by Joe Gillis, Jun 4 2013 // 10:00 AM

The Wizard of Oz is a classic. Nobody would dispute that statement. So it’s nice when classic films get the treatment they deserve and this amazing film is getting just that.
Today Warner Bros. announced a new edition of the film to celebrate its 7th anniversary. The Wizard of Oz 75th Anniversary Collector’s Edition will feature a newly mastered version of the film itself as well as a whole bunch of new and improved information about the film as well. But wait, that’s not all.
The film has also received the 3D and IMAX treatment and will show on the big, big screen for one week starting September 20th. The Blu-ray release will follow on October 1.
So, if you’ve ever wanted to see The Wizard of Oz in all its big screen glory, this is your chance. It’s worth it. Go.
For all the info you could want on this great announcement, check out the full press release below.
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Posted in: Classics · Movies · News
Tagged: 3D, Classics, IMAX, judy Garland, Movies, Musicals, Ray Bolger, The Wizard of Oz, The Wizard of Oz 75th Anniversary Edition, Warner Bros
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by Jonathan Weilbaecher, Oct 9 2012 // 10:00 AM
Charlie Brown and his famous band of christian buddies have lived in pop culture continuously for over 60 years. The brain child of Charles Schulz, Peanuts is a phenomenon that has effected every generation since it’s inception. Well, save for perhaps the current generation who only know the characters as shills for MetLife and those droopy trees that people seem to love around Christmas.
According to Deadline, Fox is looking to change that, by acquiring the rights to an animated feature staring everyone’s favorite adolescents:
Twentieth Century Fox Animation and Ice Age makers Blue Sky Studios will turn Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Woodstock and the whole Peanuts gang into an animated feature film franchise. Fox has closed a deal for the rights to turn the strip by the late Charles Schulz into a film that has already been set for release on November 25, 2015. That date commemorates the 65th anniversary of the comic strip, and the 50th anniversary of the TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Rather ambitious to already have a release date three years out, but it makes sense.
There is also some brewing concern about the animation style of the movie. If you look at Ice Age and the Seuss films you don’t exactly see the Peanuts ascetic. We have faith though, Blue Sky managed to take the Seuss style and make it work in a 3D space rather well. There is no reason to believe that they can’t replicate that level of respectful modernization for Schulz’s iconic style as well.
Stay tuned to The Flickcast for any news regarding this far off project as it develops.
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Posted in: 20th Century Fox · Adaptation · Animation · Classics · Comics · Movies · News
Tagged: Adaptation, Blue Sky Studios, Charles Schulz, Charlie Brown, movie, News, Peanuts, Snoopy, Twentieth Century Fox, Woodstock
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by Douglas Barnett, Jul 2 2012 // 10:15 AM

Jaws (1975) is the first summer blockbuster and is considered by critics and fans alike as one of the greatest films ever made. After success with the TV thriller Duel (1972) and his first theatrical release of The Sugarland Express (1974), director Steven Spielberg set out to adapt Peter Benchley’s novel about a Great White shark which terrorizes a small New England beach community. The screenplay was co-written by Benchley, actor-writer Carl Gottlieb (M*A*S*H*), and an un-credited John Milius who helped with some of the film’s most memorable dialogue like “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” and the legendary U.S.S. Indianapolis speech.
The film opens with one of the greatest sequences ever shot. A young woman leaves a bonfire beach gathering to go skinny-dipping in the ocean while being chased by an inebriated young man. The young man ends up passing out in the surf while the woman swims out to the middle of the channel. An underwater low angle shot represents the point of view of the shark as it begins to stalk its prey. John William’s haunting score builds as the young woman is thrashed around and is pulled under by the shark. This scene did to ocean night swimming, what Psycho (1960) did for women’s showering.
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Posted in: Academy Awards · Blu-Ray · Books · Box Office · Classics · Directors · DVD · DVD Reviews · Horror · Monday Picks · Movies · Netflix · Thriller · Universal Pictures
Tagged: Carl Gottlieb, David Brown, John Milius, Murray Hamilton, Richard Dreyfuss, Richard Zanuck, Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider, Steven Spielberg
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by Douglas Barnett, Jun 4 2012 // 4:00 PM

This week’s pick is Death Wish (1974) which stars Charles Bronson as a vigilante who cleans up the seedy streets of New York in this classic tale of revenge. The film was based on the novel written by Brian Garfield and boasts a great score from famed musician Herbie Hancock.
Bronson stars as Paul Kersey an architect whose family is brutally attacked by vicious hoodlums. His wife is murdered and his daughter is raped and left for dead in their own apartment. Without any leads and the inability of his daughter to make a positive ID due to her catatonic state, the police are powerless to do anything. Paul is devastated and begins to adopt a new sense of self-preservation.
The film takes a while to build up momentum but when it does, it really gets going. Trying to put the incident behind him and get on with his life and his work, Paul is sent to Arizona by his boss to oversee a new land development deal. Paul arrives in Tucson, Arizona and is met by Ames Jainchill (Stuart Margolin) who shows Paul the land where he wants to develop property. After witnessing a mock gunfight at an old movie set in Tucson, Ames takes Paul to a gun club where Ames is impressed with Paul’s deadeye shooting.
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Posted in: Action · Classics · Cult Cinema · DVD · DVD Reviews · Monday Picks · Movies · Netflix · Paramount
Tagged: Charles Bronson, Christopher Guest, Death Wish, Denzel Washington, Dino De Laurentiis, Drama, Jeff Goldblum, Michael Winner, Monday Picks, revenge, Stuart Margolin, Vincent Gardenia
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by Douglas Barnett, May 28 2012 // 7:30 AM

In honor of Memorial Day and to all our members of the Armed Forces past and present, this week’s War Movie Monday pick is the MGM World War II classic Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) which depicts the exploits of the Doolittle Raiders who bombed Japan just four months after Pearl Harbor. The film stars Van Johnson (Lieutenant Ted Lawson), Robert Walker (Corporal David Thatcher), Robert Mitchum (Lt. Bob Gray) and Spencer Tracy as Lt. Col. James Doolittle.
The film opens in February 1942 just two months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The United States and its allies have met a series of crushing defeats against the Japanese in Malaya, Indo China, and the Philippines. The Japanese blitzkrieg across the Far East seems almost impossible to stop.
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Posted in: Classics · DVD · DVD Reviews · Historical Dramas · MGM · Movies · Netflix · War · War Movie Mondays
Tagged: Robert Mitchum, Robert Walker, Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson
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by Douglas Barnett, Apr 30 2012 // 10:33 AM
Albeit a Sci-Fi classic, The War of the Worlds (1953) is a multi genre film. Based on H.G. Well’s classic novel about a Martian invasion of Earth, the film represents America’s fear of Bolshevik communism in the 1950s. The film opens with a narration sequence which tells the audience why the Martians began looking across the vast sea of space looking for a new world in order to colonize. Of all the planets that were examined by the Martians, Earth was the only suitable planet for their needs.
Screenwriter Barre Lyndon substitutes Well’s England for southern California where the opening stages of the invasion begin. Dr. Clayton Forrester (Gene Barry) is a scientist who is called in to examine a meteorite that has made an unusual landing in the hills outside a small town. At the crash site, he meets a young woman who is familiar with his work. Sylvia Van Buren (Ann Robinson) and her pastor uncle invite Dr. Forester to stay with them for the time being while the meteorite cools off and can be examined.
Keeping an eye on the meteorite and insuring that it doesn’t start any more fires, three men discover that the meteorite is in fact a Martian ship that emerges from the crash site. The three men are quickly vaporized from the heat ray of the Martian war machine.
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Posted in: Academy Awards · Classics · Drama · DVD · DVD Reviews · Movies · Netflix · Paramount · Sci-Fi · War · War Movie Mondays
Tagged: Ann Robinson, Barre Lyndon, Byron Haskin, Gene Barry, Les Tremayne
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by Jonathan Weilbaecher, Apr 23 2012 // 3:00 PM
Kirby is the most adorable mascot in the Nintendo pantheon. He is a cute, pink little ball that sucks up enemies and can use their powers. I always assumed he ate the souls and gained their strength, and that underlying creepiness always punctuated his cuteness.
In honor of the Mascot’s 20th anniversary, Nintendo has announced plans to release a special commemorative disc to Wii consoles this fall. No word on what titles we can expect in this set, but the game will no doubt encompass the earlier era of the character.
In an official statement Nintendo executive VP Scott Moffitt had this to say:
A new Mario game and a big Kirby celebration will help make 2012 an especially great year for Nintendo fans. Whether they’re playing at home on Wii or using Nintendo 3DS to have fun on the go, players can look forward to experiencing some of our biggest franchises in exciting ways.
This release should be similar to the 25th anniversary Mario set that was released a while ago. Although we certainly hope for a more in-depth set of games than the Super Mario World free Mario set. On the flip side though, that collection included some nice bonuses, so if all we get are NES era Kirby Games, a soundtrack, and a Pink Wii-mote, this celebratory set should still be worth it.
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Posted in: Announcements · Classics · News · Nintendo · Nintendo 3DS · Nintendo DS · Video Games · Wii
Tagged: 20th Anniversary, 3DS, Classics, Collection, Dream Land, Kirby, Mascot, NES, Nintendo, SNES, Video Games, Wi
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by Douglas Barnett, Apr 23 2012 // 12:30 PM

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) is one of the greatest films ever made and a tie for my number one favorite film alongside Dr. Strangelove (1964). It is one of director David Lean’s most lasting legacies in Hollywood and a truly epic one-of-a-kind film. It was a film that was the inspiration to future filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Sam Peckinpah, Martin Scorsese, and George Lucas.
I first saw the film at the age of twelve when my father took me to the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City in 1989 for the film’s restored re-release. My father told me that it was his most favorite film and that I was very privileged to see it on the big screen. I will never forget when the lights dimmed and Maurice Jarre’s score played before the opening credits of the film. It was the first film that I can remember where my eyes were completely fixed to the screen in fear that if I turned away for a spilt second that I might miss a pivotal moment.
As I began rummaging through the popcorn bag, I looked over to my father who smiled and gave me a wink. My experience seeing the film on the big screen was like for so many others, a film, which made me want to become a director and it solidified my love of cinema from that moment forward.
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Posted in: Academy Awards · Action · Biopic · Blu-Ray · Books · Classics · Columbia Pictures · Directors · Drama · DVD · DVD Reviews · Foreign Films · Movies · Netflix · War · War Movie Mondays
Tagged: Alec Guinnes, Anthony Quayle, Anthony Quinn, Arthur Kennedy, Claude Rains, David Lean, Donald Wolfit, Jack Hawkins, John Dimech, Maurice Jarre, Omar Sharif, Peter O' Toole
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by Douglas Barnett, Apr 9 2012 // 10:30 AM

This week’s pick is The Andromeda Strain (1971) that was adapted from Michael Crichton’s best selling novel. Director Robert Wise (The Day the Earth Stood Still) brings this sci-fi thriller to the big screen.
A small group of scientists are brought together at the request of the U.S. government to investigate a crashed satellite that has killed the inhabitants of a small New Mexico town. It’s unclear as to the cause of death, but it is quickly discovered that the satellite, which returned to earth, managed to pick up an organism from space, which has proven fatal for the small town’s inhabitants.
The team of scientists is headed by doctor Jeremy Stone (Arthur Hill) who is the first to be called in by members of the U.S. Air Force and The White House. Stone understands the severity of the situation and wastes no time gathering the other three members of the team who will help to identify, isolate, and cure this new disease from space.
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Posted in: Action · Books · Classics · DVD · DVD Reviews · Monday Picks · Novels · Sci-Fi · Universal Pictures
Tagged: Arthur Hill, David Wayne, James Olson, Kate Reid, Michael Crichton, Robert Wise
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by Cortney Zamm, Apr 6 2012 // 8:45 AM

There’s a lot at PAX East, which takes place this upcoming weekend, to be excited for- the show floor will be jam packed with tons of exciting games, the concerts at night will be rockin’, and there’s endless free play areas for console, PC, tabletop, and card games.
But one other thing you should definitely make some time for is the panels- they’re a chance to catch up with some of your favorite people in the industry, learn more about making videogames a career, or ask your favorite developer or community manager a question. Here’s some of the panels I’m most excited for this weekend.
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Posted in: Action · Classics · Comics · EA · Editorial · Events · Exclusive · Fandom · Features · Indie · News · PAX
Tagged: Boston PAX, Keith Apicary, Major Nelson, PAX, Penny Arcade, XBox
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by Sebastian Suchecki, Apr 2 2012 // 8:45 AM

April Fools??? Unfortunately for all you Twins fans, it looks like this is no joke. The sequel to the 1988 comedy film Twins, aptly named Triplets, is set to add a third brother to the mix and it looks like that brother will be played by Eddie Murphy.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito have already attached themselves to the sequel to the original film which featured the duo as “experimentally conceived” twin brothers.
At first, having a black triplet seems completely crazy, but considering that in the original they tried to to have two brother who could not be more different from each other. What could be more different from those two than a black guy?
Eddie Murphy is definitely a safe choice for the role as he is no longer the edgy comedian he once was, but is he still a big enough draw for him to be a value. Let’s be honest he hasn’t had a successful film in years. His last film which is still in theaters, A Thousand Words, is a box office failure.
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Posted in: Announcements · Casting · Celebrities · Classics · Comedy · Movies · News · Prequels and Sequels
Tagged: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, Eddie Murphy, Ivan Rietman, Triplets, Twins
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by Douglas Barnett, Mar 12 2012 // 2:00 PM

Not to be confused with the upcoming remake, this week’s pick is Paul Verhoeven’s classic sci-fi action film Total Recall (1990). It is based on Phillip K. Dick’s novel We Can Remember it for You Wholesale and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a man trying to piece together who he really is on Mars in the year 2084. Noted for his unique blend of violence, extreme sexual situations, and gore, Verhoeven pulls no stops with Total Recall.
In the film Schwarzenegger stars as Doug Quaid, an everyday guy who has nightmare visions concerning the planet Mars that for some time has been colonized by humans. Disenfranchised with his work and everyday grind, Doug decides to visit a company called Rekall that sells memory implantations that makes you feel as if you have really taken a vacation without actually going anywhere.
While at Rekall, Doug is persuaded by the manager to purchase what is referred to as an “ego trip” where you assume the role of a particular individual. Quaid is intrigued and selects the persona of a secret agent who is on a mission to save Mars.
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Posted in: Action · Blu-Ray · Books · Classics · Cult Cinema · Directors · DVD · DVD Reviews · Lionsgate · Monday Picks · Movies · Sci-Fi
Tagged: Action, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Ironside, Movies, Paul Verhoeven, Phillip K. Dick, Rachel Ticotin, Rob Bottin, Ronny Cox, Sci-Fi, Sharon Stone, Total Recall
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