Blu-ray Review - Man of the West (1958)

Genre:
Western
Distributor:
Eureka Entertainment
Release Date:
23rd March 2015 (UK)
Rating: 12
Director:
Anthony Mann
Cast:
Gary Cooper, Lee J. Cobb, Julie London
Buy: Man of the West - [Blu-ray]
Anthony Mann is considered by many to be one of the masters of American Cinema to come out of the studio age. He was one of those old time directors who had a crack at pretty much every genre under the sun, but he is best known for his historical epics and most famously his westerns. Man of the West was the second to last western he would direct, and it’s often cited as his finest along with the earlier The Furies.

Man of the West is one of the most startling westerns I’ve seen from the “classic” era of the genre. Around this time (1958) around 20% of films made were westerns -this was before the revisionist westerns of the 60s and onwards. Gary Cooper plays former outlaw Link Jones who has saved some money to help a schoolteacher, but the train he was on gets held up by outlaws. He is stuck with two others passengers and ends up finding his old uncle Dock Tobin (Lee J. Cobb), who he lost contact with after he attempted to go straight, and just happens to be leading the gang of outlaws who hold up the train.

Gary Cooper was as dignified an actor as you can get, he perfectly captures the conflict the role requires. Cooper also has the right level of darkness needed for the film’s sense of dread that runs through it, until the film’s final shootout, which is darker than almost any western of the classic era. Lee J. Cobb’s performance is the kind you sometimes find in westerns where you can almost just smell the liquor on them. The lounge singer Julie London also appears and for a kick check out her version of The Doors’ Light My Fire, you won’t be disappointed.

The late 50s were a period where studio films were becoming darker because of a more sophisticated audience and the initial advent of foreign language films. Man of the West came out in 1958 the same year as two of the darkest film noirs of the era, Vertigo and Touch of Evil. Film noir and the western are two of the most closely linked genres due to their similar themes of violence, masculinity etc. and that’s sometimes forgotten. Man of the West and the earlier Gary Cooper film High Noon are both films influenced by what was happening in film noir, so they have a darker bent to the proceedings. It’s also no surprise Mann, in between his famous westerns, also directed a handful of noirs as well.

Masters of Cinema's release includes a new HD transfer which looks gorgeous in all its Technicolour glory. The two features on the disc are a commentary by Glenn Kenny and Farran Nehme, and a video interview with Douglas Pye. This is finished with a booklet that includes writing by Jean-Luc Godard who was enamoured with the film saying “I have seen nothing so completely new since — why not? — Griffith… With Anthony Mann, one rediscovers the western, as one discovers arithmetic in an elementary maths class. Which is to say that Man of the West is the most intelligent of films, and at the same time the most simple.” Which is very high praise indeed.

★★★★
Ian Schultz

Blu-ray Review - Network (1976)

Genre:
Drama, Satire
Distributor:
Arrow Academy
Release Date:
23rd March 2015 (UK)
Rating: 15
Director:
Sidney Lumet
Cast:
Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, Beatrice Straight, Robert Duvall
Buy: Network - [Blu-ray]
Sidney Lumet is the link between old Hollywood and New Hollywood. He got his start doing live television like his contemporary John Frankenheimer. He made a splash in the late 50s with his debut film 12 Angry Men, and throughout the 60s made gems like The Pawnbroker, The Fugitive Kind, and The Hill. He is best known however, for a handful of extraordinary films he made in the 1970s, with films like the experimental police drama The Offence with Sean Connery, the taboo busting Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, and finally the prophetic Network, which with each passing year becomes more relevant.

Network is a satire about cynical television executives who exploit a mentally unstable man Howard Beale (Peter Finch) to get higher ratings, after he states he will commit suicide on air and the ratings raise considerably. The crazed conspiracy right-wing nut job Glenn Beck recently admitted live on air that he suffered from a neurological illness that “made him look crazy”. The right-wing grassroots US movement The Tea Party incorporated the famous "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this any more!" speech by Howard Beale which is funny considering the film’s cynical leftist message is as far away from their beliefs as it can get.

Despite being a film that predicted aspects of reality television, 24-hour news and the Glenn Becks of the world; Network was actually inspired by the story of Christine Chubbuck who committed suicide live on-air. This put a seed in the mind of writer Paddy Chayefsky who wrote the screenplay (he won the Oscar for the script), and is considered one of the finest writers of his generation, both on film and on stage, however, sadly he died of cancer at a young age.

Sometimes Network is considered to be a writer’s film more so than a director’s film, which I find completely unfair to Sidney Lumet’s work. Lumet always put performance and story above everything else but in Network it’s one of his most visually inventive films, especially during the film’s last half - the “explosive” final. The performances as expected from Lumet are all brilliant. The actors completely inhabit their characters so it’s no wonder Finch won the first posthumous Oscar and Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight also collected Oscars for their performances as well. It’s often reported that Tim Robbins is an assassin in the film but the guy just bares an uncanny resemblance, it’s not Robbins he was still a senior in high school during the shoot.

In a decade that in retrospective is now considered by many to be the second Golden age of Hollywood, Network stills remains a high water mark. It’s shocking to think Rocky beat it for Best Picture but Americans always love a sentimental underdog story after all. Network was in good company - Taxi Driver and All the President’s Men also lost, and all stand the test of time more so than the winner.

The package from Arrow, I have to admit, falls below their normal average when it comes to special features. It has two lengthy, but overall disappointing special features; the first one is Sidney Lumet episode of The Directors series, I’m not a fan of the series because I consider them little more than puff pieces. The other, meatier, feature is a visual essay by Dave Itzkoff, the author of Mad as Hell: The Making of Network, that is more insightful and the better of two features. It’s shame due to rights issues it couldn’t use the impressive features on the US WB disc which includes a feature length documentary along with other documentaries.

★★★★★
Ian Schultz

DVD Review - Doc Of The Dead (2014)

Genre:
Documentary, Horror
Distributor:
Altitude Film Distribution
Rating:15
DVD Release Date:
30th March 2015(UK)
Running Time:
81 mins
Director:
Alexandre O. Philippe
Buy:Doc Of The Dead [DVD]
The zombie has become the monster of the 21st century, encompassing all our foetid woes of death, infection, geo-politics, economy issues, even anxieties around gender, sexuality, and pets. Alexandre Phillip, the man who brought us The People vs. George Lucas, peels back years of zombie history to poke around at the inner-workings of a lucrative and mind-boggling global craze in Doc of the Dead.

Doc of the Dead spends a lot of time covering ground most horror fans will have considered for themselves or heard elsewhere, but its still an enjoyable watch, including fantastic clips and comparative case study. Even though it dodges the nitty-gritty around a flourishing industry/community, it does manage to conjure some interesting ideas about the walking dead’s lingering appeal. The zombie is able to absorb multiple political discourses because it is the monster most like us. A pity then that the worldwide appeal and reincarnation of the zombie is somewhat abandoned with very few non-British or American films discussed. Zombie culture has burst the banks of cult following and successfully navigated the blockbuster environment, but it relied on worldwide saturation of the form rarely explored here.

Phillipe is quite clearly a zombie fan and often lets his boyish enthusiasm parade on screen. Short sketches of zombie reportage and survivalist upset the balance of a well-cultivated series of interviews and observations. Phillipe’s overexcitement in the presence of zombie icons is appreciable but hardly keeps the discussion as concise as it could have been. Featuring interviews with the likes of Tom Savini, George A.Romero, Simon Pegg, and Max Brooks, Doc of the Dead pulls it out the bag when it comes to a star-studded genre cross-section. It could have done more though. Phillipe seems more interested here in examining the evolution of the zombie through artists’ work, which is interesting, but leaves you hungry. More exploration of the zombie’s reactionary function would have been enough to put more bite in this pleasant, often-hilarious, but meandering examination.

The definitive zombie culture documentary has perhaps not quite arrived, but Doc of the Dead is a great look at the development of the western zombie. A terrific selection of well-edited interviews and clips is at the forefront of this eclectic exploration.

★★★1/2
Scott Clark

MUBI Selects - Friday 20th March 2015

The weekend  has arrived  it's time for 2 days of relaxation, chill out the hard slog of the week is now over and refuel your brain with sophistication and MUBI Selects.

In our second weekly 'Mubi Selects' we've teamed with MUBI the purveyors of great cinema online curating a great selection of cult, classic, independent, and award-winning movies. It's an international community discovering wonderful intelligent thought provoking films MUBI is your passport to those great films.

MUBI unleash great new films every week and in our MUBI Selects we've picked  a selection of those great movies  help you enjoy that lazy weekend you desire...

The Gang Of Four (1989)| Jacques Rivette 

If your thriving for strong exciting women you can go no wrong with , a simple story with duality however when it's a Rivette nothing is straightforward!The Gang Of Four is a story of film students under the wing of Constance Dumas, a renowned film instructor.When one of the female students is attacked she is saved by a stranger. Mysterious and 'riveting' pick your space on you favourite sofa this is a long film and let Rivette immerse you in his world.


Peppermint Candy (1999)| Lee Chang Dong

Park Chan-Wook, Bong Joon-Ho maybe the big hitters in South Korea Lee Chang-Dong is a director that deserves the same limelight.Peppermint Candy may have one of the most delicious names in film but it's a film full of rich drama.Beautifully shot and if you love the reverse chronological film seen in the likes of  memento and a story of mans life in 5 phases ending with his suicide, this movie might be for you.


Eggshells (1969)| Tobe Hooper

He'll always be known as the director of Texas Chainsaw Massacre but before then there was another film the one that kicked everything off, a free-wheeling psychedelic comedy. “an American Freak Illumination Time & Space Fantasy”, Eggshells is a surreal head-trip, experimental Americana that captures the era.


Beast (2011)| Christoffer Boe

If Fifty Shades Of Grey left you disappointed Boe's Beast will make it look like Mills & Boon novel. This sexually charged psychodrama  dark, sinister, disturbing that dives into the darker side of love.A man love his wife so much however he's slowly going through transformation however his wife has found someone else, step forward more changes.


Walkabout (1971)| Nicholas Roeg

Before the Man Who Fell To Earth he took us on a 'Walkabout' in the Australian outback hypnotic, hallucinatory Walkabout from Nicolas Roeg. Regarded as many as Australia's greatest film by some critics, a film full mystery, the cinema speaks for itself, a film of a young sister and brother abandoned in the outback facing a harsh reality to adapt and learn to survive in their new natural surroundings.Perfect Lazy Sunday afternoon viewing


For a price of a coffee from one of those chains what better way to enjoy the weekend and every day great films at MUBI? click below to get more info on the other fantastic films on offer...

Blu-ray Review - Rollerball (1975)

Genre:
Drama
Distributor:
Arrow Films
Release Date:
23rd March 2015 (UK)
Rating: 15
Director:
Norman Jewison
Cast:
James Caan, John Houseman, Maud Adams, John Beck, Moses Gunn
Buy: Rollerball - [Blu-ray]
Rollerball falls smack into the middle of the 1970s. It’s remained one of the most revered, dystopian science fictions to come out in that decade. Over the passing years it seems to become increasingly prophetic, with it’s tale of corporate control run amok in a not so distant future, even though 40 years later, the future just looks like the film’s release year, 1975.

The film’s concept comes from the short story The Rollerball Murders by William Harrison, that first appeared in an issue of Esquire. He would eventually be hired to write the film’s screenplay. In Rollerball, violence has been eradicated from society and in it’s place corporations are running everything. In order to satisfy humanity’s urge for violence, the corporations have designed a game that is a mixture of roller derby and the gladiator games of Ancient Rome.

James Caan, hot off the heels of the enormous success of his role in The Godfather, plays the game’s star player, Jonathan E. The corporate executives however, want him to retire due to their desire to not have individuality on show. Caan has done some very momentous work through the ‘70s, which culminates, in many peoples’ eyes, in his most striking performance in Thief in 1981. Despite saying once in an interview that he "couldn't do much with the character" in regards to his character in Rollerball, he does embody the conflicted Jonathan E with characteristic virtuosity.

One of the film’s many intriguing aspects is the choice of Norman Jewison as director of the film. He is mostly well known for In the Heat of the Night, which is one of the few winners of the Best Film Oscar that still packs a punch. The other films he is mostly widely known for are as far field from the dystopian mayhem of Rollerball as you can get - they are the extremely early ‘70s musicals Fiddler on the Roof and Jesus Christ Superstar. However, despite the difference in story, his work in the musicals has gave him a discipline over the dazzlingly shot scenes of the Rollerball game.

The film is not devoid of flaws; the largest problem it faces is a poor pacing that should have been tightened in the editing room. The film runs at 125 minutes but it lacks the focused editing of Jewison’s previous editor Hal Ashby, who had already started making the many tremendous films he directed throughout the 1970s. Jewison relied on Anthony Gibbs who was a British editor who edited many of the early British “New Wave” films. In these films, Gibbs did some pioneering work in the editing room, and was inspired by the cut-up method created by writers William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin for Nicolas Roeg on Performance and Walkabout. He takes a much more traditional route here and it suffers as a result.

It might not quite have the political gravitas of something like Richard Fleischer's Soylent Green, which holds up better than any other dystopian films that came out in ‘70s such as, The Omega Man or Logan’s Run (though I happen to enjoy both of those films very much). Rollerball has a powerful message on corporate greed and enough genre thrills to satisfy both the action-genre needs of some viewers, and the more intellectual needs of other viewers.

The new blu-ray is the most definitive package available in either the US or UK at the moment, and I don’t see that altering in the future. Commentary tracks by both Jewison and the writer, William Harrison are included. Arrow not only commissioned a newly filmed interview with James Caan, who reflects with fond memories on the film’s production, but also made a new featurette following some of the crew revisiting the film’s locations in Germany. Rollerball was one of, if not the first film to properly credit it’s stunt team which is reflected in the interview with the stuntman Craig B. Baxley. There is also an old documentary on the film, which was included in the old MGM Special Edition release, along with a vintage making of that was made at the time. This is all rounded off by trailers, TV spots, and a booklet with new writing on the film.

★★★★
Ian Schultz

Peter Bogdanovich's Paper Moon added to Eureka's Masters of Cinema line!

Eureka Entertainment to release PAPER MOON, the 1973 American comedy-drama starring Ryan and Tatum O’Neal, on Blu-ray in a Dual Format edition as part of The Masters of Cinema Series on 18 May 2015.

 Eureka! Entertainment have announced the release of PAPER MOON, one of the biggest successes in the career of Peter Bogdanovich (The Last Picture Show, What’s Up, Doc?, Mask) starring Ryan O’Neal (Love Story, Barry Lyndon) and his daughter Tatum O’Neal, the youngest ever Academy Award recipient for her performance in the film. Shot with stunning monochromatic film, the release will include a slew of extras and a 36-page booklet.  Available in a Dual Format edition as part of Eureka’s award winning The Masters of Cinema Series, from 18 May 2015.

PAPER MOON Trailer  

Available to pre-order from:

Amazon http://amzn.to/1Cr416w

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SYNOPSIS:

Continuing a run of Seventies smash-hits for director Peter Bogdanovich after the enormous success of his The Last Picture Show and What’s Up, Doc?, Paper Moon saw the filmmaker sustaining his collaboration with actorRyan O’Neal, and introduced the world to the precocious talent of the future Barry Lyndon star's daughter Tatum, then 10, who for her performance was the youngest-ever actress to be awarded an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. 

After meeting a newly orphaned girl named Addie Loggins (Tatum O’Neal), con man Moses Pray (Ryan O’Neal), who may or may not be Addie’s father, is enlisted to deliver the newly orphaned Addie to her aunt in Missouri. Shortly after however, the two realise that together they make an efficient scam-artist duo. Adventure ensues as the pair blaze through the American Midwest, stealing, swindling, and selling the moon…

With its stunning black-and-white cinematography shot by the great László Kovács and its superb evocation of Depression-era locales, Paper Moon endures as one of the key American comedies of the 1970s. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present the film in its UK home viewing premiere in a new Dual-Format edition.

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SPECIAL FEATURES featuring:

• Glorious new 1080p transfer of the film

• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

• Full-length audio commentary with director Peter Bogdanovich

• A group of documentaries about the making of the film

• 36-PAGE BOOKLET featuring a new essay on the film by Mike Sutton, rare production stills, and more!

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PRESS:

“Tatum O'Neal makes a sensational screen debut” - Variety

“A charming mixture of Hawksian comedy and Fordian lyricism” – Time Out

GFF 2015 Review - Clown (2014)

Genre:
Horror, Comedy
Distributor:
StudioCanal UK
Screened:
Glasgow Film Festival
DVD Release Date:
2nd March 2015 (UK)
Director:
Jon Watts
Cast:
Eli Roth, Peter Stormare, Laura Allen , Andy Powers,Christian Distefano
Buy:Clown [DVD]

Jon Watts’ Clown is an exceptional example of how much fun can still be had in the darkest corners of the horror genre without sacrificing a good story. Playing it straight in the realm of clown horror proves a bit of a tone twister, but actually works pretty perfectly in this Eli Roth produced monster movie.

When the clown for his son’s birthday party doesn’t show up, loving father and real estate agent Kent (Andy Powers) is forced to don a mysterious clown suit he finds at one of his houses. But the suit doesn’t come off, instead altering Kent’s body and behaviour, giving him a taste for child-flesh.

Like Sinister, Clown plays on the old “found object” terror, but by its half way mark, it’s taken on more of a Rare Exports vibe, unearthing the horrific truth behind an everyday icon and letting chaos spark at every turn. Watts is astute not to lose his head amidst the terror and confusion. Keeping the ideals of yester-year’s monsters and camp creature-features alive through kitschy gore details and fabulous practical effects is a wise move. It lends further startling substance to a film that already has so many great ideas, the least of which is to structure itself like a slasher for kids, complete with its own set of rules.

Scribe Christopher D. Ford obviously had a total hoot crafting this sadistic little screenplay, and you can’t blame him. This is the perfect update of the clown horror film, a well-considered venture into social anxiety via a garish and gory display of child mutilation, body horror, bright colours, and total madness. Screw IT, Clown wipes the floor with contemporaries and its entire repertoire of inspirations alike, but still has a great time doing it. Its not just on Watts and Ford though, Powers is integral to the meat of the story, because, after all, there’s still a man inside that foul suit. Peter Stormare shows up as the expert/previous owner fo the suit and seems to be having a ball spouting bonkers sentiments whilst terrifying all the films’ sane characters..

There’s a strong element of cheesy fun at work here, but not quite to the point of outright comedy. Kent’s struggle to remove the haunting outfit is funny, but the resultant body horror genuinely gets under your skin. Once the suit takes hold the film sets on a path of ridiculously confrontational horror and insanity: child abduction, murder, graphic suicide, Stormare’s daft turn, great use of found footage, finger nibbling, kiddy-crunching its all here. A genius sequence of mass-terror at a soft play is arguably the crowning achievement of the feature, delivering every single nightmare you could want from a film about a killer-clown. Watts’ has constructed a perfect mash-up of genre ideals without losing his humour, and he’s done it beautifully.

A funny, but mostly horrifying, monster-flick flaunting terrific scares and a great story. Show your kids, show your wee brothers and sisters. This is the film that fucks children up for life.

★★★★
Scott Clark

DVD Review - The Young Savages (1961)

Genre:
Drama
Distributor:
Simply Media
DVD Release Date:
16th March 2015 (UK)
Rating: PG
Director:
John Frankenheimer
Cast:
Burt Lancaster, Dina Merrill, Edward Andrews, Vivian Nathan, Shelley Winters
Buy: The Young Savages [DVD]
John Frankenheimer started out doing live television and learnt his trade in that throughout the 1950s. He made one previous feature The Young Stranger before he moved permanently into film (even though he would return to TV in his later life) with The Young Savages and what a step up it was. Frankenheimer’s status as a master craftsman has grown through the years and deservedly so.

Both the similar titled films The Young Stranger and The Young Savages are about problematic teenagers, but The Young Savages has a more sophisticated approach to the storytelling and visual style. Burt Lancaster (who collaborated with Frankenheimer on numerous films) plays the district attorney Hank Bell, who is investigating a murder of a blind Puerto Rican boy by 3 teenager delinquents. Bell is from the same neighbourhood as the boys, and one has a relationship with one of the boy’s mothers played by Shelley Winters.

It’s an issues film, which during the ‘50s and early ‘60s were very popular. It deals with issues like crime, racism, justice and although done intelligently enough, it’s never too preachy unlike more modern attempts like Crash. Burt Lancaster is pretty much always great and this is no exception. Shelley Winters is still at the height of her talent before she starts doing AIP films only a few years later. Kojak fans will also see a young Telly Savalas playing a police detective like he did on his later television show.

The real strength of the film is really Frankenheimer’s style. It’s full of strange angles and close-ups, which will be more evident in his later masterpieces The Manchurian Candidate and Seconds. It was Frankenheimer's first collaboration with cinematographer Lionel Lindon who he would collaborate with on The Manchurian Candidate. In closing it’s an early Frankenheimer film which stylistically pre-dates a lot of aesthetic choices he would make in later films, with a solid storyline and two strong performances from it’s stars.

★★★1/2
Ian Schultz

DVD Review - Panic in Year Zero (1962)

Genre:
Drama
Distributor:
Simply Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date:
16th March 2015 (UK)
Rating: PG
Director:
Ray Milland
Cast:Ray Milland, Jean Hagen, Frankie Avalon, Mary Mitchel, Joan Freeman
Buy: Panic in Year Zero [DVD]
Ray Milland was one of the big screen’s greatest actors, which is evident in such classics as Lost Weekend (which he won the Oscar for), Dial M for Murder, and The Big Clock amongst many others. Due to rumoured alcoholism (but never confirmed) and a desire to direct, he moved away from acting in major films and started directing, but he also starred in some AIP B-Movies, and actually directed one of the ones he starred in - Panic in Year Zero.

Panic in Year Zero is a classic bit of cold war, apocalyptic filmmaking. Ray Milland plays the father of the Baldwin family, Harry. The Baldwins try to go on a family camping trip, but L.A gets attacked with nuclear bombs (if only that would happen). Harry must become a full out survivalist to survive the nuclear fallout and the chaos and crime that follows in it’s wake.

It’s not quite the harrowing apocalyptic tale of something like Peter Watkins' fantastic The War Game. It moves at a swift 87 minute pace, which is due to the fact it was a part of a double bill with Roger Corman’s Tales of Terror. It’s also certainly one of Milland’s finest later roles; he plays a total paranoid asshole perfectly. It might not be the genius of X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes but it’s pretty damn good. The teen heartthrob singer Frankie Avalon plays his son.

The depiction of the total moral collapse of society after a nuclear war is a more likely outcome than the more proto-hippie takes around the same time. It’s also sets the template for so many post-apocalyptic journey films from Mad Max to The Road to stuff like Time of the Wolf. It may have had a tiny budget but it’s big ideas and the atmosphere it portrayed, despite showing very little, still works it’s charms over 50 years later.

★★★1/2
Ian Schultz

Watch The "The Origins of Auteur Theory" Video Essay

“There are no good and bad movies, only good and bad directors,” François Truffaut once said when talking about the auteur theory.It's a word that's been used for many decades when talking about filmmakers who embeded their personal stamp on their own film.When it started or who was given the first we have to go back to French New Wave Cinema of late 1950's into 1960's  when it became very popularised. Everyone from Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick , Martin Scorsese have all been given the title of Auteur but do we really know what an Auteur really is?

In this  17 minute video essay from FilmakerIQ they try and explain what the terms means as year after year many of us debate the meaning and who should be regarded as an 'auteur'. When the likes of Michael Bay get's regarded as an auteur it  can easily become heated . This video delivers an nice argument and useful, entertaining especially if your wanting to enhance your film history knowledge too!