Showing posts with label studiocanal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label studiocanal. Show all posts

12 November 2012

My Neighbour Totoro Blu-Ray Review

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When you look at the history and worldwide reputation it's had over the years, it's hard to believe Studio Ghibli having a film open so badly in it's native Japan.Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbour Totoro did suffer that poor opening but like a certain famous high street chain store ' this is no ordinary animation, this is a Studio Ghibli animation'. Like all good things, they mature as they get older, Totoro is that fine wine you will enjoy second time around that's of course you didn't enjoy it the first time around as it has a kind of magic very few filmmakers can achieve.

My Neighbour Totoro is a charming tale about 10 year old Satsuki and her inquisitive younger sister Mei (voiced by real life actress sisters Dakota and Elle Fanning) who move to a new home with their father into the country to be closer to their mother who is in hospital nearby. Far from the hustle and bustle of the big city, the sisters discover a mysterious place of spirits and magic and the friendship of the big fluffy woodland creature Totoro. This is a family suffused in the joys of country living with an elegy of two fading miracles: the fairytale world of childhood and the disappearing countryside.

My Neighbour Totoro is a beautifully constructed film. Unlike many of the other Studio Ghibli films, Totoro is not set in any war feuding countries or has villains hell bent in destroying the environment or the natural beauty of the location. The film is totally grounded in the real the world  with a story that is told from a child's point of view, enticing the children to be imaginative and creative essentially enjoy childhood. The simplicity of the story helps the film flow naturally  helping the children be characteristically children even if they are of the animated, this is something Disney have forgotten about recently and surround them with unnatural fantasy surroundings.

The film does have one typical Ghibli trait, fantasy and a giant mythical spirit, the Totoro who is like the (giant) imaginary friend children sometimes have  hence why the girls do not fear as to them he's like that first cuddly toy a child gets. Totoro isn't actually on the screen too much but enough to become the face of the studio like the way Mickey Mouse does it for Disney. Every Studio Ghibli film his logo is seen at the start of the film and no matter where you are in the world when you see the Totoro you know what your getting and he's become that recognizable he even got a cameo in the last Toy Story film!

The girls parents nor many adults actually have much screen time either but this doesn't mean to say they are not well developed characters either. We do see the girl's mother(Lea Salonga) a few time but thanks to letters written by Satsuki we do cover some of the ground but not the reason why she's in hospital as this isn't important as this is all from a child's view on life, they know your ill but telling them what is wrong they would be lost forever. Their father (Tim Daly) is so busy working  even at home, to make ends meet it's also a reminder of how tranquil and safe the countryside was in the 1950's (the era the film is set) and the trust they had for neighbours like Nanny (Pat Carroll) who was like a surrogate parent to the girls.

I'm a newbie when it comes to blu-ray, so out of the films I already own or watched via the format, My Neighbour Totoro is the first film I can say I've experienced the true power of the format. The bu-ray transfer has been nothing but fantastic,the picture is clear, crisp, colours so vibrant the hand drawn style animation really shines through giving the feel a organic natural feel. The best scene to show blu-ray's power is the bus stop scene when the Totoro joins at the stop you see the improved lighting, sounds crisp and the we meet the Cheshire Cat bus which is like something straight out of Alice In Wonderland, the scene also delivers some depth and atmosphere to the film.

When you talk about films be them live action or animated in the status of been categorized as classic, legendary even cult My Neighbour Totoro is all 3 categories.The quality of Totoro (and Studio Ghibli) is nothing but sublime, as what we get could easily be regarded as one of if not the studios finest film. To highlight the sheer brilliance of the film it was one of the very few animated films (highest entry) to make the recent BFI poll of 250 greatest films ever made, a testament to how highly regarded the film is with fans and critics,Miyazaki actually has the privilage of 2 films as Spirited Away is also in the list too. Scorsese, Kubrick, Hitchcock, Tarkvosky, and Miyazaki habe all got one thing in common they are all master storytellers, My Neighbour Totoro is a perfect example of why animation is not just for kids just lovers of film in all its beautiful forms
.

Paul Devine

★★★★★

Rating:U
UK BD Release Date: 12th November 2012
Directed By:Hayao Miyazaki
Cast:Pat CarrollTim DalyDakota FanningElle Fanning,
Buy My Neighbour Totoro: Blu-ray (+ DVD) [1988]

2 November 2012

Rust And Bone Review

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Rust and bone - the very name conjures up rough and ready imagery typical of a Jacques Audiard film. The French auteur’s star has seldom shone so bright following the release of the widely lauded A Prophet forcing the anticipation for this, his follow up, to rocket, only to intensify after early screenings at festivals confirmed its worth. Somewhat of a departure, it’s an incredibly human film, with all our flaws, hopes and problems on show. Above all however, it is our relationships – connections with other humans with their own dreams, worries and needs that take centre stage, flanked by two staggering performances from leads Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts.

Relocated from its American-border setting in the short story source material of the same name, Audiard places us on the south coast of France and the allure of the Cote d’Azour, home to Stephanie (Cotillard); an Orca whale trainer at a local sea life centre whose life is changed irreversibly by two events of vastly varying severity. The first is her chance encounter with the physically imposing Alain (Schoenaerts); a new resident and single father looking to tie down regular employment in a mixture of security jobs trying his hand as a bouncer when his doorman duties collide with the partying Stephanie at local nightclub The Annex. The pair begin a quasi-relationship which only begins in earnest after the horrific accident that befalls Stephanie while working at Marineland, an event that invariably forces a change in lifestyle.

Without becoming reliant on Ali, Stephanie finds in him a companion whose candid approach to life and sex enables her to re-evaluate her own life and values and gently encourages her to start living once again. Eschewing the air-punching, life-affirming delight of other works like the recently released Untouchables, Rust and Bone’s success comes from its tone steeped in almost Dardennes levels of realism and, as you’d expect from an Audiard film, there is little room for sentimentality. At no point are we asked to pity either lead despite their various and very real challenges. Alain’s single father is light-years apart from a Will and Jaden Smith venture, his gruff barks to son Sam coming from frustration and anger as much as love and affection and there’s little sympathy (offered or given) when he struggles to control this anger. It’s an unforgiving role and one newcomer Schoenaerts takes in his stride turning in a wonderfully controlled performance both menacingly fierce and endearingly gentle in equal measure. Not to be outdone, Cotillard turns what had the potential to be a restricted, self-pitying role into one unlike any other. She has the ability to tell whole stories with the smallest gesture or look, conveying a self-conscious vulnerability alongside stubborn desire and seamlessly flicking between the two.

Audiard’s body of work from Read My Lips through The Beat that My Heart Skipped and A Prophet shows a film maker adept in telling crime stories about tough men in tough situations which allows the more personable approach in Rust and Bone to be brought to the fore while avoiding anything remotely Mills and Boon or TV-movie about a story that in lesser hands could have easily turned that way. On more familiar territory he shows flashes of his nuanced approach to violence; the fighting scenes are simultaneously beautiful and barbaric, taking in slow motion visceral beatings and culminating in a solitary tooth, bloodied and spinning on gravel.

That he so effortlessly marries the tender with the terrifying is testament to a director at the very top of his game, elevating the film to more than the some of it’s parts. It becomes neither an out and out romance nor a stripped down brutally macho piece but instead, much like life itself, a mixture of all different aspects that affect these characters and their relationships. An incredibly powerful yet restrained film.
Matthew Walsh


★★★★★


Rating: 15
Release Date: 2nd November 2012 (UK)
Directed ByJacques Audiard
CastMarion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts, Armand Verdure


19 October 2012

Beast Of Southern Wild Review

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Having spent the majority of 2012 hovering up accolades at numerous worldwide festivals, Beasts of the Southern Wild arrives in blighty to compete for yet another award at the London Film Festival (the Sutherland award for first feature) before its general release on Friday. Seen as one of the trending ‘green issue’ films when it premiered at Sundance in January, Benh Zeitlin’s is a startlingly assured debut and one that will mark him out for bigger projects and budgets.

His take on the environmental issue is not littered with numbers or facts choosing instead to go for the emotional jugular, hitting his mark with a near folkloric tale of 6 year-old Hushpuppy and her sick yet strong father Wink…yes the names are a bit much. The two live in ‘the bathtub’; a flood risk plain of the southern delta of America and home to a drinking rabble of idealists, drop-outs and elderly couples all instilled with a joire de vive that allows them to celebrate rather than fear their unusual homeland.

Zeitlin plunges us into the mud, dirt and maggots of the bathtub and all its creatures – human, farmyard and sea, unafraid of getting our fingers dirty. This living, breathing squalor lies alone, cut off from the mainland by a great barrier allowing Zeitlin to create an almost mythical community detached from the worries of ours and fill it instead with a world of magical realism and no little style.

Hushpuppy’s near Buddhist take on the Universe being a finely balanced place dependent on ‘everything fitting together jus right’ creates a heartbeat for the film – one made overt with the throbbing pulses of the many creatures held to Hushpuppy’s ear. It’s when a storm threatens to ruin her homeland for good that the earths impact starts to turn her zen like view into a tale of survival. The weather turns, water rises and Hushpuppy is quickly forced to make the most of the skills her ailing father has taught her. Brought with it are the beasts of the title; pre-historic giant boars set free from their ice-capped tombs and free to plunder all before them.

The inevitable backlash may already be underway – the vague, poetic one-line musing narration, elements of poverty porn and the music video qualities of the pre-credit sequence all feeling the ire of some but there is far too much wonder in the whole to focus on the minute. The sense of community in the bathtub may not ring particularly true but it’s one conjured up with real affection. Beautifully lit and photographed, this rough and ready backdrop becomes a character of its own as, aided by his own score, Zeitlin successfully creates a tone unseen in American cinema away from a Terrence Malick film.

Much of the plaudits are coming the way of 8 year old star Quavenzhane Wallis, with talk already turning to a possible Oscar nod – an understandable if slightly knee-jerk reaction to the capabilities of a minor holding her own in such an inventive film. Surely, however, much of the praise must be attributed to Zeitlin himself. He has crafted a visionary, rich and warm feature that belies his relative novice and, in the shadow of Katrina’s clouds, forced an issue as important as environmental concerns almost subliminally into screens around the globe.

Matthew Walsh


★★★★½

Rating: 12A
Release Date: 19th October 2012 (UK&Ireland)
Directed by: Benh Zeitlin
Cast: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight HenryLevy Easterly

7 October 2012

Rosewood Lane DVD Review

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At one point in my life, Victor Salva was the master of nightmares. For some of you out there he’s probably that too, this is the guy who wrote and directed Jeepers Creepers, a film that’s a sort of induction into horror for a certain generation. His latest film Rosewood Lane comes nowhere near the same caliber of scare or even coherency of plot.

The story follows radio host Sonny Blake (Rose McGowan) as she ventures back to her peaceful childhood home after her alcoholic father’s death. Slowly the idyllic setting of sunny suburbia becomes more and more dangerous as she uncovers a neighborhood terrified of the local paper boy (Daniel Ross Owens), a boy with seemingly inhuman powers. When the paper boy begins to call Sonny’s radio show and recite nursery rhymes, a game of cat and mouse begins with more than just her own life at risk.

The first major issue with Rosewood Lane is a pretty big one: the basic concept is bad. Playing out like a woeful Stephen King story, the concept of a sociopathic paper-boy doesn't lift off the page well, in fact from start to finish you can’t stop thinking that this is a horror movie about a paper boy. Daniel Ross Owens isn't outrageously bad in his role; the failings are down to his scripting mostly, but even after that he looks too old for the part. The character choices all point to someone trying way too hard to add “Evil Paper Boy” to the canon of American psychos; instead the film plays out like the perfect argument against such a travesty. The nursery rhyme reciting is laughable and cringe-worthy, and is one of a plethora of bad choices that marks the script as undeveloped. Another bizarre focus in the film is its constant profession that bikes are intimidating, which, even after a handful of close ups and sinister music, they are definitely not.

There are a lot of misdirected emotional scenes that play out like bad excuses to get the actors involved, which a shame is considering the fact the cast is actually pretty good. Ray Wise, as always, adds a touch of class to an otherwise dismal affair, playing a cop investigating Sonny’s stalker paper-boy. McGowan floats along giving a performance dented only by what she has to say, and everyone else looks like they’re on stand-by for better lines. Rosewood Lane fires a hell of a lot of blanks too, pushing vague strands of story out into the screen and pulling them back just as quickly. These half-hearted attempts at depth end up sinking the boat faster by not taking the story in a concrete direction. The film feels like it’s supposed to be an episode of something rather than a feature film and if there are any tense sequences or good jumps, they unfortunately come few and far between.

By the time the twist arrives you won’t care, the film’s snail pace and stunted story see to that. Rosewood Lane is not a film bothered by giving the how’s and why’s, instead it focuses too much time on taking itself too seriously. So between the ridiculous nature of the story, the stunted flow of the film, and the lack of real thrill, the piece falls flat and tedious. If the paper boy had been written differently and the film managed to sort its pacing out, then it might have been a mediocre attempt but, as is, it’s a messy and often silly state of affairs that leaves you wondering how Salva could have gotten it so wrong.

Scott Clark

Rating:15
DVD Release Date:15th October 2012
Directed By: Victor Salva
Cast: Rose McGowan, Ray Wise, Bill Fagerbakke, Lesley-Anne Down, Lin Shaye
Pre-order/Buy Rosewood Lane:DVD

4 October 2012

The Landlord DVD Review

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The Landlord is a film set in a divided America. On one side stands a group of rich, prejudiced WASPs. On the other side, African-Americans, militant and poor, are engaged in a struggle for their cultural soul. But the story told does not concern their battle. Instead The Landlord tells the story of Elgar Enders (Beau Bridges), the very definition of bumbling Caucasian idiocy, who manages to stumble right into the middle of this cultural conflict.

Elgar Enders is a rich young man, not the self-made kind of rich, but the inherited kind of rich. Hailing from a palatial manor situated amidst extensive parkland, Elgar was not just born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but also has a golden fork up his nose and a platinum knife up his arse. His story begins with him buying an apartment block in Park Slope, a horrifically poor neighbourhood, with the aim of turning it into a luxury home. His plans however are somewhat derailed by a number of black tenants resolutely living in his building.

Coming as he does from the very heights of US society, Elgar would be an easy character to demonise. However he actually turns out to be fairly sweet, if exasperating, very much a 30-year old child. His initial expectation, that the tenants of his new property will just be able to leave and find new places to live, is not evidence of callousness but of naiveté. This innocent nature similarly prompts him to actually execute his landlord duties, despite his general incompetence. As the film progresses, we find him rejecting the prejudiced WASP culture he was born into and forming genuinely close relationships with apartment granddame Marge (Pearl Bailey) and dancer Lanie (Marki Bey). He also makes mistakes, most particularly with the sexually powerful, but married, Fanny (Diana Sands). But as being an idiot is as far as Elgar’s faults run, he proves to be an eminently likeable main character.

Or well, the audience should find him likeable. Elgar is actually treated fairly badly by most of his tenants, mocked by Fanny’s husband Copee (Lou Gossett) and loathed by the silent Professor Duboise (Melvin Stewart). This however doesn’t make them the baddies, but rather underscores how complicated racial politics were then (and maybe still are). Elgar is a good person, no doubt, but he is also a perfect representative of all the evils of his class: rich, white, and possessing a clumsy social arrogance that presumes he can belong in a space the militant black culture has claimed as their own. So you might feel bad for him, but it’s also easy to understand why people might dislike him on sight, especially when we are properly introduced to Elgar’s family.

Still, don’t let all this talk of nuanced racial politics put you off the film. Director/editor Hal Ashby has a sharp, satirical approach to his material and spreads the mockery liberally. There is a fantastic sequence midway through The Landlord where Elgar’s mother Joyce (Lee Grant), a woman filled to the brim with rich, fruity snobbery, gets blattered with the jovial Marge. Indeed, I remember squeaking with joy throughout Joyce’s drunken slurring (Grant proves very able at acting drunk). This proves to be just one moment of slightly wacky humour amongst many in The Landlord, and though the film is not without its notes of tragedy, it does not forget the importance of showing a good time.

So that is The Landlord: a farcical meander through the minefield of 1970s racial politics. But despite its unconventional path, it nonetheless manages to not be blown to bits. It doesn’t fall into the trap of The Help, by having a white person provide agency for the civil rights movement. Indeed, our white hero is kept out of that fight altogether. He and Lanie and Marge remain in neutral middle ground, though they are not there as a result of making some statement. It simply seems to be the place where such nice and largely inoffensive individuals belong.

Adam Brodie

Rating:15
DVD Re-release date: 1st October 2012(UK)
Directed By: Hal Ashby
CastBeau Bridges, Lee Grant , Diana Sands
Buy:The Landlord [DVD]

3 October 2012

Hell is a City DVD Review

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Hammer productions: The great British production company proudly flaunting one of the most impressive CV’s in the history of cinema, but also guilty of more than a few woeful endeavors  got it pretty spot-on in their 1960 Brit-Noir Hell is a City. Adapted from the Maurice Procter book and written and directed by Val Guest , Hell is a City marked one of Hammer’s deviations from horror during the 60’s, a move meant to widen revenue in a trying time against the American market. Thankfully, the film is a solid stand-alone that does a great job at internalizing the Noir genre to a murky industrial Manchester.

The film follows Harry Martineau (Stanley Baker), a tough, dedicated, but world-weary police inspector with a troubled home life. When Don Starling (John Crawford) escapes from prison Harry heads to Manchester to head him off, expecting the jewel thief and murderer to attempt to pick up the jewels he stashed before getting arrested. In order to make good his escape, Starling needs money so plans the robbery of a local bookmaker (Donald Pleasence), but the heist goes wrong and all of a sudden Starling’s escape spirals into a mess of murder and blackmail with Martineau hot on his trail.

In the typical Noir fashion, things don’t really go as planned, and the film’s narrative feeds off a sense of disorder and mishaps. Martineau’s home life is plagued by his failing marriage, so he stays out, wandering the dimly lit streets like a true Noir hero. The dialogue is snappy and charming, the action is, for the time, brutal, most interestingly is how the noir framework fits onto the British scene, certainly a quainter and more sullied setting than the war-torn streets of San Fran or New York. The dark horizon of Manchester, punctuated by factory vents and smoke,  makes an ideal setting, pushing the whole events of the film into some context, making the events seems small and insignificant (dare we say commonplace) in the face of the vast mechanical city.

Stanley Baker and John Crawford are on top form as disillusioned copper and desperate thief respectively. One can’t help but find a slight Heat undertone to their relationship, especially from Martineau who seems to use his job as a means of keeping his personal issues at bay. Crawford captures the brutal nature of a genuine bad ‘un, usually found in the annals of 50’s and 60’s detective films, the likes of which rarely find screen-time nowadays.

The action has a swift pace, the plot is intriguing if sometimes convoluted with characters, and the roof-top finale gives a fantastic last indicator of how ahead of the curve this film actually is, even if it is a little short. The last poignant scenes really reinstate the sense of noir that seems to dissipate half way through the film; exploring the lonely nature of the dedicated cop. Special features consist only of an alternate ending that does little for the film. This particular ending sees Harry and his wife make up and leaves the film on a significantly more hopeful note than the one chosen. The more uplifting ending, at risk of sounding like a cynic, unravels the grimy and almost perpetual feeling of entrapment in, not just Manchester, but life for Martineau.

A fantastic example of sturdy British “cops and robbers” fun, Hell is a City garnered two BAFTA nominations for Best Screenplay and Most Promising Newcomer for Billie Whitelaw. It’s a highly recommendable Brit-Noir, with some stellar talent, which fans of Film Noir and British thriller will really enjoy.

Scott Clark

★★★★


Rating:PG
DVD Re-Release Date: 8th October 2012(UK)
Directed By: Val Guest
Cast: Stanley Baker, John Crawford, Donald Pleasence, Maxine Audley
Buy Hell Is A City: On DVD

1 October 2012

Win Jean Claude Van Damme's 6 Bullets On DVD

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It might have been August when we last saw Mussels From Brussels in a rare cinema release with The Expendables 2 but now it's back to business for JVCD with his latest direct to DVD action goodness. Today in UK&Ireland 6 Bullets is released and thanks to our friends at Studiocanal we have 3 copies to give away to you!

Reformed mercenary SAMSON GAUL (Jean-Claude Van Damme) has made rescuing stolen children his speciality – until his latest daring rescue attempt goes terribly wrong and results in too many casualties. Wracked with paralyzing guilt, Gaul gives up his vigilanteways.


However when PEGGY FAYDEN, daughter of down-on-his-luck professional fighter ANDREW FAYDEN (Joe Flanigan), is abducted right before his big comeback fight, Andrew and his wife MONICA (Anna-Louise Plowman) must convince Gaul to come out of retirement.

But Gaul’s fast-and-loose style might be more of a liability than the Faydens realize. After tracking down and threatening the local mob boss, Gaul gets a solid lead on Peggy’s whereabouts. Unfortunately, the next day the police discover the remains of a young blond girl wearing Peggy’s bracelet. When the DNA match comes back positive, the Faydens blame Gaul and his no-holds-barred tactics. After watching his bestwork turn deadly for a second time, Gaul retires again, this time to the bottle.

With Peggy’s corpse trapped in his mind, Gaul recalls how the dead girl he saw was wearing the bracelet on herleft arm; Peggy always wore her on her right. Realizing the ruse, Gaul rushes to tell the Faydens. Disbelieving at first, the Faydens quickly side with Gaul after he forces a confession and a name out of the medical examiner. The name is STELU, the Minister of Defense, and his plan is to use Peggy to sweeten a deal he has with a Sudanese General. Unless Gaul and the Faydens can stop him.

Loaded with Gaul’s artillery, they infiltrate the military complex where Peggy’s been hidden. They manage to dispatch the guards easily and rescue a captured blonde. But it turns out to have been a trap. Surrounded and outgunned, Gaul, Monica, and Andrew must decide: trade the decoy for Peggy or end Stelu’s brutality for good.

To win Six Bullets on DVD please answer the following question:

Q. JVCD starred In a Ernie Barbarash film already this year also starring Scott Adkins, name that film?

Send your answer, name, address, postcode only plus answer to 50x3-50= winatcinehouseuk@gmail.com
Deadline is 21stOctober 2012(2359hrs) Must be 15 or older to enter


Terms and conditions
  • This prize is non transferable.
  • No cash alternatives apply.
  • UK & Irish entries only
    The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse and Studiocanal have the right to alter, delay or cancel this competition without any notice
  • The competition is not opened to employees, family, friends of The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse,studiocanal employees
  • This competition is promoted on behalf of studiocanal
  • If this prize becomes unavailable we have the right to offer an alternative prize instead.
  • The Prize is to win the 6 bullets  DVD, 3 winners
  • To enter this competition you must send in your answer, name, address only, Deadline October 21ST, 2012 (2359hrs)
  • Will only accept entries sent to the correct email (winatcinehouseuk@gmail.com), any other entry via any other email will be void.
  • automated entries are not allowed and will be disqualified, which could result you been banned
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25 September 2012

The Brilliant Searching For Sugar Man Coming To DVD/BluRay This November

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Malik Bendjelloul’s revelatory and compelling Searching for Sugar Man (USA/UK/Sweden) is a documentary about the Mexican-American singer-songwriter Rodriguez, who was momentarily hailed in 1970 as the finest recording artist of his generation, and then disappeared into oblivion – only to rise again from the ashes in a completely different context, a continent away. Searching for Sugar Man is a film about hope, inspiration and the resonating power of music.
In the late ‘60s, a musician was discovered in a Detroit bar by two celebrated producers who were struck by his soulful melodies and prophetic lyrics. They recorded an album that they believed was going to secure his reputation as one of the greatest recording artists of his generation. In fact, the album bombed and the singer disappeared into obscurity amid rumors of a gruesome on-stage suicide. But a bootleg recording found its way into apartheid South Africa and, over the next two decades, it became a phenomenon. Two South African fans then set out to find out what really happened to their hero. Their investigation led them to a story more extraordinary than any of the existing myths about the artist known as Rodriguez.

It’s a film about hope, inspiration and the resonating power of music, and that music can be heard on the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, available now through Sony Legacy Recordings and Light In The Attic Records. Comprising tracks from Cold Fact and its 1971 follow-up Coming From Reality (reissued to critical acclaim in 2008 and 2009, respectively), the soundtrack begins with the otherworldly Sugar Man and acts as a primer to this long-overlooked musician’s fusion of gritty funk, political poetry and blissful psych-folk.

Rodriguez’s recently rediscovered back catalogue is packed with social commentary, brilliant tunes and, in the case of his 1970 album Cold Fact - a genuine psychedelic classic. To see these songs performed by the man himself, catch a rare performance this winter as part of the Rodriguez full UK Tour Winter 2012.

Rodriguez UK tour dates:
Fri 16 Nov - The Roundhouse, London
Sat 17 Nov - The Royal Festival Hall
Sun 18 Nov - The Roundhouse
Thu 22 Nov - The Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool             
Sat 24 Nov - The Sage Gateshead
Sun 25 Nov - The Usher Hall, Edinburgh
Tue 27 Nov - The Button Factory, Dublin
Wed 28 Nov - The Empire Music Hall, Belfast
Fri 30 Nov - The Dome, Brighton
Sat 1 Dec - The Colston Hall, Bristol
Sun 2 Dec - The Academy, Manchester

For a full list of tour dates and tickets go to http://sugarman.org/tourdates.html 


Extras:
Making of
Commentary with Rodriguez and Malik Bendjelloul

DVD Tech specs: Cert: 12 / Feature Running Time: 83 min approx / Region 2 / Feature Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1/ Colour PAL / Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 / English Language/ HOH Subtitles/ Cat No: OPTD2480 / RRP: £ 17.99

BLURAY Tech specs: Cert: 12 / Feature Running Time: 86 min approx / Region B/ HD standard 1080p / Feature Aspect Ratio:  1.77:1/ Colour / 5.1 DTS Master Audio / English Language/ HOH Subtitles/ Cat No: OPTBD2480 / RRP: £ 22.99

Pre-Order / Buy Searching For The Sugar Man on:DVD / Blu-ray     Read our cinema review here

24 September 2012

Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel Review

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★★★★★

Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel (2011) is like Marmite - you’ll either love it or hate it. Those who fall into the latter category will, in all likelihood, not understand what all the fuss is about and find the woman at the centre of this documentary sharp, obnoxious and hard to swallow - much like the aforementioned savory spread. Those on the other hand who revere Mrs Vreeland as one of the supreme ‘Queens of Fashion’ - up there along side Vogue’s Anna Wintour and Harper’s Bazaar’s late Liz Tilberis - will let every morsel of this tangy documentary cocktail linger tantilisingly on their palate.

Watching this 86 minute film, directed and written by Lisa Immordino Vreeland, Brent-Jorgen Perlmutt and Frédéric Tcheng, feels like a fast flick through one of the glossy magazines Vreeland became famous for editing. Spliced with archive interview footage of the woman herself discoursing on her colourful life and career - from her early Parisian childhood at the opening of the 20th century to her life in New York and career first at Bazaar and then its arch rival Vogue, before her rebirth as the doyenne of fashion historians at The Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute - this film is a fascinating insight into one of the true legends of fashion.

However it is also a mesmerising photo-album of many of the defining moments and images which shaped culture in the 20th century and beyond. As the stars who contribute memories to the film - from Ali McGraw, Angelica Huston and Penelope Tree to David Bailey and Richard Avedon - testify, Vreeland may have been a nightmare to work for but she had an uncanny ability to capture the essence of the moment and put her finger on the pulse of style. In the recent documentary The September Issue (2009) that other fashion legend Grace Coddington grudgingly admits that her boss at Vogue, Anna Wintour, was right when she started the trend of putting celebrities on the cover of the magazine. However after watching Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel (2011) you will see that it was Vreeland who went one better by discovering (and creating) the celebrities, such as Lauren Bacall, in the first place.

Like many famous people, particularly those who become defined by their jobs, their families often take second place and suffer as a result. Though she clearly adored her husband Thomas Reed Vreeland, her sons Tim and Frecky, who contribute to the film, appear to have had a distant relationship with their mother - most likely due to the fact that she virtually lived for her job. Nonetheless those, including her sons, who are interviewed, all remember Vreeland with the affection and respect one would have for an eccentric yet beloved old aunt.

Some years ago I studied fashion journalism in London, and though my writing career took a different path, films like Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel (2011) and its vibrant and colourful subject, remind me why I, like many, will always have a hankering after the world of glossy fashion magazines and the exotic lifestyles of those who create them.

Cleaver Patterson

Rating:PG
UK Release Date: 21st September 2012
Directed By:Lisa Immordino Vreeland
Cast:Diana Vreeland (archive footage only)

2 September 2012

Win Studiocanal's CloClo On DVD

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A musical icon, an incredible story. His masterpiece will live forever, that legend is Claude Francois better known to his fans as CloClo. Tomorrow 3rd September, Studiocanal will release CloClo on DVD, Bluray and to celebrate the release we have 3 copies of the film on DVD to be won!

While England was rocked by The Beatles, France was going crazy for Claude François, aka CLOCLO. Directed by Florent-Emilio Siri (Hostage) and written by Julien Rappeneau (Burma Conspiracy, 36) CLOCLO is, in the vein of La Vie en Rose, a powerful biopic of one of the most famous French singers.

Starring Jérémie Renier (In Bruges, Potiche) CLOCLO draws the portrait of a complex character who became a legend in his country and reached international fame with his famous song Comme D’Habitude adapted as My Way by Frank Sinatra.

The destiny of Claude François, who died at the age of 39, continues to fascinate fans more than 30 years later. He was a much-loved star and shrewd businessman, great showman and marketing magician, hit machine and magazine publisher, but also family man and ladies’ man.

CLOCLO is the fascinating story of a man whose ambition drove him straight to the top, but ultimately led him to a tragic end.

To win this film on DVD we have 3 copies to give away and to win a copy all you have to do is 3 things:

  1. Send us your name, address and postcode only to winatcinehouseuk@gmail.com 
  2. Retweet and like& share this post at facebook (include your twitter/facebook name in email)
  3. Answer to 5+6 (include in email too)

Deadline for contest is Sunday 23rd September 2012 (2359hrs)


Terms and conditions

Terms and conditions
  • This prize is non transferable.
  • No cash alternatives apply.
  • UK & Irish entries only
    The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse and Studiocanal  have the right to alter, delay or cancel this competition without any notice
  • The competition is not opened to employees, family, friends of The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse,Studiocanal employees
  • This competition is promoted on behalf of Studiocanal.
  • If this prize becomes unavailable we have the right to offer an alternative prize instead.
  • The Prize is to win Cloclo on 3 DVDs
  • To enter this competition you must send in your answer, name, address only, Deadline September 23rd, 2012 (2359hrs)
  • Will only accept entries sent to the correct email (winatcinehouseuk@gmail.com), any other entry via any other email will be void.
  • automated entries are not allowed and will be disqualified, which could result you been banned.
  • The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse takes no responsibility for delayed, lost, stolen prizes
  • Prizes may take from days to a few months for delivery which is out of our control.
  • The competition is opened to Aged 13  and over 
  • Unless Stated Please  Do Not Include Telephone Numbers, we don’t need them and if you include your telephone number Cinehouse and The People’s Movies are not responsible for the security of the number.
  • The winning entries will be picked at random and contacted by email
  • This competition is bound by the rules of Scotland,England & Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland.
  • By sending your entry for this competition you are confirming you have read and agreed to these Terms & Conditions.
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1 September 2012

OI Dead Geezer, Cockneys VS Zombies Invading UK Home Releas This October

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STUDIOCANAL are ‘eaven and ‘ell chuffed to announce that ‘orror comedy ‘Cockneys vs Zombies’ will be available on DVD & Blu-Ray from 29th October.

Cockneys vs Zombies follows a group of plucky cousins as they try to rob a bank to save their grandparents care home from developers. Little do they know, whilst they’re cleaning out the vault, zombies as cleaning up the east end and shuffling towards Bow Bells’ care home with an appetite for OAPs.

Starring a host of Britain’s finest acting talent including; Honor Blackman (Goldfinger, ‘The Avengers’, Bridget Jones’s Diary), Rasmus Hardiker (Starter for 10, I Want Candy, ‘Saxondale’), Harry Treadaway (Fish Tank, Control), Michelle Ryan (4.3.2.1, ‘Bionic Woman’), Ashley ‘Bashy’ Thomas (4.3.2.1, Shank), Jack Doolan (Cemetery Junction, ‘The Green Green Grass’) and Alan Ford (Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels). Cockneys vs. Zombies is written by James Moran ('Torchwood', Severance) and directed by Partizan's Matthias Hoene.

Cockneys vs. Zombies is a new breed of zombie adventure filled with equal edge-of-your-seat-tension and rocking-in-your-seat-with-laughter moments. If you ever wanted to see how a zimmer frame could turn into a lethal weapon, pick up Cockneys vs. Zombies on DVD or Blu-Ray on 29th October 2012, released by STUDIOCANAL.

When you’re robbing a bank, a zombie invasion makes things a lot harder.

As contractors at an East London building site unlock a 350 year old vault of seriously hungry zombies, our hapless team of wanna-be bank robbers are in the wrong place at the right time. Katy (Michelle Ryan), Andy (Harry Treadaway), Terry (Rasmus Hardiker) and bank robbing “experts” Mental Mickey (Ashley 'Bashy' Thomas) and Davey Tuppence (Jack Doolan) find themselves the unlikely heroes of a zombie attack.

Equipped with all the guns and ammo they can carry, it’s up to the gang to save not only their grandparents but the East End from Zombie-Armageddon. When it’s the living vs. the undead... it’s Cockneys vs. Zombies.

Cockneys Vs. Zombies stars Harry Treadaway, Michelle Ryan, Rasmus Hardiker, Ashley Thomas, Georgia King, Jack Doolan, Honor Blackman,Alan Ford, Richard Briers and Dudley Sutton

Available Extras – DVD &Blu-Ray

Behind the Scenes: - The Maguire Brothers – 4’ 35’’
- The Bank Robbery – 3’ 25’’
- The Care Home – 3’
- At The Docks – 2’ 50’’
- Special Effects – 3’ 40’
- The Filmmakers – 5’
- Andy TV – 1’ 30’’

Zombie School - 4’ 09’’

Trailer - 2’ 20’’

Cockneys Vs Zombies Will be released by Studiocanal in UK&Ireland, October 29th, read our review here

23 August 2012

Watch UK Trailer For Beasts Of The Southern Wind

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Since its debut away back at this years Sundance film festival, Beasts Of The Southern Winds has been a hit at every festival its been too, sweeping the awards that's been nominated for.  Featuring an awards-touted performance from it's 8-year old star Quvenzhane Wallis, it glows with an irrepressible and life-affirming power that has enchanted audiences and critics at worldwide.

To celebrate the Beasts of The Southern Wind UK release this October Studiocanal today have sent us the UK trailer

In a forgotten but defiant bayou community cut off from the world by a sprawling levee, six year-old Hushpuppy exists on the brink of orphanhood. Her mother long gone, and her father Wink a wildman on a perpetual spree, Hushpuppy is left to her own devices on an isolated compound filled with semi-feral animals. She perceives the natural world to be a fragile web of living, breathing, squirting things, in which the entire universe depends on everything fitting together just right. So when a hundred year storm raises the waters around her town, her daddy is suddenly stricken with illness, and fierce pre-historic creatures awaken from their frozen graves to come charging across the planet, Hushpuppy sees the natural order of everything she holds dear collapsing around her. Desperate to repair the structure of her world in order to save her ailing father and sinking home, this tiny hero must learn to survive an unstoppable catastrophe of epic proportions.

Waters gonna rise up, wild animals gonna re-run from the grave, and everything south of the levee is goin' under, in this tale of a six year-old named Hushpuppy, who lives with her daddy at the edge of the world.

Like the Raid I've tried my best to avoid the press, any previous footage to make sure the film is coming to UK, saving my enjoyment for the release and has helped me climb onboard the buzz for film .Beasts of The Southern Wind  is finally coming to UK&Ireland October 19th thanks to Studiocanal and don't be surprised when February comes it will be picking up at least a Oscar award especially it's bright young star who is only 8 years old!. The film also stars Dwight Henry, Levi Easterly, and Gina Montana.

15 August 2012

Feature - Evolution of Michelle Williams

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Michelle Williams most recently seen in My Week with Marilyn, opposite Eddie Redymane became known for her role as Jen Lindley in Dawson’s Creek and has since become one of the biggest actresses of our time.

To celebrate the release of Take this Waltz out next month The People’s Movies decided to take a look back on the career of Michelle Williams.

From her role in Dawson’s Creek Michelle went on to star in films including Perfume, Me without You, Provac Nation, The United States of Leland and The Station Agent.

Michelle is mainly famous for starring in Indie films such as Brockback Mountain a story of a forbidden relationship between two cowboys.

She also starred opposite Laura Linney in The Hottest State, I`m not There with Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett and Deception with Ewan McGregor.

Continuing with the indie genre, in 2008 Michelle starred in Wendy and Lucy a story of a women and her dog aswell as Mamoth in which she played Ellen Vidales a tale of a successful businessman and his wife and daughter in New York.

Michelle most recently starred as Cindy in Blue Valentine about a married couple over the years opposite Ryan Gosling.

Michelle also starred in Shutter Island opposite Leonardo Dicaprio and Meeks Cutoff in which she played Emily Tetheran with Bruce Greenwood.

Fans of Michelle will be looking forward to her latest role in Take this Waltz in which she stars as Margot, a happily married woman who falls for her neighbour opposite Seth Rogan.

Take this Waltz is in cinemas 17th August 2012

Emily Pontin


9 August 2012

Livid DVD Review

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★★★ 1/2

Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo have already made a sound debut in the form of 2007’s Inside, so their second feature, Livid, is due to cause some excitement amongst horror fans. The pair’s second film is an atmospheric and visually inventive take on the ‘old haunted house story’ and among other things probably one of the few films this year that will really prove how terrifying obscenely old people can be.

The story follows Lucie (Chloe Coullaud) on her first day as an in-home caregiver Lucie’s new job takes an interesting turn with the revelation that oen of her patients, the comatose Mrs. Jessel, has a treasure of unknown value stashed somewhere in her desolate house. Lucie, Her boyfriend William (Felix Moati), and William’s brother Ben (Jeremy Kapone), decide to break into the house on Halloween night to find the treasure and turn their fortunes around. The house has different ideas and not long after entering the trio are trapped and in the throes of a supernatural nightmare.

Maury and Bustillo understand the importance of believable characters and spend a good time at the start of the piece introducing us to their lead character Lucie , and her world.  Understanding her hopes and dreams, and those of the two boys, is vital for the scare factor of the film since even though we know they are trespassing and robbing we also know that the money is a way out of their dreary world. The film is centred on the end of life, the purgatory of not just the coma state, or old-age, but of squashed dreams so the money is an opportunity to avoid ending up like one of Lucie’s patients. The film’s first half flaunts a good pace and enough menace to keep the viewer intrigued, the scares are kept in check and the three main characters all work off each other well. Long shots of Mrs. Jessel’s  vegetative form hooked up to life support unnerve the viewer and create a surprising amount of tension which is never relinquished with a cheap jump or “eyes-flicker-open” moment.  The discovery of just what the treasure is,cements the fairy tale quality and leads to a bizarre supernatural mind-screw of a second act.

Unfortunately the film loses grip on itself by the end. The escalation of scares degrades to a messy muddle pushing the film into a gory conclusion it never seemed destined for. Some of the blatant images and sequences stand out as uncomfortable in a film that, for the most part, identifies the grotesque and eerie with care. The sequence where Ben suddenly ends up in a filthy room with no doors is genius but what follows in the room seems ham-fisted and unconnected. The construction of the relationships and tension is skilful, but the set-up is squandered through hasty conclusions to characters and a half-assed attempt at more concepts. Eventually the film comes across as something between Guillermo Del Toro’s dark fairy tale world, and The Skeleton Key (2005)it pushes for a strong gothic element that comes flawlessly until the film aims big. If it had followed certain routes from earlier on it could have cemented itself as a particular type of horror, but it seems wary of being lost in a sub-genre. Still, it’s a charming and striking horror with more than its fair share of unsettling ideas.

Scott Clark

Rating:18
DVD/BD Release Date: 13th August 2012 (UK)
Directed By: Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury
Cast:Chloé Coulloud, Félix Moati , Jérémy Kapone

30 July 2012

Warlords Of The Atlantis DVD Review

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★★☆☆☆


“Warlords of Atlantis” is a pre-Star Wars Z sci-fi/fantasy film from the most famous director/actor collaborators of the genre Doug McClure and Kevin Connor and it’s there 3rd and last. It was also called “Warlords of the Deep” in some territories. You may recognize the name Doug McClure, Matt Groening was inspired by Doug for “The Simpsons” character Troy McClure.

“Warlords of Atlantis” is a bad 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea rip-off, which consists of a rag tag team of scientists/explorers who discover an ancient world under the sea. They meet these MARTIANS who live under the sea and also upsetting them they are taken capture and must find a way out of their predicament. They obviously escape somehow even though the diving bell they came down with has a hollow bottom. It magically doesn’t flood with water, explain that. Oh and the cat somehow lives…

The film is a truly awful but amusing piece of pre-Star Wars sci-fi/fantasy filmmaking with awful performances from everyone. However it does feature John Ratzenberger (known for his role on “Cheers”) who looks suspiciously like the actor who played the Replicant at the beginning of “Blade Runner” who says “I’ll Tell you about my mother” and until I checked IMDb I though it was that actor. It’s nice to see a film, which cheesy matte paintings that I wish more films now would use instead of CGI. The film’s lack of any sensible science really screws it up but it’s mildly entertainment for the film’s brisk running time.

Ian Schultz

Rating:PG
UK DVD Release: 30th July 2012
Directed By: Kevin Connor
Cast: Doug McClure, Peter Gilmore , Shane Rimmer
Buy:Warlords of Atlantis On DVD [1978]

29 July 2012

Feature - Top Ten Movie Dressing Gowns

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Studio Canal and the ICO are very pleased to announce that they will be bringing back to the big screen the underrated and long unseen WOMAN IN A DRESSING GOWN, a powerful and progressive drama that follows the turmoil caused when a husband of 20 years tells his wife he is leaving her for a younger woman.

In a new feature to celebrate the film's recent limited re-release we have this cool little feature celebrating the lost classic of British social cinema, the dressing gown here represents the...
Yvonne Mitchell in WOMAN IN A DRESSING GOWN (1957)

Jeff Bridges in THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998)
No-one has ever made the dressing gown look so comfortable outside of the home as The Dude in The Big Lebowski. Accessorize ideally with a pint of milk.

Sylvester Stallone in ROCKY (1976)
OK, so not strictly speaking a dressing gown, but since Sly immortalized the silk number in Rocky, they do a healthy trade on Ebay reinvented as a man’s dressing gown….

Catherine Deneuve in BELLE DE JOUR (1967)
In comparison with Woman in a Dressing Gown, Deneuve’s lonely housewife finds liberation in her dressing gown as she leads a double life as a classy prostitute in Bunuel’s masterpiece, with costumes designed by Yves Saint Laurent.

Marlene Dietrich in DESIRE (1936)
This outrageous fur-lined dressing gown, designed by Travis Branton would never be countenanced today for the sheer number of furry animals that must have died for it to exist… Sheer 1930s glamour.

Brad Pitt in FIGHT CLUB (1999)
How can anyone in a teapot dressing gown, wearing red shades with a fag dangling from their mouth, look this good?

Lauren Bacall in THE BIG SLEEP (1946)
This beautiful silk dressing gown was just one of a series of fabulous costumes Bacall wears in the classic film noir that reunited her onscreen with her now-husband Humphrey Bogart.

Bill Murray in LOST IN TRANSLATION (2003)
Director Sophia Coppola thought it would be funny to see Bill Murray in a tiny Japanese kimono**, and the outfit subsequently graced the movie poster. **Admittedly, not really a dressing gown

Dennis Price in KIND HEARTS & CORONETS (1949)
In the classic Ealing comedy, this sumptuous “house coat” is worn by the ultimate social-climber, Louis Mazzini, and leaves us in no doubt that he dresses like a Duke, even if he has to kill to actual become one…
Robert Downey Jr in SHERLOCK HOLMES (2009)
A more recent addition to the pantheon of movie dressing gowns, an interesting creation, as sported by the world’s most popular detective

Woman In Dressing Gown will be released on DVD for The First Time On August 13th, Woman In A Dressing Gown On DVD [1957]

19 July 2012

Feature: Music Documentaries

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Music documentaries are a genre unto their own - sometimes they give you a glimpse behind the scenes of your favourite band, and sometimes they're about someone you've never heeard about who become your favourite band.

Following great acclaim at Sundance and festivals around the world, Searching For Sugar Man comes to UK cinemas this month and definitely falls into the former category. You've probably never heard of Sixto Rodriguez - he was meant to be the new Bob Dylan, but he quickly disappeared back into obscurity. Yet not in South Africa - where he went on to be bigger Elvis. All this success went completely unknown to Rodriguez himself, and Searching For Sugar Man is the remarkable story of two South African fans trying to find out what happened to their hero.

To mark its release, let's have a look down some of the best music docs of all time.

Anvil! The Story Of Anvil
An opening of Heavy Metal icons such Slash, Lemmy and Lars Ulrich singing the praises of a band you've never heard of makes you think it's all just a Spinal Tap style spoof. But no, after never quite hitting the big time in the early 80s, Canadian Metal band Anvil have still been plugging away despite the lack of success - at the beginning of the film frontman Steve "Lips" Kudlow is having to make a living delivering school dinners in Toronto! It's a heart-warming underdog tale of never giving up your dream.

Anvil! The Story of Anvil - Official Trailer Published via LongTail.tv

Dig!
It doesn't matter if you've never heard of The Dandy Warhols (who you might remember from a Vodafone advert a few years back) or The Brian Jonestown Massacre - the rivalry between them is a fascinating story of delusion and self-destruction. The small modicum of success the Warhols receive turns them into insufferable prima-donnas, and Massacre's frontman Anton Newcombe seems to sabotage every opportunity his band gets.

Dig! (trailer) Published via LongTail.tv

Gimme Shelter
The film of the Rolling Stones infamous 1969 Altamont show is not only a great music doc but also an important historical document. The free show was intended to be the next Woodstock, but when a riot broken out and one of Hells Angles providing security stabbed a fan to death, it symbolised the death of the 60s peace and love dream.

Gimme Shelter movie trailer Published via LongTail.tv

Some Kind Of Monster
Intended to be a fluffy behind the scenes piece on the making of Metallica's new album, Some Kind Of Monster turned into a sort of real life Spinal Tap when the band almost split up and ended up in group therapy. It starts off hilarious and ends up genuinely uplifting.

Metallica-some kind of monster (trailer) Published via LongTail.tv

Don't Look Back
Warts-and-all, fly-on-the-wall docs following around musicians are now ten a penny - they take up about half off ITV2's schedule. But in 1967 this Cinéma vérité style film following Bob Dylan's UK tour was revolutionary. The opening scene, with Dylan holding big cue cards for the lyrics to Subterranean Homesick Blues has also become iconic in its own right.

Bob Dylan: Dont Look Back - Clip Published via LongTail.tv

Marley
Last King Of Scotland director Kevin MacDonald won an Oscar for One Day In September, his documentary about the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, and was selected to produce the definitive record of the life of reggae megastar Bob Marley. The epic two-and-a-half-hour running time leaves no stone unturned.

Official Trailer: Marley Published via LongTail.tv

The Devil And Daniel Johnson
Cult singer-songwriter Daniel Johnson was beloved by Kurt Cobain, and has battled with schizophrenia and manic depression throughout his life. This sensitive documentary tells his fascinating story and is riveting viewing.

The Devil and Daniel Johnston - older trailer Published via LongTail.tv

Kurt And Courtney
Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's suicide in 1994 send shockwaves around the music world. Veteran documentary maker Nick Broomfield set out to investigate the claims that Cobain's wife Courtney Love was involved in his death, and found himself in a legal minefeild and a cobweb of deception.

Kurt and Courtney Published via LongTail.tv

Beats, Rhymes And Life: The Travels OF A Tribe Called Quest
Hip-hop is a musical genre that really rather poorly represented in terms of good documentaries, but this biography of alternative rap legends A Tribe Called Quest goes a long way to rectifying this. Directed by Michael Rapaport (best known for playing Phoebe's brother on Friends), the film tells the long complicated story of the band's history.

Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest (2011) - Official Trailer [HD] Published via LongTail.tv

Searching For Sugar Man
In the early 1970s, Detroit singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez was tipped to be the new Bob Dylan - but both his albums bombed and he went back to working in construction. Yet somehow - and no one really knows how - the record got bootlegged to South Africa and became the soundtrack to the anti-Apartheid movement, outselling the Rolling Stones and Elvis. The film follows two South African fans on the trail of their idol (who rumour has it committed suicide on stage) and their story is one so incredible you couldn't make it up.

Searching for Sugar Man - Official UK Trailer Published via LongTail.tv

Searching For Sugar Man is in cinemas 26 July.