Masters of Cinema
DVD Review: Queen of Earth (Masters of Cinema)
Alex Ross Perry is a name you may not be familiar with but he’s lauded by many film critics as something of a wunderkind. However, his films have not really generated the same reaction at the box office, only getting limited theatrical releases. The Color Wheel and Impolex may not be familiar to most but …
DVD Review: That Cold Day in the Park (Masters of Cinema)
Whilst Robert Altman has built himself a reputation as one of the greatest modern American directors it took a lot of toil and frustration before he got into the film industry. Whilst he’s best known for the likes of Nashville, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, The Player or M.A.S.H, he spent years working in TV and …
DVD Review: Edvard Munch (Masters of Cinema)
Norwegian expressionism may not be at the top of your list when discussing art but it’s likely you’ll have seen at least one of Edvard Munch’s paintings. Indeed, I’d wager that The Scream would be up there with the most well-known paintings. He’s arguably the first Expressionist painter, alongside Gustav Klimt, and had a profound …
DVD Review: Journey to the Shore (Masters of Cinema)
Kurosawa is a household name for film fans around the world, but Akira is not the only master auteur who possesses that surname. Kiyoshi Kurosawa made his name making creepy and unnerving horror films. Kairo is my favourite genre film of all time and Cure is also a fantastic slice of terror. In recent years …
DVD Review: The Last Command (Masters of Cinema)
Director Josef von Sternberg is best known for the films he made with Marlene Dietrich. Indeed, he’s often credited with being the catalyst behind her career. He cast the then unknown actress as his female lead in the first German talkie, The Blue Angel, which proved to be her big break. They went on to …
DVD Review: Three Days of the Condor (Masters of Cinema)
Sidney Pollock was a strange American director for his time. Whilst he came through at the same time as many of the new American film-makers in the 1970s, his output and outlook were very much traditional. Unlike some of his peers including Robert Altman, Sam Peckinpah, Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola, he’s not a …
Blu-Ray Review: Rocco and His Brothers (Masters of Cinema)
Luchino Visconti is undoubtedly one of the greatest Italian film-makers of all time and was in the vanguard of the neorealism movement which swept the country from the mid 1940s for roughly a decade. His first film, Ossessione, is credited as being the first neorealist film. Whilst he’s best known for The Leopard and Death …
Blu-Ray Review: Hawks and Sparrows/Pigsty
Pier Paolo Pasolini’s death was as controversial and murky as much of his life and cinematic output. An outspoken Communist, Pasolini had a singular drive and worldview which lead to him falling foul of the police and the Communist Party. As a film director he continued this path, courting controversy with much of his work. …
DVD Review: A Touch of Zen (Masters of Cinema)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a huge global success and sparked a huge interest in epic Asian fantasy and martial arts films. Primarily, it introduced the world to the wuxia genre, often characterised by gravity-defying action. However, this is not a new phenomena, with films dating back before WWII. The most notable came in the …
DVD Review: A New Leaf
Whilst the hangdog appearance of Walter Matthau is easily recognisable, you may find yourself hard-pressed to name many of his films. The Odd Couple, Kotch, The Fortune Cookie, The Sunshine Boys and Hello, Dolly! Are all great films but he never seemed to fit the profile of a Hollywood leading man. In Elaine May’s directorial …