In the 1960s, there were few cameramen who shared Nicolas Roeg’s ability to render sirenic, jittery sensuality at 24 frames per second—and this was an era whose dominant culture arguably cracked open and redefined the sensual palate. Even more impressively, Roeg’s gift often manifested itself most lucidly while serving the orgiastic gimmicks of Roger Corman’s The Masque of the Red Mask and the bucolic splendor of John Schlesinger’s Far from the Madding Crowd with the guarded glee of a merry prankster spiking a corporate water cooler with LSD.
But it’s not just that Roeg successfully snuck timely art into the mise-en-scène of those and other studio-centric films, it’s that he seemed incapable of recording anything but subtle art within whatever limitations his aspect ratio enforced. And so while Walkabout may have been his proper directorial debut, it’s far more significantly his final cinematographic statement.
But it’s not just that Roeg successfully snuck timely art into the mise-en-scène of those and other studio-centric films, it’s that he seemed incapable of recording anything but subtle art within whatever limitations his aspect ratio enforced. And so while Walkabout may have been his proper directorial debut, it’s far more significantly his final cinematographic statement.
- 9/20/2023
- by Joseph Jon Lanthier
- Slant Magazine
End-of-the-world Sci-fi went mainstream with a heavy message about human extinction in John Paxton’s all-star adaptation of Nevil Shute’s best seller. Always controversial and often derided as ‘glamorous obliteration chic,’ Stanley Kramer’s film plays better than ever. The possibility of Nuke Doom could be ignored back then, but we’ve since gained a more apocalyptic outlook. It’s got fine work from Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner and Fred Astaire, and only real Australians wince at the iffy accents. It’s also Kramer’s best-judged, best-directed movie overall. [Imprint’s] special edition includes an entire separate documentary feature, Fallout.
On the Beach
Blu-ray
Plus the full feature Fallout
Viavision [Imprint] #147
1959 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 134 min. / Street Date August 30, 2022 / Available from [Imprint] / au 69.95
Starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, Anthony Perkins, Donna Anderson, John Tate, Harp McQuire, Lola Brooks, Guy Doleman, John Meillon, Paddy Moran.
Cinematography Giuseppe Rotunno
Film Editor...
On the Beach
Blu-ray
Plus the full feature Fallout
Viavision [Imprint] #147
1959 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 134 min. / Street Date August 30, 2022 / Available from [Imprint] / au 69.95
Starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, Anthony Perkins, Donna Anderson, John Tate, Harp McQuire, Lola Brooks, Guy Doleman, John Meillon, Paddy Moran.
Cinematography Giuseppe Rotunno
Film Editor...
- 9/6/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Sir Carol Reed takes on a movie about insurance fraud in sunny Spain — with a great trio of actors for 1963. Laurence Harvey scams an insurance company and looks forward to continuing to beat the system in a happy life of chicanery; Lee Remick finds her affections turning to Alan Bates, an insurance man who might also be on vacation, or might have come to uncover Harvey’s crime. How does Harvey hide out while waiting for the big payoff in Málaga? He buys a huge white convertible too big to fit through the streets!
The Running Man
Blu-ray
Arrow Academy
1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 103 min. / Street Date June 18, 2019 / 39.95
Starring: Laurence Harvey, Lee Remick, Alan Bates, Felix Aylmer, Allan Cuthbertson, Noel Purcell, Ramsay Ames, Fernando Rey, Eddie Byrne, John Meillon, Roger Delgado.
Cinematography: Robert Krasker
Film Editor: Bert Bates
Original Music: William Alwyn
Continuity: Angela Allen
Written by John Mortimer from the...
The Running Man
Blu-ray
Arrow Academy
1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 103 min. / Street Date June 18, 2019 / 39.95
Starring: Laurence Harvey, Lee Remick, Alan Bates, Felix Aylmer, Allan Cuthbertson, Noel Purcell, Ramsay Ames, Fernando Rey, Eddie Byrne, John Meillon, Roger Delgado.
Cinematography: Robert Krasker
Film Editor: Bert Bates
Original Music: William Alwyn
Continuity: Angela Allen
Written by John Mortimer from the...
- 6/11/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Forget the ‘famous book’ doldrums — this exciting seagoing drama will take your head off. Criminally unseen and unheralded, Allied Artists’ classic is an impressive feat by director-co-screenwriter and star Peter Ustinov. It introduced Terence Stamp and provided Robert Ryan with a deserved career highlight.
Billy Budd
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1962 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 123 min. / Street Date January 3, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Robert Ryan, Peter Ustinov, Melvyn Douglas, Paul Rogers, John Neville, David McCallum, Ronald Lewis, Robert Brown, John Meillon, Niall MacGinnis, Terence Stamp.
Cinematography: Robert Krasker
Film Editor: Jack Harris
Original Music: Antony Hopkins
Written by Peter Ustinov, DeWitt Bodeen from the play by Louis O. Coxe, Robert H. Chapman from the novel Billy Budd, Foretopman by Herman Melville
Produced by A. Ronald Lubin, Peter Ustinov
Directed by Peter Ustinov
Talk about a book that works like gangbusters… When Warners’ first DVD came out in 2007 I found out...
Billy Budd
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1962 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 123 min. / Street Date January 3, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Robert Ryan, Peter Ustinov, Melvyn Douglas, Paul Rogers, John Neville, David McCallum, Ronald Lewis, Robert Brown, John Meillon, Niall MacGinnis, Terence Stamp.
Cinematography: Robert Krasker
Film Editor: Jack Harris
Original Music: Antony Hopkins
Written by Peter Ustinov, DeWitt Bodeen from the play by Louis O. Coxe, Robert H. Chapman from the novel Billy Budd, Foretopman by Herman Melville
Produced by A. Ronald Lubin, Peter Ustinov
Directed by Peter Ustinov
Talk about a book that works like gangbusters… When Warners’ first DVD came out in 2007 I found out...
- 7/14/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
A new full trailer has been released for the wonderfully entertaining fake Crocodile Dundee sequel, Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home. The trailer introduces us to the fully loaded impressive cast which includes Danny McBride, Chris Hemsworth, Hugh Jackman, Margot Robbie, Russell Crowe, Isla Fisher, Ruby Rose, Liam Hemsworth, Jessica Mauboy and Luke Bracey.
The marketing behind this elaborate Crocodile Dundee Super Bowl ad for Australian Tourism is bloody brilliant! It sucks that this isn't a real movie, but it's still extremely entertaining! I know I've enjoyed everything that I've seen from it so far!
Crocodile Dundee is back. Well, actually, he’s missing in the Outback. And the only person who might be able to find him is the loudmouthed American son no one knew he had. Introducing Danny McBride as Brian Dundee. This son of a legend is forced to channel his Aussie roots as he...
The marketing behind this elaborate Crocodile Dundee Super Bowl ad for Australian Tourism is bloody brilliant! It sucks that this isn't a real movie, but it's still extremely entertaining! I know I've enjoyed everything that I've seen from it so far!
Crocodile Dundee is back. Well, actually, he’s missing in the Outback. And the only person who might be able to find him is the loudmouthed American son no one knew he had. Introducing Danny McBride as Brian Dundee. This son of a legend is forced to channel his Aussie roots as he...
- 1/30/2018
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
The teasing of this fake Crocodile Dundee sequel continues! This time, with Hugh Jackman! The actor recently shared a video showing of his character and it came with the note, "You didn’t really think they’d bring back Dundee ... without me, did you?! #DundeeMovie".
Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home, has been confirmed to be a big Super Bowl commercial created for Australian tourism. The project also includes Danny McBride, Chris Hemsworth, and Paul Hogan.
Crocodile Dundee is back. Well, actually, he’s missing in the Outback. And the only person who might be able to find him is the loudmouthed American son no one knew he had. Introducing Danny McBride as Brian Dundee. This son of a legend is forced to channel his Aussie roots as he embarks on the ultimate adventure in the land down under. It’s time to live up to the family name.
Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home, has been confirmed to be a big Super Bowl commercial created for Australian tourism. The project also includes Danny McBride, Chris Hemsworth, and Paul Hogan.
Crocodile Dundee is back. Well, actually, he’s missing in the Outback. And the only person who might be able to find him is the loudmouthed American son no one knew he had. Introducing Danny McBride as Brian Dundee. This son of a legend is forced to channel his Aussie roots as he embarks on the ultimate adventure in the land down under. It’s time to live up to the family name.
- 1/27/2018
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Author: Zehra Phelan
Is this for real or not? We haven’t got a clue. But, for now, it looks like Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth, has joined Danny McBride in the ‘film’, Dundee.
Last week, we were treated to a teaser trailer featuring comedian McBride as Brian Dundee, the long-lost American son of Mick Dundee (Paul Hogan). In the newest trailer, Hemsworth show’s up as Wally Jr. – the son of John Meillon’s Walter ‘Wally’ Reilly and Mick’s oldest friend in the original films – waiting to pick up ‘Dundee’ and can’t quite believe his eyes.
Hemsworth’s character is described as the heir to his father’s outback tour company: “This expert outdoorsman prides himself on knowing all the is to know about the land down under. But even he will have his hands full keeping his new American friend out of trouble.”
The film is said...
Is this for real or not? We haven’t got a clue. But, for now, it looks like Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth, has joined Danny McBride in the ‘film’, Dundee.
Last week, we were treated to a teaser trailer featuring comedian McBride as Brian Dundee, the long-lost American son of Mick Dundee (Paul Hogan). In the newest trailer, Hemsworth show’s up as Wally Jr. – the son of John Meillon’s Walter ‘Wally’ Reilly and Mick’s oldest friend in the original films – waiting to pick up ‘Dundee’ and can’t quite believe his eyes.
Hemsworth’s character is described as the heir to his father’s outback tour company: “This expert outdoorsman prides himself on knowing all the is to know about the land down under. But even he will have his hands full keeping his new American friend out of trouble.”
The film is said...
- 1/23/2018
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Ted Kotcheff's Wake in Fright (1971)
Network Ten has commissioned a new adaptation of Wake In Fright, Kenneth Cook.s classic Australian novel.
Wake In Fright is the story of John Grant, a young school teacher who descends into his own personal nightmare after being stranded in the small outback mining town of Bundanyabba.
Cook.s novel also birthed Ted Kotcheff's iconic 1971 film, which starred Donald Pleasance, Chips Rafferty, Jack Thompson, John Meillon and Gary Bond.
Ten.s two-part series will be produced by Lingo Pictures in association with Endemol Shine Australia, with the assistance of Screen Australia and Screen Nsw.
The news follows on from Foxtel.s announcement earlier this week that it plans to adapt the iconic Picnic at Hanging Rock into a six-part series.
Network Ten head of drama Rick Maier said there are few Australian stories as original or compelling as Wake in Fright.
.Kenneth Cook.s novel,...
Network Ten has commissioned a new adaptation of Wake In Fright, Kenneth Cook.s classic Australian novel.
Wake In Fright is the story of John Grant, a young school teacher who descends into his own personal nightmare after being stranded in the small outback mining town of Bundanyabba.
Cook.s novel also birthed Ted Kotcheff's iconic 1971 film, which starred Donald Pleasance, Chips Rafferty, Jack Thompson, John Meillon and Gary Bond.
Ten.s two-part series will be produced by Lingo Pictures in association with Endemol Shine Australia, with the assistance of Screen Australia and Screen Nsw.
The news follows on from Foxtel.s announcement earlier this week that it plans to adapt the iconic Picnic at Hanging Rock into a six-part series.
Network Ten head of drama Rick Maier said there are few Australian stories as original or compelling as Wake in Fright.
.Kenneth Cook.s novel,...
- 9/8/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Casting is underway for The Daughter, a movie which theatre director Simon Stone is adapting from his radical re-imagining of Henrik Ibsen.s The Wild Duck.
Producers Jan Chapman and Nicole O.Donohue are collaborating with Stone, who made his screen debut directing Robyn Nevin, Richard Roxburgh and Cate Blanchett in a segment of Tim Winton.s The Turning.
Shooting is due to start in September. Screen Nsw funded development of the project. Scripted by Stone and Chris Ryan "after Ibsen," the stage production of his 1884 play is set in contemporary rural Australia.
The Belvoir production had rave reviews, typified by Fairfax Media.s Cameron Woodhead who said, .Go see this production of The Wild Duck. Theatre of such delicacy and distillation is vanishingly rare. The ensemble performance is magnificent, the writing effortlessly overheard, the design possesses a chiselled power, and the direction confirms Simon Stone as one of our...
Producers Jan Chapman and Nicole O.Donohue are collaborating with Stone, who made his screen debut directing Robyn Nevin, Richard Roxburgh and Cate Blanchett in a segment of Tim Winton.s The Turning.
Shooting is due to start in September. Screen Nsw funded development of the project. Scripted by Stone and Chris Ryan "after Ibsen," the stage production of his 1884 play is set in contemporary rural Australia.
The Belvoir production had rave reviews, typified by Fairfax Media.s Cameron Woodhead who said, .Go see this production of The Wild Duck. Theatre of such delicacy and distillation is vanishingly rare. The ensemble performance is magnificent, the writing effortlessly overheard, the design possesses a chiselled power, and the direction confirms Simon Stone as one of our...
- 7/15/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Stars: Donald Pleasence, Gary Bond, Chips Rafferty, Sylvia Kay, Jack Thompson, Peter Whittle, Al Thomas, John Meillon, John Armstrong | Written by Evan Jones | Directed by Ted Kotcheff
John Grant (Gary Bond) is a bonded school teacher who finds himself teaching in the outback. When travelling back to Sydney he stays overnight in the mining town of Bundanyabba where the lure of gambling and alcohol soon traps him in a nightmare. Seemingly trapped in his own hell Grant clings to the hopes of Sydney while his life spirals to a point so low that the only escape may be the one bullet he has left in his rifle.
At the start of Wake in Fright John Grant is an educated man who looks at his current situation as a form of slavery to the system, being a bonded teacher means that he has to work wherever he is put, and the...
John Grant (Gary Bond) is a bonded school teacher who finds himself teaching in the outback. When travelling back to Sydney he stays overnight in the mining town of Bundanyabba where the lure of gambling and alcohol soon traps him in a nightmare. Seemingly trapped in his own hell Grant clings to the hopes of Sydney while his life spirals to a point so low that the only escape may be the one bullet he has left in his rifle.
At the start of Wake in Fright John Grant is an educated man who looks at his current situation as a form of slavery to the system, being a bonded teacher means that he has to work wherever he is put, and the...
- 3/26/2014
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
Miscasting in films has always been a problem. A producer hires an actor thinking that he or she is perfect for a movie role only to find the opposite is true. Other times a star is hired for his box office draw but ruins an otherwise good movie because he looks completely out of place.
There have been many humdinger miscastings. You only have to laugh at John Wayne’s Genghis Khan (with Mongol moustache and gun-belt) in The Conqueror (1956), giggle at Marlon Brando’s woeful upper class twang as Fletcher Christian in Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) and cringe at Dick Van Dyke’s misbegotten cockney accent in Mary Poppins (1964). But as hilarious as these miscastings are, producers at the time didn’t think the same way, until after the event. At least they add a bit of camp value to a mediocre or downright awful movie.
In rare cases,...
There have been many humdinger miscastings. You only have to laugh at John Wayne’s Genghis Khan (with Mongol moustache and gun-belt) in The Conqueror (1956), giggle at Marlon Brando’s woeful upper class twang as Fletcher Christian in Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) and cringe at Dick Van Dyke’s misbegotten cockney accent in Mary Poppins (1964). But as hilarious as these miscastings are, producers at the time didn’t think the same way, until after the event. At least they add a bit of camp value to a mediocre or downright awful movie.
In rare cases,...
- 1/24/2014
- Shadowlocked
Wake of Fright Trailer, Poster. Ted Kotcheff‘s Wake of Fright (1971) remastered re-release movie trailer, movie poster stars Donald Pleasence, Gary Bond, Chips Rafferty, Jack Thompson, and John Meillon. Wake of Fright‘s plot synopsis: “Alongside Max Max and Walkabout, Wake In Fright is widely acknowledged as one of the seminal films [...]
Continue reading: Wake In Fright (1971) Movie Trailer, Poster: Ted Kotcheff, Gary Bond...
Continue reading: Wake In Fright (1971) Movie Trailer, Poster: Ted Kotcheff, Gary Bond...
- 9/18/2012
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
An Australian director best known for working on Neighbours, Home and Away and A Country Practice has passed away.
Bob Meillon directed over 140 episodes of Neighbours through the 1990s and into 2001. He died peacefully early on Sunday 3 June. He was 69 years old.
Alan Fletcher, who plays Dr Karl Kennedy in Neighbours, told Encore: “Bob was a wonderful person to be in the company with, and share a red wine. One of the great characters of the TV industry. At Neighbours he was shooting three-camera studio television as well as on location. He had the ability to edit what he was shooting in his head. He’d only shoot what he knew he would use. He was a very efficient director stylistically.”
Fletcher continued: “As an actor you could go and move where you wanted and he would sit and calmly cover it, as if nothing was difficult for him.”
Meillon...
Bob Meillon directed over 140 episodes of Neighbours through the 1990s and into 2001. He died peacefully early on Sunday 3 June. He was 69 years old.
Alan Fletcher, who plays Dr Karl Kennedy in Neighbours, told Encore: “Bob was a wonderful person to be in the company with, and share a red wine. One of the great characters of the TV industry. At Neighbours he was shooting three-camera studio television as well as on location. He had the ability to edit what he was shooting in his head. He’d only shoot what he knew he would use. He was a very efficient director stylistically.”
Fletcher continued: “As an actor you could go and move where you wanted and he would sit and calmly cover it, as if nothing was difficult for him.”
Meillon...
- 6/5/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Nicholas Roeg's directorial debut Walkabout (1971) is one of those films that one could justifiably write either briefly or at great length about. The script, an adaptation of James Vance Marshall's novel, was rumored to have been between 14 and 60 pages and can be effectively summarized in three sentences. After their father (John Meillon) commits suicide during a trip to the Australian outback, a young woman (Jenny Agutter) and her younger brother (Luc Roeg, the director's son) face the harsh, foreign, environment alone. While struggling to find their way back to Sydney, they meet a young Aboriginal boy (David Gulpilil) who helps them survive by hunting and providing water. As the trio gets closer and closer to civilization, their relationships to one another begin to shift, producing life-altering consequences.
That, in a nutshell, is the plot the film. That said, given Nic Roeg's previous background as a famous cinematographer...
That, in a nutshell, is the plot the film. That said, given Nic Roeg's previous background as a famous cinematographer...
- 8/3/2010
- by Drew Morton
You can’t beat late night television to catch some of the oddities of the film world. Series’ like Moviedrome and Mondo Macabro presented some weird and wonderful films, but sheer scheduling alone would bring the occasional strange delight our way. The only bonus of insomnia was that I’d never miss these films when they were on and it’s how I got into loving film, the veritable B-movie banquet that was the early hours So, here are my choices of five late night TV gems:
Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark (1973) Now you see them, now you don’t…now you die
Be afraid, be very afraid in this very effective made-for-tv movie which has already made an entry in fistinface’s ‘Five: TV Movies Not About Eating Disorders’. I love cheesy TV movies but this is the rare thing of a darker, more original film and...
Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark (1973) Now you see them, now you don’t…now you die
Be afraid, be very afraid in this very effective made-for-tv movie which has already made an entry in fistinface’s ‘Five: TV Movies Not About Eating Disorders’. I love cheesy TV movies but this is the rare thing of a darker, more original film and...
- 3/4/2009
- by Fiona
- Latemag.com/film
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