Magnificent Seven (七俠蕩寇誌) & Great Escape (大逃亡龍虎榜)

Magnificent Seven「七俠蕩寇誌」這部片的題材其實是根據日本著名導演黑澤明在 1954年拍的「七俠四義」Seven Samurai 而改寫的，「七俠蕩寇誌」由 John Sturges 導演、在 1960年上映，票房紀錄不錯，主題曲 Magnificent Seven是著名作曲家兼指揮家 Elmer Berstein 撰寫的，這曲曾上流行榜。故事很簡單，是描述一個墨西哥村落被一惡霸 (Eli Wallach) 及其夥伴欺凌，於是村民便請來七位俠士幫忙，希望七俠可以趕絶惡勢力，一場打鬥、結果七俠打勝了、不過其中四位俠士卻壯烈犠牲。

片中的七俠是：

·                    Yul Brynner (尤伯連納) as Chris Adams

·                    Steve McQueen (史提夫麥昆) as Vin 

·                    Charles Bronson as Bernardo

·                    Robert Vaughn as Lee

·                    Brad Dexter as Harry

·                    James Coburn as Britt

·                    Horst Buchholz as Chico

除了尤伯連納之外，其他六人中有五人因這片走紅了，尤其是史提夫麥昆，他的影片不用我在這裡說了！其次是 Charles Bronson和 James Coburn，他們都後來拍了不少賣座的電影如Bronson 的The Dirty Dozen; Death Wish；Coburn的 Our Man Flint; Duffy 等！

至於 Robert Vaughn 後來接了 Man from U.N.C.L.E. 電視片集飾演 Napoleon Solo 一角，非常受歡迎！Horst Buchholz 是德國占士甸，因為這片便接了更多荷里活大片如 Fanny 及 One, Two, Three 等。而往往被遺忘的便是 Brad Dexter，其實他的際遇也不錯，他的前妻是名歌星 Peggy Lee，這片之後他也拍了很多電影和電視作配角。

在這片犠牲了的四俠是 Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn 及 Brad Dexter.

因為這部片受歡迎又賣座、於是在 1963年、導演 John Sturges再找來七俠中的三個拍了 The Great Escape（大逃亡）龍虎榜、他們是史提夫麥昆、Charles Bronson 和 James Coburn。故事描述二次世界大戰時在德軍戰俘營中、一位美國戰俘 (史提夫麥昆 Steve McQueen) 帶領大約 250人策劃挖掘隧道逃出戰俘營，因為 Charles Bronson 和 James Coburn 在七俠中喪生，所以這次導演特別安排他兩人安全逃離，片中史提夫麥昆坐着電單車逃亡那段是全片的精華、使人難忘，雖然他最終被擒回戰俘營，亦算救了一些人重獲自由。這片令史提夫麥昆紅得發紫!

這片的主題曲 The Great Escape仍然是由 Elmer Berstein 撰寫的，不過卻沒有七俠的主題曲這麽流行。

PS –

香港電影也曾以「七俠蕩寇誌」的題材在 1964 年拍了一部「江湖七虎」，是林家聲、南紅、林蛟等主演的，值得一看。   ( https://youtu.be/jLwgymD6FQM )

不過、2016 年重拍的 Magnificent Seven、由 Denzel Washington主演，我是不會看的，正如我不會去看 Ben Hur 重拍一樣，或者是我的徧見吧，我總覺得後者是永遠比不上前者的！

Would Star Wars 7 end differently if George Lucas had written the script?

SPOILER ALERT: If you have not seen “Star Wars 7”  do not read any further.

Would Star Wars 7 end differently if George Lucas had written the script?  At least, Han wouldn't have been killed by his son.  

Of course, when Disney bought Lucasfilm, they were only thinking of making more money.  With Harrison Ford already getting a paycheque around $20 million or may be more to reprise his role as Han Solo, and Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher each getting a pay in the low seven figure range, that means their profit will be quite slim unless it turns into a huge box office success.  That's why Harrison Ford's Han Solo got to die in the first sequel trilogy, ensuring he will have no part in the second and third sequels.  It's all money talk!  I am sure George Lucas must have made a few suggestions to Disney, one of them must be keeping his heroes alive, including Han Solo, but Disney did not use his ideas!  Why?  Money, of course!

Also, it doesn't make sense that the son of Leia and Han would turn to the dark side and kill his father.  If anyone would turn to the dark side, it would make sense that would be Luke Skywalker's son.  After all, it's been a Skywalker who had turned to the dark side in the past!  Okay, the marriage of Leia and Han broke down, just like most marriages, but given their personality, their son couldn't have turned out to be such a brat, so cruel and heartless!  Neither Leia nor Han was a cold blooded killer, so their son Ren couldn't have turned out to be that bad!

I think J. J. Abrams would have a lot of explaining to do in the sequel that follows!  What exactly went wrong!  Here I would like to pick on Abrams...  What an awful scene when Leia saw Han again, after, God knows, how many years!  It was supposed to be a very moving scene, but it was quick and hardly touching!  There was no chemistry between the two, no compassion of any kind, no feelings, no agreement or disagreement.  Just NOTHING!  They vaguely talked about their son and she asked Han to bring him home, that's all!   I was very disappointed.  I feel there should be more interaction between these two actors...more talk, more scenes together!  Abrams must be taking his Mission Impossible speed here...no wasting of time...jumping quickly from one action scene to another!

Also, J J Abrams really isn't quite creative in this movie!  The battle scenes were old...we'd seen them all before in Star Wars 6...the TIE-Fighters, the X-wing Fighters.  Except...I like the Millennium Falcon and love to see it again!  The Starkiller Base or the white ball didn't look intimidating enough as the Death Star in the Star Wars prequels!

However, perhaps Disney sees the great profit they are making now, with its global bow at a record $1.5 billion as of January 6, 2016, they may reconsider bringing Harrison Ford back in the next sequel.  We all know that in science fiction movies, they can always revive dead characters.  And Harrison Ford can almost always guarantee box office success and great profits!  Remember, Han Solo was revived once in Star Wars 6, The Return Of The Jedi.  And in Star Wars 7, Han's body was never found!  

I will put in a petition to Walt Disney Studios to revive Han Solo for the sequel!!!  I hope you will do the same too! 

After all, Disney, as a major movie maker for children's movies, cannot teach kids to kill their father!

Love Is A Many-Splendoured Thing - 生死戀

Love Is A Many-Splendoured Thing - 生死戀

The book, "A Many-Splendoured Thing", was written by Han Suyin in 1952; the movie was made in 1955 by Twentieth Century-Fox, starring William Holden and Jennifer Jones as Han Suyin.

The song with the same name from this movie written by Sammy Fain and Paul Webster had won an Oscar for the best original song in 1955.   The song was subsequently recorded by the Four Aces. 

Jennifer Jones (1919 -2009) was a great actress.  She won an Oscar for Best Actress in The Song of Bernadette (1943).  She also appeared in great movies such as, Duel In The Sun (1946), Carrie (1952), Good Morning Miss Dove; Love Is A many-Splendoured Thing (1952), The Barretts of Wimpole Street; Farewell To Arms (1957), Tender Is The Night (1962).  All my favourite movies!

William Holden (1918 - 1981) was also a great actor.  He also won an Oscar for Best Actor in 1953 in Stalag 17, a movie I haven't seen before.  But I always love him in Picnic with Kim Novak!  Who can forget Hal, the handsome shirtless drifter who came to town and stole the hearts of all women!

Hear this song:    By the Four Aces;  by Johnny Mathis; By Connie Francis

The story tells an Eurasian doctor, Han Suyin falls in love with a married (but separated) American correspondent played by William Holden.  The story was also an autobiography of Han Suyin, who while working in Hong Kong, fell in love with a married Australian correspondent, Ian Morrison.  They encountered prejudice from her family and from the Hong Kong society.  The movie ended when Morrison being killed in Korea in 1950. 

Han Suyin was born in China as Rosalie Matilda Kuanghu Chou (Chinese:周光瑚; Zhōu Guānghú).

Her father was an engineer educated in Belgium and her mother was Flemish.  She went to London to study Medicine in 1944, graduated in 1949 and returned to Hong Kong to practice medicine at Queen Mary Hospital where she met and fell in love with Morrison.  He was killed in 1950 in Korea.

In 1952, she married a British Officer, Leon Comber and went with him to Malaya, now Malaysia.  In the same year, she wrote the book, A Many-Splendoured Thing.

【生死戀（Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing）是一套根據中國籍亞歐混血女作家韓素音於1952年出版的自傳小說《A Many-Splendoured Thing》改編而成的美國荷里活電影，由二十世紀霍氏公司於1955年出品。影片的故事背景為1949至50年的香港，當時正值國共內戰的關鍵期及韓戰的爆發，飾演美國藉記者馬克的威廉·荷頓邂逅中歐混血兒醫生韓素音（由珍妮花·鍾絲飾演），但由於韓的家庭背景和當地社會壓力使到這段感情無法開花結果，最後馬克更在採訪過程死於韓戰戰場。影片大量在香港取景拍攝，景點包括香港仔漁港、淺水灣及維多利亞港等，呈現不少當代殖民地風格的建築。影片獲得奧斯卡金像獎的最佳服飾設計、最佳原創音樂及最佳音樂等獎項。】

韓素音原名周光瑚，出生於中國河南省，父親曾在比利時留學，母親出自比利時貴族家庭。1944年、韓素音到英國讀醫學，1949年在香港瑪麗醫院任職，並結識了外國記者 Ian Morrison。可惜他已婚，他們的戀愛遭到家庭和社會壓力，時遇越戰爆發，Morrison 到前線採訪而遇難身亡！之後韓素音再婚，除了這部自傳小說之外，還有其它著作。

Remembering Maverick... as played by James Garner

James Garner - 1928 - 2014

First, he was the funny and cardsharp hero as Bret Maverick (1957 - 1962).
Then he played Jim Rockford in Rockford Files (1974 - 1980), as the quiet and unsung hero who always helped people solve their problems without getting much in reward.

From Wikipedia:
"James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He starred in several television series over more than five decades, including such popular roles as Bret Maverick in the 1950s western comedy series Maverick and Jim Rockford in the 1970s detective drama series The Rockford Files.

Garner also starred in more than 50 films, including The Great Escape (1963),The Americanization of Emily (1964), Grand Prix (1966), Blake Edwards' Victor Victoria (1982), Murphy's Romance (1985), for which he received an Academy Award nomination, Space Cowboys (2000), and The Notebook (2004)."

His movies I like:
Boys' Night Out with Kim Novak
Move Over, Darling with Doris Day
The Thrill Of It All with Doris Day
Support Your Local Gunfighter with Suzanne Pleshette

And he was the Polaroid Guy on TV commercials in the '70s and early '80s.
Remember his Polaroid Christmas commercial with Mariette Hartley in 1979?  
on YouTube ( http://youtu.be/pt82z_GUCKw )

And this one was done in 1981
On YouTube ( http://youtu.be/MA8f2L-FCmE )

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Pandora and the Flying Dutchman

I finally saw this movie "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" on TMC the other day.  I'd seen this movie when I was little (above 5) and couldn't understand the movie nor could I remember what it was all about.  I could only remember that the very beautiful Ava Gardner swimming towards the ship to meet James Mason and then something happened and the ship sank.  I kept waiting for all these years to see this movie again to find out what had happened and why the ship sank.  I must say this was a very powerful movie, played by some very fine actors and actresses.  Hollywood just could not make movies of this kind again!

From Wikipedia: "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951) is a British drama film made by Romulus Films and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the United States. The film was directed by Albert Lewin and produced by Lewin and Joe Kaufmann from his own screenplay, based on the legend of The Flying Dutchman.

The film starred Ava Gardner and James Mason, featuring Nigel Patrick, Sheila Sim, Harold Warrender, Mario Cabré and Marius Goring. The cinematographer was Jack Cardiff. Most of the movie was shot on location in Tossa de Mar, Catalonia, Spain, where a statue of Gardner has been erected on the hill overlooking the town's main beach.

MGM delayed its release until Gardner's star-making role in 1951's Show Boat. The tactic worked, and this film solidified her status as a rising star."

Where Do I Begin? From Love Story - 1970

Where Do I Begin? From Love Story sung by Andy Williams - 1970

記得那個年代看這部電影，覺得故事平平無奇，像白燕張瑛一類的粵語長片，兩年青人相愛、卻因門不當戶不對而遭父母從中作梗，後因女方染有絕症而離世，終於悲劇收場，使觀眾哭得眼睛又紅又腫的踏出影院，這一類影片、荷李活是很少拍的，通常都是粵語片的橋段，但幾十年後，這套荷李活電影卻成為了經典電影，男女主角 (Ryan O'Neill & Ali MacGraw) 以這套電影一舉成名，主題曲更是流行一時，先後有許多歌星都灌錄這首曲，我當然最愛聽 Andy Williams 的版本!

Summer of '42 - Jennifer O'Neill 一套難忘的電影

這是一套難忘的電影，女主角 Jennifer O'Neill 真的很美，難怪她使一位正在成長的十多歲少年 Gary Grimes 動心，一個簡單的故事、配上優美的主題曲，再加上藍天碧海與沙灘，當是一套賣座的電影！這片在 1971 推出，我只是後幾年在電視上看過，但片商卻拍了一部不能賣座的續集叫 "Class of '44"，也由 Gary Grimes 當男主角，但卻沒有 Jennifer O'Neill，我也沒有看過，不能賣座的原因、想是沒有好的題材和一個能吸引觀眾的美麗女主角呢！

Can you remember the movie "Summer of '42" starring Jennifer O'Neill and Gary Grimes?

I didn't see this movie when it was released in 1971; I saw it on TV years after. Jennifer O'Neill was so beautiful in the movie and Gary Grimes - he was just a teenager playing his age in the movie. It's a coming-of-age film and it was so well received when it came out, so they made a sequel in 1973, but this time without Jennifer O'Neill. And of course, it flopped!

The movie was beautifully filmed - set in a small town with sandy beaches and summer skies - combined with a simple love story and a beautiful theme song - the result is a romantic classic film!

Gary Grimes, now 56, had retired from show business after making the sequel of this film (Class of '44) in 1973, and went on to do some minor roles in the '70s and '80s. He said he's happy with his decision.

Gary Grimes 現已年屆五十六，早在八十年代已退出影壇，他拍完 Summer of '42 後拍了續集及在一些影片當不重要的角色後，因未有接到合心意的角色，所以索性不幹了，最近訪問他時，他說並沒有後誨當日的決定！

The Good Earth, Sayonara, Flower Drum Song, etc...(previously appeared on 阿立粵曲天地 談天說地 - 被遺忘了的中西舊歌星、影星及其歌曲與電影 on Feb 2, 2008)

‘大地’ (The Good Earth) 一片，我也沒有看過，1937 年我還未來這世界，但曾翻閱荷李活的名片項列，這電影是得過獎項的名片，但卻沒有 ‘像亂世佳人’ (Gone With The Wind) 那部電影常被放上電視重播，我現找來 Youtube 的 link 可以讓大家看到你說的男女主角造型，覺得很是欠真實感，不過既然女主角憑此片獲得奧斯卡金像獎，那她一定是靠演技取勝！http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wikdhr0WiU&feature=related


記得在 ‘六福客棧’ (The Inn Of Sixth Happiness - released in 1958) 片中，也找外國人來演中國人，無端把男主角的角色從一個純正的中國人改成中西混血兒，看來很不順眼的，還是到八零至九零年代，才有像 The Last Emperor (1987) 及 The Joy Luck Club (1993) 等影片，看到中國人演回中國人，才覺舒服！七零年代有李小龍在荷李活，但是在五零和六零年代，就好像沒有代表了，關南絲之走紅是因為越南影星阮南絲 (France Nuyen) 拒演 ‘蘇絲黃的世界’ (The World of Suzie Wong) 呢。


電影 (櫻花戀) 的主題曲 (SAYONARA) 是 Irvin Berlin 為這電影而作的，並不是舊的那首同名的曲，這片中的女配角 Miyoshi Umeki 曾灌錄此曲，也好似有日文版本、曾在電台播放過，她憑這電影獲得奧斯卡最佳女配角金像獎，這曲在原本的電影 soundtrack 上是該女主角 Miiko Taka 唱的。

Miyoshi 在去年八月過身，享年 78 歲，她曾在 Rodgers & Hammerstein 的花鼓歌 (Flower Drum Song) 百老匯舞臺劇飾演 Mei Li 一角，而 Pat Suzuki 扮演 Linda Low 一角，後來這劇被搬上銀幕，改由關南絲 (Nancy Kwan) 演 Linda Low，但是如要我選擇聽好的歌曲，我還是喜歡聽原裝 Broadway Musical 的版本。劇中的幾首名曲是百聽不厭的：A hundred million miracles; You are beautiful; I enjoy being a girl; Choy suey; Love look away 等等。至於為什麼荷李活要找幾位日本人包括男主角 (由 James Shigeta 飾演) 來扮演中國人，真是不得而知，大概那時代的中國影星當中，找不到會能歌善舞的吧！
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