Mike Myers Austin Powers scene taken from Peter Sellers After the Fox

After the Fox  is a 1966 Italian comedy film starring Peter Sellers and directed by Vittorio De Sica. Sellers plays Aldo Vanucci, also known as The Fox, a master criminal with a talent for disguise who accepts the contract for smuggling the gold with Okra (Akim Tamiroff) the mastermind of the heist, Two policemen are constantly on his trail and Aldo has to use many disguises and tricks to throw them off his trail. The scene in the film where Aldo speaks to Okra through his voluptuous accomplice Maria Grazia Buccella inspired a similar scene in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), in which star Mike Myers as Austin Powers talks to Foxxy Cleopatra through the Nathan Lane character.

Peter Sellers The Bobo - The Blue Matador inspires Big Fat Liar

Image via Wikipedia

The Bobo is a 1967 British comedy film starring Peter Sellers and co-starring his then-wife Britt Ekland. Based on a 1959 novel "Olimpia" by Burt Cole, aka Thomas Dixon, Sellers is featured as the would-be Spanish singing matador, Juan Bautista.
A theater manager offers to give him a big break if he seduces the beautiful Olympia (Ekland) and spends an hour in her apartment with the lights off. In the end Sellers becomes known as the "Blue Matador" after the woman has him dyed blue in act of revenge.

A similar famous scene takes place Big Fat Liar, a 2002 American teen comedy film directed by Shawn Levy, starring Frankie Muniz, Paul Giamatti, and Amanda Bynes. Teenagers, Muniz and Bynes add blue and orange dye to Giamatti's swimming pool and shampoo, giving him blue skin and orange hair.

Ignoring Chest Pains for TCM Metropolis Premiere Almost Cost My Life

I am posting on my blog, because a 140 character tweet just couldn't do justice for the explanation for why I suddenly stopped my maniacal tweeting for TCM the 2 months. November 8th was a typical lazy Sunday except I was full of anticipation like every other true movie enthusiast for the premier of the 2010 renovation of Metropolis at 10pm ON TCM that night. An otherwise typical Sunday was eventually interrupted by a nagging pain whenever I took deep breaths. For most of the morning I blamed this mild irritation on the new core exercises my physical therapist got me started on Friday. By night fall this minor irritation had developed into panting to avoid the growing pain I felt with each full breath. After some conversation with my lupus Facebook friends, the self diagnosis became pleurisy. Inflammation of the sac enclosing the lung is a common condition for lupus patients. They all said go to ER immediately. My best friend was all ready to take me. BUT I ignored my lupus Facebook friends advice and told my best friend it wasn't too bad yet. She could pick me up before work in the morning, drop me off at the ER, I would get a round of steroids and be done by the time she got off work. I did not disclose to anyone that I just really really didn't want to miss the TCM television premiere of the Kino 2010 restored, complete Metropolis including lost 25 minutes that has not been seen for 83 years. Being the classic movie nerd that I am, not only did I enjoy TCM's broadcast. Afterward, I simultaneously viewed the Full German Director's cut side by side with the English Titled 2001 renovation comparing frame by frame. I was up til dawn when my friend picked me up to go to ER. A 15 year lupus veteran, having had pleurisy lots of times, I felt absolutely no anxiety. They did EKG immediately. In my previous experience that was a routine precaution with any chest discomfort. While one nurse worked me over for an IV, the other whispered something about the EKG and they quickly fled the room and returned with a team of doctors including a cardiologist with a pen and papers to sign for a heart catherization to check for blockage. Whoa, wait a minute. This is not in the script! Whose directing this scene? CUT!!! I wanted to wait for my best friend. But they warned me every second could be lethal to my heart tissue. They also warned if blockage found they would immediately do the surgery to correct it. It didn't take long for them to inform me no blockage was found. I felt relieved and confident the director would get back to MY SCRIPT with the pleurisy diagnosis. The nurse spent quite some time putting pressure on my cath incision trying to stop the bleeding.(FORESHADOWING) My best friend and pastor met me in my ICU room. With my own anxieties gone I was trying to relieve her fears. She had received a message from hospital saying I had a heart attack! Oh nothing of the sort, I said. I feel fine. Its just hurts when I breath deeply. I have had much worse pain with pleurisy, so it couldn't be that bad. I began to chit chat with the pastor about the some work I'd done for church website. SCRIPT CHANGE: Suddenly severe nausea hit me and although I was lying securely flat against pillows I felt as if I was falling very very fast. Amidst the casual conversation that continued in the scene in front of me, I became the 4TH WALL. I tried to yell out, "I'm sick! I'm falling! Raise me up!" A gray tunnel enclosed my view as I felt myself rapidly floating backwards away from the scene like a character in a Spike Lee flick. It was curtains for me!

I awoke. The scene was a darkened hospital room. In the chair in the corner I saw a figure wrapped in a blanket. It was my son. I must be dreaming because he's 500 miles away at college. They probably gave me some IV dilaudid with the steroids. That always knocks out my memory and gives me sweet dreams. I thought it was late Monday night. I must have slept all day. The next time I awoke my son was smiling right in my face teasing me, "So you decided to join us?" He was really there holding my hand. This scene was real.

It was the next morning before I realized a week had past. I had missed the climax in the plot of a medical drama that starred me. I was told I was at a different hospital ICU. I found out that I had not fainted. I stopped breathing. It was CODE BLUE! My heart stopped beating. Unable to be resuscitated I was put on life support and flown by helicopter from my home town to the nearest major medical center for emergency cardiac surgery and had been on life support until God's grace brought me out. A real tear jerking happy ending. Miracles don't just happen in the MOVIES.

In summary, my heart stopped as a result of cardiac tamponade, which is caused by a large or uncontrolled pericardial effusion, i.e. the buildup of fluid inside the pericardium. This commonly occurs as a result of chest trauma, but may have other causes. My case was due to inflammatory response of my lupus as well as complications from taking anticoagulant therapy to manage my other illness, APS. Both lupus and APS or Antiphospholipid Syndrome are invisible incurable autimmune illness that may be life threatening. Unfortunately the only drugs available to manage these diseases have toxic side effects themselves. Apparently my lupus had caused pericarditis (inflamed my heart sac) whilst my anticoagulants had lowered my blood clotting ability allowing 3.5 liters of blood [imagine 3 large 1 L pop bottles] to fill up the pericardium squeezing the heart until it stopped beating.

Update: All my tubes are gone. Chest staples removed. ECG looking great. I have made remarkable recovery considering the surgeons warned my loved ones I might not even survive the surgery. Its two months later, I am recovering at home back in front of the tube with my laptop tweeting and watching TCM ...

For more information about me, my illness and my advocacy...
http://alupussurvivor.blogspot.com/
http://alupussurvivor.ning.com/

Review | Once Upon a Time in The West: Love Poem to American Westerns

Cover of Once Upon a Time in the West  Once Upon a Time in The West is my all time favorite film as well as my favorite movie score. Bernardo Bertolucci, the co-writer of Once Upon a Time in The West, later directs The Last Emperor, which is my second all time favorite film as well as my second favorite movie score. Beware this is not your usual western. It is epic poetry. It is opera. It is a perfectly crafted art film that expresses Sergio Leone's true love for the great American Westerns. Leone doesn't necessarily romanticize the American West, he romanticizes American Western films. He makes references to High Noon, 3:10 to Yuma, The Comancheros, Shane, The Searchers, My Darling Clementine and many other great American Westerns very much the way Quentin Tarrantino has made films that pay homage to the gangster film genre.

Image by howzey via FlickrAlthough most of the film was shot in Spain & Italy like most spaghetti westerns, Leone traveled to John Ford's Monument Valley to capture the authentic Western United States panorama. Like Nicholas Ray's Johnny Guitar, it has a poetic quality that uses strong symbolism; but instead of symbolic words and lyrical phrases in the dialogue, Leone relies on the alliteration of sights and sounds to formulate poetic stanzas out of every scene. The length of the film is a result of Leone's choice to direct in a sometimes painstakingly slow pace that builds up incredible tension before key action scenes. He allows us time to imbibe the majestic landscapes, and appreciate the details of the authentic sets and costume design documenting this pivotal period in American history. Instead of cluttering the beauty of his carefully photographed frames with dialogue, close shots of these actor's iconic faces express all that needs to be said.

Image via WikipediaEnnio Morricone, also my favorite movie composer, scored five distinct musical themes that embody each of the main characters: widowed new bride Jill (Claudia Cardinale), mysterious harmonica-playing gunman (Charles Bronson), bandit Cheyenne (Jason Robards), hired gun Frank (Henry Fonda) and  railroad tycoon Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti). Instead of a musical prelude, the movie opens with a symphony of natural sounds using a screeching windmill, a buzzing fly, dropping water and a ticking telegraph. Meticulous sound editors maintain continuity throughout this mostly visual narrative, composing a perfect harmony between each of the main character's musical motifs along side the multitude of natural sounds mostly inspired by the two major symbols, the railroad and the water. An impressive lengthy tracking shot introduces the "anti-heroine" Jill as well as the beginnings of a bustling railroad town. Don't miss the first few minutes of this movie. Without music nor dialogue, Leone creates one of the most suspenseful thrilling first few minutes of a movie whilst still rolling the opening credits. For all 168 minutes I was captivated by each and every frame! Once Upon a Time in the West is the finest example of Sergio Leone's creativity and perfectionism as a director, but most of all it is his greatest testament of love for the American Western.

Image via WikipediBTW Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds pays tribute to this film with an opening sequence entitled Once Upon a Time in Nazi-Occupied France.

1955 Ealing comedy The Ladykillers remade 2004 by the Coen brothers

Cover of The Ladykillers [Blu-ray]

The Ladykillers is a 1955 British black comedy film made by Ealing Studios. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, it stars Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green, Jack Warner and Katie Johnson. American William Rose wrote the screenplay, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay and won the BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay. He claimed to have dreamt the entire film and merely had to remember the details when he awoke.
Cover of The Ladykillers (Widescreen Edition)
In 2004, the Coen Brothers directed a Hollywood remake of the film, starring Tom Hanks, with J. K. Simmons, Marlon Wayans, Tzi Ma, Ryan Hurst, and Irma P. Hall. For the remake, the setting of the film is moved from London to Saucier, Mississippi, home of a riverboat casino.  The gang pretends to play,"Minuet" (3rd movement) from "String Quintet in E, Op. 13 No. 5", composed by Luigi Boccherini; echoing the original 1955 film.

TCManiacs 2010 Holiday Picks!

TCManiac's has picked favorite films that celebrate faith, family and festivity of the December holiday season.

TCManiacs December Holiday Picks!

3 Friday

8:00 PM	Fitzwilly (1967)
	When an aging philanthropist goes broke, her butler robs from the rich so she can give to the poor. Cast: Dick Van Dyke, Edith Evans, Barbara Feldon. Dir: Delbert Mann. C-103 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format
10:00 PM	It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)
	Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South. Cast: Don DeFore, Victor Moore, Gale Storm. Dir: Roy Del Ruth. BW-115 mins, TV-G, CC
12:00 AM	Susan Slept Here (1954)
	A Hollywood screenwriter takes in a runaway girl who's more woman than he can handle. Cast: Dick Powell, Debbie Reynolds, Anne Francis. Dir: Frank Tashlin. C-98 mins, TV-PG, CC
4 Saturday

9:00 AM	Christmas Carol, A (1938)
	In this adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic tale, an elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve. Cast: Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart. Dir: Edwin L. Marin. BW-69 mins, TV-G, CC

 5 Sunday

12:30 PM	Holiday Affair (1950)
	A young widow is torn between a boring businessman and a romantic ne'er-do-well. Cast: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey. Dir: Don Hartman. BW-87 mins, TV-G, CC

10 Friday

8:00 PM	Christmas Carol, A (1938)
	In this adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic tale, an elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve. Cast: Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart. Dir: Edwin L. Marin. BW-69 mins, TV-G, CC
9:30 PM	Scrooge (1970)
	A miser faces the ghosts of his past on Christmas Eve. Cast: Albert Finney, Edith Evans, Kenneth More. Dir: Ronald Neame. C-113 mins, TV-PG, Letterbox Format
11:30 PM	Man Who Came to Dinner, The (1942)
	An acerbic critic wreaks havoc when a hip injury forces him to move in with a midwestern family. Cast: Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley. Dir: William Keighley. BW-113 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS

3:30 AM	Santa Claus (1959)
	Santa Claus enlists Merlin to help him save Christmas from the devil. Cast: Jose Elias Moreno, Cesareo Quezadas 'Pulgarcito', Jose Luis Aguirre 'Trotsky'. Dir: pRene Cardona. C-95 mins,
5:15 AM	Short Film: Visit to Santa (1963)
	Two children dreaming of Christmas visit Santa at the North Pole. Dir: Clem Williams. BW-12 mins,

11 Saturday

8:00 PM	Meet Me In St. Louis (1944)
	Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family. Cast: Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor. Dir: Vincente Minnelli. C-113 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS

12 Sunday
 

10:15 AM	Shop Around The Corner, The (1940)
	Feuding co-workers don't realize they're secret romantic pen pals. Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan. Dir: Ernst Lubitsch. BW-99 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS
12:00 PM	Bishop's Wife, The (1947)
	An angel helps set an ambitious bishop on the right track. Cast: Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven. Dir: Henry Koster. BW-109 mins, TV-G, CC

17 Friday

8:00 PM	Holiday Affair (1950)
	A young widow is torn between a boring businessman and a romantic ne'er-do-well. Cast: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey. Dir: Don Hartman. BW-87 mins, TV-G, CC
9:30 PM	In The Good Old Summertime (1949)
	In this musical remake of The Shop Around the Corner, feuding co-workers in a small music shop do not realize they are secret romantic pen pals. Cast: Judy Garland, Van Johnson, S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall. Dir: Robert Z. Leonard. C-103 mins, TV-PG, CC, DVS
11:30 PM	Little Women (1949)
	The four daughters of a New England family fight for happiness during and after the Civil War. Cast: June Allyson, Elizabeth Taylor, Peter Lawford. Dir: Mervyn LeRoy. C-122 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS
2:00 AM	Black Christmas (1974)
	A deranged killer terrorizes the women staying in a sorority house over Christmas. Cast: Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder. Dir: Bob Clark. C-98 mins,
3:45 AM	Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
	Martians kidnap Santa Claus to cheer up their children. Cast: John Call, Bill McCutcheon, Pia Zadora. Dir: Nicholas Webster. C-81 mins, TV-PG
5:15 AM	Short Film: Visit to Santa (1963)
	Two children dreaming of Christmas visit Santa at the North Pole. Dir: Clem Williams. BW-12 mins,

19 Sunday

10:00 AM	It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)
	Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South. Cast: Don DeFore, Victor Moore, Gale Storm. Dir: Roy Del Ruth. BW-115 mins, TV-G, CC
12:00 PM	Scrooge (1970)
	A miser faces the ghosts of his past on Christmas Eve. Cast: Albert Finney, Edith Evans, Kenneth More. Dir: Ronald Neame. C-113 mins, TV-PG, Letterbox Format

12:15 AM	King of Kings, The (1927)
	In this silent film, Cecil B. DeMille directs an epic retelling of the life of Christ. Cast: H.B. Warner, Dorothy Cumming, Ernest Torrence. Dir: Cecil B. DeMille. BW-157 mins, TV-G

 20 Monday

10:00 PM	Shop Around The Corner, The (1940)
	Feuding co-workers don't realize they're secret romantic pen pals. Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan. Dir: Ernst Lubitsch. BW-99 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS

24 Friday

9:15 AM	Tenth Avenue Angel (1948)
	A child of the tenements helps an ex-con find a new life. Cast: Margaret O'Brien, Angela Lansbury, George Murphy. Dir: Roy Rowland. BW-74 mins, TV-G, CC
10:30 AM	Holiday Affair (1950)
	A young widow is torn between a boring businessman and a romantic ne'er-do-well. Cast: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey. Dir: Don Hartman. BW-87 mins, TV-G, CC
12:00 PM	It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)
	Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South. Cast: Don DeFore, Victor Moore, Gale Storm. Dir: Roy Del Ruth. BW-115 mins, TV-G, CC
2:00 PM	Man Who Came to Dinner, The (1942)
	An acerbic critic wreaks havoc when a hip injury forces him to move in with a midwestern family. Cast: Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley. Dir: William Keighley. BW-113 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS
4:00 PM	In The Good Old Summertime (1949)
	In this musical remake of The Shop Around the Corner, feuding co-workers in a small music shop do not realize they are secret romantic pen pals. Cast: Judy Garland, Van Johnson, S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall. Dir: Robert Z. Leonard. C-103 mins, TV-PG, CC, DVS
6:00 PM	Scrooge (1970)
	A miser faces the ghosts of his past on Christmas Eve. Cast: Albert Finney, Edith Evans, Kenneth More. Dir: Ronald Neame. C-113 mins, TV-PG, Letterbox Format
8:00 PM	Bishop's Wife, The (1947)
	An angel helps set an ambitious bishop on the right track. Cast: Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven. Dir: Henry Koster. BW-109 mins, TV-G, CC
10:00 PM	Make Way For Tomorrow (1937)
	A devoted couple faces the harsh economic realities of growing older. Cast: Victor Moore, Beulah Bondi, Fay Bainter. Dir: Leo McCarey. BW-92 mins, TV-G
12:00 AM	Remember the Night (1940)
	An assistant D.A. takes a shoplifter home with him for Christmas. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi. Dir: Mitchell Leisen. BW-94 mins, TV-G
2:00 AM	Meet Me In St. Louis (1944)
	Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family. Cast: Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor. Dir: Vincente Minnelli. C-113 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS

25 Saturday
6:00 AM	Little Women (1933)
	The four March sisters fight to keep their family together and find love while their father is off fighting the Civil War. Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Paul Lukas. Dir: George Cukor. BW-116 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS
8:00 AM	Shop Around The Corner, The (1940)
	Feuding co-workers don't realize they're secret romantic pen pals. Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan. Dir: Ernst Lubitsch. BW-99 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS
10:00 AM	Susan Slept Here (1954)
	A Hollywood screenwriter takes in a runaway girl who's more woman than he can handle. Cast: Dick Powell, Debbie Reynolds, Anne Francis. Dir: Frank Tashlin. C-98 mins, TV-PG, CC
11:45 AM	Christmas Carol, A (1938)
	In this adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic tale, an elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve. Cast: Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart. Dir: Edwin L. Marin. BW-69 mins, TV-G, CC
1:00 PM	Ben-Hur (1959)
	While seeking revenge, a rebellious Israelite prince crosses paths with Jesus Christ. Cast: Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins. Dir: William Wyler. C-222 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format, DVS
5:00 PM	King of Kings, The (1961)
	Epic retelling of Christ's life and the effects of his teachings on those around him. Cast: Jeffrey Hunter, Siobhan McKenna, Robert Ryan. Dir: Nicholas Ray. C-171 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format