Film Gourmand

 On April 30, Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier celebrates his 66th birthday. In numerous publications devoted to this director, he is called a brawler, outrageous, a symbol of political incorrectness, etc. etc. True, no one denies the genius inherent in Lars von Trier. Perhaps, to some extent, the shocking inherent in Trier's paintings can be explained by the peculiarities of his upbringing. Lars von Trier was born in the suburbs of Copenhagen in the family of civil servants Ulf Trier and his wife Inger, née Höst. Ulf and Inger Trier adhered to the left, communist beliefs, denied the need for any strict discipline in raising children. Moreover, both were passionate fans of nudism, so Lars spent several of his school holidays in nudist camps. Lars von Trier during the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. Readers have probably noticed that in relation to the surname of Ulf Trier, the particle "von", meaning belonging to an aristocratic family, is not used. And this is perfectly unders...

 Soviet theater lovers, especially those with experience, probably know, remember and love the performance of the Moscow Mossovet Theatre "Further - silence ..." in 1978, in which Faina Georgievna Ranevskaya and Rostislav Yanovich Plyatt shone. And the role in this performance was the last for Faina Ranevskaya. But even not all of the inveterate theatergoers know that this performance is a rather rare case of transformation. When a film is based on a fairly successful performance, there are many such examples. But there are very few examples of reverse transformation, when a successful film becomes the basis of a successful performance. That's exactly what happened with Leo McCarey's "Make Way for Tomorrow". But - about everything in order. In 1934, the novel by the American writer Josephine Lawrence "Years Are So Long" was published in the USA. The success of this novel prompted the married couple of playwrights Helen and Nolan Leary to transform ...

 On April 29, 1907, in the city of Rzeszow, which at that time was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now Poland, a son, Alfred, was born into the Jewish family of the doctor Oscar Zinnemann and his wife Anna. Alfred's childhood dream was to become a violinist. But, as he later recalled, he realized in time his complete lack of musical talent, and therefore, after graduating from school, he entered the University of Vienna, where he studied law. Alfred Zinnemann did not become a lawyer either, but he never regretted the time spent on studying legal sciences, because, as he himself said, they taught him the way of thinking necessary for a director and gave him knowledge that was useful for filming some films, in particular, "The Nun's Story" and "A Man for All Seasons". Fred Zinneman at the time of awarding him the Academy Award for the film "A Man for All Seasons", 1967 While being a student, Alfred Zinnemann "fell in love" with cinema ...

 On April 29, 1970, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, in the family of Robert Thurman, a writer and scholar, specialist in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, and his wife Nena, nee Baroness Birgitte Caroline von Schlebrügge, a fashion model who has Swedish-Danish-German roots, a girl was born who was named Uma Karuna Metta Umekha Madit. Uma Thurman in "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" by Terry Gilliam, 1988 Dangerous Liaisons. Director Stephen Frears, 1988. Movie's Rating - 8,792, 219th Rank in the Golden Thousand.   By the age of 30, Uma Thurman had gained truly worldwide popularity, as evidenced by the fact that a rock band was named after her in Russia far from the USA. Pulp Fiction. Director Quentin Tarantino, 1994. Movie's Rating - 10,702, 22nd Rank in the Golden Thousand. Gattaca. Director Andrew Niccol, 1997. Movie's Rating - 7,871, 888th Rank in the Golden Thousand. Today, Uma Thurman has 46 roles in feature films. Of these, 4 films entered the Golden Thousand. Based ...

 On April 29, 1970, Costa-Gavras's film "L'aveu (The Confession)" was released on the screens of French cinemas. It is generally accepted that this film is the second part of the so-called Costa-Gavras's anti-totalitarian trilogy, the first part of which was the 1969 film "Z", and the third, the 1972 film "État de siège (State of Siege)". But it seems to me more correct the point of view of Roger Ebert, who adds another film to this chain - "Section spéciale (Special Section)" of 1975. But, by the way, these are purely cinematic subtleties, which we will not go into. 2.14 million moviegoers watched the film "L'aveu (The Confession)" in the first year of its demonstration in France. This is not to say that it is a lot. For example, the leader of the French film distribution of 1970, the film "Le gendarme en balade (The Troops on Vacation)" with Louis de Funès was watched by 4.87 million. But comedies have always...

 On April 28, 1974 in the Spanish city of Alcobendas, which is part of the central province of Madrid, in the family of car mechanic Eduardo Cruz and his wife Encarna Sanchez, a hairdresser, a daughter was born, who was named Penélope.  Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes). 1997. Director Alejandro Amenábar. Movie's Rating - 7,972; 760th Rank in the Golden Thousand. From an early age, Penélope's life was devoted to ballet and dance. She studied classical ballet for 9 years. But at the age of 16, she had a chance to watch Pedro Almodóvar's erotic comedy "¡Átame! (Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!)", and from that moment on, her dream was to become an actress. With great zeal, she began to look for opportunities to get on the screen and very soon achieved this: at the age of 17, she starred in a small role in the erotic television series "Série rose (Softly from Paris)". Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother). 1999. Director Pedro Almodóvar. Movie's Rating - 10,859...

 On April 27, 1967, the British romantic dramedy "Two for the Road" premiered in New York. Directed by Stanley Donen ("Singing in the Rain"). It is believed that this film, if it does not reflect some details of the director's biography, then some of his personal feelings formed the basis of the script.  The fact that the main role in the film will be played by Audrey Hepburn was not in doubt for Stanley Donen from the very beginning. Prior to this film, he already had a successful experience with this great Actress on the films "Funny Face" and "Charade". True, already during the filming it became clear that Audrey was pregnant, and Donen had an idea whether to replace her with Julie Christie. But Audrey had a miscarriage, and the need for a replacement disappeared by itself. In June 1967, Stanley Donen's film "Two for the Road" was presented to the guests and participants of the international film festival in San Sebastian (Sp...