Although the 60-year-old is best known to UK audiences as the screenwriter of Gomorrah (Matteo Garrone’s superb 2008 drama about organised crime), he has opted for a very different kind of film for his directorial debut.
Based on personal experiences, Di Gregorio essentially plays Gianni, a bachelor in his late 50s who is the full-time carer of his 90-year-old mother (Valeria De Franciscis).
Shot entirely on location (some of it in Di Gregorio’s old flat) with a non-professional cast, it focuses on the relationships between family members and strangers in the flat, but also explores the experience of ageing with a grat deal of charm and insight.
Gianni and his mother live in the Roman district of Trastevere and the film is set around the eve of Ferragosto, the annual celebration on August 15th of the ascension of the Virgin Mary into Heaven which empties the city.
Because he owes favours to his landlord and doctor, GiovanniĀ is persuaded to look after their mothers as a favour, along with an aunt for good measure.
The film then is a gentle depiction of their time together as he drinks, smokes and cooks for the older women.
There is plenty of humour too, as tensions simmer over television, food, medication and night time escapades, but it is one grounded in real life experience, never feeling forced or contrived.
The observations and details are superbly evoked, but the central appeal of the film is the humanity beating at the heart of it.
All of the characters are treated with a respect and dignity that is all too rare in modern society, let alone films featuring old people.
Instead of being hectoring caricatures, they have a depth and interior life which is charmingly presented and free from cheap sentimentality.
Interview with Gianni Di Gregorio: An interesting extra in which the actor, writer and director discusses the film but also visits the older women who star in it. He deliberately selected non-professional actors and it was a wise choice – off screen they appear just as interesting.
The story involves a young Jewish woman (Melanie Laurent) who escapes the slaughter of her family by a ‘Jew hunting’ Nazi (Christophe Waltz); a group of commandos known as ‘The Basterds’ led by a Southern lieutenant (Brad Pitt); a British agent (Michael Fassbender) behind enemy lines; a Nazi war hero (Daniel Bruhl) who has become a film star; an German actress double agent (Diane Kruger) and the Nazi high command of Hitler (Martin Wuttke) and Goebbels (Sylvester Groth).
Whilst not in the same league as his first two films, it is absorbing, well crafted filmmaking laced with considerable wit and style. From the bravura opening sequence – a homage toĀ The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – involving a Nazi having a drink with a French farmer, isĀ a master class in tensionĀ and sets up the rest of the story beautifully.
Much of the film involves characters talking for extended periods and there is a notable lack of conventional action sequences, but this is actually a strength rather than a weakness.
The main reason for this is that the pool of characters here are some of the best Tarantino has ever written and his uncanny eye for the right actor has paid rich dividends here.
It is being sold as a World War II action movie starring Brad Pitt, but this is a much more European flavoured film with a diverse and expertly cast ensemble.
Pitt does well as the head of the JewishĀ commandosĀ but the real stand outs are Christophe Waltz, who is marvellous as the multi-lingual SS offficer nicknamed ‘The Jew Hunter’ and Melanie Laurent as Shosanna Dreyfus, his Jewish nemeis who ends up owning a cinema in Paris.
One sequence between them, set in a restaurant, is superbly played with an underlying menace and tension that is tweaked quite brilliantly.
To some it will be just more ‘Tarantino speak’, but the context, the use of music and extremeĀ close upsĀ all give it a different texture from what you might expect.
The rest of the cast all do sterling work but special praise must go to Michael Fassbender and Mike Myers for their only scene together – a wonderfully played military briefing which is hilarious, although it could be a litmus test for those who love or hate this film.
Going in you might expect this to be mostly about the Basterds killing Nazis, but that is only one slice of the pie, with the real juice of the film being a revenge tale in which even celluloid itself is drafted into the plot.
Whilst much of the discussion about the film will inevitably centre around the director and his reputation, it is worth mentioning the wonderful technical work across the board.
The production values are first rate, with the studio based scenes (shot atĀ Babelsberg Studio outside Berlin) mixed seamlessly with location work and the production design byĀ David Wasco is complemented beautifully by the costumes byĀ Anna Sheppard.
The cinematography by Robert Richardson is beautifully composed and when combined with Tarantino’s style and Sally Menke’s editing makes for some wonderfully snappy and memorable sequences.
Music has always been a strong point in Tarantino’s previous films as he has made a point of never using an original composer and instead inserting previously recorded pieces.
For longtime fans of the director, look out for the now trademark scenes involving feet, a Mexican stand off, close ups of food (think cream rather thanĀ Big Kahuna burgers) and numerous references to films throughout.
At 153 minutes maybe some of it could have been cut a little bit more (one sequence in a bar seems to have been trimmed slightly since Cannes) but the fact is that I never looked at my watch during the film – it had me absorbed and each chapter rolling into the next was a pleasure.
Mainstream audiences may get put off by the use of subtitles (attractive yellow ones as it turns out) used in much of the multi-lingual cast and the fact that Brad Pitt is in it less than the marketing is letting on.
This is a film that exists very much in its own world, as you will see when it gets to the climax, but it is such a rich and lovingly created one that avoids the pitfalls of many movies set in World War II.
It is as much about our perceptions and fantasies of that war than it is about the actual war itself. In terms of where this fits into the director’s career, I don’t think Quentin Tarantino will ever top the expectations Pulp Fiction forced on him.
Since the enormous critical and commercial success of that film he seemed to be indulged atĀ Miramax (which, to be fair,Ā his success helped shape) and perhaps he hasn’t had the creative tension down the years that he needed.
His last couple of films – despite undoubted qualities – seemed to be showing an artist retreating into his own self-referential head.
Grindhouse marked the point where he seemed to be chasing his own pop culture tail and this was paralleled by the commercial misfires at the newly formedĀ Weinstein Company.
With this film they have partnered with Universal and interestingly this is the first time Tarantino has worked with a major studio as writer-director. Maybe this has given him a new sense of responsibility and helped him creatively.
Certainly Inglourious Basterds is a refreshing change of pace from the crime and exploitation influenced work he had been doing of late.
Mid-August Lunch (Artificial Eye): An Italian comedy-drama about a middle aged man (Gianni Di Gregorio, who also directed) who finds himself looking after his mother and several other older women in a small Roman flat. [Read the full review here…]
When I first saw Casino I remember thinking that it contained more f-words than any movie I had seen and someone has done this f-only edit of the film.
The world record for most uses of the word is a 2005 documentary called (appropriately) Fuck with 824 uses of the word, which works out at 8.86 per minute.
When it comes to feature films, Summer of Sam (1999) follows with 435 and then Nil By Mouth (1997) with 428.
Casino comes in on 398 and then Alpha Dog (2007) with 367.
Me and Orson Welles (cinemaNX Distibution): A period drama set in 1937 about a teenager (Zac Efron) who joins the Mercury Theatre production of “Julius Ceasar” directed by a young Orson Welles (Christian McKay). Directed by Richard Linklater and co-starring Claire Danes, it was shot in the Isle of Man back in the spring of 2008 and lingered on the shelf after failing to get a distributor at various festivals. However, production company CinemaNX have decided to release it themselves (a rarity for a national release) sharing print and ad costs with Vue Entertainment. It could do decent business given Efron’s appeal to teen audiences and the critical plaudits lavished on McKay’s portrayal of Welles. [Nationwide / PG]
The Box (Icon): Director Richard Kelly returns from the disastrous Southland Tales with this tale of a suburban couple (James Marsden and Cameron Diaz) who receive a box as a gift and then are told by a mysterious stranger (Frank Langella) that if they press the button on it, they will get $1 million. The catch is that someone, somewhere in the world will die as a result. After some decidedly mixed reviews, this seems likely to meet the fate of Kelly’s last film rather than his first, 2001’s Donnie Darko. [Nationwide / 15]
The Descent: Part 2 (Warner Bros/Pathe): The sequel to the 2005 horror film, sees the sole survivor (Shauna McDonald) emerge from the Appalachian cave system where she encountered unspeakable terrors. Directed by Jon Harris, it co-stars Natalie Jackson Mendoza, Krysten Cummings, Joshua Dallas. [Nationwide / 18]
Planet 51 (Entertainment): Ā Another 3D animated film hits UK multiplexes and this one involves the inhabitants of Planet 51, who Ā live in fear of alien invasion, which is realised when an astronaut arrives from Earth. Directed by Jorge Blanco and Javier Abad, it features the voices of Dwayne Johnson, Sean William Scott, Jessica Biel and Justin Long. [Nationwide / PG]
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Cracks (Optimum Releasing): A look at the lives and relationships among girls at an elite British boarding school starring Eva Green and directed by Jordan Scott. [ C’Worlds Chelsea & Haymarket, Odeon Wimbledon & Selected Cinemas nationwideĀ / 15]
Departures(Arrow Films): A newly unemployed cellist takes a job preparing the dead for funerals in this Japanese film which won the Best Foreign Film Oscar earlier this year. [Odeon Covent Gdn, Renoir & Key Cities from 8 Jan 2010 / 12A]
Disgrace(ICA Films): Based on the novel by J.M. Coetzee this adaptation is the story of a Cape Town professor (John Malkovich) who moves to the Eastern Cape after an affair with a student, where he gets caught up in a mess of post-apartheid politics. [ICA Cinema and selected cities / 15]
The Girlfriend Experience (Revolver Entertainment): An experimental drama about a high-end Manhattan call girl (played by Sasha Grey),Ā set in the autumn of 2008. Directed by Steven Soderbergh with his low budget hat on [Selected UK cities / 15].
The Merry Gentleman (The Works): A drama about a woman (Kelly Macdonald)Ā who leaves an abusive relationship to begin a new life in a new city, where she forms a relationship with a suicidal hit man (Michael Keaton, who also directs) and an alcoholic detective (Tom Bastounes). [Cineworld Shaftesbury Avenue & Key Cities / 15]
As is often the case, the list can be a little out of sync with US and foreign release dates (Un ProphĆØteĀ doesn’t open in the UK until January 22nd) although that hasn’t affected this year’s selection too much.
Although Murphy has had his fair share of box office misfires across the decade (Meet Dave, Imagine That) it should be noted he still has a decent box office track record (Shrek,Ā Norbit, Dr Dolittle, Daddy Day Care) – even if the films are cack.
Last week I was at the Student Radio Awards in London and the evening was a reminder of radio things past and present.
If you have listened UK radio stations like Talk Radio, TalkSPORT and Radio 2 over the last few years you may have heard me talk about films on certain shows at different times.
But my first proper experience behind the microphone was at the student radio station Insanity back in February 1998 presenting an afternoon show on a Saturday and doing roving reporting via a mobile on Matt Deegan’s weekend breakfast show.
Back then it was a case of selecting CDs and learning how to work the faders after a bit of ‘training’ (i.e. a 10 minute session in which I realised how confusing a Denon Mini-Disc player was) and then basically doing a two hour show.
I have to be honest and admit that I did it because it it seemed like fun and I’d listened to a lot of radio in my first year as I didn’t have a TV.
Anyway, in early 1999 I managed to get some work experience on the Ian Collins show on Talk Radio and was lucky enough to get a shift reviewing films every week, which lasted in various forms on various shows until last year.
But there is no doubt that doing student radio and facing the regular task of filling the airwaves with speech or music helped me enormously when I went into a professional environment.
One of the many nice things about the awards evening was seeing various people who’ve helped me in my radio journey:
Steve Harris of XFM was the producer who replied to my faxed requested for work experience at Talk Radio back in 1999
Mike Hanson of BBC 6 Music was the producer of the Ian Collins show, which was regular night time listening during those student years
Marsha Shandur of XFM, who I once saw give one of the best ‘how to get into radio’ speeches ever
Matt Deegan of Folder Media (and former Insanity presenter and station manager) who I still work with on various things to this day.
But the real kick this year was being a judge in the Interview category.
Not only was it interesting to check out what different people had done but it was a real pleasure to see my first choice actually win.
It was an interview by Joshua Chambers of URY and featured him questioning Hilary Benn back in February about the government’s position on the use of torture in the wake of the Binyam Mohamed case.
Interestingly, the audio quality isn’t that great but if you read his written submission you’ll see an explanation that actually strengthens his entry.
I can honestly say it is one of the best audio interviews I’ve heard in a very long time, as the questions were well researched and highlighted the inconsistencies in the Government line Benn was trying to defend.
Congratulations to all the entrants, winners and organisers at the SRA for putting on the evening.
The whole event was a reminder to me about student radio – its value is not monetary, but lies in the fact that people can achieve a lot when others take the time out to help them.
Life(2 Entertain): This ten-part series narrated by David Attenborough covers 130 stories from the natural world. Exploring the variety of life on Earth and the specialised strategies and extreme behaviour that living things have evolved in order to survive; what Charles Darwin termed “the struggle for existence”. Four years in the making, the series was shot entirely in high definition and it includes 10 minute ‘making of’ diaries for each episode. [Available on DVD and Blu-ray]
The Minersā Campaign Tapes (BFI): Six short films about the 1984 Miners’ Strike have been collected on DVD and released for the first time by the BFI. The footage was originally shot at the timeĀ by a group of independent film and video makers on the picket lines and marches where they recorded the testimonies of striking miners, their families and supporters.Ā Among those that appear are Arthur Scargill, Dennis Skinner and the late Paul Foot.
The episodes include:
Not Just Tea and Sandwiches
The Coal Boardās Butchery
Solidarity
Straight Speaking
The Lie Machine
Only Doing Their Job?
Also included is an illustrated 22-page booklet with essays by Chris Reeves of Platform Films ā discussing the making and distribution of the Tapes; by Julian Petley (co-author of Media Hits the Pits: the Media and the Coal Dispute and Shafted: the Media, the Minersā Strike and the Aftermath and by David Peace, author of GB84, the Red Riding thrillers and The Damned Utd. [Available on DVD]
This is an MGM promotional film made in the mid-60s about a young Sharon Tate, who was then appearing in Eye of the Devil (1966).
Look out for: a young David Hemmings dancing like Austin Powers; producer John Calley; the ‘GuinnessĀ discotheques’ (whatever they were);Ā the hilarious tone of the narrator and the bit where David Niven calls Sharon a ‘fabulously good looking bird’. Feminism clearly hadn’t quite caught on yet.
Paranormal Activity (Icon): The ultra low budget horror sensation about a couple who are haunted by a ghost opened early on Wednesday and UK distributor Icon will be hoping for a repeat of its extraordinary US success.
Law Abiding Citizen (Momentum Pictures): An everyday guy (Gerard Butler) decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets his family’s killers free.
His target is the district attorney (Jamie Foxx) who orchestrated the deal. This looks like an update on Death Wish …with Gerard Butler. [Nationwide / Cert 18]
Nativity! (E1 Films): Martin Freeman (the former Office star currently appearing in those annoying anti-piracy ads) plays a school teacher putting on a nativity play.
Directed by Debbie Isitt, it is a British comedy and co-stars Alan Carr – two things which don’t bode well. [Nationwide /Cert PG]
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Bunny and the Bull (Optimum): Another British comedy (two in one week!) and this involves a man (Edward Hogg)Ā who takes an imaginary road trip inside his apartment, based on mementos and memories of a European trek from years before.
From the makers of TV comedy The Mighty Boosh. [ Chelsea Cinema, Curzon Soho & NationwideĀ / Cert 15]
The ultra low budget horror sensation Paranormal Activity is sporadically effective but seems destined to join The Blair Witch Project as a flash in theĀ pan phenomenon.
The premise is simple: a well to do couple (played by Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat) think they are being haunted by a ghost at night, so they record themselves on video camera and becomeĀ increasingly unnerved by the resulting footage.
But perhaps even more striking is its similarity to another low budget sensation, The Blair Witch Project.
Both were filmed with low end cameras in the style of ‘found footage’.
The central conceit is what you are watching really happened asĀ it’s shot through the cameras the characters use.
Unlike the spooky woods haunted by the Blair Witch, the action here is consigned to a spacious surburban house and much of it unfolds at night in the bedroom.
These sequences are the strongest with heavy doses of tension cranked up by some judicious editing and inventiveĀ use of the camera’s clock.
But ultimately the film is a something of a stretched out gimmick.
On the print I saw it on, the UK distributors Icon didn’t even alter the reference to the US distributors (Paramount Pictures) which seemed a little clumsy (or was it intentional?).
That said, it has clearly struck a chord with US audiences and will probably do well here from all the buzz and word of mouth.
I went to a late night preview at my local cinema a couple of weeks ago and although the audience was small, there were moments when people near me jolted out of their seat.
When it arrives on DVD I’m sure it will become a late night horror favourite, although like The Blair Witch Project it will be remembered more for how it was filmed and marketed, than for the actual quality of the work itself.
Look out for the bit around the 9 minute mark when he discusses The Terminator and the original studio’s choice for the main role.
“The head of Orion, who were gonna release the film, called me up and said, ‘Are you sitting down? I’ve cast this movie’. I was at a party, and it’s, ‘are you sitting down? It’s O.J. Simpson for the Terminator!’
And I said, ‘This is the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard,’ you know. I didn’t know O.J. Simpson, I had nothing against him personally. I didn’t know he was gonna go murder his wife later and become the real Terminator”
There are also some other web extra videos which didn’t make the broadcast edit.
The SopranosSeason 1gets its UK debut on Blu-ray and remains essential viewing if you don’t already own it on DVD.
One of the best and most iconic TV dramas of the last decade, it was created by David Chase and screened for six seasons on HBO from 1999 until 2007.
Set in New Jersey, where it also was shot and produced, the series revolves around mobster Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) and his struggles to balance his home and working life.
A huge ratings and critical success, it became the most financially successful cable series in history and arguably one of the landmark shows in the history of television.
It garnered several awards, including twenty-one Emmys and five Golden Globes and broke through in to popular culture with the show being parodied, analysed and discussed by many viewers across the world.
Season 1 began with Tony Soprano collapsing after suffering a panic attack which led him into therapy with Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco).
As the season develops details of Tony’s life emerge: his father and mother loom large in his personal and social development; his complex relationship with his wife Carmela (Edie Falco); his children, Meadow and Anthony Jr., who both have find out more about their father’s line of work; someone in his organization snitching to the FBI; his own family plotting against him and various behind the scenes conflicts, which gradually emerge.
The technical specs are:
1.78:1
1080p
5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
The box set include the following episodes:
46 Long
Denial, Anger, Acceptance
Meadowlands
College
Pax Soprano
Down Neck
Tennessee Moltisante
Boca
A Hit Is A Hit
Nobody Knows Anything
Isabella
Jeanne Cusamano
Extras appear to be appear to be a bit thin on the gound.
A Blu-ray only re-release for Fight Club (Fox) is a 10th Anniversary Edition of the the 1999 film based on the book by Chuck Palahniuk.
Directed by David Fincher it stars Edward Norton and Brad Pitt as disaffected males who bond over their disgust at (what was then) modern society by creating an underground club where men beat each other up.
Although I’m not the kind of die-hard fan to name this as one of the greatest films of the 90s (they do actually exist) it remains a skilful and intriguing mainstream film dealing with such issues as consumerism and terrorism in a sly and unnerving way.
Norton and Pitt both impress in the leads whilst Fincher brings his trademark visual flair to the screen. Apparently Fox’s owner Rupert Murdoch was appalled when he saw the film and it is hard to imagine such a project even being greenlit today by a mainstream studio.
The climax, which eerily foreshadows the events of 9/11, subject matter and subversive humour led to it causing a stir when it premiĆØred at the Venice film festival in 1999.
In time it became much more successful on DVD and now the Blu-ray release should appeal directly to its significant fanbase.
Fincher himself supervised the transfer and included some bizarre touches in the spirit of the film (e.g. the menu is not what you might expect).
This surely is the best of all editions with a vastly superior image, flawless audio and old – as well as new – extras. Like it or love it – the film is an unforgettable ride and a milestone in the careers of the director and two lead stars.
This Blu-ray surely replicates the theatrical experience better than ever before for your home theater. An impressive amount of effort has gone into this 20th Century Fox release and for anyone, even remotely, keen on the film – we are highly recommending it as the definitive way to see David Fincher’s inventive, surprising and subversive Fight Club.
He also has comparison screen shots of the DVD and Blu-ray versions here.
The technical specs are:
1080P / 23.976 fps Dual-layered Blu-ray
Disc Size: 46,278,055,124 bytes
Feature: 34,166,661,120 bytes
Video Bitrate: 23.45 Mbps
Codec: MPEG4 AVC Video
The extras have some new elements which include:
A Hit In The Ear: Ren Klyce and the Sound Design of Fight Club (New)
Welcome To Fight Club
Angel Faces Beating
The Crash
Tylerās Goodbye
Flogging Fight ClubNew Insomniac Mode: I Am Jackās Search Index, Commentary Log, Topic Search (New)
Guys Choice Award (New)
Work: Production, Visual Effects, On Location (New)
Edward Norton Interview (New)
Commentary by David Fincher
Commentary by David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter
Commentary by Chuck Palahniuk and Jim Uhls
Commentary by Alex McDowell, Jeff Cronenweth, Michael Kaplan and Kevin Haug
Seven Deleted Scenes and Alternate Scenes
Theatrical Teaser, Theatrical Trailer, The Eight Rules of Fight Club
12 TV Spots
Public Service Announcements
Music Video
Five Internet Spots
Promotional Gallery
Art Gallery
Fight Club is out now on Blu-ray from 20th Century Fox
Fight Club 10th Anniversary Edition (Fox): A Blu-ray only re-release for Fight Club is a 10th Anniversary Edition of the the 1999 film based on the book by Chuck Palahniuk. Directed by David Fincher it stars Edward Norton and Brad Pitt as disaffected males who bond over their disgust at modern consumerism by creating an underground club where men beat each other up. [Read the full review here]
I read a trimmed down version of it in Tuesday’s print edition and assumed that the man behind Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and TV’s Spaced had given the go ahead for them to run it.
See also the Times tribute which gives away the end of The Wicker Man in its one-sentence summary of the plot.
Would it really have been that hard for someone at The Times to contact the director and ask for a quote, or even credit his blog without making out that he was a contributor?
Hopefully part of their strategy won’t involve copying other people’s freely available work without credit, misleading readers and then charging them for the privilege.
If you have no idea what any of this means then you probably aren’t a teenage girl. But female fans (of whom there are many) are going to make this one of the biggest films of the year and swell the coffers of UK distributor E1 Entertainment. (Read my full thoughts on the film here). [Vue West End & Nationwide / 12A]
A Serious Man (Universal): The Coen Brothers explore the late 60s Minnesota of their childhood with this tale of a Jewish maths professor named Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg). It explores his struggles with a hectoring wife (Sari Lennick), her annoying widower lover (Fred Melamed); a leeching brother (Richard Kind); a pothead son (Aaron Wolff ); dithering academic colleagues and a succession of perpetually useless rabbis.
After the Oscar success of No Country For Old Men, they have made one of their most personal films, a rich and superbly crafted tale with stunning technical contributions across the board. Easily one of the best films to come out this year it also ranks alongside Fargo and No Country as one of the Coens’ very best. How it does at the box office is another matter but it fully deserves Oscar and BAFTA recognition. (Read my full thoughts on the film here.) [C’World Haymarket, Curzon Soho, Odeon Covent Gdn. & Nationwide / 15]
Stylishly directed by Steven Soderbergh, it is smart, funny and evocative of the 1990s. Matt Damon is superb in the lead role and look out for some fine supporting performances from the likes of Melanie Lynskey and Scott Bakula. [Nationwide / 15]
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Glorious 39 (Momentum Pictures): A mysterious tale set around a traditional British family on the eve of World War Two, starring Romola Garia, Bill Nighy, Julie Christie and directed by Steven Poliakoff. Ā [Odeon West End & Key Cities fromĀ November 27th / 12A)
Machan (Yume Pictures): Hindi film about a love story with a terrorist angle starring Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Vivek Oberoi. [Empire Leicester Square / 15]
The Sea Wall (Axiom): A drama about a teenage girl who has an affair with a worldly older man in 1920s French Indo-China based on a Marguerite Duras novel. Isabelle Huppert stars. [Apollo Picc Circus, Cine Lumiere, Curzon Renoir & Key Cities]
Southern Softies (Northern Pics/Chick Ken): A travelogue by John Shuttleworth, in which he visits the Channel Islands. [GateĀ Notting Hill, Greenwich Picturehouse, Ritzy & Key Cities]
Examined Life (ICA Films): A documentary examining life with the help of modern thinkers. [ICA Cinema & selected Key Cities]
Ulysses (Contemporary Films): A re-issue for director Joseph Strick’s bold attempt to film James Joyce’s famously ‘unfilmable’ novel. [Barbican / 15]
For the uninitiated the Twilight films are based on the mega-sellingĀ novels byĀ Stephenie Meyer which have been translated into over 20 languages worldwide.
There are currently four books:Ā Twilight (2005),Ā New Moon (2006),Ā Eclipse (2007) andĀ Breaking Dawn (2008) and they have a combined sale of over 25 million copies.
When someone at MTV films made the (now catastrophic) decision to pass on making the film adaptations, newcomerĀ Summit Entertainment stepped up and a lucrative film franchise was born.
It grossed over $383 million worldwide, making instant stars of Pattinson and Stewart and also causing wild scenes of fandom at various premieres around the world.
I got a sneak peak of New Moon yesterday at a press screening in London and the audience mostly consisted of media folk (like me), teenage girls and their parents.
The story involves Edward having to go away, Bella discovering new things about her friend Jacob (Taylor Lautner) and a mysterious vampire from the past named Aro (Michael Sheen).
Bearing in mind that I am way out of the target demographic for this material, here are my main thoughts:
It is slightly more expansive in terms of the locations (the action even shifts to Italy at one point)
Technically, it is an improvement on the original as the supernatural action is more convincingly done.
The narrative drags here and there but mostly moves along in a brisk and accessible fashion.
Fans of Edward may be a little disappointed that he isn’t in the story for long stretches.
Anna Kendrick is funny – she should be given a larger role next time.
For people unfamiliar with the books, brush up on Wikipedia or some things are going to leave you a little confused.
As a middle story (like The Empire Strikes Back) it leaves a few threads to be tantalisingly picked up on in the next film.
The last line of the film is clever as it pushes all the buttons of the audience …all at once.
My basic take is that this is essentially another reasonably well made fantasy film – a franchise like Star Wars or Harry Potter but moulded especially for teenage girls.
But despite the lack of genuine magic, there is no doubt that it will dominate the box office this month and make those publishers and executives who originally turned it down continue to tear their hair out.
He’ll be best remembered on film for the lead role in The Wicker Man, as the police officer who ventures to a mysterious Scottish island.
As someone growing up in the 1980s, The Equalizer was a show I’d always sneak down to watch and, in retrospect, there was something pleasingly surreal about an ageing English actor becoming a star on US prime time TV.
The espionage caper starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason has been newly remastered in 1080p from original VistaVision film elements.
One of Hitchcock’s finest and most purely enjoyable films, this suspenseful cross-continental chase has equal doses of tension and wit wrapped up in an insane plot.
Memorable for the chemistry between Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint, the famous crop-dusting sequence and the climax on Mount Rushmore, it influenced a generation of filmmakers and along with Psycho, Rear Window and Vertigo stands as one of his signature works.
As usual with Hitchcock at his peak, it can be enjoyed as slick entertainment and rigorously examined for intellectual meaning – chin-stroking academics and French intellectuals will no doubt have a field day with the references to Cold War paranoia, Freud and other motifs that litter Hitchcock’s films.
Grant is perhaps the best he’s ever been as the breezy protagonist, mixing charm and unease (Mad Men fans should note that he’s a Manhattan advertising executive) whilst Saint is pitch perfect as the icy Hitchcock blonde.
The arrival of North by Northwest on Blu-ray is significant as it is the first of Hitchcock’s films to get the full HD re-release treatment.
Although originally released by MGM, Warner Bros now have the distribution rights and they have scanned the original VistaVision production elements in an 8K resolution.
The resulting presentation has a much improved depth of field and clarity which has prompted highly positive reviews from The Digital Bits and DVD Beaver (the latter has screen shot comparisons of the Blu-ray and DVD versions).
The extras on the Blu-ray are as follows:
1080P Widescreen
English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD
French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese DD1.0 Mono
Click the image to buy the Blu-ray of Moon at Amazon UK
Moon is a futuristic sci-fi thriller about an astronaut stationed on a lunar mining station with only a robot for company until strange things start to happen.
It isn’t often that you get an intelligent low-budget sci-fi film, but this first-time effort by director Duncan Jones is highly impressive.
Set in the near future, Sam Rockwell stars as an astronaut who works on the moon harvesting helium-3 for a company who have helped reverse the planet’s energy crisis.
To say too much more about the plot would give away too much as it takes off in interesting and unexpected directions.
The script by Jones and Nathan Parker taps into the vein of more cerebral sci-fi classics like Solaris (both versions), 2001 and Silent Running.
Given the budgetary limitations, it looks terrific with clever use of sets and special effects, butĀ the biggest highlight of all is Rockwell who gives a remarkable performance in what is largely a one man show.
Kevin Spacey also provides nice support as the voice of the base computer GERTY.
The Blu-ray Disc is coded for all regions (A, B and C) and the extra features include:
1080P 2.40:1 Widescreen
English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Thai DD5.1
English, English HOH, Hindi, Indonesian/Bahasa and Thai subtitles
Commentary with Writer/Director Duncan Jones, Director of Photography Gary Shaw, Concept Designer Gavin Rothery and Production Designer Tony Noble
Commentary with Writer/Director Duncan Jones and Producer Stuart Fenegan
From 1968 to 1972 US astronauts flew in to outer space and to the moon. They were told by NASA to shoot as much footage as they could on 16mm cameras.
However, all the footage remained in the vaults untilĀ Reinert persuaded the space agency to let him make a documentary.
Along with and editor Susan Korda, Reinhart sifted through over six million feet of film footage, and 80 hours of NASA interviews to create this truly remarkable film.
Interestingly the narrative movement is like one space mission, even though it is actually a collage of all of the Apollo lunar landing missions.
The archive footage is remarkable and neatly inter cut with the voices of the astronauts themselves including Jim Lovell, Michael Collins, Charles Conrad, Jack Swigert, and Ken Mattingly, sourced from interviews and mission recordings.
The soundtrack was originally composed in 1983 by Brian Eno and released as Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks. Because of delays the film didn’t surface until 1989 and by then some of the album tracks had been replaced with pieces by Eno and other artists.
It is available on DVD (Ā£19.99 RRP) and Blu-ray Disc (Ā£24.99 RRP) with the following features:
A new, restored high-definition transfer, supervised and approved by director Al Reinert
Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, remastered from the original sound stems
Audio commentary featuring Reinert and Apollo 17 commander Eugene A. Cernan, the last man to set foot on the moon
An Accidental Gift: The Making of “For All Mankind,” a new documentary featuring interviews with Reinert, Apollo 12 and Skylab astronaut Alan Bean, and NASA archive specialists
A gallery of Bean’s artwork, inspired by his life as an astronaut, with commentary and a filmed introduction
NASA audio highlights and liftoff footage
Optional on-screen identification of astronauts and mission control specialists
New optional English subtitles (SDH) for the hearing impaired
A luxurious booklet, featuring essays, credits, stills, a new interview with Brian Eno, and more
For All Mankind is out now on DVD and Blu-ray Disc from Eureka/Masters of Cinema
Mid August Lunch (Artificial Eye) is a beautifully observed mix of comedy and drama from Italian writer-director Gianni di Gregorio.
But perhaps even more striking is its similarity to another low budget sensation, 
When 
