Rage (2009; dir. Sally Potter) opens today in cinemas across the United Kingdom, beamed directly and simultaneously into dozens of screens around the country from the BFI Southbank in a bold and exciting technological first that could see film-making costs reduced dramatically and a potential … Read More →
Monthly Archives: September 2009
How Derren Brown tried to hypnotize the nation
On Friday night, Channel 4 and Derren Brown broadcast a mixture of magic, suggestion, psychology, misdirection and showmanship, with the aim of literally sticking the audience to their seats. The programme claimed to show a specially produced piece of film which would subliminally suggest to … Read More →
Heavy Metal Jr. (2005; dir. Chris Wait)
This made-for-TV short follows the exploits of a pre-teen heavy metal rock band – the film is subtitled “A Portrait of Pre-Teen Rebellion” but suspiciously lacks an open depiction of delinquency. There are moments that hint at the children’s knowledge of that which their parents … Read More →
I sopravvissuti della città morta (1983; dir. Antonio Margheriti)
To paraphrase Edgar Allan Poe, a film without an idea is just a film. This – another of Margheriti’s misadventures with actor David Warbeck – is a complete waste of celluloid. Without any of the care and attention he usually lavishes on his films, Margheriti … Read More →
Smiley, happy people
Northern Film and Media are holding their second quarterly Crew and Facilities Networking Evening on Thursday 24th September. There’ll be a complimentary glass of sangria and a buffet laid on, and they’re hoping to play games on Long Sands Beach, Tyneside. Despite some charity element, … Read More →
Further attacks on the BBC
Culture secretary Ben Bradshaw has called for the BBC Trust – the body which governs the British Broadcasting Corporation – to be scrapped. He called the structure of the BBC unsustainable and recommended that a “national conversation” should take place when the BBC’s charter is … Read More →
Celebrity Deaths
Death, without exception, is always a tragic event. But the recent high-profile deaths in the entertainment industry highlight the unsettling trend for vicarious mourning exhibited by the mass audio-visual media. Both Michael Jackson and Patrick Swayze worked in a throwaway and insignificant sector of the … Read More →
Joseph Tan – Filmmaker, 1979-2009
Joseph Tan was a filmmaker from Middlesbrough who sadly passed away at the end of May this year. He suffered from a congenital heart condition since birth, but despite this, or perhaps because of it, he became a driving force for independent film production in … Read More →
Behind the Wall (2008; dir. Paul Schneider)
M. R. James suggested that ghost stories should have ‘a pleasing terror’ and, when handled correctly, they can be the most cinematic source material: the supernatural vision has an almost direct correlation with the projected image. This film aims for an old fashioned and restrained … Read More →
Es ist nicht leicht ein Gott zu sein (1990; dir. Peter Fleischmann)
This West German and Russian co-production mixes historical drama with science fiction, creating an alien world with odd decor and costumes so its unfamiliar setting becomes a bastard version of the Dark Ages. Although realistically brutal and dirty in the way Hollywood ignores, the performances … Read More →
Peter Watkins at the BBC
On Saturday night, BBC Four broadcast the 1964 documentary film Culloden as part of their “This is Scotland” season. The film was preceded by a “making of…” short originally produced in 1996 and featuring a brief interview with filmmaker Peter Watkins. Watkins is, without doubt, … Read More →
‘Hukkunud Alpinisti’ hotell (1979; dir. Grigori Kromanov)
Like Es ist nicht leicht ein Gott zu sein (1989; dir. Peter Fleischmann) – which we reviewed here – this Estonian film is based on a story by the Strugatsky Brothers, famous Russian authors with a penchant for mixing hard sci-fi with cod-philosophy. This, like … Read More →