Plot.

In December 1958, Norville Barnes, a business college graduate from Muncie, Indiana, arrives in New York City, looking for a job. He struggles due to lack of experience and becomes a mailroom clerk at Hudsucker Industries, a large corporation. Soon thereafter, the company's founder and president, Waring Hudsucker, unexpectedly commits suicide during a business meeting by jumping out of a top-floor window. Afterwards, Sidney J. Mussburger, a ruthless member of the company's board of directors, knowing that Hudsucker Industries' bylaws call for Hudsucker's stock shares to be sold to the public, suggests a scheme to buy the controlling interest in the company by temporarily depressing the stock price by hiring a clearly incompetent president to run the business.  In the mailroom, Norville is assigned to deliver a "Blue Letter" to Mussburger; the letter is a top-secret communication from Hudsucker, sent shortly before his death. However, Norville takes the opportunity to engage with Mussburger, pitching an invention of his (indicated with no other explanation than a simple drawing of a circle and his cryptic explanation, "you know: for kids."). Believing Norville to be an idiot, Mussburger selects him as a proxy for Hudsucker. Across town, Amy Archer, a brassy Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the "Manhattan Argus" newspaper, is assigned to write a story about Norville and find out what kind of man he really is. She obtains a job at Hudsucker Industries as his personal secretary, pretending to be yet another desperate graduate from his alma mater in Muncie. One night, Amy searches the building to find clues and meets Moses, a man who operates the tower's giant clock and knows "just about anything if it concerns Hudsucker". He tells her Mussburger's plot, and she takes the story back to her Chief, but he does not believe it.  The other executives at Hudsucker Industries decide to produce Norville's invention in hopes that it will flop and further depress the company's stock. However, the invention is the hula hoop, which initially fails in obscurity but then becomes an enormous success. Norville allows success to go to his head and becomes yet another uncaring tycoon. Amy, who had fallen for his naive charm, is infuriated over Norville's new attitude and leaves him. Buzz, the eager elevator operator, pitches a new invention: the flexi-straw. Norville dismisses it and fires Buzz. Meanwhile, Aloysius, a Hudsucker janitor, discovers Amy's true identity and informs Mussburger. Mussburger reveals Amy's secret identity to Norville and tells him he will be dismissed as president after the new year. Mussburger also convinces the board that Norville is insane and must be sent to the local psychiatric hospital.  On New Year's Eve, Amy finds Norville drunk at a beatnik bar. She apologizes, but he storms out and is chased by an angry mob led by Buzz, whom Mussburger had convinced that Norville had stolen the hula hoop idea after re-hiring him to his elevator job. Norville escapes to the top floor of the Hudsucker skyscraper and changes back into his mailroom uniform. He climbs out on the ledge, where Aloysius locks him out and watches as he slips and falls off the building at the stroke of midnight. Suddenly, while Norville plummets, Moses stops the building's giant clock which freezes time. Waring Hudsucker appears to Norville as an angel and tells him to read the Blue Letter (still in Norville's uniform pocket) that was supposed to be delivered to Mussburger: it contains Hudsucker's instructions to transfer his shares to his immediate successor as president, rather than to the public. This would have been Mussburger, but, unaware of this, he proceeded with his scheme to elect Norville. Inside the building's giant clock, Moses fights Aloysius, defeating him. Norville falls safely to the ground. He and Amy reconcile. As 1959 progresses, it is Mussburger who attempts suicide and is sent to the asylum while Norville develops a new invention — "for kids" — an enigmatic circle on a folded sheet of paper that will ultimately turn out to be a frisbee.

Development.

Writing.

The Coen brothers first met Sam Raimi when Joel Coen worked as an assistant editor on Raimi's "The Evil Dead" (1981). Together, they began writing the script for "The Hudsucker Proxy" in 1981, and continued during the filming of "Crimewave" (1985), and post-production on "Blood Simple" (1985), in which Joel and Ethan Coen shared a house with Raimi. The Coens and Raimi were inspired by the films of Preston Sturges, such as "Christmas in July" (1940) and the Hollywood satire, "Sullivan's Travels" (1941). The sentimental tone and decency of ordinary men as heroes was influenced by films of Frank Capra, like "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" (1936), "Meet John Doe" (1941), and "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946). The dialogue is an homage to Howard Hawks' "His Girl Friday" (1940), while Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance as fast-talking reporter Amy Archer is reminiscent of Rosalind Russell and Katharine Hepburn, in both the physical and vocal mannerisms. Other movies that observers found references to include "Executive Suite" (1954) and "Sweet Smell of Success" (1957). The brothers had no intention commenting on or parodying such movies, instead as Ethan said "It's the case where, having seen those movies, we say 'They're really fun - let's do one'; as opposed to 'They're really fun- let's comment upon them.'" Raimi describes the script as "big-business comedy. It's a return to the very large love story comedies they used to make in the forties and early fifties." So the brothers started to pace around their apartment, taking turns on the typewriter, and when they found themselves stuck at a point, Raimi would do all sorts of tricks to get the boys back up. For example, while Ethan is pacing around, he would move things around the apartment so Ethan would be thrown off, he even said he threw firecrackers at them.  One film critic described the numerous influences: "From his infelicitous name to his physical clumsiness, Norville Barnes is a Preston Sturges hero trapped in a Frank Capra story, and never should that twain meet, especially not in a world that seems to have been created by Fritz Lang – the mechanistic monstrousness of the mailroom contrasted with the Bauhaus gigantism of the corporate offices perfectly matches the boss-labour split in "Metropolis" (1927)." An interviewer proposed that the characters represent capitalism versus labour economics. Joel Coen replied: "Maybe the characters do embody those grand themes you mentioned, but that question is independent of whether or not we're interested in them – and we're not." "The Hudsucker Proxy" presents various narrative motifs pertaining to the Rota Fortunae and visual motifs concerning the shape of circles. This includes Moses' monologue at the beginning, the Hudsucker Clock, Mussburger's wristwatch, the inventions of both the hula hoop and frisbee, as well as Norville and Amy's conversation about Karma.  The first image the Coens and Raimi conceived was of Norville Barnes about to jump from the window of a skyscraper and then they had to figure out how he got there and how to save him. The inclusion of the hula hoop came as a result of a plot device. Joel remembers, "We had to come up with something that Norville was going to invent that on the face of it was ridiculous. Something that would seem, by any sort of rational measure, to be doomed to failure, but something that on the other hand the audience already knew was going to be a phenomenal success." Ethan said, "The whole circle motif was built into the design of the movie, and that just made it seem more appropriate." Joel: "What grew out of that was the design element which drives the movie. The tension between vertical lines and circles; you have these tall buildings, then these circles everywhere which are echoed in the plot...in the structure of the movie itself. It starts with the end and circles back to the beginning, with a big flashback." It took the Coens and Raimi three months to write the screenplay. As early as 1985, the Coens were quoted as saying that an upcoming project "takes place in the late Fifties in a skyscraper and is about Big Business. The characters talk fast and wear sharp clothes."  Despite having finished the script in 1985, Joel explained, "We couldn't make "Hudsucker" back then because we weren't that popular yet. Plus, the script was too expensive and we had just completed "Blood Simple", which was an independent film." After completing "Barton Fink" (1991), the Coens were looking forward to doing a more mainstream film. "The Hudsucker Proxy" was revived and the Coens and Raimi performed a brief rewrite. Producer Joel Silver, a fan of the Coens' previous films, acquired the script for his production company, Silver Pictures, and pitched the project at Warner Bros. Pictures. Silver also allowed the Coens complete artistic control.

Production.

This was the first time the Coen brothers chose big stars to act in their movie. Joel Silver's first choice for Norville Barnes was Tom Cruise, but the Coens persisted in a desire to cast Tim Robbins. Winona Ryder and Bridget Fonda were in competition for the role of Amy Archer, before Jennifer Jason Leigh was cast. Leigh had previously auditioned for a role in the Coens's "Miller's Crossing" and "Barton Fink"; her failed auditions prompted the Coens to cast her in "The Hudsucker Proxy". To prepare for her role as Amy Archer, Leigh read the biographies of some of the most substantial ladies of the thirties and forties such as Rosalind Russell, Katharine Hepburn and Jean Arthur. When casting the role of Sidney Mussburger, "Warner Bros. suggested all sorts of names," remembered Joel. "A lot of them were comedians who were clearly wrong. Mussburger is the bad guy and Paul Newman brought that character to life." However, the Coens first offered the role to Clint Eastwood, but he was forced to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts.  Once Newman and Robbins signed on, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Working Title Films agreed to co-finance the film with Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures. The film was shot on five sound stages at Carolco Studios in Wilmington, North Carolina beginning on November 30, 1992. Raimi served as second unit director, shooting the hula hoop sequence and Waring Hudsucker's suicide. Production designer Dennis Gassner was influenced by fascist architecture, particularly the work of Albert Speer, as well as Terry Gilliam's "Brazil" (1985), Frank Lloyd Wright and the Art Deco movement. Gassner contemplated using five huge rooms needed to accommodate the sound stages. Gassner noted "You see, we wanted things to be big." He said that the huge 1950's-inspired table up in the boardroom was so long, it had to be built in five sections and later on assembled on the soundstage. The intention for the set sizes was to generate an oppressive feel. Principal photography ended on March 18, 1993.  In addition, numerous sequences were filmed in downtown Chicago, particularly in the Merchandise Mart building for the entrance and lobby to Hudsucker Industries and the Hilton Chicago Christmas ballroom.  The presses in the "News & Observer" building in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina appeared in the movie.

Visual effects.

The visual effects supervisor was Michael J. McAlister ("Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", "Willow") with Mark Stetson ("Superman Returns", "Peter Pan") as miniatures supervisor. Peter Chesney, mechanical effects designer on many Coen brothers films, created a pair of 16-foot angel wings for actor Charles Durning, who portrayed Waring Hudsucker. "I made a complicated steel armature with a lot of electric motors to time everything so he can fold up his wings, unfold them and flap them about. Then we covered them with real duck and turkey feathers," says Chesney. "We modeled them after photographs of a hovering dove landing in slow motion." The buildings in the background (designed by McAlister and Stetson) were 1:24 scale models, shot separately and merged in post-production. To lengthen the sequence, the model of the Hudsucker building was the equivalent of 90 stories, not 45.  Despite the New York City setting, additional skyscrapers in Chicago, Illinois provided inspiration for the opening sequence of the skyline, such as the Merchandise Mart and Aon Center. Skyscrapers from New York City included the Chanin Building, the Fred F. French Building and One Wall Street, Manhattan. "We took all our favorite buildings in New York from where they actually stood and sort of put them into one neighborhood," Gassner continued, "a fantasy vision which adds to the atmosphere and flavor." First of all, a model had to be created based on the fantasy 1950s New York for the opening shot. So a miniature city was created, as McAlister mentioned that the Coens did not want a realistic reproduction of 1950s New York skyline, instead they wanted a more stylized version of it. So Gassner used the book "New York in The Forties" as a reference to create the look for the cityscape. It took three months and 27 crew members to create the miniature city at the scale of 24:1. As for the Hudsucker building, they made it at the scale of 6:1 for closer shots including the long-zoom in of Norville at the beginning. For that scene to be created, it started off with a wide angle shot, moving closer towards Tim Robbins, who was standing in a full sized set, which they inserted inside the shot of the model clock. ‘Marrying a live-action image with a painted or miniature element was, of course, nothing new, however, in the case of the zoom-in on Robbins from such a distance, keeping the full-size set locked in with the model building, ‘that was state-of-the-art and the only way to do it was with computers.’ says McAlister. Most of the buildings were created with two sides only, as they will only be seen from the front and the side, and some only needed one side as they were only going to be seen from the front, while the Hudsucker building was made completely three-dimensional. The work of The Computer Film Company (supervised by Janek Sirrs) included manipulations of the zoom-in shot of Norville at the beginning, as well as CGI snow and composites of the falling sequences.  To create the two suicide falls, the miniature New York set was hung sideways to allow full movement along the heights of the buildings. McAlister calculated that such a drop would take seven seconds, but for dramatic purposes it was extended to around thirty. Problems occurred when the Coens and cinematographer Roger Deakins decided that these shots would be more effective with a wide-angle lens. "The buildings had been designed for an 18 mm lens, but as we tried a 14 mm lens, and then a 10 mm, we liked the shots more and more." However, the wider amount of vision meant that the edges of the frame went beyond the fringes of the model city, leaving empty spaces with no buildings. In the end, extra buildings were created from putting the one-sided buildings together and placing them at the edges. Charles Durning's fall was shot conventionally, but because Tim Robbins had to stop abruptly at the camera, his was shot in reverse as he was pulled away from the camera.  The skyscraper models created for The Hudsucker Proxy were re-used for "The Shadow", "Batman Forever", "Batman & Robin", and "Godzilla".

Inspirations.

It is thought that the inspiration for the scene in which CEO Waring Hudsucker jumps to his death from the company's building was inspired by the real life suicide of Eli Black, former chairman of United Brands, in 1975.

Soundtrack.

The score to "The Hudsucker Proxy" was written by Carter Burwell, the fifth of his collaborations with the Coen Brothers. "Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia" from the ballet "Spartacus" by Khachaturian is the basis of the main theme and additional music from the ballet runs under the Hula-Hoop sequence. The popular music of the time is also reflected in the character of Vic Tenetta (played by Peter Gallagher), modeled after Dean Martin, who sings "Memories Are Made of This." Additional inspiration comes from Aram Khachaturian's "Gayane" suite. A section from the ballet is used by Burwell for the scene in which Norville and Amy meet for the first time. The composer's "Dance of the Young Mountaineers" is used when a young boy is the first to try the hula hoop, followed by "Sabre Dance" (both from "Gayane").

Release.

Commercial reception.

Warner Bros. held test screenings and audience comments were largely mixed. The studio suggested re-shoots, but the Coens, who held final cut privilege, refused because they were very nervous working with their biggest budget to date and were eager for mainstream success. The producers eventually added footage that had been cut and also shot minor pick-ups for the ending. "Variety" claimed that the pick-ups were done to try to save the film because Warner feared it was going to be a box office bomb. Joel Coen addressed the issue in an interview: "First of all, they weren't reshoots. They were a little bit of additional footage. We wanted to shoot a fight scene at the end of the movie. It was the product of something we discovered editing the movie, not previewing it. We've done additional shooting on every movie, so it's normal."  The film premiered in January 1994 at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. In addition, "The Hudsucker Proxy" was screened at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival on May 12, 1994. The film was in competition for the Palme d'Or, but lost to "Pulp Fiction". "The Hudsucker Proxy" was released on March 11, 1994, and only grossed $2,816,518 in the United States. The production budget was officially set at $25 million, although, it was reported to have increased to $40 million for marketing and promotion purposes. The film was a box office bomb.

Critical response.

In addition to the film under-performing at the box office, "The Hudsucker Proxy" opened to mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reports that 58% of reviews from 43 critics were positive, with an average rating of 6.32/10. The consensus states, "Intriguingly strange and visually distinctive, "The Hudsucker Proxy" is ultimately almost – but not quite – as smart and absorbing as it needs to be."  Roger Ebert praised the production design, scale model work, matte paintings, cinematography, and characters. "But the problem with the movie is that it's all surface and no substance," Ebert wrote. "Not even the slightest attempt is made to suggest that the film takes its own story seriously. Everything is style. The performances seem deliberately angled as satire." Desson Thomson of "The Washington Post" described "The Hudsucker Proxy" as being "pointlessly flashy and compulsively overloaded with references to films of the 1930s. Missing in this film's performances is a sense of humanity, the crucial ingredient in the movies "Hudsucker" is clearly trying to evoke. "Hudsucker" isn't the real thing at all. It's just a proxy."  Todd McCarthy, writing in "Variety", called the film "one of the most inspired and technically stunning pastiches of old Hollywood pictures ever to come out of the New Hollywood. But a pastiche it remains, as nearly everything in the Coen brothers' latest and biggest film seems like a wizardly but artificial synthesis, leaving a hole in the middle where some emotion and humanity should be." James Berardinelli gave a largely positive review. ""The Hudsucker Proxy" skewers Big Business on the same shaft that Robert Altman ran Hollywood through with "The Player". From the "Brazil"-like scenes in the cavernous mail room to the convoluted machinations in the board room, this film is pure satire of the nastiest and most enjoyable sort. In this surreal world of 1958 can be found many of the issues confronting large corporations in the 1990s, all twisted to match the filmmakers' vision."  Warner Home Video released "The Hudsucker Proxy" on DVD in May 1999. No featurettes were included. It was one of the first Blu-ray Disc titles released through the Warner Archive Collection in 2013, but it still lacked any featurettes.  Two decades after the film's release, Scout Tafoya of RogerEbert.com praised the film for its stylistic adventurousness and expansion upon the themes and concepts of the films that inspired it. "Whereas the comedies of the 1930s and '40s could talk quickly and move quickly, they couldn't run at a full gallop like the Coen Brothers. Their camera soars, traveling at the speed of progress, gossip, capitalism itself. Everything races at top speed. The production design, the one thing everyone felt comfortable praising, is a marvel. Every frame doubles as a survey of early modern art, from Art Deco to Futurism."

The Hudsucker Proxy is a 1994 comedy film co-written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Sam Raimi co-wrote the script and served as second unit director. The film stars Tim Robbins as a naïve but ambitious business school graduate who is installed as president of a manufacturing company, Jennifer Jason Leigh as a newspaper reporter, and Paul Newman as a company director who hires the graduate as part of a stock scam.

Záskok (v anglickém originále The Hudsucker Proxy) je britsko-americký hraný film bratří Coenů. Na scénáři se dále podílel Sam Raimi. Ve filmu hráli Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paul Newman, Steve Buscemi a další. Hudbu k filmu složil Carter Burwell a kameramanem byl Roger Deakins, oba dlouholetí spolupracovníci bratří Coenů. Název "Hudsucker" byl použit již v minulosti v jiných jejich filmech, konkrétně "Vlna zločinu" (1985) a "Potíže s Arizonou" (1987). Film měl premiéru v lednu 1994 na Filmovém festivalu Sundance.


Plot.

Multi-billionaire Preston Blake (Harve Presnell) dies while climbing Mount Everest. With no immediate heir, it is unclear who will inherit Blake's massive fortune.  It is found that Blake has a living grandnephew named Longfellow Deeds (Adam Sandler), who runs a pizzeria in Mandrake Falls, New Hampshire and also writes greeting cards hoping to sell them to Hallmark. Deeds is flown to New York City by businessman Chuck Cedar (Peter Gallagher), who temporarily controls Blake Media. Once Deeds arrives, plans are made for him to sell his shares in the company to Cedar and return home $40 billion richer. He remains in New York while the legal details are worked out.  The story is major news, and reporter Babe Bennett (Winona Ryder), who works for a tabloid TV show called "Inside Access", has a co-worker pretend to steal her purse in sight of Deeds. Research indicates that Deeds wants to meet a girl by "rescuing" her, the same way his father had met his mother. Deeds "rescues" Babe and she goes out with him pretending to be "Pam Dawson," a school nurse from a fictional town called Winchestertonfieldville, Iowa (which later turns out to be a real place, surprising Babe).  Though Babe initially wanted a good story on the new heir, she eventually falls for the unfailingly kind-hearted Deeds. She decides to tell him who she really is, but Inside Access, in concert with Cedar (who learned the truth from the fake purse snatcher and is smitten with Babe) reveals the truth to Deeds first. Heartbroken, Deeds decides to return home to Mandrake Falls and plans to donate his $40 billion inheritance to the United Negro College Fund.  After returning to Mandrake Falls, Deeds learns from his friend, Crazy Eyes, (Steve Buscemi) that Cedar intends to sell the company, causing employees to lose their jobs. Cedar had convinced Longfellow to sell his shares by lying that he would command the company in honor of Preston's lifetime of work. Babe follows Deeds to Mandrake Falls to win him back, but after saving her life when she falls through the ice over a lake, he rejects her, saying he does not really know who she is.  At a shareholders meeting, Cedar has persuaded everyone to sell the company, until Deeds (who has bought a single share) arrives and convinces everyone not to sell. But Cedar controls a majority of the shares and the sale is approved. Babe arrives and reveals that, having studied Blake's personal journal after she stole it from Deeds earlier, she has determined that Emilio Lopez (John Turturro), Preston Blake's longtime butler, is Blake's illegitimate son and the true heir as a result of Preston's affair with his maid.  Emilio immediately takes control of Blake Media, starting by firing Cedar. Babe reconciles with Deeds after professing she loves him. Emilio thanks Deeds for his support and offers him a billion dollars, some of which Deeds spends on red Corvettes for everyone in Mandrake Falls. When he returns to the pizzeria with Babe, he learns that Hallmark is interested in buying one of his greeting cards: the one he wrote for Babe when he professed his love for her. They share a kiss as the movie ends with Crazy Eyes crashing his Corvette and coming out unharmed.

Production.

The producers were looking for a small, "old-fashioned, New England-type" town close to New York, when they serendipitously discovered New Milford, Connecticut, and, upon having lunch there at "The Bistro Cafe", decided the town would be the perfect choice to portray the fictional home-town of Deeds, Mandrake Falls, New Hampshire, and the cafe was a great location to use as "'Deeds' Pizza" restaurant. Some scenes were also shot in Carmel, New York. Several sequences were filmed in New York City around Spring 2001. Following the September 11th, 2001 attacks, images of the World Trade Center towers were digitally removed from several shots of New York City. The Blake Media Hotel scenes were shot in Beverly Hills, California. In the scene where Longfellow Deeds and Chuck Cedar playing tennis at the tennis court was filmed at Roosevelt Island, New York.

Reception.

Critical response.

The film received mainly negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 22% based on reviews from 156 critics, with an average rating score of 4.05/10. Its consensus states: "This update of Capra doesn't hold a candle to the original, and even on its own merits, "Mr. Deeds" is still indifferently acted and stale". "Mr. Deeds" received three Razzie Award nominations including Worst Actor (Adam Sandler), Worst Actress (Winona Ryder) and Worst Remake or Sequel. However, the film also won a Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actor (Sandler).  Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.

Box office.

Though critically panned, the film was a major financial success. Box office:

Mr. Deeds is a 2002 American comedy film directed by Steven Brill, written by Tim Herlihy, and starring Adam Sandler, Winona Ryder, Peter Gallagher, Jared Harris, Allen Covert, Erick Avari, John Turturro, and Conchata Ferrell. It is a remake of the 1936 Frank Capra film "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town", which in turn is based on the short story "Opera Hat" by Clarence Budington Kelland.

Mr. Deeds – Náhodný milionář je americká filmová komedie z roku 2002, kterou natočil režisér Steven Brill podle scénáře Tima Herlihyho. Scénář byl napsán na motivy knihy "Opera Hat" od Clarence Budingtona Kellanda. Hlavní roli, postavu jménem Longfellow Deeds, ve filmu ztvárnil Adam Sandler. Dále ve filmu hráli například Winona Ryder, John Turturro a Steve Buscemi. Hudbu k filmu složil Teddy Castellucci. Dále v něm byly použity písně of Petera Townshenda či skupin U2 a Yes.


Plot.

In 1998, Los Angeles has become immensely crime-ridden and decadent, ultimately being directly governed and patrolled by the recently created United States Police Force. Two years later, on August 23, 2000, a massive earthquake strikes the city, the San Fernando Valley floods, and the Los Angeles area turns into an island from Malibu to Anaheim. A theocratic presidential candidate declares Los Angeles to be sinful and punished by God.  When he is elected president for life, the capital is relocated to his hometown in Lynchburg, Virginia, he also declares that anyone not conforming to the new "Moral America" laws that he creates, which ban such things as tobacco, alcoholic beverages, recreational drugs, red meat, firearms, profanity, atheism, non Christian religions, and extramarital sex will be stripped of their citizenship and deported to Los Angeles Island unless they repent and choose death by electrocution. A containment wall is built around the island, armed guards and watchtowers are posted, and those sent to the island are exiled permanently.  In 2013, Cuervo Jones, a Shining Path Peruvian Revolutionary, seduces the president's daughter, Utopia, via a holographic system and brainwashes her into stealing her father's remote control to the "Sword of Damocles" super weapon, a series of satellites capable of rendering all electronic devices anywhere on the planet useless. The president intends to use the system to destroy US enemies' ability to function and eventually dominate the world. While traveling aboard "Air Force Three", Utopia leaves the plane in an escape pod and lands on Los Angeles Island to join with Cuervo.  With the satellites under his control, Cuervo promises to take back the United States with the assistance of an allied invasion force of third world nations that are standing by to attack. Cuervo claims that if the president tries to stop him, he will "pull the plug" on the country and black out the capital. Cuervo also knows the secret world code that can knock out power for the entire planet.  Snake Plissken is captured for another series of crimes and is scheduled to be exiled to the island. Upon his arrival for deportation, Snake meets the president and is offered the mission of retrieving the weapon. The president says he will give him a full pardon if he is successful. The president indicates he does not care if Utopia is returned or not, declaring her a traitor. To ensure his compliance, Snake is infected with the man-made Plutoxin 7 virus that will kill him within 10 hours; if he completes the mission, he will receive the cure.  Snake is given an assault rifle, a personal holographic projector, a thermal-camouflage overcoat, and a countdown clock for how long he has to live. He sneaks into the city using a one-man submarine that he loses when the platform it landed on crumbles, causing the sub to sink. Making his way across the island, Snake meets "Map to the Stars" Eddie, a swindler who sells interactive tours of Los Angeles. At various times, Snake receives assistance from Pipeline, a surfing enthusiast; Taslima, a woman deported to the island for her Muslim faith; and Hershe Las Palmas (formerly Carjack Malone), a transgender woman and past criminal associate of Snake.  Snake defeats Cuervo at his staging area of the Happy Kingdom by the Sea in Anaheim and takes the remote control. Snake and Eddie leave the island with Utopia and some other Cuervo resistors in a helicopter. Cuervo is shot from the helicopter by Eddie, but manages to fire a rocket at the chopper launcher before dying. Eddie jumps out of the helicopter and lands on an awning. The rocket hits the chopper and kills everyone inside except for Snake and Utopia, who jump out before it crashes into a mountain.  When the president's men reach the crash site, Commander Malloy believes that Snake is trying to trick the president by giving him the wrong remote and proceeds to find another one on Utopia. After checking the disc inside, Commander Malloy announces that they will take the one that Utopia unknowingly had in her possession. The president then has his men take Utopia to the electric chair despite her pleas for forgiveness. Snake remains alive even after his countdown clock reaches zero, and learns that Plutoxin 7 is only a potent influenza virus whose effects wear off within hours of infection. The president tries to use the satellites to stop a Cuban invasion force threatening Florida. Activating the remote, the president hears only Eddie's "Map to the Stars" intro over "I Love L.A."  The president orders Snake's execution, but Snake previously activated his hologram projector, and the Snake who gets shot is an illusion. Snake activates the real control device, entering the world code and ending all technological activity on the planet, against pleas to stop. At the deportation center, Utopia expresses her delight that Snake shut down the Earth and thus saved her. Snake lights a cigarette and blows out the match used to light it, uttering, "Welcome to the human race."

Production.

Development and writing.

The film was in development for over 10 years. At one point, a script was commissioned in 1987 and was written by screenwriter Coleman Luck, with Dino De Laurentiis's company producing. Carpenter later described the script as "too light, too campy". In time, Carpenter and Kurt Russell got together to write with their long-time collaborator Debra Hill. Carpenter insists that Russell's persistence allowed the film to be made, since "Snake Plissken was a character he loved and wanted to play again."

Music.

Score.

The film's score has been released twice, the first on both CD and cassette by Milan Records in 1996 and again as an expanded CD release by specialty label La-La Land Records in 2014 that featured pieces of music that were recorded for but ultimately cut from the film.

Reception.

Box office.

"Escape from L.A." grossed $25,477,365 from its $50 million budget, about as much as its predecessor but little more than half its significantly higher budget.

Critical reception.

The film received mixed reviews and has a 54% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes based on 50 reviews, with an average score of 5.58/10. The site's consensus reads: ""Escape from L.A." has its moments, although it certainly suffers in comparison to the cult classic that preceded it". Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of a possible four and wrote that the movie felt it was an attempt to satirize the genre while exploiting it: "["Escape from L.A."] has such manic energy, such a weird, cockeyed vision, that it may work on some moviegoers as satire and on others as the real thing."  Todd McCarthy of "Variety" wrote, "A cartoonish, cheesy, and surprisingly campy apocalyptic actioner, "John Carpenter's Escape From L.A." is spiked with a number of funny and anarchic ideas, but doesn't begin to pull them together into a coherent whole."  Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" rated it C+ and wrote, "Carpenter never was the filmmaker his cult claimed him to be, but in "Escape From L.A.", he at least has the instinct to keep his hero moving, like some leather-biker Candide."  Stephen Holden of "The New York Times" wrote that the film's in-jokes "go a long way toward keeping afloat a hopelessly choppy adventure spoof that doesn't even to try to match the ghoulish surrealism of its forerunner."  Kevin Thomas of the "Los Angeles Times" wrote, "With much humor and high adventure, "John Carpenter's Escape From L.A." brilliantly imagines a Dante-esque vision of the City of Angels."  Peter Stack of "The San Francisco Chronicle" rated it 3/4 stars and called it "dark, percussive and perversely fun." Esther Iverem of "The Washington Post" wrote that the film "tries but fails to be an action-hero flick or even a parody of one."  Marc Savlov of "The Austin Chronicle" rated it 3/5 stars and wrote, "Loud, rollicking, alternately ultraviolent and hilarious, "Escape from L.A." is Snake redux, and what more do you need, really?" Nigel Floyd of "Time Out London" wrote, "After 15 years of computer-generated effects, apocalyptic sci-fi and Arnie movies with flippant kiss-off lines, the sequel feels hackneyed and pointless." Kim Newman of "Empire" rated it 2/5 stars and wrote, "Apart from a few good characters, this is really not up to scratch in most departments especially the ludicrous plot."  In a 2013 retrospective, Alan Zilberman of "The Atlantic" called Snake Plissken "a pro-nostalgia antihero, disgusted by the world around him." While contrasting the film's then-futuristic plot elements against modern-day reality, Zilberman writes that the film's ending is more profound today, as Plissken would be annoyed by our fascination with technology, citing the example of two friends who ignore each other while transfixed with their smart phones.  John Carpenter later reflected: "Escape from L.A." is better than the first movie. Ten times better. It's got more to it. It's more mature. It's got a lot more to it. I think some people didn't like it because they felt it was a remake, not a sequel... I suppose it's the old question of whether you like "Rio Bravo" or "El Dorado" better? They're essentially the same movie. They both had their strengths and weaknesses. I don't know–you never know why a movie's going to make it or not. People didn't want to see "Escape" that time, but they really didn't want to see "The Thing"... You just wait. You've got to give me a little while. People will say, you know, what was wrong with me?

Home media.

The film was released on Blu-ray on May 4, 2010.

Other media.

Comic books.

Marvel Comics released the one-shot "The Adventures of Snake Plissken" in January 1997. The story takes place sometime between "Escape from New York" and his famous Cleveland escape mentioned in "Escape from L.A.". Snake has robbed Atlanta's Centers for Disease Control of some engineered metaviruses and is looking for buyers in Chicago. Finding himself in a deal that's really a set-up, he makes his getaway and exacts revenge on the buyer for ratting him out to the United States Police Force. In the meantime, a government lab has built a robot called ATACS (Autonomous Tracking And Combat System) that can catch criminals by imprinting their personalities upon its program in order to predict and anticipate a specific criminal's every move. The robot's first test subject is Snake. After a brief battle, ATACS copies Snake to the point of fully becoming his personality. Now recognizing the government as the enemy, ATACS sides with Snake. Snake punches the machine and destroys it, reasoning, "I don't need the competition."

Cancelled projects.

Video games.

An "Escape from L.A." video game was announced for the Sega Saturn, Sony PlayStation, Panasonic M2, and PC. It was later cancelled.

Escape from L.A. (stylized on-screen as John Carpenter's Escape from L.A.) is a 1996 American post-apocalyptic action film co-written, co-scored, and directed by John Carpenter, co-written and produced by Debra Hill and Kurt Russell, with Russell also starring as Snake Plissken. A sequel to "Escape from New York", "Escape from L.A." co-stars Steve Buscemi, Stacy Keach, Bruce Campbell, and Pam Grier. The film received a mixed reception and was a box-office bomb.

Útěk z L.A. (v anglickém originále Escape from L.A.) je americký hraný film z roku 1996. Natočil jej režisér John Carpenter a jde o sequel jeho snímku "Útěk z New Yorku" (1981). Hlavní roli, postavu jménem Snake Plissken, zde opět ztvárnil Kurt Russell. V dalších rolích se představili například Steve Buscemi, Stacy Keach a Peter Fonda. Ve filmu byly použity písně například od kapel Sugar Ray, Butthole Surfers a White Zombie.


Plot.

In rural Australia, the Thompson family struggles to keep its farm from foreclosure. The family is placing its hopes on their horse, Prince, winning the New Year's Cup and using the winnings to pay off the debt. Two struggling lowlifes, Bill and Sly (John Ewart and John Howard), find out about the horse and steal it, escaping into the nearby mountain range.  With the father off droving cattle and all forms of transportation and communication made inoperable by Bill and Sly before their escape, the Thompson children Helen (Nicole Kidman) and John (Mark Spain), and their English cousin Michael (James Wingrove), saddle up their own horses and go after the crooks on their own. They are assisted by Manalpuy, a local Aboriginal who works on the farm.

Production.

At one stage Howard Rubie was announced as director and he was involved in casting. However, for a time it seemed the film might not go ahead so Rubie accepted a chance to direct "The Settlement" instead.  The movie was shot in Queensland in Beaudesert. Funding came in part from the Australian Film Commission, the Film and TV Institute (WA) and Queensland Film Corporation.

Release.

Box office.

"Bush Christmas" grossed $122,035 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $322,172 in 2009 dollars.

Home Media.

"Bush Christmas" was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in December 2012. The DVD is compatible with all region codes and includes special features such as the theatrical trailer, press kit stills and the script.

Bush Christmas (also known as Prince and the Great Race) is a 1983 Australian Christmas drama film and a remake of a 1947 film of the same name, which was based on a novel by Ralph Smart and Mary Cathcart Borer. The film marked actress Nicole Kidman's first feature film role. It was filmed on location on the Lamington Plateau, Queensland. It is also notable for music by The Bushwackers.

Vánoce v divočině (v anglickém originále Bush Christmas) je australské filmové drama z roku 1983. Režisérem filmu je Henri Safran. Hlavní role ve filmu ztvárnili John Ewart, John Howard, Nicole Kidman, Mark Spain a James Wingrove.


Plot.

An armored truck brings money to load an ATM. A woman withdraws $20 but the bill slips away. A homeless woman, Angeline (Linda Hunt), grabs the bill and reads the serial number, proclaiming that it is her destiny to win the lottery with those numbers. As she holds the bill, a boy grabs the bill from her and uses it at a bakery. The baker sells an expensive pair of figurines for a wedding cake to Jack Holiday (George Morfogen) and gives him the bill as change. At the rehearsal dinner for the upcoming wedding of Sam Mastrewski (Brendan Fraser) to Anna Holiday (Sam Jenkins), Jack reminisces about exchanging his foreign money for American currency when he first came to America, and he presents Sam with the $20 bill as a wedding present. Sam is taken aback by the perceived cheapness of his father-in-law-to-be, but is quickly "kidnapped" for his bachelor party, where he uses the bill to pay the stripper (Melora Walters). Anna shows up to explain that the $20 is not the entire present and suggests they frame it to show that they understand its significance. Sam is unable to explain the absence of the bill, when the stripper comes in from the fire escape to offer it back to him. Anna apparently breaks the engagement.  The stripper uses the $20 bill to buy a herbal remedy from Mrs. McCormac (Gladys Knight). Mrs. McCormac mails the bill to her grandson Bobby (Willie Marlett) as a birthday present. Bobby goes to a convenience store where Frank (Steve Buscemi) and Jimmy (Christopher Lloyd) are engaged in a string of robberies. (During their spree, they prevent Angeline from buying a lottery ticket at a liquor store.) Not knowing he's a robber, the underage Bobby gives Jimmy the $20 bill to buy him wine. Jimmy goes into the store to find that Frank has botched the robbery. Jimmy and Frank leave, giving Bobby and his girlfriend Peggy champagne. The police chase the robbers, who hide in a used car lot. After the police pass by, Jimmy and Frank split up the money, but when Frank sees the $20 Jimmy got from the kid, he assumes that Jimmy is holding out on him. Jimmy tries to explain but Frank pulls a shotgun on him. Jimmy shoots Frank and takes all the money they've stolen, but leaves the $20 bill. The bill, now dripped with Frank's blood, winds up in the police evidence locker but falls into the wrong box.  Waitress and aspiring writer Emily Adams (Elisabeth Shue) shows up at the police precinct with boyfriend Neil (David Schwimmer) to claim some items the police recovered. The police officer (William H. Macy) unwittingly includes the $20 bill. After flying out of the box from the back seat of Emily's convertible, the bill floats around town, and is picked up by a homeless man who uses it to buy groceries. (In this scene, Angeline is again unable to buy a lottery ticket.) The bill is given as change to a wealthy woman who uses it to snort cocaine off the back of her stretch limousine, although she leaves it on her car, where it is picked up by the drug dealer (Edward Blatchford).  The drug dealer also runs a day camp for youth, and he puts the bill into a fish where it is caught by a teen who has it converted to quarters and uses them to call a phone sex hotline in a bowling alley. The bowling alley owner (Ned Bellamy) gives the bill to his lover (Matt Frewer) and tells him to go out and have fun. The Frewer character encounters Sam, who is loitering in a daze behind the bowling alley. Sam turns down an offer of the $20 bill, not knowing it is the cause of his downfall. The Frewer character then uses it to play bingo at a church, where the priest is portrayed by Spaulding Gray. Emily's father, Bruce (Alan North) also plays bingo and receives the bill as change before dying of a heart attack.  At the mortuary, the mortician (Melora Walters), gives the family Bruce's personal effects, including his wallet with the $20 bill. Emily eventually looks in the wallet and finds the $20 bill in the wallet together with a copy of her first published short story. Her mother Ruth (Diane Baker) explains that Bruce also wanted to be a writer. Emily decides to go to Europe. At the airport, she explains her decision to her brother Gary (Kevin Kilner), and she melodramatically rips up the bill in front of him. (Gary was a witness to one of Jimmy & Frank's robberies.) Sam is also at the airport, waiting for a flight to Europe and having a drink with Jack, with the two clearing up the misunderstanding over the $20 bill on good terms. Sam uses a piece of the ripped up bill as a bookmark but it falls out without him noticing it as Sam and Emily walk toward their gate, both striking up a conversation. A title reading "The End" is derailed by Angeline collecting pieces of the bill.  Angeline sits down at a coin-operated TV and patches the bill back together. Just then the lottery numbers are read, and to her agony, they match the serial number of the bill. She goes to a bank and inquires if the bill is still any good. The teller explains that if there's more than 51% of the bill left, it is still valid, and hands Angeline a crisp new $20 bill. The homeless woman dramatically reads the serial number of the new bill and leaves the bank.

Production.

The film was based on a screenplay that was nearly 60 years old. It was originally written by Endre Bohem in 1935, but was never filmed; his son, Leslie, discovered it in the 1980s and revised it, modernizing the language and some of the plot. This version of the screenplay was then used for the film. The elder Bohem wrote his spec script soon after the release of "If I Had a Million".  In one of the production featurettes, Rosenfeld says that the bills used in the production were figured into the production costs of the film. The producers obtained several bills with consecutive serial numbers, as well as "every thousandth bill" so that some bills would have the right first few digits of the serial number and others the right last few digits. The bills were then selectively damaged in specific ways as required by the script. When they were done with the bills, Rosenfeld says the bills were dropped into the petty cash fund money.

Filming locations.

Most of the outdoor scenes were filmed in Minneapolis; the rest and nearly all of the indoor scenes were filmed in Los Angeles. The scene where Angeline captures the bill was filmed on North 4th Street in downtown Minneapolis, in front of Fire Station No. 10 (with traffic driving the wrong way for the movie). The scene where Angeline visits McCormac and McCormac mails the bill (and Jimmy and Frank meet) was filmed in the 1000 block of West Broadway in Minneapolis (now demolished). The supermarket scene was filmed at a Holiday Plus supermarket (now part of the Cub Foods chain) in suburban Minneapolis. The bill floats near the Mississippi River just above St. Anthony Falls; over the 3rd Avenue Bridge; and past the E-Z Stop gas station at 1624 Washington Ave. North. The Adams house was filmed on the Near North side of Minneapolis at 1802 Bryant Ave N near the E-Z Stop station. The final scene was filmed in an actual bank, Marquette Bank Minneapolis at 90 S. 6th Street, which is now a restaurant named Bank.

Critical reception.

While many critics saw the film as a series of uneven vignettes, Roger Ebert thought that "the very lightness of the premise gives the film a kind of freedom. We glimpse revealing moments in lives, instead of following them to one of those manufactured movie conclusions that pretends everything has been settled." Ebert was so engrossed by Christopher Lloyd's performance that he almost forgot about the film's title object, and liked the movie as a whole while acknowledging its vignette construction.  Janet Maslin, "The New York Times" dubbed the film, "A charming, offbeat tale shaped whimsically by the hand of fate. Rosenfeld manages to take a premise that is all contrivance and make it seem natural, as if every bit of legal tender had such a colorful life." "Entertainment Weekly" said "Rosenfeld impressively summons up the ghosts of Capra and Sturges while keeping this tale firmly in the here and now."  "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote, "One beautiful little film about the American experience. Rosenfeld shows a sure hand with both the actors and the vigorous turns of the scenario. His ability to capture the right level of intensity and perfect atmosphere for each of the mostly unrelated stories is remarkable." "The Wall Street Journal" called the film, "A wonderfully light-hearted picture about serendipity. Rosenfeld handles the sprightly script with just the right mix of jauntiness and delicacy. It's a little gem." "The Washington Post" wrote, "Thanks to director Keva Rosenfeld, a documentary filmmaker, its story seems to come about serendipitously. The film's pace, bouncy as Lotto balls in a tank, adds to the lightheartedness of this surprisingly droll look at the cost of living."

Scholarly assessment.

Film scholars have compared this film to other films and television shows which track a single object traded among various persons (such as "Diamond Handcuffs", "Tales of Manhattan", "The Gun" (1974), "Dead Man's Gun" (1997), "The Red Violin", etc.). However, by emphasizing a ubiquitous object rather than a unique object (such as the auction-worthy violin in "The Red Violin"), this film "ushers the genre into heretofore unexplored territory."

Twenty Bucks is a 1993 film directed by Keva Rosenfield and starring Linda Hunt, Brendan Fraser, Gladys Knight, Elisabeth Shue, Steve Buscemi, Christopher Lloyd, William H. Macy, David Schwimmer, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Spalding Gray. The film follows the travels of a $20 bill from its delivery via armored car in an unnamed American city through various transactions and incidents from person to person.

Twenty Bucks je americká filmová komedie z roku 1993. Natočil jej režisér Keva Rosenfeld podle scénáře Leslieho a Endreho Bohemů. Snímek sleduje dvacetidolarovou bankovku ze série 1988A (sériové číslo L33425849D). Ve filmu hráli Linda Hunt, Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, Elisabeth Shue, Spalding Gray a další. Většina venkovních scén filmu byla natočena v Minneapolis, zbylé scény pak v Los Angeles.


Area.

Around 1940s, this city corresponded nearby Paektu Mountains. However, due to the several changes, the area of this city was reduced, and now it only corresponds nearby Yalu River.  Due to the reunification matter with South Korea, this city is claimed by South Korea, with the area of 1940s, not the one edited by North Korea. Therefore, this city in South Korea still corresponds nearby Baekdu Mountains.  With this problem, South Korea has a conflict with the People's Republic of China because of Baekdu Mountains. The mountain is actually divided in two: the south parts are ruled by North Korea while the north parts are ruled by the PRC. However, South Korea still claims the northern parts. It is not officially claimed, but from maps printed by South Korea, it is "de facto" claimed. In addition, the Republic of China claims the entire mountain.

Geography.

The city is located in the Paektu Mountains at the border with the People's Republic of China (Jilin province), from which it is separated by the Yalu (Amrok) River. Changbai is the closest Chinese city across the river.

Climate.

Hyesan has an elevation-influenced humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification "Dwb"). It is located in the coldest area of Korea, which holds a record low temperature of -42 °C (-44 °F) in 1915.

Administrative divisions.

Hyesan City is divided into 25 "tong" (neighbourhoods) and 4 "ri" (villages):

Economy.

Hyesan has lumber processing mills, paper mills and textile mills. Since the North Korean economic crisis that intensified in the mid-1990s the city has suffered from economic stagnation and some factories in the city are closed. Reports and pictures taken from the Chinese side of the river show a "Ghost City": there is almost no movement in the streets, and at night the city is dark and doesn't have electricity. Residents of the city reputedly wash their clothes in the river because homes have no running water.  First explored in the 1960s, Hyesan Mine produces 10,000 tons of copper concentrates annually. This area has 80% of North Korea's available copper, and the North had estimated that it will be able to continue mining copper there for the next forty years. When Kapsan Tongjum Mine, explored during the Japanese colonial period, was finally depleted and closed in 1990, Hyesan Mine became the lifeline of the nation’s copper production. At that time, the mine flooded because the pumping device stopped operating due to the lack of electricity across the country. Although the workers at the mine did their best to pump the water, they could not stop the water flowing into the mine at a speed of 480m3/hour. In 1996, during the North's 'Arduous March', electricity was not provided to the mine, leading to flooding in the mineshafts in January 1997. Hyesan Mine flooded again, as did other mines throughout the country, and lost all mining facilities. Since 1998, Kim Jong Il budgeted 8.2 million USD to dewater the mine, and the mine was recovered using electricity and equipment provided by China.

Transportation.

Hyesan is connected to other cities in North Korea by road, and by the Paektusan Ch'ŏngnyŏn and Pukbunaeryuk lines of the Korean State Railway.

Education.

Schools in Hyesan include Hyesan High School and Hyesan Girls' School. Higher education institutions include the Hyesan Medical University, the Hyesan University of Agriculture and Forestry, Kim Jŏng-suk College of Education, the Hyesan College of Light Engineering, and the Hyesan University of Industry.  The countryside near Hyesan has various attractions, including the Kwaegung Pavilion, Naegŏk Hot Spring and Mount Paektu.

Hyesan () is a city in the northern part of Ryanggang province of North Korea. It is a hub of river transportation as well as a product distribution centre. It is also the administrative centre of Ryanggang Province. As of 2008, the population of the city is 192,680.

Hjesan ( – "Hjesan si") je severokorejské město, správní středisko provincie Rjanggang. K roku 2008 mělo přes 192 tisíc obyvatel.


Biography.

Early career.

Most was born as Michael Peter Hayes in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The son of a regimental sergeant-major, he moved with his parents to Harrow in 1951. He was influenced by skiffle and early rock and roll in his youth. Leaving school at 15, he worked as a singing waiter at London's The 2i's Coffee Bar where he made friends with future business partner Peter Grant, and formed a singing duo with Alex Wharton (aka Alex Murray) who billed themselves as the Most Brothers. They recorded the single "Takes A Whole Lotta Loving to Keep My Baby Happy" with Decca Records before disbanding. Wharton later went on to produce the Moody Blues single "Go Now". After changing his name to Mickie Most in 1959, he travelled to South Africa with his wife Christina, and formed a pop group, Mickie Most and the Playboys. The band scored 11 consecutive No. 1 singles there, mostly with cover versions of Ray Peterson, Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran songs. Returning to London in 1962, Most appeared on package tours as well as recording "Mister Porter", a No. 45 hit in the UK Singles Chart in July 1963 and had moderate success with 'The Feminine Look' in 1963, this latter featuring Jimmy Page on lead guitar and heralding early British heavy rock.

Producer.

Becoming tired of touring clubs, Most decided to concentrate on other aspects of the music industry. His first job was selling records in stores and displaying them on racks (later inspiration for his record label, RAK) before finding a niche with production for Columbia Records. After spotting The Animals at Newcastle's Club A-Go-Go, he offered to produce their first single, "Baby Let Me Take You Home", which reached No. 21 in the UK Singles Chart. Their follow-up 1964 single, "The House of the Rising Sun", became an international hit.  Most had success with Herman's Hermits after being approached by their manager Harvey Lisberg at Derek Everett's suggestion. Their first Most production, "I'm into Something Good", went to No. 1 in September 1964, beginning a run of single and album sales (ten million over 12 months), the group for a time challenging The Beatles in popularity in the United States. His down-to-earth handling of the band, his business acumen and knack for selecting hit singles, established Most as one of the most successful producers in Britain and kept him in demand throughout the 1960s and 1970s.  In July 1964, Most scored another top 10 hit with the Nashville Teens' cover of the John D. Loudermilk song "Tobacco Road". In September 1964, with Most at the control board, Brenda Lee recorded "Is It True" and "What'd I Say". "Is It True" was released in England and later in the US, and it became a hit and a gold record. "What'd I Say" became another hit throughout Europe but was never released in the US. Most had equal success with other artists for whom he produced chart-topping albums and singles between 1964 and 1969, notably Donovan with "Sunshine Superman", "Mellow Yellow", "Jennifer Juniper", and "Hurdy Gurdy Man", and Lulu's hits "To Sir, with Love", "The Boat That I Row", "Boom Bang-a-Bang" (which finished equal first in the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest), "Me the Peaceful Heart", and "I'm a Tiger". Most also produced the final studio single of the 1960s by The Seekers, "Days of My Life", in 1968, and Nancy Sinatra's "The Highway Song" in 1969. Additionally in the 1960s, Most signed and produced artists such as singer-guitarist Terry Reid, and all-girl rock band The She Trinity.  Most's productions were backed by London-based session musicians including Big Jim Sullivan and Jimmy Page on guitar, John Paul Jones on bass guitar and arrangements, Nicky Hopkins on piano, and Bobby Graham on drums. He produced Jeff Beck's hits "Love is Blue" and "Hi Ho Silver Lining" and the Jeff Beck Group albums "Truth" and "Beck-Ola". He teamed the Beck group with Donovan for the single "Barabajagal". By 1967, after commercial and critical failure of The Yardbirds album "Little Games", he decided to steer clear of rock groups. The Yardbirds objected to his insistence that every song be cut to three minutes and that albums were an afterthought following the singles. His focused approach also led to a split with Donovan in late 1969. Most and Donovan reunited in 1973 for the album "Cosmic Wheels" on which Most was credited under his real name, Michael Peter Hayes.

RAK Records.

Despite these setbacks, Most set up his own production office at 155 Oxford Street, sharing it with his business partner Peter Grant. It was through Most's association that Grant was asked to manage The Yardbirds. In 1968, Most and Grant set up RAK Management, but Grant's involvement with The Yardbirds, which soon evolved into Led Zeppelin, meant Most had control in late 1969. RAK Records and RAK Music Publishing were launched in 1969. RAK Music Publishing has the copyright of such classic popular songs as "You Sexy Thing" composed by Hot Chocolate singer Errol Brown and a half interest in the song "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker of the band Arrows. Both acts were produced by Most.  With RAK Records, Most's success continued with folk singer Julie Felix's hit "El Condor Pasa". Felix was the first artist signed to the label. Most then produced Mary Hopkin’s 1970 hit "Temma Harbour" for Apple Records, followed by her Eurovision Song Contest entry, "Knock, Knock Who's There?". In 1970, Most approached Suzi Quatro for a recording contract after seeing her on stage at a Detroit dance hall with the band Cradle (which also had Quatro's sisters Arlene, Patti, and Nancy as members), while on a production assignment in Chicago. Quatro was among a growing roster of artists signed to RAK Records which included Alexis Korner's CCS, Arrows, Smokie (with Chris Norman) (originally spelt Smokey), Hot Chocolate, Angie Miller, Chris Spedding, and Heavy Metal Kids. Hiring the songwriting production team of Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, RAK scored several British number 1 singles with Suzi Quatro ("Can the Can" and "Devil Gate Drive") and Mud ("Tiger Feet", "Lonely This Christmas" and "Oh Boy").  For RAK in the 1970s, Most also produced hits for New World, Duncan Browne, Cozy Powell, Tam White, Kandidate, and Racey, as well as Chris Spedding's self-titled 1976 album, which was Spedding's fifth solo record. He also produced "We Vibrate", the first 45 by punk band The Vibrators. In 1980, Most discovered Kim Wilde, who was doing backing vocals for her father Marty Wilde at a Luton recording session. After hearing her, Most signed Wilde who immediately scored a hit with the single "Kids in America" which reached number 2 in the UK, and number 25 on the US "Billboard" chart.

Later career.

Most was a panellist on the television talent show New Faces',' (ITV) where his tough assessments of contestants foreshadowed the style of Simon Cowell. He was producer of "Revolver", a TV programme devoted to punk rock which was at odds with his'studio factory' approach to pop music. Most asked Kate Bush to appear as guest on the pilot episode. In the 1980s, the band Johnny Hates Jazz, which featured Most's son Calvin Hayes, was also signed to RAK Records. RAK sold out to EMI in 1983 but was revived in 1988. Most was one of the first producers to own the rights to his own records and RAK Studios, which opened in 1976 in St John's Wood, remains active.  He was the subject of "This Is Your Life" in 1981 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews.  In 1995, Most's fortune was estimated at £50 million and he appeared in "The Sunday Times" annual Rich List among the Top 500 in England. His house, Montebello, in Totteridge Lane, London, was claimed to be the largest private home in the UK, worth an estimated £4 million. His production work diminished after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2000.

Death.

On 30 May 2003, Most died at home aged 64 from peritoneal mesothelioma, a complication of asbestosis. The investigative journalist Paul Foot thought it probable that he contracted the cancer from ingesting fibres from vinyl tiles impregnated with asbestos, intended to improve soundproofing in recording studios. He was cremated at Golders Green crematorium. He is survived by his wife Christina and their three children; Calvin, Nathalie, and Cristalle. A blue plaque, to commemorate his life, donated by the Heritage Foundation/Musical Heritage, was unveiled at RAK Studios on 16 May 2004. The lunch and auction that followed raised £40,000 for research into mesothelioma.

Mickie Most (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003) was an English record producer behind scores of hit singles for acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate, Arrows, Racey, and the Jeff Beck Group, often issued on his own RAK Records label.

Mickie Most, vlastním jménem Michael Peter Hayes, (20. června 1938 – 30. května 2003) byl anglický hudební producent. Začínal jako zpěvák v duu Most Brothers, v němž dále působil Alex Wharton, které vydalo jeden singl. V roce 1959 odešel se svou manželkou do Jižní Afriky, kde založil kapelu Mickie Most and the Playboys. Roku 1962 se vrátil do Anglie. Později působil jako manažer a producent. V roce 1969 založil hudební vydavatelství RAK Records. Spolupracoval například se skupinami The Yardbirds a The Animals a také zpěvačkou Suzi Quatro.


Mathematical properties.

The curve used is formula_1, a Montgomery curve, over the prime field defined by the prime number formula_2, and it uses the base point formula_3. This point generates a cyclic subgroup whose order is the prime formula_4 and is of index formula_5. Using a prime order subgroup prevents mounting a Pohlig–Hellman algorithm attack.  The protocol uses compressed elliptic point (only "X" coordinates), so it allows efficient use of the Montgomery ladder for ECDH, using only "XZ" coordinates.  Curve25519 is constructed such that it avoids many potential implementation pitfalls. By design, it is immune to timing attacks and it accepts any 32-byte string as a valid public key and does not require validating that a given point belongs to the curve, or is generated by the base point.  The curve is birationally equivalent to a twisted Edwards curve used in Ed25519 signature scheme.

Popularity.

Curve25519 was first released by Daniel J. Bernstein in 2005, but interest increased considerably after 2013 when it was discovered that the NSA had potentially implemented a backdoor into Dual_EC_DRBG. While not directly related, suspicious aspects of the NIST's P curve constants led to concerns that the NSA had chosen values that gave them an advantage in breaking the encryption.  Since then, Curve25519 has become the de facto alternative to P-256, and is used in a wide variety of applications. Starting in 2014, OpenSSH defaults to Curve25519-based ECDH. Behavior for general SSH protocol is still being standardized as of 2018.  In 2017, NIST announced that Curve25519 and Curve448 would be added to Special Publication 800-186, which specifies approved elliptic curves for use by the US Federal Government. Both are described in RFC 7748.  In 2018, DKIM specification was amended so as to allow signatures with this algorithm.  In 2018, RFC 8446 was published as the new Transport Layer Security v1.3 standard and it requires mandatory support for X25519, Ed25519 and X448, Ed448 algorithms.

In cryptography, Curve25519 is an elliptic curve offering 256 bits of security and designed for use with the elliptic curve Diffie–Hellman (ECDH) key agreement scheme. It is one of the fastest ECC curves and is not covered by any known patents. The reference implementation is public domain software.

Curve25519 je pojmenovaná eliptická křivka standardizovaná od roku 2016 (spolu s křivkou Curve448) Komisí pro technickou stránku Internetu (IETF) v RFC 7748 pro Diffieho-Hellmanovu výměnu klíčů nad eliptickou křivkou v prostředí Internetu. Kromě řady knihoven implementujících TLS ji využívá celá řada dalších různých programů a protokolů, mimo jiné Secure Shell, GNU Privacy Guard nebo Tor.


Development.

The 10-part 2013 television series "The White Queen" adapted Gregory's previous novels "The White Queen" (2009), "The Red Queen" (2010) and "The Kingmaker's Daughter" (2012). The series was broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom and on Starz in the United States, and features Freya Mavor as a young Elizabeth of York. Despite initial plans for a second series, on 20 August 2013 the BBC announced they were not commissioning one, possibly due to the lukewarm reception the series received.  However, in October 2013, "The Telegraph" reported that Starz was planning to develop a sequel miniseries called "The White Princess", based on Gregory's novel. Starz CEO Chris Albrecht announced in January 2014 that the network was working with "White Queen" screenwriter Emma Frost on the project. Starz would produce the "White Princess" miniseries without involvement from the BBC. Gregory confirmed that the project was underway in August 2015. On 7 February 2016, Gregory announced on Facebook that the sequel was officially confirmed to be in production, with the scripts being written. The series was confirmed to be eight episodes in May 2016.

Casting.

Jodie Comer was cast in the title role of Elizabeth of York in April 2016, with Michelle Fairley added as Margaret Beaufort in May. In June 2016, Starz announced the casting of Essie Davis as Dowager Queen Elizabeth, Jacob Collins-Levy as Henry VII, Suki Waterhouse as Cecily of York, Rebecca Benson as Margaret Plantagenet, and Joanne Whalley as Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy. The remaining cast includes Caroline Goodall as Duchess Cecily, Kenneth Cranham as Bishop Morton, Vincent Regan as Jasper Tudor and Rhys Connah as Teddy Plantagenet.

Production.

Production on "The White Princess" began in June 2016, with locations including Bradford on Avon, Bristol, Berkeley Castle, Gloucester Cathedral, Lacock, Salisbury Cathedral, and Wells.  Jamie Payne, who directed three episodes of "The White Queen", directed episodes 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8. Frost is showrunner and executive producer. Lachlan MacKinnon is serving as producer, with Gregory as executive producer. Playground's Colin Callender and Scott Huff are serving as executive producers with Company Pictures' Michele Buck. In early January 2017, the producers released a video clip from the series as a teaser trailer.

Release.

In February 2017, Starz announced that "The White Princess" would premiere on 16 April 2017.  In the UK the series began its satellite and terrestrial broadcasts on the Drama channel on 18 November 2017.

Continuation.

On 15 March 2018, Starz announced that it will create a continuation of "The White Queen" and "The White Princess" to be titled "The Spanish Princess", which will be based on Gregory's novels "The Constant Princess" and "The King's Curse" and center on Catherine of Aragon.

The White Princess is a historical drama television miniseries developed for Starz. It is based on Philippa Gregory's 2013 novel of the same name and, to a lesser extent, its sequel "The King's Curse". It is a sequel to the 2013 miniseries "The White Queen", which adapted three of Gregory's previous novels.

Bílá princezna (v anglickém originále The White Princess) je britsko-americký seriál vysílaný na jaře roku 2017 společností Starz. Seriál je založený na románu "" od britské spisovatelky Philippy Gregory a jedná se o sequel k v roce 2013 vysílanému seriálu "Bílá královna", opět inspirovaném románem této spisovatelky. "Bílá princezna" tedy pojednává o Válce růží, respektive o jejím ukončení sjednocením rodů Lancasterů a Yorků.


History.

The method of making cement from limestone and low-silica bauxite was patented in France in 1908 by Bied of the Pavin de Lafarge Company. The initial development was as a result of the search for a cement offering sulfate resistance. The cement was known as "Ciment fondu" in French. Subsequently, its other special properties were discovered, and these guaranteed its future in niche applications.  By the 2010s, the product was found in the US market under the name FONDAG cement (FOND Aluminous Aggregate), sometimes referred to as ALAG (ALuminous AGgregate). FONDAG cement is a mix of up to 40 percent alumina, stable at high temperatures and thermal cycling from

Composition.

The main active constituent of calcium aluminate cements is monocalcium aluminate (CaAlO, CaO · AlO, or CA in the cement chemist notation). It usually contains other calcium aluminates as well as a number of less reactive phases deriving from impurities in the raw materials. Rather a wide range of compositions is encountered, depending on the application and the purity of aluminium source used. Constituents of some typical formulations include:  The mineral phases all take the form of solid solutions with somewhat variable compositions

Manufacture.

The cement is made by fusing together a mixture of a calcium-bearing material (normally calcium oxide from limestone) and an aluminium-bearing material (normally bauxite for general purposes, or refined alumina for white and refractory cements). The liquified mixture cools to a vesicular, basalt-like clinker which is ground alone to produce the finished product. Because complete melting usually takes place, raw materials in lump-form can be used. A typical kiln arrangement comprises a reverberatory furnace provided with a shaft preheater in which the hot exhaust gases pass upward as the lump raw material mix passes downward. The preheater recuperates most of the heat in the combustion gases, dehydrates and de-hydroxylates the bauxite and de-carbonates the limestone. The calcined material drops into the "cool end" of the melt bath. The melt overflows the hot end of the furnace into molds in which it cools and solidifies. The system is fired with pulverized coal or oil. The cooled clinker ingots are crushed and ground in a ball-mill. In the case of high-alumina refractory cements, where the mix only sinters, a rotary kiln can be used.

Reaction with water.

The hydration reactions of calcium aluminate cements are very complex. The strength-developing phases are monocalcium aluminate, dodeca-calcium hepta-aluminate and belite. Calcium aluminoferrite, monocalcium dialuminate, gehlenite and pleochroite contribute little to strength.  The reactive aluminates react with water initially to form a mixture of: CaO · AlO · 10 HO, 2 CaO · AlO · 8 HO, 3 CaO · AlO · 6 HO, and Al(OH) gel, the amounts of each depending upon the curing temperature. The first two hydrates subsequently decompose to a mixture of 3 CaO · AlO · 6 HO, Al(OH) gel and water, this process being called "conversion". Because of the loss of water, conversion causes an increase in porosity, which can be accompanied by a decrease in strength. This need not be a problem in structural concrete provided that a sufficiently high cement content and a sufficiently low water/cement ratio are employed.

Applications.

Because of their relatively high cost, calcium aluminate cements are used in a number of restricted applications where performance achieved justifies costs:

Sewer networks applications.

The biogenic corrosion resistance of calcium aluminate cements is used today in three main applications:

Problems.

Incorrect use of calcium aluminate cements has led to construction problems, especially during the third quarter of the 20th century when this type of cement was used because of its faster hardening properties. After several years some of the buildings and structures collapsed due to degradation of the cement and many had to be torn down or reinforced. Heat and humidity accelerate the degradation process called "conversion".  The roof of a swimming pool collapsed in the UK. In Madrid, Spain, a large housing block nicknamed Korea (because it was built to house Americans during the Korean War), built 1951~1954 was affected and had to be torn down in 2006. Also in Madrid the Vicente Calderón soccer stadium was affected and had to be partially rebuilt and reinforced.

Calcium aluminate cements are cements consisting predominantly of hydraulic calcium aluminates. Alternative names are "aluminous cement", "high-alumina cement" and "Ciment fondu" in French. They are used in a number of small-scale, specialized applications.

Hlinitanový beton je speciální druh betonu, který se používal převážně od 30. do 50. let 20. století. Hlavní složkou tohoto betonu je hlinitanový cement. Hlinitanový cement byl patentován ve Francii roku 1908 společností Lafarge. Stal se výsledkem hledání cementu s odolností vůči síranům. První bauxitový cement se na území České republiky začal vyrábět od roku 1930, ale jeho většímu uplatnění bránila vyšší cena.


Career.

Lenz started his musical career in 1978 in the punk scene of his birth town Münster under the moniker "Frank Xerox". He then played bass, drums and synthesizer. Together with Andreas Bleckmann (alias Sally), he founded the band "Anormal Null" in 1979. Afterwards he founded "Kriegsschauplatz", who were active until 1983.  The origin of his DJ moniker "Westbam" is a homage to Afrika Bambaataa, thus "Westphalia Bambaataa". He started his career as a DJ in 1983 in the Odeon club in Münster. In 1984 he moved to his friend and mentor William Röttger in Berlin where he released his first record called "17 – This Is Not a Boris Becker Song", which was coproduced by Klaus Jankuhn. WestBam, his brother Fabian Lenz, William Röttger, Klaus Jankuhn and Sandra Molzahn later founded their own label Low Spirit.  In 1985 Westbam published his influential text "What is Record-Art?", in which he described DJ techniques and characterized the DJ as a musician that composes tracks with records. In 1988 the Goethe-Institut sent Westbam as part of the German art show "Kunstdisco" to the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.  He played at the first Love Parade rave party in 1989 at Ku'damm Berlin and also wrote the Love Parade Anthems from 1997–2008. He was the only DJ, who played at all Love Parades from 1989 to 2008 and planned to perform for a last time at the Loveparade 2010 but cancelled his performance in response to the Love Parade disaster. He later heavily criticized the decision to continue the event despite the death of 21 visitors.  In 1991, he organised the first Mayday rave in Berlin. With over 5000 people, it was the biggest techno party in Germany at the time. Since then, Mayday has been vital to the German techno scene. Westbam was involved in the planning of the events and also produced the annual Mayday anthems together with Klaus Jankuhn in the project Members of Mayday until 2013. In February 2014 Westbam announced that he will not perform any longer at Mayday and the Members of Mayday project will disband.  After several single records he released his first album named "The Cabinet". In 1993, he played a number of rave events in the United Kingdom including Obsession Passion at the Sanctuary in Milton Keynes. In 1997 he released his first book, titled "Mixes, Cuts & Scratches". It dealt with the art, the work and the life of a DJ.  In 2005, he released an album "Do You Believe in the Westworld", with the first single being "Bang The Loop". Westbam presented this album live with a band, which consisted of a drummer, a bass player, Klaus Jankuhn on keyboards and a laptop for programming and Westbam performing as MC.  Westbam released his triple album "A Love Story 89-10" in 2010 on Bass Planet / Kontor Records.  2013 saw the release of his double album "Götterstraße", on which Westbam collaborated with artists such as Richard Butler, Lil Wayne, Rockell, Iggy Pop, Bernard Sumner, Inga Humpe, Brian Molko, Kanye West, Afrika Baby Bam and Hugh Cornwell.

Personal life.

Westbam has three siblings. His brother is Fabian Lenz, also known as DJ Dick. His sister Seraphina Lenz is an artist.  He is father of two sons and lives in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg.

Discography.

"See WestBam discography"

Maximilian Lenz (born 4 March 1965), known by his stage name WestBam, is a DJ and musician from Germany. He is the co-founder of the record label Low Spirit.

WestBam, vlastním jménem Maximilian Lenz, (* 4. března 1965 Münster) je německý diskžokej. Začínal koncem sedmdesátých let jako punkový hudebník, hrál na baskytaru, bicí a syntezátory. Počínaje rokem 1979 působil v kapele Anormal Null a následně až do roku 1983 v Kriegsschauplatz. Svou kariéru diskžokeje zahájil právě v roce 1983. Na svém albu "Götterstraße" z roku 2013 spolupracoval s řadou dalších hudebníků, mezi něž patří například Iggy Pop, Lil Wayne a Kanye West. Jeho bratrem je diskžokej Fabian Lenz.


History.

Establishment.

Stefan Dušan was the son of the Serbian king Stefan Dečanski (r. 1322–1331). After his father's accession to the throne, Dušan was awarded with the title of "young king". Although this title bore significant power in medieval Serbia, Stefan wanted his younger son, Simeon Uroš, to inherit him instead of Dušan. However, Dušan had significant support from the major part of the Serbian nobility, including the Serbian archbishop Danilo, and some of the king's most trusted generals, such as Jovan Oliver Grčinić. Tensions slowly rose between the king and his son, especially after the battle of Velbužd, where Dušan showed his military capabilities, and they seem to have culminated when king Stefan raided Zeta, a province in Serbia where Dušan ruled autonomously, being a tradition of Serbian heirs to rule this province. Advised by the nobility, Dušan later marched from Zeta to Nerodimlje, where he besieged his father and forced him to surrender the throne. Stefan was later imprisoned in the fortress of Zvečan, where he died.  In 1333, Dušan launched a large attack on the Byzantine empire, at the time ruled by the ambitious emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos, with the help of a deserted Byzantine general, Syrgian. Dušan quickly conquered the cities of Ohrid, Prilep and Kastoria, and attempted to besiege Thessalonica in 1334, but was prevented conquering the city by the death of Syrgian, who had been assassinated by a Byzantine spy. Syrgian was a key figure in Dušan's army, as he had earned a great reputation in Greece, convincing Greek citizens to surrender cities rather than fight Dušan's armies.  By 1345, Dušan "the Mighty" had expanded his state to cover half of the Balkans, more territory than either the Byzantine Empire or the Second Bulgarian Empire in that time. Therefore, in 1345, in Serres, Dušan proclaimed himself ""Tsar"" ("Caesar"). On 16 April 1346, in Skopje, he had himself crowned "Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks", a title signifying a claim to succession of the Byzantine Empire. The ceremony was performed by the newly elevated Serbian Patriarch Joanikije II, the Bulgarian Patriarch Simeon, and Nicholas, the Archbishop of Ohrid. At the same time, Dušan had his son Uroš crowned as "King of Serbs and Greeks", giving him nominal rule over the "Serbian lands", although Dušan was governing the whole state, with special responsibility for the newly acquired Roman (Byzantine) lands.

Reign of Stefan Dušan.

Tsar Dušan doubled the size of Serbian state, seizing territories in all directions, especially south and southeast. Serbia held large parts of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moravian Serbia, Kosovo, Zeta, modern North Macedonia, modern Albania, and half of modern Greece. He did not fight a single field battle, instead winning his empire by besieging cities. Dušan undertook a campaign against the Byzantine Empire, which was attempting to avert a deteriorating situation after the destruction caused by the Fourth Crusade. Dušan swiftly seized Thessaly, Albania, Epirus, and most of Macedonia.  After besieging the emperor at Salonica in 1340, he imposed a treaty assuring Serbia sovereignty over regions extending from the Danube to the Gulf of Corinth, from the Adriatic Sea to the Maritsa river, and including all of Bulgaria up to the environs of Adrianople. Bulgaria had never recovered since its defeat by the Serbs at the Battle of Velbazhd, and the Bulgarian czar, whose sister Dušan later married, became his vassal, the Second Bulgarian Empire being a Serbian vassal state between 1331 and 1365, but fully independent from Bulgarian point of view. Dušan thus ruled over the almost the entire Balkan peninsula, with only southern Greece, Salonica, and Thrace escaping his authority. He gave sanctuary to the former regent of the Byzantine Empire, John VI Kantakouzenos, in revolt against the government, and agreed to an alliance.  In 1349 and 1354, Dušan enacted a set of laws known as Dušan's Code. The Code was based on Roman-Byzantine law and the first Serbian constitution, St. Sava's Nomocanon (1219). It was a Civil and Canon law system, based on the Ecumenical Councils, for the functioning of the state and the Serbian Orthodox Church.  In 1355, Dušan began military preparations, assembling an army of 80,000 men, an enormous number at that time. Dušan marched towards Constantinople, capturing Adrianople in a fierce battle. The Serbian army was proceeding to Constantinople, located 40 miles to the east, when Dušan suddenly died of an unknown illness at 46. His expedition ended as well, and the army retreated carrying his body.

Reign of Stefan Uroš V.

Dušan was succeeded by his son, Stefan Uroš V, called "the Weak," a term that also described the empire as it slowly slid into feudal anarchy. The failure to consolidate its holdings after a sudden conquest led to the fragmentation of the empire. The period was marked by the rise of a new threat: the Ottoman Turkish sultanate gradually spread from Asia to Europe and conquered first Byzantine Thrace, and then the other Balkan states. Too incompetent to sustain the empire created by his father, Stefan V could neither repel attacks of foreign enemies nor combat the independence of his nobility. The Serbian Empire of Stefan V fragmented into a conglomeration of principalities, some of which did not even nominally acknowledge his rule. Stefan Uroš V died childless on 4 December 1371, after much of the Serbian nobility had been killed by the Ottoman Turks during the Battle of Maritsa.

Aftermath and legacy.

The crumbling Serbian Empire under Uroš the Weak offered little resistance to the powerful Ottomans. In the wake of internal conflicts and decentralization of the state, the Ottomans defeated the Serbs under Vukašin at the Battle of Maritsa in 1371, making vassals of the southern governors; soon thereafter, the Emperor died. As Uroš was childless and the nobility could not agree on a rightful heir, the Empire continued to be ruled by semi-independent provincial lords, who often were in feud with each other. The most powerful of these, Lazar Hrebeljanović, a Duke of present-day central Serbia (which had not yet come under Ottoman rule), stood against the Ottomans at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. The result was indecisive, but it led to the subsequent fall of Serbia. Stefan Lazarević, the son of Lazar, succeeded as ruler, but by 1394 he had become an Ottoman vassal. In 1402 he renounced Ottoman rule and became an Hungarian ally; the following years are characterized by a power struggle between the Ottomans and Hungary over the territory of Serbia. In 1453, the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, and in 1458 Athens was taken. In 1459, Serbia was annexed, and then Greece a year later.  With the fall of Serbia, migrations began to the north. Serbs became mercenaries in foreign armies and fought in the irregular militias and guerrilla units of Hajduks and Uskoks within the Balkans (Habsburg Monarchy), while others joined the Hussars, Seimeni, and Stratioti.  Jovan Nenad, a Serbian military commander in service to Hungary, proclaimed himself "Emperor" in 1527, ruling a region of southern Pannonian Plain.

Administration.

Law.

After finishing most of his conquests, Stefan Dušan dedicated himself to supervising the administration of the empire. One key objective was to create a written legal code, an effort his predecessors had only begun. An assembly of bishops, nobles, and provincial governors was charged with creating a code of laws, bringing together the customs of the Slav countries.  Dušan's Code was enacted in two state congresses, the first on May 21, 1349 in Skopje; the second amended the code in 1354 in Serres. The law regulated all social spheres, thus it is considered a medieval constitution. The Code included 201 articles, based on Roman-Byzantine law. The legal transplanting is notable with the articles 172 and 174 of Dušan's Code, which regulated juridical independence. They were taken from the Byzantine code Basilika (book VII, 1, 16-17). The Code had its roots in the first Serbian constitution — "St. Sava's Nomocanon" () from 1219, enacted by Saint Sava. St. Sava's Nomocanon was the compilation of Civil law, based on Roman Law and Canon law, based on Ecumenical Councils. Its basic purpose was to organize the functions of the state and Church.  The legislation resembled the feudal system then prevalent in Western Europe, with an aristocratic basis and establishing a wide distinction between nobility and peasantry. The monarch had broad powers but was surrounded and advised by a permanent council of magnates and prelates. The court, chancellery and administration were rough copies of those of Constantinople.  The code enumerated the administrative hierarchy as following: "lands, cities, župas and krajištes"; the župas and krajištes were one and the same, where župas on the borders were called krajištes ("frontier"). The župa consisted of villages, and their status, rights, and obligations were regulated in the constitution. The ruling nobility possessed hereditary allodial estates, which were worked by dependent "sebri", the equivalent of Greek "paroikoi": peasants owing labour services, formally bound by decree. The earlier "župan" title was abolished and replaced with the Greek-derived "kefalija" ("kephale", "head, master").

Economy.

Commerce was another object of Dušan's concern. He gave strict orders to combat piracy and to assure the safety of travelers and foreign merchants. Traditional relations with Venice were resumed, with the port of Ragusa (Dubrovnik) becoming an important transaction point. Exploitation of mines produced appreciable resources.  East-west Roman roads through the empire carried a variety of commodities: wine, manufactures, and luxury goods from the coast; metals, cattle, timber, wool, skins, and leather from the interior. This economic development made possible the creation of the Empire. Important trade routes were the ancient Roman Via Militaris, Via Egnatia, Via de Zenta, and the Kopaonik road, among others. Ragusan merchants in particular had trading privileges throughout the realm.  Srebrenica, Rudnik, Trepča, Novo Brdo, Kopaonik, Majdanpek, Brskovo, and Samokov were the main centers for mining iron, copper, and lead ores, and silver and gold placers. The silver mines provided much of the royal income, and were worked by slave-labour, managed by Saxons. A colony of Saxons worked the Novo Brdo mines and traded charcoal burners. The silver mines processed an annual 0.5 million dollars (1919 comparation). East Serbia had mainly copper mines.  The currency used was called "dinars"; an alternative name was "perper", derived from the Byzantine "hyperpyron". The "golden dinar" was the largest unit, and the imperial tax was one dinar coin, per house, annually.

Military.

Serbian military tactics consisted of wedge-shaped heavy cavalry attacks with horse archers on the flanks. Many foreign mercenaries were in the Serbian army, mostly Germans as cavalry and Spaniards as infantry. The army also had personal mercenary guards for the tsar, mainly German knights. A German nobleman, Palman, became the commander of the Serbian "Alemannic Guard" in 1331 upon crossing Serbia on the way to Jerusalem; he became leader of all mercenaries in the Serbian Army. The main strength of the Serbian army were the heavily armoured knights feared for their ferocious charge and fighting skills, as well as hussars, versatile light cavalry formations armed mainly with spears and crossbows, ideal for scouting, raiding and skirmishing.

State insignia.

The 1339 map by Angelino Dulcert depicts a number of flags, and Serbia is represented by a flag placed above Skoplje ("Skopi") with the name Serbia near the hoist, which was characteristic for capital cities at the time the drawing was produced. The flag, depicting a red double-headed eagle, represented the realm of Stefan Dušan. A flag in Hilandar, seen by Dimitrije Avramović, was alleged by the brotherhood to have been a flag of Emperor Dušan; it was a triband with red at the top and bottom and white in the center. Emperor Dušan also adopted the Imperial "divelion", which was purple and had a golden cross in the center. Another of Dušan's flags was the Imperial cavalry flag, kept at the Hilandar monastery on Mount Athos; a triangular bicolored flag, of red and yellow.

Culture.

Education.

Education, to which St. Sava had given the first impulse, progressed remarkably during Dušan's reign. Schools and monasteries secured royal favor. True seats of culture, they became institutions in perpetuating Serbian national traditions. The fine arts, influenced by Italians, were not neglected. Fragments of frescoes and mosaics testify the artistic level archived during this period.

Religion.

Influenced by the clergy, Dušan showed extreme severity towards Roman Catholicism. Those who adopted the Latin rite were condemned to work in mines, and people who propagated it were threatened with death. The Papacy grew concerned about this and the increasing power of Dušan and aroused the old rivalry of the Catholic Hungarians against the Orthodox Serbs. Once again Dušan overcame his enemies from whom he seized Bosnia and Herzegovina, which marked the height of the Serbian Empire in Middle Ages. However the most serious menace came from the East, from the Turks. Entrenched on the shores of the Dardanelles, the Turks were the common enemies of Christendom. It was against them that the question of uniting and directing all forces in the Balkans to save Europe from the invasion arose. The Serbian Empire already included most of the region, and to transform the peninsula into a cohesive whole under a rule of a single master required seizure of Constantinople to add to Serbia what remained of the Byzantine Empire. Dušan intended to make himself emperor and defender of Christianity against the Islamic wave.

Government.

For a list of magnates, feudal lords and officials, see Nobility of the Serbian Empire.

The Serbian Empire ( /, ) is a historiographical term for the empire in the Balkan peninsula that emerged from the medieval Serbian Kingdom. It was established in 1346 by King Stefan Dušan, known as "the Mighty", who significantly expanded the state. Under Dušan's rule Serbia was the major power in the Balkans, and a multi-lingual empire that stretched from the Danube to the Gulf of Corinth, with its capital in Skopje. He also promoted the Serbian Archbishopric to the Serbian Patriarchate. His son and successor, Uroš the Weak, lost most of the territory conquered by Dušan, hence his epithet. The Serbian Empire effectively ended with the death of Uroš V in 1371 and the break-up of the Serbian state. Some successors of Stefan V claimed the title of Emperor in parts of Serbia until 1402, but the territory in Greece was never recovered.

Srbská říše () je historiografický termín pro říši na Balkánském poloostrově, která vyvstala ze středověkého Srbského království. Založena byla roku 1346 králem Štěpánem Dušanem, známým jako „silný“ a který výrazně území státu rozšířil. Prosazoval také srbskou církev pravoslavného patriarchátu. Jeho syn a nástupce Štěpán Uroš V. však o většinu území přišel a s jeho smrtí roku 1371 se Srbská říše definitivně rozpadla. Někteří z nástupců Štěpána V. se v některých částech Srbska do roku 1402 prohlašovali za císaře (cary).