edited by Jonathan Doyle

Mafioso (The Criterion Collection, 3.18.2008) Nino Badalamenti is a supervisor in a car manufacturing plant who hasn't taken a vacation in over two years. On his way out the door to visit his beloved childhood hometown of Sicily -- with his blonde wife and daughters -- Nino is handed a package by his boss and asked to deliver it to a powerful and influential Sicilian gangster named Don Vincenzo. Once in Sicily, Nino has a hoot seeing friends and family, but his wife has trouble fitting in and is unfairly dismissed as a snob by Nino's family. Even more worrisome, Nino finds himself entangled in an intricate web of secret mafioso dealings and is eventually sent on an unexpectedly... elaborate errand. (continued)

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The Favor

Mister Lonely

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A Previous Engagement

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What Happens in Vegas

May 16

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

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Sangre de me Sangre

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The edge of Heaven

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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

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The Children of Huang Shi

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Bigger, Stronger, Faster

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In the view of two knowledgable guys interviewed by AP reporter David Germain, Heath Ledger's death will -- sadly, ironically -- be a kind of boon to the fortunes of The Dark Knight (Warner Bros., 7.18). Germain states that Chris Nolan's film "has already emerged as arguably the biggest movie featuring a posthumous role in Hollywood history."

Everyone is tiring of seeing this same old Heath/Joker photo over and over -- it would be nice if Warner Bros. would remedy this.

Bill Ramey, founder of the fansite Batman-on-Film.com, says that "more people will come to see [Knight] because of Ledger's death. No doubt some people may be apprehensive about seeing it because there may be a little ghoulish factor about it. But I'm betting that more people now kind of look at it as a tribute to him, and the biggest tribute you could give someone is to go see it and enjoy his performance."

Ball State University film professor Wes Gehring says "it's a tacky thing to say, but what would have been a negative in the past now could be a positive thing. I think we've done a flip-flop on pop culture. Now it might actually be a selling point for a movie where you say, 'So and so's dead. Let's go see his movie.' What might have been a hindrance in 1935 now won't be a problem."

The list of major actors who starred in films after their deaths includes (1) James Dean (both Rebel Without a Cause and Giant opened after his car-crash death in September 1955), (2) Clark Gable (The Misfits came out 75 days after his passing on 11.16.60)), (3) Carole Lombard (To Be or Not To Be opened two months after her plane-crash demise), (4) Spencer Tracy (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner arrived in December '67, six months after Tracy's death on 6.10.67), (5) Jean Harlow (Saratoga opened six weeks after her death on 6.7.37), (6) Robert Walker (My Son John came out in April 1952, 9 months after his death in August '51), and (7) Montgomery Clift (whose final film, The Defector, came out in mid-November 1966, about five months after his death in July of that year.)

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on March 27, 2008 at 12:54 PM

comment #1

Rich S. says ...

Don't forget the poor Lee family. Bruce: Enter the Dragon ('73) & Game of Death ('78) and Brandon: The Crow ('94).

Posted by Rich S. at March 27, 2008 01:55 PM

comment #2

Rich S. says ...

And of course Natalie Wood - Brainstorm ('83).

Posted by Rich S. at March 27, 2008 01:57 PM

comment #3

Jeffrey Kunze says ...

River Phoenix had a horrible movie released after his death, Silent Tongue.

Friggin' goddamn tragedy that man's death was.

Posted by Jeffrey Kunze at March 27, 2008 01:58 PM

comment #4

chicbn872 says ...

You know, I don't buy the hype for this movie growing due to Ledger's death that much. I know it's a factor but I think that even if Ledger were alive, the hype surrounding this movie would still be his performance. Christopher Nolan has said more than once that Ledger is off-the-charts amazing in this movie. Of course, I wouldn't expect Nolan to come out and say his performance is crap but what if his Joker is a sociopathic killer in the same world as Anton Chiguhr?

"The Dark Knight" was going to be massive no matter what has happened, that's the one thing that is a certainty.

Posted by chicbn872 at March 27, 2008 02:22 PM

comment #5

CinemaPhreek says ...

"has already emerged as arguably the biggest movie featuring a posthumous role in Hollywood history."

Still doesn't top GIANT, sorry.

Posted by CinemaPhreek at March 27, 2008 02:25 PM

comment #6

CinemaPhreek says ...

Speaking of deaths...

Guess we have a JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG death pool/trilogy going on this week. Writer Abby Mann passed away Tuesday, joining Richard Widmark.

Considering that the director and most of the other stars (Lancaster, Tracy, Clift) are already dead, if I were Maximilian Schell or William Shatner I might be a tad nervous this week...

Posted by CinemaPhreek at March 27, 2008 02:41 PM

comment #7

Filthy Rich says ...

If it makes substantially more than Begins then maybe I'd buy it. But I don't.

I think it'll do about $250,000 because it looks a bit fresher than Begins and more interesting, mostly because of Ledger's role and performance.

'What doesn't kill you only makes you stranger. '

That line seems to sum up his character.

Posted by Filthy Rich at March 27, 2008 02:54 PM

comment #8

bmcintire says ...

Unloved and dated as it may be, I'm going to have to say that GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER will have slightly more historical wieght than yet another installment in the BATMAN franchise. And good call on THE CROW, though that historical fact is pretty much all that makes this title memorable. BRAINSTORM suffers in much the same respect.

Posted by bmcintire at March 27, 2008 02:55 PM

comment #9