Štefan Uher’s The Miraculous Virgin, released on Blu-Ray for the first time anywhere in the world by Second Run Films, is one of those 1960s Czechoslovak films that’s so freeform in its plotting, so rapturously visual, that it’s hard to imagine it having a script, let alone a source novel. […]
Reviews
Tideland (2005) Gilliam’s misunderstood masterpiece (Review)
Look up the word ‘Gilliamesque’ in the dictionary, and you’re likely to find the following descriptions of Terry Gilliam’s wild films. A strong sense of dark humour and visual comedy? Check. Dystopian futures? Double-check. Striking fantasy sequences? Triple check. All of these traits are present in Brazil, 12 Monkeys, and […]
Under the Tree (2017) Icelandic Black Comedy fails to live up to its early promise (Review)
Released in cinemas by Eureka Pictures, Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurđsson’s Icelandic black comedy Under the Tree begins with an inspired contemporary take on an old joke. Atli, played by Steinthór Hróar Steinthórsson, is watching a sex tape of himself with his ex-girlfriend when his wife walks in. Panicked, he closes the […]
Bagdad Cafe (1987) Reassures us that even within chaos it is safe to exhale (Review)
A couple from Rosenheim, Germany stop at a gas station in the middle of the Mojave Desert, California and argue. The dissatisfied wife, Jasmin, (Marianne Sägebrecht) leaves her husband. She checks in at the Bagdad Cafe and Motel run by a stressed business owner and single mother of three, the […]
The Navigator – A Medieval Odyssey (1984) the perfect rainy day film (Review)
Question: Who was originally desired to direct Alien 3? While David Fincher’s take makes for an interesting watch he wasn’t 20th Century Fox’s first pick. Vincent Ward was booked first and got as far starting production before walking away citing creative differences. While he is credited for the story it’s […]
F for Fake (1973) Orson Welles’s beguiling, adventurous art documentary swansong (Review)
“I started at the top”, Orson Welles quips in F for Fake, “and have been working my way down ever since”. After the great man’s death in 1985 Welles’s gag became something worryingly close to consensus. Obituary after obituary tutted about what a shame it was that he never lived up […]
Apostasy (2017) a splash of cold water on the sometimes sleepy face of British filmmaking (Review)
At what point does the care and attention of a close-knit community become too close, evolving into a punishing system of abuse and control? What separates legitimate beliefs from the parasitic, overbearing decrees of an extremist cult? If you’re looking for ambiguous and equivocating answers to those questions, don’t watch […]
Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell, Bastards! (1963) All Hail Suzuki, King of Gonzo! (Review)
It has been a banner year for Seijun Suzuki thanks to Arrow (Academy & Video), with the release of two boxsets featuring 10 of his early Nikkatsu movies [video], the Taishō Roman Trilogy and now, the latest of the bunch, Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell, Bastards! To be fair, […]
The Case Of The Scorpion’s Tail (1971) Sergio Martino’s Giallo Detours (Review)
While watching Arrow Video’s latest, The Case Of The Scorpion’s Tail, a thought struck me. Be you a fan of horror or genre cinema, as much as you’d like the opposite to be true, you can’t know about all movements and styles – it’s that very reason why, I, personally, […]
King of Hearts (1966) Endearingly Silly Anti-War film made in the mould of Ealing (Review)
Philippe De Broca’s 1966 cult comedy, King of Hearts, is a colourful, charming, and silly little film that fits in line with war-time farces like Richard Attenborough’s Oh, What a Lovely War! In the underlying message of King of Hearts, De Broca is warning us that a closely-knit society is […]