movies
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Introduction When Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back premiered in 1980, audiences in the United Kingdom were treated to an unusual and haunting short film titled Black Angel, shown before the main feature. Directed by Roger Christian—an Oscar-winning art director who helped define the look of Star Wars—Black Angel emerged as a brief but resonant…
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The 1965 film The Sound of Music immortalized the story of the von Trapp family as they fled Nazi-occupied Austria. With its sweeping landscapes, memorable songs, and emotional core, it remains one of the most beloved films of all time. But while the movie is inspired by real events, the true story behind the von…
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Alfred Hitchcock’s directorial debut, made at age 25, traces the intertwined love lives of two dancers at a London nightclub. At just 25, Alfred Hitchcock had already worked in nearly every role on the studio floor before being offered his first directing assignment by Gainsborough studio head Michael Balcon. He had designed title cards, written…
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Robert Pilatus (Robert “Rob” Pilatus) was a German singer, dancer, and model, best known as one half of the pop duo Milli Vanilli. Drawn to show business from an early age, he began his career as a model and breakdancer. Pilatus was briefly a member of the group Wind before being discovered by producer Frank…
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The highlight of the year for the movie industry is without a doubt, or at least it used to be. But when did it all start? In 1927, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) was established by Louis B. Mayer, the founder of the Louis B. Mayer Pictures Corporation, which then would…
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Since the initial awards banquet on May 16, 1929, in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel’s Blossom Room, over 3,000 statuettes have been presented. Yes, it is about the Oscars, on May 16 1929 the first Academy Awards were held, and the very first Best Actor award went to Emil Jannings. Emil Jannings was a theater actor…
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We all know Jabba the Hut the big blob in Star Wars, he basically was a Mafia Godfather. However originally Jabba the Hut wasn’t an alien but a man from Belfast, well at least actor from Belfast. Declan Mulholland was born on December 6, 1932 in Belfast, Northern Ireland as Thomas Declan Mulholland. He is…
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I know I have written about Laurel and Hardy before but now with the biopic of their lives in cinemas across the world, I was reminded how brilliant they were. Unlike their contemporaries like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy’s humor stayed fresh and still appeals to audiences nowadays. Perhaps this is because…
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A few weeks ago, I was a guest on The Movie Show at the Limerick City Community Radio, and we discussed Holocaust movies, specifically Schindler’s List, The Last Days, The Last Laugh, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and Jo Jo Rabbit. Here is the podcast:
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I am always intrigued by “What if ?” scenarios, like what if Columbus had taken another route to India? Or what if JFK had not been in Dallas that day? What intrigues me most of all is the question, “What if the Nazis would have won the war?” or alternatively “What if Hitler would have…
History of Sorts 