Think of a bullwhip and fedora and one man immediately springs to mind: Indiana Jones, the sardonic archeologist played by Harrison Ford in Steven Spielberg's '80s trilogy which started with "Raiders of the Lost Ark."
As the saying goes, "Pain is temporary, film is forever" and noone in the movie business knows this better than stuntmen.
In a world of celluloid action stuffed with CGI fights and sci-fi gadgetry, thank heavens for Jason Bourne, the amnesiac assassin who's so lethal that he can turn a hardback book into a weapon.
Robert Redford did it, so has Robert De Niro; now the latest actor to start a film festival is Tilda Swinton.
Editor's note: Watch CNN's "The Screening Room" meet the cast of blockbuster musical "Mamma Mia!" and double Oscar-winning Greek director Constantin Costa-Gavras in Greece at the following times: Friday 25 July at 1730 and on Saturday 26 July 0730 and 1330 (all times GMT.)
You could say controversy is Constantin Costa-Gavras' middle name.
Shane Meadows' latest film "Somers Town" has an interesting history.
The rise and rise of the comic book movie continues tonight as "The Dark Knight" juggernaut rolls into London for the UK premiere.
Think of a bullwhip and fedora and one man immediately springs to mind: Indiana Jones, the sardonic archeologist played by Harrison Ford in Steven Spielberg's '80s trilogy which started with "Raiders of the Lost Ark."
As the saying goes, "Pain is temporary, film is forever" and noone in the movie business knows this better than stuntmen.
In a world of celluloid action stuffed with CGI fights and sci-fi gadgetry, thank heavens for Jason Bourne, the amnesiac assassin who's so lethal that he can turn a hardback book into a weapon.
Robert Redford did it, so has Robert De Niro; now the latest actor to start a film festival is Tilda Swinton.
Editor's note: Watch CNN's "The Screening Room" meet the cast of blockbuster musical "Mamma Mia!" and double Oscar-winning Greek director Constantin Costa-Gavras in Greece at the following times: Friday 25 July at 1730 and on Saturday 26 July 0730 and 1330 (all times GMT.)
You could say controversy is Constantin Costa-Gavras' middle name.
Shane Meadows' latest film "Somers Town" has an interesting history.
The rise and rise of the comic book movie continues tonight as "The Dark Knight" juggernaut rolls into London for the UK premiere.
To download footage of Santosh Sivan talking about "Before the Rains" on The Screening Room podcast subscribe here.
"Hey, Hey It's Esther Blueburger" is the latest comic creation to emerge from the Australian film market.
Here are a selection of clips from some of the latest movies to come out of Australia -- a country set to become a global over-achiever in the movie-making field.
Baz Luhrmann is the type of director for whom the word innovative was invented.
It may lack the prestige of Cannes, but this year's Sydney Film Festival was an equally glitzy and glamorous affair, attracting some Hollywood heavyweights.
Demons, ghouls and buckets of blood: For decades, filmmakers have delighted in terrorizing their audiences -- and we love them for it.
Cannibalism, Tasmanian tigers and a good dose of Australian humor: These are the ingredients of the latest film from down under, the intriguingly titled "Dying Breed."
Like a fine baguette on the Croissette, "The Screening Room" is about to become longer, fresher and crisper as we launch a new monthly show -- "The Screening Room Xtra."
Editor's note: Watch Tarantino talking about the making of "Pulp Fiction" on The Screening Room podcast. To receive regular movie podcasts subscribe here.
Two documentaries at this year's Cannes Film Festival dealt with sporting legends.
"Au secours!" is one of the first phrases you will find in French travel dictionaries but I have never heard it used -- until now. It's 1.15am and we have just locked an elderly French lady in a lift, so the phrase is now being used in its most urgent form.
Heroes come in all shapes and sizes -- from the gun-packing maverick who shoots first and asks questions later to the unlikely hero, blinking with surprise at his newly found ass-kicking skills.
Love him or hate him, it is impossible to deny Spielberg is one of the most significant directors in Hollywood history. From the summer blockbuster to the resurgence of historical dramas, his influence can be felt across the film industry.
There has been a distinctly Latin flavor to this year's Cannes Film Festival.
Everyone has their childhood favorite: whether it is the hand-drawn beauty of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs;" or the modern, computer-generated genius of "Shrek." Cartoons have always been a family staple in the movie industry.
Bad dubbing, angry men with extraordinary facial hair, balletic fighting and more blood than you can shake a nunchuck at: just some of the key ingredients to make a perfect kung fu flick.
This list isn't just about soundtracks or great music in the movies -- it is about quintessential movie moments where a song flawlessly complements or enhances the action.
"This is an event in world history," is how Hollywood producer Avi Lerner hyperbolically proclaimed the news that Robert De Niro and Al Pacino were to star in his new film.
He's the butt-kicking, karate-chopping, kung fu superstar who rose from nowhere to conquer Hollywood in a spectacularly visual style.
Western cinema's relationship with martial arts has been a rocky one. Like many genres, kung fu has drifted in and out of fashion, but it has never regained the same popularity as its glorious heyday in the early 1970s.
American directors Clint Eastwood and Steven Soderbergh are to headline the streamlined competition at this year's Cannes Film Festival, which features fewer big-name directors and more emerging voices from across the globe.
She is arguably the most influential female recording artist of all time. With hits spanning over three decades and her recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Madonna has had a staggeringly successful music career.
Two titans of showbusiness have come together in a perfect pairing: The Rolling Stones, the world's greatest band, play two nights at New York's intimate Beacon Theatre; capturing the night on camera is celebrated film director, Martin Scorsese.
With Hollywood still reeling from the untimely death of actor Heath Ledger, the news of director Anthony Minghella's passing after surgery, has sent the film industry into a tailspin.
At times it may seem long gone, but the spirit of protest in popular music is not dead.
It's the biggest film industry in the Middle East and known as the Hollywood of the Arab world. Veteran players like actor, Omar Sharif and director, Youssef Chahine are known to film fans the world over.
Music: it's an essential part of a director's armory, providing an aural canvas that enhances and underlines the visual effects on-screen.
"Look around. We are living in a heavy metal world." -- Faisal, lead vocals, Acrassicauda
While the Oscars is without doubt the grandest of all the awards ceremonies, it doesn't have the world stage to itself.
With recent offerings ranging from "Downfall" to the "The Pianist," it is hard to imagine a tale about the Holocaust that has not been told before.
Each year, any country in the non-English speaking world that wants to be in with a chance of winning must choose just one film to represent the entire output of their country's filmmaking industry.
In 2007, a low-budget feature by a first-time German director, "Das Leben der Anderen" won Best Foreign Language film at the Oscars. Over the next 10 weeks, the film better known to English-speaking audiences as "The Lives of Others" brought in $8.2m at the US box office.
At a time of economic uncertainty in the U.S., the writers strike cast a dark cloud over the eternal sunshine of the Californian mindset and its most glittering awards ceremony.
We all have our favorites for the big honors at Hollywood's top awards show, but over its 80-year history there have been some classic films, performers and people behind the scenes that have been criminally overlooked by Oscar.
Can a film be held together purely by the power of its cast? That's the risk director Rob Reiner's taken with "The Bucket List," a movie derided by some as little more than a shop-front for its megastars.
Cross one macabre-obsessed director with the grisly legend of a homicidal barber, add a lick of singing, a smart, oddball cast and what do you get?
It's 40 years since Robert Redford teamed up with Paul Newman to play cowboy heroes in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." Yet the name "Sundance" has become synonymous with Redford, outshining his other starring roles like "The Great Gatsby," "All the President's Men" and "Up Close and Personal."
Take a handful of screen goddesses and a clutch of matinee idols, put them together and one thing's sure to happen. Nobody does love like they do in the movies: this month on the Screening Room, we've picked our favorite silver-screen romantic moments.
As depressing as it may seem, it is not an unusual story. A young, talented actor who seems to have the world at their feet is discovered dead from an apparent overdose.
From "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" to "Can't Fight the Moonlight" and the Grammy-Award-winning "Because You Loved Me," Diane Warren's songs have been recorded by platinum artists, sold millions of copies worldwide and appeared in blockbusters like "Coyote Ugly," "Armageddon," "Pearl Harbor" and "Licence to Kill." CNN spoke to her about her inspiration, her memories and songwriting for the movies.
You voted: he won. Revered by the masses of moviegoers worldwide, it came as no surprise that Martin Scorsese ("Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull," "The Departed") topped the Screening Room's "Directors Cut" poll.
Ang Lee could be having a good year -- but he's not sure. "I got a Golden Lion," he says, in an exclusive interview with CNN. "I got a Golden Lion," he repeats, chuckling as if he can't quite believe his luck.
Masks beneath masks, the click-clack of Mahjong tiles and the sheen of silk cheongsams: Taiwanese director Ang Lee ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"; "Brokeback Mountain") brings an intoxicating tale of lies, deceit and corruption to the screen with his latest film, "Lust, Caution".
They might make you punch the air or bring a tear to your eye: this month on the Screening Room, we've picked our top ten life-affirming moments from the movies.
They've been around for years -- but are 3D movies set to make a comeback? Although basic 3D technology has been around since the 1890s, the availability of 3D screens and 3D movies has been relatively limited. But now, companies such as IMAX (Canada), Dolby and REAL D (United States) are promising a renaissance of 3D films by creating viewing systems which provide flawless performances at the cinema.
3D is no modern technology: its roots are planted in the Victorian era.
The heavyweight of digital technology, Dolby, has been enriching the cinema experience for decades. Not so in 3D. The undisputed world champion of the third dimension is REAL D... but for how much longer?
Ancient literature meets the future of filmmaking in "Beowulf," a 3D spectacle using the latest technology.
It's that time of year for seasonal trips to the movies, and to celebrate, the Screening Room is taking a look back at our favorite family hits over the years.
Michael Caine has been personifying British cool since the swinging sixties.
From Harry Potter to Beatrix Potter, Bond to Borat, David Lean to Mr Bean, British cinema, the skills of British actors, directors and technicians have long been respected around the globe. And as the London Film Festival opens in the British capital, one of the starring roles is the city itself.
According to Hollywood, nothing says "I'm an evil mastermind" like a cut-glass British accent and a lip-curling sneer. Why? We're not sure. But as one of the movie world's favorite stereotypes, this month we celebrate the London Film Festival by picking our top 10 British villains.
"Blade Runner" is so firmly entrenched as a contemporary classic that it is hard to believe it was a box office flop when it was first released in 1982. A cheesy voice-over by Harrison Ford as Deckard and the stock "happy ending" of the first version broke the rules of the world Scott had created and left audiences unconvinced. It was 10 years before he was able to unleash the full effect of the visual spectacle he had created.
Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci's career has taken him from deeply personal art-house canvases to big-screen epics.
Director David Cronenberg walked away with the audience prize at this year's Toronto Film Festival for his latest work, "Eastern Promises," the story of ruthless Russian gangster Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen) whose path crosses with midwife Anna (Naomi Watts) setting into motion a chain of harrowing and bloody events.
Movie deaths can be tragic, heroic, spine-chilling -- even funny. This month, we've brought together our favorite screen exits, from Psycho to Bambi.
Avoiding polar bears and hanging by rope over icy crevasses isn't in an actor's job description for most movies. But then most films aren't shot in the Arctic Circle.
Few composers have been more prolific than Ennio Morricone. Famous for his work on Italian director Sergio Leone's Westerns, the movie maestro has 400 film scores to his name.
From "Gladiator" to "The Lion King", "Pirates of the Caribbean" to "The Simpsons," film composer Hans Zimmer's versatile and imaginative scores have added aural color, light and shade to the on-screen action.
It's always a struggle to whittle down our top 10 list, but this month it proved impossible. So we've taken our 10 favorite songs -- one from each of 10 movie genres. And there were still some tantrums in the office... so we've drawn up our top ten original soundtracks, too.
From Ennio Morricone to Hans Zimmer, John Williams to Danny Elfman, this month we're celebrating music in the movies with our top ten favorite original film soundtracks.
The Screening Room went to the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane in the heart of London's West End, where a spectacular musical version of "The Lord of The Rings" is enjoying a successful run, to meet Indian composer A. R. Rahman, whose blend of Asian culture with rock and Western classical styles has revolutionized the Indian film industry. And now Rahman is about to make his mark in Hollywood.
In this month's edition of The Screening Room, we met an old and treasured resident of Leicester Square: the Odeon Cinema's Compton Organ.
The most eagerly anticipated animated film this year hits big screens this weekend, as "The Simpsons Movie" opens worldwide. The Screening Room spoke to creator Matt Groening and writer Al Jean in London about everyone's favorite two-dimensional yellow family.
This month on the Screening Room we're turning to the wonderful world of animated films.
From bedroom creators to big studios, hand-drawn to CGI, animation has charmed and entertained children -- and, increasingly, adults -- for many years. The Screening Room went to Annecy in France to discover the secrets of success in animated films...
This month, the Screening Room celebrates the release of "The Simpsons Movie" with its top 10 animated feature films. From Disney to Ghibli, Buzz to Beauty, we've picked our favorites - the ones that have charmed us, touched us and made us laugh out loud.
Bollywood is booming. That's the message coming from the Mumbai-based movie business, which makes 800 films each year -- twice that of Hollywood -- and generates the biggest ticket sales in the world.
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