Relive Emil And The Detectives Film Adaptations This July On BFI DVD Release

The latest in the BFI’s DVD releases of film adaptations of children’s books, released on 15 July 2013, is Emil and the Detectives, the classic story by Erich Kästner.

Featuring a screenplay written with Billy Wilder and Emeric Pressburger, this original German version from 1931 is directed by Gerhard Lamprecht. It is accompanied by the rarely-shown 1935 British remake by Milton Rosmer which was set on the streets of London.

When young Emil is sent to Berlin by his mother, the money he is carrying to give to his granny is stolen by a sinister man on the train. Once in Berlin, Emil follows the thief and enlists the help of a gang of youngsters – ‘the detectives’ – to help retrieve the stolen money.

This 1931 German adaptation of Erich Kästner's much-loved book was written by Kästner himself in collaboration with the legendary Billy Wilder (Sunset Boulevard, The Apartment) and an uncredited Emeric Pressburger (A Matter of Life and Death, The Red Shoes).

One of the first German sound films, Emil and the Detectives provides a fascinating glimpse of Berlin before Nazism and the Second World War.

Special features

• Emil and the Detectives (Milton Rosmer, 1935, 60 mins): once considered to be a lost film, this rare British adaptation has been newly transferred from the only surviving film elements

• Illustrated booklet with original promotional material, contemporary reviews, and new essays by Children's Laureate Michael Rosen, Bryony Dixon and Caren Willig

Pre-Order Emil And The Detectives :DVD

Neil Young And Crazy Horse: Year Of The Horse DVD Review

The Year of the Horse marks Jim Jarmusch’s second collaboration with Neil Young. It came out after the first Dead Man (which is my personal favourite of Jim Jarmusch’s films) and Neil Young composed the score to the film live while watching the film. It’s one of many many films on Neil Young including a trilogy by noted film director Jonathan Demme and 5 by Neil himself under his pseudonym Bernard Shakey. It follows Neil with his band Crazy Horse during mostly their 1996 European tour.

The film originally came out in 1997 and had a rather lacklustre release. It opened to pretty poor reviews with Roger Ebert in his end of the year run down citing as the worse film of the year… this was the year of Batman & Robin. It was made during a period when Neil Young had found a new hip creditability with the “grunge” kids and was being cited as a “godfather of grunge” by people like Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder and J. Mascis. This came after a very hard 10+ years of 80s where rock critics lambasted Neil Young’s music because he experimented in many music styles; which eventually resulted in a notorious lawsuit.

The film is clearly inspired by D.A Pennebaker’s seminal film on Bob Dylan Don’t Look Back (as is any rock n’ roll tour film) and to a lesser extent the still unreleased Rolling Stones film Cocksucker Blues. Both films Jim Jarmusch has cited as influence films for him. Unlike those 2 films the musicians in question don’t come off as completed drug addled assholes (even though Neil certainly has done his fair share…. See The Last Waltz). The film not that dissimilarity to Jim Jarmusch’s fictional films for the most part just follows Neil & his band mates around Europe. They talk… they talk and talk. They play some songs.

The film is never a deep expose on the relations between Neil and his band mates. It does however have on very revealing interview in which Neil’s band mates jackets have “Neil Young & Crazy Horse” while Neil’s has simply “Crazy Horse”. It does talk a bit about some of the early members who died young because of heroin use; Neil has been staunchly anti-Heroin throughout his career because of it. It has a very Testament on their tour bus… you know “the part where god is really pissed off”.

The film highlight of the film is obviously the concert footage of band playing some of their most well known songs “Like a Hurricane”, “Sedan Delivery”, “Tonight’s the Night” etc. The film starts with a funny bit of a crazy German Neil Young singing “Like a Hurricane” really badly. It’s shot on many different formats Super 8, 16mm, Hi-8 Video (for the interviews due to length problems). It has a very grainy look reminiscent of those old concerts films I mentioned earlier and to a extent Jim Jarmusch’s earlier films like Stranger Than Paradise and Down by Law.

The film has been out of circulation for many years, only previously released on vhs in the UK. It was released in the US for a bit but is currently out of print. Neil Young & Crazy Horse is touring in the UK as I write this review. It’s clearly being re-released to collide with that tour which is fine cause it’s a welcome release of a previous rare film in Jim Jarmusch’s filmography. Now only if they will release Human Highway on dvd. The dvd contain additional 45 minutes of interviews split between Crazy Horse and Neil and Jim.

★★★★☆

Ian Schultz

Buy: Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Year Of The Horse [DVD]

Much Ado About Nothing Review

Firefly creator Joss Whedon takes on Shakespeare in his latest cinematic release; adapting the Bard’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing – which follows two couples in the time leading up to their marriages, while others scheme to thwart their happiness.

As with Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet, Whedon’s film makes use of Shakespeare’s original dialect. However unlike that previous work, Much Ado About Nothing  is not so much set in a strictly modern period; instead exuding a timeless that is not representative of one particular era. This is in part due to the film having been shot in black and white – a factor that Whedon notes was due to a limited budget in addition to its aesthetic value.

The cast are assembled mainly from actors whom the director has worked with on previous projects, including Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof and Nathan Fillion. All are excellent in their roles, and manage the source material very capably; particularly Clark Gregg (The Avenger’s Agent Coulson), performing his comedic turn effortlessly.

Much Ado About Nothing translates to the big screen in such capable hands, with Shakespeare’s humour and Whedon’s wit an appropriate pairing. While this will not appeal to the majority of film audiences, it will undoubtedly please fans of both writers, past and present, and it is good to see that Whedon’s creativity has not floundered following his recent successes. A worthy homage.

★★★★☆

Sophie Stephenson

Rating: 12A
Release Date: 14th June 2013 (UK)
Director: Joss Whedon
Cast: Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Fran Kranz, Nathan Fillion, Clark Gregg

Jacques Rivette's Rarely Seen Le Pont Du Nord Getting A Masters Of Cinema Release

Buy :BLU-RAY / DVD
Le Pont Du Nord, the rarely seen, and long-requested key film by one of the world's greatest filmmakers Jacques Rivette, will be released as part of Eureka Entertainment’s Masters Of Cinema Series on Blu-ray and DVD on 29 July 2013.

Eureka Entertainment have announced that they will be releasing the first-ever Blu-ray and DVD editions in the world of Le Pont Du Nord, from the great French New Wave director Jacques Rivette, the creator of such sprawling and legendary works as Out 1, Céline and Julie Go Boating, La Belle noiseuse, and Va savoir. Rarely seen, and long-requested key film by one of the world's greatest filmmakers, the film stars Rivette's staple actress Bulle Ogier and her then-21-year-old daughter, Pascale Ogier. Released as part of the Masters of Cinema Series, these editions will Include a lengthy booklet containing new and vintage writing by Arthur Mas, Andy Rector, Serge Daney, and Caroline Champetier; writing from the original press-book by Jacques Rivette, and Jean Narboni; rare archival imagery; and more. Le Pont Du Nord will be released on DVD and Blu-ray as part of the Masters of Cinema series on 29 July 2013.

“It seems more obvious than ever how much Rivette has influenced a subsequent generation of filmmaker - Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry - and expanded our sense of the possible.” – Village Voice

The culmination of New Wave master Jacques Rivette's legendary middle period (which ranged from L'Amour fou through Out 1, Céline and Julie Go Boating, Duelle, Noroît, and Merry-Go-Round), Le Pont du Nord envisions Paris as a sprawling game-board marked off with tucked-away conspiracies, where imagination and paranoia intermingle; where the hinted-at stakes are sanity, life, and death.

Regular Rivette actress Bulle Ogier stars as Marie, a claustrophobic ex-con who, shortly after wandering into Paris, encounters the wild and potentially troubled young woman Baptiste (Pascale Ogier, Bulle's actual 22-year-old daughter). Baptiste, a knife-wielding, self-proclaimed kung-fu expert with a drive to slash the eyes from faces in adverts (including, in one instance, those on a placard for Akira Kurosawa's Kagemusha), accompanies Marie on her quest to solve the mystery behind the contents of her former lover's (Pierre Clémenti's) suitcase: an amalgam of clippings, patterns, and maps of Paris that points to a vastly unsettling labyrinth replete with signs and intimations whose menacing endgame remains all too unclear.

Gorgeously shot by the master cinematographer William Lubtchansky, Le Pont du Nord is a freewheeling, powerful experience whose hypnotic rhythm and ominous undercurrents resolve into a frightening and exhilarating portrait of post-revolutionary, early-'80s Paris – and in turn form a prime example of Rivette's uncanny, occult cinema. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Jacques Rivette's rare and essential feature Le Pont du Nord on Blu-ray and DVD for the first time anywhere in the world.

Here's a preview clip from Le Pont Du Nord


Special Features DVD And Blu-Ray:
• Gorgeous new 1080p presentation (on the Blu-ray) of the film in its original 1.37:1 aspect ratio
• Optional English subtitles
• A lengthy booklet with writing about the film by Arthur Mas, Andy Rector, Serge Daney, and Caroline Champetier; writing from the original press-book by Jacques Rivette, and Jean Narboni; rare archival imagery; and more
• More details to be announced soon!

Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God DVD Review

In the wake of the Jimmy Saville revelations and Operation Yewtree, you’d be forgiven for thinking that old television personalities from the 70’s had a monopoly on committing shocking sex crimes. There is however an institution even older than the BBC with an equally chequered history when it comes to abuse, the Catholic Church. This record of abuse is the focus of Alex Gibney documentary Mea Maxim Culpa: Silence in the House of God which asks whether the set-up of Catholicism had an implicit part to play in the silence surrounding the multiple cases.

The cases themselves turn out to be numerous and spread worldwide but Gibney’s doc is centred in Boston and on the case of Father Laurence Murphy, the head priest at St. Johns school for the deaf. Murphy was a popular figure among the children there, a hearing adult fluent in sign language and able to communicate and establish a rapour with them – the first abuse of power we witness in this hard-hitting documentary. Via signed talking heads with former pupils of St. Johns we learn how this trust was quickly used by Murphy to establish a horrific ritual of sexual abuse and assertion of control across St. Johns. Narration informs us of the frequent and disturbing practices the priest embarked on throughout his time at the school.

Added to the horror of the revelations we hear are shadowy reconstructions of events, utilising religious iconography and imagery to heighten the terror – so prevalent they are in outright horror films.

Setting the film apart from the countless news articles used as source material, Gibney goes further to examine the complicit role of the church itself in hiding such scandals and therefore forcing those guilty to re-offend. Cases appear across America and the rest of the world and Mea Maxima Culpa goes right to the heart, turning their attention and their cameras towards the Vatican.

Established as its own state under the Mussolini reign, Vatican City is free from traditional Italian law and is instead governed under their established Canal law. This self-serving set of rules enables the church to deal with matters in house, often leading to a lot of sweeping under the carpet and hiding away from public scrutiny.

This sense of unravelling of the truth, under chapter-like headings such as ‘the whistleblower’ and ‘the reckoning’ and the use of sharp editing add a suspense to the film leading it to play out almost like a heist or thriller film and ensures it becomes more than the made for TV special it could be in danger of appearing. The sense of anger of pupils, victims and indeed those within the church who bravely stood up to voice their concerns prevails throughout and, while some are able to seek solace, the continued silence coming from the Vatican is deafening and the most frustrating element of all.

★★★☆☆

Matthew Walsh

Rating: 15
DVD Release Date: 24th June 2013 (UK)
Director: Alex Gibney
Cast: Jamey Sheridan, Chris Cooper, Ethan Hawke

Summer In February Review

Rating: 15
Release Date: 14th June 2013 (UK)
Director: Christopher Menaul
Cast: Dominic Cooper, Emily Browning, Dan Stevens

Set against the idyllic backdrop of the Cornish coast, Summer in February is a haunting true tale of love and betrayal amongst a group of bohemian artists during the beginning of the 20th Century. Dominic Cooper stars as Alfred Munnings, the artist famed for his outspoken stance against modernism, and Emily Browning is Florence Carter-Woods, an aspiring artist whose introduction to the group sparks an interest from more than one viable suitor. Alongside the land owner responsible for the estate - Gilbert Evans, who is played by Dan Stevens - the trio form a tumultuous love triangle and friendships are tested to the limit as their passion for art soon becomes second to their desire for romance.

From the outset it is never too clear which direction the story will follow; as a biography focusing on Alfred Munnings the picture is considerably lacking in back story, and the audience are not provided with a full picture of what appears to be an intriguing character, with is a shame as Cooper's charismatic performance is a highlight of the film. The character of Florence is also not fleshed out enough for the audience to empathise with her, despite Browning's best attempts at bringing depth to the role which unfortunately lacks any real emotional impact.

Director Christopher Menaul does make great use of the beautiful Cornish scenery, with a number of scenes taking place amongst the luscious green woods and the inviting waters of the coastline, as Alfred paints portraits of a number of ladies who make his acquaintance, much to the frustration of Florence. It would seem that the reliable and trustworthy Gilbert would make the perfect partner for her but she eventually succumbs to the advances of Alfred, with his cheeky rogue persona weighing in his favour. The inevitable heartbreak hits the lovelorn Gilbert more than once and the story told throughout Summer in February is at times touching in its raw portrayal of romance and devotion, but could have had a greater impact if more time was invested in portraying the character's motives.

A number of characters are honoured with a small epilogue even though their appearances throughout Summer in February have little impact on the story. It is always interesting for factually based films to extend the story prior to the credits but only when this adds to characters that the audience develop an affection for, and most within Chirstopher Menaul's period piece do not have the required screentime for an emotional connection to take hold.

As a period romance, Summer in February will inevitably please fans of the genre, although those hoping for a more detailed character study of the Edwardian artists residing at the Cornish colony may be slightly disappointed. A fine diversion, but ultimately a forgettable one, Summer in February would be more suited for a primetime Saturday television slot than a trip to the cinema.

★★★☆☆

Tom Bielby

London's Open City Docs Festival Launches This Month, Win Preview Tickets To Screening

Open City Docs Fest is devoted to exploring the world we live in through the vision of documentary film, and today reveals its programme for 2013.

Highlights of this year’s festival include:

·         A Grand Jury chaired by Jeremy Irons

·         The international premiere of Baltimore doc The 12 O’Clock Boys at the Opening Gala

·         The director’s cut of acclaimed film The Act Of Killing, alongside a masterclass with its director

·         The hotly anticipated Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer doc

·         A screening of the Cannes-accoladed film Sofia’s Last Ambulance

Spanning four-days (20-23 June 2013), this year’s Open City Docs programme of 100+ films includes world premieres, exceptional masterclasses and a grand jury of award-winning directors, producers and authors. The festival takes place at numerous venues across London including the Open City Docs’ special cinema tent, The Bloomsbury Theatre, The Hackney Picturehouse, and venues around University College London campus.

Open City Docs Fest nurtures the next generation of filmmaker by running workshops and screenings throughout the year across London, and is highly accessible - tickets start from just £6. Bold programming includes a discussion on the rise of interactive docs, a focus on where drama meets documentary and films from every corner of the globe.


This year, the festival will open with The 12 O’Clock Boys, a fast-paced and dangerous coming-of-age story from Baltimore. It focuses on Pug, a 13 year-old boy, whose sole ambition is to join the infamous 12 O’Clock Boys biker gang. While the bikers invade the Baltimore inner-city streets, the police are forbidden to chase them, for fear of endangering the public. The screening will be followed by live music from DVA and an opening night party.

The Act Of Killing is sure to become one of the festival’s biggest talking points and has already been dubbed 2013’s most controversial film. It’s a deeply troubling film with the potential to change how audiences think and feel about cinema, focusing on the gangsters who slaughtered communists in a 1965 massacre in Indonesia, documenting their killings through bizarre narrative cinema. The screening is part of Open City Docs’ Theatre Of The Oppressor strand of films - a fresh perspective on a major trend in international documentary this year. The festival welcomes the director to London for an exclusive masterclass on cinema, trauma and memory.

Open City Docs is screening the much-anticipated Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer at The Bloomsbury Theatre at this year’s festival, bringing the sheer devastating power of their art to life and illuminating the ongoing political struggles in the domains of gender and social equality.

The festival will end with Sofia’s Last Ambulance by Bulgarian director, Ilian Metev. This documentary won the France 4 Visionary Award at Cannes in 2012, and whose unlikely heroes save lives against all the odds, while chain-smoking and filling their days with their own brand of humour. Using an unorthodox creative form and avoiding all trace of sensationalism, this film asks how long they can continue to come to the sick and injured’s rescue, through the voices, sounds and lights of one of Sofia’s last ambulances.

Michael Stewart, Open City Docs Fest director, said: “This year we’re asking questions. Questions of filmmakers, questions of artists and also questions of ourselves - part of a provocative programme of films that we are confident will help shape the news agenda in 2013, inspire a new generation of filmmakers and entertain broad audiences from right across London and beyond.

“We want to celebrate the documentarian who changes things. Not only changing their world, but changing our understanding of the wider world. Open City Docs’ unique set of masterclasses, workshops and special events will go some way to equipping audiences with the tools to create their own films.

He added: “The whole team here at Open City Docs and across UCL have worked incredibly hard over the past year to put together our best festival programme yet - we are looking forward to welcoming everyone here at the end of June.”

Amongst the Open City Docs Fest jurors this year are award-winning directors, producers and authors. Jeremy Irons will be joined by Pulitzer bre Prize-winning author Anne Applebaum; BAFTA Award-winning director and producer Molly Dineen;Sundance Award-winning director Kim Longinotto;  Katerina Cizek, the Emmy-winning director of digital documentaryHighrise; and the producer of Into the Abyss, Andre Singer and director Brian Hill (Secret History of Our Streets).

Open City Docs Fest films are organised into thematic strands, that offer unique perspectives on real lives often never seen on screen that challenge the nature of what documentary can be.  Strands include:

Science Frictions; films investigate the impact of medical science on our daily lives. Featuring:

Legally Wasted by BAFTA-winning filmmaker Dan Reed explores the many-headed Hydra that is the market for ‘legal highs’ in the UK. It will be shown conjunction with a director Q&A with a leading criminologist.

Challenging Behaviour is a UK premiere and asks fundamental questions of how we bring up children with autism.

I Am Breathing is an intimate look at human life and legacy as a dying Yorkshire man records a message to his son. It is another UK premiere, screening on Motor Neurone Disease Global Awareness Day.

Hybrid Forms; examines films that transcend the nature of documentary, fiction and art. It features films such as:

To The Wolf, a dark yet beautiful portrait of Greek mountain farmers and their dysfunctional lives, overshadowed by the Greek economic crisis

Wonder House, an international premiere looking at what first makes a scientist explore the world

Elena, a UK premiere of a Brazilian film about a young girl’s cathartic search for her sister, and with it, her identity

Moving Lives focuses on intimate meetings with extraordinary characters, featuring films such as:

Grass, an international premiere of a Turkish film about family, identity and struggle.

A Dream In The Making, a UK premiere of a Polish film set in Warsaw, following a young man with big dreams of becoming a stuntman

Matthew’s Laws, a UK premiere asking profound questions of how society should make room for people with autism - this will be accompanied by a director Q&A, chaired by Jonathan Wolff from UCL’s Philosophy dept

Power Struggles explores anxieties over access to energy, its sustainability and solutions for the future, with films like:

Black Out which depicts Guinean children’s search for light at airports and petrol stations so that they can continue studying after dark

Powerless, an international premiere about an Indian Robin Hood-figure who taps into the Indian electricity lines and diverting electricity from the rich to those who can’t afford it

Solar Mamas, a film showing a Bedouin woman’s journey to becoming a solar engineer against the wishes of her husband and her community

City Stories covers cinematic negotiations of the urban environment are covered by the strand:

Andreas Dalsgaard’s film The Human Scale which attempts to reconcile the design of modern mega-cities with human intimacy. This film screening will be followed by a panel discussion with representatives from Publica and Gehl Architects.

Grasp the Nettle, a world première of a UK group’s efforts to establish an alternative society outside of consumerism, eventually occupying Parliament Square.

Tchoupitoulas which follows the Zanders brothers’ night-time adventure in the heart of the vibrant city of New Orleans.

World Visions showcases new narrative perspectives on global journalism, such as:

Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer, on one of the biggest global news stories of 2012 - the trial of three members of Pussy Riot, a feminist collective who protested the Russian church and state.

Iceland, Year Zero which focuses on the aftermath of the collapse of the three main banks in Iceland of 2008, which plunged a nation into bankruptcy

The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear, a fascinating portal into post-Soviet Georgian society through intimate interviews with teenagers by Tinatin Gurchiani who won Best Director at Sundance.

The Theatre Of The Oppressor strand takes as its theme the new trend in cinema focusing on perpetrators as protagonists. The strand features films such as:

The Act of Killing, a disturbing powerful work on the nature of catharsis, through recreating the narrative of mercenary killings during the massacre of communists in Indonesia in 1965. The screening will be followed by a directors’ Q&A, and the director will also be hosting a masterclass on the filmmaking process and its ethics.

No Man’s Land interviews a mercenary in his sixties, revealing the cruelties and paradoxes of power.

Duch: Master of the Forges of Hell, a film by masterful Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panth focusing around an interview of the man who ran the notorious S-21 Khmer Rouge Prison where at least 12, 280 people lost their lives.

Music Docs; are films at the intersection of sound, art and storytelling.

Nocturne a UK premiere of Tony Palmer’s documentary on Benjamin Britten, examining the artist’s role.

Turning steps into the world of Antony And The Johnsons on a live tour, a series of intimate portraits.

In addition to the exciting and extensive screening programme, there will be the opportunity to participate in interactive workshops and masterclasses with acclaimed directors.

Workshops this year include:

Searching for an Escape in 70 mins - Working with filmmaker Chris Martin, invited participants will construct a short in-camera-edited film looking at the themes present in Jaywick Escapes (a film about an Essex seaside town) such as: How do you define home? What do you do to escape? Where do we go from here?

Filming to Change the World - What makes a documentary make a difference? - an interactive session on how documentaries can propel change, whether political or social

and there will be masterclasses such as:

Digital Documentary in the 21st Century, with Katarina Cizek - exploring a new kind of documentary practice born from the possibilities of storytelling through the internet such as interactive collaboration and immersive onlien experiences

Cinema and Memory with Joshua Oppenheimer - the director of The Act of Killing discusses the ethics raised in the film-making process and the interplay of fiction and non-fiction in re-telling community memories.

Fancy winning tickets for a screening of I Am Breathing to be screened on 21st June? Head over to here(link take you to our main site at thepeoplesmovies.com), remember for more information head over to Open City Docs official website and to purchase tickets too. Be different watch a Documentary instead!Before you book your tickets check out the festival's official trailer



 The OPEN CITY DOCS FEST runs from 20-23 June in London. www.opencitydocsfest.com

BFI To Release John Casavettes' The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie On DualPlay This July

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, released on 15 July 2013, is the fifth and final title in the BFI's John Cassavetes Collection. Presented on Blu-ray for the first time, it is released in a Dual Format Edition (containing both DVD and Blu-ray) in both its original 1976 cut and Cassavetes’ re-edited shorter 1978 version. Also available on the same date will be a Limited 3-Disc Collector’s Edition which has a bonus DVD containing the documentary Anything for John (1993), the short film The Haircut (1982), and an interview with Tamar Hoffs, director of The Haircut.

In an absorbing performance, Ben Gazzara plays small-time Sunset Strip entrepreneur Cosmo Vitelli, owner of the Crazy Horse West night spot. An obsessive showman, Cosmo navigates a murky world of loan sharks and crooks to keep his club afloat, but, when a gambling debt spirals out of control, he is blackmailed into accepting a murderous commission.

Featuring standout turns by Seymour Cassel and Timothy Agoglia Carey as the underworld racketeers out to fleece Cosmo, John Cassavetes' portrayal of one man's hubristic descent subverts the conventions of its plot to explore the darker regions of the American dream.

Arguably the most plot-driven of all his films, Cassavetes withdrew The Killing of a Chinese Bookie shortly after the initial release and subsequently cut a new version which features different scenes.

Check out this funny clip from the documentary Anything For John, in which actor Ben Gazzara talks about the time he and Cassavetes discussed the film's title. The documentary the clip is from is included as a bonus on the BFI's 3-Disc Collector's Edition of The Killing of a Chinese Bookie.

Special features
• Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition
• Includes the original 1976 cut of The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
• Selected scenes commentary on 1976 version by Al Ruban and Peter Bogdanovich
• Illustrated booklet with a newly commissioned essay by Tom Charity

Limited 3-Disc Collector's Edition - Dual Format - As above, plus:
• The Haircut (Tamar Simon Hoffs, 1982, bonus DVD only): John Cassavetes stars as a busy music executive sidetracked by a haircut in Hoffs' delightful directorial debut
• Anything for John (Doug Headline, 1993, 91 mins, bonus DVD only): feature length documentary tribute to John Cassavetes, featuring interviews with Peter Falk, Gena Rowlands and Al Ruban
• Tamar Hoffs interview (Doug Headline, 1993, 6 mins, bonus DVD only)

Pre-Order/Buy The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie:Dual Play (DVD + Blu-ray) / 3-Disc Limited Edition (DVD & Blu-ray)

Joss Whedon Talks Shakespeare and Superhero’s Ahead of his Latest Release

Buffy creator Joss Whedon answered my questions at this year’s Glasgow Film Festival; ahead of the UK premiere of his latest big-screen endeavour: an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. In addition to the release of Much Ado, Whedon is currently working on Avengers 2 and its forthcoming spin-off TV show, S.H.I.E.L.D.

Much Ado About Nothing departs from the Whedon canon, as unlike fan favourites such as Firefly and The Avengers, it is not science fiction (however – with the film’s script making use of original Shakespearean dialogue – it could be said that this also functions as a form of fantasy). Whedon notes the alterations in filming a much smaller scale production this time around than with The Avengers, saying: “It’s quite different. Ultimately what you’re looking for on the set is that camaraderie, where everybody’s pulling in the same direction. When you’re doing Avengers – and this is something that I’m hoping to rectify – you didn’t really have the same, everybody working on a huge movie, coming off another huge movie (with people much bigger than you are), and going off to do another huge movie with someone much bigger than you are; and their just sort of jobbing. When we did Buffy, people would come up and go ‘Oh, this is my favourite script’, they understood why they were doing everything. When we were shooting Avengers, a crew came up to me on the Helicarrier and said to me ‘Are we in space?’…and I realised oh they haven’t been allowed to read the film, because Marvel is so secret. Also cause there’s so many people and you’ve got to spend so much time blowing stuff up and this that and the other. With this film, I’m at my house, with my best friends, and every day we’re completing at least one – if not more – really thick, meaty delightful scenes. So we go away every day going ‘God we just accomplished all this as opposed to ‘we shot a tenth of that explosion and tomorrow…’. It’s a very different feeling. Ultimately, you try and get to the same thing. The camaraderie on set, of the Avengers themselves, was absolutely terrific. The only problem of them was that they would not. Stop. Talking. They were having so much fun…’Guys we have to shoot a film…will you please shut up’…That didn’t happen on Much Ado because we had twenty minutes to make the film.


Whedon praises his actors – most of whom he has worked with on previous projects – for their ability to handle the source material so well. He states, “A lot of them were classically trained, Alexis and Amy and Reed had theatre experience; and those who weren’t, I just had confidence in, particularly Nathan, who had no confidence in himself; which is an amazing thing to say about Nathan Fillion. He was very worried about it, and he tried to duck out of it. I was like ‘I’ll trim the part, I’ll take you out of that one scene where you don’t talk, but I don’t care how busy you are on Castle, you’re gonna do this!’ He closes the book on Dogberry. I can’t imagine a better version. But for some people it was a little bit new, and tricky; for some who hadn’t it came very naturally. Sean had also never done any Shakespeare and you would never know from the film. He’d also never played a bad guy, I was like ‘Whaaat’… you’re far too pretty not to have played a bad guy.” Fortunately, the filmmaker was lucky enough to get his perfect cast, stating: “You know, yeah I got pretty much everyone I wanted to. I had this idea of Claudio as a jock, as a warrior, and not as a huge wet. I forgot that Fran, when he played the nerd on Dollhouse or the stoner on Cabin, we had to layer tons of clothing on him to hide the fact that he’s incredibly buff. And he’s got such a gentle face and demeanour, you would never think of him as this kind of guy, but I couldn’t have been happier, I think he was absolutely the right guy for it. His commitment, to being a dick, was so great. And Clark I wanted for Leonato, he had fallen out and Tony Head was gonna do it, then he fell out, then Bradley Whitford fell out, everyone’s schedule kept not working. Then finally I called Clark again and said ‘so is that thing that you were doing still happening, in this month?’…he was like ‘You’re fucking kidding right?’ Those were his exact words. He said ‘Don’t you start shooting in three days?’ I was like ‘You can come over now!’ So yeah, I really got exactly who I wanted, even down to the first and second watchmen who I had never met but was just a fan of.”

Undoubtedly, helming the largest grossing film of all time was a slight change of pace for Whedon. “At the very beginning of Avengers I had a little moment, and thought ‘Oh my God it’s bad…I have a lot of money…’ And, my wife said, ‘It’s just a story’, and the moment she said that I was done with worrying, and I never have since. The flip side of never worrying, is that when it blows up huge, you don’t really get to go ‘Yay’, because you think ‘That was the point. Wasn’t that what we were trying to do?’ And it did, more than I could have hoped. But, that’s because I didn’t hope. I couldn’t afford to think about numbers, because that would hamper my storytelling. All I can say is the first three weeks of doing The Avengers this was more like doing an internet musical than anything I’ve ever worked on: nothing was ready, the actors weren’t available; everything was being juggled at the last minute. Yep, here we are, it’s an internet musical. So you’re always one step ahead of the reaper, or the giant Indiana Jones ball. No matter what you’re working on. Any schedule will give you just not enough time.” Now having a little experience behind his belt, Whedon has been able to engage more fully with the entirety of the creative process second time around: “When I came in on Avengers the first time, the script had to just be thrown out. And so we were under the gun, with storyboarding sequences that I hadn’t even written yet. Which was frustrating, because you cannot let the ball overtake you. As talented as these people are - being some of the best in the business - your job is to be the storyteller, and you’re gonna get something generic if you don’t stay in front of it. Now, I feel like I have an opportunity to design scenes and set-pieces. Not that I didn’t design the ones that are in the first film, but now in a much more relaxed and holistic, and even possibly artistic way.”

As Avengers 2 will not hit cinemas until 2015, it is too early to think about what other projects he will take on in the future. Despite being an avid fan, don’t count on another Shakespeare adaptation. “For years I wanted to do a film of Hamlet, until everybody else was, and so I tabled it. It would be delightful to do another film, with this exact cast, in that exact style; but I feel like part of the attraction of it was that it was something I had never done. It is no longer something I have never done and so my heart sort of goes more towards things that are untested, because one wants to challenge oneself, as one realises that one’s life is dwindling.”

Finally, I asked Joss: If you could live the life of one of your characters for 24 hours, who would it be? To which he responded: “Well…Benedick gets to make out with Beatrice a lot…Gosh. I think I would probably go with Tony. His life doesn’t suck. I’m already as messed up as he is, so I may as well have a cool flying little suit.”

Joss Whedon's version of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing is released in UK&Irish cinemas from Friday 14th June.

Sophie Stephenson

Film's Best Priests (To The Wonder Feature)

To celebrate the release of TO THE WONDER DVD &Blu-ray release on 17 June, we take a look at cinema’s best portrayals of priests in film, starting with Javier Bardem as Father Quintana in Terrence Malick’s poetic meditation on love, doubt and conflict.

Javier Bardem in To the Wonder
In To the Wonder, Father Quintana (Javier Bardem) is battling a crisis of faith and provides solace to Marina (Olga Kurylenko), whose relationship with Neil (Ben Affleck) has become strained. Quintana’s self doubt and internal conflict also provides a parallel to Neil’s turmoil. Bardem provides a touching performance that creates a deeply reflective mood.


Anthony Perkins in Catch-22
With a fantastic cast (Martin Sheen, Jon Voight, Alan Arkin, and Anthony Perkins as Chaplain Captain A.T. Tappman) and funny plot, this War-time comedy, Catch 22, follows the story of a set of men entangled in the Vietnam war. It fast becomes more about the hilarious shenanigans, such as a captain trying to escape the war by feigning insanity, while others have actually descended into madness, and the troops’ supplies are sold for profit! Chaplain Tappman attempts to make sense of things amongst all the absurdity.


Pat O’Brien in Angels with Dirty Faces
Angels with Dirty Faces presents the tale of two childhood friends growing up in a tough neighbourhood – one becomes a gangster, Rocky (James Cagney), the other, Jerry (Pat O’Brien), becomes a priest. Father Jerry helps guide kids who must endure a hard life in a crime-ridden neighbourhood and choose between crime and living straight – much like the decision he and Rocky had to make.


Max von Sydow in The Exorcist
In William Friedkin's classic chilling horror, The Exorcist (1973), Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) performs the ultimate act by evicting Satan from little Regan’s (Linda Blair) soul with courage and conviction. Despite the terrifying prospect of battling Satan, Father Merrin, remains resolute in his battle with the devil and dies in his attempt to purify her soul, while his fellow priest Karras sacrifices his life to rid the demon. The purging scene is perhaps one of film’s most memorable and famous scenes of all time.


Robert de Niro in Sleepers
The legendary Robert de Niro takes on the role of priest in Sleepers, and delivers a superb performance as a protective, truly fatherly character to several local boys who look upon him for emotional support and guidance. Amongst a phenomenal cast, from Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Bacon, to Brad Pitt, De Niro leads the pack in this crime thriller providing a strong role throughout.