Movies Archives - Page 62 of 84

40th Anniversary of “Deliverance” Celebrated

This weekend, the mountain region of Georgia and South Carolina along the Chattooga River is recognizing the fortieth anniversary of the release of the movie Deliverance (1972). The Chattooga served as the fictional Cahulawassee River in the film about four businessmen canoeing the river and camping on a vacation when they encounter some trouble.

Understandably, some locals opposed celebrating the movie in an area unfairly stereotyped by the film, which does not portray the local residents in a very flattering light. For example, one of the most iconic scenes in the film features rapists telling one of the men to “squeal like a pig.” But organizers reasoned that Deliverance, which was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award, helped draw other filmmakers as well as people interested in outdoor activities to the area.

Organizers plan to continue this new Chattooga River Festival after this year’s Deliverance-themed festival. This weekend, they will feature a screening of the film and a concert by singer-actor Ronnie Cox, who played the banjo on “Dueling Banjos” in this iconic scene from the film.

Ronnie Cox also will be signing copies of his new book about the making of Deliverance, entitled Dueling Banjos: The Deliverance of Drew. The movie, based on a novel by James Dickey and directed by John Boorman, also starred Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Angelina Jolie’s father Jon Voight.

Cover of the Day: Mo Pitney Sings “If Hollywood Don’t Need You”

Runaway Train (Missed Movies)

Total Recall, Total Waste (Short Review)

Rating the Lonesome Dove Series, Part 2: The Sequels

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South Atlantic League Inducts Bill Murray Into Hall of Fame

Minor League Baseball’s South Atlantic League yesterday inducted actor Bill Murray into the league’s Hall of Fame. Murray is the co-owner and “Director of Fun” of the Charleston Riverdogs, a Class A affiliate of the New York Yankees.

In his warm induction speech at a ceremony in Charleston, South Carolina, Murray explained why the honor means so much to him and recounted the first time he saw Wrigley Field. Watch his speech below.

What do you think of his induction speech? Leave your two cents in the comments.

Roberto Clemente: Twenty-One Feet Tall

Hammerin’ Hank

Jackie Robinson Takes the Field

Happy Opening Day!

It Wasn’t Easy: Sonny Brown’s Home Run

Second Chances and the Tragedy of Steve Howe

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Happy 70th Birthday Roger Ebert!

Monday is the 70th birthday of movie critic Roger Ebert, who was born June 18, 1942. Roger Ebert helped make many of us more thoughtful in our movie viewing with his outstanding TV reviews with Gene Siskel and Richard Roeper, his newspaper reviews, his online reviews, and his books. I could list numerous great movies I discovered because of him, which is a great gift he gave to me. Although he has battled health issues in recent years, we have been fortunate that he has continued to actively help shape how we think about movies.

This last week, Henry Hill — the inspiration for Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990) as well as the movie My Blue Heaven (1990), passed away. So it seems an appropriate time to look back on Siskel and Ebert’s perceptive take on Goodfellas when they first saw the film, before it had become the iconic classic that it is today.

Thanks for the reviews Mr. Ebert, and we look forward to many more.

What is your favorite review by Roger Ebert? Leave your two cents in the comments.

Roger Ebert Keeps Us Thinking

“American Graffiti” Opens in 1973

Movie Lovers Should Join The Important Cinema Club (Podcast Review)

Breaking Down the Ending Segment of “Goodfellas”

“Just a Few Takes”: Ray Liotta Discusses Classic “Goodfellas” Scene

Siskel & Ebert Go Door-to-Door

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Big Red Machine Reliever (and “Airplane!” Reference) Pedro Borbon Passes Away

On Monday, former Cincinnati Red reliever Pedro Borbon passed away from cancer in Texas at the age of 65. Borbon, who was born in the Dominican Republic, was an important part of the Big Red Machine teams that won world champions in 1975 and 1976. He pitched in more games than any other Major League Baseball pitcher during the period of 1970-1978. He holds the record for most pitching appearances in a Reds uniform and is in the Reds Hall of Fame.

Growing up in southern Ohio in the 1970s, I was a big fan of the colorful Borbon on my Cincinnati Reds. Most baseball fans discover the sport as kids, and there is nothing like discovering the sport as your team is becoming one of the all-time greats. The Reds manager Sparky Anderson earned the nickname “Captain Hook” for pulling his starting pitchers so much in those days, and one of the reasons he could do so with confidence was because he had Borbon in the bullpen. During Borbon’s Reds’ career, he played in 20 post-season games with an ERA of 2.55.

Borbon had another claim to fame in that he was mentioned in the movie Airplane! (1980). In the film, Ted Striker (played by Robert Hays) is trying to concentrate while hearing voices in his head, including a public address announcer saying “Pinch hitting for Pedro Borbon . . . Manny Mota.” From what I can tell, although Borbon had some short stints on a few other teams like the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals, he never played on the same team as record-breaking pinch-hitter Manny Mota. The writers probably chose the Manny Mota reference because Mota was well-known as a pinch hitter, but I have not seen an explanation for why the writers chose Borbon among all the Major League pitchers. Perhaps they chose him because he was well-known, or because he was good, or maybe because he was a colorful character. Among other antics, during on-field brawls he used his teeth on a Mets hat and on Pirates player Daryl Patterson (who then had to get a tetanus shot).

Borbon’s son recently noted that his father often talked about the movie reference: “A lot of people remember him by that. He liked that.” At Borbon’s request, there is not going to be a memorial service in Texas. But I hope he does not mind that I thank him for the memories he gave me by playing the Airplane! clip that he liked. RIP.

Kenny Rogers: “The Greatest”

Roberto Clemente: Twenty-One Feet Tall

Say Hey: Willie Mays and “The Catch”

Early Baseball: The Glory of Their Times

Hammerin’ Hank

The Babe Ruth Story (and Funeral)

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E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial Anniversary

It is hard to believe that it has been that long, but on June 11, 1982, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) first appeared in movie theaters. The film, directed by a 34-year-old Steven Spielberg and written by screenwriter Melissa Mathison, told the story of the children who found the little alien far away from home.

Reportedly, Spielberg drew on his own lonely experience as a child of divorce in telling the story. The movie featured excellent performances by child actors Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, and Drew Barrymore.

One cannot dispute the classic status of E.T., although for some odd reason it only has a low 65% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, perhaps due to over-exposure through the years? Still, it has a stellar 98% critics rating.

Did you know that the original idea for the film was to have a family terrorized by an alien? Also, at one point Spielberg planned a sequel to E.T. with E.T. rescuing the family from other aliens.

Check out the video below for some trivia about the classic film.

In honor of the 30th anniversary of the film, one writer noted similarities between Spielberg’s Poltergeist (1982) and E.T. Also, in celebration of the anniversary, a new specially remastered Blu-ray version of E.T. was released. It might be something to phone home about.

Why do you think the film has such a low audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes? What is your favorite scene in E.T.? Leave your two cents in the comments.