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Boot (torture)
The term boot refers to a family of instruments of torture and interrogation variously designed to cause crushing injuries to the foot and/or leg. The boot has taken many forms in various places and times. Common varieties include the Spanish boot (sometimes referred to as "scarpines") and the Malay boot. One type was made of four pieces of narrow wooden board nailed together. The boards were measured to fit the victim's leg. Once the leg was enclosed, wedges would be hammered between the boards, creating pressure. The pressure would be increased until the victim confessed or lost consciousness. Newer variants have included iron vises—sometimes armed with spikes—that squeezed feet and metal frames employed red-hot. John Spreul is reported to have been tortured with two different boots. In general, the boot was a mechanically-clever torture device and was widely employed throughout Europe to extract information. Spanish boot The Spanish boot was an iron casing for the leg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuremberg Castle
Nuremberg Castle (german: Nürnberger Burg) is a group of medieval fortified buildings on a sandstone ridge dominating the historical center of Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany. The castle, together with the city walls, is considered to be one of Europe's most formidable medieval fortifications.Fehring, Günther P. and Ress, Anton. ''Die Stadt Nürnberg.'' 2. Auflage bearbeitet von Wilhelm Schwemmer. Deutscher Kunstverlag, München, , S. 152ff. It represented the power and importance of the Holy Roman Empire and the outstanding role of the Imperial City of Nuremberg.''Imperial Castle of Nuremberg,'' Bavarian Admini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shakespeare In Love
''Shakespeare in Love'' is a 1998 romantic period comedy-drama film directed by John Madden, written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard, and produced by Harvey Weinstein. It stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth, Ben Affleck and Judi Dench. The film depicts a fictional love affair involving playwright William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) and Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow) while Shakespeare was writing ''Romeo and Juliet''. Several characters are based on historical figures, and many of the characters, lines, and plot devices allude to Shakespeare's plays. ''Shakespeare in Love'' received acclaim from critics and was a box office success, grossing $289.3 million worldwide and was the ninth highest-grossing film of 1998. The film received numerous accolades, including seven Oscars at the 71st Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Gwyneth Paltrow), Best Supporting Actress (Judi Dench), and Best Screenplay Written Dire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Häxan
''Häxan'' (, "The Witch"; Danish: ''Heksen''; English: ''The Witches''; released in the US in 1968 as ''Witchcraft Through the Ages'') is a 1922 silent horror essay film written and directed by Benjamin Christensen. Consisting partly of documentary-style storytelling as well as dramatized narrative sequences, the film charts the historical roots and superstitions surrounding witchcraft, beginning in the Middle Ages through the 20th century. Based partly on Christensen's own study of the ''Malleus Maleficarum'', a 15th-century German guide for inquisitors, ''Häxan'' proposes that such witch hunts may have stemmed from misunderstandings of mental or neurological disorders, triggering mass hysteria. ''Häxan'' is a Swedish film produced by AB Svensk Filmindustri, but shot in Denmark in 1920–1921. With Christensen's meticulous recreation of medieval scenes and its lengthy production period, the film was the most expensive Scandinavian silent film ever made at the time, co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benjamin Christensen
Benjamin Christensen (28 September 1879 – 2 April 1959) was a Danish film director, screenwriter and an actor, both in film and on the stage. As a director, he is best known for the 1922 film ''Häxan'' (aka ''Witchcraft Through the Ages''). His most memorable acting performance was in the film ''Michael'' (1924), where he played Claude Zoret, the male lover of the film's title character in a landmark gay film. Biography Benjamin Christensen was born in Viborg as the youngest of twelve children. He initially studied medicine but got interested in acting and began studies at the Det Kongelige Teater (Royal Danish Theatre) in Copenhagen in 1901. Christensen's professional acting career began in Aarhus in 1907, but he did not act for long. He soon abandoned the stage in order to become a wine salesman. In 1911, Christensen made his debut as a film actor. All of his pre-directorial efforts are lost, including ''Scenens børn'' (1913), the only motion picture directed by emin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gina Lollobrigida
Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (born 4 July 1927) is an Italian actress, photojournalist, and politician. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s, a period in which she was an international sex symbol. As of 2022, Lollobrigida is among the last living, high-profile international actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. As her film career slowed, Lollobrigida established a second career as a photojournalist. In the 1970s, she achieved a scoop by gaining access to Fidel Castro for an exclusive interview. Lollobrigida has continued as an active supporter of Italian and Italian American causes, particularly the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF). In 2008, she received the NIAF Lifetime Achievement Award at the Foundation's Anniversary Gala. In 2013, she sold her jewelry collection, and donated the nearly $5 million from the sale to benefit stem-cell therapy research. Youth Born Luigia Lollobrigida in Subiaco, she was the dau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Quinn
Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental virility" in numerous critically acclaimed films both in Hollywood and abroad. His notable films include ''La Strada'', '' The Guns of Navarone'', ''Guns for San Sebastian'', ''Lawrence of Arabia'', '' The Shoes of the Fisherman'', '' The Message'', '' Lion of the Desert'', and ''Jungle Fever''. He also had an Oscar-nominated titular role in ''Zorba the Greek''. Quinn won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor twice: for '' Viva Zapata!'' in 1952 and '' Lust for Life'' in 1956. In addition, he received two Academy Award nominations in the Best Leading Actor category, along with five Golden Globe nominations and two BAFTA Award nominations. In 1987, he was presented with the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1956 Film)
''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (in French ''Notre-Dame de Paris'') is a 1956 French-Italian CinemaScope film version of Victor Hugo's 1831 novel, directed by Jean Delannoy and produced by Raymond Hakim and Robert Hakim. It stars American actor Anthony Quinn and Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida. The film is the first version of the novel to be made in color. In the tradition of many sword and sandal spectacles, Quinn and Lollobrigida are the only two actors in the film who actually speak in English; the rest of the cast is made up of French actors who have had their voices dubbed into English. In the French version both Quinn and Lollobrigida speak French. Anthony Quinn's portrayal of the hunchback Quasimodo is less disfigured than most other portrayals. Instead of having a huge hump and a hideously deformed face, he only has a small curve in his spine and a slightly deformed face. The film is one of the few adaptations to use Victor Hugo's original ending; although Esmeralda ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara (; 17 August 1920 – 24 October 2015) was a native Irish and naturalized American actress and singer, who became successful in Hollywood from the 1940s through to the 1960s. She was a natural redhead who was known for playing passionate but sensible heroines, often in Westerns and adventure films. She worked with director John Ford and long-time friend John Wayne on numerous projects. O'Hara was born into a Catholic family and raised in Dublin, Ireland. She aspired to become an actress from a very young age. She trained with the Rathmines Theatre Company from the age of 10 and at the Abbey Theatre from the age of 14. She was given a screen test, which was deemed unsatisfactory, but Charles Laughton saw potential in her, and arranged for her to co-star with him in Alfred Hitchcock's '' Jamaica Inn'' in 1939. She moved to Hollywood the same year to appear with him in the production of '' The Hunchback of Notre Dame'', and was given a contract by RKO Pictu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was a British actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play with his future wife Elsa Lanchester, with whom he lived and worked until his death. He played a wide range of classical and modern parts, making an impact in Shakespeare at the Old Vic. His film career took him to Broadway and then Hollywood, but he also collaborated with Alexander Korda on notable British films of the era, including ''The Private Life of Henry VIII'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the title character. He portrayed everything from monsters and misfits to kings. Among Laughton's biggest film hits were ''The Barretts of Wimpole Street'', ''Mutiny on the Bounty'', ''Ruggles of Red Gap'', ''Jamaica Inn'', ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'', '' The Big Clock'', and '' Witness for the Prosecution''. D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1939 Film)
''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' is a 1939 American romantic drama film starring Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara. Directed by William Dieterle and produced by Pandro S. Berman, the film is based on Victor Hugo's 1831 novel. Plot In Paris during the late Middle Ages, Louis XI, the King of France, and his Chief Justice of Paris, Jehan Frollo, visit a printing shop. Frollo is determined to do everything in his power to protect Paris from anything he sees as evil, including the printing press and gypsies. That day is Paris' annual celebration, the Feast of Fools. Pierre Gringoire, a poor street poet, does a play in front of an audience until it is interrupted by Clopin, the King of the Beggars. Esmeralda, a young gypsy girl, is seen dancing in front of an audience of people. Quasimodo, the hunchback and bell ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral, is crowned the King of Fools until Frollo catches up to him and takes him back to the church. Esmeralda is caught by a guard and see ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Esmeralda (The Hunchback Of Notre-Dame)
Esmeralda (), born Agnès, is a fictional character in Victor Hugo's 1831 novel '' The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (French: ''Notre Dame de Paris''). She is a French Roma girl (near the end of the book, it is revealed that her biological mother was a French woman). She constantly attracts men with her seductive dances, and is rarely seen without her clever goat Djali. She is around 16 years old and has a kind and generous heart. Character history Esmeralda's birth-name was Agnès. She is the love child of Paquette Guybertaut, nicknamed 'la Chantefleurie', an orphaned minstrel's daughter who lives in Rheims. Paquette has become a prostitute after being seduced by a young nobleman, and lives a miserable life in poverty and loneliness. Agnes's birth makes Paquette happy once more, and she lavishes attention and care upon her adored child: even the neighbours begin to forgive Paquette for her past behaviour when they watch the pair. Tragedy strikes, however, when Romani (in the novel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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