Wednesday, 16 April 2025

Rare Singapore For a Few Dollars More LP


Rare Singapore For a Few Dollars More LP
Here’s a nice little welcome addition I managed to add to my collection of vinyl just recently. It is certainly an LP I have not come across before – especially in this cover design - so thought it may be of interest to vinyl collectors. The LP is an unofficial release which came out of Singapore in Southeast Asia. For A Few Dollars More (L.S. 368) carries no artist name, but is in fact, Hugo Montenegro and His Orchestra.  
Whilst there is no year specified, the same label, ‘Hawk’ did release this album in a slightly different sleeve design - with the content remaining exactly the same. This probably dates to 1967, as there was also a 4 track EP released by Hawk (B.B. 8) which also has the same artwork as the original album press. The EP is dated from 1967.
The design on this new LP is a lot more vibrant and uses a full colour still from the movie. It could also of course be a slightly later re-issue from the early 70’s, but due to the unofficial nature of the label I doubt very much if the exact year of release can ever be determined. 
Anyway, I thought it looked like a very nice example and I didn’t think it would look out of place among the collection. These unofficial releases often have a charm of their own.  
Below: The 1967 EP (B.B. 8) and LP which featured the same artwork

Arrow release new A Fistful of Dollars Trailer

Arrow release new A Fistful of Dollars Trailer

A big thank you to our good friend Kevin Wilkinson who spotted this brand-new trailer for Arrow’s up and coming Blu-ray and 4K release of A Fistful of Dollars. This is the first of Arrow’s Leone / Eastwood Trilogy and now has a release date of May 12th. 

I have to say the scenes contained in the trailer look incredibly vibrant and vivid and flawless in terms of quality. The trailer boasts that it is fully uncut and restored – although I believe it has been presented uncut now for a great many decades on home video. The trailer also boasts it is ‘equipped with an arsenal of new and old bonus material’, but nothing is listed or shown. 

Originally scheduled for an April release, Arrow held back the special edition until the following month – so let’s hope something spectacular popped up for inclusion during the production of the set.  

              

Monday, 7 April 2025

AIM FOR THE HEART RAMON!


AIM FOR THE HEART RAMON!
While we wait patiently for our delayed release of Arrow’s blu-ray release of A Fistful of Dollars - our good friend Travis Trewin sent in this great photo, taken on Sunday, October 18, 2014, as part of the exhibition "THE CINEMA OF SERGIO LEONE" at the castle of CASALE MONFERRATO in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy. 

The Photo features Carlo Leva (left), the historic stage designer of Sergio Leone, who holds the legendary shield that Clint Eastwood hid under the famous poncho in  "A Fistful of Dollars". Made in 1964 by Leva, it is part of his private collection today. I wonder what price you could put on such a piece today?

Sadly, the set dresser, costume designer, art director and production designer Carlo Leva died in his hometown of Bergamasco, Piedmont, Italy on March 4th, 2020. He was 90. 
Born in Bergamasco on February 27th, 1930, along with architect and set designer Carlo Simi, Leva was a guiding force in the look of the Spaghetti westerns for Sergio Leone and for others of the genre. Leva worked on all of Leone’s westerns as well as “The Big Gundown” (1966), “The Price of Power” (1969) and Terence Hill’s ‘Lucky Luke’ (1991-1992) TV series and film of the same name. He was honored at the showing of “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” shown at the grand opening of the reconstructed Sad Hill Cemetery in 2016.
Our kind thanks Travis.

Saturday, 5 April 2025

Arrow’s A Fistful of Dollars pushed back


Arrow’s Fistful of Dollars pushed back
I received the following mail from the Arrow team:
Hello Darren,

We want to make sure that A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (FCD2556 / FCD2557) - Sergio Leone's groundbreaking Spaghetti Western - is released in its most definitive edition on the market. Sadly its original release date will be moved due to production delays.

Therefore, we have had to push the release date back to May 12th.

We understand this will come as a disappointment for all fans of The Man With No Name and our team are working tirelessly to bring you its ultimate presentation.

Saturday, 29 March 2025

New Vinyl Album Collection released in April


Play Misty For Me - Music From The Films Of Clint Eastwood
New Vinyl Album Collection released in April
It’s been quite a while since I brought news of a new album collection featuring music from Clint’s films. I should state straight away, don’t get too excited - as a great deal of this material, although they feature in Clint’s later movies, are pretty much generic, artist tracks that are available elsewhere. There’s no major revelations here in terms of score material.. 
On the plus side, what you do get is a collection of Eastwood movie related songs that have been compiled together and released here for the first time. Naturally, Clint’s image dominates the front cover and no doubt this compilation has been put together on the strength of Clint’s appeal. A lot of this material is, as you would expect, jazz orientated, so it may not appeal to all. However, it’s rather nice to have something available to fans from movies such as The Rookie, J. Edgar and Thelonious Monk: Straight No Chaser. But I wonder if this is enough? Some credits remain a bit of a stretch, for example Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues (from Escape from Alcatraz)? Really? 
Anyway, the notes state:
A superb collection of songs from Clint Eastwood's iconic movies! Limited edition 180g blue coloured vinyl - with unique cover artwork.

The great Clint Eastwood first started his career as an actor, but later gained further prestige as a director with films such as Unforgiven (1992), for which he won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture, Bridges of Madison County (1995), and Mystic River (2003), among many others.

Also, as a piano player and composer himself, Eastwood's love for jazz and blues is apparent when listening to the music he chose for the soundtracks of several of his movies. In fact, he used Erroll Garner's celebrated song "Misty" in the first film he directed, titled Play Misty for Me (1971). Presented here is a collection of classic jazz, blues, swing and country performances featured in the soundtrack of some of his films.

Clint Eastwood interview Jazz Times in 2007: "When I was a kid growing up in Oakland, I started listening to a program called The Dixieland Jubilee. For fifteen minutes every day, they'd play the Frisco Jazz Band, Lu Watters' Yerba Buena Jazz Band, stuff like that. Then there was a jazz store out near El Cerrito, and I went out there and started listening to things and purchased a few records. Bop was starting to come in pretty good. So I went over and saw Dizzy Gillespie with a big band in San Francisco. There was a lot of blues being played around Oakland at that time - Ivory Joe Hunter, Joe Houston, Wynonie Harris - and I got wrapped up listening to that.
On the packaging side, there is some good artwork to the front which is nicely reminiscent of those vintage old MFP album releases of the 70’s. As a further incentive, the platter comes in a BLUE vinyl and is pressed on 180 gram, audiophile weight. 
Side 1
1. Errol Garner - Misty (from Play Misty for Me)
2. Dinah Washington - I’ll Close My Eyes (from The Bridges of Madison County)
3. Stan Getz - All the Thing You Are (from The Rookie)
4. Billie Holiday - I’ll Be Seeing You (from J. Edgar)
5. Thelonious Monk - Round Midnight (from Thelonious Monk: Straight No Chaser)
6. Marty Robbins - Don’t Worry (from A Perfect World)
7. Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues (from Escape from Alcatraz)
Side 2
1. Ahmad Jamal - Poinciana (from The Bridges of Madison County)
2. Charlie Parker - Laura (from Bird)
3. Dinah Washington - Blue Gardenia (from The Bridges of Madison County)
4. Perry Como - Catch a Falling Star (from A Perfect World)
5. Johnny Hartman - I See Your Face Before Me (from The Bridges of Madison County)
6. Tony Bennett - I Wanna Be Around (from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil)
7. Dean Martin - Ain’t That a Kick in the Head (from White Hunter Black Heart)
8. Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons - Sherry (from Jersey Boys)

I’ll let you make up your own mind… 
My kind thanks to Davy Triumph.

Friday, 28 February 2025

Gene Hackman and Wife Betsy Arakawa Found Dead


'There was no finer actor than Gene. Intense and instinctive. Never a false note. He was also a dear friend whom I will miss very much.' 
- Clint Eastwood

Gene Hackman and Wife Betsy Arakawa Found Dead  
We were all shocked this week to learn of the death of actor Gene Hackman. The story is incredibly tragic - although a great deal of questions remain unanswered at this time. Hackman was one of those great 70’s screen stars, an actor that always ended up among our ‘most treasured’ when compiling a list of iconic stars. I never had any problem placing Hackman right up there with Clint, Newman, Redford, Bronson, McQueen, Caan, Pacino et al - he starred in some of the most iconic films of the Seventies and was a two time Oscar winner.
(Bonnie and Clyde 1967)
I thought I’d use Variety’s post here (by Carmel Dagan and Jackson Kim Murphy) who have written a nicely summarised overview of his impressive career:
Gene Hackman, a two-time Oscar winner for “The French Connection” and “Unforgiven,” and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, were found dead Wednesday afternoon in their Santa Fe, N.M. home. The office of Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed their deaths to Variety after midnight Thursday. There is no immediate indication of foul play, per authorities, though the Sheriff’s office did not immediately provide a cause of death. Hackman was 95. Arakawa was 65.
On Wednesday, Sheriff’s deputies visited the home of Hackman and Arakawa, who married in 1991. The couple was found dead, alongside their dog.

“All I can say is that we’re in the middle of a preliminary death investigation, waiting on approval of a search warrant,” the sheriff told the Santa Fe New Mexican. The statement came before authorities had positively identified the pair, per the publication. “I want to assure the community and neighbourhood that there’s no immediate danger to anyone.”

Considered one of the great screen performers of the latter part of the 20th century, the tall, likable Hackman had an amiable grace, easy humour and a surprisingly wide range that made him equally believable in roles as lower-class losers and high-powered executives. Indeed, he played the president of the United States, albeit a homicidal one, in 1997’s “Absolute Power” and a former president in his final feature, “Welcome to Mooseport.”
(Marooned 1969)
Like the great character movie stars of an earlier era, James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart, Hackman transcended any limitations by the sheer force of his presence, becoming as identifiable and admired as some of his higher-paid contemporaries such as Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman.
(Riot 1969)
After years in stage and television, Hackman broke out with his role as Clyde Barrow’s explosive older brother in the 1967 film “Bonnie and Clyde,” which brought him his first Oscar nomination in supporting actor. Pauline Kael dubbed his performance the best in the film. He soon after did an about-face as Melvyn Douglas’ timid son in “I Never Sang for My Father” and drew a second Oscar nom.
(The French Connection 1971)
But his role as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle, the rogue cop in the Oscar best picture winner “The French Connection,” defined him and cast his trajectory as one of the American cinema’s great actors. His performance in the 1971 thriller nabbed him an Academy Award for best actor. The following years saw Hackman end up in enough poorly regarded films to doom most actors (from “March or Die” to “Banning” and “Bat 21”); he also reportedly turned down assignments in “Ordinary People,” “Apocalypse Now” (the Robert Duvall role), “Network” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”
(The Conversation 1974)
Hackman always had a surprise hit up his sleeve, as in films like “The French Connection II,” “The Firm” and even “The Poseidon Adventure.”

Hackman delivered an impressive array of performances that have only grown in stature over time. His Harry Caul in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Conversation” is every bit as strong and well delineated now, as when the film debuted in 1974. The same is true of his stoic promoter in the Michael Ritchie ski film “Downhill Racer.”
Hackman was memorable as a journalist caught in the intrigue of Central American revolution in Roger Spottiswoode’s “Under Fire”; he shone in Arthur Penn’s suspenseful “Night Moves”; and he was cracklingly funny as the canny Lex Luthor in the “Superman” films. The actor brought strength to the role of a basketball coach in “Hoosiers” and wry humor to the FBI agent in “Mississippi Burning” (which brought him his fourth Oscar nomination and his second for a lead role).
Into his early 70s, even after he was burdened with heart trouble, he scored with impressive characterizations in roles both big and small. His onscreen confidence seemed to grow, not diminish with age — the true sign of a great performer. He often stole scenes from bigger stars of the day, as he demonstrated opposite Meryl Streep in “Postcards From the Edge” and Tom Cruise in “The Firm.” And when he was pitted against formidable opponents, such as Denzel Washington in “Crimson Tide” and Nick Nolte in “Under Fire,” there were fireworks. When he got even half a chance, he was never less than memorable.
In 1993, he won a second Oscar for his supporting performance as a vicious sheriff in Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven,” another best picture Oscar winner. The year before, Hackman starred on Broadway, after an absence of decades, in Ariel Dorfman’s “Death and the Maiden.”
He was very busy on the big screen in 1995: In the submarine thriller “Crimson Tide,” he turned in a first-rate toplining performance; he was just as good as the scathingly comic scalawag producer in “Get Shorty”; and he was an enjoyable villain in the Sharon Stone Western “The Quick and the Dead.” He scored a comic bulls-eye in “The Birdcage” the following year, as an uptight right-wing U.S. senator.
(Talking meat with Lee Marvin, Prime Cut 1972)
In 1998, Hackman returned to the surveillance thriller for Tony Scott’s “Enemy of the State,” a spiritual albeit more explosive sequel to Coppola’s “The Conversation” in which the veteran teamed with then-rising star Will Smith. He later played the shifty dad to Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow and Luke Wilson in Wes Anderson’s “The Royal Tenenbaums,” giving the auteur a memorable, old guard lead turn for his third feature.
(with Sean Connery, A Bridge too far 1977) 
After starring in the 2003 feature “Runaway Jury” (his third John Grisham adaptation), Hackman retired with his final credit being “Welcome to Mooseport” in 2004.

Eugene Alden Hackman was born in San Bernardino, Calif., though he grew up in Danville, Ill. At age 16, he lied about his age and joined the Marine Corps. He was stationed in Shanghai, Hawaii and Japan. In the military Hackman served as a DJ and newscaster for his unit’s radio station, despite a phobia about microphones.
(Superman 1978)
After the military, he studied journalism briefly at the University of Illinois and then moved to New York to study radio techniques under the G.I. Bill. After working at several radio stations, he went to California, where he studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse. His first production was “The Curious Miss Caraway,” starring Zasu Pitts. But neither he, nor classmate Dustin Hoffman, was given much chance of success.
(Mississippi Burning 1988)
He returned to New York in 1956 and took a variety of odd jobs while working in summer theater and studying with George Morrison. That year, he married his first wife, Faye Maltese. The two would have three children before divorcing in 1986.

On Broadway he starred in Irwin Shaw’s “Children From Their Games” in 1963; the play closed after four performances but won him the Clarence Derwent Award as most promising new actor.
(No Way Out 1987)
After almost a decade pounding the boards, Hackman scored in Muriel Resnik’s “Any Wednesday” alongside Sandy Dennis and Jason Robards Jr. He stayed with the hit comedy for six months before getting above-the-title billing in Jean Kerr’s “Poor Richard,” which was not a hit but brought him good notices nonetheless.
(Unforgiven 1992)
Director Robert Rossen had seen his stage work and rewarded Hackman with his film debut in a small role in 1964’s “Lilith,” which led to parts in “Hawaii,” “A Covenant With Death,” “Banning” and “First to Flight.” Throughout the ’60s Hackman honed his craft on television, appearing on “The U.S. Steel Hour,” “The Defenders,” “Naked City,” “The F.B.I.” and “The Invaders.” He excelled in CBS Playhouse’s 1968 production of “My Father and My Mother.” By then he already had an Oscar nomination under his belt for “Bonnie and Clyde.”
(Absolute Power 1997)
(Crimson Tide 1995)
In 1990, around the time he and Arakawa made Santa Fe their home, Hackman underwent angioplasty due to congestive heart failure. He continued to work as a screen actor for 14 years.

Hackman also wrote three novels with undersea archaeologist Daniel Lenihan: “Wake of the Perdido Star” (1999), “Justice for None” (2004) and “Escape From Andersonville” (2008). His 2011 work, “Payback at Morning Peak,” was a solo effort.

Hackman is survived by his children, Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie.

RIP Sir and thank you

Farewell to the wonderful Roberta Flack, legendary singer dies at 88


Farewell to the wonderful Roberta Flack, legendary singer dies at 88
The BBC said:
The R&B singer Roberta Flack, best known for the hits The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Killing Me Softly With His Song, has died at the age of 88.
"We are heartbroken that the glorious Roberta Flack passed away this morning, February 24, 2025," said a statement from her representatives.
"She died peacefully surrounded by her family. Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator."
Flack had previously announced in 2022 that she had motor neurone disease, and could no longer sing.
Born in North Carolina and raised in Arlington, Virginia, the musician started out as a classical pianist, first teaching music.

Her recording career started after she was discovered singing in a jazz club by musician Les McCann, who later wrote that "her voice touched, tapped, trapped, and kicked every emotion I've ever known".

But she didn't score her first hit until she was in her 30s - when her recording of Ewan MacColl's The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face was used to soundtrack an explicit love scene in Clint Eastwood's 1971 film Play Misty For Me.
It was subsequently named song of the year at the Grammys. Flack won the award a second time the following year, for Killing Me Softly With His Song.

After topping the charts again in 1974 with Feel Like Makin' Love, Flack took a break from performing to concentrate on recording and charitable causes.
Over the course of her career, she worked with artists including Donny Hathaway and Miles Davis, and recorded an album of Beatles covers in 2012.

In 2020, a year after having a stroke, Flack was awarded a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys.
"It's a tremendous and overwhelming honour," she said at the time.
"I've tried my entire career to tell stories through my music. This award is a validation to me that my peers heard my thoughts and took in what I have tried to give."
RIP Angel