DVD/Blu-Ray Review
DVD Review: Dark Matter Season 1
When it comes to science fiction on TV the benchmark is undoubtedly Star Trek, which is almost impossible to compete with in terms of budgets and depth of universe. However, in terms of low-budget sci-fi westerns, Firefly is not only a cult classic but is also a show whose popularity has lasted the test of …
DVD Review: Dag Season 1
Shrinks have been popular on American TV for many years now, and in many ways Norwegian comedy series Dag feels very much like it could have been made in the US. However, in true Scandinavian tradition the humour is as dark as the protagonist’s moods. I’m not sure if Dag actually has any qualifications as …
DVD Review: Catch Me Daddy
Britain today is a multi-cultural and cosmopolitan place. It’s a haven for many and our population is made up of people from just about every nation of the world. There’s been a huge influx of migration from Commonwealth countries, many of who have come from the Indian Subcontinent. Whilst many have successfully set down roots …
DVD Review: L’Eclisse
Michelangelo Antonioni is one of the most important film directors Italy has ever produced. In many ways he redefined cinema in the period at the start of the 1960s. L’Eclisse is the final film in a trilogy (along with L’Avventura and La notte) captures the socio-economic changes running through Europe at the time, and the anxieties …
DVD Review: Hard To Be A God
The writings of Stanislaw Lem and Arkady and Boris Strugatsky are as important to Eastern European Science-Fiction as H.G.Wells and Arthur C Clarke are to the West. Andrei Tarkovsky most famously brought the stories of Lem to the big screen with the seminal Solaris and Stalker. Aleksei German’s adaptation of the Strugatsky’s Hard To Be …
DVD Review: Eyewitness
Since Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy took the publishing industry by storm and the character of Lisbeth Salander became a household name, there’s been a flourishing industry for Nordic Noir. Whilst this began in print (with authors such as Jo Nesbo and Henning Mankell taking up the mantel), TV soon followed, with The Killing, The Bridge …
Blu-ray Review: The Hourglass Sanatorium
The fantastical and the bizarre are elements which make up much of Polish director Wojciech Has’ work. Unlike most of his peers, throughout his career he tended to avoid political themes, preferring to create magical and surreal worlds in which to place his characters. The Hourglass Sanatorium is arguably his greatest achievement. As Joseph (Jan …
Blu-ray Review: Casanova
Federico Fellini cut his teeth in the Italian neorealism movement, beginning by writing screenplays (most notably for Rome, Open City) before stepping behind the camera. After a few inconsistent early efforts he soon found his own unique style, going on to direct such classics as La Strada, 8 ½, The Nights of Cambiria and La Dolce …
Blu-ray Review: The Saragossa Manuscript
The Manuscript Found in Saragossa is a prime example of a brilliantly conceived frame-tale; stories found within a story. Written by Count Jan Potocki, it was published in the 19th Century but not fully completed at the time of the author’s suicide. Polish filmmaker Wojciech Has adapted it for The Saragossa Manuscript in 1965 and …
DVD Review: Medium Cool (Masters of Cinema)
Turbulent times often lead to some of the most groundbreaking cinema. 1968 was possibly the most unstable year in post-war American history. The US were on the back foot in Vietnam, and with public anger at boiling point, President Lyndon Johnson resigned during the Primaries. Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were both assassinated, the …