Despite the unseasonably chilly weather, it’s about that time to head to the sandy shores of your choice. If, by chance, you’re unsure of the proper way to enjoy your beach visits, you’re in luck: the beach has proven to be a familiar setting for a Hollywood movie or two. While sometimes used as a place for rambunctious fun and often chosen as the backdrop for romance, the beach is a go-to cinematic spot… Read More
Jaws
The Laughable Hypocrisy of Spielberg and Lucas’ Diatribe Against Blockbusters
At the opening of a new media center at USC Wednesday, the men responsible for six of the 20 highest-grossing movies of all time (eight, adjusted for inflation) issued a stern warning to Hollywood about the scourge of their industry: blockbuster movies. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, who have directed and/or produced Star Wars movies, Indiana Jones movies, Transformers movies, E.T., Jurassic Park, and Jaws, are concerned — very concerned — that it’s getting more and more difficult these days to make “really interesting, deeply personal” movies, because Hollywood would rather invest in big event movies with the potential to turn giant profits. Can you imagine such a thing? … Read More
10 Beloved Summer Blockbusters the Critics Got Dead Wrong
It’s easy to get jaded, in this season of After Earths and Hangover IIIs and Furious 6es, but let’s remember: sometimes big summer blockbusters attain that phenomenal degree of success for a reason. There’s nothing wrong with a good, old-fashioned popcorn movie, and those that do it well deserve our praise. But in researching a recent roundup of favorite summer movies, your film editor was shocked to discover how many presumably beloved modern classics were not, in fact, universally acclaimed. So, as with award winners and cult classics, it’s time for another round of “movies the critics got dead wrong.” … Read More
30 Behind-the-Scenes Monster Movie Photos That Will Blow Your Mind
Because it came out in the ‘90s and now people old enough to remember it are running websites, a lot of Internet ink has been spilled recently over the 20th anniversary of The Sandlot, writer/director David Mikey Evans’s 1993 remembrance of baseball, boyhood friends, and the summer of ’62. But the most interesting discovery of all of this nostalgia bathing was the unveiling of three photos (by Mr. Evans himself) of the elaborate puppets they used to create “The Beast,” the giant English mastiff that terrifies that neighborhood kids. Looking at those images (and you can check them out after the jump), we get a little nostalgic ourselves — for a time when computers weren’t the solution for scaring an audience, leaving artists and puppeteers to create the horrifying creatures of moviedom. Let’s take a look at how it used to be done. … Read More
Awesome Vine Trailers for Modern Classic Movies
As you may or may not have noticed, your Flavorwire didn’t bother covering this week’s maddening, seemingly frame-by-frame unveiling of the trailer for The Wolverine, a movie we’re not all that worked up over to begin with (seriously, didn’t we already do that once?). It was bad enough when we started getting 30-second teasers for movie trailers — an item that is, when you break it down, a commercial for a commercial. But Wolverine director James Mangold went a step further, first putting out a six-second Vine “tweaser” (yep, that’s what he called it), then the teaser, then the trailer, meaning that the Vine was a commercial for a commercial for a commercial and good God make it all stop please. But one good thing did come out of it: trailer editing house Tokyo got the nutty idea of recutting the trailers for eight modern classics into six-second form and posting them on Vine. The results are oddly captivating; check them out after the jump. … Read More
Awesome Storyboards from 15 of Your Favorite Films
With storyboards on our mind lately thanks to their use in both the opening sequence and the climax of Argo, we decided to put together a gallery of our favorites from iconic… Read More
Rare, Behind-the-Scenes Photos from the Making of ‘Jaws’
Titan Books is known for their attractive, film-savvy titles, which is why it’s exciting news that the publisher has released an expanded second edition of Jaws: Memories from Martha’s Vineyard. The release is perfectly timed to Universal’s 100th anniversary Blu-ray that hit stores last month. Fans of the 1975 film — about a massive great white shark who terrorizes beachgoers on a resort island — should be thrilled for more rare, never-before-seen artwork, previously untold stories, and more in Titan’s new, extended edition. Readers are treated to sixteen additional pages of rarities, including additional storyboards from Production Designer Joe Alves, more behind-the-scenes photographs from the private collections of local crew members, and other great content from the making of the groundbreaking film. Hollywood’s first blockbuster, Jaws was filmed on Martha’s Vineyard where hundreds of locals were hired to work as actors and laborers. Amongst the Islanders were professional and amateur photographers who captured the production’s inner operation on a daily basis. Every stage of the film has been chronicled, and the exhaustive collection is a must-have for movie buffs. Read more past the break, and catch a preview of the book before it publishes on September 25. … Read More
10 Movies We’d Love to See in IMAX
Earlier, we reported that in celebration of the upcoming Blu-ray release of the Indiana Jones series, Raiders of the Lost Ark would be making its way to IMAX theaters next month. Steven Spielberg told the New York Times:
“For me, it’s always been the bigger the screen, the better. It’s the only marked contrast we have to the generations that are seeing our movies on phones and hand-held platforms. It’s a complete relief to be able to see a film that many people have just experienced on a palm-sized platform technology, suddenly hurled at that them on an Imax-sized screen.”
A great platform for tentpole actioners and other epics, IMAX’s 72-foot screen and immersive environment makes it a stunning and exciting way to transform older film favorites, allowing audiences to appreciate their craft and consideration once more. The horizontal IMAX 70mm standard is about nine times larger than 35mm and three times bigger than normal 70mm. Keep in mind, we’re not talking about the retrofitted multiplexes where the digital projection is pretty pathetic by comparison. We’re only interested in a true IMAX experience. Since seeing a remastered movie on IMAX’s large-scale canvas conveys a tremendous sense of scope, enhances details and sound, and can be a hell of a lot of fun, we made a list of other movies we want to see. Click through to check out a few of our picks, then head to the comments to share yours. … Read More
The Movies We Never Get Tired of Watching
As part of its year-long commemoration of 100 years making movies, Universal is releasing Jaws in a terrific new Blu-ray edition today, to which we say: about time. For us, Jaws is one of those special movies that, no matter how many times you see it, never gets old; it’s not just that it’s a great movie (though it is), since there are plenty of great movies that don’t scream out for repeat viewings. (Dancer in the Dark was one of our favorite films of 2000, for example, but we can’t imagine subjecting ourselves to it again.) It’s that there are certain movies that only grow richer with return visits, or whose pleasures seem inexplicable inured to the diminishing glow of repetition. After the jump, some thoughts on Jaws and a few other movies that we just can’t stop watching. … Read More
What’s On at Flavorpill: The Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office
Today at Flavorpill, we looked at photos chronicling the Space Shuttle Program. We got to know Brooklyn band Prince Rama, who will be performing at DUMBO Summer Friday. We wondered who would buy a five-pound replica of fat, square watermelon, and other weird stuff. We sang “Baby Got Back”… Read More
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