Hello there, and welcome to this month’s Friday Film Club. Even more so, welcome back to College! I hope you all had a lovely summer and to those of you who are new to College, welcome and I hope you find this blog informative and fun. September’s theme as outlined in the title, is films that are adaptations of TV series, in other words productions that have made it from the small screen (TV) to the silver screen (Cinema). Not every TV series makes it to the big screen but these are four of the lesser known ones, with the 1960s as a major inspiration.
We start in the early noughties with the fantasy rom-com, Bewitched (2005). A re-imagining if you will of an American TV series that ran for eight seasons between 1964-1972, about a witch that marries an ordinary mortal man and tries to lead a typical life as a suburban housewife. Directed by Nora Ephron (When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle), it stars Nicole Kidman (Days of Thunder, Aquaman) & Will Ferrell (Elf, The Other Guys) in the lead roles, plus: Shirley MacLaine (The Apartment, Steel Magnolias), Sir Michael Caine (The Italian Job 1969, Inception), Jason Schwartzman (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse), Kristin Chenoweth (The Pink Panther 2006, Deck The Halls) and Heather Burns (Miss Congeniality).
Ferrell portrays Jack Wyatt, an egotistic actor approached to play the male lead (Darrin) in a remake of the TV series Bewitched, and to further his own stardom he insists that an unknown actress be cast in the female lead role (Samantha). Meanwhile, Isabel Bigelow (Kidman) is a real witch who suddenly decides she wants to live a normal life in Los Angeles, she moves into a house and quickly makes friends with her neighbour Maria (Chenoweth). Visiting a bookstore to learn how to get an occupation, she is noticed by Jack who happens to be there at the same time, and he convinces her to audition for the show.
As Isabel settles into mortal life (albeit still having her powers), her father Nigel (Caine) continually nags at her to return home. However, having impressed the show’s producers, she gets the part and accepts alongside legendary actress Iris Smythson (MacLaine) as another character from the original show. But, after finding she was tricked by Jack, she storms off and contemplates quitting the show and normal life altogether. Though after talking to Maria and new neighbour Nina (Burns) about her work, she instead decides to cast a Love spell on Jack, which despite its original positive effects begins to cause unimaginably havoc, with potentially disastrous consequences for Isabel! Critical and audience reception for this romcom was mixed but the love for Kidman’s authentic take on the original Isabel was almost unanimous. Critics Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton both gave it three and a half stars out of five. You can experience this whirlwind of a movie only on DVD, available to loan in the Library now.
If you need a preview, you can view a clip of Isabel’s hilarious audition by clicking the link below:
For our second entry we flip back a year with the release of Thunderbirds (2004), a live-action adaptation of the beloved 1960s animated series created by Gerry & Sylvia Anderson. One of the first series to use puppet animation, this British children’s TV institution was set around 100 years in the future and focused on the wealthy Tracy family (Jeff Tracy and his six sons), who would use incredible machines designed by Jeff to save lives as International Rescue. It ran for two series plus two cinematic movies. The live-action movie itself was directed by Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: First Contact) and features the late Bill Paxton (Apollo 13, Twister) as Jeff Tracy, with the likes of: Brady Corbet (Melancholia, While We’re Young), Sir Ben Kingsley (Ghandi, Iron Man 3), Sophia Myles (Mansfield Park, Transformers: Age of Extinction), Anthony Edwards (Top Gun, Zodiac) and Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical, Bad Boys For Life) in other key roles.
The premise is primarily told from the perspective of the youngest Tracy 14-year-old Alan (Corbet), his mother having died in a skiing accident while he was only a toddler. He attends school while his brothers (Scott, John, Virgil and Gordon, in age order) and father conduct dangerous missions to save lives on a daily basis, desperately longing to be a ‘Thunderbird’. In actual fact, a ‘Thunderbird’ is an advanced machine built by Jeff and chief scientist Ray ‘Brains’ Hackenbacker (Edwards), that International Rescue (I.R., the Tracy’s organisation) uses to help them in their missions, there are five Thunderbirds to be exact. International Rescue is based on the secretive Tracy Island in the South Pacific Ocean.
One day Alan & his best friend Fermat (son of Brains, played by Soren Fulton) are attending their prestigious boarding school in Massachusetts, U.S., when they witness International Rescue attending an oil rig fire in Russia on the TV with all the other students. Unbeknownst to both them and the other Tracy’s, after the rescue is finished a minion of The Hood (Kingsley) places a tracking the device on the nose of Thunderbird 1; The Hood being International Rescues arch-nemesis in the TV series, and who has an interesting history with Jeff in the film. Alan and Fermat subsequently return to the island for spring break, accompanied by London based I.R. agent Lady Penelope (Myles) and her driver Parker. But when Alan’s intense jealousy of being left out of the family business drives him to do something stupid with Thunderbird 1, he is grounded for the rest of the holiday. The next morning The Hood’s submarine, having located the island, fires a missile at Thunderbird 5 (situated in orbit above Earth, manned by John), in an attempt to lure I.R. away from the island. It works as Jeff, Scott, Virgil and Gordon fly off in Thunderbird 3 (a rocket) to save John but once there find themselves in a perilous situation. Locked-in, cut off from the island, with life-support draining! It’s upto Alan, Fermat and their friend Tin-Tin (Hudgens) to save the day and defeat the evil Hood and his goons.
Even though it was given not so positive reviews when released, Thunderbirds has since developed a cult following of fans over the years. Ian Freer (Empire) lent particular praise to both Sophia Myles performance and the upgraded vehicle designs. Co-creator’s The Andersons had surprisingly very split opinions on it: Gerry hated it (though he may have be influenced by the decision to leave him out as a creative consultant), while Sylvia loved it and believed it to be a faithful adaptation of their work, stating “I felt that I’d been on a wonderful Thunderbirds adventure” after her private screening of the film. Overall, it may not be a fully faithful adaptation of the beloved series, it does work as an enjoyable summer flick, perfect for the kids. The Tracy boys except Alan are sidelined but Lady Penelope shines in her role as do the new characters. The realistic designs of the Thunderbirds are great and the cast does well with the script they are given. It has heart and style in abundance, not to mention a great musical score finished off with a catchy Brit award-winning song by Pop superstars Busted. It also had a lasting impact, reigniting interest in the original series, leading to a reboot series in 2015. Watch it on DVD now, available to loan in the Library.
Click the link below for to see the Thunderbirds in action:
Now we have our last entry based on a 1960’s TV series, Andrew Davis’ (Under Siege, The Guardian 2006) The Fugitive (1993). An action thriller based on the series of the same name created by Roy Higgins, airing between 1963-1967 for four seasons, it focused on escaped convict Dr. Richard Kimble as he strived to prove his innocence of the murder of his wife. In the silver screen movie version, Harrison Ford (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Blade Runner) plays Dr. Kimble, joined by: Tommy Lee Jones (Men In Black, JFK), Sela Ward (The Day After Tomorrow, Gone Girl), Joe Pantoliano (Bad Boys, The Matrix) and Andreas Katsulas (Hot Shots! Part Deux, Executive Decision) in supporting roles.
The story beings with Chicago vascular surgeon Dr. Richard Kimble returning home to discover his wife Helen (Ward) has been fatally wounded by a one-arm man (Katsulas), Kimble tries to fight and capture said man but fails. Thanks to a slew of circumstantial evidence, Richard is arrested for murder, charged, convicted and given a deaths sentence in quick succession. While being transported to death row, the other prisoners attempt a daring escape, sending the bus into a ravine and path of an oncoming train. This results in two prisoners and the driver being killed, but Richard manages to save a corrections officer from certain death, escaping shortly afterwards. After the incident, a manhunt begins for Richard led by Deputy U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard (Jones) & his partner Cosmo Renfro (Pantoliano), seasoned lawmen who vehemently believe Kimble is guilty and will stop at nothing to find him. After a tense encounter with Gerard in a storm drain, Richard returns to Chicago to find the one-armed man and prove his innocence, with the Marshals hot on his tail.
A fast-paced, highly enjoyable thriller. It features Ford and Jones at their best, keeping you on the edge of your seat and rooting for Ford’s character throughout. It obtained abundant critical acclaim, with many seeing it as superior to its TV inspiration. Desson Howe (The Washington Post) called the film, “A juggernaut of exaggeration, momentum and thrills,” where as Rita Kempley (same institution as Howe) said, “Harrison Ford, bearded and numb with grief, breathes new life into the role,” and Chris Hicks (Deseret News) called it, “so stylish… and so heart-stopping in its suspense.” It was nominated for no less then seven Oscars, though winning just the one (Best Supporting Actor for Jones), and received a sequel/spin off aptly called U.S. Marshals in 1998, with Jones & Pantoliano reprising their roles. Unlike the other entries in this blog, this one is available only on e-stream so you can watch it anytime.
View the aforementioned storm drain chase by clicking the link below:
Finally, we have the author’s choice, action-comedy The A-Team (2010). Based on the cult favourite 1980s TV series that ran for five seasons between 1983-1987, created by Frank Lupo & Stephen J. Cannell. The series focused on the adventures of a four-man group, each former U.S. Army special forces, who as a team help out ordinary people with problems no one else can or will; all while being on the run from the military police for a crime they did not commit. The big screen adaptation tells the origin story of hot the team met and the crime they were charged with, directed by Joe Carnahan (Smokin’ Aces, The Grey). It boasts an ensemble cast, including: Liam Neeson (Taken, Schindler’s List), Bradley Cooper (The Hangover, American Sniper), Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Sharlto Copley (Maleficent, Free Fire) as the eponymous “A-Team”, with Jessica Biel (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, New Year’s Eve) and Patrick Wilson (Aquaman, The Conjuring) in key supporting roles.
The action opens with a captive Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith (Neeson) being held in Mexico by two corrupt police officers working for a renegade General. After escaping, he sets out to rescue his close friend Lieutenant Templeton “Face” Peck, also being held captive by the General’s men but at a separate location with help from Sergeant B.A. Baracus (Jackson) and his GMC Vandura truck. Pursued by the General, they stop at a nearby Army hospital, recruiting ex-pilot Captain H.M. “Howling MAD” Murdock (Copley) to fly them out of Mexico using a medical helicopter. Having managed to escape and due to all four being either current of former U.S. Army Rangers, they decide to form a team and begin working for the U.S. Army on clandestine operations.
Eight years and many successful missions later, we find the team in Iraq. While there, Hannibal is approached by C.I.A. agent Lynch (Wilson) about a job to recover stolen U.S. Treasury plates & over $1 billion in cash moving out of Baghdad soon. Hannibal’s commanding officer, General Morrison authorizes the mission despite the reservations of Face’s ex-girlfriend DCIS (Defence Criminal Investigative Service) Captain Charissa Sosa (Biel). The mission is ultimately successful at first, however upon their return Morrison’s convoy is blown up along with the money and the plates stolen, in attempt to frame team. In the aftermath, Morrison being the only proof the mission was authorised, the team is court-martialled, sentenced to ten years in separate prisons and dishonourably discharged from the army. Sousa is in addition demoted to lieutenant as the plates were her responsibility. Undeterred as ever by these events, Hannibal hatches a plan (exacerbated by a visit from Lynch six months later) and simultaneously frees the rest of this team, one by one. They set out to find the real culprit behind the bombings and prove the innocence, uncovering some surprises along the way.
High octane-action and perfectly-timed comedy combine to make this summer blockbuster not one to miss. While more of prequel to the series, the characterisations remain largely faithful to the series, as does the tone of the film. It garnered mixed reviews from critics, who praised the cast and action but criticized aspects of the script, but was a hit with audiences. Peter Travers (Rolling Stone) criticized the visuals but added that he’d “pity the fool who lets that stand in the way of enjoying The A-Team.” The St. Petersburg Times called it “literally a blast” from start to finish. A sequel was planned but the original failed to generate enough revenue for it to go ahead, a crying shame.
For a sneak peek you can watch an entertaining helicopter chase shortly after the team gets together by clicking the link below:
A TV series transitioning to the silver screen is quite the achievement, and this month’s entries are mostly prime examples of it being done very well. Whether you like the shows or not, or have never heard them, you don’t need to with these big screen adaptations. They introduce you to the story very well and keep faith with the source material. Each one is worth a watch so come on down to the Library and grab one now.
Not sure how to access e-stream? Then simply click on the link below…
Bradford College Planet Estream.
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