Classic Cinema
Blu-Ray Review: Vampyr
Today’s modern horror films, especially those which make it into multiplexes, tend to be full of flashy effects and polished to within an inch of their lives. Often featuring a score that is so obtrusive you’ll possibly want to tear your head off. It hasn’t always been this way and much of the output coming …
Blu-Ray Review: Revolver
Oliver Reed brought his unique and distinctive presence to every film he starred in. Whilst the troubled actor may have been infamous for his off-screen antics, he also had an undeniable screen presence and muscularity which he brought to every role. His performances in the likes of Women in Love, Castaway, The Devils and Oliver! …
Blu-Ray Review: The Wrong Arm of the Law
There was a time when Peter Sellers was one of the most famous actors in the world. He’d risen to prominence in the UK for The Goon Show but it was his role as Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther films which brought him international recognition. Then there’s his performance in Dr. Strangelove, which is …
Blu-Ray Review: Make Way for Tomorrow
In the ‘developed world’, at least, we live in an era of increasing life expectancy and aging populations. Most societies aren’t set-up to deal with this, both in terms of care and healthcare provisions. We’re living in an increasingly globalised world which means that families are often scattered far and wide. Parents and children often …
Blu-ray Review: Godmonster of Indian Flats
There’s nothing quite like a good creature feature. A film which introduces a monster into a narrative and has a whole lot of fun with it. Whether it works or not has as much to do with the time and effort invested in making it as it does budget. You don’t need to spend millions …
Blu-Ray Review: In Cold Blood
Today, true crime is big business. Newsagents’ shelves are full of magazines, bookstores stuffed to the seams with bestsellers and streaming services providing a platform, and funding, for countless popular series. This hasn’t always been the case though. When Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood was published in 1966 it was an instant success. Remaining one …
Blu-Ray Review: Coach to Vienna
Wars are not merely a simple case of good versus evil. While leaders like Hitler and Stalin might have been rotten to the core, soldiers are often there against their own will. Either conscripted into an army or forced to serve. History likes to tie events up in nice bows but anyone placed in a …
Blu-ray Review: Modern Times
While he had stiff competition from Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton, there’s no doubt that Charlie Chaplin was the king of American silent cinema. While they were all brilliant physical comedians, the Londoner had the advantage of having the ‘little tramp’ up his sleeve. His much-loved creation is undoubtedly the iconic face of the era. …
Blu-Ray Review: Pale Flower
They say that if you go looking for love you’ll never find it but it will often find you in the most unlikely places. Opposites attract or birds of a feather stick together, depending on which magazine you’re reading at the time. It’s clear though that attraction doesn’t conform to any social hierarchies or cultural …
Blu-Ray Review: The Devil’s Trap
It seems a bizarre thing to say in the third decade of the twenty-first century, but the debate between evolution and creationism still seems to tax feeble minds. The friction between religion and science has been rumbling on for centuries. The former often used as a means of social control while the latter has been …