News

Krull will be released on SteelBook 4K Uhd + Blu-ray + Digital on September 16 from Sony.

The 1983 sci-fi fantasy adventure has been newly restored in 4K from the original camera negative, approved by cinematographer Peter Suschitzky, with Dolby Vision Hdr.

Disc 1 – 4K Uhd:

New 4K Restoration from the Original Camera Negative, Approved by Cinematographer Peter Suschitzky Dolby Vision/Hdr Presentation of the Film Dolby Atmos, English 5.1, and English 2-Channel Surround audio options

Disc 2 – Blu-ray:

New 4K Restoration from the Original Camera Negative, Approved by Cinematographer Peter Suschitzky English 5.1 and English 2-Channel Surround audio options Audio Commentary by Director Peter Yates, Actors Ken Marshall and Lysette Anthony, and Editor Ray Lovejoy Behind-the-Scenes Commentary Journey to Krull Featurette Theatrical Trailer

The cult classic is directed by Peter Yates (Bullitt) and written by Stanford Sherman (The Ice Pirates). James Horner composed the score.

Ken Marshall, Lysette Anthony, Freddie Jones, Francesca Annis, and Alun Armstrong star.

Synopsis

In this fantasy-adventure, set in a world peopled by creatures of myth and magic, a prince embarks on a quest to find the magical Glaive and then rescue his young bride. Colwyn (Ken Marshall) is the leader of a mythical sword-and-sorcery group in pursuit of “the Beast” that has kidnapped his fiancée, Lyssa (Lysette Anthony).

Disc Details & Bonus Materials

4K Ultra HD Disc

• Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision, restored from the original camera negative and approved by Cinematographer Peter Suschitzky.

• English Dolby Atmos + English 5.1 + English 2-Channel Surround

Blu-ray Disc

• Feature presented in HD resolution, sourced from the 4K master

• English 5.1 & 2-Channel Surround

• Special Features:

o Audio Commentary with Director Peter Yates, Actors Ken Marshall & Lysette Anthony, and Editor Ray Lovejoy

o Behind-the-Scenes Commentary

o “Journey to Krull” Featurette

o Theatrical Trailer

Cast And Crew

Directed By: Peter Yates

Produced By: Ron Silverman

Executive Producer: Ted Mann...

We may have gotten to know him as a chef, but Anthony Bourdain became known and beloved as a kind of lover of life. Through shows like "No Reservations" and "Parts Unknown," Bourdain met with all manner of interesting people, shared his frank and insightful observations, and yes, ate a lot of great food.

Bourdain struck me as a guy who wanted to know a little about a lot, and he wanted to curate the best version of every experience on the table -- and that includes film. Heck, he called "Ratatouille" the best food movie ever made, so you know he's got cinematic taste.

Before every celebrity made a stop at the Criterion Closet as part of their publicity tour, Bourdain contributed a top 10 list to the Criterion Collection in 2011, listing his 10 favorite films available from the boutique home media label. Bourdain's list, like all of our favorites, is revealing of what he likes,...

Widely considered to be not only one of the best crime and gangster movies of all time but one of the greatest pieces of American cinema ever made, Francis Ford Coppolla's adaptation of The Godfatherremains one of the most revered movies in the history of the medium. Nominated for ten Academy Awards and winning three, including one for Best Picture, the film tops many fans' lists as the best movie of all time.

With such a perfect movie in the crime and gangster film subgenre, it is hard for even the best contenders in the same category to measure up. But some gangster films are so good that they come close to being as good as The Godfather, reminding audiences why the tragic stories of organized crime and its affects on the world around it can be one of the most compelling subjects for a movie.

Killers of the Flower Moon...

Universal is shifting its untitled Steven Spielberg event film away from “Avengers: Doomsday” and “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” and straight into the “Scary Movie” reboot’s territory. The untitled Spielberg movie was originally set for a May 15, 2026 theatrical release; the film will now wait nearly another month, releasing wide on Friday, June 12, 2026.

The shift is not all about Spielberg, IndieWire has learned. The June slot was previously occupied by another untiled Universal event film, that one directed by Daniels Kwan and Scheinert. The Daniels film is now undated, but a new release date will be announced shortly. It has a script, a person with knowledge of the situation told IndieWire, but needs a little more time. Internally, the Spielberg shift is being looked at as a win-win for both films.

It’s not like there is no competition set for Spielberg’s new date — it’s just now less of a crossover with potential movie-goers.

In the late 1960s, Paramount Pictures was getting a young-gun makeover with upstart producer Robert Evans taking the reins of the struggling studio. With the New Hollywood movement exploding thanks to provocations like "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Easy Rider," Evans was keen to hire exciting young filmmakers to apply their unique talents to the day's bestsellers. When he hit critical and commercial paydirt with Roman Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby," he turned his attention to another hot novel owned by the studio, one that had the potential to revitalize the gangster film.

Author Mario Puzo hadn't even finished "The Godfather" when Paramount executive Peter Bart offered him $115,000 for the manuscript. His instincts proved spot-on. Within two years of its 1969 publication, "The Godfather" had become a phenomenon, selling in the neighborhood of nine million copies. A feature film adaptation was inevitable. All Evans and Bart had to do was find the right...

The 1960s changed the thriller genre in big ways. It was a decade of new ideas when filmmakers broke all the rules and went into uncharted territory. Both cinema and the world were changing quickly. The rise of counterculture, political unrest, and a thirsty audience for darker stories forced thrillers of the 1960s to change. In this era, suspense wasn’t just about a good story; it was also about breaking rules, playing with the audience’s mind, and using technology to make them feel like they were in the middle of the action.

Take a look at the original nature of “Psycho” (1960), a film that made the concept of “shock” cinema famous. “Peeping Tom” (1960) took voyeurism and psychological horror to places most filmmakers were afraid to go.

Let’s not forget the revolutionary change in thrillers brought on by adding political drama and paranoia in films like “The Manchurian Candidate...

In 1971, Clint Eastwood became the standard-bearer for the new wave of action-thriller movies thanks to his role as "Dirty Harry" Callahan. Telling the story of a tough San Francisco detective who takes on a serial killer, the movie's success spawned four sequels and showed the actor was more than just a Western hero. In the decades since, the archetype laid down by Harry has become the norm in the genre, with its influence echoing across film and television.

Having been so influential in the genre, Dirty Harry has plenty of competition, including movies made years before that paved the way for Eastwood's success. Fans of the no-nonsense '70s detective are always on the lookout for similar films -- and luckily there's no shortage of options. From gritty private detective movies to fast-paced police films, cinema has an array of hardboiled crime-fighting stories perfect for the typical Clint Eastwood fan.

After a one-week theatrical window, Doug Liman’s recent reteaming with “Bourne Identity” collaborator Matt Damon, “The Instigators,” which was also co-written by and co-stars Casey Affleck, is set to debut on Apple TV+ this Friday, August 9. In addition to Damon and Affleck, the film also features performances from Hong Chau, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alfred Molina, Ving Rhames, Jack Harlow, Ron Perlman, Toby Jones, and Paul Walter Hauser, a cast that will no doubt earn at least a few streams despite middling to negative reviews, including IndieWire’s, which calls the film, “Flimsy in most respects but fun enough in its fumbling.”

No matter what you think of “The Instigators,” it is obvious the intention behind the film is to tell a heist story more focused on human flaw than it is on claiming any riches. Simply put, if you’re coming in expecting “Heat” or “Ocean’s 11,” expect to be disappointed.

Nineteen forty-seven was a crucial year for Robert Mitchum’s rising star. The enduring popular classic, of course, is Jacques Tourneur’s seminal Out of the Past, and he headlined Edward Dmytryk’s Oscar-nominated prestige thriller Crossfire. It’s in Raoul Walsh’s noirish, Freudian western Pursued, though, that we see Mitchum crossing the divide between what Hollywood expected of the young man and the godlike figure they got in return.

The performance is a total menu of Mitchum’s various modes: an uneven mix of the young, beefy neurotic with a few too many shirt buttons undone; the high-riding titan who would star in Charles Laughton’s The Night of the Hunter; and the varnished-oak elder statesman who still has a few moves left in him, in Dick Richards’s Farewell, My Lovely and Peter Yates’s The Friends of Eddie Coyle. But it’s an unevenness that’s...

How now, what news: the Criterion Channel’s July lineup is here. Eight pop renditions of Shakespeare are on the docket: from movies you forgot were inspired by the Bard (Abel Ferrara’s China Girl) to ones you’d wish to forget altogether (Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing), with maybe my single favorite interpretation (Michael Almereyda’s Hamlet) alongside Paul Mazursky, Gus Van Sant, Baz Luhrmann, Derek Jarman, and (of course) Kenneth Branagh. A neonoir collection arrives four months ahead of Noirvember: two Ellroy adaptations, two from De Palma that are not his neonoir Ellroy adaptation, two from the Coen brothers (i.e. the chance to see a DVD-stranded The Man Who Wasn’t There in HD), and––finally––a Michael Winner picture given Criterion’s seal of approval.

Columbia screwballs run between classics to lesser-seens while Nicolas Roeg and Heisei-era Godzilla face off. A Times Square collection brings The Gods of Times Square,...

There was perhaps no more underrated actor throughout the 1970s than Robert Redford. Although he was never lacking for good roles, he wasn't often thought to be in the same league as his contemporaries. His stunning good looks made him seem more like a product of the Old Hollywood studio system, out of place in the more naturalistic New Hollywood. He was rarely given credit for the ways in which he subverted his pretty boy image, as he did in films as varied as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the Presidents Men, or The Electric Horseman. One of the most underappreciated examples of this was in Peter Yates 1972 heist comedy The Hot Rock.

Universal Pictures has dated an “untitled event film” directed by Steven Spielberg for a wide release on Friday, May 15, 2026. The story will be by Spielberg and the screenplay by his frequent collaborator David Koepp. Kristie Macosko Krieger will produce.

While no further details were shared at present, Variety reported last month that Spielberg’s next project will “likely” be “a UFO film based on his own original idea” and written by Koepp. The May 2026 release is Spielberg’s original idea as written by Koepp, and a Spielberg UFO film would surely be an event film.

When reached by IndieWire, a spokesperson for Universal Pictures declined comment on the UFO detail.

Of course, most Spielberg films are event films, with many written by Koepp, including: “Jurassic Park,” “The Lost World: Jurassic Park,” “War of the Worlds” (a UFO film!), and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” Combined, those...

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.

Today we talk about the movie star. The person who if you looked up “movie star” in the dictionary there would be a picture of him. Robert Redford!

Today we talk the esteemed career of the quintessential movie star. Our B-Sides include: The Hot Rock, The Great Waldo Pepper, Havana, and The Last Castle. Our guest today is Blake Howard, podcast producer, host, and really good guy. Check out One Heat Minute Productions for everything new and relevant in Blake’s world.

We discuss a million things, from why The Hot Rock is so hard to find, to the airplane stunts in The Great Waldo Pepper, to why Havana doesn’t work. There’s an investigation into...

Inspector Dave Toschi needs a night off. After years of chasing the so-called Zodiac Killer, Toschi thought he had found his man, only for his captain to shoot him down, citing insufficient evidence to make an arrest. At the movie theater later on, the picture Toschi watches with his wife doesn’t make him feel any better. It’s Dirty Harry, the 1971 movie in which Clint Eastwood‘s Inspector Harry Callahan does battle with a killer called Scorpio.

Frustrated by what he’s seeing, Toschi heads to the lobby for a smoke. As viewers shuffle out after him, one remarks, “Dave, that Harry Callahan did a hell of a job with your case.”

“Yeah, no need for due process, right?” Toschi responds sarcastically to indicate his frustration.

Or, at least that’s how it went in the movies. Specifically, the film Zodiac, written by James Vanderbilt and directed by David Fincher,...

Oscar-winning screenwriter Eric Roth produced a script for a Cher biopic – but the star has rejected the screenplay. More here.

If we go all the way back to May of 2021, it was reported that Cher had given the idea of a biopic of her life story the go ahead. It was being set up at Universal Pictures, and was being produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman, along with Cher. Craymer and Goetzman had produced Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, in which Cher has a memorable cameo.

At that point it was announced that Cher’s “dear dear friend”, screenwriter Eric Roth, had been recruited to pen the screenplay. That’s the Eric Roth who won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Forrest Gump, and who recently matched the record for penning the most films nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award.

Eric Roth is also the latest guest on the Film Stories podcast,...

Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2023, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.

In all honesty, the films of 2023 should take a backseat to the images we are seeing every day in Gaza, where journalists and average citizens have been recording and documenting a daily assault on their homes and livelihoods by the Idf. Whatever fakery we watched and enjoyed in the cinema this year should always be kept in perspective in importance with images that are real and actually happening right now. The Palestinians who have documented these important images have been targeted and killed with intent and purpose to silence what their photos and videos are showing and saying.

List of journalists who have been killed.

The below is of lesser note:

Best First Watches:

Angel’s Egg La belle noiseuse Centipede Horror Charley Varrick Coffy Crimson Gold...

Toby Yates, a film editor in Hollywood for 40 years and the son of Oscar-nominated director-producer Peter Yates, has died. He was 61.

Yates died Nov. 17 in Los Angeles after a stroke, his family announced.

Yates was a frequent collaborator with director Karen Moncrieff, editing her first feature, Blue Car (2002), followed by The Dead Girl (2006) and The Trials of Cate McCall (2013).

He also cut The Moon and the Stars (2007) for director John Irvin — he received a best editor prize at the Milano International Film Festival for that — and The Midnight Meat Train (2008) and No One Lives (2012) for director Ryûhei Kitamura.

Most recently, he edited Brave the Dark (2023), directed by Damian Harris.

Toby Robert Quentin Yates was born on Sept. 18, 1962, in London and raised there and in New York City. He studied filmmaking and editing while in high school, working as an apprentice editor and later assistant editor under Roy Lovejoy (2001: A Space Odyssey,...

Victor J. Kemper, the former president of the American Society of Cinematographers whose career spanned four decades and included films as diverse as Dog Day Afternoon and Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, has died according to the ASC. He was 96.

Kemper made films with many of the greats of ’70s cinema, including John Cassavetes, Arthur Hiller, Michael Ritchie, Peter Yates, Sidney Lumet, George Roy Hill, Robert Wise, Carl Reiner, Richard Attenborough and Norman Jewison.

His very first film was Cassavetes’ Husbands, and it was an education in itself.

“We shot more than a million-and-a-half feet of film during 10 weeks in New York and 12 weeks in London,” Kemper recalled. “That’s the way Cassavetes worked.”

He went on to make Mikey & Nicky with the director.

Subsequent work included The Candidate, And Justice for All, Audrey Rose, Slap Shot, Oh God!, The Gambler, The Jerk, The Four Seasons, Coma, Mr. Mom, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure,...

Victor J. Kemper, the veteran cinematographer who shot more than 50 features, including Dog Day Afternoon, Eyes of Laura Mars, The Jerk and Slap Shot, has died. He was 96.

Kemper died Monday of natural causes in Sherman Oaks, his son, Steven Kemper, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Kemper earned his inaugural D.P. credit on Husbands (1970), written and directed by John Cassavetes, then shot Elia Kazan’s final feature, The Last Tycoon (1976) and Tim Burton’s first, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985).

Kemper also did six films for director Arthur Hiller — The Tiger Makes Out (1967), The Hospital (1971), Author! Author! (1982), The Lonely Guy (1984), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) and Married to It (1991) — and three in a row for Carl Reiner: Oh God! (1977), The One and Only (1978) and The Jerk (1979).

The New Jersey native said he had to wear ice skates when he photographed the hockey scenes in George Roy Hill’s Slap Shot (1977) and...

When Barbra Streisand’s “Yentl” opened on Nov. 18, 1983, directing was very much a man’s world. In the 1970s, there had been a few inroads for women. Italian director Lina Wertmuller was nominated for best director for 1976’s “Seven Beauties” Stateside, actress Barbara Loden, who was married to Oscar-winning director Elia Kazan, wrote, directed and starred in the acclaimed 1970 indie drama “Wanda,” which won best foreign film at the Venice Film Festival. She never followed up with another movie and died of breast cancer in 1980.

There was also Joan Micklin Silver (“Hester Street”), Claudia Weill (“Girlfriends”), Martha Coolidge (“Not a Pretty Picture”), Joan Tewkesbury (“Old Boyfriends”) and Joan Darling (“First Love”). But those filmmakers ran into brick walls when they tried to set up projects with the major studios. The late Silver told Vanity Fair in 2021 that a studio executive didn’t mince his word: “Feature films are expensive to make and expensive to market,...

When you consider the evidence, the 1970s was the greatest crime movie period since the 1930s. Maybe it’s because of the grim film stock, but those 10 years were so filled with the criminal element even a highly-rated political journalism feature like All the President’s Men (1976) is really an investigation into indictable acts. The decade is defined by Francis Ford Coppola’s first two The Godfather movies, but those tell the story of the dons who live in compounds on Long Island. Most illicit infractions are committed on the street, and so many fall between the cracks.

Crime and gangster movies historically and consistently break boundaries in motion picture art. This is especially true when independent filmmakers muscle their way in packing something heavy. The 1970s was an experimental decade for motion pictures with wildly varied visions behind the lens. Some of these films were considered old-fashioned, others have proven...

Heist films can trace their cinematic lineage back to the earliest days of film history. Edwin S. Porter's iconic silent film The Great Train Robbery, released in 1903, features several elements that are now commonplace in the heist genre.

By the late 1940s, movies such as The Killers and Criss Cross began shaping the structure of what heist films would become. In 1950, the heist genre entered the mainstream with the release of John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle, a movie many critics consider the first official heist film. Since 1950, the heist film has emerged as one of the most popular subgenres of crime movies.

Related: 10 Best Whodunit Movies

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Quentin Tarantino burst onto the American independent film scene with the release of his ultraviolent, profanity-laced heist movie Reservoir Dogs. The film tells the story of a group of jewel thieves who commit a robbery that goes horribly wrong. Reservoir Dogs...

Imitation is supposedly the greatest form of flattery, although the fact Louis Vuitton famously sue counterfeiters perhaps attests otherwise. In the film world, the word “remake” is one that can often find itself in precarious territory. From Brian de Palma’s Scarface, and 1969’s True Grit, to John Carpenter’s The Thing, many a feature has enjoyed a cinematic rebirth, a fresh take, that from a different perspective can give a movie a new lease of life. While there have been many films that have, by all intents and purposes, outdone their predecessor where remakes, sequels, and spin-offs are concerned, is there a point that we draw a line in the sand and deem certain movies untouchable?

In this day and age, where everything has a price, there is no room for sentimentality, and in the case of Peter Yates’ seminal action flick, Bullitt, the film many credit for being...

Steve McQueen didn't become the epitome of Hollywood cool by playing it safe. Having survived a rough childhood, during which he was beaten repeatedly by his stepfather, McQueen discovered the twin passions of acting and motor racing. The former brought him celebrity, while the latter gave him an air of recklessness. He raced cars and motorcycles all over the world, and won his share of trophies. And as is part of the deal when you slam the pedal to the medal, he endured his share of crashes.

When McQueen hit the big time as a movie star, his need for speed became a headache for studios and movie producers. When he wasn't on set, he was liable to get behind the wheel of a Porsche 908 or hop on a Bsa Hornet, and roar off into the horizon. This was his right as a free man, but he didn't make movies for free; indeed,...

Click here to read the full article.

Albert Brenner, the innovative production designer, art director and five-time Oscar nominee whose work was admired in films from Fail Safe, Bullitt and Point Blank to The Sunshine Boys, The Turning Point and Backdraft, has died. He was 96.

Brenner died Thursday in his sleep at his home in Los Angeles, his family announced.

The Brooklyn native started his career dressing mannequins for window displays and worked on such TV shows as Car 54, Where Are You? before progressing to a much larger canvas — designing the five-acre New York Street backlot for Paramount in Hollywood after the original was destroyed by fire in August 1983.

Across his 50-plus-year career, Brenner collaborated on eight features with director Garry Marshall, seven with Herbert Ross, five with Peter Hyams, three with Sidney Lumet and two with Robert Mulligan. Comedies, sci-fi flicks, Westerns, period pieces — he did them all.

Of...

Bradley Cooper has been added to the cast of Steven Spielberg’s take on the action thriller ‘Bullitt.’

The original feature based on the character of Frank Bullitt, the no-nonsense San Francisco cop played by Steve McQueen in the 1968, the latest version of the film is yet to see the plot details revealed, the forthcoming production is expected to follow Bullitt on an entirely different exploit than the McQueen originals.

Cooper will produce the still-untitled movie with Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger. McQueen’s son Chad McQueen and granddaughter Molly McQueen will executive produce.

Also in news – Keanu Reeves & Ian McShane set to return in John Wick spin-off ‘Ballerina’

The original movie was based on the 1963 novel ‘Mute Witness’ and starred McQueen in his most notable role, he portrayed a detective who investigates the death of a mob informant he was hired to protect. Peter Yates directed the project. The...

Actor Bradley Cooper has been cast as the lead in Steven Spielberg's upcoming Bullitt movie. Based on the 1963 Robert L. Fish novel, Mute Witness, the Peter Yates directed film starred legendary actor Steve McQueen as Detective Frank Bullitt who hunts down a mob kingpin that killed a key witness. Although the film was critically-acclaimed upon its initial release, Bullitt's legacy has continued to grow in the following decades as the movie contains arguably one of the greatest car chases in the history of cinema. At nearly 11 minutes total, the chase featured the titular character in his iconic green Ford Mustang rip through the streets of San Francisco as he relentlessly pursued his suspects. With a focus on realism, McQueen took the wheel in many of the action-sequence's shots to help create a scene that is regarded as a template for all future car chases. The complexity of the...

Actor Bradley Cooper is set to star in filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s upcoming film, an original feature based on the character of Frank Bullitt, the no-nonsense San Francisco cop played by Steve McQueen in the 1968 action-thriller ‘Bullitt’.

Josh Singer is writing the screenplay for the film, which is currently in development at Warner Bros.

Though plot details haven’t been revealed, the forthcoming production is expected to follow Bullitt on an entirely different exploit than the McQueen original’s, reports Variety.

Warner Bros released the original ‘Bullitt’, which was directed by Peter Yates and based on the 1963 novel ‘Mute Witness’.

In what became McQueen’s most notable role, he portrayed a detective who investigates the death of a mob informant he was hired to protect. The movie is famous for including one of the most iconic and exciting car chases in cinema history with McQueen doing his own stunts in a modified Ford Mustang.

One of the greatest filmmakers of all time, one of the best actors of our generation, and one of the most thrilling action/thrillers the genre has ever given us? Yeah, you could say we're excited for this news.

We knew that the living legend Steven Spielberg had his sights set on putting his own stamp on the 1968 classic "Bullitt," starring Steve McQueen and featuring one of the most heralded car chase sequences ever put to film. At the time, the untitled film had yet to feature a completed screenplay, a main lead, or even a distributor. Most of those somewhat crucial elements are still unconfirmed, but we at least have a better idea of who Spielberg is intent on casting to fill the unfillable shoes of the action star McQueen. No pressure or anything!

According to Deadline, Bradley Cooper has been personally handpicked to play the role of Frank Bullitt,...

Steven Spielberg has found his Bullitt. Bradley Cooper has been cast in the director’s upcoming original film about Frank Bullitt, the character made famous from the 1968 Steven McQueen thriller.

Based on the 1963 novel “Mute Witness” by Robert L. Fish, the original “Bullitt” starred the late McQueen as the title character, a San Francisco Police Department lieutenant seeking to take down Chicago mobster Johnny Ross (Pat Renella). Spielberg will direct the new Warner Bros. film, which will not be a remake of the original movie by Peter Yates, instead telling a completely original story starring Bullitt. Sources close to the project confirmed the news to IndieWire.

Cooper will join Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger as producers on the film — the three also serve as producers on Cooper’s upcoming feature “Maestro,” about the life of Leonard Bernstein. That film, currently in post-production, is set to release on Netflix in 2023. Oscar-winning...

Bradley Cooper is set to star in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming film, an original feature based on the character of Frank Bullitt, the no-nonsense San Francisco cop played by Steve McQueen in the 1968 action-thriller “Bullitt.”

Josh Singer is writing the screenplay for the film, which is currently in development at Warner Bros. Though plot details haven’t been revealed, the forthcoming production is expected to follow Bullitt on an entirely different exploit than the McQueen original’s.

Warner Bros. released the original “Bullitt,” which was directed by Peter Yates and based on the 1963 novel “Mute Witness.” In what became McQueen’s most notable role, he portrayed a detective who investigates the death of a mob informant he was hired to protect. The movie is famous for including one of the most iconic and exciting car chases in cinema history with McQueen doing his own stunts in a modified Ford Mustang.

Peter Yates’ excellent war-movie follow-up to Bullitt landed in the wrong year: the beautifully produced and directed action thriller was barely seen in America. Royal Navy mechanic Peter O’Toole swears vengeance on the U-Boat commander who sunk his ship and murdered its entire crew. Locals in a Caribbean backwater help him to strike back: he must first teach himself to fly an airplane. With support from Horst Janson, Sian Phillips and the great Philippe Noiret, it’s a wartime suspense nail-biter with a little manic obsession thrown in as well. Indicator’s extras feature the great editor-director John Glen, who relates the exciting story of the filming on location in Venezuela.

Murphy’s War

Region B Blu-ray

Powerhouse Indicator

1971 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 107 min. / Limited Edition / Street Date May 30, 2022 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £19.99

Starring: Peter O’Toole, Sian Phillips, Philippe Noiret, Horst Janson, John Hallam, Ingo Mogendorf.

Cinematography: Douglas Slocombe...

On March 24, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the premiere of The Godfather. It was nominated for 11 Oscars, won three, and changed cinema forever. The film, which never uses the word “mafia” or the phrase “cosa nostra,” is renowned as the premiere gangster film of all time, and is more than occasionally called the greatest movie of all time. Yet its follow-up, The Godfather, Part II, is often ranked higher. This has more to do with filmmaking than with crime.

Paramount Pictures released a 4K Ultra HD edition of The Godfather Trilogy on March 22. The scope of the Corleone family saga is the story of 20th Century America. Over the course of the three films, Francis Ford Coppola delivers a multigenerational tale of corruption, vengeance, and family duty. The Godfather elevated mob movies to high art, paving the way for the street-level gangsters of Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets and Goodfellas,...

William Hurt, an Oscar winner for Kiss of the Spider Woman who often played a quiet intellectual in his early acting roles but later took more strident turns in science fiction and Marvel films, died today, a week before his 72nd birthday.

William Hurt’s son, Will, posted today that his father has died. It was announced in May 2018 that the elder Hurt had terminal prostate cancer that had spread to the bone.

William Hurt Remembered As A Giant Talent By His Peers In The Acting Community

“It is with great sadness that the Hurt family mourns the passing of William Hurt, beloved father and Oscar winning actor, on March 13, 2022, one week before his 72nd birthday,” his son wrote. “He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes. The family requests privacy at this time.”

Hurt had three consecutive Best Actor Academy Award nominations in the mid-1980s for Kiss of the Spider Woman...

After the success of his “West Side Story” remake, Steven Spielberg is continuing to mine the canon of 1960s cinema for inspiration. According to a new report from Deadline, the Oscar winner is attached to direct an action film based on “Bullitt,” the 1968 film starring Steve McQueen. Rather than a remake, the project is reportedly a new original story featuring the character of Frank Bullitt, originally played by McQueen.

“Spotlight” scribe Josh Singer is set to write the script, and Steve McQueen’s son Chad and granddaughter Molly McQueen will board the film as executive producers. Spielberg has been eyeing the project for years, but drawn-out negotiations with the McQueen estate over the character have caused him to prioritize other films. However, it appears that the two sides have reached an agreement and are ready to move forward with the film.

The original “Bullitt,” directed by Peter Yates, stars McQueen...

Coming off of one of his best films this century this far, his new take on West Side Story, Steven Spielberg’s next film is already in the can, The Fablemans, which draws from his real-life upbringing and will open this Thanksgiving. Always a director with more than one project on his mind, he’s now lined up another film.

Deadline reports he’s attached to direct a new film for Warner Bros. based on Steve McQueen’s character of Frank Bullitt from Peter Yates 1968 film Bullitt. With that film based on the 1963 novel Mute Witness, it followed a San Francisco cop, Bullitt, who was protecting a witness who gets killed by the mob, so he investigates. Scripted by Josh Singer, the film won’t be a remake, however, but a new story featuring the character.

Although Spielberg tends to move fast, this likely won’t be his next film...

Steven Spielberg is developing an original feature film based on the character of Frank Bullitt, the San Francisco cop first played by Steve McQueen in the 1968 thriller “Bullitt.”

Josh Singer is set to write the screenplay, with regular Spielberg collaborator Kristie Macosko Krieger on board to produce with the director. McQueen’s son Chad McQueen and granddaughter Molly McQueen are executive producing after a lengthy negotiation process with the McQueen estate to secure the rights to the character.

Warner Bros., which released the 1968 “Bullitt,” will be the studio for Spielberg’s new film, which is not a remake, but an original story about the character, arguably McQueen’s most iconic role. The 1968 “Bullitt,” based on the 1963 novel “Mute Witness,” follows Bullitt’s investigation into the death of a mob informant that he was tasked with protecting. Directed by Peter Yates (“Breaking Away”), “Bullitt” features one of the most memorable car...

To the public, Alec Baldwin’s Colt .45 stands as a symbol of perhaps criminal incompetence, but to insiders it also represents a pathetic epitaph to that mythic genre, the “indie” movie.

The indie Western already was in dire straits because of lack of funding and distribution until Baldwin came along as both star and producer of Rust – a sort of Dennis Hopper of the 2020s. The film was under-budgeted at $7 million on a 21-day shooting schedule. Its crew was rebellious, inexperienced and seemingly oblivious to the protocols governing movie weaponry.

Besides all this, no one seemed to be running the show among the usual cluster of producers and executive producers (including Baldwin’s manager).

By contrast, indie producers traditionally were proud to take their bows. Upon completing Easy Rider, Hopper once boasted proudly that his film crew was essentially “a dysfunctional family.” The dysfunction worked for him in the ’60s...

As 2021 mercifully winds down, the Criterion Channel have a (November) lineup that marks one of their most diverse selections in some time—films by the new masters Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Garrett Bradley, Dan Sallitt’s Fourteen (one of 2020’s best films) couched in a fantastic retrospective, and Criterion editions of old favorites.

Fourteen is featured in “Between Us Girls: Bonds Between Women,” which also includes Céline and Julie, The Virgin Suicides, and Yvonne Rainer’s Privilege. Of equal note are Criterion editions for Ghost World, Night of the Hunter, and (just in time for del Toro’s spin) Nightmare Alley—all stacked releases in their own right.

See the full list of October titles below and more on the Criterion Channel.

300 Nassau, Marina Lameiro, 2015

5 Card Stud, Henry Hathaway, 1968

Alone, Garrett Bradley, 2017

Álvaro, Daniel Wilson, Elizabeth Warren, Alexandra Lazarowich, and Chloe Zimmerman, 2015

America, Garrett Bradley, 2019

Angel Face, Otto Preminger, 1953

Angels Wear White,...

Bucking the trends for ’80s crime films, Neil Jordan’s tale of a low-rung hood attached to a ‘complicated’ call girl becomes a love story about meaningful relationships. Sort of the ‘anti- Travis Bickle,’ Bob Hoskins’ low-class mug discovers emotions and an ability to commit that could even be called Chivalric. Michael Caine chills as an all-too real villain, the boss that doesn’t think Hoskins worthy of a straight answer. Topping it off, cinematographer Roger Pratt makes this possibly the best-looking British crime film in color.

Mona Lisa

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 107

1986 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 104 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September 14, 2021 / 39.95

Starring: Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Caine, Clarke Peters, Sammi Davis, Kate Hardie, Zoe Nathenson.

Cinematography: Roger Pratt

Production Designer: Jamie Leonard

Costume Designer: Louise Frogley

Film Editor: Lesley Walker

Original Music: Michael Kamen

Written by Neil Jordan, David Leland

Produced by Patrick Cassavetti,...

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Need new books to add to your reading list? Quentin Tarantino has a few recommendations for you. The director, screenwriter, producer, and author shared his literary picks during an interview with “The Bigger Picture” podcast late last month to promote his debut novel, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”

Besides speaking in depth about what it took to pen his first novel, and revealing plans for a potential book version of “Reservoir Dogs,” Tarantino discussed the art of film novelizations, before listing a few books that inspired his work.

Regardless of whether you’re a fan of Tarantino’s movies, diving into a good book is the kind of fun summer activity that...

While the summer movie season will kick off shortly––and we’ll be sharing a comprehensive preview on the arthouse, foreign, indie, and (few) studio films worth checking out––on the streaming side, The Criterion Channel and Mubi have unveiled their May 2021 lineups and there’s a treasure trove of highlights to dive into.

Timed with Satyajit Ray’s centenary, The Criterion Channel will have a retrospective of the Indian master, along with series on Gena Rowlands, Robert Ryan, Mitchell Leisen, Michael Almereyda, Josephine Decker, and more. In terms of recent releases, they’ll also feature Fire Will Come, The Booksellers, and the new restoration of Tom Noonan’s directorial debut What Happened Was….

On Mubi, in anticipation of Undine, they’ll feature two essential early features by Christian Petzold, Jerichow and The State That I Am In, along with his 1990 short documentary Süden. Also amongst the lineup is Sophy Romvari’s Still Processing,...

When the 25th Art Directors Guild Awards are handed out during today’s virtual ceremony, Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to production designer Stuart Wurtzel, concept artist John Eaves, scenic artist Patrick DeGreve, and set designer Martha Johnston. And Ryan Murphy will receive the Guild’s Cinematic Imagery Award during the virtual event, which begins with a pre-show at 3 p.m. Pt followed by the ceremony at 4 p.m. Pt.

Wurtzel’s credits include Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters, for which he received an Oscar nomination; and three Peter Yates films including Suspect, The House on Carroll Street and An ...

When the 25th Art Directors Guild Awards are handed out during today’s virtual ceremony, Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to production designer Stuart Wurtzel, concept artist John Eaves, scenic artist Patrick DeGreve, and set designer Martha Johnston. And Ryan Murphy will receive the Guild’s Cinematic Imagery Award during the virtual event, which begins with a pre-show at 3 p.m. Pt followed by the ceremony at 4 p.m. Pt.

Wurtzel’s credits include Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters, for which he received an Oscar nomination; and three Peter Yates films including Suspect, The House on Carroll Street and An ...

Above: US 30" x 40" poster for The Black Bird. Art by Drew Struzan.As you might be able to tell from the name-above-the-title tagline above, George Segal, who died last month at the age of 87, was a big deal in the 1970s. By the ’90s, when I started getting into the films of both Segal and his one-time co-star and fellow traveler Elliott Gould, both of these New York-born Jewish superstars of the ’70s had been reduced to playing sitcom fathers on TV: Gould in Friends and Segal in Just Shoot Me. (And by the 2010s Segal was best known as a sitcom grandfather on The Goldbergs.) But Segal’s films in particular have not survived well in the public memory, perhaps because he devoted his career mostly to comedy and a kind of dark, sophisticated relationship comedy at that. California Split, the film he made with Gould for Robert Altman...

Production designer Stuart Wurtzel will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 25th annual Art Directors Guild Awards, the guild announced today.

The award comes in recognition of the “exceptional spectrum” of designs Wurtzel has created for film, TV and theater over the course of six decades.

“From…Hannah and Her Sisters to his iconic evocation of New York during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s in Angels in America, Stuart Wurtzel’s contribution to the art of Production Design stands alone,” said Mark Worthington, Art Directors Council Chair.

An Academy Award nominee and Emmy winner, Wurtzel has collaborated throughout his storied career with prominent directors, ranging from Peter Yates to Woody Allen. On the TV side, he recently designed Showtime’s The Loudest Voice, along with HBO’s Divorce.

Additional credits include Enchanted, Stepmom, Hair, Mermaids, Romeo Is Bleeding, Three Men and a Little Lady, Old Gringo,...

Production designer Stuart Wurtzel–best known for his work on Hannah and Her Sisters and Angels in America–will receive the Art Directors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award during the 25th Adg Awards, which will be presented during a virtual ceremony on April 10.

Wurtzel received an Oscar nomination for his work on Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters, following his design of Allen’s Purple Rose of Cairo. He was the production designer on three Peter Yates films: Suspect, The House on Carroll Street and An Innocent Man. For HBO, he worked on titles include Mike Nichols’ Wit, starring Emma Thompson, and Angels ...

Production designer Stuart Wurtzel–best known for his work on Hannah and Her Sisters and Angels in America–will receive the Art Directors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award during the 25th Adg Awards, which will be presented during a virtual ceremony on April 10.

Wurtzel received an Oscar nomination for his work on Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters, following his design of Allen’s Purple Rose of Cairo. He was the production designer on three Peter Yates films: Suspect, The House on Carroll Street and An Innocent Man. For HBO, he worked on titles include Mike Nichols’ Wit, starring Emma Thompson, and Angels ...

Peter Benchley’s follow-up to Jaws is a treasure hunt thriller starring Robert Shaw and filmed in the pearly waters off Bermuda. The exciting underwater scenes boosted the careers of Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset but the memory that stuck in the minds of millions was a particular wardrobe decision for Bisset’s siren of the deep. Who needs Spanish gold and a fortune in lost morphine? This import disc features a commentary by actress Illeana Douglas.

The Deep

Blu-ray

Viavision [Imprint] 28

1977 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 123 min. / Street Date December 30, 2020 / Available from Viavision / 34.95

Starring: Robert Shaw, Jacqueline Bisset, Nick Nolte, Louis Gossett, Eli Wallach, Robert Tessier.

Cinematography: Christopher Challis

Underwater Director: Al Giddings

Film Editor: David Berlatsky

Original Music: John Barry

Written by Tracy Keenan Wynn, Peter Benchley from his novel

Produced by Peter Guber

Directed by Peter Yates

After a couple of early 1970s shows that became enormous blockbusters —Love Story,...