Eureka Video Announce Their Masters Of Cinema 2014 Early Releases

Eureka Entertainment have announced via their twitter feeds (@eurekavideo and @mastersofcinema) their forthcoming releases in The Masters of Cinema series for the months of January, February and March 2014.

With a slate of titles that ranges from the most recent and 1980s American cinema (and, separately, the emergent Australian independent cinema), through to masterworks of the Italian cinema, and on to silent, and 1970s Hollywood, The Masters of Cinema Series runs the cinephile gamut once again with a seven-film January-March line-up that includes works by Federico Fellini, Samuel Fuller, Sidney Lumet, Francesco Rosi, William A. Wellman, Ted Kotcheff, and Andrew Bujalski. As if that weren't enough, Eureka Entertainment are also proud to announce an early summer release for one of Robert Altman's most revered films.

Producer of the Masters of Cinema Series, Craig Keller stated “In January, we welcome Andrew Bujalski into the Series for the first time with his smash indie-success Computer Chess (read review) that is currently enjoying a theatrical run across the UK following its British première at the London Film Festival. Alongside Computer Chess, William A. Wellman's Wings – the winner of the first ever Academy Award for Best Picture (1927-1928) will see its UK home-release premiere. Both titles will be released as Dual Format (Blu-ray + DVD) editions.


In February, we'll be releasing for the first time in the UK, a special edition Blu-ray and Ltd Edition Blu-ray SteelBook of Sidney Lumet's classic police drama starring Al Pacino — Serpico (Original Theatrical Trailer http://bit.ly/17Tt2mE ) Secondly, we'll be releasing a Blu-ray edition of Federico Fellini's 1972 epic colour spectacle, a love-letter to the past and present of the city he loved best: Roma .

Another Italian classic arrives in March in a Dual Format (Blu-ray + DVD) release: Francesco Rosi's gripping political procedural, Le mani sulla città [Hands Over the City]. March also finds us two of the most brutally unsparing and controversial independent works of the last forty years. The first is the long-awaited (and uncut) release of Ted Kotcheff's disturbing and subversive Wake in Fright, hailed by Nick Cave as "the best and most terrifying film about Australia in existence," and which Martin Scorsese has stated to have rendered him "speechless" — released in its brilliant 2009 restoration. Prior to its home-video release, Wake in Fright will be released theatrically in selected cinemas in the UK & Eire on 7 March 2014. Here is the brand new 2014 UK theatrical trailer . The second controversial release in March is Samuel Fuller's feverish White Dog, unavailable in the UK for decades, whose premise — a stray white dog turns out to have been conditioned to attack any black person on sight — was woefully misconstrued at the time of its 1982 release; it remains one of Fuller's most passionate anti-racist statements. Both of these works will also be released in Dual Format (Blu-ray + DVD) editions.”

Managing Director of Eureka Entertainment, Ron Benson added “The finest in world cinema abounds across these seven releases, supplemented as always with a spate of special features and extras, all presented with a meticulous attention to detail and design. The same ethos applies to a film we'll be releasing in May, and for which we're thrilled to be able to provide an early sneak-announcement: Robert Altman's epic 1970s ensemble classic, Nashville, released for the first time on UK home video, in a Dual Format (Blu-ray + DVD) edition.”

Blu-Ray Review - Heaven's Gate Restored Edition (1980)

Genre:
Western, Drama,
Distributor:
Second Sight
Rating:
15
BD/DVD Release Date:
25th November 2013 (UK)
Director:
Michael Cimino
Cast:
Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, John Hurt, Isabelle Huppert, Sam Waterston
Buy Heaven's Gate 2 disc restored edition:
[Blu-ray] / [DVD]

Heaven’s Gate, in the last thirty years or so, has created a reputation for being one of the most notorious flops in the history of film. In the past thirty years since its initial lukewarm reception it has been considered a masterpiece by many critics, but it’s equally reviled as being one of the worst films ever made, albeit that viewpoint has increasingly dwindled in recent years.

The making of Heaven’s Gate is as infamous as the film itself; it went wildly over budget, there are confirmed stories that the director Michael Cimino would literally wait for exactly the right cloud in the sky, and there are unconfirmed reports that a sizeable amount of the budget went on cocaine for the cast and crew.There’s been a very famous book on the making of called Final Cut, which was later made into a TV documentary which is included on this disc. It has been cited as the single film that took the power from the director, which was very much a thing of the 70s to more studio-controlled films, which is still sadly the case.

The story of Heaven’s Gate is relatively simple it’s about Jim Averill (Kris Kristofferson) who is a marshal in Johnson County, Wyoming. Averill is from money but has rejected his classes’ rejected attitude to the poor immigrates of Johnson County. The immigrates sometimes steal the rich cattle barons’ stock for food and the cattle owners have decided to create a kill list and have hired men to do the job and have got political power from Washington to do so. The rest of film shows the people of Johnson County and the war they fight with the cattle barons.

The film’s initial reaction from New York Times critic Vincent Canby has went down in history as one of the most infamous bad reviews with the line “it fails so completely that you might suspect Mr. Cimino sold his soul to obtain the success of The Deer Hunter and the Devil has just come around to collect.” The truth of the matter is it’s actually a better film than the much-loved The Deer Hunter and a more interesting film; it doesn't have the tour de force of the legendary Russian roulette scenes. It’s a considerably slower film but Cimino’s intention was to transport you to experience the west, as it was not some romantic version, which is so often the case.

The cinematography of the film is some of the best ever committed to film so some initial reviews like saving “there are no redeeming features” is absurd. Vilmos Zsigmond who was the cinematographer of the 1970s shot it. The famous roller skating scene is spellbinding and there are shots in the film, which are literally just jaw dropping in their beauty.

The cast Cimino complied is simply outstanding including Kris Kristofferson in possibly his finest performance. Christopher Walken is great as usual as one of the hired killers. The film’s supporting cast is complied which like people as Jeff Bridges, John Hurt and a very young Mickey Rourke and if you watch carefully you can spot a young Willem Dafoe in the cockfighting scene. The one flaw in casting is Isabelle Huppert as madam of a whorehouse in Wyoming but even that works cause the film is almost dreamlike at times.

Heaven’s Gate seems to have become a modern classic for many and rightfully so, it’s a film that has became legendary for the both the right and wrong reasons. It deserves the 2nd chance it’s now receiving with the recent theatrical and Blu-ray reissues here and across the pond in the USA. It’s well worth the 3 hours and 40 minutes of your time.

★★★★★

Ian Schultz

This is a shared review with The People's Movies

Review - Andrew Bujalski's Computer Chess

Cert (UK): 15
Runtime: 92 mins
Director: Andrew Bujalski
Cast: Wiley Wiggins, Myles Paige, Patrick Riester, Robin Schwartz


A work as sublime as it is surreal, Computer Chess is the latest microbudget oddity from independent filmmaker Andrew Bujalski. Set at the advent of personal computing (sometime during the early 1980s), it follows a group of programming hobbyists over one weekend as they compete in a friendly machine-vs-machine chess tournament. The aim: to engineer a piece of software that can not only out-think another computer, but ultimately out-think a human.

Its form is as idiosyncratically retro as its content: Bujalski chose to film on some of the earliest commercial video cameras, both for the vintage authenticity and to add "a transcendental character to the image," that would, according to cinematographer Matthias Grunsky, "help express the sometimes unexplainable things that happen between man and computer." True enough to the imperfect and unpredictable technology of the time, bright lights burn trails in the lens and people blur through fuzzy grey matter; like the characters, we chase glimpses of ghosts in the machine.

The search for higher artificial intelligence gives rise to some unexpected philosophical inquiries, but the socially-aloof nerd herd are often too short-sighted to grasp what anything could, or will, mean—a big part of the comedy comes from knowing that these hapless dorks will one day inherit the Earth (for an age of technological enlightenment, things are almost comically unexciting.) But what really is driving these computer-obsessives, tinkerers and scientists? What is happening between man and computer—or more worryingly, who is driving who? As we watch characters struggle and fail to break out of their own unconscious grids and behavioural loops, it becomes clear that the quest for a machine with a soul is far less pertinent than the quest for the soul in man.

Comedic elements ebb in and out of the rambling narrative: a New Age self-help group are also occupying the hotel, and the inevitable clashes between the emotionally-cold geeks and the self-loving hippy-types offer genuinely cringe-worthy laughs.

But the most arresting moments happen when Bujalski breaks the rules of his own carefully procured aesthetic: the black-and-white documentary beats that open the film eventually give way to stranger, more anarchic forms, as the video begins super-imposing on itself, reversing, slowing down, splitting in two, and for a brief moment even switches to colour. The film ends up being strangely psychedelic, but also alive to the possibility of one small thing: Change. Much of Computer Chess seems to be an attempt to grapple with that one pet theme.

Bujalski also slyly reflects the rise of independent filmmakers (his debut feature, Funny Ha Ha, helped launch the early-aughts 'mumblecore' movement) and the birth of his own child in the narrative, gifting the film with a surprisingly autobiographic tone, and the criss-crossing lines between hobby, obsession, love and family stealthily work their way into the fold without any explicit foregrounding.

Four features in, Mr. Bujalski continues to be one of American cinema's most distinct voices, and much like the unassuming pioneers at the heart of Computer Chess—who also focus on the wide implications of imperceptibly small actions—his influence may be greater felt in the years to come. Forget the singularity; as a filmic experience Computer Chess is itself, singular.

★★★★½

Pierre B

Review - Parkland

Stars: Zac Efron, Billy Bob Thornton, Paul Giamatti, Tom Welling, Marcia Gay Harden
Director: Peter Landesman
Release: 22nd of November 2013
Rating:  15 (UK)

Fifty years to the day that US President John F. Kennedy was shot, cinematic recreation of these events, Parkland, hits UK cinemas. There are little words to describe Peter Landesman's film other than a vapid, tasteless attraction that is neither compelling or insightful.

This ensemble piece follows the lives of several people who were dragged into the chaotic events spurred on by the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. Among those that Parkland follows are a young doctor (Zac Efron), a local man who catches the assassination on film - Abraham Zapruder (Paul Giamatti), and Robert Oswald (James Badge Dale), the brother of assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.

Shot in a manner that is so bitty and frantic, viewers are unlikely to be compelled or emotionally connect with any of the stories in Parkland. Characters and rushed on-and-off the screen like show ponies with far too much going on to grasp any cohesive human element of the story. The talented cast is squandered on undefined roles, characters presented with little to depth that exceeds the surface-level value of their costumes.  Despite the fast-paced chaos unfolding on screen, Landesman's film is remarkably dull and unfocused with a runtime that feels double its stated ninety minutes.

Parkand also feels like a rather tasteless affair, packed with unintentional laughs and toe-curling moments of crass details. Among these are Zac Efron's young doc pounding on Kennedy's bloody chest and yelling "No! Leave them on," when a nurse attempts to remove his boxers (a misguided attempt to give the President some dignity, which Landesman and co. had long since destroyed). There is also a blood-drenched Jackie Kennedy clutching a piece of 35th President's brain-matter, and Jackie Weaver's camped-up comic-relief Mrs. Oswald barking in her Southern drawl that her kill-ah son is an und-a-cova spy.   There are plenty of occasions when you may question if John Waters and Divine could even have produced a picture of such bad taste.

Why was a film like Parkland was needed? The events of Kennedy's assassination are heavily-documented in documentary and feature-film form. Not to mention the thousands of magazine articles and online features that have appeared and fed into the assassination and its myths. This is not going to prove insightful to the casual viewer, the history buff, or the conspiracy theorist.

Parkland squanders its impressive cast in this unfocused, tasteless, and boring recreation. With little depth and insight, Parkland can only be described as a mess.

★½☆☆☆

Andrew McArthur

DVD Review - Thanatomorphose

Genre:
Horror
Distributor:
Monster Pics UK
Release Date:
9th December 2013 (UK)
Director:
Éric Falardeau
Cast:
Émile Beaudry, Eryka Cantieri, Roch-Denis Gagnon
Buy Thanatomorphose: DVD

The word Thanatomorphose is a French term for the decomposition of an organism’s flesh after death. In Eric Falardeau’s film a young woman (played by Emile Beaudry) suddenly finds herself decomposing despite being alive. It’s clearly very influenced by the body horror films of David Cronenberg. He often used a horror conceit to explore a theme and to an extent Thanatomorphose does this too. Sadly the film ends up feeling like a vague idea stretched to feature length without saying much of anything unlike the films of Cronenberg making it an unpleasant and sometimes dull experience.

The film opens with a colourful montage of close-ups of the main couple in the film having rough sex. It’s pretty unclear what’s happening, it kind of has the look of the credits sequence of a grindhouse film and is underscored with John Carpenter-esque synth music. After this ends we are properly introduced to the main character, a woman who at one point had artistic ambitions but now seems devoid of any personality. She is defined by her weakness, her weakness in not saying no to her boyfriend who is a total ass, as well as another man in her life. The opening act of somewhat violent and uncaring sex is what seemingly causes her decay. In typical Cronenbergian fashion this body horror element is used as a metaphor, but in the case of Thanatomorphose the metaphor is so half-baked that it brings nothing more to the film other than a slight air of misogyny.

After the pulpy looking opening the film transitions into something else completely. The synths are replaced with strings and everything slows down. From this point on, other than another short pulpy interlude, the film is in full art-film mode. I say that because it’s full of mumblecore style muttered dialogue, constant nudity, and the aforementioned slow pace. The strange mix of genre elements and art aesthetics is something that Cronenberg’s films nailed, but this film is less successful. The reason Cronenberg’s best films succeeded were because their ideas were so strong. Thanatomorphose on the other hand seems very muddled with its ideas to the point that they really take a back seat to the pure experience of the film. The problem is that the experience of the film is just rampant unpleasantness.

To get more specific about what I mean I’ll use an example from the film where it very obviously references Cronenberg’s The Fly. In The Fly Jeff Goldblum’s character is slowly becoming an inhuman creature; his body is slowly falling apart as he changes into a monstrous human/fly hybrid. It’s a brilliant and heartbreaking allegory for disease and more specifically the AIDS epidemic of the time. In one scene we see him open his medicine cabinet and there are jars containing different appendages and body parts that have fallen off of him. This scene shows us that despite his changes he is still the scientist he was before. As monstrous as he appears the man he was still exists underneath, the man who wants to take note of everything and learn from this horror. Thanatomorphose takes this image of someone storing and noting their bodily decomposition but in this situation it tells us nothing. There’s nothing specific to her character that lends any significance to this moment other than “Oh cool, they’re referencing The Fly”. So much of the film’s attempts at bringing depth to its simple story end up adding nothing and if anything just draws attention to its emptiness.

As I said, the key thing that made Cronenberg’s films succeed was the strength of his horrific metaphors. In the case of Thanatomorphose this is one of the most troublesome aspects of the film. The idea of externalising internal decay is interesting but what the film denotes as decay worthy of this horrible experience is rather strange. This woman’s relationships with men are what are rotting her. Her boyfriend is cruel and obnoxious who seems to just want her for sex, something that is mirrored by another male friend who appeared nicer than he actually was. The male characters are dismissed as animals wanting sex in one strange scene but she seems to be held accountable for her weakness. The idea of someone causing their own pain and unhappiness (and by extension this being externalized) could be interesting and if done well could be quite brave. The thing is that here we know so little about her that it kind of comes across as victim blaming. As if these relationship mistakes are completely her fault, because men are just beasts, and how they are destroying her are due to her and nothing else. I don’t want to completely chastise the films ideas and proclaim they are hateful of women but they’re so underdeveloped and surface level that they could definitely come across that way.

A lot of this could be excused if the experience of watching the film was good enough. Sadly this is not the case. Other than one moment (which was also very similar to a scene from The Fly), which definitely got to me, I didn’t feel anything other than grossed-out. The special effects of this woman’s living decomposition are generally well done, but that’s not enough for me to be interested in any way. Even the camerawork was completely uninteresting. It was hard to tell if the incessant blurriness and close-ups was meant to be a reflection of her delirium, they didn’t know how to make this apartment look interesting (the whole film is set in her apartment), or the effects were not solid enough to show entirely clearly.

When a film invokes the memory of some classic horror films it better be good enough to pull us in and not solely think of those other films. In this case the comparisons it drew just highlighted its failings even more. All in all I found it to be a very empty film with one good idea. The performances, music, and camerawork could have been one way that the film made itself more interesting but they were nothing more than fine. Everything other than the effects and one burst of craziness lacked any kind of character and that was really the films downfall. Disgusting effects can forcefully pull an audience in to reflect on the film’s ideas but when there are no ideas the effects serve nothing other than to disgust, and that’s all this film has.

★☆☆☆☆

James MacLeod

Blu-Ray Review - Betty Blue (1986)

Genre:
Drama, Romance,
Rating:
18
Distributor:
Second Sight
BD Release Date:
25th November 2013 (UK)
Director:
Jean-Jacques Beineix
Cast:
Jean-Hugues Anglade, Béatrice Dalle, Gérard Darmon
Buy: Betty Blue: Deluxe 2 Disc Edition [Blu-Ray]
Betty Blue since its release has became one of the most iconic films in World Cinema. The poster just itself is easily recognizable with that picture of Béatrice Dalle as the title character. Jean-Jacques Beineix directed it and he was considered one of the leading lights of the Cinéma du look along with Luc Besson, Leos Carax and to an extent Jean-Pierre Jeunet. These filmmakers rejected the Cinéma vérité of some of the French new wave films of the 1960s and took much inspiration from the American films of the 1970s and specifically the stylization of films like One from the Heart and Rumble Fish by Francis Ford Coppola.

Betty Blue was Beineix first film after the disastrous commercial and critical reception of his film Moon in the Gutter. Beineix was for many the lead lighting of Cinéma du look due to his stunning debut film Diva that took not only France by storm but also the UK and the USA. It was a truly stunning splash and still is a marvel to watch, Beineix was even compared to Orson Welles by noted critic Pauline Kael. Beineix was a “wonder kid” so his next film was deemed to fail naturally not unlike Welles’ own 2nd feature The Magnificent Ambersons.

Betty Blue is a 3 hour long doomed love story about Zorg (Jean-Hugues Anglad) and Betty (Béatrice Dalle) who are madly in love quite literally. Zorg has been working as a handy man on a beach chalet when Betty arrives. She arrives and they fall madly in love in more ways that one. Zorg has been writing a novel and has given up on it till Betty discovers his manuscript and tries to get it published. Betty turns increasing insane and self-destructive and Zorg tries to save her before it’s too late.

Betty Blue isn’t as good as Diva because that film is so contained and so meticulously made. It’s also an hour shorter than the director’s cut of Betty Blue, which helps. This blu-ray also includes a shorter version than is missing around an hour but I only watched the director’s cut.

It’s a sprawling film of what love does to people and how it drives people to madness. The film told though Zorg’s character but the real star of the show is Béatrice Dalle whose performance has left an undeniable mark on cinematic culture. The film comes from hands down the most interesting time for films from France since Godard went downhill after his divorce from Anna Karina. Overall it’s worth getting a copy of it especially since Second Sight has a done a very nice blu-ray package including both cuts and a documentary on the film and Béatrice Dalle’s screen test for her role.

★★★★☆

Ian Schultz

Classic Hollywood To Get Spotlight At 2014 Glasgow Film Festival

After enjoying its most successful year ever in 2013, Glasgow Film Festival is delighted to announce some very special developments along with the programme strands for the tenth annual festival.

Opening in 2005 with 68 films over ten days, GFF has grown into the third-biggest film festival in the UK, with over 39,000 admissions to 368 events at the 2013 Festival, fifty-seven UK premiere screenings and seven world premieres, and guests including major names like Joss Whedon, John C Reilly, Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan.

2014 is also a significant anniversary for Glasgow Film Theatre, the art deco cinema in which the Festival originated and which remains its headquarters. The Cosmo, which was only the second purpose-built arthouse cinema in the UK, opened its doors seventy five years ago in 1939, undergoing a makeover and reopening as Glasgow Film Theatre forty years ago in 1974. The full 2014 programme, which will include a number of anniversary celebrations, will be revealed on Tuesday 21 January 2014.

NEW PROGRAMME STRANDS FOR 2014

1939: Hooray for Hollywood!

As well as birthing The Cosmo, 1939 was also a very significant year for Hollywood cinema, widely regarded as Hollywood’s greatest year ever. 365 films were released, 80 million tickets a week were sold, and the Best Picture award nominees at the 1939 Oscars were Gone With The Wind, Stagecoach, Wuthering Heights, Dark Victory, Love Affair, Goodbye Mr Chips, Ninotchka, Mr Smith Goes To Washington, Of Mice and Men, and The Wizard of Oz. Rather than celebrating the achievement of an individual actor in the popular retrospective programme strand, this year GFF will be screening all of those films, beginning with a palette-whettening advance screening of Gone With The Wind at GFT in December, and bringing a touch of Old Hollywood glamour to a Glasgow winter.

CineChile

The Festival’s country focus this year is on Chile, where filmmaking has recently been energised by two large international successes, No (starring Gael Garcia Bernal) and Gloria (for which Paulina Garcia won Best Actress at the 2013 Berlin Film Festival). GFFis delighted to be able to draw attention to the breadth of excellent, innovative work coming from the skinniest of countries.

Pop-Up Cinema

GFF’s audience-focused programmes are designed to bring cinema to the whole city, with boutique screenings and cinematic experiences in a huge variety of unusual locations. At GFF13, audiences went underground to watch The Warriors in the bowels of the Glasgow Subway system, witnessed Jaws and Dead Calm from the cargo hold of the Tall Ship Glenlee, encountered the silent classic The Passion of Joan of Arc, with live soprano soundtrack, in the vaulted surroundings of Glasgow Cathedral, and donned Stetsons for a barn dance and screening of Calamity Jane at the Grand Ole Opry, Glasgow’s long-running country and western saloon. This year, there will be a themed pop-up event on every night of the Festival apart from the opening and closing galas, taking in more venues across the city than ever before. Selected events will be announced in December 2013.

COMPLETE LIST OF PROGRAMME STRANDS AT GFF14

·     1939: Hooray For Hollywood! All the Best Picture Oscar nominees from Hollywood’s Greatest Year.

·     Best of British Brand new films and much-loved classics from all over the UK.

·     CineChile  Recent releases from a country bursting with exciting new cinema talent. INCLUDES The Illiterate (Las Analfabetas), Crystal Fairy, The Quispe Sisters (Las Ninas Quispe), The Summer of Flying Fish (El Verano de los Peces Voladores), Things the Way They Are (La Cosas Como Son), Violet Went to Heaven (Violeta Se Fue a los Cielos)

·     Crossing the Line Open your mind to experimental and artist films from Glasgow and across the world. 2014’s programme will include the world premiere of Happy and Glorious, a new film commission by upcoming video artist and recent Jarman Award nominee, Rachel Maclean, the winner of GFF13’s prestigious Margaret Tait Award.

·     Eurovisions Romcoms from Romania, Swedish sci fi or noir from the Netherlands? Could be, as we take a gander at the best new cinema from the continent.

·     FrightFest The horror institution takes over Screen 1 at GFT for the final weekend of the Festival for back-to-back screenings and an advance wallow in the gore of the finest, freakiest new horror movies.

·     Gala The big ones. Gala screenings, red carpet events and premieres. Are you ready for your closeup?

·     Game Cats Go Miaow! As computer games now regularly beat the biggest Hollywood box office takings, is video set to kill the movie star too?  Ace gamer Robert Florence, best known from BBC comedy sketch show Burnistoun, is back with irreverent events, screenings and probably a house party to celebrate the rise of the pixel.

·     Glasgow Music and Film Festival An inspired programme of live music events, features and rockumentaries celebrating the special relationships between film and music, co-curated with The Arches.

·     Glasgow Short Film Festival (13-16 February 2014) Scotland’s leading short film showcase returns for four days of screenings, events and parties dedicated to emerging film talent here and around the globe.  Four awards are up for grabs, including the prestigious Bill Douglas Award for International Short Film, and this year's programme includes a focus on emerging Irish talent, avant-garde 16mm films from Japan, explorations of sound and cinema and much more. www.glasgowfilm.org/gsff 

·     Glasgow Youth Film Festival (2-12 February 2014) Showcasing the best contemporary international cinema for and by young people alongside workshops, masterclasses, competitions and special events. Our Youth Film Festival is the only festival of its kind in Europe to be curated and programmed entirely by 15-17 year olds, with films representing issues faced by young people alongside events and workshops for those thinking about getting into the movie business. www.glasgowfilm.org/gyff

·     Great Scots A celebration of native talent and local heroes with screenings of the best new productions from Scottish filmmakers and Scottish production companies.

·     It’s a Wonderful World Globetrotting without a passport – brilliant titles from all over the world.

·     Kapow! Biff! Bang! Kapow! Comic book legend and Fox creative consultant Mark Millar, creator of Kick-Ass, is back to curate our strand dedicated to cult movies and the rise of the superhero.

·     Out of the Past Classic movies in peak condition back on the big screen, where they come alive all over again.

·     Pop Up Cinema and Special Events Cinema experiences in strange and unusual locations, and distinguished guests in conversation.

·     Stranger than Fiction An exceptional selection of the best new documentary releases.

Allan Hunter, Co-Director of Glasgow Film Festival:‘The Festival has grown and developed in ways that we couldn't have imagined in 2005. It has been nurtured and sustained by the enthusiasm and passionate dedication of audiences from near and far who have come to regard Glasgow as their Festival and an event they can trust to bring them the best cinematic experiences, the most accessible guests and the most affordable prices. We take the bond of trust with our audiences very seriously and look forward to presenting them with a 2014 programme that matches their expectations of what a Film Festival should be and how a special anniversary should be celebrated.’

As ever expect Cinehouse to cover this festival with it been our local festival and if you enjoyed this years festival 2014 will be something special with it been 10th Anniversary as well as the 75th for the festival's main and grandest venue GFT.

Update 29th November 2013
The festival's official trailer trailer has been check it out below

Studio Ghibli's The Wind Rises U.S Trailer Flies Online, Is it Miyazaki's Swan Song?

When a new trailer for the latest Studio Ghibli film lands online it's always a ray of excitement brings a smile to anyone's face but it seems this one has extra reason to enjoy. The Wind Rises is been tipped as the farewell movie for Hayao Miyazaki who will retire but the question is will it be? Enjoy the American trailer...

The Wind Rises is inspired by Miyazaki's own personal dreams, the film centres around Jiro a young man inspired to become a aeronautical engineer. The Wind Rises is  the epic tale of love, perseverance, and the challenges of living and making choices in a turbulent world.The film is set in the first half of the 20th Century and will chronicle major events of his life from falling in love right upto Japan entering World War 2 a pivotal event in Jiro's career.

Despite been the U.S trailer there is no dialogue possibly that the American voice cast has not been chosen or the dub is finish.Visually you don't voice cast to release the trailer, visuals are nothing less but beautiful shame we don't get a sample tease of the sound design as early reviews praise it to the rafters. Will it get Studio Ghibli it's second Oscar? The talk is The Wind Rises will be in the nominations but id this film is the last Hayao Miyazaki film what better way to go out with a little gold statue!

No word on the UK release date we expect Studiocanal UK to do the honours releasing the film probably sometime in summer 2014, for USA release is 21st February 2014.

Synopsis

In “The Wind Rises,” Jiro—inspired by the famous Italian aeronautical designer Caproni—dreams of flying and designing beautiful airplanes. Nearsighted from a young age and thus unable to become a pilot, Jiro joins the aircraft division of a major Japanese engineering company in 1927. His genius is soon recognized, and he grows to become one of the world’s most accomplished airplane designers. The film chronicles much of his life, and depicts key historical events that deeply affected the course of Jiro’s life, including the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the Great Depression, the tuberculosis epidemic and Japan’s plunge into war. He meets and falls in love with Nahoko, and grows and cherishes his friendship with his colleague Honjo. A tremendous innovator, Jiro leads the aviation world into the future. Miyazaki pays tribute to engineer Jiro Horikoshi and author Tatsuo Hori in his creation of the fictional character Jiro—the center of the epic tale of love, perseverance, and the challenges of living and making choices in a turbulent world.

source:TheHollywoodNews

Master Of Expressionism - F.W Murnau

F.W Murnau along with Fritz Lang were THE German Expressionist filmmakers of the 1920s. Murnau made such films as Nosferatu, Faust and later in the United States Sunrise. His films often at considered some of the finest ever made.

Murnau was born Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe in 1888. Not surprisingly he started in theatre but he was also a devout student of art history and literature. Murnau joined the airforce and survived 8 crashes. He was interned in Switzerland but he actually won an award for a play he staged in interment camp. It’s commonly believed Murnau was gay and his first true love was killed during World War 1 and this had a serious psychological impact on the young Murnau.

After the war finishes he quickly starts a film company with Conrad Veidt (Cesare in Cabinet of Dr. Caligari). They made quite a few films together but sadly not uncommon with silent films almost all of those are lost and most sadly their version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It was an unauthorized adaptation but no legal action was taken unlike the case of Nosferatu.

During the first half of the 1920s he could average about 3 films a year. The earliest surviving film of Murnau’s is Journey into the Night and the surviving prints were only found this year. The first film of his which is widely available in Schloß Vogelöd that is rather spooky chamber drama with mystery elements. Murnau followed it with Marizza (only a fragment remains) and The Burning Spoil, which Eric Rohmer assisted in its restoration, but there is no home video release sadly.

Nosferatu is unarguably his most well known film and possibly his masterpiece, even though the case has been made for the later Sunrise. The production of Nosferatu is almost as interesting as the film itself; so much so a largely fictionalised take on it was made as Shadow of the Vampire. It’s the only and one film made by Prana film that was created by Enrico Dieckmann and occultist Albin Grau who was also a member of Fraternitas Saturni, a magical order in German.

Prana film was meant to specialize in occult theme films but due to the lawsuit that Bram Stoker’s wife filed due to the unauthorized adaption of Dracula it went bankrupt. Nosferatu in many ways is not a Murnau film because it was very much Albin Grau’s baby. The idea of doing a vampire film came out of his war experience of hearing a Serbian farmer telling him how his father was a vampire.

Nosferatu came out to relatively lukewarm reviews. The French surrealists really loved the film so much so that in one of André Breton’s books he recites a dream he had of a neck tie that became the likeness of Nosferatu and the intertitle “We he crossed the bridge, the phantom came to greet him” inspired him greatly. Nosferatu has probably inspired more people than any other silent film from everyone from Werner Herzog with his wonderful re-imagining to Abel Ferrara’s vampire film The Addiction.

The film was basically pulled from circulation due to Bram Stoker’s widow suing the filmmakers for the unauthorized adapted of his husband’s novel and won. The filmmakers were forced burn all the negatives but luckily one got all the way to the United States. The many prints over the years were made from this single negative even though they vary in many lengths. The film could have easily been lost like many of Murnau’s other films and has since become one of the most consistently screened silent films.

Phantom was Murnau’s follow up to Nosferatu, which is a very dreamy film that is about a young man who becomes obsessed with this girl and will do anything to find her again. It was considered lost for many years but it was found and restored and eventually came out on dvd by Eureka. Muranu’s next key film is The Last Laugh that is one of his chamber dramas and interestingly enough has barely any intertitles and no intertitles that are dialogue. It was a big success and he was able to Tartuffe and Faust both were made with a much larger budget.

Faust is obviously the old German tale of Faust who sells his soul to the devil. Faust is a special effects spectacular in the vein of Metropolis due to its scale at times. Universum Film AG put Faust into production and until Metropolis the year after was it’s biggest budget film. It’s by far his 2nd most widely seen German silent after Nosferatu. It’s remains one of the finest adaptations of Faust to date and is still a truly stunning film to watch today.

Murnau was already shooting his next film Sunrise in the United States for 20th Century Fox when Faust premiered in Germany. Many critics consider Sunrise his crowning achievement it’s a German expressionist film by a Hollywood Studio and is a beautiful love story. It would later win the “Unique and Artistic Production” at the first Academy Awards which was kind of like the equivalent to best film today. He continued making more films in America till he died tragically of complications because of a car crash. It was a week before his final film Tabu.

Murnau to this day remains one of the most innovative directors in the history of film. Nosferatu and Sunrise will be what he is remembered for but there are plenty of other great German expressionist films he made in the 20s. We can all hope some of his lost films get found some day. Eureka under their masters of Cinema imprint has released the majority of his available German and American films including a beautifully restored blu-ray of his Gothic masterpiece Nosferatu.

Ian Schultz

Nosferatu is now available in a new fully restored version available Monday 25th November on [Blu-ray]and [DVD]. Read our recent cinema release review.

Review - Blue Is The Warmest Colour (La vie d'Adèle)

Genre:
Drama, World Cinema, Arthouse
Rating:
18
Distributor:
Artificial Eye Film
Release Date:
22nd November 2013 (UK)
Director:
Abdellatif Kechiche
Cast:
Léa Seydoux, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Salim Kechiouche
Blue in the Warmest Colour was the winner of the Palme D’Or with a jury headed by Steven Spielberg. It’s been universally acclaimed since it’s premiere at Cannes but it’s a very problematic film for many reasons. Abdellatif Kechiche directed the film but the two lead actresses Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux have heavily criticised his techniques and refuse to every work with him again.

The film’s story is ridiculously simple considering it’s 3 hour running time. The story is a coming age story of Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos) who is coming to terms with her own sexuality, she realises she is attracted to women but tries to fit it. She has sex with boys but spots a blue haired girl with another girl and instantly is attracted to her. One night she goes to a gay bar with gay male friend but she wanders off to a Lesbian bar and she meets the blue haired girl Emma (Léa Seydoux) again and they become friends. Emma is currently in a relationship but she soon becomes involved with Adèle. They seem very much in love but as usual with love it’s up and down.

Blue in the Warmest Colour has attracted much controversy for it’s 10 minute + graphic sex scene. The scene in many ways deserves controversy because it’s gratuitous to the extreme and was clearly shot to get the pervy director off. It’s not really very shocking except for the fact it just goes on and on, it’s the sex scene equivalent of the famous fight scene in They Live! The film climaxes with an equally gratuitous scene in a restaurant and every scene in the film is overly long for no good reason except for titillation.

The film’s length however is much more problematic because it’s an extremely simple love story. It’s one minute shy of 3 hours and it’s a story that could be told easily in 2 hours if not shorter. The story follows like 2 years in the lives of the girls but remember Stanley Kubrick told the story of dawn of man to the dawning of a new species in under 2 and a half hours in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Abdellatif Kechiche desperately needs an editor cause from all accounts this has been a criticism of his previous film but I can’t comment cause I haven’t seem them.

It’s not without two fantastic performances from Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux who will both became big international stars in coming years. They seem so natural and at ease in their performances it’s not hard to believe them to be love with one another. They were awarded for the first time ever the Palme D’Or for their performances with they shared with the director.

The film looks to be an art house smash this year but the audience for the screening I went to at the Leeds Film Festival was utterly bizarre. The cinema was full of lesbians, straight couples and inept film nerds so the audience for the film is quite wide ranging. I can only assume it’s going to become a date movie cause it’s deemed “the sexiest film ever made” in one ludicrous review and some straight couples want to try out one of the “moves” on their significant other.

Overall it’s not the raw, powerful, sexy, intense film that the critics are saying it is. The film however is a very fine drama, which nobody would care about if it weren’t for the fact it’s about young lesbians, has 2 great performance, won the Palme D’or and has this controversy. It’s worth seeing but it does not live up to the hype it has gathered since its premiere in the French Riviera.

★★★½☆

Ian Schultz

Blu-Ray Review - Streets Of Fire (1984)

Genre:
Action, Crime
Distributor:
Second Sight
Release Date:
18th November 2013 (UK)
Director:
Walter Hill
Cast:
Michael Paré, Diane Lane, Rick Moranis, Willem Dafoe
Buy:
Streets of Fire [Blu-ray]

Streets of Fire is directed by Walter Hill and is one of the most absurdly 80s films ever made. It was described as “ a rock n’ roll fantasy” in it’s marketing and I guess it is. It’s kind of like The Wanderers but as a dumb 80s action film with horrible musical numbers and none of the substance of The Wanderers. It was a mega flop but has grown to have a cult fan base so much an unofficial sequel was made.

The whole thing is set in this 80s drenched future that is partly 1950s which gives it an interesting aesthetic. The plot is basically this singer Ellen Aim (Diane Lane) gets kidnapped by the Bombers gang lead by Raven Shaddock (Willem Dafoe) and Tom Cody (Michael Paré) must rescue her. The musical numbers are wretchedly 80s that start and bookmark the film that really ruins the good comic book aesthetic of the rest of the film.

Walter Hill is a very fine director who made films like The Warriors, The Driver, Southern Comfort among others. Streets of Fire is certainly one of his lesser films and owes a lot to his previous film The Warriors. It lacks what made that film so good was your cared about the The Warriors gang and wanted them to get back to Coney Island but in this the performance by Michael Paré lacks any real humanity. The film however features a fun campy performance by Willem Dafoe as the main villain and a amusing cameo from the lead singer of seminal L.A punk band Fear Lee Ving as one of Dafoe’s main cronies.

Streets of Fire is perfectly watchable but Walter Hill has made numerous better films but it has a strange 80s charm at times which saves it from being a total disaster. It’s clear to see why it bombed though because it’s simply not that good and to off kilter at times for a mainstream audience. It was suppose to start a franchise but naturally that didn’t happen until recently with the unauthorized sequel with Paré reprising his role. Second Sight as usual has pull out all the stops with the bonus features including a feature length doc and the original EPK.

★★★☆☆

Ian Schultz

Blu-Ray Review - Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)

Genre:
Sci-fi, horror, cult
Release Date:
18th November 2013 (UK)
Distributor:
Arrow
Director:
Philip Kaufman
Cast:
Donald Sutherland, Leonord Nimoy, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Kevin Mccarthy,
Buy:
[Blu-ray] or [Blu-ray SteelBook]

Philip Kaufman unwitting started the trend of remaking classic horror films with his 1978 reimagining of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It started this trend because it was actually really good and similar remakes followed like The Thing and The Fly. Body Snatchers started life as a novel by Jack Finney and have been adapted 4 times to the silver screen. It was first made in 1956 by Don Siegel and remains the best, the aforementioned 1978 one, the underrated Abel Ferrara take in the early 90s and more the recently the version with Nicole Kidman but let’s try to forget that one.

The film’s protagonist in this take is Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland) a San Franciscan heath inspector who hears from a friend Elizabeth (Brooke Adams) that her boyfriend is acting strange around her. Matthew gets his friend in touch with Dr. Kibner (Leonard Nimoy) a psychiatrist. At the same time two of his friends discovered a body that resembles one of them Jack (Jeff Goldblum) that appears to be browing. They call Matt to have a look at it and if he can help

Matt comes down to examine it and heads back to see Elizabeth and finds a pod person version of her growing. Matt gets the real Elizabeth to safety and contacts the police but soon realizes they are pod people. The invasion has started and Matt and his friends can’t fall asleep or they will become pod people as well.

Kaufman’s take is very much of its time it’s set in a post-Watergate world. It has that great 70s paranoia feel and you know from the extremely creepy opening scene something is amidst. This is refined with the inclusion of Robert Duvall’s unsettling cameo as a priest in a playground. It also includes fantastic cinematography from Michael Chapman who also shot Taxi Driver.

It’s one of the finest film remakes of its kind with only The Thing or The Fly surpassing it in quality. Kaufman is a very versatile director who has director stuff like The Wanderers and The Right Stuff and casts the film impeccably. Sutherland feel adds some gravitas to his role, which is rare in the genre. The film also features a cameo by the original film’s lead actor Kevin McCarthy which begs the question is it a remake or sequel.

The blu-ray Arrow has complied is packed to the gills with material; the real highlight is the roundtable discussion with Kim Newman, Ben Wheatley and Norman J. Warren who discuss the film at quite length. The disc also includes a really pretentious interview with Kaufman’s biographer Annette Insdorf along with an interview about Jack Finney from Jack Seabrook and some featurettes from the American MGM blu-ray and a director’s commentary.

★★★★☆

Ian Schultz

Review - In Fear

Genre:
Thriller, Horror, Indie
Distributor:
Studiocanal UK
Rating:
15
Release Date:
15th November 2013 (UK)
Director:
Jeremy Lovering
Cast:
alice englert, Ian de caestecker, Allen leech


The most terrifying thing to man or woman after lonilness is fear itself, it may help us to make rational thoughts to deliver positivity however Fear itself has 2 sides. There is an psychological effect which can fester terror and in Jeremy Lovering's In Fear that fear is delivered in it's simplest most effective form , well almost

In Fear is the feature directorial debut for veteran tv director Jeremy Lovering starring British upstarts Ian De Caestacker (Agents of S.h.i.e.l.d) and Alice Englert (Ginger And Rosa).They play Tom and Lucy a young couple in the early days of their relationship and heading to a music festival somewhere in Ireland.On the way to the festival venue Tom surprises Lucy by booking a night's stay at a near by country house hotel. Reluctantly Lucy agrees to go and enroute to that hotel the pair follow the signs frustration takes over when they seem to be going round in circles  terror takes over when darkness falls the penny drops when the couple believe someone is playing tricks on them.

In Fear is a lesson on how to deliver the maximum effect on screen ith the minimalist of resources. We dive head first into our primal fears as if we are experiencing the emotions Tom and Lucy are experiencing. Things do seem to work largely thanks to improv skills of our young leads who are drip fed snippets of what lay ahead for them help making their fear, genuinely convincing.

As the roads tart to encroach our young couple, tensions rise paranoia strikes as things go missing making things intense most of all claustrophobic.As Tom and Lucy are pushed to their limits the fabric of their relationship disintegrate, mysterious Max (Allen Leech) appears this is when In Fear unravels.

The last third of the film becomes cliched, outlandish even very predictable which is a crying shame as De Caestecker and Englert deliver strong raw performance.. In Fear may not deliver anything remotely new  in plot what it does do is deliver a film full of atmosphere, tension  spoiled by a frustrating ending.

★★★☆☆

Paul Devine

Review - John Pilger's Utopia

Genre:
Documentary
Rating:
12A
Release Date:
15th November 2013 (UK)
Director:
John Pilger
Watch Utopia:
cinema listing here
Film Official Website:
Enter here

In new documentary Utopia, the Australian journalist John Pilger sets out to examine the suffering felt by his native country’s indigenous population, a problem caused by the British Empire’s colonisation of Australia.

Pilger’s film is a noble attempt to highlight the poverty and awful living conditions felt by the Aboriginal people, an issue that most of the world - and Australia’s European descendants – remain blissfully unaware of. This is made evident when Pilger interviews individuals whilst they are celebrating Australia Day, enquiring as to what the original population should take away from the country’s national day. Each interviewee shows incredible ignorance of the subject, stating that the Aboriginal’s want to live that way – in shacks with no running water or functioning toilet. Pilger also conducts interviews with members – past and present – of Australia’s government whose job it was to protect these people, and failed. Footage of Aboriginal living conditions today compared with that filmed several decades ago seems to show that nothing has changed at all.

In Utopia, Pilger firmly asserts that for such a wealthy country, Australia’s indigenous people should not be living this way; and that, this vast land was in fact never for the taking in the first place. These are issues that everyone should know about, but with a long running time combined with a slow, ponderous pace, the film may not appeal to the audiences that need to be informed.

UTOPIA is in cinemas from 15 November with a Nationwide Q&A with John Pilger on Monday 18 November at Picturehouse Cinemas. Available on DVD 2 December

★★★☆☆

Sophie Stephenson

Top American History Dramas (Parkland Feature)

PARKLAND is a historical drama recounting the chaotic events that occurred in the Parkland hospital and elsewhere in Dallas following John F. Kennedy’s assassination. In anticipation of the release of the new movie, we are taking a look at the top American historical drama films in cinema.

LINCOLN (2013)

Directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln is a historical drama that follows the final four months of Lincoln’s life, primarily focusing on his efforts to have the thirteenth amendment to the United States Constitution passed by the House of Representatives. The film was nominated for 12 Academy Awards winning Best Achieving in Production Design and Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.

Argo (2012)

This nail biting thriller follows a CIA agent as he instigates an undercover mission to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1980. The film is based on the CIA operative Tony Mendez’s book The Master of Disguise and The Great Escape by Joshuah Bearman. Argo received widespread acclaim and seven Academy Award nominations and won three, for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Picture. The film also won five Golden Globe Award nominations, winning Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director.

The Patriot (2000)

The Patriot is an American historical war film depicting the story of an American, widowed, father of seven as he is swept into the American Revolutionary War when his family threatened by the British. The protagonist, Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson), is a composite character based on four real American Revolutionary War heroes. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards and became a classic American film.

Apollo 13 (1995)

The incredibly journey of Americas’ third Moon landing aboard Apollo 13 is portrayed through this docudrama film directed by Ron Howard, starring Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton. Surviving an on-board explosion which deprives the spacecraft of most of its oxygen supply and electric power, forcing an abort mission and struggling to get home, the film is packed with non-stop suspense. Apollo 13 received critical acclaim and was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning two. The film grossed over $335 million worldwide during its theatrical release and is an American classic.

PARKLAND (2013)

One of the most shocking moments in TV history, and a major event in the history of the United States and the wider world, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy set in motion events that would change lives, and the world, forever. The new film Parkland retraces the actions of some of the lesser-known players on that fateful day in 1963 – the staff of the Parkland Hospital, some of the bystanders, and members of the FBI and Secret Service. A must-see, delving into the details of the people behind the scenes, Parkland is the latest film to show an important drama in US history.

PARKLAND is released in the UK on November 22nd.

Darknet Webseries Launches Online With Vincenzo Natali Episode

Adapted from Japanese series Tori Hada Darknet has launched it's episode directed by Cube,Splice director Vicenzo Natali. Described as an bitsize nightmare journies into urban horror. 'Darknet offers snippets of people's lives being interrupted by vivid instances of unexpected violence or shocking strangeness. Shot in a visceral style that cranks up the creep factor, viewers become part of Darknet, a mysterious network of disturbing imagery and stories that exist just under the surface of our ordered and safe society.'

The series will run it's full episodes exclusively via newly relaunched Canadian channel Superchannel as well as Darknet website. A total of six episodes will be aired with the first episode starring David Hewlett and Michelle Alexander whose lives become intertwined with Darknet a website where people can submit strange tales of intrigue and murder.


Source: QuietEarth

Wes Anderson's New Castello Cavalcanti Short Honours Fellini

As the world awaits the arrival of Hotel Budapest, Wes Anderson treats us all with a 8 minute short Castello Cavalcanti.Comissioned by Italian fashion house Prada the short film time warps us back to 1955 and stars Jason Schwartzman who plays an American racing car driver. Whilst out with his cars driving through the Italian countryside during that years Molte Miglia when he crashes his car into a water fountain in a small rural town when a turn of events turn his troules into something he never expected.

Castello Cavalcanti is aesthetically what you expect from Wes Anderson film, quirky, vibrant as well as a chance for Anderson to pay homage to his cinematic heroes. Federico Fellini is honoured in this film with the Fellini's Amarcord the biggest source of inspiration, even the film's title is homage to one of Anderson's heroes Brazilian director Alberto Cavalcanti.

This not fashion film the closest  you'll see Prada in Castello Cavalcanti is probably the labels on the clothes the cast wore when this as shot, but this is one luxury item from the house of Prada everyone can afford to enjoy. This no ordinary film, it's an Wes Anderson short film, need I say more?

Film Review: How To Survive A Plague

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

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

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

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

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

★★★★☆

Sophie Stephenson

The Moët British Independent Film Awards Announce Their 2013 Nominees

The nominations for the 16th annual Moët British Independent Film Awards were announced today, at Saint Martins Lane, London by actor, BIFA Patron and previous winner, Ewan McGregor.

Joint Directors, The Moët British Independent Film Awards’ Johanna von Fischer & Tessa Collinson said: “We would like to thank our dedicated members who viewed over 200 films, in an extremely competitive year. The variety of films submitted reached a new level this year with films covering a range of subject matters and genres that perfectly showcases the diversity and creativity at work in British independent filmmaking today. Now our wonderful independent jury, announced today, will have the unenviable task of choosing the winners who will be the first to receive the newly launched iconic signature trophy designed by Fredrikson Stallard, created by Swarovski at the Moët British Independent Film Awards.

The highest number of nominations this year goes to Starred Up with 8 nominations including Best British Independent Film, Best Director for David Mackenzie, Best Screenplay for Jonathan Asser, Best Actor for Jack O’Connell, and two Best Supporting Actor nominations for Rupert Friend and Ben Mendelsohn. The Selfish Giant picked up 7 nominations and Filth, Metro Manila and Le Week-end all picked up 5 nominations each.

Nominations for Best Actress go to Judi Dench for Philomena, Lindsay Duncan for Le Week-end, Scarlett Johansson for Under The Skin, Felicity Jones for The Invisible Woman and Saoirse Ronan for How I Live Now. Along with Jack O’Connell for Starred Up, leading men hoping to take home the Best Actor award include Jim Broadbent for Le Week-end, Steve Coogan for Philomena, Tom Hardy for Locke and James McAvoy for Filth.

Best Supporting Actor nominations go to John Arcilla for Metro Manila, Jeff Goldblum for Le Week-end, Eddie Marsan for Filth and the two Starred Up actors Rupert Friend and Ben Mendelsohn.

Siobhan Finneran for The Selfish Giant, Shirley Henderson for Filth, Imogen Poots for The Look of Love, Kristin Scott Thomas for The Invisible Woman and Mia Wasikowska for The Double are all nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Award.

Directors who have delivered dynamic debuts this year and are fighting for the Douglas Hickox Award are Charlie Cattrall for Titus, Tina Gharavi for I Am Nasrine, Jeremy Lovering for In Fear, Omid Nooshin for Last Passenger and Paul Wright for For Those in Peril.

Elsa Corbineau, Marketing Director Moët & Chandon: “Every year the talent pool recognised by the Moët British Independent Awards continues to inspire us with the depth and richness it represents. With a century-long history supporting the stars of the silver screen, Moët & Chandon is looking forward to celebrating the British film industry's achievements in a fittingly glamorous way at the Awards on December 8th”.

Ben Roberts, Director of the BFI Film Fund comments: “Where other awards sometimes fear to tread, the MBIFAs puts the wild creativity of British independent filmmaking front and centre. This year we have witnessed a renewed confidence in bold UK filmmaking which has been recognised around the world and will inspire a new generation of talent. The BFI NET.WORK has been established to support extraordinary new voices who need a platform like the BIFAs to showcase their talent to the industry, and that’s why we are so pleased to support the Best British Short award this year.”

The Raindance Award nominees for 2013 include: Everyone’s Going to Die, The Machine, The Patrol, Sleeping Dogs and Titus. This award honours exceptional achievement for filmmakers working against the odds, often with little or no industry support. Elliot Grove, Founder of Raindance Film Festival and Moët British Independent Film Awards added: “Its a delight to see how In just a few years the BIFA nominations have become one of the most eagerly anticipated film events of the calendar year. Congratulations to all the nominees.”

The Pre-Selection Committee of 70 members viewed over 200 films, out of which they selected the nominations, which were decided by ballot.

The winners of The Moët British Independent Film Awards are decided by an independent jury comprised of leading professionals and talent from the British film industry.

The Jury for 2013 includes: Jury Chair - Penny Woolcock (Director), Antonia Campbell-Hughes (Actress), Art Malik (Actor), Ate de Jong (Director), Bart Layton (Director), James Floyd (Actor), Jill McCullough (Dialect Coach), Julien Temple (Director), Liza Marshall (Producer), MyAnna Buring (Actress), Natascha McElhone (Actress), Pippa Harris (Producer), Roland Gift (Musician), Sally El Hosaini (Director), Sandy Powell (Costume Designer), Steve Hamilton Shaw (Producer).

The winners will be announced at the much anticipated 16th awards ceremony which will be hosted by actor and BIFA Patron, James Nesbitt, who returns for his eighth year on Sunday 8 December at the impressive Old Billingsgate in London.

The awards ceremony will be streamed exclusively live on www.film3sixty.com/moetbifa from 8.00pm

The Moët British Independent Film Awards is proud to announce the following nominees for this year’s awards:

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM
Sponsored by Moët &Chandon
Metro Manila
Philomena
The Selfish Giant
Starred Up
Le Week-end

BEST DIRECTOR
Sponsored by AllCity &Intermission
Jon S Baird – Filth
Clio Barnard – The Selfish Giant
Sean Ellis – Metro Manila
Jonathan Glazer – Under the Skin
David Mackenzie – Starred Up

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR]
Sponsored by 3 Mills Studios
Charlie Cattrall – Titus
Tina Gharavi – I Am Nasrine
Jeremy Lovering – In Fear
Omid Nooshin – Last Passenger
Paul Wright – For Those in Peril

BEST SCREENPLAY
Jonathan Asser – Starred Up
Clio Barnard – The Selfish Giant
Steven Knight – Locke
Hanif Kureishi – Le Week-end
Jeff Pope, Steve Coogan – Philomena

BEST ACTRESS
Sponsored by M.A.C Cosmetics
Judi Dench – Philomena
Lindsay Duncan – Le Week-end
Scarlett Johansson – Under the Skin
Felicity Jones – The Invisible Woman
Saoirse Ronan – How I Live Now

BEST ACTOR
Sponsored by BBC Films
Jim Broadbent – Le Week-end
Steve Coogan – Philomena
Tom Hardy – Locke
Jack O'Connell – Starred Up
James McAvoy – Filth

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Siobhan Finneran – The Selfish Giant
Shirley Henderson – Filth
Imogen Poots – The Look Of Love
Kristin Scott Thomas – The Invisible Woman
Mia Wasikowska – The Double

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sponsored by Sanderson & Saint Martins Lane
John Arcilla – Metro Manila
Rupert Friend – Starred Up
Jeff Goldblum – Le Week-end
Eddie Marsan – Filth
Ben Mendelsohn – Starred Up

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER
Sponsored by Studiocanal
Harley Bird – How I Live Now
Conner Chapman / Shaun Thomas – The Selfish Giant
Caity Lotz – The Machine
Jake Macapagal – Metro Manila
Chloe Pirrie – Shell

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION
Sponsored by Company3
A Field in England
Filth
Metro Manila
The Selfish Giant
Starred Up

BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Sponsored by LightBrigade Media
Shaheen Baig – Casting – Starred Up
Johnnie Burn – Sound Design – Under the Skin
Amy Hubbard – Casting – The Selfish Giant
Mica Levi – Music – Under the Skin
Justine Wright – Editing – Locke

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Pussy Riot - A Punk Prayer
The Great Hip Hop Hoax
The Moo Man
The Spirit of '45
The Stone Roses: Made of Stone

BEST BRITISH SHORT
Supported by BFI NET.WORK
L'Assenza
Dr Easy
Dylan's Room
Jonah
Z1

BEST INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM
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Blu-Ray Review - Federico Fellini's 8½

Genre:
Arthouse, World Cinema, Drama, Classic
Release Date:
11th November 2013 (UK)
Distributor:
Argent Films
Rating:
15
Director:
Federico Fellini
Cast:
Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimee, Sandra Milo, Barbara Steele
Buy 8 ½: [DVD] or [Blu-ray]

8 ½ is one of those films like Citizen Kane or 2001: A Space Odyssey that every film critic pretty much agrees is one of the films that changed film forever. It’s a film that influenced a wide range of films from Brazil to All That Jazz and Woody Allen’s unfairly maligned Stardust Memories. The great Italian maestro film director Federico Fellini was at the helm and it’s quite possibly the greatest film ever made about making a film. 8 ½ was later adapted/remade at the musical Nine but the less said about that the better.

The plot concerns Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni) who is a director who is having “director’s block” while trying to finish a science fiction film. Guido is quite obviously based on Fellini and Mastroianni was always director’s alter ego on screen. Guido’s marriage is failing apart and has lost interest in finishing the film. The film is a classic mixture of fantasy, memories and reality and at times it’s never clear which is which.

8 ½ like many of the truly great films like Citizen Kane or Brazil it’s all really a great big magic trick. Fellini was first and foremost a dreamer like Orson Welles and Terry Gilliam, who cites Fellini as his biggest influence and 8 ½ as his favourite film. He tried to make cinematic dreams with his great films and he plays around with time and space but also the form of cinema itself. Its both a film that plays with avant-garde film techniques but simultaneously is also extremely watchable and relatively commercial and in turn it’s a pitch-perfect juggling act.

Fellini was also a cartoonist (like Gilliam) and his post-Neo-Realist films certainly have a cartoonish take on life. The characters at times especially the female characters have an also caricature quality to them in the best possible way. It’s all shot in truly beautiful black and white widescreen by Gianni Di Venanzo who was the Italian cinematographer of the early 60s but he died very young sadly.

8 ½ has rightfully earned its reputation at simply one of the greatest film ever made. It’s really THE Fellini film and you really must experience the film if you haven’t already. It’s film like Citizen Kane that was one of the building blocks of modern cinema.

★★★★★

Ian Schultz