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Given the state of the world around us today, it's not surprising that people are interested in post-apocalyptic settings. After all, you never know what skills or niche knowledge might save your life one day!

In all seriousness, though, post-apocalyptic scenarios can be a lot of fun. Packed with action, high stakes, and suspense, they keep viewers on the edge of their seats. Unfortunately, it's not easy to find a movie or TV series that does justice to the genre and doesn't rely on the same repetitive clichés.

If you're feeling the adrenaline rush and can't wait for Fallout to return with season 2, check out the movies below.

Waterworld (1995)

At the time of its release, Waterworld was the most expensive movie ever made, but neither the huge budget nor Kevin Costner's name could save it from negative reviews. Although Waterworld is not the most outstanding movie of the genre,...

In the opening scene of the 1957 western The Tall T, a man on horseback is spotted from afar by a boy and his father, prompting the elder homesteader to fetch his rifle. The audience shares their uncertainty, seeing this figure through a telephoto lens from a great distance, but when the stranger gets closer to the ranch, he’s recognized by the boy as an ally.

It’s the film’s hero, Pat Brennan (Randolph Scott), a fellow rancher, and the gun is therefore set aside. The Tall T is the first in a series of westerns grouped under the name Ranown (after producer Harry Joe Brown and Scott’s production company) that director Budd Boetticher made in the late ’50s and concluded with the release of Comanche Station in 1960, and in this inaugural scene, Boetticher establishes a crucial theme and visual pattern of this spiritually unified set of potboilers.

There are few pulpy visualizations of revenge that play as satisfyingly as the climax of Martin Campbell’s The Mask of Zorro. Released 25 years ago, the still surprisingly lithe and surefooted swashbuckler culminates with a multigenerational crescendo of vengeance, which is served bloody and fierce. On one level of a crumbling Californian gold mine, the original Zorro is a now aged and dying Don Diego de la Vega (Anthony Hopkins), and he grapples in his last breath with the man who stole his life and imprisoned him in hell for 20 years. Yet a literal platform below this Count of Monte Cristo passion play is something even bleaker and more vicious: the storm of swords unleashed by a younger Zorro (Antonio Banderas) and his own object of disdain: Capt. Harrison Love (Matt Letscher).

When Zorro carves an “M” across Capt. Love’s face, there is no wink or playful banter one...

Four-time Grammy winner Lenny Kravitz will perform for Sunday’s emotional “In Memoriam” segment on the Oscars 2023 ceremony. While only 40-50 people are generally remembered for the television ceremony hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on ABC, over 200 people will be recognized on the Academy’s webpage starting that evening.

SEEWho is Performing at the Oscars 2023?: Full List of Presenters and Performers

Here is a lengthy list of many contributors to film who died since last year’s Academy Awards ceremony:

Mary Alice (actor)

Gil Alkabetz (animator)

Kirstie Alley (actor)

Burt Bacharach (composer)

Angelo Badalamenti (composer)

Simone Bär (casting director)

Joanna Barnes (actor)

Carl A. Bell (animator)

Jeff Berlin (sound)

David Birney (actor)

Bruce Bisenz (sound)

Robert Blake (actor)

Eliot Bliss (sound)

Nick Bosustow (shorts)

Albert Brenner (production designer)

Tom Bronson (costume designer)

James Caan (actor)

Michael Callan (actor)

Donn Cambern (editor)

Irene Cara (songwriter)

Gary W. Carlson (sound)

Marvin Chomsky...

Wow, a ‘new’ Sam Peckinpah western! While we await the rumored Blu-ray of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid to surface (or was Alex Cox misinformed?), correspondent Darren Gross has come across a watchable web encoding of a Peckinpah TV drama that seems to be more or less ‘lost.’ Good star performances and intense characterizations prove once again that Peckinpah could deliver superior dramatics. The home video companies should do some investigating — there’s a market out there for this one.

The Lady Is My Wife

TV episode of Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theater

CineSavant Revival Screening Review

1967 / Color / 1:33 TV / 47 min. / first Aired February 1, 1967 / Not on Home Video

Starring: Jean Simmons, Bradford Dillman, Alex Cord, Begoña Palacios, L.Q. Jones, Roberto Contreras, Alan Baxter, Jim Boles, Billy M. Greene, E.J. André, Billy M. Greene.

Cinematography: Dale Deverman

Art Director: Lloyd S. Papez

Costumes: Kay Hayden

Film Editor: Edward Biery...

Sunday’s SAG Awards ceremony will be a streaming event for the first time on the Netflix YouTube channel. One of the highlights each year is the special In Memoriam segment. It’s been a particularly rough year with over 100 deaths of prominent actors and actresses who were likely members of SAG/AFTRA. Show producers typically are able to include approximately 40-50 people in a tribute.

Among that group will certainly be Oscar winners Louise Fletcher, William Hurt and Irene Cara, plus nominees Angela Lansbury (a SAG life achievement recipient) and Melinda Dillon. Emmy champs Mary Alice, Kirstie Alley, Leslie Jordan, Ray Liotta, Stuart Margolin, Robert Morse and Barbara Walters.

SEECelebrity Deaths 2023: In Memoriam Gallery

Here is our expansive list of over 100 people who died since last year’s ceremony, several of whom will be honored on Sunday’s event:

Ralph Ahn

J. Grant Albrecht

Mary Alice

Rae Allen...

Adam Wade, who had three consecutive Top 10 hits on the Billboard chart in 1961 and broke barriers when he became the first Black host on a network game show in 1975, died on Thursday at his home in Montclair, New Jersey. He was 87.

His wife of 33 years, Jeree Wade, a singer, actress and producer, told the The New York Times that his cause of death was complications of Parkinson’s disease.

In May 1975, CBS named Wade as the host of the weekly afternoon game show, “Musical Chairs,” which was co-produced by Don Kirshner and which featured musical acts including The Spinners and Irene Cara.

Also Read:

Monty Norman, James Bond Theme Music Composer, Dies at 94

As the first Black TV host, Wade’s reception was not warm. He received hate mail and one CBS affiliate in Alabama refused to carry “Musical Chairs.” The show only lasted five months, but Wade told Connecticut...

Following an eclectic career in Hollywood that spanned seven decades, L.Q. Jones passed away on July 9, 2022. His grandson Erté deGarces informed The Hollywood Reporter that the veteran character actor died of natural causes at the age of 94 in his Hollywood Hills home.

Jones was born Justus Ellis McQueen Jr. in Beaumont, Texas on August 19, 1927. After studying law at the University of Texas in Austin, he tried working as a farm hand in Nicaragua, a stand-up comedian, and a professional athlete in baseball and football. But he broke into the movie business when his college roommate Fess Parker, who would come to...

The post The Wild Bunch Star L.Q. Jones Has Died at 94 appeared first on /Film.

L.Q. Jones, a veteran character actor whose résumé included more than 60 screen credits in film and many television appearances, died of natural causes Saturday at his home in Hollywood. He was 94 and his death was confirmed by his grandson, Erté deGarces, as cited in multiple news reports.

Born Justice Ellis McQueen on August 19, 1927 in Beaumont, Texas, he took his stage name from his first film role in the 1955 Raoul Walsh film, Battle Cry.

Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery

His film roles included parts in Don Siegel’s An Annapolis Story, Mervyn LeRoy’s Toward the Unknown, and Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch, Ride the High Country and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.

He also appeared in Martin Campbell’s The Mask of Zorro, Roland Emmerich’s The Patriot, and Martin Scorsese’s Casino.

On television, he specialized in Westerns, appearing on Gunsmoke, The Virginian and Bonanza.

L.Q. Jones, the colorful character actor who worked on dozens of Westerns, including the Sam Peckinpah classics The Wild Bunch and Ride the High Country as a member of the famed filmmaker’s regular posse, has died. He was 94.

Jones died Saturday of natural causes at his home in the Hollywood Hills, his grandson Erté deGarces told The Hollywood Reporter.

Jones portrayed ranch hand Andy Belden on 25 episodes of NBC’s The Virginian over an eight-year span, was one of the bad guys who slipped a noose over Clint Eastwood’s neck in Hang ‘Em High (1968) and played a sheriff on the 1983-84 NBC primetime soap The Yellow Rose, starring Sam Elliott, Cybill Shepherd and Chuck Connors.

The Texas native also portrayed Clark County Commissioner Pat Webb, Robert De Niro’s nemesis, in Martin Scorsese’s Casino (1995) and country singer Chuck Akers in...

L.Q. Jones, a veteran character actor best known for starring in Sam Peckinpah films and whose career spanned seven decades has died, the actor’s grandson Erté deGarces confirmed to Variety. Jones died in his Hollywood Hills home on Saturday surrounded by family. He was 94.

Jones is best known to modern audiences for roles in Martin Scorsese’s “Casino (1995),” “The Edge (1997),” “The Mask of Zorro (1998)” and Robert Altman’s last film “A Prairie Home Companion (2006).”

Justice Ellis McQueen was born on Aug. 19, 1927, in Beaumont Texas. After serving in the Navy, he went to study law at the University of Texas at Austin.

Also Read:

Hollywood’s Notable Deaths of 2022 (Photos)

Jones made his feature film debut in 1955 in “Battle Cry,” credited under his birth name Justus McQueen. His character’s name in the film was L.Q. Jones, a name he took a liking to and adopted as his stage...

L.Q. Jones, a veteran character actor whose career spanned seven decades, died Saturday of natural causes at his home in the Hollywood Hills. He was 94 years old.

Jones’ death was confirmed by his grandson, Erté deGarces. DeGarces shared that Jones died surrounded by his family.

Born Justice Ellis McQueen on Aug. 19, 1927 in Beaumont, Texas, Jones attended the University of Texas at Austin where he met Sue Lewis, his wife of 23 years. The two divorced in the 1970s.

McQueen took on his stage name, L.Q. Jones, with his first film role in the 1955 Raoul Walsh film “Battle Cry.” Jones would wear the name through his entire screen acting career. His most recent turn came in 2006 with Robert Altman’s final film “A Prairie Home Companion.”

Jones collaborated with several of the most established directors of mid-20th century Hollywood, including Walsh, Don Siegel for “An Annapolis Story” and Mervyn LeRoy for “Toward the Unknown.

Hello, everyone! Now that September is nearly upon us (which means we’re getting closer and closer to our favorite season), we have one last round of home entertainment releases ahead of us before we can finally bid August a fond farewell - and there are a lot of different titles making their way home tomorrow. Arrow Video is keeping busy this week with their 4K release of Dune as well as the special edition release of The Brotherhood of Satan, and Kino Lorber is resurrecting several classics on Blu-ray this Tuesday, including The Raven, The Last Man on Earth, and The Comedy of Terrors.

If you have younger genre fans at home, you’ll definitely want to pick up the new editions of Coraline and The Boxtrolls from Scream Factory, and for you cult film fans, Vinegar Syndrome has you covered with their new Blu-rays for Killer’s Delight, The Lamp...

The great director discusses some of his favorite movies with host Josh Olson.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Alzheimer Case a.k.a. Memory of a Killer (2003)

Memory (Tbd)

The Protégé (2021)

You Only Live Twice (1967)

Cast A Deadly Spell (1991)

The Mask Of Zorro (1998)

GoldenEye (1995)

Casino Royale (2006)

Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)

Slap Shot (1977) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Salt (2010)

Atomic Blonde (2017) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

The Manchurian Candidate (1962) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Oliver Twist (1948)

Dr. No (1962) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary

The Guns Of Navarone (1962)

The Dirty Dozen (1967) – Ed Neumeier’s trailer commentary

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Dennis Cozzalio’s 70mm reissue review

The Spy Who Loved Me...

“Not your baby, Our baby, Satan’S Baby!”

Strother Martin in The Brotherhood Of Satan (1971) will be available on Blu-ray August 31st from Arrow Video

A small rural town and a family of outsiders, both trapped in the demonic grip of The Brotherhood of Satan!

Recently widowed Ben, his glamourous girlfriend Nicky and his small daughter K.T. are on a road trip across the Southwest, which comes to a screeching halt when they witness an accident. Heading to the nearby isolated desert town of Hillsboro to report it to the Sheriff (played by L.Q. Jones), they are met with a hostile reaction from the locals, who are gripped by paranoia and fear due to a series of gruesome deaths, as well as the mysterious disappearance of eleven of the communitys children. As the bodies continue to pile up around them, Ben and his family find themselves joining the sheriff,...

Arrow Video’s August films include a brilliantly original American indie comedy, a pair of out-there arthouse masterworks, a rediscovered 70s horror creepfest, a terrifying Korean ghost story, and definitive, collectable editions of an awe-inspiring science fiction blockbuster.

The releases will come in limited edition packaging, with beautiful new artwork, pristine restorations giving the films a new lease of life, brand new expert commentaries and feature-length documentaries,reversible sleeves, as well as goodies including fold-out posters, art cards, books and illustrated booklets.

First in August, Arrow Video presents the mind-blowing ‘acid-western’ El Topo, which shocked and bedazzled audiences upon its controversial original release, single-handedly inventing the American midnight movie phenomenon. A countercultural masterpiece which ingeniously combines iconic Americana symbolism with director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s own idiosyncratic surrealist aesthetic, El Topo is an incredible journey through nightmarish violence, mind-bending mysticism and awe-inspiring imagery. This era-defining film is now presented in a...

The director of Over The Edge and The Accused takes us on a journey through some of his favorite movies.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Student Teachers (1973)

Night Call Nurses (1972)

White Line Fever (1975)

Truck Turner (1974)

Heart Like A Wheel (1983)

The Accused (1988)

Over The Edge (1979)

Modern Times (1936)

City Lights (1931)

Manhattan (1979)

Some Like It Hot (1959)

The Apartment (1960)

North By Northwest (1959)

Moon Pilot (1962)

Mr. Billion (1977)

White Heat (1949)

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

The Three Musketeers (1973)

The Four Musketeers (1974)

Superman (1978)

Superman II (1980)

The Three Musketeers (1948)

Shane (1953)

The 400 Blows (1959)

8 ½ (1963)

Fellini Satyricon (1969)

Richard (1972)

Millhouse (1971)

The Projectionist (1970)

El Dorado (1966)

The Shootist (1976)

Woodstock (1970)

Payback (1999)

A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

Billy Liar (1963)

Ford Vs Ferrari (2019)

The Wild Bunch (1969)

The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)

Bad Girls (1994)

Masters of the Universe (1987)

Giant (1956)

The More The Merrier (1943)

The Graduate (1967)

The Victors (1963)

…And Justice For All (1979)

Citizen Kane (1941)

An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn...

Once upon a time, MGM launched a big spectacle Western remake with the top star Glenn Ford and the bright import Maria Schell — and then second-guessed the whole production, cutting back on everything so severely that director Anthony Mann ankled the set for Spain and El Cid. The storytelling is a mess — after starting big, the show soon falls into pieces. But many of individual scenes and set pieces are exemplary, especially Mann’s re-run of the Oklahoma Land Rush, staged in Arizona and augmented by classy special effects. The large cast rounds up some big talent — Mercedes McCambridge, Russ Tamblyn — to tell Edna Ferber’s multi-generational story about ambition, intolerance and dreams of glory on the frontier.

Cimarron (1960)

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1960 / Color / 2:35 anamorphic widescreen / 147 min. / Street Date January 21, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Glenn Ford, Maria Schell, Anne Baxter, Arthur O’Connell, Russ Tamblyn, Mercedes McCambridge, Vic Morrow,...

Cinema Retro Movie Classics Special Edition #8: The Wild Bunch

112 Pages/perfect bound spine. £10.95 / $15.95.

Issn 1751-4606

Now Shipping Worldwide!

This year's Movie Classics Special Edition celebrates the 50th anniversary of Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece The Wild Bunch (1969). This is an in-depth 124-page special, with a foreword by Sir Christopher Frayling and contributions by Peckinpah experts Mike Siegel, Jeff Slater and Nick Redman, features dozens of many never-seen-before photographs both in front and behind the camera. Interviews with Ernest Borgnine, L.Q. Jones, Lilia Castillo, Gordon T. Dawson, Chalo Gonzalez and Bo Hopkins give an amazing in-sight as to how this film was made, and we feature articles on the deleted scenes (with photos), the locations - then and now, the music and a complete look at how the film was made. Another amazing special on a timeless classic that only Cinema Retro knows how to deliver.

Note: This issue is not part of the subscription plan.

As the first wave of ‘adult’ westerns began to fade, 1959 gave us a burst of genuinely adult stories about the famed lawless towns of the frontier. Henry Fonda is at his moody best in a replay of his earlier Wyatt Earp, de-mythologized as just one more self-oriented opportunist in a land where even lawmen have an angle to play. But Fonda’s gun skills are impressive, and his deadly Clay Blaisedell is halfway to becoming the soulless ‘Frank’ from Once Upon a Time in The West. Edward Dmytryk almost rights his capsized directing career, and Robert Alan Aurthur’s screenplay delivers both an intense drama, & great gunslinging action.

Warlock

Blu-ray

Twilight Time

1959 / Colo / 2:35 widescreen / 122 min. / Street Date May 21, 2019 / Available from Twilight Time Movies / 29.95

Starring: Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Anthony Quinn, Dorothy Malone, Dolores Michaels, Wallace Ford, Tom Drake, Richard Arlen, DeForest Kelley, Frank Gorshin, Vaughn Taylor, Don Beddoe, Whit Bissell,...

Actor Morgan Woodward, known for playing "The Man with No Eyes" in Cool Hand Luke and a recurring guest role on Dallas, died Friday on February 22 morning at his home in California, the Fielder House Museum in Arlington, Texas. He was 93.

Thomas Morgan Woodward was born in Fort Worth, Texas, September 16, 1925. He was educated in the public schools of Arlington, graduated from high school in 1944, then enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps Pilot Training Program. This was natural, as he had been flying since the age of sixteen.

Following World War II, Woodward entered Arlington State College, where he majored in music and drama. During this period, Woodward began his professional career with the renowned Margo Jones Repertory Theatre in Dallas. His ultimate goal however, was the Metropolitan Opera. Later, the slow emergence of grand opera in America convinced him that this was not a promising career to pursue.

By Andrew J. Rausch

Lq Jones is a legend. He’s been in some of the greatest American films ever made, and his extensive filmography (consisting of well over 100 films) features a virtual Who’s Who of American American cinema. He made his film debut in the 1955 Raoul Walsh war picture Battle Cry, credited with his birth name Justus E. McQueen. The character he played was a young private named...Lq Jones. Soon, at the behest of the studio, the young actor changed his name to that of the character, and the rest is history.

Lq Jones isn’t a household name, and that’s a shame, because it deserves to be. Among knowledgeable cineastes he’s seen as a god among men, a gifted and accomplished performer. He’s one of those character actors people instantly recognize, as he’s been in films with the likes of Elvis Presley,...

By Todd Garbarini

Film historian Douglas Dunning has informed Cinema Retro that Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 and Ahrya Fine Arts will be presenting the 50th anniversary screening of Sam Peckinpah’s influential 1969 film The Wild Bunch and special guests are scheduled to appear at both locations. The film stars William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmund O’Brien, Warren Oates, L.Q. Jones, Jaime Sanchez, Bo Hopkins, Strother Martin, Albert Decker, Emilio Fernandez, and Alfonso Arau and runs 145 minutes.

Please Note:

Screening #1 is on February 26th at the Playhouse 7 at 7:00 pm, and at press time W.K. Stratton, the author of a new book, The Wild Bunch: Sam Peckinpah, a Revolution in Hollywood, and the Making of a Legendary Film, will participate in a discussion after the screening. He will also sign copies of his book at the theater.

Screening #2 is at the Ahrya Fine Arts on March 2nd at 7:30 pm.

One of the splashier WW2 combat sagas adapts Norman Mailer’s respected book but ends up a bona fide mess. Aldo Ray, Cliff Robertson and Raymond Massey flail about in a compromised screen story, augmented with side-dish appearances by sultry Barbara Nichols and — even though she’s allowed to contribute almost nothing — famous ecdysiast Lili St. Cyr. Let the search for outtakes begin.

The Naked and the Dead

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1958 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 131 min. / Street Date August 28, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Aldo Ray, Cliff Robertson, Raymond Massey, Lili St. Cyr, Barbara Nichols, William Campbell, Richard Jaeckel, James Best, Joey Bishop, Jerry Paris, Robert Gist, L.Q. Jones, Max Showalter, John Beradino, Saundra Edwards, Lydia Goya, Val Hidey, Taffy O’Neil, Liz Renay, Grace Lee Whitney.

Cinematography: Joseph Lashelle

Film Editor: Arthur P. Schmidt

Original Music: Bernard Herrmann

Written by Denis Sanders & Terry Sanders from the novel by Norman...

Rights agreement between legendary director and novellist green-lights existential parable.

Serbian producer Milos Antic is moving ahead on a long-cherished dream to bring Sam Peckinpah’s unproduced screenplay Castaway to the big screen.

Antic has secured rights from the Peckinpah Estate and will produce the existential parable alongside Los Angeles-based producers Katy Haber, with whom he worked on the late Peckinpah’s Cross Of Iron may years ago, and Benni Korzen.

Antic and Haber worked with Peckinpah on his only war film (pictured), in 1976 in Portoroz, Slovenia, in the former-Yugoslavia. During the shoot Peckinpah told Antic of his wish to direct Castaway,...

Serbian producer Milos Antic said he has acquired the film rights to legendary director Sam Peckinpah’s unproduced screenplay Castaway (which is a working title), which is based on James Gould Cozzen’s 1934 novella of the same name. The deal was done with the Peckinpah Estate; Antic will be producing alongside Los Angeles-based producers Katy Haber and Benni Korzen.

Antic and Haber both worked with Peckinpah on his only war film Cross of Iron in 1976 in Portoroz, Slovenia (the former-Yugoslavia). On that shoot, Antic said that Peckinpah wanted to direct Castaway, and Antic told him if the film could be shot in Yugoslavia, he would want to help finance the film based on the novella that Peckinpah had acquired rights to in 1960.

Castaway is the story of Mr Lecky, “an every-man who survives an unnamed catastrophe by hiding in a department store that has escaped destruction. While he is surrounded...

Bid welcome to five westerns guaranteed to make one fall in love with the genre all over again. Each stars the ultra-virtuous man of the West Randolph Scott, pitted against some of the most colorful antagonists on the range: Richard Boone, Lee Van Cleef, Claude Akins. Indicator’s extras constitute the best collection of research materials ever assembled on the underrated director Budd Boetticher.

Five Tall Tales: Budd Boetticher & Randolph Scott At Columbia, 1957-1960

The Tall T, Decision at Sundown, Buchanan Rides Alone, Ride Lonesome, Comanche Station

Blu-ray

Powerhouse Indicator

Color / 1:85 and 2:35 widescreen / 380 min. / / Street Date May 28, 2018 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £42.99

Starring: Randolph Scott.

Leading Ladies: Maureen O’Sullivan, Karen Steele (2), Valerie French, Nancy Gates.

Noble Villains: Richard Boone, John Carroll, Craig Stevens, Pernell Roberts, Lee Van Cleef, Claude Akins.

Hopeful Sidekicks: James Best, James Coburn, Skip Homeier (2), Henry Silva, Noah Beery Jr., L.Q. Jones, Richard Rust.

What makes a good Satanic Panic flick? Is it the urbane, dark humor of Rosemary’s Baby (’68), perhaps the outsized biblical insanity of The Omen (’76), or the insidious paranoia that infuses Race with the Devil (’75)? The answer for me is all of the above, and what a treat it is to come across another that brings something a little different - The Brotherhood of Satan (’71) offers a sense of quiet displacement before unleashing a torrent of blustery brimstone and hellfire.

Released by Columbia Pictures in early August, The Brotherhood of Satan even received some decent notices; Roger Greenspun of The New York Times proclaimed that the film “displays bold, direct, relatively uncomplicated acceptance of its supernature”, which is definitely one of its strengths – the evil is ingrained in the small town structure and those within are resigned to its nature. Hey, it was the ‘70s! Were you really expecting upbeat?...

Move over James Jones — Leon Uris clobbers the big screen with a sprawling adaptation of his WW2 combat novel, loaded down with roles for promising young actors. This is the one where twice as much time is spent on love affairs than fighting. War may be hell, but if Mona Freeman, Nancy Olson, Dorothy Malone and Allyn McLerie are going to be there for comfort, sign me up.

Battle Cry

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1955 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 148 min. / Street Date , 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Van Heflin, Aldo Ray, Mona Freeman, Nancy Olson, James Whitmore, Raymond Massey, Tab Hunter, Dorothy Malone, Anne Francis, William Campbell, Fess Parker, Justus E. McQueen (L.Q. Jones), Perry Lopez, Jonas Applegarth, Tommy Cook, Felix Noriego, Susan Morrow, Carleton Young, Rhys Williams, Allyn Ann McLerie, Gregory Walcott, Frank Ferguson, Sarah Selby, Willis Bouchey, Victor Milian.

Cinematography: Sidney Hickox

Film Editor: William H. Zeigler

Original Music: Max Steiner...

Sam Peckinpah was a fine director of actors when the material was right, and his first collaboration with Steve McQueen is an shaded character study about a rodeo family dealing with changing times. Joe Don Baker and Ben Johnson shine, but the movie belongs to Ida Lupino and Robert Preston.

Junior Bonner

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1972 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 100 min. / Special Edition / Street Date October 31, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Steve McQueen, Robert Preston, Ida Lupino, Joe Don Baker, Ben Johnson, Mary Murphy, Dub Taylor, Don ‘Red’ Barry, Bill McKinney.

Cinematography: Lucien Ballard

Film Editors: Frank Santillo, Robert L. Wolfe

Second Unit Director: Frank Kowalski

Bud Hurlbud: Special Effects

Original Music: Jerry Fielding

Written by Jeb Rosebrook

Produced by Joe Wizan

Directed by Sam Peckinpah

I suppose there were plenty of successful rodeo-themed westerns back in the day, perhaps the kind interrupted by a cowboy song every ten minutes or so.

Submarine movie evening: Underwater war waged in TCM's Memorial Day films In the U.S., Turner Classic Movies has gone all red, white, and blue this 2017 Memorial Day weekend, presenting a few dozen Hollywood movies set during some of the numerous wars in which the U.S. has been involved around the globe during the last century or so. On Memorial Day proper, TCM is offering a submarine movie evening. More on that further below. But first it's good to remember that although war has, to put it mildly, serious consequences for all involved, it can be particularly brutal on civilians – whether male or female; young or old; saintly or devilish; no matter the nationality, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other label used in order to, figuratively or literally, split apart human beings. Just this past Sunday, the Pentagon chief announced that civilian deaths should be anticipated as “a...

Easily the most mellow of the films of Sam Peckinpah, this relatively gentle western fable sees Jason Robards discovering water where it ain’t, and establishing his private little way station paradise, complete with lover Stella Stevens and eccentric preacher David Warner. Some of the slapstick is sticky but the sexist bawdy humor is too cute to offend . . . and Peckinpah-phobes will be surprised to learn that the movie is in part a musical.

The Ballad of Cable Hogue

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1970 / 1:85 widescreen / 121 min. / Street Date June 6, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring Jason Robards Jr., Stella Stevens, David Warner, Strother Martin, L.Q. Jones, R.G. Armstrong, Peter Whitney, Gene Evans, William Mims, Kathleen Freeman, Susan O’Connell, Vaughn Taylor, Max Evans, James Anderson.

Cinematography: Lucien Ballard

Art Direction: Leroy Coleman

Film Editor: Frank Santillo, Lou Lombardo

Original Music: Jerry Goldsmith

Written by John Crawford and Edmund Penney

Produced by Sam Peckinpah...

Before he became the flag bearer for cinema violence, Sam Peckinpah made his reputation with this unique western, a marvelous rumination on ethics, morality and personal responsibility. MGM all but threw it away in the summer of 1962 but it immediately became a critical favorite.

Ride the High Country

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1962 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 92 min. / Street Date April 4, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, Mariette Hartley, Ron Starr, Edgar Buchanan, R.G. Armstrong, Jenie Jackson, James Drury, L.Q. Jones, John Anderson, John Davis Chandler, Warren Oates.

Cinematography Lucien Ballard

Art Direction Leroy Coleman, George W. Davis

Film Editor Frank Santillo

Original Music George Bassman

Written by N.B. Stone Jr.

Produced by Richard E. Lyons

Directed by Sam Peckinpah

MGM’s western Ride the High Country put Sam Peckinpah on the map with critics and the foreign cinema literati — although it didn’t do big box office when new,...

April's Blu-ray and DVD releases are kicking off in a big way, as we have a lot of great genre releases to get excited for this week. Mike Mendez’s Don’t Kill It arrives on both formats April 4th as well as the cult classic Invasion of the Bee Girls, which makes its HD bow courtesy of Scream Factory. Mill Creek has put together a triple dose of terror with their Psycho Circus Triple Feature Blu-ray set, and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is keeping busy with their releases of Ghost of New Orleans, A Room to Die For, and We Go On this Tuesday.

Other notable home entertainment titles arriving this Tuesday include The Evil Within, Tank 432, Don’t Hang Up and the DVD set for Medium: The Complete Series.

Don’t Kill It (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Blu-ray & DVD)

When an ancient demon is accidentally unleashed in a...

This spring, Mill Creek Entertainment invites viewers to step right up to watch three vintage horror films—The Creeping Flesh, Brotherhood of Satan, and Torture Garden—in their Psycho Circus Blu-ray collection.

Blu-ray.com reports that Mill Creek Entertainment will release the Psycho Circus Blu-ray collection on April 4th. You can check out the official synopses, trailers, and cover art below.

From Mill Creek Entertainment: “Step Right Up And Experience The Triology Of Terror That People Are Dying To See!

The Creeping Flesh – (1973) – Color – 94 minutes – Rated PG

Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing

A Victorian-age scientist returns to London with his paleontological bag-of-bones discovery from Papua New Guinea. Unfortunately, when exposed to water, flesh returns to the bones unleashing a malevolent being on the scientist’s family and friends.

Brotherhood of Satan – (1971) – Color – 92 minutes – Rated PG

Strother Martin, L.Q. Jones, Charles Bateman, Ahna Capri

A family is trapped in a desert...

Here's another installment featuring Joe Dante's reviews from his stint as a critic for Film Bulletin circa 1969-1974. Our thanks to Video Watchdog and Tim Lucas for his editorial embellishments!

Post-production tampering mitigates against this Western by Sam Peckinpah finding its deserved reception from better-class audiences. Shortened release version is vague, confusing, and is being sold as routine action entry in saturation breaks where it should perform routinely, no more. Kris Kristofferson and acting debut of Bob Dylan provide youth lures. Rating: R.

“It feels like times have changed,” says Pat Garrett. “Times, maybe—not me," says Billy the Kid. A classical Sam Peckinpah exchange, reflecting one of the numerous obsessive themes that run through his latest Western. But times certainly haven’t changed for Peckinpah—for, despite the overdue success of his last venture, The Getaway, the embattled and iconoclastic director who revolutionized the Western with The Wild Bunch...

Cinema’s Hidden Pearls – Part I

By Alex Simon

One of nature’s rarest items, a pearl is produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a clam, a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. Truly flawless pearls are infrequently produced in nature, and as a result, the pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, admirable and valuable. Hidden pearls exist in the world of movies, as well: films that, in spite of being brilliantly crafted and executed, never got the audience they deserved beyond a cult following.

Here are a few of our favorite hidden pearls in the world of film:

1. Night Moves (1975)

Director Arthur Penn hit three home runs in a row with the trifecta of Bonnie & Clyde, Alice’s Restaurant and Little Big Man,...

The horror landscape was changing by 1982. People were tiring of slashers; even the Halloween franchise decided to take a left (some would say wrong) turn away from Shatner masks and sharpened knives, and used the brand name to explore the holiday itself in the perpetually under-appreciated Season of The Witch. The genre seemed to be turning towards monsters, from large scale dread fests such as John Carpenter's The Thing to more intimate fare like Frank Henenlotter's Basket Case. The horror films of 1982 displayed a refreshing variety of ways to make audiences jump, squirm, gasp, smile, and when the occasion arose, vomit. The Beast Within giddily checks all the boxes.

Released in February by United Artists, the film took in a total of 7.7 million at the box office. Those were not great numbers, and the reviews were worse. Mainstream critics in general have never been kind to horror; almost...

Pioneering woman director Lois Weber socially conscious drama 'Shoes' among Library of Congress' Packard Theater movies (photo: Mary MacLaren in 'Shoes') In February 2015, National Film Registry titles will be showcased at the Library of Congress' Packard Campus Theater – aka the Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation – in Culpeper, Virginia. These range from pioneering woman director Lois Weber's socially conscious 1916 drama Shoes to Robert Zemeckis' 1985 blockbuster Back to the Future. Another Packard Theater highlight next month is Sam Peckinpah's ultra-violent Western The Wild Bunch (1969), starring William Holden and Ernest Borgnine. Also, Howard Hawks' "anti-High Noon" Western Rio Bravo (1959), toplining John Wayne and Dean Martin. And George Cukor's costly remake of A Star Is Born (1954), featuring Academy Award nominees Judy Garland and James Mason in the old Janet Gaynor and Fredric March roles. There's more: Jeff Bridges delivers a colorful performance in...

“The truth is I’m just an old veteran character actor” says Robert Englund as we sit down to discuss The Last Showing, his latest foray into genre cinema. To find one standing opposite the genial and softly-spoken man who devoured so many hours of sleep by searing to the mind the menacing image of claws piercing first the mattress and then the torso, can only be described as ‘surreal.’ As these words flow onto the page there is a realisation that the reason horror cinema earns our affection was so eloquently phrased by Emily Berrington when she said, “There is a desire to feel that tiny part of your mind that otherwise doesn’t get tapped into.” By touching our sensibilities in a way that we crave, these terrifying encounters remain some of the most evocative and defining moments of the human experience, and therein cinema is our fix.

Stars: Ronny Cox, Bibi Besch, Paul Clemens, Don Gordon, R.G. Armstrong, Katherine Moffat, L.Q. Jones, Logan Ramsey, John Dennis Johnston, Ron Soble, Luke Askew, Meshach Taylor, Boyce Holleman | Written by Tom Holland | Directed by Philippe Mora

The Beast Within is a strange movie, you spend a lot of the time thinking it’s a strange werewolf film and the rest wondering just what the hell the beast is. The fact is though if you take your time and watch it you realise that the so-called Beast is unique, by listening to the commentary and watching the documentary included in this release you realise that the creature is in fact a cicada. I know, I had to look up what it was too.

The Beast Within starts with newlyweds Eli and Caroline MacCleary (Ronny Cox and Bibi Besch) enjoying their honeymoon until their car breaks down on a cold dark country road.

Stars: Ronny Cox, Bibi Besch, Paul Clemens, Don Gordon, R.G. Armstrong, Katherine Moffat, L.Q. Jones, Logan Ramsey, John Dennis Johnston, Ron Soble, Luke Askew, Meshach Taylor, Boyce Holleman | Written by Tom Holland | Directed by Philippe Mora

When I was a kid, there were two movies that terrified me as a kid. This wasn’t the creeping dread I felt when I watched Night of the Living Dead or The Twilight Zone. No, this was outright fear, the kind that sends you under the covers, sleeping in a sheen of sweat with the lights on. And maybe it sounds silly but as someone with a highly overactive imagination who lived in the woods, I don’t find it silly at the time. But now when you’re older, you look back and feel stupid about some of the things that terrified you or the film just isn’t that good. The...

December brings some more horror-loving holiday joy our way from the Scream Factory as they've just dished the details on two of their upcoming releases: The Beast Within and Crawlspace! Read on!

From the Press Release

Scream Factory invites you to embrace the chills this December with two stalk-and-slash cult horror favorites, Crawlspace and The Beast Within, making their debuts on Blu-ray!

On December 17th, 2013, bring home the Klaus Kinski starring Crawlspace, the story of a demented son of a Nazi surgeon who runs an apartment house for women. His tenants, however, are unaware the house is equipped with secret passageways, hidden rooms and devices for torture and murder!

Also available on December 17th is the terrifying coming of age tale The Beast Within, the story of 18-year-old Michael MacCleary, who experiences growing pains of a most shocking sort!

Available for the first time on Blu-ray, each movie collection boasts original theatrical key art,...

William Holden movies: ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’ William Holden is Turner Classic Movies’ "Summer Under the Stars" featured actor today, August 21, 2013. Throughout the day, TCM has been showing several William Holden movies made at Columbia, though his work at Paramount (e.g., I Wanted Wings, Dear Ruth, Streets of Laredo, Dear Wife) remains mostly off-limits. Right now, TCM is presenting David Lean’s 1957 Best Picture Academy Award winner and all-around blockbuster The Bridge on the River Kwai, the Anglo-American production that turned Lean into filmdom’s brainier Cecil B. DeMille. Until then a director of mostly small-scale dramas, Lean (quite literally) widened the scope of his movies with the widescreen-formatted Southeast Asian-set World War II drama, which clocks in at 161 minutes. Even though William Holden was The Bridge on the River Kwai‘s big box-office draw, the film actually belongs to Alec Guinness’ Pow British commander and to...

Randolph Scott Westerns, comedies, war dramas: TCM schedule on August 19, 2013 See previous post: “Cary Grant and Randolph Scott Marriages — And ‘Expect the Biographical Worst.’” 3:00 Am Badman’S Territory (1946). Director: Tim Whelan. Cast: Randolph Scott, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, Ann Richards. Bw-98 mins. 4:45 Am Trail Street (1947). Director: Ray Enright. Cast: Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys. Bw-84 mins. 6:15 Am Return Of The Badmen (1948). Director: Ray Enright. Cast: Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, Jacqueline White, Steve Brodie, Tom Keene aka Richard Powers, Robert Bray, Lex Barker, Walter Reed, Michael Harvey, Dean White, Robert Armstrong, Tom Tyler, Lew Harvey, Gary Gray, Walter Baldwin, Minna Gombell, Warren Jackson, Robert Clarke, Jason Robards Sr., Ernie Adams, Lane Chandler, Dan Foster, John Hamilton, Kenneth MacDonald, Donald Kerr, Ida Moore, ‘Snub’ Pollard, Harry Shannon, Charles Stevens. Bw-90 mins. 8:00 Am Riding Shotgun (1954). Director: André De Toth. Cast: Randolph Scott, Wayne Morris,...

By Lee Pfeiffer 

Twilight Time has released the 2005 restored version of Sam Peckinpah's Major Dundee as on Blu-ray, providing both the "improved" version of the film along with the controversial original cut. Peckinpah had won respect as a fine director of TV Westerns and his 1962 feature film, Ride the High Country, earned critical praise, particularly in Europe. Columbia hired Peckinpah to direct his first big budget film, Major Dundee, which top-lined two big stars: Charlton Heston and Richard Harris. As would prove to be the case throughout his career, Peckinpah's fiercely independent nature, combined with his propensity for snaring defeat from the jaws of victory, found him over his head on the production even before shooting started. Filmed in some inhospitable areas of Mexico, Peckinpah began shooting before the script was finalized (always a recipe for disaster). Midway through the film, Columbia was going to fire him for going...

A Boy And His Dog is an odd duck in the world of post-apocalyptic cinema in that it’s neither pure action nor pure drama. It exists somewhere in between the two extremes with a dark yet playful sense of humor courtesy of Harlan Ellison‘s source novella. It tells the story of a young man (Don Johnson) and his telepathic dog trying to survive in a world devastated by a global five day war. Food, water and companionship are priorities, but sometimes you have to settle for two out of three. Shout! Factory’s new Blu-ray release includes a sharp HD transfer, a previously-recorded commentary, and a brand new conversation between Ellison and and director L.Q. Jones as they rehash the film’s production and their nearly forty year old disagreements. This is a must-buy for fans of Ellison, misogyny or sci-fi in general. Keep reading to see what I heard on the commentary track for...

Charlton Heston movies: ‘A Man for All Seasons’ remake, ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’ (photo: Charlton Heston as Ben-Hur) (See previous post: “Charlton Heston: Moses Minus Staff Plus Chariot Equals Ben-Hur.”) I’ve yet to watch Irving Rapper’s melo Bad for Each Other (1954), co-starring the sultry Lizabeth Scott — always a good enough reason to check out any movie, regardless of plot or leading man. A major curiosity is the 1988 made-for-tv version of A Man for All Seasons, with Charlton Heston in the Oscar-winning Paul Scofield role (Sir Thomas More) and on Fred Zinnemann’s director’s chair. Vanessa Redgrave, who plays Thomas More’s wife in the TV movie (Wendy Hiller in the original) had a cameo as Anne Boleyn in the 1966 film. According to the IMDb, Robert Bolt, who wrote the Oscar-winning 1966 movie (and the original play), is credited for the 1988 version’s screenplay as well. Also of note,...

We've already clued you in on what Scream Factory is planning for its Sdcc panel, and now we have info on Shout! Factory's screenings, exclusive items, signings, and lots more.

From the Press Release:

Shout! Factory returns to Comic-Con International once again to ignite fans of all ages with a robust lineup featuring a special panel event, five film screenings, a showcase of new home entertainment products, Comic-Con exclusive items, prize sweepstakes, surprise star appearances, and engaging fan interactive activities. Moreover, Shout! Factory invites fans and convention attendees to join in on the excitement surrounding Shout’s 10th anniversary celebration at the Shout! Factory booth (#4248) on the main convention floor. Fan-favorite screen icons and comics legend scheduled to attend this incredible pop culture gathering with Shout! Factory include: Adrienne Barbeau, Len Wein, The Aquabats, and other notables. Shout’s resident geek guru Brian Ward and Scream Factory’s resident horror...

We’ve been regularly covering classic horror titles that are part of the Scream Factory lineup and we’re excited to see what they have in store for horror fans at Comic-Con next week. While their panel was recently announced, we have new details on what we can expect from Shout! Factory and Scream Factory, including an Adrienne Barbeau autograph session:

Shout! Factory returns to Comic-Con International once again to ignite fans of all ages with a robust lineup, featuring a special panel event, five film screenings, a showcase of new home entertainment products, Comic-Con exclusive items, prize sweepstakes, surprise star appearances and engaging fan interactive activities. Moreover, Shout! Factory invites fans and convention attendees to join in on the excitement surrounding Shout’s 10th anniversary celebration at the Shout! Factory booth (#4248) on the main convention floor. Fan-favorite screen icons and comics legend scheduled to attend this incredible pop culture gathering with Shout!