Popular Posts
Click inside the box for details
Leonard Maltin
Big Shoes To Fill - In The Rain
- By Leonard Maltin
- |
- December 13, 2009 11:56 AM
- |
- 1 Comment
Robert Downey, Jr. put his hand and footprints in cement at Grauman’s Chinese Theater on Monday, and I was honored to serve as master of ceremonies for the event. I also got an insider’s view of a ritual the public never sees, when the honoree is given an opportunity to practice writing his name in cement on a “test slab” placed on the refreshment counter inside Grauman’s lobby. Robert quickly realized he had his work cut out for him: it isn’t easy to do!
Year End Film Book Survey - 2009 Part 2
- By Leonard Maltin
- |
- December 13, 2009 9:57 AM
- |
- 0 Comments
A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH: THE BRAIN REVEALED BY THE MIND OF MICHAEL POWELL by Diane Broadbent Friedman (Author House) — One of my greatest pleasures this past year was revisiting Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s A Matter of Life and Death, newly issued on DVD by the Criterion Collection. In this extraordinary film, pilot David Niven has a near-death experience; then, while undergoing...
North By Northwest
- By Leonard Maltin
- |
- December 13, 2009 7:22 AM
- |
- 0 Comments
The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 7 – 1952-1954
- By Leonard Maltin
- |
- December 13, 2009 4:46 AM
- |
- 1 Comment
As a longtime 3-D aficionado, my two favorite shots from the “golden age” of stereoscopic moviemaking (that is to say, 1953) have always been the paddle-ball man in House of Wax and the mad doctor (Phil Van Zandt) who extends a hyper-long hypodermic needle toward the camera in The Three Stooges’ short Spooks. By constructing an absurdly long prop needle...
Alfred Hitchcock Presents Ghost Stories For Young People/Famous Monsters Speak
- By Leonard Maltin
- |
- December 13, 2009 4:11 AM
- |
- 1 Comment
No director in the history of cinema has marketed himself quite like Alfred Hitchcock. He began appearing in specially-filmed trailers for his films in the late 1940s, and by the time he began hosting a popular weekly television show in the 1950s—which lasted ten years—he became a bona fide...
Little Golden Records...The Best of
- By Leonard Maltin
- |
- December 13, 2009 4:03 AM
- |
- 0 Comments
The Microwerks series also revives happy memories for baby boomers with The Best of Little Golden Records, Volumes 1 and 2. How could I possibly explain to a child of today the kick of being able to handle your own unbreakable yellow vinyl record and play it on a portable phonograph back then. How quaint! Each CD offers fourteen tracks, some of which I actually...
Poppin’ Guitars: A Tuneful Of Sherman
- By Leonard Maltin
- |
- December 13, 2009 3:52 AM
- |
- 0 Comments
Producer James Jensen has compiled a lovely CD of acoustic guitar solos featuring the music of The Sherman Brothers. These tuneful, upbeat songs work amazingly well even without their indelible lyrics—or is it just that they’re so ingrained in my consciousness that...
Up And Down The Keys; Kitten On The Keys — Frederick Hodges
- By Leonard Maltin
- |
- December 13, 2009 3:37 AM
- |
- 0 Comments
If you love ragtime, stride piano, and novelty numbers of the teens, 1920s and 30s, you’re bound to fall in love with these collections by Frederick Hodges. This multi-talented performer accompanies silent films in the...
Walt Disney and the 1964 World's Fair
- By Leonard Maltin
- |
- December 13, 2009 3:11 AM
- |
- 1 Comment
I was a boy when the New York World’s Fair opened in 1964, and I will never forget it. Having never been to Disneyland, this was the next best thing, an elaborate exposition with foods and exhibits from foreign countries and, best of all, a handful of rides and programs created by Walt Disney! I visited it at least a dozen times during its two-year-run. This impressive four-CD set recaptures the magic of that experience.
Disc One is titled Progressland, and brings back memories of the General Electric pavilion and its centerpiece, Disney’s Carousel of Progress. Western star (and frequent Disney narrator) Rex Allen...
David Raksin AT M-G-M
- By Leonard Maltin
- |
- December 13, 2009 3:02 AM
- |
- 0 Comments
If David Raksin had done nothing but write the score for The Bad and the Beautiful he would merit a place in the pantheon of great film composers. He is equally celebrated for Laura and Forever Amber, but this welcome 5-CD collection presents some of his least-known work, mostly from...
Email Updates
Get the latest headlines from Leonard Maltin delivered to your inbox every day.
