Related Posts
Flickchart on Tumblr
Flickchart Daily: Matchup of The Day and the Week’s DVD/Blu-ray Releases
28 Feb2012
Flickchart Matchup of the Day
This time around, we have two westerns starring performers who were guest hosts on The Muppet Show:
Lola Colt vs. Bite the Bullet
Singer/dancer/actress Lola Falana appeared on The Muppet Show during the fourth season, according to Muppet Wiki. From what I’ve read about her, Falana was a pretty big deal back in the 70s. She had her own television show (available on DVD) and was a major attraction in Las Vegas. If you go to about the 5:00 mark on the following clip from The Muppet Show, you can get a look at some of her moves:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GivJ8l_P6s[/youtube]
Lola Colt is the only western that Falana ever acted in. It’s also the only western I know of that is an Italian production starring an Afro-Cuban woman who was born in Philadelphia. For some reason, Lola Colt reminds me of the film Viva Maria!, starring Jeanne Moreau and Brigitte Bardot. Maybe it’s because both movies involve women who sing and dance, as well as fight for justice with the barrel of a gun. Strangely, Lola Falana performs songs that sound like 70s funk (like above) rather than what one would expect in a period western. Moreau and Bardot’s musical number is more appropriate for the time.
Bite the Bullet has not one, but two actors who were guest hosts – James Coburn and Candice Bergen (seasons five and one, respectively). It’s about a grueling horse race with a colorful group of competitors who learn some lessons about life during their adventure. The main focus is on the friendship/rivalry between Coburn and Gene Hackman‘s characters. This is James Coburn teaching Animal to meditate on The Muppet Show:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z1WW70R88w[/youtube]
Candice Bergen plays the only female competitor in the race. This clip from her guest appearance fittingly makes a feminist statement about gender roles:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJNSWkgPr9g[/youtube]
New Blu-ray and DVD Releases
Johnny English Reborn
Directed By: Oliver Parker
Starring: Rowan Atkinson • Dominic West • Gillian Anderson • Rosamund Pike • Daniel Kaluuya
Genres: Comedy • Spy Comedy • Spy Film
Studios & Franchises: StudioCanal • Working Title Films
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXQSfSu1Y0s[/youtube]
Hugo
Directed By: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Ben Kingsley • Sacha Baron Cohen • Asa Butterfield • Chloe Moretz •
Genres: • Family • Family-Oriented Adventure • Family-Oriented Fantasy •
Studios & Franchises: Academy Award Best Picture Nominated
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR-kP-olcpM&ob=av3e[/youtube]
Justice League: Doom
Directed By: Lauren Montgomery
Starring: Kevin Conroy • Tim Daly • Susan Eisenberg • Nathan Fillion • Carl Lumbly
Genres: Action • Animation • Based-on-Comics • Superhero Film
Studios & Franchises: DC Comics • Warner Bros. Animation
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0MSuTJNDdc[/youtube]
Bounty Hunters
Directed By: Patrick McBrearty
Starring: Trish Stratus • Frank J. Zupancic • Boomer Phillips • Joe Rafla • Christian Bako
Genres: Action • Action Thriller • Thriller
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f28pd8hXC8Y[/youtube]
Mandrill
Directed By: Ernesto Díaz Espinoza
Starring: Marko Zaror • Celine Reymond • Alejandro Castillo • Luis Alarcón • María José Prieto
Genres: Action • Action Comedy • Comedy • Foreign Language Film • Parody/Spoof • Spy Film
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MWd9MHCayY[/youtube]
The Little Death
Directed By: Bret Wood
Starring: Christie Vozniak • Clifton Guterman • Courtney Patterson • Daniel Thomas May • Gayle Rej
Genres: Erotic Thriller • Prostitution Film • Thriller
Studios & Franchises: Kino International
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWlobtWu7ko[/youtube]
El Monstro del mar!
Directed By: Stuart Simpson
Starring: Norman Yemm • Nelli Scarlet • Kyrie Capri • Karli Madden • Kate Watts
Genres: Comedy • Horror • Horror Comedy • Monster Film • Ozploitation
Studios & Franchises: Breaking Glass Pictures
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufZVin9ofaU[/youtube]
The Myth of the American Sleepover
Directed By: David Robert Mitchell
Starring: Amy Seimetz • Nikita Ramsey • Jade Ramsey • Jean Louise O’Sullivan • Amanda Bauer
Genres: Comedy Drama • Coming-of-Age • Drama
Studios & Franchises: IFC Films
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD9tAGyIRCo[/youtube]
Rabies
Directed By: Aharon Keshales, Navot Papushado
Starring: Lior Ashkenazi • Danny Geva • Ania Bukstein • Menashe Noy • Ran Danker
Genres: Black Comedy • Foreign Language Film • Horror • Horror Comedy
Studios & Franchises: 2011 Fantastic Fest
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcfO4PZQDJs[/youtube]
Vanya on 42nd Street
Directed By: Louis Malle
Starring: Wallace Shawn • Andre Gregory • Larry Pine • Madhur Jaffrey • Julianne Moore
Genres: Avant-garde / Experimental • Drama • Ensemble Film • Family Drama • Romance • Romantic Drama
Studios & Franchises: The Criterion Collection
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooVAo8FIpXw[/youtube]
Amador
Directed By: Fernando León de Aranoa
Starring: Magaly Solier • Celso Bugallo • Sonia Almarcha • Fanny de Castro • Pietro Sibille
Genres: Drama • Foreign Language Film
Studios & Franchises: Film Movement
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrYVVqhluSA[/youtube]
Answers to Nothing
Directed By: Matthew Leutwyler
Starring: Dane Cook • Elizabeth Mitchell • Julie Benz • Barbara Hershey • Zach Gilford
Genres: Drama • Ensemble Film • Psychological Drama
Studios & Franchises: Roadside Attractions
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tlZ9tLioLk[/youtube]
Beneath the Darkness
Directed By: Martin Guigui
Starring: Dennis Quaid • Tony Oller • Aimee Teegarden • Stephen Lunsford • Devon Werkheiser
Genres: Ghost Film • Haunted House Film • Supernatural Thriller • Thriller
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcsHmTgo0QE[/youtube]
I Melt with You
Directed By: Mark Pellington
Starring: Thomas Jane • Jeremy Piven • Rob Lowe • Christian McKay • Carla Gugino
Genres: Drama • Psychological Drama • Reunion Films
Studios & Franchises: Magnolia Pictures • 2011 AFI Film Festival
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWkBnUzU_Bw[/youtube]
The Mighty Macs
Directed By: Tim Chambers
Starring: Carla Gugino • Lauren Bittner • David Boreanaz • Marley Shelton • Ellen Burstyn
Genres: Based-on-a-True-Story • Docudrama • Drama • Sports Drama
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_VXhJCetwc[/youtube]
These are scheduled to be released by Warner Archive:
Buster Keaton at MGM Triple Feature: Parlor, Bedroom and Bath (1931)/Speak Easily (1932)/The Passionate Plumber (1932)
Pre-Code Double Feature: The Crash (1932)/Registered Nurse (1934)
Kay Kyser Double Feature: Playmates (1941)/Swing Fever (1943)
Dorothy Mackaill Pre-Code Double Feature: Bright Lights (1930)/The Reckless Hour (1931)
These are all scheduled to be released as part of the MGM Classics Collection:
Number One with a Bullet (1987)
SPECIAL BIRTHDAY RECOGNITION
Canadian director Guy Maddin was born on this day fifty-six years ago. I’ve seen a couple of his movies and they’re hard to mistake for any other director’s work. Here are some of his short films to give you a sense of his style (if you’re not familiar):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx9YEiZ4cmM[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYZJ09dSSRQ[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0eXoOocJjQ[/youtube]
And here he is talking about some Criterion Collection favorites (his film Brand Upon the Brain! was released by Criterion):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TowINv3Oq8E[/youtube]
HAPPY TRAILS, UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN
Roy Rogers also was a guest host on The Muppet Show. It looks like he appeared in more westerns than all the other actors that I mentioned combined, going by his IMDb filmography. I’ll let him close the article:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j923sis_bM[/youtube]
- In: Flickchart Daily|Movie News
- Tags: Amador, Answers to Nothing, Beneath the Darkness, Bite the Bullet, Bounty Hunters, Brigitte Bardot, Candice Bergen, El Monstro del mar!, Flickchart Daily, Guy Maddin, Hugo, I Melt With You, James Coburn, Jeanne Moreau, Johnny English Reborn, Justice League: Doom, Lola Colt, Lola Falana, Mandrill, MGM Classics Collection, Rabies, Roy Rogers, The Little Death, The Muppet Show, The Myth of the American Sleepover, Vanya on 42nd Street, Viva Maria!, Warner Archive
Comments are closed.