Movies

Last year, Disney celebrated its 100th anniversary, but as the New Year dawned their ownership of the original Mickey Mouse has now come to an end. Despite the copyright being extended through lobbying Congress twice over the decades, the beloved cartoon character’s first short, 1928’s Steamboat Willie, is finally in …

Fleming’s first Bond novel Casino Royale had a 1967 unofficial spoof movie starring David Niven before EON won back the rights in 1999, ahead of Daniel Craig’s debut in 2006. Similarly, Thunderball producer Kevin McClory unofficially remade the fourth Bond movie with Sean Connery reprising the role in Never Say …

The Big Country, which is on BBC 2 this afternoon, is considered one of the greatest Westerns ever made. The Oscar-winning film starring Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston and Burl Ives was the favourite movie of sitting US President Eisenhower, who screened the picture at the White …

Back in 1960, Yul Brynner starred in the iconic Western remake of Seven Samurai, The Magnificent Seven, which is on BBC Two this afternoon. The King and I star had a major say in casting decisions and pushed for Steve McQueen. However, he would later regret this as their relationship …

This week marks the 78th anniversary of the release of 1945’s They Were Expendable, a film set during the Battle of the Philippines which took place just a couple of years prior. The film’s cinematic debut was pushed back to late December 1945 since the Japanese had surrendered earlier that …

One Life details the incredible story of Sir Nicholas Winton who helped save 669 children from central Europe during World War Two and while the British humanitarian tragically died in 2015, much of his family appeared at the film’s London premiere. Among the countless faces on the red carpet were …

Back in the 1970s, Steven Spielberg told George Lucas that he wanted to make a James Bond movie. Instead, the two teamed up with their own action hero in Indiana Jones. But when it came to casting the father of Harrison Ford’s lead in the third movie Indiana Jones and …

As 2023 comes to a close, could 2024 be the year of the next James Bond announcement? Considering the three-year gap between the release of Pierce Brosnan’s Die Another Day (2002) and the casting of Daniel Craig (2005), will it be the same after No Time To Die (2021), which …

Peter O’Toole very nearly didn’t star in the title role of Lawrence of Arabia, which is on Channel 4 this afternoon. Originally Marlon Brando was wanted by director Sir David Lean and producer Sam Spiegel, with the latter having won Oscars alongside the star for 1954’s On the Waterfront. However, …

Screen legends Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson yesterday paid tribute to writer, director and actor David Leland following his death aged 82. Cambridge-born Leland, whose career spanned more than five decades, died on Christmas Eve “held tight by his loving family”. He gave Brosnan his “first opportunity to act on stage” …