Classic Cinema
Blu-Ray Review: Story of a Love Affair
After the post-war neoliberalism movement, which saw Italy become a leading player on the world stage, there was a huge gap to fill. Along with a spree of lighter comedies, two major figures stepped into the breach; Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni. The latter is best known for the L’Avventura, La Notte, and L’Eclisse trilogy, …
Blu-ray Review: Tokyo Story
Yasujiro Ozu was unquestionably one of the best, if not the best, Japanese film director of all time. His unique style and perspective made him one of the most singular and visionary film makers of his generation. The main themes running through his work, particularly in the post-war era, are of family and inter-generational relationships. …
Interview: John Walsh (Harryhausen: The Lost Movies)
The late Ray Harryhausen (1920-2013) is widely regarded as the person who pioneered visual effects for motion pictures as a craft. The stop-motion animations he provided for films like Jason and the Argonauts (Don Chaffey, 1963) and Clash of the Titans (Desmond Davis, 1981) broke new ground in their respective eras. Author and filmmaker John …
Blu-Ray Review: Cruising
Following the masterful 40th anniversary Blu-Ray restoration of his lost classic Sorcerer in 2017, it’s now the turn of director William Friedkin’s even more unjustly forgotten 1980 thriller Cruising to get the Blu-Ray treatment. The film was adapted from Gerald Walker’s 1970 novel of the same name and also drew inspiration from a real-life series …
Blu-Ray Review: High Noon
In 1925, one of America’s most popular film stars first started out in the movies. Whilst Gary Cooper may have been a face which dominated cinema screens for decades, he came from humble beginnings. After a number of bit parts, his horsemanship and naturalistic acting style soon won him better roles. He starred in a …
Blu-Ray Review: The Criminal
Stanley Baker was hardly what you’d call a typical leading man in post-war British cinema. Unlike his peers, who were almost always handsome and debonair, the former electrician’s apprentice cut a rough and ready figure. In many ways a brooding brute of a man, he carved out a niche for himself in the likes of …
Blu-Ray Review: Dark City
In a career which spanned over sixty years, Charlton Heston became an American icon and one of the most familiar cinematic faces. He has starred in over seventy films with the likes of Ben-Hur, El-Cid, Planet of the Apes, Touch of Evil, The Omega Man and The Ten Commandments ensuring he became a household name. …
Blu-Ray Review: The Naked Kiss
Samuel Fuller was never a director to shy away from controversy or take the easy road. The controversial film-maker never abided by convention and was seemingly incapable of resting on his laurels. After starting out making Westerns and war films, he made the shift into thrillers during the 1960s. Operating largely outside of the studio …
Blu-Ray Review: Shock Corridor
It has been a long time coming but, in the West at least, mental illness is finally being treated as seriously as physical conditions. The brain is an incredibly complex organ. So labyrinthine that we are still far from understanding how it works. This ‘grey’ area makes mental institutions rich pickings for film-makers. One Flew …
Blu-Ray Review: The Ear
Living under an oppressive regime essentially means spending your life in a constant state of anxiety and trepidation. Those citizens residing in communist countries during the Cold War faced a constant barrage of propaganda and indoctrination. You never knew who was listening. Could never be at ease. Friends and neighbours would inform on each other. …