#william atherton

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

Have you seen Real Genius (1985)?

Yes

No

Haven’t even heard of this movie

Voting ended onOct 6, 2025

[keravnos-kori]

criticism unaccepted

[clove-pinks]

This is a very niche documentary rec, but then again I run a pretty niche blog:

The War of 1812 | Stream the Full Documentary for Free

This documentary shows how the glories of war become enshrined in history.

I highly recommend "The War of 1812", first broadcast in 2011 by US public television. It's somewhat US-centric but takes a deliberately balanced approach and doesn't whitewash the United States. (The producers are on record that it was intended for both American and Canadian audiences). It runs a little under two hours and covers the entire war on land and sea, so it's understandably a very abbreviated version of events, but it does a solid job.

It has what are probably the highest production values of any War of 1812 documentary I've seen, and while it's no Ken Burns' Civil War I was delighted by the reenacted battle scenes and cinematic use of archival images. The narrator is Joe Mantegna, better known as the voice of Fat Tony on the Simpsons (not doing a mobster voice for this documentary), and there's an all-star lineup of War of 1812 historians on hand for commentary: Donald R. Hickey, Donald E. Graves (who sounds sooooo Canadian), René Chartrand, and pre-transition Tanya Grodzinski, among others. Rick Hill and Donald Fixico are a welcome addition for their expertise on Indigenous perspectives, and Tecumseh biographer John Sugden also provides commentary.

Two main characters, so to speak, are William Atherton of the Kentucky militia and Shadrach Byfield of the 41st Regiment of Foot, both of whom published memoirs of their experiences. I had forgotten that Byfield was also at Queenston Heights—he was seemingly everywhere in the Northern and Western theatres of battle. Atherton and Byfield are both portrayed by actors and get voice-overs for their personal accounts.

COLONEL RICHARD M. JOHNSON IS THAT YOU??? (It is strongly implied, but for the life of me I can't get a clean screenshot of this brief moment. I guess they are preserving the ambiguity of who shot Tecumseh.)

[thecheshirepath]

Happy 40th Anniversary Martha Coolidge's Real Genius! 🧪💡🔬💥🍿♥️

Released on this day August 7, 1985 🎬

[freetheshit-outofyou]

Die Hard (1988)

[tyger-land]

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙩 1975

[tumblewheel]

[manyother]

This picture was taken by photographer Mary Ellen Mark (1940-2015) in 1974 on the set of the film "The Day of the Locust" (is a 1975 American  satirical historical drama film) in Los Angeles. In the center of the frame are actors Karen Black (1939-2013) and William Atherton (b.1947), who are being transported by workers in their beds from one location to another between takes of scenes.