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Post by Rich Curilla on Oct 11, 2011 22:01:59 GMT -5
I wouldn't hold my breath for a new Alamo movie for at least a few more decades (maybe 2036?). The 2004 movie bombed and I would guess except for Alamophiles like us, there wouldn't be much interest in a new film any time soon. Of course, I would happily admit I was wrong and eagerly embrace another movie, but I'm still not holding my breath. Paul The only predictable thing about Hollywood thinking is its unpredictability. Personally, I think John Lee's will have its moment in the sun at some future point. Rich
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Post by tman56 on Oct 12, 2011 22:47:01 GMT -5
Rich,
I hope so too. I'm hoping that someday THE ALAMO will be to John Lee sort of what MAJOR DUNDEE has become to Sam Peckinpah. It's a very flawed movie, but also a very passionate one that was a real labor of love for those involved. I think that, in time, if Hancock continues to have successes, like he did with THE ROOKIE and THE BLIND SIDE, THE ALAMO will be reevaluated. If you look at the rest of his film career, both as a writer (A PERFECT WORLD, MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL, THE BLIND SIDE) and a director (THE ROOKIE, THE BLIND SIDE), he's got more hits than misses. I'm pretty sure his day will come.
Terry Todish
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Post by Rich Curilla on Oct 13, 2011 13:30:58 GMT -5
Terry,
I believe that some future nudge will acquaint film schools with the movie and they will embrace it for its minimalism and multi-layered communication. Half that film is in the subtext and the looks between characters. That's above most American audiences' heads. One never knows what can happen with a "failed" movie, once the doom-sayers and media stop using it as their soapbox. Columnists wanted to run a headline saying "Forget The Alamo" before the first foot of film was shot. John Lee knew that and took on the project anyway.
I recall that High Noon was considered a failure when it did its run. Then Dimitri Tiomkin asked the studio if he might have the rights to the title song and record and release it through his own company. Might as well save something. Well, the title song sung by popular Tex Ritter in the film and the single, went through the roof. It became an overnight success. On the foundation of people all over America singing "Do Not Forsake Me, O My Darling," the movie was rereleased and also became quite popular and finally attained classic status.
Rich
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Post by Allen Wiener on Oct 13, 2011 14:40:22 GMT -5
"High Noon" did pretty well during the year of its release. Coop won the Best Actor Oscar and the film won Oscars for Editing (Elmo Williams & Harry Gerstad); Music Score (Dimitri Tiomkin); Best Song: ("Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin"; Music by Dimitri Tiomkin; Lyrics by Ned Washington. It also was nominated for Best Screenplay (by Carl Foreman, who lost to Charles Schnee for "The Bad and the Beautiful"), and Best Director (Fred Zinnemann, who lost out to John Ford for "The Quiet Man"). The one that truly boggles my mind is "High Noon" losing the Best Picture Oscar to "The Greatest Show on Earth," one long, lousy, movie (IMO). Only real highlight: cameo by Hopalong Cassidy.
All that Oscar action must have jacked up box office for "High Noon." The Oscars have always been a sure-fire way to do that and are, in fact, one big annual advertisement for the movie industry. "High Noon's" budget was estimated at $750k and its 1952 worldwide gross was $18,000,000, or 1 1/2 times the 1959-60 budget for Wayne's "The Alamo." U.S. gross alone was $3,750,000.
In fact "The Bad and the Beautiful" cleaned up at the Oscars that year, but (IMO) doesn't hold up all that well; seems quite dated now, whereas "High Noon" only gets better with time.
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Post by Rich Curilla on Oct 13, 2011 16:16:05 GMT -5
Wow! I wish I knew where I read the stuff about Tiomkin's release of the single saving the film. It was a long time ago in Pennsylvania, so it is possible that it was in Tiomkin's autobiography Please Don't Hate Me that I was allowed to borrow from the rare books room at Pattee Library at Penn State. I can't fiture what else I would have read it in that early. And of course I know Tiomkin won for best score and song, both, but I had forgotten or never knew the rest. It certainly was a success commercially and critically.
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