John Meroney reports on how the footage was discovered:
No one has seen this episode in the decades since; the kinescope has been locked away, until now.
My friend Wayne Federman, a writer for NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, unearthed the broadcast, condensing it from its original 23 minutes (without commercials) into the six-minute version you see below.
(Federman is planning a retrospective of Reagan’s television career for next year’s Reagan centennial.)
The inventor of the web Tim Berners-Lee was interviewed for the series and in a neat touch the BBC has made available the raw interviews (or ‘rushes’ in film and TV speak) on their website.
Here is some of the interview which covers how people think when using the web; the ‘spirit of the web’; the impact of the web on nation states and web censorship.
* UPDATE: For a list of films on TV over Christmas 2010click here *
There are a lot of films on TV over Christmas, so if you are in the UK and plan to eat, drink and watch a few over the festive period, here are my picks.
This Christmas BBC Four are showing a season of programmes and films dedicated to Orson Welles.
The UK channel will be showing five of his films, a BBC series from the 1950s, the famous 1982 Arena documentary and a new programme about his later career in Europe presented by his biographer Simon Callow.
Given that BBC Four is probably my favourite TV channel and Welles is one of my favourite filmmakers, this is a time to get the DVR ready.
The schedule breaks down like this:
The Orson Welles Sketchbook: This was a series of programmes by Welles originally broadcast on the BBC in 1955. Produced by Huw Wheldon, they involve Welles telling anecdotes about his life and career such as the infamous radio version of The War of the Worlds and his ground breaking theatre productions. [BBC Four / Friday 18th December at 19.30-19.45pm, Wednesday 23rd December 00:10-00:25, Thursday 24th December at 19.00-19:15, Saturday 26th December at 19.00 & Monday 28th Dec at 01.30am]
Citizen Kane (Dir. Orson Welles, 1941): Although burdened by the tag of ‘The Greatest Film Ever Made’, Welles’ debut is still an astonishingly vibrant piece of cinema that examines the life of a newspaper magnate in a series of flashbacks.
Loosely based on the life of William Randolph Hearst, it set new standards by synthesising a raft of techniques with its use of deep focus, low angles and dazzling screenplay. Repeated viewings only confirm its ridiculous brilliance. [BBC Four / Friday 25th December at 7pm]
Arena: The Orson Welles Story: This classic two-part profile of Welles which was originally shown on the BBC in 1982. Examining his life and career in some depth, the contributors include John Huston, Robert Wise, Peter Bogdanovich, Charlton Heston, Jeanne Moreau and lengthy contributions from Welles himself. [BBC Four / Part 1 screens on Friday 25th December at 21.00 and Part 2 is on Sunday 27th at 23.00]
Journey Into Fear (Dir. Norman Foster, 1943): Adapted from the Eric Ambler novel, this tale of espionage in Istanbul during World War II this doesn’t have the same status as Kane or Ambersons.
However, Welles co-wrote the script with co-star Joseph Cotten and oversaw the production with fellow Mercury Theatre colleague Norman Foster, who was credited as director. [BBC Four / Friday 25th December, 22:50-00:00]
The Third Man (Dir. Carol Reed, 1949): One of the indisutable classics of cinema is this adaptation of Graham Greene’s story set in post-WW2 Vienna where American writer Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) is invited by his old friend Harry Lime (Welles) only to discover he has died. Or has he?
Co-starring Allida Valli, Trevor Howard and Bernard Lee, it features a marvellous score by Anton Karras. [Saturday 26th December at 19.15-21:00]
The Magnificent Ambersons (Dir. Orson Welles, 1943): The follow up to Kane was a period drama based on the novel by Booth Tarkington, which told the story of the Ambersons, an upper-class Indianapolis family.
Brilliant in many respects, it became infamous for the studio re-editing the film whilst Welles was absent, which makes a possible re-release tantalising if the original footage can be found. [BBC Four / Sunday 27th December, 20.00-21:30]
Orson Welles Over Europe: Actor and Welles biographer Simon Callow explores Welles’ self-imposed exile in Europe in this new documentary. After alienating Hollywood, he became involved in all manner of film, theatre and television projects. [BBC Four / Sunday, Dec. 27, 21.30-22:30 (repeated at 1.45am)
The Stranger(Dir. Orson Welles, 1946): A thriller about a federal agent who has to track down an escaped Nazi war criminal, this stars Welles alongside Edward G. Robinson and Loretta Young.
Although a chunk of it is missing (perhaps destroyed) and Welles wasn’t happy with the end result, it is still an intriguing film. [BBC Four / Sunday 27th December at 23.55-1:30am]
Fox got a big gala premiere last night, Goats screens tonight, Up in the Air shows on Sunday and even The Times wrote a gushing editorial declaring him ‘Fantastic Mr Clooney’. Which, to be fair, I’d mostly agree with – of all the major A-listers he is perhaps the most consistent in doing interestingwork within the Hollywood system.
But before he became a big star in the 90s with ER, he paid his dues in TV such as Street Hawk. For those who never saw this 80s show, the premise was basically Knight Rider with a motorbike (i.e. former government agent becomes a crusader against crime with the aid of a hi-tech vehicle).
Clooney was in an episode called A Second Self and here is some of his appearance in two videos.
I just came across this clip on YouTube which is accurately titled: “Ukrainian cameraman caught perving during Ukraine vs. England, FIFA WCQ telecast”.
David Letterman dropped a bombshell on his audience last night by explaining that he has been the victim of an extortion plot and that he has been having affairs with staffers on his show.
The talk show host said he had been approached by a person who was going to write a screenplay which would reveal Letterman’s sexual affairs.
He went to the Manhattan district attorney’s office and in the course of the investigation, presumably a sting operation, was asked to write what he called a fake check for $2 million and a suspect was arrested on Thursday.
Letterman said that he had testified before a grand jury and had admitted to the relationships:
“My response to that is, yes I have. Would it be embarrassing if it were made public? Perhaps it would. I feel like I need to protect these people. I need to certainly protect my family.”
The name of the suspected extortionist has not yet been revealed but CBS have said the suspect was an employee of the CBS news program “48 Hours” and was arrested on charges of attempted grand larceny. He has since been suspended.
What’s interesting is how Letterman broke the news. By coming clean on his own show, rather than having the New York Post or National Enquirer break the story, he gets to essentially control the media message in a self-deprecating way.
As the victim of an alleged blackmail plot, commentators will possibly be less critical of him but it will be interesting to see how the story develops.
Aside from the fact that CBS could now stand for ‘Crime, Blackmail and Sex’, I’m sure Letterman is bracing himself for the inevitable kiss-and-tell stories that tabloid outlets will be busily preparing as we speak.
UPDATE 02/10/2009 1641 GMT: The New York Post is reporting that CBS producer Joe Halderman allegedly tried to extort the $2 million from Letterman. They also say that Halderman recently broke up with “Late Night” staffer Stephanie Birkett who admitted to him that she had previously had a fling with Letterman. Got that? Crikey.
N.B. Note Tarantino’s comments towards the end which highlight the decline in the quality of De Niro’s choices during the 1980s which only got worse in recent years with appearances in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Meet The Fockers and Righteous Kill. There is also a moment where he anticipates the team up of Pacino and De Niro in Heat.
Viewers of the highlights between Torquay and Chesterfield on BBC1 were surprised to see them interrupted by Bosworth’s character in Blue Crush going to the toilet.
The mishap occurred at around 12.50am on Sunday morning as the 2002 surfer film was screening on ITV1.
A BBC spokesman blamed it on a ‘technical hitch’, which probably means someone flicked the wrong switch and started broadcasting ITV’s output instead of their own.
It isn’t that often that you can see full length TV shows for free on the web (outside of Hulu and iPlayer) but AMC have put up the full pilot for Mad Men on their website.
In honour of Independence Day (July 4th) here are a few relevant clips from film and TV.
The drafting of the declaration of independence in the HBO series John Adams, which sees Thomas Jefferson (Stephen Dillane), Benjamin Franklin (Tom Wilkinson) and Adams (Paul Giamatti) read through the original draft.
From the same series this is the scene where Congress approve of the separation from Great Britain.
HBO has pulled all the clips floating around on YouTube, but check out this final bit of the show (filmed as a web only segment right after the regular broadcast) to get a flavour of how things went.
