Wednesday, June 4, 2008

First Hot Air Balloon Ride



While there were a few hot air balloon rides before June 4, 1783, when the Montgolfier Brothers did their first public demonstration - most ended in disaster with very short flight times. And so, the Montgolfier Brothers are usually credited with the first successful hot air balloon ride. (for more background info, try wikipedia).

So to celebrate the event, let us recommend some choice videos. First, watch Conquest of the Air, a very dry humored British film on the history of flight, starring Sir Laurence Olivier, as Vincent Lunardi one of the early pioneers of hot air balloon flight.

Another highly recommended title is Buster Keaton in Balloonatic.

Our final hot air balloon related video is of The Double Eagle, piloted by Ben Abruzzo, Max Anderson and Larry Newman. On August 19, 1978 - they were the first to take a hot air balloon ride across the Atlantic Ocean.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Bedazzled Dudley Moore, Raquel Welch



If you liked the remake in 2000, you'll love the original 1967 film, Bedazzled starring Dudley Moore, Raquel Welch and Peter Cook. Directed by Stanley Donen, the film is dripping with British irony and sarcasm. Check out Bedazzled.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Alfred Hitchcock TV Classic



After seven successful years on American Television with Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the format changed and went from 1/2 hour episodes to a full hour, and a new name - The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. And the pilot episode of this new TV series was excellent. A Piece of the Action, released in 1962 - starred Gig Young and a 25 year young actor named Robert Redford. A professional gambler wants to do all he can to keep his younger brother from repeating the same mistakes. Lots of twists and turns to the story. Plus, Raymond Bailey (aka Mr. Drysdale) plays a poker player who gets caught cheating. Watch A Piece of the Action.