FILM 1861: WAIT UNTIL DARK

FILM 1861: WAIT UNTIL DARK

TRIVIA: In an interview, Alan Arkin talked about the Oscar nominations he received for his early major film roles (The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! (1966) and The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968)). When asked if he was surprised that he was overlooked for "Wait Until Dark", his second movie, he replied: "You don't get nominated for being mean to Audrey Hepburn!"

During World War II, 16-year-old Audrey Hepburn was a volunteer nurse in a Dutch hospital. During the battle of Arnhem, Hepburn's hospital received many wounded Allied soldiers. One of the injured soldiers young Audrey helped nurse back to health was a young British paratrooper - and future director - named Terence Young who more than 20 years later directed Hepburn in Wait Until Dark (1967).

In his non-fiction book Danse Macabre, Stephen King declared this to be the scariest movie of all time and that Alan Arkin's performance "may be the greatest evocation of screen villainy ever."

As a way to get people to see the movie, the filmmakers made a print ad and cautionary trailer that read: 'During the last eight minutes of this picture the theatre will be darkened to the legal limit, to heighten the terror of the breathtaking climax which takes place in nearly total darkness on the screen. If there are sections where smoking is permitted, those patrons are respectfully requested not to jar the effect by lighting up during this sequence. And of course, no one will be seated at this time.' It worked and the film became a huge success because of it.

In order to create a sense of unease, the film's composer Henry Mancini had his two pianists, Pearl Kaufman and Jimmy Rowles, playing instruments tuned a quarter tone apart. Initially uncertain as to whether this novel approach would achieve the desired end, Mancini was reassured in short order, when, after just a few takes of the main title, Kaufman turned to him and said, 'Hank, can we please take a break? This is making me ill!' 'She made my day,' the composer recalled fondly. 'The device was working.'

A revival of the play, directed by Leonard Foglia, opened on April 5, 1998 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, where it ran for 97 performances. The cast included Marisa Tomei, Quentin Tarantino, and Stephen Lang.

This film was ranked #55 on AFI's '100 Years, 100 Thrills' special.

BOOK 190: THE SNOWMAN: JO NESBØ

BOOK 190: THE SNOWMAN: JO NESBØ

The Snowman (Norwegian: Snømannen, 2007) is a novel by Norwegian crime-writer Jo Nesbø. It is the seventh entry in his Harry Holeseries.

The book was adapted into a film. The film was released in the UK on 13 October 2017. Unlike the novel, the film was poorly received by critics.

MY VERDICT: I enjoyed the book. It’s always hard to tell whether a book is written well when you’re reading a translation so I won’t comment on this but I did feel that the narrative was a little disjointed. It could have been written much clearer with much more suspense. The whole idea behind the murders and the investigation was interesting though, the book kept my attention. 

I did however guess who the killer was pretty early on, which is very rare for me (although I am getting better), I don’t know if that’s a mark against the book or not?

FILM 1685: KNOCK KNOCK

TRIVIA: Colleen Camp and Sondra Locke, two of the producers of this movie, starred in Death Game (1977), the original movie, on which "Knock Knock" is based.

Eli Roth's wife Lorenza Izzo portrays Genesis.

The Taiwan Chinese title translates to "When Babes Come Knocking".

At some point in the movie, Genesis writes "it was NOT a dream" on a mirror, but the colored shirt she wears reads: "it was all a dream".

FILM 1647: YOU'RE NEXT

TRIVIA: Simon Barrett, the Tiger Mask Killer, is also the movie's screenwriter.

Both Joe Swanberg and Ti West, who play eldest brother Drake and Aimee's underground director boyfriend Tariq are two prominent mumblegore directors, a horror genre in which You're Next (2011) is also included.

The primary filming location was an antique home that had been empty for 12 years.

FILM 1634: FAMILY PLOT

TRIVIA: This is Alfred Hitchcock's final film and its final shot was of a woman breaking the fourth wall by looking straight into the camera and winking at the audience. This was arguably a fitting coda to his career exemplifying the black humor that was prevalent in his movies.

At one point during filming, Bruce Dern questioned Alfred Hitchcock about why he was cast in the movie. Hitchcock replied, "Because Mr. Packinow wanted a million dollars, and Hitch doesn't pay a million dollars." It took Dern a while to realize that "Mr. Packinow" was Al Pacino.

The final shot in the movie, a wink by the Barbara Harris character was a jokey reference that was not planned but Alfred Hitchcock decided to leave in.

This is the only Alfred Hitchcock film with a score composed by John Williams.

DIRECTOR CAMEO: Alfred Hitchcock: in silhouette 45 minutes into the film behind the door at the registrar of births and deaths.

FILM 1602: NOCTURNAL ANIMALS

TRIVIA: Focus Features paid $20 million for global distribution rights after a heavy bidding battle in Cannes. This is the highest amount ever paid for a film at a festival.

Based on the book: "Tony and Susan". The book that Tony writes in the book is called "Nocturnal Animals" (so the writer chose that title).

Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal have been cast in another project called 'Ezekiel Moss' which would have been directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. However, the project was scrapped after Hoffman's death in 2014.

Although he is known as a fashion designer, Ford chose to leave the costuming in the film strictly to the costume designer. Not a single Tom Ford product appears in the film, as Ford "didn't want a commercial."