Leslie Halliwell

[phil]

I am always interested in seeing Halliwell's opinion after watching a film for the first time, whether I agree with him or not. But I often wonder what would he think of modern films, which ones would he like, probably not too many. I still use my 1985 edition so I don't know what the current author's tastes are.

[wearysloth]

John Walker has done an admirable job of following Mr Halliwell's lead...but to the relief of those of us that feel that there are a few good films made after 1960 has begun to subvert some of the original reviews.

The following website notes some of the changes...

Welcome to LeslieHalliwell.com - celebrating Halliwell's Film Guide

[m35541]

I always used to enjoy reading Halliwell's reactionary treatise, written in about 1976, that used to appear in the back of his film guide in which he complains that cinema has been going downhill since the end of the studio system (the passing of the anti-trust legislation) and how he hates all modern films, especially anything made in colour (it "apes reality") and CinemaScope (because in his view cinema is all about two or three people talking in a room). He also thought that messages were for Western Union and was especially peeved at the Vietnam/Watergate-influenced type of pessimistic anti-establishment movies coming out of Hollywood at the time (though he even criticised Jaws as having "no heart").



He refused to give a 4 star rating to anything made after about 1965 including the likes of The Godfather. He also forecast that cinema was close to extinction due to falling audiences. He really did hate the 1970's .



His main beef about Scope was that people watching on TV could only see half the screen but that those people would be 90% of the audience - failing to mnderstand that Scope was invented precisely to offer something TV couldn't and at the time movies were primarally made for the Cinema and not for TV - but, in any case, technology has rendered his argument redundant.

[Lord Brett]

Like many on this site I got my basic grounding in film history from Leslie Halliwell, although it became apparent that his opinions on anything made from the late 1960s were as much use as asking me about Gangster Rap. Sad to say, but the Film Guide is now much improved, and he's mainly missed by those who remember the valuable service he provided as film buyer for ITV and Channel 4.

[dremble wedge]

name='m35541']I always used to enjoy reading Halliwell's reactionary treatise, written in about 1976, that used to appear in the back of his film guide in which he complains that cinema has been going downhill since the end of the studio system

He probably would have been happier with filmed Mummery.



I remember that he refused to buy Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America for broadcast on C4 as it was too violent. Nice that he set himself up as an arbiter of public tastes too!



I'm afraid he's allocated in the 'miserable old goat' space on my bookshelf along with Alexander Walker...

[Lord Brett]

name='dremble wedge']

I remember that he refused to buy Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America for broadcast on C4 as it was too violent. Nice they he set himself up as an arbiter of public tastes too!



I'm afraid he's allocated in the 'miserable old goat' space on my bookshelf along with Alexander Walker...

Back in the eighties Enter the Dragon turned up uncut on ITV, back inthe days when all shots of nunchuckas (Bruce Lee's signature weapon, two short sticks liked with a length of chain) were routinely cut from cinema and video releases of the film.



A friend of mine phoned Leslie Halliwell (who I think was based at Granada TV at the time) to thank him, and it turned out ITV had shown the wrong print of the film by mistake!

[CaptainWaggett]

He hated the Carry Ons I was very pleased that the later editors gave Up the Khyber the 4 stars it so richly deserves. Though looking at the latest edition I see they've given up the star system which takes away most of the fun.

[Marky B]

He wasn't a big fan of The Ladykillers,but thankfully his successor,John Walker is.

Will there be anymore of the books as I understand JW is retiring?

Ta Ta

Marky B

[Edward G]

I love it.!

I remember Leslie Halliwell as a programme buyer for Channel 4. I seem to recall he did some introductions for the rarer stuff. I bought his early Movie Guides and his Filmgoer's Companion (excellent for dipping into) as well as "Halliwell's Hundred - A Nostalgic Choice of 100 Films from the Golden Age". It is a fabulous and well documented book. As afan of the Golden Age I love this book but I found his uncompromising dismissal of anything that came after this era to be a major disappointment given his great knowledge of cinema. Still, don't let that stop you from seeking out "Halliwell's Hundred" - a mighty tribute to the Golden Age....

name='Lord Brett']Back in the eighties Enter the Dragon turned up uncut on ITV, back inthe days when all shots of nunchuckas (Bruce Lee's signature weapon, two short sticks liked with a length of chain) were routinely cut from cinema and video releases of the film.



A friend of mine phoned Leslie Halliwell (who I think was based at Granada TV at the time) to thank him, and it turned out ITV had shown the wrong print of the film by mistake!

[glyn horton]

Agreed Halliwell was way too dismissive of films post 1970 but he had a great love of the 1930s-1960s period and was responsible for many rare films getting an airing on Channel 4. If only we had someone that enthusiastic now!



Also, in regard to his 'reactionary' stance it's interesting that when he ran a cinema in the 1950s he was one of the few managers who dared to show 'The Wild One'.

[Piccadilly]

There's a Halliwell's Film Guide on my shelf from the nineties. I think the IMDb saves you having to invest these days.

[Hugo]

I remember seeing Halliwell on a discussion panel at the Edinburgh Film Festival in the mid-1980s. He was very dismissive of current cinema at the time and claimed that most new films seemed to be about people, who in real life, he would cross the street to avoid.



But this of course has always been the case with drama. One would surely have crossed the street to avoid Macbeth or King Lear or even Hamlet.

[asiamiles]

name='m35541']He refused to give a 4 star rating to anything made after about 1965 including the likes of The Godfather.

He gave BONNIE AND CLYDE 4 stars but I think that was the most recent film to get top marks. I can only think of one other film in the 60's (and that was right at the very beginning of the 60's...for many, the film was the beginning of the 60's!) to receive his highest ranking. To be fair, he was fairly hard on films in earlier decades; only a handful did get 4 stars, and most of those are the "classics" you would expect someone like Halliwell to revere.



Personally I'd rather have "Halliwell's Film Guide" (I received the first edition as a Christmas present and still have it) in its original incarnation where at least it represents the views of its author, no matter how vehemently we disagree with him, rather than a revised book that is just another film guide of no real standing.