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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, takes a look at some movies which celebrate their anniversary releases in June…
Thanks to GAA and the European Soccer Championship there are very few films on RTE this weekend, so I am going to look at June releases through the years.
Would you believe it is ten years since Edge of Tomorrow was released? This rather ingenious concept, a cross between “Saving Private Ryan” and “Groundhog Day”, starred Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton and Brendan Gleeson.
The film takes place in a future where most of Europe has been occupied by an alien race. Major William Cage (Cruise), a public relations officer with limited combat experience, is forced to the front line, only to find himself experiencing a time loop as he tries to find a way to defeat the aliens.
This is a rather gripping story with taut, fast paced action that required nine different companies to handle the special effects. There have been ongoing rumours of a sequel, but nothing has appeared so far.
Continued below…
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The Terminal was released in 2004, inspired by the true story of Mehran Karim Nasseri, an Iranian national who spent eighteen years living in Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.
Viktor (Tom Hanks) who hails from Krakozhia, lands at John F Kennedy Airport only to find that his passport is revoked by the airport authorities, but unable to return home because of a military coup. He finds himself stateless and stranded at the airport with only his luggage and a can of peanuts.
Directed by Stephen Spielberg, this also stars Stanley Tucci and Catherine Zita-Jones and a fine soundtrack by John Williams
The most popular characters played in film are Dracula, Sherlock Holmes and Tarzan, the Disney version of which came out twenty five years ago in 1999.
The story follows the traditional route. Tarzan, an orphan raised by mountain gorillas, rescues a woman explorer, Jane. After realising that he is a human, Tarzan must choose between civilization and the jungle life.
Starring the vocal talents of Tony Goldwyn (Tarzan), Minnie Driver (Jane), Brian Blessed, Lance Henriksen, Glenn Close, Rosie O’Donnell and Nigel Hawthorne, it also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “You’ll be in my Heart” by Phil Collins and has led to many derivations including a Broadway musical adaptation, a television series, two direct-to-video follow-ups.
Fifty years ago we received one of Jack Nicholson’s most famous roles in Chinatown. Inspired by the Californian water wars, this features many elements of film noir, in a story that is part mystery and part psychological drama.
It also stared Faye Dunaway, John Hillerman, Burt Young and John Huston and was nominated for eleven Academy Awards winning Best Original Screenplay for Robert Towne.
Finally, seventy five years ago this month saw the release of one of the best of the Ealing comedies Kind Hearts and Coronets.
After the death of his mother, disowned by her aristocratic family, Louis D’Ascoyne Mazzini (Denis Price) attempts to murder every family member (all played by Alec Guinness) who stands between himself and the family fortune.
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