i , claudius is an unfinished 1937 film adaptation of the novels i , claudius ( 1934 ) and claudius the god ( 1935 ) by robert graves .

produced by alexander korda , the film was directed by josef von sternberg , with charles laughton in the title role .

the production was dogged by adverse circumstances , culminating in a car accident involving co-star merle oberon that caused filming to be ended before completion .

footage from the production was incorporated into a 1965 documentary on the making of the film , the epic that never was .

i , claudius ( film )

i , claudius ( film ) <EOT> excellent post . i only know i , claudius from the miniseries i watched on public television . thanks for sharing , this was fascinating to read !

i , claudius - ep . 1 - a touch of murder - legendado - youtube

today , i ' m taking a behind the scenes look at the never - completed version of i , claudius ( 1937 ) starring charles laughton .

we all have guilty pleasures ; i have many . one of them are watching i , claudius . i actually bought the book to put an end to the rewatches , but that book is just collecting dust .

the final episode of i , claudius is on bbc four at 10 . 00pm on tuesday 4 june .

director josef von sternberg , merle oberon , and charles laughton on the set of i , claudius ( 1937 ) .

i agree and thanks for the heads up on the korda bio . i ' ll definitely have to get that from the library .

i , claudius began as a 1934 historical fiction novel by robert graves about the shy , stuttering man who , against all odds , became the fourth roman emperor . i , claudius and its sequel , claudius the god , were both bestsellers and british producer alexander korda quickly scooped up the movie rights for london films .

the story of the aborted 1937 filming of " i , claudius " , starring charles laughton , with all of its surviving footage .

i , claudius trailer 1975 director : herbert wise starring : brian blessed , derek jacobi , sian phillips , margaret tyzack , john hurt , official content from pbs home video seven part masterpiece theatre series chronicling rulers of the roman empire . a public t . v . hit , it ' s a juicy , high - brow soap opera . jacobi leads a masterful cast , playing the physically & emotionally deformed emperor claudius with subtle relish . movie , i , claudius movie , i , claudius trailer , i , claudius 1975 , herbert wise , brian blessed , derek jacobi , sian phillips , margaret tyzack , john hurt ,

as the 1976 adaptation of i , claudius concludes its run on bbc four , ben lawrence suggests how the new hbo version can repeat its success .

fascinating documentary of an aborted 30 ' s filmization of the classic robert graves novel i , claudius that was to star charles laughton and merle oberon .

as an arsenal supporter , a film enthusiast , and a lecturer at university college london , i was triply foredoomed to love the arsenal stadium mystery .

q : why are people saying charles laughton could not get the part of claudius right ? i did see the footage and he looked okay to me .

i’m sure that duncalf had no inkling that he was launching a whole new genre of film history on film , or that future such productions would show no such restraint in exploring and exploiting the behind - the - scenes drama .

derek jacobi : ' i don’t mind people having faith . but it ain’t for me’

is this , by itself a five star movie ? i don ' t know , i don ' t care , i don ' t even know what 5 - stars means . but the footage of sternberg ' s i claudius seen here ( approximating 25 - 30 mins ) is astonishing . it ' s not just rushes , sternberg cut while he shot . and what a shame that this movie was never completed . i have zero doubt that it would have been sternberg ' s greatest achievement . and such a shame that charles laughton giving the greatest performance of all time has to be in an unfinished film .

the entertaining history lesson that is i , claudius offers a rare amount of high quality acting ; in addition to derek jacobi ' s phenomenal interpretation of the titular claudius ( quite possibly my favourite performance ever ) , it features excellent turns from sian phillips as livia , brian blessed as augustus , george baker as tiberius , john hurt on career - best form as caligula , and sheila white as claudius ' wife messalina , but i could go on naming nearly every actor participating in the production , the performances really are that great . an adaptation of two robert graves books which i haven ' t read— i , claudius and claudius the god —the film version works as well as the best of novels do , once you’ve finished a chapter / episode you immediately want to start reading / watching the next , while you at the same time wish that the story would never end .

claudius films | documentary production – specializing in creative feature - length and tv films .

claudius films prides itself on exploring important yet under - exposed issues from every corner of society . the breadth of claudius films’ catalogue is a testament to the company’s ethos .

to the screen “the greatest science film never made , ” as the movie poster tagline insists ? i have my doubts . jodorowsky , director of the aggressively trippy , scruffy cult classics

future learning and skills – giving everyone the opportunity to build a lifelong relationship with film .

in february 1937 , an extraordinary assemblage of film luminaries converged on denham studios to start production on a brilliant but ill - fated cinematic translation of robert graves’ two celebrated novels , i , claudius and claudius the god . elaborate sets arose in the leafy london suburb for the drama of the volatile and psychotic caligula’s accession to power , viewed by the historian and scholar claudius who must pose as a groveling half - wit until his chance unexpectedly arrives to rule the roman empire .

fans of graves ' novels will not be disappointed and fans of historical fiction will find much to love here . i , claudius is a fascinating portrait of the roman empire told from the inside .

- - a 10 - page booklet featuring a context - enhancing essay on i , claudius ' s relationship to historical fact and a most useful family tree in which you can trace the complicated genealogy across the generations of the series ' multitudinous characters . ( i referred to it more than once ) .

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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 .

but who was thorold dickinson ( 1903 - 1984 ) ? when i arrived at university college london in 1985 it was a matter of legend that a distinguished british film director , thorold dickinson , this country ' s first professor of film studies , had taught film at the college ' s slade school of art in the 1960s and 1970s , holding fabulous weekly screenings covering the whole history of western cinema . it was an inspiring close to a heroic , unlucky career devoted to filmmaking and film culture .

this time around i thought that i would bring my spouce along for this theatrical crazy ride . i lured him in saying that it was a perfect watch before the new game of thrones season . he doesn ' t like a lot of tv - series , but he likes got and he ' s a huge history nerd . even having studied a cultural history program at college for four years . there were no more excuses , and finally , after years of going on about how awesome i , claudius is , he agreed to watch it…

germannicus returns from germania in triumph and he and claudius catch up on family news - claudius now has a son but is not enjoying married life . he tells germannicus what postumus had passed onto . . .

fascinating ! considering the the scarlet empress is my favorite von sternberg movie , i ' d probably fall in love with i , claudius - if it was ever released . those " could have beens " in the movie history are always so sad ! don ' t forget to read my contribution to the blogathon ! : ) cheers ! le urltoken

robert keser teaches film at national - louis university in chicago , and is associate editor of bright lights film journal . his previous cteq annotations include edvard munch , the exile , forbidden , police , and westfront 1918 .

claudius films ltd . ben atar st . # 7 tel aviv , israel 6608725 + 972 - 52 - 2385334

a former art student who enrolled in the royal academy of dramatic arts in 1960 , hurt paid his dues in british television before breaking through in 1966’s a man for all seasons , opposite paul scofield and orson welles . he earned his first bafta award in 1976 , for playing gay author and ranconteur quentin crisp in the tv film the naked civil servant ; that same year , he played notorious roman emperor caligula in the tv film classic i , claudius .

i thought it was interesting that he chose edward instead of his younger brother george vi who was a well - known stutterer .

to quote charles drazin ' s bio : " korda britain ' s only movie mogul " at p . 186 : " the pity is that the surviving footage of " i , claudius " reveals one of the great charles laughton performances . "

the ostensible reason for the film being abandoned was oberon ' s car crash but the film reveals that the truth seems to lie in the antagonism between the director and charles laughton , whose crippling insecurity about how to play the part of claudius doesn ' t really come across in the snippets we see here : he ' s simply majestic in the part .

: i now honor this noble house by appointing incitatus , the greatest race horse in the empire , a member of the senate .

just a list of some pretty cool movie posters on the lb database . i haven ' t seen most of these movies . …

the life and times of the roman emperor claudius ( 10 b . c . - a . d . 54 ) .

the latest version of i , claudius has yet to find an official studio home . however , the hollywood reporter suggests the most likely backers are the disney divisions touchstone or miramax , pointing out that rudin ' s production company is based on the disney lot .

) watched the film bleed to death , yet the few delightful minutes of gilliam’s finished film show us just why he continues to defy the gods and put his hubris on the line when he’s given the green light on his next cinematic labor of love . as of this writing , gilliam is once again trying to resurrect the film , with john hurt as quixote .

“i can’t say i worry about mortality , but it’s impossible to get to my age and not have a little contemplation of it , ” hurt said in a 2015 interview , after his cancer diagnosis . “we’re all just passing time , and occupy our chair very briefly . ”

with more than ten years of experience in the film and television industry as an independent producer , claudius films portfolio includes a variety of films – pitched in international financing forums – dealing with social , history and science issues , both domestically and internationally .

nearly 40 years on i can ' t quite believe that this was shown on the bbc in the 1970s . an excellent drama serial with a cast of fine british actors , this covers about 70 years of the roman empire as narrated by claudius ( derek jacobi ) .

i , claudius was mostly forgotten until the bbc unearthed the leftover footage for a 1965 documentary , the epic that never was ( if you ' ve got 75 minutes to spare , i ' ve included the full movie below ) . not only is the documentary a fascinating glimpse into how movies are made - - it ' s amazing to see a roaring crowd of extras become immediately silent when von sternberg yells , " cut " - - but it also provides a sense of what the completed version of the film might have been like .

although i , claudius has the potential to be epic in scale ( marauding armies , massacres ) , the 1976 version had , by necessity , to keep the action off stage . what we were left with was a chamber piece which focused on the emotional and political landscape .

this british television documentary , hosted by dirk bogarde , is about the aborted 1937 film i claudius . the film , directed by josef von sternberg and produced by alexander korda with an all - star cast , was shut down after only a few weeks of filming , reportedly because of its extravagant cost . this documentary shows much of the original footage , which hadn ' t been seen for 28 years , and features interviews with some of the original cast and crew , including von sternberg , flora robson , merle oberon and emlyn williams .

this list collects every film from the starting list that became they shoot pictures don ' t they ' s 1000 greatest films . this…

at thirteen episodes , it is certainly a commitment , but certainly no greater one than watching the latest season of the sopranos , whose classical tragedy format is obviously inspired in part by i , claudius . ( you ' ll note that the manipulative matriarch of both is named livia . )

it has been announced that us tv network hbo has commissioned a new adaptation of i , claudius . a remake doesn’t feel like sacrilege , and hbo are a quality broadcaster , yet it’s a considerable undertaking and other attempts to take on graves’s work have proved abortive . orson welles abandoned a proposed film at a very early stage , while in 1937 alexander korda planned a version of the first book with charles laughton in the title role . production was halted when korda’s then wife merle oberon ( who had been cast as claudius’s wife valeria messalina ) was injured in a car accident .

the power of the film is enhanced by its seeming simplicity , pulling together a tremendous feat of research and scholarship and leaving the commentary to the archival witnesses and to five survivors invited to view the footage ( “what if i see someone i know ? ” asks one woman , a question that we not only can’t answer but can’t honestly imagine asking ) . the more it strips itself to the evidence , the more devastating and affecting the portrait becomes .

back in the 1930 ' s alexander korda left hungary where he had been a film producer to settle in england and began a film studio in 1933 that he hoped could compete with hollywood . what he thought he could beat them at was historical epics and over a few short years produced such classic films as the private life of henry viii , the rise of catherine the great , the private life of don juan , rembrandt and fire over england . but he wanted something even better - even bigger - so he settled on the book from robert graves called i , claudius .

ace norton is an award - winning us director and filmmaker from venice , california . ace creates visuals on a variety of media platforms including advertising , fashion , music video and film . his work has been nominated for a grammy , awarded at milan fashion film festival and many others .

tim günther is a director , whose passion for emotive visual storytelling has seen him create a wide range of memorable and awarded commercial film work .

the mini - series follows the history of the roman empire , from approximately the death of marcellus ( 24 / 23 bc ) to claudius ' own death in 54 ad . as claudius narrates his life , we witness augustus ' attempts to find an heir , often foiled by his wife livia who wants her son tiberius to become emperor . we also see the conspiracy of sejanus , the infamous reign of caligula , and claudius ' own troubled period of rule .

those who always thought blessed was an old ham ( “flash gordon’s alive ! ” ) should take a look at i , claudius . his performance as the decent , betrayed augustus is incredibly moving . blessed should be repaid for his sterling work in the original with a role in the remake – he’s a good roisterer after all .

“poetic , stylized and highly accurate film , excellently cinematographed . one of the sharpest statements in the history of documentary narrative . ” gidi osher , galei tzahal

the never - completed 1937 screen version of i , claudius is one of the great question marks in film history . would the british film , which was filled with major international talents like director josef von sternberg and actors charles laughton and merle oberon , have become a beloved classic like ben - hur ( 1959 ) or the ten commandments ( 1956 ) or would the lavish production have sunk under the weight of its own lofty ambitions like the ill - starred 1963 version of cleopatra ? the only evidence we have today is about 20 minutes of raw footage that shows viewers a grandiose movie that is at times brilliant , meandering , and campy .

claudius buchzik is a managing partner and co - founder . at picsters he oversees all creative processes , from initial concept iteration and script development through storyboard and production .

i am a serious fan of robert graves ' books , the bbc series , and pretty much anything else i can devour about the era of the great roman emperors . every time i rewatch the series ( about twice a year ) , i absolutely must watch the documentary about this movie also . i find it quite fascinating , and am left with an unfulfilled longing to watch the entire movie . this is a totally emotional response to the documentary , and has absolutely nothing to do with any controversy over the production , which imho is exactly what filmmakers want - an emotional response . of course the clips we get to see have flaws , have you ever seen unfinished parts of a movie that didn ' t ? ( or even a finished movie , for that matter ) i personally believe it is a shame they had someone like von sternberg involved instead of a director that really cared about the project and was willing to do it justice . think about it . . . the director is pretty much the backbone of a movie . if he comes in with the attitude that he ' s not happy with anything , how can anyone else be happy about what they are doing ? i think it had as much potential of becoming a phenomenon as the bbc series .

included on the dvd set as an extra is the complete film of the epic that never was . in 1937 , producer alexander korda attempted to bring the grandeur of robert graves ' novels to the silver screen . he hired charles laughton to play claudius and merle oberon to play his wife , messalina . josef von sternberg was directing .

an enthralling documentary from the bbc , hosted by dirk bogarde , which contains most of the footage shot for producer alexander korda ' s projected version of the robert graves novel ' i , claudius ' , together with interviews with many of the surviving principals , including graves , merle oberon , emlyn williams , flora robson and the enigmatic director josef von sternberg .

the film ' s own game is always an attacking one , even if it does look a touch cheap and cheerful beside the glossier hitchcock thrillers of the time that it recalls in its witty effervescence . moreover , you don ' t have to be a sports fan to enjoy it - any film fan will relish its sense of fun and zip . martin scorsese has commented that , even as " someone who can ' t stand sports - soccer , anything with a ball - i find the soccer scenes exhilarating " .

leonardo dicaprio could star in a big - screen version of i , claudius after the rights to robert graves ' s novel were obtained by veteran producer scott rudin . according to a story in the hollywood reporter , dicaprio and screenwriter william monahan are currently circling the project . the pair last collaborated on martin scorsese ' s oscar - winning crime drama the departed .

as laughton and korda were dead by the time this film was made ( and now all have passed on ) , the history of i , claudius lies in the hands of the survivors , notably sternberg , oberon , williams , flora robson , and author robert graves . for our era of exhaustive commentaries by directors and other participants , this film seems too circumscribed ( its length presumably dictated by its television origins ) and too well - behaved , seemingly conscious of its debt to its interviewees , and insufficiently critical to probe deeply beneath the surface civilities . to be sure , the irascible and difficult sternberg would be a poor choice for such probing , but only emlyn williams manages to suggest a significant subtext .

what a fascinating film it would have been . laughton was a perfect choice , and how interesting that he studied king edward to capture the psychology of the man . . .

“…what i was seeking in my history of cinema was to be less alone” : introduction to a true history of cinema and television by jean - luc godard ( trans . and ed . timothy barnard )

i alerted his dismayed fellow players to disregard all stagecraft and follow him if need be to the ceiling . moreover , no one but the crew , who followed my slightest signal , knew any longer when we were rehearsing and when we were actually filming , for our claudius had a way of disintegrating before our very eyes as soon as he suspected that he was being recorded . ( 4 )

was a groundbreaking miniseries , and is still today considered by some to be the totem by which all other miniseries are measured . it stars derek jacobi as the titular emperor and autobiographer . as narrator , claudius tells us his family history from his grandmother livia ' s marriage to the emperor augustus caesar to the end of claudius ' own life , at the hand of others .

acclaimed blackly comic historical drama series . set amidst a web of power , corruption and lies , it chronicles the reigns of the roman emperors - augustus , tiberius , caligula and finally claudius .

a look at never completed version of i , claudius . this is a wonderful look at film making in the golden age , both as it was and as memory has made it . we get to see the stars and crew talk about a project that got away and how it still haunts them . this is one of the best films on films ever made , partly because it shows us what might have been a treasure , but also because it does what what movies do best , create an illusion of something that doesn ' t really exist . with a film like this , made decades after events , the mind is left to ponder what the aborted film might have been . from the few scraps of actual footage we expand it out to a completed film that might have been one of the greatest films of all time . of course it all could have gone south as well , but the fun is in what might have been . . . . 10 out of 10 a personal request - would someone please put this out on dvd by itself , its stupid to make us buy the bbc miniseries just to be able to see this .

tonight , after 12 weeks of poisoning , incest , mass murder and cannibalism , bbc four’s repeat run of i , claudius comes to an end . herbert wise’s 1976 production based on robert graves ’s classic novels , while undeniably dated for a modern audience , remains a powerful , compelling piece of drama , crowned by an extraordinary performance from sir derek jacobi , both commanding and vulnerable , in the title role .

but we also see a later sequence , beautifully played by laughton , where for the first time claudius heroically asserts his moral authority in public by placing demands on the senate and the roman army .

first published in 1934 , i , claudius is a roman epic purporting to be the autobiography of the fourth emperor of rome , who ruled from ad41 - 54 . it detailed the political machinations at work within the empire . the tale was first adapted by director josef von sternberg in 1937 , with charles laughton in the title role . in 1976 it was overhauled as an acclaimed bbc miniseries , starring derek jacobi and john hurt .

one of the first documentaries to make use of the opening theme from richard strauss ' s " also sprach zarathustra " , later made more famous in the film " 2001 : a space odyssey " .

a superlative 13 - part saga , based on robert graves ' novels , centering on the historian claudius and how , in an unlikely ( and violent ) chain of events , he came to rule the roman empire . brilliantly mounted , and with a memorable lead performance by derek jacobi as the stuttering and shrewd claudius , and a scene - stealing , over - the - top turn by john hurt as ( more… )

includes all extant scenes shot before production problems , laughton ' s struggles with the part and ultimately merle ' s near career ending potentially disfiguring car crash put the final nail in the film ' s coffin .

based on robert graves ' famous novel , i , claudius is the ultimate soap opera , vicious , cruel , manipulative - - and this famous english miniseries grabs the attention and holds fast throughout the entire length of its complex tale of ancient intrigue . the great strengths of i , claudius are in the driving pace , sharp wit , and ferocity of jack pulman ' s script and the host of brilliant performers who play it out . chief among these are sian phillips as the calculating , murderous , and unspeakably cold livia , wife of augustus ; although derek jacobi gives a justly famous performance in the title role , it is phillips who dominates and drives the story with this , the most brilliant performance of her career . but this is not to disparage the overall cast , which is remarkably fine and includes such noted artists as brian blessed , john hurt , patricia quinn , patrick stewart , and a host of others . like the serpent that appears in the open credits , the story twists and winds - - and covers several generations of the ruling family as rome slips from the republic to royal rule , largely due to the manipulations of livia , who has few if any scruples in her determination to rule first through her husband and then through her son . although the look of the film is somewhat dated , it in no way impairs the power of the piece , and i , claudius remains one of the handful of miniseries that actually improves upon repeated viewings . strongly , strongly recommended . gary f . taylor , aka gft , amazon reviewer

inspector slade is a great character , not only a holmesian detective genius but also a breezy theatrical bachelor who dons a new hat for every scene . he ' s first seen in scotland yard rehearsing a chorus - line of bobbies in drag for the " metropolitan police beauty chorus " . dickinson planned a follow - up - the denham studio mystery , using footage from von sternberg ' s aborted i , claudius - but , alas , war intervened .

ad 54 : claudius feels that rome should return to be a republic but nonetheless marries his niece agripinilla and makes her son nero co - heir with his own , teen - aged son britannicus . aware of a . . .

i am too baffled to structure coherent sentences , so a few random thoughts : oh , the fratricide , the parricide , incest , lots of incest . . . ancient rome makes the song of ice and fire look like a fucking fairy tale . . . livia you conniving horrible woman . . . caligula you deranged monster . . . tiberius you colossal pawn . . . augustus you emotional fool . . . sejanus you ambitious snake . . claudius you genius fool . . .

a film was commissioned to tell the story of the atrocities committed by the nazis and alfred hitchcock himself was drafted to shape the footage into a documentary that would play for audiences on both sides of the war . it was never completed . while some of the footage was used in other documentaries and propaganda pieces , most of it was unseen until the unfinished film , produced under the dry , unprepossessing title “german concentration camps factual survey , ” was reconstructed in 2014 .

i , claudius is set in ancient rome . sex and violence abound . but the new production should be wary of overloading the drama and risk desensitising its audience ( see spartacus ) . in the original , the horrific scene in which caligula eats the foetus of his unborn child was effective in its use of suggestion . the viewer is drawn into the crazed world of caligula as he spurs himself on to commit the terrible act , but then the camera pulls away , leaving you to imagine the horror .

the film was ultimately completed by john frankenheimer , who failed to control his actors as they rewrote the script as they went along , and it became a legendary fiasco . whether stanley could have pulled his vision together under these circumstances is questionable but by any measure , his film was lost in the insanity that took hold of the chaotic production . david gregory , a veteran producer of featurettes for dvds and blu - rays , is clearly sympathetic to stanley and his vision .

a few years after world war ii , a bunker filled with canisters of film footage was discovered in the forests in east germany . among the cans of films , documentaries and raw footage was one labeled simply “das ghetto , 1942 , ” containing the rough cut of an unfinished propaganda film shot in the warsaw ghetto just before the residents ( aka prisoners ) were rounded up and sent to the death camps . a film unfinished ( independent lens , 2011 ) , a documentary by yael hersonski , uses the footage as a starting point to examine the ordeal of the jews forced to live in the poverty and horror of this urban concentration camp as well as the efforts of the nazis to create anti - jewish propaganda .

what happened is the subject of the 1965 documentary the epic that never was , which occupies an under - populated niche as a record of an unfinished and abandoned production ( one of its few counterparts being lost in la mancha , the 2002 autopsy of terry gilliam’s attempt to film don quixote ) . as such , duncalf’s film asserts an archivist’s belief in preserving and exhibiting valuable if unrealised work , while also providing an unwitting model , from forty years ago , for today’s dvd extras .

midnight seems an appropriate time to screen " the epic that never was , " a 1965 british broadcasting corporation television documentary that played very early this morning on the late show at the seventh new york film festival . view full article in timesmachine »

charles laughton is mesmerizing in this scene ! even when he ' s just sitting there while others are talking , you can ' t keep your eyes off him . thanks for posting this remarkable scene – and the fascinating story of this unfinished film .

sean axmaker is a seattle film critic and writer . his work appears in parallax view , turner classic movies online , keyframe , and he writes a weekly newspaper column on streaming video column , which you can find at www . streamondemandathome . com .

classical stage and screen actors sir patrick stewart , in his laurence olivier award - winning turn as claudius , and david tennant , as the titular dane , reprise their roles in this television adaptation of the royal shakespeare company ' s 2008 stage production of hamlet .

a superlative 13 - part saga , based on robert graves ' novels , centering on the historian claudius and how , in an unlikely ( and violent ) chain of events , he came to rule the roman empire . brilliantly mounted , and with a memorable lead performance by derek jacobi as the stuttering and shrewd claudius , and a scene - stealing , over - the - top turn by john hurt as caligula , the 1977 series became one of the most acclaimed and popular productions in the history of ` masterpiece theatre . '

von sternberg ' s lighting techniques give oberon an exotic glamour and williams brings exactly the right combination of campy / crazy to caligula , but it is laughton ' s performance that is the standout . in my opinion , laughton and james cagney were the two greatest screen actors of the 1930 ' s , and laughton certainly lives up to his reputation in the scene below where claudius addresses the roman senate . the actor is in magnificent control as he sheds claudius ' simpleton persona to obtain the full might and power of a roman emperor .

david kettner is a managing partner and producer with all his heart . at picsters he is managing all strategic and operative production flow at all phases of a film , from pre - to post - production . finding ways to make things happen is his core expertise .

this is one of the best miniseries i have seen . . more of a play than a traditional television serialized format . . the acting , phenomenal . . salute to derek jacobi . . aces to john hurt on bringing out caligula ' s evil to front . . . raw energy . .

derek jacobi ' s stuttering claudius is a great performance but you never quite believe he has it in him to become a great emperor . john hurt ' s caligula is dangerous because he seems , at first glance , so vulnerable , and the notorious scene with his sister tops anything in the malcolm mcdowell film . and sian phillips ' livia is a superb study in evil , while brian blessed is uncharacteristically quiet as augustus , which makes his erupting fury in the scene where he finds out about his daughter ' s impurity all the more powerful .

it ' s chiefly thanks to the director , the splendid thorold dickinson , now unjustly neglected , whom scorsese calls " one of the most ambitious and talented filmmakers of his time " , that the film stands up so limberly after all these years in its baggy shorts .

the film allows sternberg to lay the blame for the project’s implosion squarely on laughton’s shoulders , a theme developed in sternberg’s reliably eccentric autobiography , fun in a chinese laundry , originally published in 1965 , the same year as the epic that never was ‘ production . conceding a backhanded compliment to laughton ( “when he was not in front of the camera he seemed no more abnormal than any other actor” ) ( 3 ) , sternberg accuses him of a masochism that required the pitiless jeering and rude kicks of the film’s extras to stimulate his performance .

i saw the epic that never was years ago and it made me so sad that the movie never happened ! how odd that laughton couldn ' t " find " the character . maybe it ' s a good thing for derek jacobi that he never did ! thanks so much for covering this for the blogathon !

philipp baben der erde is a creative partner and accomplished dop . at picsters he is in charge of all artistic decisions , from the creative expression and narrative of a film , through directing and cinematography . his work has been awarded the german camera award 2013 and the grimme award 2016 .

hamlet aired in the uk on boxing day at christmastime 2009 , and more than 900 , 000 viewers tuned in for the bbc broadcast . in an article in the observer , britain’s prime minister gordon brown wrote : “like many people , i had my love of shakespeare reawakened by david tennant’s tv portrayal of hamlet over christmas . ”

veteran stage and screen actor sir patrick stewart reprises his 2009 laurence olivier award - winning role of claudius in the screen version , which is directed by gregory doran , who also returns to reprise his stage direction of the production . co - produced by illuminations television and the rsc for the bbc , in association with thirteen for wnet . org and nhk , the adaptation recreates the tone and atmosphere of the stage production in a film - style interpretation shot in hd on location at st . joseph’s college in mill hill , london . the production is produced for television by john wyver and sebastian grant .

— was given carte blanche by columbia pictures to make a dream project . his film , a portrait of obsessive jealousy in a husband who becomes insanely paranoid and maniacally controlling of his beautiful young wife , collapsed in the director’s own obsessive camera tests and experiments , increasingly demanding direction , and endless reshoots .

claudius ( derek jacobi ( the king ' s speech in his definitive role ) begins his tale a while before he was born , though we first see him as an old , hunched , paranoid - acting man scribbling furtively by candlelight . what he is chronicling is the scandalous , taboo truth about the endlessly duplicitous , treacherous royal family he has belonged to , whose machinations he has barely survived . in flashbacks that take off from and then return to these interludes in the elderly claudius ' s presence , what unravels , in delicious detail and occasionally unbearable suspense , is this ^ : claudius ' s grandfather , augustus ( brian blessed , hamlet ) , has any potential male heir , and eventually his own person , systematically destroyed by his expert - poisoner wife and claudius ' s grandmother , livia ( siân phillips ) , so that she can exert her own power through her son from a prior marriage , tiberius ( george baker ) , after he ascends to the throne upon augustus ' s death . though tiberius eventually cuts the apron springs in his old age , his reign then sees the deterioration of rome ' s power and grandeur through military and other setbacks , and the erosion of his own integrity through ever - lower descents into self - indulgence and degeneracy .

shakespeare’s immortal “to be , or not to be” takes on a whole new meaning ( and medium ) as classical stage and screen actors david tennant and ( recently - knighted ) sir patrick stewart reprise their roles for a modern - dress , film - for - television adaptation of the royal shakespeare company’s ( rsc ) 2008 stage production of hamlet . the production will be presented on pbs by the great performances series on wednesday , april 28 , 2010 , at 8 p . m . est ( check local listings ) . immediately following the broadcast , the film will be available online in its entirety here on the great performances web site .

the raw footage for a segment he called “ four men and a raft ” was discovered in a film vault in the early 1990s . shot after funds had been cut off by the studio , welles resorted to continuing on guerilla style , without sound or much of a crew and welles himself often behind the camera .

dirk bogarde leads us through the history behind this unfortunate happenstance , illustrating his words with surviving clips of the unfinished film . given the evidence of laughton ' s performance as shown in this footage ( and despite laughton ' s contrary opinion ) , we have missed out on what most probably would have been a classic .

though graves always dismissed the novel as hack work , the books are well crafted and say a lot about the nature of freedom and the burden of history . the 1976 version did not stint on the prose and claudius’s monologues , which unfurl as he writes his diary , crackled on - screen thanks to the richness of graves’s language .

is straightforward and unimaginative but the revelations from the interviews ( many of the actors and crew members signed on for stanley’s vision and were appalled at the behavior they saw on the production ) and the glimpses of stanley’s pre - production artwork and make - up designs suggest a far more interesting film than the mess that arrived out of the chaos .

, is a spellbinder of a storyteller and it’s hard not to get caught up in the vision he spins of his dream adaptation . but on any practical level , the resources at his disposal were inadequate to his ambitions and his faith far outpaced his production savvy . what i find compelling is not that the project failed to get made but that it got as far as it did .

neglectful watch ) . it is claudius , the accidental and very reluctant emperor , who is the common thread through those rulers ' insane , unbelievable stories ( including , to not much less a degree , his own ) , in which they are usually but the center and figurehead of a seething pit of royal and / or military vipers ceaselessly circulating the venom of murderous ambition , power , and self - indulgence . and it is through the patient , timid , posterity - minded writer claudius ' s observant eye that we get to be flies on the wall for some of the most luridly spectacular makings and reversals of fortune in history as they play out against the backdrop of the vast , precarious roman empire .

2018 update [ via editor ] : terry gilliam finally got his quixote film made , starring adam driver and jonathan pryce , even though the project still seems a bit cursed : it needed court approval to screen at cannes this year , and got dumped by streaming service amazon . but eventually we can at least see it . read more on the bbc .

although claudius tells the story , its true focus is on livia , who was pure treachery in human form . whatever she wanted , she got , and she didn ' t care if she had to kill for it . she even killed one son so the other could reign . in a time when only men could rule , she coveted power , and made sure that the only men who became emperor were the ones she could control from behind the scenes . this was done by eliminating all who were in the line of inheritance between the present emperor and her current choice . we only know what happened because , on her deathbed , she confessed all to claudius , who she had finally discovered was not so dumb after all .

picsters is a film production company for branded content and commercials . from one - off documentaries , scripted originals , formatted series to short form stories . raising the curtain on full service , we provide strategy , ideation , treatment development , production from pre to post , livestreaming and consulting . all the world is a stage : we are based in berlin and zurich and work internationally .

charles laughton , despite giving a splendid performance , had a great deal of difficulty getting into the role , and director von sternberg was not very sympathetic or helpful . so when co - star merle oberon was injured in a car crash during filming , he used it as an excuse to abandon the film , which was nowhere near completion . all the filmed footage survives , however .

what could go wrong ? enough , certainly , for this film to never be completed . the story is pretty simple . laughton was reportedly having difficulty grasping his character and got no assistance from von sternberg , who was supposed to be a bit of a taskmaster . thus , when merle oberon was injured in an automobile accident , von sternberg took advantage of the situation to cancel filming .

he left no cutting instructions and was never able to assemble even a rough cut of the footage , so film historians and filmmakers richard wilson , myron meisel , and bill krohn didn’t even try to guess his intentions . they simply cut the footage together in a simple continuity , showing off the amazing black and white imagery and giving viewers the barest outline of the story he had in mind .

we don’t know exactly what many of these crazy , distorted , color - drenched images were meant for in the context of the film and bromberg preserves the mystery of potential in his direction . he doesn’t attempt to reconstruct , only reveal the play with imagery , the experiments in expression , the visual ideas at play and the obsessive drive to keep exploring , experimenting , perfecting and controlling every element .

serge bromberg’s documentary ( co - directed with ruxandra medrea annonier ) presents a rich collection of rushes and camera tests , unseen and forgotten for decades until bromberg tracked it down and negotiated access . the footage reveals an artist searching for new expressive ways to explore jealousy and madness on film and provides privileged glimpses at the fragments of a visionary’s unformed art found in reel upon reel of color and lighting tests .

the production of “the man who killed don quixote , ” starring johnny depp and jean rochefort , was hanging by threads even before pelting hail , flash floods , and a crippling injury to rochefort ( who smiles through a painful day of shooting on horseback before he discovers he has a herniated disc ) plagued the film , like a curse by the gods on an artist whose films are equal parts wonder and satirical cynicism .

after oxford , dickinson had become an expert film editor before directing his first feature in 1936 , at the age of 33 . the high command was a low - budget colonial melodrama with a young james mason . dickinson gave it class , partly by using his imagination , partly by taking a unit to nigeria and incorporating vivid location material . but dickinson ' s luck lapsed for three years until he qualified for the highbury fixture .

author robert graves , director von sternberg , and cast members flora robson , merle oberon , and emlyn williams about the difficult experience of working on the film and the even harsher blow of having it all ended so abruptly ( technically due to a car accident in which oberon was injured , but there is speculation here that that came as a relief to korda , who saw a project foundering on ill feeling between cast members and director ) .

, orson welles traveled to brazil with a production team and the blessing of the us government to make a cinematic portrait of the country as part of the “good neighbor policy” deemed essential for the war effort . the film , which he envisioned as a lively anthology mixing documentary , fiction , and travelogue , was shut down while he was still shooting his way through the country and the footage was locked up and , for the most part , thought lost .

the acting is of the highest quality here , with perfectly targeted performances all around . brian blessed is a loving father figure / ruler as augustus . john hurt is enjoyably insane and surprisingly restrained as caligula . george baker is perfect as tiberius , the malleable son of livia who would become the next emperor . but the whole thing would fail miserably if not for the central performances of jacobi as claudius and sian phillips as livia , one of the great female characters .

korda , who hoped the production would put british cinema on par with hollywood , lined up an impressive cast and crew , including hollywood heavyweight von sternberg as director , laughton as the title character and oberon as the notorious messalina ( both actors had started out in british films but were by then major stars in hollywood ) . the cast was rounded out by playwright and actor emlyn williams as the crazed caligula and character actress flora robson as claudius ' wily grandmother , livia .


a little princess is a 1995 american family drama film directed by alfonso cuarón and starring eleanor bron , liam cunningham ( in a dual role ) , and introducing liesel matthews as sara crewe with supporting roles done by vanessa lee chester , rusty schwimmer , arthur malet , and errol sitahal .

set during world war i , it focuses on a young girl who is relegated to a life of servitude in a new york city boarding school by the headmistress after receiving news that her father was killed in combat .

loosely based upon the novel a little princess by frances hodgson burnett , this adaptation was heavily influenced by the 1939 cinematic version and takes creative liberties with the original story .

due to poor promotion by warner bros. , the film hardly made back half its budget .

however , the film was critically acclaimed and given various awards , such as two academy award nominations for its significant achievements in art direction and cinematography , among other aspects of its production .

a little princess ( 1995 film )

a little princess ( 1995 film ) <EOT> " papa " from " a little princess " 1995 . music by patrick doyle

" papa " from " a little princess " 1995 . music by patrick doyle - youtube

mix - " papa " from " a little princess " 1995 . music by patrick doyle

music from the 1995 film " a little princess " . music composed by patrick doyle . track " papa ! "

original score by scottish composer patrick doyle for the 1995 feature film . © patrick doyle and varése sarabande , 1995 . all rights reserved .

join little princess and her friends for more adventures at the royal castle . with six favourite little princess episodes to keep your little ones happy ! featuring the voice talents of jane horrocks a . . .

a little princess [ dvd ] [ 1995 ] . title : a little princess [ dvd ] [ 1995 ] . item condition : good minor surface scratches to the disc . product category : dvds . condition : good . list price ( msrp ) : 13 . 99 . l . . .

featured in crimson tide / a little princess / the perez family / the englishman who went up a hill / swimming with sharks ( 1995 ) . see more »

an astonishing work of studio artifice , a little princess is that rarest of creations , a children ' s film that plays equally well to kids and adults .

warners plans to re - release " a little princess " in 17 cities nationwide with a revised advertising campaign that will accentuate the film ' s glowing reviews .

up for grabs , a little princess ( australia region 4 ) dvd – new . dvd new .

into film recommend this film is engaging for this age range . please refer to the bbfc guidance for further help in your film choice .

this film has not been rated by a club leader yet . be the first to rate this film .

sharpes , d . ( 1995 ) . princess pocahontas , rebecca rolfe ( 1595 - 1617 ) . in

ioan gruffudd , dakota blue . . . - secret of moonacre / a little princess / the dvd new

‘not only is she the first black princess , she’s the first american princess . we’ve never had an american princess , ’ said rose .

ean : 7321900191005 . title : a little princess [ dvd ] [ 1995 ] . condition : good . director : alfonso cuarón . add to favourites . 44 ( 0 ) 0116 243 6558 .

looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing little princess near you .

strong , p . ( 1995 ) . the movie review : pocahontas . in

a little princess [ dvd ] [ 1996 ] . title : a little princess [ dvd ] [ 1996 ] . item condition : good minor surface scratches to the discproduct category : dvds . condition : good . faq ' s . discs : 1 .

' little princess ' has lackluster return : movies : despite a revamped ad campaign , warner bros . ' re - release of the critically acclaimed family film fails at the box office .

disney also ran into trouble when creating the character of pocahontas in 1995 for the retelling of the encounter between an english settler and a native american princess .

leuthold , s . ( 1995 ) . native american responses to the western . in

' little princess ' has lackluster return : movies : despite a revamped ad campaign , warner bros . ' re - release of the critically acclaimed family film fails at the box office . - latimes

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a little princess / the secret garden / black beauty [ dvd ] [ 1994 ] . title : a little princess / the secret garden / black beauty [ dvd ] [ 1994 ] . actor : andrew knott , maggie smith , liesel matthews , eleanor bron , . . .

club leaders can rate films ! help other club leaders decide if this film is suitable for use in their film club by giving it a rating .

a native indian princess was featured in pocahontas and jasmine in aladdin had a middle eastern appearance .

a truly captivating children ' s film that never got its due in the theaters .

others say the studio was more interested in pushing " batman forever " and " the bridges of madison county " than " a little princess . "

a excellent film that showcases the early talents of director alfonso cuaron and cinematographer emmanuel lubezki .

the new film about diana , princess of wales , has been attacked by her former lover and the man on whom one of the film ' s principal characters is based , heart surgeon hasnat khan .

i was 10 when alfonso cuarón ' s a little princess came out in 1995 . i remember loving it for a variety of reasons ( rag curls , drop - waist dresses ) but the main one was that it felt magical — it was the type of movie i lived in for hours after it finished . i still remembered it with the same fondness up until a few days ago when i watched a little princess for the first time as an adult .

remember “a little princess ” ? the 1995 film was based on a novel by frances hodgson burnett , the same author who wrote the children’s classic “the secret garden . ” premiering 20 years ago , the movie captivated us as it told the moving tale of how seven - year - old sara crewe lost and found her father in the midst of world war i .

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this is a wonderful family film that can be enjoyed by people of any age that tells a story that shows the importance of imagination and storytelling . the type of film that makes you feel like a child again .

on aug . 4 , warner bros . will put back into wider release its film adaptation of the frances hodgson burnett novel " a little princess . " such relaunch campaigns are seldom attempted in hollywood , because they usually don ' t work .

the film also features the voice of chat show queen oprah winfrey as tiana ' s mother called eudora . the film is scheduled for release in december .

since announcing their plans for the first black princess in 2006 the production of hollywood studio ' s 49th animated film has been dogged by racial controversy .

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is entirely a product of western colonialism and is paradoxical . doniger ( see levi - strauss , 1978 ) writes in the 1995 forward of

" 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…

khan also rejected a suggestion by the film ' s producers he had given the film his " tacit acceptance " . he said : " it is a complete lie . i have never given any approval . "

disney has insisted its choice of a black princess was part of a policy to give characters as much diversity as possible .

such a perfect princess ! cute charlotte steals the show again with her royal wave - and a very polite . . .

it is quite possibly the saddest movie i have ever seen . ( how did we ever make it through this film as little girls without suffering huge emotional damage ? )

it was a present for my little girl and she absolutely loves it . . thank you for the speedy delivery

vanessa lee chester has worked steadily since her role in a little princess , but hopefully not so hard that she ' s left icing her blisters at the end of a day ' s work like poor becky .

one of the reasons that makes the film ' a little princess ' very appealing , is its soundtrack . from the song ' kindle my heart ' sung by both abigail doyle and liesel matthews is majestic , that is also the main music theme for the film . some of the other music are great ( and fits the film so well ) that are playful , that are sad , and captures victorian and india in choice of instruments .

which has led some critics to complain that disney has ducked the opportunity for a fairytale ending for a black prince and princess .

roger ebert was born on this day in 1942 , and died a little over five years ago . i owe a good part of my success…

at 34 , cunningham was just starting to establish his hollywood career when he took on the role of captain crewe in “a little princess . ” before that , he had only appeared in a few shorts and tv movies .

johnson said the positive reviews prompted the studio to open the film sooner than it planned .

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" a little princess " had a three - day box - office gross of only $ 122 , 651 on 49 screens . a studio spokesman said warners had planned to gradually go wider but because of the dismal second response , that won ' t happen .

little martha jane , aka little miss marker ( temple ) is left with the bookmaker sorrowful jones by her dad as part of a bet on a horserace . sorrowful ( menjou ) and his group of fellow bookies . . . see full summary »

originally called the frog princess , its heroine was to be a chambermaid called maddy working for a spoilt white debutante in 1920s new orleans .

tulip talks to god , and it’s not a pleasant conversation , and we learn a little more custer family history in one of season three’s funniest episodes .

movies like " a little princess " and " the secret garden " ( now on video ) contain a sense of wonder , and a message : the world is a vast and challenging place , through which a child can find its way with pluck and intelligence . it is about a girl who finds it more useful to speak french than to fire a ray gun . i know there are more kids this season who want to see " judge dredd , " " die hard with a vengeance " and the new batman movie than kids who want to see " a little princess , " and i feel sorry for them .

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 .

to date the film has earned a little more than $ 8 . 7 million , which barely covers marketing costs ( the film ' s budget was around $ 17 million ) and is a far cry from the $ 88 million that " casper " has pulled in or the $ 106 million taken in by disney ' s animated " pocahontas . "

adore this film . used to watch it with my daughter when she was little but it got lost in house move so was glad to see it here on amazon . was lovely to watch again with her , a trip down memory lane for both of us . it ' s a really lovely film with plenty going on to keep its audience engaged and has a very good moral .

a little girl named star lives with a lighthouse keeper who rescued her when her parents drowned . a truant officer decides she should go to boarding school but she ' s rescued by relatives .

disney to feature its first black princess . . . but critics complain as she falls in love with a white prince

although the black princess’s love interest in the new animated musical is called prince naveen of maldonia and is voiced by a brazilian actor , he looks more white than black in photographs from the film that disney have released .

even the new orleans setting for the film was questioned as it had overtones of voodoo and slavery .

in the disney version , prince naveen is turned into a frog by a voodoo magician and asks princess tiana to kiss him to break the spell .

lauren conrad ' s son liam takes a handful of cake . . . as proud mom ' celebrates one year with our little guy '

khan , now consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at basildon university hospital , said he had seen stills from the film , and that was enough to inform his view that the film - makers had got it badly wrong .

a plucky little orphan girl gets dumped abruptly into her gruff , hermit grandfather ' s care , then later gets retaken and delivered as a companion for an injured girl .

the princess’s original name was perceived by some to be a stereotypical ‘slave name’ and she was also a maid working for a wealthy white boss , which was criticised as being racially insensitive .

for while princess tiana and many in the cartoon cast are black – the prince is not .

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love , actually left , dr . hasnat khan , london . right , princess diana at a charity event in london in december 1995 , a few months after first meeting khan , in a waiting room at the royal brompton hospital , where she was visiting a friend’s husband . , left , by mark stewart / camera press / redux ; right , by tim rooke / rex usa .

an interview with writer / director boots riley about his incendiary new film , " sorry to bother you . "

princess diana with her friend jemima khan , on a visit to young cancer patients at a hospital in pakistan , 1997 . , by tim rooke / rex usa .

the demise of " a little princess " has caused some in hollywood to question whether warners , a studio known for its big star - driven movies and savvy marketing , botched the job when it came to the selling the small , endearing adaptation of the frances hodgson burnett novel .

ok , so , i don ' t know much about theft laws in 1914 , but can you call the police on a little girl for stealing back her own property ? ( that she didn ' t actually take herself . ) it seems a little dramatic to call in a half dozen cops . also , never in a thousand years would anyone survive this .

big little lies was alluring , but sharp objects is intoxicating , thanks in large part to its direction and editing .

a little princess premiered 20 years ago , offering up a mantra we should all have lived with since : that all girls ( and boys , if so inclined , thanks very much ) are princesses , regardless of , you know , actually being born into a royal family , the middleton family , or a disney movie . it also packed a lot of social justice subtext into a plot that ' s mostly centered on a prestigious new york girls ' boarding school . and on that note , in 20 years , the actresses playing all those little rich girls have grown up ! see them all here , as well as some of the film ' s other best characters . people age !

" the travesty is that ' a little princess ' is one of the best movies of the year , " says one hollywood executive . " but warners dumped the movie . you can tell when a studio is really putting their money behind a product and frankly i don ' t think they marketed it to anyone . "

disney to feature its first black princess . . . but critics complain as she falls in love with a white prince | daily mail online

a little princess [ dvd ] [ 1995 ] : urltoken liesel matthews , eleanor bron , liam cunningham , rusty schwimmer , arthur malet , vanessa lee chester , errol sitahal , heather deloach , taylor fry , darcie bradford , rachael bella , alexandra rea - baum , alfonso cuarón , alan c . blomquist , amy ephron , barry levinson , dalisa cohen , elizabeth chandler , frances hodgson burnett , richard lagravenese : dvd & blu - ray

an example of the former was miramax ' s attempt to re - release " into the west , " the 1993 mike newell - directed film that was initially marketed as a children ' s film . when reviewers proved reluctant to recommend the somewhat dark story for children , miramax took the unusual step of running full - page advertisements saying they had made a mistake . they tried to re - market it as an art house film - - a ploy that failed .

the secret garden was originally one of the great books for children - and this film version is every bit as good .

they question whether the film , which has a holiday feel , should have been released in the summer at all , and whether it was given appropriate advertising .

from the forests of india to the streets of new york comes the remarkable adventure of a little girl whose courage is as big as her dreams . see more »

in the movie , sara’s father proved he was the best dad by always fostering her imagination and calling her his little princess . but his most memorable moment was during the heartbreaking scene when he couldn’t remember his own daughter due to amnesia .

khan , who had a well - documented relationship with diana between 1995 and 1997 , admitted he has not seen the film but accused it of being " based on gossip " , in an interview in the mail on sunday . he said the film ' s story came from " diana ' s friends talking about a relationship that they didn ' t know much about , and some of my relatives who didn ' t know much about it either . it is all based on hypotheses and gossip . "

yes , this is the same story as the shirley temple film , but they were both based on a book , so it ' s not exactly a remake . i read the book and saw this movie when i was younger , and i just loved it . every young girl wishes to be a princess , and this movie will really sparks the imagination . it ' s a good movie , and a great story .

the film uses studio resources to create an entrancing world both in new york and in the heroine ' s fantasies about india .

" we are currently screening the wizard of oz , profound film that it is , and the last film wall - e . it ' s been rewarding observing the ks1 6 year olds run the gamut of emotions from wonder to sadness to joy . "

nice film , but not true to the original book . the ending is different and the school is based in new york .

" certainly , this is the worst professional experience i ' ve ever had , " said the veteran producer after his critically acclaimed family film " a little princess " died a second time at the box office . after earning a weak $ 8 . 9 million during its initial broad release in may , a revamped advertising campaign and good word - of - mouth failed to lure audiences into the theaters when warner bros . tried to reintroduce the movie last weekend - - opposite " babe , " the big family hit from universal .

black and white is much preferred by me . recon , i ' m just an old fashioned gal . has shirley temple ever made a bad film ? what a talent she had from the . . .

with america’s first african - american president in the white house , disney is counting on an african - american princess to be a big hit in hollywood .

a little girl is left by her father in an exclusive seminary for girls , due to her father having to go to south africa to fight in the second boer war .

but even though the princess and the frog isn’t released until later this year , it is already stirring up controversy .

this list collects every film from the starting list that became they shoot pictures don ' t they ' s 1000 greatest films . this…

" a little princess " exquisitely re - creates the ephemeral world of childhood , an enchanted kingdom where everything , even make - believe , seems possible . where decrees are made to be broken , save one that is inviolate : " all girls are princesses . . . even if they wear rags or are not pretty or smart . " the hallmarks of a true princess , as this nourishing story teaches , are such qualities as kindness , courage and imagination .

producer johnson , meanwhile , said he accepts the blame for the film ' s box - office failure . but now he even questions whether " princess " should have been released at the start of the summer , and calls the original advertising " atrocious . "

then there was the decision by warners to gradually increase the number of screens from 30 two weeks ago to 49 last weekend , instead of making a bigger splash with the film .

" a little princess , " which opens just before world war i , tells the story of sara crewe ( liesel matthews ) , who until the age of 10 or 11 is raised by her father in india . then her father finds it his duty to go off and fight in the war , and he places sara in a magnificent private school in new york , run by a forbidding headmistress named miss minchin ( eleanor bron ) , who is impressed by capt . crewe ' s wealth and assigns little sara to a suite so luxurious , it could have been decorated by cecil beaton .

with a magic realism , cuaron adaptation is a new vision of classic fairy tale .

chris hemsworth kicks off filming for the star - studded men in black spin - off as he cuts a sharp figure in london . . . 21 years after the first film hit screens

omg , feminism . you confuse me . i want to say that it ' s not right to push the princess paradigm on young girls and that as kids , we were all probably given an overdose of it . despite the fact that sara ' s definition of girl royalty is all inclusive ( even her nemesis , the snotty lavinia , is a princess ) , and it ' s what keeps her strength alive , i feel bad about still wanting to be a princess . this is probably a problem .

princess diana leaving the english national ballet , london , 1996 . , © andanson - cardinale - ruet / sygma / corbis .

in london , there is a princess diana memorial fountain in hyde park , not far from the princess diana memorial playground . in gift shops , you can buy a princess diana memorial tartan . but perhaps the best - known monument to the late princess can be found in the basement of harrods department store , which was , from 1985 to 2010 , owned by mohamed al fayed , the father of dodi al fayed , with whom diana had her last fling . in a city of monuments , it is one of the newest , put up in the aftermath of the august 31 , 1997 , car crash that took diana’s and dodi’s lives .

johnson , meanwhile , said that despite his personal disappointment , he expects " princess " to make enough money to cover its costs .

he pointed out that " princess " was re - released in three theaters in los angeles and failed to draw sufficient crowds despite a population in the millions on which to draw .

subscribe to classic trailers : urltoken subscribe to trailers : urltoken subscribe to coming soon : urltoken like us on facebook : urltoken follow us on twitter : urltoken a little princess ( 1995 ) official trailer - alfonso cuarón , liam cunningham movie hd a young girl is relegated to servitude at a boarding school when her father goes missing and is presumed dead . welcome to the fandango movieclips trailer vault channel . where trailers from the past , from recent to long ago , from a time before youtube , can be enjoyed by all . we search near and far for original movie trailer from all decades . feel free to send us your trailer requests and we will do our best to hunt it down .

adaptation of the popular roald dahl book about a girl with sunny self - reliance and special powers who attends a school with a bullying headmistress .

“a little princess " is another magical family film based on a book by frances hodgson burnett , whose work also inspired " the secret garden . " both films approach the characters of her children with calm solemnity and delight , placing them in vast , wonderful , frightening houses , and allowing them to discover some of the lessons of life there . unlike the insipid devices of most family films , burnett ' s plots understand that children take stories very seriously indeed , and that all stories are really about the uncertain place of the child in the mysterious world of adults .

starting in 1995 , news photographers and paparazzi caught diana’s many trips to the royal brompton hospital , where dr . hasnat khan worked . asked about the visits , diana spoke of the terminally ill patients she sought to comfort there .

screen images today are descended from such influences as the captivity narratives of the eighteenth century and the romance novels of james fenimore cooper . the modern version of a " real " indian princess in

the " indian princess " stereotype is rooted in the legend of pocahontas and is typically expressed through characters that are maidenly , demure , and deeply committed to some white man . the powerfully symbolic indian woman , as queen and princess , has been with us since she came to stand for the " new world , " a term that in and of itself reflects a eurocentric value judgment .

anika noni rose , the black actress who voices the character of princess tiana , has insisted that people should look beyond the colour of the character .

director alfonso cuaron , a 33 - year - old mexican whose only other feature film is an aids comedy not widely released , leaves the festival circuit far behind with this dazzling north american debut . cuaron approaches the film not as a fairy tale for children , but a work of magic realism . and perhaps best of all , he doesn ' t talk down to young folks , in the audience or in the cast . the performances are as natural as skinned knees and missing teeth .

the race row hasn’t yet hit the mainstream because the film’s release date isn’t until late in the year , but internet chat rooms and blogs have been abuzz with complaints .

just about everyone has an opinion as to why the film , lauded by critics , failed to ignite interest at the box office . some criticize warner bros . ' decision to release the film in may - - just ahead of the release of universal ' s " casper " - - when it was better suited to a christmas release . others fault the minimal advertising campaign directed only at girls .

time warner has received a lot of political heat lately for sexually explicit and violent rap lyrics on albums released by the company ' s music division . what better way to combat that kind of criticism than to put out a campaign urging people to go see a film that offers the kind of family entertainment politicians love to endorse ?

there are many references in the film to receiving " mail " and " mailing " letters . the british terminology is always receiving " post " and " posting " letters .

reply to el debbo they are not gone . as long as there are people like you . just turn on the t . v . or go to a film revival . and there they are , forever . . . .

in the first world war a father puts his daughter in boarding school after returning to the uk from india , but as he is thought to be dead the young girl loses everything and has to be a scullery maid , but with a nasty evil minded teacher she tries to escape and longs for her papa ( daddy ) . a fantastic film for children and families . no ssex , or violence or bad language , a joy to watch

alfonso cuarón ' s a little princess can be seen as a companion piece to guillermo del toro ' s twin spanish - civil - war films the devil ' s backbone and pan ' s labyrinth ; all the three reflect the directors ' idea and perception of childhood and they ' re all fairly dark , but it ' s fair to say the two mexican directors have different audiences in mind . while del toro ' s films are in their essence fairytales for adults because of the way he creates a contrast between violence and the cruelty of our mean world with the innocence of childhood , director alfonso cuarón tackles the same ideas with a sweeter and more good - hearted vision of childhood , although his film is quite dark as well .

since the film was released two decades ago , the child stars have no doubt grown up . but looking back , there’s one character in particular who caught our attentions : captain crewe .

a young girl is relegated to servitude at a boarding school when her father goes missing and is presumed dead .

miss minchin . the head of the school who keeps sara as a servant out of " charity . " as a child , you could only see miss minchin as a terrifying villain . true , this is a lady with a heart made of dog doo , but . . .

sara crewe is the pampered darling of her army - captain father and the victorian london girls ' school where he places her . but when her father dies penniless , sara becomes a skivvy in miss michin ' s school , befriended only by the scullery maid becky , her friends ermengarde and lottie , a little monkey , a lascar , and the mysterious man next door .

the mattoponi speak of pocahontas as a remarkable young woman ( almeida , 1995 ) . her real name was matowa . unfortunately , she has been unjustly portrayed in history as a supporter of the invading english settlers , thus giving her the reputation amongst american indians as being an " apple and a sellout " . the reality is that she was a strong supporter of her people , and at a young age was put into the position of acting as an interpreter and ambassador between two cultures . the importance of her political position must have been recognized by the english , since they kidnapped her and held her as a political prisoner .

a wealthy , precocious and loving child is raised in india , but sent away to a new york boarding school by her beloved father when he must go off to war . but when he is declared " missing in action , " daddy ' s little princess , alone and penniless , must use her inner resources of warmth , imagination and principles to overcome hardship . based on the beloved victorian - era novel by frances hodgon burnett , and adapted by oscar - nominated screenwriter richard lagravenese . starring liesel mathews .

diana , which stars naomi watts as the late princess , and naveen andrews as khan , focuses on the relationship between the two , which ended shortly before the former ' s death in a car accident in august 1997 . the film is based on the 2001 book diana : her last love by kate snell and according to the film ' s website , documents diana ' s attempt to persuade khan ' s family to allow them to marry . " one of the most famous and beautiful women in the world , she hoped to persuade dr khan ' s mother that she would make a suitable wife for her son . had she succeeded , the events of that summer might have been very different … "

the daughter of a wealthy businessman becomes lost in the city while traveling to a new school , and is taken in by a pair of down - on - their - luck performers .

acting under her stage name liesel matthews , pritzker simmons played both the heroine here and in the harrison ford presidential disaster flick air force one . ( she was feisty for a kid in the midst of a plane - hijacking movie . ) aside from these credits , her only other role was in the 2000 film blast , per imdb .

pocahontas showed britishers of two lands how remarkable an indian woman could be . further , in a country which doted on princesses , she exemplified just what the savants were looking for - an american one ( stedman 1982 ) . it is unlikely that the " celestial princess " concept was known to the indians before englishman bestowed that title upon pocahontas . yet the images and roles generated by a misinformed europe continue to dominate the popular concept of who pocahontas was . these images force young viewers to internalize white middle class standards of beauty and value , much of which denies the cultural beauty of students of color ( bonilla 1995 ) .

great lengths were taken to make sure everything on film was period - correct for england in 1899 . production was halted when it was discovered that of the costumes temple wore had fasteners which were not invented until 1908 .

lottie was the sweetest little brat at miss minchin ' s school for girls , that ' s for sure , because her tantrums came from a place of genuine sadness and abandonment . also , she was cute enough to be able to pull off those diva moves ! mulrooney hasn ' t booked any acting jobs since growing up , and her facebook page suggests she ' s recently been working as a bartender . the last update shared publicly there , however , is from a year ago — and it ' s a video of a dog eating cereal .

in october , diana flew to rimini , italy , and accepted a humanitarian award along with christiaan barnard , the south african heart surgeon who in 1967 performed the world’s first successful human heart transplant . while there , she spoke with barnard about hasnat , trying to get him a job—something that infuriated hasnat when he learned about it , months later . after italy , she continued on to sydney to open the victor chang cardiac research institute , a medical facility named for a mentor of hasnat’s who had been shot and killed in a botched kidnapping five years earlier . two days later , the sunday mirror ran the story that hasnat had been dreading : di’s new love ; how top heart surgeon finally mended a sad princess’s broken heart ; how princess di fell in love with hasnat khan .

this is the best movie distributed by wonderworks i have ever seen . the original version in 1939 was cute , and shirley temple is cute too , but cutely annoying ! in the 1995 version , cool stuff happened , but it almost followed a totally different story ! this follows the story with great anticipation , and i think that every actor or actress was picked perfectly for their part . amelia shankley did the best job of portraying sara that i ' ve ever seen . she acted marvelously , and sunk so deeply into the role that you almost forgot she was amelia . i was never really into classics , until i got a little princess for a novel i had to read back in the eighth grade . this may not be very popular , but is definately a movie you gotta own . i would suggest deeply searching urltoken ( that ' s what i did ) because otherwise it would be impossible to find since it went out of business a few years ago . bottom line : watch this , you ' ll love it ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

while some have hailed disney’s decision as a reflection of melting pot america , others say the company is sending out a mixed message .

this film transcends the " children ' s films " genre , to become a lovely miniature masterpiece . this director is fabulous ! he is a master of mood and ambiance and a real artist with his compositions ! ( just go see his great expectations modern remake for further proof ! ) the cast excels with the familiar material , eleanor bron is letter perfect as the wicked headmistress of the school , never descending into caricature , but still making her mark as a the villianous miss minchin . liesel matthews is a surprising delight as the title character , the other little girls are stereotypical but miraculously wonderful in their individual parts ! rarely does a film completely draw you into it ' s world and grab hold of your emotions like this one . the imagery and design elements are remarkable . the passages from india are mystical and powerful , the use of green throughout the design elements is inspired and helps create this world of wonder seen through a child ' s eyes . even though , we can guess the ending , it still manages to wring you dry of tears before the final lovely " silent movie " fade - out . a pure delight from beginning to end ! ( this must be seen on dvd to fully appreciate the design elements )

( 1995 ) . this article seeks not so much to explain the fluctuating european american interest in the indian as to present the implications of the ideas and imagery used by whites to understand the peoples whom they call indians . my concern over these negative stereo types is that they continue to be perpetuated in a truly paradoxical form . this form , i refer to here as the pocahontas paradox .

pocahontas , however , was no myth ( mills , 1995 ) . the daughter of tidewater virginia ' s legendary chief powhatan , pocahontas ( c . 1595 - 1617 ) was lured aboard a british ship in the jamestown area and held captive for more than a year ( see roundtree , 1990 ) . she was dressed in the english fashion and took religious instruction , becoming baptized as a christian . in 1615 , pocahontas married british colonist , john rolfe . in 1616 , as part of a plan to revive support for the virginia colony , the couple traveled to england with their infant son . there , pocahontas met king james i and queen anne . just as she and rolfe were setting - sail back to america the following march , pocahontas died , perhaps because of smallpox , perhaps because of the foul english weather . she was buried in an english churchyard a few miles from london on the thames river , far from her tribal homeland of the mattaponi people ( sharpes , 1995 ) .

liesel matthews , who played scout in a theatrical version of " to kill a mockingbird " before she was cast here , brings a measure of scout ' s spunk to sarah without turning the elegant young lady into a tomboy . not that tomboys aren ' t princesses too .

hunt is on for transient who vanished for a day with the 13 - year - old daughter of a family that had . . .

we cannot show the item as a gift , as second hand or at a lower price . the order reference number . ox18 3ez .

" i say good for them [ warners ] , " says larry kasanoff , who produced the upcoming new line film " mortal kombat . " " it ' s a tough thing to do , and i think everyone is going to watch this re - release closely to see if it works . "

you should otherwise recognize errol sitahal from his turn as dr . patel in the harold & kumar movies , which represent his biggest non - princess credit . it should also be noted that his official website is a middle school web design 101 dream come to e - life :

and , yes , that ' s bee girl you might not remember any particularly famous folks among the young schoolgirls , but look a bit closer : that ' s bee girl ! heather deloach , a . k . a . bee girl , had starred in blind melon ' s " no rain " just a few years earlier . surrounding her ? far right with blonde curls is kaitlin cullum ( libby kelly from grace under fire ) , then vanessa lee chester ( janie gibbs from harriet the spy ) , and camilla belle ( practical magic , the ballad of jack and rose , perfume ads ) . the little princess herself was played by liesel matthews ( neé pritzker ) , who inherited the entirety of the hyatt hotels fortune .

here , a comparison of how you felt about the movie as a kid vs . the things you think as a grown woman . i think you ' ll find that there ' s weirdness on both ends .

khan leans into princess diana’s bmw , near the royal brompton hospital , london , 1996 . with some success , diana worked hard to keep the press away from khan . , by brendan beirne / rex usa .

it ' s a hat trick for mcqueen ! kate repeats the look she chose for george and charlotte ' s christenings in a . . .

as a kid , i wanted to be one of sara crewe ' s friends . i love her imagination and her kindness . as an adult , i found her to be annoying at times but found resilience in her character . a shit ton of things was thrown at her at a very young age but still , she found kindness and courage in her heart to deal with it . i love how they mixed fairy tales and real - life circumstances in the film and how they showed it in the eyes of a child .

after seeing this movie , my make - believe play often revolved around me being an orphan and living out of a cute little cabin in the woods . there was something disturbingly alluring about the idea of being parentless — maybe you ' d get special attention ( like sara ' s classmate , lottie , who loses her shit over her dead mother frequently ) , or a house of your own .

the studio believes that the film , which will continue to play in a few dozen theaters until the relaunch , was a difficult sell from the beginning . " my own interpretation is that the movie was not appealing to kids , " says rob friedman , president of advertising and publicity for warner bros . " it had no special effects , it was not a well - known property , it wasn ' t required reading in schools , it had no product tie - ins . "

this shirley temple feature is worth seeing for a number of very nice moments in the story of " the little princess " . it might be a little longer than necessary , and the story development is sometimes uneven , which keeps it from achieving its full potential . it offers the young temple a variety of material to work with , and she has some very good sequences . for the most part , it follows the familiar story , though often embellished , particularly towards the end . the story and temple ' s characterization give it a rather different feel from , for example , the silent version that starred mary pickford . here , temple projects much of her own persona , with her best moments coming with arthur treacher , who plays the easygoing brother of the stern headmistress . the character of becky is still significant , but temple does not ever have the rapport with her that pickford and zasu pitts had in the earlier version . as a result , it ' s a bit uneven overall , but for those who enjoy this kind of story , it ' s still worthwhile . the public domain print makes it somewhat difficult to evaluate the production end , although it clearly contained plenty of detail and color . it ' s a decent if unexceptional feature whose high points are usually worth waiting for .

the one - sheet print ads showed two little girls dancing . " as my daughter said , ' it ' s too babyish . ' my daughter is 8 years old . the colors are awful . it ' s cloying , puerile . my daughter also pointed out that [ the ad was ] not even a scene in the movie . "

so why attempt the near impossible ? after all , while friedman couldn ' t recall the last time the studio tried a re - release ( it could well date to 1979 with " the great santini , " which failed to revive interest in the film ) , conventional wisdom in hollywood is that rereleases of this nature rarely work .

today , cullum works as a production designer and event planner , and is the creative director of arts and design site fours are yellow . here is a photo of her posing with a dinosaur skeleton , courtesy of her facebook page :

the transformation of indigenous spiritual knowledge , objects , and rituals into commodities , and their commercial exploitation constitute a concrete manifestation of the more general , and chronic , marketing of native america ( whist , 1995 ) . indian people can perhaps be informed by what the canadian mounties did . they enlisted disney to market their image in a more culturally responsive way . the mounties spent a long time looking for licensing expertise , being fed up with exploitation of their image . the disney corporation now oversees the licensing and marketing of the mounties ' image . what about pocahontas ? what about the images of american indians ?

hasnat’s button - down shirts stretched over a small paunch . he worked obsessively and often had little time for the princess . “why do you like him ? ” a friend asked her , mystified by the attraction . “oh , i love him , ” diana replied . “he is so dedicated to his work . ” in truth , his work was both an attraction and a hindrance . “when he wasn’t working , he wanted to sleep , ” a friend of his told me . such a schedule didn’t suit diana , who would call multiple times when khan was in surgery , leaving messages under false names , such as dr . armani . her late - night visits made hospital administrators worry about press intrusion . one hospital staffer told jane atkinson , “we’ve been terribly , terribly worried for a long time . she comes in the night and she goes off and sees hasnat khan and we’ve been terribly worried the story would break . ” as hasnat recalled for the police , the hospital “had started getting a bit upset by the disruption caused by diana’s visits . it was becoming a security issue . ” but the concern didn’t stop diana .

first , he said , schools are out during the summer and more children can attend movies during the week with their families . second , friedman said " casper " and " pocahontas " had yet to arrive in theaters , giving " princess " a clear period it wouldn ' t have later in the summer .

a young girl accustomed to living luxuriously is relegated to servitude at a boarding school when her rich father is suddenly broke and dies in far - off india .

the image of the indian displayed mostly by the motion picture industry evolved from negative stereotypes created by chroniclers of the earliest white settlers . efforts by american indians to control their own public image have resulted , in part , from a desire to counteract five hundred years of white people ' s imagery of indians , including consistent misrepresentation in hollywood westerns ( leuthold 1995 ) . we take for granted the survival of the hundreds of american indian societies scattered across the united states .

what followed that cursory introduction at the hospital was an unlikely romance , a two - year roman holiday affair that many close to diana say was the most significant relationship since her marriage to prince charles . for the 35 - year - old princess , hasnat khan represented not just a secret , illicit romance . he was a shot at normalcy , at a life away from the increasingly unfriendly spotlight , and a man with whom diana hoped she might find the personal happiness that had long eluded her . one friend of diana’s told me , “when you think of the kind of men diana must have met or been with or seen—here is a man who is completely and totally selfless . she said she’d never met anybody like him . ”