Curzon Artificial Eye
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Film Review: Francofonia
Aleksandr Sokurov is probably best known for his one-shot documentary/cinematic love letter to The Hermitage Museum, Russian Ark. However, he’s spent much of his directorial career working in narrative fiction. His chief focus has been on people. Almost all his work, including The Sun, Alexandra and The Second Circle, are studies of relationships. In his …
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Film Review: The Clan
Cinema and television have had a long love affair with gangsters. From the days of James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart, through the Godfather movies to Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos and Gomorrah, audiences simply can’t get enough. It’s not only the Mafia who make crime a family affair. Pablo Trapero’s new film, The Clan, focusses on …
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DVD Review: Nostalgia
As human beings we’ve never been very good at living in the present; nostalgia is never too far away. Whether that’s for the Classics or the Spice Girls; Plato or Pulp. However, dwelling-on, or pining for, the past is never really any good for you. Despite leaving his native Russia in order to avoid the …
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Film Review: Things To Come
Probably more than any other country, French cinema has a proud history of creating strong leading roles for female actors. Whilst traditionally fascinated with younger actresses it doesn’t forget them as they get older. The likes of Juliette Binoche, Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Huppert are still given the roles their abilities deserve and seem to …
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Film Review: Almost Holy
Matters of right and wrong in terms of ethics and morality are, by and large, fairly black and white in the Western world. The same cannot be said in Eastern Europe today. The disintegration of the Soviet Union and civil war in the former Yugoslavia has created a whole raft of social and economic problems. …
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DVD Review: Solaris
Space has been explored in just about every conceivable way through cinema, literature and television. Whilst action-oriented films usually dominate at the box office, it’s often more subtle psychological sci-fi which leaves a lasting impression. The classic example, which is generally considered the best genre film ever made, is 2001: A Space Odyssey. More recently, …
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Blu-ray Review: Mirror
Like any other artists or writers, film directors occasionally get the itch to put themselves in the limelight. This mostly manifests itself in the form of a documentary, such as Agnes Varda’s The Beaches of Agnes, Ari Folman’s Waltz with Bashir or Sarah Polley’s deeply personal The Stories We Tell. However, the likes of Jodorowsky …
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Blu-Ray Review: Andrei Rublev
Andrei Rublev was considered to be one of the greatest Russian medieval painters of Orthodox frescos and icons. His authenticated work was all carried out in the 15th century and he was canonised as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1988. Andrei Tarkovsky took up the challenge of documenting his life on film, …
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Blu-ray Review: Ivan’s Childhood
Andrei Tarkovsky is undoubtedly one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. His genius and mastery of the cinematic medium has rarely been surpassed. Whilst his films, such as Stalker, Solaris and Ivan’s Childhood are much-loved by cinephiles around the world, the quality of the prints aren’t always that good. Thankfully, Curzon Artificial Eye are …
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DVD Review: Chronic
When Tim Roth burst onto the scene in the early 1990s with a string of impressive performances he announced himself as one of the most exciting young British actors. Great roles in Robert Altman’s Vincent & Theo, Peter Greenaway’s The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover and Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are …