Category: Movies

Aretha Franklin 1972 Performance Will Be Released: “Amazing Grace”

Aretha Franklin Amazing During two nights at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles in 1972, Aretha Franklin gave what many consider among her greatest performances. Director Sydney Pollack filmed Franklin over January 13 and 14 as she worked on creating her great live album Amazing Grace.

Fans have long hoped for the movie’s release. Now, the documentary, Amazing Grace is finally hitting theaters.

After the initial recording of the performances, audio problems prevented the film’s release. But producer Alan Elliott eventually finished the film. The movie originally was scheduled to hit theaters in 2015.  But then an issue about rights prevented the release.

Franklin’s estate, however, has made an agreement that will allow fans to see the film. Amazing Grace will have a limited theatrical release in November and December 2018 to qualify for the Best Documentary Oscar category. Check out the trailer below featuring the great Aretha Franklin.

The album Amazing Grace sold more than two million copies.  It became what was the best-selling gospel album of all time.

What is your favorite Aretha Franklin performance? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    The Final Film By The Three Stooges: “Kook’s Tour”

    Three Stooges Final FilmIn 1969, the Three Stooges began preparing for a run on television with production of a TV pilot.  The planned series featured Moe Howard, Larry Fine and “Curly” Joe DeRita as the retired Stooges taking a trip around the world with their dog, Moose.  Eventually, due to an unfortunate circumstance, the footage was made into what would be the final film featuring the Three Stooges, “Kook’s Tour.”

    The unfortunate event was that Larry Fine had a severe stroke on January 9, 1970 while the pilot was still being made.  The stroke paralyzed the left side of Fine’s body. Fine’s condition meant that they had to drop any plans for a TV series.

    Director Norman Maurer, however, cut the footage into a 52-minute film.  Producers marked the film in 1975 in Super 8 Sound home movie format.

    Below is Maurer’s edit of the film, “Kook’s Tour.” Check out the last film from the Three Stooges.

    Fine survived the stroke for several years, eventually dying on January 24, 1975. The original Curly, Curly Howard, had also had a stroke many years earlier, dying on January 18, 1952. Moe died less than four months after Larry on May 4, 1975 of lung cancer. Curly Joe lived until 1993.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    “American Graffiti” Opens in 1973

    American GraffitiAmerican Graffiti opened in the United States on August 11, 1973.  The movie, directed and co-written by George Lucas, captured a nostalgia for a summer in 1962.  I can hardly believe that now we are more than four times as much removed in time from the movie as the movie was removed from its characters.

    American Graffiti follows two recent high school grads played by Ron Howard and Richard Dreyfus.  The two are spending their last night in town  before they are scheduled to leave for college the next day.  During the evening and night, their stories intertwine with a number of other young men and women cruising in cars around town. The movie not only captures a time and a place (and hot rods!), but it also reveals some of what it is like to be in high school.

    The coming-of-age movie featured a number of stars and future stars, including Paul Le Mat, Harrison Ford, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips, Candy Clark, and Suzanne Somers.  Also, radio DJ Wolfman Jack makes a special appearance.  The film also contained a lot of great music from the period and a wonderful soundtrack.

    Reception

    Critics and viewers generally loved American Graffiti. The movie was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Picture.  The movie failed to win any Oscars and lost the Best Picture award to The Sting. But the film set in Modesto, California became a beloved classic.  It also aided the careers of many involved in the movie.  And it helped spawn a nostalgia for the 1950s and early 1960s.

    American Graffiti ends with title cards reporting what happened to all of the characters, even though Lucas’s co-writers did not like such an ending, which was largely depressing. That, however, did not prevent an interesting but mediocre sequel in 1979, More American Graffiti.

    When I was in high school, a few years after the movie was released, one of my teachers showed us the movie on a TV in class.  We were studying the period around the 1950s.  Our class was in the days before DVDs and VHS, so it was a big deal to see a commercial movie in class back then.  So, I will always have a special fondness for the movie.

    In the clip below, Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel discuss American Graffiti for the film’s debut on television (starting at the 16:30 mark).  Check it out.

    What do you think of “American Graffiti”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Movie Lovers Should Join The Important Cinema Club (Podcast Review)

    I have tried out a number of movie podcasts, and one of the best is The Important Cinema Club.  Listening to hosts Will Sloan and Justin Decloux feels like hanging out with your friends in the basement talking about movies.  But only if your friends knew a ton about movies and were able to talk about them without being smug or making you feel like an idiot.

    Movie Podcast In The Important Cinema Club, Sloan and Decloux explore great films, but they also talk about not-so-great movies.  They take a light-hearted approach, so you never feel like you are listening to movie snobs who think they know more than you.

    Although they do know more than you, Sloan and Decloux are not afraid to explain why they do not like a classic like Gone With the Wind while also heaping praise on Godzilla movies or the work of Jerry Lewis.  One of their recent episodes was devoted to Looney Tunes, and when they turned their focus on Steven Spielberg they decided to focus on his lesser-loved works.

    So, one of the great things about The Important Cinema Club is the range of topics. In one episode, they will be talking about Starship Troopers while just a few episodes earlier they devoted an episode to Vincente Minnelli. You will likely start listening by skipping around to episodes about movies you have seen.  But you also should listen to the episodes about movies, stars, and directors you have never heard of. Sloan and Decloux have a ton of knowledge, and The Important Cinema Club is one of the most educational podcasts I have found.

    But most importantly, the podcast is fun.  The best part is the interaction between Sloan and Decloux and their sense of humor. You can tell that they really like each other and that they love movies. Their self-effacing humor makes all of their knowledge both accessible and fun. These guys know their stuff, but they also know how to have a good time. In some ways, they are using their podcast to do what Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert did with television by elevating the conversation about movies while also making the conversation entertaining and fun.

    Host Justin Decloux writes about movies, while hosting another podcast called Loose Cannons with Matthew Kumar.  He is an editor at FilmTrap.com and also has written and directed films.  Will Sloan writes about movies, and has written for NPR and other places.  His blog and other writings cover other topics in addition to film.

    Most of the podcasts are free. But once you start listening to The Important Cinema Club, you might want to support the podcast through Patreon and gain access to bonus content.

    If you do not trust my recommendation, listen to my new “friends” Will and Justin tell you why you should listen to The Important Cinema Club.

    What is your favorite movie podcast? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    The Last Known Survivor Stalks His Prey in the Night

    On July 24, 1982, the band Survivor hit the top of the Billboard pop charts with the song “Eye of the Tiger.” The song from Rocky III (1982) continued to hold that position at the top for six weeks.

    Sylvester Stallone had sought out the band after hearing their 1981 song “Poor Man’s Son.” The songwriters in the band –Frankie Sullivan and Jim Peterik — responded to Stallone’s request for something with a “rock beat” with the hard-hitting “Eye of the Tiger.”

    “Eye of the Tiger” has some clunky lyrics, such as “They stack the odds ’till we take to the street/ For the kill with the skill to survive.” But it was a great song for the over-the-top Rocky III, and the band’s lead singer at the time, Dave Bickler, does a great job.

    Rocky III is one of my favorites in the franchise. After all, it has Hulk Hogan and Mr. T, introducing the latter’s catch phrase, “I pity the fool.” But the song title captures the essential theme of the movie about a man trying to find what made him find success in the first place after becoming complacent.

    Another cool thing is how the band named Survivor managed to work in the words “survive” or “survivor” so many times. The words appear at least six times in the song.

    The song’s six-week run at the top of the charts was longer than the run of the other hit from the Rocky franchise. “Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky).” That song from the first Rocky (1976) was the number-one song for one week in 1977. “Eye of the Tiger” also was nominated for an Academy Award and won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

    As for Survivor, they never matched the hit status of “Eye of the Tiger.” The band members changed over time, with some breakups and getting back together. And singer Jimi Jamison, who became lead singer after the success of “Eye of the Tiger,” passed away in 2014. “Eye of the Tiger” singer Bickler had joined the band again before that, but in 2016 he was fired. But, living up to the group’s name, the band Survivor is still around and continues to tour.

    What is your favorite Rocky music? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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