BFI
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 …
Film Review: Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles
Whilst today, Luis Buñuel is a household name for cinephiles and Spanish film fans alike, this wasn’t always the case. After the controversy surrounding his feature debut, L’Age d’Or, the filmmaker struggled to find work after returning to Spain. No one was willing to finance him, but when he was approached with an offer of …
Blu-ray Review: Tokyo Story
Yasujiro Ozu was unquestionably one of the best, if not the best, Japanese film director of all time. His unique style and perspective made him one of the most singular and visionary film makers of his generation. The main themes running through his work, particularly in the post-war era, are of family and inter-generational relationships. …
BFI London Film Festival 2019 Preview
The 63rd BFI London Film Festival takes place in cinemas across the capital between 2-13 October. It’s the UK’s premier showcase of the most exciting new cinema from around the world. This year sees a firm focus on innovative directors, with a competition boasting extraordinary visions. Featuring 229 feature films, including numerous premieres, and 116 …
Film Review: Bait
For thousands of years coastal dwellers have relied on fishing to put food on the table and earn a living. Whilst many traditional fishermen have seen their livelihoods destroyed by commercial trawlers, those remaining have practically been wiped out by tough economic conditions and a competitive global marketplace. Fishing villages, if they’re lucky, have sometimes …
Film Review: Varda by Agnès
Whilst it has become customary to respond to the death of anyone even vaguely famous with a series of platitudes, in the case of Agnès Varda it was a huge loss to the world of cinema. She had a relentlessly inquisitive character, both of herself and anyone she came into contact with. A stalwart of …
Blu-ray Review: Room at the Top
The end of World War II was meant to herald a turning point for British society and the institutionally ingrained class system which harked back to feudal times. In reality, whilst things did start to change, in many ways the rich and privileged just became better off. Young men returned from war to find themselves …
Blu-ray Review: The Caretaker
Harold Pinter was one of the most influential and accomplished playwrights and poets of the twentieth century. Whilst he’s best known for his theatrical work, Pinter was also an accomplished screenwriter; adapting several of his own works as well as many by other writers. In 1963, he wrote the treatment of his own play The …
Blu-ray Review: Orphée
In a career which spanned four tumultuous decades of French history, few men can claim to have been more influential or culturally important than Jean Cocteau. He began as a poet and that influence remained throughout his career as a writer, playwright and film director. As a key player of the avant garde he was …
Film Review: Bergman: A Year in a Life
We live in a culture which has a seemingly insatiable desire to learn everything possible about the rich and famous. Social media is riven with people demanding and expecting knowledge about their heroes. They often don’t like what they find. Being a film director is a position which brings both great power and implied responsibility. …