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 […]
Reviews
Murder Obsession (1981): Late-Period Meta-Giallo With Some Unforgettable Set-Pieces (Review)
In terms of titles that encapsulate the appeal of a whole genre, there aren’t many competitors, are there? You have the murder, you have the obsession, and every giallo must feature both, but only one of them is called Murder Obsession. Riccardo Freda’s final film, reissued on Blu-Ray by Radiance […]
Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022) A Gorgeously Animated And Engaging New Take On A Classic (Review)
Something that only just clicked with me when watching Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio is that I have never seen a bad stop-motion animated film. Not one. Don’t worry, I’m not about to say that Pinocchio is bad, it’s just a startling fact that I can’t believe I’ve never noticed. At […]
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, […]
Savage Guns – Four Classic Westerns (1968-1975) A Quartet of Bleak and Gritty Late Period Spaghetti Westerns (Review)
Four of the Italian western’s hardest, cruelest, bloodiest classics are released to Blu-ray this week in Arrow’s ongoing limited edition series of Spaghetti Western boxsets. Under the umbrella title Savage Guns, this third volume brings four unsung classics of the genre aficionados of heavily dubbed, violent and sun-baked horse operas: Paolo […]
Typhoon Club (1985) – Raging emotions and worries about adulthood [Review]
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Typhoon Club is based off a screenplay by Yuji Kato, director Shinji Sōmai crafts a coming of age tale without sentimentality for its disaffected youths. This is made clear in the opening scene as teenage girls having an infectious dance party at the swimming pool turn their attentions onto Akira […]
The Peasants / Chlopi (2023): An Innovative Combination of Historical Epic and Living Painting
Following on from the success of Loving Vincent, which utilised an innovative technique of recreating frames of recorded live-action scenes as oil paintings, DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman have found a new way of exploring their unique aesthetic. The Peasants is an adaptation of Wladyslaw Reymont’s novel of the same […]
The Sacrifice Game (2023) Festive Horror elevated by its Young Cast (Review)
Treading the line between gruesome home invasion and dark comedy, Jenn Wexler’s second feature, The Sacrifice Game, is a welcome addition to the Yuletide horror subgenre. Set during Christmas 1971 at the ominously named Blackvale Catholic girls’ boarding school, The Sacrifice Game follows Samantha (Madison Baines), and school outcast Clara […]
The Last Picture Show (1971) – A saddening portrait of lonely people lacking direction [Review]
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After making his directorial debut with 1968’s Targets, the late Peter Bogdanovich followed it up with The Last Picture Show – his breakthrough work that would receive eight Academy Award nominations. His 1971 feature opens on a sight that will break every cinephile’s heart – a cinema on its last […]
The Fall of Ako Castle (1978) Fukusaku gives Historical Epic the Yakuza Papers treatment (Review)
On January 31st 1703, 47 Ronin committed seppuku (ritualistic suicide) having enacted revenge for the death of their master. Their feats of bravery, honour, loyalty and resolve have become the stuff of legend. It is woven into the very fabric of Japanese society and is heralded as the ultimate display […]