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Alexander Walker (critic)
Alexander Walker (23 March 1930 – 15 July 2003) was a British film critic who wrote for the London ''Evening Standard'' from 1960 to the end of his life. He wrote 20 books. Life and career Walker was born in Portadown, County Armagh in Northern Ireland, the only son of Alfred, a commercial traveller, and Ethel Walker. He was educated at Portadown Grammar School, Queen's University, Belfast, the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium and the University of Michigan, where he lectured in political philosophy for two years from 1952. He worked for the ''Birmingham Post'' from 1953, where he was noticed by Godfrey Winn, who became a significant influence upon him as well as, later, Lord Beaverbrook and Lord Rothermere. The film critic of the London ''Evening Standard'' from 1960, he remained in the role until his death in 2003. His most extended work was a book trilogy on the history of the British film industry: ''Hollywood England'', ''National Heroes'' and ''Icons in the Fire''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evening Standard
The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, England. It is printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format, and also has an online edition. In October 2009, after being bought by Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev, the paper ended a 180-year history of print circulation, paid circulation and multiple editions every day, and became a free newspaper publishing a single print edition every weekday, doubling its circulation as part of a change in its business plan. On 29 May 2024, the newspaper announced that it would reduce print publication to once weekly, after nearly 200 years of daily publication, as it had become unprofitable. Daily publication ended on 19 September 2024. The first weekly edition was published on 26 September 2024 under the new name of ''The London Standard' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hollywood (film Industry)
The cinema of the United States, primarily associated with major film studios collectively referred to as Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, has significantly influenced the global film industry since the early 20th century. Classical Hollywood cinema, a filmmaking style developed in the 1910s, continues to shape many American films today. While French filmmakers Auguste and Louis Lumière are often credited with modern cinema's origins, American filmmaking quickly rose to global dominance. As of 2017, more than 600 :English-language films, English-language films were released annually in the U.S., making it the fourth-largest producer of films, trailing only Cinema of India, India, Cinema of Japan, Japan, and Cinema of China, China. Although the Cinema of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom, Cinema of Canada, Canada, Cinema of Australia, Australia, and Cinema of New Zealand, New Zealand also produce English-language films, they are not directly part of the Hollywood system. D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Music Lovers
''The Music Lovers'' is a 1971 British drama film directed by Ken Russell and starring Richard Chamberlain and Glenda Jackson. The screenplay by Melvyn Bragg, based on ''Beloved Friend'', a collection of personal correspondence edited by Catherine Drinker Bowen and Barbara von Meck, focuses on the life and career of 19th-century Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It was one of the director's biographical films about classical composers, which include ''Elgar'' (1962), '' Delius: Song of Summer'' (1968), ''Mahler'' (1974) and ''Lisztomania'' (1975), made from an often idiosyncratic standpoint. Plot Much of the film is without dialogue and the story is presented in flashbacks, nightmares, and fantasy sequences set to Tchaikovsky's music. As a child, the composer sees his mother die horribly, forcibly immersed in scalding water as a supposed cure for cholera, and is haunted by the scene throughout his musical career. Despite his difficulty in establishing his reputation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization. O'Collins, p. v (preface). The church consists of 24 ''sui iuris'' (autonomous) churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies around the world, each overseen by one or more bishops. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in the Nicene Creed. The Catholic Church teaches that it is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church founded by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission, that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles, and that the pope is the successor of Saint Peter, upo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Devils (film)
''The Devils'' is a 1971 historical psychological horror-drama film written, produced and directed by Ken Russell, and starring Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed. A dramatised historical account of the fall of Urbain Grandier, a 17th-century Roman Catholic priest accused of witchcraft after the possessions in Loudun, France, the plot also focuses on Sister Jeanne des Anges, a sexually repressed nun who incites the accusations. A co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, ''The Devils'' is in part adapted from the 1952 non-fiction book '' The Devils of Loudun'' by Aldous Huxley, as well as John Whiting's subsequent 1960 play '' The Devils''. United Artists initially pitched the idea to Russell but bowed out after reading his finished screenplay, as they felt it was too controversial in nature. Warner Bros. agreed to produce and distribute, and filming largely took place at Pinewood Studios in late 1970. The film's graphic portrayal of violent and sexua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films were mainly liberal adaptations of existing texts, or biographies, notably of composers of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Russell began directing for the BBC, where he made creative adaptations of composers' lives which were unusual for the time. He also directed many feature films independently and for Film studio, studios. Russell is best known for his Academy Award-winning romantic drama film ''Women in Love (film), Women in Love'' (1969); the historical drama horror film ''The Devils (film), The Devils'' (1971); the musical fantasy film ''Tommy (1975 film), Tommy'' (1975), featuring the Who; and the science fiction horror film ''Altered States'' (1980). Russell also directed several films based on the lives of classical music composers, such as Elgar (film), Elgar, S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Independent
The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ... and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet newspaper, it introduced an additional compact size in 2004. Further, in December 2012 (following billionaire Denis O'Brien's takeover) it was announced that the newspaper would become compact only. History Murphy and family (1905–1973) The ''Irish Independent'' was formed in 1905 as the direct successor to ''The Irish Daily Independent and Daily Nation'', an 1890s' pro- Parnellite newspaper. It was launched by William Martin Murphy, a controversial Irish nationalist businessman, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Film Board
Not to be confused with Northern Ireland Screen. Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland, formerly known as Bord Scannán na hÉireann or the Irish Film Board, is Republic of Ireland, Ireland's state development agency for the Irish film, television and animation industry. It provides funding for the development, production and distribution of feature films, feature documentaries, short films, TV animation series and TV drama series. History The Irish Film Board (IFB) was established to develop filmmaking in Ireland under the provisions of the Irish Film Board Act 1980. Over the following seven years, it funded or co-funded a total of 10 feature films, including ''Eat the Peach'', ''Anne Devlin (film), Anne Devlin'' and ''Angel (1982 Irish film), Angel,'' before its activities were suspended by Taoiseach Charles Haughey. After its closure, the success of several externally funded Irish films, such as ''My Left Foot'', ''The Crying Game'' and ''The Commitments (film), The Commitments'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Troubles
The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Although the Troubles mostly took place in Northern Ireland, at times violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England, and mainland Europe. Sometimes described as an Asymmetric warfare, asymmetric or Irregular warfare, irregular war or a low-intensity conflict, the Troubles were a political and nationalistic struggle fueled by historical events, with a strong Ethnic conflict, ethnic and sectarian dimension, fought over the Partition of Ireland, status of Northern Ireland. Unionism in Ireland, Unionists and Ulster loyalism, loyalists, who for Plantation of Ulster, historical reasons were mostly Ulster Protestants, wanted Northern Ireland to remain within the United Ki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Some Mother's Son
''Some Mother's Son'' is a 1996 Irish-American film written and directed by Irish filmmaker Terry George, co-written by Jim Sheridan, and based on the true story of the 1981 hunger strike in the Maze Prison, in Northern Ireland. Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) prisoner Bobby Sands (played by John Lynch) led a protest against the treatment of IRA prisoners, claiming that they should be treated as prisoners of war rather than criminals. The mothers of two of the strikers, played by Helen Mirren and Fionnula Flanagan, fight to save their sons' lives. When the prisoners go on hunger strike and become incapacitated, the mothers must decide whether to abide by their sons' wishes, or to go against them and have them forcibly fed. Helen Mirren and John Lynch had already acted together in the 1984 Troubles-related film ''Cal''. The film was screened in the ''Un Certain Regard'' section at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Helen Mirren as Kathleen Quigley * Fionnula Fl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nothing Personal (1995 Film)
''Nothing Personal'' is a 1995 Irish-British drama film written by Daniel Mornin and directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan. For his performance Ian Hart won the Volpi Cup for best supporting actor at the 52nd Venice International Film Festival. Plot In 1975 Belfast, the Troubles are in full effect. A Protestant bar is bombed by Catholics and several people are killed. Hours later, Protestant fighters Kenny and Ginger retaliate by killing a Catholic, starting a full-scale riot. Meanwhile, Liam, a Catholic single father, attempts to help the victims of the fighting, but finds himself on the wrong side of the Protestant-Catholic divide. Cast * Ian Hart as Ginger * John Lynch as Liam * James Frain as Kenny * Michael Gambon as Leonard * Rúaidhrí Conroy as Tommy * Maria Doyle Kennedy as Ann * Gerard McSorley as Cecil * Ciarán Fitzgerald as Young Liam Kelly * Anthony Brophy as Malachy References External links * * 1995 films Irish drama films 1995 drama films Films from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, distribution, and education. It is sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and partially funded under the British Film Institute Act 1949. Activities Purpose The BFI was established in 1933 to encourage the development of the arts of film, television and the moving image throughout the United Kingdom, to promote their use as a record of contemporary life and manners, to promote education about film, television and the moving image generally, and their impact on society, to promote access to and appreciation of the widest possible range of British and world cinema and to establish, care for and develop collections reflecting the moving image history, heritage and culture of the United Kingdom. Archive The BFI maintain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
