EIFF 2013 - Frances Ha Review

Rating:
15
Release:
21-22 June (EIFF) 26th July 2013 (UK Cinema)
Director:
Noah Baumbach
Stars:
Greta Gerwig,
Mickey Sumner,
Adam Driver

Chances are the most charming film you will see at this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival is Noah Baumbach's Frances Ha. The feature sees him team up with Greta Gerwig in what serves as a love letter to New York and an amusing glimpse at the crossroads in life that many twentysomethings will undoubtedly find themselves at.

Frances is an amusingly awkward young woman (who her friend dubs 'undateable') drifting between her student-like lifestyle and ever approaching adult responsibilities.

Baumbatch's feature has a real sense of authenticity and addresses issues that many young people will undoubtedly feel after moving on from years of studying. We see Frances' best friend move into a serious relationship, her struggle to make her career as a dancer work out, and her failure to connect with adults. These are showcased through Gerwig and Baumbatch's smart screenplay and Gerwig's immediately likeable and rich performance. Whilst it does have a tendency to drift Frances Ha ultimately works because Frances is a character that simply finds herself drifting through life.

There's a great self-awareness to Frances Ha - it is clear that she is incredibly awkward (hilariously showcased on one scene where she attempts to play fights with someone who does not get her) - yet this is what makes her such a fascinating and undeniably watchable protagonist. There is something admirable about such a lost and aimless character in today's nine-to-five society, but she is also one driven by fun and expression. Gerwig packs her performance with a slight sensitivity and manages to craft a sense of sympathy in a role that may have lacked it in an another actor's hands.

The setting of New York and black and white style immediately echoes the charm of Woody Allen's earlier features, whilst Baumbach appears inspired from the likes of the French New Wave to Lena Dunham's Girls. Baumbach's soft, intimate direction crafts a delicate sense of breezy light-heartedness which makes Frances Ha a very absorbing watch.

Frances Ha's charming aesthetic and amusing yet sympathetic narrative and characters results in a stellar concoction, perfectly channelled through Gerwig's pitch perfect leading performance. Frances Ha is a film viewers will be unlikely to forget.

★★★★☆

Andrew McArthur

EIFF 2013 - Shooting Bigfoot Review

Morgan Matthews' Shooting Bigfoot is likely to be a firm fan favourite of this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival. Matthews' feature is an amusing and occasionally dark look into the world of 'bigfoot hunting' with enough originality and fun to become an instant cult classic.

Matthews' journey sees him shadow a variety of bigfoot obsessives and study the skills they use in their attempts to capture the elusive sasquatch. This is not so much a documentary on bigfoot (obviously, because it doesn't exist) but on the eccentric men who devote their life to finding the creature.

Shooting Bigfoot does not set out to exploit these men and their beliefs in any way with Matthews taking an admirable agnostic approach towards the existence of bigfoot. The bigfoot hunters however, do not take such an approach - they seem to be split into two defined categories, those that hold a genuine believe in the creature and those that seek to exploit the concept of bigfoot for some quick cash. Those in the former are Dallas and Wayne, two working class elderly men who dub themselves 'bigfoot researchers'. Both men seem convinced at the existence of the creature - with Wayne continually howling into the woods and Dallas believing every shadow is the mysterious sasquatch.

However, it is the more morally ambiguous bigfoot hunters who make the most fascinating subjects in Matthews' film. Rick Dyer, a man who attempted to hoax the Bigfoot equivalent of the 1990's alien autopsy - is one of these. Dyer notes he 'has no friends' which is unsurprising from his intimidating behaviour and facetious opinions. Shooting Bigfoot even turns into a terrifying Southern Comfort/Hills Have Eyes style horror when showcasing Matthews' hunting trip with Dyer who conveys a slightly darker side to his personality - resulting in a nerve-shreddingly tense and unsettling conclusion. An encounter with a shifty knife-wielding homeless man and his mysteriously injured dog on the same trip alludes to more terrifying behaviour than anything that a sasquatch could perpetrate.

Many will be most impressed by Matthews' shadowing of Tom Biscardi - a man who could only be described as a dream candidate for anyone wanting to make an amusing documentary. Biscardi is a man with a staggering sense of self-importance (after all he made Bigfoot Lives 2) who leads a ragtag band of hunters including Youngblood - an overzealous tracker and Chico - a bewildered former veteran and fall guy to Biscardi's own stupidity. Highlights include Biscardi conducting an interview with a bigfoot victim who does not want to be named - yet Biscardi uses his name in every sentence - it's Rocky by the way. However, it's the slick hunter's frequent demands and insults that had me in hysterics - such as "Get me a snapple!"and "You ask him for the time and he makes you a damn watch!"

Shooting Bigfoot is a terrifically charming and inherently amusing watch thanks to the host of eccentrics that fill Matthews' stellar feature. The film's sinister undercurrent and genuinely terrifying conclusion also provides a dark edge to the tale, resulting in the feature feeling like a rather substantial watch. Now god damn it, someone get me a snapple!

★★★★☆

Andrew McArthur

Director: Morgan Matthews
Release: EIFF 21/22 June 2013

EIFF 2013 - Before You Know It Review

Despite all the big arrivals at the Edinburgh International Film Festival (we've had The Bling Ring, Monsters University, The East etc.), this year's standout features have all been relatively low key documentaries. Whilst these documentaries may not have the star-power or budgets of this Hollywood fare, the impact and heart of the stories they tell could not be paralleled in any fictional work. Before You Know It is just one of these staggeringly powerful documentaries that will leave viewers thinking well after watching the film.

PJ Raval's Before You Know It looks at the lives of three separate gay seniors living in the USA. Each man has lived a very different life and faced their own challenges, yet all are connected through the strength and guts they fearlessly share.

The film opens with widowed Dennis Creamer, who was long married and lives in the conservative South. Before You Know It details Dennis' move to a gay-friendly Oregon nursing-home and the senior's alternative persona, Dee. The least confident of the three men, Dennis's story is a melancholic one as he discusses his thoughts about suicide, detachment from his relatives and his lonely lifestyle. However, there is also a huge element of warmth and likeability to Dennis - seeing him boast the guts to walk down busy streets in drag (even boarding a Pride float in Dee drag) or embark solo on a youth-heavy gay cruise capture how truly brave this former-veteran is. Raval is an unimposing figure, with Dennis and the film's other subjects always appearing at ease and comforted under the lens.

The second of the seniors is Ty Martin an African-American gay activist for SAGE (Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders) living in traditionally homophobic Harlem. We learn how AIDS/HIV killed many of Ty's friends and follow him through the passing of New York's same-sex marriage bill. Ty's story is slightly more upbeat than Dennis's as it showcases changing attitudes to GLBT citizens in Harlem, where we see the activist set a sidewalk stand to promote SAGE and even see him act as best man in his best friend's same-sex wedding.

The third of these inspiring elders is Robert Mainor, proprietor of trashy Galveston gay bar Robert LaFitte's. Robert claims he was "always out" and provides a lot the humour in Before You Know It, especially in sequences showing the camp senior going hunting for Hawaiian shirts at garage sales or bantering with the dragged up staff performing in his bar. Robert's tale is also a sad one - Paval documents how he lost his partners and takes a lesser role in the bar as a result of continual health problems. However, Robert's tale does remain inspiring - seeing how his bar unites the Texas gay community is heart-warming, as is seeing the love between the staff, clients and Robert.

Before You Know It is reminds us that these seniors have and still continue to pave the way for new generations of LGBT youths and the courage they display shows no bounds. These are touching stories packed with warmth, sadness, fun, and most importantly, strength.

★★★★☆

Andrew McArthur

Director: P J Raval
Release: 29-30th June 2013 (EIFF)

Jack Hill's Foxy Brown / Spider Baby BluRay Review

The fantastic Arrow Video has released 2 films by Jack Hill films Spider-Baby and Foxy Brown on blu-ray. Jack Hill has been by called “The Howard Hawks of exploitation filmmaking” by Quentin Tarantino. Jack Hill like many directors of his generation worked for Roger Corman in the 1960s he made such films for Roger as Pit Stop, The Big Doll House and the notorious The Terror (which Francis Ford Coppola directed bits of as well as Monte Hellman and even Jack Nicholson). Spider-Baby however was Jack Hill’s first real film but wasn’t released for years and was never properly released till the 80s/90s.

Spider-Baby is a rare slice of “California Gothic”, very few films are with only Psycho and some of Tim Burton’s films. The film is about these 3 children in puberty who are regressing the evolutionary ladder if you will; a backwards Darwinism if you will. They have a chauffeur Bruno played by Lon Chaney Jr. (the one who played The Wolf Man). The title Spider-Baby refers to Virginia because she is obsessed with Spider and hunts and bills bugs and her spider like movements. The film starts with them killing off an innocent postman. Bruno has mean able to keep the dark family secrets hidden all these years but when some cousins Emily and her brother Peter with their lawyer come it is all revealed over a grotesque dinner.

The film is a predecessor to something like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which it’s depicted of inbred cannibalistic family even though the cannibalism is all implied. It’s a very strange film with a dinner scene reminiscent of the one in Eraserhead. It’s shot in glorious black and white, which really adds to the gothic weirdness of the whole thing. The film starts a hilarious parody of the Monster Mash sung by Lon Chaney. The film also has an early role for Sid Haig as one of the inbred kids. It has in recent years even been adapted into a musical.

Foxy Brown is a very different film to Spider-Baby. It’s a quintessential piece of Blaxploitation and it stars the queen of Blaxploitation Pam Grier as its title character. Jack Hill is known for many things but probably most for discovering Pam Grier with his film The Big Doll House (which like Lon Chaney sang the title song in that film). Pam’s star making role was in the classic Coffy that Jack Hill also directed.

Foxy Brown was originally meant to be a sequel to Coffy due to its surprise success but American-International Pictures at the last minute decided they didn’t want a sequel. The film is some ways is rewrite the Coffy. Pam Grier plays a foxy mama who seeks revenge on some criminals on what they did to her loved one; in Coffy it was her sister. Foxy Brown it’s her boyfriend who is witness protection (he has had cosmetic surgery) who is shot down by a drug syndicate. She poses as a prostitute to infiltrate the organization. She helps one of the prostitute from a life drugs and sexual exploitation. The rest of the film is all revenge themed set pieces including one of castrating.

The film as expecting is a total hoot from start to finish with Pam Grier killing everyone; she literally hides a gun into her Afro in the climax. It’s normal case the soundtrack for Blaxploitation films to have a great soundtrack and it’s certainly the case this time with music by Willie Hutch who also did the score for the pimpin’ classic The Mack. The film is certainly on par with its predecessor Coffy, it may not quite reach the dizzy heights of that film but it’s a blast. The film like Spider-Baby and Coffy also features a supporting role by Sid Haig who Jack Hill knew since his student days. Tarantino famously adapted the title for his masterpiece Jackie Brown that of course stars Pam Grier.

Arrow Video has put lots of love and care into these releases which a wealth of bonus material with a doc on Blaxploitation, a doc on Spider Baby, interviews with Sid Haig, commentaries by Jack Hil on both films, one of Jack Hill’s short films. Arrow is rapidly becoming one of the best home video companies in the UK and look out for more by them in recent months and maybe some day they can release Coffy.

★★★★☆

Ian Schultz

Spiderbaby (1968)
Rating: 18
BluRay Release Date: 24th June 2013(UK)
Director: Jack Hill
Cast: Lon Chaney Jr., Carol Ohmart,Quinn K. Redeker,Sid Haig
Buy Spider Baby: Blu-ray




Foxy Brown (1974)
Rating: 18
BluRay Release Date: 24th June 2013(UK)
Director: Jack Hill
Cast:  Pam Grier, Antonio Fargas, Peter Brown
Buy Foxy Brown: Blu-ray / SteelBook [Blu-ray]

Spike Island Review

This one could not have come along at a better time. The Stone Roses' return to the music scene last year, followed up by gigs in London a little over a week ago, and Shane Meadows' eulogizing love letter-cum-documentary, has seen interest in the band at its highest in decades.

Not since they signed off with a Reading festival set so dire that it has since assumed the status of arguably the worst live performance of any Manchester band, have The Roses been so bloody prevalent. There's a palpable wave of goodwill for Spike Island to surf, which can only help its chance of finding an audience beyond devotes of the baggy quartet.

Mat Whitecross' tale of youthful abandon centres around The Roses' 1990 gig at Spike Island (near Widnes), a show which may even have attained an even greater mythical standing than the aforementioned palava, and a young band's desperate attempts to ensure they are involved in the fun and games.

Young Tits (Elliott Tittensor) and his bands mates, the venerable Shadowcastre, are having a right time of it kicking about their Manchester estate. School's a drag and life at home ain't much better for the gang, a preposterously named bunch of mononymous toe-rags, sporting monikers that wouldn't sound out of place amongst the well-thumbed pages of The Beano; Dodge is on rhythm guitar and Zippy the drums, leaving Penfold to assume the role of poor-man's Bez.

The boys idolise the The Stone Roses and will stop at nothing to crash their upcoming gig and make forge a reputation for themselves.

It's a coming-of-age, right-of-passage tale which certainly packs enough youthful energy to keep the show rolling along, even if it times it feels as if the script may have been cribbed from a copy of the Mancunian Book of Cliches.

The dialogue frequently descends into extended bursts of Manc patois but it's a good-as-gold tale of working class, northern ecentricity and music. Which in itself is no bad thing, but all this swaggering and floppy hair might not translate south of Crewe.

At times the the drudgery and domestic strife feels laboured and unwelcome, but at it's heart it's a film about the music; a story with a rock and roll sentiment, which should render it palatable for anyone with anything approaching an interest in great British music.

★★★☆☆

Chris Banks

Rating: 15
Release Date: 21st June 2013 (UK)
Director: Mat Whitecross
Cast:  Elliott Tittensor, Nico Mirallegro, Jordan Murphy, Emilia Clarke

EIFF 2013 - What Maisie Knew Review

Taking a classic piece of late-nineteenth century literature and adapting it in a contemporary fashion is a risky move that few filmmakers could convincingly pull off. However, Scott McGehee and David Siegel are two of the directors up to such a task as showcased in their delicately understated and truly touching adaption of Henry James's What Maisie Knew.

Maisie (Onata Aprile) is the child of pushy rock star Susanna (Julianne Moore) and distracted art-dealer Beale (Steve Coogan) - a couple who are in the middle of a bitter divorce. Maisie is pushed to-and-fro between her mother and new boyfriend Lincoln (Alexander Skarsgard) and her father and his fiancé Margo (Joanna Vanderham), Maisie's former nanny.

Nancy Doyne and Carroll Cartwright's delicate, slow-building screenplay captures the challenging effects that divorce can have on a child, especially those whose parents are so career-driven that their parenting style can only be described as negligent. Fiery performances from Moore and Coogan capture this at full force, but both actors display a welcome range in respective scenes which see them bond with Maisie. Doyne and Cartwright slowly build up the heart-wrenching emotional weight that this erratic behaviour has on Maisie, whilst also reflecting a truly warming kindness that she receives from initial outsiders, Lincoln and Margo. Maisie remains relatively contained, yet it is clear the weight and strain of the actions of those around her does begin to challenge the young child.

This is flawlessly showcased in one scene which sees Maisie's mother abandon her to go on tour. The young Maisie is temporarily taken in by strangers where we see the child's fear and heartbreak gradually break through in one understated shot where the young girl lets out a single stray tear. The scene is an agonising watch and represents the delicate directorial style of McGehee and Siegel, where a floodgate of gradual pain is masterfully showcased in one single tear.

Of course, the emotional impact of What Maisie Knew would be sorely less effective if not for young actress Onata Aprile. Aprile is a revelation - presenting a performance so authentically contained and controlled, yet packing such an emotional weight that it truly grounds the feature.

Whilst capturing the challenging nature of relationships, McGehee and Siegel also display the warmth and excitement of new romances through the ever-growing relationship between Lincoln and Margo. This is presented with such a natural tenderness and class that it is a challenge not to warmed - whilst must of this should also be credited to beautifully understated performances from Vanderham and Skarsgard.

What Maisie Knew's slow building screenplay packs a heart-wrenching emotional weight showcased through delicately understated direction and staggeringly authentic performances from Aprile, Vanderham, and their co-stars.

★★★★☆

Andrew McArthur

Stars: Onata Aprile, Julianne Moore, Steve Coogan, Joanna Vanderham , Alexander Skarsgard
Directors: Scott McGehee and David Siegel
Release: 20th June - 22nd June 2013 (EIFF) 23rd August 2013 (UK Cinema)

EIFF 2013 - The East Review

You would think a film like The East that details the work of anarchic environmental activists would make a thrilling watch, but unfortunately Zal Batmanglij's film squanders its original and simple premise through a series of crippling misfires.

With a screenplay from lead-actress Brit Marling and Batmanglij, The East details an operative (Marling) from an elite intelligence firm infiltrating an anarchist group who are targeting large corporations. However, her allegiances are challenged as she grows closer to this group of eco-terrorists who call themselves The East.

The East opens with a chilling sequence of crude oil pouring through the vents of a CEO's luxurious home after it's revealed he disposed of thousands of litres of the stuff in American waters. Batmanglij suggests that this will be a dark, subversive piece that sets out to readdress the balance between corporations and those that their greed hurts. Unfortunately excluding one other set piece (when The East elaborately poison executives with their own deadly painkiller) - we rarely see this happen. Instead Batmanglij's screenplay focuses on operative Sarah's growing relationship with the anarchists.

Despite this focus on relationships within The East, we never feel truly intimate or engaged by Sarah or the group. Instead the anarchists feel glazed over caricatures of eco-hipsters - they raid trash cans, feed each other, and jig to folk music, and there is little more to them than that. The screenplay is packed with a variety of inconsistencies like how Sarah could so easily be accepted in a well-established anarchist group or how a corporation could legally sell a drug that damages of the functions of everyone who takes it.

As for the implausible scenes involving the take-down of these corporations, they lack the excitement and drive that this film so sorely needed to kick it up a gear. The pace of Batmanglij's film remains slow, verging on downright tedious - episodes of ABC's Revenge showcase far more originality and tension whilst tackling the similar theme of corrupt corporation takedown (fans may remember Emily's take down of Bill Harmon's investment firm in the first season). This is particularly disappointing as The East boasts such a fantastic initial premise.

The performances also feel equally uneven with Brit Marling faring the worst. Despite previously shining in Arbitrage, Marling's performance feels flat here with the actress failing to display the range that this part needs. Sarah's draw towards The East despite her loyalty to her employers should have showcased an emotional struggle for the character, but Sarah simply seems impartial and unengaged by all of the events that surround her. The equally talented Ellen Page also appears squandered in a role that can simply be described as a whining brat.

On the positive side, both Alexander Skarsgard and Patricia Clarkson are excellent. Skarsgard displays a natural charisma and magnetism, whilst Clarkson packs an icy bite into the role of intelligence honcho Sharon.

Despite initially promising an exciting and subversive concept, The East is simply a flat and tedious look at the lives of unlikeable eco-hipsters that fails to showcase the readdressing of the balance of power between the social classes. It appears greed really is good.

★★☆☆☆

Andrew McArthur

Stars: Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgard , Patricia Clarkson, Toby Kebbell, Shiloh Fernandez
Director: Zal Batmanglij
Release: 20th June, 23rd June 2013 (EIFF),28th June 2013 (UK Cinema)
Rating: 15

Watch The Intense UK Trailer For Daniel Espinola's Easy Money aka Snabba Cash

There’s no such thing as ‘easy money’ in Stockholm’s dark underworld. There’s a price to pay for everything.It's been a long time coming but finally Daniel Espinola's Easy Money finally coming to UK, check out the film's official UK trailer.

Back in 2010 when the Swedish crime thriller was released in it's homeland Daniel Espinola was unknown but since then he has made his Hollywood debut with Safe House (Denzil Washington) and now it's time to see why Hollywood snapped the director up.

Easy Money (or Snabba Cash it's original name) tells the tale of a poor student living amongst the elite in Stockholm funding the wealthy lifestyle by selling cocaine. This 'Easy Money' becomes a gateway to the city's dark underworld of organised crime when he crosses paths with another dealer Jorge (Matias Padin Varela) who is on the run only to find himself also on the run been tracked by Mrado (Dragomir Mrsic).

The film has made a few appearances in UK film Festival most notably Glasgow Film Festival where it made it's UK debut along with Easy Money 2 (yes there's a sequel!) and more recently Nordic Noir in London Last Month. If your familiar with many of the Nordic TV Shows(original The Killing) you recognise Easy Money's lead if not you will soon as he's playing the new Robocop (released 2014), Joel Kinnaman. Easy money deliver the dark tension,violence and great storytelling so what better time to unleash the film on UK cinephiles. The film has been compared to a Swedish Goodfellas and how ironic Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas director) was a executive producer, enough said!

Easy Money arrives in UK&Irish cinema from Icon and Lionsgate UK on 19th July.

synopsis

JW (Joel Kinnaman) is a poor student living a double life among the wealthy elite in Stockholm. Using increasingly illicit means to fund his exclusive lifestyle, he hits on a chance to score ‘easy money’ through selling cocaine. As JW enters the dark world of organised crime, his fate entwines with that of Jorge (Matias Padin Varela), a drug dealer on the run, and Mrado (Dragomir Mrsic), a mob hitman tasked with tracking Jorge down.

J Is For July Release Of The ABCs Of Death In UK on DVD, BluRay

Monster Pictures announced today the full list of extras that will be included on the UK DVD and Blu-ray release of The ABCs of Death.

The ABCs of Death is perhaps the most ambitious anthology film ever conceived with productions spanning fifteen countries and featuring segments directed by over two dozen of the world's leading talents in contemporary genre film, including the directors of House of the Devil, Hobo with a Shotgun, A Serbian Film, Tokyo Gore Police, You’re Next & four British Directors - Ben Wheatley (Sightseers), Simon Rumley (Red, White & Blue), Jake West (Doghouse) & Leeds based Lee Hardcastle, who with his claymation short, won a competition to be the final Director. Inspired by children’s educational books, the motion picture is comprised of twenty-six individual chapters; each helmed by a different director assigned a letter of the alphabet. The directors were then given free rein in choosing a word to create a story involving death. Provocative, shocking, funny and ultimately confrontational, The ABCs of Death is the definitive vision of modern horror diversity.

This alphabetical arsenal of destruction orchestrated by what has been described as "a stunning roll call of some of the most exciting names in horror across the world." is one of the most hotly anticipated releases for 2013, and will be released on DVD & Blu-ray on 22 July 2013.

The DVD & Blu-ray extras are as follows:

- Filmmaker Commentary
- A Is for Apocalypse - Oil Burns Visual Effects
- B Is for Bigfoot - Making of
- C Is for Cycle - Deleted Scenes
- D Is for Dogfight - Making of
- F Is for Fart - Behind the Scenes
- H Is for Hydro-Electric Diffusion – Behind the Scenes, The Making of Bertie the Bulldog & Frau Scheisse and Finished Short vs. Behind the Scenes
- I Is for Ingrown - Making of
- J Is for Jidai-Geki - Behind the Scenes
- P Is for Pressure - Interviews with Writer/Director Simon Rumley and Producer/Director of Photography Milton Cam
- R Is for Removed - Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery
- T Is for Toilet - Behind the Scenes
- V Is for Vagitus - Deleted Scene, Behind the Scenes and Animatics.
- W Is for WTF! - Behind the Scenes, Bonus Flubs! and Star-Beast Outtakes
- Z Is for Zetsumetsu (Extinction) - Behind the Scenes
- AXS TV: A Look at The ABCs of Death
- Do You Know Your ABCs Trailer
- Redband Trailer

- Greenband Trailer


THE SHORTS
Apocalypse by Nacho Vigalondo (TimeCrimes), Spain
Bigfoot by Adrían Garcia Bogliano (Cold Sweat), Mexico
Cycle by Ernesto Díaz Espinoza (Mirageman; Mandrill), Chile
Dogfight by Marcel Sarmiento (Deadgirl), USA
Exterminate by Angela Bettis (Roman), USA
Fart by Noburu Iguchi, (Robo Geisha), Japan
Gravity by Andrew Traucki (The Reef), Australia
Hydro-Electric Diffusion by Thomas Malling (Norwegian Ninja), Norway
Ingrown by Jorge Michel Grau (We Are What We Are), Mexico
Jidai-Geki by Yudai Yamaguchi (Yakuza Weapon), Japan
Klutz by Anders Morgenthaler (Princess), Denmark
Libido by Timo Tjahjanto (Macabre), Indonesia
Miscarriage by Ti West (House of the Devil; The Innkeepers), USA
Nuptials by Banjong Pisathanakun (Shutter), Thailand
Orgasm by Bruno Forzani & Héléne Cattet (Amer), Belgium
Pressure by Simon Rumley (Red, White & Blue), UK
Quack by Adam Wingard (A Horrible Way to Die), USA
Removed by Srdjan Spasojevic (A Serbian Film), Serbia
Speed by Jake West (Doghouse), UK
Toilet by Lee Hardcastle (T is For Toilet), UK
Unearthed by Ben Wheatley (Kill List), UK
Vagitus by Kaare Andrews (Altitude), USA
WTF! by Jon Schnepp (Metalocalypse; The Venture Bros.), USA
XXL by Xavier Gens (Frontiers; Hitman), France
Youngbuck by Jason Eisener (Hobo With A Shotgun), Canada
Zetsumetsu by Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police), Japan

Buy The ABCs Of Death:DVD / BLU-RAY

BFI To Release A London Trilogy: The Films of Saint Etienne (2003-2007) On DVD In July

On 15 July the BFI will release A London Trilogy: The Films of Saint Etienne 2003-2007, bringing Finisterre, What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day? and This is Tomorrow together on one DVD for the first time. The trilogy is accompanied by a selection of rare and previously unavailable short films.

From a beautifully conceived film-poem and an imaginative exploration of the Lower Lea Valley to an uplifting documentary on a London landmark, the collaborations between electronic indie trio Saint Etienne and filmmaker Paul Kelly (Lawrence of Belgravia) document London's ever-changing environment and landscapes with music by the band.

Finisterre (2003), directed by Paul Kelly and Kieran Evans, is a homage to London featuring a host of well-known voices including Mark Perry, Julian Opie, Vic Godard and Lawrence who’ve made the capital their own, soundtracked by songs from the Saint Etienne album of the same name.

What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day? (2005) follows paperboy Mervyn Day on his round, tracing the fascinating hidden history of East London’s Lower Lea Valley in the years before it was redeveloped to become the Olympic Park. Guest voices include David Essex and Linda Robson.

Commissioned by the Royal Festival Hall to mark its renovation and grand reopening, This is Tomorrow (2007) lovingly records the immense labour and attention to detail that went into the refurbishment of one of London’s most distinguished concert venues.

The additional short films are:

• Today’s Special (2004): three shorts about London’s disappearing cafés
• Banksy in London (2003): outtakes from Finisterre documenting the artist’s work, some of which is no longer in situ
• Monty the Lamb (2006): a day in the life of Monty, mascot for North London’s Hendon FC
• Seven Summers (2012): Sarah Cracknell narrates this follow up to What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day?
• The Other South Bank (2008): a look at Teeside’s South Bank. 

Pre-order/Buy:A London Trilogy: The Films of Saint Etienne 2003-2007 [DVD]


Also included in a 32-page illustrated booklet with an introduction by Paul Kelly and new essays by Bob Stanley, Sukhdev Sandhu, Owen Hatherley and Tom Dyckhoff.

The DVD will be a launched with a BFI &Caught by the River screening event and Q&A attended by the band, at Rough Trade East, Brick Lane, E1 on Friday 12 July at 6.30pm which is free and open to all. More details here: Rough Trade

Hitchcock DVD Review

To fans, admirers he is Alfred Hitchcock but to his friends, colleagues to them you called him 'Hitch' hold the cock. Based on Stephen Rebello's Alfred Hitchcock And The Making Of Psycho, Sacha Gervasi's Hitchcock attempts to deliver the master of suspense at crossroads whilst creating his horror masterpiece Psycho. A film that has a rare insight into the relationship with the only woman to steal his heart and most of all his confidant, his co-collaborator Alma Reville (Helen Mirren) his wife.

Hitchcock starts at the premier of the 1959 North By Northwest, Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) is unnearved by a reporter who questions his ability at 60 to still produce the goods. With a new wave of filmmakers emerging could he still handle the pressure? Why not quit when he's ahead? Determined not to be pigeonholed  and not to become 'television show' Hitchcock searches high and low for that piece of magic to recapture his past glories delivering something fresh most of all something different.

It is thanks to the discovery of Robert Bloch's dark twisted Psycho Hitch finds himself a magical source, a novel based on the life of the infamous serial killer Ed Gein , but who'll support him?As ever Hitchcock's faithful agent Lew Wasserman but his support ended here as Paramount, the usual private investors all refused to support him forcing him to find the $800,000 needed to make the film in 30 days.

It's ironic you look at the relationship cinema has with Television now, the stigma of the reporter's TV comment  wouldn't raise an eyebrow when you see the likes of Steven Soderbergh's Behind The Candelabra only getting a TV S creening compared to cinema elsewhere. Even the likes of online with Netflix, Lovefilm, seeing someone like JJ Abrams, David Fincher direct tv amongst the cinema blockbusters wouldn't have been thought of in Hitch's time and now days the stress, pressure between the media are vitually the same.

Hitchcock is a film that really doesn't know what it really wants to be. Is it a Biopic? Soap style drama or comedy?If anything at times it's more like an extended Terry & June episode plenty of drama with a lot of comedy moments or was director Sacha Gervasi pulling off a McGuffin? What this film does do is capture a period of Hitch's career (Psycho era) rather than all his career and attempts to underline his fascination with Ed Gein. Hitchcock may not be a dark film tonely but it dips its fingers into that world nearly controlling his every move blurring reality  driving him into paranoia making him believe his nearest and dearest  was having an affair though we do see she was tempted on several occasions.

Anthony Hopkins may sound like the man nor a carbon copy lookalike of Hitchcock but what he does do well is capturing his personality, mannerisms, posture even his humour is near spot on too. The lack of delving into his past will frustrate some, even when they do in the briefest of moments to showcase his childlike, creepy voyeuristic tendancies is disappointing. In those scenes his fascination for blondes is touched going further into watching them from his peephole, a regular trait but not addressing the source which will annoy those thinking this is a 'biopic'.

Helen Mirren is personally the star of the show as Hitchcock's long suffering wife Alama. She is Hitch's rock, confidant, mother to his childlike traits most of all the driving force behind 99.9% her husband's success. Unaccredited but most of all deserving of the right to share in her husbands success which the film tries to attempt to fix, sort off. The fantastic chemistry between Hopkins and Mirren is one of the film's big selling points, compelling, funny and a distraction (in a positive way) as Hitchcock's family estate refused to show any of Psycho footage. This is also probably the reason why we see very little of James D'arcy who uncannily looks like a Anthony Perkins spitting image, Scarlett Johansson delivers a good astute performance as leading lady Janet Leigh.

Hitchcock may not be the perfect film nor totally satisfy the purists. At times it feels clumsy as if your been pulled in 2 different directions, so when it veneers one way just as the scene nears a conclusion it heads into something new making scenes feel incomplete. . As much as we've criticised the film, Hitchcock is still a highly entertaining film which captures the era very well, creating a stylish film. So when you have Hitch 'conducting' the screams of the people at the Psycho premier from behind the cinema doors, its certainly worth a look.

★★★☆☆

Paul Devine


Rating: 15
DVD/BD Release Date: 17th June 2013 (UK)
Directed by: Sacha Gervasi
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Danny Huston
Buy Hitchcock: DVD / Blu-ray (+ UV Copy)

Win Hitchcock on Bluray (ends 7th July - opens to a thepeoplesmovies.com page)

To The Wonder DVD Review

To The Wonder is Terrence Malick’s latest film and it’s been released in the shortest period between films for him ever… a gap of one year! He notoriously didn’t make a film for literally 20 years between Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line. He has only made 6 films in his 40-year career of directing films (He wrote drafts of some films like Dirty Harry and Pocket Money) beginning with his masterpiece Badlands (a top ten film for me). He is considered by many to be one of the cinema’s greatest living talents and any new film by Malick is a real event.

Malick isn’t a director known for his great story telling ability. He makes great films but he is a mostly visually storyteller first and foremost, most of films have a very simple plot. To The Wonder is no exception and very possibly his simplest. French woman meets American man in Paris, they move to Oklahoma, it doesn’t quite work out, she moves back, he meets somebody else and it doesn’t work out, she decides to move back.

The film as is the case with all of Malick’s films to a extent is a deeply spiritual film. Malick own believes’ are truly unknown because he has been interviewed proper in almost 40s and is rarely photographed. The title To The Wonder has obvious spiritual connotations. The spirituality of a film is most obvious in its subplot of the film deals with a priest having a crisis of faith played by Javier Bardem.

The film has a very ambiguous ending not unlike his previous film The Tree of Life. Both films have been important in Malick’s career, both are much more overtly spiritual (they both deal with god, faith, nature as religion etc.), both are much more overly experimental than even stuff like The Thin Red Line or The New World. They have been critically very divisive even though The Tree of Life was more acclaimed on release. The films stars on both films have been even spoke of their reservations Sean Penn and Ben Affleck respectively.

However despite the very experimental nature of the film doesn’t mean its bad film, it’s a very good film. I’ve seen To The Wonder twice now, it’s clearly a meditation on love and faith and the loss of both. It’s beautifully photographed, which is always the case. The film’s biggest flaw is the subtitled narration throughout which can be really distracting from the stunning visuals but Malick is well known for using narration (it’s used heavily in every film of his). It’s a beautiful film even though it has some flaws.

★★★★☆

Ian Schultz

Rating: 15
DVD/BD Release Date: 17th June 2013(UK)
Directed By: Terrence Malick
Cast: Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel McAdams, Javier Bardem
Buy To The Wonder: DVD / Blu-ray

Another Slick Trailer For Only God Forgives Slides Online

Despite the mixed vibes from Cannes Film Festival Nicholas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives is still high on many cinephile's most anticipated films to see this year and tonight your appetite will be re-nourished with another slick trailer.

Here in UK we might be just over 2 months to go before this Neon drenched slow burning revenge thriller invades our visual palettes but over on the other side of the Atlantic it arrives next month hence the new trailer. Only God Forgives set in Thailand, Ryan Gosling plays Julian a Thai Boxing club owner in Bangkok a club that's serves a front for his families drug running. Even is Hunky dory until a ruthless bent cop murders his brother forcing Julian's acid tongued mother to appear and demand her son seek revenge for his dead brother.

Some of the footage has already been seen in previous trailers & clips but this has enough new brutal footage to make it worth your  2 minutes of your time. The dialogue is minimal the silence ferocious feels just as Savage and domineering of hat comes out of Kristen Scott Thomas lips and once again this shows she will be the film's resident scene stealer. The word from the street Only God Forgives is one of those unique experience you have to witness first hand to appreciate the visceral richness that will play in front of us. It's not perfect but it has the makings to be a cut classic in years to come.



Only God Forgives arrive in UK&Ireland on 2nd August 2013 (USA 19th July), the film also stars Yayaying Rhatha Phongam, Vithaya Pansringarm, Tom Burke and Byron Gibson.

source: Yahoo! (via The Peoples Movies)

Watch First Trailer For Lynne Shelton's Touchy Feely

The queen of mumblecore Lynn Shelton returns with her latest dramedy Touchy Feely starring Rosemarie Dewitt as Abby a free spirited massage therapist who develops an aversion to human touch. This is not good for business for Abby not just professionally but also personally and her relationship with her boyfriend (Scoot McNairy).

The film made its debut at Sundance and Sundance London festivals this year, it's a film that sneaked onto cinephiles radar. Its probably Shelton's best ensemble unfortunately for those people who caught this film that cast seems to be the films strongest feature. Touchy Feely certainly looks a ambitious film and if your like us fans of Your Sister's Sister this film should still bring you  satisfaction and escapism for those film fans who want something different from the usual array of big Hollywood blockbusters that dominate the cinemas at this time of the year.

We don't actually have an UK&Irish release date yet but Touchly Feely is due a 6th September USA release date. The film also stars Ellen Page, Allison Janney, Josh Pais,Ron Livingston and Tomo Nakayama.

Synopsis

TOUCHY FEELY is a closely observed examination of a family whose delicate psychic balance suddenly unravels. Abby (Rosemarie DeWitt), is a sought after massage therapist and a free spirit, while her brother Paul (Josh Pais) thrives on routine and convention, running a flagging dental practice and co-dependently enlisting the assistance of his emotionally stunted daughter Jenny (Ellen Page). Suddenly, transformation touches everyone. Abby develops an uncontrollable aversion to bodily contact, which not only makes her occupation impossible but severely hinders the passionate love life between her and her boyfriend (Scoot McNairy).

source: Apple

Monster Pictures To Release The Long Awaited Little Deaths

Monster Pictures have announced the release of shocking and gruesome horror anthology Little Deaths, out on DVD and download from 12th August 2013.

Three boundary-pushing tales of sex and death from acclaimed British horror directors Sean Hogan (‘The Devil’s Business’), Andrew Parkinson (‘I, Zombie’), and Simon Rumley (‘ABCs of Death’, ‘Red White and Blue’, ‘The Living and the Dead’)

In House And Home, Sean Hogan’s opening segment, a ‘good Samaritan’ couple invite a pretty young homeless girl into their house for a meal and a bath. But when they reveal their perverted motive behind the charitable act, they soon discover that they are not the only ones with a dark hidden agenda for the night’s events.

Andrew Parkinson’s sci-fi horror segment Mutant Tool takes experimental drugs treatment to a whole new level. When a former prostitute visits a shady doctor and is given some tablets, she suffers headaches and nightmares. She soon learns that the unorthodox ‘treatment’ is preparing her for a sinister new role in a nightmare-ish medical experiment.

Simon Rumley’s Bitch completes the unholy trilogy. When a young woman’s kinky sex games and abusive character push her submissive boyfriend too far, she finds herself the victim of her worst fears – her phobia of dogs – and the sick revenge that her boyfriend has planned for her.

Pre-Order/Buy: Little Deaths ( House and Home / Mutant Tool / Bitch ) On DVD

Film 4 Frightfest 2013 Announce Opening And Closing Films

Big Bad Wolves from Israel and Indian Zombies signal global horror invasion at this year’s FrightFest. This year’s festival opens with the world premiere of The Ford Brothers THE DEAD 2: INDIA - the first-ever International production of a zombie film shot in India.

Howard and Jon Ford, the British director, writer and producer team behind the acclaimed African-set zombie road movie 'The Dead’ said today: “It's truly an honour to be the opening film – mind-blowing! Being at FrightFest for ‘The Dead’ was such an incredible experience for us and one of the highlights of our whole journey with the film. It's an awesome event with a brilliant crowd and we both sincerely cannot wait to see you all there!”.

The film follows the story of India-based American engineer Nicholas Burton (JOSEPH MILLSON) in a race against time to reach his pregnant girlfriend Ishani Sharma (MEENU). Burton enlists the help of an orphan street kid Javed (ANAND GOYAL) and together they make a perilous 300 mile journey across deadly landscapes as a zombie apocalypse threatens to engulf the entire nation.

Film4 FrightFest will close with the UK premiere of directors Aharon Keshales &Navot Papushado’s extraordinary revenge thriller BIG BAD WOLVES. Soaked in twisted tension, fairytale myth and seat-edged suspense, the film follows the lives of three men on a collision course: following a series of brutal murders: the father of the latest victim now out for revenge, a

vigilante police detective operating outside the law, and the main suspect in the killings - a religious studies teacher arrested and released due to a police blunder.

Aharon and Navot said today: “We always dreamt of having a film which would be good enough to be shown at FrightFest, but not even in our wildest dreams did we think that an Hebrew speaking revenge thriller would get us there. FrightFest is really making history here. As a token of our appreciation we promise to give everyone there a night they won't easily forget”.

All the directors and some cast members will be attending the festival.

Film4 FrightFest Co-director Alan Jones commented: “Film4 FrightFest is delighted with our Opening and Closing Film choices. Both THE DEAD 2: INDIA and BIG BAD WOLVES represent everything FrightFest is about; the discovery, nurturing and celebration of vital new voices in the genre. FrightFest launched the Ford Brothers' THE DEAD to worldwide acclaim in 2010 and Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado's RABIES in 2011 became the only movie in our entire 14-year history to warrant successive extra screenings based on overwhelming want-to-see demand. So to welcome both duos back with their stunning new movies, both exploring unusual cultural aspects within a remarkable genre framework is an absolute thrill. These films bookend Film4 FrightFest perfectly and hint at what we are trying to achieve this year - the best platform to deliver our broadest, most diverse and most surprising event ever”.

Film4 FrightFest, the UK’s biggest genre film festival, runs from Thursday 22 August to Monday 26 August at the Empire Cinema, Leicester Square. The full line up will be announced on Fri 28 June. Festival & day passes go on sale from 29 June. Tickets for Individual films are on sale from 27 July.

Bookings: 08 714 714 714 or www.empirecinemas.co.uk

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