Harvey Keitel as Charlie in 'Mean Streets', the opening sequence uses 'Be My Baby' by The Ronettes to great effect.

'Mean Streets' directed by Martin Scorsese, 1973.

Robert De Niro as Johnny Boy.

Film and stage beauties # 8: Julie Jenner

Reverse reads:

A series of 54, No. 21, Julie Jenner.
A series of real photographs now being issued with Black Cat Medium Cigarettes. Carreras Ltd (ESTD 1788) Arcadia Works, London, England.

It appears that Julie was more of a stage actress than a screen actress. Entry for Julie Jenner on IBDB, link.

Real Location # 2 - Atame! (Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!)

The bulk of Pedro Almodovar's film takes place in and around Madrid but the final scenes take place at a wonderful abandoned village called Granadilla (Caceres) near to Hervas, Extremadura where I spent the first week of my two week Spanish trip earlier this month.

The village itself was abandoned to make way for a reservoir which it seems in the end didn't actually rise that close to the village. The village is walled and contains some completely abandoned buildings, a church, town hall and a fort next to the main entrance. When I visited in the first week in July school children from all over Spain were learning farming methods, crafts and preservation of this historical site.

In the film Antonio Banderas searches for his parents and the house where he grew up and is seen wandering through the abandoned streets of Granadilla and looking out from the fort over the views of the reservoir.

My sincere thanks to Olga Tellez for organising this excursion. We spent our entire morning at this amazing village, walking around and talking to some of the students.

IMDB entry for Atame!, link.
A website with some additional views of Granadilla, including an ariel photograph on the home page, link.
Granadilla is in the region of Extremadura. Wikipedia link for Extremadura, link.

Antonio Banderas as Ricky on the roof of the fort at Granadilla.

Ricky searches through the abandoned village of Granadilla for where he grew up.

Portobello Film Festival

3rd to 22nd August official link.

Gene Tierney

Film and stage beauties # 7: Natalie Hynn

Reverse reads:

A series of 54, No. 20, Natalie Hynn.

A series of real photographs now being issued with Black Cat Medium Cigarettes. Carreras Ltd (ESTD 1788) Arcadia Works, London, England.

All the search engines could reveal was this link, dating this series of cards from 1939.

Version Original Revista de Cine

This is a great film magazine from a city called Cáceres in Spain. It's given away free and each issue seems to be themed.
The love of foreign and classic Cinema is well and truly alive in Spain. As I think I've commented here before many films unavailable on DVD in UK and US are readily available in Spain.

My thanks to Olga Tellez for giving me these copies of this impressive magazine.

Version Original Revista de Cine (Version Original - Cinema Magazine), link.

Version Original Revista de Cine # 129

Version Original - Revista de Cine. Issue #129 featuring articles on adultery in films including:

'Far from Heaven' by Israel Paredes
'Husbands and Wives' by Enrique Perez
'Casablanca', 'We Don't Live Here Anymore' and 'Terminal Station' by Angel Roman
'Breaking the Waves' by Iria Barcia
'Doctor Zhivago' by Pedro Triguero-Lizana
Carl Theodor Dreyer by Israel de Francisco
'La Carta' by Jose Maria Santiago
'Melinda and Melinda' by Natalia Pinuel

Version Original Revista de Cine # 128

Version Original - Revista de Cine. Issue # 128 featuring articles on poverty in the cinema including:

2 articles on 'Bicycle Thieves' one by Carmen Lloret and the other by Enrique Perez
'Les Glaneurs et la Glaneues', 'Capturing the Friedmans', 'Nanook of the North' and others by Angel Roman
'Salo' by Ramon Mondero
'The Kid' by Emilio J Hernandez
'Memoria del Saqueo' by Pedro Triguero-Lizana
'El Septimo Dia' by Cristina de Julian
'Maria Full of Grace' by Israel Paredes
'Leo' by Jose Maria Santiago

Version Original Revista de Cine # 127

Version Original - Revista de Cine. Issue # 127 featuring articles on memory loss including:

'Blade Runner' by Emilio J. Herandez
'Los Olvidados' by Enrique Perez
'Festen' by Ria Barcia
The role that memory plays in films and a detailed look at 'Memento' by Israel de Francisco
More on memory, with a specific look at 'Spellbound' by Jose Maria Santiago
'Letter from an Unknown Woman' by Pablo Segovia
'Citizen Kane' by Pedro Triguero-Lizana
'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' by Ramon Monedero.

Coming attraction: Miami Vice

Click on over to Odienator's review at The House Next Door, link.

Coming attraction: Shoeshine

Masters of Cinema continue their superb DVD collection with 'Sciuscia' or as it's known 'Shoeshine', released in September. I've never seen this, so am really looking forward to it.

IMDB entry for 'Sciuscia', link.
Masters of Cinema # 33 'Shoeshine', link.

Takeshi Kitano season

6th July to 5th August, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, Spain, link.

Coming attraction: Edge of Outside season

“It takes a certain strength of character in order to do this. And I’ve seen very talented film makers who started out in the independent world turn into hacks” – Paul Auster.

“My heroes are no more neurotic than the audience. Unless you can feel that a hero is just as fucked up as you are and that you would make the same mistakes that he would make…you can have no satisfaction when he does an heroic act” – Nicholas Ray.

“Accidents are the friend of the Director” – Gary Gramer (Director of Photography for Orson Welles).

A new documentary made by Turner Classic Movies is showcasing a season of American Independent Film Makers on TCM (US) during July, the documentary itself is well worth catching.

Divided into four parts; ‘Born Out of Conflict’ ‘Other People’s Money’, ‘Visual Voice’ and ‘Beyond Talent’ interviews with John Sales, Martin Scorsese, Peter Bogdanovich and others discussing the work of many ‘Independent’ film makers from DW Griffith, Buster Keaton through to the likes of Sam Fuller, Nicholas Ray, John Cassavettes up to Darren Aronofsky. It’s a good documentary that explores within the time allowed the sprit of ‘Independent’ film making. I liked the quotes from the film, which contains many rare and exclusive interviews which, sum up for me various aspects of ‘Independent’ cinema.

Edge of Outside season on TCM, link.