Blu-ray: Conversation Piece (1974) A retired American professor (Burt Lancaster) lives a solitary and luxurious life in a house in Rome. His world takes an unexpected turn when he is forced to rent part of his house to a countess and her companions: a lover, a daughter and the daughter’s boyfriend. Forced into interaction with the […]
Blu-ray: Hangmen Also Die! (1943) Hangmen Also Die! is set in wartime Czechoslovakia, where surgeon Franticek Svoboda is pursued by the Nazi police and is assisted in evading them by Mascha Novotny. News spreads that the Nazis’ head executioner, known as the Reichsprotector (the Hangman) has been assassinated. Is the doctor the killer? With Fritz Lang […]
Blu-ray: Review: Buster Keaton – The Complete Short Films 1917-1923 Unfortunately for me, it’s very difficult to write a review of this really wonderful boxset without it turning into a ‘History of Cinema’ lesson. Mainly because (in my opinion) you can’t compare these films to contemporary films, despite them being ‘movies’ they come from a different […]
Blu-ray: The Commitments (1991) In Dublin, Jimmy Rabbitte (Robert Arkins) is sick of failing to sell knocked off gear and wants a better life, so decides to form a soul band with his friends Outspan (Glen Hansard) and Derek (Ken McCluskey). He holds auditions in his parents house and manages to assemble a rag-tag band […]
Blu-ray: Cocoon (1985) Beginning with a soft light falling through the ocean onto some frolicking dolphins, the camera gives us an opening clue to the ‘otherworldliness’ of this story by focusing on the ruined signs of an ancient civilisation of the lost city of Atlantis. Made in 1985 by director Ron Howard, Cocoon was his […]
DVD: The Spoils of War (1980 – ) Network on Air’s release of all three series of The Spoils of War is a very welcome addition to their already breathtaking array of television classics. It tells the story of two families from the north of England in post World War 2 Britain; one working class […]
DVD: The Booth at the End (2011 -) In a time of gorging on box sets, here’s one you may have missed. The Booth at the End has no movement in it, it is the most stationary piece of television I’ve witnessed. It’s also a revelation in storytelling. Simply set, a man (Xander Berkeley) sits in […]
Blu-Ray: The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) Nevada, 1885: Two drifters; Gil Carter (Henry Fonda) and Art Croft (Harry Morgan, credited as Henry Morgan), ride into the town of Bridger Wells and discover that a local rancher has been killed and his cattle stolen by a gang of rustlers. The townspeople are up in arms over the death […]
Blu-ray: Absolute Beginners (1986) 1958 Britain; teenage photographer Colin (Eddie O’Connell) falls in love with aspiring fashion designer Crepe Suzette (Patsy Kensit) but she’s only interested in her career. Boy loses girl to rich (possibly gay) man (James Fox), race riots and full blown Hollywood dancing ensue. In 1986 the last film 21 year old […]
Blu-ray: Three Amigos (1986) Three silent movie stars mistakenly end up in Mexico on a mission to save a peasant village; chaos and singing ensue. I’ve always had a bit of thing about Steve Martin (Lucky Day), his sort of humour along with Mel Brooks is that PeeWee-esque type of surreal childish vulgarity that makes […]
