EIFF 2014 Review - Atlas (2013)

Film Review - Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir (2011)

DVD Review - Birth of the Living Dead (2013)

Genre:
Documentary
Distributor:
Solo Media
DVD Release Date:
12th May 2014 (uk)
Rating: 15
Running Time:
76 Minutes
Director:
Rob Kuhns
Cast:
George A.Romero, Gale Ann Hurd, Larry Fessenden, William Hinzman
For any horror fans well versed in their history, Rob Kuhns Night of the Living Dead expose Birth of the Living Dead, will probably come off as a little basic. For anyone mildly interested in the film or its cultural context, the film could be potentially intriguing, though never altogether fascinating. Energetic perhaps, but never fascinating.

The story of Romero’s infamous guerrilla-shoot is recalled by a host of interviewees; producers, academics, horror filmmakers (the wonderful Larry Fessenden), and Romero himself who appears extensively to chuckle and lovingly gibber about his crew. Granted Kuhns utilises archive footage excellently and quotes rigorously from interesting sources, the late Roger Ebert’s surprisingly dismissive review for instance, but something’s missing here. Apart from Romero, there’s few original crew members and fewer celebrity appearances, but perhaps this is all in the name of guerrilla film-making since what self-respecting underdog needs the involvement of the mainstream horror genre? That aside, it would have been lovely to see a few more familiar faces.

Kuhns goes to great lengths to prove the cultural validity of Night of the Living Dead by exploring the political climate of the late 60’s. Here lies one of the strongest elements of the documentary: extensive use of vintage news footage and interviews is blended with footage from Night to highlight how part of the 60’s zeitgeist Night really is. In examining how the collapse of faith in the American government came about and how Romero critically engaged with it, Kuhns’ primary objective appears to be validating Night as a cultural artifact ranked with the likes of Easy Rider. Which he achieves gloriously, but seems to carry on reiterating rather than engaging with.

Lovingly crafted, informative, but eventually slow, Birth of the Living Dead misses out on some great opportunities to expand on the legacy of George A. Romero’s zombie masterpiece. It does however prove what a miracle the film is in production terms, and serves as a gushing testament to the spirit of Independent film-making.
★★★☆☆

Scott Clark

Blu-ray Review: Koyaanisqatsi (1983), Powaqqatsi (1988)

There Coming To Get You Barbara! Birth Of The Living Dead George Romero Doc Invading British Homes This May

Film Review - Celluloid Man (2012)

Bradford International Film Festival: Uncharted States of America - BNSF (2013)

DVD Review - Fire In The Blood (2013)

DVD Review - The Big Melt

Glasgow Frightfest 2014 Review: Video Nasties: Draconian Days

Win UK Documentary Jaywick Escapes On DVD

Jaywick Escapes is a candid portrait of life in the enigmatic seaside town of Jaywick - the unknown, decaying ‘edgeland’ of Essex - just a 90-minute drive from London’s Olympic Park yet as far from its ambition and dreams as it could possibly be. Jaywick Escapes is an Somewhere Film production out on DVD 16th December and we have copies to give away.

Officially now England’s most deprived place, Jaywick is the last refuge for many for whom life hasn’t quite worked out - a bargain sea view where you can vanish, at least for a while. Jaywick Escapes sensitively follows a handful of newcomers to the town, revealing their humanity and rejecting more familiar stereotypical portrayals of Britain’s underclass.

Pope & Guthrie started working in Jaywick in 2009, as part of a creative consultancy to identify ways to improve the public spaces in and around this unique town. Drawing on their wide experience of producing collaborative projects within challenging contexts, they engaged local people, gaining the confidence of both the young and old. The result of these relationships is the Jaywick Escapes film, shot across a period of 18 months in 2010/11.

We have 3 copies of Jaywick Escapes on DVD to giveaway and to enter please answer the following question:

Q.What English county connects Jaywick with Joey from TOWIE?

Deadline is 5th January 2013 (23:59pm),If you haven’t done already Like us and stay with us at our Facebook page (if you are already liking us just share this post on twitter and facebook). Must be 15or older to enter.

Terms&Conditions:
1.The competition is not opened to employees, family, friends of The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse, Somehwere Film  employees who have the right to alter, change or offer alternative prize without any notice.2.All The Peoples Movies entries must be done via contact form. deadline Sunday 5th January 2013 (23:59pm) 15 years or older to enter 3.Failure to include any information required to enter could result in your entry been void.  4.automated entries are not allowed and will be disqualified, which could result you been banned, DO NOT INCLUDE telephone numbers as for security reason your entry will be deleted.5.If you are friend or like us at facebook for every competition you enter you get double entry, but you must stay friend/like us all the time,or future entries maybe considered one entry if you are liking us share the post on facebook and re-tweet the post.6.The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse takes no responsibility for delayed, lost, stolen prizes 7.Prizes may take from days to a few months for delivery which is out of our control so please do not complain 8.The winning entries will be picked at random and contacted by email for postal details and will be announced via facebook, sometimes we are unable to confirm winners. Uk & Irish entries only.
UK Competitions and Prize Draws at UKwins
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Free Competitions
ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions

DVD Review - Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer

Genre:
Documentary
Distributor:
Independent Distribution
Rating:
18
DVD Release Date:
25th November 2013 (UK)
Director:
Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin
Cast:
Mariya Alyokhina, Ekaterina Samutsevich, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova
Buy: Pussy Riot - A Punk Prayer [DVD]
“They walked into the heart of Russia and took a shit”. So comes the damning opinion of an elderly Russian lady stood outside a Moscow church. She is not alone. Surrounding her are large groups of protesters, holding banners, clutching at rosaries and collectively chastising three women who have long since been imprisoned. Opposite stand another, younger group, worried about the way the rest of the world will now perceive their nation. A protest against the protest all stemming from an original protest on the spot this face-off takes place.

On February 21st 2012 three members of the feminist punk group Pussy Riot donned their now iconic balaclava’s, entered the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and performed around 30 seconds of their number ‘It’s God’s Shit’. Security stepped in along with members of the visiting public, forcing them back into retreat. By now you’d be troubled not to have a vague understanding of what followed; public outrage, heavy-handed state intervention and Nadia, Katia and Masha now locked up inside the Putinist Russia they so vehemently protest against.

Some back-story is needed and Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin’s documentary adequately provides it, rolling through the band’s birth, ideals, and other, less news-grabbing performances. The band was formally conceived the very day Putin returned to office for at least 6 more years following his sole rival’s withdrawal of candidacy. That catalyst spawned a reaction, one unfamiliar to the nation at large. One aspect of the Pussy Riot story that Punk Prayer shines a light on is the landscape into which they launched their brand of protest art. The years of communism under Soviet reign has led to something of a cultural gap in Russia’s consciousness, leaving a country largely oblivious to Pussy Riot’s main calling cards – punk and performance art. You sense the communal outrage comes from confusion; a misunderstanding of their actions and a fear of their motives due to their ways seeming so other worldly to swathes of locals, especially those holding the Church is some high esteem.

Pussy Riot, far from being a trio of chancers armed with three chords and a job-lot of balaclava’s, is a collective infused with art and political ideals. They release call to arms video’s urging other to join their cause, write songs against Putin, feminist anthems and choose the locations for their performances carefully. The headlines came after their attack on the union between the Church and the state that forms the Russian Orthodox Church. It was a song written to be heard at large and performed at the home of the nation’s church where they mounted the sacred, male-only alter and landed three members behind bars.

As noted by Nadia’s boyfriend, the Pussy Riot case is curiously the highest profile court case Russia has witnessed for decades and A Punk Prayer provides an intriguing overview of its ins and outs. The greatest achievement is the level of access which we are treated to. The camera’s are there to take in the prosecution, defence and statements of the court case as well holding interviews with family members, fellow ‘rioters’ and providing footage of previous art projects undertaken by the incarcerated trio. The other side is represented by the Church’s supporters, those gathered to protest against the band and the cross carriers who, decked out like members of an aging biker gang, dismiss the women as ‘witches’ and ‘demons’ who would have been burned in times past.

This all leads to a greater understanding of the argument from both sides without ever really moving the genre forward or unveiling any great revelations. A rather balanced synopsis of a case that caught the world’s attention. Where the film could be accused of not going far enough is to examine aspects that are touched upon but never investigated. The prosecution lawyers who laugh at the claims of Putin’s personal involvement in the case are never questioned why the rumours persist and there is no real effort to look further into the shadowy regime that the band hold in such disdain. There is a moment too when Nadia’s father is grilled by rival supporters, genuinely fearing for his safety yet, despite multiple interviews with him this isn’t a subject breached throughout.

A flawed but fascinating take on a case likely to run and run providing an excellent entry point into the culture clashes at the heart of Russia.

★★★½☆

Matthew Walsh

Film Review: How To Survive A Plague

Genre:
Documentary
Release Date:
8th November 2013 (UK, Cinema)
DVD (tbc)
Rating:
PG
Director:
David France

How to Survive a Plague is a film that was only released in UK cinemas last weekend, but which won a number of awards during last year’s film festival circuit; including the Boston Society of Film Critics best documentary, as well as winning in the same category at the Gotham Awards. It was also nominated for an Academy Award.

The documentary – directed by David France, and written by France, T. Woody Richman and Tyler Walker – provides an overview of the AIDS epidemic in New York City during the 80s, as both the casualties and the heinous reputation of its sufferers grew to extreme heights. As NYC Mayor of the time Ed Koch did little to act on the sweeping infection, activist groups such as ACT-UP (Aids Coalition to Unleash Power) and TAG (Treatment Action Group), led a powerful campaign in order to gain access to medication that was currently being denied to AIDS victims. Their movement also sought to alter perceptions of New York’s LGBT community, whose identity was, and still is, inherently linked to the spread of the virus.

France’s How to Survive a Plague is a work that should be applauded for bringing to our attention a struggle that was so intensively ignored during its time – a period not too long ago, where sick people were turned away from hospitals due to the stigma attached to their illness, and politicians and presidents recoiled in fear and disgust. Praise should also be given to the activist groups featured here, for the ceaseless filming and documenting of their meetings and campaigns; without which this production would not have been possible, and the struggle of this marginalised group would have remained unknown to its audiences. What France’s film ultimately achieves is in showing how meaningful change can occur when people are willing to stand up to their oppressors - there is a revolutionary spirit on display here which often feels lost in the current Twitter-age.

How to Survive a Plague is an affecting snapshot of a period of history, which remains relevant due to the comparable problems posed to others in similar situations today – albeit most likely on a different continent. A must see for non-fiction fans.

★★★★☆

Sophie Stephenson

Raindance Film Festival 2013 Review - Medora

Rating:
N/A
Release Date:
29 & 30th September 2013(Raindance)
Director:
Andrew Cohn, Davy Rothbart
There’s a common perception that films centred on American based sports are destined not to do well here in Britain where we prefer football to be played with feet and baseball is, well, just not cricket. There are of course exceptions, such as golden era Kevin Costner’s baseball ghosts drama Field of Dreams and last year’s Moneyball, but even acclaimed documentary Hoop Dreams failed to receive similar adoration on the European side of the Atlantic. It’s perhaps a good job then that new documentary Medora uses basketball only as a base upon which to rest it’s telling tale of modern America and the plight of its numerous small towns.
The aforementioned Hoop Dreams is a good reference point, focussing as the film does, on a group of poverty-stricken basketball players using their on-court time as a way of escaping an otherwise challenging existence. Sadly for this plucky bunch of ball players this is where the similarity ends. For they are not destined for NBA stardom with all that that brings, their results are very much at the other end of the spectrum, the San Marino of high school basketball teams in fact, winless in the previous season, record defeats and racking up another unenviable losing streak. The camera’s are there to catch each morale-sapping defeat as well as by the side of the young individuals who make up the team as they take us on a tour of their home lives and in so doing, the life of a forgotten American town.

We travel through deserted streets once teeming with locals and visitors alike, closed factories and power plants that used to provide employment for entire communities, boarded up shops and restaurants forced into closure, and the near-empty trailer parks known only as area’s to avoid on account of ‘meth heads’.

We’re invited into the lives of these teenagers, witnesses to their own personal trials in that all important graduation year – we even get to go to Homecoming. Along the way it’s not hard to warm to these characters, dealt an unfairly difficult hand in life and rooted in a town that offers little in way of escape. Their options are slim and we see each of them casually tread the path of their future, one that’s always defined by their past. Dylan has never met his father and wants to work to ensure other children won’t face a similarly hard adolescence; Rusty’s parents were never around either owing to alcoholism or ignorance, forcing him to drop-out of school before his 15th birthday. There’s Robby too, blessed with a family unit but struggling academically.

Following the team, their coach and this community we see a part of America often overlooked in films. There is no sprawling shopping centre or high rise buildings, no iconic cinematic Americana to speak of at all. What there is however, is a sense of community pride, one instilled in their tiny school and invested in the hopes of the basketball team. It’s what prevents the school being consolidated into a giant county-engulfing one and what keeps these teenage boys turning up week in week out to pull on their kits and face another humiliating defeat at the hands of a school 10 times their size.

There’s a prevailing sense of inevitability coursing through the film about the fate of such towns, tucked away from the highways and skyscrapers. There’s footage of an Obama address acknowledging the hard times faced while remaining hopeful for the times ahead. With Medora, directors Andrew Cohn and Davy Rothbart have echoed those sentiments, establishing the difficulties but forcing through elements of hope, embodied in no little part by the members of the basketball team.

★★★★☆

Matthew Walsh

Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon - TIFF 2013 Review

Rating:
15
Release Date:
7,8,14th September 2013 (TIFF)
Director:
Mike Myers
Cast:
Shep Gordon,Alice Cooper, Michael Douglas,Tom Arnold, Anne Murray, Sylvester Stallone
Mike Myers’ directorial debut is proof not only that he’s a skilled director and impressive documenter, but the subject of his film is probably one of the coolest men to ever live. Shep Gordon, manager extraordinaire, is a power house of productivity, a messiah of good times, and an all-round nice guy. He’s managed Alice Cooper since the beginning of his career, practically invented the concept of the celebrity chef, and has managed to intertwine his existence with the mint of Hollywood and rock royalty by being one of the world’s greatest hosts. So says Supermensch; The Legend of Shep Gordon.

The key to Myers’ film is that he has a genuine respect for Gordon, like the rest of the stars who pop up through this charming - often hilarious - exploration of Gordon’s career. Michael Douglas, Sylvester Stallone, Myers himself, Alice Cooper, Willie Nelson, to name a few, all jump at the opportunity to give candid tales of Gordon’s frankly mindboggling life. From his humble, drug fuelled beginnings hanging out with the likes of Hendrix and Joplin, onwards through his fast-paced career in music and film. His legendary appetite for good times and women are here exceeded only by his love for seemingly everyone he meets.

Myers is an incredibly gifted filmmaker, fusing his zany wit and comic timing with Gordon’s own barmy life. His editing is sharp and gripping; snippets from movies and a great soundtrack make Supermensch nothing short of fascinating viewing. Perhaps Myers gets a bit caught up in his own love for the father-figure, at points making his documentary a kind of advertisement, but a keen sense of ‘the man’ Gordon as opposed to just ‘the legend’ maintains a suitably grounded and heartfelt film. The Alice Cooper chapter goes on a bit but Gordon’s input into Cooper’s vaudevillian act is vast and thus arguably important. Sure, near-ridiculous amount of good praise for Gordon gets silly at points, but only a cynical kind of tabloid gossip-craving would render this an actual fault. Take a page out of Gordon’s book and cheer the hell up.

No matter where your interests lie, Gordon’s life is at worst intriguing and at best mad. This is a highly impressive debut and a thrilling story of a loving friend, hedonist, innovator, and showman. The fifteen year old me wants another Austin Powers, whilst now I can’t help but hope Myers has another go in the director’s chair.

Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon is entirely watchable, vivid, and compulsive filmmaking punctuated by a host of celebrity guests, a great soundtrack, and some psychedelic editing. Myers’ debut film is an impressive exploration of a life well-lived: heart-warming, hilarious, but above all highly recommendable.

★★★★½

Scott Clark

The Great Rock'N' Roll Swindle Scottish Style, UK Trailer For The Great Hip Hop Hoax

Dubbed 'The Imposter of music docs,' the film tells the real life story about how - back in 2003/4, Californian hip-hop duo 'Silibil N'Brains' secured a record deal and were set to be massive – however, what no-one really knew was that they were actually a pair of students from Dundee, Scotland, with fake American accents and made up identities.

The Great Hip Hop Hoax was one of the surprise hit film's of last month's Edinburgh Film Festival, it also received some great feedback SxSw and now it's ready for it's cinema/VOD release this September.To promote the film's release Vertigo Films have sent us over the film's UK trailer....



When it comes to mockumentary films the pedastool has been set high with the classic This Is Spinal Tap there's been no one who came close to matching or bettering that film. The Great Hip Hop Hoax might be that film to at least match proving if you want that dream, you'll do anything to succeed and 6th September you'll get that chance to see if the 2 boys from Dundee, the rapping Proclaimers will become the cities most famous sons after Desperate Dan.

The Great Hip Hop Hoax stars Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd.

EIFF 2013 - Leviathan Review

Rating: PG
Release Date (UK):
27th June 2013 (EIFF)
Director:
Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Verena Paravel
Cast:
Declan Conneely, Johnny Gatcombe, Adrian Guillette

One of the most intriguing films of this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival is the experimental documentary piece Leviathan; an abstract look at the relationship between man and nature. It won’t be for everyone, in fact it will probably appeal to a smaller part of the audience who have the patience to endure its 87 minutes of non-linear strangely intense imagery.

                This isn’t the sort of film that offers up its direction with any ease, it’s a slog, a hard slog conveyed by the labours of everyone involved. Filmed on numerous cameras spread over a North Atlantic commercial fishing boat, Leviathan never attempts the perspective that would perhaps make the film easy- and thus inevitably dull- it is no accident that there is a lack of interviews and even general dialogue between the boat workers to ease the audiences viewing. Leviathan is bold on this front, unapologetic for a technique too pretentious for the casual viewer, but it’s this bold use of image and sound, the raw and honest quality of the film, that holds attention at some of the more startling images. The camera angles are carefully selected to give those points of view that are never really considered: the ship’s deck amongst the fish and swill, the merciless process of decapitating fish, an extreme close-up of the net chains as they are pulled too and fro in a storm. Among the catalogue of sequences are some real treasures that seem to offer a true fly-on-the-wall look at one of man’s oldest industries  yet on the other hand there are some too out-there for enjoyment, ensuring long stretches of the film crawl along ensuring attention dithers.

                By the end Leviathan seems unperturbed with relaying any true meaning or opinion on the fishing industry, other than to explore the gargantuan operation that it is and expose the isolated nature of its process. At points the film shows truly wonderful camera work be it the night-time filming of man vs. waves or the flipping of sea and sky,  and at others it starts to unravel itself through sticking to its guns as a varied selection of image and sound recorded on an actual fishing boat. By the end you cant help but wonder what it would have been like with an orchestral accompaniment.

An interesting look at the epic harsh relationship between modern man and the sea, Leviathan uses innovative camera work and a lack of non-diegetic sound to relay an isolated and chaotic atmosphere; however by the end it proves just as arduous a journey for the viewer.

★★★☆☆

Scott Clark