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Go Shirley Bassey! At The Age of 72 The Singer Gets A Record Deal

July 3rd, 2009 |

If there is one good thing that came out of that time suck known as the BET Award is that more mature artists can certainly show up the young folks when it comes to singing. Anyway, that’s why I am so excited to share that Dame Shirley Bassey (yes a sister is a Dame—just like noted actresses Helen Mirren and Judi Dench) has just inked a new record deal. Her new project will be out as early as this fall. And like Tina Turner (who is a little younger) this lady has still got that sexy, sultry

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Posted in Movie videos | Tags: Actresses, Bet Award, Dame Shirley, Helen Mirren, Judi Dench, Mature Artists, New Deal, Shirley Bassey, Suck, Tina Turner, Young Folks | No Comments »

Michael Powell Double Feature Age of Consent Stairway to Heaven

May 3rd, 2009 |

Author: Neat Movies

Michael Powell Double Feature Age of Consent Stairway to Heaven

A true marvel, A Matter of Life and Death is one of the best films by the storied English filmmaking team known as the Archers: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Among other felicities, this 1946 fantasy has one of the most crackling opening ten minutes of any movie you’ll ever see: after a deceptively dreamy prologue, we are thrown into the conversation between an airman (David Niven) whose torched plane is about to crash in the English Channel, and an American military radio operator (Kim Hunter) operating the radio on the ground. Their touching exchange, made urgent by his imminent death, is breathtakingly visualized (you have never seen a WWII plane interior quite as vividly as this). What follows is glorious: Niven’s death has been missed by an otherworldly collector (Marius Goring)–all that thick English fog, you know–and so he gets to argue his case for life before a heavenly tribunal. The heaven sequences are in pearly black-and-white, the earthly material in stunning Technicolor (the color is the cause of a particularly good in-joke). The Powell-Pressburger brief on behalf of humanity is both romantic and witty, and the wonderful cast is especially enriched by Roger Livesey (the star of Powell and Pressburger’s The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp), as a doctor with a camera obscura and an enormous heart.

Age of Consent, the other film in this two-disc set, comes from a much later period in Powell’s career–indeed, close to the end of it. Made on a low budget in Australia in 1969, the movie depicts a disenchanted painter (James Mason) finding renewal in the isolation of an island and the beauty of the young woman (Helen Mirren) who models for him. The salt-and-pepper authority of Mason and the nubile freshness of Mirren give pleasure, although the theme is too on-the-nose (and Jack MacGowran’s comic relief too broad) for a really subtle take on Powell’s part. Extras include a seven-minute Martin Scorsese comment for AMOLAD, and a commentary track on that film by Powell-Pressburger authority Ian Christie; Scorsese chimes in again for Age of Consent, as does Helen Mirren, whose memories of her first movie are specific and fond. Kent Jones contributes the commentary track, a 10-minute interview with underwater photographers Ron and Valerie Taylor includes some Mirren comments, and a 16-minute making-of documentary gives some flavor of the set, including the memories of Powell’s son Kevin. –Robert Horton

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Finally,A true studio release on DVD! Love this film!
this film has been a long time coming to DVD,,(Despite the region 2 editions which were useless here in the states) until the intro of region friendly players now,,but needless to say.A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH,is to me,the quintessential film of Pressburger & Powells works,and excellent introductive to their collected films, for anyone interested in their work,and if for no other reason,the cinematography of Jack Cardiff,stand alone as a testament to its art. the Brilliance of color,and tone,and visual contrast.even more so enchanced with this remastered edition.timeless in its meaning,and ideas abour love,and romance in the universe.which out shine its original ideas of propaganda during World War II, the performances, no less than sublime,as well as verbally amusing..Kim hunter,David Niven(Peter Carter)and of course,Roger Livesey( Dr Frank Reeves)who is a staple in most of the Powell films, as is Kathleen Byron as the celestial registrare. And a brilliant performance by MariusGoring as conductor 71..A-must see,and have for any film buff,or student,,,(take note of Scorcese’s comments to this film,as well as his admiration for this dynamic,and groundbreaking film duo.

5 Stars I like Michael Powell
My husband knows the names of all the actors, directors, writers, cameramen, etc. I may remember the name of a movie. He is perfectly happy to watch a movie that goes nowhere as long as the technical aspects are good; I like some sort of connective action and don’t really care about how the lighting is achieved. Michael Powell’s movies are a rare source of agreement. Michael Powell tells a good story. His techniques satisfy my husband’s critical values; his writing satisfies mine. Two things strike me about any Michael Powell movie: first, that any one of his movies will hold you, regardless of how many times you have seen it before; and second, when only war propaganda movies were allowed to be made, Powell used the restrictions to hone his tales — you will never guess that it is war propaganda. Sorry none of this is very witty — it would be easier if I could think of something bad to say. I can’t. Powell’s movies are a great time.

5 Stars A Fabulous Powell Double-Feature, Long Overdue!
If you are unfamiliar with the magnificent film work of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, have you got a treat in store for you! Two of my favorite films, the unforgettable “A Matter of Life and Death” (known in America as “Stairway to Heaven”), and the witty, mature “Age of Consent”, have been packaged together as the “Michael Powell Double Feature (Age of Consent, Stairway to Heaven)”. This is a MUST-BUY DVD SET!!!

1946’s “Stairway to Heaven” is as close to a perfect fantasy as you’ll ever see on film, offering one of David Niven’s greatest performances, as a downed airman, living, literally, on borrowed time, as he missed being snatched by death. Soon, he starts hallucinating from a brain tumor, and he stands trial in heaven (strikingly portrayed in black and white, as opposed to the rich, technicolor ‘real’ world), for his right to continue living. A perfect cast, including young Kim Hunter, Marius Goring, Raymond Massey, Robert Coote, and the fabulous Roger Livesey, plus a humane, witty script, combine to create one of the best films ever made!

1969’s “Age of Consent”, Powell’s last film, while not as ’stellar’ (in every sense of the word) as “Stairway”, is a remarkable film in it’s own right, as a bohemian Australian artist (James Mason, in one of his favorite roles), walks away from a lucrative art career in New York, and takes up a beachcomber life on an island of the Great Barrier Reef. He soon meets nubile young Helen Mirren (in her film debut), and they enter a richly productive (and platonic) relationship, as he paints unabashedly sensual nudes of her, and she renews in him a passion to create. While the comic relief of Mason’s moocher acquaintance Jack McGowran is sometimes criticized as too broad, I don’t think it hurts the film (the residents of the island are also portrayed as more than a bit balmy). The film’s pacing is relaxed, the visuals, breathtaking, and Mason and Mirren are wonderful together! The story, incidently, is loosely based on the life of an actual Australian artist, Norman Lindsay, and would be retold in 1994’s “Sirens”, with Sam Neill as Lindsay.

With terrific insights by Powell fan Martin Scorcese, Helen Mirren, and Powell’s son, Kevin, and great commentaries, this will be a double feature you’ll treasure!

5 Stars 2009 Sony Pictures release of “aMoLaD”
Having owned the VHS tape and the 1998 Carlton R2 Edition of aMoLaD I can report that picture *and* sound quality on this new release are *far* superior to those two previous releases. Sony Pictures have done an excellent restoration. If Criterion isn’t ever going to release aMoLaD this is the next best thing. I haven’t yet screened “Age of Consent,” and in any case don’t have anything to compare it with; it’s worth buying the Double Feature just to get this one.

3 Stars DVD5, interlaced, aspect strange
I won’t go into the film -Age of Consent- itself, that was handled by the 4 paragraph review, who apparently thought the DVD transfer was perfect.

That is not my opinion: 106 min movie unnecessarily compressed to 3.7GB (rather than ~7GB of most DVDs. Interlacing is evident when upscaled on oppo 980/42″ plasma (NOT top equipment here), aspect ratio is -apparently- re-cropped to 2:1 (memory tells me this was 4:3 or euro/australia 1.66 but I could be wrong, and can find no solid source, other than 35mm film stock).

Could -definitely- have been better, but very watchable and much clearer than my VHS version (4:3, no apparent side cropping/pan&scan, and notably -does Not- cut off Helen’s face in the first underwater shot, among others. Typical untalented mask-crap, I guess to save bits/sec so they could save that 2/1000ths of a cent using DVD5 media ).

A shame to minimize the effort for what is arguably the most perfectly captured underwater nude scenes of all time - and with an astonishingly beautiful actress.

(also, this DVD terribly confuses PowerDVD, nearly unwatchable on -my- PC (half the chapters & no running time while viewing) Mebbe I got a bad copy…

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