Influential instead of famous, brilliant in a way for which his medium has little remaining use, Monte Hellman died yesterday at 91. It was heartening, if not a bit surprising all the same, to see my Twitter feed instantly and unanimously alight with praise for the director, whose filmography is often distilled to one sui generis classic and considered an object of intense interest for true believers otherwise.
Whatever that implies, it’s hard to recommend a filmography with less reservation—Hellman’s cinema is immediately identifiable for its vision of rugged, roughshod masculinity, accessible with its use of iconic figures, and (at the risk of underlining this point too sharply) always invigorates in its sense of discovering some well-kept secret.
Some cursory searches reveal a good number readily streaming. So long as you don’t mind the occasional ad break, your first step is Tubi, which hosts his Jack Nicholson...
Whatever that implies, it’s hard to recommend a filmography with less reservation—Hellman’s cinema is immediately identifiable for its vision of rugged, roughshod masculinity, accessible with its use of iconic figures, and (at the risk of underlining this point too sharply) always invigorates in its sense of discovering some well-kept secret.
Some cursory searches reveal a good number readily streaming. So long as you don’t mind the occasional ad break, your first step is Tubi, which hosts his Jack Nicholson...
- 4/21/2021
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Influential director Monte Hellman, whose 1971 film Two-Lane Blacktop starring musicians James Taylor and Dennis Wilson became a counterculture cult classic, died Tuesday. He was 91.
His death at Eisenhower Health hospital in Palm Desert followed a fall at his home, his daughter, producer Melissa Hellman, told The New York Times.
While not as well known as other directors of the New Hollywood of the late ’60s and early ’70s, Hellman was nonetheless influential. His sparse Two-Lane Blacktop , a post-Easy Rider character study about two street racers became a cornerstone among American existentialist road movies.
Hellman worked with the best actors of that New Hollywood generation, including Jack Nicolson and Warren Oates. He made his feature debut like so many other filmmakers of his generation – on a Roger Corman film, in his case called Beast From Haunted Cave.
His death at Eisenhower Health hospital in Palm Desert followed a fall at his home, his daughter, producer Melissa Hellman, told The New York Times.
While not as well known as other directors of the New Hollywood of the late ’60s and early ’70s, Hellman was nonetheless influential. His sparse Two-Lane Blacktop , a post-Easy Rider character study about two street racers became a cornerstone among American existentialist road movies.
Hellman worked with the best actors of that New Hollywood generation, including Jack Nicolson and Warren Oates. He made his feature debut like so many other filmmakers of his generation – on a Roger Corman film, in his case called Beast From Haunted Cave.
- 4/21/2021
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Monte Hellman, the film director who earned a cult following with movies like Two-Lane Blacktop and Ride in the Whirlwind, died Tuesday at Eisenhower Medical Center in Palm Springs, California, after a fall in his home. His daughter, Melissa Hellman, confirmed his death to The Hollywood Reporter. He was 91.
Hellman was well regarded for his genre films, such as his 1964 war drama Back Door to Hell, 1966’s pair of Westerns The Shooting and Ride in the Whirlwind (both starring Jack Nicholson), and the acclaimed road movie Two-Lane Blacktop starring James Taylor and Dennis Wilson.
Hellman was well regarded for his genre films, such as his 1964 war drama Back Door to Hell, 1966’s pair of Westerns The Shooting and Ride in the Whirlwind (both starring Jack Nicholson), and the acclaimed road movie Two-Lane Blacktop starring James Taylor and Dennis Wilson.
- 4/21/2021
- by Claire Shaffer
- Rollingstone.com
Monte Hellman, the maverick director of such films as “Two-Lane Blacktop,” “The Shooting” and “Road to Nowhere,” died April 20 at Eisenhower Medical Center in Palm Desert, Calif., following a fall in his home on April 19. He was 91.
Hellman was a cult director who was widely admired within the industry, earning such fans as Quentin Tarantino; they liked his down-and-dirty storytelling, which featured poetic flourishes amid his genre films.
After working as an editor’s apprentice at ABC, he made his directing debut with the 1959 “Beast From Haunted Cave,” produced by Roger Corman. He became part of the Corman stable of veterans who learned how to get maximum impact on minimum budget. Other Corman alumni include Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard.
Hellman worked with Jack Nicholson in the 1960s, including two films shot back-to-back in the Philippines, “Back Door to Hell” and “Flight to Fury.” Hellman and Nicholson reteamed on two Westerns,...
Hellman was a cult director who was widely admired within the industry, earning such fans as Quentin Tarantino; they liked his down-and-dirty storytelling, which featured poetic flourishes amid his genre films.
After working as an editor’s apprentice at ABC, he made his directing debut with the 1959 “Beast From Haunted Cave,” produced by Roger Corman. He became part of the Corman stable of veterans who learned how to get maximum impact on minimum budget. Other Corman alumni include Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard.
Hellman worked with Jack Nicholson in the 1960s, including two films shot back-to-back in the Philippines, “Back Door to Hell” and “Flight to Fury.” Hellman and Nicholson reteamed on two Westerns,...
- 4/20/2021
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Showtime has ordered the anthology series “Cinema Toast” from creator Jeff Baena and executive producers the Duplass brothers.
The series is described as a post-modernist reinvention of older movies that turns pre-existing imagery from the public domain on its head to tell brand new unique stories. It will feature the voices of actors like Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Fred Armisen, John Early, Christina Ricci, Megan Mullally, Chloe Fineman and Chris Meloni. Directors include Baena, Jay Duplass, Mel Eslyn, Alex Ross Perry, Marta Cunningham, Aubrey Plaza, Numa Perrier, Jordan Firstman, Kris Rey and David Lowery. Showtime has ordered 10 episodes, which will premiere all at once on Showtime on-demand streaming and partner platforms on April 20.
Episodes will cover a range of genres, including horror, comedy, and drama. Plaza’s psychological thriller “Quiet Illness” pieces together footage of Loretta Young to create a portrait of an emotionally tortured modern woman, while Cunningham’s...
The series is described as a post-modernist reinvention of older movies that turns pre-existing imagery from the public domain on its head to tell brand new unique stories. It will feature the voices of actors like Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Fred Armisen, John Early, Christina Ricci, Megan Mullally, Chloe Fineman and Chris Meloni. Directors include Baena, Jay Duplass, Mel Eslyn, Alex Ross Perry, Marta Cunningham, Aubrey Plaza, Numa Perrier, Jordan Firstman, Kris Rey and David Lowery. Showtime has ordered 10 episodes, which will premiere all at once on Showtime on-demand streaming and partner platforms on April 20.
Episodes will cover a range of genres, including horror, comedy, and drama. Plaza’s psychological thriller “Quiet Illness” pieces together footage of Loretta Young to create a portrait of an emotionally tortured modern woman, while Cunningham’s...
- 4/12/2021
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Showtime has ordered a new anthology series, Cinema Toast, created by Jeff Baena (The Little Hours) and produced by the Duplass Brothers (Room 104), set to stream later this month. The series is described as a post-modernist reinvention of older movies that turns pre-existing imagery from the public domain on its head to tell new unique stories. All 10 episodes of Cinema Toast will premiere on Showtime’s on-demand streaming and partner platforms on Tuesday, April 20.
Directors of the series include Baena, Jay Duplass, Mel Eslyn, Alex Ross Perry, Marta Cunningham, Aubrey Plaza, Numa Perrier, Jordan Firstman, Kris Rey and David Lowery. The episodes are voiced by actors including Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Fred Armisen, John Early, Christina Ricci, Megan Mullally, Chloe Fineman and Chris Meloni.
“When the pandemic first hit and all paths to traditional production seemed unlikely at best, I racked my brain to find a way to still create,...
Directors of the series include Baena, Jay Duplass, Mel Eslyn, Alex Ross Perry, Marta Cunningham, Aubrey Plaza, Numa Perrier, Jordan Firstman, Kris Rey and David Lowery. The episodes are voiced by actors including Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Fred Armisen, John Early, Christina Ricci, Megan Mullally, Chloe Fineman and Chris Meloni.
“When the pandemic first hit and all paths to traditional production seemed unlikely at best, I racked my brain to find a way to still create,...
- 4/12/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Film producer Gene Corman, who frequently collaborated with his older brother Roger Corman, died at his home on Sept. 28. He was 93.
Roger Corman confirmed Gene Corman’s passing and said, “My brother was a great man, both as a producer and as a family man.”
Gene Corman was born in Detroit in 1927, 17 months after his brother. In 1940, the family moved from Detroit to Beverly Hills and both attended Beverly Hills High School and Stanford University.
Gene Corman broke into the entertainment business as an agent at McA, where his clients included Joan Crawford, Fred MacMurray, Ray Milland, Harry Belafonte, Richard Conte and Nicholas Ray. He also arranged the distribution deal for Roger Corman’s first film, “Monster From the Ocean Floor,” in 1954.
The brothers first collaborated on the 1958 film “Hot Car Girl,” followed by “Night of the Blood Beast,” “Beast From Haunted Cave,” “Premature Burial,” and “Tower of London.” The...
Roger Corman confirmed Gene Corman’s passing and said, “My brother was a great man, both as a producer and as a family man.”
Gene Corman was born in Detroit in 1927, 17 months after his brother. In 1940, the family moved from Detroit to Beverly Hills and both attended Beverly Hills High School and Stanford University.
Gene Corman broke into the entertainment business as an agent at McA, where his clients included Joan Crawford, Fred MacMurray, Ray Milland, Harry Belafonte, Richard Conte and Nicholas Ray. He also arranged the distribution deal for Roger Corman’s first film, “Monster From the Ocean Floor,” in 1954.
The brothers first collaborated on the 1958 film “Hot Car Girl,” followed by “Night of the Blood Beast,” “Beast From Haunted Cave,” “Premature Burial,” and “Tower of London.” The...
- 10/9/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
All This and World War II! continues at Trailers from Hell, with B-movie legend Roger Corman introducing "Ski Troop Attack." He describes the details of shooting this indie war picture for his non-union production company The Filmgroup on location in snowbound Deadwood, South Dakota. Shot back-to-back with The Beast from Haunted Cave, both from scripts by Corman warhorse Charles B. Griffith.
- 11/20/2013
- by Trailers From Hell
- Thompson on Hollywood
The best thing about Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! is the cover, and to even suggest that it’s a great cover is solely based on the pre-shrunk Sndn branding from the original film combined with an absolute love for the Ive logo at the bottom of the poster/cover box. The content of the film is completely trash. Late 80’s hooey! I’m not gonna be the guy who’s complaining that it is a sequel in name only even if it does follow around poor Bah Humbugged Ricky Caldwell. I mean at least Ricky Caldwell’s back and following the late 80’s psychic saves the day/psychic causes all the problems trope. And yeah, there’s a Santa Claus and he’s a killer and there’s creepy Christmas imagery, so I can see why it has a fan base. This epitomizes how the direct...
- 12/11/2012
- by Jimmy Terror
- The Liberal Dead
Universal Pictures has released a new poster for the upcoming action-thriller, Sanctum, which is being directed by Alister Grierson and James Cameron playing the role as Executive Producer. The film is about an underwater cave diving team that experiences a life-threatening crisis during an expedition to the unexplored and least accessible cave system in the world. Yep, sounds like Cameron would have something to do with a project like this that involves the water. And stars Richard Roxburgh, Rhys Wakefield, Ioan Gruffudd, Alice Parkinson and Dan Wyllie all star in this deep cave action thriller. Sanctum will be released on February 4, 2011 in 3D, 2D and IMAX 3D. Related Posts:Sanctum: New debut 1-sheetSony Releases New Teaser Posters For ‘Priest 3D’Halle Berry To Swim With Sharks In ‘Dark Tide’ THRILLERNeve Campbell & Cox Action In New ‘Scream 4′ ImagesFilm Review: Beast From Haunted Cave (1959)©2010 Horror News.net | Horror Movies, [...]...
- 12/8/2010
- by MEL
- Horror News
As Cinema Retro 'regulars' know, we have occasionally been able to find unpublished or rarely-seen interviews with legendary film personalities and provide them for our readers. In issue #1 of the magazine, Steve Mori provided an unseen interview Steve McQueen from 1968 and in issue #15, Steve did the same with a fascinating 1974 discussion with Lee Marvin. Now contributing writer Kris Gilpin has been kind enough to share with us with a 1988 interview with director Monte Hellman, whose work is revered by some of the great directors of our time. Please keep in mind that the text and events that are discussed in this interview took place in 1988 and have not been amended. (This is part one of a two-part interview.)
Interview With Monte Hellman
By Kris Gilpin
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Born July 12th, 1932 in New York City, writer-director Monte Hellman’s work is miles above typical American...
Interview With Monte Hellman
By Kris Gilpin
72 1024x768 Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
Born July 12th, 1932 in New York City, writer-director Monte Hellman’s work is miles above typical American...
- 12/28/2009
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
I have seen nearly every Christmas movie ever made, but there was one I couldn't wait to see that kept eluding me: Silent Night, Deadly Night III: Better Watch Out! (1989). Why, you're wondering, would I waste my time on this crappy, sub-par horror series whose only claim to fame was irritating a group of parents back in the 1980s? Because this third part of a five-film series was the "comeback" feature for one of the greatest American directors of the 1960s and 1970s. Finally, Lionsgate has released the film on DVD for the first time, in a three-disc box set, no less, that also contains Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990) and Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker (1991, starring Mickey Rooney!). I finally got to see it. But more on that later.
Like Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Jonathan Demme and others, Monte Hellman (born 1932) started working for Roger Corman.
Like Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Jonathan Demme and others, Monte Hellman (born 1932) started working for Roger Corman.
- 12/18/2009
- by Jeffrey M. Anderson
- Cinematical
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