dynamite is a 1929 american pre-code drama film produced and directed by cecil b. demille and starring conrad nagel , kay johnson , charles bickford , and julia faye .

written by jeanie macpherson , john howard lawson , and gladys unger , the film is about a convicted murderer scheduled to be executed , whom a socialite marries simply to satisfy a condition of her grandfather 's will .

mitchell leisen was nominated for the academy award for best art direction .

dynamite ( 1929 film )

dynamite ( 1929 film ) <EOT> 1929 movie ad dynamite cecil b . demille rare mgm film - original print ad

urltoken 1929 movie ad dynamite cecil b . demille rare mgm film - original print ad : entertainment collectibles

charles bickford , cecil b . demille , and kay johnson during production of dynamite , 1929

joel mccrea & julia faye 1929 cecil b . demille film " dynamite " - original photo | films , originals and entertainment

lina basquette , cecil b . demille , tom keene ( actor ) , dynamite ( 1929 film ) , beulah marie dix

film title is shown as the word dynamite written on a box of . . . . . dynamite , after being set down by a worker .

film double dynamite released . it had been held back by producer howard hughes for three years .

home cecil b . demille photographs charles bickford , cecil b . demille , and kay johnson during production of dynamite , 1929

film title is shown as the word dynamite written on a box of . . . . . dynamite , after being set down by a worker . see more »

charles bickford , cecil b . demille , and kay johnson during production of dynamite , 1929 : : cecil b . demille photographs

charles bickford , director cecil b . demille , and kay johnson during production of dynamite , 1929 . 8x10 b & w photographic print .

studio : cecil b . demille productions a metro - goldwyn - mayer picture premiered : july 25 , 1929 , carthay circle theater in los angeles released : december 13 , 1929

“demille defends hokum . ” los angeles times , november 24 , 1929 , p . 32 .

crew : ( b & w ) extract of a review from 1929 . running time : 128 min .

on dynamite ( 1929 ) , his first sound film , demille freed the camera from a soundproof booth , hastening the construction of the first camera “blimp , ” as well as implementing a makeshift microphone boom . sound could not yet be mixed , so demille put two microphones on a set .

preserved from a 35mm nitrate print . laboratory services by film technology company , inc . , the stanford theatre film laboratory .

film the story of mankind released . chico , harpo and groucho appear in this film , but not together in one scene

we don ' t have enough data to suggest any movies based on dynamite . you can help by rating movies you ' ve seen .

since , at that time , no talking picture was complete without a song . her first effort , " dynamite man , i love you , " was rejected as was , according to legend , one called , " dynamite , dynamite , blow my sweet one back to me . " finally parker concocted " how am i to know ? " which , set to music by jack king , is sung during a prison house scene .

there are no featured audience reviews yet . click the link below to see what others say about the hollywood revue of 1929 !

" the new entertainment vitamin , 1928–1929 . " history of the american cinema . . retrieved july 09 , 2018 from urltoken urltoken

the godless girl ( 1928 ) is a drama film directed by cecil b . demille , shown for years as his last completely silent film .

last month , it also collected the richest film prize in australia , the $ 100 , 000 cinefest oz film prize , awarded in busselton in wa .

it won the audience award at the adelaide film festival last october , the youth jury prize and grand jury prize at the seattle film festival in september 2015 , and the age critics prize at the melbourne international film festival in august 2016 .

film yours for the asking released . groucho is an uncredited extra in this .

“cecil demille will rehearse the cast of dynamite until it is letter perfect . this is the first time he has directed dialogue rehearsals since he left broadway sixteen years ago . ”

please note : purchase of a ticket to either the 4 : 00 p . m . or 7 : 00 p . m . screening of dynamite allows admission to both .

" the new entertainment vitamin , 1928–1929 . " history of the american cinema . . encyclopedia . com . ( july 9 , 2018 ) . urltoken

– edwin schallert , “spectacle and thrill effects lend vivid interest to demille feature , ” los angeles times , p . h2 ( july 21 , 1929 )

mgm ' s 1929 breakthrough was the broadway melody . speaking from the stage of the chinese theater in hollywood , the director harry beaumont told his audience ,

film la fiesta de santa barbara released . harpo ' s wig can be seen in technicolor

restored by ucla film & television archive , with funding from the cecil b . demille foundation .

founded in 1999 , senses of cinema is one of the first online film journals of its kind and has set the standard for professional , high quality film - related content on the internet .

" it was fun , " says rosemary myers , a first - time film director but respected veteran of the theatre . " it was a cross between a film set and a party . "

the first feature to be completed at the upgraded long island facility was the letter ( 1929 ) , adapted from a somerset maugham play . it was to be the new look of paramount pictures : a prestigious stage property , a leading lady of broadway ( jeanne eagels had defined sadie thompson in maugham ' s rain ) , and a cosmopolitan new york director ( jean de limur ) . it was mostly talking but had music - only scenes . but neither this film nor its follow - up , jealousy ( dir . de limur , 1929 ) , did good business . eagels ' s career ended tragically after a heroin overdose later in 1929 . 42

“deadline for film dirt . ” variety , june 13 , 1933 , i , p . 6 .

the library of congress / fiaf american silent feature film survival catalog : . . the warrens of virginia

this film is not currently playing on mubi but 30 other great films are . see what’s now showing

named after cecil b . demille , these annual awards honours student achievement in film production , television & broadcast journalism , and public relations & advertising at the dodge college of film and media arts , chapman university

kennedy arrived in los angeles to confer with swanson during february 1929 . they decided to shelve the project and write off the $ 750 , 000 that kennedy had invested . evidently someone forgot to tell united artists . an advertisement in film daily on 28 february 1929 featured joseph schenck boldly pitching sound in the doomed film : " gloria swanson , talking and singing in queen kelly , vitalizes the drama . " swanson and goulding convinced kennedy to finance a new all - talkie to be called the love years . it was written and directed quickly by goulding and released as the trespasser in october 1929 . it became one of swanson ' s biggest hits . the fan magazines adored her spunkiness and the fact that she took numerous voice lessons in order to sing the theme song " love . "

a growing source of silent era film information . this listing is from the progressive silent film list by carl bennett . copyright © 1999 - 2018 by carl bennett and the silent era company . all rights reserved .

anton karl kozlovic is a graduate of the australian film , television & radio school ( aftrs ) and has a phd about celluloid religion and the biblical cinema of cecil b . demille from flinders university , australia . he publishes predominantly in the religion - and - film field and has guest edited the “exploring religion and popular film” special issue of the australian religion studies review ( 2008 , vol . 21 , no . 3 ) and has multiple film entries within the encyclopedia of religion and film and the encyclopedia of the bible and its reception .

boorman , john , tom luddy , david thomson , and walter donohue , eds . projections 4 : film - makers on film - making . london : faber and faber , 1995 , pp . 23 - 24 .

film daily made one of its keenest critical assessments about two young stage players with distinctive speaking styles who were featured in the hole in the wall ( dir . robert florey , 1929 ) . " claudette colbert … and edward g . robinson … are immense , their voices register beautifully , " wrote harrower . 49

in " dynamite , " cecil b . de mille ' s first entry in the talking picture field , this producer evidently is undaunted by the vocal angle of his film , for he pursues much the same tactics he did in his silent contributions . as in the past , he proves himself to be a master of technical view full article in timesmachine »

wall , james m . “interview with geoffrey shurlock . ” louis b . mayer library , american film institute .

it is a talking and singing film free from irritating outpourings of coarse slang or a tedious , sobbing romance .

the film was very popular in the u . s . s . r . and in germany , though it was a box office disaster in the us . when released in august 1928 in its silent film version , it was not a success . demille attributed the film’s failure to its already outmoded position in the transition from silent to sound cinema . nor did it recover more than two - third of its production costs when released in a so - called " goat gland " version with the addition of a final talkie reel in 1929 .

baxter , peter . just watch : sternberg , paramount , and america . london : british film institute , 1993 .

another success story was alibi ( 1929 ) , directed by roland west , an independent releasing through ua . west also cowrote the screenplay with the veteran writer c . gardner sullivan . the surprisingly violent story was regarded as harsh but realistic by critics , and chester morris was nominated for an oscar for his performance as a tough ex - convict . in 1929 west returned with the bat whispers , another low - budget mystery thriller .

cecilia de mille presley , vice - chairman for the national film preservation foundation , has been a leading activist for the preservation of our cinematic history for many years . she produces documentaries , is a long - time benefactor to the academy of motion picture arts and sciences ; currently serves on the boards of the american film institute , the chapman university school of film and cinema , ucla’s school of film and television ; and works with the world society for the protection of animals .

the wickedest movie in the world : how cecil b . demille made the sign of the cross - bright lights film journal

merrick , mollie . “film official tells outlook . ” los angeles times , september 30 , 1932 , p . 12 .

“musical duel to be seen in demille film . ” los angeles times , september 11 , 1932 , p . b11 .

d’arc , james v . “cecil b . demille goes to hollywood , ” in projections 8 : film - makers on film - making , edited by john boorman and walter donohue , 384 - 396 . london : faber and faber , 1998 .

blaetz , robin . strategies of containment : joan of arc in film . new york university , phd thesis , 1989 .

noah , sara . historical figures in film : the celluloid christ . san jose state university , ma thesis , 1993 .

pomeroy ' s downfall seems attributable partly to his own hubris , but it seems that he was also emulating the " erpi - men " in their quest for secrecy and self - aggrandizement . he resigned from paramount in january 1929 . " his desire to direct is said to be the cause of controversy , " reported the laconic film daily . 41

d . w . griffith ' s waning career waned a little more when lady of the pavements ( 1929 ) came out . it was a part - talkie , with some singing scenes . critics liked the energetic star , lupe velez , but were indifferent to griffith ' s direction . joseph schenck previewed the film extensively around the country before its new york premiere in order to forestall the inevitable effects of the bad reviews . part of the problem was technical . ua ' s disc pressing was botched , resulting in unintelligible voices . writing in january 1929 , griffith expressed optimism :

cecil b . demille thought silent movies were here to stay but by 1929 , there was no doubt he would have to adjust . later he looked back on the changes it wrought : " to leaf through my shooting script for

the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .

" i don ' t know how many times i ' ve watched it but napoleon dynamite still gets me , " says whittet , name - checking the film that has most often been name - checked by people who seek a point of reference for girl asleep . " it ' s that mix of a visual world alongside a character who is just so vivid and a really simple story . "

show boat received bad notices when it opened in new york in april 1929 . kann assailed the director , harry pollard , in a front - page editorial for letting the film grow to its 12 , 400 - foot length . " practically every major sequence is drawn out and made unnecessarily repetitious to the point of fatigue . " other reviews described it as a long and " draggy " melodrama . like all universal productions , the film was also released in a silent version . 93

paramount rushed its maurice chevalier vehicle , innocents of paris ( dir . richard wallace , 1929 ) into production . the film was one of the studio ' s top grossers for the year . chevalier ' s assertive personality , his endearing gallicisms , his almost too - french accent , and his signature tune " louise " made the otherwise ordinary film a one - man tour de force . chevalier had been making films in france since 1908 , so he was totally at ease before the camera . 47

the ucla film and television archive later restored the film ' s sound version , in which dialogue scenes were added to the final reel , a film that was one of demille ' s first part - sound efforts . actor fritz feld filmed the sound sequences without demille ' s supervision since demille had already broken his contract with pathé , and signed with metro - goldwyn - mayer . [ 1 ]

anonymous . the de mille dynasty exhibition : a century of theatre , film and dance . los angeles : the americana museum , 1985 .

steidel , debra eve . that her soul may remain pure : women in american silent film . american university , ma thesis , 1989 .

lucky star ( dir . frank borzage , 1929 ) was released in its part - talking version . it is a melodrama about two war veterans ( charles farrell and guinn " big boy " williams ) competing for the heart of janet gaynor . " last two reels [ of ] dialogue , with farrell and gaynor voices [ were ] just fair , " said jack harrower , film daily ' s regular reviewer . 35

“cecil b . demille has emerged as a pioneer in effects . he has an amazing grasp of the medium . you may rave at certain phases of the hokum plot that he presents , but the audible screen gives him the opportunity to disclose an entirely new bag of tricks . in unexpectedness and interest , dynamite is a peak . ”

scorsese , martin . “martin scorsese’s guilty pleasures . ” film comment 34 , no . 3 ( 1998 ) : 46 - 48 , p . 46 .

his first talkie , dynamite , was advertised in " motion picture herald " as " a drama that digs through the veneer of sex and silks to reach the heart ! " dynamite was demille ' s first project while under contract at mgm . in 1929 , mgm was still releasing most of its talkies with silent versions in order to satisfy those markets that were not yet wired for sound . lt is the silent version that has been preserved for this festival . though one reel shorter , the silent version departs little from its sound counterpart . a " variety " review from the time sums up the complicated plot : " a miner , condemned to death , whom the spoiled society bud has wed in prison on the eve of execution . . . all to comply with a will , leaving her millions , in order that she may buy another woman ' s husband . that the laborer is saved from the gallows at the 11th hour forms the knot which the scenario must untie . "

preserved from cecil b . demille ' s personal 35mm nitrate print . laboratory services by the stanford theatre film laboratory . special thanks to : cecilia demille presley .

– cecil b . demille to george c . pratt , “interview with cecil b . demille , ” courtesy of george eastman house international museum of photography and film

there ' s a wonderful visual inventiveness to the film , too , typified by the scene - setting titles that crop up unexpectedly on objects in the frame .

rivers , jennifer ann . cecil b . demille’s vision of the west : a comparison of history and film . brigham young university , ma thesis , 1996 .

the sign of the cross concludes in tragedy , a downbeat ending for a film released in the worst months of the depression , yet it was a huge hit .

demille had taken a chance in making the film . would the censor boards slash it to ribbons ? after a few anxious weeks , reports came in to the src . not one board had cut the so - called “lesbian dance . ” the few who did cut the film concentrated on alligators , apes , and asses’ milk .

pratt , george c . “interview with cecil b . demille . ” hollywood , 1958 . unpublished audio tape , george eastman house international museum of photography and film .

the official website dedicated to demille’s work , life and legacy . it contains an extensive biography , filmography , list of awards , photo - gallery and various film links

apostolos - cappadona , diane . “iconography , ” in the routledge companion to religion and film , edited by john lyden , 440 - 464 . london : routledge , 2010 .

the canary murder case ( dir . malcolm st . clair , 1929 ) was that rarity , a film with " effective talking sequences . " william powell ' s voice and acting were singled out . " as an all - talker , it is far more effective than the silent version . " as a result of his success , powell was officially " elevated to stardom " by paramount . 48 the dour voice and deadpan delivery of the character actor ned sparks added more vocal interest to the casting .

dynamite is a sprawling tale which begins by telling two completely separate stories . we ' re first introduced to hagon derk ( charles bickford ) , who has been unjustly convicted of murder and sentenced to die . his little sister katie ( muriel mccormac ) sobs as they are parted , and the viewer rightly guesses that a man with such feelings for a child is unlikely to be a murderer .

karl has been a journalist at fairfax media since 1999 , in a variety of writing and editing roles . karl writes about popular culture with a particular focus on film and television .

palmer , allen w . “cecil b . demille writes america’s history for the 1939 world’s fair . ” film history 5 , no . 1 ( 1993 ) : 36 - 48 .

in this musical revue , mgm introduced its silent - film stars . conrad nagel and jack benny host the event . stars include : buster keaton , joan crawford , and lionel barrymore .

( 1939 ) . like most of the director ' s best work , this film possesses an undercurrent of cynicism and bitterness overlaid with sentimentality . written by charles brackett and billy wilder ,

howard hughes ' s caddo productions announced in may 1928 that hell ' s angels would be finished in time for a september release by united artists . indeed , the film had been nearly completed as a silent with synchronized effects , but hughes realized that it would be old hat next to the new all - talkers appearing from every studio . he hired the stage director james whale to film dialogue scenes at christie ' s metropolitan sound studios . he scrapped most of the silent footage except for the outstanding flying stunts . new scenes were recorded by deploying " both microphones and cameras in the air by other planes and balloons . " the release was put off until november , then until 1929 . even that proved optimistic . 71

dynamite ( 1929 ) also producer madam satan ( 1930 ) also producer the squaw man ( 1931 ) also producer the sign of the cross ( 1932 ) also producer this day and age ( 1933 ) also producer four frightened people ( 1934 ) also producer cleopatra ( 1934 ) also producer the crusades ( 1935 ) also producer the plainsman ( 1937 ) also producer the buccaneer ( 1938 ) also producer union pacific ( 1939 ) also producer north west mounted police ( 1940 ) also producer reap the wild wind ( 1942 ) also producer the story of dr . wassell ( 1944 ) also producer unconquered ( 1947 ) also producer samson and delilah ( 1949 ) also producer the greatest show on earth ( 1952 ) also producer the ten commandments ( 1956 ) also producer

mark a . vieira is a photographer , film historian , and author of numerous books . see his home page here and his amazon page here for details . he lives in los angeles .

goldburg , peta . “selling jesus : judas the betrayer in film . ” religious education journal of australia 20 , no . 2 ( 2004 ) : 12 - 16 , p . 13 .

—– . “ the plainsman ( 1937 ) : cecil b . demille’s greatest authenticity lapse ? ” kinema : a journal for film and audiovisual media 19 ( 2003 ) : 73 - 86 .

apostolos - cappadona , diane . “iconography , ” in the routledge companion to religion and film , edited by john lyden , 440 - 464 . london : routledge , 2010 , p . 450 .

pratt , george c . “forty - five years of picture making : an interview with cecil b . demille . ” film history 3 , no . 2 ( 1989 ) : 134 - 145 .

film too many kisses is released with harpo in a supporting role . details are lacking of how he came to be in this , which even seems to pre - date their first real broadway play

dynamite packs a lot of story into its 126 minutes , yet it left me wanting even more ; i would have enjoyed seeing more of the gradual development of cynthia and hagon ' s feelings , especially as their communication was hampered by his brusque nature . like many good films , it leaves you mulling over the characters ; could two people from such disparate backgrounds really make a go of a marriage , and which lifestyle would they choose ?

is it a teen movie ? not really , but yes . a family movie ? well , kind of , but no . a film for grown - ups ? well , maybe , a little .

those who attacked the film bore witness to an artistic feat . demille had told so transporting a story that even isolated elements could be affecting . in 1932 , hollywood mastered the art of the sound film . even so , shanghai express , scarface , grand hotel , love me tonight , a farewell to arms , trouble in paradise , and the sign of the cross could not be fully appreciated for the achievements they were . the vocabulary of the critical fraternity was insufficient . no critic could speak with authority on a film’s groundbreaking visual and aural effects . only in retrospect could these works of art be properly appraised .

" this was the third in a trilogy of coming - of - age stories , " explains whittet , who plays greta ' s father and a tree - man in the fantasy section of the film .

william fox movietone follies of 1929 also used the two - director method . directed by david butler and william k . wells , the film is a collection of musical acts strung together by a gossamer narrative about a plantation heir ( john breeden ) who backs a vaudeville revue starring his belle ( lola lane ) . many critics thought stepin fetchit ' s dance number stole the show . although the afi catalog cites a technicolor sequence , the trades announced that it was to be shot in multicolor , another two - color process , underwritten by howard hughes , that was supposed to compete with technicolor .

when ua mistakenly charged swanson ' s company for erpi fees , her representative wrote back in march 1929 , " we cannot recognize any indebtedness to the electrical research products company because it is our intention to use the photophone system in connection with the pictures which we shall make in which miss swanson appears . " thus , swanson was the first big star to announce a talking project . 73

kozlovic , anton karl . ‘behold his mighty hand ! ’ a critical examination of the biblical cinema of cecil b . demille : a film studies offering to religious education . flinders university , phd thesis , 2009 .

beaumont ' s casual mention of the hybrid nature of his film zeroed in on a crucial aspect of sound that would influence dozens of subsequent musicals . integrating the musical setting " naturally " into the story produced the " coherent " musical form which would eventually replace the revue format . ( though some of the musical numbers , including " wedding of the painted doll " and " the boy friend , " are encapsulated sound shorts , introduced by close - up inserts of the turning pages of the playbill . ) beaumont carefully pointed out that the labor - intensive talking pictures demanded extra rehearsals . bessie love ' s ukulele - playing scene alone took more than three hours to film . the film was a smash and " earned the best gross since the big parade [ 1925 ] , and twice as much as any other film of its season . " 57

at the present time i believe we have reached a point where an entirely new creation is being perfected—a form of entertainment combining some of the best elements of stage and screen , but distinct from either . i look upon real human interest stories with a natural musical setting as the most fertile field for progress here . … the direction of talking pictures demands much closer attention to detail than the silent film . a sound picture is virtually " made " before its scenes are photographed , for every sequence must be rehearsed until it is perfect before the filming begins . ( the broadway melody souvenir program , 1929 , yranski collection )

i saw this a couple of times when i was a kid . i remember i enjoyed it , but don ' t recall much more than that . it ' s hard to believe , but there actually was a time when a movie from 1929 would run on a late night movie . not a special event , not an " oldies " night , just a regularly scheduled , if antique , movie .

conceiving their films as silents with sound tacked on was an increasingly old - fashioned approach which undoubtedly hurt the talking versions of universal ' s pictures . moreover , universal ' s facilities still lagged behind the competition ' s . it was not until february 1929 that the studio built its first fully equipped sound screening room at universal city so that sound tracks " might be heard as they would be played . " 85

“demille visualized nero as the menace in the film , ” said elsa lanchester , laughton’s wife . “charles thought him merely funny . demille was shocked by the idea . he had old - fashioned ideas of villains and heroes . ”

kemp , philip . “cecil b ( lount ) demille , ” in world film directors . volume i : 1890 - 1945 , edited by john wakeman , 207 - 222 . new york : h . w . wilson , 1987 .

universal ' s other films were not impressing the critics . the new york sun called paul leni ' s the last warning ( 1929 ) " a curious and rather dull hodgepodge of bad talking sequences and unrelated silent ones . " " too many outbursts of shrieking , merely to prove the effects of the audible screen , to cause any spine chilling , " said the times . and there seemed to be mechanical difficulties : " the sound effects were way off when caught at the colony on broadway , and the dialogue sequences were far from impressive . " 95 this would be leni ' s only sound film . he died of an infection shortly after its release .

( 1929 ) is to see at a glance what sound had done to films . the dialogue , typed in red , is the outstanding feature on each page ; and some of the dialogue in the first reels seems . . . painfully bright and brittle , as if we were dinning into the audience what good playwrights we were , now that they could hear as well as see . " despite demille ' s low opinion ,

in fact , girl asleep is very un - australian in some respects . it was developed via the hive , a program run by the adelaide film festival with the express intention of fostering filmmaking by people in other areas of the arts .

though the original version disappeared soon after its release , it has been recently restored and re - released on laser disc . the 1929 product contained only traces of the original score and would not be considered a musical by most modern viewers . most of the silent footage was retained , and two talking and singing sequences were added . only two kern songs were included in the film . to preserve some contact with the original production , a two - reel ( eighteen - minute ) prologue was filmed . in it , carl laemmle and flo ziegfeld make brief remarks . otis harlan , who starred in the film , introduces the stage cast members tess gardella , jules bledsoe , and helen morgan singing five numbers from the show . according to the new york evening journal , " bledsoe ' s rendition of the [ " old man river " ] number is about the most effective yet recorded on the singing screen . " 92

“that was my first contribution of any value to sound pictures , retaining the silent techniques , and combining those techniques with sound . such great , great value , that the moment you put the sound with it , you were back in the stage and all that the stage could give you , and the whole technique of the stage was at your disposal , plus being able to paint on the broad canvas of the silent screen . i brought those two together , and that perhaps is what dynamite did for the world . ”

nagel has the chance to play a complex character who is a bit deeper than your average playboy . his final line , " that ' s that , " packed a wallop ( pun intended , for those who have seen the film ) .

the advertising campaign for the sign of the cross gave the impression that paramount pictures was having a gay old time . this film was the first in hollywood history to feature homosexual characters in its ads ; they were painted by dan sayre groesbeck .

grace , pamela . “gospel truth ? : from cecil b . demille to nicholas ray , ” in a companion to literature and film , edited by robert stam and alessandra raengo , 46 - 57 . malden , ma : blackwell , 2004 .

after the fire destroyed paramount ' s hollywood soundstages in january 1928 , roy pomeroy and the engineers relocated to the paramount eastern studios in astoria to battle numerous technical problems with sound . burlesque , a drama which was to have been paramount ' s first talkie , was postponed repeatedly . edmund goulding began shooting it at astoria , but eventually the project was transferred to hollywood . at the time , pomeroy said he was experimenting with recording the sound on a separate film - strip , then transferring it to disc . 36 burlesque was eventually released in 1929 as the dance of life , codirected by john cromwell and edward sutherland ( although victor fleming , uncredited , had a hand in it as well ) .

another immigrant from the east coast also played a small role in the making of the film . algonquin table wit dorothy parker was at mgm working on a script that was never made . at loose ends , she was recruited to write a song for

as was typical with hollywood casting at that time , demille turned to broadway for some of his actors . the hot - tempered star charles bickford began his decades - long film career playing the condemned man while kay johnson , star of the stage version of

d’arc , james vincent . 1986 . two articles : “darryl f . zanuck’s brigham young : a film in context and “ ‘so let it be written…’ — the creation of cecil b . demille’s autobiography ” . brigham young university , phd thesis , 1986 .

once the los angeles plant was restored , the bulk of paramount ' s production was based there in the capable hands of reliable directors like dorothy arzner . she was responsible for easing clara row into the talkies with the wild party ( 1929 ) . bow played a coed who spars with , but ends up engaged to , her professor , fredric march . the sound quality was uneven , but row ' s voice was intelligible , and her brooklyn accent only occasionally detectable .

fox film corp . presenter : william fox scenarists : marion orth , randall h . faye titles : malcolm stuart boylan cinematographer : charles g . clarke cast : george o ' brien . lois moran , noah young , tom dugan , william demarest , gwen lee

there were angry comments from other protestant writers , but most of the condemnation was catholic . “this film , with its sadistic cruelty , its playing up of roman lust and debauchery and crime , is intolerable , ” wrote demille’s adviser , father lord . cleveland bishop joseph schrembs called the film a “damnable hypocrisy . ” jesuit america magazine called joyzelle’s dance “the most unpleasant bit of footage ever passed by the hollywood censors . ” catholic publisher martin quigley wrote : “this scene becomes an incident liable to an evil audience effect . ”

kozlovic , anton k . “the construction of a christ - figure within the 1956 and 1923 versions of cecil b . demille’s the ten commandments . ” the journal of religion and film 10 , no . 1 ( 2006 ) : urltoken accessed 20 november 2010 .

higashi , sumiko . “ethnicity , class and gender in film : demille’s the cheat , ” in unspeakable images : ethnicity and the american cinema , edited bylester d . friedman , 112 - 139 . urbana , il : the university of illinois press , 1991 .

—– . “the art of creative scriptural extrapolation : bithiah , mered and 1 chronicles 4 : 18 within cecil b . demille’s the ten commandments ( 1956 ) . ” kinema : a journal for film and audiovisual media 33 ( 2010 ) : 4 - 30 .

wagner , phil . “passing through nightmares : cecil b . demille’s the plainsman and epic discourse in new deal america . ” in the epic film in world culture , edited by robert burgoyne , 207 - 234 . new york , ny : routledge , 2011 .

d’arc , james v . “ two articles : “darryl f . zanuck’s brigham young : a film in context and “‘so let it be written…’ — the creation of cecil b . demille’s autobiography . ” phd dissertation , brigham young university , 1986 , p . 74 .

grace , pamela . “gospel truth ? : from cecil b . demille to nicholas ray , ” in a companion to literature and film , edited by robert stam and alessandra raengo , 46 - 57 . malden , ma : blackwell , 2004 , p . 48 .

hi , laura - i ' m so glad you enjoyed both movies on sunday night , just wish i could have seen them with you ! reading your great reviews is the next best thing to being there side by side . having seen dynamite , i agree it was a treat to see charles bickford in a leading role and kay johnson was quite wonderful , too . and wasn ' t it fun to see young joel and the big hoops race ? i ' ll have to catch madam satan another time - your comments were hilarious - sounds like a hoot ! best , jane

show boat ( dir . harry pollard ) was shot , abandoned , and reshot so many times that the production record is like a jigsaw puzzle . universal , early in 1929 , announced a plan to shoot silent and sound footage on alternating days . this press release conflicts with another issued just five days later : " the film , just completed , is to have the dialogue and music portions inserted . these remakes will be taken at the ziegfeld [ theater ] . " but the universal executive r . h . cochrane implied there were already two separate films : " our leading picture show boat was not only bought as a silent one but the silent version was made complete from start to finish . afterward a sound version was made , including the ziegfeld hits from his stage show of the same story . " 90 the film had a dual premiere in miami and palm beach . miami ' s opening was disrupted " by [ the ] disappearance of the operators , with the sound reproducing equipment out of order . " union agitators were blamed . 91

mgm ' s second sound film was also a goat gland . alias jimmy valentine ( dir . jack conway , 1928 ) was made into a sound film after the fact at the paramount sound laboratory ( another good example of how sound encouraged the studios to cooperate ) . in the last two reels , lionel barrymore and william haines dubbed dialogue over footage shot silent . hall advised the studio " that they must learn , with regard to sound , that enough is as good as a feast . " he thought that the sound effects and dialogue were excessive . 55

myers admits the response was not something she had anticipated . " when we made it we didn ' t really think beyond making it . it has been quite amazing to see how people connect with it . it speaks broadly , but it is a very australian kind of film . "

" michel gondry , spike jonze , wes anderson – that ' s the world we live in , they ' re the things we are watching and loving , " says myers . " they [ the backers ] had seen that and they felt we had a film to make . "

demille’s directorial , religious and business triumph was followed by triumph ( 1924 ) , another morality tale about wealth and rivalry between two sons , one good and one bad . feet of clay ( 1924 ) allowed demille to explore his penchant for reincarnation in a strange story about suicide , soul travel and romantic love triangles . the golden bed ( 1925 ) was demille’s last film for paramount and continued the themes of disastrous marriages , love triangles and death coupled with an extravagant candy ball sequence . the road to yesterday ( 1925 ) marked the first film from his new studio , cecil b . demille pictures , and deftly mixed marriage with reincarnation using a disastrous train crash to flashback to medieval england to explore the past life roots of the couple’s modern - day marital problems . next , the volga boatman ( 1926 ) was demille’s exotic russophile film about revolution , love triangles and class rivalries .

" this has been described as an arthouse film for teenagers , " adds whittet . " why shouldn ' t there be stories for 14 - and 15 - year - olds that are just as visually eye - popping and full of texture as films for 30 - year - olds are ? "

lardner jr . , ring . “the sign of the boss : cecil de mille , union buster , ” in celluloid power : social film criticism from the birth of a nation to judgment at nuremberg , edited by david platt , 383 - 394 . metuchen , nj : the scarecrow press , 1992 .

the title character is based on queen silver , a child prodigy and socialist orator who was accused of leaving atheist pamphlets in student lockers at hollywood high school in 1927 . [ 2 ] the lead actress , lina basquette , named her autobiography , lina : demille ' s godless girl , after the film .

the silent movie humorisk is made with money raised by a friend . director is jo swerling . it was made in two weeks at fort lee , nj . studios and in a studio at 49th st . and 10th ave . in new york . no copy exists of this ( unfinished ? ) film .

the first milestone all - talking film program was presented at the roxy during the week of 15 november 1928 . it comprised the newsreel and two movietone comedies , including john ford ' s three - reeler napoleon ' s barrer . this all - dialogue film told the story of a barber who regales a customer with stories of what he would do if he met napoleon . needless to say , the customer is napoleon . ford later claimed that , against the wishes of the sound crew , he innovated exterior dialogue scenes . film daily took note : " sound effects well handled , talking clear , especially in two outdoor sequences . " 29 since the movietone trucks and the crew to operate them were readily available , and since fox managers encouraged shooting outdoors , one wonders why ford would have encountered so much resistance . hall found himself forgetting " the novelty of audible productions , " an important new criterion for judging sound excellence . 30

first national tried to recover by casting moore in a " mature " role in the musical melodrama footlights and fools ( dir . seiter , 1929 ) . she plays a cabaret performer leading two lives as betty murphy , ordinary girl , and as fifi d ' auray , star of " the sins of 1930 " revue . the notices were less devastating . the evening journal said , " colleen does better work in this one than she has ever done before . " but most found her fifi character ' s accent unconvincing . an " embarrassing attempt to appear and sound gallic , " reported the morning telegraph . film daily advised exhibitors , " though her french accent isn ' t so hot , she gets over the story to make it click as a good program offering… . it can be sold as something entirely different for colleen , but don ' t promise too much . " 16

the sign of the cross ( 1932 ) was the first fully integrated sound film . every shot counted . every transition was assured . demille’s use of symbolism , crowds , crane shots , dialectical montage , contrapuntal sound , music cues , sound effects , and even silence was masterly . it was truly a moving picture .

most new york critics rated the film excellent . of special interest , though , is the intensity with which jolson ' s charismatic personality impressed them . mordaunt hall of the times pinpointed the appeal of the film , " not in its transparent narrative , but in mr . jolson ' s inimitable singing . one waits after hearing a selection , hoping for another . " another commentator called the story " familiar hokum " but gushed over jolson ' s " sincerity and genuine feeling . " initial reviews set the tone for the general opinion concerning the movie ' s significance : " the talking picture is practicable , inevitable and , in this case , at least , powerful . the singing fool justifies the vitaphone and all the experiments that have hitherto passed as talking pictures . " 8 although the jazz singer ( dir . alan crosland , 1927 ) has entered the history books as the film that started the sound revolution , it was the one - two punch of the lights of new york ( dir . bryan foy ) in july and the singing fool in september 1928 that proved beyond doubt to producers and exhibitors that a feature sound film with a big star had the potential to make millions . simultaneously , the popular press , which had showed little interest in talking features after the jazz singer , now passionately embraced the concept .

thanks to the unique market conditions of the transition era , dynamite was both cecil b . demille’s first all - talkie sound feature as well as his last silent film . packed with class conscious , never - quite - consummated scandal in demille’s inimitable style , the overheated story centers on cynthia ( johnson ) , a pampered society girl who will lose her trust fund if she isn’t married and living with her husband by a certain date—unless he dies before , in which case she keeps the cash . with the deadline approaching and her current beau , a polo playing playboy ( nagel ) , tied up in a marriage to her best friend , cynthia marries a hardscrabble coal miner on death row ( bickford ) . when bickford’s miner is freed at the last minute , the honorable tough guy arrives at cynthia’s penthouse to live up to his vows , turning her world upside down . narrative differences between the versions are minor but stylistic differences abound , particularly in the handling of the story’s recurring song " how am i to know ? " featuring lyrics by dorothy parker .

society girl cynthia crothers marries hagon derk , a miner sentenced to be executed for murder , to fulfill the terms of her grandfather ' s will . the miner is found innocent at the last minute , dashing cynthia ' s hope of marrying her lover , roger , a man whose wife refuses to divorce him . advised by her lawyers that she should live with her husband so as to obtain her money , cynthia goes to the mining town and lives the life of a miner ' s wife . there she realizes the futility of her former life when a mine disaster threatens to take both hagon and roger away from her . after roger is killed in a dynamite explosion while helping them escape , cynthia finds happiness with the miner .

comic pair of jimmy durante & lupe velez ! the snout and the spicy chihuahua ! adorably zany ! they are the eccentric show biz pair . fixing their material is the straight pair norman foster & marian nixon . and there ' s a host of other great characters . the script wasn ' t as funny as the cast , but come on ! it ' s durante & velez ! so there are enough laughs to satisfy most . and i felt foster did a real good character here , even doing a good durante imitation at one point . and watch velez like a real vixen twist foster around her little finger . wonderful flirt while wearing ridiculous dresses ! this might not be strictly dynamite , but there are plenty of firecrackers !

in fact , most warners ' sound specials performed extraordinarily well at the box office ( see appendix 1 ) . the singing fool did good business , but nothing came close to lights of new york , an astounding return on investment in any epoch . yet the studio seemed slow to pick up the ball on the talking gangster film .

photoplay quipped that melody of love , with walter pidgeon , was " valuable because it shows how not to make a talkie . " 83 its story was weak . jack ( pidgeon ) lost the use of his arm while serving in france during the war . when he encounters a girl he met over there , madelon ( mildred harris ) , who is now a showgirl in the states , the limb comes back to life and they vow to get married . despite the film ' s " lung power , " it was not " aided by its audible accompaniment . " according to hall , " a little of this dialogue offering goes a long way . " the daily mirror mused that it was as if a gang of children playing in the backyard had said , " let ' s make a talker . " 84 indeed , that ' s a fair description of the film ' s production , except that it was shot by grown - ups . the reception of this film shows that the novelty of sound was no longer sufficient to save a bad movie .

as many studio executives did during 1928 - 1929 , schenck regarded sound as a kind of spice to be sprinkled on judiciously , as needed . irving thalberg shared that opinion , and as a result , mgm was the most conservative studio where sound was concerned . it tested the waters in november 1928 with a short subject featuring some stars . ernest torrence is supposedly calling from london ( on at & t transatlantic equipment , naturally ) to announce the opening of the empire theater . george k . arthur , joan crawford , norma shearer , and john gilbert ( who keeps gushing " colossal , amazing , and wonderful " ) take turns at the mike . 50

critics were eager to carve out a special place for foregrounded sound . interesting effects were acceptable if " natural " ( unlike the excessive shrieking in the last warning ) . crazy fake accents and loudmouth talking were acceptable ( for some listeners ) if confined to marx brothers comedies . acoustic spectacle and flashy musical numbers were appropriate in the genre of the musical . in fact , it might be speculated that the rise of the musical comedy and operetta film during this season and the next was the result of public impatience with hollywood showing off its sound - film prowess too expressively . while the consensus was that sound should be dispensed gradually in other genres , in the musical , on the contrary , the prevailing attitude was : anything goes .


lord of illusions is a 1995 american horror film written and directed by clive barker , based on his earlier short story , the last illusion ( from books of blood vol . 6 ) . the film presents barker 's signature character harry d'amour onscreen for the first time .

it stars scott bakula as d'amour , alongside kevin j. o'connor , famke janssen and daniel von bargen .

barker asserts that the director 's cut of this film is his definitive version , as the theatrical release does not represent his true vision .

lord of illusions

lord of illusions <EOT> famke janssen during ' lord of illusions ' los angeles premiere in hollywood , . . .

collins’ crypt : book vs . movie - lord of illusions | birth . movies . death .

famke janssen and clive barker during ' lord of illusions ' los angeles premiere in . . .

famke janssen during ' lord of illusions ' los angeles premiere in hollywood , california , united states .

scott bakula , famke jansse , and clive barker during ' lord of illusions ' los angeles . . .

famke janssen and clive barker during ' lord of illusions ' los angeles premiere in hollywood , california , united states .

nix is the leader of a black magic cult and the main antagonist of the 1995 horror / fantasy film lord of illusions ( clive barker ' s lord of illusions ) loosely based on the short story the last illusion ( from books of blood vol . 6 ) by clive barker .

scott bakula , famke jansse , and clive barker during ' lord of illusions ' los angeles premiere in hollywood , california , united states .

tags ashley tesoro barbara patrick clive barker j . trevor edmond joseph latimore kevin j . o ' connor lord of illusions michael angelo stuno scott bakula sheila tousey

the battle between lord varys ( aka the spider ) and lord petyr baelish ( aka littlefinger ) to out - machiavelli each other is delicious for fans of game of thrones .

no matter how “lord of illusions” does at the b . o . , don’t be surprised if bakula comes back as harry d’amour , in either a sequel or a tv spinoff .

one of the great disappointments with the box office failure of lord of illusions is that horror fans were denied any further adventures of harry d ' amour , a terrific noir detective played with uncharacteristic cynicism by scott bakula in one of his best performances . bakula is a guy typically called upon to be sincere and decent ; he ' s still those things in lord of illusions , but adds a world - weariness that suits the character well .

but lord of illusions , barker’s third and most underrated movie , has yet to experience the same kind of critical reappraisal . like nightbreed , lord of illusions underwent heavy re - cutting on its way to movie screens ( this time by mgm / united artists ) , going out to theaters in a version barker was unhappy with . but unlike nightbreed , it didn’t take nearly 25 years for audiences to see barker’s approved cut of lord of illusions . from its very first laserdisc release in 1995 , barker’s director’s cut has been available , restoring 12 minutes of mostly character development and atmosphere — though with some additional sex and violence , of course .

lord of illusions received mixed to positive reviews , with a current approval rating of 61 % at rotten tomatoes . allmovie was critical of the film , writing that it " starts off strong with an intriguing premise , but then goes quickly nowhere " .

original red band theatrical trailer for the 1995 film " lord of illusions . " starring scott bakula , kevin j . o ' connor , famke janssen , and daniel von bargen . written & directed by clive barker .

fat bastard : evil wizard lord nix is a balding middle aged guy with quite a gut .

horror novelist and filmmaker clive barker offers a potent mix of h . p . lovecraft and raymond chandler in “lord of illusions . ” pic should scare up some respectable coin in late - summer release before realizing its full potential as a homevid rental item .

the page nix ( lord of illusions ) contains mature content that may include coarse language , sexual references , and / or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some . mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older .

horror novelist and filmmaker clive barker offers a potent mix of h . p . lovecraft and raymond chandler in " lord of illusions . " pic should scare up some respectable coin in late - summer release before realizing its full potential as a homevid rental item .

sadly , with lord of illusions , clive barker stumbles into the same pitfalls he did when he made nightbreed just five years earlier . it ' s dull , unengaging , and features a plot that is stretched out far past its breaking point .

the years have been good to lord of illusions , as its mixture of ’40s - type noir and hard - edged ’90s gore ( and dodgy cgi ) prevent it from becoming dated — it remains unstuck in time . unfortunately , barker hasn’t directed a movie since — sad , as he established in only three films a voice as one of the genre’s most distinct and visionary auteurs . and while “horror noir” may never catch on as a viable genre , lord of illusions will always provide a shining example of what it can be . it’s a kind of magic . and magic sets us free .

all the others are presented so entirely in terms of his words , prejudices and illusions that they never appear as independent rounded characters . . . .

while d’amour has had some interesting dealings since his creation , including facing pinhead in “ the scarlet gospels ” and even taking his place in the boom ! studios “ hellraiser ” comic series . but it all started in “the last illusion” , which was the basis of the 1995 noir - horror film lord of illusions

written and directed by horror mastermind clive barker , “ lord of illusions ” is a true cult classic . bakula brings barker regular , paranormal investigator harry d’amour to life with the perfect amount of bravado and self - deprecating humor . complimenting bakula is famke janssen as his romantic interest during the horror - noir romp .

i know a handful of so - called barker fans who rave about his earlier works for contemplative hours , but have never laid eyes upon the balls - out spectacle that is “lord of illusions . ” for shame . certainly flawed , but his obsessive adoration of monsters and mysticism prevails , marking this as another must - see for the true aficionados .

horror novelist and filmmaker clive barker offers a potent mix of h . p . lovecraft and raymond chandler in “lord of illusions . ” pic should scare up some respectable coin in late - summer release before realizing its full potential as a homevid rental item . barker has toned down the full - bore gore of his earlier directorial efforts , which will be [ … ]

lord of illusions opens with an effectively creepy flashback set in the hellish commune of manson - esque sorcerer nix , then flashes forward to the travails of illusionist philip swann . when one of swann ' s death - defying tricks goes fatally wrong , det . harry d ' amour ( scott bakula ) , a hardboiled dick who ' s equally comfortable tracking down deadbeat dads and . . . read more

swann , the anti - hero of clive barker ' s " lord of illusions , " is a master magician in the style of david copperfield ; audiences attending his performances on hollywood boulevard arrive in tuxedos , which is a dangerous trick in itself . " i tell them it ' s illusion ; they believe me , " he sighs . actually , he uses real magic .

twenty years after it was first released , lord of illusions remains barker’s least - loved film . his first , hellraiser , has always ( rightfully ) been considered a classic of the horror genre and his follow - up , 1990’s nightbreed , finally overcame its own tortured past and had its reputation restored thanks to a long overdue director’s cut released by scream factory in 2014 .

released in 1995 , lord of illusions opened against the family film the amazing panda adventure , the drama beyond rangoon , the now cult classic action film desperado , the comedy dr . jekyll and ms . hyde , and a limited release of the noir vampire thriller nadja . it also came a week after the release of mortal kombat , which spent three weeks at # 1 at the box office , becoming one of the highest grossing 25 films of the year .

although its popularity is unparalleled , intellectuals dismiss “the lord of the rings” as boyish fantasy . now one scholar defends j . r . r . tolkien’s “true myth” as a modern masterpiece . first of two parts .

lord of illusions just tells a good story instead of being a premise that plays itself out . it pushes in different directions , embracing multiple genres , spanning years and really going for broke in the final act . horror was stuck in such a rut in the ’90s that it ' s hard to believe a bigger audience didn ' t embrace a movie as unique and interesting as this one .

d ' amour is a regular character of barker ' s , appearing in a number of short stories and novels ( as well as the hellraiser limited series comic book launched in 2011 ) , but lord of illusions remains the only time he has been translated to film . it ' s too bad someone didn ' t snatch both the character and bakula for an anthology tv series in the ’90s , as both d ' amour and the world barker creates are perfectly suited for serialized storytelling .

swann : i saw it with my own fucking eyes ! see , that ' s his best trick . no illusions . just the truth . ( he looks at harry ) are you ready for that ?

this project was massively informed by creativity , play and people . it became a exercise in how far could they push an idea , create illusions and subvert popular culture . as well as listening to power ballads .

shortly after quaid ' s death , d ' amour is approached by swann ' s wife dorothea to investigate the killing . he takes the job , and quickly finds himself neck - deep in a battle of magic , illusions , good and evil .

clive barker may be most known for hellraiser , which is a stunningly wonderful film in its own right . but , for me , lord of illusions will always be my favorite of his films . it feels more complete and i simply enjoy it more . to those who haven’t seen the film in a long time , i urge you to revisit it . to those who have never seen it before , do yourself a favor and pick up a copy to give it a chance .

according to today’s daily mail , the lord of the rings must make way for the upcoming revival of lionel bart’s oliver ! , a product of the latest television casting competition , i’d do anything , which begins broadcasting on saturday nights on bbc one this weekend ( see news , 12 mar 2008 ) .

with the first film of director peter jackson ' s bazillion - dollar " lord of the rings " trilogy arriving this december , no one in the western world , highbrow , lowbrow or anywhere in between , will be immune to the renewed onslaught of tolkieniana , from balrog action figures to arcana like karen wynn fonstad ' s exhaustively detailed " atlas of middle - earth . " ( contrary to what some critics have suggested , tolkien ' s letters make clear that he was eager to do business with the lidless eye of hollywood , and had few illusions about the compromises that might be required . )

mock ‘n’ roll saw lord whitney team up with illustrator jack hudson to produce a body of work inspired by the most vibrant , iconic , and peculiar record covers of the 1980’s . together they created an entire back catalogue of 80s inspired lp cover designs for a series of fictitious musical artists , including bobby cool finger , hank doom and karma savannah .

i could go on : despite the quintessential englishness of his work and his own anti - americanism - - or perhaps because of it - - tolkien found his largest audience and warmest critical reception in the united states . as shippey demonstrates , tolkien ' s presentation of evil , which often seems depressingly simplistic ( sauron , the dark lord of mordor , does not appear directly in " the lord of the rings , " but we get the impression that he is sadistic , sarcastic , headstrong and none too bright ) , is at other times quite sophisticated . in his handling of sauron ' s chief creation , the one ring of power , for example , tolkien can be said to have anticipated the contemporary concept of addiction .

as a short fiction writer , barker is known primarily for the horror series books of blood , his six - volume set of short stories , published in 1984 and 1985 . barker ' s style is characterized by cinematic descriptions of blood and gore , as well as unabashedly graphic sexual imagery . his stories are applauded by critics as imaginative and unique . barker has adapted several of his own short stories and novellas to the screen , in motion pictures he himself directed , including the films hellraiser , nightbreed , the thief of always , and lord of illusions . in addition , barker has served as executive producer on numerous films , such as candyman , gods and monsters , hellbound : hellraiser ii , and hellraiser iii : hell on earth .

rob howell won the best designer prize in this year’s urltoken theatregoers’ choice awards for the lord of the rings ’s spectacular , state - of - the - art set . the 45 - foot stage alone , equipped with three revolves and 17 lifts , cost £1 million . in addition to the expense , the design for the lord of the rings is the most high - tech and physically complex in the west end . special planning permission was required to refit the drury lane to accommodate the new high - tech set – according to the daily mail , the process of removing it and reinstating the victorian equipment that it replaced will now take a minimum of ten weeks .

even so , “lord” is more sophisticated and satisfying than anything the genre has offered since “wes craven’s new nightmare . ” and it is the first horror pic in recent memory that has a hero who’s more charismatic than the villain .

in either version — but particularly barker’s approved director’s cut — lord of illusions offers the best of horror and noir . despite taking place in present - day 1995 , it looks and feels right out of the 1940s . the movie is moody and atmospheric , presenting a cynical world in which the characters have seen it all — that is , until they’re proven wrong when confronted by sights no one has ever seen . as is so often barker’s way , the violence is brutal and genuinely horrifying , whether it’s swann’s gruesome onstage fate or a montage in which cult members commit unspeakable acts after being called back into action by their leader .

in conjuring tolkien’s fantastical middle earth , the show also features stilt - walking , giant leaping and aerial choreography , as well as dance , illusions , magic and other special effects . ensemble members were required to undergo weeks of boot - camp style training before rehearsals began ( see news , 8 feb 2007 ) .

" in lord of illusions , i got to do all kinds of shit that i wanted to do . the bondage stuff in there , the girl and the ape , all kinds of shit . it ' s very funny because frank mancuso was head of mgm / ua at that time , and he didn ' t like the movie at all . there was one shot of a dead child on the floor , and he said , ' this shot will never appear in an mgm / ua movie . ' as it turns out , it did , because i took it out , and then when he wasn ' t looking , i put it back in . i knew he ' d never bother to see the film again . "

if the reconstructive mythmaking of " the lord of the rings " is itself a kind of philology , the book is also deeply grounded in tolkien ' s linguistic expertise . sometimes he became so absorbed in the creation of languages and lineages , in fact , that he put the story itself aside for months or years at a time , believing he could not continue until some quandary or inconsistency in his invented realm had been resolved .

but the crux of the matter , it seems to me , lies in tolkien ' s wholehearted rejection of modernity and modernism . this is what so powerfully attracts some readers , and just as powerfully repels others . the division has existed since " the lord of the rings " was first published , and was deftly summarized by no less august a figure than w . h . auden , in his 1956 new york times review of " the return of the king , " the final volume of tolkien ' s published trilogy .

already up against a lot of options , lord of illusions failed during its theater run , earning just over $ 13 million domestically on its $ 11 million budget . during the mid - 90’s , original films were coming out pretty frequently . if we look at the 10 highest grossing films of that year , we’ll see that there are two films that were part of a franchise ( batman forever and goldeneye ) and one sequel ( die hard : with a vengeance ) . apart from that , every film was something new , something fresh . it wasn’t like 2015 , where the numbers were essentially flipped with only three original films . that was an era where originality was expected , not something to be surprised by .

it begins in the mojave desert in 1982 , inside a house that has become the headquarters for a cult led by a man named nix . nix has the ability to use real magic and not just mere illusions . while preaching , he tells his followers that he has been named "

[ in the following review of the books of blood , anderson observes that barker ' s effective mingling of the realms of life and death in his short stories uplifts the horror genre . ]

tolkien himself often spoke of his work in " the hobbit " and " the lord of the rings , " as well as the great legendary backdrop of " the silmarillion , " as something found or discovered whose existence was independent of him . it ' s wise to tread lightly in this sort of interpretation , but tolkien was a devout catholic who believed profoundly in revelation , and it seems clear that on this deeper and broader level he believed his legendarium to be something given , something revealed , which contained a kind of truth beyond measure .

lord of illusions is a 1995 movie directed by clive barker , based on his own short story " the last illusion . " a blend of noir and horror , the story opens in the early 80s at a run - down cult compound in the mojave desert . nix , the leader who calls himself " the puritan , " wields magical powers he promises to share with his enthralled followers . unfortunately for him , some of the group decide nix has gone too far by kidnapping a young girl . led by nix ' s prize pupil philip swann , the rebels manage to overpower and subdue him . they leave him bound in an iron mask and buried deep under the sands of the mojave , with the loyal followers scattered to the winds .

the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .

the massive and enduring popularity of " lord of the rings " - - it has been 40 years since critic philip toynbee hopefully predicted that the tolkien " craze " or " cult " would soon pass into " merciful oblivion " - - only raises the stakes . it would seem that tolkien ' s work , which reinvented a moribund literary genre and created a new publishing market vaster than the empire of the dark lord sauron himself , supplied something that was missing amid the shifting subjectivities and formal innovations of 20th century fiction , something for which readers were ravenous . but what was it , and why was it important ? or , to put the question in terms familiar to tolkien readers , what has it got in its pocketses ?

what makes lord of illusions so great is that there is a playfulness amidst its gruesome and haunting exterior . the actors know that magic isn’t real and yet it’s presented in such a serious manner that there has to be a little bit of levity thrown in , even if they don’t react to it like we would hope . for example , when d’amour rips swann’s “jaw” off in the coffin , revealing a fake body , there is something so shocking and over - the - top about it , that it put a smile on my face . or nix’s “third eye” , which is rather grotesquely “turtle - heading” in and out of his forehead , making for a visual that falls under the “it’s gross , so i’ll laugh” gag .

" the ballad of narayama " is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…

scholars have often been vexed by the crude popular interpretations of machiavelli ' s work but his supposed ethos has taken on a glorious life of its own in the form of a slew of splendidly devious characters .

" i like making movies but i don ' t like it as much as writing books . i ' m a writer who is occasionally a filmmaker and the business of making movies is a healthy one for me because it keeps me from being so internalised that i can ' t express myself in the outside world . that ' s what happens to me at the end of writing a long novel . it ' s also a way of getting my ideas to a larger public than the reading public , so i ' m always going to find cinema interesting . but from beginning to end , the business of directing lord of illusions has taken a year and , if you start with the three drafts of the screenplay , it ' s probably longer than that . that ' s two - thirds of a large book and , in my heart of hearts , i believe that it ' s what i put on the page that has the chance of some longevity . on the other hand , the business of making movies is very pleasurable and addictive and , for my personal mindset , very healthy . "

an interesting and percipient interlacing of ideas was made by one reviewer . in february 1945 lord moran’s book the anatomy of courage ( constable ) had been published , one month before hw’s the sun in the sands . lord moran ( sir charles mcmoran wilson , 1882–1977 ) had served in the royal army medical corps in the first world war and was awarded an mc in 1916 . the anatomy of courage arose out of his experiences of that time combined with further study into the subject ( the quotation under his title is : ‘the thing in the world i am most afraid of is fear . ’ montaigne ) . during the second world war he was personal physician to winston churchill . the book deals with fear and man’s attempts to overcome it – courage : particularly in relation to shell - shock , nervous breakdown – or as we now call it , post - war trauma .

[ in the following review , d ' ammassa maintains that the five stories included in the second volume of the books of blood are of uniformly high quality . ]

so when lord of illusions came out , it was an original attempt that year for the horror noir genre . * while something like it would get endless tweets and articles about how we “need to support original horror” today , back then it was normal to get original titles , so word didn’t spread . while i mourn that the film didn’t find an audience in theaters , i’m also somewhat glad for that fact . to be completely honest , the theatrical cut of the film was bad . it was full of plot holes , there were jumps in the story that felt jarring , and it simply felt like an incomplete film . while it held the foundation for something great , it took the director’s cut , which was 13 minutes longer , to really flesh out and fulfill the original vision of barker , who also adapted and directed the film .

this part of henry williamson’s autobiography tells of his struggle to secure recognition as a writer between the time of his demobilisation after the last war and 1924 . . . .

tolkien ' s immense erudition is not , of course , the source of his success ; without his storytelling gift , or his introduction of the hobbits as modern , modest , sturdily english heroes against his grand mythic landscape , " the lord of the rings " would be little more than a curiosity . but it is no accident , nor is it tiresome pedantry , that he invented the elvish languages quenya and sindarin ( loosely modeled on finnish and welsh , respectively ) first , and then built around them the world they required .

d ' amour goes to the magic castle , where he hears nix being described as a legend , and that nix was believed to have taught swann . after getting into the repository , a special room in the magic castle that supposedly contains every magic secret known to man , he discovers that swann ' s " illusions " involved real magic .

no slouch in the performance department himself is the under appreciated kevin j . o’connor ( “deep rising” , igor of “van helsing” ) , portraying nix’s recently estranged protégé philip swann . accompanied by a band of former sect members , he returns to save the girl and stop the ritual . they are successful ( of course they are , it’s a prologue ) in the campaign , but not before nix can pass some of his sorcery on to swann in an effort to seduce him back to the fold . this results in one of the best visual sequences of the enterprise , which is high praise considering “illusions” is wall - to - wall great ( mostly , more on that in a minute ) effects .

[ in the following review of the first three books of blood and the inhuman condition , winter asserts that barker is the most important horror fiction writer of the 1980s . ]

source : anderson , ken . review of the books of blood , by clive barker . west coast review of books , no . 5 ( may 1989 ) : 32 .

in january 1997 , reporter susan jeffreys of the ( london ) sunday times informed a colleague that j . r . r . tolkien ' s epic fantasy " the lord of the rings " had been voted the greatest book of the 20th century in a readers ' poll conducted by britain ' s channel 4 and the waterstone ' s bookstore chain . her colleague responded : " oh hell ! has it ? oh my god . dear oh dear . dear oh dear oh dear . "

[ in the following review , morrison provides a generally favorable assessment of barker ' s first three books of blood . ]

source : burns , craig william . “it ' s that time of the month : representations of the goddess in the work of clive barker . ” journal of popular culture 27 , no . 3 ( winter 1993 ) : 35 - 40 .

[ in the following essay , hoppenstand offers an overview of the major thematic concerns of barker ' s short fiction . ]

in all this tolkien was clearly inspired by 19th century finnish scholar elias lönnrot , who " reconstructed " the " kalevala , " finland ' s national epic , from fragments of traditional songs and poems . ( tom bombadil , who was one of tolkien ' s earliest creations and whose role in the " lord of the rings " universe is never explained , may be derived from the singing wizards of the " kalevala . " ) as shippey wryly notes , latter - day philologists have grown suspicious of lönnrot and no longer believe that his work reliably reflects any ancient original . yet the finnish public does not seem to care ; the publication date of the " kalevala " remains a national holiday , and a new generation of schoolchildren reads it every year .

' s photo out of the hundreds of initial submissions and declared , " this is dorothea . " she remained the only choice , although the filmmakers auditioned dozens of actresses for the part .

[ in the following review , d ' ammassa offers a brief description of some of the stories in the inhuman condition . ]

explores barker ' s use and creation of myth in his fiction , and discusses the history of english fantasy and horror fiction .

as carpenter observes , this is the central doctrine of tolkien ' s philosophy , and it has countless echoes in his work . for one thing , this is pretty much the cosmological back story found in " the silmarillion " ( which he had already begun , even at this early stage ) : the two trees that illuminated the creation of the world are killed , but their light is captured in three jewels , or silmarils , which are set in the iron crown of morgoth , the great enemy ( for whom sauron is merely a toady ) . the silmarils are lost in turn and their light splintered , so that only memories and fragments of it remain in middle - earth at the time of " the lord of the rings . "

[ in the following review , morrison explores thematic and stylistic aspects of the short stories in the first three books of blood . ]

[ in the following review of books of blood , volumes 4–6 , morgan describes barker as a highly talented yet inconsistent writer . ]

after its initial canadian run in 2006 , the piece was substantially revised and the running time shortened by 40 minutes to just over three hours . the lord of the rings has a book and lyrics by shaun mckenna and matthew warchus , and music by bombay dreams ’ ar rahman and finnish folk group värttinä with christopher nightingale ( see news , 21 oct 2003 ) . it’s directed by warchus and choreographed by peter darling .

“illusions” slips into standard potboiler mode from that point , as d’amour refuses to return to the big apple , obsessed with uncovering the many secrets he knows have been hidden from him by dorothea . plot wise , there are no real surprises that anyone of standard intelligence wouldn’t have previously deduced leading into the latter half , but we all know when it comes to barker’s screen work that the fun is in the “we have such sights to show you” aspect of the endeavor . his direction , growing more assured with each picture , falls just short of replicating the film noir vibe he was trying to achieve . regardless , this remains one of his most technically impressive works to date .

source : keis , cosette . review of clive barker ' s books of blood , volume three , by clive barker . voice of youth advocates 9 , no . 6 ( february 1987 ) : 282 .

" chaos isn ' t a pit . chaos is a ladder , " he suggests . " many who try to climb it fail , and never get to try again . the fall breaks them . and some , given a chance to climb , they refuse . they cling to the realm , or the gods , or love . illusions . only the ladder is real . the climb is all there is . "

optical illusions are great for music videos and online slideshows because it ' s easier to fool the mind with a two - dimensional computer or tv screen . in the real world , information such as light , shadow , and relative size allow us to have a fairly good perception of sizes and where things are . there are certain rules : for example , as an object gets farther away , its image gets smaller in our eyes . it ' s harder to fool the well - informed eye .

the inhuman condition is aptly named . these five “tales of terror” from the first volume of barker ' s second books of blood trilogy , tell of humans transformed into something more than human . it is their obsessions—sexual , religious , or intellectual—that drive barker ' s protagonists to transformation , fulfillment , and doom . although some of the characters are . . .

furthermore , members of the u . s . intelligentsia , confined to their northeast corridor reservation or scattered across the continent in a handful of college towns , fully expect to have their tastes ignored , if not openly derided , by the public at large . to some intellectual types ( to me , for example ) it seems gratifying , even touching , that so many millions of american readers will happily devour a work as abstruse and complicated as " the lord of the rings . " whatever one may make of it , it ' s a more challenging read than " gone with the wind " ( runner - up in the amazon survey ) , not to mention " harry potter and the sorcerer ' s stone " ( fifth place ) .

" the lord of the rings " is conventionally called fantasy , yet tolkien in some ways considered it to be true , or at least to be " true myth . " it is a work by a devout christian that never mentions god and has only one reference to religious practice ( and that is entirely nonsectarian ) . in terms of conscious intention , at least , it is a profoundly conservative work , an elegy for lost tales , lost eras and lost hierarchies tinged ( it must be said ) by xenophobia , troubling racial attitudes and a confused sexuality . yet it became a central text of the 1960s counterculture and a source of inspiration to the radical environmental movement .

new book of illustrated “scary stories to tell in the light” launching on kickstarter june 11th . * fully funded * as of 6 / 20 / 18

independently owned and operated since 2010 , millions of people from around the world have made daily dead their destination for coverage of the horror entertainment industry .

source : review of the books of blood , by clive barker . science fiction chronicle 10 , no . 113 ( february 1989 ) : 38 .

[ in the following review of the compilation the books of blood , the critic asserts that barker is a major innovator in modern horror fiction . ]

of course it is overly reductive to see these sad but ordinary events as the sole source of what tolkien ' s friend c . s . lewis called the " profound melancholy " that suffuses " the lord of the rings . " tolkien ' s later experiences at the gruesome and pointless world war i battle of the somme , for example , where two of his closest friends died , certainly cast a long shadow across the rest of his life . still , long before the carnage in the fields of picardy - - where 20 , 000 allied soldiers died in the first day - - tolkien felt a connection to an idyllic past that was now lost , as well as a sense that whatever beauty and wonder remained in the present was likely to pass away . ( as a schoolboy in birmingham he already had a reputation as an eccentric ; he once gave a debating - society speech opposing the norman conquest . )

when king frederick ii of prussia writes that machiavelli is one of the most dangerous thinkers in the history of political thought , he is probably not far from the truth . but the question to consider is dangerous for whom ? for absolute sovereigns and more widely for all adversaries of democratic and popular regimes .

just when you thought a horror story had to consist of a deranged psycho who slashes up teenagers for no apparent reason , along comes clive barker . this collection of short stories [ the books of blood ] proves many times over that there are plenty of new plots in the horror genre . barker ' s imagination has produced a series of surreal , gruesome tales that . . .

magicians are wizards : philip swann passed off his real magic as stage illusions . he explains to the man investigating his " suicide " that " illusionists get vegas contracts . wizards get burned at the stake " . ( in modern - day america ? ) but consider that his teacher nix was a straw nihilist and an omnicidal maniac . in the original story , swann pretended to be a fake simply as a take that to the infernal powers he bargained with .

[ in the following review , d ' ammassa asserts that the title story of in the flesh is the best of those included in this volume . ]

, a film that i myself struggled to enjoy upon my first viewing . however , after repeated visits , it now ranks as one of my favorite horror films of the 90’s and definitely one of my favorite horror films in general .

answering this question properly would require a book rather than an article , of course . if t . a . shippey ' s " j . r . r . tolkien : author of the century " is not quite that book , it is nonetheless a delightful exploration of the relationship between tolkien ' s fiction and his scholarly work and of the mythical , linguistic and philosophical history underlying both . it is also a crusade in a supremely tolkienian spirit , on behalf of the dying academic discipline of philology , or the anatomy and history of languages .

his narrative tone ranges from the tragic and elegiac to the heroic and even comic ( in a pipe - smoking , tweedy sort of way ) , but it is never ironic or cynical , a failure of taste and discrimination that some find embarrassing . also , although he was trying to write a plausible reconstruction of ancient myth , not a modern novel , those forms frequently share a frankness about human sexuality and bodily functions that his work never has . ( consider the ancient irish warrior - goddess queen medb , who fertilized the fields with her menstrual flow . ) if there is one word that characterizes " the lord of the rings , " with its high - flown poesy , its fatal heroism , its intensively worked - out systems of history and language and its edwardian prudery , the word is boyish .

i suppose not every reader of shippey ' s book will be as interested as i was in tolkien ' s borrowings from " beowulf " ( who , in tolkien ' s reading , is a sort of were - bear , akin to the character beorn in " the hobbit " ) . or where in old norse poetry he found the name gandalf and decided it might belong to a wizard . or the suggestive connections between the words " hobbit " and " rabbit " ( here shippey is making tolkien ' s ghost very angry ) , which is itself a relatively recent coinage of unknown origin . or what use tolkien makes of the mysterious middle english word wodwos , which appears in " sir gawain and the green knight " and has never been adequately translated . ( ok , i ' ll tell you : he thought it meant " wild men of the woods , " and it ' s the source of the woses , who appear briefly in book five of " lord of the rings " to aid the rohirrim on their ride to gondor . )

he sacrifices his own minions as a gift to the world of the dead .

knife nut : butterfield ' s weapon of choice is a sharp switchblade knife .

nix is being consumed by the fires of hot magma before being completely exploded .

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[ in the following excerpt , badley applies contemporary cultural theory , including feminist theory , to an analysis of representations of women in barker ' s fiction . ]

: there are two worlds of magic . one is the glittering domain of the illusionist . the other is a secret place , where magic is a terrifying reality . here , men have the power of demons . and death itself is an illusion .

he is ambitious , wanting to gain the noble status he lacks . his main expertise is in finance , an echo of the medici family who , over the course of a couple of generations , turned financial might into political control in northern italy .

sixteen of the 17 stories in this book [ the books of blood ] were originally published as the first 3 volumes in barker ' s books of blood series . they are undeniably among the most powerful and impressive short stories published in the horror genre in recent years . among the best are “rawhead rex” , recently made into a full length movie , but almost all of the others are of first class . . .

the craftsmen responsible for the grisly special effects perform far beyond the call of duty .

harry drives . swann takes a throatful of brandy . then he stares at harry .

fantastic noir : blends the traditional elements of a noir detective story with supernatural horror .

hollywood exorcism : harry ' s involvement in one of these is alluded to in flashback , and the experience continues to haunt him in the early part of the story .

it was obviously a book which hw himself found of great importance . he has marked several passages in his own copy of the book , and later quoted from it in

the fictional boss of the soprano crime family in northern new jersey is a man happy to lie , throttle and shoot his way to the continued occupancy of his throne .

he had little compunction about torturing catholics for evidence of plot and conspiracy . but in the moral milieu of the time this was typical for a man in his position .

loosely based on barker’s 1985 short story “the last illusion , ””lord” features bakula as harry d’amour , a new york - based p . i . who has reappeared in several subsequent stories and novels by barker . like the original tale , pic introduces d’amour as a hard - boiled but humane shamus who periodically encounters the supernatural in his work . imagine ross macdonald’s lew archer doing a guest spot on “the x - files , ” and you’ll get the picture .

power floats : nix uses his powers to levitate and walk through the air several times , including standing on top of a near - bottomless chasm holding one of his victims .

plans are now underway for german production , to open in november 2009 , and a scaled - down touring version that will open next year in new zealand before travelling to australia and the far east . producer kevin wallace said in a statement : “the show’s creative team has proven just how enchanting , exhilarating and powerfully entertaining the lord of the rings can be live on stage . we will continue to bring this incredible theatrical event to audiences in london until 19 july , and we look forward to presenting the show to new audiences abroad from 2009 . ”

clive barker provides four more novelets of the supernatural in this latest collection . the title story [ of in the flesh ] is easily the best , the tale of a young man who deliberately commits a crime in order to visit the prison grave of his grandfather , and who finds himself visiting a city of the dead . nearly as good is “the forbidden” . a young woman is doing some research in a poor community when . . .

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an interview with terry gilliam , director of " the man who killed don quixote . "

of the amoral protagonist of patricia highsmith ' s novels and anthony minghella ' s film the talented mr ripley , philosopher john gray says tom ripley is a " true machiavellian " .

it ' s unwise to read " the lord of the rings " as allegory in any strict sense , but this commonplace personal odyssey , one shared by millions in the modern age , is strikingly echoed in its plot . frodo , the child - size hero , must leave his beloved shire and travel into sauron ' s domain of mordor , with its slag heaps , its permanent pall of smoke , its slave - driven industries . when he returns after much danger and difficulty , he discovers that the malicious wizard saruman - - as shippey points out , a techno - utopian who began with good intentions - - has industrialized the shire itself , cutting down its trees , replacing its hobbit - holes with brick slums and factories and poisoning its rivers .

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the story itself feels rich and thought out . cabals of magicians and illusionists , secretly aware of the reality of magic yet using it as a means of fooling audiences . a cult that is bred out of fear of death rather coming to terms with it and seeking its embrace . a private detective whose past haunts him yet also fills him with the knowledge he needs to prepare and steel himself against all incoming threats . a terrifying villain who appears only in the beginning and end of the film , yet still his presence is felt like a cloying cloth throughout the middle . barker richly adapts his short story into something greater , something more passionate , creating a character in harry d’amour that has become one of my favorites in the horror genre .

the four tales of horror in clive barker ' s in the flesh are not made for fireside reading . these are disturbing tales that emerge from a profound sense of despair and desolation .

yet the dear - oh - dear attitude lingers on in the land , a little concealed maybe , a little under the surface . what ' s more , it ' s there for a good reason . hugely ambitious in scope yet seemingly antique in sensibility , " the lord of the rings " occupies an anomalous and uncomfortable position in 20th century literature . considered on its own terms , tolkien ' s epic - - he never intended it as a trilogy , although it was first published and absorbed into public consciousness in three volumes - - poses a stern challenge to the very concept of modernity , and perhaps especially to modern literature and its defenders . ( tolkien on his critics : " some who have read the book , or at any rate have reviewed it , have found it boring , absurd , or contemptible ; and i have no cause to complain , since i have similar opinions of their works , or of the kinds of writing that they evidently prefer . " )

evil is bigger : nix is a tall and bulky man and of course is pure evil .

source : meeks , fleming . review of clive barker ' s books of blood , volume one , by clive barker . los angeles times book review ( 10 august 1986 ) : 6 .

during a 1983 visit with britain ' s leading writer of horror fiction , ramsey campbell , i was presented with a mountainous manuscript of short stories by an unpublished liverpool playright named clive barker . “you ' re about to read the most important new horror writer of this decade , ” campbell told me . after reading 50 of the thousand - plus pages , i was . . .

in the music video , pink paint defies gravity and drips on drummer dan konopka ' s upright face from left to right . viewing a pile of junk from a different angle reveals a work of art that looks like bassist tim nordwind . and frontman damian kulash poses with eerily life - like paintings of the rest of the band that are split between the wall and the floor .