Sherlock Holmes

Everyone knows his name. Everyone. He is the worlds most famous detective and he isn’t even real! Sherlock ranks as one of the top three most famous men that never existed, along with Tarzan and Superman. The Guinness World Records lists Sherlock Holmes as the most portrayed character in movie history, with 75 actors portraying the character in 211 films.

The first ever Sherlock Holmes film was a minute long called “Sherlock Holmes Baffled” made in 1900. This is the first every Sherlock Holmes film and also the first ever Detective film. Since then, many actors have portrayed the part. The most famous Sherlock Holmes film series was that of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Rathbone was famous for his villian charaters and decided he wanted to play the good guy for once. What he gave was the most famous portrayal of the master detective ever!

Since then, Sherlock Holmes has appeared everywhere. More recently, the 2009 film “Sherlock Holmes”, starring Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law  generated millions of dollars and got todays audiences interested in Sherlock Holmes again. A sequel is due to release in December, 2011. Whatever Hollywood has planned for Sherlock Holmes in the future, we can definatly say we know his methods.

“It’s Elementary, my dear Watson.”

 

picture from http://www.sherlock-holmes.com/

Superman

“Look! Up in the Sky! It’s a Bird! It’s A Plane! It’s SUPERMAN!” The Man of Steel is the epitome of good. He never lies, never drinks, never smokes, never cusses, and is basically indestructible. His amazing powers and abilities have captured the minds and hearts of fans ever since he was created in the 1930s. He has also been the subject of tv and movies. The first person to actually play Superman (not voice act) was Kirk Alyn in the 1948 film serial, Superman. This movie had a cartoon Superman do all the flying, which greatly disappointed fans that they did not see a man fly. This was fixed when the famous 1952 TV show, The Adventures of Superman, came out. This had actor George Reeves (no relation to later Superman actor Christopher Reeve.) playing the Man of Steel, and this time, he flew. The show ended in 1958 and a year later, George Reeves died mysteriously in his home.

20 years later, the decision was made to make another Superman film. This time, the latests technology would be used to make the special effects. Of course, the question arose: Who would play Superman? 200 actors were tested, but finally, the role went to an unknown: Christopher Reeve. The movie was a smash hit and spawned 3 sequeals. 20 years later, Superman returns came out starring Brandon Routh.

In 2012, a new Superman movie will come out, starring Henry Cavill and Amy Adams. Whether the movie is good or not, I can make the prediction that it will make MILLIONS of dollars at the box office.

Superman has had his ups and down, but bar none, he will always bounce back to fight for Truth, Justice, and the American Way.

Pic from my.spill.com

The 1925 Phantom of the Opera

“HAVE NO FEAR!” Lon Chaney uttered these words to Mary Philbin in the 1925 Universal Horror movie “The Phantom of the Opera.” The Opera Ghost has never been as popular as he is today. Yes, this is in part due to Andrew Lloyd Webber, but I believe he is given too much credit. Yes, the musical is great, and the movie adaption is my favorite movie of all time, but it was the 1925 version that started it all. The book, written by Gaston Leroux in 1909, is in itself a very well written piece of literature. However, the book did poorly at the time, and little to no people bought it. However, 15 years later, Universal bought the right to make a film version of it. At the time, Universal was looking for a film that will not only bring in the money, but would also be a good follow up for their Man of a Thousand Face: Lon Chaney. Chaney had just completed the Universal film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and now Universal wanted to give him another role where he could put his make up skills to work. Lon Chaney was cast, playing the beast to Mary Philbin’s (Christine) beauty. However, Phantom would put even Chaney’s make-up talents to the test. After long days of design and work, he finally came up with the right design (which is displayed below). Phantom of the Opera opened on November 25, 1925. It was greated well by audiences, although many people screamed or fainted when the Phantom’s horrible face was revealed. Today, the movie is still seen through the world. It is considered the first real horror film, and definatly the finest. Many remakes have been made, but none ever as popular as the orginal (unless you count ALW). So, without a doubt, the Opera Ghost will live on. ‘

Pic taken from: http://www.lagunajournal.com

My fav movies

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Listen to this playlist: Phantompaul’s Playlist

Movie Motivational Speeches

We’ve all heard them. They take place in mostly action movies, but have made their way into several sports movies, as well as many others. Whether it be Charlie Chaplin dressed as Hitler, to Mel Gibson screaming, “FREEEEDOM!”, movie speeches have taken their place in the history of movies. They inspires us, and it seems everytime we hear one of these speeches, we feel like we are ready to single handedly take on the world. I have always loved movie speeches. On this post are 2 vids. The first is a montage of great movie speeches and the second is, in my opinion, the best movie speech of all time. It comes from the movie The Great Dictator, from the seen were Charlie Chaplin (as the Tramp) is mistaken for the Dictator Adenoid Hynkel and must give a speech to all of Germany. The video is the speech Charlie Chaplin gives to the crowd.

AFI’s 100 Best Movies of all Time

1.	Citizen Kane	1941
2.	Casablanca	1942
3.	The Godfather	1972
4.	Gone with the Wind	1939
5.	Lawrence of Arabia	1962
6.	The Wizard of Oz	1939
7.	The Graduate	1967
8.	On the Waterfront	1954
9.	Schindler’s List	1993
10.	Singin’ in the Rain	1952
11.	It’s a Wonderful Life	1946
12.	Sunset Blvd.	1950
13.	The Bridge on the River Kwai	1957
14.	Some Like It Hot	1959
15.	Star Wars	1977
16.	All About Eve	1950
17.	The African Queen	1951
18.	Psycho	1960
19.	Chinatown	1974
20.	One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest	1975
21.	The Grapes of Wrath	1940
22.	2001: A Space Odyssey	1968
23.	The Maltese Falcon	1941
24.	Raging Bull	1980
25.	E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial	1982
26.	Dr. Strangelove	1964
27.	Bonnie and Clyde	1967
28.	Apocalypse Now	1979
29.	Mr. Smith Goes to Washington	1939
30.	The Treasure of the Sierra Madre	1948
31.	Annie Hall	1977
32.	The Godfather Part II	1974
33.	High Noon	1952
34.	To Kill a Mockingbird	1962
35.	It Happened One Night	1934
36.	Midnight Cowboy	1969
37.	The Best Years of Our Lives	1946
38.	Double Indemnity	1944
39.	Doctor Zhivago	1965
40.	North by Northwest	1959
41.	West Side Story	1961
42.	Rear Window	1954
43.	King Kong	1933
44.	The Birth of a Nation	1915
45.	A Streetcar Named Desire	1951
46.	A Clockwork Orange	1971
47.	Taxi Driver	1976
48.	Jaws	1975
49.	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs	1937
50.	Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid	1969
51.	The Philadelphia Story	1940
52.	From Here to Eternity	1953
53.	Amadeus	1984
54.	All Quiet on the Western Front	1930
55.	The Sound of Music	1965
56.	MASH	1970
57.	The Third Man	1949
58.	Fantasia	1940
59.	Rebel Without a Cause	1955
60.	Raiders of the Lost Ark	1981
61.	Vertigo	1958
62.	Tootsie	1982
63.	Stagecoach	1939
64.	Close Encounters of the Third Kind	1977
65.	The Silence of the Lambs	1991
66.	Network	1976
67.	The Manchurian Candidate	1962
68.	An American in Paris	1951
69.	Shane	1953
70.	The French Connection	1971
71.	Forrest Gump	1994
72.	Ben-Hur	1959
73.	Wuthering Heights	1939
74.	The Gold Rush	1925
75.	Dances with Wolves	1990
76.	City Lights	1931
77.	American Graffiti	1973
78.	Rocky	1976
79.	The Deer Hunter	1978
80.	The Wild Bunch	1969
81.	Modern Times	1936
82.	Giant	1956
83.	Platoon	1986
84.	Fargo	1996
85.	Duck Soup	1933
86.	Mutiny on the Bounty	1935
87.	Frankenstein	1931
88.	Easy Rider	1969
89.	Patton	1970
90.	The Jazz Singer	1927
91.	My Fair Lady	1964
92.	A Place in the Sun	1951
93.	The Apartment	1960
94.	Goodfellas	1990
95.	Pulp Fiction	1994
96.	The Searchers	1956
97.	Bringing Up Baby	1938
98.	Unforgiven	1992
99.	Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner	1967
100.	Yankee Doodle Dandy	1942

The AFI removed twenty-three films from the original top 100 films list when they cut 20% of the original nomination list (80 from 400):

1. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
2. The Birth of a Nation (1915)
3. From Here to Eternity (1953)
4. Amadeus (1984)
5. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
6. The Third Man (1949)
7. Fantasia (1940)
8. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
9. Stagecoach (1939)
10. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
11. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
12. An American in Paris (1951)
13. Wuthering Heights (1939)
14. Dances with Wolves (1990)
15. Giant (1956)
16. Fargo (1996)
17. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
18. Frankenstein (1931)
19. Patton (1970)
20. The Jazz Singer (1927)
21. My Fair Lady (1964)
22. A Place in the Sun (1951)
23. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967)

Four films released between 1996–2006 were added:

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
2. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
3. Titanic (1997)
4. The Sixth Sense (1999)

Nineteen films made between 1916–1995 were also added:

1. The General (1927)
2. Intolerance (1916)
3. Nashville (1975)
4. Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
5. Cabaret (1972)
6. Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
7. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
8. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
9. All the President’s Men (1976)
10. Spartacus (1960)
11. Sunrise (1927)
12. A Night at the Opera (1935)
13. 12 Angry Men (1957)
14. Swing Time (1936)
15. Sophie’s Choice (1982)
16. The Last Picture Show (1971)
17. Do the Right Thing (1989)
18. Blade Runner (1982)
19. Toy Story (1995)

Greetings, All you Movie Fans

The Name’s Pyle. Matthew Pyle. Now I love movies. I mean I really, REALLY do! So, when trying to decide a blog topic, I figured “Why not a blog about everything movies?” Now, I know this is not an original idea, but who cares? What I plan to do is praise and/or critize movies, bring you up to date on future projects, and maybe throw some movie trivia your way. So, in the words of Bette Davis in All About Eve, “Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night!”

By the way, I made a wordle of movie terms. Check it out at http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/3509917/movie_terms