ROBERT VAUGHN - dies aged 83 - R.I.P.

Robert Francis Vaughn died just short of his 84th Birthday on Friday 11th November surrounded by his close family in Ridgefield, Connecticut, USA following complications brought about by acute leukaemia. Born on 22nd November 1932 in New York City to an acting family - his father a radio actor and his mother a stage actress, it was almost inevitable that the young Robert would follow in their footsteps despite the fact that they separated and divorced whilst in his formative years. Vaughn's work spanned seven decades but it is perhaps for his role in the classic '60's television spy series 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' that he is best known - as American spy Napoleon Solo paired up with David McCallum's Russian counterpart Illya Kuryakin over 105 episodes covering four seasons from 1964 through to 1968. Vaughn received two Golden Globe nominations for his portrayal of Solo as Best TV Star in 1965 and 1966. The series was made into a feature film in 2015 featuring Henry Cavill in the Solo role and Armie Hammer as Kuryakin.

He made his small screen debut in an episode of 'Medic' in 1955, with his big screen debut coming a year later in 1956 in an uncredited role in Cecil B. DeMille's 'The Ten Commandments' with Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner and Edward G. Robinson. He spent the balance of the late '50's appearing in various small fry movies and numerous one off television series episodes including 'Gunsmoke', 'Dragnet', 'Mike Hammer' and 'Zorro' before his breakout role in 'The Young Philadelphians' in 1959 with Paul Newman  - and which garnered Vaughn an Oscar and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. A year later he would appear alongside an all star cast in the classic John Sturges Western 'The Magnificent Seven' with Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Eli Wallach, James Coburn and Horst Buchholz. Vaughn's role garnered him another Golden Globe nomination as Most Promising Male Newcomer.

Television series appearances dominated the '60's thereafter with the likes of 'Wagon Train', 'Tales of Wells Fargo', 'Bonanza', 'The Virginian', 'The Untouchables', 'The Dick Van Dyke Show', 'The Lieutenant' and then 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' which also spawned several film spin-offs through until the series was taken off air in 1968. 'Bullitt' came next in 1968 with Steve McQueen, for which again Vaughn was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. 'The Bridge at Remagen', 'Julius Caesar', 'The Mind of Mr. Soames' and 'The Man from Independence' took us up to 1974 high rise disaster epic 'The Towering Inferno' with Steve McQueen and Paul Newman again.

'The Protectors' saw Vaughn return to a regular slot in a half hour adventure crime series as Harry Rule  - one third of a small but tight band of freelance troubleshooters who operate an international crime fighting agency. The show ran for 52 episodes from 1972 through to 1974. Throughout the remainder of the '70's Vaughn starred in television fare including 'Police Woman' with Angie Dickinson, 'Columbo' with Peter Falk, mini-series 'Captains and the Kings', mini-series 'Washington : Behind Closed Doors', mini-series 'Centennial', with a bunch of feature and made for television movies in between.

The '80's produced more of the same for Vaughn with more notable highlights being 'Battle Beyond the Stars' with George Peppard, 'S.O.B' with Julie Andrews, 'Superman III' with Christopher Reeve, 'The Delta Force' with Chuck Norris, 'Black Moon Rising' with Tommy Lee Jones, and 'The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.' with David McCallum of course. There were also a whole bunch of B-Grade and even some C-Grade films to pay the bills presumably including the instantly forgettable 'They Call Me Renegade', 'Killing Birds', 'C.H.U.D. II : Bud the C.H.U.D', 'River of Death' and 'Transylvania Twist', as well as turns on popular television series 'The Love Boat', 'Emerald Point N.A.S.', and 'The A-Team' amongst others.

The '90's continued in a similar vein, with ongoing television series appearances on the likes of 'Diagnosis Murder', 'Walker : Texas Ranger', 'The Nanny', 'Law & Order' and 'The Magnificent Seven' television series reboot in the latter half of the decade. His output in the new decade became more selective and less frequent, although a successful and long running show for AMC and the BBC 'Hustle', playing Albert Stroller, ran for eight seasons from 2004 onwards and featured Vaughn in a leading role together with a band of confidence tricksters based in London righting wrongs and working against the low lifes, the crims, and the underworld to help those that can't help themselves or need some assistance along the way. He followed this up with thirteen episodes on the longest running television soap opera of them all 'Coronation Street' in 2012. After this Vaughn still managed to bash out five films in the last five years - 'Excuse Me For Living', 'The Magnificent Eleven', 'A Cry From Within', 'The American Side' released earlier this year, and 'Gold Star' which has just had its US release.

All up Vaughn boasted 226 Acting credits to his name spanning seven decades in the business. He Directed an episode of 'The Protectors' in 1973, and an episode of 'Police Woman' in 1976, he had three Award wins and nine other nominations including an Oscar nod, four Golden Globes, a BAFTA and a Primetime Emmy. Vaughn also published two books - 'Only Victims : A Study of Show Business Blacklisting' in 1972 and 'A Fortunate Life', published in 2008. He married Linda Staab in 1974 and they remained married until the time of his death. They had two adopted children, Cassidy born in 1976 and Caitlin born in 1981.

Robert Vaughn - leaves behind a legacy of film and television appearances across all genres, spanning more than sixty years of many notable performances and some less so, but nonetheless a body of work to be admired and remembered. With a distinctive yet sometimes menacing voice, often playing political figures from history or fiction, but never typecast, he kept working and was in demand right up to the end. Thanks for the memories.

Robert Vaughn - Rest In Peace
1932 - 2016

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 29th September 2016.

Antoine Fuqua's 'The Magnificent Seven' is released this week, but how many of us are familiar with the how far back the roots of this story goes. Japanese Director, Screenwriter, Producer and Editor Akira Kurosawa is regarded an one of the most influential and important film-makers in the history of cinema. During his career he Directed thirty films over 57 years of his working life, and one the most noted of those is 'The Seven Samurai' from 1954, starring Toshiro Mifune as one of the seven samurai, Kikuchiyo. Kurosawa Directed, Co-Wrote, and Edited the film set in a Japan of 1586 during a time of great political upheaval and unrest and tells the story of seven samurai recruited by a village elder to defend their village from marauding bandits intent on stealing their valuable crops following the years harvest. The villagers are meek and mild and do not have the smarts or the wherewithal to defend themselves and have been ground down after repeated attacks, and the prospect of another. Ultimately the villagers rise to the challenge and aid the seven samurai, who defeat the thieving bandits, but at a cost of four lives out of the seven. The film was highly acclaimed and went on to win five awards and eight nominations including two Academy Award nods, three BAFTA nods and various others from around the festival circuit. The film took a year to shoot on specially constructed authentic village sets, and its unedited running time stretches to 207 minutes. The film has been much copied, referenced, reworked and reimagined over the years and still stands on many 'Greatest' and 'Best' films of all time lists.

'The Seven Samurai' was the inspiration for the John Sturges Old West version of the film released in 1960 as 'The Magnificent Seven' with a setting down Mexico way. Here we see a group of oppressed villagers who suffer periodical rampaging attacks and theft of food and supplies at the hands of local bandit Calvera (Eli Wallach) and his henchmen. Seeking help they encounter Chris Adams (Yul Bryner) - a veteran gunslinger, who reluctantly agrees to help their cause. En route back to the Mexican village Chris recruits six others, consisting of Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter and Horst Buchholz, who with the help of the villagers overcome Calvera and his bandits, but at a cost of four lives out of the seven. The film took out one award win and scored six other nominations including an Academy Award nomination for Best Musical Score by Elmer Bernstein for that iconic theme tune. The film spawned three sequels - 'The Return of the Seven' in 1966, 'Guns of the Magnificent Seven' in 1969, and 'The Magnificent Seven Ride' in 1972, and has influenced many other films too.

And so to the four new movies coming your way this week, kicking off with a gunslinging Western that is a remake of a early '60's classic that was in itself a remake of a mid-'50's classic. Then we have a fantasy adventure offering from the master of the genre about a young lad, a headmistress of a very special school, and a strange set of kids all with peculiar gifts. These are followed up by a female perspective on the inner workings of Wall Street in this financial drama that sees a talented investment banker go head to head in a male dominated world; before wrapping up with a documentary on autism and the power of the movies that saved this one young lad by teaching him valuable lessons in life.

As always, be reminded to share your thoughts and musings when you have seen your film of choice in the coming week, by leaving your Comment below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you and all contributions are welcomed. In the meantime, enjoy your film.

'THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN' (Rated M) - in 1954 Akira Kurosawa Directed, Co-Wrote and Edited a Japanese historical drama adventure epic titled 'The Seven Samurai' set in 1586 during the Warring States Period of Japan. Telling the story of seven Ronin hired to defend a village of farmers from rogue bandits intent on stealing their valuable crops following harvest, the film went onto to be critically lauded and has appeared on numerous Greatest Films Lists ever since, and has been highly influential and often remade and reworked. In 1960 John Sturges Directed and Produced 'The Magnificent Seven' based on that Kurosawa story, but set his film in the Old West in Mexico where a band of seven gunslingers are hired to defend a village from a group of marauding bandits. Now fifty-six years later Antoine Fuqua has remade 'The Magnificent Seven' for a whole new audience likely to be unfamiliar with Kurosawa's inspirational film, or the Sturges Americanised version upon which this 2016 offering is based. Made for US$108M the film premiered at TIFF earlier this month, was the closing film at the Venice Film Festival and was released Stateside last week.

The story here has changed little in this Fuqua rendition. This time however, the action takes place not in Mexico but in some remote mining town three days ride from Sacramento, called Rose Creek. Here the simple townsfolk are besieged by a local heavy handed, ruthless and uncaring industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard) intent on mining the area for gold and taking over the Rose Creek land by all and any force necessary. In an attack on the townsfolk by Bogue and his henchmen, the husband of Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) is killed and so eventually she enlists the support of Sam Chisholm (Denzel Washington) when he learns that Bogue is at the centre of their plight. Chisholm sets about recruiting a small group of guns for hire to confront and overcome Bogue, assist Cullen and do the right thing by the people of Rose Creek. Those six recruits are Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Martin Sensmeier, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and Byung-hun Lee who all have a particular set of skills and are especially adept at wiping out a marauding horde of gun toting bad dudes. You can be sure there'll be a high body count and lots of stylised action and violence, but will it live up to its 1960 inspiration, or its 1954 source?

'MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN' (Rated M) - this dark fantasy adventure film is based on the 2011 book of the same name by Ransom Riggs, is adapted for the screen by Jane Goldman, Directed by Tim Burton and consists of an all star cast that includes Eva Green, Judi Dench, Terence Stamp, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris O'Dowd, Asa Butterfield, and Rupert Everett.  The story surrounds mid-teenage Jacob Portman (Butterfield) who after a tragedy at home is forced to travel to a mysterious island to determine exactly what happened, and here he comes across Miss Peregrine (Green) and her home for peculiar children. Here he learns that the fairytales he was told in his younger days may have more truth in them than he thought, and after a horrifying experience Jacob must make a life changing decision to protect those closest to him and from the no good Mr. Barron (Jackson) - the leader of The Wights - undead human creatures who hunt and kill the peculiar children using disguises and enhanced physical abilities. All of Tim Burton's touchstones contained herein, which is sure to please his followers.

'EQUITY' (Rated M) - it's good to see women getting some movie exposure to the dealings of inner Wall Street in this financial thriller Directed by Meera Menon and out on limited release despite the favourable Reviews it has so far garnered since its general release in the US at the end of July. Here we see senior investment banker Naomi Bishop (Anna Gunn) working in a very male dominated domain and needing to overcome a previous slur on her reputation and restore some credibility amongst the firm she works for and her colleagues. She elects to take on a new Tech IPO but quickly comes up against obstacles from colleagues and her Client that might just unhinge the future of the venture. Amongst this she has to contend with a double-dealing boyfriend, a Federal investment law prosecutor, and a betrayal by a trusted friend that might just unravel everything for her. James Purefoy also stars with Alysia Reiner and Sarah Megan Thomas who also Co-Wrote and Co-Produced.

'LIFE, ANIMATED' (Rated PG) - this documentary has been around the festival circuit and has collected a number of award wins and nominations in that time, based on the book by Ron Suskind about his autistic son Owen, and Directed with a deft touch by Roger Ross Williams. It tells the story of how young Owen at aged just three developed autism. As Owen retreated within himself and stopped communicating his parents became increasingly concerned, almost losing all hope, as to how they could interact with their dear son in a way that had meaning. Ultimately that way manifested itself through animated films, and especially those from Disney which offered Owen a conduit to make sense of the world and at the same time create his own. The film traces Owen's growth from young child to teenager to the cusp of adulthood as he strives for independence learned from key teachings from the likes of 'The Lion King', 'Aladdin' and 'The Little Mermaid' that he was able to adapt to the world around him. An uplifting coming of age story that offers proof positive of the magic of cinema, the power of stories, and how hope can overcome adversity.

Four films this week to tempt you out to your local multiplex or independent picture house for two hours of great entertainment for just $20. You know it makes sense to do so. I'll see you therefore at the Odeon in the week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN : Sunday 25th September 2016.

I caught an advance screening of Antione Fuqua's Directed 'THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN' at my local multiplex on Sunday evening four days before its official Australian release date. The inspiration for this film and its Old West predecessor from 1960 came from the 1954 Akira Kurosawa Directed, Co-Written and Edited Japanese historical drama adventure epic titled 'The Seven Samurai' set in 1586 during the Warring States Period of Japan. Telling the story of seven Ronin hired to defend a village of farmers from rogue bandits intent on stealing their valuable crops following harvest, the film went onto to be critically lauded and has appeared on numerous Greatest Films Lists ever since, and has been highly influential and often remade and reworked. In 1960 John Sturges Directed and Produced 'The Magnificent Seven' based on that Kurosawa story, but set his film in the Old West in Mexico where a band of seven gunslingers are hired to defend a village from a group of marauding bandits. Now fifty-six years later Fuqua has remade 'The Magnificent Seven' for a whole new audience likely to be unfamiliar with Kurosawa's inspirational film, or the Sturges Americanised version upon which this 2016 offering is based. Made for US$108M the film premiered at TIFF earlier this month, was the closing film at the Venice Film Festival and was released Stateside last week.

The story here has changed little in this Fuqua rendition. This time however, the action takes place not in Mexico but in some remote mining town three days ride from Sacramento, called Rose Creek. Here the simple townsfolk are besieged by a local heavy handed, ruthless and uncaring industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard) intent on mining the area for gold and taking over the Rose Creek land by all and any force necessary. In an attack on the townsfolk by Bogue and his henchmen after breaking into a meeting held in the town church, the husband of Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) is killed together with various other innocent townsfolk just minding their own business and wanting a quiet life. Bogue very generously and graciously offer each family $20 for their house and land package, and if they refuse, he'll be back in two weeks to take it anyway!

Emma Cullen rides out with her good friend Teddy Q (Luke Grimes) to the nearest town to find some support to help defend Rose Creek from Bogue's pending return. There by chance they come across Sam Chisholm (Fuqua's go to man, Denzel Washington, dressed all in black just as Yul Bryner's character, Chris Adams, in the 1960 film version of the same film), a grizzled war weary bounty hunter who initially refuses Cullen's request, but relents when he learns that it is Bogue creating such a stink.

And so Chisholm, Cullen and Q head back for Rose Creek, and along the way recruit six other guns for hire, all with a shady past, but each in possession of a particular set of skills that might just serve them well for fighting a small army of Bogue's men. First to join the throng is poker gambling whiskey swilling cigar chewing gunslinger Josh Faraday (Chris Pratt). They in turn meet up with ex-Confederate sharpshooter soldier with 23 confirmed kills Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke) and his sidekick the Asian knife wielding assassin Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee). They happen across skilled trapper and a God-Fearing bear of a man Jack Horne (Vincent D'Onofrio) and then Mexican on-the-run outlaw with nothing to lose Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), before joining up with native American-Indian and ostracised Comanche warrior Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier).

Later the seven ride into Rose Creek only to be greeted by a posse of Bogue's men headed up by his #1 standover enforcer guy McCann (Cam Cigandet). There's a standoff and some resultant gun play in which all of Bogue's men are killed, leaving McCann and the local Sheriff who is on the take from Bogue, still alive but ordered to ride out and tell Bogue to return in person to do his own dirty work. In the meantime, the seven conclude that they have about a week in which to ready the town, arm themselves, train the townsfolk how to shoot to kill, and prepare themselves before Bogue comes riding into town with his small army.

Over the course of the next week plans are hatched, preparations are made, and the good people of Rose Creek ready themselves for the imminent onslaught. Ditches are dug, explosives laid, traps set, and cover made all in an attempt to give them their best chance against Bogue. At this point Robicheaux gets cold feet as he is hiding some inner Demons about his days of killing on the battlefield, and bids Chisholm farewell under cover of night, saying that his fighting days are behind him. The seven are now down to six, but Cullen steps up to the cause.

The next morning at dawn, Bogue and his army of two hundred or so hired soldiers ride over the hill overlooking Rose Creek. Despite their laid traps, explosive charges, element of surprise and best efforts, there are severe casualties on all sides. When Bogue looks as though his army has been overcome, he rolls out a Gattling Gun and systematically tears the town to shreds with a full magazine of bullets and then another, killing more townsfolk and his own men in the process. Taking a last stand Faraday mounts his horse and rides out to where the Gattling Gun is positioned and with a stick of dynamite sacrifices himself to destroy the gun and the remainder of Bogue's men. In the meantime, Robicheaux who returned warning Chisholm about the Gattling Gun, Rocks and Horne have also been killed in the attack.

Bogue and his two remaining henchmen make for the town to finally mop up. Two are quickly dispensed by Chisholm, leaving Bogue to face off against Chisholm outside the burnt out remains of the towns Church. Chisholm shoots Bogue in the hand and then the leg, and limping into the Church seeking sanctuary and last minute forgiveness, Chisholm recounts to Bogue that he and his men raped and murdered his mother and sisters a few years back, and now it's pay back time. In the process Bogue reaches for a small pistol secreted away in his boot, but not before Cullen shoots Bogue dead from the door of the Church, saving Chisholm. In the closing scene Chisholm, Red Harvest and Vasquez ride out of town passing the four crosses marking the burial sites of their fallen colleagues, who have been hailed as legends by Cullen and the towns people.

In summary there is little new to see here. The plot is the same as for the films predecessors except that it has been updated for a new audience raised on stylised violence, big body counts, fast gun play and political correctness. The seven consist of a black dude, an Asian dude, a Mexican dude, a native American Indian dude, a God-Fearing bible bashing dude, a hard drinking and smoking gambling dude, and a dude fighting his inner Demons who all come to the rescue of a damsel in distress - all demographics are covered here. And all the Western cliches are there too - close ups of squinted eyes in the sun, cigar chewing bad guys, hands poised menacingly over holstered guns, the saloon scene where a tall dark stranger enters, bad guys getting shot off rooftops, the local undertaker doing great business with his pine boxes lined up outside his shop in readiness for the next stiff . . . it's all there, and then some! On the one hand it is good to see the Western genre getting some mileage but how about something fresh and original rather than simply dusting off a classic and rehashing it again for the sake of a new audience. The film has so far recouped US$42M and it is entertaining enough but predictable and we've seen it all before, and better!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-