Happy New Year and Happy New Radiance Films Release Day to all those who celebrate. After falling head over heels for Elegant Beast (1962), I was delighted to be jumping back into 60’s Japan for Radiance’s latest release I, The Executioner (1968), a neo-noir directed by former Akira Kurosawa protégée […]
Jimmy Dean
Black God, White Devil (1964) – An Unforgettable Brazilian Classic (Review)
When Sight and Sound’s Greatest Films of All Time poll crowned Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles No.1 last year there was a great deal of predictably boring discourse online. The most striking thing I saw in the fallout had nothing to do with Chantel Akerman’s masterpiece, but […]
Elegant Beast (1962) – A Capitalist Nightmare in Post-war Japan
I find Radiance Films to be an antidote for the general lack of curation in the world of big brand streaming. Each new physical release is a lovingly-packaged treat, often re-introducing an overlooked or under-seen film into the canon. I trust their taste and, with each new film I watch, […]
The Eternal Magic of Powell and Pressburger: A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
I was introduced to the work of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger at university. I was eighteen, still overwhelmed by the move from Ipswich to London, and intimidated by my film school peers who spoke of film movements I’d never heard of and equipment I’d never seen. I sat in […]