Showing posts with label John Ford. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Ford. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

a wee bit of irish...

Happy St. Patrick's Day to one and all!
First off a clip from that great movie, The Quiet Man, just to put us in the right spirit:


Also we present two great performances:
Allison Krauss and The Cheiftains perfoming Molly Ban:

Also
The Coors and The Cheiftains live- get yer dancin' shoes out lassie!


Enjoy!


Oh, I know it's a penny here and a penny there, but look at me. I worked myself up from nothing to a state of extreme poverty.

Then, a toast: May their days be long and full of happiness; may their children be many and full of health; and may they live in peace... and freedom.


Friday, September 07, 2007

dvd news on the march

We're back with some great DVD news that should tickle your fancies. Three new DVD releases that have my attention, and with any luck will be on my own shelf in the future.

The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, Vol.I
(Release Date: Oct. 23)
I know we talked about this one not too long ago. Here, after several years of putting it together, is the long awaited release from George Lucas and Spielberg. The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones was a series of feature-length adventures featuring a teenage, or in some cases, a 9 year old Indiana Jones. The shows combined history, romance, adventure, and plenty of the little things here and there that would contribute to making the adult Indy in the films. This first Volume will contain 12 discs which will include the 7 features from the first season, along with a ton of special features. Each feature will have accompanying in-depth historical documentaries; 38 of them in all. Also included will be an interactive timeline and game and a historical overview of the series.
The second volume will follow on December 18th and the final third volume will be released in Spring 2008. All told, the three volumes sets will eventually contain all 22 feature length adventures and some 94 documentaries. All I can say is, it's worth the wait. The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, Vol. I is currently available for pre-order through Amazon.

The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. I 1934-1936 (Release date: Oct. 30)
At last, after years of haphazard DVD releases, and some unfortunate colorization attempts, the Stooges are getting their due on DVD with a long promised chronological collection. The first Volume in this multi-volume set will contain all 19 shorts from 1934-1936. Included will be: Woman Haters, Punch Drunks, Men In Black, Three Little Pigskins, Horses' Collars, Restless Knights, Pop Goes The Easel, Uncivil Warriors, Pardon My Scotch, Hoi Polloi, Three Little Beers, Ants In The Pantry, Movie Maniacs, Half-Shot Shooters, Disorder In The Court, A Pain In The Pullman, False Alarms, Whoops, I'm an Indian and Slippery Silks. Sony, which owns and distributes the Columbia catalogue, has promised special features as well. Possible features for this set that have been discussed are a biographical documentary on Moe Howard, interviews with some of the surviving Stooge secondary players, and some audio commentaries. Considering the amount of time it would take to release all of the shorts in two year sets, let's hope Sony speeds up the release schedule and releases several sets a year. The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. I 1934-1936 is currently available for pre-order through Amazon.

Ford at Fox (Release Date: Dec. 4)
Here is a box set that just jump starts my heart! A huge release this year from Fox just in time for Christmas: Ford at Fox. One of America's most celebrated directors, and one of my all time favorites, John Ford spent much of his early career at Fox studios. Fox has collected 24 of those films, 18 of which will be new to DVD, to be released in this massive collector's box set. The films are:
Just Pals, The Iron Horse, 3 Bad Men, Four Sons, Hangman's House, Born Reckless, Up the River, Seas Beneath, Doctor Bull, Pilgrimage, Judge Priest, The World Moves On, Steamboat Round the Bend, The Prisoner of Shark Island, Wee Willie Winkie, Four Men and a Prayer, Drums Along the Mohawk, Young Mr. Lincoln, The Grapes of Wrath, Tobacco Road, How Green Was My Valley, My Darling Clementine, When Willie Comes Marching Home and What Price Glory.
A bonus disc included will be a documentary disc: Becoming John Ford. Also in the set will be a hardcover book featuring unpublished photographs, lobby card reproductions, production stills and a look at Ford's films and career, and several poster reproductions. Many of the discs will have individual extras, and some will be released later as stand alone discs or in triple feature collections.
After our look at 20 influential westerns of the 20th century, I lamented on the lack of a DVD release of The Iron Horse. With this box set, all of the Westerns on our list will be available on DVD! This set isn't available for pre-order yet from Amazon, but Fox has a SRP on the set of $299.98. Start saving now!

That's all for now folks, but there's more where that came from. Coming up: A DVD review of Warner Brother's recent Shakespeare Collection. Stay tuned. Also don't forget: 3:10 to Yuma is in theaters starting today. It looks good. Is the Western genre gaining new ground? We'll see...

Oh, I know it's a penny here and a penny there, but look at me. I worked myself up from nothing to a state of extreme poverty.

For Duty and Humanity!



Tuesday, February 06, 2007

31 days of Oscar: day 6


We meant to start this last week, but better late than never. This month, Turner Classic Movies celebrates movies and the Academy Awards by presenting 31 Days of Oscar. Each Day from Feb.1 through March 3, a different category of the awards will be the theme of the day; featuring films that were nominated or won in that category. The Shelf will be joining in the celebration by giving you our Oscar pick of the Day!

Today's category is Best Supporting Actor- Winners. The interesting thing about today's selections are the number of westerns included and that all of the films span a wide range of years from 1936 all the way to 1996. Here's the schedule (all times are EST):

6:00 AM Sweet Bird of Youth (’62)
8:15 AM A Thousand Clowns (’65)
10:15 AM The Barefoot Contessa (’54)
12:30 PM Come and Get It (’36)
2:15 PM The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (’48)
4:30 PM Stagecoach (’39)
6:15 PM The Westerner (’40)
8:00 PM The Big Country (’58)
11:00 PM They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (’69)
1:15 AM Jerry Maguire (’96)
3:45 AM The Last Picture Show (’71)

And our Oscar pick goes to... Stagecoach. With some great films in today's rotation (and personal favorites) it's difficult to choose. Luckily you really don't have, just sit back and enjoy as many as you want. Stagecoach defintily deserves a viewing, especially if you have never seen one of the best of the early collaborations between Director John Ford and John Wayne. This was the film that broke John Wayne out of the "B" and "C" Western status and helped to put him on a path to becoming one of America's most beloved stars. The movie also marked a new chapter in the Ford/Wayne relationship, and one that led to a strong and enriching professional output.
The film was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, including Best Director. It won for Best Music (Score) and a well deserved win for Best Supporting Actor (today's category) for Thomas Mitchell and his portrayal of the sympathetic druck Dr. Josiah Boone. Mitchell was one of my favorite all time character actors and is perhaps best remembered for his role of Uncle Billy in It's a Wonderful Life.
You can see Stagecoach today on TCM, or you can order it here as a great two-disc special edition, or as part of the fantastic John Wayne/ John Ford Box Set. For more information on TCM's 31 Days of Oscar, visit the Turner Classic Movies website.

Oh, I know it's a penny here and a penny there, but look at me. I worked myself up from nothing to a state of extreme poverty.

I'm not only a philosopher, sir, I'm a fatalist. Somewhere, sometime, there may be the right bullet or the wrong bottle waiting for Josiah Boone. Why worry when or where?


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