to safety, but Tom died of a heart attack during the fire.

Before moving to Washington, Jennings had a lengthy career in Hollywood. He represented actors, comedians, and musicians including Julian Fellowes, Burl Ives, Lee Van Cleef, David Carradine, Cheryl Ladd, Marion Ross, Gene Simmons (of Kiss fame), and many others.

Jennings was born in Evanston, Illinois in 1937, and his family moved to Santa Barbara,...

Lady Gaga has leaped into the lead in our combined Gold Derby odds for Best Actress at the Oscars. Her first on-screen feature film role in “A Star Is Born” has 19/5 top odds over more traditional actresses Glenn Close (“The Wife”), Olivia Colman (“The Favourite”), Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”) and Viola Davis (“Widows”). But a win by a music star in an acting category wouldn’t be a first at the Academy Awards.

Two of the all-time greats took home Oscar gold decades ago. Frank Sinatra managed to parlay his huge success as a singer to a pretty solid film career. The results included an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for “From Here to Eternity” in 1953 and a second nomination for “The Man with the Golden Arm” in 1955 as Best Actor.

SEEOscar Best Actor Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History

A few years earlier, crooner Bing...