The Bearded Trio

Andy Watson Takes Us On A Journey Through The 70's And 80's And His Memories Of Classic Movies At The Cinema Movie Milestones I spent much of my youth outside, reading small books, playing imagination games, and yes; watching way, way too much television. But movies, big movies, those that I remember and have watched numerous times and replay scene by scene mentally, have had a great impact on me. I can link some milestones (or at least markers) from my childhood to various movie events. Growing up as a military dependent or Army Brat, has also flavored some of these memories. Everyone has different remembrances and touchstones. Here are some of mine. Early movies: Star Wars, Superman, Empire Strikes Back, Jaws In 1977, Star Wars conquered the box office. My family lived in West Germany at the time and we did not watch it, as it was delayed in coming to American theaters overseas; which was a pattern for the future. When we returned to the United States in 1978 it was ...

Guest Post By Douglas Meacham - A Retrospective Look At The 1979 Classic, Dracula DRACULA U.S. Release Date: July 20, 1979 Starring: Frank Langella, Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasence Music by: John Williams Directed by: John Badham “I DESPISE WOMEN WITH NO LIFE IN THEM...NO BLOOD.” - Dracula 1979 was a bumper year for vampire movies with no less than five hitting the big screen that year.  The one that stood out was "Dracula" directed by John Badham.  Frank Langella takes on the role of the Count in this remake of the 1931 Lugosi film, based on the remake of the Broadway play. Langella portrays the character as a charming seductive Gothic romantic versus the mysteriously frightening take given by Bela Lugosi. Because of this, it’s the first time the Dracula tale is told as a tragic love story. Years later Francis Ford Coppola would take this concept and run with it in BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA. Shot on location in England at Shepperton Studios and Black Park, Bucki...

Jurassic Park Stop-Motion Magic Earlier this year we reported on a super Jurassic Park fan, Mason Drumm who had created a stop-motion video called "Indomation."    Mason admitted that a lot of the scenes were heavily influenced by the 1993 Spielberg classic.  Well, Mason has contacted us to let us know that he has created another video and this time it recreates the infamous kitchen door scene from Jurassic Park using a $30 Raptor toy. Not only will you see the video but Mason explains how he made this impressive short clip.  It really is worth a watch and shows how much effort, patience and talent goes into these kind of productions. Mason says "I guess I spared expense."  I disagree if you take into account the amount of time taken to create those mini sets, expense was most definitely not spared. The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more.

We have a load of new images and a video for the latest episode of Star Wars Resistance which hits your TV screens on SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20 at 6pm ET/PT on Disney XD and 10pm ET/PT on Disney Channel! The episode is entitled "Live Fire," and in this exciting episode we see Kaz officially joins the Aces, as does Yeager – who trains them to become better combat pilots. Meanwhile, Tam learns what it’s like to be a First Order pilot. The new episode - "Live Fire" - will also be available SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20th (12:01 a.m. PT) on the DisneyNOW app and Disney Channel VOD, giving kids and families access to the series wherever and whenever they want to watch. The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more.

Guest Post By Kenny Kraly Jr Friend of the site and superfan, Kenny Kraly Jr has listed five essential books that any fan of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and John Williams should most definitely have in their book collection. 1. The Making of The Star Wars Trilogy book series by J. W. Rinzler (2007-2013.)  These amazing making-of-books on the original Star Wars Trilogy, (Episodes 4-6) are full of amazing behind the scenes photos, facts and information that even the most knowledgeable of Star Wars fans will have never come across before.  Highly recommended and all three are an essential purchase.  Approx $58 2. 100 Greatest Film Scores (2018) by Matt Lawson and Laurence MacDonald. Sure, this is a book not purely dedicated to John Williams but many of his greatest film scores are talked about in detail in the book and is an interesting book not only for film fans but of movie music in general.  Approx $30 3. Steven Spielberg: A Retrospective (201...

Taking A Closer Look At One Of The Most Underappreciated Star Wars Directors, Richard Marquand Richard Marquand, the director of Return of the Jedi, was born in Cardiff, Wales which is just down the road from where I live.  It may be because of this that I have a fondness for the Welshman but another reason may be the need to get the recognition out there for the talented director's work on Jedi. It's often said by fans that George Lucas really directed Return of the Jedi and at times Marquand was out of his league.  Well let's look at the evidence and see if that statement is really true. What had Marquand directed up to Return of the Jedi to catch the eye of George Lucas?  Well Marquand's directing career began in TV with Edward II way back in 1970 and a couple of episodes of a TV mini-series called The Search For The Nile.  Marquand's first feature film came in 1979, a horror film called The Legacy starring Katharine Ross and Sam Elliot.  Five powerf...

GEMINI MAN Starring Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, Benedict Wong, Linda Emond and Ralph Brown Screenplay by David Benoiff & Billy Ray & Darren Lemke Directed by Ang Lee Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs   Out of Four Three time Academy Award Winner Ang Lee will always be a personal favorite. But when it was announced that he would be directing a movie for mega producer Jerry Bruckheimer, it was hard not to be skeptical. Bruckheimer is the poster for style over substance, and the pairing of these two filmmakers seemed like an ever bigger miss match than when Lee last attempted something this mainstream with 2004 Hulk (a film I still refuse to write-off as do many have over time, though I admit that it hasn't stood the test of time. It was an intriguing attempt to do something different and more intellectual with the comic book genre, but even a defender such as myself has to admit that the Avengers take on the character is such a perfect realizatio...

I'm Still Getting Sucked In By Star Wars Roll Out In the final episode of this story arc (or at least it feels like it) we get to see Rey still being bothered by a rather large Vacuum Cleaner.  If you're a regular to this site you will know I've been rather enjoying these easy going, kid friendly two minute bursts of Star Wars fun.  If you missed the previous episode, you can watch it here. Here's, episode 4 entitled "Rey and the Secret Treasure."  Look out for that Looney Tunes moment. The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more.

New Video and Images for the next episode of Star Wars Resistance on SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13 at 6pm ET/PT on Disney XD and 10pm ET/PT on Disney Channel! If you're a Star Wars Resistance fan then you'll be slightly drooling over these latest pictures and video for the next episode which hits your small screen on October 13th at 6pm ET or PT if you live in another location in the US of A.  That's on Disney XD and it's 10pm on Disney Channel.  For anyone outside of the US, this all seems very complicated.  Anyway, here's the press release and those pics and video we mentioned In "A Quick Salvage Run," The Colossus is in dire need of hyperfuel, and Kaz suggests they take it from a downed First Order ship. However, the salvage mission is compromised when the First Order shows up. The new episode - "A Quick Salvage Run" - will also be available SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13th (12:01 a.m. PT) on the DisneyNOW app and Disney Channel VOD, giving kids and familie...

Just announced from Funko is this electronic Darth Vader that will have sights and sounds from the movies.  It's coming soon with no date announced yet but rest assured this will be available well before Christmas...I have felt his presents!  Get it? Celebrate one of pop culture’s most recognizable villains and proclaim your allegiance to the dark side with an electronic Pop! Darth Vader™. With lights and sound! Don't forget the all important batteries otherwise the Force will not be with you!  Expect to pay around $14.99. The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more.

Trespasser.  Released 1998.  Developed By Dreamworks Interactive And Published By EA. If you love Steven Spielberg movies and happened to be a PC gamer back in the 90's then you were more than likely to have been very excited for a Jurassic Park game announced for Windows PC and released in 1998.  It was heavily advertised in gaming magazines and boasted to be a "digital sequel" to the1997 film The Lost World: Jurassic Park , on which it is based. The game would feature voices from Richard Attenborough and Minnie Driver and actually have heavy involvement from Steven Spielberg himself.  However, gamers were soon disappointed when they experienced the game for the first time.  Dogged by a terrible graphics engine and a control system that left a lot to be desired.  PC Gamers soon realised the game was broken and felt unfinished. Commercial for Trespasser.  (Mine never played like that - Rob.) The game for its majority takes place on the islan...

Own Your Very Own D-O From Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Oh neat!  It's an interactive CD-ROM!  Well not quite, it's an interactive droid.  More specifically it's D-O from Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker .  Complete with light-up LED eyes, authentic sounds and all controlled from a free app on your phone, this will be the envy of the house, cat and dog.   It has multiple modes of play including chase, guard and a high alertmode.  Here's the blurb on this cute little toy: Cobbled from odds and ends in the workshop of a droidsmith, D-O is an impressionable little roller that becomes fixated upon BB-8! The ULTIMATE D-O INTERACTIVE DROID lets kids and fans display and play with a replica that has a self-balancing wheel, multiple modes of play, moving head and antennas, and features light-up LED eyes, sound effects, and premium deco inspired by STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER.  Drive D-O around using the free downloadable app, or play i...

On October 4th, “The Force Friday”, a life-sized LEGO® Star Wars™  X-Wing™ built from 2.5 million LEGO® pieces landed 3,454 metres above sea level on the Jungfraujoch – “Top of Europe”. This makes the Jungfraujoch the highest point on our planet on which a LEGO® Star Wars™ X-Wing™ starfighter has ever landed. As of 4 October, ten new LEGO® Star Wars™ sets from the film “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” are available worldwide. With LEGO® Star Wars™, one of the most popular LEGO® product lines continues the Skywalker saga in the year of its 20th anniversary. The X-Wing from Star Wars is a thing of beauty.  It is one of the best looking spaceships and when you get the mighty Lego recreating one AND in full size too, well we just had to post it on here. Take a look at the photos below and you'll see a Lego X-Wing made from 2.5 million pieces and resting on top of the longest glacier at Jungfraujoch, Munich.  It's got to be the highest X-Wing except of course whe...

New Star Wars Roll Out Sucks (Thanks To Giant Vacuum Cleaner) Another instalment of Star Wars Roll Out has gone live and if you recall, I was in a bit of a tiff last week because last week's episode ended on a cliffhanger.  Well,  Arggghhh!  They've only gone and done it again!  Oh, Lucasfilm you tease. "That's a giant vacuum cleaner and I know what a giant vacuum cleaner looks like because I've seen one up close and I don't intend in going through that hell again!" I have to admit, I am enjoying Star Wars Roll Out.  I know it's aimed at children but I never really grew up anyway.  This week'a episode ( Rey and the Secret Treasure -- Chapter 2 ) we see Rey gathering her found treasures and ending up in what I can only describe as a 1980's platform game.  Imagine a cross between Sonic and Manic Miner and you get the idea.  Oh, and there's a huge vacuum cleaner in it too!  What's not to like? The Bearded Trio - The Site F...