Released by Radiance this week is The Landlord, Hal Ashby’s 1970 directorial debut. As a movie, The Landlord may have some of the rough edges of a first effort, but it also has the distinctive offbeat talent and approach that the inimitable Ashby would bring to his successive ventures. Specifically […]
Mark Cunliffe
Senior Contributor Mark's first cinematic experience was watching the Cannon and Ball vehicle, The Boys in Blue. He hasn't looked back since. Hailing from St Helens, he is an occasional contributor to Arrow DVD, writing booklet inlay essays on a variety of titles, including Children of Men and The Great Escape. He is a reviewer with IndieMDB and has also written a chapter for Ste Brotherstone and Dave Lawrence's book, Scarred For Life Vol II. Other sites he has written for include We Are Cult, Horrified, and America's left-leaning news outlet ZNetwork. Publications he has written articles for include Stat Magazine and the fanzine Undefined Boundary: The Journal of Psychick Albion. He is also a regular contributor to the Geek Show's podcasts, including Pop Screen and the Uncut series, and he can be found on Letterboxd.
Soldier Blue (1970): Vietnam Allegory Via Violent Revisionist Western (Review)
“I saw the bodies of those lying there cut all to pieces, worse mutilated than any I ever saw before; the women cut all to pieces … With knives; scalped; their brains knocked out; children two or three months old; all ages lying there, from sucking infants up to warriors […]
Rose (2022): Sofie Gråbøl Shines in this Study of Schizophrenia (Review)
Made in 2022, the Danish film Rose has finally made its long-anticipated way to our shores, becoming available in select cinemas and on demand from Friday, June 28th. The popularity of Danish or Scandinavian film and television has risen in recent years, thanks to their many crime dramas that continue […]
A Family Affair (2024) “Bearded Joe Shorn of Jokes” (Review)
Rather famously, the TV critic of the Daily Mirror was not impressed with John Cleese’s sitcom Fawlty Towers when it made its debut in 1975. “Long John Short on Jokes” was the pronouncement of the former Monty Python star’s farcical hotelier comedy, now considered a much loved classic and often […]
Dogfight (1991): Transcending Misogyny to Make a Very Real Human Connection (Review)
Released to the Criterion Collection this week is Dogfight, Nancy Savoca’s 1991 movie that undoubtedly features one of River Phoenix’s finest performances. In a career that burned fast but brightly, the aptly named Phoenix was cast against type here as a belligerent, foul mouthed jarhead; a role that was arguably […]
The Boss (1973) Misogynistic Mafia Movie (Review)
It’s perhaps more than coincidental that Radiance have followed up March’s release of Duccio Tessari’s 1973 Mafia thriller Tony Arzenta with Fernando Di Leo’s The Boss this week. Not just because of the things that these films have in common – both were made in 1973, both are stories about […]
The End We Start From (2023) A Very British, Very Woman-Centred Apocalypse (Review)
As you would expect from a contributor to Scarred For Life such as myself, I’ve long enjoyed a good apocalyptic drama. I could never really be doing with zombies all that much in this subgenre however, as I believe the real monsters when our backs are to the wall will […]
The Lavender Hill Mob (1951): Comedy Gold from Ealing Studios (Review)
Returning to cinemas on 29th March, ahead of its 4K UHD Collector’s Edition and digital download release from Studio Canal’s Vintage Classics label on 22nd April, is the Ealing Studios’ 1951 classic and one of British cinema’s most beloved comedies, The Lavender Hill Mob. Directed by Charles Crichton, from a […]
Tony Arzenta (1973): A Hitman’s Revenge (Review)
Radiance continues its reliable run of ’70s Italian cinema with the release this week of 1973’s Tony Arzenta (aka Big Guns, aka No Way Out) an action packed and dour crime thriller from director Duccio Tessari (A Pistol for Ringo, The Return of Ringo) and starring Alain Delon, who also […]
Room at the Top (1959): The Birth of British New Wave Cinema (Review)
Released to Blu-ray this week by Studio Canal’s Vintage Classics label is the feature that effectively gave birth to the British film industry’s New Wave period of the 1960s, Jack Clayton’s 1959 movie Room at the Top, starring Laurence Harvey and Simone Signoret. The opening shot of Harvey’s threadbare socks […]