|
|
Post by manfromplanetx on Aug 17, 2020 7:54:35 GMT
Northwest Passage (1940)  Thanks l ondon777 ... not so much for the film but for sparking my interest & putting me on the trail of Northwest Passage expeditions. What a fascinating history of explorers & expeditions, surprising that classic film has so few accounts. Learning of Roald Amundsen leader of the first expedition to traverse the Northwest Passage by sea, from 1903 to 1906, lead onto another discovery, the ill-fated 1928 Arctic expedition of Italian explorer Umberto Nobile aboard the airship Italia. Which lead onto a great classic film discovery ! .. An outstanding historical adventure film, a Soviet/Italian co-production The Red Tent (1969) directed by Mikhail Kalatozov. The film features an international cast of actors, with both an English language & Russian version, it is based on the true story of the 1928 mission to rescue Umberto Nobile and the other survivors of his doomed expedition. Told in flashback Umberto Nobile (Peter Finch) reminisces about his actions during the disastrous voyage and its aftermath. Amundsen (Sean Connery) takes part in an international rescue mission, his fate another chapter in the tragic tale ... *note... another piece of worldly wisdom following on from classic film board discussion, re Blimps, airship Italia is a semi-rigid airship, technically not a blimp, neither is a Zeppelin which has a rigid internal frame. Czech Poster Art
 
|
|
|
|
Post by politicidal on Apr 10, 2021 15:52:40 GMT
Forgot I saw this one until I saw the Jeanne Crain thread. I remember being lukewarm about it but perhaps I'll revisit it.  |
|
|
|
Post by politicidal on Apr 11, 2021 15:07:08 GMT
Fritz Lang made a two part jungle opera in the late fifties that served as a remake of one of his own movies from the silent era. Saw the first half called The Tiger of Eschnapur. Really good. It has a lot of similarities to stuff like Gunga Din or Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. It's probably best known for the erotic dance by Debra Paget which is still...whoa.   Still need to see the second half which was released as The Indian Tomb.
 |
|
|
|
Post by timshelboy on Apr 11, 2021 23:08:14 GMT
An outstanding historical adventure film, a Soviet/Italian co-production The Red Tent (1969) directed by Mikhail Kalatozov. The film features an international cast of actors, with both an English language & Russian version, it is based on the true story of the 1928 mission to rescue Umberto Nobile and the other survivors of his doomed expedition. Told in flashback Umberto Nobile (Peter Finch) reminisces about his actions during the disastrous voyage and its aftermath. Amundsen (Sean Connery) takes part in an international rescue mission, his fate another chapter in the tragic tale ... *note... another piece of worldly wisdom following on from classic film board discussion, re Blimps, airship Italia is a semi-rigid airship, technically not a blimp, neither is a Zeppelin which has a rigid internal frame. Czech Poster Art
You beat me to that one - almost forgotten now but a mammoth expensive co-production it its time, and as a spectacle its pretty good  . Connery fans note despite his top billing (at least in UK version0he doesn't get much footage - Finch is the lead. Quite difficult to access - R2 dvd at some point but pricey
|
|
|
|
Post by OldAussie on Apr 11, 2021 23:37:45 GMT
Northwest Passage (1940) dir: King Vidor is based upon Kenneth Roberts' novel about the mid-C18 exploration to find out if the fabled Northwest Passage (a sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans) existed . Except that the film is misnamed. It only covers the early chapters of the book, in which Spencer Tracy and his merry men fight Native Americans and French, comparatively speaking on their own doorstep and thousands of miles from the Pacific. Only at the very end of the film do they set off on the titular expedition. This first part was a commercial success, so I guess WWII stymied production of the rest of the novel? Can any of you film historians confirm this? Note the small print under the title - "Book 1 Rogers' Rangers". A sequel was planned but never made....not sure why. As for the film, I like it a lot but modern sensibilities will be tested by the portrayal of Native Americans. If you're offended by "Gone With the Wind', then don't go near this.
|
|
|
|
Post by timshelboy on Apr 12, 2021 7:16:59 GMT
Northwest Passage (1940) dir: King Vidor is based upon Kenneth Roberts' novel about the mid-C18 exploration to find out if the fabled Northwest Passage (a sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans) existed . Except that the film is misnamed. It only covers the early chapters of the book, in which Spencer Tracy and his merry men fight Native Americans and French, comparatively speaking on their own doorstep and thousands of miles from the Pacific. Only at the very end of the film do they set off on the titular expedition. This first part was a commercial success, so I guess WWII stymied production of the rest of the novel? Can any of you film historians confirm this? Note the small print under the title - "Book 1 Rogers' Rangers". A sequel was planned but never made....not sure why. As for the film, I like it a lot but modern sensibilities will be tested by the portrayal of Native Americans. If you're offended by "Gone With the Wind', then don't go near this. According to THE MGM STORY the film went into production in July 39 with only half the script of the novel purchased 2 years earlier finished
After a 12 week shoot, in October Vidor returned from Idaho locations to discover the script had not been progressed and that producer Stromberg had called a haltto production (rising costs related to location shooting during the imminent war I think). A liitle additional footage was shot in December to tie things up as best they could and the Book One caveeat added to the title prior to release. It was a stonking hit.So I guess MGMsuccessfully sold the public an unfinished half a movie and created the appetite for a sequel that was never intended.  Caught the movie a couple of months back. didn't really grab me but impressive battle stuff,
|
|
|
|
Post by politicidal on Apr 13, 2021 14:10:23 GMT
Two sorry examples that were pretty 'bleh'.   |
|
|
|
Post by manfromplanetx on Apr 18, 2021 1:41:59 GMT
One for us big kids... Jungle Jim (1948) Dir. William Berke. A vial containing an unknown potion which possibly could lead to a miraculous medical breakthrough, is suspected to have come from the hidden temple of Zimbalu deep in the jungle. Dr. Hilary Parker heads an expedition with Jungle Jim as her guide to find the lost temple. Along the way, accidents and treachery befall the expedition. The first of an exciting adventure film series, much loved here in my youth, 16 films were shot between 1948 and 1955. Johnny Weissmuller as Jungle Jim, Virginia Grey as Dr. Hilary Parker, Lita Baron as Zia and George Reeves as Bruce Edwards
|
|
|
|
Post by manfromplanetx on Apr 18, 2021 7:16:10 GMT
Ikarie XB-1 (1963) Czechoslovakia Dir. Jindřich Polák, loosely based on Stanisław Lem’s 1955 novel The Magellanic Cloud. A 40-strong multinational crew embark on an expedition into deep space heading towards a white planet in the orbit of Alpha Centauri, the year is 2163. The journey will take around 28 months for them, although the effects of relativity mean that 15 years will have elapsed back on Earth. Starting from the simplest feelings and thoughts for their families left behind, the crew deal with loneliness, isolation and in the vast realm of space the inevitable pondering of eternal philosophical questions. Ahead of its time the film is a brilliant cinematic example of humanist and political science fiction. Polák made it particularly up to date for the early 60’s. It is not just the beginning of the space era, the expedition a metaphor for the Cold War, of the desire for peaceful renewal, of an international vision for cooperation, research and progress. Ikarie XB 1 significantly advanced the further development of the genre, a role model for iconic works such as Star Trek and clearly an influence on Lost In Space and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Thanks to a sophisticated soundtrack and excellent cinematography, modern aesthetic design and strong acting performances, this expedition is a credible thought-provoking vision of the future, of mankind's exploration of space, a unique and original journey… Renamed Voyage to the End of the Universe, and re-edited for an American release, the whole gist of the original story lost with a misleading interpretation, it is another journey all together.   
|
|
|
|
Post by manfromplanetx on May 1, 2021 22:09:37 GMT
Carl Peters (1941) Germany Dir. Herbert Selpin. This fascinating Nazi Germany historical drama was produced as an anti-British propaganda film and reflects the Germans seething anger at the terms of the imposed 1919 peace treaties, terms in which all German colonies had been forfeited at the end of World War I. The film while never straying far from Germany and the film studio gives a compelling biographical insight. Beginning in the late 1890s it follows the African expeditions and exploits the titular character Carl Peters (Hans Albers). Colonial ruler, explorer, politician and author he was a major promoter of the establishment of the colony, German East Africa. A proponent of Social Darwinism and the nationalist Völkisch philosophy, his brutal attitude towards the indigenous population made him one of the most controversial European colonizers of Africa. Director Herbert Selpin fell out of favour with Joseph Goebbels while on his next film project, he was arrested in 1942 and found dead the following day in his prison cell. Sudanese born Bayume Mohamed Husen who plays Peters native guide pictured below, was detained by Gestapo on a charge of racial defilement and detained without trial in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp where he died in 1944, his life was the subject of a 2007 biography and the Doc. Majubs Reise, Majub's Journey (2013).  Bayume Mohamed Husen standing behind Hans Albers  
|
|
|
|
Post by manfromplanetx on May 1, 2021 23:26:49 GMT
Two sorry examples that were pretty 'bleh'. (1948) Dir. Jack Bernhard. A similar category... An expedition to an Island somewhere near French Polynesia is seeking the truth behind the rumors of prehistoric beasts still roaming wild. An exciting adventure awaits the expeditioners and romantic rivalry heats up over lone beauty Carole Lane (Virginia Grey). The most exciting beast, an extinct species a Ground Sloth played in suit by Ray Corrigan  Skipper , Gilligan ?
|
|
|
|
Post by politicidal on Aug 9, 2021 16:20:06 GMT
Well this one feels like a retread of Howard Hawks' Hatari! (1962). Elsa Martinelli even plays the love interest in it.  The love triangle is melodramatic but the live animal capture scenes are exciting. |
|
Caught the movie a couple of months back. didn't really grab me but impressive battle stuff,