News

Barbara Leigh-Hunt, who appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy, dozens of other films and TV and on West End and Broadway stages, has died. She was 88.

Her family said today that she died September 16 at her home in Warwickshire, England, but did not give the cause.

Barry Foster and Barbara Leigh-Hunt in ‘Frenzy’

Leigh-Hunt was best known in the U.S. for her key role in Hitchcock’s penultimate thriller Frenzy (1972). She played Brenda Blaney, who is brutally raped and killed by the notorious “Necktie Murderer” in London. She was the ex-wife of Richard Blaney (Jon Finch), who is suspected of the crime that actually was committed by his friend Bob Rusk (Barry Foster), to whom he turns unwittingly for help.

“I was invited out to Pinewood Studios to speak with Hitch for about half an hour,” she told the BBC in a 2017. “To me he was a cinematic god,...

Barbara Leigh-Hunt, the Olivier Award-winning actress who portrayed one of the victims of Barry Foster’s Necktie Murderer in Alfred Hitchcock’s penultimate film, Frenzy, has died. She was 88.

Leigh-Hunt died peacefully Sept. 16 at her home in Warwickshire, England, her family announced.

The British star also was known for her performance as Lady Catherine de Bourgh in the acclaimed 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.

During her seven-decade career, Leigh-Hunt appeared for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, in the West End and on Broadway. She received her Olivier in 1993 for her turn as Sybil Birling in an Nt revival of J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls, directed by Stephen Daldry.

In Frenzy (1972), filmed in London, Leigh-Hunt portrayed Brenda Blaney, the ex-wife of a struggling former Raf squadron leader (Jon Finch), who police at first think is the serial killer on the loose.

The master of suspense is finally getting a 4K restoration for his final film.

Alfred Hitchcock’s “Frenzy,” which was also his sole R-rated feature, is being released at the Film Forum to celebrate its restoration. “Frenzy” stars Jon Finch, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, and Barry Foster; the feature is an adaptation of novel “Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square,” released by Arthur La Bern in 1966. “Sleuth” playwright Anthony Shaffer adapted the book for Hitchcock’s 1972 film, which was Hitchcock’s second to last feature.

“Frenzy” follows a down-on-his-luck ex-Royal Air Force officer (Finch) who is on the run amid accusations of being The Necktie Strangler after his ex-wife is found dead. “Frenzy” is billed as Hitchcock’s penultimate film, and his first feature made in London after thirty years.

The official logline teases that “Frenzy” is Hitchcock’s “return to fiendish form and his most salacious, sordid picture.”

Hitchcock worked with Stanley Kubrick...

To celebrate Studiocanal’s brand new 4K restoration of King and Country available in the UK for the first time ever on Blu-ray & Digital and on a new DVD 6th November, we’re giving away a Blu-Ray copy!

Studiocanal is thrilled to announce a brand new 4k restoration of British anti-war classic King And Country (1964) from esteemed American director Joseph Losey (The Servant), available in time for Remembrance Day on Blu-Ray & Digital for the first time ever in the UK, plus a new DVD on 6th November, through the Vintage Classics brand. The new restoration of King And Country recently premiered at Venice Film Festival to great acclaim.

Returning for another stellar collaboration with director Joseph Losey is revered British actor Dirk Bogarde (The Servant), seen here as Captain Hargreaves, a tough army lawyer assigned to defend army volunteer-turned-deserter Private Hamp, played by the brilliant Tom Courtenay (Billy Liar), whose...

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

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection: Volume 3 4K Uhd Box Set from Universal

Five more Alfred Hitchcock movies are coming to 4K Ultra HD: Rope, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Torn Curtain, Topaz, and Frenzy. They’ll be available both individually ($19.99) and together in the third volume of The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection box set ($69.98) on October 31 via Universal.

1948’s Rope stars James Stewart, John Dall, and Farley Granger. 1956’s The Man Who Knew Too Much stars James Stewart and Doris Day. 1966’s Torn Curtain stars Paul Newman and Julie Andrews. 1969’s Topaz stars Frederick Stafford, Dany Robin, and John Forsythe. 1972’s Frenzy stars Jon Finch, Alec McCowen, and Barry Foster.

All five thrillers have...

Powell & Pressburger’s big-scale historical epic is perhaps the best show ever about an old-school naval encounter between battleships. The first half depicts the showdown between England and Germany in the South Atlantic, and the second half a tense diplomatic game in the neutral country of Uruguay. Peter Finch, Bernard Lee and Anthony Quayle shine as sea captains.

Panzerschiff Graf Spee (The Battle of the River Plate)

Region B Blu-ray

ITV Studios Home Entertainment (Germany)

1956 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 119, 106 117 min./ Pursuit of the Graf Spee / Street Date 2010 / Available from Amazon UK £16.90

Starring: Peter Finch, Bernard Lee, Anthony Quayle, John Gregson, Ian Hunter, Jack Gwillim, Lionel Murton, Anthony Bushell, Peter Illing, Michael Goodliffe, Patrick Macnee, Christopher Lee.

Cinematography: Christopher Challis

Production Design: Arthur Lawson

Film Editor: Reginald Mills

Original Music: Brian Easdale

Written, Produced & Directed by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressberger

The best way so far to see the impressive The Battle of the River Plate...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, and Tom Stockman

Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo screens at St. Louis’ fabulous Hi-Pointe Theater this weekend as part of their Classic Film Series. It’s Saturday, March 11th at 10:30am at the Hi-Pointe located at 1005 McCausland Ave., St. Louis, Mo 63117. The film will be introduced by Harry Hamm, movie reviewer for Kmox. Admission is only $5

This gives us a perfect excuse to re-run this top ten list so here, according to We Are Movie Geeks, are Alfred Hitchcock’s ten best films:

Frenzy

Frenzy, Hitchcock’s next to last feature film from 1972, represented a homecoming of sorts since it was the first film completely shot in his native England since his silents and early ” talkies ” in the 1930’s. By dipping into the then somewhat new territory of serial killers, he took full advantage of the new cinema freedoms and truly earned his ‘ R ‘ MPAA rating.

Glenda Jackson: Actress and former Labour MP. Two-time Oscar winner and former Labour MP Glenda Jackson returns to acting Two-time Best Actress Academy Award winner Glenda Jackson set aside her acting career after becoming a Labour Party MP in 1992. Four years ago, Jackson, who represented the Greater London constituency of Hampstead and Highgate, announced that she would stand down the 2015 general election – which, somewhat controversially, was won by right-wing prime minister David Cameron's Conservative party.[1] The silver lining: following a two-decade-plus break, Glenda Jackson is returning to acting. Now, Jackson isn't – for the time being – returning to acting in front of the camera. The 79-year-old is to be featured in the Radio 4 series Emile Zola: Blood, Sex and Money, described on their website as a “mash-up” adaptation of 20 Emile Zola novels collectively known as "Les Rougon-Macquart."[2] Part 1 of the three-part Radio 4 series will be broadcast daily during an...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, and Tom Stockman

The Birds screens at Schlafly Bottleworks (7260 Southwest Ave.- at Manchester – Maplewood, Mo 63143) Thursday, April 2nd at 7pm. It is a benefit for Helping Kids Together (more details about this event can be found Here)

This gives us a perfect excuse to re-run this top ten list from March of 2012. Alfred Hitchcock directed 54 feature films between 1925 and 1976, and here, according to We Are Movie Geeks, are his ten best:

Frenzy

Frenzy, Hitchcock’s next to last feature film from 1972, represented a homecoming of sorts since it was the first film completely shot in his native England since his silents and early ” talkies ” in the 1930’s. By dipping into the then somewhat new territory of serial killers, he took full advantage of the new cinema freedoms and truly earned his ‘ R ‘ MPAA rating. Perhaps ole’ ” Hitch ” wanted to give those young up-and-coming...

Feature Alex Westthorp 16 Apr 2014 - 07:00

Alex's trek through the film roles of actors who've played the Doctor reaches Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy...

Read the previous part in this series, Doctor Who: the film careers of Patrick Troughton and Tom Baker, here.

In March 1981, as he made his Doctor Who debut, Peter Davison was already one the best known faces on British television. Not only was he the star of both a BBC and an ITV sitcom - Sink Or Swim and Holding The Fort - but as the young and slightly reckless Tristan Farnon in All Creatures Great And Small, about the often humorous cases of Yorkshire vet James Herriot and his colleagues, he had cemented his stardom. The part led, indirectly, to his casting as the venerable Time Lord.

The recently installed Doctor Who producer, John Nathan-Turner, had been the Production Unit Manager on...

Stage and screen actor best known for his roles in Only Fools and Horses, The Vicar of Dibley and Harry Potter

The talented and idiosyncratic character actor Roger Lloyd Pack, who has died of pancreatic cancer aged 69, achieved national recognition, and huge popularity, as Colin "Trigger" Ball, the lugubrious Peckham road sweeper in John Sullivan's brilliantly acted comedy series Only Fools and Horses. He appeared alongside David Jason's Del Boy and Nicholas Lyndhurst's "plonker" Rodney from 1981 for 10 years, with many a seasonal "special" for another decade.

This success cemented a career in which, up to that point, he had played important roles at the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre and the Almeida theatre in north London – he was a notably anguished Rosmer in Ibsen's Rosmersholm at the National in 1987, opposite Suzanne Bertish – without recognition any wider than usually appreciative reviews.

His enhanced status led to another...

Frenzy

Written by Anthony Shaffer

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

UK, 1972

Family Plot

Written by Ernest Lehman

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

USA, 1976

There are some who opt for Alfred Hitchcock’s British years as his finest, taking into account his earliest silent features through Jamaica Inn in 1939. On the other hand, many regard the peak years in America as the Master of Suspense’s finest era, with films from Rebecca in 1940 to Marnie in 1964. Both have valid points to make and there are unquestionably several great works during each phase of the filmmaker’s career. Few, however, would rank Hitchcock’s final four films among his best. In a way, this is unfair, their lowly stature no doubt due to the masterworks that preceded them; with the films Hitchcock made before, the bar was set unassailably high. Taken apart from the imposing excellence of these earlier classics, these concluding films are solid movies.

Chicago – As much as our love for Netflix continues to grow on a daily basis as the company expands its grip on the streaming empire by offering brilliant programming like “Orange is the New Black” and “House of Cards,” the interface, both on computer and iOS can be a little overwhelming. How do you find something worth watching?

Some of the personalized recommendations are good. Some are horrendous. Let us be your guide. On the first Tuesday of every month (and likely more often as the library of this service continues to grow), we’ll give you ten interesting movies to add to your queue. We’ll shoot for a mix of new and old, a variety of genres, major films and minor ones — the “something for everyone” aspect that Netflix uses so well. We’ll be brief — ten movies, ten Netflix descriptions, our brief reasons as to why these flicks made the cut,...

By Allen Gardner

Killer Joe (Lionsgate) William Friedkin’s film of Tracy Letts’ off-Broadway hit about a family of Texas trailer park cretins (Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Thomas Haden Church, Gina Gershon) who hire a cop-cum-hitman (Matthew McConaughey) to take out their troublesome mother, then foolishly cross him, is a stinging satire, given double-barreled audacity by Friedkin’s sure, and fearless, directorial hand. Earning its Nc-17 rating in spades, “Killer Joe” reminds us that daring, frank material like this is why movies exist in the first place. McConaughey gives the performance of his career, hopefully redefined after this. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Featurettes; Commentary by Friendkin; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.

The Dark Knight Rises (Warner Bros.) Christopher Nolan’s coda to his “Batman” trilogy finds Christian Bale returning as a brooding Bruce Wayne/Caped Crusader, this time faced with a hulking villain (Tom Hardy) with respiratory...

Outstanding Blu-ray presentations of two all-action classics, featuring the best of British are available to purchase right now. Arrow Video are proud to announce the release of The Wild Geese and Who Dares Win, available to buy on Blu-ray from 8th October 2012.

We have three copies of each Blu-ray to give away to our readers…

The Wild Geese (Arrow Video)

Available to buy on Blu-ray from 8th October 2012

British film legends Richard Burton (Where Eagles Dare; Cleopatra), Roger Moore (James Bond) and Richard Harris (Gladiator; Unforgiven) head up an all-star cast in the much-revered, all-action adventure film, The Wild Geese, coming to Blu-ray for the first time in October.

A high octane, thrill-ride directed by veteran action and western director Andrew V. McLaglen (The Sea Wolves; Chisum) and edited by John Glen (the director of the Bond movies For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View To A Kill, The Living Daylights...

It’s always a good time to read about director Alfred Hitchcock and expect a lot of attention on the Master of Suspense in the upcoming months as there are two films currently in production about him. Alfred Hitchcock And The Making Of Psycho (expect a title change on that one) based in the book by Steve Rebello, is in pre-production with Sacha Gervasi (Anvil! The Story Of Anvil) directing and an outstanding cast attached. Anthony Hopkins has signed on to play Hitch, Scarlett Johansson is cast as Janet Leigh, Jessica Biel will be playing Vera Miles, British actor James D’Arcy is Tony Perkins, and Helen Mirren will play Alma Reville (Mrs Hitchcock). The other Hitchcock film in the works is The Girl produced by The BBC that will premiere later this year on HBO. The Girl focuses on the love/hate relationship between Hitchcock (played by Toby Jones...

Edgar Wright returns to the New Beverly grindhouse in Los Angeles with his resume of flicks along with a boatload of his favorites. This is the second time the fan favorite filmmaker has taken over the retro theater where he will be present for Q & A’s and a raucous good time.

january 14, 15 The Wright Stuff II – Triple Feature! All Tickets $10

Shaun Of The Dead Fri / Sat: 7:30 2004, UK / France / USA, 99 minutes Edgar Wright will appear In Person, schedule permitting, Friday & Saturday to discuss! directed by Edgar Wright; written by Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright; starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis, Dylan Moran Trailer

Hot Fuzz Fri / Sat: 9:30 2007, UK / France / USA, 121 minutes directed by Edgar Wright; written by Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright; starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Timothy Dalton, Jim Broadbent, Paddy Considine, Bill Nighy

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Fri / Sat: 11:59pm (Midnight) 2009, USA / UK / Canada,...

DVD Playhouse—May 2010

By

Allen Gardner

Avatar (20th Century Fox) James Cameron beat his own title as box office champ, set with Titanic over a decade ago, with this eye-popping sci-fi epic about a paraplegic Marine name Sully (Sam Worthington), who takes the form of an “avatar,” or virtual being, to go undercover on the planet Pandora, attempting to infiltrate the native Na’vi to gather intelligence that will aid a joint corporate and military operation to rape the planet of its natural resources, destroying its indigenous population in the process. When Sully suddenly “goes native,” he locks horns with the company CEO (Giovanni Ribisi) and his gung-ho commanding officer (Stephen Lang, in a wonderful, scenery-chewing turn from a long-underrated actor). Thought of by many scholars and film buffs as a “game-changer” as much as the first Star Wars film was—and they may be right. While Cameron’s politically-correct...

Sir Michael Caine has explained his long running feud with legendary director Alfred Hitchcock - they fell out after the actor turned down a gory role in 1972 thriller Frenzy.

The Alfie star admits he was eager to work with the late movie legend, but when Hitchcock approached him about taking the lead role in the grisly film he turned it down.

And Caine reveals the director never forgave him for the snub.

He says, "He offered me the part of a sadist who murdered women and I won't play that. I have a sort of moral thing and I refused to play it and he never spoke to me again. It was a film based on a real killer who cut women to smithereens. I said, 'I can't play this. I don't want to play it.' (After I turned the role down) I would see him (Hitchcock) every Friday at Chasen's restaurant (in Los Angeles) and he would totally ignore me."

The role in Frenzy eventually went to Barry Foster and it became Hitchcock's first film to earn an R-rating in the United States.

DVD Playhouse—September 2009

By

Allen Gardner

The Human Condition (Criterion) Masaki Kobayashi’s epic (574 minutes) adaptation of Junpei Gomikawa’s six-volume novel was originally made and released as three separate films (1959-61), and is rightfully regarded as a landmark of Japanese cinema. Candide-like story of naïve, good-hearted Kaiji (Japanese superstar Tatsuya Nakadai) from labor camp supervisor, to Imperial Army solider, to Soviet Pow, and Kaiji’s struggle to maintain his humanity throughout. Unfolds with the mastery of a great novel, beautifully-shot, and a stunning example of cinematic mastery on the part of its makers. Four-disc set bonuses include: Interview with Kobayashi; Interview with Nakadai; Featurette; Trailer; Essay by critic Philip Kemp. Widescreen. Dolby 3.0 surround.

State Of Play (Universal) Russell Crowe stars as a veteran Washington D.C. political reporter investigating the murder of an aide to a rising congressional star (Ben Affleck), who also happens to be an old friend.

In honor of Quentin Tarantino week here at Wamg, this column will tackle the 1968 British psycho-thriller Twisted Nerve. A music highlight of Tarantino’s first Kill Bill film in 2003 occurs during the scene when Darryl Hannah’s eye-patched Elle Driver is walking down the hospital corridors intending to dispatch Uma Thurman and she’s whistling this haunting tune that is at the same time both childlike and threatening. Curious, I read the closing credits and the strange song was identified as the theme from the movie Twisted Nerve composed by Bernard Herrmann. That title was familiar as I had its cool psychedelic U.S. one-sheet in my collection but I’d never seen the film and immediately became determined to track it down. I was able to secure a British Pal import of the film and was pleased to find Twisted Nerve an excellent, nasty little forgotten thriller about a warped young psychopath.