If you want a divisive film, look no further than Husbands, released on Criterion Blu-ray from June 9th. On it’s release in 1970, John Cassavetes drama polarised critics and audiences alike. Jay Cocks of Time magazine described it as “one of the best movies anyone will ever see. It is […]
Reviews
Distant Journey (1949) a nihilistic vision of Nazi persecution (Review)
I was intrigued to hear that Alfréd Radok’s Czech drama, Distant Journey, was one of the first films to depict the horrors of the Holocaust. I was left gobsmacked, though, to hear that the film was released in 1949, only a couple years after the Holocaust ended. For Radok to […]
Snowpiercer (2013) Next Stop, Class Warfare (Review)
The film now arriving on Blu-ray this week is Snowpiercer. UK Home media apologise for the delay, which was due to a taste failure from Harvey Weinstein. I mean, there’s late and there’s very late. I actually think I’ve spent a similar amount of time waiting for Snowpiercer as I […]
The Specialists (1969) Eccentric French Spaghetti Western Grime (Review)
As I continue to grapple with the tried and tested tropes of the spaghetti western, I find myself more drawn to certain aspects. Shootouts that have a tinge of tension to them, but at the same time manage to incorporate darker, underlying motifs. For a Few Dollars More fits the bill […]
The Family Way: Hayley & Hywel 4Eva (Review)
It’s perhaps a measure of how London-centric our society is that if you were to mention playwright Bill Naughton to anyone then those who had heard of him at least would tell you that he wrote Alfie, the 1963 stageplay about a cockney Casanova that has been twice made into […]
Kwaidan: The King of the J-Horror (Review)
Before Hideo Nakata changed all the rules for what it means for an Asian Horror movie to court worldwide notoriety, Kwaidan was the Japanese ghost story that put the country on the map. I still think there’s an argument to be made that this is still is the case as […]
The Man With The X-Ray Eyes: Hard Sci-fi in a Goofy Shell (Review)
Roger Corman will surely go down as one of the best movie producers of all time. Through his 250+ credits, he was at the forefront of developing the B-Movie and gave breaks to a whos-who of actors and directors, Jack Nicholson and Avatar & Aliens director, James Cameron counting among […]
John Ford at Columbia 1935-1958: Way outside the West (Review)
“My name’s John Ford. I make Westerns. I don’t think there’s anyone in this room who knows more about what the American public wants than Cecil B. DeMille – and he certainly knows how to give it to them. But I don’t like you, C.B. I don’t like what you […]
The Strange One: Homoeroticism, Hazing and the Hays Code (Review)
The Strange One was one of only two feature films directed by Jack Garfien, an Auschwitz survivor who sadly passed away on December 30th last year, aged 89. Based upon the novel and play End as a Man (the title the film was released under in UK cinemas) by Calder […]
Rio Grande: John Ford’s Comfortable West (Review)
Rounding off any trilogy is no easy feat for any director, producer or star. Although John Ford’s inadvertent and seemingly accidental triumph through his Cavalry trilogy isn’t connected through the storylines, the characters and expected interactions of the genre are built up in equally vivid and cold ways in previous […]