TV

Summary:
Before The Avengers and the James Bond films, the pioneering 1960 British series Danger Man helped to usher in spy-mania in Great Britain. Patrick McGoohan stars as Drake, John Drake, an agent of NATOs secret service branch. A messy job, he informs us, Thats when they usually call on me. Most Americans only know Drake as the Secret Agent Man, the title of the hour-long series that debuted on these shores in 1964. This half-hour series never aired in the United States, making this five-disc set, containing all 39 first season episodes, essential for Brit-TV aficionados, not to mention that branch of Prisoner devotees who insist that the kidnapped No. 6 is actually Drake himself. Like 007, the dapper and unflappable Drake possesses a keen wit and animal sense of danger, and his assignments take him all over the world, from Rome and Paris to the Arabian desert.Read More »

‘Kammesjukjul’ is a children’s Christmas movie made for television. It is basically a portrayal of the odd (in retrospect) childhood experiences which, at the time they occur, hold some mysterious significance. The movie is set at Christmas time, but the Christmas setting is not really important for the appreciation of the movie.

The plot:
Mads is not going to a Christmas tree party this year because his father’s company is way too small for that. Therefore, Mads decides to arrange his own party. He invites some of his friends and his teacher’s grandson for the party. Arranging a party is of course not easy for a young boy; it involves theft, intrigues, lying… Do Mads overcome the difficulties, or will there be no Christmas tree party?Read More »

Mark Cousins’ introduction to Cronenbergs Videodrome.
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“Narrated by actress Charlize Theron, Captured on Film: The True Story of Marion Davies (2001) is a documentary about the Hollywood legend whose acting career was overshadowed by her much-criticized love affair with newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. The film features the final on-camera interview with Davies’ biographer Fred Guiles as well as interviews with film historians Kevin Brownlow, Jeanine Basinger, and Cari Beauchamp; former film critic Charles Champlin; and actress Virginia Madsen, who researched Davies for her portrayal of the star in the made-for-TV movie The Hearst and Davies Affair (1985). First-hand accounts of events in Davies’s life will be shared by Carl Roup, a studio newspaper boy who was chosen by Davies to appear as an extra in The Red Mill (1927); Davies’s friends, including actress Constance Moore and King Vidor’s daughter, Belinda Vidor Holiday; and Life magazine correspondent Stanley Flink, who taped interviews with Davies in 1951, excerpts which are heard in the documentary.Read More »

Synopsis (possible spoilers):

‘Rose, an older woman living in Paris was born in Poland as a daughter of an aristocratic family. Her family house is now an impoverished home for the old people. Rose visited her property many times since the Berlin Wall collapsed and this time she arranged a meeting with an old palace employee, who earned big money having run a greenhouse business. Nevertheless, it remains a secret where the money to start this business came from. Not having a chance to speak to the employee, Rose meets his granddaughter – Jola – and enjoying her company, invites her to visit Paris. As Jola arrives in Paris, she gets acquainted with a young Arabian with whom she falls in love. Rose is very much by her side. Soon Rose leaves for Poland once again. This time her purpose is to find a chest full of treasures buried by herself deep in the forest soon before the war was over, when she was afraid of property confiscation soon to come. Apparently it turns out, the chest is empty and Jola’s grandfathers seem to be the most suspected men. But are these accusations justifiable?’
– IMDbRead More »

Plot Synopsis by Hal Erickson

Twice during the mid-1970s, Andy Griffith unsuccessfully attempted to launch a TV detective series titled Abel Marsh. The first pilot film was The Girl in the Empty Grave; the second was The Deadly Game. Griffith once again stars as resort-town sheriff Abel Marsh, this time wrestling with a sinister conspiracy involving a dangerous chemical spill. Lane Slate produced, directed and wrote the film, while Griffith’s longtime manager Richard O. Linke functioned as executive producer. Deadly Game was first telecast December 3, 1977.Read More »

Making its debut with Romeo and Juliet on 3 December 1978, and concluding nearly seven years later with Titus Andronicus on 27 April 1985, the BBC Television Shakespeare project was the single most ambitious attempt at bringing the Bard of Avon to the small screen, both at the time and to date.Read More »

Quote:
Zwei ungewöhnliche Frauen der Pariser Kulturszene lassen sich vom kanadischen Filmemacher Bruce LaBruce durch die nächtliche französische Metropole begleiten. Wenn es in Frankreich um aufsehenerregende Frauen in Literatur und Film geht, dann fallen schnell die Namen Béatrice Dalle – exzentrische Schauspielerin und Femme fatale des französischen Kinos (“Betty Blue – 37,2 Grad am Morgen”, “Trouble Every Day”) und Virginie Despentes – Star der feministischen Literatur in Frankreich und Regisseurin der Verfilmungen ihrer eigenen Bücher (“Baise-moi/Fick mich!” und “Bye Bye Blondie”). Die beiden Ausnahmekünstlerinnen streifen durch das winterliche Paris und führen sich gegenseitig an die Orte ihrer Inspiration. Nach einem Besuch in dem ehrwürdigen Gotteshaus Eglise Sainte Rita, das sich den “verlorenen Seelen” verschrieben hat, steht eine Musik-Performance mit bizarren Tiermasken in der Galerie Paul Toupet auf dem Programm. Bei der Visite eines DVD-Geschäfts mit echten Raritäten fachsimpeln die beiden Frauen über die besten Filme aller Zeiten und lästern über einige Kollegen.

An outstanding three-part BBC4 series that looks at how the Art Nouveau movement flourished in the burgeoning cities of Europe at the end of the 19th century. Aired March-April 2012.

Episode 1: Paris
BBC cultural correspondent Stephen Smith explores the delicious objects of Parisian Art Nouveau. He delves into the city’s Bohemian past to learn how some of the 19th century’s most glamorous and controversial figures inspired this extraordinary movement. Revealing the story behind Alphonse Mucha’s sensual posters of actress Sarah Bernhardt, looking at the exquisite jewellery designer Renee Lalique and visiting iconic art nouveau locations such the famous Maxim’s restaurant, the programme builds a picture of fin-de-siecle Paris.Read More »