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This Week in 1986: 'Top Gun' Takes Flight
There's a movie where Tom Cruise stars as a cocky guy with specialized skills and a lot of daddy-abandonment issues. He excels at his chosen pursuit until he's sidelined by a crisis of confidence, but after hearing a pep talk, he climbs back in the saddle and wins the day. Okay, that could be just about any Tom Cruise movie, but the one that really set the pattern is 'Top Gun,' released 25 years ago this week, on May 16, 1986. Not only is it the signature movie of Cruise's career, it's pretty much the signature movie of the entire 1980s.

At the height of the Cold War and the gung-ho Reagan era, 'Top Gun' played like a naval recruiting ad crafted by MTV. The macho camaraderie among the Navy pilots-in-training, the awesome (and awesomely expensive) military hardware on display, the flight montages set to carefully chosen rock anthems -- all date the movie, though its impact is felt to this day.

Besides Cruise, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards and Kelly McGillis, the stars of the movie were the F-14 fighter planes. The filmmakers secured the cooperation of the Navy and the use of its fighter pilots, planes and aircraft carriers in return for ceding script approval (the Navy toned down some plot elements and made McGillis' character a civilian so that Cruise's lieutenant wouldn't violate military policy by romancing someone else who was in the service) and spare-no-expense rental fees. In addition to paying $7,800 per hour for use of the planes outside their scheduled maneuvers, director Tony Scott once whipped out a check for $25,000 to pay an aircraft carrier captain to change course so that he could shoot for five minutes with the sunlight behind the planes taking off and landing on deck.

That's in addition to the planes the production rented to film from the air. One stunt pilot and in-air cameraman, Art Scholl, died in a plane crash during filming; the movie was dedicated to his memory.

While the film's advertising played up the action and the romance between the Cruise and McGillis characters, at its heart, 'Top Gun' was about male bonding. The strongest relationship in the movie is actually the bromance of Maverick (Cruise) and Goose (Edwards); McGillis and Meg Ryan (as Goose's gal, Carole) are almost afterthoughts. Goose's death in a training accident makes Maverick inconsolable with grief, but commander Viper (Tom Skerritt) restores his morale with tales of Maverick's late father's unheralded heroism. Maverick goes on to prove himself in battle and finally makes an admiring friend out of bitter rival Iceman (Kilmer).

The locker-room towel-snapping camaraderie of the pilots is, like most everything else about 'Top Gun,' a little over the top. So much so, in fact, that its easy to snicker about 'Top Gun's' (probably) unintentional homoeroticism. A few years later, the film would get a notorious and hilarious deconstruction of its secret gay subtext in a monologue delivered by Quentin Tarantino in the 1994 movie 'Sleep With Me.'

Quentin Tarantino on 'Top Gun,' from 'Sleep With Me' (Contains NSFW language)

Still, none of this kept the film from being the biggest hit of 1986 or having an enormous impact beyond the movie theater. It was also one of the first blockbusters of the then-new home videocassette market, as it was priced to sell (at $20) instead of to rent. It also boosted Naval recruitment 500 percent and lifted the sales of bomber jackets and Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses. Its soundtrack sold an astonishing 7 million copies and made stars of Berlin, whose ballad "Take My Breath Away" won the Oscar for Best Original Song. Cruise's line, "I feel the need... the need for speed!" became a popular catchphrase.

And of course, it sent into the stratosphere the careers of nearly everyone involved. Besides setting the template for Cruise's success as the world's top leading man for the next 20 years, it also provided career boosts to the rest of the cast, to director Tony Scott ('Top Gun' elevated him to A-list status as an action director) and to its producers, especially Jerry Bruckheimer. The lavish spectacle he bankrolled in 'Top Gun' has been the norm for the rest of his career, particularly the movies he produced for director Michael Bay (whose career is unthinkable without the blueprint of 'Top Gun') and Bruckheimer's last decade or so of Disney action movies, including this week's new 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.'

This Week in Movie History

1929 (May 16): The very first Academy Awards ceremony is held as a banquet at the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel. The winners having been announced in advance ('Wings' and 'Sunrise' shared Best Picture honors), the actual handing out of prizes takes only about five minutes.
2001 (May 18): 'Shrek' is released, launching a fractured-fairytale franchise that includes four movies (so far) and a Broadway musical. It goes on to win the first-ever Oscar for Best Animated Feature and establishes DreamWorks Animation as the first viable rival to Disney in the field of feature-length cartoons.
2008 (May 15): Former "private investigator to the stars" Anthony Pellicano is convicted on 76 or 77 counts of racketeering activities involving illegal wiretaps of celebrities' phones and unauthorized accessing of police files. He had acted as his own attorney during the trial, which also saw four of his associates convicted.

This Week in Celebrity Birthdays

Megan Fox turned 25 on May 16; does that mean she's officially over the hill? '21' star Jim Sturgess turned 30 that same day, which was also the birthday of Debra Winger (56) and Pierce Brosnan (58).

Diva-turned-action star Grace Jones turns 59 on May 19; other action icons with birthdays this week are Chow Yun-Fat (56 on May 18) and Mr. T (59 on May 21). Also celebrating are funny ladies Tina Fey (41 on May 18) and writer/director Nora Ephron (70 on May 19). On May 20, Cher turns 65 (or at least, parts of her do).

Other birthdays this week: On May 17, 'Social Network' Oscar-winning composer Trent Reznor turned 46, while Bill Paxton turned 56. Bronson Pinchot turns 52 on May 20, and Fairuza Balk turns 37 on May 21.

Going Out? New and Noteworthy This Week

'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' - Trailer No. 3

'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' (PG-13)

Starring: Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Ian McShane, Kevin McNally, Geoffrey Rush
Directed By: Rob Marshall
What's It About? Capt. Jack Sparrow is back, on an adventure that takes him in search of the Fountain of Youth. Also aboard are an old flame (Cruz), the legendary pirate Blackbeard (McShane), and Sparrow's old frenemy Barbossa (Rush), now an admiral in the British Navy.
Why Should You See It? The last two 'Pirates' movies, with their confusing mythology, probably didn't leave you wanting more. This one, however, is supposed to be a more streamlined, stand-alone story. Gone is the soggy romantic subplot involving civilians Will and Elizabeth (Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley aren't in this movie), and the focus is back where it should be, on Depp's loopy buccaneer.
You Might Like It If You Like: 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl'

Showtimes & Tickets: 2D | 3D | Digital 3D | IMAX 3D | Reviews
Penélope Cruz's Sexiest Moments
At the Premiere, With Kermit the Frog | On the Set

In Limited Release

'Midnight in Paris,' Woody Allen's latest romantic comedy, stars Owen Wilson as a writer who, with doubts about his talent and his upcoming marriage, finds himself traveling back in time to Jazz Age Paris and rubbing shoulders with the likes of Hemingway and Fitzgerald. Naturally, the French loved this one when it opened the Cannes Film Festival last week.
Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

Still in Theaters, Still Awesome

o.'Bridesmaids' - The 'Hangover Part II' guys will have their work cut out for them if they want to outfunny this bridal party. Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

o.'Priest' - If you're going to see just one movie about a vampire-hunting clergyman this year... Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

o.'Something Borrowed' - Will Ferrell proves he can do straight drama in this minimalist tale of a drunken salesman whose life is literally reduced to a yard sale. Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Cinematical's Review

Staying In This Weekend?

New on DVD: It's all about mentors and proteges this week, in professions few of us would dare try. In 'The Mechanic' (Buy or rent the DVD), Jason Statham is an assassin who takes on an apprentice while wreaking mayhem. In 'The Rite' (Buy or rent the DVD), Anthony Hopkins is an exorcist who teaches a young priest how to find and cast out demons. Both make a point of offering genre fans the expected thrills and chills, but the real reason to see these is to catch the elder actors doing what they do best. Statham grimly kicks butt without breaking a sweat or a smile, and Hopkins gleefully chews scenery in ways that only beloved British master thespians can get away with. More new DVD releases

On Our Netflix Queue: If Johnny Depp and Penélope Cruz display any chemistry in the new 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,' it's because they have a history together, having played a more modern variety of Caribbean pirate. Ten years ago, they co-starred in the little-seen cocaine saga 'Blow.' Depp plays real-life smuggler George Jung, who claimed credit for having opened up the American cocaine market to the Medellín cartel in the 1970s. Cruz plays his upper-crust, Colombian-born wife, Mirtha. The film is a 'Goodfellas'-like tale of a life in the drug-dealing underworld; Ray Liotta even appears as Jung's hard-working, struggling dad. But you know the coke-fueled nightmare that marks Henry Hill's downfall during the last few minutes of 'Goodfellas'? That takes up about half the film here, with George on a long, merciless descent thanks to drugs, betrayals and his passionate, tumultuous, scary relationship with Mirtha. The pretty pair make life at the top of the drug pyrmaid seem both bleak and powerfully seductive. Buy or rent the DVD

On TV: Arnold Schwarzenegger has been in the news so much lately that it's easy to forget that, 30 years ago, he wasn't a movie star, a retired politician or a sex scandal pariah, just a bodybuilder with a funny accent and unlikely dreams of stardom. That changed with the one-two punch of 'Conan the Barbarian' (1982) and 'Conan the Destroyer' (1984). Robert E. Howard had created the prehistoric fantasy warrior character decades earlier, but Conan seemed tailor-made for Schwarzenegger's rippling shoulders. (Granted, the films demanded a lot more of him, in emotional range and tongue-twisting archaic dialogue, than he could muster, a problem his stoic, nearly silent Terminator character would eventually remedy.) The two movies, pretty hard to take seriously even then, may appear even sillier now, but there ought to be a good drinking game in watching them, particularly every time Arnold drops a howler like the one about gloating over the lamentations of women. Try it out (and steel yourself for this summer's 'Conan the Barbarian' reboot) with this weekend's double feature. (AMC, Saturday, 5PM and 8PM). Check your local listings

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman.

This Week in 1991: 'Thelma & Louise' and Madonna Take Charge
Twenty years ago this week (on May 24, 1991) came the wide release of two movies that celebrated strong, assertive women, the likes of which we'd seldom seen on screen before -- or since. The heroines of 'Thelma & Louise' were fictional, while the protagonist of the concert documentary 'Madonna: Truth or Dare' was not, but all three women demonstrated their own ways of standing up against long odds and taking charge in a man's world.

Both movies were epic in scope -- 'Thelma' from the sweeping all-American vistas and mythic sweep of Ridley Scott's direction; 'Truth' from the worldwide footprint of Madonna's 'Blonde Ambition' tour and the extravagant theatricality of her concerts -- yet also strikingly intimate. 'Truth' showed rare glimpses of the private, backstage Madonna as mother hen to her family of dancers, while 'Thelma' presented a portrait of female friendship that has been oft-imitated but never duplicated.

'Thelma' took more than 10 years to make; Scott and screenwriter Callie Khouri spent most of that time considering nearly every A-list actress in Hollywood for one of the two starring roles before casting Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon. Khouri envisioned the film as a gritty, documentary-style tale that she would direct herself, with Scott producing. Instead, Scott brought his gift for larger-than-life visuals to the director's chair and made it a fable about two everywomen whose weekend fishing trip takes a violent turn and transforms the pals into outlaws hunted by what looks like the entire patriarchy of the United States, with all their hardware.

The movie was controversial at the time -- were Thelma and Louise feminist heroines to be emulated or violent thugs who were just as bad as (or even worse than) the men who'd done them wrong? Was their final act (apparently patterned on the ending of archetypal male buddy flick 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid') a gesture of suicidal nihilism or triumphant escape?

Whatever you thought of its protagonists, the movie was unforgettable. Months later, it earned a screenwriting Oscar for Khouri and Best Actress nominations for both leads. (They lost to another iconic heroine, Jodie Foster's Clarice Starling in 'The Silence of the Lambs.') Hollywood made some other attempts at female buddy/road movies, though none with the chemistry or provocative premise that made 'Thelma' a hit. Ironically, the film's longest-lasting legacy may be its casting of a small, male supporting role, charming but larcenous hitchhiker J.D., a performance that made an instant star out of an unknown hunk named Brad Pitt.

An unknown young man, 26-year old recent Harvard grad Alek Keshishian (whose senior thesis was a stage production of 'Wuthering Heights' scored to Madonna and Kate Bush music), was the credited director of 'Truth or Dare,' but despite the movie's visual flourishes (the backstage sequences were in black-and-white, while the performances were in color), it was clear that the guiding intelligence behind the project was Madonna herself. She's seen throughout taking control, whether it's the look and sound of her stage show or dealing with the myriad logistical problems of a worldwide tour.

Even the supposedly candid behind-the-scenes sequences seemed as carefully choreographed and deliberately provocative as what concertgoers saw on stage. The distinction between what was real and what was crafted for the camera was a borderline Madonna seemed happy to ignore. The key line in the film came from her then-boyfriend, Warren Beatty, who grumbled, "She doesn't want to live off-camera, much less talk... What point is there of existing off-camera?" It's no wonder that an old-school Hollywood star like Beatty, who carefully guarded his privacy, was ultimately incompatible with a contemporary showbiz figure like Madonna, who recognized that her job was to be a star 24/7 and that most of her duties consisted of image control and careful media manipulation. 'Truth or Dare' may have revealed both more and less of the real, private Madonna than anyone expected, but it was absolutely frank about her method.

Like 'Thelma & Louise,' 'Madonna: Truth or Dare' has had few direct imitators, despite a number of backstage concert films that have come out over the last 20 years. Still, it's apparent that at least one star-in-training was watching; indeed, Lady Gaga seems to have taken her entire playbook from 'Truth or Dare.'

This Week in Movie History

1977 (May 25): 'Star Wars' is released. It becomes one of the biggest hit movies ever made, launches a franchise that includes five more live-action movies and countless other spinoffs, changes forever the way Hollywood movies are made and marketed, and leaves a Death Star-sized imprint on all of pop culture.
1989 (May 24): Erotic drama 'sex, lies, and videotape' wins the Palme d'Or, the top prize at Cannes. The film becomes an indie hit that put both writer/director Steven Soderbergh and distributor Miramax on the map.
1998 (May 28): Phil Hartman is shot dead at 49 by his wife, who then turned the gun on herself. The comic actor was best known for his TV work ('Saturday Night Live,' 'The Simpsons'), but he also played deadpan comic roles in numerous movies and was instrumental in the development of Paul Reubens' Pee-wee Herman character, co-starring with Reubens in 'Pee-wee's Big Adventure.'
2004 (May 22): 'Fahrenheit 9/11' wins the Palme d'Or, the first documentary to do so in nearly 50 years. The film, Michael Moore's critique of the Bush administration's response to the 9/11 attacks and its decision to invade Iraq, would go on to gross $119 million in America, becoming the most successful documentary ever made.
2008 (May 26): Oscar-winning director Sydney Pollack dies at 73. His 40-year directing career included such landmarks as 'The Way We Were,' 'Tootsie,' and 'Out of Africa.'

This Week in Celebrity Birthdays

It's a good birthday week for witches and wizards. 'Harry Potter' sorceress Helena Bonham Carter turns 45 on May 26, while Ian McKellen was 72 the day before. McKellen's 'Lord of the Rings' foe Christopher Lee turns 89 on May 27. Joseph Fiennes, currently playing Merlin on TV's 'Camelot,' turns 41 the same day.

Stoner comedy icon Tommy Chong lit the candles (we think they were candles) for his 73rd birthday on May 24. Blaxploitation icon Pam Grier celebrates her 62nd on May 26. Iconic drill sergeant/Oscar-winner Louis Gossett Jr. turns 75 on May 27. Controversial '50s starlet ('Baby Doll')-turned venerable character actress Carroll Baker turns 80 on May 28.

Frank Oz is a comedy director, Muppeteer (he does Miss Piggy and Cookie Monster, among others), and the voice of Yoda; 67 years old he became on May 25. That birthday is shared by Anne Heche (42) and Mike Myers (48).

'Something Borrowed' star Ginnifer Goodwin isn't sharing her 33rd birthday with anyone in Hollywood; she has May 22 all to herself. Sometime movie actor Lenny Kravitz lets cake rule on the 26th, when he turns 47. Child star Jesse Bradford turns 32 on the 28th. John C. Reilly's 46th birthday was May 24.

Going Out? New and Noteworthy This Week

'The Hangover Part II' - Trailer No. 2

'The Hangover Part II' (R)

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong
Directed By: Todd Phillips
What's It About? In this sequel to the top-grossing R-rated comedy of all time, there's another bachelor party blackout that the Wolf Pack guys try to piece together the next morning. This time, they wake up in Bangkok instead of Vegas, and with a monkey instead of a baby.
Why Should You See It? Uh, because you liked the first one so much that you want to see the same exact gags in the same order, but in a more exotic city? Because you think Zach Galifianakis can do no wrong? Because you thought the first 'Hangover' didn't have enough penises on display?
You Might Like It If You Like: 'The Hangover,' 'Bridesmaids,' 'Cedar Rapids'

Showtimes & Tickets | Reviews
Unscripted: Interview with the Cast (Video)
The Tattoo Controversy | The Smoking Monkey Controversy

'Kung Fu Panda 2' (PG)

Starring: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Oldman, Michelle Yeoh
Directed By: Jennifer Yuh Nelson
What's It About? Roly-poly Po (Black) and the other animal warriors of the Furious Five face a new enemy, a megalomaniacal peacock (Oldman) bent on panda genocide. Po also seeks the identity of his real father.
Why Should You See It? Like the original, the film is meant to work as both a kung-fu movie primer for kids that's full of life lessons (though this one deals with much scarier issues) and a treat for adult genre fans, who'll appreciate the gorgeous visuals reminiscent of Zhang Yimou's color-drenched martial arts movies.
You Might Like It If You Like: 'Kung Fu Panda,' 'House of Flying Daggers,' 'Curse of the Golden Flower'

Showtimes & Tickets: 2D | 3D | Trailers & Clips | Reviews
Can 'Kung Fu Panda 2' Get Kids to Eat Tofu?

In Limited Release

'The Tree of Life,' which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes this week, stars Brad Pitt and Sean Penn in a story about the spiritual life of a 1950s family, set against the cosmic backdrop of the history of the universe. It's the most ambitious film yet from visionary director Terence Malick.
Showtimes & Tickets | Trailer | Reviews

Still in Theaters, Still Awesome

o.'Midnight in Paris' - The summer has only just started, but Woody Allen's magical tale of nostalgia and romance in the City of Lights already looks like the indie comedy of the summer. Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

o.'Bridesmaids' - In case you can't get into 'The Hangover Part II,' or if you want to see a similar story but with fewer male genitalia flopping about. Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

Staying In This Weekend?

New on DVD: Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' seems reworkable in just about any context, whether it's New York street gangs or, in the case of 'Gnomeo & Juliet,' warring clans of lawn ornaments. For the kids, this front-yard romance makes a fine Shakespeare primer; for the grown-ups, there's the in-jokes, the stellar visuals and the soundtrack of familiar Elton John hits. Buy or rent the DVD | More new DVD releases

On Our Netflix Queue: Just in time for Memorial Day, 'Platoon' (1986) has come out on Blu-Ray. Twenty-five years after its release, it seems like a memento of a much simpler time. Not the late 1960s, when this Vietnam War saga takes place, but rather the late 1980s, when Charlie Sheen could credibly portray a naive young innocent; when castmates Johnny Depp, John C. McGinley, Kevin Dillon and Forest Whitaker were unknowns; and when Oliver Stone wasn't yet a fringe, conspiracy-theory-loving crank but rather a mainstream artist faithfully recalling the war from his own grunt's-eye perspective. Buy or rent the DVD

On TV: One of the best documentaries ever made, 'Hoop Dreams' (1994) is nothing less than an epic tale of how we live now. This, even though it's also the intimate story of two Chicago teens, William Gates and Arthur Agee, who see basketball as their ticket out of the inner city. Following both boys and their families over the course of four years, director Steve James tells a compelling story of the American dream, as seen from the perspective of people who face impossibly steep odds against making their dreams come true. It's showing Saturday at 7PM on Current, which has recently been showing a number of the most innovative movies of the last 20 years. Check your local listings

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman.

This Week in 1981: 'Polyester' Wafts Into Theaters
3D may be the gimmick of the moment, but 30 years ago this week (on May 29, 1981), John Waters came up with a different way to extend movies into a new dimension and make them more in-your-face. It was called Odorama, and his test vehicle, a movie you could smell, was 'Polyester.'

'Polyester' was a brave undertaking for Waters, previously known as the outsider auteur whose deliberately outrageous films (most notoriously 'Pink Flamingos') had been relegated to midnight-movie status. For the first time, he was courting the attention of the mainstream. He risked having both cult fans and mainstream critics tell the world that 'Polyester' stunk (often literally). And while none really dared follow his technical innovation, Waters did prove that the mainstream was ready for his idiosyncratic brand of satire -- and that he, in turn, was ready for mass acceptance, a transition he would complete with his next movie, 'Hairspray.'

On the surface, 'Polyester' looked like Waters' previous films. It was a suburban satire, full of taboo-breaking behavior and populated with the oddballs from his regular Dreamland company of actors, including Mink Stole, Edith Massey, and titanic drag queen Divine. But it was also an homage to the classic, florid, women's pictures of the 1950s, particularly those directed by Douglas Sirk. He even cast his first Hollywood star, faded 1950s himbo Tab Hunter, in a lead role as Todd Tomorrow, handsome love interest of Francine Fishpaw, the depressed, put-upon suburban housewife played by Divine.

Even Odorama was, in a way, a throwback to 1950s movies, specifically, the horror films produced by William Castle, known for such in-theater gimmicks as vibrating seats and glow-in-the-dark skeletons suspended over the audience. In 1960, a Castle-esque gimmick called Smell-O-Vision was developed for producer Mike Todd Jr.'s 'Scent of Mystery,' a crime drama (featuring a murder victim played by Todd's stepmom, the uncredited Elizabeth Taylor) in which scented vapors with aromas key to solving the mystery plot were piped into theaters at appropriate moments. Smell-O-Vision turned out to be a laughable failure; the scent machines made a distracting hissing noise, and theater patrons found the smells similarly disorienting and noxious.

Waters' Odorama was a low-tech update, using scratch-and-sniff cards distributed to ticketbuyers. Each card had 10 numbered scents. When a number flashed in the corner of the movie screen, you were supposed to smell the appropriate-numbered scent. Some aromas were pleasant (roses, pizza, new car smell, air freshener), but Waters being Waters, some were cheekily disgusting (gasoline, skunk, ratty sneakers, farts). Having persuaded audiences to watch Divine eat a freshly-laid dog dropping in 'Pink Flamingos,' Waters cackled that he now was getting moviegoers to "pay to smell sh*t."

And yet, Waters had actually toned down much of his usual outrageousness for 'Polyester.' It was the first of his films to be rated R, not X, so it could play in mainstream theaters. It was also his first to be released by a mainstream distributor (New Line). It featured songs by Debbie Harry, who was the queen of rock at the time, as the frontwoman of Blondie. (The movie's theme was sung by Harry and Bill Murray, of all people.) And it was probably the first Waters movie to garner positive reviews from mainstream newspaper critics.

Alas, 'Polyester' did not become the 'Avatar' of Odorama; there was no boomlet of scented movies that followed in its pungent wake. But the film did have an impact. It revived Hunter's career, giving him a second wave of fame as a camp icon. It also brought mainstream recognition to Divine, who played his female role relatively straight in 'Polyester,' leading to another romantic collaboration with Hunter, the Western spoof 'Lust in the Dust.' Most important, 'Polyester' provided the bridge to 'Hairspray' (featuring Harry as the villainess), which was PG-clean but still full of Waters' outsider-satire weirdness. 'Hairspray' became a huge hit (and a massive Broadway musical, which itself became a movie), Waters became enshrined as an elder statesman of trash, and the rest is history. Odorama may have been a footnote in that history, but its scent lingers on.

This Week in Movie History

1989 (June 2): 'Dead Poets Society' is released, proving Robin Williams can play serious roles. The prep school drama becomes a big hit, wins an Oscar for Tom Schulman's original screenplay, and is instrumental in launching the careers of Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, and Josh Charles.
2002 (June 3): Lew Wasserman, the mogul who charted Hollywood's course for the second half of the 20th century, dies at 89. Once Hollywood's top talent agent, Wasserman would alter the industry's balance of power several times, first by getting studios to pay stars a percentage of the gross instead of a salary or flat fee up front, then by monopolizing the TV production business at a time when movie moguls were afraid to get involved with the new technology, and finally, by purchasing Universal Studios and running it for 40 years.
2003 (May 29): Movie comedy titan and tireless USO performer Bob Hope celebrates his 100th birthday. He dies two months later, on July 27.

This Week in Celebrity Birthdays

Go ahead, make my birthday. Clint Eastwood turned 81 on May 31. Frequent Eastwood collaborator Morgan Freeman turned 74 the next day. Angelina Jolie, who starred in Eastwood's 'Changeling,' is 36 on June 4. She shares a birthday with Russell Brand, born on the same day in the same year.

June 2 sees a run on birthday candles. Justin Long turns 33, making him exactly one year younger than Zachary Quinto. Dana Carvey turns 55 (No way? Way!). Composer Marvin Hamlisch is 67, tough guy Stacy Keach is 70, and 'M*A*S*H' and 'Back to School' star Sally Kellerman is 74.

Celebrating on May 29 were Annette Benning (53) and composer Danny Elfman (58). May 31 marked a birthday for Brooke Shields (46) and Chris Elliott (51).

Milestone birthdays this week include '2001: A Space Odyssey' star Keir Dullea (75 on May 30), Colin Farrell (35 on May 31), Lea Thompson (50 on May 31), and Bruce Dern (75 on June 4).

Going Out? New and Noteworthy This Week

'X-Men: First Class' Trailer No. 2

'X-Men: First Class' (PG-13)

Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, January Jones, Jennifer Lawrence
Directed By: Matthew Vaughn
What's It About? This prequel recounts how mind-reader Professor X (McAvoy) and metal master Magneto (Fassbender), back when they were still friends and hadn't yet aged into Master British Thespians Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, recruited the first mutants who would become the original X-Men. Familiar characters include shape-shifter Mystique (Lawrence), while bad guys include diamond-skinned Emma Frost (Jones) and Nazi war criminal-turned-supervillain Sebastian Shaw (Bacon).
Why Should You See It? Director Vaughn did well with 'Kick-Ass,' so perhaps he can be trusted with a much more beloved superhero franchise. The stars all have solid acting credentials, not just good looks (though Lawrence and Jones are pretty hot, even buried under layers of scaly makeup).
You Might Like It If You Like: 'X-Men,' 'Kick-Ass,' 'Hollow Man' (another movie where Kevin Bacon played a mad-scientist villain named Sebastian)

Showtimes & Tickets | Reviews
Five HUGE Differences Between the Comic Books and 'X-Men: First Class'
Who's Who in the 'X-Men: First Class' Cast
Professor X and Magneto: Their Comic Book History | Best Comic Book Frenemies
Interviews: Kevin Bacon | January Jones | Michael Fassbender

In Limited Release

'Beginners' stars Ewan McGregor as a man who embarks on a new romance (with 'Inglourious Basterds' star Mélanie Laurent) while taking inspiration from the example of his late father (Christopher Plummer), who came out of the closet in his 70s, just before he died. Mike Mills ('Thumbsucker') directed this romance, inspired by the story of his own late father.
Showtimes & Tickets | Trailer | Cinematical's Review

'Submarine,' a hit at the Toronto and Sundance film festivals, sees writer/director Richard Ayoade adapte Joe Dunthorne's coming-of-age novel about a Welsh teen trying to lose his virginity and save his parents' crumbling marriage.
Showtimes & Tickets | Trailer | Cinematical's Review

Still in Theaters, Still Awesome

'The Hangover Part II' - What happened in Vegas happens again in Bangkok. Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

'Kung Fu Panda 2' - Is it still typecasting if the villain Gary Oldman plays is an animated peacock? Showtimes & Tickets: 2D | 3D | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

'The Tree of Life' - Chances to see Terence Malick's visually poetic meditations on the big screen don't come around very often; dude's been known to go 20 years between movies. Showtimes & Tickets | Trailer | Reviews

Staying In This Weekend?

New on DVD: Two of the screen's most intense actors have very different DVDs out this week in which they play heroes who've already been damned but who seek redemption as they try to make a future for their offspring. Nicolas Cage re-enacts the Orpheus myth in 'Drive Angry' (Buy or rent the DVD), as a hot-rodder from hell bent on saving his kidnapped infant granddaughter. Javier Bardem, in an Oscar-nominated performance, stars in 'Biutiful' (Buy or rent the DVD) as a con man trying to give his kids a life while he succumbs to cancer. One of these is tongue-in-cheek escapist exploitation; the other is a searing, emotionally draining drama. We'll let you decide which is which. More new DVD releases

On Our Netflix Queue: Congratulations, new college grads! What do you do with your lives now? If that question stumps you, you're not alone. Best tonic for you is 1995's 'Kicking and Screaming' (not to be confused with the Will Ferrell soccer movie of the same title), in which several recent grads - facing an unforgiving world that no longer offers easy access to cheap beer, cheap sex and cheap philosophizing - try to forestall their expulsion from the dorm womb for as long as possible before being dragged into the world of adult responsibilities and relationships. The debut feature of Noah Baumbach ('The Squid and the Whale,' 'Greenberg'), 'Kicking' is a chatty but wistful coming-of-age comedy that plays like the missing link between Whit Stillman and Wes Anderson. Buy or rent the DVD

On TV: Need to bone up on your Marvel mutant history before catching 'X-Men: First Class'? You can catch the entire trilogy in one seven-hour sitting this weekend on FX (Saturday, 7PM to Sunday, 2AM). Watch 'X-Men' (2000), 'X2: X-Men United' (2003) and 'X-Men: The Last Stand' (2006), and recall a time long ago, back before Hugh Jackman was a star, back before director Bryan Singer went off the reservation with 'Superman Returns,' and back when Singer's first two X-movies were so strong that not even hiring Brett Ratner to direct the third one could wreck the franchise. Check your local listings

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman.

This Weekend's Other Anniversary:
The Legacy of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'
It's probably no coincidence that 'Super 8,' an homage by J.J. Abrams to the kind of movies Steven Spielberg specialized in 30 years ago, is being released this weekend, which also marks the 30th anniversary of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' (released on June 12, 1981). Spielberg is nothing if not conscious of movie history -- especially his own -- and it's clear from recent interviews that the making of 'Raiders' is still fresh in his mind. (Moviefone's 'Super 8' review is here.)

In one sense, 'Raiders' has left an immense legacy, in that it launched a huge franchise on the big and small screens, turned Harrison Ford from a second-lead action-movie stalwart into an all-time movie icon and created the action-movie-as-amusement-park-ride template that many filmmakers (including Spielberg himself) have emulated ever since. In another sense, however, the movie seems an anomaly and a footnote, precisely because duplicating its magic and following its example have proved impossible for almost everyone who has tried (again, including Spielberg himself).

Of course, the movie was born out of a love for movie history shared by its creators, Spielberg and producer George Lucas. Even more than Lucas's swashbuckling Star Wars films, 'Raiders' was a deliberate throwback to the action movie serials of the 1930s and '40s. The key additions they made to the tradition: an improvisational feel and a relentless pace that make the movie play like a comedy as much as an action saga.

Like the resourceful Indy, who famously gets out of scrapes by saying he's making it up as he goes along, so did the filmmakers improvise solutions mid-shoot. Most famously, there's the moment where Indy, rather than duel against the swordsman in the street, simply shoots him -- a brilliant, convention-defying, absurdly practical solution that the filmmakers created on the spot. The moment, complete with Ford's world-weary expression, signaled that Indiana Jones was a new kind of action hero -- one who, despite being steeped in movie tradition, was going to do things his own way.

Even more important was the film's pacing, which never let moviegoers catch their breath for two solid hours. Every time Indy escaped from one threat, he immediately found himself confronting the next one. Even during the quiet, expository moments, like the one where Indy and Marcus are explaining the history of the Ark to the federal agents, the momentum is carried by Ford's boyish enthusiasm over ancient riddles and Indy's own ability to solve them. If nothing else, 'Raiders' is a celebration of the motion in motion pictures, a headlong rush of forward movement that carries the viewer along and creates the movie's carnival-ride-like experience.

The immediate effect of 'Raiders'' huge success was to turn the 38-year-old Ford (who'd spent 15 years in Hollywood supporting himself as a carpenter while landing the occasional supporting role and who had yet to parlay his Star Wars fame into successful leading-man status) into an enormous star who'd become one of Hollywood's biggest box office draws for the next 20 years. The film also boosted the careers of much of the rest of the cast, notably Karen Allen, Denholm Elliott, John Rhys-Davies and Alfred Molina. It also made co-screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan a bankable Hollywood name, who would go on to make hits like 'The Big Chill' and 'The Bodyguard.'

There were several attempts to duplicate the success of 'Raiders,' on both the small screen (anyone remember 'Tales of the Gold Monkey'?) and large (most brazenly, Brendan Fraser's 'Mummy' movies). But not even Spielberg and Lucas could replicate the magic in three sequels and a spin-off TV series ('The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'). As Spielberg buff Tom Shone has noted, it was as if 'Raiders' had stumbled onto the formula for the perfect action movie, yet no one could recreate it in the lab.

Well, almost no one. The most endearing part of the 'Raiders' legacy is the oft-told story of the three preteen fanboys who, in 1982, decided to make a shot-for-shot remake of 'Raiders.' Their labor of love took them seven years, working with a pocket-change budget and homemade props, but they did it. Their adaptation has been screened in public many times over the years, and those who've seen it know that it does recapture the seat-of-the-pants ingenuity of both Indiana Jones and the filmmakers who created him. That childlike wonder, exemplified by kids making a home-movie homage to the big-screen fare that inspired them, is what 'Super 8' is about, and is what Spielberg has spent a lifetime evoking in his storytelling.

Excerpt from 'Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation'

This Week in Movie History

1937 (June 7): Movie icon Jean Harlow, the first of Hollywood's great platinum blonde sex symbols, dies of acute renal failure, after years of frail health. She is only 26 and still at the height of her fame.
1982 (June 11): 'E.T.: The Extraterrestrial' is released, and the tear-jerking story of a stranded alien and the lonely boy he befriends immediately becomes Steven Spielberg's signature film. It also becomes one of the highest-grossing movies of all time and makes a lifelong star out of seven-year-old supporting player Drew Barrymore.
1984 (June 8): 'Ghostbusters' is released, becoming an instant comedy classic and the year's second biggest hit (behind 'Beverly Hills Cop'). It spawns two TV series and one movie sequel, though a third "Ghostbusters' film has been stuck in development for years.
1993 (June 9): Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss, 27, is arrested on charges of pandering, pimping, and possession of narcotics. Though the ensuing scandal threatens to embarrass some of the town's most powerful men, the only big-name client whose name is divulged is Charlie Sheen, a revelation that only burnishes his bad-boy reputation.
2004 (June 5): Movie/music power couple Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony tie the knot in a secret, intimate ceremony in the backyard of Lopez's Los Angeles home. The couple's joint projects would include the 2007 film 'El Cantante.'

This Week in Celebrity Birthdays

Enjoying milestone birthdays this week are Natalie Portman (30 as of June 9), Shia LaBeouf (25 on June 11), Michael J. Fox (50 on June 9), and Mark Wahlberg (who turned 40 on June 5). Celebrating on the same day as Portman and Fox is Johnny Depp, who turns 48.

Lots of three-fer birthdays this week. June 6 is the big day for Sandra Bernhard (56), Harvey Fierstein (59) and Robert Englund (64). Blowing out candles on the 7th were Michael Cera (23), Karl Urban (39) and Liam Neeson (59). Sharing a June 8 birthday are funny folks Keenen Ivory Wayans (53), Joan Rivers (78) and Jerry Stiller (84). The 10th sees celebrations for Leelee Sobieski (29), Shane West (33) and Elizabeth Hurley (46). And on the 11th, LaBeouf's fellow cake-eaters include Hugh Laurie (52), Adrienne Barbeau (66) and Gene Wilder (76).

Going Out? New and Noteworthy This Week

'Super 8' Trailer No. 2

'Super 8' (PG-13)

Starring: Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, AJ Michalka, Joel Courtney, Ron Eldard
Directed By: J.J. Abrams
What's It About? In 1979, a group of small-town kids shooting a homemade horror movie witnesses a train wreck that lets loose a mysterious menace that threatens the town.
Why Should You See It? The set-up (home movies, mysterious monster) sounds like a kiddie version of Abrams' 'Cloverfield,' but it's also a tribute to a childhood spent watching Steven Spielberg movies and trying to emulate them (both Abrams and Spielberg, who produced this film, got their start as kids shooting with old-school cameras like the Super 8 models used here). So if you, too, have fond memories of those old Spielberg films (with their spunky latchkey kids, puzzled grown-ups, small-town Americana and misunderstood monsters), this movie is as much for you as it is for members of the YouTube generation.
You Might Like It If You Like: 'The Goonies,' 'E.T.: The Extraterrestrial,' 'Cloverfield'

Showtimes & Tickets: Standard | IMAX | Reviews
Interviews: J.J. Abrams | Kyle Chandler

'Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer' (PG)

Starring: Jordana Beatty, Heather Graham, Parris Mosteller, Preston Bailey, Garrett Ryan
Directed By: John Schultz
What's It About? In this adaptation of Megan McDonald's kiddie-lit favorite, tween Judy (Beatty) is forced to spend the summer with her wacky aunt (Graham) but still finds ways to have goofy misadventures.
Why Should You See It? Because you liked the books, because you're under the age of 10 and because 'Super 8' is probably way too scary for you.
You Might Like It If You Like: 'Ramona and Beezus,' 'Harriet the Spy,' 'Nim's Island'

Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

In Limited Release

'Road to Nowhere' marks a comeback for legendary director Monte Hellman ('Two Lane Blacktop'), whose thriller is about a filmmaker shooting a movie whose unknown lead actress (Shannyn Sossamon) may be the actual femme fatale behind the real-life sex scandal that the screenplay depicts.
Showtimes & Tickets | Reviews

Still in Theaters, Still Awesome

'X-Men: First Class': Could this Marvel prequel not only be one of the best recent superhero movies but also the year's best coming-of-age story? Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

'Beginners': Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer star in what may be the year's best romance and best father-son tale. Showtimes & Tickets | Trailer | Cinematical's Review

'Submarine': This may be the year's best teen coming-of-age story that doesn't involve mutants. Showtimes & Tickets | Trailer | Cinematical's Review

Staying In This Weekend?

New on DVD: It's hard to add to the kudos already on record for 'True Grit.' After all, it made a huge pile of money, lassoed a slew of Oscar nominations, and made a star out of Hailee Steinfeld. Suffice it to say that, if you don't like Westerns because you think they are obsolete, or if you don't like movies by Joel and Ethan Coen because they're too weird, then this is the movie that could change your mind on both counts. A bonus: Roger Deakins' celebrated camerawork, which looked crisp yet dreamlike on the big screen, looks just as terrific at home. See it now or save it for Father's Day next weekend. Buy or rent the DVD | More new DVD releases

On Our Netflix Queue: Also newly released is another of last year's most acclaimed dramas, 'Another Year.' The story of a contented, long-married couple and their lonely, third-wheel friend (Lesley Manville), the movie is full of writer/director Mike Leigh's usual kitchen-sink, fly-on-the-wall realism. What makes it a must-see is the towering performance by Manville, whom many critics feel was robbed at Oscar time. Buy or rent the DVD

On TV: Speaking of classic Westerns, AMC is airing Clint Eastwood's entire Man With No Name trilogy in one sitting on Saturday. 'A Fistful of Dollars' airs at 5:30PM, followed by 'For a Few Dollars More' at 8 and 'The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly' at 11. And in case 10 hours of Eastwood rockin' that poncho and wreaking vengeance isn't enough, the whole trilogy is preceded by his early Western 'Hang 'Em High' at 2:45PM. Make it through that marathon, and you'll squint like Clint. Check your local listings

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman.

This Week in 1981: 'History of the World: Part I' Drops Wisdom
History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. (So said one of the Marxes, Groucho or Karl, I forget which.) Mel Brooks took the latter approach and came up with one of his most memorable comedies, 'History of the World: Part I,' released 30 years ago this week (on June 12, 1981).

The film consisted of old-fashioned sketches, vaudevillian riffs on well-known historical periods, but it's so deliberately dated that it still feels fresh today. Its impact continues to this day, echoing through the acting careers it launched, its irreverent approach to history and its catchphrase so, um, catchy, that Brooks has continued to use it in just about everything he's done since.

Brooks wore many hats in the production. He wrote it, directed it, produced it, wrote the songs, and played five parts in it. He also rounded up his usual repertory company (including Dom DeLuise, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, and Cloris Leachman) for supporting roles. (Narrating the segments was booming-voiced Orson Welles, by then in the Morgan Freeman stage of his career.)

The Roman sequence, the longest part of the film, gave two actors their film debuts. One was Gregory Hines, as the heroic slave Josephus. The part had been written for Richard Pryor, but after the comedian notoriously set himself on fire in 1980, the role went to Broadway hoofer Hines instead. His low-key comic charm in the role led to another two decades of success in leading roles in movies and TV, until his death in 2003.

The other was Mary-Margaret Humes, a former Miss Florida who's plan to break into show business involved renting a billboard near the 20th Century Fox lot and plastering it with her picture, name, and phone number. The tactic worked; Brooks saw the billboard and cast her as Vestal virgin Miriam. After 'History' opened, she became a busy TV actress, most famously as Dawson's mom throughout the five-year run of 'Dawson's Creek' a decade ago.

'History' was a hit, with its $11 million budget returning $32 million at the box office. Brooks capitalized on its success by exploiting its catchphrase, "It's good to be the king." (The line was spoken several times during the French Revolution segment by Brooks, both in the guise of King Louis XVI and Jacques, the piss-boy who serves as his body double.) After the film's release, Brooks recorded a hip-hop single called 'It's Good to Be the King,' rapping in character and reaching No. 67 on Billboard's Dance Tracks chart. (Could this have been the first rap song celebrating bling?)

Brooks liked the phrase so much, he used it again, with slight variations, in 'Spaceballs,' 'Robin Hood: Men in Tights,' and the Broadway version of 'The Producers.' He also reused the music from 'History's' 'Jews in Space' song in 'Men in Tights.'

Brooks' no-laugh-is-too-cheap approach to history continues to be influential; 2009's 'Year One,' the Jack Black-Michael Cera spoof of the ancient world, clearly owes a huge debt to 'History of the World: Part I.' Even Brooks' title was a joke, an obscure reference to a projected multi-volume ancient history written by Sir Walter Raleigh, who managed to finish only Part I before he was beheaded. Still, the end of the movie featured a mock trailer for a Part II that Brooks never intended to make. Thirty years later, we're still waiting for Brooks to follow through with 'Hitler on Ice' and 'Jews in Space.'

This Week in Movie History

1942 (June 18): Thumb-wielding film critic Roger Ebert is born. Thanks to his TV show with fellow Chicago-based critic Gene Siskel (and later, Richard Roeper), he'll become America's most influential movie reviewer, a position he maintains to this day (despite the loss of his voice) via Twitter.
1943 (June 16): Charlie Chaplin, 54, makes Oona O'Neill, 18, his fourth wife, leading the bride's outraged father, playwright Eugene O'Neill (who was the same age as the groom), to disinherit her. The marriage lasts until the silent actor's death 34 years later and produces eight children, including acclaimed actress Geraldine Chaplin.
1945 (June 15): It's a wedding of MGM musical royalty when 23-year-old Judy Garland marries 42-year-old Vincente Minnelli, who had directed her in 'Meet Me in St. Louis.' Their productions together would inclue 'The Pirate,' 'The Clock' and Liza Minnelli.
2003 (June 12): Movie icon Gregory Peck dies at 87. Besides his Oscar-winning role as Atticus Finch in 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' his five-decade career included such films as 'Gentlemen's Agreement,' 'Roman Holiday,' 'Moby-Dick,' and both versions of 'Cape Fear.'
2008 (June 17): Hollywood dance legend Cyd Charisse dieas at 88. Her classic musicals included 'Singin' in the Rain,' 'The Band Wagon,' 'Brigadoon,' and 'Silk Stockings.'

This Week in Celebrity Birthdays

Funny folk blowing out the candles this week include D.J. Qualls and Jason Mewes (the former is 33, the latter 37, both as of June 12), Tim Allen (58 on the 13th), Steve-O (37, also on the 13th), 'Juno' scribe Diablo Cody (June 14 was her 33rd birthday), Jim Belushi (57 on the 15th) and 'Airplane' star Julie Hagerty (56, also on the 15th). Neil Patrick Harris was 38 on June 15; his 'Harold and Kumar' co-star John Cho turns 39 the next day. The 17th sees cake served to Will Forte (41) and director Bobby Farrelly (53).

Milestone birthdays this week: Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen turned 25 on the 13th, as did Kat Dennings. The same day was also Chris "Capt. America" Evans' 30th and Stellan Skarsgard's 60th. Jake Busey hit 4-0 on the 15th. Lost Boy Jason Patric is 45 on the 16th, and Joe Piscopo is 60 on the 17th.

Isabella Rossellini and Carol Kane were born on exactly the same day; both turn 59 on June 18. Other celebrants this week: 'A.I.' star Frances O'Connor (44 on June 12), Aaron 'Kick-Ass' Johnson (21 on the 13th), Malcolm McDowell (68 on the 13th), Ally Sheedy (49 on the 13th), Spy Kid Daryl Sabara (19 on June 14th), Courteney Cox (47 on the 15th), Helen Hunt (48, the same day), angry-rapper-turned-cuddly-family-movie-comic Ice Cube (42 on June 15), 'Twilight' vampire mom Elisabeth Reaser (38 on the 15th), oft-resurrected mummy Arnold Vosloo (49 on the June 16th), Greg Kinnear (48 on the 16th), and Thomas Haden Church (51, also on the 16th).

Going Out? New and Noteworthy This Week

'Green Lantern' Trailer No. 2

'Green Lantern' (PG-13)

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Tim Robbins, Angela Bassett
Directed By: Martin Campbell
What's It About? In this adaptation of the venerable DC comic series, test pilot Hal Jordan (Reynolds) is recruited to join an interstellar police force and armed with a green power ring that can conjure up any kind of weapon he can think of. Lively is his love interest, and Sarsgaard is a disfigured mad scientist who tries to use the ring's power for evil.
Why Should You See It? Who doesn't love Ryan Reynolds? Plus, Campbell is pretty good at launching/rebooting action franchises (see 'Goldeneye,' 'The Mask of Zorro,' 'Casino Royale').
You Might Like It If You Like: 'X-Men: First Class,' 'Batman Begins,' 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy

Showtimes & Tickets: 2D | 3D | Reviews
Peter Sarsgaard and 10 More Butt-Ugly Comic Book Villains

'Mr. Popper's Penguins' (PG)

Starring: Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Angela Lansbury
Directed By: Mark S. Waters
What's It About? This adaptation of Richard and Florence Atwater's kiddie-lit classic stars Carrey as a workaholic, divorced dad whose family and business troubles are compounded when he inherits a brood of flightless birds.
Why Should You See It? You're a little kid, and you've already seen 'Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer.' Also, you know Carrey will tie himself into pretzels trying to entertain you.
You Might Like It If You Like: The 'Ace Ventura' movies, '101 Dalmatians,' 'Happy Feet'

Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

In Limited Release

'The Art of Getting By' is about a tentative teen romance in Manhattan between a smart slacker (Freddie Highmore) and a cheerful overachiever (Emma Roberts).
Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews | Highmore and Roberts: Child Stars Made Good

'Page One,' a recent Sundance favorite, is a documentary about the inner workings of the New York Times, as the paper navigates an uneasy transition into the age of social media and do-it-yourself journalism.
Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Cinematical's Review

Still in Theaters, Still Awesome

o.'Super 8' - If E.T. and the Cloverfield monster had a baby... that'd be one hideous-looking baby. Showtimes & Tickets: Standard | IMAX | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

o.'Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer' - If Ramona, Harriet the Spy, and Lindsay Lohan's 'Parent Trap' twins had a baby... well, you get the idea. Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

o.'Road to Nowhere' - This noir marks 'Two Lane Blacktop' director Monte Hellman's first movie in eons, prompting the question: Is he secretly Terrence Malick? Showtimes & Tickets | Reviews

Staying In This Weekend?

New on DVD: 'Battle: Los Angeles' is just as no-nonsense as its title. It's alien invaders vs. Marine grunts on the streets of L.A. Imagine if last fall's similarly low-budget saucers-invade-L.A. saga 'Skyline' had had more of a 'District 9' faux documentary feel. Something to watch with Dad on Father's Day, maybe? Buy or rent the DVD | More new DVD releases

On Our Netflix Queue: Actually, most people probably just rent 'Field of Dreams' for Father's Day. But if Dad likes gangster movies, how about 'Road to Perdition'? Tom Hanks and Paul Newman both give majestic performances (and Daniel Craig and Jude Law are good, too) in this artful drama about how fathers and sons struggle not to disappoint each other. Buy or rent the DVD

On TV: A year later, some of us are still confused by 'Inception.' Fortunately, it debuts on premium cable this weekend (HBO, Saturday, 8PM), so you can ponder its enigmas once more, this time in HD. Check your local listings

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman.

Forget 'Meatballs' or 'Wet Hot American Summer.' Everyone's favorite summer camp movie seems to be 'The Parent Trap,' where Hayley Mills goes to camp and instead of finding mosquitoes and poison ivy finds the identical twin sister she never knew she had. Together, they scheme to reunite their divorced parents by switching places after camp.

Released 50 years ago this week (on June 21, 1961), the live-action Disney film has remained a childhood favorite for half a century, and it proved influential in ways probably no one associated with it would have imagined.

The film marked the second of six Disney movies for child star Mills, reuniting her with David Swift, who'd directed her in Disney's 'Pollyanna.' The movie rested on Mills' ability to play two very different sisters: prim, Boston-bred Sharon, and outdoorsy California tomboy Susan. Initially, the production brought them together in trick-photography shots only a few times, with a body double handling the rest, but when Walt Disney saw how seamless and effective the gimmick was, he ordered reshoots that involved more scenes of Susan and Sharon sharing a frame. Editor Philip W. Anderson would ultimately earn an Oscar nomination for pulling off this special effect.

The movie's success led to a number of unexpected spinoffs. "Let's Get Together," Hayley Mills' on-screen duet with herself, charted as a single in September 1961, reaching No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. That led to Mills recording an album, 'Let's Get Together With Hayley Mills.'

On TV, the movie's premise and editing gimmick became a feature of hit 1963-66 sitcom 'The Patty Duke Show,' in which teen star Duke played "identical cousins" with different personalities. Brian Keith, who played the divorced dad in 'Parent Trap,' soon landed his signature role on the 1966-71 sitcom 'Family Affair,' again playing a wealthy bachelor who suddenly finds himself beset by twin children (and their older sister). In the 1980s, a 40-ish Mills reprised her twin 'Parent Trap' roles in three Disney made-for-TV sequels.

Finally, of course, there was the 1998 big-screen remake, which launched the career of Lindsay Lohan. It's hard to watch that movie now without thinking of all the squandered promise, but at least as an 11-year-old, she was a happy camper.

This Week in Movie History

1905 (June 19): The first nickelodeon opens in Pittsburgh, helping to transform film into a mass medium. For five cents apiece, 96 patrons could attend shows that included both short films and live vaudeville acts.
1975 (June 20): 'Jaws' is released, making an A-list director out of Steven Spielberg, changing summer moviegoing habits forever, and keeping leery swimmers out of the ocean to this day.
1989 (June 23): Tim Burton's 'Batman' is released. Months of careful advance marketing makes the Caped Crusader saga the first summer "event" movie, and its success makes Burton's career and inspires the direction of comic-book films for the next decade.
2005 (June 24): Tom Cruise gives his notorious "Psychiatry is a pseudoscience" interview on 'Today,' defending Scientology's approach to depression while criticizing interviewer Matt Lauer and one-time Cruise pal Brooke Shields. Cruise and Shields ultimately reconcile, but this interview, along with his couch-jumping incident on 'Oprah' (expressing his glee over new love Katie Holmes) marks a public-image meltdown from which the superstar has never recovered.
2008 (June 22): Taboo-breaking comedian George Carlin dies at 71. Though not known for his film work, he played memorable roles in 'Car Wash,' the 'Bill & Ted' movies, and Pixar's 'Cars.'
2009 (June 25): Michael Jackson dies at 50 in Los Angeles amid rehearsals for a series of London concerts expected to mark his farewell to live performance. Rehearsal footage is released later that year as the concert doc 'This Is It,' marking the first smash of the King of Pop's posthumous career.

This Week in Celebrity Birthdays

Nicole Kidman, whose movies include 'Birth' and 'Birthday Girl,' is a birthday girl this week, marking her 44th birthday on June 20. Other Oscar-winners celebrating include Martin Landau (83, also on the 20th), Meryl Streep (62 on June 22) and Frances McDormand (54 on June 23). Oscar-nominated stars with birthdays include Kathleen Turner (57 on June 19), Gena Rowlands (81, also on the 19th), and Kris Kristofferson, who turned 75 on June 22.

Oscar-winner Olympia Dukakis and her 'Moonstruck' castmate John Mahoney were both born on June 20; she's 80, he's 71. 'Robocop' stars Peter Weller and Nancy Allen share a June 24 birthday; he turns 64, she turns 61.

Christopher Mintz-Plasse doesn't need that fake "McLovin" I.D. anymore; he turned 22 on June 20. Other comedy stars celebrating include Mary Lynn Rajskub (40 on June 22), Donald Faison (37, also on the 22nd), Mindy Kaling (32 on the 24th) and Ricky Gervais, who hits the big 5-0 on the 25th.

Character actors we love who are celebrating this week: Hugh Dancy (36 on June 19), Paul Dano (27 on the 19th), Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (33 on June 20), John Goodman (59 the same day), Bruce Campbell (53 on June 22), Amy Brenneman (47, also on the 22nd), Joel Edgerton (37 on June 23), Bryan Brown 64, also on the 23rd) and Tommy "Tiny" Lister (53 on June 24).

Perpetual starlets with birthdays this week include Zoe Saldana (33 on June 19), Robin Tunney (39, also on the 19th), Mia Sara (44, the same day), Juliette Lewis (38 on June 21), Selma Blair (39 on June 23), Minka Kelly (31 on June 24), Carla Gallo (36, also on the 24th) and Linda Cardellini (36 the next day). On the other side of the aisle, birthday heartthrobs include Josh Lucas (40 on June 20), Rain (29 on June 25) and Jason Lewis (40, the same day).

Blow out the candles for the behind-the-camera birthdays of a bevy of directors this week: Robert Rodriguez (who turned 49 on June 20), Tony Scott (67 on June 21), Lana (née Larry) Wachowski (46, also on the 21st), Uwe Boll (46 a day later), Joss Whedon (47 on the 23rd) and Timur Bekmambetov (the 'Wanted' man hits 5-0 on June 25).

Going Out? New and Noteworthy This Week

'Cars 2' - Trailer No. 3

'Cars 2' (G)

Starring: Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, John Turturro, Eddie Izzard, Michael Caine
Directed By: Brad Lewis and John Lasseter
What's It About? Race car Lightning (Wilson) and tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) travel overseas for a world championship race, but Mater gets entangled in a web of international espionage.
Why Should You See It? No one in movies has a better track record than Pixar, whose 'Toy Story' trilogy disabused us of the notion that sequels have to suck. Speaking of, there's reportedly a 'Toy Story' short at the beginning of 'Cars 2,' which involves Ken and Barbie's effort to take a Hawaiian cruise, but which features the rest of Andy's toybox gang as well.
You Might Like It If You Like: Pixar movies (and who doesn't?), the first 'Cars,' 'The Man Who Knew Too Much'

Showtimes & Tickets: 2D | 3D | IMAX 3D | Reviews

'Bad Teacher' (R)

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Jason Segel, Lucy Punch, Phyllis Smith
Directed By: Jake Kasdan
What's It About? Playing the worst possible role model for her junior-high charges, Diaz's foul-mouthed, substance-abusing instructor is just marking time until she can earn enough money to buy breast implants land a rich husband. Nerdy sub Timberlake seems to fit the bill, while shlubby gym teacher Segel pines for her from afar.
Why Should You See It? Diaz is at her best when she's in reckless, knockabout comedy mode, and she hasn't had a part this juicy in ages. The film has an 'Office' pedigree (including writers Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg and co-star Smith). Now that the success of 'Bridesmaids' has made it permissible for female-driven comedies to be as coarse and vulgar as male-driven ones, your ticket purchase is actually striking a blow for sisterhood.
You Might Like It If You Like: 'Bad Santa,' 'The Sweetest Thing,' 'There's Something About Mary'

Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews
Exclusive Photos from 'Bad Teacher'
Diaz and Timberlake and Other Exes Who've Reunited On-Screen

In Limited Release

'Conan O'Brien Can't Stop' is a backstage/concert documentary about O'Brien's 2010 comedy tour, during which he speaks candidly about his exile from late-night TV and the corrupting power of fame.
Showtimes & Tickets | Trailer | Reviews: Moviefone | Cinematical

'A Better Life' updates the premise of the classic postwar Italian film 'The Bicycle Thief' to present-day Los Angeles, where an illegal-immigrant dad ('Weeds' regular Demián Bichir) tries to build a gardening business as a legacy for his son, only to see his livelihood jeopardized by the theft of his truck.
Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews | Interview with Director Chris Weitz

Still in Theaters, Still Awesome

o.'Green Lantern' - DC Comics purists will balk, but if you're looking for mindless, escapist summer superhero fun, Ryan Reynolds is your man. Showtimes & Tickets: 2D | 3D | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

o.'Mr. Popper's Penguins' - Fans of the classic children's book will balk, but if you're looking for mindless, escapist, summer animal-movie fun, Jim Carrey is your man. Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

o.'Page One' - Fans of Rupert Murdoch will balk, but if you're looking for a thought-provoking, behind-the-scenes summer documentary on the dramatic changes underway in the newspaper business, New York Times media columnist David Carr is your man. Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Cinematical's Review

Staying In This Weekend?

New on DVD: 'The Adjustment Bureau' may not be the best-ever adaptation of one of Philip K. Dick's brain-twisting sci-fi stories (that crown belongs to 'Blade Runner'), but it does have a stylish, 'Inception'-y feel to it, and you can't ask for more reliable leads than Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, as would-be lovers kept apart by shadowy, reality-bending agents. The Blu-ray has a cool interactive map of New York that lets you travel through the agents' portals to see behind-the-scenes video. Buy or rent the DVD | More new DVD releases

On Our Netflix Queue: Now that summer has officially started, which movie chestnut puts you in a summer frame of mind? 'Endless Summer'? 'A Summer Place'? How about the underrated 1986 comedy 'One Crazy Summer'? John Cusack - who turns 45 (!) next week - is at his most charmingly nerdy as a young man who goes on a Cape Cod vacation with his pals (indispensible '80s goofballs Curtis Armstrong and Bobcat Goldthwait), pines after a dream girl (Demi Moore, still a fresh-faced ingenue and not yet a hardbodied Amazon) and enters a yacht race against the local preppies. All pretty harmless, but director Savage Steve Holland brings a cartoonist's absurdist eye to the proceedings, notably, a priceless sequence spoofing Godzilla movies that involves a fire-breathing Goldthwait stomping around in a lizard suit. Buy or rent the DVD

On TV: Need to catch up with your Autobot and Decepticon lore before 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' opens next Wednesday? Refresh your knowledge of the mutable robots by watching the first two installments this weekend. The 2007 'Transformers' is on TNT on Friday at 8PM, while 2009's 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' follows on Saturday at 2:45 PM on Cinemax's ActionMax. It's probably your last chance to see Megan Fox rock those Daisy Dukes; alas, we shall not see their like again. Check your local listings

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman.

This Week in 1991: 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' Morphs Into a Hit

Fortunately for us all, James Cameron was wrong.

If the dire predictions in 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' (released 20 years ago this week, on July 3, 1991) had come true, we'd all be dead or enslaved by robots by now.

Still, there's no denying Cameron has been a visionary, and he proved it with this sci-fi sequel, which has been one of the most influential movies of the last 20 years. As moviegoers line up this weekend for another movie about a lad who challenges a seemingly invincible, shapeshifting robot, it's worth looking back and appreciating the massive impact of 'T2.'

As with 'Aliens,' Cameron created what many fans thought was a superior sequel to an already classic sci-fi filim (in this case, Cameron's own 1984 'The Terminator') by greatly expanding the mythology and raising the dramatic stakes. The masterstroke was reprogramming Arnold Schwarzenegger's villainous Terminator as a hero while making him obsolete, then pitting him against the more advanced T-1000 (Robert Patrick).

The film's greatest impact was in the realm of visual effects. The T-1000 was the first main character of a film who was largely computer-generated, a three-dimensional simulation of human form and movement born in a PC. The robot's ability to turn into liquid metal and then mimic the form of nearly any object or person it touched was one of the film's greatest attractions as well as an eerily beautiful visual that still looks striking and seamless to this day. "Morphing" an object or person from one form into another via computer-generated imagery didn't start with 'T2' (it was first used three years earlier in the fantasy film 'Willow,' and Cameron himself had done a brief morphing sequence in 1989's 'The Abyss,' whose watery pseudopod seemed a dress rehearsal for the T-1000), but 'T2' showed mastery of the technique that stunned and delighted moviegoers like nothing they'd seen before. For their breakthrough work on 'T2,' Stan Winston and his Industrial Light and Magic team won an Oscar, one of four technical Academy Awards the film would receive.

"Morphing" soon showed up everywhere, first in John Landis' video for Michael Jackson's "Black and White" later in 1991 (at the time, it seemed an unexpected commentary on Jackson's own ever-changing facial features), then in seemingly every sci-fi and action movie. Computer-generated characters mixing with live-action people soon became commonplace.

The movie cost a reported $102 million, making it the most expensive movie ever made up to that time (hardly the last time Cameron would break that record). It opened with $54 million, behind only 1989's 'Batman' ($57 million) for best five-day holiday weekend opening. It became the top-grossing movie of 1991, with $205 million, and made instant stars out of Patrick and Edward Furlong, as the young future savior John Connor. It also made "Hasta la vista, baby," into a national catchphrase. Two big-screen sequels (so far) and a TV series followed.

And of course, it cemented Arnold Schwarzenegger's status as the most popular action star in the universe. He became so popular, in fact, that there was talk he'd go into politics, maybe as a candidate for the U.S. Senate. Around the time of 'T2's release, I got to interview Schwarzenegger, and I asked him if the rumors were true that he planned to run for office. "Oh, I don't even know who I would talk to about doing that," he said disingenuously, perhaps forgetting for a moment that he was married to a Kennedy and was close friends with then-President George H.W. Bush. Still, it took another 12 years, and another 'Terminator' sequel, before Arnold, armed with his robot character's catchphrases, ran for office and became California's Governator. And another eight years before his paternity scandal broke and prompted endless rounds of "Sperminator" jokes. It's hard to remember now that there was a time when he was best known simply for playing a boy's benevolent (robot) foster dad.

This Week in Movie History

1939 (June 27): Filming ends on 'Gone With the Wind' with the shooting of the famous finale, including Clark Gable's immortal line, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." After a bitter battle with the censors ends with the approval of that final four-letter word (and a fine of $5,000 to the producers), 'GWTW' goes on to become one of the biggest hit movies of all time.
2003 (June 29): Katharine Hepburn dies at 96. Widely regarded as the greatest actress in film history, her career lasted more than six decades and earned her four acting Oscars (still a record).
1989 (June 30): Spike Lee's landmark drama 'Do the Right Thing' is released, amid fears that its portrayal of racial tensions erupting into violence will spark riots in theaters. Instead, the film puts Lee on the A-list, makes a star of Rosie Perez, and turns Public Enemy's song 'Fight the Power' into a hit.
1984 (July 1): Criticism of the too-violent-for-small-children sequences in Steven Spielberg's 1984 early-summer hits 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' and 'Gremlins' prompt the director's call for a rating between PG and R. The resulting PG-13 rating is announced on July 1 and introduced the following month with the release of 'Red Dawn.' Within 20 years, PG-13 will become not a caution to parents but a marketing tool (suggesting to kids under 17 that the movie pushes the envelope as far as it can without offering content that parents won't let them see) and the most desirable rating in Hollywood.
1971 (July 2): Gordon Parks' detective drama 'Shaft' is released, becoming a big hit, turning Richard Roundtree into a star, spawning three sequels and a TV series, launching the blaxploitation era, and earning and Oscar and a Grammy for Isaac Hayes' percolating theme song..

This Week in Celebrity Birthdays

The perpetually boyish Chris O'Donnell turned 41 on June 26, followed by fellow boy-men Tobey Maguire (36 on June 27) and John Cusack (45 on June 28).

Famously quirky folks celebrating this week include Gary Busey (67 on June 29), producer Robert Evans (81, also on the 29th), Dan Aykroyd (59, on July 1) and Karen Black (69, the same day).

Famous beauties with birthdays include Lindsay Lohan (25 on July 2), elf princess Liv Tyler (34 on July 1) and Pamela Anderson (44, the same day). 'High School Musical' teen queen Ashley Tisdale is actually a year older than Lohan, turning 26 on July 2.

Oscar-winner Kathy Bates turned 63 on June 28. 'Ferris Bueller' teen Alan Ruck is 55 (!) as of July 1. Curmudgeon Larry David is 64 on July 2.

Among legends, Mel Brooks turned 85 on June 28. And Olivia de Havilland, the last surviving star of 'Gone With the Wind,' turns 95 on July 1..

Going Out? New and Noteworthy This Week

'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' - Trailer No. 4

'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' (PG-13)

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Tyrese Gibson, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Ken Jeong
Directed By: Michael Bay
What's It About? In this threequel, a coverup stemming from an alien crash on the moon (an alternate history inexplicably endorsed by Buzz Aldrin, playing himself in this movie) unravels decades later, sparking new earth-shattering conflict between Autobots and Decepticons. Once again, it's up to LaBeouf to help the good robots save the world. Malkovich and McDormand come along to lend this enterprise some class; 'Hangover' franchise vet Jeong is here for comic relief.
Why Should You See It? Think of this as Bay's apology for 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,' which even he admits sucked. He promises this one will have a better story and better characterizations, as well as better spectacle. A reluctant convert to 3D, Bay claims this threequel will at least offer state of the art 3D effects. And if that's not enough to draw the fanboy eye, there's a new love interest (hello, Victoria's Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whitely; adieu, Megan Fox). Also, Bay and LaBeouf both say this is their last go-round, so this installment is probably the end of the franchise as we know it. Reviews so far suggest that the movie is a relentless, over-the-top sensory assault - that is, just what you demand from a Bay movie.
You Might Like It If You Like: The first 'Transformers,' 'Independence Day,' 'Capricorn One'

Showtimes & Tickets: 2D | 3D | IMAX 3D | Reviews
Shia LaBeouf's Bombshell 'Details' Interview

'Larry Crowne' (PG-13)

Starring: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Bryan Cranston, Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson
Directed By: Tom Hanks
What's It About? Having lost his job because of his lack of higher education, middle-aged Larry (Hanks) enrolls in college, where he develops a crush on disillusioned teacher Mercedes (Roberts).
Why Should You See It? It's two Hollywood royals on one screen. It's the first movie Hanks has directed in 15 years (since 'That Thing You Do'). It won't deafen you with any cars or trucks that turn into giant robots; here, there's just a moped.
You Might Like It If You Like: 'Charlie Wilson's War' (the last Hanks-Roberts pairing), 'Sleepless in Seattle,' 'Mona Lisa Smile'

Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews
Their Roles, From Best to Worst: Tom Hanks | Julia Roberts
Interview with Hanks and Roberts (VIDEO)

'Monte Carlo' (PG)

Starring: Selena Gomez, Leighton Meester, Katie Cassidy, Cory Monteith, Andie MacDowell
Directed By: Thomas Bezucha
What's It About? Gomez (accompanied by galpals Meester and Cassidy) visits Paris, where she's mistaken for aristocracy and whisked off to Monaco
Why Should You See It? You want to spend your escapist dollar watching scenes of travel in exotic locales, but not involving special forces units fighting giant robots. You want romance, but not among people old enough to be your parents.
You Might Like It If You Like: 'The Prince and Me,' 'The Lizzie Maguire Movie,' 'Ramona and Beezus'

Family Film Guide| Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

In Limited Release

'The Perfect Host' is a psychological thriller starring David Hyde Pierce as a man about to throw a dinner party when his home is infiltrated by a fugitive bank robber. (Sounds like a 'Frasier' episode gone horribly wrong.)
Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

Still in Theaters, Still Awesome

o.'Bad Teacher' - Cameron Diaz's black comedy is one of the few movies in multiplexes that's aimed at grown-ups, especially those with less than fond memories of junior high. Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

o.'Conan O'Brien Can't Stop' - For those of us who didn't get to see Coco's live tour last summer, this concert chronicle will have to do. Showtimes & Tickets | Trailer | Reviews: Moviefone | Cinematical

Staying In This Weekend?

New on DVD: An Oscar underdog last winter, 'Barney's Version' is a comic tale of a man and his many marriages; the unlikely babe magnet is Paul Giamatti. The story is by comic novelist Mordecai Richler (perhaps channeling a little Philip Roth). Dustin Hoffman is along for the ride as Barney's father and partner in mischief. The movie was nominated for Best Makeup, of all things, for expertly aging Giamatti over four decades. An overlooked gem in theaters, you can catch it now on disc, along with some bonus featurettes and interviews. Buy or rent the DVD | More new DVD releases

On Our Netflix Queue: Celebrate the Fourth of July with a movie that tells you how the holiday began: the musical '1776.' We're guessing the Founding Fathers didn't sing and dance as they drafted the Declaration of Independence, but watching them warble makes the history lesson a lot more fun. Think of it as a really long episode of 'Schoolhouse Rock.' Buy or rent the DVD

On TV: 'Transformers' isn't the only film this weekend whose plot centers on a nefarious scheme involving the moon. 'Despicable Me' is an animated spoof about a supervillain named Gru (Steve Carell) whose plot to steal the moon runs into complications in the form of three adorable, fatherless little girls. It's fun for all ages; while the wee ones are admiring Gru's horde of minions (who look like Twinkies with eyes), grown-ups can enjoy plenty of jokes aimed squarely over the heads of their children. It debuts on HBO on Saturday at 8PM. Check your local listings

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman.

This Week in 1981: Snake Bites Big Apple in 'Escape From New York'
"I thought you were dead."

That's what people keep telling mercenary Snake Plissken throughout his adventures. It may also be what they said about his creator, B-movie titan John Carpenter, who hasn't released a new movie since 2001. As he reemerges this week with his first film in a decade, 'John Carpenter's The Ward,' it's worth looking back at one of his most famous creations, the one-eyed antihero Kurt Russell played in Carpenter's 'Escape From New York' (released 30 years ago this week, on July 10, 1981), to see how he defied the odds and survived to make a lasting impact on pop culture.

It's easy to forget that 30 years ago, Russell was a 29-year-old alumnus of several live-action Disney comedies. He wasn't someone anyone thought of as a go-to actor for grown-up, dramatic roles, much less hard-boiled action-hero parts. The studio wanted Tommy Lee Jones or Charles Bronson. But Carpenter, having directed Russell's Emmy-nominated starring performance in the TV movie 'Elvis,' pushed for Russell, and after the smash success of Carpenter's 1978 horror classic 'Halloween,' he was pretty much allowed to write his own ticket.

Still, the grand-scale adventure that Carpenter and Nick Castle had written -- in the near future, crime-ridden Manhattan has become a maximum-security federal prison, and when Air Force One crashes there, the reluctant Snake must sneak into the urban hellhole and rescue the president -- had to be filmed on the cheap. To replicate a bombed-out New York, the production filmed in East St. Louis, where urban decay and fires had reduced many blocks to rubble. (Only the opening sequence involving the Statue of Liberty was filmed on location in New York.) To create the sophisticated 3D-wireframe computer-animation simulation of New York seen in the control panel of Plissken's glider (an effect that was then too expensive to create with actual computers), the prop makers built a model of Manhattan, painted the buildings black, covered the edges with reflective tape, and filmed it under black light. To create urban vistas seen during aerial shots, Carpenter commissioned matte paintings from a young special-effects artist named James Cameron.

All told, Carpenter managed to make his futuristic nightmare for just $6 million, but it made back $25 million at the box office in the U.S. and another $25 million overseas. It made Russell an action star (one who would work with Carpenter three more times), gave soul singer Isaac Hayes (who played the chief villain, the Duke of New York) his most memorable acting role (at least until Chef on 'South Park') and gave an early career boost to Cameron.

'Escape' also proved hugely influential on other sci-fi auteurs. Ridley Scott used some of Carpenter's city models for 'Blade Runner.' Cyberpunk trailblazer William Gibson cited the film as an inspiration for his landmark novel 'Neuromancer.' J.J. Abrams said that the image of a downed Statue of Liberty in the film's poster (see right) inspired a similar scene in 'Cloverfield.' And its easy to see Carpenter's vision of guerrilla warfare amid futuristic urban ruins as an influence on Cameron's 'Terminator' saga.

Carpenter and Russell made a sequel, 'Escape From L.A.,' in 1996. Today, there's a remake of 'Escape From New York' in the works, though it seems to have stalled over casting. Jeremy Renner and Josh Brolin are two of the names that have been floated as possible leads. Who knows when the remake will actually get made or who will star in it, but one thing's for certain: You should never assume that Snake Plissken is dead.

This Week in Movie History

1991 (July 5): 'Slacker,' Richard Linklater's kaleidoscopic group portrait of underemployed Austin bohemians, opens in theaters. Made on a five-figure budget, the film launches Linklater's career, kickstarts the Austin filmmaking scene (that would coalesce around Linklater and Robert Rodriguez), inspires countless other microbudget indie auteurs (notably, Rodriguez and Kevin Smith), and is widely seen as a generational statement from what will soon be known as Generation X.
1994 (July 6): 'Forrest Gump' opens, turning Winston Groom's novel about a naif's journey through Baby Boomer history into a smash hit film. It will become widely influential for Robert Zemeckis's technical prowess at blending contemporary performances into historical footage, and it ultimately wins six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director (for Zemeckis) and Best Actor for Tom Hanks, his second in a row after 'Philadelphia.'
1995 (July 10): After his arrest for misdemeanor lewd conduct in a public place with prostitute Divine Brown, Hugh Grant visits 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno' and makes a public apology. His appearance helps his movie 'Nine Months' become a big hit, boosts Leno into the ratings stratosphere (beginning his reign the undisputed king of late-night viewing for the next 14 years) and serves as a model of public relations damage control for scandal-plagued celebrities ever after.

This Week in Celebrity Birthdays

Tom Cruise turned 49 on July 3. His 'Top Gun' love interest Kelly McGillis also celebrates this week, turning 54 on July 9. His 'A Few Good Men' co-star Kevin Bacon marks his 53rd on July 8. Cruise's 'Mission: Impossible III' co-star Billy Crudup turns 43 the same day.

Besides Cruise, icons with birthdays include Tom Hanks (55 on July 9) and Sylvester Stallone (65 on July 6).

Musicians-turned-actors who blow out candles this week include Ringo Starr (71 on July 7), RZA (42 on July 5) and 50 Cent (36 on July 6).

Anjelica Huston and Chris Cooper were born one day apart. She turns 60 on July 8, as does he the following day. Geoffrey Rush also hit the big 6-0 this week, on July 6.

Cool character actresses carving up cakes this week include Connie Nielsen (46 on July 3), Eva Green (31 on July 5), Shelley Duvall (62 on July 7), and Kim Darby (64 on the 8th).

Hard to believe, but Lisa Simpson (or at least her voice) is 47, as of July 3, which is Yeardley Smith's birthday. Other stars who straddle TV and movies share her birthday; Olivia Munn turned 31, Thomas Gibson was 49, and Shawnee Smith was 41. Other big/small-screen stars celebrating this week: Kathryn Erbe (46 on July 5), Katherine Helmond (83, also on the 5th), Edie Falco (48, the same day), Billy Campbell (52 on July 7), Alexis Dziena (27 on July 8), Sophia Bush (29, also on the 8th), Fred Savage (35 on July 9) and Jimmy Smits (56, also on the 9th).

Jaden Smith becomes a teenager on July 8. At the other end of the age spectrum, the still-busy Eva Marie Saint turned 87 on July 4. That was also the 84th birthday of screenwriter/playwright Neil Simon. Shirley Knight marked her 75th birthday on the 5th. Ned Beatty was 74 on July 6. Brian Dennehy is 73 as of July 9.

Going Out? New and Noteworthy This Week

'Horrible Bosses' Trailer No. 1:

'Horrible Bosses' (R)

Starring: Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell, Charlie Day, Jamie Foxx
Directed By: Seth Gordon
What's It About? Three henpecked employees (Bateman, Sudeikis and Day) conspire to murder their intolerable employers (Aniston, Spacey and Farrell).
Why Should You See It? This is the summer of the R-rated comedy, so heaven forbid two weeks should go by without a new one. Plus, you get to see Aniston and Farrell playing against type (his combover may be reason enough to see this) and Spacey doing that sneering thing he does so well.
You Might Like It If You Like: 'Office Space,' 'Swimming With Sharks,' 'Strangers on a Train'

Showtimes & Tickets | Reviews
Charlie Day Interview

'Zookeeper' (PG)

Starring: Kevin James, Rosario Dawson, Leslie Bibb, Adam Sandler, Ken Jeong
Directed By: Tom Hanks
What's It About? James is a lovelorn zookeeper who gets romantic advice on how to woo dream gal Dawson from the surprisingly chatty caged critters who are his charges.
Why Should You See It? This comes from the team behind Adam Sandler's comedies, pitched at a slightly lower maturity level than usual. Grown-ups may enjoy guessing which unlikely celebrity voice will come out of a given animal's mouth (voice actors include Sandler, Cher and Sylvester Stallone).
You Might Like It If You Like: Eddie Murphy's 'Dr. Dolittle,' Sandler's 'Bedtime Stories,' 'Mr. Popper's Penguins'

Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

In Limited Release
'John Carpenter's The Ward,' which marks the horror guru's first film in ten years, stars Amber Heard as a young woman who finds herself institutionalized in a hospital whose corridors are stalked by a creepy presence.
Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Cinematical's Review

'Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest' is a documentary about the history of the legendary hip-hop act, including ATCQ's uneasy 2008 reunion. It marks the directing debut of tough-guy character actor Michael Rapaport.
Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

Still in Theaters, Still Awesome

'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' - Resistance is futile. Showtimes & Tickets: 2D | 3D | IMAX 3D | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

'Larry Crowne' - Really, the only movie for grown-ups in the whole multiplex. Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews

'Monte Carlo' - If you're young enough to know (and care) that this movie stars Justin Bieber's girlffriend, then this romantic comedy is for you. Showtimes & Tickets | Trailers & Clips | Reviews | Family Film Guide

Staying In This Weekend?
New on DVD: 'Hobo With a Shotgun' was a tongue-in-cheek trailer commissioned for Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez' 'Grindhouse' before being expanded into a full-fledged feature. The great Rutger Hauer plays the title role, a drifter who becomes a double-barreled vigilante. Fans of over-the-top ultraviolence will want to check out this disc, which comes loaded with tons of behind-the-scenes extras. Buy or rent the DVD | More new DVD releases

On Our Netflix Queue: Also known for over-the-top ultraviolence, influential director Takashi Miike tones it down for '13 Assassins.' Yes, there's still swordfighting, and heads to roll, but mostly, this is a traditional, well-executed samurai action-drama in the tradition of Akira Kurosawa. The disc, out this week, contains an interview with the director and some deleted scenes. Buy or rent the DVD

On TV: Was 'The Social Network' a generation-defining movie? Not really. The Facebook origin story was simply a very good drama that treated age-old themes of friendship, inspiration, greed and betrayal in an up-to-the-minute context. Still, a lot of fans thought the film got a raw deal at the Oscars this year when the less innovative, more traditional 'The King's Speech' took home Best Picture. Decide for yourself when 'The Social Network' makes its premium cable debut on Starz on Saturday at 9PM. Check your local listings

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman.

Movie: 'Boyz N the Hood'

Release Date: July 12, 1991

How It Got Made: John Singleton was still an undergrad at the University of Southern California when he persuaded Columbia Pictures to buy his autobiographical script and allow him to direct it. "I told [then-studio chief] Frank Price it wouldn't cost much money," Singleton told Entertainment Weekly. Indeed, the slice of South Central Los Angeles street life cost just $6.5 million, but it became a big hit, an enormously influential movie and a career launcher for some of the most talented African-American stars of the next two decades.

When he was 19, Singleton had also worked on the crew of Saturday morning kids' show 'Pee-wee's Playhouse,' where he met Laurence Fishburne, who had a recurring role as Cowboy Curtis. At last week's American Black Film Festival in Miami, Singleton recalled, "I said to Laurence, 'I'm going to write you something so you don't have to wear that Jheri curl wave.'" By the time he was 22, Singleton was ready to make good on his promise.

Singleton told NPR recently that he relied on Fishburne for lessons in directing in the style of Francis Ford Coppola, for whom Fishburne had co-starred in 'Apocalypse Now.' The influence was apparent, in the way Singleton cross-cut among simultaneous action sequences, and in the film's audio mix, featuring the ominous, ever-present sounds of hovering helicopters. (In a clever money-saving move, Singleton didn't show the police choppers but merely suggested their intrusive presence via lighting and sound.)

Boyz 'N the Hood

The result was a movie that didn't look or feel like any previous movie about the streets; rather, it showed what it felt like to live there, with both the joys (backyard barbecues, cruising the main drag) and fears (gangs, drugs, crime, violence, police-state-style law enforcement).

The movie was also unique in that, while all the characters were African-American, it wasn't really about race or racism. Instead, it was about the two problems Singleton saw as the chief threats to young black men: the eye-for-an-eye culture of street violence and the absence of strong fatherly role models. Fishburne's character, full of righteous anger and self-help bromides (he's aptly named Furious Styles), seems to be the only dad in his neighborhood, and as a result, his son Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.) seems poised to be the only young man likely to avoid the thug life and escape the streets.

How It Was Received: The film initially appealed to a lot of the same gang types whose behavior it sought to change; unfortunately, many of them missed the point and got into fights at theaters across the country. By the end of the film's opening weekend, there was at least one death and 33 injuries.

Some critics had blamed the film's marketing, including a trailer that focused on the film's splashy gunplay more than its artier aspirations. (But then, if it had been marketed as the high-minded drama that it was, who would have gone to see it?) Singleton insisted that neither the marketing nor the movie were to blame, that the problem was the same social pathologies that the movie criticized. "The cause of all this violence," he told Ebony magazine at the time, "is bad parenting and a society that places more emphasis on black people hating themselves so they can't respect each other."

'Boyz N the Hood' Trailer

For a while, there were fears that theaters would stop showing black-themed films or that studios would stop making them, essentially killing a new wave of filmmaking just as it was being born. (Inspired by Spike Lee, black filmmakers had already made 1991 the year of New Jack Cinema with such street-level thrillers as 'New Jack City' and 'Straight Out of Brooklyn.) But with the success of 'Boyz,' which earned $10 million that first weekend and ultimately earned $58 million in theaters, there was no turning back.

In early 1992, Singleton was nominated for two Oscars, for his screenplay and his direction. At 24, he was the youngest person ever nominated for a Best Director Academy Award -- and the first African-American.

Long-Term Influence: 'Boyz' not only rescued Fishburne from Cowboy Curtis's Jheri curl, it also jump-started the film careers of Angela Bassett and Nia Long, and launched the movie careers of Gooding, Morris Chestnut and Regina King. In the coming years, Fishburne and Bassett would reunite for acclaimed turns as Ike and Tina Turner in 'What's Love Got to Do With It' before going on to other successes, while Gooding and King would reunite in 'Jerry Maguire,' which would win Gooding an Oscar.

Most noteworthy, perhaps, was the acting debut of Ice Cube. Cube, of course, had been a member of N.W.A, the original gangsta-rap act (and had performed on the track that gave the movie its title). His hard-earned knowledge of South Central street life gave his performance as the doomed Doughboy a lived-in authenticity. Along with Ice-T's performance in 'New Jack City,' Cube's impressive turn led to a wave of rappers-turned-actors, with successful film careers for such MCs as Tupac Shakur, LL Cool J, Queen Latifah and, of course, Will Smith. Cube himself had the most unusual screen career, veering from stoner hero (the 'Friday' movies) to scowling action star ('Three Kings,' 'xXx: State of the Union') to cuddly, family-friendly comedian ('Are We There Yet?').

'Boyz N the Hood' inspired a decade's worth of "'hood" films, all of them cautionary tales of ghetto life, many with rappers in their casts, most of them less artful and more exploitative than 'Boyz.' Singleton himself tried to move beyond the genre with more ambitious films about African-American life ('Poetic Justice,' 'Higher Learning,' 'Rosewood,' 'Baby Boy'), but in the last decade, he's been known mostly for action films (the reboot of 'Shaft,' '2 Fast 2 Furious,' 'Four Brothers').

How It Plays Today: Over the last 20 years, crime rates have gone down nationwide and the crack epidemic seems like a distant nightmare, but the issues Singleton raised about the plight of black men continue to resonate. "When we first did the movie 'Boyz N the Hood,' we felt like we was teaching America about a part of itself that they don't see," Cube told MTV in a recent interview. "I think the movie is a definite classic, it definitely holds up, it's definitely as potent today as it was back then. The message is definitely as clear today and needed as it was back then."

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman.

Movie: 'Trainspotting'

Release Date: July 19, 1996

How It Got Made: Reading Irvine Welsh's 1993 literary sensation about the highs and lows of a group of Scottish junkies, director Danny Boyle and producer Andrew Macdonald believed they could invent a visual equivalent to the vibrant, urgent, shot-in-the-arm prose of Welsh's debut novel. "This has got to be the most energetic film you've ever seen," Boyle later told Entertainment Weekly, "about something that ultimately ends up in purgatory or worse."

Boyle's team secured the rights by convincing Welsh that they weren't going to try for gritty realism, like most movies about drug addiction; rather, they planned to make a movie as surreal, dreamlike, juiced-up, nightmarish, heartbreaking and funny as the novel. They succeeded, creating a movie generally regarded now as the best Scottish movie ever made, a picture that made stars out of Boyle, Ewan McGregor and the rest of the cast. It proved vastly influential even beyond the walls of the cinema; out on the presidential campaign trail, it reignited debate over whether the portrayal of drug use glamorizes addiction.

Following the success of their debut feature, the creepy crime-thriller 'Shallow Grave,' Boyle, Macdonald and screenwriter John Hodge reteamed with 'Grave' star McGregor, casting him as Mark Renton, the addict who decides to clean up his act and tries to resist letting heroin and his drug pals draw him back into his old life. One of those pals, the foul-tempered Begbie, was played by Robert Carlyle; another, Sean Connery-fan Sick Boy, was 'Hackers' star Jonny Lee Miller. The rest of the cast were relative unknowns, many of them making their film debuts.

'Trainspotting': Baby-on-the-Ceiling Scene

McGregor shaved his head and lost 26 pounds to play the emaciated Renton. He even considered shooting heroin, just for research purposes, before deciding against it. Not that realism and accuracy were important to the film -- two of the film's most celebrated sequences were its most surreal. In one, a detoxing Renton hallucinates seeing a friend's baby (which had died of neglect during its mother's drug stupor) crawling on the ceiling. In another, Renton dives into the murky depths of "the worst toilet in Scotland" to retrieve opium suppositories.

(In fact, the brown fecal muck Boyle had smeared all over the bowl was actually fresh chocolate mousse. Sort of the opposite of what happened during the making of 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,' where the delicious-looking chocolate river that Augustus Gloop falls into was actually made of rancid melted ice cream.)

'Trainspotting': The-Worst-Toilet-in-Scotland Scene (Contains NSFW Language and Images)

The filmmakers made a virtue of their budget constraints (the film cost just $2.5 million). To maintain the film's manic energy, Boyle shot it in just seven weeks, often using the first take and refusing to shoot a second take as a safe backup. Most scenes were shot in an abandoned Glasgow cigarette factory that the crew turned into a soundstage. Special effects were makeshift, like the trap door used to make Renton sink into the floor when he collapses after an overdose.

For the film's American release, Boyle had the actors redub the first 20 minutes of the movie in less thick brogues. He also trimmed two scenes (one of a needle in an arm, one of a sex scene) to keep the film from being rated NC-17.

How It Was Received: 'Trainspotting' played out of competition at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival but was an audience favorite there. It arrived in the U.S. that July on waves of hype, touted by Miramax as the British 'Pulp Fiction.' (Which was not entirely inaccurate. Both films seemed plugged into direct currents of sex, drugs, rock n' roll, crime, violence and the kinetic joy of rule-breaking filmmaking.) Opening on just eight screens in North America, it earned an impressive $263,000 ($33,000 per screen) its first weekend, toward an eventual total of $16 million domestic and $72 million worldwide. Critics embraced the film on both sides of the Atlantic, and Hodge's screenplay earned him an Oscar nomination.

With its evocative use of both classic alt-rock tracks by the likes of Iggy Pop and Lou Reed, and up-to-the-moment techno/rave cuts, 'Trainspotting' spawned two popular soundtrack albums. Iggy Pop enjoyed a brief resurgence, thanks to a new Boyle-directed video for his 1976 song 'Lust for Life,' used so memorably in the film's opening sequence.

'Trainspotting': Opening (Contains NSFW Language)

Long-Term Impact: Boyle and McGregor instantly became hot properties in Hollywood. They reteamed with Macdonald and Hodge again for the lovers-on-the-lam comedy 'A Life Less Ordinary' before McGregor graduated to such blockbusters as the 'Star Wars' prequels. Boyle went on to direct such cult favorites as '28 Days Later' and '127 Hours, as well as worldwide smash 'Slumdog Millionaire,' which won Oscars for Boyle and for Best Picture.

Carlyle jumped from 'Trainspotting' to the biggest role of his career, the lead in 'The Full Monty.' The film also marked the career launch pad for first-time film actors Kevin McKidd (who went on to TV's 'Rome' and 'Grey's Anatomy') and Kelly Macdonald (whose career highlights include 'Gosford Park,' 'No Country for Old Men' and TV's 'Boardwalk Empire').

Other filmmakers took notice. The movie's combination of quick-cut visuals and a pulsing techno/alt-rock soundtrack became the default way to depict the highs and lows of drug use (see 'Requiem for a Dream') or even general antisocial behavior ('Fight Club').

'Trainspotting' Poster

The design and fashion worlds took notice as well. Ad campaigns began to copy the 'Trainspotting' poster's graphics, with its black-and-white photos of aggressive-looking characters and its plain orange-and-white typography. Also, the movie played into what was then called "heroin chic," the trend of using ultra-thin models (like Kate Moss) in seedy locations and with dazed facial expressions in fashion campaigns.

Criticism of this trend went all the way to the White House. On the campaign trail that fall, Republican candidate Bob Dole criticized 'Trainspotting' for showing the "romance of heroin," though his aides admitted he hadn't seen the movie. Dole lost the election, but President Clinton made a similar complaint a few months later, saying, "This is not about art. It's about life and death. And glorifying death is not good for any society."

It's true that the movie's attitude toward heroine was more complicated than Dole's slogan, "Just Don't Do It." After all, the first third of the movie makes the junkie life look like fun, though the last two thirds show the grim flip side. As producer Macdonald told Entertainment Weekly, "People criticize it because it dares to show the truth: that people take drugs because they are pleasurable. But we also show that if you take too much of them, there's a serious chance that they'll f--- you up."

One unlikely result of the film: Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life" suddenly began turning up everywhere - in other movies, even in commercials. As used by Boyle at the beginning of 'Trainspotting,' the song, with its propulsive Motown-style drumbeat and cheerful chorus, became the soundtrack for fun. It showed up as far afield as the kids' movie 'Rugrats Go Wild' and in Carnival cruise line ads; in both places, Pop's risqué lyrics about trying to kick drug addiction were omitted or rewritten.

Danny Boyle

How It Plays Today: Aside from the music that dates it to the mid-'90s, 'Trainspotting' appears as fresh, inventive, and energetic as ever. Renton remains one of the most memorable characters McGregor has ever played; in March, the UK Sun quoted him as saying, "It's still the main thing people ask me about when they come up to me in the street."

McGregor also said he'd be open to doing a sequel, but only if the script improves on 'Porno,' the sequel novel written by Welsh, which takes place a decade after 'Trainspotting.' "I don't like being the guy that's making it not happen, especially when all the other guys want to make it," the Sun quotes McGregor as saying. "But I wouldn't want to do a sequel to 'Trainspotting' if it was just for the sake of it and, if I'm honest about it, I wasn't that blown away by the book."

Talking to Cinematical last December, Boyle said he shared McGregor's apprehensions about 'Porno,' but he seemed confident that the book could be worked into a sequel. "We have been doing some work on it, and it's got potential, yeah, for sure," Boyle said. "And when the moment's right, I think we will approach it."

Recalling the original film, Boyle said of the cast of then-newbies, "They were brilliant, and it's quite rare when you get a cast that's that different. They're so different and yet they kind of jell together like they're all in the same film."

It's the love for those characters and those actors that would make the sequel worthwhile, he suggested. "This is an imaginative thing to look at these guys, who you kind of fell in love with and a whole generation fell in love with in a certain kind of way, and then you see them again and they've aged, just like we all do," Boyle said. "And then it becomes about that, and I think that would be really nice."

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.

Movie: 'Blow Out'

Release Date: July 24, 1981

How It Got Made: That 'Blow Out' got made at all was pretty remarkable. Its 1960s and '70s-style political paranoia seemed out of place at the dawn of the Reagan '80s. Its director experienced budget problems, its leading man couldn't sleep, and when two reels were stolen during the editing process, it required expensive reshoots using a different cinematographer.

Still, the result was an unforgettable, despairing thriller, one whose final echoes continue to ring today. It may have marked the finest work in the careers of director Brian De Palma and stars John Travolta and Nancy Allen. And its fans included Quentin Tarantino, who has paid the film homage in several of his own works.

De Palma was coming off a big hit, 'Dressed to Kill,' when he wrote what would be one of his most ambitious films to date. It's the story of a movie sound engineer who happens to be taping ambient sounds at the scene when a car plunges into a lake and kills a political candidate. The sound man, who has saved a woman from the crash, believes his audio recording of the incident has captured evidence of a political assassination, putting his own life and the woman's life in danger. 'Blow Out' tipped its hat to some classic films - notably, Michelangelo Antonioni's similarly titled 'Blow-Up' (1966), in which a fashion photographer believes he's taken pictures of a murder, and Francis Ford Coppola's 'The Conversation' (1974), in which a surveillance expert becomes a target when he makes a potentially incriminating recording - as well as to recent political history: the Zapruder film's accidental capture of the JFK assassination, Ted Kennedy's car accident at Chappaquiddick that killed his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne, and the Watergate conspiracy's rash of tapings, buggings, and dirty tricks. The screenplay also explored De Palma's usual preoccupations - voyeurism, guilt, and ineffectual heroes.

De Palma secured an $18 million budget, his biggest since his 1978 special effects thriller 'The Fury.' For his leading man, he cast John Travolta, then at his early career peak after the triple-play of 'Saturday Night Fever,' 'Grease,' and 'Urban Cowboy.' Travolta, whom De Palma had given an early career break in 1976's 'Carrie,' suggested that fellow 'Carrie' actress Nancy Allen play the female lead, the prostitute Travolta rescues from the submerged car. De Palma, who had married Allen in 1979 and cast her in two films since, was reluctant, as he didn't want Hollywood to think his wife only got jobs out of nepotism, but when his backers suggested he cast Travolta's 'Grease' co-star, Olivia Newton-John, De Palma went with Allen instead. Rounding out the cast, as the heavies, were two De Palma regulars who had yet to gain wider fame: Dennis Franz and John Lithgow.

Travolta reportedly suffered from insomnia during the shoot. But that restlessness made his character's desperation and paranoia all the more vivid and realistic.

Filming took place in De Palma's hometown of Philadelphia. The director and his cinematographer, Vilmos Zsigmond, staged the film's climactic sequence against a patriotic parade centered around the Liberty Bell. During post-production, however, two reels shot at the rally went missing, apparent victims of theft. De Palma had to restage and reshoot the parade, at a cost of $750,000. Zsigmond was unavailable to return, and De Palma had to hire cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs instead.

'Blow Out' - Blu-Ray Trailer

How It Was Received: 'Blow Out' received positive reviews from critics, especially Pauline Kael at the New Yorker, always De Palma's biggest champion. But audiences stayed away, and the picture recouped just $8 million of its budget. Maybe the movie wasn't escapist enough for summer audiences, or maybe they weren't used to seeing song-and-dance man Travolta in a thriller context, or maybe word spread about the film's thoroughly bleak (but apt) ending.

Long-Term Impact: 'Blow Out' may have been one of De Palma's most personal movies. Later films, including such hits as 'The Untouchables' and 'Mission: Impossible' (and such flops as 'Bonfire of the Vanities') were usually larger in scale and seemed less idiosyncratically his own.

The film did give boosts to Lithgow (who followed it up with his career-making performances in 'The World According to Garp' and 'Terms of Endearment') and Franz (who went on to become a TV cop-show stalwart on 'Hill Street Blues' and 'NYPD Blue'). Allen, who was divorced from De Palma in 1984, did go on to forge a career on her own, notably, as the female lead in the 'Robocop' trilogy. Many fans, however, believed she never surpassed her work in 'Blow Out,' where she mixed jadedness and innocence, and where her scream proved indelible and indispensable.

Travolta seemed to stumble through the 1980s in a series of ill-fitting roles, but there was one fan who never forgot his nuanced work in 'Blow Out.' That was Quentin Tarantino, who cited 'Blow Out' as one of his three favorite films, and who made a point of casting Travolta in what would be his comeback role in 1994's 'Pulp Fiction.' Tarantino also used part of the 'Blow Out' score in a scene in his 2007 movie 'Death Proof' (his half of 'Grindhouse').

Excerpt from 'Blow Out'

How It Plays Today: The analog technology Travolta's character uses to recreate reality in 'Blow Out' seems antique now, but the film's awareness of how politics can manipulate image and reality without regard to the human consequences seems, in our digital age, to be frighteningly prescient. But De Palma isn't offering some relativist, postmodern shrug, as if to say that, because recorded sounds and images are unreliable, the truth is unknowable and always subject to interpretation. Rather, he's warning that the truth is screaming at us, but we've forgotten how to listen.

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.

Movie: 'The Omega Man'

Release Date: August 1, 1971

How It Got Made: These days, it's usually Will Smith who gets called upon to save civilization. Forty years ago, it was Charlton Heston. When he wasn't busy rebelling against those damn dirty apes or discovering what corporations were really trying to feed us, he was fighting off infected albino vampire zombies in 'The Omega Man,' a cult classic released 40 years ago this week that holds a special place in the hearts of cheese-loving sci-fi fans, including Tim Burton and Smith himself (who remade it as 'I Am Legend').
Heston reportedly came up with the idea to film Richard Matheson's 1954 novel 'I Am Legend' after reading it on a plane, unaware that it had already been filmed in 1964, as an Italian-made movie called 'The Last Man on Earth,' starring Vincent Price. In the screenplay developed for Heston's version, the plague that has apparently wiped out all of humanity (save the inventor of an experimental vaccine who used the serum on himself) doesn't come from mosquito-borne bacteria but from biochemical warfare between China and the Soviet Union. As in Matheson's novel and the previous film, Heston's last uninfected man finds that he's not alone; soon he's defending himself every night against nocturnal, plague-infested mutants who see him as the infection.

A new twist comes in the form of another group of feral humans, young and still unzombiefied, that Heston's Robert Neville discovers. They're infected but not yet turned. They rescue him when he is captured by the mutants and is condemned to death by their neo-Luddite leader, Matthias (Anthony Zerbe). Neville struggles to recreate his vaccine in order to save the survivors, and he even falls in love with their leader, Lisa (Rosalind Cash). With a new vaccine made from his own antibodies, Neville is ready, like Christ, to redeem humanity with his own blood sacrifice, but a final war remains to be fought between the zombies and the survivors.

'The Omega Man' - Trailer

The movie addressed many issues of the day, in pop form. There was the Cold War dread of a global conflict that would wipe out civilization, homegrown fears of urban crime by roving nocturnal gangs, echoes of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements (the survivors, led by Cash's Lisa, are a largely African-American group), worries that science and technology were progressing faster than human moral development (a standard sci-fi trope, but here voiced by the villainous mutants, who blame chemists like Neville for their predicament), and even apprehension over a counterculture turned violent (the mutants call themselves 'The Family,' with the nihilistic demagogue Matthias evoking Charles Manson).

Directing the movie was TV veteran Boris Sagal. To serve as a set for his desolate postapocalyptic urban landscape, Sagal's location scouts discovered they needed look no further than downtown Los Angeles, whose shopping district was all but abandoned on weekends.

How It Was Received: The film received mixed reviews. It cemented Heston's fondness, however, for these sort of last-sane-man-on-Earth roles. He'd succeeded not long before, with 'Planet of the Apes' (1968). Two years after 'The Omega Man,' he'd go back to the well again for 'Soylent Green.'

One thing not much remarked upon: the interracial romance between Heston and Cash's characters. Such couples were uncommon on screen in 1971; indeed, they still are today.

Excerpt from 'The Omega Man'

Long-Term Impact: The film boosted (or at least did no harm to) Heston's career, which remained fruitful for another three decades. Zerbe, too, remained a busy character actor, most famously in another postapocalyptic sci-fi saga, as a councilor of Zion in the 'Matrix' trilogy. Cash, for whom 'Omega Man' was only her second film, went on to play feisty women in a slew of TV guest parts.

'Omega Man' launched two careers of actors who made their film debuts as youngsters in the movie. Brian Tochi went on to do character parts, most famously in 'Revenge of the Nerds,' and as a voiceover actor, best known for the role of Leonardo in the 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' movies. Eric Laneuville, who played Lisa's little brother Richie (the first guinea pig for the new vaccine), went on to be a series regular on 'St. Elsewhere' and became a prolific TV director.

Sagal went back to directing television, which he did for another decade, before dying in a 'Twilight Zone'-type helicopter accident on a set. These days, he's better known for being the father of 'Married... With Children' and 'Futurama' star Katey Sagal.

'The Omega Man' made an impact in other ways, too. Sagal's eerily empty cityscape vistas proved influential on other filmmakers; similar scenes appeared in nightmare sequences in Taylor Hackford's 'Devil's Advocate' and Cameron Crowe's 'Vanilla Sky.' Other films used similar zombie/infection/end-of-the-world plots, notably 2002's '28 Days Later,' in which the deserted city is London.

Tim Burton cites 'Omega Man' as one of his favorite films, one he'll stop and watch whenever it comes on TV. He says he especially likes how Heston drops a mordant quip every time he gets violent (a habit since adopted by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Will Smith, and countless other action heroes). Burton got to repay the favor when he remade 'Planet of the Apes' in 2001 and cast Heston in a cameo, where he got to repeat one of his famous lines in a new context.

In 1994, Warner Bros. began planning a remake. It went through 13 years of turnaround, involving numerous script rewrites, directors (including Ridley Scott and Guillermo del Toro) and stars (Tom Cruise, Michael Douglas, Mel Gibson, Schwarzenegger, Nicolas Cage), before finally ending up with director Francis Lawrence and star Smith. Their 'I Am Legend,' shot on location in New York, was released in 2007 and became one of the year's biggest hits.

How It Plays Today: The technology and Nixon-era paranoia, along with Sagal's '70s-TV-cop-show-style direction, date 'The Omega Man' in an amusing but not fatal way. Heston's old-school charisma and an evergreen premise overcome the cheese factor to keep 'Omega Man' scary and relevant.

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.

Movie: 'She's Gotta Have It'

Release Date: August 8, 1986

How It Got Made: It's hard to remember now how thoroughly white American cinema was 25 years ago. There were no black directors or screenwriters and few black stars. The few movies that were about black people were about racial struggle or crime, though the mini-wave of black filmmaking that marked the pulpy crime dramas of the blaxploitation era of the early '70s was now a distant memory. What's more, the independent film scene that might have nurtured new talents who would have changed the situation didn't exist yet.

And then, along came Spike Lee, whose debut feature launched not only a renaissance in black filmmaking but also begat the indie film scene that welcomed talented filmmakers of all races. Plus, the crossover success of 'She's Gotta Have It' was the first sign that non-black viewers were interested in movies about black characters that weren't about race as a problem - opening up American film to a pool of black acting talent who could play the same well-rounded, fully-fleshed, starring roles that white actors did.

In 1985, Lee was a recent graduate of the film school at New York University who had earned notice beyond the campus with his thesis film, 'Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads.' Inspired in part by the recent success of fellow New Yorker Jim Jarmusch's black-and-white indie hit 'Stranger Than Paradise,' the 28-year-old Lee managed to raise a $175,000 budget to shoot 'She's Gotta Have It.'

Lee cast the film with unknowns. Tracy Camilla Johns starred as Nola Darling, a Brooklyn woman who is juggling three lovers: dependable but dull Jamie Overstreet, handsome and vain Greer Childs, and goofy and energetic Mars Blackmon. As the suitors who resent having to share Nola, Lee cast Tommy Redmond Hicks as Jamie, John Canada Terrell as Greer, and himself as Mars.

The movie was a family affair; it included a role for Spike's sister, Joie, while the chamber-jazz score was composed by his father, Bill. Lee's film school classmate Ernest Dickerson did the elegant black-and-white cinematography.

Lee shot the film in just 12 days during the summer of 1985. Independent producer's rep John Pierson, who wrote Lee a $10,000 check to help him complete the film, shopped it around to distributors and festivals. He landed the film a deal with Island Pictures (one of the pre-eminent indie film distributors in those days, before the rise of Miramax) and premiered it at the 1986 San Francisco Film Festival. During the screening, the power went out. Lee and Hicks, armed with flashlights, persuaded the crowd to remain until the projector came back on.

Promo for 'She's Gotta Have It'

How It Was Received: 'She's Gotta Have It' did very well for an indie movie in 1986, earning $7.1 million at the box office. Critics hailed Lee as a welcome new voice in movies. They did tend to compare him to Woody Allen -- both were from Brooklyn, both had unmistakably New York sensibilities, both had a fondness for black-and-white photography and old-school jazz, both created witty romantic comedies and both starred in their own movies as nerdy, bespectacled, sexually frustrated romantic leads.

(It became clear, of course, after Lee's next couple of movies, 'School Daze' and 'Do the Right Thing,' that he was nothing like Woody Allen but was entirely his own artist, with a recognizable visual style and a personal, highly political set of thematic concerns. Still, Lee and Allen eventually became friends, bonding over their shared love of the New York Knicks.)

Long-Term Impact: The film had a wide-ranging and long-lasting ripple effect, starting in Brooklyn, which Dickerson's camera had made look like a sophisticated hangout for casual bohemians and yuppies -- which, indeed, is what it became in the years that followed. The movie launched several careers, notably, Lee's and Dickerson's. Among the actors, Johns would go on to roles in Lee's 'Mo' Better Blues' and Mario Van Peebles' 'New Jack City.' Hicks and Terrell would both appear in Robert Townsend's 'The Five Heartbeats,' among other films and TV shows. Joie Lee would appear in several of her brother's films and wrote his movie 'Crooklyn,' a roman a clef about their childhood. The small role of Dr. Jamison was the first credit for S. Epatha Merkerson, who would go on to star on TV's 'Law & Order' for 17 years.

Executives at Nike were so taken with the Mars Blackmon character that they incorporated him into ads for Air Jordans. The series of sneaker spots was tremendously popular, making Lee and Mars familiar among countless TV viewers who had never seen 'She's Gotta Have It.' It also launched a successful side business for Lee as a commercial director and advertising guru.

Nike 'Hang Time' Spot with Spike Lee and Michael Jordan

Another career essentially launched by the movie was Pierson's. His success in making a hit out of an unknown director's first film made him a much sought-after producer's rep over the next decade, which would see him play a similar mentor role in shepherding the careers of such rookie filmmakers as Michael Moore, Richard Linklater, and Kevin Smith. Years later, Pierson would call Lee "my hero," adding, "My life changed when his life changed."

Along with Jarmusch, Lee and Pierson had proved that independent movies could enjoy real box office success and cultural impact. Their work inspired other filmmakers and distributors, giving rise to the phenomena of the Sundance Film Festival and Miramax that would be the twin engines of the indie film boom for the rest of the century.

Most profoundly, Lee had shown that a black filmmaker could make a film about black people that didn't rely on stereotypes or address the issue of being black in America - it was just about everyday people living everyday lives - and get audiences of all colors to watch. Within a couple years, black talent proliferated behind the camera, as Lee's example inspired such directors as Robert Townsend, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Mario Van Peebles, Julie Dash, Matty Rich, Reginald and Warrington Hudlin, Allen and Albert Hughes, and John Singleton. And black faces in front of the camera, too - Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Laurence Fishburne, and such Lee discoveries as Samuel L. Jackson, Wesley Snipes and Halle Berry.

It's still been a tough road for African-Americans in film. There still aren't many black people behind the camera, either in the director's chair or the executive suite. And black performers (aside from Smith and Washington) still continue to have a hard time finding non-stereotypical roles. (Witness the current handwringing over Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer having to play maids in 'The Help,' a situation that would hardly raise an eyebrow if there were more quality roles for black actresses of their caliber.) Still, the movies have come a long way since the pre-Lee '80s, when there were no black directors or screenwriters and exactly two black lead performers (Eddie Murphy and Whoopi Goldberg).

How It Plays Today: Given how increasingly political, even strident Lee's later films became, the gentle 'She's Gotta Have It' almost seems like the work of a different filmmaker. That said, the film holds up very well. Its black-and-white photography and jazz score help give it a timeless feel. And the sexually liberated Nola is just as radical and provocative a heroine today as she was in 1986.

"There's a whole generation of grown black people that have seen 'She's Gotta Have It,'" said John Canada Terrell in a 2007 interview, noting that he still gets recognized on the street as Greer Childs. "It's amazing that a film could have that kind of sense memory in a people." Of Lee, Terrell said, "He opened a lot of doors. He should get some accolades and some love." He added that 'She's Gotta Have It' "was the beginning of the next renaissance in black filmmaking. I'm proud to have been a part of that. Everything else came from that."

Catching Up with John Canada Terrell of 'She's Gotta Have It'

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.

Movie: 'A Place in the Sun'

Release Date: August 14, 1951

How It Got Made: 'A Place in the Sun' is at once one of cinema's great love stories and one of its great crime dramas, but getting it made was a struggle marked by bitter arguments before, during and after the production. Fortunately, the seamless finished product bore no apparent trace of the strife. Besides becoming an enormous hit upon its release 60 years ago this week, the film won several Oscars, cemented the stardom of Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor (and created the image of adult sensuality that transformed Taylor from a child star into an all-time screen goddess), made a star out of Shelley Winters, and influenced filmmakers for decades to come.

The film was based on Theodore Dreiser's 1925 bestseller 'An American Tragedy,' which was in turn inspired by a real-life 1908 murder trial. Dreiser's title came from his take on the crime as an indictment of America's unacknowledged social class hierarchy; indeed, the first person to take a crack at a movie version was the great Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein, who adapted it into a screenplay during his brief 1930 stint in Hollywood. Paramount Pictures rejected the script, in part because of Eisenstein's avant-garde montage technique and in part because of early anti-communist fears in Hollywood. Paramount did make the movie in 1931, with a new script and under the direction of Josef von Sternberg. Dreiser sued the studio, unsuccessfully, to prevent the release of this version, which focused more on psychology than class distinctions, and which Dreiser said distorted his characters beyond recognition. The movie flopped.

After Dreiser died in 1945, director George Stevens, a longtime fan of the book, tried to persuade Paramount to do a remake. The studio balked, remembering the earlier lawsuit and commercial flop. Stevens reportedly had to prepare his own lawsuit, alleging breach of contract, to get the studio to relent. Even still, Paramount demanded some changes, starting with the title. Accounts vary as to why; some say Paramount thought 'An American Tragedy' was too glum a title for a movie with a strong romantic element (the studio's preferred title was 'The Lovers'). Others say that anti-communist sentiment, soon to erupt into full-blown McCarthyism and the Hollywood blacklist, kept the studio from wanting to imply that there was anything anti-American about the movie. Stevens' associate producer Ivan Moffat came up with the new, more ironic title that eventually stuck. But the blacklist wasn't finished yet with the filmmakers.

'A Place in the Sun' - Trailer

Cast in the leads were 28-year-old Clift (then coming off the successes of 'Red River' and 'The Heiress') and Taylor, who, at 17, had yet to give a truly adult performance. He'd play George, the poor but ambitious social climber, she Angela, the spoiled rich girl of his dreams. As Alice, the third leg of the triangle, the factory girl George impregnates and plots to murder so that he can marry Angela, Stevens cast Shelley Winters. A rising starlet being groomed as Hollywood's next brassy blonde bombshell, Winters persuaded the filmmakers that she could play dowdy and mousy after spending two weeks riding city buses and observing Los Angeles factory girls.

Trained Method actors, Winters and Clift brought their discipline to a Hollywood that would soon be revolutionized by the new technique as practiced by Clift, Marlon Brando, and James Dean. In 1949, however, seasoned filmmakers like Stevens found it bewildering and irritating, especially since Clift had Russian-born acting coach Mira Rostova on the set with him at all times, and since he argued with Stevens over how to play just about every scene. Then again, the Method's emphasis on conveying intense emotions did serve Stevens' preference for shooting scenes with minimal or no dialogue, and for shooting extreme close-ups of the actors' faces.

The young Taylor also found it challenging to work with the meticulous Clift, but his intense dedication and probing emotional approach to his character inspired her to give a performance that was mature beyond her years. They displayed an intense romantic chemistry that seemed to continue off-screen. Gossip reports at the time (no doubt puffed up by the studio) even speculated that they were planning to marry. In actuality, despite Clift's flirtatious behavior, it's likely that no romance ever took place between Liz and the gay Monty. But they did become close and loyal friends.

Excerpt from 'A Place in the Sun'

Shooting began in October 1949 with lakeside scenes shot at Lake Tahoe, where it was so cold that the filmmakers had to hose the snow off the trees and the ground before filming. The perfectionist Stevens continued the shoot for another four months, exposing 400,000 feet of film. He and editor William Hornbeck then spent more than a year editing it (though some accounts say he was just biding time so that his movie would get a 1951 release date and not compete with fellow Paramount opus 'Sunset Boulevard' in the 1950 Oscar race).

How It Was Received: The film was a big hit, becoming the eighth highest-grossing movie of 1951. Clift's performance earned some of the highest praise of his career and spawned a fan club. Taylor astonished viewers with her grown-up sensuality. She'd played a young adult getting married in 1950's 'Father of the Bride' (a film shot after 'Place in the Sun' but timed for release to coincide with the starlet's real-life wedding to Nicky Hilton), but she hadn't turned on the full wattage of her sex appeal until now.

The movie was nominated for nine Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress (for Winters). It took home six trophies, including Best Director, Best Editing, and Best Screenplay (for Michael Wilson and Harry Brown).

Co-star Anne Revere, who played Clift's mother, could trace her lineage back to Revolutionary patriot Paul Revere, but by 1951, she'd run afoul of the House Un-American Activities Committee and was blacklisted by the studios. Her name was purged from all publicity materials for 'A Place in the Sun.' She left Hollywood for Broadway and didn't appear in another movie for 20 years.

Long-Term Impact: The blacklisting didn't stop with Revere. Oscar-winning screenwriter Wilson was eventually blacklisted as well. He continued to write acclaimed and even Oscar-winning screenplays (most notably, for 1957's 'The Bridge Over the River Kwai,' with fellow blacklistee Carl Foreman) but didn't receive proper credit from the studios or the Academy until after his death in 1976.

The lawsuits continued after the film's release as well. In 1959, the estate of Patrick Kearney, who'd written a stage version of 'An American Tragedy,' sued Paramount, arguing that Kearney had retained the rights to the story. In 1965, Stevens sued Paramount and NBC over the network's plan to broadcast 'A Place in the Sun,' broken up by commercials. He argued that his studio contract forbade anyone from editing the movie without his consent, and that chopping up the film for broadcast would ruin the painstakingly wrought effects of his own lengthy edit process. The legal fight dragged on for two years, with the courts ultimately ruling against Stevens but awarding him token damages of $1.

To be sure, Stevens' editing really was one of the key elements of the film. His trademark technique, the overlapping dissolve (which could be traced back to Russian formalist filmmakers like Eisenstein and Dziga Vertov), created a narrative flow, a swirling rush of emotion, and a deliberate contrast of images superimposed on each other. The overlapping dissolve became popular among filmmakers in the 1950s and beyond. Jean Luc Godard made extensive use of it in his series 'Histoire(s) du Cinema,' even using it to contrast Stevens' own work as a wartime documentarian, capturing real human misery, with his work on 'A Place in the Sun,' capturing glossy, manufactured romance. Woody Allen, too, borrowed liberally from 'A Place in the Sun,' sometimes shot for shot, for 'Match Point,' his hit 2005 drama about a social climber who plots to murder his blonde girlfriend in order to marry a brunette society beauty.

By the time of Stevens' lawsuit, he had followed 'A Place in the Sun' with two more classics of Americana: 1953's 'Shane' and 1956's 'Giant' (which reunited him with Taylor). Wilson was working on the script for the original 'Planet of the Apes,' while his 'Place in the Sun' writing partner Harry Brown had co-scripted the original 'Ocean's 11.' Among the acting talent, Raymond Burr, who played the prosecutor, had gone on to play the most celebrated defense attorney in TV history, Perry Mason. Winters had proven all too well that she could play dowdy and mousy and spent the rest of her long career specializing in playing hausfraus, harridans and jilted lovers. She won supporting Oscars for two such roles, in 1959's 'The Diary of Anne Frank' (directed by Stevens) and 1966's 'A Patch of Blue.' Even Mira Rostova, Clift's acting coach, went onto a long and successful career as an acting teacher, whose pupils included Alec Baldwin, Jessica Lange, Jerry Orbach and, uh, Madonna.

As for Clift and Taylor, their friendship lasted the rest of his short life. They worked together on two other films, and she famously saved his life after his 1956 car crash. (He was leaving her house at the time, and she saved him from choking to death by pulling his broken teeth out of his throat.) By the time he died in 1966, he'd been nominated for four Oscars, including for such classics as 1953's 'From Here to Eternity' and 1961's 'Judgment at Nuremberg.' Taylor, who'd go on to win two Oscars (for 1960's 'Butterfield 8' and 1966's 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf'), would pass into legend, spending most of her adult career as Angela Vickers, the accessible yet unattainable goddess she'd played during her first pairing with Clift.

How It Plays Today: With Taylor's passing in March, 'A Place in the Sun' seems all the more poignant now for its portrayal of two impossibly gorgeous young people who thought they had limitless potential. For anyone too young to remember why moviegoers spent decades swooning over both Liz and Monty, this is a good place to start.

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.

Movie: 'An American Werewolf in London'

Release Date: August 21, 1981

How It Got Made: John Landis' 'An American Werewolf in London' was just one of three big werewolf movies released in 1981, but it may have been the one with the most far-reaching impact. Much of the credit goes to Rick Baker, the makeup and special-effects artist who created one of the most terrifying werewolf transformations ever, a sequence so impressive it inspired the Academy to initiate a Best Makeup category at the Oscars. The film would also serve as a template for horror comedies to come, as well as for Michael Jackson's celebrated 'Thriller' video, which saw Landis and Baker expand upon their ghoulish innovations from 'American Werewolf.'

Landis has said he came up with the idea for the film back in 1969, when he was working in Yugoslavia as a production assistant on Clint Eastwood's World War II picture 'Kelly's Heroes.' He supposedly saw a group of Gypsies performing a ritual meant to keep a person from rising from the dead. He wrote a screenplay that went unproduced for 12 years, until Landis had become a bankable director, thanks to such hits as 'Animal House' and 'The Blues Brothers.'

Landis managed to raise $10 million to make the movie, despite producers' concerns that the movie's mixture of horror and comedy wouldn't work. They also wanted Landis' 'Blues Brothers' stars Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi to star as David (the tourist who becomes a wolf himself after a werewolf attack) and his friend Jack (who is killed in the attack but whose decomposing ghost keeps visiting David to urge him to kill himself before he becomes a rampaging wolf). Instead, Landis went with relative unknowns David Naughton and Griffin Dunne. Rounding out the cast was British actress Jenny Agutter ('Logan's Run') as the nurse who falls in love with David and tries to save him from himself.

'An American Werewolf in London' - Trailer

At the time, Naughton was best known for singing "I'm a Pepper" in Dr. Pepper commercials. During production on this movie, the crew reportedly taunted him by singing, "I'm a werewolf, you're a werewolf... wouldn't you like to be a werewolf too?"

The key sequence in the film was David's full-moon-induced transformation, a sequence that went on for several minutes as his bones elongated painfully, his haunches grew muscles, and his body became covered with hair. Baker's realistic work here with latex, prosthetics and robotic limbs -- as well as his work elsewhere in the film on the progressively decaying but still chatty Jack -- stood in sharp contrast to the film's more comic elements, yet neither detracted from the other.

'An American Werewolf in London' - David's Transformation

How It Was Received: Despite following on the heels of such recent releases as 'The Howling' and 'Wolfen,' 'American Werewolf' was a hit in theaters, grossing more than $30 million. Baker's work had an immediate impact on the Academy, which decided to create a Best Makeup Oscar. Its first winner the following winter was Baker for his 'American Werewolf' work.

Long-Term Impact: 'American Werewolf' fan Michael Jackson hired Landis and Baker to oversee his landmark 'Thriller' video in 1983, featuring Jackson's own wolf-like transformation and an army of dancing, Jack-like ghouls. The extended-length music clip became perhaps the most important and influential music video of all time and set a sales record, moving 9 million copies on videocassette. Landis would also direct Jackson's landmark 1991 'Black or White' video, as well as such hit movies as 'Trading Places' and 'Coming to America.' His latest work, 'Burke & Hare' (opening Sept. 9), finds him returning to England-set horror comedy with a tale of 19th-century grave robbers. It stars Andy Serkis and Simon Pegg, whose 2004 film 'Shaun of the Dead' took the 'American Werewolf' style of horror comedy to its extreme.

Baker would go on to win seven Oscars for his makeup, including his work on 'The Nutty Professor,' 'Men in Black,' and (coming full circle) 2010's 'The Wolfman' (in which Baker played a cameo as one of the wolf's early victims).

Naughton and Agutter went on to long careers on TV on their respective sides of the pond. Dunne, after starring in such films as Martin Scorsese's 'After Hours,' became a director whose credits included the Oscar-nominated short 'The Duke of Groove' and the features 'Practical Magic' and 'Addicted to Love.'

'An American Werewolf in London' - Jack Warns David

In 1997, the sequel 'An American Werewolf in Paris' was released. It had none of the same filmmakers, actors or characters as the 1981 film, just a similar premise (young American tourists, European capital, lycanthropy). Last year, Dimension Films announced plans for a remake, but those plans have yet to come to fruition.

How It Plays Today: Some elements of the movie are dated (all that helmet hair, the once-squalid Piccadilly Circus), but otherwise, the film has aged well. (It helps that Landis built a soundtrack of timeless pop songs that were already vintage then, selected because they all had to do with the moon.) As for the transformation and the other gruesome effects? Still scary.

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.

Movie: 'Body Heat'

Release Date: August 28, 1981

How It Got Made: It was such a good idea, it's no wonder no one tried it sooner: an old-fashioned femme-fatale film noir thriller, like they used to make in the 1940s, but with the sexual candor that would have been impossible back then. Of course it wouldn't have worked without the right combination of script, direction and casting. That a first-time writer/director and rookie movie actress were able to pull it off seems unlikely, but filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan's work with Kathleen Turner and William Hurt in 'Body Heat' sparked an undeniably combustible chemistry. The film made an instant star of Turner and an A-List director out of Kasdan, gave early big breaks to Ted Danson and Mickey Rourke, and inspired countless copycat "erotic thrillers."

As a screenwriter, Kasdan had been a hot property in Hollywood since the mid-1970s, when his screenplay for 'The Bodyguard' earned a reputation as one of the best unproduced scripts in town. Kasdan got his first paying gig when veteran screenwriter Leigh Brackett died, forcing George Lucas to call Kasdan in to finish Brackett's script for 'The Empire Strikes Back. The success of the 'Star Wars' sequel led Lucas to commission Kasdan to write 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.' That, in turn, gave him the clout to direct 'Body Heat.'

Kasdan's screenplay owed an obvious debt to such classic femme-fatale dramas as 'The Postman Always Rings Twice' and 'Double Indemnity.' As in those films, there's a seductress (named Matty Walker) who has an adulterous affair with a man (here, a lawyer named Ned Racine) and ensnares him in a scheme to kill her husband and reap a windfall, only to have everything go awry for her foolish lover. But while the sex was always implicit in those older movies, here it would be right up front. So Kasdan needed two fearless leads.

Hurt, 31, won the role after Christopher Reeve turned it down, saying he didn't think he would be convincing as a seedy lawyer. Hurt had already impressed Hollywood with two very different roles, the tormented academic in 'Altered States' and the opportunistic title character in 'Eyewitness.' The 27-year-old Turner, however, was unknown, except to viewers of the NBC soap 'The Doctors.

Turner and Hurt did film some steamy scenes together that were unusually frank for a mainstream movie, even in 1981, a decade and a half after the end of the Hollywood Production Code. To make the film crew feel more comfortable about shooting those scenes, Hurt and Turner made a point of introducing themselves to each member of the crew. Both stars were naked at the time.

Most of the film's steaminess, however, came from Kasdan's hard-boiled dialogue ("You're not too smart, are you? I like that in a man.") and his atmospheric touches. There are countless shots of glistening skin, glaring sunshine, and even fiery explosions, all of which lend the picture a sense of sultry, sweltering Florida heat. As it turns out, all of that was clever fakery, as the movie was filmed during one of the coldest winters in Florida history. Turner would make herself even colder, holding ice in her mouth before takes to so that the camera wouldn't capture her frosty breath.

Other little touches contributed to the movie's sordid atmosphere. One of them was Hurt's trim little mustache, which gave Ned an instant air of disreputability. The film's veteran producer, Alan Ladd, demanded that Kasdan have Hurt shave it off, but Kasdan refused. The mustache stayed.

Excerpt from 'Body Heat'

How It Was Received: 'Body Heat' earned rave reviews, mostly from male critics, who all but panted and drooled over Turner. Female critics (Janet Maslin at the New York Times, Pauline Kael at the New Yorker) were less impressed. Still, the film earned a respectable $24 million at the box office.

Long-Term Impact: Turner became an instant star, but one of the first things she did was to spoof her 'Body Heat' role as the wicked temptress in Steve Martin's 'The Man With Two Brains.' In another about-face, she played the mousy novelist-turned-adventurer in 'Romancing the Stone,' a huge hit that helped keep her in demand for the rest of the '80s. Even after age and poor health robbed her of her looks, she continued to play sexually unabashed sirens on Broadway (as Mrs. Robinson in 'The Graduate') and on TV (as a sexually omnivorous talent agent on 'Californication').

Kasdan and Hurt went on to work together three more times over the next decade, notably in 'The Big Chill' and 'The Accidental Tourist' (which reunited them with Turner). Hurt was an offbeat but reliable leading man throughout the '80s, winning an Oscar for 'Kiss of the Spider Woman,' and he has transitioned into an equally dependable character actor over the last two decades. Kasdan's directing career foundered in the '90s, but he did finally get his 'Bodyguard' script filmed. Mick Jackson directed the 1992 smash, starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner in the roles for which Kasdan had long ago envisioned Diana Ross and Steve McQueen.

The film launched other careers as well. Ted Danson went from playing Hurt's tap-dancing prosecutor pal into the lead role on TV's 'Cheers,' becoming one of the most beloved sitcom stars ever. Mickey Rourke got his first big break as a shady client of Hurt's, an expert in homemade bombs - a small role that Rourke delivered with enough sleazy authority to launch a career playing smart, menacing lowlifes. Even J.A. Preston, who played the detective whose warnings Ned ignores, went on to greater glory in other character parts, including the Navy judge in 'A Few Good Men.'

'Body Heat' also launched a mini-industry of so-called "erotic thrillers," variations on the femme-fatale theme that took advantage of the movies' newly permissible sexual permissiveness. All of them seemed to have similar two-word titles. The most famous of these, of course, was 'Basic Instinct,' which made Sharon Stone a star overnight (after 12 years in Hollywood) the way 'Body Heat' had with Turner. There was even an 'Airplane!'-style genre spoof, 'Fatal Instinct,' that starred Armand Assante as a dimwitted lawyer named Ned Ravine.

How It Plays Today: The dialogue certainly is ripe, almost campy, but then 'Body Heat' works best if viewed as a nightmarish ride, a swampy, sweaty fever dream composed of half-remembered scenes from classic noirs. You do have to admire Hurt and Turner for their total commitment to their roles. And all that steamy sex? Still steamy.

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.

For Hollywood, September 2001 started out like any other September, full of film festivals, dealmaking, and the release of Oscar-bait movies. Of course, like everything else in America, the movie business was shocked and horrified by the events of 9/11 and quickly came together to respond to the tragedy.

Looking back a decade later at the events of that month, it's remarkable how quickly things returned to business as usual. Hollywood kept greenlighting the same kinds of movies, and stars kept behaving (aside from their generosity in the days after the attacks) with their usual personal abandon.

Here's a timeline of the movie news of September 2001, full of both landmark events and typical Hollywood business.

The Week of Sept. 1 - 7

September 1
o. Anne Heche marries cameraman Coley Laffoon. The couple will split in 2009.
o. Geena Davis marries plastic surgeon Reza Jarrahy, who is 15 years her junior. It's the fourth marriage for the 45-year-old Oscar-winner. The union will produce three children.

September 2
o. Low-budget horror flick 'Jeepers Creepers' surprises with a strong $13.1 million opening to win the Labor Day weekend box office.

September 3
o. Kate Winslet announces her separation from director Jim Threapleton, her husband of three years and father to their daughter, Mia.
o. John Grisham's recently filmed movie 'Mickey,' starring Harry Connick Jr. as a father who enrolls his too-old son as a Little League ringer, is delayed by its similarity to the real-life scandal of overaged Little League World Series star Danny Almonte. The movie will sit on shelves for another three years before vanishing at the box office after a limited 2004 release.
o. Influential New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael dies at 82.

September 4
o. Mark Ruffalo has to drop out of M. Night Shyamalan's 'Signs' because of ear surgery. Joaquin Phoenix replaces him in the alien-invasion drama that will become one of 2002's biggest hits.

September 5

o. The new 'Austin Powers' sequel gets a title: 'Austin Powers in Goldmember.' Mike Myers gets a reported $25 million for the third installment. The film will go on to become a big 2002 hit and launch Beyoncé's film career.

September 6
o. Chicago Little League coach Bob Muzikowski unsuccessfully sues Paramount to stop the Sept. 14 release of 'Hardball,' a movie loosely based on his life, arguing that the film defames him by showing the coach (Keanu Reeves) pushing the kids and has scenes of the players using profanity -- both violations of league rules.

September 7
o. George Clooney plans to reunite with his 'Peacemaker' co-star Nicole Kidman for his directorial debut, 'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.' Eventually, Clooney will make the movie with Julia Roberts instead and release it at the end of 2002.

The Week of Sept. 8 - 15

September 9
o. 'The Musketeer' debuts at No. 1 with $10.3 million, on its way to a total gross of $27.1 million. It defeats two fellow newcomers: the Vivica A. Fox romantic comedy 'Two Can Play That Game' and the Mark Wahlberg-Jennifer Aniston musical drama 'Rock Star.'

September 10
o. Sam Rockwell signs on to play the lead role in George Clooney's 'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.'
o. Keanu Reeves tells the press at the Toronto Film Festival that he appeared in the previous year's serial killer thriller 'The Watcher' only because a friend forged his signature on the contract.

September 11
o. In the wake of the morning's terrorist attacks, most of show business grinds to a halt. In Los Angeles, movie production shuts down. In New York, entertainment companies' corporate headquarters are evacuated. Movie theaters throughout the nation shut down. The Union Square cineplex in downtown Manhattan becomes an ad hoc shelter.
o. The Toronto Film Festival cancels all of the day's planned screenings. Celebrities there to promote their films are stranded as North American airports shut down.
o. Studios start rethinking the releases of completed films with potentially insensitive content. Disney's 'Big Trouble,' a comedy that involves the smuggling of a nuclear bomb aboard a jetliner, gets pushed back from Sept. 21 to an indefinite date in 2002, and its press junket is canceled. Warner Bros. delays the scheduled October 5 release of Arnold Schwarzenegger's 'Collateral Damage,' involving the destruction of a skyscraper by terrorists, until the following year, and the studio takes the movie's website offline. Sony yanks the trailer for 2002's 'Spider-Man,' which contains footage of Spidey using a giant web to trap a helicopter between the tops of the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

September 12
o. Independent film companies housed in lower Manhattan, including Miramax, Artisan, and Good Machine, remain shut down and inaccessible.
o. Paramount Classics decides to postpone the scheduled September 21 release of 'Sidewalks of New York,' Edward Burns' suddenly frivolous Manhattan romantic comedy.

September 13
o. Entertainment conglomerates, including AOL Time Warner, News Corporation (parent of 20^th Century Fox), Disney, and Viacom (parent of Paramount), pledge millions of dollars in aid to families of emergency workers who responded at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The Screen Actors Guild pledges $50,000 to the first responders' families.
o. Sony revises plans for shooting the climax of 'Men In Black 2,' which was to have taken place at the World Trade Center. The new climax will take place at the Chrysler Building and will require changes only to the green-screen background in post-production.
o. DreamWorks decides not to postpone the October release of 'The Last Castle,' about an uprising at a military prison, but it pulls ads showing the American flag flying upside-down as a distress signal.
o. Oscar-nominated actress Dorothy McGuire ('Gentleman's Agreement') dies at 85.

September 14

o. 'Hardball' and 'The Glass House' are released as scheduled. Prints had been shipped to theaters before the terrorist attacks halted all air travel.
o. Though Robert De Niro's restaurants and production company, housed in TriBeCa (just north of the World Trade Center), have been shuttered all week, he gets his chefs, along with other top New York restaurateurs, to organize a food drive for relief workers, ferrying 500 meals at a time by boat to lower Manhattan. Months later, De Niro will help revitalize the economically devastated neighborhood and its many independent film companies by launching the Tribeca
Film Festival, which is now gearing up for its 11^th edition next spring.
o.'The Time Machine' gets an indefinite postponement, due to scenes involving the destruction of New York by fragments of the exploded moon raining down on the city.
o. Julie Andrews, Mira Sorvino, Anthony LaPaglia, and Barbara Hershey drop out of scheduled appearances at Spain's San Sebastian Film Festival. Andrews, who was to have received a lifetime achievement award, says it would be insensitive to celebrate herself "while the entire world is mourning."

The Week of Sept. 16 - 22

September 16
o. 'Hardball' grosses just $9.4 million at the box office, but that's enough to win on a weekend when no one feels much like going to the movies. The sports drama eventually earns $40.2 million. Debuting in second place, thriller 'The Glass House' earns $5.7 million, on its way toward an $18.0 million gross.

September 17
o. Tom Hanks, George Clooney, and Jim Carrey are the first movie stars to sign on to an all-star relief telethon scheduled for Sept. 21.
o. New York City begins issuing film permits for Manhattan again, now that borough police who were busy at Ground Zero are freed up to watch over movie shoots.
o. Another film postponed over imagery is indie drama 'People I Know,' which contains a shot of the World Trade Center towers on their sides, as seen through the perspective of a woozy Manhattan publicist (Al Pacino). Director Dan Algrant's home and editing room, both in Lower Manhattan, have been inaccessible since the attacks. The film eventually is released in the U.S. in 2003.

September 18
o. The Oscar ceremony is supposed to move to the new Kodak Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard in 2002, but the Academy threatens to keep it at the Shrine Auditorium unless the mall where the new theater is located agrees to beef up security, including a bomb sweep on the day of the show.
o. Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Will Smith, Robert De Niro, Clint Eastwood, and Robin Williams sign on for the weekend's TV telethon, now dubbed 'America: A Tribute to Heroes.'
o. Screen Actors Guild president William Daniels phones President George W. Bush and offers the services of movie stars in whatever way the White House sees fit. The union says that the call is "warmly received" and that the administration may enlist stars for personal appearances, public service announcements, and fundraisers. Other outreach efforts between the administration and Hollywood will follow over the next few months, but little will come of them beyond a TV movie, 'DC 9/11: Time of Crisis,' which critics will argue paints the Bush administration's reaction to the attacks in far too rosy a light.

September 19

o. Jim Carrey pledges $1 million to the families of the victims.
o. Disney postpones the Christmastime release of action comedy 'Bad Company,' in which spies Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock must thwart terrorists threatening to blow up lower Manhattan with a nuclear bomb. The film flops when released in summer 2002.
o. Indie distributor Lot 47 postpones the U.S. release of Canadian dark comedy 'Waydowntown,' which includes a fantasy scene of bodies plummeting from an office tower. The film gets released in a handful of theaters in early 2002.

September 20
* Hollywood studios go on lockdown after the FBI alerts them to a possible terrorist threat in response to any potential U.S. bombing of Afghanistan. On the studio lots, tours and screenings are canceled, audiences for TV tapings are sent home, all packages are X-rayed, metal detectors are installed, and armed guards are posted. Nervous employees at Universal and Sony go home. The threat never materializes.
o. Movie stars added to the roster for 'America: A Tribute to Heroes' include John Cusack, Danny DeVito, Goldie Hawn, Salma Hayek, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Brad Pitt, Chris Rock, Meg Ryan, Adam Sandler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lucy Liu, and Sylvester Stallone. Some will make on-air fundraising appeals; others simply volunteer to man the phone banks and take pledge donations.
o. Postponed by nine months is the September shoot for the Jennifer Lopez thriller 'Tick-Tock,' in which she is to play an FBI agent who must find a series of ticking terrorist time bombs placed throughout Los Angeles. As it turns out, Lopez will never make the movie.

September 21
o. 'America: A Tribute to Heroes' attracts as many as 89 million viewers and raises $200 million for the United Way's September 11 Telethon Fund. It provides the model for ad hoc disaster relief telethons throughout the next decade. One of the telethon stars, Julia Roberts, pledges $2 million of her own money.
o. The Academy settles its security dispute with the Hollywood & Highland mall, allowing the Oscar ceremony to move to the new Kodak Theatre in 2002 as scheduled. The Academy Awards are still held there to this day.
o. Director Barry Sonnenfeld, whose movies 'Big Trouble' and 'Men in Black 2' were both affected by the attacks, says he has no idea how 9/11 will change film. "Anyone who says they know what will happen with Hollywood is wrong," he tells TV Guide.

The Week of Sept. 22 - 31

September 23
o. 'Hardball' remains the No. 1 movie at the box office, earning another $8.1 million.
o. Mariah Carey's musical 'Glitter' becomes one of the most notorious flops of recent years, opening at No. 11 and grossing just $2.4 million on its way to a total haul of just $4.3 million.

September 24
o. Chris Rock and Jamie Foxx are among the performers who offer their services to the USO, should they be called upon to entertain American troops fighting abroad. Over the next decade, with Americans fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, there will be many such USO tours involving a broad spectrum of stars.

September 25
o. Greenlit movies include romantic comedy 'Deliver Us From Eva,' starring LL Cool J and Gabrielle Union, and action movie/spy thriller 'xXx,' starring Vin Diesel and Samuel L. Jackson. 'Eva' makes barely a ripple at the box office in 2003, but 'xXx' becomes a blockbuster hit in summer 2002 and spawns a sequel.

September 26
o. Arnold Schwarzenegger sues a gaming company for $20 million over a line of 'Terminator'-themed slot machines using the star's image without his permission.
o. Both Sandra Bullock and the Academy make $1 million pledges to relief efforts.

September 27

o. Paul McCartney announces plans for an all-star fundraiser at Madison Square Garden, to be telecast live on Oct. 20, called 'The Concert for New York City.' Among the movie stars scheduled to appear are Jim Carrey, Gwyneth Paltrow, and John Cusack. McCartney commissions legendary documentarian Albert Maysles -- who co-directed 'What's Happening! The Beatles in the USA,' a chronicle of the band's triumphant arrival in New York in 1964 -- to follow him around the city again as he prepares for the benefit. The show turns out to be a rousing success and raises $35 million, but Maysles' footage goes unseen by the public until September 2011, when the finished film, 'The Love We Make,' debuts on Showtime.
o. Blockbuster video stores start labeling recent releases thought to have content that viewers might consider disturbing following 9/11. The first film labeled is the explosion-filled 2001 thriller 'Swordfish.' The video chain also cuts its order for copies of the film by 30 percent. There's no label for older movies that touch on terrorism, like 'Die Hard' and 'The Siege,' which become popular rentals in the wake of the attacks.
o. Angelina Jolie donates $1 million to a United Nations fund targeted toward Afghan refugees. In July, she'd visited Afghan exiles in refugee camps in Pakistan, camps whose ranks would likely swell if the U.S. were to attack Afghanistan. For years to come, Jolie's movie career and her philanthropy in humanitarian crisis zones and her movie career would run on parallel tracks. In 2007, she'd earn acclaim for 'A Mighty Heart,' playing Mariane Pearl, widow of journalist Daniel Pearl, captured and beheaded in Pakistan in 2002.

September 28
o. Ben Stiller's 'Zoolander' becomes the first film altered because of 9/11 to reach theaters; the twin towers had been digitally scrubbed from shots of the New York skyline that included the World Trade Center.
o. MGM bumps Nicolas Cage's World War II drama 'Windtalkers' from November to summer 2002 out of fear that moviegoers won't want to see a war movie, or that another barrage of nonstop TV emergency news coverage could spoil the film's expensive ad campaign.
o. Richard Gere lands the male lead, opposite Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones, in 'Chicago.' The Broadway musical adaptation is released in 2002 and wins several Oscars, including Best Picture.
o. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver donate $1 million to the Twin Towers Fund, benefiting families of emergency workers.

September 30
o. 'Don't Say a Word,' a creepy kidnapping thriller starring Brittany Murphy and Michael Douglas, debuts at No. 1 with $17.1 million. Over the course of its run, it earns $55.0 million and becomes one of the biggest hits of Murphy's career.
o. 'Zoolander' opens in second place with a solid $15.5 million. Eventually, Ben Stiller's fashion-world satire earns $45.2 million and becomes a cult favorite.

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman

'Hardball,' 'Glitter' and 'Zoolander' photos courtesy of Everett. 9/11 and Oscars photos courtesy of AFP/Getty Images. Robert De Niro and Paul McCartney photos courtesy of Getty. Jim Carrey photo courtesy of AP.

Movie: 'Yojimbo'

Release Date: September 13, 1961

How It Got Made: By the time Akira Kurosawa made 'Yojimbo,' he had already spent a decade as the Japanese director most admired in the West, thanks to international successes like 'Rashomon' and 'Seven Samurai.' (The latter film had even been remade as a Hollywood Western, 'The Magnificent Seven.') With 'Yojimbo,' Kurosawa returned the favor, distilling the two most American of genres (the gangster film and the Western) into a new kind of samurai picture. The result was not only a terrific success but also a vastly influential film, with its premise eventually retranslated back into the western and gangster genres, most memorably as 'A Fistful of Dollars.'

'Yojimbo' - Trailer

The screenplay for 'Yojimbo,' written by Kurosawa and Ryuzo Kikushima, borrowed heavily from American crime novelist Dashiell Hammett -- notably, from his works 'The Glass Key' (which Hollywood filmed twice, in 1935 and 1942) and 'Red Harvest.' In terms of screen composition, it owed a huge debt to Westerns by John Ford and others, with its showdowns on the dusty, wide street of a lawless town. In samurai lore, it marks a clash between the traditional and the modern, pitting its sword-wielding antihero against a pistol-packing villain.

That antihero, a ronin without a master or even a name (he calls himself Sanjuro, which just means "thirtysomething"), was something new in samurai movies. He has a moral code, but not one that older, more selfless samurai would recognize. While his actions free a despoiled town of two rival criminal gangs, he's not an altruist. He's just out for himself, cannily playing the two gangs against each other by hiring himself out to both sides as a mercenary and protector ('Yojimbo' means "bodyguard").

To play Sanjuro, Kurosawa hired his frequent leading man Toshiro Mifune. The similarly popular Tatsuya Nakadai as the primary bad guy, Unosuke.

Tatsuya Nakadai and Toshiro Mifune in 'Yojimbo'

Tatsuya Nakadai and Toshiro Mifune in 'Yojimbo'

Kurosawa was meticulous about the production design. The construction of an entire town from scratch made 'Yojimbo' his most expensive film yet. To get the dust-blown effect he liked, he imported truckloads of dust from a nearby military firing range. To make sure the street didn't look too newly-built and perfectly flat, he simulated the effect of erosion from rain dripping off the village rooftops by hiring a local fire department to spend a whole day spraying the roofs with water.

Kurosawa hired two cinematographers and pitted them against each other, much like Sanjuro did with the rival gangs. He had veteran Kazuo Miyagawa create classically composed shots with beautiful lighting, while he had newcomer Takao Saito do more jagged work, with his camera darting back and forth. And for one amazing tracking shot, in which the camera follows Sanjuro as he crawls beneath the floorboards, focus puller Daisaku Kimura dangled the heavy CinemaScope camera from above like a marionette, moving it with wires held in both hands, his mouth, and his big toe. He couldn't see what Mifune was doing, but he had mapped out his route in advance and followed it from memory.

One other celebrated shot, in which Sanjuro throws a knife and impales a fluttering leaf, was created by running the film backward; in the actual shot, the leaf is already pinned, the knife is yanked out with a wire, and the leaf is blown out of the frame.

'Yojimbo'

The film was unusually violent by the standards of the day. The movie's tone is set when Sanjuro arrives in the town and sees a dog trotting by with a severed hand in its mouth. (Kurosawa got the idea when he saw a glove that a lighting technician had dropped.) The movie is not shy about showing severed limbs, and it's one of the first to use gruesomely realistic sound effects for the sword's blade slicing through flesh. As a swordsman, Mifune moved with remarkable speed; in a climactic scene, he cuts down ten opponents in ten seconds. After that massacre, there's so much blood that Nakadai broke out in a rash all over his body after lying in a pool of fake gore for three days of shooting.

'Yojimbo' - Toshiro Mifune's Body Count

How It Was Received: 'Yojimbo' was Kurosawa's biggest hit yet in Japan. One reading of the film suggests that younger Japanese audiences embraced the film as a political allegory of recent Japanese history. In that reading, the ruined town is Japan after World War II, and the two corrupt gangs are the old Japanese establishment (which led the country into the disastrous war) and the Americans (who disgraced Japan with defeat and occupation). Kurosawa himself never endorsed such a viewpoint; if he had any resentment over the supposed cultural imperialism of America, it was belied by his clear admiration for Hollywood genre movies.

'Yojimbo' met similar success around the world, catapulting Kurosawa and Mifune to new levels of international fame. It earned an Oscar nomination for Best Costumes. Mifune won the Best Actor prize at the Venice Film Festival and began to receive international job offers. But first, he and Kurosawa made a sequel, called 'Sanjuro,' which was not as well received.

Long-Term Impact: 'Yojimbo' was much-copied, most notoriously in 1964 by Sergio Leone, whose 'A Fistful of Dollars' is a virtual remake of 'Yojimbo' as a western. As a remake, it was unauthorized, leading to a lawsuit that kept the film out of North American theaters for three years. Nonetheless, 'Fistful' launched a whole genre of revisionist Westerns and made the careers of both its director and the star who played its nameless antihero: Clint Eastwood.

At home, 'Yojimbo' inspired a wave of "cruel films," known for their similarly black-comic tone and cavalier approach to violence. In 1970, Mifune starred in 'Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo,' in which he played a Sanjuro-like character who meets the blind swordsman played (as in 19 earlier films) by Shintaro Katsu.

Having parted ways with Kurosawa in 1965 after 16 films together, Mifune continued to enjoy success for another quarter-century, with his highest-profile role in America as Lord Toronaga in the TV mini-series 'Shogun.' The years after their rift were less kind to the director, who made only seven more films over the next three decades. (Two of them were the '80s epic masterpieces 'Kagemusha' and 'Ran,' both starring Nakadai.) The two men died within a year of each other: Mifune in 1997 and Kurosawa in 1998.

Still, 'Yojimbo's influence continued to be felt far and wide. There was an authorized remake, Walter Hill's 'Last Man Standing' (1996), that brought the story back to its gangster-drama roots. The Coen brothers' mob-movie homage 'Miller's Crossing' (1990) added large helpings of Hammett to the familiar premise. George Lucas turned the swordsmen of 'Yojimbo' (and of Kurosawa's 'The Hidden Fortress') into the lightsaber-wielding Jedi of the 'Star Wars' movies, while Quentin Tarantino turned 'Yojimbo's limb-lopping antihero into an antiheroine in 'Kill Bill.' Even John Waters emulated Kurosawa in 'Desperate Living,' with a scene with a dog with a severed human appendage in its mouth. (It's not a hand.)

How It Plays Today: 'Yojimbo' has become such a fixture of film culture, whether on its own merits or through its imitators, that it's hard to see it through fresh eyes. As a work of artistic depth with grand humanist themes, it doesn't stand up to Kurosawa's earlier adventures ('Seven Samurai') or later epics. Still, it's a terrific action film, one whose iconoclastic attitude, inventive camera work, and fearsome swordplay have kept it vital and cutting-edge.

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.

Photo Credits: The Criterion Collection

Movie: 'A Streetcar Named Desire'

Release Date: September 18, 1951

How It Got Made: As a medium that originated in the late 1800s, film was still very much a Victorian art form well into the middle of the next century. 'Streetcar,' perhaps more than any other movie, dragged the medium kicking and screaming into the 20th century and forced it to grow up. The attempt to adapt Tennessee Williams' landmark play for the screen met with epic censorship battles in Hollywood. Even in its tamer, abridged form, however, the movie version of 'Streetcar' became Hollywood's first movie that was strictly for adults. And Marlon Brando's raw, emotional performance in it forced a new kind of maturity into screen acting, which was never the same again.

'Streetcar' had taken Broadway by storm when it opened in 1947, in a production directed by Elia Kazan and cast with relative unknowns Brando, Jessica Tandy, Kim Hunter, and Karl Malden. The play's adult themes meant that few in Hollywood wanted to touch it. Nonetheless, Kazan tried to import the production wholesale to the screen, with the same cast, director, and writer. Warner Bros. felt it needed at least one proven star in the cast and called for Tandy to be replaced in the lead role of Blanche DuBois.

Kazan found his Blanche in Vivien Leigh, who had played the role on the London stage, under the direction of her husband, Laurence Olivier. The part seemed a perfect fit for the actress who had played Scarlett O'Hara in 'Gone With the Wind' a decade earlier. Blanche was like an older Scarlett, a Southern belle who had a tendency to use and discard men and who maintained a romantic obsession with a vanished past that was never as genteel and refined as she'd imagined it to be.

Leigh's mannered, classically-trained performance style clashed with Brando's more raw, unfiltered Method technique, but then, that clash fit the characters of Blanche and her brother-in-law, the crude, brazen Stanley Kowalski. As Stella (Stanley's wife and Blanche's sister), Hunter would give a brashly sensual performance, making clear through facial expression and gesture the carnal attraction that kept her tied to Stanley. And Malden found plenty of layers to play in Mitch, the hapless suitor caught in the crossfire between Blanche and Stanley.

Most directors would try to open up the play for the screen, so that it wouldn't feel stagebound in a medium that could give the characters more room to move and breathe, but Kazan wanted to maintain and even increase the play's sense of claustrophobia. Most of the movie, therefore, was shot in the set representing Stanley and Stella's two-room apartment in a seedy New Orleans neighborhood, with Kazan moving the walls ever closer together from one scene to the next, as if to force the eventual confrontation between Stanley and Blanche.

'A Streetcar Named Desire' - Trailer for a Late 1950s Re-Release

The shoot was the easy part; getting the script past the censors who ran the Production Code was not. The code office demanded 68 script changes, centering on three objectionable areas. First, it would not permit any reference to homosexuality, relevant in Blanche's admission that her young husband killed himself over her taunts after she discovered him in bed with an older man. Second, it would not allow any suggestion that Blanche was a woman who sought sex for its own sake and not out of romance or loneliness. Finally, it would not allow any hint of rape in Stanley's final attack against Blanche.

Kazan was willing to give up the first two; in the final script, Blanche refers to her husband as weak, suggesting his problem was impotence, though an astute viewer reading between the lines might infer homosexuality. Reference to Blanche's sexual past was made similarly vague. But Kazan and Williams stood their ground on the rape scene, arguing that the film wouldn't make any sense without it, and they threatened to walk if they didn't get their way.

Eventually, the censors worked out with Kazan and Williams a way to play the scene in the most oblique and symbolic way possible (with Stanley's smashing of the mirror as a metaphor for the figurative and literal destruction of Blanche's self-image that follows). Also, because Hollywood morality demanded that Stanley be punished for his violent act, the movie would end, not as the play did (with Stanley and Stella's apparent reconciliation), but with Stanley losing Stella, who takes their infant and moves in with neighboring tenants. (Although, again, an astute viewer might interpret the fact that Stella doesn't move more than a few feet from Stanley as an indication that they'll eventually get back together.)

The code office, whose censors were generally Catholics, had long served as a buffer between filmmakers and the Catholic Legion of Decency, which issued its own film ratings that might discourage Catholics and other Christian moviegoers from seeing a proscribed movie. Having worked out compromises that earned the approval of the Hollywood censors, Kazan and Williams figured they didn't have to worry about the Legion of Decency. They were wrong.

Legion officials raised their own objections to Kazan's cut of the film and said if it were released as is, it would earn their dreaded "Condemned" rating. Fearing a boycott, Warner's exercised it's contractual right to final cut and trimmed about 12 scenes, amounting to five minutes, without Kazan's knowledge or permission. The recut 'Streetcar' earned the Legion's milder "B" rating.

Kazan was furious. He recalled later,

Warner's just wanted a seal. They didn't give a damn about the beauty or artistic value of the picture. To them it was just a piece of entertainment. It was business, not art. They wanted to get the entire family to see the picture. They didn't want anything in the picture that might keep anyone away. At the same time they wanted to be dirty enough to pull people in. The whole business was an outrage.

How It Was Received: The censorship brouhaha seemed to make no difference to the public, which made the film a huge hit. It was a critical success as well, earning rave reviews and 12 Oscar nominations, more than any film that year. All four of the stars were nominated, and three of them won, a feat since repeated only by 1976's 'Network.'

Despite giving one of the difinitive performances in the history of movies, Brando was the lone 'Streetcar' star snubbed on Oscar night. Nonetheless, with just his second movie (his first was the war drama 'The Men' in 1950), Brando had become an instant star. Kazan cemented his A-list reputation in Hollywood and immediately went to work on 'Viva Zapata,' the second of his three film collaborations with Brando.

Long-Term Impact: 'Streetcar' was a high watermark in the careers of all involved. Leigh made only three more movies in her career, including 'The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone' (based on a novel by Williams), before her death from chronic tuberculosis in 1967. Hunter would spend most of the 1950s on Hollywood's blacklist but returned to fame as Zira, the compassionate chimpanzee scientist in the 'Planet of the Apes' movies. Malden shone in 'On the Waterfront' (opposite Brando and under Kazan's direction) and in the western 'One-Eyed Jacks' (the only movie Brando ever directed) before settling into late-career fame as a hard-boiled TV cop ('The Streets of San Francisco,' opposite the young Michael Douglas) and an American Express pitchman ("Don't leave home without it").

Williams would continue his run as one of America's greatest playwrights, and Hollywood would continue to adapt his work throughout the 1950s and '60s (including 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' and 'Sweet Bird of Youth'), albeit often in watered-down form. For the next decade and a half, Kazan remained a top director on both Broadway and in Hollywood, where he directed such landmarks as 'On the Waterfront,' 'East of Eden,' 'A Face in the Crowd,' and 'Splendor in the Grass.' He proved as instrumental in launching the film careers of James Dean, Eva Marie Saint, Carroll Baker, Eli Wallach, Andy Griffith, Natalie Wood, and Warren Beatty as he had with Brando.

Brando, of course, went on to enjoy one of the most spectacular -- and spectacularly squandered -- careers in the history of film. He finally won his first Oscar for his iconic performance as stevedore Terry Malloy in 1954's 'On the Waterfront.' His second came nearly 20 years later for 'The Godfather.' For half a century after 'Streetcar,' he'd deliver a series of indelible performances that were alternately brilliant, harrowing, maddeningly self-indulgent, sometimes downright bizarre, but never boring. Still, nothing he ever did erased the rebellious spirit evident in his Stanley Kowalski, a performance that popularized the Method and blew away for all time the stuffy, stagy, superficial acting styles of the past. Brando's example inspired countless performers who followed, starting with fellow Method performers like James Dean and Paul Newman, and continuing through this day with stars like Johnny Depp who, even if they didn't follow Brando's technique, still emulated him by following their own eccentric muses.

But 'Streetcar' didn't just change screen acting. It changed screen storytelling by expanding the range of what was permissible. 'Streetcar' showed that the censors could be flexible, even on such once-core principles as a refusal to depict rape. Throughout the next decade and a half, a rising tide of foreign films with adult subject matter would push Hollywood to catch up, while at home, bold directors like Kazan, Otto Preminger, Stanley Kubrick and Mike Nichols would push the censors even further until the system finally broke down. Kazan would finally break the power of the Legion with the release of 1956's salacious 'Baby Doll,' while Nichols would all but sweep away the last vestiges of the old Production Code with 1966's 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' Replacing the code was the ratings system we still have today, which acknowledges that there are some movies that simply aren't suitable for kids. 'Streetcar' was the first movie made with that thought in mind; it was only a matter of time before the rest of the industry caught up with it.

'A Streetcar Named Desire' - "Hey, Stellaaaa!"

How It Plays Today: Kazan's director's cut was restored in 1993. It contains a few lines of dialogue that make more explicit Stanley's attraction to Blanche, Stella's sexual arousal over Stanley's brutishness, and Blanche's own carnality. Also, the scene where Stella silently responds to Stanley's famous cry ("Hey, Stellaaaa!") with an alternating mixture of contempt and surrender is longer and more nuanced. But even without these restorations, in its diluted form, 'Streetcar' is still dripping with desire, with a frankness that seems astonishing even today. And 60 years have done nothing to diminish the power of the ensemble's acting, especially Brando's turn. If you know only the later, bloated Brando, you owe it to yourself to see the 27-year-old, not-yet-famous Brando burn a hole in the screen as he explodes with white-hot intensity, charisma and sensuality.

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.

Rack 'em! This week marks the 50th anniversary of 'The Hustler,' the landmark drama that cemented Paul Newman's stardom and gave him his signature rebellious antihero role, pool shark Fast Eddie Felson. It was a movie that sparked a real-life pool craze and inspired an actual pool hustler to rise to fame by renaming himself Minnesota Fats after Jackie Gleason's on-screen pool hall king. In honor of the film's golden anniversary, here are 25 things you may not have known about the grimy classic, including how Bobby Darin got hustled out of the movie, how the film helped Piper Laurie's love life while sidelining her career, and why it took a quarter-century to make the sequel, 'The Color of Money.'

1. 'The Hustler' was based on a 1959 novel by Walter Tevis. It was the first of six novels he wrote, including 'The Man Who Fell to Earth,' which would eventually become a celebrated 1976 cult sci-fi hit starring David Bowie.

2. Director/co-screenwriter Robert Rossen had been a pool hustler himself in his youth. He'd enjoyed increasing success in Hollywood, culminating with his work on the 1949 Best Picture Oscar Winner 'All the King's Men.' But then he was blacklisted for pleading the Fifth Amendment when asked about his Communist past by the House Un-American Activities Committee. After two years without work, he relented, testified again, acknowledged having been a party member, and named 57 other alleged onetime Communists. He was taken off the blacklist, but his career had failed to reach its earlier heights. Like Fast Eddie Felson, he was in need of redemption when he discovered Tevis' novel and adapted it into a screenplay with TV writer Sidney Carroll.

3. Newman had been having a hit-and-miss career, from his disastrous debut in 'The Silver Chalice' (1954) to his Oscar-nominated turn in 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' (1958). He felt he had yet to find that career-defining role. The 'Hustler' filmmakers had been interested in him for the role of Fast Eddie Felson, but he was supposed to re-team with 'Cat' co-star Elizabeth Taylor in 'Two for the Seesaw.' When her 'Cleopatra' shoot ran long and forced her to drop out of the project, he became available to make 'The Hustler.'

4. When the filmmakers hired Newman, they unceremoniously dumped their already-cast leading man, Bobby Darin. Darin's agent claimed no one ever bothered to tell the star he'd been replaced; he reportedly found out from a fan while attending a charity horse race.

5. Jackie Gleason was already a successful TV comic (famous for Ralph Kramden of 'The Honeymooners' and other frequent sketch characters), but his movie career had never taken off, and he hadn't proved himself as a serious dramatic actor. The role of the confident, graceful, streetwise Minnesota Fats seemed tailor-made for Gleason, who was an accomplished pool player and is seen in the film making his own pool shots.

6. George C. Scott had earned acclaim and an Oscar nomination as the prosecutor in 1959's 'Anatomy of a Murder,' but he was still better known as a stage actor. 'The Hustler,' in which he was cast as amoral gambler Bert, was only his third movie.

7. Piper Laurie was tired of the ingenue roles she'd been playing for a decade, thanks in part to ridiculous studio publicity that claimed she maintained her luminous skin by bathing in milk and eating rose petals. She was so eager for something meatier that she jumped at the chance to be in the film after having read just 40 pages of the screenplay, before her character (the emotionally and physically crippled Sarah, who becomes Eddie's wary love interest) even shows up.

Piper Laurie and Paul Newman in 'The Hustler'

You're a Winner, Eddie
The Hustler at MOVIECLIPS.com

8. Others reportedly considered for Fast Eddie were Cliff Robertson and Jack Lemmon (who once said he liked to play pool during down time on movie sets to keep his emotional level high). Kim Novak claims she turned down the role of Sarah.

9. The realism of the film came in large measure from technical adviser Willie Mosconi, an established pool champ who became Paul Newman's pool coach and who has a brief cameo as a stakeholder in an early scene. He had suggested Frank Sinatra for the lead.

10. Newman had never picked up a pool cue before taking the role in 'The Hustler,' but his Method approach paid off. From Willie Mosconi, he learned how not just to shoot pool but also how to walk, talk, and circle the table like a shark. He practiced for hours at a table at a New York girls' high school and at a table he installed in his own house. Still, for the trickiest pool shots Fast Eddie had to make, it's Mosconi's hands you see in close-up.

11. The film was shot almost entirely on location in New York City - even the scenes that take place in Louisville, Kentucky. For the sequence at the bus depot, the filmmakers used the real Greyhound bus depot but built their own dining area that was so realistic that Greyhound patrons would sit at tables and linger in vain, expecting to be waited on.

12. In the Kentucky Derby sequence, there's an announcement of a horse named Stroke of Luck. That was a nod to an alternate title for the movie that the studio had considered; apparently, even then, the word "hustler" already had a suggestion of prostitution.

13. Like his character, pool newbie Newman got cocky enough to challenge the more seasoned Gleason to a real game, betting $50 on the outcome. Newman broke, then Gleason took his turn and sank all 15 balls without allowing Newman another shot. Newman paid up the next day with 5,000 pennies.

Excerpt from 'The Hustler'

I Gotta Hunch, Fat Man
The Hustler - MOVIECLIPS.com

14. Bleeding money from the ongoing debacle of the production of 'Cleopatra,' 20th Century Fox devoted few resources to marketing 'The Hustler' and dumped the film into wide release without much publicity on Sept. 25, 1961. But the film got some advance buzz from a midnight screening in New York for Broadway actors, arranged by Richard Burton (star of Rossen's 'Alexander the Great'). Critics received the film well (though some were put off by the rank pool hall settings), and audiences made it a hit.

15. 'The Hustler' pocketed nine Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It would win two, for its art direction (by Harry Horner and Gene Callahan) and its black-and-white cinematography (by Eugen Schüfftan).

16. The film also earned Oscar nominations for all four of its stars. None of them won. Scott became the first actor ever to decline a nomination, saying that he found the notion of competing against fellow actors in the Academy's "meat contest" beneath his dignity. Nine years later, when he won the Best Actor Oscar for 'Patton,' he became the first actor to refuse to accept the prize.

17. While promoting the film, Laurie met and fell in love with entertainment journalist Joe Morgenstern. They married in early 1962, and when new roles failed to come her way after 'The Hustler,' she went into semi-retirement, left Hollywood, and raised a family. She wouldn't make another movie for 15 years, returning memorably to the screen with her Oscar-nominated performance as Sissy Spacek's religious-fanatic mom in 'Carrie.' She and Morgenstern divorced after two decades. She remains an in-demand character actress to this day; Morgenstern is still the long-time film critic at the Wall Street Journal.

18. Fast Eddie became the career-defining role Newman had been looking for, the prototype of the cocky, morally compromised, stubborn antihero Newman would play for the next couple of decades in such films as 'Hud,' 'Cool Hand Luke,' 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,' 'The Sting,' and 'Slap Shot.' It's also the only role that ever won him an Oscar (he was nominated eight times), though he didn't win it until he reprised the role in the sequel, 'The Color of Money,' 25 years later.

19. Former boxing champ Jake LaMotta has a cameo in 'The Hustler' as a bartender. LaMotta, of course, would be immortalized two decades later in Robert De Niro's performance in 'Raging Bull,' directed by future 'Color of Money' director Martin Scorsese.

20. In an interview promoting 'The Hustler,' Mosconi claimed that the character Minnesota Fats was based on real-life pool hustler Rudy Wanderone, who was known as New York Fatty. Wanderone took advantage of the shout-out, renamed himself Minnesota Fats, and became famous in his own right as an exhibition player - his relentless self-promotion and flamboyance soon made him too recognizable to hustle. Tevis always denied that he had based Fats on Wanderone. Several real-life players also claimed to be the inspiration for the character of Fast Eddie Felson, though Tevis denied their claims as well.

21. Pool took off in popularity after the release of 'The Hustler.' Mosconi and Wanderone both served as traveling ambassadors for the game, with Mosconi trying to make the game more genteel and respectable and Wanderone playing up its seamier side, as portrayed in the film. The two faced off a number of times in televised matches.

22. Wanderone starred in his own pool-themed movie, 'The Player,' in 1971. The tagline: "The Love. The Hate. The Raw Emotion... Set in the dingey [sic] grime and stench of the poolroom." It was not a hit.

23. Despite the success of 'The Hustler,' Rossen made only one more film, the psychological drama 'Lilith' (1964), starring Warren Beatty and Jean Seberg. Many critics consider it his best, even better than 'The Hustler' or 'All the King's Men.' He died in 1966.

24. Why did it take a quarter-century for a sequel to be filmed? Because that's how much time passed before Tevis wrote one. His book 'The Color of Money,' published in 1984, centered on an older-and-wiser Fast Eddie. The film version came out in 1986, directed by Scorsese (it's the only sequel he's ever made) and starring Newman and Tom Cruise.

25. Newman had won an honorary Oscar that spring after six unsuccessful Oscar nominations. When he was nominated the following spring for 'Color of Money,' he didn't show up to the ceremony, assuming he wouldn't win after having won the career-achievement prize the year before. He was wrong.

'The Hustler' - Finale

Eddie Stands Up to Bert
The Hustler at MOVIECLIPS.com

Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.

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