Standard screenwriting advice has it that nothing confuses an audience faster than unclear character motivations, but some of the most powerful stories succeed by refusing to do exactly that. We never learn what made Daniel Plainview so embittered, or why Iago hates Othello, and nobody worth listening to would say […]
Reviews
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964): Colourful But Lifeless Musical Drama
If you wanted to be mean, you could describe The Umbrellas of Cherbourg as what people who don’t like musicals think all musicals are like – big emotions, melodramatic story, characters singing all the time when they could just talk normally. On the flip side, it is also a musical […]
Andor Season 2 (2025) Round-up: Star Wars’ hard-to-swallow epic is just what fans needed
CONTAINS SPOILERS For once in their lives, Star Wars fans have a right to be upset. By the time any franchise devotees reach the end of Tony Gilroy’s ground-level Rebellion drama Andor, there’s a strong possibility they’ll feel more ashen than when they saw Princess Leia Mary Poppins herself back to safety in The […]
The Railroad Man (1956) A Year in the Life of a Working Class Family
The second Radiance release this week is Pietro Germi’s 1956 film The Railroad Man, or Il ferroviere in its native Italian. As well as directing and having a hand in the screenplay, Germi also stars in the lead role of Andrea Marcocci, the train operator of the title and patriarch of a working-class […]
Themroc (1973) The Urban Caveman and the Red Triangle
Released to Radiance this week is Claude Faraldo’s notorious 1973 French satire, Themroc, a film that gained its notoriety here in the UK on account of it being the first film broadcast in Channel 4’s Red Triangle season on 19th September 1986. The Red Triangle season was the informal title […]
Strange New Worlds: Science Fiction at DEFA (1960 to 1976) Socialism Among the Stars
Eureka have scored another tremendous success with their “Strange New Worlds: Science Fiction at DEFA” boxset that brings four fascinating glimpses at a Socialist approach to the genre beyond the traditional USSR output of On the Silver Globe, Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel or Stalker. The first entry, Silent Star, was one […]
Sinners (2025) A Must See Theatre Experience
I was surprised before seeing Ryan Coogler’s Sinners how well it was being received both critically and commercially, by audience members. Of course, after seeing it, I’m not surprised at all. It’s quite an original project, something that is unfortunately a rarity in Hollywood these days. But I do not […]
Oil Lamps (1971) Juraj Herz’s dazzling and decadent psycho-sexual period piece
I’m a little late to the latest Second Run party because I’ve been caught up moving house. As a welcome escape from packing stress, I found myself lost in the Blu Ray World Premiere of Juraj Herz’s Oil Lamps (1971). Second Run have been a long-time champion of Herz’s work, […]
Doctor Who (2025) Lucky Day: An Average Start That Reveals A Sublime and Timely Message (SPOILERS)
Ncuti Gatwa’s second series is so far following a very similar blueprint to his first. This is something I discussed the other week, but both series started with a silly sci-fi opener, a 20th-century period romp, and a tense space-based thriller. 73 Yards, probably the most acclaimed episode of last […]
Night Moves (1975) Gene Hackman’s Memorable 70’s Thriller Comes to 4K
I ended up seeing Night Moves (1975) about a month before this Criterion edition came out, due to the passing of its star, Gene Hackman. I will admit, I thought the film was fine, though many people consider it to be a much better film than I did. Hackman’s performance […]