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Crimewave USA
''Crimewave'' is a 1985 American comedy film directed by Sam Raimi, from a screenplay he co-wrote with the Coen brothers. It stars Reed Birney, Sheree J. Wilson, Paul L. Smith, Brion James, Louise Lasser and Bruce Campbell, with the latter also serving as a co-producer. An unusual slapstick mix of film noir, black comedy, Hitchcockian suspense, B-movie and conventions, ''Crimewave'' portrays bizarre situations involving a nebbish everyman (Birney) entangled in a murderous plot while pursuing his love interest (Wilson). Following the commercial success of '' The Evil Dead'' (1981), Raimi and Campbell decided to collaborate on another project. Joel Coen of the Coen brothers served as one of the editors on ''The Evil Dead'' and worked with Raimi on the screenplay. Production was difficult for several members of the crew, and the production studio, Embassy Pictures, refused to allow Raimi to edit the film. Several arguments broke out during the shoot of the film due to contin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sam Raimi
Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007) and the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present). He also directed the 1990 superhero film ''Darkman'', the 1995 revisionist western ''The Quick and the Dead (1995 film), The Quick and the Dead'', the 1998 neo-noir crime-thriller ''A Simple Plan (film), A Simple Plan'', the 2000 supernatural thriller film ''The Gift (2000 film), The Gift'', the 2009 supernatural horror film ''Drag Me to Hell'', and the 2013 The Walt Disney Company, Disney fantasy film ''Oz the Great and Powerful''. His films are known for their highly-dynamic visual style, inspired by comic books and slapstick comedy. Raimi has also produced several successful television series, including ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' and its spin-off ''Xena: Warrior Princess''. He founded the production company Renaissance Pictures in 1979 and Ghost Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slapstick
Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as saws and ladders. The term arises from a device developed for use in the broad, physical comedy style known as ''commedia dell'arte'' in 16th-century Italy. The "Clapper (musical instrument), slap stick" consists of two thin slats of wood, which make a "slap" when striking another actor, with little force needed to make a loud—and comical—sound. The physical slap stick remains a key component of the plot in the traditional and popular Punch and Judy puppet show. Other examples of slapstick humor include ''The Naked Gun'' and Mr. Bean (character), Mr. Bean. Origins The name "slapstick" originates from the Italian ''Batacchio'' or ''Bataccio'' – called the "Clapper (musical instrument), slap stick" in English – a club-like objec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Symonds
Robert Symonds (December 1, 1926 – August 23, 2007) was an American actor. He was the associate director of the Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center from 1965 through 1972. Career His stage credits with the Lincoln Center include productions of ''The Caucasian Chalk Circle'', ''Cyrano de Bergerac'', ''The Miser'', ''Twelfth Night'', and ''A Streetcar Named Desire''. His motion picture credits include ''The Exorcist'' (as Dr. Taney), ''Gray Lady Down'', ''The Ice Pirates'', ''Crimewave'', ''Still Frame'', ''Rumpelstiltskin'', '' Mandroid'', ''Primary Colors'' and ''Catch Me If You Can''. On television, Symonds played Benjamin Franklin in the 1976 PBS mini-series The Adams Chronicles and the recurring role of Dr. Jonas Edwards on ''Dynasty'' from 1982 to 1987, and guest-starred on many series, including ''The Rockford Files'', ''M*A*S*H'', ''Benson'', '' Cheers'', ''Quincy, M.E.'', '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (as a Bajoran in the episode " Accession"), '' ER'', ''Alias ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wiley Harker
James "Wiley" Harker (January 27, 1915 – May 1, 2007) was an American character actor who portrayed Crane Tolliver in the soap opera ''General Hospital'' in 1983. He also played Justice Harold Webb in ''First Monday in October'' (1981). He also appeared in '' Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead'' as Boris Carlotti, and ''The Straight Story ''The Straight Story'' is a 1999 biographical road drama film directed by David Lynch. It was edited and produced by Mary Sweeney, Lynch's longtime partner and collaborator, who also co-wrote the script with John E. Roach. It is based on the tru ...'' as Verlyn Heller. Filmography References External links *Obituary American male soap opera actors American male film actors 1915 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American male actors {{US-tv-actor-1910s-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emil Sitka
Emil Sitka (December 22, 1914January 16, 1998) was a veteran American actor, who appeared in hundreds of movies, short films, and television shows, and is best known for his numerous appearances with The Three Stooges. He is one of only two actors to have worked with all six Stooges (Shemp Howard, Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Joe Besser, Joe DeRita) on film in the various incarnations of the group (Harold Brauer, a recurring villain who appeared in three 1940s shorts, was the other). Sitka served the role of a literal "stooge," or straight man, to the Three Stooges throughout nearly 40 of their short films, most of which were filmed during Shemp's run as the third stooge. In addition to one single appearance during Curly's run with the trio, and a limited number of appearances during Besser's, Sitka returned as a near-regular character when the trio returned to film and television with DeRita. His frequent appearances with the trio, and his role as stooge to the stooges, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Bright (actor)
Richard James Bright (June 28, 1937 – February 18, 2006) was an American actor, well known for his role as Al Neri in the '' Godfather'' films. Early life Bright was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Matilda (''née'' Scott) and Ernest Bright, who was a shipbuilder. Career Bright began his career doing live television in Manhattan at the age of 18, and made his film debut in Robert Wise's ''Odds Against Tomorrow'' (1959). He also worked on several movies early in his career with his friend Sam Peckinpah. In 1965, Bright starred in poet Michael McClure's two-person show ''The Beard'', performing first in San Francisco and later in Los Angeles, New York City, and London. In San Francisco, his female co-star Billie Dixon and he were arrested and brutally beaten by police for uttering obscenities about local politicians and simulating them in sexual acts. The ACLU represented Bright, citing First Amendment rights to freedom of speech. In the end, the charge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antonio Fargas
Antonio Juan Fargas (born August 14, 1946) is an American actor known for his roles in 1970s blaxploitation and comedy movies, as well as his portrayal as Huggy Bear in the 1970s TV series '' Starsky & Hutch''. Early life Fargas was born in New York City to Mildred (née Bailey) and Manuel Fargas; he was one of 11 children. His father was a Puerto Rican who worked for the City of New York. His mother was from Trinidad and Tobago. Raised in New York's Spanish Harlem, Fargas graduated from Fashion Industries High School in 1965. Acting career Fargas' breakout role was in the comedy film ''Putney Swope'' (1969). After starring in a string of blaxploitation movies in the early 1970s, such as ''Across 110th Street'' (1972) and '' Foxy Brown'' (1974), he gained recognition as streetwise informant Huggy Bear in the television series '' Starsky & Hutch''. He appeared in ''All My Children'' beginning in 1982 as Les Baxter, the upper-class lawyer who was the father of Angie Hubbard; he wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cult Film
A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage in repeated viewings, dialogue-quoting, and audience participation. Inclusive definitions allow for major studio productions, especially box-office bombs, while exclusive definitions focus more on obscure, transgressive films shunned by the mainstream. The difficulty in defining the term and subjectivity of what qualifies as a cult film mirror classificatory disputes about art. The term ''cult film'' itself was first used in the 1970s to describe the culture that surrounded underground films and midnight movies, though ''cult'' was in common use in film analysis for decades prior to that. Cult films trace their origin back to controversial and suppressed films kept alive by dedicated fans. In some cases, reclaimed or rediscovered films ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evil Dead II
''Evil Dead II'' (also known in publicity materials as ''Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn'') is a 1987 American comedy horror film directed by Sam Raimi. It is considered both a remake and sequel (or "re-quel") to the 1981 film ''The Evil Dead'', and was written by Raimi and Scott Spiegel and produced by Robert Tapert. The film stars Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams, who vacations with his girlfriend to a remote cabin in the woods. He discovers an audio tape of recitations from a book of ancient texts, and when the recording is played, it unleashes a number of demons which possess and torment him. After the critical and commercial failure of ''Crimewave'' (1985), Raimi, Tapert, and Campbell began work on a sequel to ''The Evil Dead'' at the insistence of their publicist Irvin Shapiro. Having endorsed the original film, author Stephen King brought the project to the attention of producer Dino De Laurentiis, with whom he had been making his directorial debut ''Maximum Overdrive'' (1986). D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Evil Dead
''The Evil Dead'' is a 1981 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi, produced by Robert Tapert and executive produced by Raimi, Tapert, and Bruce Campbell, who also starred alongside Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManicor, Betsy Baker and Theresa Tilly. The film focuses on five college students vacationing in an isolated cabin in a remote wooded area. After they find an audio tape that, when played, releases a legion of demons and spirits, four members of the group suffer from demonic possession, forcing the fifth member, Ash Williams (Campbell), to survive an onslaught of increasingly gory mayhem. Raimi, Tapert, Campbell, and their friends produced the short film ''Within the Woods'' as a proof of concept to build the interest of potential investors, which secured US$90,000 to begin work on ''The Evil Dead''. Principal photography took place on location in a remote cabin located in Morristown, Tennessee, in a difficult filming process that proved ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Everyman
The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as an English morality play from the early 1500s: ''The Summoning of'' ''Everyman''. The play's protagonist is an allegorical character representing an ordinary human who knows he is soon to die; according to literature scholar Harry Keyishian he is portrayed as "prosperous, gregarious, ndattractive".Harry Keyishian"Review of Douglas Morse, dir.,''The Summoning of Everyman'' (Grandfather Films, 2007)" ''Shakespeare Bulletin'' ( Johns Hopkins U P), 2008 Fall;26(3):45–48. Everyman is the only human character of the play; the others are embodied ideas such as Fellowship, who "symbolizes the transience and limitations of human friendship". The use of the term ''everyman'' to refer generically to a portrayal of an ordinary or typical person d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
B-movie
A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature (akin to B-sides for recorded music). However, the U.S. production of films intended as second features largely ceased by the end of the 1950s. With the emergence of commercial television at that time, film studio B movie production departments changed into television film production divisions. They created much of the same type of content in low budget films and series. The term ''B movie'' continues to be used in its broader sense to this day. In its post-Golden Age usage, B movies can range from lurid exploitation films to independent arthouse films. In either usage, most B movies represent a particular genre—the Western was a Golden Age B movie staple, while low-budget science-fiction and horror films became more popular in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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