Arrow Films
Blu-ray Review: Deep Red
One of my favourite horror films of all time is Dario Argento’s Suspiria. It’s fair to say that nothing else he’s done quite lived up to it, but with Opera and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage he came prety close. Deep Red was originally referred to as Suspiria 2, and whilst that’s in many …
DVD Review: The Jacques Rivette Collection
The French New Wave (La Nouvelle Vague) still remains one of the most influential and innovative movements in the history of film. When you think of those associated with the movement, Jacques Rivette is not the first name that springs to mind. Compared with Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Jacques Demy, Agnes Varda, Alain Resnais, Eric …
DVD Review: What Have You Done To Solange?
Giallo is probably the most visually arresting and culturally interesting horror sub genre. The mixture of slasher film with elements of mystery, crime and the supernatural is an intoxicating combination which remains popular to this day. Whilst the names Dario Argento and Mario Bava are synonymous with the genre there were many other lesser known …
DVD Review: Dag Season 1
Shrinks have been popular on American TV for many years now, and in many ways Norwegian comedy series Dag feels very much like it could have been made in the US. However, in true Scandinavian tradition the humour is as dark as the protagonist’s moods. I’m not sure if Dag actually has any qualifications as …
DVD Review: Hard To Be A God
The writings of Stanislaw Lem and Arkady and Boris Strugatsky are as important to Eastern European Science-Fiction as H.G.Wells and Arthur C Clarke are to the West. Andrei Tarkovsky most famously brought the stories of Lem to the big screen with the seminal Solaris and Stalker. Aleksei German’s adaptation of the Strugatsky’s Hard To Be …
DVD Review: Good Kill
Possibly the most controversial aspect of modern warfare is the use of combat drones. Unsurprisingly, it’s predominately America deploying this technology in ‘war zones’ and to terminate enemies in friendly countries (often without that government’s knowledge or permission). There have been a spate of ‘drone films’ over the last couple of years, with filmakers focussing …
Blu-ray Review: 3 Women
Robert Altman got inspiration for 3 Women from a dream and the film itself has a dreamlike quality, feeling slightly otherworldly and obtuse. Having built up fearsome reputation as one of the best American filmmakers through the 1970s, the release of 3 Women signalled a change of direction and emphasis. Many comparisons have been drawn …
DVD Review: The Long Good Friday
The Long Good Friday in many ways marked the end of an era for a certain style of film making. The ’70s was a bumper period for gritty cinema on both sides of the Atlantic. The French Connection, Deliverance, Mean Streets, The Conversation, Taxi Driver and The Godfather Part 2 all setting theatres alight with …
Blu-Ray Review: Sweet Smell Of Success
Celebrating and championing “The American Dream” was big business in post-war Hollywood. Whether it was tales of rags to riches success or just the ability for any man (and it was all men) to make their fortune through hard work and application, audiences couldn’t get enough of these heart-warming, patriotic tales. There were notable detractors …
DVD Review: Amour Fou
We have a certain fascination with the lives of those who create profound and timeless prose and poetry. For those of us with no literary talent, the desire to understand what makes someone a great writer is a powerful one. Cinema has a similar love affair. Capote, An Angel at My Table, Shadowlands, Moliere, Quills, …