DVD/Blu-Ray Review
Blu-Ray Review: Show Boat (1936)
Whilst he was only actively making films for just over a decade, James Whale played a pivotal role in the development of genre cinema in America. Influenced by early European expressionist cinema, the West Countryman made some of the most iconic early horror films, including The Old Dark House, Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein and …
Blu-Ray Review: Safety Last!
Whilst many of the films produced during the silent era may now be lost, damaged or forgotten, it was a pivotal period in cinema and established a strong bond between audiences and motion pictures. A variety of genres began to flourish during that time but it’s perhaps the American comedies which still retain the most …
Blu-Ray Review: The Deep
The seas have long been happy hunting grounds for treasure seekers and explorers. Our maritime history and a number of wars resulted in the ocean floors becoming repositories of rich bounties for enterprising buccaneers. However, whilst there’s money to be made, there’s also dangers lurking above and below the waves. Whilst these opportunities are limited …
Blu-ray Review: Graveyards of Honor
The Yakuza play a role in Japanese culture which can only really be compared with that of the Mafiosi in Italy. The origins of today’s crime syndicates reach back over hundreds of years, to the Edo period in Japan. However, the post-war era was fertile ground for these organisations to flourish, establishing footholds within local …
Blu-Ray Review: Koko-Di Koko-Da
One popular conceit which film-makers love to play with is throwing their main character(s) into a situation and watching them replay a scenario over and over again. Groundhog Day or Happy Death Day are probably the most famous examples, but there have been many variations on a theme. Johannes Nyholm combines this premise with one …
Blu-Ray Review: Taste of Cherry
They say cinema flourishes in adversity and nowhere is that more apparent than in Iran. Since the revolution in 1979, the now Islamic republic has produced some of the best cinema in the world. It’s a remarkable accomplishment under often severe restrictions. Arguably the greatest director of this era was the late Abbas Kiarostami. Whilst …
Blu-Ray Review: After Life
What’s your earliest memory? It seems like such a simple question but it’s one which can leave people at a total loss. It might seem a strange thing to ask and it’s not something a typical person often thinks about. The older you get, the harder it becomes to recall childhood events. There’s only so …
Blu-Ray Review: Lady Eve
Barbara Stanwyck was one of the most iconic actors of her generation. In a glittering career which spanned five decades, she won five Academy Awards and became one of the most recognisable faces of Hollywood. A favourite of the likes of Fritz Lang and Cecil B. DeMille, she was noted for her confident and striking …
Blu-Ray Review: The Woman in Black
Ghost stories have captivated and enthralled children and adults alike from time immemorial. Each society has their own myths and legends, which are in a way themselves a reflection of a shared history. Whilst television and cinema have come on leaps and bounds when it comes to special effects and digital wizardry, they’re nothing without …
Blu-Ray Review: Flash Gordon (40th Anniversary Edition)
Cinema today is full of comic book movies, but that hasn’t always been the case. We’ve become so accustomed to seeing Marvel, or dare I say it DC, films on the big screen that it’s easy to forget that this hasn’t always been the case. Before these studios became such huge box office draws, superhero …