“All the animals come out at night – whores, skunk pussies, buggers, queens, fairies, dopers, junkies, sick, venal. Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets. I go all over. I take people to the Bronx, Brooklyn, I take ‘em to Harlem. I don’t care. Don’t make no difference to me. It does to some. Some won’t even take spooks. Don’t make no difference to me.” Travis Bickle Taxi Driver (1976)

Universal City Walk was the hotspot tonight, after school a few of us hit the cinema hoping to see the film “NINE” however embarassingly it has not been released yet so “Everybody’s Fine” was the winner. This film starring Robert DeNiro, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell was an absolutely powerful and emotional film. The acting and story line was just amazing, looking up at that screen feeling inspired to want to be the next actor to make someone feel as I did watching this masterpiece reassured the feelings that this is the life for me

Scene Study performance went very well, we performed our scene and it worked very well. We will be performing again Wednesday and work on developing it until then. During our Acting for Film class it was like a light bulb switched on as we worked on an exercise to develop scripts and technique, tomorrow we have rehearsals and Technique class;

until then…

Miss D

Tyckte Joe Pesci och bevisade sin tes:

Since this is the season of Advent, and we always think of “Peace on earth, good-will towards men” during this season, I think this movie would be quite timely. 

The Mission, released in 1986, stars Robert Deniro and Jeremy Irons. Deniro portrays a soldier who trades in slaves that he captures in the jungles of South America. Irons portrays a Jesuit priest who is working to bring the native Guarani tribes out of the jungle and into the folds of Christianity. 

The movie is historical fiction, but could well be a true story played out in any part of the world. Father Shoemaker and the mission at St. Paul Kansas comes to mind, along with the Osage Indians who came to trust the Catholic priests of the 1800’s. 

As the two main characters suggest, there is a clash of interests between Rodrigo Mendoza (Deniro) and Father Gabriel (Irons), as they both work in the unknown jungles. The main theme of the movie is faith. Real faith, the kind that the Jesuits died for all to frequently. 

Mendoza kills his own brother in a fit of jealous rage, and hides in Father Gabriel’s mission, waiting for his own death. Gabriel is summoned to see his counterpart, and issues Mendoza a challenge, in one of the most moving scenes;  

Mendoza: Leave me alone. You know what I am. 

Gabriel: Yes. You are a mercenary. You are a slave trader. And you killed your brother. I know. And you loved him… although you chose a strange way to show it. 

Mendoza: Are you laughing at me? 

Gabriel: I am laughing because what I see is laughable. I see a coward, a man running from the world. 

Mendoza: For me there is no redemption, no penance great enough. 

Gabriel: There is. But do you dare to try it? 

Mendoza: Do you dare to see it fail? 

Thus, Mendoza chooses his own penance, which is to go back into the jungle with Father Gabriel. Only this time he will offer the Guarani Indians his life, in place of taking theirs. Powerful. Moving and beautiful. This movie is a must-see for those working on their own faith, and/or any real history junkies. The dialogue is meaningful, the music is award-winning and the scenery is the most beautiful, bar none. Some action with blood-shed, and kind of long. Not good for children. 

Jeremy Irons as Father Gabriel

Gabriel: If might is right, then love has no place in the world. It may be so, it may be so. But I don’t have the strength to live in a world like that, Rodrigo. 

Here’s a Top Ten list for you to chew on, dear reader:

As 2009 draws to a close, the chic thing to do is to create a Top Ten list for the decade.  Here at Bacon Makes It Better, we are more concerned with the larger scope of things;  how about an all-time list about one of our favorite subjects?  Hoo-ray for cinema!

No other artistic medium requires more collaboration than cinema.  Where an author needs only a pen and a page (and a good agent), a filmmaker enlists the efforts of a small army:  writers for a script, a cinematographer for his visuals, a production assistant to fetch his BLT, etc.

In the process of making movies, no other relationship is more critical than the director and his lead actor.  Most times, the relationship is merely a working arrangement.   For the duration of the shoot, the director and his lead talent merely co-exist.  They tolerate each others’ egos with the comforting knowledge that after six more weeks of shooting, they’ll be vacationing at separate Caribbean destinations.

Other times, the relationship becomes volatile; like the time that George Clooney and Director David O. Russell got into a fist fight on the set of Three Kings.

But sometimes– and this is more the exception than the rule– great miracles occur.

Cinema history is full of these wonderful moments when space and time grind to a resounding halt; when the cosmos aligns perfectly to allow a director and his lead actor to produce an amazing movie with an unforgettable performance.  And when the chemistry is good, the final product shows.  Lucky for us– the movie-going fan– when a director finds this connection, he usually works with the lead actor again.  The result is a series of work that defines careers and elevates reputations to legendary status.

That is the service of this post; to recognize the Top 10 All-Time Cinematic Collaborations between a Director and a Lead Actor:

10.  John Woo & Chow Yun Fat (A Better Tomorrow, A Better Tomorrow II, Hard Boiled, The Killer)

Woo created the template for the modern action film.  The requisite ingredient?  An unapologetic, bad ass male lead.  Chow Yun Fat was that guy.  Who knew bullets and blood in hyper slow-mo could be so beautiful?

9.  Frank Capra & James Stewart (Mr. Deeds Goes To Washington, It’s A Wonderful Life, You Can’t Take It With You)

Capra had a knack for stories about the principled, every-day man overcoming long odds.  Stewart was the man who made us believe, even when all hope seemed lost.  Together, they combined for such classics as It’s A Wonderful Life and Mr. Deeds Goes To Washington.  The filibuster scene in Mr. Deeds validates their position on this list.

8.  Spike Lee & Denzel Washington (Mo’ Betta Blues, He Got Game, Malcolm X)

Before Washington became seduced by the action blockbuster genre, he made some really great movies!  Under Lee’s actor-friendly direction, Washington’s performances flourished.  Malcolm X is the best work of either artist.

7.  Elia Kazan & Marlon Brando (A Streetcar Named Desire, Viva Zapata!, On The Waterfront)

Post World War II movie audiences universally rejected the idealism that popularized the musicals and comedies of earlier times.  They craved qualities in movies that were more identifiable to their daily struggles.  Kazan and Brando collaborated to provide the grit and realism they sought.  And in the process, the two artists pushed cinema into a brave new direction.

6.  Woody Allen & Diane Keaton (Annie Hall, Manhattan, Interiors, Play It Again, Sam, Love And Death, Sleeper, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Radio Days)

It still seems that after all these years– and a thousand movies later– Allen is still trying to recapture the magic of his earlier successes.  The same can be said of Keaton.  And why not?  The chemistry of these two talents working in the same movie is a delight to behold.  Every romantic comedy made after 1979– to a greater or lesser degree– has a bit of Annie Hall in it.

5. Billy Wider & Jack Lemmon (Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Erma La Douce, Avanti!)

Watching these two cinematic luminaries collaborate was like watching Magic dish to Kareem, McMahon feed Carson or Robin carry Batman’s utility belt.

4.  Francis Ford Coppola & Al Pacino (The Godfather; The Godfather, Part II;  The Godfather, Part III)

Proof that even the most combustible of relationships can yield high quality cinema.  Coppola and Pacino may have teamed up only three times for one role– but what a role it was!  Without Michael Corleone there is no modern mobster genre.  Tony Soprano had better kneel down and start kissing ring fingers.

3.  Tim Burton & Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, The Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd, Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)

A bold visual style and fearless acting.  When combined, as in the case of Burton and Depp, the results can be both haunting and memorable.  Actors give their best performance when they are free from constraints.  Burton provides the environment for Depp’s talent to roam free.

2.  Akira Kurosawa & Toshiro Mifune (Yojimbo, Sichinin no Samurai, Rashomon)

Only Mifune– with his silent restraint or his over-the-top Kabuki style– could project the meticulous vision of Kurosawa, the undisputed sinsei of cinema.  Said the great Kurosawa of Mifune, “I am proud of nothing I have done other than with him.”

1.  Martin Scorsese & Robert DeNiro (Mean Streets, Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, King Of Comedy, Casino)

Their careers followed the same arc; first as struggling amateurs, then as rising stars, appropriately as Oscar winners, ultimately as the greatest creative force to collaborate in cinema.  Always trusting each other, never compromising on passion and intensity.  Nine times they have worked together; each film an undeniable classic.

Just Missed The Cut:

John Hughes & Molly Ringwald (Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty In Pink)

Joel and Ethan Coen & John Goodman (Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, O Brother, Where Art Thou?)

Orson Welles & Himself (Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, Touch of Evil)

Agree?  Disagree?  Agree to disagree?  Tell me about it!

from the New York Post:

Several hundred people rallied in the rain near Manhattan’s federal courthouse complex today to protest the plan to put major terrorism suspects on trial in New York City.

Demonstrators at the Saturday event included the actor Brian Dennehy and a number of people who lost friends and relatives in the 9/11 attacks.

Anger at the Obama administration ran hot in the crowd. One person held up a sign calling Attorney General Eric Holder “disgraceful and despicable.” Another sign said “Obama/Holder … Jihad from within.”

Opponents of the plan say that a New York trial could again make the city a terrorism target, and that the five suspects should instead face a military tribunal.

Even some of Hollywood showed up to voice their disgust with Eric Holder, including Brian Dennehy and Robert DeNiro!
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/families_rally_against_nyc_terror_NO8z7YhLAKPwN6T2IgNTOO#ixzz0YqiW2aWL

New York City: “Everybody’s Fine” premiered last night replete with red carpet walk-ins by Drew Barrymore, Robert Deniro, Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale, Lucian Maisel and more. Impromptu sightings of police commissioner Ray Kelly, Twilight hunk Peter Facinelli and MAC vs. PC icon Justin Long (Drew’s Boyfriend) too.

Reviews from the New York Times and Entertainment Weekly ARE WAY OFF BASE. They chewed this film up and not really sure why other than the it’s sweet and gentle approach didn’t fullfill today’s current need for every frame being filled with gut splattering and abrasion. The movie is going to be a sentimental favorite this holiday season and its dissection of family relations is superb. All the actors stand out and the young actors were terrific.

Lucian Maisel & Robert Galinsky

Sure, you can be a singer/songwriter and whine and moan about saving dogs from the dog pound and the SPCA  and make everyone sick of what used to be a kinda cool song (the truth hurts, Maclachlan)…or you can find a cause you believe in and make people actually want to hear more by being clever about it.

I salute you, Ben Stiller, on a job well done. After you’ve watched the videos, check out the site.

It’s Friday! The holiday movies are officially here (hence the zillions brought in by 2012, New Moon & A Christmas Carol, plus big numbers expected for films like Avatar). This weekend brings a crop of new films, many of which are genuinely worth watching. (And if they don’t strike your fancy,  you can always catch brand new DVD’s for Night At The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian or Terminator: Salvation). But if you are headed to the cineplex, there are a few films opening that are already getting buzz. One of them in particular just won the National Board of Review’s top prize, and its stars were singled out too.  It’s called Up in the Air and it’s absolutely worth seeing.  George Clooney is a guy who’s job it is to fire other people from companies, and he travels from city to city to bring the bad news. Everything’s fine until a young lady tries to “revolutionize” his firing methods, whereupon things get tricky.  Go see it and do NOT be surprised when Clooney gets an Oscar nomination.  More on George later.  Then we have Brothers, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire — it’s a war drama and a love triangle.  This one looks pretty gripping.  Or, if you love Robert DeNiro, you might check out Everybody’s Fine, also with Drew Barrymore and Kate Beckinsale.  But be warned: it’s funny, but it’s also pretty dark.  And naturally DeNiro makes it all look very, very easy.  If you want to forget everything and catch a fun and possibly ridiculous shoot ‘em up,  go see Armored with Matt Dillon and Laurence Fishburne.  It’s about the guys who transport money in armored trucks — and what can go wrong.  But back to George Clooney.  An unqualified movie star, and a great actor, too, with the Oscar to prove it. With this in mind, voice your choice in today’s featured poll and tell us which of these four is your favorite George Clooney film:

1) Batman & Robin

2) Syriana

3) Out of Sight

4) Ocean’s Eleven

Starring Patrick Campion and David C.Frazier
A Ray & Migdalia  Etheridge Production.
Think CON AIR on foot,LOL !
…Another thought is a mockbuster of ‘Midnight Run’.
This micro-budget crime thriller takes place in FLORIDA and the tourism bureau owes them some coin !
Really has a nice plot and ‘Etheridge Go-To-Thespian’ Campion delivers another cutting edge creep.
Overall the acting was real and not forced,Some truly developed characters and script had no flaws to speak of.

The stand out acting is by Frazier(As Chain Gang Guard),He really should be added to all future Florida cinema.

If you go to Hallmark.com, you can create and send an e-card with Paul McCartney’s new song from the soundtrack to ‘Everybody’s Fine’ the new Robert DeNiro and Drew Barrymore movie set to release in December.

http://www.americangreetings.com/ecards/view.pd?i=499303513&m=7505&rr=y&source=ag999

Alternando su reciente faceta de documentalista con la de productor de cine y realizador de TV, el maestro del costumbrismo contémporaneo, el futuro ganador del Cecil B. DeMille en los próximos Golden Globes, el gran Martin Scorsese, se prepara para una grata sorpresa. Y la sorpresa es su regreso al género del terror y el suspenso.

Para los que no recuerden Cape Fear y su magnífico DeNiro, Martin Scorsese en 1991 adaptó la novela de John D. MacDonald y junto a él, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange y la jovencita Juliette Lewis armaron lo que para mi es un claro ejemplo de suspenso donde el cruento enfrentamiento entre DeNiro y su abogado defensor, Nolte, nos dejó petrificados en nuestras sillas. Para ese entonces Juliette Lewis caracterizaba a una jovencita casi de la misma edad mía; en ese entonces no concebía muy bien la diferencia de edades y pues me parecía un acto de seducción medianamente normal. Vista uno o dos veces después, el acto pedófilo se hizo más evidente y alimentó mi morbo en esta peli en particular. No hay cabida para ser tan macabro como lo fue DeNiro y tan genialmente malvado como Scorsese para lograr esta factura. La maldición de Scorsese, y de paso la de DeNiro, era la de arrasar en nominaciones y no ganar absolutamente nada (una gran injusticia con este par de monstruos), esta no fue la excepción. Qué buen guión, qué buena factura, qué actuaciones, etc… Y nada. Al final la revelación de Lewis y su virginal papel, le conllevaron dos premios y una nominación a nivel independiente.

Scorsese se prepara para un nuevo atardecer, de la mano de un reparto sencillamente impresionante, de Robert Richardson veterano de mil batallas en cinematografía al lado de Oliver Stone, el mismo Scorsese y recientemente visto en los basterdos de Tarantino, y de Thelma Shoonmaker editora que no sólo es una ganadora impresionante de óscares sino casi la mano derecha de Scorsese en todo su portafolio de largometrajes.

Apunta a ser escalofriante, impresionante, tenebrosa, ojalá muy gore y de una factura impecable. Que se lleve sus buenos premios y que Scorsese como es caballero repita Oscar como es debido.

Leonardo DiCaprio (Teddy Daniels)
Mark Ruffalo (Chuck Aule)
Ben Kingsley (Dr. John Cawley)
Michelle Williams (Dolores Chanal)
Max von Sydow (Dr. Jeremiah Naehring)
Jackie Earle Haley (George Noyce)
Elias Koteas (Andrew Laeddis)
John Carroll Lynch (Deputado Warden McPherson)

*No encontré el papel de Patricia Clarkson en IMDb y no lo he podido encontrar en ningún otro lado :-S

رابرت دنیرو (به ایتالیایی: Robert De Niro) ‏(۱۷ اوت ۱۹۴۳) بازیگر، کارگردان و تهیه‌کننده ایتالیایی-آمریکایی است. او تاکنون دوبار جایزه اسکار را برای فیلم های گاو خشمگین و قسمت دوم فیلم پدرخوانده بدست آورده است. رابرت دنیرو به عنوان یکی از بزرگ‌ترین و استثنایی ترین بازیگران تاریخ سینما شناخته می‌شود.او تا کنون ۶ بار نامزد جایزه اسکار شده است.وی به طور معمول در نقش های انعطاف ناپذیر ظاهر می‌شود و متناوباً با ارگردان مارتین اسکورسیزی همکاری دارد.

• اوايل زندگي

رابرت دنیرو در هفدهم اوت سال ۱۹۴۳ در نیویورک بدنیا آمد. والدین رابرت هنرمند بوده‌اند. او کودکی‌اش را در محلهٔ «ایتالیای کوچک» نیویورک گذراند. ده ساله بود که کارش را با تئاتر آغاز کرد و در نمایشنامه «جادوگر شهر اُز» هنرنمایی کرد و بعدها به کلاس بازیگری لی استراسبرگ رفت و بازیگری را نزد او آموخت و بدین ترتیب بود که به بازیگری متد اکتینگ تبدیل شد، سبکی که مارلون براندو وجیمز دین آغازگران آن بودند و با رابرت دنیرو و داستین هافمن به اوج قدرت خود رسید. باید گفت که او بازیگری درونگراست و بازیهای تأثیرگذار او منبع الهام بسیاری از بازیگران بوده‌است.

• دوران بازیگری

دنیرو خیلی زود با تیم مارتین اسکورسیزی و فرانسیس فورد کاپولا آشنا شد. این کارگردانان که همچون رابرت دنیرو اصل و ریشه‌ای ایتالیایی داشتند تصمیم بر ایجاد موجی از فیلم‌های انتقادی از سیستم سرمایه‌داری و جو بی‌خیالی حاکم بر آمریکا گرفتند. علمدار این موج کاپولا بود. اما مارتین اسکورسیزی و رابرت دنیرو تیم هماهنگی از آب در‌آمدند. فیلم‌های زیادی نیز تهیه و چند فیلم نیز کارگردانی کرده‌است مانند یک داستان برانکسی که فیلم بسیار زیبایی از آب در آمد.رابرت دنیرو در جشواره فیلم برلین مارلون براندو در مورد او گفته‌است: «به گمان من حتی خود دنیرو هم نمی‌داند که تا چه حد مهارت دارد.» او در سال ۲۰۰۸ جایزه دوربین طلایی را به خاطر یک عمر حضور جاودان در عرصه سینما تحت عنوان شاهکار جهانی در برلین از دستان مارتین اسکورسیزی دریافت کرد. باید گفت که مارلون براندو و دنیرو دو نفری بودند که به خاطر بازی درخشانشان در نقش دون ویتو کورلئونه موفق به دریافت جایزه اسکار گشتند که از دیدگاه بسیاری از منتقدان ماندگارترین نقش تاریخ سینماست  بسیاری از منتقدان او را تواناترین بازیگر تاریخ سینما می‌دانند و این هیچ اغراق و بزرگنمایی نیست زیرا دنیرو در بسیاری از ژانرهای سینمایی نقش آفرینی کرده است برای مثال می‌توان در سینمای وحشت آثاری همچون فرانکشتاین و موهبت الهی را نام برد و در سینمای کمدی هم شاهکاری همچون سلطان کمدی را که درآن مقابل غول دنیای کمدی آن عصر یعنی جری لوئیس نقش آفرینی می‌کند را نام برد و آثار دیگری همچون ملاقات با والدین و ملاقات با فاکرها و در ژانر ورزشی هم وی در اثر جاودان مارتین اسکورسیزی یعنی گاو خشمگین نقش آفرینی کرده است که از دیدگاه بسیاری از صاحب نظران سینمایی بهترین اثر ورزشی سینماست و همچنین از دیدگاه AFI (انیستیتوی فیلم آمریکا) پس از همشهری کین، پدرخوانده و کازابلانکا بهترین فیلم تاریخ سینما است اما در سبک گانگستری هم دنیرو شاهکاری دیگر همچون رفقای خوب اثر اسکورسیزی و تسخیرناپذیران اثر بیاد ماندنی برایان دی پالما را داراست.

• مروری بر چند فیلم

مهمترين فیلم‌های رابرت دنیرو را اسکورسیزی کارگردانی کرده‌است و شاید بتوان بازی دنیرو در نقش «تراویس بیکل» را الگویی برای کل بازیگری وی در نظر گرفت. عنوان این فیلم راننده تاکسی بود و دنیرو در نقش یک سرباز از جنگ برگشته که بعلت بیداری ذهنی و دیدن زندگی کثیف مردم قادر به خوابیدن نیست در مؤسسه تاکسی‌رانی مشغول بکار می‌شود و با دردمندی حاضر به مسافرکشی شبانه در محله «هارلم» نیویورک می‌شود. تراویس پس از اندکی متوجه فجایعی که در خیابان‌ها و در بطن مردم در جریان است می‌شود و با وجود حالت انفعالی که دارد تصمیم به برطرف کردن این مشکلات می‌نماید. روشهای او خشونت بار است و نهایتاً تنها قادر به بازگردانیدن جودی فاستر (که در سن ۱۴ سالگی نقش یک فاحشه را بازی می‌کرد) به خانه می‌گردد. حس انزوای تراویس تا مدتهای مدیدی بر بازی دنیرو سنگینی می‌کرد. البته دنیرو بازیگری چیره دست است و با ایفای نقشهای متفاوتی پس از این فیلم سعی در دور شدن از کارکتر تراویس داشت.
دنیرو برای بازی در نقش جیک لاموتا (بوکسور موفق آمریکایی در دهه ۱۹۴۰ و اواسط ۱۹۵۰)در فیلم گاو خشمگین برنده اسکار بازیگری گردید. او برای ایفای نقش جیک لاموتا ۲۵ کیلوگرم وزن اضافه کرد و ضرب المثل بازیگری گردید. [۱] فیلمهای خوب دنیرو بسیارند. روزی روزگاری در آمریکا یک اودیسه بود. شکارچی گوزن یک فیلم انتقادی محشر از جنگ ویتنام بود. بیداری‌ها فیلمی در مورد یک بیمار فلج ذهنی بود که دنیرو نقش او را بخوبی ایفا کرد. تنگه وحشت یک فیلم تکان دهنده در مورد وحشت از انتقام بود. دنیرو برای این فیلم دندان‌های خود را با اورتودنسی به هم ریخت و تنش را با جوهر گیاهی (که بعدها جذب بدن می‌شد) کلاً خالکوبی کرد تا نقش یک جنایت کار جنسی را بازی کند. دنیرو در بیش از هشتاد فیلم بازی کرده‌است. دنیرو همچنان در حال بازی در فیلم‌های مختلف است. جدیداً در فیلم‌های اسکورسیسی بازی نکرده‌است. او توانست بر بیماری پروستات خود غلبه کند. در فهرست جدید موسسه فیلم آمریکا که در سال 2007 منتشر شد فیلم گاوخشمگین در رده 4 امین فیلم برتر تاریخ سینما قرار گرفت. او همکنون 66 ساله است و همچنان باقدرت به کار خود ادامه می‌دهد. درسالهاي اخيردر ايران تماشاگران، بسياري از آثار او را از طريق شبكه ويدئويي تماشا كرده اند .دوبلورهاي او تاكنون مرحوم ايرج ناظريان ، حسين عرفاني ،بهرام زند،چنگيز جليلوند و منوچهر والي زاده بوده اند.

فیلم شناسی

One of my favorite lines from a movie I like to quote is, “I’m home you lucky people!” Robert DeNiro used it in This Boy’s Life to let Leonardo DiCaprio’s character and his mother in the movie know he was home to continue torturing them.  Now I’m using it to announce my return to blogging and the return of the PRInSportsBlog, hopefully you don’t consider this return torture as well

For those that followed this blog often last spring, I apologize for the hiatus, but I’m back to a more regular schedule at home, and am committing to a return to this blog. I appreciate everyone that’s read in the past, and I hope you’ll return to being a regular reader. Now, let’s get back to the business of Sports PR!

    Every serious film lover sees a film that once in awhile affects you so deeply that it changes your life. You look at the screen and you say to yourself, yes this is what it is all about, this is why I love movies; this is why I sit through so many crappy films searching for the one that moves me to high levels never reached before. “Mean Streets” is one of those films. It is not perfect. It is not Scorsese’s greatest film, it does not have to be, it is what it is, a personal work by a young filmmaker that reflects a time and a place that connected with me deeply.     

    The first Martin Scorsese film I ever saw was “Who That Knocking at My Door” back in September 1969 at the Carnegie Hall Cinema, a movie theater located beneath the famed Carnegie Hall. At the time, the theatre showed mostly art house, foreign, independent and classic films. I was home on leave from the Army, having just completed Basic Training and AIT, trying to avoid thinking about where I was going to be next month (Vietnam) by losing myself  in as many movies as I could. And if you want to lose yourself in movies, New York City is the best place to be other than maybe Paris.

     I must have read a review of the film in a newspaper and the synopsis of a young Italian-American kid living on the streets of Little Italy struggling with life’s complexities (girls, Catholic guilt) appealed to me on a personal level.  The film was amazingly unlike just about any other I had ever seen. The fact that the filmmaker was this Italian-American guy, like me, and he wrote and directed the film made it even more enticing. My wildest fantasies were coming true, only it was Martin Scorsese who was living it.  I never forgot the film or the name Scorsese as I went off to Vietnam, survived and went on with my life, when in 1972; a Roger Corman produced film called “Boxcar Bertha” came out and I noted the director’s name, Martin Scorsese. Hmm…  The film was typical King of the B’s Corman stuff, maybe somewhat better than most of his films filled with the prerequisite amount of violence and sex, all the good things low-budget filmmaking does best.

    Then came October 1973.

    Scorsese wrote the script for “Mean Streets” along with his friend and fellow NYU student, Mardik Martin with whom he collaborated with previously on some of his short films. In his book, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, author Peter Briskind states the two friends sat in Martin’s Valiant during a cold winter and wrote the script. Much of the story is from Scorsese’s own experiences growing up in Little Italy. During the filming of “Boxcar Bertha” Scorsese tried to interest Corman into financing his next film. However, Corman would agree only if Marty changed all the characters to black. Fortunately, for all he found other financing from Jonathan Taplin, then a road manager for the rock group, “The Band.”   

    Scorsese hired Harvey Keitel to play Charlie Cappa, in time to film the San Gennaro festival, which takes place every October in Little Italy. He then offered Robert DeNiro a choice of any of the other roles in the film. The two originally met when teenagers but did not hang out together, DeNiro the child of two artists, grew up in Greenwich Village though he spent much of his time in the Little Italy neighborhood next door. He had seen Scorsese’s first feature “Who’s That Knocking at my Door” and was impressed with the film’s accurate portrayal of life in Little Italy.  After some discussions and a meeting with Keitel, who suggested he play Johnny Boy, it was settled.

    “Mean Streets” does not have much of a plot; it focuses on Charlie Cappa a small time collector for his Uncle Giovanni (Cesare Danova), the local Don. Charlie also has taken personal responsibility for Johnny Boy, an anarchistic simple-minded hothead who is in debt some two thousands to local loan sharks. Charlie is also having an affair with Johnny Boy’s epileptic cousin Theresa (Amy Robinson).

    Part of what drives “Mean Streets” is the interaction between the two protagonists whose improvised street-wise dialogue has a free form jazz like quality. Just listen to the Joey Clams/Frankie Bones monologue between Charlie and Johnny Boy.  Scorsese encouraged his actors to improvise, much of it worked on during rehearsals, which contributes to the film’s tempo. It helped that along with Scorsese, DeNiro and Keitel, some of the others in the cast grew up in similar New York neighborhoods and were familiar with the type of environment portrayed on screen.

    Little Italy and its inhabitants were an enclave unto themselves, living a mostly separate existence from the rest of the city, insulated from the rest of the world. Outsiders were foreign and not wanted.  Scorsese’s “Mean Streets” shows us a world mixed with the old country and the new, a hybrid that never fully integrated. This is evident even in the superb use of music where the soundtrack combines the old (Opera), the traditional (Italian) and the modern (Rock and Roll).

    Early in the film, Charlie enters a local bar owned by Tony (David Proval), sharply dressed, confident; he is greeted like a king. He dances to the beat of The Rolling Stones “Tell Me”, shaking hands with associates and friends, swaying to the music. Gliding through the room, he makes his way to the stage joining two topless dancers. This is Charlie’s world, he is the center of attention, and he is a man in his element.

    Yet, Charlie is conflicted; he needs to reconcile his Catholic upcoming with his outlaw life. “Taking care” of Johnny Boy is Charlie’s attempt at redemption for his lifestyle. He knows that praying his ten “Hail Mary’s” and ten “Our Fathers” every week after confession is useless. As the voice over (Scorsese) at the beginning of film says, “You don’t pay for your sins in church; you pay for them in the streets.  Charlie is also conflicted with the women in his life. He is attracted to the black topless dancer and arranges a date with her, only when the time comes he stands her up knowing that in his world he can’t get involved with a black woman. He is already involved in a delicate relationship with the epileptic Theresa, who his Uncle disapproves of, telling him she’s crazy. Charlie, like many of Scorsese’s men has a Madonna/Whore complex. He resents Theresa’s independence. He chastises her for her vulgar language, which he and his cronies use all the time. He gladly has sex with her but fears a lasting relationship and his Uncle’s wrath. Theresa is in love with Charlie and she wants out of the neighborhood. She wants Charlie to commit to her and wants them to move uptown away from the neighborhood and into the outside world. Charlie cannot commit and he certainly will not leave the neighborhood. For men like Charlie, the neighborhood is everything.  

    Charlie’s relationship with Johnny Boy will lead to its inevitable violent ending. Johnny Boy’s disrespect to the local loan sharks like Michael (Richard Romanus) cannot be peacefully negotiated forever. While Charlie “protects” Johnny Boy, he will not go the distance, that is talk to his Uncle, who thinks Johnny Boy is a flake and dangerous, and is the only one who can ease the volatile situation with the loan sharks.

    Scorsese shows us a world where violence can erupt at any moment as it does in the now well-known “Mook” scene. Here we see Charlie and his boys go to a local pool hall to make a collection. The owner is happy to pay until one of the guys calls another a “mook.” While no one is sure, what’s a “mook” they are sure it’s an insult and soon a brawl breaks out between the two groups as The Marvelettes “Please Mr. Postman” blast away on the soundtrack. Scorsese’s mobile camera is in the middle of the mix as we watch these guys battle each other, Johnny Boy jumping on a pool table swinging a broken cue stick and kicking wildly. The police break it up but are paid off not to press any charges. As the cops leave, the two sides agree to have a drink together; however before you know it, another fight breaks out.    

    Scorsese poured himself into this film; Charlie is Marty’s on screen surrogate. There are indicators throughout the film most obviously with the lead character’s name. Charlie was Scorsese’s father’s name and Cappa was his mother’s maiden name. Like Scorsese, Charlie likes movies, twice we see him in a movie theater. Also, Charlie’s struggle with religion versus his outside life reflects the young Scorsese’s own internal battle.

    Influenced by the cinema verite documentary movement of the 1960’s, the French New Wave as well as by film noir of the 1940’s (Charlie’s Uncle watches Lang’s “The Big Heat” on TV) film critics greeted the film with warm open arms. Pauline Kael in The New Yorker called “Mean Streets”, “a true original of our period, a triumph of personal filmmaking.” Vincent Canby wrote in The New York Times,   “No matter how bleak the milieu, no matter how heartbreaking the narrative, some films are so thoroughly, beautifully realized they have a kind of tonic effect that has no relation to the subject matter. Such a film is Mean Streets…” “Mean Streets” premiered at the New York Film Festival in 1973 and opened two weeks later exclusively at the Cinema 1 theater on the upper East Side of Manhattan. Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, the film did not do well at the box office, it may have been too New York, too isolated to the tribal rituals of Italian-Americans or too blue collar. Finally, the film is not so much a gangster film as a coming of age story.

    Amazingly, most of this New York film was shot in Los Angeles for budgetary reasons. Scorsese only shot about six days of exteriors in New York, including the annual San Gennaro festival in Little Italy. In addition, the tenement building shots were filmed in New York because of their authenticity and atmosphere. In those six days of filming Scorsese crammed in a lot of Little Italy including the old St. Patrick’s Cathedral and even a drive by shot of the Waverly Theater (now the IFC) in Greenwich Village.

    Unlike “The Godfather”, which deals with the upper echelons of the mob world and mythologizes the gangster lifestyle “Mean Streets” give you a view of small time marginal thugs living in Little Italy. As influenced as Scorsese was by those who came before, “Mean Streets” would go on to influence filmmakers of the next generation.

    From the opening pounding beat of Ronnie Spector’s voice singing “Be My Baby” to the final bloody ending “Mean Streets” is one of the great rides in cinema. I love it.

What is in my mind the finest month for the movies is almost here!  Let Marshall guide you through the best and steer you away from the worst, but most of all enjoy!  The studios have been holding back their best movies all year to dump them all here, where they can get serious awards consideration.

December 4

A major Oscars wild-card is “Brothers.”  No one really knows what to make of it.  If the movie hits big, it could completely change the game.  But it could just fly under the radar like most expect it to now.  However, the trailer makes it look as if it the movie could be absolutely mind-blowing.  Directed by Jim Sheridan, who has received six Academy Award nominations, “Brothers” follows Grace Cahill (Natalie Portman) as she and her daughters deal with the loss of her husband, Sam (Tobey Maguire), in war.  Sam’s brother, Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) comes to live with Grace to lend a helping hand.  But romantic sparks fly between the two at precisely the wrong time: the discovery that Sam is alive and coming home.  With the two brothers both tugging Grace’s heart for their share, a different type of sparks fly.

You have heard me say plenty about “Up in the Air.”  If you haven’t read my Oscar Moment on the movie or heard my bliss at the release of the trailer, let me give you one more chance to hope on the bandwagon.

But the movies don’t stop there.  ”Armored,” an action-drama that is tooting its own moral horn, starring Matt Dillon and Laurence Fishburne.  ”Everybody’s Fine” appears to be a holiday movie, so that might be worth checking out if you’re in the spirit.  The movie, a remake of a 1990 Italian film by the same name, stars Robert DeNiro as a widower who reconnects with his estrange children.  And “Transylmania” looks to cash in on the vampire craze sweeping the nation by satirizing it, but I doubt it will be financially viable because it is being released by a no-name studio and without any big names.

December 11

The highlight of the weekend for many will be “The Princess and the Frog,” Disney’s return to the traditional animation by hand musical.  The movie looks to capitalize on what we know and love Disney musicals for, adding some catchy tunes to a fairy tale we have known since childhood.  Anika Noni Rose, best known for her role as Lorrell in the film adaptation of “Dreamgirls,” lends her talented voice to the princess Tiana.  As a huge fan of “Dreamgirls” during the winter of 2006, I couldn’t think of someone better equipped to handle the sweet, soft Disney music (which isn’t designed for belters like Beyoncé or Jennifer Hudson).  That being said, the music won’t sound like anything you’ve ever heard from a Disney fairy tale.  It is being scored by Randy Newman, not Alan Menken (“Beauty and the Beast,” etc.), and will have a jazzy feel much like its setting, New Orleans.

This week also boasts the opening of three major Oscar players. Two have been featured in Oscar Moments, “Invictus” and “A Single Man.” The former opens nationwide this Friday, the latter only in limited release. I’ll repost the trailers below because they are worth watching. But read the Oscar Moment if you want to know more about the movies.

According to the people that matter, “The Lovely Bones” has all the pieces to make a great movie. But for summer reading two years ago, I read the source material, Alice Sebold’s acclaimed novel. I found it dreadfully melodramatic and very depressing without any sort of emotional payoff to reward the reader for making it through. But maybe Hollywood will mess up the novel in a good way. If any movie could, it would be this one. With a director like Peter Jackson and a cast including Saiorse Ronan (“Atonement”), Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Stanley Tucci, and Susan Sarandon, it could very well happen.  It opens in limited release on this date and slowly expands until its nationwide release on Martin Luther King Day weekend in 2010.

December 16

Due to the flop of “Amelia,” Fox Searchlight has moved “Crazy Heart” to 2009 in order to milk some awards out of this year (although they should have just pushed “(500) Days of Summer” harder!).  The movie stars Jeff Bridges as an aging alcoholic country singer and Maggie Gyllenhaal as the young journalist that falls for him.  Bridges has been nominated for four Oscars but has never won, so maybe the Academy will feel generous to him this year.

December 18

We will skip the big blockbuster to address what is perhaps my most anticipated movie of the season, “Nine.”  I’ve already devoted an Oscar Moment to it, but it deserves some more talk here.  I’ll just throw out some names.  Daniel Day-Lewis.  Marion Cotillard.  Penelope Cruz.  Nicole Kidman.  Judi Dench.  Sophia Loren.  Kate Hudson.  Fergie.  Director Rob Marshall.  At what name did you start thinking, “Get here now, December 18th, I HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE!”?

Most sites I read think “Avatar” is going to be a huge box office success.  However, I wonder how they can think that when I have not heard a single teenager talk about the movie at all.  That is a critical demographic to the success of this movie.  It is what made “Titanic” the highest grossing movie ever (unadjusted for inflation).  And without them, this movie will flop.  A bomb is something that director James Cameron and the head honchos at 20th Century Fox simply cannot have happen.  Let me hit you with a statistic that will make your jaw drop.  ”Avatar” cost nearly $500 million dollars to make.  No, I didn’t tack on an extra zero to that figure.  Half-a-billion dollars have been dropped on this movie, so they need to make a whole lot of money to make it a profitable venture.  I’m sure with worldwide totals and video receipts, they will undoubtedly break even.  But if it is going to be a bonanza, there has to be more to “Avatar” than the coolest visual effects ever.  And I’m not getting the feeling from the trailers that it has all that strong of a story.  But at this point, no one knows.

Guilty confession: I’m actually kind of looking forward to “Did You Hear About the Morgans?” The movie stars Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker as married members of the New York elite who loathe each other. However, they are forced to spend a whole lot of time together when they see a murder and enter the Witness Protection Program in Wyoming. Sometimes these “fish out of water” comedies turn out to be quite funny. Plus, Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker usually have good taste when it comes to selecting movies.

And to help out a fledgling production company, Apparition, I’ll plug “The Young Victoria” with an embedded trailer.  If Martin Scorsese is pushing it, how bad can it be?

December 23

In order to get “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel” out of a convoluted Christmas Day openers crowd, they moved it to Wednesday, December 23.  Honestly, who wants to debate if this movie will be good or not?  I wouldn’t be surprised if it makes more money than “Avatar” the way kids ate up the first installment.

December 25

Celebrate Christmas at the movies with your family like everyone else in America!  ”Nine” and “Up in the Air” will be opening nationwide today.

Nancy Meyers, the director of “The Holiday” and “The Parent Trap,” makes movies that are just plain enjoyable to watch.  ”It’s Complicated” doesn’t look to break that tradition.  I refuse to watch the trailer because I don’t want to ruin it, but the film’s poster shows Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin bearing smug expressions in a bed with the tagline “Divorced…with benefits” written on the sheets.  Featuring a cast that also includes Steve Martin and John Krasinski (“The Office”), this could be the perfect crowd-pleasing Christmas Day movie.

Also opening on Christmas Day is a reimagined “Sherlock Holmes,” directed by Guy Ritchie (yes, Maddona’s ex-husband).  I’m all for the fresh approach, especially because it includes Robert Downey, Jr.  I loved the smug touch he added to Tony Stark in “Iron Man,” and I’m sure he will bring the same energy to the timeless detective.  The movie will no doubt benefit from the presence of Jude Law as sidekick Watson and Rachel McAdams as a love interest for Sherlock.  Although the character has lost respectability over the past few years on the silver screen, this is a version that I am more than willing to get behind.

And it is with great sadness that I have to say that Heath Ledger’s last new movie, “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus,” will be released this day.  He passed while in production of the movie, and Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law stepped into finish the role.  The three stars donated their salary for the film to Ledger’s daughter, Matilda.  The movie seems to be quite a visual spectacle, and the eye-catching visuals could be a great complement to Ledger’s final performance.

December 30

The final release of 2009 is “The White Ribbon,” winner of the prestigious Palme D’Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival this spring.  The film, directed by Michael Haeneke, follows a community in pre-World War I Germany as they deal with “the origins of terrorism,” as the director puts it.  It has been selected as Germany’s submission to the Best Foreign Film category at the Academy Awards this year, so it is definitely a player there.  But with quite literal universal acclaim, it could compete in more serious categories.

So, have you started planning how you are going to fit all these movies into your holiday schedules like me?  If not, at least do me the courtesy of telling me what movie you would see if you could only see one.

Cape Fear is a 1991 thriller film, directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a remake of the 1962 film of the same name and tells the story of a family man, a former public defender, whose family is threatened by a convicted rapist who wants vengeance for having been imprisoned for 14 years because of the lawyer’s purposefully faulty defense tactics, prejudicing the accused. It received Academy Award nominations for Best Actor (Robert De Niro) and Best Supporting Actress (Juliette Lewis). The two were also nominated for Golden Globe Awards.

Trivia: 

• Robert De Niro paid a dentist $5,000 to make his teeth look suitably bad for the role of Max Cady. After filming, he paid $20,000 to have them fixed.
• De Niro was tattooed with vegetable dyes, which fade after a few months.
• Gregory Peck, who starred in Cape Fear (1962), appears as Cady’s lawyer. Robert Mitchum played Max Cady in the 1962 version, and appears as Lieutenant Elgart. Martin Balsam played Mark Dutton in the 1962 version and the judge in this version.
• De Niro researched sexual predator crimes for the part and suggested the scene where his character bites the victim.
• The scene in the high school auditorium was totally ad-libbed by Robert De Niro and Juliette Lewis, and done on the first take.
• Director Trademark: [Martin Scorsese] [mother] fruit stand customer.
• For the first time in Scorsese’s career, he allowed the screenwriter, Wesley Strick, on the set during filming.
• Steven Spielberg was originally set to direct. He later recommended Martin Scorsese for the job and personally called the director, letting him know that this was a commercial film that had potential to be a hit, which would exercise more power for Scorcese to make his films.
• De Niro did a lot of working out several months before the movie and during the shoot to make him the
  

  Robert DeNiro

  muscular Max Cady, reportedly taking his body fat down to only 3%.

• The auditorium scene was originally scripted as a chase scene, but Scorsese wanted it to be a seduction.
• The climactic scene out in the swamp was filmed in John U. Lloyd State Park, in the middle of a mangrove swamp. A tropical depression set over the set for four days, so the film crew had to wait for the storm to stop, so that they could make their own rain.
• Director Martin Scorsese’s first choice for the role of Bowden was Harrison Ford. He had Robert De Niro call Ford to try convincing him to take the part.
• Robert Redford was also considered for the role of Sam Bowden.
• This was Gregory Peck’s final appearance in a theatrical film release.
• This was Scorsese’s first picture to be shot in 2.35 : 1 aspect ratio.
• Amblin Entertainment’s first “R” rated motion picture.
• Drew Barrymore tested for the role of Danielle Bowden but failed the audition. She later said she had “acted all over the place and it was just the biggest disaster of my life”.
• Reese Witherspoon auditioned for the role of Danielle Bowden.
• Both Robert De Niro and Nick Nolte had to alter their physiques for the film because the 6′1″, bulky, Nolte is clearly larger than the 5′10″, slimmer De Niro. Nolte lost a good deal of weight while shooting the film and De Niro bulked up his muscles considerably until De Niro was clearly Nolte’s physical superior. Interestingly the original Sam Bowden (Gregory Peck) was also slightly taller than the original Max Cady (Robert Mitchum).
• When Steven Spielberg was attached to direct he had plans on casting Bill Murray as Max Cady.
• This is the first film that Martin Scorsese uses optical FX.
• The ice cream parlor scene was shot in the first week of production where the owners complained for the first three days that they were losing business.
• The scene where Robert De Niro sits on the brick wall, he actually sits behind a blue screen where the fireworks were added later in production.
• Robert De Niro helped costume designer Rita Ryack chose Cady’s clothing.
• Robert Mitchum feared in comparing his character of Max Cady to Robert De Niro’s portrayal in the film. He had never seen either movies.
• The script went through 24 drafts.
• Director Martin Scorsese read the original script three times while making GoodFellas (1990) and hated it each time because of how the Bowdens were a happy family and wanted them to be miserable.
• Juliette Lewis developed a crush on Robert De Niro during the scene in the drama class.
  

  Juliette Lewis

• It took a year to convince Martin Scorsese to make this movie.
• The scene between Robert De Niro and Juliette Lewis in the school was shot in three takes, but the first one was used in final productions.
• George C. Scott was originally supposed to play the Lieutenant role. But because of health problems he dropped out a few days before filming and Robert Mitchum was brought in.
• The score by Elmer Bernstein is not only an arrangement of ‘Bernard Herrmann’’s original “Cape Fear” score, but also includes parts of Herrmann’s unused score for Torn Curtain (1966).
• A picture of James Dean is shown when Danielle (Juliette Lewis) slams the door while her parents argue.
• Gregory Peck completed filming his cameo scenes in one day.
• De Niro played scenes with Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates in the Sam and Danielle roles for Martin Scorsese when De Niro was trying to interest him in directing the film.
• Robert De Niro’s thick Max Cady accent reportedly gave Scorsese the creeps, and as a joke, De Niro would call the director’s house, leaving messages as Cady.
• De Niro’s Cady accent came from an earlier role where he played a southerner. To prepare for the role, De Niro took excerpts of the script and a tape recorder into southern towns and would ask locals to read the lines into the tape.
• Robert Richardson auditioned for the position of cinematographer but lost out to Britain’s Freddie Francis. Martin Scorsese, a staunch admirer of Richardson’s work with his former NYU student Oliver Stone, remembered Richardson when he was preparing to direct Casino (1995).
• Illeana Douglas based her performance as Lori Davis on Jennifer Levin, who was murdered in 1986 in Central Park by Robert Chambers (whom the press dubbed the “Preppy Murderer”).
• Jennifer Connelly reportedly turned down the role of Danielle.
• Christina Applegate did an audition for the role of Danielle, but had to turn down the part due to conflicts from “Married with Children” (1987) producer Ron Leavitt.
• Winona Ryder turned down the role of Danielle.
• Alyssa Milano was offered the role of Danielle but had to turn down the role, due to pressure from fellow “Who’s the Boss?” (1984) cast member Tony Danza.
• Nicole Eggert auditioned for the role of Danielle but turned it down.
• Sarah Jessica Parker was originally cast as Danielle.
• Meg Ryan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Demi Moore, Jodie Foster, Helen Hunt, Bridget Fonda, Diane Lane, Brooke Shields, Nicole Kidman, Molly Ringwald and Shannen Doherty all were considered for the role of Danielle.
• Tiffani Thiessen was offered the role of Danielle, but turned down the choice to play the part, in order to stay with “Saved by the Bell” (1989).
• The music video Danielle watches to avoid her parent’s argument is Jane’s Addiction’s “Been Caught Stealing.”

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