garykmcd. Brendan Fraser became a movie star thanks to the huge success of The Mummy in 1999, and in addition to returning for two sequels, he also fronted hits like Journey To The Center Of The Earth.His career entered something of a fallow period following the latter 2008 blockbuster, but he's made a comeback … Then, an unseen figure enters the tool shed, grabs a sickle, and sharpens it. Reeves as Ted in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure was never taken seriously in movies like Speed, Point Break, etc. Meanwhile, Tara and Patti ponder Brooke's reason for claiming that Christie is dead, suspecting foul play. [13], Director Ciupka left the film after disagreements with producer Simpson over stylistics and tone. Which Is the Most Suspenseful Film of Alfred Hitchcock? The fascinating backstory on Curtains is evident throughout the presentation, leaving the picture half-realized, shooing away substance to plow ahead with violence. This alternate ending was not used in the final cut of the film. Rotten Tomatoes, home of the Tomatometer, is the most trusted measurement of quality for Movies & TV. She attempts to flee the property, but discovers the cars inoperable and covered in snow. ", "Collecting Life: An Interview with Samantha Eggar", "Curtains Unveiled: An Interview with Peter Simpson", "I, Audra: An Interview with Linda Thorson", "Losing Her Head: An Interview with Lesleh Donaldson", "Six for Her Scythe: An Interview with Lynne Griffin", "Revisiting Curtains: An Interview with Michael MacLaverty", "Blu-ray & DVD Release Details for 1983's Curtains", "It's 'Curtains' for careers: 2 pros are in a horror film", "Exclusive news/art: Canadian cult slasher "CURTAINS" on Blu-ray & DVD", "Dustin Putman's Review: Curtains (1983)", "FANS PETITION FOR DVD RELEASE OF "CURTAINS" AND "PROM NIGHT, "Echo Bridge Entertainment Releases 'The Midnight Horror Collection: Bloody Slashers, "Interview with Will Rahmer, Mortician's Vocalist & Bassist - February 2004", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Curtains_(1983_film)&oldid=996205309, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 25 December 2020, at 03:44. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Torn Curtain is a 1966 American political thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Paul Newman and Julie Andrews. “Curtains” is above average for a slasher film, though it ultimately doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. "[Alana] couldn't really accept the fact that all these corpses were somehow dragged together [by the killer] and put on a stage somewhere," recalls MacLaverty.[16]. Furious at being double-crossed, she escapes the asylum to seek revenge. There is a story that Hitchcock along with his wife insisted that Newman drink wine with them. The book-length interview Hitchcock/Truffaut (one of the greatest texts about how filmmakers make films that you will ever read), was first published in 1966, at which point Alfred Hitchcock's newest film was Torn Curtain, from that summer.He didn't have very much to say about it to François Truffaut, skimming over a few sequences, point out one that did what he wanted it to, and … [32] This release featured generic cover art and a poor transfer from VHS source material. A short time later, Samantha and Patti drink champagne in the kitchen, discussing Audra's insanity. Centered on theater and filmmaking,[2] its plot focuses on a group of actresses auditioning for a role in a movie at a prestigious director's mansion, where they are targeted by a masked killer. Directed by Patrick Harkins. Principal photography was done on location in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada by Charles G. Clarke. While driving to the audition, she spots a large doll in the middle of the road. Nevertheless, when filming for that scene commenced, Donaldson tripped on the uneven ice and injured herself, resulting in a stand-in double being used for her long shots. "[20] Rick Brough of the Park City Newspaper ranked the film two stars out of five, adding: "Don't bother using logic to figure out whodunit. "[19] Joe Baltake of the Philadelphia Daily News noted that Vernon "projects a genuine aura of menace" and that Eggar is "saddled here with a character that looks like a practical joke by her agent," summing up the film: "The movie itself is never a mystery, never frightening, but is, instead, unrelievedly solemn, given to long, mournful pauses. Later on, while Laurian is dancing in her room upstairs, the killer sneaks in and stabs her to death. A phony psychic/con artist and her taxi driver/private investigator boyfriend encounter a pair of serial kidnappers while trailing a missing heir in California. [5], John Vernon was cast in the role of Jonathan Stryker, a part that had originally been considered for Klaus Kinski. Take social distancing. This scene was cut out of the film, and he is, instead, killed off-screen in a hot tub. Raising the curtain — Skagit County movie theaters to reopen ... Movie theaters will have fewer films to screen because studios have pushed release dates into next year, he said. [6] The film suffered a troubled production, ultimately leading to the film being shelved for a year, during which were rewrites, reshoots, and one major recasting were done. Boom. Once arrived however, Michael informs her that he may be staying for awhile and she should return home. (1966). [Full Review in Spanish] The scene in which Professor Armstrong murders Gromek is classic Hitchcock, and the blackboard scene between Newman and Donath is great, too. Both Paul Newman and Julie Andrews give fine performances and I loved Ludwig Donath, who was excellent. The definitive site for Reviews, Trailers, Showtimes, and Tickets The film was based on the memoirs of Igor Gouzenko. She also admits to having killed Stryker and Brooke. Curtains is a early slasher movie that uses the template that has now become the boring norm. Curtains is a 1983 Canadian slasher film directed by Richard Ciupka, written by Robert Guza Jr., and starring John Vernon, Samantha Eggar, Linda Thorson, and Lynne Griffin. Mark marries Marnie although she is a habitual thief and has serious psychological problems, and tries to help her confront and resolve them. The story of Soviet cypher-clerk Igor Gouzenko who was posted to the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa,Canada in 1943 and defected in 1945 to reveal the extent … Tara has sex with Matthew in a jacuzzi as Stryker seduces Christie. Although it was largely ignored by the press, it has gained a cult following over the years,[24] and garnered a series of positive reviews when it was released for the first time on Blu-ray in July 2014. "Keanu Reeves" syndrome is when an actor or actress is hugely successful in a role and then is never taken seriously in any other role, especially something radically different, e.g. On July 29, 2014, Curtains was released on Blu-ray and DVD by Synapse Films, featuring a new 2K transfer from the original prints, as well as a 5.1 surround sound audio remastering. Panicked, Tara takes shelter in Stryker's expansive prop shed, where she discovers Laurian's body among the hanging mannequins and is pursued by the killer. Torn Curtain (1966) - English Bibles Arrived in Copenhagen, Sarah (Julie Andrews), assistant and fianceè to American nuclear physicist Armstrong (Paul Newman) is shadowed by uninvited East-German professor Manfred (Gunter Stack), confusing the bookseller (Arthur Gould-Porter), and director Alfred Hitchcock’s plot thickening, in Torn Curtain, 1966. When she leaves her car to move it, it grabs her hand as someone gets into her car and runs over her. An American scientist publicly defects to East Germany as part of a cloak and dagger mission to find the solution for a formula resin before planning an escape back to the West. [11], Curtains' troubled production stemmed from a clash between the film's director, Richard Ciupka, and Simcom producer Peter Simpson. No official premiere for the film was done, though star Lynne Griffin recalled going to see the film on its opening night at a theater on the Lower East Side in Manhattan. Is Brendan Fraser's reincarnation drama Behind The Curtain Of Night ever being released? [22] Stephen Hunter, writing for The Baltimore Sun, noted that "the most affecting thing about Curtains is its melancholy subtext of failed career and unrealized aspirations," but concluded: "Only the presence of several slick professional actors—Samantha Eggar and John Vernon—and some glossy production values separate this pointless, thoroughly meretricious film from the cruder, rawer teenage hacker melodramas that it so resembles."[23]. Ciupka envisioned the film as more of an arthouse thriller, whereas Simpson wanted a more commercial slasher film, of the type in vogue at the time. In 1953, an innocent man named Christopher Emmanuel "Manny" Balestrero is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber. While Tara and Laurian are practicing, Brooke discovers Christie's severed head in a toilet bowl. Samantha tells Patti about Stryker's treachery for having abandoned her. Thinking she has outsmarted the killer, Tara begins to climb out of the duct, only to be pulled back in and murdered with an axe, her screams echoing throughout the prop shed. Newman refused, wanting a beer instead and he wanted to drink it from the can! After the film was completed in 1982, director Ciupka detached his name from the final cut, and the film's director is credited as "Jonathan Stryker", the name of John Vernon's character. After having sex, Brooke and Stryker are both shot dead by a figure in a robe. Is it true that Hitchcock wanted to use a different ending? Torn Curtain The film was made by the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company when it and many other early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based in Fort Lee, New Jersey at the beginning of the 20th century. Done. The trouble with Harry is that he is dead and, while no one really minds, everyone feels responsible. All in all Curtains is a good movie, certainly rewatchable, but our characters and storyline needed to be padded out a bit more. The … It was based on the 1928 novel of the same name. With Paul Newman, Julie Andrews, Lila Kedrova, Hansjörg Felmy. 20 of 26 people found this review helpful. "[28] John Kenneth Muir also praised the film, writing that "the murder scenes are staged with ingenuity," and noting that the film's "form nicely echoes its content."[29]. Even so, it's a thoughtful and interesting movie. [33] Clips from the film were used in the music video for Oneohtrix Point Never's "Lost But Never Alone. Some time later, Patti is revealed to have been committed to a mental hospital, where she performs a monologue from "Audra" for the patients, who pay her no mind. The next morning, Christie goes to a nearby pond for ice skating. The film eventually was released on DVD on October 5, 2010, by Echo Bridge Home Entertainment as part of the Midnight Horror Collection: Bloody Slashers DVD collection, which also includes Secrets of the Clown, Hoboken Hollow, and Room 33, three direct-to-video B-movies from the 2000s. [25], Dustin Putman of The Film File gave the film three out of four stars, writing: "the picture doesn't always play by conventional slasher rules and its more surrealistic aspects render it all the more fascinatingly esoteric. Behind the Curtain reveals the sordid web of limousine liberals and subversive billionaires in a chilling tale of power, greed, envy, and the politics of personal destruction. [10], An alternate ending of the film was shot in Toronto. 'Torn Curtain' was the first in a line of troublesome Hollywood productions for Hitch, marred by studio interference and a desire to keep up with trends. It was the first Charlie Chan film to be made at Fox Studios. [11][15] According to Michael MacLaverty, film editor for "Curtains, the alternate theater ending was ultimately discarded because Alana Simpson, then wife of producer Peter Simpson, felt it was "too improbable." "[17] Film critic Leonard Maltin also gave the film a negative review, calling it a "Badly conceived and executed horror opus. by Becket Adams | November 19, 2020 11:00 PM Print this article. [10] Eventually, numerous crew members had to be rehired to shoot footage to complete the film. The Tortilla Curtain. A struggling actress tries to help a friend prove his innocence when he's accused of murdering the husband of a high society entertainer. Some scenes finish with a closed curtain which is a neat idea and the final quarter of an hour are very good. The film premiered in the United States in March 1983, and was released theatrically in Canada the following year to extremely negative reviews. 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