New Nightmare


Title: New Nightmare
Year: 1994
Tagline: Dieses mal nützt es nichts wenn du wach bleibst. (This Time, staying awake won't save You)
Directors: Wes Craven
Writers: Wes Craven (characters)

Wes Craven (written by)

Rating: 6.2 | 12,230 votes
Languages: English
Color: Color
Country: USA
Company: New Line Cinema
Genres: Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller
Plot:
1)
It’s nearing the 10th Anniversary of the film ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ and one of the stars, Heather Langenkamp is being scared by a voice on a phone, sounding very similar to the film‘s villain, Freddy Krueger. When Heather’s husband is killed in a car accident and is discovered with slash marks on him, Heather starts to wonder something. Especially when she discovers that Wes Craven is writing another ‘Nightmare’ film. Soon, she realizes that Freddy has now entered the real world, and the only way to defeat him is to become Nancy Thompson once again.

2)
In 1984, horror director Wes Craven created “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” It was acclaimed as one of the scariest movies ever made and made unknowns like Robert Englund, Johnny Depp, and Heather Langenkamp huge stars. Ten years later, Heather is living happily with her husband, Chase, and her son, Dylan. But her life has now been turned upside down because she is being stalked by a person who sounds like Nightmare villain Freddy Krueger. Chase has just been killed in a car accident after he accidentally fell asleep behind the wheel. Dylan refuses to sleep any more, and New Line Cinema has just offered her a part in “the ultimate Nightmare.” But some other strange things have been happening, including earthquakes and Craven being tight-lipped about the script. The ultimate truth is that Freddy Krueger is actually an ancient demon breaking out into our world, but in order to do that, he must go through Heather. And he knows he can get out by harming those near her.

3)
Heather Langencamp is trying to put her nerves back together after a stalker disrupted the lives of her, her husband, and her child, Dylan. Meanwhile, an ominous force has chosen the person-hood of Freddy Krueger as its ticket into the real world. Suddenly, Heather’s husband turns up dead, as does his crew working on a mechanical glove for a new Elm Street movie, and Dylan starts complaining about a man with knives for fingers that is warded off by his T-Rex doll. Calls to Robert Englund and Wes Craven reveal something is definitely wrong. After a visit to Wes, Heather begins to realize the only way to save her son and stop this evil force from coming into the real world is to play the role of Nancy Thompson one last time in an attempt to trap this demonic force in the stories of Elm Street once and for all…

Trivia:
  • All of the earthquake sequences in the film were actually filmed one month prior to the Los Angeles quake of ’94. The real quake struck only 2 weeks before the end of filming. Subsequently, a unit was sent out to film drive-by footage of actual quake damaged areas of the city before the end of filming. The cast and crew believed that the earthquake scenes that were filmed before the real quake struck were perhaps a bit overdone, but when viewed after the real quake hit, all were frightened by the realism of it.
  • The “bio-engineered” hand/glove that Freddy uses in this film (as opposed to the glove used in the prior films) is actually derived from the artwork of the theatrical poster and video box covers of A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).
  • Lin Shaye, who appears as a nurse, also played the teacher in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).
  • Heather is asked if she has a pass to which she replies, “Screw your pass.” This is taken directly from A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).
  • The clothes worn by ‘Heather Langenkamp (I)’ and John Saxon towards the end of the film are the exact same clothes they wore in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).
  • Wes Craven’s daughter Jessica Craven appears as a nurse.
  • The large rocket ship used in the park scene went into actor Miko Hughes’s backyard after his father bought it.
  • Director Wes Craven had intended to ask Johnny Depp to make an appearance as himself in the funeral scene. Craven never worked up the courage to ask him, but after the film’s release, they ran into each other. Craven asked Depp if he would have made an appearance in the movie and Depp said that he would have, and that Craven should have asked him.
  • The events in this film revolve around ‘Heather Langenkamp (I)’ having a stalker. In real life she did have a stalker, and Wes Craven got her permission to weave it into the story.
  • Miko Hughes’ character has a father that works in special effects. In real life Miko Hughes’ father worked in special effects in movies.
  • A picture of ‘Heather Langenkamp (I)’ that was on John Saxon’s desk in the original movie can be seen on a shelf in Wes Craven’s house.
  • There was a scene in the script that depicted a Robert Englund Freddy nightmare. The nightmare had Robert stuck in a spider-like web and the new “DEMON” Freddy was a giant spider. This was dropped because it didn’t fit with the film’s overall tone.
  • Before making New Nightmare, Wes Craven watched all of the Elm Street films. By the time he was finished, he claimed that he could not follow the storyline at all. He further regards the sequels to be weak compared to his original masterpiece.
  • The book “The Nightmare Never Ends” by Andy Mangels can be seen on Robert Shaye’s desk.
  • The basic premise of the film — Freddy invading the real world and haunting the actors and crew responsible for the “Nightmare on Elm Street” films — was originally intended to be used for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), but the idea was rejected by the studio at the time.
  • The scene where Heather is dialing Robert Englund’s house number on the phone in her car, the music tones that are played when she presses the buttons is the same as the A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) Theme.
  • In the original A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Nancy’s mom drives a Volvo station wagon. In this film, ‘Heather Langenkamp (I)’ also drives a Volvo station wagon.
  • In the ending credits, Freddy Krueger is credited as himself, even though Robert Englund reprises the role.
Goofs:
  • Continuity: In the final scene, Heather flips to the end of the script. In the next shot she’s at the beginning of the script, then in the next shot she’s back at the end and flips to the front.
  • Continuity: Right after the second aftershock when Heather sees the three cracks appear in the wall she runs down the stairs and is wearing only black nylons on her feet. When she bends over to hug Dylan she is seen wearing powder blue slippers; then in the next shot after she comes back from calling Jason at the door, the slippers are gone again.
  • Audio/visual unsynchronized: During the scene in which we see Freddy phone Heather/Nancy at her home after Chase leaves, the sounds of hanging up the phone do not match what Heather/Nancy is doing. Also, Freddy’s voice, saying “Freddy’s coming for you!”, is still heard a split second after the phone is hung up.
  • Continuity: At the hospital, when the babysitter is killed, the trail of blood changes between shots as Freddy drags her up the wall.
  • Crew or equipment visible: When Heather talks to Robert on the telephone, a white card and part of the crew is reflected on her door window as they part.
  • Continuity: The junior nurse’s arms change position between shots when she tells the nurse that Heather probably doesn’t let her son sleep very much.
  • Continuity: As Heather watches Freddy reach into the furnace from behind, Freddy is grabbing at Dylan in an upside-down fashion, but when we next see the two in there Freddy is leaning on his front.
  • Crew or equipment visible: When Dylan Porter is on the playground about to jump off, in the next scene when he jumps his stunt double is clearly a full grown man it also can be seen when he lands on Nancy.
Comments:
1) The First Nightmare on Elm Street was scary and original. It had thegreat idea of a killer killing people in their dreams. All of itssequels (except for part 2, which went in a horrible direction) justbuilt on to that idea, and the idea wasn’t scary anymore as the seriesprogressed. Now with New Nightmare, Wes Craven came up with anotheroriginal idea. It turns out that Freddy is in fact real, some kind ofancient evil that took the form of Freddy Krueger and could only becontained through storytelling, IE: the Nightmare On Elm Street movies.But since the series has ended, the genie is out of the bottle, andthis ingenious film unravels.

I wouldn’t say this movie is that scary, it’s more creepy than it isscary, but I love its imagination. It plays mind little mind games andyou wonder what is real and what is not. Freddy Krueger is evencredited as "himself". It’s a must-see for any Freddy fan and in manyways it stands on its own…but only if you’ve seen the other movies.If that makes any sense.

This is one of the best sequels in the Nightmare series and it’snothing short of brilliant. It’s nice to see that Freddy is back in thebottle where he belongs, and hopefully will be for a long time…

My Rating: 9/10

2) I love horror movies. I love being scared and I love the fact that amovie(something make believe that I, as an intelligent person,knows is justimages projected from a screen ) can manipulate my emotions and make menervous. This is one of those movies. And in the 90′s, there have onlybeen two movies that have actually made me nervous in some scenes. Andthose two movies are by Craven himself—Scream and thisone.

When this film first came out, it was ten years and six films after theoriginal. I have seen all the Freddy movies more out of morbid curiositythan out of interest. And maybe a part of me was hoping to catch aglimpseof what made the first so damn scary. And time and time again I wasdisappointed. But when I read in Fangoria magazine that this new one wasgoing to be directed by Craven, I got very excited. Could it possibly bethat this film would go back to it’s roots?

Yes, it did.

There is no two ways about it, Craven cares about Freddy. He cares abouthow he was supposed to be, not what he has turned into in the last decade.Freddy was not even remotely funny in the first one. He was a brutal,maniacal, sadistic, bent on revenge murderer. He wanted to slice Nancy intwo and he did that to Tina ( actually sliceher into many pieces ). Butinthe mindless sequels to come, he became Eddie Murphy. And there wasnothingfrightening about the sequels. They made money but they weren’t truehorrorfilms. But this one, well this one goes back to it’s roots and is almostasscary as the first one.

This story is about the film character of Freddy becoming real somehow.Hehas been a part of Lagenkamp, Saxon, Craven and Englund’s life for so longthat he has somehow become real. And now what was once a simple filmcharacter actually haunts the cast of the original. We even get to seeRod( Tina’s boyfriend from the original ) at one of the funerals. And whatmakes the story scary is that now Freddy has decided to come afterHeather’skid.

This film goes back to all the techniques that made the first a classic.There is excellent direction to make us fear what is under the bed. Thelighting is classic horror film lighting and the music is perfect. Thereishowever one complaint that I have and that is when Freddy is chasing thekidacross the road. He has become larger than life. He is like the StayPuftmarshmallow man from Ghostbusters. And that it seems is much more liketheother Nightmares, not Craven’s version. And that takes away the delightinwatching what was otherwise a perfect horror film.

I said in one of my reviews of a horror film that there are no films inthe90′s that are truly scary. However this one is as close to an 80′s horrorflick as you will get now a days. It is very frightening and it is almostaprequel to Scream. This is one film that should not be missed. It is atribute to what scary films are supposed to be. If I want to laugh I’llseeChris Rock, but if I want to be scared, Craven is the man!

3) New Nightmare, the seventh and final installment in the Nightmare onElm Street series. I was lucky enough to get the Nightmare on ElmStreet series in the box DVD set and I finished all the sequels. Iwould say that without a doubt that this was the best sequel in theseries. I was amazed at how clever the story was and I think the reasonwhy is because of the fact that Wes Craven is back with this story. Iwas a little depressed that at least Johnny Depp wasn't really in it,that would've been a cool experience, but that doesn't kill the story.Instead the film has taken on a new and hip twist onto the series. Weshas taken the story and turned it around on the characters, instead ofhaving Heather as Nancy, she's playing herself, just as is the rest ofthe cast, only now they're in trouble with Freddy.

Heather Langenkamp is a huge star in the horror movie world, but she'snow a happily married woman with her son, Dillain. But she's receivingdeath threats from a fan who strangely sounds a lot like Freddy. Soonstrange things start happening, her husband is killed tragically in acar accident that seems like the act of Freddy, and her son is now notsleeping. She wonders if it's because of her movies or is it possiblethat Freddy is real and he wants her? She may have to go back to herroots to save her son.

New Nightmare is incredibly clever and was just all in all a greatidea. I really enjoyed this sequel, it's a definite keeper and a watchfor the Nightmare on Elm Street fans. Freddy is back and he's more meanthan ever; it was so cool that the took Heather Langenkamp and put herin the same situation as her character, Nancy. It just shows that Weshasn't lost his touch with the Nightmare on Elm Street series. If youlove horror films in general, I highly recommend New Nightmare, this isan awesome film.

8/10

4) Genuinely interesting – if not completely scary – movie blends fictionand reality as several people associated with the "Nightmare" franchiseplay themselves, in a story in which actress Heather Langenkamp isbeing plagued by nightmares about the Freddy Krueger character. Shegradually learns that the "Freddy Krueger" character has taken on alife of "his" own and is determined to punish the makers of the"Nightmare" series for killing him off in Part Six.

I'll say this for what writer / director Wes Craven has done – this isambitious work that could legitimately claim to be more intelligentthan standard slasher cinema. Like I said, I didn't find to beparticularly scary (at least not for my tastes), but this doesn't relyon any standard slasher formula, and for once the characters aren'tcertifiable morons. The most amusing thing about the movie is watchingvarious actors and executives play themselves, or at least versions ofthemselves. Miko Hughes, who plays Langenkamp's fictional son Dylan, iscute and a tolerable young actor – I've seen worse child actors in mytime.

Best of all, "Freddy" has become a genuinely frightening bogeyman againinstead of the joke he had become by Part Six.

7/10

5) Freddy Krueger began as a very scary character who scared the hell out ofeveryone. As the movies went on, Freddy lost his edge and looked liked a badstand up comic with horrible one liners.

Freddy seemed dead with the sixth film of the series, but Wes Craven broughthim back from his rut and made him someone to fear again. This of coursehelps prove my theory that a good Nightmare on Elm Street movie cannot bemade without Craven.

Two things make this film so good. One, the story is original. The Nightmaremovies just kept repeating themselves, with Freddy coming back and goingafter the people who stopped him before. This rime around, we see Freddytrying to break into the real world, outside the movies. Very original. Two,the movie is not filled with constant gore. This shows how good the moviebecause any movie filled with gore obviously has a pathetic story and is notworth watching. This movie is and is one of Freddy’s bestyet.

6) Wes Craven's New Nightmare features Heather Lengankamp, who playedNancy in the first and third films, living a normal life with herhusband and son. Lately, strange things have been happening, and herson isn't acting like himself. She is called in for an interview withNew Line Cinemas, where she finds out that Wes Craven is making a newNightmare film. The events of this film are beginning to unfold in thereal world, because Freddy Krueger is angry at being killed off in thelast film, so he steps out of fantasy and into reality to go after themakers of the original film. Now Heather Lengankamp must protect herson and defeat Freddy one last time…Only this time, it's real.

I love this movie. I personally think it's just as good as the firstmovie. This is one of the most original and ingenious plots for ahorror movie I've ever seen. All of the people involved with theoriginal films appear as themselves, including Heather Lengenkamp, JohnSaxon, Robert Englund, and Wes Craven. Freddy is amazing in this movie.He appears with his trademark brown hat, but now he's in a much darkerred and green sweater along with a brown tattered trench coat, and hisburns are more severe. Also, his trademark knives are actually comingfrom his fingers. The best part about it is that in this film, Freddyisn't a wise cracking killer…He's an all business violent and brutalkiller.

This movie features the best acting for a slasher movie I've ever seen,but then again, almost every actor in the movie plays themselves, so itwould be pretty hard to screw that up.

Overall, this movie is on a par with the original, and I'd recommend itto any horror fan.

8/10

7) 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' was a scary, gory 80s horror movie. Itssequels were awful. Only two of them were watchable, the third andforth. But still, they never even came close to the original. This iswhen that changes. 'New Nightmare' introduces a new Freddy. One whichis darker, scarier and not the joke that the old one was. This is theonly sequel that should have been done in the first place. In myopinion, its even better than the original because it's much darker andspecial effects are way better.

It's a bit rare to find good acting in a horror movie, but here's notthe case. Acting was amazing. Heather Langenkamp and Robert Englundgave an awesome performance. The kid was surprisingly believable andthe rest of the cast was great too.

Watch this movie straight after watching the first. If you have towatch a sequel, see the third and forth, but this is the one you shouldimmediately go for. I give it a strong 10/10

8) I was expecting very little in the way of this sequel. The others grewtired and lifeless, with on again, off again, decent performancesturned in by Robert Englund as Freddy, and some decent, not so decentscript writing. Frankly, you just never know what TO expect withlong-running franchises such as this. But what I got was NOT what Iexpected. Nothing close.

I had to view this three times. At my first viewing, I was sosurprised, I immediately said, "I need to watch this again." Upon mythird viewing, I realized that what I was watching was the resurrectionof one of my favorite franchises! I was (if only momentarily) struckspeechless.

I’m trying not to "gush" here, or exaggerate, so do not take it lightlywhen I say that I believe this is possibly the most creative workCraven has ever directed. Don’t get me wrong, aside from "Last House onthe Left," I’ve enjoyed everything Craven’s put out, including thoseannoyingly clichéd "Scream" movies. (Just for your info though, I onlydidn’t like Last House on the Left because I do not find entertainmentin exploitation, it IS a fine low budget, independent exploitationfilm, just not my cup of tea.) But "New Nightmare" is just not arecycling of the same tired old story with a new kick. It’s a new takeon a long-standing favorite BY the creator.

For what more could you ask?

It rates an easy 8.5/10 from…

the Fiend :.

9) I've said it before, and I will say it again: Heather Langenkamp is thePrincess of Horror, and once again she proves why. Whereas other horrorheroines are blonde, sometimes ditsy, and needing frequent help,Langenkamp (either as herself or as Nancy) is resourceful, intelligentand you feel yourself really caring for her.

Wes Craven and Heather Langenkamp return alongside Robert Englund'sFreddy Krueger in what Craven himself calls "The Definitive Nightmare",and indeed, it is. So much goes on in the 7th Nightmare on Elm Streetentry that it could be expected one might find it confusing andtrivial, but the film is smart, eerie and outstandingly well done byall those involved.

"New Nightmare" essentially takes place in the real world, sometimeafter the Elm Street films have all ended. While the film only reallyreferences parts 1 and 3 (due to Langenkamp and Craven's involvement),it does nothing to contradict or negate what happened in parts 2 and4-6, which is a very good thing. It just shows how much the people atNew Line Cinema and the cast and crew involved in the Nightmarefranchise care about and have respect for the films (and fans), and ofthe three major slasher franchises, would have to be the one that looksafter the films the best.

Playing herself, Heather Langenkamp is married to Chase (David Newsom)and together they have a son, Dylan (Miko Hughes), yet she is plaguedby a strange caller. The film is so complex that I don't want to giveaway what happens, but Langenkamp ends up finding the evil entity thattook the form of Freddy crossing over into reality now that the filmsare no longer being made. While this may sound complicated, it isn't,and the "film within a film" concept doesn't really apply here. Theevil entity tries to get to Dylan, so Heather has to get to the sourceof what is going on, and Wes Craven (appearing as himself) explainsabout the entity to her, and suggests that she may have to "play" Nancyone last time. In an terrific finale, Heather / "Nancy" defeats Freddyand is able to rescue her son.

"New Nightmare" somewhat strays from the typical slasher-horror of theearlier films into a stylish new breed of horror that has yet to bematched. (The "Scream" franchise is another sub genre all together).While the film is incredibly long, it needs to be, as there is a lot toget through, and all the while Langenkamp doesn't miss a beat. Itreally is a shame she doesn't act much, though there is a reference tothis in the film. (Watch out for the part where Englund is signingautographs to adoring fans by Langenkamp keeps her distance). The filmalso addresses the affects of horror on children, though only briefly,it would have been nice to delve into this further.

There are few killings in the film also, another reason why it deviatesfrom the typical slasher sub-genre, although two of the killings seemto pay homage to deaths in the earlier films – (Amanda Wyss in #1 andDanny Hassle in #5). Tracy Middendorf is a great example of what asupporting character should do – support as she plays Dylan's babysitter. Fran Bennet is very good as Doctor Heffner.

John Saxxon appears playing himself (he was Nancy's father in #1),Robert Englund plays both himself and Freddy, and as already mentioned,Wes appears also. Other important people at New Line Cinema also makebrief but terrific performances: Robert Shaye, Sara Risher and MarianneMaddalena. Tuesday Knight (Kristen in #4) and Nick Corri also make verybrief unspeaking cameos at a funeral. Lin Shaye (Robert's wife) appearsonce more (she has appeared in previous films) in a small role, andCraven's daughter Jessica has a role as a nurse – in fact, all thenurses are terrific.

So, set aside some quality time to watch "New Nightmare" and watchLangenkamp prove why she is worthy of being called The Princess ofHorror. This film is unmatched by all the Nightmare films – and that issaying a lot, as the Nightmare on Elm Street films are quality horrorwith an outstanding group of people overseeing them. Well done to allinvolved.

10) The actress Heather Langencamp lives in Los Angeles with her husbandChase Porter (David Newsom), who is secretly working in a mechanicalhand for the next movie of Freddy Kruger, and their son Dylan (MikoHughes). During an earthquake, Heather has a dreadful nightmare whereChase's partners die; in the morning she is invited to be the guest ofa talk show about the tenth anniversary of "A Nightmare on Elm Street"with the presence of Robert Englund. Later the executive of New LineCinema Robert Shaye invites her to perform Nancy Thompson again in thelatest project of Wes Craven based on his own nightmares, but she turnsthe invitation down. Heater is being disturbed by a man that calls herin the telephone and sends creepy letters to her. When Dylan hasnightmares with a man with claw and tells that he is protected by hisT-Rex toy showing symptoms of schizophrenia, and Chase dies in a caraccident, Heather becomes paranoid with Freddy Krueger. The reactionsof Robert Englund and Wes Craven indicate to her that something isgoing wrong. Further she discovers that Freddy is an entity that doesexist and is an ancient demon trying to use her weakness as the gatewayto the real world. Heater needs to face the evil Freddy Kruger toprotect her beloved son.

"New Nightmare" is an original approach to bring Freddy Krueger backafter his death in "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare". The storyblends reality with fiction and transforms Freddy Krueger in amillenary evil entity that tries to reach the real world through theactress Heather Langencamp, giving a survivorship to this character. Myvote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Hora do Pesadelo 7 – O Novo Pesadelo – O Retorno deFreddy Krueger" ("The Hour of the Nightmare 7 – The New Nightmare – TheReturn of Freddy Krueger")

Modern Love


Title: Modern Love
Year: 1990
Directors: Robby Benson
Writers: Robby Benson (written by)
Rating: 4.7 | 112 votes
Languages: English
Color: Color
Country: USA
Company: Lyric Films
Genres: Comedy
Plot:
Modern relationships are examined in this comedy drama.
Comments:
1) This really is a good film, provided you’re in the right mood. The ‘mood’being one of relaxation and contentment. If you’re not, you’ll probablyhatethis film, or least you’ll hate the way it makes you feel. But if you arealready somewhat subdued and in the mood for a little ‘none-too-heavy’movieentertainment, this is a superb choice. It examines life, love, marriageandparenting from various angles and perceptions. It starts a wee bit slow sobear with it. It goes down smooth and leaves a satisfyingly sweet aftertaste. Karla DeVito’s ‘sweet smile’ is worth the price of admission alone.Sadly, this film’s poor reception and the advent of DVD technology willmostlikely relegate it to dusty shelves and Beta machines-if it hasn’talready.8/10.

2) This is a really surprising film. If you are looking for a goodmother-daughter night movie I would highly recommend this one. Thefirst thing that made a good impression on me was the chemistry betweenthe characters. Of course, this made sense after I found out they werea real-life family as well. The inter-action between Greg and Chloewere heart-warming. The range of emotions expressed on Robby Benson’sface really show-cased his acting abilities. Burt Reynold’s portrayalof Mr. Parker show a sensitive side of him you seldom see, and RueMcClanahan made me want to slap her and hug her at the same time.Another pleasant surprise was Franki Valli as Mr. Hoskins. I lookforward to seeing this one again!

3) I love this film. It rarely comes on television and is very hard to findonvideo. It was romantic and sweet and leaves you with a good feelingafterwards. If you don’t have children it might make you want them and ifyou do have children you can understand the joy and excitement.

4) "Hold on…It’s gonna be a bumpy ride"… Yes indeed. Why isn’t thismovie available on DVD ? I’ve seen this probably 20 times, and it stillcracks me up-a funny, sad,tender look at love and life and marriage.Just watching Robbie Benson’s facial expressions of a man who has noclue of what he’s getting himself into is priceless.. That the castincludes his wife and children give this movie realism and tendernessthat would otherwise not be possible. Karla DeVito is amazing both ashis girlfriend, then as his wife. I only wish that she had been morevisible over the years as an actress,because her talents have beensorely missed. The supporting cast is perfect-especially Kaye Ballardas his wife’s office secretary. Burt Reynolds adds a classy touch-andto me, this movie is a overlooked gem that needs to be on DVD…

5) Very, very funny. This movie made me laugh out loud. I very seldom domorethan smile when watching a movie. Wonderful movie full of insight andirony.Obviously the writer Robby Benson has been through many of theexperienceshe parodies. Very realistic but with a fun house mirror distortion justenough to let you see the funny edge.

6) Bill Arvay's portrayal of the doctor is brilliantly and sensitivelydone. It is one of the most dramatic moments in a film that isprimarily a comedy.

His character tells Burt Reynold's character that his wife did notsurvive the surgery. Part of the scene is nonverbal and relies solelyon body language, and I found it amazing how much emotion Mr. Arvay wasable to convey without any words. These are brief scenes, but they makeyou want to see more of that character. In my opinion, he dominatesthose scenes with Burt Reynolds. Incidentally, he also had a terrificrole in the television miniseries North and South. Let's hope we'll beseeing him in bigger roles in the future.

I must also add (July 2006) that Mr. Arvay is a very handsome andcaptivating gentleman, and is a real pleasure to watch, in person aswell as on the silver screen.

The New Neighbor


Title: The New Neighbor
Year: 1953
Directors: Jack Hannah
Writers: Nick George (story) &

Milt Schaffer (story)

Rating: 8.0 | 87 votes
Languages: English
Color: Color
Country: USA
Company: Walt Disney Productions
Genres: Family | Comedy | Animation | Short
Plot:
1)
Donald moves into a new home, and discovers his new neighbor is a slob, a mooch, and has a dog that comes crashing through the fence and digging in Donald’s garden. Eventually it escalates into a full-scale war, with crowds cheering and TV coverage.
Comments:
1) Jack Hannah must be THE most underrated cartoon director of all time; in myestimation he is second only to Chuck Jones. In quality of output, thatis.He MAY not have been as inherently talented as Tex Avery or even FrizFreleng (I must grit my teeth as I say this), but he had one inestimableadvantage over them and all his other more highly regarded contemporaries:he worked for Disney, and so was allowed to direct the most rounded,passionate, comically inspired cartoon character of all time: DonaldDuck.

Donald is not just, as popular belief would have it, someone who gets mad.He’s someone with ungoverned, ungovernable passions, of which anger is justone: hunger, weariness, envy, spite, lust and love are some of the others.The humour comes (in part) from the fact that all along he thinks he’s incontrol. And in fact, the resulting cartoons ARE more controlled. Donalddoes not break the laws of physics as often or as outrageously as BugsBunnydoes – he cannot pull a stick of dynamite out of nowhere just because itsuits the plot – but when he DOES do the impossible, one feels the sheerforce of his personality pushing him. It’s like watching (and listeningto)a jet as it crosses the sound barrier.

This cartoon proves my points as well as any other. It’s one of Donald’sand Hannah’s very best. The 1950s could easily have been their finestdecade together, if the economics of production hadn’t cut Hannah’s Disneycareer short in 1956. Very likely it WAS their finest decade even so.Evenif "The New Neighbor" were the routine Donald outing you’d expect fromreading a synopsis of the plot, which it isn’t, the strength of Donald’scharacter would be enough to make it funnier and more vibrant than theritualised gaggery Warner Brothers was churning out at the time. -Except,that is, for the cartoons of Chuck Jones – another director who understoodthe value of building his humour on a strong foundation ofcharacter.

2) A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon.

As THE NEW NEIGHBOR on the block, Donald discovers he’sliving next door to the pestilential Pete.

This is a very humorous film, with the two neighbors engagedin an ever-escalating feud. The characters’ personalitiesareperfectly suited to this kind of plot. Music mavens willrecognize the tune Pete is humming as the theme fromDisney’s LAMBERT THE SHEEPISH LION (1952). Clarence"Ducky" Nash provides Donald’s voice.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by drawings.As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animalsonscraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in Franceduringthe First World War, he drew figures on the sides of hisvehicle.Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Waltdeveloped a primitive animation studio that provided animatedcommercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters.Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series brokeground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe.Businessreversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, whereWalt’s older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager& counselor. When a mildly successful series with OswaldTheLucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, thecharacter of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt’s imagination,ensuring Disney’s immortality. The happy arrival of soundtechnology made Mickey’s screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE(1928), a tremendous audience success with its use ofsynchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared,and Walt’s growing crew of marvelously talented animatorswere quickly conquering new territory with full color,illusionsof depth and radical advancements in personality development,an arena in which Walt’s genius was unbeatable. Mickey’sfeisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, buthewas soon to be joined by other animated companions:temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofyand energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt’sgrandest dream – feature length animated films. Againstablizzard of doomsayers, Walt persevered and over the nextdecades delighted children of all ages with the adventuresofSnow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi & Peter Pan. Walt neverforgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, orthatsimplicity of message and lots of hard work always payoff.

Modern Love


Title: Modern Love
Year: 1929
Directors: Arch Heath
Writers: Albert DeMond (screenplay)

Albert DeMond (titles)

Rating: 6.0 | 6 votes
Languages: English
Color: Black and White
Country: USA
Company: Universal Pictures
Genres: Comedy | Romance
Comments:
1) At present only about two reels of this late-silent Universal comedysurvive, enough to give you an idea of the plot — Kathryn Crawford, adress designer, is married to Charley Chase, which must be kept secretfor some reason, and Parisian couturier Jean Hersholt wants to take herto Paris to study under him — euphemisms, always euphemisms. Thecurrent surviving sections start with Charley in a very funny gag,follow through for a bit, and then jumps to the predictable ending.

As Universal dumped almost all its silent footage in 1948, it seemedfor a long time that this was all that survived — a terrible fate forCharley Chase fans. However, the word at Slapsticon '07 is that thereare private collectors out there with enough footage to just about makeup the entire movie and Universal is interested….. so stay tuned.

July 14, 2008: As an update, I have just received notice that thismovie has been restored and will be exhibited in Syracuse this summer.I look forward to hearing impressions of it and hope to see therestoration for myself some time.

New Morals for Old


Title: New Morals for Old
Year: 1932
Directors: Charles Brabin
Writers: John Van Druten (play)

Zelda Sears (additional dialo

Rating: 5.9 | 36 votes
Languages: English | French
Color: Black and White
Country: USA
Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Genres: Drama | Romance
Trivia:
  • Some cast members supposedly in this film did not appear or were not identifiable: Herman Bing, Robert Dudley, Edward Hearn and Arthur Hoyt. In a news item, it was announced that Tully Marshall was added to the cast, but he was not seen either.
  • The play opened in London, England on 2 February 1930 with Madeleine Carroll in the role of Phyl. The play opened on Broadway in New York City, New York, USA on 3 November 1931, but had only 20 performances. Margaret Perry originated her movie role as Phyl in the opening night cast of that production, which also included Humphrey Bogart as Duff Wilson and Walter Kingsford as Mr. Thomas.
  • Donald Cook was injured in an automobile accident soon after the production had started, and was replaced by David Newell in the role of Duff Wilson.
Comments:
1) For a while this excellent, still moving and relevant antique seems tobe a precursor to the notion of the Generation Gap. The parents did itone way. The children do it another.

But it is racy and, though contrived and melodramatic, fascinating.

It is also the single most appealing performance by Robert Young I’veever seen. He did pot have the self-satisfied smirk of several decadesof later work. He is very plausible. My second-favorite of his moviesis the charming "Lady Be Good," in which he truly seems to enjoyworking with Ann Sothern.

"New Morals" still has power and does not deserve its obscurity.

2) Though hardly an example of pre-Code films at their raciest, thematter-of-fact treatment of looser sexual mores in this family drama mayreveal more about its times than a more exploitative film would. A fewyears later Lewis Stone, the father here, would play the father of the moststraightlaced and retrograde family in movie history (Andy Hardy’s); yethere he is shown as accepting the idea that his son would go off to Paristobe an artist (and be shown breakfasting the next morning with his femaleneighbor, in pajamas) and that his daughter would have an affair with amarried man, musing to his wife that they just have to get used to thedifferent morals of different times. No masterpiece, but a sweet andenjoyable film that may remind you of James Ivory’s Mr. and Mrs.Bridge.