Frightfest 2012: Paura 3D

The second film from the Manetti Brothers’ whose The Arrival of Wang played Frightfest Glasgow and is scheduled as part of the Re-Discovery Screen at London Frightfest 2012, Paura 3D (literally translated as Fear 3D) is billed as a 3D thrill ride into terror and whilst the film has its moments (no matter how minor), it cannot compare to the sheer brilliance of the Manetti’s sci-fi opus Wang.

Paura 3D tells the story of mechanic Ale, who after overhearing a conversation between a wealthy customer and the garage owner, takes his best friends, Simone and Marco on a trip to the wealthy owners Rome villa intent on having a wild weekend in his luxury mansion. Bored after raiding the fridge, swimming in the pool and playing video games one of the trio decides to explore the house, never expecting what he finds in the basement…

Lensed in 3D, but loosing nothing in 2D, Paura is a strange film. Filled with a sleazy atmosphere, the film embraces all that is exploitation – extreme examples of sex, violence and gore – only it does so in a way that doesn’t allow the audience to connect with the film. There’s no emotional investment in any of the characters, least of all the three leads who are an unlikeable bunch and the script is less than stellar. The films only saving grace IS the exploitation aspects, which are nothing we haven’t seen before a hundred times and after a while even those run out of steam, leaving a film that feels shallow and uninteresting. The complete antithesis of The Arrival of Wang.

Personally it was hard to watch Paura 3D and not be a little disappointed. After loving the Manetti Brothers’ sci-fi flick, seeing them produce something so generic and so dated (this is the type of film both Italy and the US were churning out during the slasher movie fad of the 80s), is heartbreaking. Here’s hoping the brothers Manetti find their mojo again for their next genre film…

This was a review by Phil from Blogomatic3000

Rating:18
UK Release Date: 25th August 2012 (Frightfest)
Directed by: Antonio Manetti, Marco Manetti
Cast: Francesca Cuttica, Peppe Servillo, Lorenzo Pedrotti, Domenico Diele, Claudio Di Biagio

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SECOND SIGHT FILMS PRESENTS: THE ENDLESS SUMMER. (1966) REVIEW BY SANDRA HARRIS.

Hidden Secrets, Evil Cults And Sweet Revenge, 2014 Film 4 Glasgow Frightfest Line Up Revealed!

Film4 FrightFest Glasgow 2014 announces 4 day event to include eight World, European and UK premieres, Ti West special event and Sunday repeat screenings in biggest programme ever.

From Thursday Feb 27 to Sunday March 2, the UK’s favourite horror fantasy festival returns to its second home at the Glasgow Film Festival for the 9^th year with an impressive slate of the hottest new horror films.

Welcome to a long weekend of wonderful weirdness as Film4 FrightFest Glasgow enters a world of, gritty serial killers, stark staring horror, comic book thrills and spills, favourite maniacs, sci-fi delirium, doc shock and mind-bending mystery.

Some of FrightFest’s favourite filmmakers take centre-stage this year, including Ti West, who has teamed up with producer Eli Roth for the cult of the damned shocker THE SACRAMENT. As well as screening the film, FrightFest’s Alan Jones will be talking to Ti at a special presentation on Thursday February 27 at the GFT Screen 2.

 FrightFest also welcomes director Jake West and producer Marc Morris, who will be  introducing the world premiere ofVIDEO NASTIES: DRACONIAN DAYS, their sequel to the critically acclaimed VIDEO NASTIES: MORAL PANIC, CENSORSHIP & VIDEOTAPE documentary. It promises to provide even more engaging knowledge and sobering insight into the heinous blot on 1980s film culture. The screening will be followed by a (no doubt) lively panel discussion.

FrightFest is also hosting the world premiere of THE SCRIBBLER, based on Dan Shaffer’s bestselling graphic novel featuring a super-hot cast. Director John Suits, producer of CHEAP THRILLS, will be in attendance.

As will Jordan Barker, director of the terrific sucker punch home invasion chiller TORMENT, starring Katharine Isabelle, which will receive its European premiere,

Also attending is Indiana writer/director Zack Parker, with the UK premiere of his extraordinary film PROXY, a daring and highly original chiller. Parker has slowly been building a following with INEXCHANGE, QUENCH and SCALENE and will be flying in from the USA to talk about his burgeoning career.

Other UK premieres on show are the bigger and wickeder WOLF CREEK 2 and KILLERS, a dark, twisted tale from the Mo Brothers duo of Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto.  Then there are two highly impressive feature debuts - Cliff Prowse and Derek Lee’s AFFLICTED, a clever spin on the found-footage trend and Spanish director Jorge Dorado’s probing, twistyMINDSCAPE starring Mark Strong.

Plus there are Scottish premieres for the Sci-fi shocker ALMOST HUMAN directed by Joe Begos and director Michael S. Ojeda’s provocative and compelling SAVAGED.

Alan Jones, co-director, said today: “Connections and detections. That’s what Film4 FrightFest is essentially about at its core and it’s the prime focus of our ninth event at this year’s Glasgow Film Festival. It’s our epic fifteenth year in business as the UK’s leading horror fantasy festival and in that time we’ve launched a number of now well-known talents on the genre scene. So we thought it entirely appropriate to celebrate that fact at our much-loved Scottish home with a host of films from those filmmakers we have discovered, encouraged and promoted throughout the years”.

With surprises on screen and off, and the festival’s unique community feeling, FrightFest at the GFF has now become a must-attend occasion on the horror fantasy fan's calendar.

The full line-up

THURS 27 FEB – GFT Screen 2
21:00 IN CONVERSATION WITH TI WEST (Special event)
Nobody does nostalgia-brushed spookiness and minimalist horror like independent director Ti West, King of the slow-burn shocker. FrightFest has been there from the very start – our video label released his 2005 debut feature THE ROOST – and we’ve watched with pride as the Delaware-born quirky talent has grown in global genre stature through THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL, THE INNKEEPERS, V/H/S and now his game-changing Eli Roth produced THE SACRAMENT. Join us for this very special FrightFest event in which West will talk candidly to film critic and author Alan Jones about his extraordinary career, his influences and exciting future plans.

90 mins. Hosted by FrightFest’s Alan Jones 

FRI 28 FEB – GFT Screen 1

13:30  SAVAGED  (Scottish Premiere)
THE CROW meets I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE in a viciously gory supernatural shocker. Travelling across country to be with her fiancé, deaf mute Zoe (the entrancing Amanda Adrienne) stumbles on a horrific crime. Zoe’s brave attempt to intervene seals her fate; she's brutalized and left for dead. When an Indian shaman finds her clinging to life in a shallow grave he attempts to save her – but in the mystical process the spirit of an ancient Apache warrior enters her corpse hell-bent on revenge. But can she slaughter the men who attacked her in time before her body decomposes completely?

Director: Michael S. Ojeda  US 2013  95 mins  Cert 18
Cast: Amanda Adrienne, Tom Ardavany, Ronnie Gene Blevins


15:40 PROXY (UK Premiere)
Attacked and beaten by a hooded assailant after seeing her gynaecologist, pregnant Esther seeks consolation in a support group where she meets Melanie, a mother who lost a child. But nothing is as it appears in this intensely gripping chiller because one of these damaged women is a psychodrama queen, the other seriously deranged. However, which one is which and where to draw the line? Friendship and empathy between the two turns dangerous for both in an astonishing delve into perverse psychosis that’s part Brian de Palma, part Lars Von Trier, part MARTYRS yet all astonishing and disturbing original.

Director: Zack Parker  US 2013  120 mins  Cert 18
Cast: Alexia Rasmussen, Alexa Havins, Kristina Klebe


18:45  WOLF CREEK 2 (UK Premiere)
Mick Taylor is back with a few days to kill! Bolder, gorier and placed on a far bigger canvas than the original Ozploitation classic, star John Jarratt and director Greg McLean return with an even more twisted sequel that maintains the savagery and nerve-jangling tension, while dazzling further with a spectacular and surprising use of Down Under landscapes and fauna. Two arrogant cops, two unwitting German backpackers and a Good Samaritan British tourist become the prey for the crazed pig-shooting psycho as the outback becomes drenched in rivers of blood and his underground lair reveals even sicker secrets.

Director: Greg McLean  Australia 2013  107 mins  Cert 18
Cast: John Jarratt, Ryan Corr, Shannon Ashlyn

21:15  THE SACRAMENT (Scottish Premiere)
From the darkest imagination of indie poster boy Ti West, and produced by genre guru Eli Roth, comes THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL director’s freakiest chiller so far. Two reporters with a TV exposé show travel to a secret para-religious group to meet up with their fashion photographer friend’s sister, a reformed junkie, who credits turning her life around at the jungle-set Eden Parish commune run by the charismatic Father. Is the place a paradise on Earth free of cares, racism and stress? Or is it a sinister cult the news duo suspect? Hold on tight for suspenseful, jolting surprise.

Director: Ti West  US 2013 92 mins  Cert 18
Cast: Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen, Amy Seimetz

23:30  AFFLICTED (UK Premiere)
Just when you’d thought the ‘found footage’ trend had snatched its final breath...up pops another stellar example to expose there still is untapped craftsmanship and creativity to be found in this fear-inducing format. The winner of the Best Special

Effects Award at the Sitges Fantasy Festival for its jaw-dropping visuals, two best friends see their world trip of a lifetime take a dark turn when one is struck by a mysterious illness that changes his metabolism making him superhuman. A clever spin on a classic scary story, dual-threat Cliff Prowse and Derek Lee make an impressive horror feature debut.

Directors: Cliff Prowse, Derek Lee  Canada/US 2013  86 mins  Cert 18
Cast: Cliff Prowse, Derek Lee, Edo Van Breeman

SAT 1 MARCH – GFT Screen 1
11:00  VIDEO NASTIES: DRACONIAN DAYS  (World Premiere)
The highly anticipated follow-up to their critically acclaimed VIDEO NASTIES: MORAL PANIC, CENSORSHIP & VIDEOTAPE documentary, director Jake West and producer Marc Morris continue uncovering the shocking story of home entertainment post the 1984 Video Recordings Act. A time when Britain plunged into a new Dark Age of the most restrictive censorship, where the horror movie became the bloody eviscerated victim of continuing dread created by self-aggrandizing moral guardians. With passionate and entertaining interviews from the people who lived through it and more jaw dropping archive footage, get ready to reflect and rejoice the passing of a landmark era.

Director: Jake West   UK 2014  80 mins  Cert 18

13:30  THE SCRIBBLER (World Premiere)
Based on writer artist Dan (DOGHOUSE) Shaffer’s celebrated graphic novel comes a thrilling blend of sci-fi action, film noir and mind-bending slasher.  Dealing with multiple-personality disorder, Suki moves into a halfway house for recently released mental patients. But residents are dying at an alarming rate in the facility as dissociative Suki undergoes an experimental procedure to cure her illness involving ‘The Siamese Burn’ machine designed to eliminate her unwanted identities. But she's losing time, and the machine is changing, doing something new, something that turns her world inside out and highlights the dangers of mechanical thinking in an organic world.

Director: John Suits  US 2014  88 mins  Cert 18
Cast: Katie Cassidy, Michelle Trachtenberg, Eliza Dushku

16:00 TORMENT (European Premiere)
 Newlyweds Cory and Sarah Morgan head to the country for some much-needed family time where they hope Liam, Cory’s struggling 7-year-old son from his previous marriage, will learn to accept his stepmother. But arriving at their home they discover someone has been living there while they were away.  After speaking with the Sheriff they assume the intruders have moved on, however when Liam disappears they discover just how wrong they were. For they must confront a deranged family of killers who have been hiding in the house all along and are now holding Liam in their sadistic cult-like grip.

Director: Jordan Barker  Canada 2013  90 mins  Cert 18
Cast: Peter DaCunha, Katharine Isabelle, Stephen McHattie

18:30  MINDSCAPE  (UK Premiere)
John is a mind detective, paid to enter people’s memories and uncover the reality behind crimes. It’s down to people like him to explore the shadows of the psyche sifting out selective fact from false recognition fiction. But what will he make of his new assignment, the brilliant, troubled and allegedly sexually abused teenager Anna? As John enters her mind and becomes more involved in her total recall, he must decide if she is indeed the victim of unspeakable trauma or a very clever and manipulative sociopath. Produced by Jaume Collet-Serra (ORPHAN, UNKNOWN, NON-STOP), can you guess the twist ending?

Director: Jorge Dorado  US/Spain2013  95 mins  Cert 18
Cast: Mark Strong, Taissa Famiga, Brian Cox

21:00  ALMOST HUMAN (Scottish Premiere)
Mark Fisher disappeared from home in a blinding blue light flash. His friend Seth Hampton was the last person to see him alive. Two years later, a series of atrocious, grisly murders leads Seth to believe that Mark has somehow returned, but changed into something different, strange… not of this world. Mark has indeed become a humanoid alien receptacle for evil - and the last place you should look is in his cellar. The surprise hit at Toronto Midnight Madness, this short, sharp shock of super-violent scares and sci-fi splatter announces director Joe Begos’ arrival as an exciting genre talent.

Director: Joe Begos  US  2013  80 mins  Cert 18
Cast: Graham Skipper, Vanessa Leigh, Josh Ethier

23:15  KILLERS (UK Premiere)
Join The Mo Brothers (MACABRE) on a dark voyage into the warped minds of two men with nothing in common: Nomura, a self-obsessed serial killer residing in Tokyo who posts his sick handiwork on the internet, and Bayu, a failing journalist and struggling father in Jakarta who turns sadistic vigilante. Connected through their violent blood-soaked incidents, both men inexplicably start to feed off each other. But as their lives become more uncontrollable, each of them starts a shocking journey into a toxic maze of violent self-discovery. Fresh from Sundance comes this twisted tale by NIGHTMARE DETECTIVE producer Ushiyama Takuji.

Directors: Kimo Stamboel, Timo Tjahjanto  Indonesia/Japan 2013  140 mins  Cert 18
Cast: Ray Sahetapy, Oka Antara, Rin Takanashi

SUN 2 MARCH – Cineworld Renfrew St Screen 7

Repeat screenings
12:00   VIDEO NASTIES: DRACONIAN DAYS
14:00    ALMOST HUMAN
16:00    WOLF CREEK 2
18:30    THE SACRAMENT
21:00    KILLERS 

To book tickets: +44 (0)141 332 6535 / boxoffice@glasgowfilm.org

Passes: £70 - for all eleven films on Fri 28 Feb and Sat 1 March

Single tickets: £8.50, £6.50 (concession) for ‘In Conversation with Ti West’ event on Thurs 27 Feb and the five Sunday repeat screenings on Sun 2 March.

Please note that there are no single tickets available for the Friday and Saturday films.

 For further information:  www.frightfest.co.uk

We're looking forward to this as much as the Glasgow Film Festival altogether so we're looking forward to meeting old friends once again for a long weekend of scares and bundles of laughs!

EUREKA ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS: UNDER THE TREE. (2017) IN CINEMAS FRIDAY. REVIEW BY SANDRA HARRIS.

THE CRITERION COLLECTION PRESENTS: LORD OF THE FLIES. (1963) REVIEW BY SANDRA HARRIS.

"We're Not Worthy" Own A Piece Of Chuck On Blu Ray Release of A FORCE OF ONE

The original “Expendable”, the undisputed toughest guy on the planet and the only man ever to have counted to infinity – twice, the second time backwards! – World Karate Champion turned actor Chuck Norris stars in this classic, groundbreaking US kung fu movie, now on Blu-ray for the first time....A FORCE OF ONE.

A routine investigation by a crack team of undercover narcotic agents becomes anything but when a deadly assassin begins to eliminate the members of the squad one by one. In a desperate bid to identify the culprit, and to train its officers in the martial arts in order to defend themselves, the police force attempts to enlist the help of Matt Logan, a noted karate champion.

Initially reluctant to become involved in any way, Logan soon changes his mind when his adopted son becomes the villain’s latest victim. Driven by sheer vengeance, he vows to track down the psychotic serial killer and bring the reign of terror to an end in a climactic battle between good and evil.

It’s a Chuck Norris movie and, finally, in Hi-Def for the very first time! If this isn’t what Hi-Def was invented for then we really don’t know what is. We thought Chuck was actually in the room with us. What more do you want? This is a guy capable of slamming a revolving door and is so fast he can run around the world and punch himself in the back of the head. One of Chuck’s first real starring outings, ‘A Force Of One’ was the first Hollywood movie to bring a full contact karate bout to the screen and, if you look really closely, there’s a scene in which Chuck actually makes a Happy Meal cry (okay, we lied about that last bit).

Apart from good  Chuck, A Force Of One also stars , screen beauty Jennifer O’Neill (Scanners), cult 1980s horror icon Clu Gulager (Piranha 3DD; A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2; The Return Of The Living Dead) and legendary kickboxer Bill Wallace (The Protector)with Oscar-winning screenwriter Ernest Tidyman (The French Connection; Shaft) scripting .So kids you wondering why your dads and uncles are so excited about The Expendables 2? Well on August 6th on Blu Ray you will be treated to a real lesson in martial arts and good old slobber knocker action, this August your eduction will begin!

Pre Order / Buy A Force of One On Blu-ray

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A Force of One (1979) - Official Trailer | Digitally Remastered | HD 720p | Chuck Norris Published via LongTail.tv

SCHOOL LIFE: IN CINEMAS 13TH OCTOBER. REVIEW BY SANDRA HARRIS.

Treat Your Other Half With Future Cinema Presents…Casablanca At The Troxy

“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine”

If your ever looking for an cinematic experience with a difference our friends  Future Cinema, the creators of Secret Cinema know how to deliver that experience and this February  they return for a classic romantic film. Returning  to the Troxy for a Valentine’s Day special, bringing to life the enduring tale of love, exile and adventure, the iconic romance  – Casablanca.

 It is 1941 and the Second World War is raging. The Germans have taken Paris and occupied France.

Casablanca is one of the last free cities. The city is a melting pot of cultures, stories and sights.  People are desperate to flee a tumultuous Europe and are looking for safe passage across the Atlantic to the Americas. Amidst the turmoil and the frenzy, Ricks Café Americain is a haven for refugees trying to purchase illicit papers and flee the fast approaching war. On a dark night, amongst the chaos, a world-weary Rick Blaine meets his one time love…

 Future Cinema invites audiences to step inside the world of Casablanca as the Troxy is transformed into the most exclusive night-spot in town, and join Rick and Ilsa on this whirlwind of mystery, romance and espionage. Gather around Sam’s Piano and join in the chorus of the Marseillaise, dance to Benoit Viellefon and his Orchestra, dine at the Blue Parrot Café with food by acclaimed Spanish/North African London restaurant Moro, search for secret bars and discover secret bands, explore the vivid and wild Casablanca and re-live the story as never before.

Applications for identity papers will be open this Tuesday 29^th January, from 1.00pm at www.futurecinema.co.uk/tickets.

Other news from Future Cinema: Following the sold-out Secret Cinema production of The Shawshank Redemption (October 31^st - December 2^nd 2012), Future Cinema reopened the production on Thursday, January 10th, with an extended run until February 24^th. Court times can be booked here: www.futurecinema.co.uk/tickets.





-       Future Cinema presents Casablanca

Dates:   14th February – 3^rd March 2013

            Tickets: www.futurecinema.co.uk/tickets (£25 Full / £20 Concessions / £15 Children (matinees only))

-       2013 Extension: Future Cinema presents The Shawshank Redemption

Dates:  10^th January - 24th February 2013. Productions will take place on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays

Tickets: www.futurecinema.co.uk/tickets (£43.50 Full / £33.50 Concessions)

Here's a little video on the Shawshank  Redemption event:

-       Secret Cinema 20 – London, New York and Athens

Dates: 24^th April – 5^th May 2013 in an undisclosed location in London and launching in New York and Athens.

Tickets: www.secretcinema.org/tickets - on sale date TBA

If your a newbie to the Future and Secret Cinema you can get more information at  www.secretcinema.org / www.futurecinema.co.uk

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 - The Killers (1964)

Genre:
Thriller, Crime
Distributor:
Arrow Academy
Rating: 18
BD Release Date:
24th February 2014 (UK)
Director:
Don Siegel
Cast:
Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, John Cassavetes
Buy:The Killers [Blu-ray]
Ernest Hemingway’s The Killers has been adapted into 3 films for the silver year, first by Richard Siodmak in 1946, the second by Andrei Tarkovsky as a student film and finally by Don Siegel in 1964. They were all masters of cinema in their own way and all 3 films are very different. The Siodmak version is noted as the only adaptation of his work Hemingway admired before his eventual suicide.

The plot is about as basic as you can get: two hit men - Charlie (Lee Marvin) and Lee (Clu Gulager) - are hired to kill a teacher Johnny North (John Cassavetes). They are shocked when he tries to flee the scene and accepts his fate quite calmly. The two hit men investigate to find out why he accepted his fate and Johnny’s story is told in a series of flashbacks.

The Killers is probably most well known for two reasons. The first is it was set to be the very first TV movie and Arrow has kindly included widescreen and full screen aspect ratios in this release. The Killers, however, was deemed too violent for television so it was originally released theatrically in Europe where it was a bit of hit; Lee Marvin won a joint Bafta for his work on this and the overrated Cat Ballou. It was eventually released in the US but a few years after Europe.

It’s also widely known for being Ronald Reagan’s last ever film before he decided to go into politics which eventually lead to his election as President. Reagan plays a mobster and absolutely hated the fact he agreed to be in the film because he slaps Angie Dickinson’s character. In reality it was basically the only role Reagan could get because everyone realised he was a pretty woeful actor then. During the early to mid 80s, a famous shot of Reagan with a gun was used numerous times for flyers and posters for loads of hardcore punk gigs.

The early 60s to mid 60s in American cinema was a fascinating time for film despite what many critics might say. The remnants of film noir were still in the air and it can be argued that it didn’t fully stop till the death of JFK. It is rumoured that Angie Dickinson heard the news during the shooting of The Killers and she supposedly had a bit of a fling with him as well. Films were starting to become more violent and explicit and The Killers was one of the first before the so-called ground zero moment of Bonnie & Clyde in 1967, along with some films such as Shock Corridor, Seconds and the work of Roger Corman.

Lee Marvin had been in supporting roles for most of his career before The Killers so he was eager for a meatier role and he considered it one of his best. It can be said his great performance in this could be considered a dry run for his cooler than ice character of Walker in the 1967’s masterpiece Point Blank. John Cassavetes, who had already started directing his independent films that he became better known for, gives one of his finest on screen performances as Johnny North.

The Killers has become something of a minor cult classic over the years and rightfully so: it’s a great slice of neo-noir coming at the tail end of film noir. Lee Marvin is as cool as you can get. Don Siegel’s direction is spot on as usual and it’s always a riot to see Ronald Reagan’s performance as mob boss Jack Browning. The disc also includes 3 interviews - one on Lee Marvin’s career, one on Reagan’s acting career and archive one with Mr. Siegel himself.

★★★★★

Ian Schultz

ARROW ACADEMY PRESENTS: LUDWIG. (1973) REVIEW BY SANDRA HARRIS.

THE CRITERION COLLECTION PRESENTS: HIS GIRL FRIDAY/THE FRONT PAGE. REVIEWS BY SANDRA HARRIS.

55th BFI London Film Festival Official Programme Launched

Glasgow Film Festival 2012 Programme Launched