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The Bootleg Files: The Skin of Our Teeth

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BOOTLEG FILES 597: “The Skin of Our Teeth” (1959 British television production starring Vivien Leigh).

LAST SEEN: The first two acts of this three-act play are on YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Considered lost for many years, but now only available in a truncated version.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

Vivien Leigh was one of the most extraordinary talents of the 20th century cinema, and also one of the most elusive. After the British actress conquered Hollywood in “Gone with the Wind,” she would only star in eight films made between 1940 and 1965. Instead, Leigh focused most of her post-Scarlett O’Hara acting in the theater, although she made one detour into live television with a 1959 production of Thorton Wilder’s satire “The Skin of Our Teeth.”

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Suspiria, The Exorcist II, and Story [Fantasia International Film Festival 2017]

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There’s been talk of remaking Suspiria for years. So much so that a lot of what I’m going to mention here are thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head for over a decade. The latest attempt at a remake, and the one most likely to happen, is supposed to star Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton, have music by Thom Yorke, and be directed by Luca Guadagnino. All of whom are above average artists in their respective fields. So I wish this attempt well and I genuinely hope it succeeds.

At the same time, I think it’ll fail.

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Tilt (2017) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2017]

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Kasra Farahani’s “Tilt” is a compelling and sometimes spellbinding dramatic thriller about the American dream and the ideas about fulfillment and freedom. Set amongst the backdrop of the turbulent election that gave the Presidential seat to a wealthy and very loud mogul, “Tilt” is a sharp and often disturbing look at the disintegration of a man. “Tilt” is fairly simplistic but rich in substance as it depicts America as something of a stagnant pool where freedom reigns but nothing ever changes. Joseph Cross’s performance as a self important filmmaker and struggling artist is astounding, as he injects layers of frustration and anger at a world that he never fully comprehends.

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Star Wars: Dark Legacy (2017)

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We all know well and good about the turbulent and peaceful relationship between the Jedi and his padawan, but how often do we get to see the relationship between Siths and their apprentices? “Dark Legacy” explores the typically twisted and weird relationship between the Sith and their apprentices and how it can be emotionally draining and quite violent. The training revolves more about brainwashing and the Stockholm syndrome and director Anthony Pietromonaco delves in to the demented dynamic and how it makes or breaks the apprentice.

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The Mummy (2017)

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After “The Wolfman” and “Dracula Untold” failed to launch the intended Cinematic Universe, Universal has hitched their ride on “The Mummy,” a movie so broadly developed and so utterly stale, that it feels more like a pitch for a movie than an actual movie. So much of “The Mummy” and its tedious, monotonous, lifeless run time is spent propping up storylines, explaining, over explaining, and flash backs. Rather than watching characters experience, and go through the wringer, and develop, Universal spends an enormous amount of time creating this tidy, and sanitary action thriller that is hell bent on establishing the universe its set in, rather than engaging us in an actual movie that is somewhat entertaining of compelling.

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