Blogs

by Andy Jarosz
 

Every so often a movie comes along where its on-screen plot is overshadowed by the story of how the movie was made and the problems that had to be overcome to reach the final cut. The 1982 movie Fitzcarraldo, directed by Werner Herzog, is a prime example.

Manaus' Teatro Amazonas

Using the neo-Renaisssance Amazon Theatre (inuagurated in 1986) in Manaus, Brazil, for part of the filming, Herzog tells the story of Brian Sweeney “Fitzcarraldo” Fitzgerald, an Irish entrepreneur who

by Marita Acosta

Just this week came word that the Corleones' mansion in New York City is up for sale. Well, you know...the place where it was filmed...to the tune of $2.89 million. More details on the house below, which has entered pop-culture immortality as a key part of the Big Apple stomping grounds of the notorious fictional Mafia family, becoming a classic travel circuit for millions across the world.  And not only are the wiseguys of this powerful movie trilogy based on Mario Puzo’s nov

Any fan of motion pictures has a favorite film director. Recently, I was able to view an exhibit of one of the true masters of cinematography at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, or LACMA. A tribute to the works of one of the cinematic geniuses of all time, the perfectionist, Stanley Kubrick. More than 1,000 objects on display in “Stanley Kubrick” — a massive exhibition devoted to the legendary filmmaker.

Anyone who has seen a Kubrick flick must admire the filmmakers attention to every last d

Sometimes when you watch a lousy movie, the only compliments you can muster are about the scenery. For many people this was the case with the 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans, widely criticized for the quality of the 3-D graphics as well as the dubious plot. In fact, the landscapes of the Canary Islands were the only feature of the film to have emerged with credit. Even the actors spoke very highly of their own surprise in discovering the natural diversity and dramatic views across Gran Canari

From Stage to Screen

Best known as a Broadway musical, Fiddler on the Roof has been delighting audiences for almost half a century with its blend of boisterous and mournful melodies. The Tony award winning story of Tevye, the humble milkman with five young daughters and a feisty wife, has played out thousands of times on the stages of Broadway, London’s West End and in theatres all around the world.

With such a popular stage play it was inevitable that a movie version would be made and in 1971

Rather like the best 1970s disaster movies or the science fiction B-movies of the 1960s, the spaghetti western still boasts a strong and dedicated following many decades after the last movie was produced and the dust, quite literally settled. And like these other genres, even those who look back fondly at the age of sharp shooters in dusty saloons remember the films not so much for their artistic merit as for the joy they brought to a whole generation of young movie fans.

What Were Spaghetti W

A funny thing happened on the way to the movies.

Forty million international movie-goers opted to travel to a place where a movie they loved was shot.
Travel Daily News (TDN) reports that these travelers made their travel plans and chose their destinations based on a movie they saw in 2012. Obviously, as TDN says, filming in a destination is "clearly a very efficient driver for attracting new visitors."

Makes sense. As Mashable reported, old Hollywood had its star system and magazines. New mov

by Andy Jarosz

If ever a movie has perfected the ability of making its audience hungry it’s surely this Mexican classic. Released as Como Agua para Chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate) in 1992 and based on the 1989 novel of the same name by Laura Esquivel , the story is set in the 1910s in revolutionary Mexico. It features sweeping landscapes, smoldering passions (literally) and the most bitter family politics, yet the central theme of traditional Mexican cooking and its power to evoke the wil

When George Lucas first created the Star Wars trilogy, he likely never never imagined that the films, set in Tunisia, would draw in thousands of fans yearly to the country to this day. Many Star Wars fans have already found their way to the deserts of southern Tunisia, 'in a galaxy far far away’ that set the scene for one of history's most famous films .

As the producer and director of the trilogy, George Lucas traveled to exotic lands to find the perfect setting for his epic space opera film.

by Andy Jarosz

Double agents, high drama, betrayal and plenty of high-tech gadgetry. The Good Shepherd, directed by Robert De Niro and released in 2006, had all the magic ingredients of a classic spy film. With Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie providing the obligatory glamor it was no surprise that the movie became a box-office success. What is perhaps less obvious, even to those who may have watched The Good Shepherd on more than one occasion, is that many of the scenes were shot in the Dominic

by Andy Jarosz

Two men meet in Coppelia, the famous Havana ice-cream parlor. One straight and one gay, the plot follows them as their friendship deepens and things get a little complicado. This is 1970s Cuba, after all, where nothing is as, um, “straight”-forward as it seems.

Strawberry and Chocolate

Those who have seen the movie Fresa y Chocolate (Strawberry and Chocolate) will no doubt recognize the scene. This Cuban classic set at a time when intolerance of homosexuality in Cuba was still

by Susana Alosete

When you think about films associated with Morocco, your mind can’t help but shift to black and white, as the faces ofIngrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart appear along with the soundtrack of “Casablanca.” However, this mythical movie was shot entirely in California, though it has left us with the memory of a romantic but dangerous Morocco.

Many movies have been filmed in this African nation, which prides itself on its own version of Hollywood or, as we Spaniards would say, its

I admit it: I'll go see just about any movie set in a great locale, even if I suspect the plot's a stinker. That partly explains why we braved the frigid winds rattling the Kingston-Rhinecliff bridge last night to join a dozen or so Upstate New York locals at the Hudson Valley Mall to watch Venice, Angelina Jolie, and Johnny Depp (in that order) in The Tourist.

We'd been warned: "Pretty people went to Venice and made a pretty movie. Joining them won’t be thoroughly satisfying, but it won’t kill