Author: Peter J Patrick
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Oscar Profile: Ryan Gosling
Born November 12, 1980 in London, Ontario, Canada, Ryan Gosling is the son of a secretary and a traveling salesman. Homeschooled by his mother, he attended several high schools including a vocational school where he excelled in drama and fine arts. Gosling performed in several talent shows eventually landing a spot on The All New…
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Home Viewing with Peter #837
Ignite Films has released a Blu-ray of the much-hyped restoration of 1953’s Invaders from Mars by the George Eastman Museum. Directed by William Cameron Menzies, best known as the art director of such films as Gone with the Wind, The Thief of Bagdad, and It’s a Wonderful Life, Invaders from Mars beat Invasion of the…
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Best Oscarless Supporting Actors
As mentioned in my introduction to Oscarless character actresses, the Best Supporting Actress award is sometimes erroneously referred to as the “old lady’s” award. Even though Oscars for supporting actors have gone more frequently to older men than Oscars for supporting actresses have gone to older women, no one refers to the Best Supporting Actor…
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Home Viewing with Peter #836
Paramount has released a 25th Anniversary Edition of The Truman Show on 4K Ultra HD. The title of the release is misleading as the only thing different about it is the inclusion of the 4K disc. The accompanying Blu-ray is a reissue of the 2005 release. Time has been kind to this 1998 film. Initially,…
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Oscar Profile: Oscarless Character Actresses
Oscars for supporting actresses have on occasion been called the “old lady’s” award but the award has rarely gone to old ladies or even younger actresses playing old ladies. It has more frequently been won by ingenues or lately, leading ladies shoehorned into the supporting actress category. Intended for character actresses, the award has seldom…
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Home Viewing with Peter #835
Seven major new Blu-ray releases from three separate companies are further proof that home video releases are still a potent choice for home viewing. From Warner Archive come three 1950s films noir, Caged, The Damned Don’t Cry, and Angel Face, as well as the same decade’s open sea adventure The Old Man and the Sea.…
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Profile: Oscarless Actors
Oscarless Actors, like Oscarless actresses are those that have never won a competitive Oscar or any other award from the Academy. That leaves out the likes of Fred Astaire, Charles Boyer, Charles Chaplin, Kirk Douglas, Cary Grant, James Earl Jones, Buster Keaton, Gene Kelly, Peter O’Toole, Edward G. Robinson, and Mickey Rooney, all of whom…
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Home Viewing with Peter #834
Four new 4K Blu-ray releases from four different companies and a Blu-ray compilation of a mystery series from a poverty row studio show that home video releases are far from drying up. The Criterion Collection has released a restored version of Jean Renoir’s once dismissed 1939 classic The Rules of the Game. MVD has released…
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Oscar Profile #653: Best Oscarless Actresses
It’s time to take a look at Oscarless actresses – those that have never won a competitive Oscar or any other award from the Academy. That leaves out the likes of Lauren Bacall, Greta Garbo, Judy Garland, Lillian Gish, Deborah Kerr, Angela Lansbury, Myrna Loy, Maureen O’Hara, Gena Rowlands, Cicely Tyson, and Liv Ullmann, all…
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Home Viewing with Peter #833
Sometimes the best things you can find on the various streaming services are not the latest film or miniseries but a good old movie or two. This past week I found two on Max, previously known as HBO Max. Max has the best of HBO, TCM, and various other suppliers. Included among those new to…
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Oscar Profile #652: Sam Leavitt
Born February 6, 1904 in New York, New York, Sam Leavitt began his career as a camera operator in 1926 and eventually became an occasional cinematographer in 1932. He became a member of the American Society of Cinematographers in 1935. He did not become a full-time cinematographer until 1952. Among the films on which Leavitt…
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Home Viewing with Peter #832
Next Sunday is Father’s Day which makes this the perfect time to reminisce about great film fathers – both good ones and bad, all of which can be found on home video. Unlike great screen mothers, of which there are many, great screen fathers are more difficult to find, so I’ll limit this to ten…
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Oscar Profile #651: Paul Thomas Anderson
Born June 26, 1970 in Los Angeles, California to Edwina and Ernie Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson’s father was a radio and TV personality, horror host and announcer and one of the first owners of a VCR with a vast collection of classic films for his son to cut his teeth on. Young Anderson began shooting…
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Home Viewing with Peter #831
The Criterion Collection has released a 4K Blu-ray edition of Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise. This is the first time since the film had a home video release since the MGM 20th anniversary edition of the 1991 film was released on standard Blu-ray in January 2014. This is the best the film has ever looked…
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Oscar Profile #650: Peggy Ashcroft
Born December 22, 1907 in Surrey, England, Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft, known professionally as Peggy Ashcroft, was a titan of the British stage, who only occasionally appeared in films, but when she did, she was as amazing and unforgettable as she was in her lauded stage roles. Ashcroft’s mother had been an actress. Her father,…
